The Zen of Sushi

So, last night Ambra and Jenn and I escaped the farm.; after two weeks, you have to remind yourself you're still a person.

First stop, no surprise, was to the closest bookstore which happens to be a two story Barnes and Nobles. And yes, I got two books as if I wasn't constantly reading and working on projects. Consider it therapy. After much debate and help from Ambra, Jenn, and phone-in-friend Everette from New Orleans, I ended up with Ann Rand's Anthem (Did you know she was born Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум so I'm not really leaving my Russian literature obsession) and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig . I'm not really clear how I ended up with this mix, but I'm going with it. Ambra got The Man Who was Thursday. I literally jumped up and down when I saw her with it in her hand; totally geeked out. It's one of my all time favourites. She now knows she has to at least fake that she likes it or I will no longer be her friend.

Next we went to Osaka Sushi and I got a very unhealthy combination of spider rolls and spicy tuna. It was fabulous after all this cafeteria food. No that I'm complaining. Today we're getting Hungarian as out "special" meal. Not sure what their translation of Hungarian will be. I'll let you know.

Next on the list was a stop at Ben Franklin, which if you're from this area you'll know that's sort of like Michaels but with a more dime store vibe. We got yarn and hooks because we have discovered that most of the speakers realize that you're in lecture for six hours a day and you might need something to keep you mind focused. I made a little sweater for my water bottle and I'm half way finished with a hat that I'm making for someone going somewhere cold. Next I'm making scarves for Jenn and Ambra. We picked out yarn for a long time before coming to some very fun conclusions. Ambra is learning quickly - but we need to learn not to be crafty too late inot the night. Sleep is essential if you're going to make it through these classes and retain anything they're throwing at you. (Seriously, Think they've gone over everything I learned in seminary over the past two weeks.)

Then we, of course, made our way to Target: the land of the free and the brave. I will miss it, but in Vienna I will have IKEA and KIKA: land of the funky light bulbs and cool kitchen cabinets. Some how the sirens called us into the clothes department and we managed to rationalize long dress purchases for upcoming cultural worship experiences/swimsuit covers for the coming summer. I think the last plan was to meet in Spain to go to the beach. We'll see if that happens, but just in case we'll have to the right cover-up for the boadwalks. We left as quickly as possible after that, but our cashier still made fun of our purchaces - but there is nothing wrong with getting sundresses, Draino, and a Downy Ball! That's what makes it such a wonderufl place!

Alrighty. Now you can see the sillier side of this crazy adventure. I hope you've enjoyed it.