Strange

I've had a strange week so far. Not good or bad, just strange:

*Tara told me she's moving to Phoenix in a month. I'm happy for her, and sad for me.

*Aaron was walking down the street and said "Excuse me!" loudly while re-enacting a story, and the actress Julianne Moore walked by and thought he was yelling at her and turned around and gave him an accosted look on the streets of NYC.

*Aaron let me know that Mr. R, our old physics teacher at BFHS, is on Facebook and has had a sex change. This doesn't surprise me, and I'm very happy for her, that she was able to be true to herself. I remember thinking of him as kind of a misfit, like me, someone who always let the bullies get to him; he was just one of those teachers who sometimes let students walk all over him. I hope that now she has renewed strength and self-confidence. Discovering this about "Mr. R" is a highlight for me this week.

*At a work lunch this week, I ended up sitting across from one of our board members, whose niece is YA author Julie Halpern. I checked out Ms. Halpern's website, and was amused and entertained by the parallels in our lives: both lived in or near Lake Geneva, lived in or near Chicago, went to UW-Madison, love YA fiction, have been on The Bozo Show, are obsessed with Buffy and 90210, and those are just a few....She and I just exchanged a fun couple emails over the last day. I really appreciate her sense of humor.

*I'm re-reading Stephen Chbosky's the perks of being a wallflower, and it's re-opening all these feelings and sensations inside me. It's wonderful to be back in Charlie's, the protagonist's, world (which is also eerily similar to my own upbringing in lots of ways).

*Am getting really excited about Alaska.

*Am fretting about money like nobody's business.

*The heat here in Portland has been excruciating -- in the 100's, and in the mid-90's for the next few days. I've been sleeping in the basement on the couch, and still waking up all sweaty and gross. My mind's also been groggy in the mornings while writing, like my brain's an attic that hasn't let all the heat out. Just stuffy.

*I awoke this A.M. from apocalyptic dreams with hopeful endings. Also dreamt about jungle safaris and spiritual quests.

There you go, a tidbit.

Hugs,
Nathan