:TESTO:It's been a long, long time since I've written here, and my life has been correspondingly busy. It still is, but I'll take a moment to reflect upon its high points, in no particular order:

I just finished watching Jurassic Park III, having decided to grab it and its predecessor after reading about feathery velociraptors somewhere or another. The second member of the trilogy thoroughly disappointed, but this third item was its own movie, thrilling to the stillborn paleontologist in my soul. With the exception of a bit of rubber-nosed live-action spinosaur foolery near the beginning, the dinosaurs were convincingly nimble and massive, a definite improvement over the original film's state of the art. Pterosaurs especially earned my regard, and the rethought 'raptors were nicely presented.

But life isn't all movies and popcorn alone in my room, and thank goodness. This last weekend I launched on a whimsical tour of Boston-town, in the company of a fellow teacher and his housemate, both remarkable people and solid traveling companions. I saw Kayle and Kest and John Walton and Blaise, I went to a concert upon the Esplanade and ate good free food, I walked in the footsteps of freedom and climbed an obelisk. I shared my mead at a barbecue, and ate grill-roasted corn. I even made pancakes and sang Billy Joel, and quite nearly (but not quite) did the latter in a karaoke setting. It was a fine weekend, with unparalleled fairness of weather and friends.

And the school-year is wrapping up, my seniors graduate Sunday. I must be back in the city from my sister's wedding (halfway up the path of my most recent journey) in speedy time to take part in such. I continue to contra-dance weekly, and Tree of Life now bubbles happily alongside the slow-fermenting Water From India. The former features a number of seeds and roots of the licorice flavor-cluster, along with caraway seeds and a hint of dill (it thus imitates the Norse distilled concoction called akvavit, which is more like vodka and less like honey, but the spirit is the same, even if the spirits are missing).

Leaping ahead further, I shall let my lease expire at the end of July, because They are building a parking garage across the street from me, and I have absolutely no intent of living next to a construction zone. Further, I intend to try living alone, and as my current housemates are following their predecessor's model and moving out (although not in the middle of their lease, for a nifty change of pace), I decided I was tired of being the rock left to gather new flotsam to my sides for another season. Today marked the first inquiries into new housing, I'm thinking of either moving a very small amount east or west, or up into the monumenty heart of the city. The latter would represent a big change, and I'm not sure I'm ready or wanting to be surrounded on all sides by tall things that are not brachiosaurs or sequoias.

I shall also go to Toledo and Ann Arbor and San Francisco and Black Mountain this summer. Some of those might have brachiosaurs.

We shall see. It is time for bed.

Dancing, tomorrow. :ENDTESTO: