Well, first off, yes Pete, I did make the flight. Thank you. And while I'm thanking the fat dirty ugly naked greek I must also thank the rest of my saviors, including but not limited to, a hairy guitar playing ape, Pete's better half, and my favoritve retarded munchkin(just kidding about the retarded part). You guys are the best and I would not have made it without all of you. On another note I am now in Portland in an awesome apartment with my friends ready to take the summer by storm. As Christina pointed out it is HOT AS HELL here and there's no air conditioning and I am melting. But other than that all goes well. Tomorrow is the day when I embark out into the world and seek employment, yippie. Oh, I've been in Portland for two days and have already gotten lost in the city driving 3 times. I guess it's going to take a while to learn the lay of the land. Hope everyone is dong well and if not remember, it's only the beginning...

LOL Emily i am still laughing now as i write this. I am so sorry i missed that display of hilarity. *wipes a tear from her eye* ooph.... anyway i am home and all. It has been 85-90 degreees here! we have been having a heat wave. there was a reccord high in bellingham the other day of 91 and their previous high was 89. DAMN IT"S HOT!!! it should be hot in illiniois and mild here. but no illinois weather had to come here. sheesh... MY BROTHER GRADUATED!!!!!!!! IT'S A MIRACLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had forgotten the hilarity of graduation. it was so hot that the teachers who were wearing their alma mater clothes or whatever took them off. (they didn't want to pass out) and then when the seniors drove by in their busses that were to take them to senior cruise we got them with water balloons and hoses. awesome. silly people. the house is not as crazy as i thought it would be. it is painted very different but the "gold" color that was mentioned was just a yellow and the brown is tan and the green and red are nice. so not too scary. i recognize my house. my cats are happy to see me as is megan. anyway i promised megan i would eat ("you are getting so thin! you should eat some lard... oh right you are vegetarian... get out of my car....we will be back in a few hours. but seriously eat something!") ahhh megan.( : anyway as i am sure boring you all to death i am off to eat (not lard) . later kids.

How did you become an idolater, Ari? Emily please bring your voice of reason to the Townhouse next year. I am sure that all of us, especially my addle-brained self will really need it at times.

oh, and Carrie, in case you're worried, i grabbed that embroidered thing off your bed if you want it.

well, Adam's up & gone. and what a process it was. i took one look at the heap of stuff on the street next to Brian's car and said no WAY all that stuff's going to fit with one of you guys in the back seat. well, they did it. there were however, several moments of this sort:

Adam: Brian, can you move your seat up a little? just a little
(Brian moves it up)
Adam: ok, just a little more than that, and i can fit this in
Brian: no can do.
Adam: Fock.

Brian: ok Adam, so it's either Chucklenuts or the plants. make your choice.
Adam: they both have to come.
Brian: they're not going to fit.
Adam: oh yes they will.

Me: that trunk's not going to close.
Adam: oh yes it will.

Brian: so, Emily... want a fan? cool.
Adam: so, Emily... like Froot Loops? cool.
Chris: so, Emily... want a painting? cool.
Brian: so, Emily... you want this cat book, right? cool.
Adam: so, Emily... have some tissues, cups, and paper plates. cool.
Adam: so, Emily... want this lamp? cool.
Adam, Chris, and Brian (in unison): so, Emily... want some legos, juice, rugs, pitcher, Rockwell, poster, drying rack, soy milk, and Gatorade? cool.
(hey, they gave me like a pound of strawberries too. i'll be nice to anyone who gives me strawberries. )

Chris: so, Adam?
Adam: yeah?
Chris: where is Christina's computer going?
Adam: Fock.

and so forth. Adam left with a cooler and two plants on his lap, Chris with the Chuckler and some CDs in his lap, and Brian with nothing in his lap, but also no way to look out the back window. good luck, boys :)

woohoo! idolatry!

I watched a 100 Heroes and Villians over 100 years of Hollywood last night, a program dedicated to naming the top warriors of good and agents of evil throughout a century of screen magic. Truely an awesome show. Hannibal Lector was the top villian and Atticus Finch was the top hero. I soon depart for the book store to find a good read for the start of the summer. Pete, we have developed a fan base for the show in Kankakee, my Dad's co-workers thought it was a riot and my Dad himself said he was impressed with the way we conducted ourselves. I can't wait to do another one. Take care and have a good summer.

My 3-day journey is over. I am "home." Zach, did you make the flight? Oh man, i hope so, i would feel so bad... I missed the turnoff of course and we got a bit lost. My trip was fairly interesting. I stopped early at a campground in northwestern Ohio to cook myself a nice dinner of quesadillas made from materials leftover from the last camping trip. As i cooked, a funny old guy pulled up to the campsite next to me on a funny-looking bicycle and asked if he could join me. I offered him quesadillas. He accepted. He offered me beer. I refused. His story: he started out at 5:00 that morning on a ferry from Wisconsin to Michigan over the lake with his bike. Once he got to Michigan, he began to ride. This 53 year old man rode his funny looking bike from western Michigan to Ohio in one day. He was going to go pick up his car from his son in college in Cleaveland. Turns out the guy was a doctor. He could have just bought a new car. Or at least stay at nice hotels along the way. But here he was at my $11-a night campground with his bike by his side. He just wanted to bike. "Some folks like to go on cruises. I don't want that fancy stuff." He did this all the time. He was a member of some sort of club of people who take extravagantly long bike trips. He was a cool guy.
The next day i got a speeding ticket in some tiny town in Ohio. I was lost and was trying to look at the map and drive at the same time. Grrr. Then, after driving for ten hours, i got to my cousin's house and we played some baseball.
It was a good trip. I only went moderately insane and did not scream at Derrick, the roads, other cars, or myself... much. A whole summer in New Jersey though, might just drive me completely insane. We'll see.

hey everyone!
well, in case you hadn't heard, ive just gotten the go-ahead for having friends who know about the survey help me come up with people to take it. sooooooooo, it's time to show me how much you love me by referring lots & lots of your friends to take it! as a little inside information, i have not yet had 5 of anyone's friends complete a survey, so if you give me five people, your chances of getting an easy $50 are looking damn good. damn good. have them email me. get money. simple ;-)

yay! Rachel's back!

wow. so ... i'm in the states now. *peeks around* time for bed, yo.