in the general vein of, "life is good..."

i left work early on friday and went for a long walk in the sunshine. this was little 500 weekend (crazy bike race, see "breaking away"), so it was crazy pretty much all week (undergrads partying like tomorrow's the last day on earth). DMX played at some local frat, and a bunch of people got maced by stupid security guards. can we say "lawsuit," frat boys? friday night, thomas and i went to an art opening. mia beach is my new favorite person after seeing her photos. some of my favorite biology faculty were there (which means almost all of the plant guys... the plant guys are cool). this one guy's wife was showing some of her stuff. after that, we headed over to the irish lion - we figured it wouldn't be overrun with little 5 party-goers, and we were right. had a couple of beers and some french fries, then went back to my place.

then it turned WAY cold and gray and rainy, but the farmer's market just kicked into gear last weekend, so we had to go. of course, there's really not a whole lot yet - eggs, honey, bread, meat, but no produce yet. we got coffee and shivered our way through, then took my broken glasses (the red ones that i LOVE) to this fancy glasses store on the square to see if they can fix them. they're looking into it. i think i'm going to go back after my europe trip (i.e. once i see how much money i have left to live off of) and get some new glasses and contacts. i need new lenses, and i think it's time for a super fantastic pair of frames. i have a hankering for some lafont frames.

after that, we went to the yarn store, and thomas bought me new yarn - di.Ve autunno in 25741 colorway.


he had gotten me some tweedy stuff for christmas - i made a rad scarf out of it, but it was SO boyish, i never wore it. well, thomas loved the scarf, so i gave it to him. he wanted to pay me back by going and getting me some yarn i loved for myself. true to form, as soon as i got home and got some work done, i started up a clapotis scarf of my very own. but i digress... after the yarn store, we went to the bakehouse to get bagels and more coffee, and my friend christian was working. i love christian - big "hi's" and hugs and kisses on the cheek were had the second we walked in. it was crazy there, but we managed to score two seats and eat our bagels in relative peace.

today, i've been planning more of my europe trip (which, inevitably, means spending more money). i bought my train tickets from barcelona to paris, paris to venice, and venice to rome. then i headed over to rei's site to get a day pack, a rain jacket, a skinny wallet (mine's HUGE), and a plug adapter. yeah... roughly $300 later, i think i am officially done buying stuff for the trip! hallelujah. now to figure out what to pack and what clothing will actually fit into my one big backpack.

just so this isn't all words, my friend, manjeet, just posted some adorable photos from their party a few weekends ago. here's this super sweet italian kid, giuseppe, thomas, and me. i look skeptical.


manjeet and i. manjeet is the sweetest - at one point, he goes, "christie, i love how you talk. you say things in such a cute, comfortable way, but you still sound cool when you say it." awww...


posing for the camera and trying to avoid the dance floor.


thomas and i.


me, will, and amelia.