Just catching up

This has been one of the most intense months of my life--or, maybe let's go with a 40 day stretch. This is both for your enjoyment and my personal records.


On June 3rd, I went to Chapel Hill, stayed with Madison for 2 nights. On the 5th, I set out with Vishwan on our roadtrip. First stop--Tennessee, middle of nowhere at a former friend's place.

In the next 16 days, from June 6th until June 21st Vishwan and I did and saw the following (in no particular order):

Saw the two longest cave systems in the world.
Saw and went up the tallest building in the US.
Went to a game at Wrigley and saw some races at Churchill Downs.
Partied at Northwestern.
Survived an apocalyptic storm.
Played at the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Sylvan Lake.
Saw coyotes, bears, vultures, bison, and tons of elk and moose.
Discovered the Big Cock Candy Mountain (above).
Went inside a Corn Palace.
Climbed to Delicate Arch.
Played in the snow in June...and then almost drowned doing so.
Got bitten by 4 different kinds of bugs, including 6 ticks in 2 days.
Went to a show in Vegas.

On June 22nd, we left Vegas and headed east, where we had to pass over the Hoover Dam. Traffic slowed to a crawl 4 miles before the Dam. It was 117 degrees outside. As we got near the Dam's parking deck, smoke began to billow out of my car's hood. We pulled it in, let it cool off, and Vishwan went to get some water. I called the girl I was dating for 4 years because I knew I wouldn't have cell service for a few days. On this phone call she tells me she's not so sure about the relationship. I got off the phone ASAP--just too much stuff to deal with. For a ton of other bad luck reasons, we only made it 1 hour away from Vegas that day after driving for around 10 hours.

In the next 3 days, we had hail, a tornado, massive dehydration (staying in a tent in 90 degree weather is a baaaad idea), and a ridiculous and ridiculously expensive speeding ticket. We also got to see the Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns, the Alamo, and the largest urban bat flight in the world. On the 26th, as we are getting my car fixed (after going to about 10 mechanics) at this sleazy garage--no shade nearby except a scrawny tree next to a dumpster and, as it turns out, a ton of fire ants. As Vishwan is being told by the mechanic that they can't fix our problem--but will charge us $100 anyway--I get word that the relationship is over completely (later on learned that she was seeing someone else--but that's another story haha).

And that is the rent that you have to pay for having a great trip. After that, we went to Liberty, TX where my uncle lives. He fixed up my car for us, put us up nicely, and packed us on our way. Stopped in Bay St. Louis the next day to check out one of the Habitat for Humanity's that I could work for next year. Made it to Tallahassee that night, where two of my best friends in the world live. Evan and Vishwan made sure I had a nice night in Tally, and then it was back to NC.

Dropped off Vish in Cary, made it back to Wilmington and mom on the night of the 29th. Two rejuvenating nights there (plus finally got contacts), and it was off to Maine and Sharon, MA for 5 days.

On July 3rd, Rabbi Josh Hollander, Adam Fleischer, and I climbed up Mt. Katahdin in Maine. The first bit was mostly dirt trail, but there were about 3 hours of climbing up boulders before we reached the plateau. Since Adam was about 30 minutes behind us, I decided to climb up and down this other part of the trail--I wanted to get to the Northern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail. I did it, but on my way back down, a cloud descended on the mountain. The trail back down was supposed to be easier, so I decided to give it a whirl. Visibility was steadily decreasing as the wind (50 mph gusts) and the rain were increasing. I got to the end of the plateau, and quickly realized that the different trail back down was still going to be a ton of boulders. There was a good 30 minute stretch there where I couldn't keep the trail, couldn't see more than 5-10 feet ahead, and the rain and wind made it feel like there were Pop Rocks exploding on the side of my face. There was no terra firma--just sharp, steep boulders for as far as I could see, only a few of which led to any kind of safety. But I made it out and down, for a total of an 11 hour hike.

Spent that Shabbos in Sharon, MA with two lovely families--the Rudinsteins and the Cusners. The whole Shabbos and all the people were incredible, but I felt especially happy about meeting the two Cusner children, Ashi and Kayla. Kayla and Ashi and Dr. Josh--you three were my ports in the storm.

Anyway, that's everything up to July 6th. It was 25 states in 30 days, and probably 35 good days out of 40. I'll take and like that exchange any day.

Always the worst part

Harry: Helen comes home from and she said, "I don't know if I want to be married anymore." Like it's the institution, you know, like it's nothing personal, just something she's been thinking about... in a casual way. I'm calm, I say, "Why don't we take some time to think about it, you know, don't rush into anything."
Jess: Yeah, right.
Harry: Next day she said she's thought about it, and she wants a trial separation. She just wants to try it, she says, but we can still date. Like this is supposed to cushion the blow. I mean I got married so I can stop dating. So I don't see where we can still date is any big incentive since the last thing you want to do is date your wife, who's suppose to love you, which is what I'm saying to you, that's when it occurs to me that maybe...she doesn't. So I say to her, "Don't you love me anymore?" You know what she says? "I don't know if I've ever loved you."
Jess: Ooo that's harsh. You don't bounce back from that right away.
Harry: Thanks Jess.
Jess: No, I'm a writer, I know dialogue and that's particularly harsh.
Harry: Then she tells me that somebody in her office is going to South America and she can sub-let his apartment. I can't believe this, and the doorbell rings, 'I can sub-let his apartment', the words are still hanging in the air, you know, like in a balloon attached to a mouth.
Jess: Like in the cartoon.
Harry: Right. So I go to the door, and there were moving men there. Now I start to get suspicious. I say, "Helen when did you call these movers?", and she doesn't say anything. So I asked the movers, "When did this woman book you for this gig?". And they're just standing there. Three huge guys, one of them was wearing a T-shirt that says, "Don't fuck with Mr. Zero." So I said, "Helen, when did you make this arrangement?". She says, "A week ago." I said, "You've known for a week and you didn't tell me?". And she says, "I didn't want to ruin your birthday."
Jess: You're say Mr. Zero knew you were getting a divorce a week before you did?
Harry: Mr. Zero knew.
Jess: I can't believe this!
Harry: I haven't told you the worst part yet.
Jess: What could be worse than Mr. Zero knowing?
Harry: It's all a lie. She's in love with somebody else, some tax attorney. She moved in with him.