P to the ASA, D to the ENA

At the drop of a Dodgers Hat, I flew to LA on Wednesday. I'm staying with Rudy Carrasco and helping out around Harambee. I will be acting as his Shadow for 2 more weeks, trying to get a handle on what it takes to be him. It has been two years since my last moment up here and everyone grew up. Kids I taught are on Junior Staff now, babies are walking, Jeremiah is still the same height, Karl got a new car, Flo got married (to Curtis), and of the corner store only a burned first floor hulk remains. It is wonderful to be back and things seem so different. It may be that I have learned a thing or two in 2 years and my perspective is more nuanced than before...or maybe it's just life.

I have been driving to the airport a lot. Perhaps the secret to navigating the intricate maze of LA freeways will be granted to me from on high at some point. I finally got to drive down the 110 South at 4 am. That's a dream I had from before I could drive. This time was in a minivan; not quite the road-hugging coupe I'd pictured but it still had great pickup.

This marks the end of my post-grad shiftless independence. From working out here, I go directly into 35-40 hours a week at a responsible job. It's nice to mark the end of an era. For the first time that I can remember, I am not shopping for binders and pens. I am very happy to be out of Chicago for the return-to-school rush. I won't be around for the mass pilgrimage back to the 'ol alma mater.

Rudy and I were in his office working, or trying to, and he was playing music off his computer. All of a sudden Abba's "Dancing Queen" escaped his carefully tuned mac. In a fit of embarrassment, he quickly switched to "Hell's Bells" by AC/DC, but the damage was done. I decided to 'out' him on my blog. Nothing personal man, I just figured I needed a funny anecdote to convince people I was actually here. My most embarrassing song: Honkytonk Badonkadonk by Trace Adkins.