librarians may quibble - and they do - but is there anything finer than a few hours to unreservedly kill in a library with a coffee shop (It's the coffee shop the librarian's don't tend to like - I so disagree but then, I love coffee, straight up LOVE coffee) I attended a film archive workshop today in said library in the Wilm0ngton NC - home of Dawson's Creek and One Tree Hill man, you can practically reach out and touch Joey and Pacey. The workshop is over so it's just me and free wireless and a stack of books and my commuter mug and the NY Times book review while I await the arrival of my Boy and my Lil' Girl who are driving down to meet me. We're staying in a hotel tonight so we can get up real early and hang out on the beach all day. I sincerely cannot wait for a bob in the ocean with my baby. Always make time for the road trips, that is Rule #1.
Speaking of road trips, through some crazy twist in the universe that my brother calls Hell Freezing Over, my Mother, her boyfriend and my Grandma (who used to HATEEEEE said boyfriend and kinda my Mom) are all traveling together to visit my brother in Germany this December. My mind is just boggling and boggling picturing my salty-tongued Grandma and her former arch nemesis the Clueless Boyfriend of her Daughter sharing a stein and a wurst. I have always wanted to visit my brother around the holidays for the outdoor markets and mulled wine and other fine German winter traditions - but I'm rather glad I'm not attending this trip...still, it just occurred to me that our trip to Spain is only 9 months away which is like, forever, in wanting-it-to-be-here time, but nothing in I-need-to-save more-money time. The two are rarely compatible.

I wish to send a personal shout-out to the former Soggy Librarian (why former? why not come back? Come on!) who is knocking on doors this weekend for BO - I disagree SL, it is no easier to knock on a strangers door in the PNW than it is to in the Southy-South. Both take time and guts and that extra inhalation of breath when you ring the doorbell. Kudos to you. I hope I haven't made it sound like the South is some armpit of stereotyped desperation. Go to any small town in Oregon or Washington and it's pretty much the same kind of deal - a different way of living, and one that I'm not quite attuned to. Also, racism is front and center here because races are here - the West is still pretty Lily White overall. And on the other Southy hand, with all my complaining, all that stuff they say about friendly people and just talking? All true, man. I love to sit on my porch and nod at the strangers going by. It makes me hopeful for humanity.

Dang, is anything not as fine as the librarian coming by to tell you they close in thirty minutes? Wahh.