a recap of the day. partially dictated by susannah. in short choppy half-sentences, as this is all we can handle right now. persian. bridal shower. small talk. dancing -- with hand motions. food. mingling. for eight hours. little girls. many aunties. small talk. farsi. enormous [and delicious] cake. short escape to the car. more small talk. much persian food.

i reached my socializing limit about seven minutes in. after rachel and i picked up ali from the airport, he asked me how things were going.

"well... so far it's mostly been small talk and dancing. which are quite possibly my least favorite things in the whole entire world."

i'm a little exhausted. tomorrow is kind of a free day for me, and i'll be meeting up with an old friend and exploring san francisco. woot!

i am sitting in ali's aunt and uncle's living room in san jose with rachel's friend susannah. we are playing on our laptops, riding our hosts' wireless connection, just the sound of keyboards clicking.

after about fifteen minutes of us staring at our screens, i looked up and commented, "this is the new social."

also, it's crazy windy and rainy here. don't feel too sorry for me, ohioans.

yet. 

me, on phone: "accounting, this is maria."

her, confusedly: "er, this is... atoning?"

the best part is that she was calling about recently filing for bankruptcy. 

terribly sad coverage from northern illinois university.

thoughts from paul here.

the wonders of unflavored gelatin.

[via suebob]