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Andrew driving us in from Cape Cod to put him on the Bolt Bus to NYC in time for him to get to work at noon.

Perfect weather, as mentioned, and we made an overnight trip to Provincetown for Sunday night (monday

Tuesday I took an emergency job that "had to be completed in the morning" -- it came in just after Andrew and I went sailing at the 10.03 foot high tide at 10:03 a.m.

I started that work at 10:45 a.m. and put in 10 billed hours, even with one comped for stupidity.

I was supposed to go to the pond with Grandpa in the afternoon.

He hates me now.

I never watch television on my own, but I've gotten a lot over the last few days:

Las Vegas, a rather fun television show, with Grandpa

an episode of House

Saw Boys in the Hood with Andrew. That's a cultural necessity

Days after returning from India, my work e-mail inbox is down to just 84 undealt with e-mails. Which is pretty good since it was just under 300 when I went to India.

I realize, however, that the appearance of prospective manageability of my communications is because people have given up on me. If I start being responsive and replying right away, people will write more.

The key to balancing the inbox, I guess, is to respond quickly but write very discouraging things.

Greg Berger NY
Are you vegan?
Fri, Aug 14 7:41pm

Drove Piper to Providence. Great conversation, keywords art in Nigeria, destitute and dying in India, Russia...

Then got to Kathleen's, I finally launched the finally completed Visitor path module with Stefan's help.

Well, a bit before sundown, I guess, but with all the trees around the lake, I count when the sun goes behind them.

Ducks and cormorants (?) and turkey vultures (?) sharing the vertical slice of the island receiving the last of the sun.

Five people swimming nearby. Older, European I think, speaking French I think. Apparently people from the U.S. do not swim outside of approved areas.

Ate a banana from the ground while walking Zelda. Nope, New England isn't growing bananas but there was a store bought one lying on the side of the road... hey, they have skins.

Now let's try to ensure that isn't the high point of my day.

Oh yeah, had cereal with coconut milk, as I've had no soymilk around for forever and rather a lot of coconut milk cans... not bad.

Mocking bird eating my mulberries! Sitting on the little pine tree's upper branch trying to wolf it down. Pretty funny.

Family expanding in all directions -- the normal way, forward, with Dan's kids, my nephews; sideways with distant cousins I'd never met before; and backwards with Dad's history unfolding.

So past days we have been hanging with distant relatives we'd never bet before

Jacob really wanted to jump off the bridge, so Andy and he rounded me up to jump off with them.

Then everyone else came out, Dan and Leah and Judy and Whitney and Serena and her kids... Dimitrius was the first to join us in jumping in the water,

High tide was around 8:30 p.m.

Leah and I, having not done any drugs except for a little alcohol and caffeine, but getting asked a lot what drug we are on, have decided to G. Hashbenleaphine

I've put in 14-hour days in stocking and relatively physical retail work and all kinds of random stuff, and 36+ hour marathons on computer work., but I feel like I haven't worked a day in my life, even though , compared to the 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. work day that these dozen guys put in.

Thank goodness they did take around an hour lunch break. I guess most went somewhere for lunch, three ate home-brought food and rested on the lawn across the street, looking up at the roof.

It was nicer at 8 a.m. yesterday than it is at 10 a.m. today.

At least as measured in time in my fridge. I had the impression it was moving slowly toward being a dried fruit, rather than rotting or fermenting or otherwise going bad. So glad it was still edible.

(Still had it with sugar not salt... not at Dad's level yet.)

I don't know if it was refreshed from its time in the box, or angry from the walk home, but the damn sparrow flew.

After nearly being stepped on by Taedyn on the sidewalk, outside of pizza plus, by the Main St. bridge over the railroad. After sitting there for 5 minutes while I watched from afar. After still being where I moved it out of the sun and the foot traffic, after I went to the common and found a cupcake box to put it in and talked to Shannon for a while. After letting me bloody pick it up and put it in that box.

Cape with Kara and Brad Monday evening through Thursday afternoon (last week, June 15-18) was simply wonderful. Hit Provincetown and the shack and the drive-in theater (in Grandpa's convertible, only way to do it!) And working with them until 4 a.m.

Except I got up for breakfast with Grandpa every day, heh.

So wish I had done the road trip to New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. with Kara.

Tuesday night through Thursday morning. Worked 36+ hours on changing the forum style for PDOnline, rather than 8 hours estimated... still left bugs in it. Kathleen justifiably hated me.

That pretty much covers it.

Printed out India visa app.

Public service ad for the best breakfast/sandwich/hot-soft-pretzel person at Back Bay train, bus, and subway station. Go there, buy stuff, and tip well, even if you don't plan to forget your wallet there.

Reminded me a little of Dad, the day I left my wallet too. (Seriously, my father was an old black man in his soul.)

He so didn't want me to give him any money for that he forgot and wasn't going to charge me for the hot soft pretzel I ordered. (I stuck a $20 bill between two ones for the tip.) "We've had lots of wallets left over the years, and we've returned every one."

Highlights:

Kara texting that I'm awesome, after a very excellent weekend with Brad and her.

KR and I exchanging texts in my vain, but nonetheless appreciated, attempt to squeeze seeing her into my layover between dropping friends off at the (very late) Back Bay megabus and picking Mom up on the (also delayed it turns out) flight into Logan from Arizona.

* getting Manda and Rich's Save The Date card!!!

Also: Recovering from Design 4 Drupal Boston (Kathleen slept until 3 p.m.)

Also interesting, picking up Veronica from Logan Exress and her telling me that based on my Facebook profile (at least to logged out users) she would take me to be a creepy gay man.