Things that are awesome Thursday

Semi-weekly gratitude list/word hugs...

• Roadtrips involving a Mike Doughty Living Room Concert and Saratoga Springs. I'm all for getting everyone on board the excellent adventure train, but sometimes it's nice to take yourself on solo adventures. Because you get full control of the radio. And all the peanut butter pretzels. And you will be the only (read: best) dancer at the dance party in your car. So last Friday I drove to Albany after work to see Mike Doughty perform in a stranger's living room. It was the actual best. There were no annoying crowds or lines, plus I got to relax and listen to Mike and Scrap play "27 Jennifers" and "Your Misfortune" from the comfort of a couch. And then I drove to Saratoga Springs, spent the night at the lake house Alison and Bob were renting, talked to Pete on Saturday morning while sitting outside watching hot air balloons take off across the lake and explored Saratoga Spa State Park with Bob and Alison, before returning home Saturday night. The whole ride home I was thinking, I would totally rather run for 3 hours than drive for 3 hours. And Life is the best, man. I am the luckiest.

• Todd also ordered Toucan shorts. Which makes 3 of us. A legit gang. We have many assets. Now we just need a name.

• There was a black bear in Henrietta this week! I left the gate to our backyard open in case the bear wandered over into our neighborhood and decided to live there. But then the DEC captured the bear at RIT. The government is really foiling all my plans this year. Plans like fill the house with Pete and bears. And send Swedish Fish to Afghanistan (The very first package I sent to Pete, containing, among other things but most importantly, Swedish Fish, never arrived. But no worries, I will prevail in my Swedish Fishing mission.)

• Summer days. Summer nights. Everything about summer. Except bugs. Well, at least the bugs that get all up in your personal space. I like bugs that can respect boundaries.

• The times when you think you will die if you have to run one more mile or spider crawl backwards up an incline. Or it just feels like dying would actually be preferable to doing those things. But then you do them. And your awesomeness increases proportionally, like so:

Lyric of the moment: "You might be the one that I've been seeking for. You might be the strange delightful. You might be the girly who shall end all girls. You might be the sweet unspiteful..." ~Mike Doughty "27 Jennifers"