I'm coming off of the excitement of the most fantastically gay, yet completely heterosexual, weekend I've ever been involved with. I think Jenny and Tina mutually refer to each other as "hetero life partners," and it would seem that my pal Nemo and I are headed about that way.

Among the highlights:
- Getting soft serve ice cream
- Wine tasting, ever so briefly
- Playfully slapping around the volleyball at the near-empty beach
- A mid-pace jog
- Two greasy, wonderful breakfasts, neither really involving a hangover that needed to be cured (One of these breakfasts was prepared together, making it extra gay)

As far as planned weekends, it was an impulsive one - we didn't confirm anything until Thursday post-Office, and we didn't confirm Friday evening's arrival until 1:30 p.m. Friday afternoon. This meant quite a hurried post-work Friday, though I managed to fit in a run. But cleaning, laundry, groceries (including most of Saturday's breakfast items) made for a hectic night. Thankfully, it was capped off by Taco Bell, then some Blue Moons.

There's this thing that I've noticed with Nemo, and I think it's indicative of the way we know each other by this point. But the fact is that conversations always get started, and they always move in fascinating directions, and they always feature topics that get unresolved...

A general flow chart would look like this:
Nemo: [something interesting]
Me: [interesting response]
Nemo: [interesting response, eliciting laughter]
Me: [laughing triggers another though, therefore causing me to start another topic]
Repeat ad infinitum

It's pretty neat.

Learned this weekend, though it's definitely not true:
"Brain freezes affect only 30 percent of the population."

Confirmed this weekend, and it is certainly true:
"During a brain freeze, your brain does not actually freeze. There is no danger and you lose no functionality."

I also learned this weekend that some of my favorite places in the world are located on the 45th parallel, which is halfway between the Equator and the North Pole. These locations:
The Ring Fingernail
Minneapolis
Salem, Oregon
The Eastern Tip of the United States (I'm just reporting what I read)
Bordeaux, France
The Caspian Sea, which is apparently a very narrow sea


Anyway, the visit lasted less than 36 hours - from about 10:45 on Friday night until just after 9 on Sunday morning - so I'm left wanting a bit more. Yet, it was near-perfect, and I'm really looking forward to the next one, which I'd imagine will come at Harpsapalooza 2008, six weeks from now.

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You know, Gurs and I had talked about something in mid-May. That'd be, like, um, this weekend or next. Sadly, I'm an ass - I was out when he called on Wednesday, on with Nemo on Thursday night, and didn't make the call this weekend.

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After watching Sunday's Cubs win, I've determined that they're probably not that good, but they do seem to be a bit likable. Certainly, Pinella's likable. Certainly, also, Matt the Bat is likable (due to the hair), and I think Daryle Ward is likable, owing to the not-as-old-as-you-think-he-is-and-kind-of-fat thing.

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On the NBA front, Dee Brown is playing like a flat-out man right now. And somewhere in the last two years, Deron Williams became legitimately quick. Awesome. Golden State and Utah - feel the excitement!

Ernie Johnson: [some reference to a Charles Barkley commercial]
Kenny Smith: Man, you're always selling out.
Charles Barkley: Yeah, but I'm expensive.
Ernie Johnson: [something related to the game]
Charles Barkley: [interrupting] I can't be bought for money, but I can be bought for a lot of money.

The Bulls...well, I wish they could shoot. Owing to years of numbness caused by supporting the Wildcats, I didn't really think the Bulls were ever actually out of game two. But they were, just about 20 minutes (actual time, not "clock" time) into the game. Oh well.

Good news is that they're good at home, really good. I just hope that the crowd gets them hyped on Thursday. More importantly, I hope they remember how to shoot.

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Hey, I'm going to see The Hold Steady next Wednesday. Could be pretty sweet.

"Hey Minneapolis, Hey St. Paul, We don't care if we don't get the call." (That's from their rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame.")