I must also mention some choice meals that were consumed in the last 10 days that I forgot to take a picture of, but are equally important and missed. They are: mahi mahi, plaintains, rice and black beans from Bossa Nova (the meal I miss the most, this photo might be forthcoming), pork french dip sandwich from Phillippe’s, cheeseburger from In N Out, original with mango and strawberry from Pinkberry, pastrami sandwich from Langer’s, and sesame chicken from Kung Pao Kitty. My stomach is growling right now. For real.

*Photo addendums: Boss Nova and Square One meals

1. I finally finished Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse.

2. I was asked to be the drummer for a reggae band. (I declined due to lack of time).

Such a big night tonight! My current schedule: editing, dinner, brother’s lacrosse game, Detroit Red Wings game 7, sisters return from Minnesota, 30 Rock/The Office/Parks and Recreation/Grey’s Anatomy finales (how I’m still watching Grey’s, even intermittently, I don’t know), and probable re-watching of Lost finale. I was hoping to see UUVVWWZ, Oui Bandits and others, but there are not enough hours in the night!

Jim Suttle, a Democrat, won the Omaha mayoral election yesterday! The blue dot in the red state gets an extra shade of blue.

SecretPenguin made an awesome website for Suttle: www.omahanext.com. And also this non-partisan one that encouraged civic participation: http://voiceomaha.org. So hats off to SP for the support they may have garnered.

I like to think I’ve done my part as well. Not only did I vote yesterday (and was not stared at incredulously for looking under 18 like last time), but after voting I accidentally tripped over the rock that was holding the door to the polling place open, thus sealing the fate for any possible future Hal Daub voters in the district.

In fact, on my way out I saw a guy who looked most likely like a Hal Daub supporter walk around in a confused state, unable to cast his vote. Believe me, I am only partially laughing about this. I dramatically tried to leap back to grab the door before it closed, but was too late. And before you cry voter fraud, I repeat, it WAS an accident, I swear.

This unfortunate sequence of events only proves the point that the process for voting should not include finding an unmarked brown door with no handle held open by a rock, walking down two flights of dimly lit stairs into the basement of a slightly foul smelling retirement home.

Meet Royal, my recently acquired typewriter. I purchased him at Second Chance, and I’m so excited to have a typewriter. I love how tactile typewriters are; the feeling of the keys, the weight of the thing, the concrete clack of the imprint, the fact that you’re looking at paper instead of a screen, the way the letters look, the act of pushing the lever over. It’s all so physical and romantic.

My backyard is a rabbit sanctuary*. Here are just a few of my friends. I’ll try to get pictures of all of them at some point. It’s a little difficult to tell them apart.

*The third picture is technically in my neighbor’s yard, but the little guy (or girl) was so cute that I had to get a picture.

I’m not talking about the airport. Mi hermano Kyle in action - leaping into frame:

Happy new month!

I’ve been really busy these past two weeks, so I apologize for my absence. I’ve been working on two projects, not personal ones and more business oriented, but still fun, creative work. So I’ve been writing, shooting and about to start editing. I also helped out in two civic engagement forums with high school students, which was really interesting, especially to hear their opinions on such topics as education reform, integration, division of tax dollars, etc. It was nice to see the students so passionate about these issues and voicing their opinions, something they probably don’t have the opportunity to do enough.

My aunt Linda and cousin Jen were in town last week/weekend, and we had a good time hanging out, going to a bunch of antique stores, playing Balderdash, and eating good food. I wish we got to hang out more often. I did finally get a typewriter, something I’ve had on my list for awhile, at Second Chance.

Last week was also kind of draining due to a big health scare with my (and Laura’s) dog Rufus, but some very good news followed a very dark prognosis. Basically the vet was pretty sure he had cancer in his liver and spleen and in running the test to confirm that and see what type of cancer it was and how bad it was, she discovered that the tissue had no evidence of cancer. Major relief. His liver still is not functioning completely properly because of the masses in it, and he was diagnosed with fibrosis, but hopefully with close watch and multiple antibiotics and medications his levels can stabilize and he will be a healthy dog. It was really hard to hear all the news and not be there with him. I can’t wait to see him in a few weeks and maybe bring him back to Omaha in the summer (?)…we’ll see.

Other than that, not much else going on, except the NBA and NHL playoffs. I was not happy to see my beloved Pistons duck out early, but it was not a complete shock either. Chauncey, come back please. In my despair, I’ve taken to cheering on the Bulls who have been head to head in an amazing series with Boston. I suppose I’ve lived about half my life in Chicago, and they are a young team with a lot of heart and drive, but I still feel a little like a traitor in rooting for them. The 90s were just so packed with Detroit/Chicago tension. Just to make it clear, my heart still belongs to Detroit. Speaking of Hockeytown, the Red Wings start their series with the Ducks tonight, so I still have a hometown team keeping the dream alive.