even if we tried so hard, would we still be coming to an end?

the place i get bagels in the morning is right below our building. it's a greek restaurant that primarily does lunch, catering, and rotating greek specialties. seems to be doing well, since it's one of the only local-run lunch places within five blocks of here, and the food is generally good. who doesn't like greek? (not real great for vegetarians, but i am assuming.)

they also have breakfast, coffee, a seldom-used espresso machine, and bagels. h & h bagels, to be specific. fresh from new york. they are easily the best bagels i've had in DC-- which, admittedly, is like saying i'm easily the tallest person on Lilliput-- and have traditionally been coupled with a gigantic styrofoam cup of iced tea, no ice, which i take upstairs and pour over ice for the equivalent of 3 glasses of tea. $4.39 for bagel and cream cheese and tea-- if they had a tip jar, i would have chipped in tons of cash over the 18 months we've been at this office.

the people who work there all know me pretty well by now, and are really, really friendly. the big boss, when he's around, is this super greek looking guy who insists on engaging every single person who comes in. there's a weird mixture of english, greek, and spanish (with different accents) that are spoken behind the counter, which always amuses/delights me, because i don't think i've ever let on that i understand or speak spanish. the guy who makes my bagels on most mornings is my buddy, as is the guy who works the register. it's sort of a de facto family.

i used to go every day. i've gotten really sloppy in recent weeks, and we got an iced tea machine in the office, so i haven't been going. so, when i went in today (at about 11am, the whole place is empty as they're getting ready for catering and the lunch rush), all of them greeted me kindly and immediately commented on my beard. i swear to god the damn thing is a conversation piece. they treated it (and me) with a mixture of amusement, confusion, and enthusiasm. so i told them about how it's for the election, and how i'm going traveling.

i don't know if i can flog the point that i'm going to miss dc any more than i already have. i'm looking forward to having stories about other places, and to returning.

on purpose

i like italics.

i like italics.

at least in the abstract. they give words momentum. songs should almost always be written in italics, not to imply that they are emphasizing every single word but to feel like they're going somewhere, that they have a purpose of their own, even if the italics should be backwards-- songs that are so comfortable in where they're going that they don't have to get there with any particular speed or purposefulness.

maybe it's the illusion of purpose. just italicizing something doesn't make it worthwhile or win the argument or your attention for more than a second. you seem like a charlatan or a National Review Online commenter or a sadly befuddled protester outside McPherson Square when you overuse italics. (or hyperlinks for that matter). when used correctly, though, even the act of writing and italicizing a word can make you talk out loud to your computer screen-- yes, that is what i meant, or yes, that is what i agree with, or yes, that is how i feel.

as some of you know i'm leaving my job to go work on my soul a little bit. i'm going to travel as extensively as i can through the parts of the country without snow and try to play music and make friends in different cities and drink water and double espressos in as many places with wifi as possible. it feels like (and this is one of those comforting fabrications that i make up to make myself feel more impressive) i haven't had a week off since eighth grade, so i'm going to take about four months to try and make a record and read and write and experience. the point about italics, because there's always a point with me, is that i'm looking to make something that's worth italicizing, that i can share with other people and say, hey, this is worth your five or so minutes of contemplation before you go back to your undoubtedly complicated and mixed up life.

i think the process will be exciting and scary and illuminating, and i think i'll come out on the other side with a lot of the same hangups that i have now (and less money), and if i come across things i want to let you know about i'll put them here so you can keep track of what i'm up to and so that i can share it with you.

also, i will probably think of lots of funny jokes, and i will need a place to publish them to universal acclaim.