driving mr. tim

well, tim and i traversed most of the western coast yesterday (tues) and today (weds) all the way from seattle to san francisco. it was loooong, but quality time with my bro and one of my best friends (hint: both are tim). he really helped me out with the driving, especially today (told me he "loves" driving - scroll down for our fabulous "mt st helens" reinactment).

(pic: me and tim at mt. st. helen's in washington)

for those of you who don't know, tim is one of my best friends and definitely the funniest person around. i can tell a lame joke and he'll get it. i can see something strange and i know he's seeing the same thing and thinking the same comment in his head. those people are precious. together, we discovered a frightening fact: there is a very small difference between the voice of the guy from the b-52's and that of ethel merman. try it. try singing "there's no business like show business" as the guy from the b-52's. try singing "love shack" as ethel merman. it's eerie.

so, we decided we're going to have a "sing like the guy from the b-52's" contest. the only rule is you can't sing a stereotypical b-52's song. it has to be something different.

tim and i also explored the area - an extended tour up to mt. st. helens yesterday (i had only gone to the visitor's center myself, but yesterday we did the whole shebang, driving into the blast zone and to a peak just across the valley from the mountain. glorious) and san francisco today (i drove him to muir woods to see the redwoods, and then we kind of drove (like true massholes, we almost killed a couple of pedestrians when i "banged a left" at a couple of lights) around san francisco for an hour.

when it was all over, i drove him to the airport for his flight home to nyc and cried as i drove all the way back to piedmont. it was very sad.

this whole thing has led me to think alot about what home means to me and the kinds of things i find absolutely necessary for survival - of my spirit, that is. home is the people around you, those who keep your heart warm and glowing. this is pretty basic, but i only just felt (not knew, but *felt*) how true it is. and i absolutely can't live without those things (those things that make a home) in my life. so, i was feeling pretty sad when i rolled back into tracy powell's neighborhood in piedmont. not depressed or angry or frustrated. just a little sad. and maybe a little lonely, too.

but i am a very lucky girl. i was greeted to big hugs and effusive conversation by both my host and her son, jesse. jesse and i played some ping pong, and the three of us chatted about everything - the area, school, tv shows, films. it was a fun, enthusiastic, and brilliant conversation - brilliant with the nerdy humor and easy laughter that i think are necessities of home (at least mine). so, this is good. i have a place to stay and tomorrow i hunt for a job, but this is good. but, i still need your encouragement, too. send it to me! lovej

BELOW: mele reinactment of the eruption of mt st helens, may 1980 (note: this "film" was made before we learned at the visitor's center that the eruption actually included no "lava", but rather hot ash and rock).

SCENE ONE: it started out as a normal day at mt. st. helen's. The mountain appeared dormant.














SCENE TWO: then, the lava poured, and all hell broke loose - "hey, buddy, look out, the lava's coming!"









SCENE THREE: the lava flows dangerously, and many lives are lost - "AAAAH!" "OH, No!" (respectively)


















SCENE FOUR: some are left hanging on for dear life as the volcano boils behind them.







THE END