finchey!

Man, Spring has utterly sprung. Two male Purple Finches have been holding their own American Idol competition right outside my window at work. Based on their performance, I'd have to guess that at least one of them is going to get lucky tonight.

This blog title also reminds me that I missed last night's premiere of the American version of The Office (NYT: registration required). I wasn't a huge fan of the original BBC show, although somehow it sunk its hooks deeply enough that I rented the reunion special and genuinely enjoyed it. The original series suffered from a complete lack of humanity (with the exception of Martin Freeman's character), which the creators seemed to have recognized and corrected in the reunion. I'm curious if the US version also caught onto this flaw and injected some small element of personal warmth into the cauldron of meanness that pervaded the original.

tico suave

There's nothing like driving 180 km through three tropical zones and flying across half a continent to make you feel like you've traveled. We're back from Costa Rica, and I can now say I've accomplished a number of "firsts":

1. Made love to a married woman
2. Ridden horseback through plantation fields
3. Played with a monkey, and not meant it as a euphemism
4. Received a hot oil massage from a man ... and liked it
5. Observed a Toucan without Fruit Loops somehow being involved
6. Swung through trees like a modern (i.e. heavily-secured) Tarzan
7. Listened to howler monkeys awaken in the rain
8. Watched the sunrise from a private mountainside villa
9. Found the only place on Earth with worse drivers than Austin

Hopefully there will be many pictures and stories posted shortly. In the meantime, I'm going to get some sleep and dream in happily nonsensical Spanish.

nuptuals T minus 7 days

The next week is going to be a slippery mudslide into marriage. Until now, the schedule has had a cushion and the details could wait. Not any more, bubba. All the major items are crossed off the 'to-do' list, but there's still plenty to finalize in terms of the song list, the ceremony, and the logistics. Just like work and school, there's a buzz to be had by nailing things down at the last minute. I only hope we pull it off and get an "A" for our efforts.