rideside.net

So, I had off work on Thursday and today for Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, so I decided to take Ubarsu on the road to Cincinnati to see my old friend and Israel roommate and her fiance. I left my house after a LONG morning of lazing around, and took the beautiful drive from Nashville to Cincinnati, arriving just before 6pm EST. That means I made it here in about 4 hours...which is fairly impressive for 275 miles. Turns out a 3 stroke engine goes mighty fast when the cops aren't around.

The only scary part was when a trucker honked at me as I passed him, then I saw him wave in my rearview mirror, while he flashed his lights. It was pretty clear he was flirting, but I wasn't interested in finding out if it was going to turn into a Thelma & Louise moment. I sped even faster and enjoyed the rest of the ride.

When I got to my friends' place, I was happy to see that it was a diverse, city neighborhood, but wasn't as excited when I stepped out of the car and realized that the whole street smelled like pee. Guess diverse also means dirty and kind of poor. Including the drug dealers who hang out in the park at the end of the side-street where their condo entrance is. A little unnerving. On the plus side, there's an amazing bakery 2 doors down that sells to stores and restaurants all over town. Had an unbelievable raspberry cheese danish and a sandwich back at the condo made with their whole wheat bread. Delicious!

We hung out in the condo most of the morning due to my completely unnecessary and unrelenting back pain. Talladega Nights was in the dvd player and then we ventured out to the local art museum, which was totally great. There were some paintings I never would've seen otherwise, and I got to see a few by some of my favorite painters and some really inspiring things by painters I wouldn't normally think of as interesting.

Going to the symphony tomorrow night. More modern art, and chillin'.

The rest of the weekend is sure to include plenty of crafts projects (I brought my Valentine's to start...just one last, final touch, then I will start personalizing them...very glad to have them done in time this year; I know several of you thought I had forgotten you when I didn't send any last year, but I was too busy and having a harder time breathing than now). We're also going to hit some cool shops and a very special trip to Trader Joe's, something I can't do in Nashville.

It's nice to get out of Nashville and hang with friends. I forget what it's like to be social for myself, and not for work. It's nice to be able to completely dissociate from my job for a few days.

Taking Monday off, too...to do laundry and see the lung doc again. Feeling a little like my lungs are full of cotton lately. Probably just increased allergies due to the fall, but it's still pretty annoying.

Okay, off to bed for me. Sorry I've been off the board a lot, but it's been a little nuts at work and my seasonal depression kept me from saying anything I'd want to share.

Hope y'all are well!