monday morning. as hollis would say (well, so would others, but...), meh.

this was written about india, but the sense of unbearable stifling humidity might do for washington as well. in any case, i think it's the best opening paragraph of a novel i've read in a very long time: "...May in Ayemenem is a hot, brooding month. The days are long and humid. The river shrinks and black crows gorge on bright mangoes in still, dustgreen trees. Red bananas ripen. Jackfruits burst. Dissolute bluebottles hum vacuously in the fruity air. Then they stun themselves against clear windowpanes and die, fatly baffled in the sun. [paragraph break] The nights are clear, but suffused with sloth and sullen expectation."

for the dc version, substitute "July in Washington...The reflecting pool shrinks and squirrels gorge on outdoor trashcans...", then skip the part about the fruits, then "Dissolute Congresspeople..." and on and on. i absolutely love the phrase "fatly baffled" at the moment. it speaks to me. which fact, I suppose, in turn says something about my current state of mind--but that is neither here nor there. at least I have enough money at the moment to drown this weird angsty phase in a flood of consumer goods. the quotation, by the way, is from arundhati roy's the god of small things, which i picked up yesterday at kramerbooks. inspired by last week's children's literature discussion, i also bought from the mixed-up files of mrs. basil e. frankweiler, which i loved as a child but which, stupidly, i left off friday's list. also a pair of ridiculously expensive but comfortable and beautiful naot sandals. yessssssss.

strangest weekend yet here in washington? maybe. as previously mentioned, all the housemate-parents came to town. all four of whom seemed like...you know, all the things that parents should be. well-mannered and sweet; interesting and gregarious; other adjective combinations as well, i'm sure. but of course the whole exercise made me uncomfortable.

i have entered that long unfulfilling last month of the summer, the one where i wish i was at swat and have lots of internal conversations about what i'll be doing in a week, in two weeks, in three weeks, in a month. noticed yesterday that i was 20 years and 10 months old--so i guess i know what i'll be doing in two months also, come to think of it. but, as usual with me, i miss swat more the longer i am away. luckily, this summer i'm close enough to visit--as i will this weekend, i think. i need a break. i need to hang out with girls. and/or any people who don't make me nuts. whatever.