it was a good Fourth. on thursday i dutifully wore the little flag sticker everyone in the office was sporting, and i accompanied it with the "dissent is patriotic" pin i got last october in new york.

laurel and i spent the day with my family, lazing around in the sun at cousin kris's lake place -- minus one impromptu trip into nisswa to get vegetarian food. i'm sunburned, but i think it was worth it. on saturday gabe showed up (!), and the three of us spent far too much money at Taste of Minnesota, where gabe attempted to eat as many varieties of dead flesh as possible. what is it about meat on a stick that's so appealing?

rounded out the weekend with another visit to my family on sunday, which resulted in new running shoes and a barbeque with dad's brother ed and ed's friend luis-the-spaniard. somehow i was also induced to attempt a game of basketball with my (far fitter, far more talented) little brother, which was slightly humiliating but fun. as it turns out, i'm a pretty good basketball player just as long as no one tries to stop me from shooting.

aaand...now i'm back at work, and (as i suppose is obvious) doing very little. stay tuned for a responding-to-the-news-type post whenever i get the chance.