Met with an older artist, a woman who used to be a blacksmith before she shattered her wrist. She wanted to see our studio and consider a position here. Unfortunately, the space wasn't quiet what she was looking for, so she declined our invitation. Still, we had a long conversation which culminated in her expressing interest in teaching classes in our free school.

I met with my cousin Pat after that. I rarely see him, and this was the first time I saw him since I was still basically a child. He always struck me as intellegent, probably because he's worked for both NASA and The Pentagon. I was pleased at how easily I could make him and his guests laugh. They seem thoroughly impressed by our warehouse.

I then went to Bikes Across Borders for a meeting, but left after waiting for it to start for 30 minutes. I don't really feel like I have the right to go on the trip, anyway, on account of my not building a bike like everyone else. Maybe I still can in time, but first I need to find people to replace me at the warehouse.

I then took the long bike ride to Wheatsville and bought a lot of good food: polenta, barley, lentils, split-peas, dried apricots, raisens, and bananas. I also "sampled" each of the chunks of energy. The one with chocolate and greens is by far the best treat I've eaten in months. The others are so-so. Before I left, I also grabbed a Slingshot planner for the coming year. Hopefully, I'll actually stay organized this time.

As I was checking out, my bag of lentils burst over the conveyer belt. I ran to grab another bag to put it in, and the cashier was very encouraging of my desire to put all the beans in a new bag. I think she thought I was embarassed, although I wasn't, because she kept saying that it happened all the time to other customers. That was probably a smart thing to say, just encase I was embarassed.

When I came back I immediately started making split-pea soup. Matt asked if he could have some, too, and I told him he could if he bought me some carrots, potatoes, and collard greens from HEB. He did so, and then Aim brought over some collards from her own garden as well as a bag of broccoli. As I mixed all the ingredients together, I realized that Matt hadn't gotten collards but turnip greens. So much the better. The soup was delicious and everyone had several bowls. Ryan joined us as well, bringing a bottle of red wine.

The conversation was good. Matt talked about older women hitting on him at work, and I told the story of the Amazonians accosting me in the allyway. We laughed for hours, and I felt good for hours after our conversation ended. I proceeded to seek a new game, and found one I enjoyed. I then spent nearly four hours toying with it.