From the first sunny day in what seems like weeks: 1, 2) Mom had to give a talk at her alma mater, the University of Baltimore Publications Design Program, so Cianna and I hung out in the Graphics Lab area for an hour. Cianna pulled out a bunch of stock photo books to flip thru and toss around. After the talk, we drove by the old 'hood where 3) the new building at the northwest corner of 33rd & St. Paul has progressed dramatically, and 4) the southeast corner's row houses are now a hole in the ground awaiting the foundation of more condos. 5) Our old house on 33rd Street is now apparently rented to students by the investors who bought it. Not visible here are two old couches on the front porch, which suggests the place is a party house now like many of the other houses on the row. This is sad to see after all the work we put into fixing the place up. We visited Hampden where at Atomic Books I scored Stephen King's The Colorado Kid, Retro-Electro: Collecting Technology from Atari to Walkmen, and Stolen Sharpie Revolution: A DIY Resource. 6-9) Dinner was at nearby Susie's Soba where we enjoyed our usual sesame seaweed salad and shittake mushroom noodles. Cianna attempted chopsticks for the first time. The sticks didn't stay together long before they went flying. We ended our roadtrip with a sleeping child in car seat and a stop for groceries.

- mike lee - wheaton, md