listening to ancient, haunting folk music via my aunt. naturally i consulted amazon and only upon finding that both albums had 5-star ratings and glowing costumer reviews did i break open the plastic. i'm such a dip.

last nite around 12 i decided i needed the sleep, which i never get somehow either on weekends or during the week, so i would forsake wifp for a day. immediately after i made the mother-sanctioned decision, ben and liz called: "where were you? we were trying to get you all evening!" i excused myself, citing class and becca and johnny's visit thereafter; they waved that off. "we're coming over," they said. "now?" i said. "now," they said.
who could argue?
i threw on clothes and slipped out of the house as soon as i saw ben's new white pickup (!!), clutching my bag like a runaway.
we didn't do anything crazy; i kept insisting i had to get back soon to go to sleep (see previous self-analysis). we went to liz's porch and sat and talked. we're an interesting combination, we three. liz is my oldest female friend and ben is my oldest male friend. i've been thru a lot w/ them, individually and as a unit. the three of us, along w/ jay and lisa, back in the day, used to cast circles. religious rebellion, yeah; regular rebellion; but mostly an excuse to bond.
they returned me home safely around 2 and i promptly went to sleep.
i was glad of the thing, tho: i hadn't done much bday related stuff yesterday. other activities filled my schedule: running around the hill, first to deliver handbooks to rep.s, then to meet w/ santorum's and spector's L.A.s. the latter, despite his junior-senator status, has a much fancier and more formal office; coincidentally, he's a much more hardcore (read: hellbound) republican. spector actually has a decent record on women's issues and he's co-sposoring one of the bills we were lobbying for.
after that craziness, and catered chinese lunch, i went over to visit mom and read tom jones on a park bench for a while (wisdom therefrom: "... men of true wisdom and goodness are contented to take persons and things as they are, without complaining of their imperfections or attempting to amend them. They can see fault in a friend, a relation, or an aquaintance, without even mentioning it to the partiest themselves, or to any others; and this often without lessening their affection. ... There is, perhaps, no surer mark of folly than an attempt to correct the natural infirmities of those we love.")
Then i caught a 4:20 show of princess and the warrior. that last left me dazed. i love when films affect me physically, when their residue is impossible to shake off.

judah presented me w/ his and adam's present: state and main and rhps on dvd. very sweet. and i got phone calls and/or emails from my boatloads of friends and well-wishers. so thanks, everybody: i feel more-than-adequately loved, natural infirmities'n'all.