Word

I should probably explain.

My time is running out here in Lawrence. I have successfully defended my thesis, a collection of essays titled Parts & Accessories, and I'll be "hooded" as the holder of an MFA degree on May 15. Two days later, I will be reading along with five of my fellow MFA graduates at KU...in our last reading in Lawrence (well, for some of us that may be more true than for others). Even if it isn't an official "last reading" for all six of us, it is officially SENIOR NIGHT.

So, if you're in the vicinity of Teller's Restaurant in Downtown Lawrence at 7pm on Monday, May 17, come hear me read an essay or part of one. Drink a drink. Be jolly. That's what I'll be doing with my friends, these wonderful people who have made the last two years especially absolutely awesome.

Where will I be going? Stay tuned. I have an inkling.

How's that Bucket List coming, you ask? I have officially crossed one item off of my Lawrence Bucket List:

4. Eat at Runza.

Jedsen and I ate at Runza yesterday, and it reminded him of a drive in in Carl Junction, where he grew up. The onion rings had flavor beyond the onion and grease, which was a welcome surprise. And even though I got a value meal, because I ordered at 2:00 on the dot, and 1/2 price drinks ran from 2-4, I got a half-price Mountain Dew. And because I drank a Mountain Dew for the first time in, perhaps, a year, I had a headache and was fidgety when we watched Rashoman a few hours later. But, hey, the hamburger was juicy, freshly made. And the fries were hot. And the guy at the counter was uber-friendly.

14 to go in a month-and-a-half. Who's gonna help me out?