Good morning! Hello there. This is going to be late, because I slept in a bit, and I have a work call in 17 minutes. Hopefully I can get it out before lunch.

We are in Somerville! America’s densest city. So many houses so few parks. Lovely place. Aside from the meth heads in Davis. But you can step around them. I like this apartment, it is cozy. It’s wonderful to be back.

Drive took just shy of fourteen hours, Jane probably watched Kids Youtube for 12 and a half of it. Are we terrible parents? Maybe. It was nice to be able to converse with each other, though, and not have her ask “how long till we get there” starting two hours into the trip. She didn’t ask it once for more than twelve hours. Really was amazing.

When we got to Boston, I looked at her Youtube history from the drive. A lot of Kurzgezat videos about black holes, climate change and population decline. A lot of Minecraft videos. A lot of videos about solving Rubik’s cubes, weirdly. Jane does not own a Rubik’s cube. Maybe we should get her one.

Saturday was spent lazing around reading my Dungeon Crawler books, and getting some groceries. One of the reasons I love it here is I have so few chores to do here and I am forced to laze around. It is wonderful.

Went out to Man Ray Saturday night. The place really is amazing. I think there are now four generations under one roof? Z, Millennial, X and Boomers. There’s one woman there who told me a few trips back she was 77 so I think she is 78 now. Not quite Greatest Generation. All dancing to the same music. Chris played Hot Chip into Sisters of Mercy and everyone danced to all of it. It is just so amazing. There was someone danced as a pony, and this is the no dress code New Wave Night, not one of the fetish nights. The best. I chatted with a lot of people I hadn’t seen in years. I chatted with a recently divorced woman who helpfully answered the questions I had about Harry and the Potters, and what they were doing now since, well, JK Meltdown. One of them opened a gallery in Lawrence. One is in Downtown Boys now. One was in Strand of Oaks and Tiger Saw. Lovely. Glad they are doing well.

However, staying up till 2:30 AM and then having a funeral at 11 AM the next day is rough. Also had to feed my daughter breakfast in there. But I pulled it off, and 11:02 I arrived at the Chapel at Mount Auburn Cemetery for my old friend Helena’s memorial. It was moving and wonderful and beautiful and very, very sad. It was amazing to hear from people from all walks of Helena’s life — from before I knew her, childhood, high school, and after I didn’t see her anymore after she moved to England. And everyone had the same things to say about her, which is true: she had a beautiful heart, kind eyes, and was just one of the most warm and helpful and giving people you’d ever meet. We had the memorial in the chapel, a quick reception and then walked out to a part of the cemetery where they have dedicated a tree to Helena, near the graves of her family. Just amazing. And so nice to catch up with people I haven’t seen in years, who have spread all over the country. Sigh. Life, man. Life.

I walked an hour home, and then got about 30 minutes to recombobulate myself and then Sean, Jussi and I took an Uber to meet up with Emma and Jane at our friends’ Seth and Monika’s house for a kids’ pool party which was whole some and glorious and there was a pizza with sausage, ricotta and banana pepper that really hit the spot. And some of Seth and Monika’s parent friends were really great! Good talks. Fun times.

Home, Jane bedtime, and then Sean and Emma and I watched The Mandalorian and Grogu which was very freakin cute and interesting and a different sort of Star Wars movie (in parts) but also maybe coulda been a couple TV episodes but in the end I liked it more than I thought I would.

You know what? I’m gonna half-ass it today and just send this as-is, but in a timely manner, rather than do my meeting, then spend 30 minutes adding photos and bolding and music. We can get back to that tomorrow. Maybe. I don’t know. I am choosing some sleep this week.

Okay byeeeeee.