Last night I was reminded of what great friends I have (and whom I don't deserve): both Lindsay (see a picture of her at Justin's site; scroll down, genius) and Guy Zach Nie! dropped by.

Lindsay's been crisscrossing the country touring graduate schools; she has two more visits to go, but she's all but decided on going to Berkeley. She said that when she arrived in San Francisco, she felt like she was supposed to have been there all along; her initial impression is that she will never leave California. I've never been to California (neither had Lindsay and she was very excited about having seen the Pacific Ocean), but I can tell you that I could never live there. Her skin was positively glowing as she talked about the uniformity of the year-round weather; nothing makes me happier than knowing that last Monday (2.25) I was walking around in a short-sleeve shirt, whereas yesterday (3.4) I was cold even in my parka. I know that in California lies madness, as the mind is lulled into blissful apathy. My affection for Lindsay runs deep, and I am legitimately happy for her, but at the same time I am greatly saddened to know that I will never again live within ten minutes drive from her.

Zach Nie can get away with things you and I cannot... and we all love him for it. Last night, he was giving his brother a ride and decided to swing by Ann Arbor. It was fantabulous. He and I drove Big Honkey over to David's place and the three of us, after a brief stop for some eats at the Half Ass, watched Smith and Winkler Save Christmas! It was just an extraordinary evening.

Of course, I didn't get any work done on the novel. Holy shit, I called it the novel! My first refelx was to call it the novel! Dude, I rule! Hurray for me! Hip hip! Hurray! and so on and so forth. (Oh joy, Brad just arrived. I have to go. I love Brad, but man oh man does that cat know how to suck the life out of a room.)