Hey, did you know that there's a town in Antarctica? There is! My friend Justin is going to be spending a month there next year. A lot of scientists go to Antarctica to study scientific things, and a lot of people work for those scientists, and those people have a town. About 1000 people live there, though the population is constantly turning over as people leave and arrive. The town has two bars, a bowling alley, and a video rental place. A bowling alley! Think about that!

I was in New York this weekend, and I felt like I was born and raised in that town in Antarctica. I've been to NYC plenty of times - I lived there for a few months in 2000 - but I've never felt like such a provincial slackjaw there before. It'd been a year and a half since I'd last been there, and I've barely left Baltimore in that time. We didn't have a whole lot of time to relax on this trip - there was a whole lot of rushing around to meet our friends, etc. - and I ended up feeling like I was in a washing machine or something. We went to dinner at this Indian place with lights and reflective surfaces everywhere, Christmas lights dangling about a foot and a half below my height level, constantly thrumming noise. Someone at the next table had a birthday, and when the waiters found out, they turned off the lights, put on this loud-as-fuck bhagra club jam thing, and stood around the people's table clapping for like five minutes before all disappearing. I just felt woozy. I love New York, and I had fun on the trip, but I'm not used to feeling shaken like I'm somehow in the center of the world and it's all rushing around me, completely oblivious to me, like I was in the "Ray of Light" video or something. It's a disorienting feeling.

I missed all the Pistons-Pacers drama. Damn. I guess Ron-Ron is getting the vacation he wanted. Allure is sure to blow the fuck up now!