yesterday i was "talked in to" going tubing down the delaware river with several friends. it's a rather unique event that happens every so often. i didn't think i had it in me yesterday, but it turned out to be very enjoyable.

at one point on the river, i saw someone tanning on the sandy bank. he was rather far away, but he appeared to be naked. "wes," i said, "is that man naked?" with his curiousity peaked, wes started excitedly paddling his tube in hyper speed to get a closer look. he was indeed naked, so wes first informed the girls not to look, and then yelled, "excuse me sir, you forgot your shorts!" we were expecting a few choice words from the middle aged-man in response, but it was at this point we realized he had fallen asleep and wes had woken him up. he lifted his head slowly and sleepily, observed the 10-or-so people floating past him, then slowly reached for his shorts and held them in front of the crucial area as he sat up. he continued looking back and forth at all of us with no response to wes's heckling. all of a sudden, without notice, he jumped up and sprinted up the bank into the weeds and woods, exposing his dirty, sandy bottom, frantically escaping the embarrassment of the scene. we laughed and laughed and laughed.

this floating down a river in an inner tube thing that we do, i cannot decide whether it is oddly beautiful or beautifully odd, but it is one of the two, or maybe both.

ok. what all those posts were trying to say is this.

the married life, in and of itself, is no big deal, no big adjustment. after spending most moments with one person for 7 years, or at least wanting to spend most moments, finally tying the knot is basically a natural step.

the adjustment is not in sharing a house, a bathroom, or a bed with someone of the opposite gender.

it's not in having to do the grocery shopping or dish washing or house cleaning.

it's not so much in having to pay the bills or keep track of the money.

the adjustment lies more in trying to figure out what this married life is supposed to look like. part of it just figuring out what to do now that i'm an adult, but marriage adds some significant complexity to it all.

i was hoping married adult life would consist mostly of listening to records and reading books and recording hymns and watching movies. i haven't gotten to do much of any of those yet.

i was happy that i wouldn't have homework and my evenings would be free. but they're taken up pretty quickly with cooking and washing dishes and all of the other odds and ends before going to bed early in order to wake up and do it all again.

i know that i'm not meant to mow grass for a living, that's for sure. it's sucking the life out of me.

erica was excited to be done with her job. but after 2 days at home alone, she has decided she wants one again.

i was hoping to still hang out with the "young adult" crowd and have parties at our apartment a lot. they don't seem to have much interest in us, though, now that we're married.

the adjustment, i guess, lies in what our life is supposed to look like now that we're married and entering adulthood. the adjustment lies in trying to figure out what we are meant to do, in trying to find a job that gives us fulfillment and enjoyment, in finding ways to keep our lives somewhat adventurous, in finding out how to keep friends and some sense of a social life. maybe all of these things don't exist in adulthood, but i don't really want to believe that.

i don't know. does this make sense?

this is depressing, i know. i blame it all on the grass cutting job.

but the good news is a waffle house is going in 10 minutes from our house! a waffle house! can you believe it?!? forget midway, jamin, you're coming here for waffle house!

maybe my stomach is just in knots because i came to the library to find out what openings were available in the bethlehem school district, and what used to be over 100 available positions is now only over 40 available positions, of which only 5 apply to me, of which only 3 i would actually want. i guess i'm a little nervous.

i guess what i meant to say is that i miss you and you and you and you and you. and i've slowly but surely been realizing that not going back to college this fall will be odd and depressing.

without internet access, i can't possible keep up with everyone's blogs. without keeping up with everyone's blogs, i feel incredibly out-of-touch with everyone. but the problem is, if i had internet access, i would just be reading their blogs, and while i would be in-touch with what is going on with these people, i would still but out-of-touch with them.

i think it's making me depressed as i type this.

last night was a good way to end a day filled with laundry.

erica, wes, kyle, michael and i traveled to fishtown to see javelins, saxon shore, and anathallo, in that order. it was at a great place called circle of hope church, and they seem to be doing some pretty awesome things in an area that needs some pretty awesome things. the people in charge were so very nice, as well.

javelins were a very dancey trio that i absolutely loved. they brought a smile to my face every time a new song started, and it wasn't because they were goofy, it wasn't because they were joyful (but that's not to say they weren't, either), and their music wasn't even necessarily overtly happy...i was just smiling because i loved their music so much. not many bands can do that. they were a pleasant surprise and you should probably check them out. they're from detroit.

saxon shore played a set that was a very huge improvement from their last one. getting rid of the synths and adding the bass made a world of difference and it made me pretty excited for this new CD that's coming. that said, i find their new music somewhat boring and do not necessarily enjoy the changes they've made. but i did enjoy their set quite a bit, and they played really loudly, but the church provided toilet paper to stuff in your ears, so that helped.

anathallo was as good as ever, maybe even better than ever. the only complaint is that they played all new songs, none that have been recorded yet. but they opened with a mostly percussive song, featuring snipping scissors and all kinds of other random instruments and it was amazing. they passed out balloons, and in the middle of the song, one guy came out and walked around popping them in rhythm with the music. it was beautiful. their set was good and better and best, and i've raved about them before, so we'll leave it at that.

and dave haller showed up! hooray! good to see you, haller.

joanna, anathallo was selling bunkbed nights CDs at their merch table. i told all my friends i knew the violin player and they worshipped me.

it was a very enjoyable evening.

church was nice this morning. there's plenty i could discuss here, but, you know how it goes. this afternoon is a joint birthday meal for erica and i. i FINALLY set up my record player, so hopefully this afternoon and this evening will consist of listening to my new records. happy sabbath.

oh, and one of the toll booth guys told me to "have a peaceful evening" as i pulled away from his booth. i loved it and decided to use it from now on. so, have a peaceful day.

it's a beautiful day and so far it's been spent doing laundry at the parent's house. laundry is such a laborious and frustrating chore.

tonight is looking to be very exciting as we will venture into philadelphia to see anathallo and saxon shore.

well, joe, my copy of 'come on feel the illinoise' is in the mail, and i think i am still pleased that i decided to wait. i was hoping to have it in my possession on july 5th, but alas, that did not happen. i am hoping to schedule a listening party where i'll have some friends over for chicago deep dish pizza (feel free to suggest any other illinois-themed food...i was coming up dry) and then we'll sit in the living room and listen to the whole cd, beginning to end, with very minimal talking.

listening to music is a lost art and i believe it should be done more often. i dont think artists intend to have their music be background noise.

take some time this summer to lay somewhere and listen to music. if it causes you to think, about life or work or death or play or something of that nature, that's ok, but try to have the listening be the main thing you're doing.

all for now. take care.

ps: i bought my copy of 'come on feel the illinoise' from village green records and ice cream in muncie, indiana, owned by jared chizzle himself. you should support him in this venture as well.

movie moments as of late:

- puerto vallarta, mexico. the bakery. in order to choose the pieces of bread you would like to purchase, the bakery gives you a tray and a pair of metal tongs. everyone walks around with said items, browsing through the variety of bread. i noticed the most beautiful thing one night: every single person who has set of tongs in their hands, and i mean every single person, involuntarily clicks them together as they walk around. it was beautiful.

- whitehall, pennsylvania. jo-ann fabrics. erica and i were gathering supplies for a decorative project at jo-ann's and i was on a mission to find the foam board. no doubt's "dont speak" was playing on the radio, and i decided to sing along somewhat loudly in my falsetto gwen stefani voice, mainly just to give people something to talk and snicker about. as i walked past one lady, though, an older woman, i heard her singing along just as loudly, and i'm pretty sure we bonded in that short moment.

- whitehall, pennsylvania. wal-mart. i spied a young african american girl pushing a cart and doing that rhythmic stepping stomping thing those kids do. i dont think she realized she was doing it. this too, was beautiful.

i like those three movie moments because they communicate our need for music and rhythm. moving on.

- bethlehem, pennsylvania. sycamore street. mark and heather and erica and i took a walk to see sycamore street, which is pretty much the most beautiful street in the united states, i think. it was dusk, and as we walked, i looked up and saw the night sky behind silhouettes of the tops of the tall sycamore trees and i felt like i was floating.

- whitehall, pennsylvania. fellowship community. as i drove in to work this morning, i approached the first stop sign at the first intersection. there was a man in his wheelchair, sitting by the stop sign, watching the cars file in. he was eating a snack out of a plastic baggie. he looked very content, like this was the best morning he had had in a long time.

there's more! there's more! but im out of time!

i just got a library card which is very exciting. i'm using the computers here. there are a lot of little city boys playing computer games, which is rather annoying, but they have been very polite so far and have impressed me with their courtesy. when i accidentally sat down at the computer used only for printing, one boy said, "excuse me, that computer is only for printing." embarrassed, i said, "oh, thanks," and got up to look for another open computer. he saw my confusion and pointed to an open one, "over there." embarrassed again, i said, "oh, thanks." i thought about adding an, "i'm new here," but i dont think he needed me to explain. another boy said "bless you" to an old woman who sneezed.

things are going well. remember to call us, and any other newlyweds you know. there's a phenomenon that happens, where, after two people get married, everyone stops calling them. i guess they are just giving them space or something, which is considerate, but after a week or so, we really are ready for some sort of social life. granted, i'm sure plenty of couples caught up in their little cloud 9 world could care less, but erica and i like you guys, so come on over and visit. we're getting a queen size bed soon for you to sleep on in the extra bedroom.

there are many things to discuss and fill you in on, but my time is limited. there have been many movie moments to tell you about, as well, and i will spend my time there, in a new post, so there you have it.

i miss you.

july fifth, two thousand and five

the alarm clock went off precisely at 5:00 am, and again ten minutes thereafter, following a much needed snooze.

the wife's coherence was limited to the knee-jerk hitting of the snooze button, and so the husband took it upon himself to gently yet persistently wake her up and coax her out of bed with small kisses, quiet pleas and minature pep talks. it was clear he knew the intense importance of doing these morning routines in a hushed and tender manner, doing all he could to keep the sacredness and sanity of this ungodly, mindless hour.

she eventually received that burst of motivation needed to open her eyes and swing her tired legs over the edge of the bed, in turn giving her the motivation and support needed to stand up and walk to the bathroom. he went to the kitchen and prepared her lunch first, placing it in a plastic bag for easy toting, and her breakfast second, placing it at the edge of the table to await the end of her shower.

all of this was happening, of course, while the midnight firecracker renegades were fast asleep after a night filled with obnoxious excitement, many of them knowing only the freedom of summer vacation rather than the responsibility of a job that wakes one up at five in the morning. it was an exciting night for them, indeed, but now the only visible remains were the empty lighters, the piles of ash quickly vanishing with the early morning breeze, the black marks of gunpowder at various precise placements on the sidewalks, and the sagging rings under the renegades' eyes as they awake several hours after the working couple, complaining of their tiredness and wondering what this next day of summer vacation will hold, especially now that they are fresh out of fireworks, not to mention money, which was all frivilously and urgently spent the week prior in preparation for this one special night, and not to mention something to plan for except for new years' eve, which is still a long six months away.