Alien Orphan

When I returned from Zambia--worn out, exhausted, but content--I crawled to my bike to ride home, and found that Woon had transformed it into a beastly fixed gear while I was away. I was so excited I got stuck somewhere between crying and laughing. Best gift I've ever received.

So...I had this master plan to quietly wrap up my business in Boston and then clandestinely steal away to the UAE. And, then, last week (oh man, I can't believe this) Amy Smith and Ben Linder (and other suspect folk) organized a suprise going away party. It was TRIPLE BACKFLIP FANTASTIC. Using all sorts of very clever deception, Amy managed to take me (completely unsuspecting) to the Museum of Bad Art where dozens of my favorite people lay stealthily in wait to shock the buhjeezus out of me. There were so many awesome people there, I nearly exploded and imploded at the same time (good thing F=0...you know, the forces balanced out?) A ton of good food, ten megatons of good company, it was glorious. When I set out to work for Amy Smith a couple years ago, I never in my wildest dreams imagined she'd eventually throw a surprise party for me. I'm still pretty stunned. And glowing. Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who made it possible.

But the happiness in general isn't really the super sweet jagged roller coaster kind that pops up for a few moments. No, this happiness is the sustained, quiet kind that sloshes contentedly inside my ribcage. I don't recall ever being this content before. Life is very good.