"Noam Chomsky digs lesbian porn"

This was written on the wall in the men's bathroom in one of my favorite restaurants in Madison, The Weary Traveler Freehouse. Hmmm...

So I'm back in the US. After a day and a half in Chicago, I'm staying at the old digs in Madison, right next to the lake. In Chicago, I saw my fellow geographers and good friends K. Max Grinnell and Dave Waskowski, both of whom live in the Lincoln Park neighborhood on the north side. Had some good pizza, and some good times. I rented a car at O'Hare airport, as I figured it was probably not too much more expensive than taking a taxi into the city. It was a bit frightening at first, but driving is just like riding a bike, even in Chicago traffic (which was light, thankfully, that Saturday morning,) you don't really forget how to do it even after a long absence from behind the wheel.

Have come to Madison, where despite the lovely spring weather, I still feel a bit chilly. But readjusting to midwestern climate will take time, I guess. Tomorrow, I visit the venerable Dr. Kaiser, and will hopefully learn just how close I am to finishing the Master's degree once and for all.

Coming back this time has not been as weird as it was when I returned from Tokyo. In many ways, it feels like I never left, since it is only three weeks from the one year aniversary of my departure from Madison. So it feels like it's only been a week or so that I've been gone, and in many ways, the events of the past year didn't really happen. It's strange, but much better than the complete shock of my return from Japan.

So, I guess we'll see how things progress. Hail progress indeed!