it is spring

the ice cream man was at the playground as school was letting out. i was on my way home from the bus stop, and i wasn't entirely sure it was actually the ice cream man because it didn't quite sound like the ice cream man i remember. it was like the ice cream man remix. play those funky beats.

what i call "the ash bugs" are back. hundreds of these little grey gnat-like pests swarm around in clouds in every shady damp spot in the neighborhood, which is really frustrating when trying to have a nice run. they stick to sweaty skin, but then as soon as you touch them they just fall apart as if they were composed of dust. they also have an amazing knack for getting into eyes and nostrils and mouths. sometimes i imagine they make the streets look something like how they did when mt st helen's blew up, all the grey particles floating through the air. it doesn't make me like them any more, but it distracts me from my annoyance of them.

we're all on the lookout for summer jobs now. i have applied at all of the major hospitals in seattle and i've heard back from a couple so far. we'll see. it would be really good to work in one of them, and i think i would feel really good about it. and they pay really well. which would be great--i'm getting very excited about the upcoming travels i will get to have.

i found out today that we have a whole extra week before classes start after christmas next year, which means i get to play in central america even longer. and don't tell anyone because if you do it might wreck things for future students, but they don't make us take finals during finals week there either. they let us out early because they want us to go explore. all of this means that if anyone wants to see some cool stuff in central america anytime between the end of december and the end of march next year, let me know. there will be ample fun to be had. i think i'm a pretty good travel buddy. (if any of you have any firsthand experience with this, feel free to let me know what you think.)