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I had some broad plans for this trip, I guess, but the way the chips fell, I just stayed in the Kent / Cleveland area the whole time. I was too tired to jet off for New York the day after I arrived, so I didn't go see Ahmed on Letterman. It was alright; his sister was there for him, and he said that he met Will Smith on the show and gave him a Sinkane CD. Awesome! Though I really would have liked to see him. and Kate as well.

The next planned destination was Pittsburgh, to visit Greg and Emily. I intended to leave Friday morning, but there was freezing rain and the roads were very slick. I used to be a pretty good winter driver, but didn't really want to test it after not driving on four wheels much at all for a couple of years. I spoke to Greg about it, and we were both pretty let down, I think. We agreed, though, that instead, as a Christmas/birthday gift to him, I have to get around to recording the handful of post-ohio-exodus songs I've written that he likes and send him a CD or a tape or something. I intend to polish off one or two per month until April 19th. Here's a taste, Greg : http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=28949228

After cancelling the Pitsburgh trip, I decided to take a walk in the woods with my mom, since that's about the only thing that is actually made better by a little freezing rain. All the small branches and twigs were encased in an icy shell about 1/4" thick, and against the grey sky backdrop, when the light catches it right, it's truly beautiful. My mom's morning walks in the woods haven't been the same for her since our dog Levi died, and I know she was grateful for the company. It's odd; he's been gone for a long while now, but I still expect him to be there at the top of the stairs every time I come back to my parents' house. The absence is still jarring. Though I do catch myself now before accidentally asking my mom where he is.

As I was falling asleep the first night here, I noticed a smell that I had forgotten about, right after the furnace kicked on: the subtle scent of heating vents, processed warmth, modern comfort. I don't think I ever registered it as a smell before, just as the feeling of warmth, but since I've been away from it for a while, it jumped out at me. There's so much comfort here. Easy, domestic coziness. I was having dinner with the Laniers, family friends since forever, and Phil showed his son, Sam, a napkin with Santa Claus on it, and said, "Who does that look like?"
Sam, being 2.5 years old, naturally responded, "Cat Stevens."

Sam kills me.

He has this game he plays while eating his food: he takes a bite in a well-strategized place, and says, "What does this look like?"

"An airplane!"

Then another bite. "Now what does this look like?"

"An anteater?"

Another bite. "What does this look like?"

and so on. It's perfect.

Phil plays a number of roles for me, but one of them is as a parallel universe for what could have been my life if I had quit music early, stayed in Ohio, and married someone while young.
I mean, plenty of people stay in their hometowns, especially when it's a college town that makes it easy to extend your stay after highschool. But Phil is one of the very few people I know that is actually happy in Kent. Most people who stay here end up either alcoholic or Christian-by-default. yikes.
I spent most of this trip at about and 80/20 split: 80% dread and 20% hope that I would run into someone I know, in the mall, downtown, or at the grocery store in the middle of the night. Some poor drunk or Protestant to whom I either specifically or generally don't have anything to say.

So for the most part I've stayed in the house, baking, hanging out with the family and watching movies after they've gone to bed. The few excursions I have made have been pretty good, though. Breakfast with the Stines, watching the West Wing with Michaelanne and Jim, and skating with Mila. Everywhere I go I drive my mom's or sister's car and sing along to music loudly. I may end up heading back to LA with a sore throat.