all good things: right in the feel-goods

1. Song of the week: Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke. I had a Moment with this song on Saturday, when we walked into a bar and wove across a dance floor where every person was smiling giddy and singing along, word for word. Reason to love pop culture: it creates kinship in strange and beautiful ways such as this.

2. The Electric Run. My roommate and I went up to Philly on Saturday for the Electric Run, which was eventually called off because of lightning (talk about electric). I think our time was pretty good, but more importantly we got there in time to finish it without getting electrocuted. Also the lighting design of the run was really cool, the park was beautiful, and the whole thing was a lot of fun.

3. Reuniting with old friends, and making new ones. I joined the run on an old New York classmate's team - we used to live diagonally across the street from each other in Amsterdam, swam together in high school, and used to hang out all the time back in 5th grade. It was fun catching up. Plus, one of her college friends who also ran with us now lives in Newark, Delaware. So hopefully we can meet up in town down here in the near future. I also randomly saw a classmate from St. Olaf in the starting area... Small world.

4. The Delaware State Fair. J and I drove down to Harrington, Delaware, yesterday for the state fair! I love this kind of stuff. Fried food, sugary drinks and shaved ice, cute animals, plaid shirts, jeans, and cowboy boots... Highlights: picking up chicks (pictured), fried pickles, and a great display about environmental consciousness. I'm getting thermal curtains and changing all my lightbulbs to energy efficient ones. 

(On that note, there was an interesting story on NPR this morning about the energy efficiency of ceiling fans, which finished with a crack at hot air in the Capitol and is full of cheesy wordplay. Love it.)

5. Delaware Shakespeare Festival. A bunch of us went to see The Two Gentlemen of Verona on Wednesday night. Even though it was so hot we were dripping sweat just sitting on the lawn watching the show, the production was excellent as usual, plus Wawa sandwiches, wine, good company, and dogs from Faithful Friends! In the play!

6. Promised Land. J and I got this movie from RedBox on Friday night and watched it. It's a complicated film, but we both enjoyed it. More on that Wednesday (tune in!) Plus, John Krasinski is so cute.

7. Going to the zoo with friends. Luke and I went this afternoon to the zoo with some friends. Though seeing some animals in captivity (gorillas) makes me sad, the zoo is a great place to learn about animals and share a fun experience with friends!

8. Eating dinner outside. It's one of my favorite summertime activities! There is something so nice about sharing a meal on someone's patio, deck, or at a restaurant's outdoor area. Also, I love driving around my neighborhood and getting the whiff of someone grilling.

9. Taking a walk in the rain. It was raining when I woke up this morning, and I decided to walk to the gym in the rain. It was so refreshing and soothing! Of course, the smell is lovely too.

10. At my job (legal advocate working with victims of domestic violence) I see women who have been in a relationship with abusive and just all-around not nice guys. This makes me value my relationship with Luke even more than I normally do. It's a nice reminder to not take things for granted.