So it’s officially my birthday. I fly home in a couple of hours back to Minnesota to chill with my parents and friends. I’m going to miss California a lot. It was a crazy past weekend. Ben and Wendy came down from Berkeley for the weekend. We had a good time: went to Laguna, chilled on Corona del Mar beach with some friends from Williams and then went to the Promenade in Santa Monica to meet up with some friends from Newsong. It was kind of odd, you know, when you bring different groups of friends together. Maybe it’s just me, but I always feel like my different groups of friends are very different, and I’m always afraid that they won’t get along. I don’t know what that says about me if all my friends are so different. No consistency. Maybe it means that I lack consistency. Anyways, on Sunday my brother Mike came back from San Jose with Sandy and Dean. The apartment was packed with all six of us in a one-bedroom place. On Sunday we went to church where a cool step team from Jamaica, NY came to perform during service. Reminded of me of Sankofa back at Williams. Anyways, Sunday was fun. Ben, Wendy, and Dean left and then my mom flew in. Good times all around. Today, I spent most of the day finishing my damn report for my internship. Took some time to take Aron out for lunch for his birthday last week. Still not done with the report, but I’ll add some finishing touches when I get back to MN. Also, I got to hangout with my Newsong friends one last time. I love those guys so much. So sad to leave, but hopefully I’ll be back for a little bit at the end of August. Seriously, they are some of the most genuinely nice, laid-back people I’ve met in a while. I’ll miss them all. S3 baby! But it will be good to get back to MN to chill with everyone and hit up the National Poetry Slam which is so under advertised it makes me so friggin mad. So if you are reading this and you are in MN, go check out the National Poetry Slam.

One last thought: Ben, you rock. Best friend. Quiet poet. Thanks. Wendy, always challenging me through actions and words. S3 crew…love without knowing, even more love after knowing. Mike, you’re my brother. Thanks for a great summer. See you in Vegas for the bachelor party. Live it up while you can. Much love to everyone else in California, especially Irvine. Peace. Next stop, MN.