From: Nathan Loofbourrow (loofbour@cis.ohio-state.edu)
Date: Thu, 6 Jul 1995 17:25:07 -0400
To: danampersanderic+@andrew.cmu.edu
Subject: mai dei

Well, if Chris et al. can regale you with amusing stories of the noteworthy days he shares with us on this crazy, crazy planet of ours, so can I.

This is actually a day I know pretty well, because I've experienced it many times. This is about as close as I can personally come to experiencing Nietzsche's Myth of Eternal Return.

Get up in the morning around eight. Feed George, the cat. This permits me to avoid cat-related injuries for the next hour or so.

Eat breakfast. Shower. Bid sleeping wife adieu.

Pray that the car starts. Drive car (in right hand lane of highway, in case of sudden breakdown) downtown to hole-in-the-wall repair shop, thus avoiding suburban price gouging.

Explain problem to mechanic, who writes stuff down and nods. Today it's alternator trouble, which (according to the guys who rebuilt the alternator last time) is because some sort of fluid is dripping down into the alternator and making it significantly less able to do its job.

Thank him and go to clear crap out of back of car. Fill two grocery bags with stuff I should have thrown away months ago (conveniently, there were two empty grocery bags amongs the stuff) and put it in their dumpster. Lock car, grab books, and walk.

Eight blocks away is Katzinger's Deli, one of the few "authentic" delicatessens in Columbus. Unfortunately, they know it, and price accordingly. Note new sandwich on menu ("President Bill's Day at the Deli", in commemoration of his visit). Order sandwich and diet cream soda.

Wander off for handfuls of free pickles (garlic and dill). Grab one of each from barrel. (Briefly remember experience of having had too many free pickles one day. Ugh.) Sit. Wait for name. Hear name. Get food. Eat.

Walk a few more blocks up to the main drag. Wait for bus. After fifteen minutes, look at route map and realize the bus doesn't pick up quite this far south. Walk north a bit, and get on bus just before it pulls away. Insert dollar (good thing I got the appropriate change at the deli).

Ride bus for a while, hop off on campus. Walk to computer science building. Attend boring "software reuse" seminar, where all they can seem to talk about is "object oriented design" and all you can keep thinking is "wouldn't higher order programming make most of these issues go away".

Leave seminar. Board shuttle to west campus. Enjoy air conditioning. Get off at supercomputing center. Enter. Log in. Read mail. Post to dan&eric.

Uh, I guess I have to stop here.

nathan

ps. Shouldn't the plural of "Arabica" be "Arabicae"?