My good friend Jason was in town yesterday. I haven't seen him for over 2 years, so it was excellent to catch up. Both of us have changed a lot, for the better. I think really trying to sort out where we want to be in life and what we truly want out of it has been at the core of our lives the past few years (but oh god, my friends in their late thirties and early forties say that never goes away -- good for the character, but bad for the psychological stress it can incur). The foundation of our friendship hasn't really changed, but maybe we're just less self-absorbed and hungry, you know? Or, relatedly, not freaking out about success and such as much like in our late twenties. More at ease with each other. Jason is a high school English teacher, and was just approved for tenure. He's playing music again too, and it sounds like he's really in a pretty good spot.

We went out for Thai food and ice cream, and then drinks and pool at the Mallard. When we sat down at the bar, what came on but "No New Tale to Tell." Serendipity. Jason then gave me pointers on how to play bass for practically anything on every Love and Rockets album without a distortion pedal. I also had the most delectable drink -- a frozen creamsicle. Orange and vanilla stoli, cream, ice, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, blended and topped with whipped cream. If I was less happy, I could become an alcoholic with that drink!

We were having such a good time we stayed until almost closing, then went out for sushi and took silly photos for Jason's English class -- many students he said have probably never even seen sushi. Since BART was closed, we drove him back to his hotel in San Francisco, getting lost along the way (no new tales there either).

I am never going to get over jet lag, by the way. I was falling off my barstool with exhaustion at 10 pm, but powered through. Dropped of Jay, drove home, got on the internet for a spell, took a shower and went to bed pretty wide-awake at 4:30 am, then woke up at 2 pm! Jay was worth the late night, but my body is craving a regular schedule. Maybe by Sunday.