They attacked out of the blue on Saturday morning, starting as I finished re-packing my car outside Grace’s apartment. She’d brought down Stumptown coffee in my refillable mug. (Have I ever mentioned what a good friend she is? No? Well, she is.)
Though the initial ambush was slow, the sneezes came in a quick succession — 6 in a row — once I switched on the car’s ignition. I didn’t think much of it then. I have a tendency to sneeze in multiples.

In fact, it wasn’t until this morning, pre-dawn, that I attributed this continuing sneeze fest as an allergic reaction to western Massachusetts, or perhaps to ‘coming home’ so to speak. I’ve already had a tough time with this part of the world and I’ve only returned a few days ago. I’ve begun planning my next trip (Montreal, QC; October 2010). Also, I haven’t stopped sneezing since Saturday morning. Granted, I do get a few words out here and there and even accomplish tasks like trading in a Mississippi license for a Massachusetts one (that costs $100).
In others news, I’ve consumed a Trader Joe’s raspberry lemon strawberry popsicle as 600+ photographs download themselves to my laptop. Verdict on the popsicle: mostly good (lemon part too tart in comparison to berry sweetness). Verdict on photographs: you decide. That is if I ever get around to posting them. I’m still queried on when my Pakistan photos will appear. That trip ended in mid-January. Hold on to your hats, folks! (There is a new batch on Flickr though.)
My summer galavanting has been successful. At least in the sense that I took many photographs, I read good books (and some not so good ones), I spent time with people I love dearly, and I even found time to ride bikes despite loaning mine out for the summer.
Events worth recapping include:
- Dominican Republic, May 2010
- Tour de Brooklyn, June 2010
- Visiting family in Arkansas and Mississippi, June 2010
- San Francisco, June and July 2010
- Cross Country Rail Trip, August 2010
- Maine (including J and N’s wedding, Acadia National Park, Portland, Lobster!, and Facedowns), August 2010
Until next time! In the meanwhile, enjoy this trio of photos of me and one of my favourites:
















