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As predicted at the end of the previous entry, I finished up Tuesday by hiking a couple of miles in light drizzle at the Morton Arboretum -- taking breaks to read comic books when the rain let up -- then lost to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gyades in a game of GO.
Wednesday morning, I left my most recent life (in Illinois) and re-entered the one before it (in Arizona). Yes, that's right: I opted to spend the Summer Solstice in one of the hottest regions of the country.cheshcat picked me up at Sky Harbor and we went to get lunch with one of her colleagues. Although I came back here frequently -- nearly once a month -- when I first moved away in September 2003, I have not been back for almost a full year.
I miss the desert very much; I liked living here. During the two years that I lived here -- from mid-2001 to mid-2003 -- the life that I put together was not as complete as the roots that I have laid down in the Chicago area. I did not own a house here. Most of my friends were from the Anarchist community, as opposed to the wide range of people (Anarchist, physicist, polyamorous, sci-fi, Pagan, etc.) that I know in Illinois. I did not even have a job locally. Nonetheless, it was a pretty good life. I got my feet wet doing formal Anarchist organizing here. I swam regularly. I organized monthly star parties and did a good deal of private observing on my own or withcheshcat. That's the advantage of perpetually clear skies. And, of course, we rescued our four baby kitties here so that they could be born in our bathtub instead of the harsh, hot outdoors.
Yesterday evening, I went to watchcheshcat teach her summer course. This is a tradition that has been in place for all eight years that she has been teaching. For every course that she teaches, I sit in on one of the classes. This is how I know, first hand, that she is such an excellent teacher! In fact, watching her teach last night is the main motivator for this two-day trip to Arizona. And, as usual, she did remarkably well.
After class ended, I took the car and drove about forty miles North of the city to Four Peaks Road, a dirt road partially up in the desert mountains. There I metwinewiskeywomen and two other people from the Phoenix Anarchist community for a small star party. Just like old times! It was good to see winewiskeywomen again, and great to be out in the desert night air, under a clear sky full of stars. It had definitely been too long since I last did this, probably two and a half years. We chatted and caught up on events while watching Jupiter and its four major moons, while resolving double stars like Alcor & Mizar, while zooming in on clusters, and while gazing sans telescope or binoculars at the Milky Way. Overall, a very pleasant evening!
Now then... time to grab a good book and then I am off to the swimming pool!
gyades in a game of GO.Wednesday morning, I left my most recent life (in Illinois) and re-entered the one before it (in Arizona). Yes, that's right: I opted to spend the Summer Solstice in one of the hottest regions of the country.
cheshcat picked me up at Sky Harbor and we went to get lunch with one of her colleagues. Although I came back here frequently -- nearly once a month -- when I first moved away in September 2003, I have not been back for almost a full year. I miss the desert very much; I liked living here. During the two years that I lived here -- from mid-2001 to mid-2003 -- the life that I put together was not as complete as the roots that I have laid down in the Chicago area. I did not own a house here. Most of my friends were from the Anarchist community, as opposed to the wide range of people (Anarchist, physicist, polyamorous, sci-fi, Pagan, etc.) that I know in Illinois. I did not even have a job locally. Nonetheless, it was a pretty good life. I got my feet wet doing formal Anarchist organizing here. I swam regularly. I organized monthly star parties and did a good deal of private observing on my own or with
cheshcat. That's the advantage of perpetually clear skies. And, of course, we rescued our four baby kitties here so that they could be born in our bathtub instead of the harsh, hot outdoors.Yesterday evening, I went to watch
cheshcat teach her summer course. This is a tradition that has been in place for all eight years that she has been teaching. For every course that she teaches, I sit in on one of the classes. This is how I know, first hand, that she is such an excellent teacher! In fact, watching her teach last night is the main motivator for this two-day trip to Arizona. And, as usual, she did remarkably well.After class ended, I took the car and drove about forty miles North of the city to Four Peaks Road, a dirt road partially up in the desert mountains. There I met
winewiskeywomen and two other people from the Phoenix Anarchist community for a small star party. Just like old times! It was good to see winewiskeywomen again, and great to be out in the desert night air, under a clear sky full of stars. It had definitely been too long since I last did this, probably two and a half years. We chatted and caught up on events while watching Jupiter and its four major moons, while resolving double stars like Alcor & Mizar, while zooming in on clusters, and while gazing sans telescope or binoculars at the Milky Way. Overall, a very pleasant evening!Now then... time to grab a good book and then I am off to the swimming pool!
