Lessons from the Heartland, part 2:
A Pictoral of People, Places, and Things

I am so glad I got to visit Madison just for the fact that I got to meet all of Taryn's friends. I have heard so much about everyone and have read numerous blogs so this was quite an eye-opening experience. So shout outs to gwen and thom, tim and kim, mitch and jessica, andrea and will, brian williams, becca and john, marcel, greg, sydney, etc. It was so great meeting you all! And now, some photographic evidence...

remember those crosswalk flags i was talking about? here they are and here is taryn caught in the act. doesn't it look cool when she does it?


the weather varied while i was there but i could tell spring was on the way...


lots of our time was spent in coffee shops which is really just perfection to me. taryn got a bit camera-shy though...


don't know what HALO night is? check it and be jealous.


of course, there's the little matter of cheese. there's lots of it. great nachos gwen!!


speaking of gwen, i can only assume that she's got those crazy eyes because she's thinking about how excited she is to watch christian bale in "newsies":


note to everyone who doubted taryn's diverse wardrobe...

she wears orange and green!! yay!!

this is a very unfortunate statue next to the stadium. i believe it is a penis made out of footballs. and now that i see that phrase in print, i think i know what to get myself and my husband for valentine's day.


ever wonder what the living room of two literature phD students looks like?


there was a brief "Hey Ya" incident in the love machine van which i will not apologize for...


and of course there was laser boy. the bar we were at had DJ Harsh spinning some sweet club beats and this particular member of the persian mafia thought he was at a rave. this is when we first noticed him:

sadly, i didn't get a shot of his laser lights (not glow sticks) but they were bright.
after many many rum and cokes i thought it would be an AWESOME idea to get his attention and have him come over. he took some lovely pics of the table... please note mitch's absolute embarassment and disgust at my actions :)


the best by far though was when i encouraged laser boy to dance with taryn. i still don't regret the decision.


all in all it was a fabulous trip and i can't wait to go back...if only for the cheese curds. until then, thanks for a great time madison!