i heard from j-lo last week and it seems like everything's okay so far in illinois. not great, though. one of the most encouraging bits of news was his love for the minidisc player i gave him as a goodbye gift. he's been recording thunderstorms on it, and mixing the sounds into a couple of his songs. how i want to sit on my deck and listen to his lovely voice gently riding over the claps and ruckus of midwest drama.

i just swindled our sony rep out of a minidisc player for my own use. so it looks like this'll happen soon here where we have a lack of genuine weather (and seasons).

oh, and the last healing bit of my tattoo looks like cr�me br�l�e but feels like toenails growing on my stomach.