Note: the deadline for submissions to the “Geek” issue of Burn Book has been extended to Tuesday, April 6.  You’ve got six days!  Turn something in!

(The cute dudes were in the Carleton Rec Center. MAN. Hampshire’s gym has no such dudes. This is what comes of going to a college with no sports teams.)

I’ll leave it to the Northfielders to guess which local coffee shop hired me while I was in town for break. I guess it didn’t hurt that, in my application, I included copies of some of the comics I’ve made in their honor!

I had a really nice time at home. It was an important trip to make. It helped quell some of my worries and questions about moving back there. Mom and I switched three rooms, and repainted two of them. My new lower-level bedroom/comics-making-space looks pretty great. I’m childishly excited about finally having my whole comic collection in one place. I may hit up Big Brain in June, as a totally indulgent graduation gift to myself.

Besides redecorating, I managed to do a few other fun things while in Northfield. I hung out with my friend Mickey at St Olaf one evening. He’ll be a senior there next year; it’s nice to know he’ll be around. And I met up with my Carleton comics buddy, Scott, again. He too plans to spend next year in Northfield. It’s excellent to know I’ll have somebody in town to talk comics with.

Mom and I also made the four-hour pilgrimage to Grinnell to pick up Phoebe and her friend Hannah for their spring break. I got to spend a night hanging out with Phoebe and all her Grinnell friends. They are GREAT—cool and smart and down to Earth. I seriously loved all of them. I’m glad to know she’s got such good people around her down there in Iowa. I hope I can visit again sometime (since I’ll be in Northfield, it’s likely). I didn’t get up to the cities at all, which is a bummer, because there are some extremely awesome people there too. But I think it was important for me to feel out what it’s gonna be like to live at home again for a significant chunk of time.

For those of you who AREN’T from Northfield, I have compiled some googlemap shots of Downtown, in case you’re curious:

So this is where I’ll be working.

And here’s the whole block it’s on.

And here’s what’s directly across the street from it.

This hotel is down the street.

The library is also just down the street.

This is Bridge Square, home to the Popcorn Wagon and many local events.

The Nutting Block building is home to the Rare Pair (a shoe store), and the
best apartment in town.

And here’s good ol’ Hogan Bros, where I used to work, and Phoebe still does.