to a spring of hope and saving. to a summer of terrible infants and crunk. to a fall of movies and smoke. to a winter of casinos and alarming dreams. to next summer's terrible infantry.

melmoth. pink denim jackets. candle wax spilled on brushed leather. charade. finger. blackmail faces. judy poovey's makeup table. middle-aged go-go dancers. pet thieves. the company of wolves. drawers full of receipts and unused tickets. wet, grisly carnage for its own sake. virginia slims poker cards featuring women dressed as men, who smell like mocha. absolut mandrin and absolute mandarins. shark fin soup. the dumb waiter. a pattern yet to be matched.

and to new year's eve. a disappointing party in a basement and in a huge rain puddle in a backyard in the mission. but anshuman, lloyd, oronzo, jon, robin, maggie, kristy, etc. and i managed to all end up at the same house at midnight. a suffocating crowd of gross emo kids and gross scenesters, bottle rockets flying and drunks singing good and loud and out of tune, nobody being allowed to set foot in the house proper... and it didn't seem so bad, afterwards.