So it goes (parenthesis episode!)

First, an UPDATE:

Hanna and I are friends. We went for a ride to Amstetten (~60 km, or in American, 40 mi round trip) today. After tuning up the bike, she rides really really well. I also love the bike path to Amstetten. It goes through small European towns and forests, with just enough hills to make it fun without making it a pain. There are plenty of nice little cafes to stop at in Amstetten (or at any point along the way) to enjoy a cup of coffee. And, best of all, if your rebellious bike stages a coup, the path is never far from the train tracks, and the your mean distance from a train station is never more than 5 km (if you read the last post, you know I'm no stranger to pushing my bike that distance). Luckily I didn't need the train.

Second, an UPDATE:

I mentioned previously that I was planning on curling in Vienna. It was really fun. We play on a hockey rink that is thoughtfully zambonied (Google spell check says I can't use that as a verb--well I say watch me). As you can imagine, though, the Zamboni doesn't take all the scratches out of the ice, which reduces a sport which has been romanticized as "chess on ice" to little more than a "craps shoot on ice." Not that I am complaining. Casinos wouldn't make millions of dollars a year running craps shoots if it wasn't fun. Similarly, curling on a hockey rink proved to be quite pleasantly diverting. The people were both typically and atypically friendly (typically friendly for curlers, atypically friendly for Europeans). And they invited me to come play in a bonspiel with their team in April. Curling rocks.

Third, an UPDATE (isn't there something nice about continuity?):

The Wizard of Oz was really great. The whole theater was filled with kids. I felt like it would have been hard for an adult to follow if they didn't already know the story--but it was perfect for kids. I'm sure everything would have been perfectly clear to a 6 year old. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch an episode of Dora the Explorer). I liked it because I knew the story.

And finally--some real news:

I am returning to WI on 5/28. I am looking forward to seeing all yall.