John = gone

It has finally hit me.

John is gone to China, and he ain't coming back.
Actually he will be coming back...in two months, but then he's off again after three weeks. I dropped John--my beloved partner in crime--off at the airport yesterday EARLY in the morning. I was sad to see him go, but all I could think about as I stumbled, half awake, out of the DTW airport was going back to bed. Then, as I was listening to a piece on weekend morning edition about bear bile farming in China, it hit me. John wouldn't be back anytime soon. I felt the way Sam must have felt when Frodo boarded that fancy Elf boat and sailed off into the sunset of immortality. It made me really sad. Hanging out in Ann Arbor just isn't the same without Johnny G.

We had a going away get together for John on Friday, and the strange potpourri of people that know and love him were there. The night ended (of course) at the Heidelberg's Ratskeller. I sucessfully avoided getting too loaded, which means I had roughly 1.5 beers. Last night was a casual evening at the Aut Bar with Peggy, Blair, Kim, Kasey, and crew. It was fun to catch up, and I got to meet Kasey's girlfriend Kate, who is a former debater-turned-stand-up-comic. Will Repko?

I spoke with John briefly. I called him in San Fransisco, but he seemed to be partying pretty hard with Evan and Bob Tiews. With those two, I can only imagine the trouble they got into. I wonder if he even made his flight to Beijing this morning? I haven't heard from him yet, come to think about it...

Well, I'll try to load up some pictures from this weekend. Hope you have a good week.