The title has nothing to do with what I am going to write about, but it is the title of an article on competitive eating in the May issue of Atlantic Monthly. I will not go into detail about the article, but I like it. So read it. Cherish it. And be glad you’re an Amurrican. If you are one. No, what this blog is about, truly about, is what has gone on over the past few days. And there has been a lot. So beginning with:

A number 1: Went to see Eisley (with Brighten, Simon Dawes and Fair) on Thursday at the Croatian Cultural Center with some Regent friends. There weren’t any Croatians there that I could see; in fact, there were very few people there that I could see. Only about 100. Which I’m sure was a bit disappointing for the band, since here they’ve been on tour with Coldplay and their shows are selling out left and right in the States, and here in the ‘Couv only 100 people bother to come out and see them. The only good reason that I can think of is that this show was an all ages (read: mostly < 19 years old) show right in the middle of the exam period of just about every school in Vancouver. Everyone most likely had to study. Even I had just written a Hebrew exam earlier that day. But the bands were good, especially Eisley, and they didn’t seem too put out that there was a small crowd. I hope that they come back and more people decide to see them.

B number 2: went down to Bellingham on Friday with Alex to get behind the wheel of a bus for the first time since last summer (and first time behind the wheel of anything since Christmas break). We both did all right. No major damage. I did hit a curb, but no biggie. We intended to train Friday and Saturday, but Jake told us after driving for three hours that we were doing fine and we didn’t need to make another trip down. So we went back up just in time for Tora’s birthday beach barbecue, featuring gobs of grilled meats and a cast of thousands. Well, hundreds. Well, a lot for a barbecue. We watched the sunset, we played frisbee, we munched and munched. Ahh, if only the weather were this nice all year round. . . then we wouldn’t get any studying done.

C number 3: Dance party Saturday night at our place, the last such party before the wrecking ball descends in June, and wicked condos replace it. We wanted it to be low-key, and so although we had let people know by word-of-mouth, we didn’t send out an official invitation until, oh, Saturday morning. Quite a few people showed up, we had plenty of beer, we had large speakers, we had a bonfire. Even Hans Boersma, our systematic theology professor, showed up with his wife and youngest daughter, and even danced briefly. I was shocked at first, but very happy. I hope he didn’t mind the loud music.

D number 4: Today is a beautiful, beautiful day. I spent much of the afternoon hanging out in a yard with my former community group and three children 4 and under. What could be better?

• Autobiography