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it's been a chaotically wonderful week in the d. team leader bob called me during church last sunday for MY THIRD RED CROSS FIRE. i pulled a clark kent in the ladies room and went from golddigger boots to steel toes in two minutes flat. it was a sobering experience because the home was nearly destroyed and persistent rainfall that day ensured its demise. i stumbled over most of the client interview questions and managed to make them laugh a few times (mostly at my expense). VOLUNTEER NIGHT at back alley bikes/the hub of detroit was a marked success. working alongside a high school friend, and under the direction of bike expert jack, i COMPLETELY DISASSEMBLED A BIKE for the first time. and i mean completely - removed pedals, derailleur, brake wiring - the only thing left was the sorry skeleton of a schwinn to be added to the hub's "bike art" collection. i am officially on board with detroit synergy for two projects: collecting anecdotes for STORIES IN THE CITY, a project to document and display memories about detroit; and partnering with veteran planner alex to develop detroitbikes! 5th annual BIKE TO WORK DAY EVENT. i've PERFECTED JIMMY JOHN'S VEGETARIAN CUISINE: stick with the basic veggie sub + mild peppers. as dax might say, tastacular! while driving djay home from work on wednesday i DISCOVERED A BEAUTIFUL NEIGHBORHOOD in northwest detroit, consisting of elaborate stone homes with spires and other castle-like architectural elements. ann arbor adam conspired with me to make a group event of MIDDLE EASTERN DINING and SLINGSHOT HIP HOP viewing at the first annual a-squared palestine film festival on saturday. the documentary was very compelling - although uncomfortably angry at times, the film carefully illustrated the personal and political experiences from which the featured artists emerged. unsurprisingly, i was super-stoked to seeing grown men encourage children in their community to find joy in everyday life and commit to peacefully protest injustices around them. i concluded the evening with icecream and a small crowd at the apartment of poli sci dan, who incidentally knows two of my good friends from ucla. it was THE CC SHOW AT CHURCH today as i talked and taught about "christ's commandment to 'love one another'" and "living in peace and harmony with others," respectively. fortunately, no one seemed to notice that i essentially used the same material for both endeavors. i wrapped the weekend with family bingo night at sam & velia's, relishing vegetarian pasties and an IMPROMPTU EDWARD SCISSORHANDS PARODY, called "sammy, the boxhand man." receiving a HANDWRITTEN LETTER FROM COLORADO KATIE was also a delightful highlight of the week. well folks, that's all the news that's fit to print. love from michigan - johnny