Ah, the Motherland...

How I've missed thee.

Yes, I am back in the grand state of Wisconsin. When asked where I am from, I am always torn. Do I say Iowa or do I say Wisconsin? I grew up in Iowa but Wisconsin always felt like home. I don't know why it did, it just did. In general, Wisconsin is an odd place. Everyone is, as my mom would say, half a bubble off plum.

This isn't the first time I've been back to Wisconsin since I left, but it is the first time I've been back to Madison. And you know what? It's awesome. I've had Spotted Cow (and I drank it in about five minutes on an empty stomach and was good and stupid the rest of the night), and I ate half of a bag of cheese curds. I have eaten at two of my favorite places: Chautara and Pasquals. Tomorrow night I will be indulging in a Fetalicious pizza from Glass Nickel.

I went to B-Side. I wondered if the music nerd I had a crush on was still working there. He wasn't there last night. I bought replacement Wisconsin t-shirts and car window stickers at Steve & Barry's. I saw the completed Overture Center. I picked up a copy of both the Isthmus and The Onion.

I stayed with friends last night. I lived with them when my lease ran out after I graduated. We caught up (they bought me the cheese curds), I got to see the dog Sasha loved to torture. We sat in the front yard and I didn't feel like my head was going to blow up. And this morning I realized I wish I'd brought a sweater/sweatshirt with me. Because it was cool--almost cold.

This afternoon T and I drove around town so she could look at neighborhoods. She wants to move and was checking out various West Side 'hoods to see what they were like. It was kind of like old times since we used to go to Supreme Pizza on Johnson and then drive around town until we got lost (and it didn't take long). We reminisced about getting pizza at Supreme Pizza and waiting while the guy making the pizza was too busy getting stoned to actually make our pizza.

And, to top it all off, it's graduation weekend. They have ceremonies all weekend--Saturday and Sunday. It's too big of a school to do in one shot. So, while I was wandering State Street yesterday afternoon I saw students, graduates, parents, locals, punks, people in costume, street people, street punks, and lord knows what else. And then I saw all the tourists with their mouths hanging open, and all I could think was, "My god, I miss this place." I also wish I'd taken pictures.