For Sadie, I dragged myself out to the East Bay tonight. Although I wonder if she drags me out for her benefit or for mine. Han's birthday was on Wednesday and Ikuko's birthday was today, so to celebrate we got together with a whole bunch of people at Shan Dong, on 10th St. near Webster, excellent food. I was feeling particularly anti-social. Even after I got to the restaurant, I waited for a while down the block deciding whether or not I really wanted to go in. But then another person going walked by and recognized me, so then I thought it would be weird if I just took off. After regarding the situation for another 10 minutes I went in.

I was a good boy and mustered up enough energy to carry on conversations. A surprise was an Oberlin connection through Ikuko. Ikuko is hooked into the Ed and Dong Oberlin network, and apparently met me years ago through them, though I don't remember it. The Obie there tonight was Nicole, who I clearly remembered after it sunk in who she was, but couldn't put a concrete instance at Oberlin where I met her and talked with her. Pretty useless actually. You meet up with a vague acquaintance after a thousand years, and you identify the connection, but then so what?

Carnival, The Wheels Fly and the Colors Spin
Afterwards we went to a carnival near the Fruitvale area. It was a "the carnival's in town" sort of thing, but something I would imagine somewhere out in the mulleted, white trash Midwest or the South (thank you, Hollywood). Not in ghetto Oakland where a carnival might take on the feel of a breeding ground or flashpoint for gang fights. It was fascinating. It was "low entertainment". Flashing, blinking, broken lights, swirls of neon, the rattling machines, lines? not really, unfilled rides, screams, laughter, everything a spectacle. It's a great place to take your nieces and nephews. Terrific for people watching, but don't stare too long, lest someone decides to clock you with their gat.

I don't know. I think from the point of view of the carnies, we, the people going to the carnival, are the freak show. They know they're the carnies, but they can just as easily refer to us as "the carnies".