I decided against Philadelphia today. It didn't clear up by 9 o'clock, and I overslept and didn't wake up until 11:30 anyway. In fact, it's still drizzly out at 2:15. I called my brother to tell him I wasn't going and it was either way for him, too. He's got a baby to take care of and a wife preparing for her Boards. Besides, I don't know what we'd have to talk about. Which is odd because I was trying to avoid going to visit with my parents, but now I don't know why I'd go without them.

So now I don't know when I'd go to visit. I'm going to be at the monastery from Tuesday to Sunday. My parents are going to Philadelphia on Wednesday and probably think I'll go with them since I haven't told them I'm going to the monastery yet. The weekend after that has tentative plans, but it's possible. The weekend after that is September, and if I'm still around, I'm not going to miss what might be my last chance to see the Panorama steel orchestra competition at the West Indian American Carnaval in Brooklyn.

But that's looking too far into the future. Today, I'm watching Puerto Rico dominate USA in basketball at the Olympics. What a feel-good underdog moment. They say Puerto Rico isn't a medal contender, but they're playing brilliantly, especially a guy named Arroyo. And NBA basketball players - what a bunch of arrogant, overpaid, undereducated, ghetto punks. When's the last time you heard someone from the NBA say something more intelligent than "aiiight"? Michael Jordan? Larry Bird? USA will probably win gold, heck they can still even come back in this game, they have the moves, the talent, and mental focus potential (ego), but big deal. The way Puerto Rico has been playing - that's excitement.