11.27.04 - 12:34 p.m.

gr33tz from miami

i had the oddest sensation, first day driving around here, checking out the view from az's parents condo, then crusing through south beach... i've never been here before, but I have. in other words: grand theft auto: vice city. no joke! deja vu!!

miami beach is beautiful. all the buildings are pastel colors, loads of gorgeous women, art deco stilo everywhere. crazy hodgepodge of dudes chatting in hebrew, spanish and who knows what else. multicultural to the fullest, though i can see where the 'hard bodies soft brains' rep comes from. too early to judge though, and we don't know anybody hip here so we don't know where the hip spots are. i bet there's plenty of artists and intellectuals, you just have to know where to find them. (me, i'm not an artist nor an intellectual... more of a groupie)

met az's oldest sis for the first time, only the 2nd time we've visited her entire family... had shabbat dinner , ate some chicken (always with the chicken! good though)

the new baby is cute, although when everybody says "isn't he the cutest baby ever?" i bite my tongue. most babies seem to be the cutest baby ever. everybody talks babytalk to him but i'm eschewing that in favor of man-to-man chats re: gamelan, "hip hop vs rap", and the difference between alligators and crocodiles. he has this stuffed alligator in his crib (isn't it dangerous to have that as a toy? what if the kid grows up without the natural fear of alligators that human beings should have?) and i was trying to explain the difference to him, but i don't think he was paying full attention. also, i realized i don't actually know what the difference is, so maybe it was for the best. (is it the teeth? the jaws or something?)

the weather here is unbelievable. to all yall suckas facing hail sleet or snow: (nelson voice)ha ha! it's balmy and lush and you can walk around at night in a tshirt. palm trees everywhere, just like in the movies.

i sort of wish i were here with more friends so we could hit nightspots and kick it. family visits are a different affair, especially when it's not even your own family and there's all these weird dynamics related to new baby, religion, sibling rivalry, money, etc...

anyway, off for a swim. have a great holiday! PS page me if you know of any miami hookups, i'm lookin to move weight. PPS not really, i've just been watching The Wire too much. PPPS well, kind of really... ah forget it. this is definitely the right city for it, i'll tell you that.