out on the town

just got home from a fun night - i went to a bar to the southwest of me tonight, to catch a stand-up show (for free - always a good choice). it turned out that i have good instincts for my own - most of the comedians were Irish-American Catholics, and had the requisite cynical humor, which i understand and appreciate. it was slightly awkward because i was pretty much the only one who hadn't seen most of these guys perform before, but it was still fun. the trip also required a nice long train ride, which i really enjoyed. a lot of the trip is through people's backyards (because obviously you're not going to build your place facing the tracks), and it's interesting to peek into people's lives like that. the bar was also in another big Spanish-speaking enclave. many of the stores were only labeled in Spanish. i can be another ad for mom's students: "i wish i had kept speaking spanish after high school - it would have been useful"