Back in Bloomington

Bloomington assaulted me with its smells, its reckless undergraduate drivers and its naive earnestness as soon as I rolled in yesterday. Here are some other signs I was back:

*At the Vid (the Video Saloon, our local) last night a chick wandered up to my table of three, interrupting our conversation by thrusting a mason jar at us. The jar was topped by paper and contained a chrysalis hot-glued to a stick. She told us her friend saves the Monarch butterflies one by one. The little gold filament will be part of its wing. The coccoon will become transparent. Then she will let it fly away. She was sorry for interrupting but she just had to tell us, she said, it's the coolest thing.
*At the farmer's market I got an application packet for becoming an assistant leader for a Girl Scout Troop (don't get too excited, it will most likely go unfilled) and a free bottle of water stamped with "Jesus Christ offers you God's love as a free gift - just like this free water."
*Tonight I did the dance of eye contact with this dude at Laughing Planet. Fresh from NY, Boston and Montreal, I've been in the tunnel gaze of the city dweller, and last night I was chided for it, so I decided I should not just avoid his glance but attempt to be Bloomington-y and smile. He rewarded me by trying to pick me up via dropping the fact that he's visiting from Chicago because he knows the owner of 420 (as in, a pipe tobacco shop). My confused look didn't seem to phase him. Do I look like a stoner chick?
*When it storms in Indiana it storms. For the past few hours the sky has been lit up every few seconds, that's every few seconds by lightening. For short periods there will be booming thunder or sheets of rain, and then that will stop, leaving the bright lights illuminating the clouds like a broken flourescent light.

Off to packing up all my worldly goods.