Spring has SPRUNG

So we've dove headfirst into springtime, although you wouldn't be able to tell by stepping outside...we're currently in the midst of a surprising cold spell at the end of the global warming-style winter. However, in honor of the change of season, I offer you a few unrelated items, i.e. "what's been on Curtis' mind" this week...

AT THE RISK OF SOUNDING UTTERLY BOASTFUL: Packed Magazine arrived last Friday, featuring my Czech travel piece. The second Post article will appear in the issue out April 7, if all goes according to plan.

SCORED A SECOND DATE WITH: Budapest, Hungary! That's right, Molly & Co. found a fantastic train fare deal for Easter weekend. Since we'll be a group of 7 people in total, Eurocity Railways gave us a great discount. European travel can definitely be affordable when you do the legwork. I wouldn't ordinarily choose to return to a city so soon after an initial visit, but seeing as how we've discovered a whole list of things we missed the first time around (as well as things I wouldn't mind seeing again), I figured it was a no-brainer. Thermal baths, Fisherman's Bastion and Tokaj...oh my! Top of our itinerary this time around is the Hungarian Wine Museum, where one can sample 55 different local wines for a whopping 10 bucks. Turns out Easter eggs aren't the only things that'll be turning red that day...

SCORED A FIRST DATE WITH: Copenhagen, Denmark! For those who don't know, I have a good pal who'll be taking a graduate course there over the summer. After much hemming and hawing, I bit the bullet and planned a long weekend there for August 17 through 22. I've decided to set aside a certain amount of koruna each much, in anticipation of the "pillaging and plundering" that is the Scandanavian currency exchange rate (guess some of those Viking traditions have stood the test of time). But how could I pass up the opportunity to visit a world-class friend in a world-class place, as well as resist a city that has the Little Mermaid as their official mascot? (Of course, Lonely Planet lists the mermaid statue as "the most overrated tourist attraction in Europe." Granted, I doubt most Lonely Planet writers have "Part of Your World" and "Under the Sea" on their iPods, and I doubt that they've cited various points in the Hans Christian Andersen tale as extended metaphors for events in their own lives now, have they?)

VISITORS A GO-GO: Jenn arrives in mid-April, followed by Lisa in early May. Woohoo!

CURRENTLY WORSHIPPING AT THE ALTAR OF: Chuck Palahniuk (that is, when John Irving, Margaret Atwood and David Sedaris are out of town). Just finished Invisible Monsters, my second Palahniuk novel this year, which was full of sick, despicable characters and one helluva twisted ending. That is to say: brilliant, just brilliant!

SPEAKING OF SEDARISES: Strangers With Candy finally opened in Prague as part of the Febio Film Festival, starring Amy alongside SJP and Matthew Broderick. Sigh...why can't the Sedaris family just adopt me??

BABY, I CAN'T STOP: boogie-woogie-ing to the new Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake CDs. I tried to resist, I swear to God I did! Don't hate me, please!