Volunteering at this big folklife festival on the Mall yesterday, I incurred bodily injury for the sake of women's equality. We were with the Masters of the Building Arts people -- masters, I guess -- and it was the very end of the day on the last day of the festival, so we were helping them pack up, and they needed someone to help lift a blacksmithing forge into the back of a pickup truck. A large, soot-covered metal contraption (you know, one of those things they bang the hot metal down on with big hammers). When someone came over to us to ask for help, I deliberately volunteered because she'd directed the question at the male I happened to be with. Typical. The forge was about, I don't know, probably about a quarter of a football field away from the truck, and when I walked over to where the other three very large men were standing waiting to pick it up, they kind of looked at me weirdly and said, "uh, you up for a challenge?" Cocky old me says "absolutely" and grabs my corner.

Has anyone ever mentioned to you that blacksmithing forges are heavy? I would have been fine if we'd just walked it over to the truck, then set it down, and then lifted it up. But no -- we did it all in one swoop: lift, carry carry carry, hoist onto truck. And I did it, oh yes I did it, and those men (grunting and groaning themselves while we were hauling it around) were like "hey, you, good job there!" I'd like to think there was a new glint of respect in their collective eye, especially since I forced my muscles to stop that tense shaking thing that muscles do when they're being asked to perform some unreasonable task. But ow. OW. :) It actually hurts much more today than yesterday -- and I can tell it's not that I pulled a muscle or anything, because it all hurts equally. Time to go find some Advil now, I think.

But in the spirit of moving heavy objects around, Harlan and Alissa helped me transfer my bedroom furniture into the bigger bedroom in my apartment. It was a somewhat daunting task because I'm such a damn slob (and I have quite the collection of dusty crap still in the old room to get rid of before my new roommate arrives at the end of July) but it was accomplished with very little pain of any kind. And now I feel like I have a new room without buying anything more than a couple lamps and a curtain rod at Linens and Things. Or Linens 'N Things, or whatever their name is. Anyway, I have a cool room now, which will be even cooler when I get the recliner my parents are giving me. Okay. Really finding that Advil now.