Home run

And I'm back. My final days in New York were very nice. Work sent me off with lots of good wishes and a parting gift, I had a couple happy hour cocktails with a fellow intern to celebrate the successful completion of our stints at AP, and then I went to Aldea, a fancy and delicious and surprisingly not unaffordable restaurant with my friend Kristin. And I unexpectedly ran into a blast from the past there -- my first boyfriend, who I hadn't seen in 13 years, was the bartender. How about that? A nice way to wrap up a summer during which I spent a great deal of time catching up with historical figures.

Saturday was spent getting my suitcase packed and riding back to New Haven, where since returning to my apartment I've done a bit of helping my new roommate Suzanne with arranging furniture and moving things around. We're still making decisions. And we cooked the delightful meal you see here (plus bread you don't see cuz it ain't in the picture). It's nice to prepare a meal. Not a common experience this summer.

On the emotional end of things, I feel ready to be back in New Haven, especially now that I'm here. As I left New York and went through those final motions of closure (locking the door behind me, taking a taxi to Grand Central, boarding the train), I naturally got twinges of sadness. This was probably the best summer of my life. Guess I shouldn't be sad about that. And now that I'm back, I have to carry some of that magic dust into the school year for as long as I can.

Tomorrow I'm heading up to visit my brother and nephews for about 30 hours, and then I start TA-ing one of the first-year classes on Tuesday. The rest of the week will be dedicated to things like preparation for classes, cleaning, errand-running, getting organized and perhaps finishing the last book I started, because surely that will just collect dust during the school year if I don't finish it now.