22 Nov 06

Time:

?

Money:

$13, Phad Thai and (free) Shrimp Fritters, Spice on University Place.
$6, maple macchiato and raspberry scone, campus Starbucks.
$20, leaf plate, Williams-Sonoma.
$25, black leather gloves, Filene's Basement uptown.
$16, an excellent chicken-and-mozzarella panini with sweet potato fries, Pita Grill (delivered!)

More interesting things:

Admired a great coat on a guy in the subway. It was one of those dark brown-looking sort of understated plaid designs - I'm sure it has an official name, but I certainly have no idea what it might be - and a woolly brown collar, and I wanted to see if it was as fuzzily soft as it looked. I couldn't very well reach out and pet the guy, but Grand Central was kind to me: the fast turns just before stopping caused him to brush hard against my arm - and the coat felt as nice as it looked.

Walked all around the place after my interview with one of the student-teachers. We went to the Time Warner Center, which is more of a very upscale mall, walked up from there to Anne's house to make sure the champagne glasses she'd bought at said mall did in fact match the two she already had, hiked up to the region of the parade preparations (77th and CPW; the balloons were absolutely terrific), came back down a little to go to Filene's, and split up there - I walked a few blocks up to get the crosstown bus, and she headed home.

Found myself grinning uncontrollably at the giants resting in the blocks around the Museum of Natural History before their big day tomorrow. Snoopy and Big Bird both looked kind of like they were taking naps, but Scooby's gigantic head was up and ready for the rest of him to try to catch up. The atmosphere, as Anne pointed out, is irrepressibly festive, and you cannot help but be carried along on the happy tide; this, unquestionably, is the town to be in on the day before Thanksgiving.

Floated along on that tide for all the rest of the circuitous trip home. We went past a market that introduced me to the oddly pleasant scent combination of roses and bacon and meandered - no, really; that's what it was - down a quiet street filled with old apartments and a new(ish) police station that together all glowed gold. Lights are up on trees and over roadways, and apartment windows add to it, now that it gets dark so early. You've got to love a season that makes a city luminous.

Was pleased to be able to tell the person sitting next to me on the bus a) where she could get off for the 5, b) which direction the Bronx was in, and c) what side of the street she should get to in order to be headed that way. I mean, I like to know things anyway, but to be able to help someone out a little AND remind myself that I really do kind of know about living here is a particularly nice way to go.