14 Feb 07

Time:

?

Money:

$7, double breakfast (knowing that I wouldn't get lunch), the red place.
$3, caramel latte, Oren's.
$a lot (about 80 bucks, but worth the whole thing), incredibly good steak dinner, Knickerbocker.

More interesting things:

Woke up to the first real accumulation of snow I've been involved with since my snowsuit days. It was weird and fluffy and scrunchy and white and even where it was in fact gray and slushy, I loved it.

Beelined out of Union Square, bound for the gym, past a guy enthusiastically handing out "Metro Condoms." I don't know if they were the real subway condoms Roey mentioned awhile back, but they did appear from my passing (and distant) glimpse to feature something with colored numbers on the packets.

Blew a little backwards between Fourth Avenue and Broadway, even bent as I was against the flying shards o' frozen water whipping in a frenzy towards somewhere they obviously needed to get to in a hurry. If I hadn't been a little concerned about un-Lasiking myself by ice pellet it probably would have made me laugh - this was the most dramatic weather I had attempted to walk through in a very long time, if not ever - but next time I'll wear sunglasses and it will be fun.

Talked with each of the Hardy Boys (a good code name for one of my office neighbors and the clinical placement guy together) about being at my desk: F. Hardy told me that when he was a student Professor Charlie would ask whether he'd ever gone home, and J. Hardy mentioned that by sitting around reading I was getting more "valuable" to the university - ha!, but very funny all the same.

Got, at least, a high-five as Professor Alpha left for lunch with the possible Professor Delta (?). This represented a small speck of a turnaround from the otherwise relatively cool tone of our interactions this week, and I was glad to have it.

Went to the Q&A with Possible Professor Delta. He seemed really cool, and even better, Professor Alpha seemed to warm up just a little further: as we all waited for the elevator upstairs, he sort of sidled in on the conversation Anne and I were having about our students' vomit-inducing (in us, I mean) book choices, and then during the actual discussion, he brought up my question from class, waited while I kind of interrupted with another question, came back with it again, and gave me a wink. Yesss. (I enjoyed the little meeting for more purposes than just these, however. It was a very cool thing to think that there we lounged, holed up nice and warm on a pretty high floor over snowy Washington Square, chatting with Names - one of whom was already ours [that would be Alpha, of course], one of whom we'd like - as though we all belonged and had something to talk about, which we did. This sense was heightened a little when the visitor asked about the 6 train, and all of us had an answer, including me. Because I live here. In New York. Which I can still hardly believe sometimes.)

Settled, after quizzing J. Hardy about restaurants, on Knickerbocker for our dinner with Roey, and enjoyed that decision thoroughly. I don't normally just go around ordering steak, but tonight I'm glad I did, partly because it was good (duh), yet maybe mostly because it was a nice place to begin an evening that included lots of joking around (to the point of nearly "yakking," for Anne), comfortable conversation, and a patient walk through ankle-heaps of snow towards the train. (There are more dramatic ways to spend Valentine's Day, I guess, but I can't think of too, too many that are more generally pleasant.)