Take this train.

I just checked my blog to see if it had been updated. As if someone else might have done it.

Anyway, things are trucking along...I've been going to class and reading about research methods. I've been hanging out with lovely people like Zachary and Dr. Science and my sister and her boyfriend, Brendan. I've given directions to people on the subway and street. That's exciting, though I'm convinced it may have more to do with my midwestern approachability than anything that makes me look like a New Yorker. Oh, and I got hit on the head (painfully, but not at all seriously) on the subway late the other night, on purpose, by one of a group of obnoxious teenage specimens. That was awesome. It was one of the most humiliating and infuriating experiences of my life (and I blubbered about it for a while afterwards--poor Brian who answered the phone to a sniffling, sobbing me). But if that's the case, things could be a lot worse. I swore I would get angry at anyone who laughed when I told them the story, but I find myself laughing with them now...

Oh, and I registered for classes. That was exciting and nerve-wracking. So I'm all set. My saintly father arrives this weekend with all our stuff and we begin the final phase of the move.

Time Out!

I'm sitting across from my sister, who is all gussied up and fancy to go out tonight, and she's reading all sorts of potential cool and exciting things we could do this weekend from TimeOutNY, like a million different activities and festivals and shows, and I am trying not to sweat too much and my hair is everywhere and my clothes are hanging off of me all weird because of so much walking around in the heat with a really heavy awkward bag, and all I can think of is how relieved I am that I can go to bed soonish, but not until I wash the blackness of the day off of my filthy feet...

And all that sounds bad, but really it's quite good. For example:
Washington Square

This is the view from the study lounge where I spent several hours today and yesterday!

Also, here's an interesting thing!! Check out MediaKid.org for some really interesting perspectives on media and kids. Sooo great, Cedar!

Damn hot!

I am sitting in Annie's adorable but sweltering kitchen, drinking coffee and psyching myself up for a day of work. Not the kind of work where you get paid, but the kind of work where you read for many hours and then type for many hours.

Do I have a paper and a monologue due tomorrow? Yes.

Did I arrive at 1am on Monday? Also yes.

It's not that bad, just fast-paced because the class I'm in is only for an intensive 3 weeks. It's exciting to actually, finally be doing this, and to be sitting in class and actually contributing. (Really! I raised my hand and talked yesterday and even provoked a follow-up question from the professor!) And I certainly have time for the work, it's not like I'm doing anything else except experiencing a new city, but whatever! Plenty of time for that, right?

Also: Thank goodness for Dr. Science! Man, was I happy to see him, finally!

Life updates.

So the big thing is, I'm moving to New York on Sunday. I can't even begin to address the weirdness of that transition, so I'll just leave it at that and update when I get there.

Last weekend Brian came into town for my birthday, and managed to plan and pull off a complete surprise birthday dinner for me, even when he did all the planning from way out in San Francisco. He even got my high school friends there! It was SO much fun, and I just kept looking at him in disbelief the whole night. The best part was that I never suspected a thing, even when I knew he had talked to at least two of my friends on the phone, I just believed the crap they fed me as excuses. I love surprises!

I'm so lucky.

Almost famous.

On the way back from getting a drink around the corner, Taylor and I walked down Thomas Street (the block parallel to my street), because there have been all kinds of movie trucks there for the past two days. It turns out they're filming only at night, and we saw Will Farrell and Maggie Gyllenhaal rehearsing a scene for "Stranger Than Fiction." It was cool to see-- apparently Dustin Hoffman is in the film too. The presence of this kind of production is ridiculous though, they just descend on a three-block radius with like 25 massive trucks and trailers, and then they use a positively minute space where they create some sort of environment for the scenes to take place.

So it seems to be quite the movie season in Chicago these days...Abbey and I walked past a set for the Jennifer Aniston/Vince Vaughn film downtown this afternoon too. Then we walked into the Apple store and Abbey kept pretending she was Jennifer Aniston's assistant, and that she was there to buy "Jen" an iPod.

In other news, Brian comes into town in 24 hours, and I couldn't be more excited.