How did I forget? Life in New York is absolute madness! A mere three days after touching down at JFK, I was back to the grindstone of work at the venerable Columbia U. I have been spoiled by long, languid days of leisurely breakfasts, pleasant game viewing and bird spotting, afternoons reading a novel by the pool and sundowners enjoyed with a glass of wine. I'm not quite ready for the tedium of 9 to 5 work! But here I am, working and trying to cram everything into 24 hours. There's work, running in the park, yoga, parties, film festivals, dinner with friends, interesting public health lectures to attend, errands to run, graduation festivities to plan, all of the various bits and pieces of life in New York. It's such a cliche to say that the pace is dizzying, isn't it?
In addition to my day job, there are also future prospects to consider. Two weeks after returning, I landed an interview with a big fat pharma company smack dab in the center of the city. It went well, and now I have a second interview scheduled for next week. Wish me luck!
Things I have done since I returned include: 1. Tribeca Film Festival! Jackie and I saw
"A Brand New Life," about a little girl abandoned at a Korean orphanage. Sounds like a downer, right? It was actually very sweet & sad, an entirely beautiful film.
2. Ordered a spinach and garlic pizza at the best pizza joint in town,
San Remo's, which is, luckily, just down the block from me!
3. Ogled the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden with J.
4. Baked a belated birthday cake for J. Although he got a chocolate brownie with ice cream plus a staff sing-a-long at Spurs restaurant in Kuruman, South Africa, he moaned that he didn't, in fact, get a real birthday cake this year (or, for that matter, the two birthday dinner parties with all of his friends in attendance that he is accustomed to). I thought I would try my hand at a double layer cake to assuage his sorrow. Here it is, a two-layer "Sunshine" cake with raspberry filling and white icing, plus the appropriate amount of candles. I believe in the true amount of candles on every birthday cake, fire alarm be damned!
5. Planted my summer garden. J. and I joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group this year, so we will be getting boxes of veggies every week, probably more than we can eat. Anticipating the boxes of tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, etc, I planted less veggies this year and more spices. I was happy to see that some spices from last year, including cilantro, catnip, mint, rosemary, oregano and lavender have come back on their own. And my strawberries plants look beautiful!
6. Dined at my favorite restaurant in the world with J.,
Al di la. It boasts delectable northern Italian cuisine in a friendly, homey setting. Its The only downside is that it's very popular and it does not take reservations, so you have to be prepared to eat dinner at 5:30p!
7. Attended both the Met Opera and the New York City Opera. I've got to say, although I'm a snob at heart, I really do think that City Opera could give the Met a run for its money. The modern production of Handel's
Partenope that we saw was fantastic.
8. Spent a late afternoon reading in Sheep's Meadow in Central Park.
9. Put my cat on a diet. I swear, he must have gained three pounds since I left! A pound for every month I was away, perhaps. He's now eating high fiber cat food and he seems lighter already.
...but I do like colorful sand. I collected sand from the deserts and beaches of eastern and southern Africa--Shela beach on Lama in Kenya, colorful rocky sand from Cape Town, white sand the color of sugar from Cape Vidal, South Africa, etc--and smuggled my collection across every national border in 1 ounce Nalgene bottles. I was reassured by my geologist friend, Meghan, that any microorganisms in the sand would be dead by the time I reached home. Now, I'm home and I can display my sand in glass spice bottles. Here is red sand from Sesreim Dune 45 in Namibia,
and here is yellowish-white sand from Kendwa Rocks, Zanzibar.
