There's Nothing Like Finding Gold Within the Rocks Hard and Cold

For the past couple of weeks my friend Rachel and I have had a weekly brunch/outing. First we had brunch at Good Enough to Eat, visited the Museum of Natural History (strange but fun place - as evidenced by the picture of a sea monster they have hanging from the ceiling with no real explanation), walked through Central Park, and had dessert for lunch at Serendipity 3. We had such a nice time, we decided to do something similar the next week - when we had brunch at Norma's and then went for a walk in Central Park. We were huge fans of Norma's, and plan to return in the future - possibly on a monthly basis.

This week though, we're changing it up. We're both huge fans of Russell Brand, so on Wednesday we'll get a meal (probably lunch), and then go hang around Barnes & Noble until he shows up for a book signing. This will actually be my second Russell Brand visit of the week, as on Tuesday I'm seeing him interviewed by New York Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff at the New York Times Building. So all that should be fun.

Me, being dazzled by brunch at Norma's.

Me, and a very enthusiastic duck statue with a Hans Christian Anderson statue reading "The Ugly Duckling" in Central Park.

In other exciting fun news, this weekend my mom came to visit me! Considering that it's now been a good month and a half since I've seen someone from home (unless you count the barista who I had met once in Charleston), you can imagine how excited I was for the friendly face. We had a fantastic time - we ate several delicious meals (at the Chelsea Market, a coastal French restaurant, Mud Coffee, and an excellent Greek restaurant) saw two incredible shows (Next to Normal and La Cage Aux Folles), walked a ton, and visited several interesting areas. We even tried to go to Strawberry Fields on John Lennon's birthday. We kind of did, but it was crazy packed, and a guy with a screaming toddler on his shoulders elbowed me in the face - which made me a bit cranky about the crowd thing. However, we did have a great time in the rest of Central Park. And Kelsey Grammar was in La Cage Aux Folles, which was an incredibly fun show. It was great to get to spend time together!

This week, or at least for the next couple of days, I've got tons of schoolwork to do. I have a midterm in one of my classes in a week, and tons of reading to do for the other two. And I need to get it all done in the next few days, since Angus is coming to visit Thursday - Sunday (!!!!!!!); I don't think I'll be doing any work then. Fortunately, we get Columbus Day off tomorrow, so I'll have time to buckle down and get ahead of the game. Hopefully.