"Instead of Stressed, I Lie Here Charmed"

It has taken a distinct turn for the chilly here. Armed as I now am with coats, sweaters, gloves, and scarves, I was not psychologically prepared. Could I ever really be? Also, the change in temperatures means I seem to be catching a cold (it's strictly in the slightly sore throat stage right now, but I know how this works). I just had one less than two months ago! But the transition between New York seasons appears determined to take its toll on my health.

Not that things are all negative here. To the contrary, my oncoming cold is barely a tug on my buoyant spirits. I had an amazing day yesterday, that was basically a nonstop fun fest.

Rachel and I decided we wanted to go check out the Fall foliage (The West Wing taught me this is called "leaf peeping"), so we decided to get brunch and have a walk in Central Park. We set out to eat at Bubby's Pie Company in Tribeca, where we had what may well have been the best pancakes I've ever tasted.

On our way to Bubby's, we were flagged down by a film crew. You have to understand that in New York, particularly the part of New York we inhabit, film crews are a dime a dozen. When you see them you don't think "Hmm... what are they filming?" No. You think, "Get out of my way, or I will lose it." Which is pretty much the go-to thought for any New Yorker in transit. But I knew I had seen the guy with the microphone on T.V. before, so I was intrigued. He said he was from the Discovery Channel (I'm not at all sure that's where I saw him. But I've got nothing else). He interviewed us about the bedbug epidemic - we went back and forth a little about whether he could call it "deadly" since, you know, it's not. He then introduced a bedbug sniffing dog (which do exist). When we allowed the dog to smell us, it barked to indicate we both had bedbug residue in our clothes. We didn't buy it.

For good reason. It was all a wind up. I'm not sure what the point was, or where things were going to go if we believed him and the dog (though there was a suggestion of changing into skimpy outfits while our clothes were dry cleaned, but they had long since lost credibility with us at that point. I think I said, "Yeah, cause getting in a stranger's van isn't a way to get ax-murdered.") So, that was strange. Keep an eye on random bedbug-themed prank shows, and you might see me and Rachel sassing a host who has failed to trick us.

Anyway, after the familiar-yet-strange television personality and the amazing pancakes, we went to Central Park. In spite of how chilly it was when we set out, it was a gorgeous day. The leaves were in full color (but falling quickly, so leaf peeping season appears to be reaching its conclusion), and we had fun wandering through the areas that we've ended up in so many times that they've begun to feel familiar. Rachel took this picture of me, which I thought was actually pretty cute. I got a tourist to take a picture of us together, so we could combat the illusion that we go everywhere alone (which is the result of our always taking pictures of each other). But, well, this one is more flattering to me. So it's the one I'm publicizing. Note the wool coat. That is a very warm coat.

In the afternoon I spent a couple of hours preparing to write an essay (which I wrote today and is due tomorrow - I have less than a page and some formatting left to do). Then I went to Barnes and Noble to get a seat early to see Lewis Black. I got there about two hours before it started, and secured my front row seat.

I may have mentioned this before, but the Barnes and Noble near me has a lot of great celebrities stop through and give free talks/readings/book signings. I always shoot to get there about two hours early, because it all but assures a good seat, and waiting is actually pretty relaxing. You go through the store, grab books and magazines you want to read, get a drink from the cafe, and settle in. It's actually a great way to unwind.

Anyway, I managed to use the seat I was holding empty next to me in the second row to tempt my friend Michelle into joining me (she was very responsibly doing schoolwork while Rachel and I were galavanting through the park, and Rachel was doing schoolwork while Michelle and I reveled in the hilarity of Lewis Black at Barnes and Noble. No worries, I do plenty of school work on other days). We had a great time - Lewis Black was great discussing his new Christmas book, and it appears that his stand up/Daily Show persona is a fairly mild exaggeration of how he actually is. I mean, he was a little more relaxed, but he was not afraid to emphasis with volume, and let his flag fly on certain topics.

From there, I went to meet Kim, Mario, and Ji-Sup so we could go out to dinner to celebrate Kim's leaving for a conference in South Korea the next day. We had Vietnamese food, and then went out for coffee (we always go out for coffee). It was a lot of fun!

So yes, after the nonstop fun parade that was yesterday, I was much more focused today. I wrote an essay and went to class. I have the essay I'm currently working on and three more to finish before Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving I have a 20 page paper and a 12-15 page paper to get done before I come home for the holidays (on either December 18th or 19th). So not every day can be so glamorous!