John Grady Cole is the

First week of work: Completed! With a fair degree of success! Things seem to be going well and I'm feeling optimistic about the rest of the summer.

But best of all, friend and former roommate Corey (aka Borscht) came to NYC this week!! SO AWESOME! It was totally a surprise because she, ah, forgot to tell me she was coming. So, yesterday morning Katie and I are sitting in the lunch room before work. (we get to work at around 8:10 and start working at 8:30, so we normally chill in Dad's office but he came in late yesterday, so we were in the lunch room) And I get a call on my cell phone, so I thought it was dad. But no! It was Borscht! She was at the airport in Buffalo, heading to New York! And she wanted to meet for lunch!

So I planned to take an extra half hour lunch, but then Dad said why didn't I just take the whole afternoon off? So that is what I did! First I met Corey at the New York Public Library, which was very pretty but a lot of stuff was closed so it was sort of a bust.

Then somehow I brouht up the Natural History Museum and the giant blue whale model, and Corey said she'd never been! So we expertly navigated the subway system, and soon we were at the museum! Which was totally awesome! It was pretty much like I remembered--I hadn't been there in a long time so I was worried they might have changed things. But there were still all the great dioramas. We made a beeline for the Marine Life hall to see the whale.

The marine life was both awesome and horrifying. Much of it was creepy and disturbing but in a kind of good, fun way. I'm too much of a wimp to see horror movies, so looking at Giant Japanese Spider Crab models is about as far as I can go.

More on that later.

Then we wandered around the museum and tried to find mammals and totally ignored birds. But, you know, the Hall of Birds is the greatest thing in the world! Of course.

We had to cut our visit short because Corey was supposed to meet her mom on the other side of Central Park at 4:30. So we didn't get to see the gems, the meteorites, the reptiles or the dinosaurs. But that's ok. We'll go back some other time, perhaps ;) We ended up just walking from the museum (at 81st street) down through central park to 59th street (and from the west to the east side of the park). It turned out her mom didn't show up until 5:15, but that's ok. It was a really lovely walk. The day turned very nice and we enjoyed the park a great deal--the sun even came out! I'm starting to get good at navigating Manhattan, but Central Park is still quite the mystery to me. It's a goal of mine to get to know the park better.

Anyway, I caught the 5:47 train home, and it was a lovely day.

Today, Corey and I just met for lunch. First I went to meet her and then went to J&R to pick up an order of jewel cases (for CDs, not jewels) that my unit ordered--Dad helped. They were very heavy. Then we went back to the office and I dropped off the cases, and then it was time for lunch! There was a little street fair on Murray Street! Awesome! So I got, like last year, a crepe with chocolate and strawberries. So tasty! Then I got an Arepa, which is a sweet fried corn bread thing with mozarella cheese (they might be "mozarepas"). It was very good, but by that point I was only able to eat half. I also got a dozen fried oreos!! SOOO good! And. . . I got a sundress!! It's very pretty. It's a nice light blue fabric with a pretty pattern of darker blue flowers. And it's a halter top--slightly racy! It's a little too big for me in the bust, but I'm really flat chested and it fits better than a lot of other dresses I've tried on that have that sort of gathering at the breasts. Anyway, it looks good, even if it isn't a perfect fit, and I'm not going to fool anyone into thinking I have decolletage. I'm very pleased with it--I've been looking for a pretty sundress. I don't really buy pretty or very feminine clothes that often, but I wanted a nice sundress since I saw a beautiful $70 one in northampton that looked really nice on me. This one was $26!

And now it's the weekend and I'm going to a party with family in the Bronx. I'm looking forward to it.

( Cephalopods )

started work today. I'm back at the DOB, which is where I've worked the past two summers. But I actually didn't know what unit I would be in until today. I'd been hired by Katie's old boss, along with Katie. She's the head of enforcement, so I thought I'd be working in enforcement. But it turned out that someone else had requested two interns and then decided he didn't need them, so Katie's old boss, such a sweet woman, took both spots and hired Katie and I (actually, she hired Katie and then when she found out I didn't have a job, sort of manipulated things to get me as well--she's awesome) and then I ended up actually. . . back at the model code program!!

i've worked at the MCP the previous two years, as many of you know, but now i'm with a different unit. It's totally strange. But it's ok. I'm still working with people that I know, even if I don't know them as well. And I can go visit my old co-workers, so it's all good. In fact, I visited them today. Because first I was brought up to their area, and then brought down to where I'm actually working--which is much nicer because it isn't the floor that the commissioner is on, so everything is a little more casual. And I have a double-sized cubicle--score! Not that I need the room.

I just hope I'll be kept busy with work that I'm confident of my ability to complete. It seems more likely here than it did with my old unit, actually. I'm being optimistic! Today I spent some time trying to look busy, but I also had some stuff to actually do, so that was ok. I just feel bad, because I'm supposed to be helping people and at this stage, when I'm constantly asking for work, I'm not only not helping, I'm creating more work. But soon that sort of thing will even out. I was told some of what's done, so I know that there will be stuff for me to do.

So, yeah. That seems good. It's funny. I totally did not think I would be working with people I know. It's really nice. And the person I was assigned to help is one of my favorite people in the MCP, who's always been really nice to me.

Also, today--totally productive! I think because I knew I had so little time, since I get home at six, I couldn't relax until I got stuff done. And I did! I filled out three forms for Arcadia, and one of them was the homestay form which was annoying. But the homestay is three days, so if I didn't capture my essence perfectly, it doesn't matter if I don't get matched up perfectly. And I took all these winter clothes out of my dresser, thereby making room for the basket and pile of clothes in my room to go into my dresser. And I did a whole bunch of ironing! So I am reading for action.

Also, watched Wishbone: The Prince and the Pooch. By Mo Rocca!!! AMAZING. I find it hilarious and awesome that Mo Rocca wrote Wishbone episodes. I have even more respect for him now. Seriously, Wishbone is such a high quality show. I love it and worship it. One of the best children's programs ever created, I think. Up there with Sesame Street and Reading Rainbow. (ahhh, Levar Burton!!)

And now I need to read a little more Timmy!fic and then take a shower and then go to bed!