The weather's getting warmer, which means the neighborhood kids are out at the playground behind our house, playing basketball. They play at all hours of the night. They seem to play more once the sun goes down, but maybe that's just when we're around to hear them. My bedroom window faces the park so I fall asleep to the thump of ball on concrete; I'm equal parts annoyed and comforted.
Hoop dreams
Focus
I spent my Monday at part one of a two-day crash-course grant writing seminar. Securing a grant is the next project I plan to tackle. It's also a bargaining chip I'd like to throw on the table when discussing title, status, and salary - once you start bringing money in you're given a little more lattitude in your demands. But writing a grant is a huge undertaking. I've had experience working on and managing grants, but I've never started one from scratch and guided it from inception through to completion. A two-day seminar may sound like plenty of time to cover things, but it's really not. My poor head was spinning from the sheer volume of information. Everything our instructor said seemed significant, and she said so many things!!! I was completely worn out by the end of the day. Then I went to the gym and I was worthless there too - I think my brain was so overloaded it started sucking the life out of my body.
One shot deal
Last night we got free tickets to Rent! We landed the tickets at 7:35 for an 8 o'clock show, and I was in Cambridge curled up in bed with a copy of Wicked, but the thought of an unexpected night at the theatre was too good an opportunity to pass up. We arrived 10 minutes late by the time all was said and done, but our seats were fabulous. We were front row center balcony, so I could just lean over and rest my head in my arms on the balcony rail and drift off into another world for a while...
I got a Tetanus shot yesterday. My arm was throbbing, so I felt all weepy and out of sorts as the day wore on. Shots always mess me up - I'm never quite right for a day or so afterward. Which means it was perfect timing for play tickets to fall out of the sky.
A $10 trip to the place you hoped you'd never be again
Last night R and I went to see The Break Up. I love Vince Vaughn, and I wish good things for Jennifer Aniston after the Brangelina fiasco, so I was hoping to really like the movie. It definitely had its funny moments. But all in all, way too realistic. R agreed with me on this point. It was life, played out on the big screen. You could feel the frustration, the disappointment, and the pain of a break up where the parties involved still love each other. If I wanted to feel all that, I'd just flip through some old photo albums. Plus, both Vince and Jen have that face - that sweet, wounded, I'm-an-idiot-but-I'm-so-lovable face. It was like watching a teddy bear fall into a puddle and then get run over. Toward the end of the movie Jen says to Vince, "I just don't know how we got here." If I had a dollar...
Side by side comparison
The differences between Boston and NYC, as I see them: NYC has Tasti DLite and Jamba Juice. NYC has amazing shopping. Obviously. And more Starbucks per square mile. Boston has thin women - the Northeast is kind of known for that. NYC has models. Thin women, but with big boobs. Advantage NYC. And I'm not even a guy. Or a lesbian. So for me it's the first three points that make the most compelling case.
Intoxicating
NYC was fabulous! We had a great time. When we first hit the streets after arriving at Penn Station, I was a little overwhelmed - NYC is much bigger than Boston in every way imaginable. But once I got my bearings, I started to like the pace and the energy. It even felt familiar, though I hadn't been back there in years. Now I miss it. I'm sure the magic would have worn off eventually, but we left before that happened. So now all I feel upon returning home is longing...
