I have been home now for one week. Time passes quickly when you fill your days with elliptical trainers and literature, I must say. As important as it is to me that I am able to take care of myself, spending my time in this manner admittedly shows me the lure of marrying rich. (As a sidenote, it's funny, isn't it, that being able to take care of oneself really just boils down to money. If I won the lottery and invested wisely, I could have it all taken care of. And yet I chose education over chance..)
It's been a strange past few months. I've been essentially living out of a suitcase since June, and despite a few occasions where I had a homecooked meal, I've generally been eating poorly spiced personal concoctions or overpriced/over-greased restaurant food. (Notable exceptions: our glorious Florence hostel breakfasts, Anni's food in London, Nice dinners, and Paris crepes and falafel.) In any case, the chapati and chickpeas are a welcome change from that.
Seeing as my parents are at work during the day, it's been a nice opportunity to spend more time with my grandfather. Although our schedules are generally different, and I tend to hole up reading a lot, we still have a few ritual interactions.
Each morning at breakfast, I'll come down for a bowl of cereal. He probably still hasn't eaten, but he'll watch me curiously as I eat cold milk and some sort of grain, an entirely foreign concept to him. He'll question me about it, I'll offer him some, he'll laugh at the suggestion. Upon finishing breakfast, he'll ask if I want yogurt and rice. I'll say no, he'll ask if one shouldn't eat that in the morning, I'll say that it isn't a matter of should or shouldn't, I just prefer not to. As he sits down to breakfast shortly thereafter, he'll offer me food. I'll remind him that I just ate, he'll say that I can always eat more, I'll say no again, and that will be that.
This has happened almost every morning since I've been home. Ah, it makes me wonder what I missed in my childhood.
In other news, Grey's Anatomy has once again taken over my life. I wouldn't say I necesarily waited in anticipation this whole summer, but I will admit that the Meredith-Derek scene in the last episode left me rather angered, and I was curious to see what sort of resolution they would offer. I suppose I should have realized that they wouldn't really offer any, and I suppose this whole season will be a fight between Derek and Finn. Poor Addison.
During those last days in New York, when I worked at S. during the day but had significantly more free time than while at I., Raj and I would wander down to 34th Street once a week to look at the Project Runway displays in the Macy's window. Fashion Week took place about three blocks from where I was staying. I had almost gotten used to the herds of rats that would overtake the sidewalk at night, and had definitely learned to navigate the crowds of people.
It's funny, I didn't realize New York had grown on me until I came back. Driving back from friend's houses at night, the emptiness of the road scares me, and the darkness seems eerie.
oh vanitha! i hope Brazil is fun! If you ever want to work in norcal, send me or jon your resume and i'm sure you can find a job at google. they do a excellent job recycling (both food waste and recyclable materials), though the air conditioning is a little too strong for me.
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