Beyond the Sea.

Needless to say, I am feeling much better now. Adam and I had a really nice long weekend, and I think I am ready to go back to the world again. Friday night we both conked out early and slept forever, and then Saturday morning we went to the Grand Army Plaza Farmer's Market and bought some great stuff. We got lettuce and tomatoes, a nice loaf of fresh bread, a small apple pie, some fantastic grapes from a vineyard, and some peppers, eggplants and zucchini's so I could make my stuffed vegetables for the week. We also got a bit of smoked bluefish from the fishmongers, which was super-cheap (like, 5 bucks for two nice hunks) and ate that with a sourdough roll and grapes for lunch out on the grass. Really, really lovely.

We rested at home until it was time to get ready, and then we took the subway to 23rd St. on the west side and walked out to the Chelsea piers. The Bateaux New York is a beautiful ship. Long, thin and enclosed in glass, it is the most romantic boat you could think of. We boarded around 6:45 and got our seat next to Bill and Fran, a middle-aged couple celebrating their 7th anniversary. We ordered a nice bottle of champagne, and then...our meal. Let me tell you how incredible this food was....auuuggghhhh it was so good. Here's what we had:

ADAM:

• Appetizer: Maryland crab cakes with black bean salsa
• Entree: Braised lamb shank with polenta and fava beans
• Dessert: New York cheesecake with mixed fruit

MICHELLE:

• Appetizer: Eggplant chevre parfait
• Entree: Filet Mignon topped with crumbled blue cheese with smashed red potatoes and mixed vegetables
• Dessert: Also the New York cheesecake

Best part of the meal? The eggplant parfait. This little thing was the most delectable 3 ounces of food I have ever eaten. They take these eggplant slices and marinate them in some kind of tomato base, cooking them into a little cup shape with a layer of creamy goat cheese on top. So you get that little thing on a plate, with sprouts on top and drizzled with balsamic reduction sauce and olive oil. I MAY DIE. It was so good.

So it was really romantic. The weather was beautiful, and the city was all lit up around us. There was a jazz band with singer, and we danced (they played our wedding song, and we didn't even ask!) and stood out on the open deck with our faces in the wind. Really, we couldn't have asked for a better night.

We told the waiter that it was our 2nd anniversary, so he said they would acknowledge us to the ship. So later, the singer goes, "Let's congratulate Adam and Michael on their 2nd anniversary!" And Adam and I look at each other...I say "Hey, we're gay!" and laugh. The singer corrected herself later when someone probably dashed up there to say "MICHELLE! MICHELLE!" Bill, our tablemate, called me Michael for the rest of the night.

So, filled with rich food and a bottle of champagne, we dragged ourselves homeward and fell into bed. Check out our photo page for new pics!!!

Sunday was filled with chores and other sundries...and we visited a music store where I got to play a cello for the first time! It was so incredible. I'm so excited, because Adam's going to get me one for Hanukkah! He has a hook-up from school and we are going to buy one from them later in the year. I've started to work on a music theory book in preparation. I can't wait! Then I made some shwarma chicken stew and called it a night.

This morning, after going to the bathroom 14 times during the night I realized that my severe back pain of late might be related and ... took my home test and ... sure enough, I've got another UTI. Sigh. So, all that champagne probably wasn't the best thing for me, but it was WORTH IT. Now, it's all cranberry juice for me.

That's about it. Tomorrow it's back to the grind!

Faster Than the Speed of Life.

Following a thoroughly exhausting week, it has been another exhausting week. Last weekend was really great, considering I got to a) See my best friend Peck, b) Eat food in a big urban garden while watching Ghostbusters on a projection screen with Adam and my best friend Peck and c) Stay up until 4am drinking with a bunch of teachers in Long Beach. I mean, that's a pretty good weekend.

But regardless...the week has been mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting. I don't know what it is, but I think everything that we've done since June-- moving to New York, getting new jobs, getting used to a break-neck paced new life-- it's finally catching up with us. Adam and I don't generally shout at each other, I mean, hardly ever. But this past week we've shouted at each other, oh, at least two or three times. It sort of feels like we're pulled taut, like violin strings, and then something cuts through and, SNAP! you could sever an artery with that thing. And the funny thing is, we both know it's happening, we both realize that we're not really angry at each other, we're just so tense. So the shouting doesn't last long. And honestly, I think this weekend will put an end to it all. It's our two year anniversary! But more on that later.

For some reason I've been feeling particularly morose this week, probably because of several things all mashed together in a blackened Morbid Pie. First of all, I found out on Monday that Barbara from UMBC has died of cancer at the end of last week. My Mom was keeping it from me, and I don't really blame her. She knows how I am. But at any rate, it was a severe blow. I knew it was going to happen, but these things tend to affect me more deeply than I can help. I have no emotional defenses for death. I never have.

And then, during the weekend, Peck was telling me about a girl her ex-boyfriend was visiting in the hospital; a young girl like me who had just found out she had leukemia. She only has about a 40% chance of survival. Just like that. Peck was barely herself (perky, wacky, etc.) and told me, in her honest, baldfaced way that I adore, "I can't stop thinking about death."

But we forgot about it for a while and had a fun weekend, but you know, it's still there. Oddly enough, the books I've been reading (by no intention of my own) have concerned things of that nature, too. One was about a young girl whose Mom got breast cancer (happily she survives, but is obviously changed forever), and I've been reading a biography of Lewis Carroll, who is infamous for his worship of youth and his desperate fear of growing old.

Today, on the way to the train to work, I passed the little fenced in garden where the many packs of wild cats live. One of the cats, a little black one, was lying near the fence. Someone had put a pink rose in its arms. I knew it wasn't breathing. It was one of the saddest things I've ever seen. I spent the entire train ride trying not to cry and wondered why I never grew out of this.

So, I don't know what the hell is going on. I don't know why the world is so full of all these senseless tragedies. It is probably the one thing that has most troubled me, all my life. It is times like these that I wish my faith could tell me, without a doubt, that this too, shall pass, and all things happen for a reason, and all good things go to a better place. My faith tells me these things, but my heart doesn't always believe it. I don't know why I'm writing all of this.

Anyway, it's not all doom and gloom over here, really. This weekend, Adam and I will be celebrating our anniversary on a 3-hour dinner cruise around Manhattan, and it will be incredibly romantic. And we will relax and think about life and look at the sky and feel the wind on our faces. Sometimes the wind on your face and a warm hand holding yours tightly is all you need to believe in goodness.

Crash and Burn. But, In A Good Way

Hello, all. According to my most esteemed mother, you all have been clamoring for a new installment. Well, be it true or not, here it is. I am currently prone in bed with my laptop after a harrowing day with an early gym workout, vastly varying temperatures, a little too much employee birthday wine, a little too small a lunch, and, of course, Aunt Flo. That really tops it off. After barely dragging myself home, Adam promptly fed me linguine and put me in bed. What a good man, that one.

Ok, here we go. WARNING: This is going to be a long one.

So, let us take a step back in time, to...oh, two weekends ago. Adam and I traveled via the Jewish Bus (no, really) back to Maryland for Rosh Hashanah weekend. Upon our arrival, we were picked up by the Ilkovitch family in their fabulous new motorcarraige. Three rows of seating, a DVD player, enchanted rims made from ancient Mayan silver, and a trained monkey in the back! Crazy. But no, it was really nice. Adam and I don't ride in cars anymore, so it was sort of a treat. We hung out with the fam for the afternoon and it was thoroughly enjoyable. I've never been so fought over by children in my life. It was nice. Then we met the folks for delicious kabobs, and went back to their place to sleep. The next day I went with Mom to see some of my UMBC pals (sadly no Julie or Kazumi...sniff sniff) and was so tickled at how happy they were to see me. I miss you all! On a somber note, it was terrible to look into Barbara's darkened office and see her elephants and bright pictures still in there, and know I'd never see her again. It's one of those things about life I just can't abide; lovely, beautiful people stolen for no reason. I am, at least, grateful to have known her.

After that, the usual Jabes feast occurred, after which we all languished in food coma and smiled to ourselves. I drew pictures of peacocks and unicorns with the girls, and we finally said goodbye. I always leave those nights wishing I could have more time with Nikki. But we've been calling a lot, and it's fun listening to her taunt me about having babies so they can wear her pristine and forever-in-fashion hand-me-downs. I love hand-me-downs. It comes with the territory.

The next day Mom and Dad took us to Rehoboth Beach. We booked a suite in at The Breakers, and walked around our old stomping grounds all day, looking in shops and petting people's dogs. I did my usual routine: buy gummi [fill in the blank]s at the Candy Kitchen, inhale them indiscriminately and in an open-mouthed, immature fashion, remove shoes and stomp through the wet sand, taunting waves and then running away, laugh at how the sandpiper birds run away too, eat Grotto Pizza, eat Boardwalk Fries with half a bottle of vinegar...you get the point. It was awesome.

We got back with an hour to spare before having to go meet the bus to return to New York. We were dead on our feet by the time we got home, but it was a good trip so it could have been much worse. There will be some new pics on our website, so you should check 'em out.

The week went by without incident, and this Saturday was Yom Kippur. Now, Adam always fasts with me, of his own volition. This is very, very sweet of him. However, the result of us both being without food is often violent and involves foul language. Heck, what am I supposed to do? I don't function well with low blood sugar. Also, our apartment was a sty and we had no food in the house, so we had to clean, do laundry, as well as Manhattan shopping on empty stomachs. This was not very smart. So, around 3 p.m. we caved and had a slice of pizza, each. It was heaven. Then I had the energy to both purchase and cook dinner (whole roast chicken with rosemary and lemon, as well as farm fresh carrots and finger potatoes, thank you very much), which was delicious. Mazel tov!

Sunday we ate at Eisenberg's and jogged in Prospect Park, which was lovely as usual. That night we got a call from our lovely new friend Charles, who lives in Hell's Kitchen. We met up in Chelsea where he greeted us: "Welcome to the Gayberhood!" (i.e. there are a lot of homosexuals in Chelsea. It's very clean!) He introduced us to Pinkberry, a tasty, fashionable and overpriced fro-yo shop where skinny people can eat no-guilt ice cream with fresh fruit and cap'n crunch on top to their heart's delight. It was funny. Charles is a wonderful young man.

Anyway, this week has been good, but seriously tiring. With Aunt Flo visiting, I feel like there is a small dwarf beating on my head with a cudgel, and some type of disgruntled goat head-butting my abdomen. Really, it feels just like that. However, today was full of surprises. I was coming back from running an errand and went to the ladies' room, where I heard a couple women (one a young editor I know, and an unknown one), talking about hand washing length to a very young, very adorable little girl, probably about 4. I didn't pay much attention to all this, but looked at the little girl, who smiled and left. I heard a lot of commotion coming from one of the ladies' offices right down the hall from me (I'm talking 10 feet) and saw that they were having some kind of meeting. I just glanced in, but that was all. They were there for a while, and around the time I noticed the voices fading, I get an e-mail from my boss: "Don't think we're going to have the meeting today...got a lot of work on my plate, and frankly, I'm a little distracted by the fact that [a certain A-list celebrity, a la Suddenly Susan] is here with her daughter."

Uhm, what?

So, yes. I was in the bathroom with this celebrity's daughter, and possibly the celebrity herself. I called Nikki to mourn the fact that I missed all of this, and she replied, "Oh, she'll probably come back. If you see her, tell her I loved Blue Lagoon."

Oh, life sure is interesting. I hope this was satisfying for you all. Also, if anyone is interested in Josh's fantastic recipe for Fennel Soup that I just tried, let me know. Fennel is in season!

Two little things

Every once in a while, I feel the urge to post a little update in this blog. Recently, there's been plenty for me to write about, but there's only two things that keep resurfacing in my mind. These are 1) Michelle's happiness and 2) my job.

Both are very important to us, but since the former is slightly more significant, I'll start with it. Michelle is finally happy. It's not that she's been depressed or anything. The happiness she feels now though, just seems to be such a distinct shift in her emotional state. I haven't seen her this happy since college. And I include our wedding. Not because she didn't enjoy our wedding. Far from it. Heck, she was in a delirious state of ecstasy. No, the difference is why. She was happy on October 6th mainly because it was October 6th. It was her wedding day. The day was all about her and she loved it. And she should have. But back then, our future still was uncertain and she certainly wasn't fulfilled by her job, so she still carried alot of stress around with her. Even through the honeymoon her happiness wasn't like it is now. It was different somehow. There's a calm about her now. I'll look over at her and she'll smile as if saying "Hi. I'm good now. Nothing to worry about." As opposed to before when her smile was a grin and the message read closer to "I'm managing." So is it because of the job? Sure, of course. But I think it's more than that. It's our lives now. There's goals in mind now and we're finally in a place that can help us recognize them. I feel Ellicott City was suffocating us very, very slowly. New York gave us fresh air (figuratively and literally) and a fresh start. Yes, we still miss all of you deeply (Ben, Nat, Jamie, Chris, our families, Jen... well, maybe not Jen) but I think Meech needed the change. We both did. So those are my thoughts on Meech's happiness. Keep in mind, I haven't run any of this by Meech, so she may disagree with all of it. But I feel fairly confident she'd agree. At least mostly.


The other I've been meaning to post about is my job. Mainly because it is SO different than anything I'm used to. Allow me to explain: First, there's the culture. It's a poor neighborhood, almost entirely African-American and the rest mostly Hispanic. (Although there is this one white kid in our school who looks quite out of place). The building we work in is HUGE and actually houses TWO High Schools along with our Middle School. It is not the safest neighborhood, but it's far from a ghetto. Keeping all this in mind, I spent my first two years teaching in Howard County.

Next there's the students themselves. A few years older than I've ever taught. Most have never seen anywhere outside of their neighborhood and almost all of them are not used to strict discipline eight hours every day. Some of the cadets (what we refer to the students as) are as big or bigger than I am. They come from poor educational backgrounds and many with little parental support. (Again, keep in mind... Howard County).

And then there's what the Commandant (Principal) is asking of me. I teach every student General Music and Band. That means all 150 cadets are learning Theory, Music History and by the end of the year each one will know how to play some instrument, whether they want to or not. I also teach Math to one of the 6th grade classes every day (Well, not Fridays, but I get them twice as much on Tuesdays so it evens out). Math is 90 minutes every day, so Tuesdays gets to be 3 hours of Math. This of course, from a Music teacher who has literally no Math educational background whatsoever. Also, every Wednesday afternoon for the last period, each Professor (teacher) takes about 15-20 students for Advisory period. This is when we teach them a different lesson about life every week, the cadets pretend they care, we pretend we don't know the cadets are pretending to care, and each Professor gets to waste 45 minutes doing what our Guidance Counselor was hired to do, when we could all be using that time to prepare for the enormous amount of work WE were hired to do.

Not that I'm bitter.

Now, that's the bad news. The good news is this: I love my job. I'm also discovering I'm quite good at it. Considering my last school had enough money for just about anything, more than one copying machine, internet access in every room, huge community support and students that would never THINK of giving teachers serious attitude, I'm doing just fine. It really surprised me, but only recently when a fellow Professor pointed it out, did I realize I can discipline these students as well as any of the other teachers that carry a more experience with these type of attitudes. And remember, this is ME we're talking about. Last year my biggest concern was giving a nine-year old a disapproving look for not practicing as much as she should have. Last week I made an entire Squadron (class) of 7th graders practice walking into my classroom three times before letting them sit down and I wasn't happy until each one said "Yes, Professor Corpora." Where was this disciplinarian hiding?

I should also point out that the parental support is stronger than I thought. The rumors are that now that the returning 7th graders have gone through this school for a year and the parents are finally seeing what he have to offer (and that the Professors actually know what we're doing), the parents are finally taking a step forward, too. Apparently last year they were not quite as "present", but we're seeing a huge turnaround now. Also, every phone call I've had to make to parents (and there's been quite a few), I've always spoken to caring, concerned parents who really do make sure their son or daughter "gets the message." So thank goodness for them!

It's funny, when I came here, I was downright terrified of facing these students. I figured if there was one reason I'd quit, it was because of them. But now they don't frighten me at all. I'm completely comfortable about getting in their face and letting them have it. What stresses me out is the enormous amount of work I've been given to do, which was what I actually had been looking forward to before I came. I'll admit it's been exciting thinking of how I'm going to teach every cadet an instrument. It's a challenge. But I like challenges. It's something that, to my knowledge, has never been done before. At least none of the schools I know in Maryland has ever tried this. Band, not as an extra-curricular program, but as a required piece to graduate. And not just Music Theory. Actually learning an instrument. And get this. Right now, we have 23 instruments and 155 cadets. Awesome, isn't it? And Commandant Dalton wants a concert in December. HAHAHA. Time to get to work!

Speaking of getting to work, I should do that myself. I need to come up with what I'm teaching next week. See, cause unlike the other subjects, the Music program doesn't have a curriculum already outlined for them. Heck, it doesn't even have a textbook yet. So, off to the drawing board.

Hope I didn't bore you. Leave a message. We love reading them and hearing from our friends and family. Take care,

Adam

*Bliss*

Time for an update, no? Well, Adam and I have had a lovely relaxing weekend. Friday night we stayed up and drank screwdrivers and watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. That was awesome. I ate too many pretzels, which was both awesome and not good at the same time. Saturday we got up and went to Eisenburg's Sandwich Shop next to the Flatiron building, where we first went with Joe and Lorraine. It may become a tradition. Adam had eggs and sausage and I had a toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese and lox. And coffee. Can it get any better? Then we got Adam some new clothes at H&M and went to Union Square to pick up some cat food and new biodegradable litter. Then we went to Target and I got an awesome new sundress. It's a size extra-small, which boggled my mind. I assume a size large would fit a moderately-sized elephant. Today started with egga (a family omelet made with lots of onion and parmesean cheese) and a jog through Prospect Park. It was beautiful. Then home and cleaning. And bean burritos. Yum.

On all other fronts, things are going really well. Adam is doing extremely well in school and is shaping up those kids right straight. He loves all his fellow teachers, and enjoyed two pints of Guinness with the vice-principal and the science teacher at a bar on Friday, while discussing math. Oh, those New York teachers. He also came up with an awesome Music Chant, which the kids all sing before class every day. It goes like this:

Music moves us from our head to our toes,
It's the only language that the whole world knows!

Mozart, Beethoven, Handel and Bach,
Classical composers that will always rock!
Flutes, clarinets and saxophones,
Trumpets and the slide trombones.

By learning these we'll lend a hand,
To form the unbeatable K---- SIX BAND!
You know that you can't make us stop,
'Cause the drummers in the back won't let the beat drop!

Music moves us from our head to our toes,
It's the only language that the whole world knows!

The kids LOVE this apparently, especially when Adam, like some Beastie Boy, raps it himself. It's a sight to see.

As for me, GW is proving to be as amazing as I had hoped. I love every day I spend there. This week I got to meet award-winning illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky, who was in the office working on a new book he's doing with poet laureate Jack Prelutsky. Part of my job is to check in new artwork that comes in, and I got to do so with his new watercolors for Awful Ogre Running Wild. They are really incredible. So, when I met him I said, awkwardly, "I saw your new pieces for Awful Ogre, they are really awesome."

He said, "You should say they are 'awful.'"

And that was our meeting. Funny. On Friday, Jenna Bush was in a meeting down the hall from me with another Harper group who's doing a book with her. Crazy! Other than that, it's all just fabulous. The group is small (11 people) and everyone is so funny and nice. In November, we're having our Art Preview party and I get to meet Kevin Henkes! He's one of the most famous authors GW has, and I do all his fan mail! Maybe I'll get an autograph.

This weekend we travel back to Maryland to celebrate Rosh Hashana with my folks and go to Rehoboth for a mini-vacation. Yay!

Guestravaganza!

Well, I'm REALLY busy right now, but I figure I ought to post SOMEthing about the last couple weeks before more stuff happens I just get horribly behind. I'll be quick about these...

Lorraine and Joe
Last weekend brought Lorraine and Joe to our happy home. They've been planning it all summer and now they finally got to see the place. It was a very enjoyable weekend, but unfortunately quite short. Because of the long drive, they didn't get here until late Friday night, then had to leave early Sunday. But still, we made time for fun. I can't seem to remember most of the stuff we did, but I do know we went to Rockefeller Center to check out a French library for Lorraine and stopped by the Seaport so Lorraine and Joe could buy tickets for Curtains (which they both enjoyed, but Lorraine more than Joe. I think.)

Anyway, it was a great weekend. And they were both so awesome guests cause they brought dinner for us that night (and it was GREAT!). I can't remember anything else, but if I do, I'll add it later.

Back to School
My job officially started this past week, but no classes yet. It was a full week of orientation for the cadets (students). This involved much running around, alot of manual labor, plenty of last minute plans and just a dash of hysteria. They new cadets were terrified, which is good, but the old cadets are already starting to test the staff. I'm freaking out a good bit because on top of my Music classes, I also have to teach 90 minutes of Math every day. And apparently Pete, the commandant (principal) wants me to teach every student a band instrument. So right now I'm teaching myself Pascal's triangle and looking up how to order 42 clarinet mouthpieces. Awesome.

I've already told the more interesting KAPPA VI stories to my friends and families, so I don't feel like repeating them again here. Maybe I'll add them later when I get a free second.

Mom and Dad
This past weekend was the final of 4 weekend visits in a row and I couldn't have asked for a more relaxing and enjoyable weekend. (In case you're wondering, it was Ben and Nat, Mania and Rick, Joe and Lorraine, then Mom and Dad). Fortunately, they had the long weekend, so we got in alot of activities all through Saturday and Sunday. Oddly enough, despite the fact that all our plans involved relaxing, every time we got home, we all felt exhausted.

Saturday was our wine-tasting voyage, where we headed out to Long Island and stopped at three or four vineyards. Oh, and we also traveled great distances for a magical restaurant called Legends. The food was great, but the service made me think the waiters had to travel the same distance to reach our table. The vineyards were amazing and Meech and my folks got some great pictures. It took most of the day and it was probably 5 or 6 when we got back. Even though all we did was sit, sip wine and talk, we collapsed when we got home and enjoyed a large Not Ray's Pizza pizza.

Sunday was equally as beautiful, but far less restful. We headed south to the Botanical Gardens. It was wonderful weather and the gardens were beautiful, but it was pretty warm and we got tired of walking. Of course, we couldn't leave until stopping by Prospect Park for ALL of our first look at it. Meech and I LOVED it there and we're already planning trips for our friends and us to hang out down there. That night we celebrated the perfect weekend by visiting our favorite Italian place in Little Italy, Da Nico's. The food, service and atmosphere were excellent. Even if they weren't, pulling Mom's invisible laughing cord would have made up for EVERYTHING.

I joked alot about how glad I was that this was the last weekend for guests. Of course, it's true I'll be looking forward to a quiet weekend at home next week, I'm still so happy for all our visits. It's been great seeing friends and family, especially after such a big move. In all seriousness, if we could do it all again, we would.

Just not next weekend.

That's it for me. I'm going to get back to lesson plans and such. Check out our pictures up there on the right. Meech has added a bunch of new ones for you.
Take care and talk to you later.
Toodles,

Adam

Anything is possible.

Okay. I need to preface this entire post with one thing:

I GOT THE JOB AT HARPERCOLLINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh. My. God. I am going buck nutty right now. I just got the call about an hour ago, and have been in a blissful stupor ever since. After all these years, I am going to be working in children's books. I can't believe it!!!! I'm starting Monday. My new boss was so eager to have me, he asked the HR lady, "Can she start on Friday?" EEEEEE! So, the reason for my lack of posts is that I've been spending the week trying not to vomit while waiting for that very call. Now that I am free of puke-inducing anxiety, I can write again. Maybe. Oh, wow.

So I will have to go back to two weekends ago, when our buds Ben and Nat came over. Then, I can tell you all about this past weekend with my folks.

Ben and Nat's Visit
So Saturday afternoon Adam and I trekked to Chinatown to pick the hep cats up from the bus depot. Once we found them, we went back home to drop off their stuff and chill. Since everyone was pretty bushed, Adam went out to pick up some pizza from Not Ray's Pizza on Lafayette in Brooklyn. We spent the evening eating pizza, drinking and playing Cranium. Ben and Adam were amorous with each other, as per usual, and decided they would create a comic strip called "The Indicative Pickle" about all of us and a very odd diner in Montgomery County. It was truly hilarious. The next day, we went back to Chinatown to eat some pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) and then went around Manhattan for a bit before retiring back to the house. Then followed another night of drinking and playing Mario Party. It was just like old times! Sadly, that night at 3AM Nat was up with a splitting headache which made her sort of barf, which was bad. But post-barf, she was better and we all went back to sleep. The next day we had some more Chinese food in the heart of Chinatown (Ben is a big Asia-fan, you see...) before seeing them off to the bus again. All in all, a lovely weekend with friends.

I need not speak much of the week to follow, most of it was spent, for me at least, in a state of constant gastronomica nervousa. Yuck. I had my wonderful second interview at Greenwillow on Wednesday, where I had the privilege of meeting the third part of my new team, and the publisher of Greenwillow, who is a truly lovely person. They all are. *sighs dreamily*

Mom and Dad Jabes' Visit
On Friday night, Adam and I went to Penn station to pick them up, and luckily the rain had stopped and it was a lovely evening. We took the subway home, and ended the night with some hummus and glasses of moscato d'asti, a fabulous sparkling white Italian wine that we bought at Moore Brothers, the coolest wine place in Manhattan. It tasted like a cacophony of tropical fruits. Delicious! Mom and Dad both loved it. We also listened to the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou? which I bought for my Dad's extremely belated Father's Day Present. Such a great movie, and great music too. The genre, according to my Mom, is "Hillbilly" in case you're trying to find it in Best Buy.

On Saturday we did TONS of stuff, breakfast at Carnegie Deli (most famous in NYC, Mom and I shared the most astronomically good bagel and lox ever), then looking at Times Square and Rockefeller Center, then falafel and gazing at the veg at the Union Square Farmer's Market. I bought some basil peppermint iced tea that everyone hated. Sad.

It was a gorgeous day though, perfect temperature, sunny, the works. We headed home after that to "geez" as my family calls it, and watch Alien (although I gracefully bowed out and my parents went to nap, so...really Adam watched it). Later that night, we went to Little Italy to have dinner at Da Nico, which was absolutely delicious. We had a nice salad and calimari to start, and then pasta (my Dad had pizza, also amazing) for the main dishes. My quatrro fromaggi ziti was to die for. Afterwards, they brought us puffy doughy stuff with powdered sugar for dessert, on the house. Then we all went home and zoned out in a carb-induced daze. Ahh.

Sunday was detox day, so I served nice wheat toast, cheese, olives and fruit for breakfast. Then, we walked around Washington Square for a bit to listen to some live jazz, and then around Greenwich Village to look at things and pick up some lunch before the bus. My Mom ate the best salad she has ever had in her life (or so she says). So that was good. Pretty soon it was time to head back to the bus, and we said our sad goodbyes and they were on their way. They had a great time, so my hostess duties were fulfilled. Huzzah. Mom can't wait to come back. Soon, Ma!

Anyway, that's pretty much it. Now, I'm sitting here in some kind of crazy daze with my hair just cut and looking like some punk 15-year old boy with an attitude. It fits my personality perfectly. Adam is on his way home, and we are going out to dinner to celebrate. Greek food? I say, yes!