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30 May 2002
Ants in my
30 May 2002 23:19I should get the hell out of Stamford Hill and into the city sometime very soon. I realized yesterday that I've been here for almost a week and have not gotten more than a dozen blocks away from my house.
Oh, there've been good reasons for it -- there's been pressing work to do, and I've missed my family and it's lovely hanging with them again. (As an aside, they're in much much better spirits now than when I left seven weeks ago. This is great news.) But, man, enough of the neighborhood; it's time to go breathe citylife.
Yesterday Z&Jo went to the National Gallery to hear a free concert with some friends, which they later said was excellent -- and is a weekly event, so we're all going next week. Meanwhile, Tesher and I had rather a fun-filled evening. We went to the park they've discovered in my absence, absolutely brilliant. To start with, it's tucked in behind these two apartment complexes, and the way in is narrow and lined by overgrown holly and other-flower bushes, and you pass through this funky wrought iron gate that looks like evil tree branches. Then, once you're in, it's pretty much a narrow little forest with openings for flowerbeds (roses and peonies that catch your nose from the path, mmm.....) and climbable playground things.
My nephew is a daredevil. He insisted on climbing this, this wooden climbing bridge thing, where you hold on to the chains it's suspended by, to a wooden house structure, and then running back and forth on another suspended bridge (also holding on to chains) between that structure and the neighboring one. And I couldn't be up there with him.
It was So Scary. I kept making sure I was *right* underneath him, to catch him if he fell. I even tried climbing up and down behind him, but quickly realized, after a momentary scare, that if he were indeed to fall, I wouldn't be able to do anything if I was up there with him. So I stayed down on the ground and looked at him helplessly the first couple of times he did this.
Then I realized that he is astonishingly agile. He may not look very sure of himself yet, at 23 months of age, but he's very aware of his body in space, and handles himself actually pretty well. I got proud, and the outing became fun again.
Then we went to the store, came home, had dinner, and he went to bed. The park was the most exciting thing. But the park was worth three days of at-home fun. We even stopped to smell the flowers. Oh, and my siblings came home, and we giggled and enthused at each other before bed. It seems I've a standing invitation from them to spend next summer with them, provided they're stable (and working) and I've nothing better to do. It's way too early to plan next summer, and something more professionally exciting may well turn up -- but if I'm just staying around Providence and doing research and/or writing, it'd be neat to skip town for a month or two and come live with them. Maybe. It'll depend on circumstances. For now, I'm enjoying my present living situation quite a bit.
Today I realized that there had to be a Day Off From Any Work in the near future. That day turned out to be today, as Jo and Tesher and I went out thrift-shopping.
I have jeans!! This is a Big Deal, because I haven't had decent jeans for nearly a year, and threw out my all-too-worn-out last pair just recently. And today I find a great-looking pair that fits perfectly, and things are happy. Also, a comfy summery dress, two cookbooks, and a book called "Kosher Sex: A Recipe For Passion And Intimacy," which teaches you how to have good sex and stay Good within the laws of Judaism. It should be an... interesting read. I will not be converting to Judaism, or any other religion, anytime soon; but this should offer some insight into the Jewish religious mindset.
At home, we (together with Z) had bacon and French toast for dinner, and later watched "Hideous kinky," a British and French coproduction in which Kate Winslet plays a Londoner mother of two girls (6 and 8), in search of truth in Morocco. It was alright. I liked most of it, but the characters weren't as deeply developed as I would have liked, none of them save for one (KW's Moroccan lover Bilal, played brilliantly by some guy whose other work I've *got* to look up now). But a brilliant, enjoyable evening.
Soon I will sleep, and enjoy that very much as well.
Oh, there've been good reasons for it -- there's been pressing work to do, and I've missed my family and it's lovely hanging with them again. (As an aside, they're in much much better spirits now than when I left seven weeks ago. This is great news.) But, man, enough of the neighborhood; it's time to go breathe citylife.
Yesterday Z&Jo went to the National Gallery to hear a free concert with some friends, which they later said was excellent -- and is a weekly event, so we're all going next week. Meanwhile, Tesher and I had rather a fun-filled evening. We went to the park they've discovered in my absence, absolutely brilliant. To start with, it's tucked in behind these two apartment complexes, and the way in is narrow and lined by overgrown holly and other-flower bushes, and you pass through this funky wrought iron gate that looks like evil tree branches. Then, once you're in, it's pretty much a narrow little forest with openings for flowerbeds (roses and peonies that catch your nose from the path, mmm.....) and climbable playground things.
My nephew is a daredevil. He insisted on climbing this, this wooden climbing bridge thing, where you hold on to the chains it's suspended by, to a wooden house structure, and then running back and forth on another suspended bridge (also holding on to chains) between that structure and the neighboring one. And I couldn't be up there with him.
It was So Scary. I kept making sure I was *right* underneath him, to catch him if he fell. I even tried climbing up and down behind him, but quickly realized, after a momentary scare, that if he were indeed to fall, I wouldn't be able to do anything if I was up there with him. So I stayed down on the ground and looked at him helplessly the first couple of times he did this.
Then I realized that he is astonishingly agile. He may not look very sure of himself yet, at 23 months of age, but he's very aware of his body in space, and handles himself actually pretty well. I got proud, and the outing became fun again.
Then we went to the store, came home, had dinner, and he went to bed. The park was the most exciting thing. But the park was worth three days of at-home fun. We even stopped to smell the flowers. Oh, and my siblings came home, and we giggled and enthused at each other before bed. It seems I've a standing invitation from them to spend next summer with them, provided they're stable (and working) and I've nothing better to do. It's way too early to plan next summer, and something more professionally exciting may well turn up -- but if I'm just staying around Providence and doing research and/or writing, it'd be neat to skip town for a month or two and come live with them. Maybe. It'll depend on circumstances. For now, I'm enjoying my present living situation quite a bit.
Today I realized that there had to be a Day Off From Any Work in the near future. That day turned out to be today, as Jo and Tesher and I went out thrift-shopping.
I have jeans!! This is a Big Deal, because I haven't had decent jeans for nearly a year, and threw out my all-too-worn-out last pair just recently. And today I find a great-looking pair that fits perfectly, and things are happy. Also, a comfy summery dress, two cookbooks, and a book called "Kosher Sex: A Recipe For Passion And Intimacy," which teaches you how to have good sex and stay Good within the laws of Judaism. It should be an... interesting read. I will not be converting to Judaism, or any other religion, anytime soon; but this should offer some insight into the Jewish religious mindset.
At home, we (together with Z) had bacon and French toast for dinner, and later watched "Hideous kinky," a British and French coproduction in which Kate Winslet plays a Londoner mother of two girls (6 and 8), in search of truth in Morocco. It was alright. I liked most of it, but the characters weren't as deeply developed as I would have liked, none of them save for one (KW's Moroccan lover Bilal, played brilliantly by some guy whose other work I've *got* to look up now). But a brilliant, enjoyable evening.
Soon I will sleep, and enjoy that very much as well.
Ants in my
30 May 2002 23:19I should get the hell out of Stamford Hill and into the city sometime very soon. I realized yesterday that I've been here for almost a week and have not gotten more than a dozen blocks away from my house.
Oh, there've been good reasons for it -- there's been pressing work to do, and I've missed my family and it's lovely hanging with them again. (As an aside, they're in much much better spirits now than when I left seven weeks ago. This is great news.) But, man, enough of the neighborhood; it's time to go breathe citylife.
Yesterday Z&Jo went to the National Gallery to hear a free concert with some friends, which they later said was excellent -- and is a weekly event, so we're all going next week. Meanwhile, Tesher and I had rather a fun-filled evening. We went to the park they've discovered in my absence, absolutely brilliant. To start with, it's tucked in behind these two apartment complexes, and the way in is narrow and lined by overgrown holly and other-flower bushes, and you pass through this funky wrought iron gate that looks like evil tree branches. Then, once you're in, it's pretty much a narrow little forest with openings for flowerbeds (roses and peonies that catch your nose from the path, mmm.....) and climbable playground things.
My nephew is a daredevil. He insisted on climbing this, this wooden climbing bridge thing, where you hold on to the chains it's suspended by, to a wooden house structure, and then running back and forth on another suspended bridge (also holding on to chains) between that structure and the neighboring one. And I couldn't be up there with him.
It was So Scary. I kept making sure I was *right* underneath him, to catch him if he fell. I even tried climbing up and down behind him, but quickly realized, after a momentary scare, that if he were indeed to fall, I wouldn't be able to do anything if I was up there with him. So I stayed down on the ground and looked at him helplessly the first couple of times he did this.
Then I realized that he is astonishingly agile. He may not look very sure of himself yet, at 23 months of age, but he's very aware of his body in space, and handles himself actually pretty well. I got proud, and the outing became fun again.
Then we went to the store, came home, had dinner, and he went to bed. The park was the most exciting thing. But the park was worth three days of at-home fun. We even stopped to smell the flowers. Oh, and my siblings came home, and we giggled and enthused at each other before bed. It seems I've a standing invitation from them to spend next summer with them, provided they're stable (and working) and I've nothing better to do. It's way too early to plan next summer, and something more professionally exciting may well turn up -- but if I'm just staying around Providence and doing research and/or writing, it'd be neat to skip town for a month or two and come live with them. Maybe. It'll depend on circumstances. For now, I'm enjoying my present living situation quite a bit.
Today I realized that there had to be a Day Off From Any Work in the near future. That day turned out to be today, as Jo and Tesher and I went out thrift-shopping.
I have jeans!! This is a Big Deal, because I haven't had decent jeans for nearly a year, and threw out my all-too-worn-out last pair just recently. And today I find a great-looking pair that fits perfectly, and things are happy. Also, a comfy summery dress, two cookbooks, and a book called "Kosher Sex: A Recipe For Passion And Intimacy," which teaches you how to have good sex and stay Good within the laws of Judaism. It should be an... interesting read. I will not be converting to Judaism, or any other religion, anytime soon; but this should offer some insight into the Jewish religious mindset.
At home, we (together with Z) had bacon and French toast for dinner, and later watched "Hideous kinky," a British and French coproduction in which Kate Winslet plays a Londoner mother of two girls (6 and 8), in search of truth in Morocco. It was alright. I liked most of it, but the characters weren't as deeply developed as I would have liked, none of them save for one (KW's Moroccan lover Bilal, played brilliantly by some guy whose other work I've *got* to look up now). But a brilliant, enjoyable evening.
Soon I will sleep, and enjoy that very much as well.
Oh, there've been good reasons for it -- there's been pressing work to do, and I've missed my family and it's lovely hanging with them again. (As an aside, they're in much much better spirits now than when I left seven weeks ago. This is great news.) But, man, enough of the neighborhood; it's time to go breathe citylife.
Yesterday Z&Jo went to the National Gallery to hear a free concert with some friends, which they later said was excellent -- and is a weekly event, so we're all going next week. Meanwhile, Tesher and I had rather a fun-filled evening. We went to the park they've discovered in my absence, absolutely brilliant. To start with, it's tucked in behind these two apartment complexes, and the way in is narrow and lined by overgrown holly and other-flower bushes, and you pass through this funky wrought iron gate that looks like evil tree branches. Then, once you're in, it's pretty much a narrow little forest with openings for flowerbeds (roses and peonies that catch your nose from the path, mmm.....) and climbable playground things.
My nephew is a daredevil. He insisted on climbing this, this wooden climbing bridge thing, where you hold on to the chains it's suspended by, to a wooden house structure, and then running back and forth on another suspended bridge (also holding on to chains) between that structure and the neighboring one. And I couldn't be up there with him.
It was So Scary. I kept making sure I was *right* underneath him, to catch him if he fell. I even tried climbing up and down behind him, but quickly realized, after a momentary scare, that if he were indeed to fall, I wouldn't be able to do anything if I was up there with him. So I stayed down on the ground and looked at him helplessly the first couple of times he did this.
Then I realized that he is astonishingly agile. He may not look very sure of himself yet, at 23 months of age, but he's very aware of his body in space, and handles himself actually pretty well. I got proud, and the outing became fun again.
Then we went to the store, came home, had dinner, and he went to bed. The park was the most exciting thing. But the park was worth three days of at-home fun. We even stopped to smell the flowers. Oh, and my siblings came home, and we giggled and enthused at each other before bed. It seems I've a standing invitation from them to spend next summer with them, provided they're stable (and working) and I've nothing better to do. It's way too early to plan next summer, and something more professionally exciting may well turn up -- but if I'm just staying around Providence and doing research and/or writing, it'd be neat to skip town for a month or two and come live with them. Maybe. It'll depend on circumstances. For now, I'm enjoying my present living situation quite a bit.
Today I realized that there had to be a Day Off From Any Work in the near future. That day turned out to be today, as Jo and Tesher and I went out thrift-shopping.
I have jeans!! This is a Big Deal, because I haven't had decent jeans for nearly a year, and threw out my all-too-worn-out last pair just recently. And today I find a great-looking pair that fits perfectly, and things are happy. Also, a comfy summery dress, two cookbooks, and a book called "Kosher Sex: A Recipe For Passion And Intimacy," which teaches you how to have good sex and stay Good within the laws of Judaism. It should be an... interesting read. I will not be converting to Judaism, or any other religion, anytime soon; but this should offer some insight into the Jewish religious mindset.
At home, we (together with Z) had bacon and French toast for dinner, and later watched "Hideous kinky," a British and French coproduction in which Kate Winslet plays a Londoner mother of two girls (6 and 8), in search of truth in Morocco. It was alright. I liked most of it, but the characters weren't as deeply developed as I would have liked, none of them save for one (KW's Moroccan lover Bilal, played brilliantly by some guy whose other work I've *got* to look up now). But a brilliant, enjoyable evening.
Soon I will sleep, and enjoy that very much as well.