I'm trying to get myself into the habit of referring to my new house as "home." It's always a tricky transition, linguistically.

My garden is thriving. The Black Prince in particular is loving life-- he's even put out a couple flowers. It's been hot and rainy here, which has been not-so-great for us people but excellent for the plants.

I had a museum date with Cami and Evan on Wednesday. We went to the Natural History Museum and rode the carousel. Cute! Why did I forget my camera? I went back to Fairfax with them to meet their new pup, Brownie, and to pick out new glasses with my mom. They're Armani, which I think is funny. My current pair is Converse. From Converse to Armani. Really?

On Friday, Trey, Mikey and I went to the Terrapin Trader, the place where UMD dumps all of their unwanted furniture. I picked up a small desk for $5.90. It was a bit tricky getting the desk into Trey's car, but it seems to have gotten here just fine. It looks a little... well... it looks like college furniture, because that's what it is. It'll serve its purpose just fine. I'll need a chair after Welch gets his out of my room, but I'm set for now. We ate lunch at Pita Plus, which was delicious. Thankfully, I only ate half of my falafel lafa (try saying that five times fast) so I had the other half left over for...

My bus ride to New York City! We left at 3:30. We were supposed to get in at 8:00, but no. Traffic was crazy. I was very glad to have packed myself dinner. Strangely enough, I had a St Mary's grad (class of '96) sitting behind me. We talked. He actually started a story with "So I was trippin', right?" With the lean-in whisper and everything! Oh, life. You're so silly.

By the time the bus got in and I rode the subway to my Andrea's house (she was kind enough to host me), it was around 10:30. I was so tired. That sofa bed felt awesome.



Saturday morning, Andrea took Matt and I to a bagel shop and then to the Renegade Craft Fair, which was very silly. Hip etsy vendors for the most part. We had tasty vegan pizza and chocolate Italian ice for lunch. Then Matt and I were off to visit our friends at the Stolen Sleeves Collective in Brooklyn. They have a super-awesome dog named Yoda and an even more super-awesome house. It's like a tree house in a warehouse. Home made pizza for dinner. Silly movie for evening entertainment. Tons of delicious food for late brunch the next morning.

Sunday, Matt and I and our friend Adam took the Staten Island Ferry just to do it. It's free, so why not? We had falafel at Oasis, amazing vegan brownies (from Vegan Treats) at Penny Licks, and went to a show. We only stayed for two bands because we wanted to get back to Andrea, but I did get a couple shirts from Swallowed Up. We had an enjoyable evening with Andrea and her partner, Nick.

I like Andrea. She's adorable. She also seems very earnest and insightful. I can see why she and Matt stay in touch.

Monday, we said our farewells and headed out. We got lunch at Red Bamboo and then headed to where our bus would pick us up. We ducked into a Borders to escape the heat and for Matt to pick up a book for the ride. He hadn't read The Places You'll Go, so we sat on the floor next to the Harry Potter books and read it together. The bus ride was sleepy and on-time.

Now, I'm sitting at my new desk and staying off my sore feet. I'm about to finish up my admissions essay for the MAT program and start going over my PRAXIS guide.