rollies that don't tick tock

I'm super tired, but I had a v. fun day in New Haven. When I woke up, Zach and Maggie made me a delicious breakfast (eggs with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and cheese, scrambled and then finished off in the broiler). Claudia came over for breakfast too, and she and I wandered away after to get coffee down the street while Maggie and Zach contemplated the messy move that is on the imminent horizon for them. They're done at Yale and are moving elsewhere later this summer, but in the meantime they have to get a one-month sublet, which is unfortunate. So, Claude and I left them to their own devices while we got coffee, and then we rendezvoused with them to go to a picnic up on a bluff (East Rock) overlooking Yale. Some friends of theirs were barbecuing up there, and it was all rather idyllic. The weather was gorgeous, the food was nice, and the company was lovely. Since I have only visited New Haven on nice days, I'm charmed by it, but I'm sure the months of endless winter and the constant threat of muggings and other violence would wear on me a bit if I had to live there.

Post picnic, we went back to Zach and Maggie's and I bid them a fond farewell. Then, Claude and I detoured for a drink and a bit of food on the way to the train station; I'm glad that I got to catch up with her, and I am hopeful that someday in our lives we'll be in the same city again. Eventually, though, it was time to head back to NYC, and I got on a train that got utterly, uncomfortably cramped to the point that I felt a little claustrophobic, but I survived the ride with my soul (if not my temper) intact. Then I took a taxi to my hotel, which is utterly ridiculous and not really helping with the claustrophobia; it's based off the idea of a capsule hotel, if that tells you anything, and was designed partially by someone who designs airline cabins. Their attempts to be charming and clever are not amusing me tonight, but perhaps I will be more amused tomorrow. And it seems clean, and it's only three blocks from the conference I'm going to later this week, so I suppose I can't complain (even though I clearly am).

Okay, enough kvetching...it's time for bed!