creating the republic of heaven

3 presentations in 3 classes, in the next 3 days.

also, i have a paper due in 17 days, and i haven't picked a topic. i need to perform an ethical analysis of some current environmental conflict. if you know of any interesting environmental conflicts, please let me know! i'm surrounded by this stuff, but i've been drawing mental blanks for weeks.

i also need to find a job. i've been so busy with school that i've neglected my job hunt. i knew this would happen, but it is unpleasant regardless. i'm very open on location, but i would love to stay in the NYC metro area. it is just so amazing living here.

Who will be in NM and free for visiting between Dec. 19-28?

I went to my 2nd karate class today. It was so much fun!

I've wanted to learn karate for a long time, but I've always said "I don't have the time," or come up with other excuses. Well, I don't have the time now, but I'm going to do it anyway! Booyah, time!

Spent today wandering Central Park doing the touristy stuff. Saw some sites- the Balto statue, the Bethesda fountain, and the Imagine mosaic inside Strawberry Fields.

There were some great street performers- drummers, a flutist, an accordian player, and some guys with guitars singing Beatles songs. There were three really neat gymnast/dancing performers who got shut down by the park management- I don't really know why. They were doing incredible flips and twirls and break dancing type stuff. They drew a huge crowd.

We had some sushi and lo mein afterwards on Columbus- I think from now on we'll probably just get sushi in Uptown, since there are cheaper places with better quality.

Now we're back home, to unwind for the evening. I have another final tomorrow- this time in Climatology, which was a fun class.

So excited that Waxman-Markey passed in the House!

So, this is the first time I have had to breathe and assess all week!

My coursework is pretty crazy. I have several major group projects to complete this summer, as well as 3 lab sessions a week and gobs of reading.

I didn't really see the outside of my apartment or SIPA until Saturday evening, when I took a very pleasant walk in Morningside Park. It is just down the block from my place, and abounds with vegetation. It is on a hill, so there are a lot of stairs and neat side paths throughout. Also lots of squirrels, pigeons, turtles (in the pond!) and ducks.

One thing I enjoy about NYC is the great availability of good ethnic food- I don't know if I mentioned the great Indian place about 2 blocks away, but there's also a really good Norwegian restaurant less than 1 block away, and good French, Chinese, Italian, etc. all within 3 blocks of my house! I walk outside and voila, there is wonderful food. Of course, it costs $, so I mostly eat in.

I hope everyone in NM is doing well! I miss you all very much!

From 5/19:

Today was spent touristing in downtown Manhattan. Went up the Empire State Building (after waiting in line for a very long time) and saw the sights. It is pretty amazing to see the urban life in its entirety from above. I especially enjoyed the older buildings with shiny metals roofs- very ostentatious!

For some reason, the phrase "what horrible things man has wrought..." kept whispering through my mind. It is neat to see all of the buildings and construction, but I have the feeling that an undeveloped countryside would be more beautiful.

We ate at the "Heartland Brewery," enjoying fish and chips (yum!) and some dark chocolate cherry cheesecake, which home-brewed root beer and ginger ale.

After food was Times Square, which was smaller than I was expecting from seeing it on TV for so many years. I think Times Square would be a lot of fun if you had some major $$$ that you were looking to burn. As I am mostly NOT looking to burn $, it was less fun. Lots of lights, though, and I'd like to visit again when I have more of an idea of what to do there.

The subways have been neat and cool, for the most part. Maybe it will be worse when we get more into summer.

Going into Downtown today makes Uptown seem rather rural, by comparison. There are swarms of people milling all of the sidewalks in Downtown. There are always some people out in the roads in Uptown, but not nearly the same volume...

Thanks so much to everyone who came! It was a much larger turn-out than I expected and it was wonderful to see you all.

There was much board gaming and MUCH food. Great time and a wonderful memory for NYC.

So, a temporary home has been found for Mao.

Still looking for a temporary home for a spayed, female, siamese mix.