Well, another week of multiple emotions. So I shall start at the beginning, which (I am told) is a very good place to start. (On that note, is it wrong that every nun I see on campus makes me want to start singing 'How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria'? Obviously, I should never be Catholic).
First, let me state for those of you who didn't see it on Facebook, that my beautiful Starbuck presented me with a furry, dead present when I came back from class last Thursday night. I am unsure whether the poison or the cat was the mouse's undoing; all I know is that Starbuck acted like it was her new toy. I kept telling Bucky what a good girl she was, but then she began to, literally, throw the mouse carcass around the room. So her new toy caught a ride on the garbage chute express. I don't think she's forgiven me yet . . .
Last Friday I found out that my boss scheduled me to work this week for 38 hours! It was a bit of a shock to the system for my first week on the actual schedule. Needless to say, I did NOT want this to be a regular thing. So, I spent a good deal of Saturday worrying about how to tell them there was almost no way I could manage a full time job while being a full time student. There were many other little annoyances on Saturday that added up to just an overall bad day. Luckily, I got to talk to both my parents and my non-biological sister, Aimee, who all managed to make my day a bit brighter. Aimee suggested that I just go into Central Park, read and walk around. It sounded like a really good idea.
So, Sunday morning found me on the train platform in South Orange waiting for the NYC-bound train. I got into New York around 11:00 and caught the subway to Central Park. There was some sort of run going on that was big enough to get 5th Avenue from the Met to 52nd Street completely blocked off to traffic. I meant to find out what it was, but never did. I headed into the park, which was full of people enjoying the cloudy and cool day. I decided not to just read, so I made for the Central Park Zoo since I had never been there in my many NYC trips. Well, the Zoo is not the easiest place to find, so I wandered aimlessly for a while. During my wandering, I passed by a homeless man who was trying to sell postcards to tourists. Like any New Yorker, I kept my eyes forward and just continued walking, ignoring his calls of 'Hey Miss! Postcard?' Just after I passed by him, I heard him say 'Oh, you look so mean! Why you gotta look so mean?' It actually made me laugh out loud (once I was safely out of his sight).
I finally found the zoo and went in. The zoo is actually quite beautiful and a very neat place. I arrived just in time to watch the keepers feeding the seals, so I watched that for a while. I then made my way into the Tropical Zone building, where the snakes, tropic birds and bats are kept. The bat exhibit was, perhaps, my favorite thing at the zoo. They trick the bats into thinking that it's night, so they are quite active during business hours. Once the zoo is closed, the lights in the enclosure come on and the bats go to sleep! During the rest of my visit, I saw the polar bears, the lemurs, the (perhaps dead) harbor seal, and the penguins. Anyone familiar with the Nickelodeon show "The Penguins of Madagascar" would be sorely disappointed to find out that none of the penguins seemed to be plotting anything. Boo for false advertising! :D
The rest of the after I spent walking almost the entire length and width of Central Park. I also foolishly decided not to take the subway back to Penn Station and walked from 81st and Central Park West back to 34th and 7th. My feet hated me by the time I got back on the train to South Orange!
Other than that, my week has been pretty relaxed. Work has been crazy since we've been getting ready for University Weekend which starts tomorrow. I found out that this was the reason for the almost full-time status this week. Next week will be much more manageable, thank goodness! Classes are classes, and I have my first take home exam due next Tuesday. I'm planning on tackling that little gem on Sunday. I also FINALLY managed to get the last of my textbooks, so now I'm working on catching up on the required reading. Thank goodness I'm a good reader or I think grad school would be much harder.
Before I close, I want to personally thank those of you who have sent me messages this last week (both e-mail and snail-mail). It really brightens my day to get letters of support and news from the home front. Keep sending the messages, cause it really does make my day when I see a letter in the mailbox! I'll try to respond to each one as time allows.
Until next week, my darlings!
XOXO,
K
The noble lioness guards her victim.
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