06.21.04

I'm back on the left coast. Yesterday morning, when I left New Hampshire, it was cooler--more like I expected the temperature to be. It was lovely, driving through a New England village, both churches full, cars parked along both sides of the street, oaks, birches and evergreens edging a lake that glittered blue from the sky.

It was nice to see family. It was nice to hang out with Gran'mater--she's a very cool lady. *laugh* I found pictures from her very first date with my grandfather. She said that the pictures were taken with a camera given to her by another boyfriend. She said it with such archness that I started laughing. Mater told me last night that her and Gran'pater's wedding invitations (from Tiffany) were paid for by another ex-boyfriend. Different times, weren't they? They had more elan, or something.

I also found a paper napkin from the 1939 World's Fair in Flushing. On it, in pencil, were two hearts, attached together with an arrow and my grandparents' first names. Gran'pater drew that. How heartening.

We found stereo views from the fair, along with the special glasses that made the pictures 3-D. That was interesting, though I was disappointed that there were no pictures of the Barcelona Pavilion. However, the 3-D was effective and gave a wonderful sense of "You Are Here."

On the way back to the left coast, I had a three-hour layover in Newark. I got a great view of Manhattan as we flew in as well as when I walked from gate C114 to C86. It looked strange, but I was glad to finally see the altered skyline with my own eyes.

I indulged in pizza and gobbled down a Nathan's Famous. Man-oh-man. They don't make dogs like that out here. Contentedly burping, I read while waiting at the gate.

While I waited, a young man (23 he informed me) sat down next to me. He said it was because of my tattoos. He had colourful ones all over his arms and legs--even had a smiley face on the back of his skull. I didn't like the tattoos' subject matter (clowns and Sesame Street characters) but they were well-executed and well-placed. Hell, he likes 'em and that's all that really matters. I can appreciate them for that. We were joined later by a 77-year-old woman who was getting ready to go hiking in Nepal next September. Oh, the people you meet in Newark.

Y'know what I really liked (and one of the things that I miss about the East Coast)? The variety of people. I saw black, white, yellow, pink, mocha, tanned, pale skin. I saw Hassidim. I saw Muslims. I saw business people of all colours and nationalities. And everyone was interacting, mingling, laughing, looking... Moms of all types smiled as other mothers dealt with their kids. I miss that diversity, its vibrance, and the wonderful things that happen when different experiences of the world run up against each other. The jury's still out on kosher Chinese food, but hell, why not?

In a place where there are so many different cultures you naturally concentrate on things that transcend culture. We all eat, drink, love and poop...so why don't we just relax a little and enjoy what makes us human?

It's like people who travel a lot who don't get culture-shocky; when you've got to deal with so much that's different, you tend to see what's the same or similar.

I started the new term today with biology. One month, our final's on July 15th!, and it's gonna be intense. Of course there's no AC and the lecture's in an interior room with no ventilation. *sigh*

We went to the library to get introduced to its resources. The librarian kept on saying "asterik" for asterisk. It seems that's a pet peeve of mine, judging from how much I wanted to leap over the desk and beat him about the head and shoulders.

"Aster-ISK!" I'd helpfully bellow between blows. Bet he'd never mispronounce it again. Who knew I was such a butthead?

That's it, got a bunch of reading to tackle for class. Ciao~

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