magicbeans. nothing if not awkward.

So up early this morning. On the train before coffee. Then a bus, then another train. Advanced cataloguing: cataloguing maps, cataloguing microforms, cataloguing physical objects, cataloguing rare books, main and added access-points. Yay for nerds.

Falafel for lunch in the middle. Quite possibly too much coffee by the end of class at 4:00.

To the Strand. Every two years give or take, since I've been in New York, so this is the third time, I make a sweep through the Strand's entire fiction section. I pull books that look interesting—I admit that this has a lot to do with cover design, though also books by authors I like that I haven't read, titles that sound interesting, books that someone may once have suggested to me—read the first colouple sentences, paragraphs, pages, and if I still think they're interesting, add them to the pile I'm carrying around.

Between the day's heat and that excess coffee I was getting lightheaded every time I stood up after squatting down to look at the lower shelves. But I pushed on. Two hours later I had made it through L, and was lugging nine books with me, four of which were in the 400-800p range. I called it a completed first half, second to be completed at a later date, deliberated, and put five books back. Only one of the long ones, but that was also the only book over $10.

One drink at 12th Street Alehouse. Chris called to give me the details of a cocktail party a friend of Jen.C's was holding. Jen invited Chris, Chris invited me, I was a little worried about crashing but he told me that Julie, the host, knew that I was coming. I did feel a little underdressed, wearing a purple tee with a couple little holes and a smear of blue printer's ink on the stomach to a penthouse roof terrace cocktail party. But, it certainly wasn't black tie, and I don't think anyone actually took any offense, if they paid notice at all.

And it was a nice night. I hadn't seen Jen in nearly a year. I met her boyfriend for the first time and had some interesting conversations with him (we both studied architecture and then moved on to other things). Julie seemed nice, although I didn't have much of an oportunity to talk with her as she was being the busy-bee host. There was some of the inevitable drunken finger pointing between Chris and I, but I think (I hope?) we're smoothing that out some.