An update...

The past couple of weeks have been crazy busy, and the forecast for the next few isn't looking all that much better, BUT there have been many fun moments sprinkled in. On the 24th, I went into NYC in the afternoon and hopped on over to Maria's apartment on the Upper East Side. It was great because we had a few hours to hang out, catch up and relax before a night out. Around 7, Frauke came over to meet us and head out to Umi Sushi on 31st! She had just moved to the City the Monday before for an internship, and it was just marvelous luck that I was able to have her around for some birthday celebrations. Seeing a friend, especially after a long break, is always so interesting, because there are stories to be heard and stories to remember. I also lucked out, because Louis and Shauna were in town too, AND they took time out of their busy crazy weekend to come not only to dinner but out to the bar later on too. So Maria, Frauke, and I took the subway all the way down to the sushi restaurant, where we met Jess (my housemate), Louis & Shauna, and my brother, Zach! It was so much fun, mostly because of the great company, but also because this place had ridiculous sushi and it was all so good!

After dinner, we went down to the Village to MacDougal Street, where we'd made arrangements randomly with Glenda of ALIBI. This place was not somewhere any of us had been, so we were a bit nervous, especially when we got there and found out it is in a basement, but after all, is there really any better place to go out for drinks and dancing with friends?? Anyways, it was perfect. Glenda had reserved this whole bank of seating right across from the bar and arranged to have our own personal waitress, who was extremely attentive and fun to be around. While a few of my friends got stuck at work (boo having to work late on Saturday nights!), it turned into a really special night, since so many of my closest friends were all in one place. It's always hard to catch up in a crowd and over a DJ, but just being around everyone again made me feel so relaxed and happy. We stayed till we just couldn't pretend to not be tired any more, and the party was still going strong. Maria and I stopped by one of her local dinner's on the way home...perfect ending to a perfect night? Chicken tenders and french fries :) And they were probably my saving grace, but we had so much fun.

This week was full of meetings and projects between work and studying for my last Macroecon test, but all of it went well. The highlight though was having Court come visit for a few days. It's so sad when you hardly have a chance to see very close friends, due to geography, time differences and schedule incompatabilities. But it is also refreshing to see one another when you can, and even more enjoyable to know that with certain people you can go a long time before really catching up and yet not feel estranged. The only hard part is balancing the stories of everything that's happened in between visits and doing new things and creating new stories. That and getting enough sleep! It was also really nice having such a close friend here on my actual birthday. We went to Mediterra for pre-dinner Sangria, and then Allegra cooked an incredibly tasty meal for the housemates and Courtney. It was wonderful! We spent a bunch of time watching movies, walking around Princeton, and catching up over the course of the week. I was sad to see her go this morning, but I consoled myself by knowing that I will be visiting Miss Caroline up in New Haven this weekend and that Court and I will hopefully have schedules more conducive to staying in touch and hopefully (fingers mega-crossed) to visiting. At the very least, there's the almost tangible prospect of my working abroad next summer through the MAGES program :)