Yay!

I just found out that I get to sleep in tomorrow! My morning class was changed to the afternoon. Now the prospect of a long leisurely morning in my pajamas is making me smile. Too bad I don't have anyone to serve me breakfast in bed...

No, I'm sure I will be up with the sun (if there is any--it's supposed to rain tomorrow, I think) and getting stuff done. Some of the things on my to-do list include buying Borax (this magical powder serves double duty as both laundry detergent and roach killer), doing my laundry, and cleaning the bathroom.

But that's not interesting blog-material! Instead, let me tell you about riding in a car for the first time in weeks! So, yesterday my dad came to town for a business trip. He wanted to stay with us, but my sister and I convinced him that if his company was paying, why not get a hotel? He agreed, but it was so cute--he booked one in Harlem, to be near us!

We had the afternoon to spend, so we went to the Met and wandered through the Greek & Roman galleries, as well as the Rembrandt exhibit (really just to see the Vermeers--what is it about those paintings?) and the Egyptian mummies. My favorite thing is always the jewelry. There are some amazing gold necklaces, a few thousand years old, made of thread-like hand-knit gold wires, so intricate you wouldn't believe! And hammered gold laurel wreaths that were placed on important people in their tombs. What I love about gold is that, old as it is, it never dulls, but remains as bright as the day it was worn by an exotic Greek princess.

The best part of the day was when Dad took us out to eat for dinner. Starving artist/students that we are, we don't eat right. A good day involves a peanut butter sandwich, ramen noodles, cereal, and maybe an apple. Tonight we had Real Food. Meandering over to the upper East side, we found a cute Italian place, and it was just warm enough to sit outside and eat (I had a delicious fettucine with mushrooms and garlic!!!) while we talked and people-watched.

My dad served a two year mission for our church in New York City in the 1970's, so he reminisced about his experience, and caught us up on all the news from home. Afterwards, we strolled over to the nearest Tasti-D-Lite and had a yummy treat for dessert. Then we popped into a taxi and sped back to Harlem.

And it felt so wierd to be in a car after so many weeks of walking, taking the subway, and riding the bus. Sometimes at night when I hear revelers and hoodlums down in the street I instinctively panic, but then I realize I don't have a car out there, so there's nothing to worry about. And sometimes when I'm walking around the city, I get a whiff of antifreeze, which had been the bane of my own car experience for many years, and I feel a sinking in my stomach. But then I remember that I don't have a car, so I don't have to worry about antifreeze leaks! Ha ha! I'm free!