I love waking up to the sound of trucks making deliveries to the D'Agostino's across the street. Other NYC sounds: the super vacuuming the stairs. A drill somewhere in the distance. I still remember with great fondness my first night in my first apartment here on Sullivan Street. The street noises--drunken NYU students, cars inching past, city life--comforted me. You are never alone in New York City! I also love to open my eyes and squint to see out the window. This morning I saw a gray sky. Rain on its way. And to wake up in NYC with a whole day ahead of me makes me positively giddy. On the agenda is meeting with two students this afternoon. And coffee this morning with a former student. And in between, writing, writing, writing. I'm considering whether I will trek over to the Cambodian sandwich place midday, or trek even further to the porchetta place in the East Village. Definitely one of those is in my future. Then my reading tonight at the NYU Bookstore (at 6:30) and drinks with friends afterward.

After walking around yesterday kind of blue about friendship, I find myself feeling blessed and all warm and cozy about it today. Last night I met up with a buddy at my favorite little wine bar, Aria, after my class. He was grumpy at first because they were playing house music, loud. Usually it is so quiet and intimate in there, even romantic. But I had a nice glass of malbec already, and was eyeballing the lamb chops, so I convinced him to stay. Three hours later we were closing the place down, laughing, reminiscing, really talking. I fell into bed happily.

The human heart is a complicated thing, in friendship, in love, in all matters really. I guess one of the reasons I'm a writer is because I think so hard on these things, and feel them so deeply. My mother always tells me I am too sensitive!

And speaking of writing, I think I should do some now...