The most amazing thing about San Diego so far: the smell of grass. My nose had grown so accustomed to the scents of winter, that cold lifeless bitter slightly salty smell that's permeated New York City for the past three+ months. And then this morning, I stepped out of the hotel, ran down to a jogging path, and my nose was assaulted. Everywhere was the lushest, greenest grass, its scent permeating the air. A smell I take for granted in the summer suddenly seemed like a wondrous treat. Grass! Thick green grass! Who knew it could smell so beautiful?
Category: Life
Thinking of the turtles
It's continuing to be bitterly cold here in New York City (8° F this morning with -6° F windchill) and so my thoughts have turned to tropical climates and other seasons. And I started thinking about my trip to Hawaii in 2000 and when we went snorkeling and swam with turtles. So I poked around and found my two favorite pictures from that experience, both taken by Jason. Here's me swimming behind the turtle, going too deep and here's another of me and a turtle closer to the surface. [sigh] Hawaii sure was swell and those turtles sure were cute.
Things that seemed cool when I was little…
…that don't seem so cool now that I'm older.
One in an occasionally series.
My best friend when I was little (who was also named Meg but is a Margaret not a Meghan) and I used to go to gymnastics several times a week. We were very limber and could do splits with both our right legs and our left legs forward (not at the same time, of course). We were also very into the movie Grease and I had the album (which was an awesome double-album with pictures from the movies in the middle). So when Margaret would come over after school (I always called her Margaret because otherwise it was like I was talking to myself), we'd always play Grease on my parents' stereo. And for some reason, we'd do splits. And we'd hold them for the whole side of the album, because for some reason this seemed like a really really really cool thing to do.
It occurred to me as I was telling Gina about this today at work that perhaps it, in fact, wasn't as cool as it seemed at the time.
Dearth of content
I don't know what's happened around here, I just seem to have lost all interest in posting. Usually this urge (or lack of urge) passes, and it doesn't concern me. But perhaps I should now be concerned? Perhaps after 4.5 years, the megnut bug has gone? Well no matter, in order to hoist some content up here, I'm falling back on the old tried-and-true technique of just making a list of stuff. Herewith, a list of things I've enjoyed in the past few weeks, with links as appropriate:
- Blue Hill Restaurant
- Takashimaya New York
- Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- Quicken 2003 for Mac
- Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971
- NFL play-offs
- My bed
Happy December 1st
I had a nice Thanksgiving message written and then my browser crashed right before I had to head off for my vacation. So hopefully Thanksgiving went well for you and yours, and now Happy December 1st! That exclamation point is rather forced, I'm afraid to admit. Where has the year gone? And how is it winter all of the sudden and time for Christmas? Oy. That's really about all I've got to say. Oy.
Remembering Betsy
Last night I got together with a wonderful old friend I hadn't seen in nearly ten years. During our discussion, she mentioned a woman with whom we had both attended summer camp had died. It's always such odd news to hear of the death of someone you haven't thought about or seen in many many years. Suddenly and unexpectedly, you miss them.
Today as I was running, my thoughts turned to Betsy and my memories of her: shockingly long bright red hair, her nose ring (which really seemed like something odd and amazing when I was a twelve-year-old girl), and her incredible mountaineering and canoeing skills. I strained to keep running against a brutally cold and strong wind along the Hudson River, but I never thought of stopping, or just turning to go back home, because I had a goal and I wouldn't give up. With my thoughts on Betsy, I realized that's not how I used to be.
In 1984, I had been away at summer camp for nearly four weeks, and it was Saturday morning of parents' weekend. I was at the canoeing department, working on my landings, and anxiously awaiting my parents' arrival. My tandem landings (where you paddle your canoe at an angle towards the dock, then at the last minute, turn it so you end up "parked" along side) were all that I needed to complete my Boatswain, the first rank given by the canoeing department to recognize a camper's canoeing skills. I had been working on it every day since camp began.
One year since San Francisco
Today marks one year since I left San Francisco, and it's hard to believe that it's been so long already. I've had no regrets about leaving and there's been very little (hmmm, has there even been anything?) that I've missed about the city. Of course I miss my friends, and I wish they would all move to NYC so we could be close again, but that's about it. It's been a good year, difficult in parts, and I feel like I've grown a lot. I'm thankful for all the new amazing people I've met here, and I love living in New York City. It's nice to look back after a year and know I made the absolutely right decision.
The Admiral at my door
Matt Haughey. Old. Friend. He couldn't resist the opportunity to stick it to me one more time, so he sent me a War Admiral stuffed animal. I have to admit, it's pretty cute, but it's no Biscuit. Now of course, once I get the Biscuit, I can spend my days re-enacting the famous match race between the two, and watch Seabiscuit triumph again and again and again.
Franny’s #1!
A big thank you goes out to Franny O. in Texas this AM for the gifts she sent from Amazon and my wish list. Thanks so much Franny, you're the best!
Stuffed Seabiscuit!
