Ahhh, springtime. It's 46 degrees outside, just a little windy and I'm comfortably sitting around in a robe and house socks (with those little sticky bits on the bottom). It's soooo nice not to have to be bundled up inside my apartment, which is old and drafty. I'm also resisting the urge to scratch the scab off my new tattoo, which Phoebe designed and embedded in my epidermis on Sunday. It means so much to me that she went to the trouble, and that I now have a permanent, beautiful memento of our friendship and her astonishing artistic skillz. I'll post pics as soon as she makes them available. It's been a while since I've had ink done, the last one was in '99, and I forgot how eerily wonderful it is to have that crazy vibrating pain echoing through my skin, muscle and bones. I totally get the addictive quality of tattoos, and in fact this dogwood that's blossomed on my shoulder is the first part of a full back piece I have planned in various stages. Some people think it's mutilation, and I suppose I can understand that perspective, but for me it's a beautiful commitment to the images and sentiments that have shaped my life and will continue to be a kind of indelible link between my past and my future. This particular image is all about my wonderful Mother, who designed an image of a dogwood blossom for my high school graduation invites. The reference is to a tree that blooms spectacularly outside my bedroom in Ithaca every spring, and I can't count the number of times I've sat at that window, looking through the pink flowers and twisty branches toward the sound of rushing water. That image and the feelings I felt in those moments, as diverse as they were and continue to be, are an important part of my self-understanding, and it seems fitting that when I turn my head, wherever I am, that image will be forever before my eyes. Goodness, I'm getting teary.




Speaking of teary, Gaylord has officially left our little Upstate world for the wilds of Atlanta. They'll be back, of course, allegedly in as little as a few months, but I certainly won't be able to see their wonderful shows as often, and that makes me sad. Never mind the fact that they're three of the greatest guys I've met in recent memory and I'll miss their company immensely. They came and played in Ithaca on Thursday, and despite the very disappointing turnout (the weather contributing to a minimal promotional effort), it was a true love-fest. The fans that came were immensely enthusiastic and the guys played one of the best shows I've ever seen them play. I can't sing their praises enough, their music is complex and hypnotic, catchy and profound, Atlanta is very lucky to have them. Sigh.

School-wise, everything is going rather swimmingly, despite the fact that I've been mightily distracted by extra-curriculars. My classes are great, I'm really enjoying each of them in their own distinct eye-opening capacities, and I'm looking forward to the rest of my time here. For the summer, I have big plans. If the FLAS grant comes through, I'll be spending the summer in Montreal, taking intensive French classes and generally enjoying Canada and a few very close friends who have the good fortune to live there. If the grant doesn't come through, I might sublet my Syracuse apartment anyway and head to Ithaca to work at Gimme and study French on my own. Either way, I think I will be very happy to ramble around in tank tops and flip flops, drinking icey bevies and complaining about the heat. It doesn't seem so far away on days like this, and thank the powers that be this winter is almost over.

In other, wonderful news my Brother Adam was accepted to the Master of Social Welfare program at Stony Brook for next fall! For anyone who knows him and his work it was a foregone conclusion, they're lucky to have him, but being in Ithaca for the receipt of that fat admissions package and my Mother and I scrambling to get him on the phone was a real thrill and I am soooo proud and happy and excited for him. Watching him delve into his passion for helping people and developing his considerable skills in psychology is one of the great joys of my life, and the fact that he'll continue on this path makes me want to leap with happiness. Congratulations Brohan!!!

So many warm fuzzies... I hope everyone is well. I MUST get down to work.