I love the city in the summertime. Its insanely hot --we're supposed to break a heat record by at least 5 degrees today-- but its green and lush and you can wear all the delightful Florida-esque clothes that have been packed up most of the year. I'm also now sporting a very bizarre sandal tan with lots of strappy lines. :) Its nice to be able to walk around, with none of the undergrads, and get errands done on a Saturday morning, no car required.

Got up early to go running before the heat really set in. Breaking in my new New Balance sneakers which are soooo cute (hot pink, black, and gray, they're the Susan G Komen version) and make my feet spring off the pavement. Its tough getting back out after a month off but I needed to and now I have that nice sore feeling from using those lazy muscles again.

Had a great night last night for a friend's birthday. Went to Monk's Cafe for the first time and got to have a beer that I went on a brewery tour for when I studied in Brussels-- Cantillon kriek. Also got to indulge in some deeelicious frites and a duck salad sandwich! Apparently this place is well known, even out of Philly, for its authentic Belgian beer and food. I was pretty impressed! Then back for some homemade chocolate cake with mocha icing. It was super nice to see people who were back in town and to relax a bit at the end of the week.

summer is finally here (for me)

I made it through my defense. Was not scary. I literally have to make 2 grammatical edits (insert a pair of brackets and change 'a' to 'an'). I even sort of enjoyed it. Shhh. I'm turning in the final copy of my thesis on Wednesday to the college and then my academic responsibilities are finished forever! (or at least until I want to have them again)

Seriously, since Wednesday, and not having anything that needs to be tended to in that way, has been amazing. Spent the weekend in NYC with Uncle Rich, Aunt Hester, and Eliza. It was fabulous. Kicked it off with some bubbly to celebrate the ol' master's degree. Fantastic and leisurely meals, great conversation, got to read some old The New Yorker, saw the Burchfield exhibit at the Whitney, the really awesome Bambu installation on the roof of the Met (See Facebook for photos), went bike riding along the West Side along the water to the Brooklyn Bridge. just sooo summery and fun and didn't have to think much about anything. Also, got to test the bus situation to and from the city for the upcoming Girls' Weekend. Have to say though, New York is fun, but not the city for me. Give me a Philadelphia or Boston for the day to day living.

Despite today's rainy-ness, a very lovely and laidback Saturday. I've done lots of fun reading and eating and just a tiny little eensy bit of chores. This is my weekend to relax between very hectic weeks.

Last week my co-worker was out and I was basically left to mind a LOT of things on my own, but I got through it (and fairly successfully!) and managed to ensure that an entire evening program went off without a hitch.

And this coming week is hectic but for mostly great reasons. At work, we have our last evening program for the rest of the summer and Tuesday is a day of meetings (looking at my calendar causes mild anxiety). Wednesday is my Master's Defense and for which I really, tonight, should start planning my 10-15 minute presentation. I don't think its going to be terribly difficult, I mean, I'm supposed to be an expert on my paper at this point. I just don't want to sit and think about it. Okay, maybe an hour tonight and then most tomorrow.... Nicole and Stacy are stopping in Philly during their roadtrip for a few days and I'm heading to NYC next weekend to see my aunt and uncle. Whew!

Mad Men season 3 is now my Blockbuster in the mail. I just love that show. Too bad I can't watch it when its actually on tv. I really like some of the women's clothes but something tells me it was probably a pain to wear it all back in the 60s.