Minutiae

Today involved:
--going with my supervising professor and the other associate instructor to visit the puzzle collection at the rare books library. We got to spend time in the puzzle curator's office (sidenote: WE HAVE A PUZZLE CURATOR!? how awesome is that!) and talk about puzzles. I solved two, but it took a pathetically long time. This professor is really, really into puzzles, and teaches a class on toys (I will not take it, because you have to perform yo-yo tricks, and that is not in my skill set..neither is puzzle solving in general, really.) We're taking our sections to puzzle it out next week! (the analogy to an art history class being that sometimes art is complex, even though it may appear simplistic, and that we have to feel things out using our senses.) I think it should be fun. I need to practice between now and then, though.

--a jaunt downtown to do errands, where I ate a wheat and local honey bagel with pumpkin cream cheese. I am very loyal to NY bagels, but there is one place here that is good (David Sedaris likes it, which is good enough for me), and the pumpkin cream cheese was most excellent.

--I am taking a seminar on Renaissance Venice, and today we spent the entire time talking about San Marco and looking at maps. I love Venetian art. I love San Marco. I love looking at 15th century maps. I really, really want to go to Venice. I have a very, very soft-spot for a Venetian art class which I took as an undergrad--it was a stupendously good class. I think this one will be good in different ways, so I can live with that.

--After that, I went out to dinner with six friends. We went to an Italian restaurant, and I had an old-fashioned (not very Italian, but my throat still hurts and whiskey is good for that, or so I justified it) and papardelle (wide-ish noodles) with chicken, mushrooms, and a garlic sauce. It was nice, since I got to see some people that I haven't talked to much since the summer, so it was good to catch up.

--I went for an hour long walk through the 'burbs on my side of town at twilight. I got slightly lost (there are a lot of cul-de-sacs over here!) but I navigated myself out, and the sky was wonderful at sunset, especially as I was listening to the Planets Suite.

Any Tuesday that involves all these things is a good Tuesday indeed!