I had a phenomenal Saturday in New York City. The bus arrived in front of the Met at 10:30 in the morning, at the same time as an NYPD brigade. There was a man sitting between the columns to the right of the stairs with his dog. I'm not sure if he was threatening to kill himself or if he was just stuck. In any case, it was a big scene. A lot of people stopped and stared. I decided to wait for Patty on a bench just inside Central Park. When it got snowy and cold, I headed inside to the Met gift shop. After realizing that my phone had no reception among the art replicas and books, I went to the steps and found my good friend waiting for me.

We took the subway to Spring St. in Soho, which is where we found our first (and only) planned destination: Evolution. The store was narrow but chock-full of biological artifacts and natural wonders: the skulls and skeletons of assorted mammals, reptiles, fish, birds, and amphibians, baculum, taxidermy (both of exotic and common animals), the replicas of tiger and mastodon teeth, pig fetuses in jars, life-sized anatomy posters, insect specimens in glass boxes, bug keychains. It was incredible. I almost dropped $60 on a cleared and dyed pig fetus until I realized that I couldn't justify it in any way.

Since we didn't have any plans after that, we followed Patty's urban instincts and walked around Soho, north through Greenwich Village, west to Riverside, and south to Canal St. In our extensive exploration, we happened upon Purl and Purl Patchwork (really cute knitting and quilting supply stores), a children's boutique for hipster parents, and other interesting establishments. We visited Wooster St., namesake of the Wooster Collective, admired some graffiti, and consciously avoided a shady looking establishment that, according to retrospective research, was an incognito exhibition of Michel Gondry's new work. (Pangs of regret!) We visited street vendors on Canal St., went shopping at a Salvation Army, checked out Forbidden Planet, and finished off with a rich cup of hot chocolate at the City Bakery and a bargain hunt at Strand Bookstore. (I found Requiem for a Dream for $1.00. Score!)

It was soon time for me to catch my bus, so we took the subway northward and parted ways once more. The bus ride and evening following were uneventful, as was Sunday. I worked in the morning and procrastinated through the day, studying just enough to successfully complete my history and sociology midterms on Monday. The rest of the week will be without academic stress as I get into vacation mode; watching movies, knitting, sleeping, and getting super psyched for the greater Cleveland area and the fun it holds in store.

Photos from this weekend adventure and the spring semester so far are posted here.