I arrived yesterday. I am still jet-lagged, and I want to go to the gym so that I can shake the drowsiness off. Then I will get some dinner, somewhere. Staying on a university campus means there is little to do. Like in the Outpost Capital: one event per night, or less.
Well, the event here for tonight is a string quartet. But I think it is sold out. Or ticketing at $40, I can’t remember. Either possibility makes it rather unattractive, especially for someone who will probably sleep through Brahms and the other offering, only to wake up half-dazed when the Beethoven offering begins.
Otherwise, working here feels easy. I don’t know why. I had a meeting with my kindly but famous host in the morning. I left it feeling that my work is relevant and interesting, maybe of some modest importance in the greater scheme of things, too. Interacting with an esteemed colleague, something that is gravely missed in the Outpost, made me understand what I do more than all my private thinking put together.
Yes, nobody really exists in isolation. On whichever plane.
On Saturday I am going back to Manhattan after 5 and a half years. Last time I was there, I decided to change my life. In Spring 2008 I put the ring on to remind me that. I don’t know if I changed my life, but I definitely let the circumstances and people make it richer — that is certain.
"... neither reveals nor conceals" 