summer update #2

My apologies for the two-week hiatus, things have been a little hectic around here. Last week I started training at my restaurant while still working on research assignments for my internship. Actually, the research demands have been scaled up as the center's senior staff's impending trip to Mozambique approaches. Though the amplification coincided a bit inconveniently with the server-training, I made it through the week with my head above water, and I'm expecting things to mellow a bit now as I find a rhythm.

I also met with the US contingent of Third World Network last week for an interview/meeting. It went really well, and I'm scheduled to meet with the organization's Beijing-based Director this week while she's in New York. I'm going to be working with TWN on a paper on international economic governance and the G20 that will be published just before the heads of state summit in Seoul this November.

In spite of the busyness, Danie and I are enjoying the summertime. Last week we saw McCoy Tyner, Ravi Coltrane, Esperanza Spalding, and Francisco Mela play together in a star-studded quartet at SummerStage. We've also become regulars at the most well-endowed (high-definition-TV speaking) Irish pub in our neighborhood, as it tends to attract the most enthusiastic World Cup fans in our neighborhood. However, this Tuesday and Wednesday we'll be watching the semi-final games at more nationally-invested and culinarily-suitable venues.

That is in fact what we were doing the day the picture above was taken. On a mutually-shared day off, Danie and I went down to the South Street Seaport and caught the England-US match at an English pub. As you may deduce from our attire and/or general merriment, this was before the weather turned, for lack of a better word, disgusting.

Danie and I have since been compelled to hook up our air conditioner. We held out for a long time but when we became aware of each others' consciousness (and sweatiness) last Sunday night around 2am, we decided enough was enough. The next evening (last Monday) we barricaded ourselves in our room, which, by our estimates, was roughly 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the rest of the apartment. Thankfully the heat wave broke after Monday, and the rest of the week was beautiful. Unfortunately the heat and humidity one-two punch is back in full force this week, and accordingly, so is our AC-based hermitry. I'm not excited about our imminent energy bill.