September 11: I spent my first day in NY trying to stay dry. Rather than do some sightseeing downtown, I tagged along with K, one of my hosts, as she attended some socials for students in her graduate program.

September 12: Day 2 in New York was still wet and gloomy. That didn’t stop me from heading out to meet up with GD from PostBourgie. We had Thai food and visited The Strand. Yes, when I visit a new city, I like visiting bookstores, universities and libraries.

September 13: Day 3 was sunny, maybe too sunny for a Yankee game with Sean. The Yankees beat the Orioles easily. The game was fun, but made me appreciate Dodger games and Dodger fans more. There’s something wrong with fans who don’t even sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

September 14: I was treated to a second beautiful day. I ran along the Hudson River in the morning and took pictures of some of the great sights I noticed the morning before. I spent the rest of the day outdoors visiting Central Park and a few other tourist-y sights.

September 15: On my last day, I returned to Columbia, visited St. John the Divine Cathedral, read/people-watched in Bryant Park and checked out the main branch of the NY Public Library. I ended the day with my host, Jenny, and Sean at Florencia 13. The owner and bartender were really kind and inviting. It made me ready to go home and made Jenny homesick.

September 16: Goodbye to home in Washington Heights for the previous six nights.

September 17: I picked up Middlesex while at the Strand with GD. I really enjoyed it and I’m glad GD recommended it.

September 18: I spotted Earl Watson in Westwood. The freshmen in me, who had a crush on him when he played for UCLA Basketball, swooned.

September 19: Target already has all their Halloween merchandise out. Alan and I were excited. He even tried on a fat bumblebee costume.

September 20: Alan and I spent the last official weekend of summer enjoying a Dodger game (they won!) and a free Kinky concert downtown. They put on a great show as part of the Viva Mexico Festival.