J and I have had a whirlwind of a week. Last Saturday we flew up to NYC to hang out with my brother, Vinnie, and friends who recently moved to Brooklyn, had a wonderful dinner and then stayed up all night (literally) in bars and in their rather adorable "three bedroom" apartment (the third bedroom lacks doors). Then it was off to Connecticut to see family. J had an interview Monday and so I headed back into the city on Metro North (Bobby, where were you?) to see more friends, spend some quality time with Vinnie, and, in an impulsive move, jump off the subway at the Bleecker St. stop on my way back to Grand Central Station and walk around NYU and The Village as it snowed. I've never loved that city more. While I can't say we've been having a hard time this week, it has been an interesting time. J and I went out to have a drink last night and talk it over (we went to one of our favorite new places in Carrboro, Padgett Station, and ordered the Thursday night special, $4 "vodka-tinis" - J didn't take to his that well, said it tasted "just like a shot of vodka" and I told him to "be a man and finish it," at which point he told me that "finishing a vodka-tini" would not make him "a man").

The thing is, we're at this thrilling point in our lives where, in the near future, we'll be moving someplace new, J will be a post-doc in some great new lab, and I'll (let's really hope) have a new job as well. And again, I can't call this a tough time (see above, we're drinking cutesy cocktails for Christ's sake) but it's a little difficult to get into the right mindset. Excited about what's to come, but resigned to the fact that we'll still be here a while. Happy to stay (our friends, this wonderful place) but anxious to have a finite timetable. Should I look for permanent work? Expand my freelancing career? Plant flowers in the front yard this spring?

Luckily, the moments of uncertainly are bordered by all the fun we're having. And I received an email from my father this morning who, as always, put it all into perspective.

From: Fred Rotondaro To: Cara McDonough Date: Mar 2, 2007

My best advice Be totally honest with everyone Do your very best work. And enjoy every fucken minute. It really is a wonderful life. One o my favorite short stories is thebeast in the jungle by henry james--bout a man who spends his lifewaiting for the perfect love, experience, and misses as he does so, many good things. The dad