i wanna be a part of it...New York, New York

The above picture was taken at the art gallery in the Huntington library. "What are they playing with?" I believe these words were spoken as we approached.

The answer was in the title: "Boys playing with bladder." Who knew bladders could be so...luminescent? I kind of prefer both the image without the title and the title without the image.

But Siobhan, we don't care about the painting. How can you be so blase about your trip to the Huntington Library? How was it? Is it beautiful?

My answer: Go. Actually, get a membership. Every time I've visited, I've wanted to come back and sit in the greenery and read a book. And each time I return, I get too distracted by the artwork and exhibits to do so. Also, it closes at 4:30 which is obscene.

They have volunteer tourguides; ours was an old retired professor with accented English and detailed plant knowledge. He was, as Edmund put it, as entertaining as the tour itself. He was also very serious about the gardens: this, combined with a few language/cultural miscommunications, made for a few fun moments when I cracked some jokes about the gardens and he answered very seriously.

He occasionally answered a completely different question than the one I had asked. The one he wanted to hear, I suppose. Kind of like a political debate/interview. I think I'm going to start integrating that into my own life: "Siobhan, could you go pick up your sister for me?" "What, this shirt looks great on me? Thanks!"

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Our guide told us that he knew people in San Marino who had never visited the library/gardens and that it was a shame that people who live in an area don't take advantage of its offerings. This is completely true. I've grown up living in tourist destinations, and often never visited the sites and historical offerings until guests visited and wanted to go around (or in the last few weeks amidst frantic packing). It's just one of those "take for granted" things. Like the Stewart pigfest that always occurred when we got out of our porkless Muslim countries for the summer – but when I moved to the States for college I rarely cooked pork for myself.

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I'm currently in Wilton, Connecticut, a small town about 50 minutes from New York City. I've reacquainted myself with my brother and grandparents, which has been entertaining and familiar.

Wilton is peaceful, quiet, serenely green, and extremely friendly (considering East Coast snob stereotypes.) It's lovely to be at a place that has been one of two constants in my life (location-wise), and seniors are a great change of pace, content to sit, tell stories, pour over photographs, and break up the day with an occasional trip to the library or Staples.

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My final week at Bright Child was filled with questions about why I was leaving, what my name was, and when I was coming back. I think I've answered the "why I'm leaving" question about 25 different ways, all of them true in one sense or another, which makes me feel pretty positive about my decision. I mean, even if the reasons are pathetic, quantity has to count for something. :P

Anyways, I had fun correcting the children's reading summaries:

"Jack and Annie went to the beach. They sawed seagulls."
If that doesn't make your day, I don't know what will. The funny thing is, it's perfectly logical to add "ed" to make something past tense. Oh irregular verbs.

And then there was a definition to word match that Evan (or Dylan) messed up.

"You might do this when you greet a friend." Wonder.
"You might do this when you want to know why something happened." Wave.

I really rather liked the switch – it works nicely for both definitions. It's funny what you stumble upon as a child, and it's sad that adults squish the natural brilliance and absurdity. Well maybe that's a bit silly.

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My brother told me I reminded him of Dee from "It's always sunny" (which could be taken sooo many ways), but I decided to type in "Dee from it's always sunny in philadelphia" and share whatever clip popped up. This one doesn't actually have her in it, but it was pretty funny.