Thaw of the Roses

The downside, of course, to a record amount of snow falling in NYC is that it has to melt. And given that the drainage is not that hot in my part of Morningside Heights, this means that we tend to get large pools of slush at the corner of each block, some of which look solid, but aren't. Cold and wet feet, anyone? I've been lucky so far, but it can't last. Time to invest in some wellies, methinks.

I suppose the rant the other day, on reflection, was to some extent a result of culture shock. I'm not the only one to be fed up at the moment (though I'm doing OK right now, for reasons I'll touch on later) - my friend Juliet ain't happy either, and we had a good bitch about it in West End last night over a couple of beers. It's funny, really, because I should have recognised it from all the CLAIR stuff I've read as a JET - the cycle of everything being new and great when you arrive, then the grey of winter and the realisation that there's a long hard slog ahead of you sets in. I think this is what she and I are going through now - though of course there are always outside factors.

That said, I'm actually pretty happy right now all things considered, mainly because it's Valentine's Day and for the first time ever, I am actually going to be seeing my enamorata on the day itself. The only previous time was when I was going out with Sarah, and then I was in Japan and she in England. I was going to take K out for dinner, but apparently a bunch of her friends are going out and she feels she has to join them in the name of female solidarity and not being the crap one who does have a date. I'll be seeing her later on tonight, which is actually fine by me, because I have a lot of work to do and would rather meet up post 11 p.m. anyway.

Sorry, Tori, I won't be posting any photos of her just yet... but watch this space and you never know. And watch this space, cos I'll have some news on Thursday regarding the next four years...