Last update I left you all cliffhanging. I know you have all been plagued with how I’ve been doing at my job. Well, the challenges of a professional toilet paper hander-outer are nonstop. I also hand out broken cue sticks, and ping-pong sets without balls. Oh, there are complaints from the student population, but rest assured that my time as a desk attendant at Brittany is going well.

Oh, you might want to know how I am doing at the rest of this whole NYU thing. In the first two weeks of classes I felt like I had it all under control. Work was done without much stress and I had time to check out student activities. Look, said I to myself, this student council is giving away free pizza at their informational session. Let’s go get free pizza. I went. I ate. All seemed to be going as planned, until I looked up and I was Vice Chair of the Course Evaluation Committee. How this happened I am not quite sure. I guess I shared an opinion or two between slices, and now I have responsibilities again.

Still, I think I’ve got a grasp of this university deal. For the first time in life, I’ve challenged myself to be on time for every class and to have all of the work completed at least a day before it’s due. Time Management. What a concept.

I spend my weekends traveling. D.C., N.J., Pennsylvania, and I’ll hit up Boston in 2 weeks.

I have also been finishing up my chapbook, which will be finished by the time I get home next week. (I’m coming back to California for a couple of days to perform.) I’ll have my three-month vegetarian anniversary next week too, and being a vegetarian in the dining halls is no easy thing. Who knew that they actually FREEZE avocados? Blasphemy.

I think I am bringing California slang to the East coast, but mostly I find myself saying “mad” in place of “hella,” and replacing the affirmative “word” with “I know, right.” I sat in the stairwell of my building last night singing gospel, pop and Disney tunes with two new friends. Been listening to Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, and been barely stomaching my roommates’ Britney Spears.

One night it rained and I left some food and my umbrella for the man who slept in the cathedral doorway. The same night, I saw the police move him away; he toted the umbrella and fries away like added baggage. The next day the church started constructions right over where he used to have his bed. It was the most lonely I’ve felt in a long time.