Excuse/enjoy the silence as I slowly recover from culture shock.

Arrived in Nashville late Tuesday, seeking solace in chatting with my dear friend Dr. Nasty (whose James Bond-edition Mini Cooper actually did accomodate my luggage!) and taking advantage of Sunset Grille's apparently permanent 50% wine sale. We shared a very, very good bottle of pinot gris, the name of which I can not remember. Since then, just unpacking and reacclimating to Nashville and the lab.

It's not so bad. Starting lab work on a somewhat clean slate feels good. My timer, markers, and pipettors have all been divied out among other lab members, but I've reclaimed almost all of my benchspace and "tools" by now. On the home front, my apartment is visually relaxing, with its lack of old heavy oriental rugs, and no books and papers crammed into the walls and rafters. I'm feeling very domestic. Cooking, cleaning, replacing home stuff... all gratifying. Got my car back, did some long overdue maintenance...

Alas, I miss NY. Walking into work, I'm the only one outside since the Vandy kids are not back. It kind of creeps me out. Additionally, the heat and humidity is gross. Although today was cooler, it was 95-ish yesterday. Eww. If I'm not paying $15 for a yoga class, then I don't want that kind of climate!

I could go on, but I think L. summed it up nicely when she commented as such: "Nashville is sorta like NY, except for the historical aspect, public transit, liberal tendencies, number of museums and general culture and cultural diversity, overall trendiness and fashion, number of gay bars, number of bloggers willing to meet at said gay bars...."
Sigh.

Plans for this weekend include seeing Blondie and eating home-made ceviche and gazpacho. I'm also looking forward to reupholstering a chair, and making roasted grapes and spiced walnuts.