What Daylight has Saved

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eileen Cooper, my Music T.A. invited the class to see her Thesis Recital. Held at the Schare Recital Hall on the Douglass Campus, the hall itself was stunning. And Eileen’s voice? Gorgeous. Strong-willed.  Emotional. I’ve never listened to Opera sung live; it felt like every note suspended in air like strong sunlight held the hearts of the audience! The way of story-telling through just voice and expression (she was singing in German, Latin, French) was magnificent and breath-taking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aside from that, I drove to North Jersey to visit home. My dad changed the oil in my car and replaced my left headlight! Thank goodness for him. I watched my mom fry some fish (delectable!) and make Vietnamese stir-fried noodles! We went to Home Depot, I strolled around photographing flowers.

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Lately i’ve been actually managing and researching Japan English-Teaching / ESL programs, budgeting living costs, and compiling some good data on that. It makes it a bajillion times easierknowing that rent will be split right in half between Kyle and I. We’re both going to apply to the same teaching positions and hopefully score two jobs around the same area. So far, I’ve found this:

A super-cute lofted apartment with big windows in Osaka!

AtJPY59,000, it converts to about USD$715. I figure we’d be splitting about $400 a month. Not bad at all, considering that a lot of teaching positions i’ve come across pay starting at around $3,200 a month. Kyle and I already know how much money we need to eat every month.

Honestly, my future has never looked brighter. What’s also nice is that we’re never going to buy a house and get trapped in mortgage payments. Nope nope.

Enjoy your Saturday night. I’m trapped inside a library until Midnight.

Alternative: Philadelphia in the Wake of Springtime

The morning arrived as crisp, yellow sunlight through the tall, lofted windows. I stretched my arms, nudged Kyle with my foot, and sat up. Courtney, Kyle’s sister who we were visiting, was rummaging around preparing the rest of her paperwork to finalize her wedding. We stumbled around, folding blankets, sipping coffee. We intended to drive back to Matawan early–Kyle planned on completing an essay; Courtney had a lunch date with their mother. I somehow convinced Kyle to just try and do his work here, at the loft, and within a few hours, he finished!

I made delicious cinnabutter pumpkin-spice pancakes with a side of blueberry Chobani for the two of us. We scarfed it down. The lighting from the windows beautifully lit up our breakfast! We got ready and began our journey.

The trees have bloomed here! I couldn’t believe it; I was ecstatic to see the magnolias and the daffodils and the precious, soft, newly-bloomed leaves! Slowly, this urban landscape was becoming colored by nature. We walked along the Piazza, this side of town is apparently the up-and-coming area, the Bushwick/Williamsburg of Philadelphia. The Steel Factory lofts are in a considerably alright part of town, open lots of grass with a bit of trash, stray cats, lots of parking, strange buildings. Kyle and I walked the Piazza and ended up at PYT Burger!

We both ordered PYT Burgers and a side of cheesy tots. Mmmm cheesy tots. God I love cheese. (I’m having a whiskey sour as I type, happy St. Patrick’s day!) The PYT burgers had “special” sauce on the bun, medium sized burger, a large, crisp slice of tomato and lettuce, and a side of chips! Apparently, within the restroom of PYT, there is another door which actually leads to a club and bar at night. How cool is that??

We went to The Foodery afterwards to find a movie-set being filmed outside. The Foodery is a cafe-beer store that sold mostly craft beers individually. Kyle was like a child in a candy store. We got these DELICIOUS Walnut chocolate chip cookies, Hercules Double IPA and a bottle of Leffe Brune. Delicious.

We explored Fishtown and the area by Courtney’s loft. There were grow-your-own parks, a children’s park, fences painted with giant flowers. Kyle and I took cool pictures of ourselves around there.

 

 

 

 

 

There was a chicken behind one of the fences! Such a strange surprise. We walked along, enjoying the sun and the reams of people and children roaming the city.

THIS IS REAL! The garbage bin yells at us! I stumbled upon some interesting street art, and captured those too.

Doors that lead to falling, abandoned buildings. Infectious vines on cement walls. Stickers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our day was coming to an end.

We had dinner at Sampan Philadelphia. A high-end, pan Asian restaurant with smaller portions and higher quality food. We ordered edamame dumplings, pork buns, kimchi fried rice, and Korean BBQ. It was all incredibly delicious. We walked off our full tummies, heading back to the Piazza to check out El Camino Real.

In the end, we escaped the crowded bar scene and spent the rest of the night watching The Office and America’s Funniest Home Videos. I’m glad I gave Philly a chance. It’s a city with a lot of potential, and I can’t wait to get back.

The Mercury Retrograde, An Early Spring

The moment
her eyelids
fluttered open:

yellow light rested upon the walls,
draped itself along the window sill
and the unlit lamp,
the clothes strewn beside the bed.
His skin, she saw, was painted by this light,
the freckles danced upon his skin
and she watched. His eyelashes
threaded along, such perfect arches
her arms, her sides, the light had swelled
filling her chest like a balloon

it stayed silent.
the light, her heart
so ripened, so sweet.