Unexpected Joy

It's been a hard transition to New York. I'm home in LA this weekend for what I'd hoped, and what is turning out, to be a recuperative weekend (NYU thinks we should sit at home on Columbus Day and repent about Western colonization and the horrible things done in the 15th century).

Juliana and I made caramel apples yesterday for Game Night tonight at Casa de Patel. The caramel didn't turn out perfect. We burned it slightly, and when we dipped the apples in, the caramel was still hot, so it blistered on the apple. Not the prettiest caramel apples, but they sure were good, though after trying it out, realized they were probably the worst party food ever. One bite glued your teeth together. We might have overdone it on the caramel bit.

People seemed to enjoy them tonight though. And we played Celebrity and Werewolf, then sat around and watched Chris Rock talk about the only time it's appropriate for a white person to use the word "nigger". My voice is almost completely gone, which might be why I kept getting killed off in Werewolf --- because I was "quiet".

More people than expected showed up - many familiar faces - people I've gotten to know through these game nights, people to whom I may not be very close (and actually some I've only met once or twice), but who are just fun and relaxing to be around. And an unexpected feeling of camraderie in trying to figure out who to kill off next. Or trying to figure out what modern day writer looks like a zombie.

I also met a fellow NU alum tonight. This is rather amazing. She took part in the hunger strike in 95 so that I was able to minor in Asian American Studies in 2000. How small a world.

And tonight was the first time since moving to NYC that I laughed so hard it hurt. And couldn't stop. That felt wonderful.

I've never been a huge fan of LA, as everyone who knows me probably knows. But I've realized, in the 48 hours since I've been home, that it's not the city that makes memories and induces nostalgia - it's the people. Seems like such a duh thing to say at 3 in the morning (plus I'm sure I'm not being too eloquent), but I really didn't expect to enjoy being back in LA as much as I am.

And, for those of us who were on the floor laughing about this....

JUST NECK!