Party Saturday.

JR is in town this weekend so I got to hang out with him yesterday. Yay! (He has a week off from his teaching gig in small-town NY.) We met up here and then after chatting for a bit, headed off to Yonge St. for a spot of shopping and to meet up with a couple of his Bryn Mawr friends at one of the many Starbucks downtown. After that we went back to my place and then walked down to Bloor St. for some Thai curry. Yummy.

It was quite chilly out yesterday, so we---or at least I---felt hardy braving the windchill, but not hardy enough to take in an outdoor concert. Instead, we went to SM's birthday party. Fun times. SM, like all the Russianists, is super fun. After lots of talking and laughing and a couple shots of vodka ("when in Rome," you know) I was home again by 1am. And so very tired.

I missed JR. We have a great time together, and it was nice to catch up . . . and hear all his exciting news!

This morning/early afternoon I decided to weatherproof our windows. I've done two so far, and I think that's it for my household handiwork for this weekend. The first window should be ok. but the one in my room is sooooo drafty that I think the tape will get blown off soon. Darn it. I mean, getting rid of the drafts is the whole point! Sigh.

Today is Superbowl Sunday. Go Colts! Or Bears! Or whatever.

Russianists are the best people.

I went to a(nother) party last night, this time at SM and J's place. All the cool Russianists were there, plus a smattering of east Europeanists. Excellent. It was too much fun, and included a couple shots of vodka (AB insisted I celebrate with him), yummy munchies, and lots of good conversation and laughter. True to form, GO got on my case about being single and getting older! (But only because he cares ;-). And, I got him back by countering with, "well, I am dating someone!" Haha.) And his wife SF was looking beautiful (as usual). My other favourites were there too: AB and OB, PR and AM, WB and his M, SJ and his great family, and MK the young. I took lots of pics to remember the occasion.

I left just after midnight with big plans to grade essays. I did one or two, but spent the better part of the rest of my night putting the pics online for all to see. Grading can wait.

At the moment more procrastination is taking place, but this time it is totally necessary: I am reading about philanthropy! Oh, and tonight is another party. Of course.

Organizing, recovering, celebrating.

I spent most of yesterday running errands: laundry, grocery shopping, opening mail, etc. Very exciting, I know. But salmon for dinner was yummy, and then I dashed off to the Green Room to celebrate AB passing his comps! It was much fun, and I must say that the U of T Russianists are way cooler and more entertaining than the UIUC ones . . . or, at least the ones that I met!

Yesterday was also election day here in Canada's largest city. FN and I voted at the nearby elementary school for mayor, city councillor, and school board trustee. Apparently the election officials asked her whether she was 18! Since she is, ahem, significantly older than that, she was mighty amused.

Nothing too interesting is on the agenda for today. Which I suppose is a good thing!