chi town calling

Busy Xmas season (research papers due the 9th). But I did take time out to (a) spend 36 hours in Memphis, and (b) spend the last few days in Chicago with Ellen and cousins. We also went to rural Indiana, southwest of Fort Wayne. Flat and peaceful out there ... good place to forget that anything exists before starting a New Year. Here in Chicago I just got back from an Army surpus store where I bought a really cool jacket and bag, and am sipping some sweet chilled Vietnamese coffee. There is a party in this apt tonight, in Andersonville north of downtown ... something of a sweedish/ lesbian neighborhood, as best I can tell. I bought some sweedish fishballs and some Norse licorice, but I did not buy anything from the lesbian bookstore. I saw Memphis friend Jenny Walton Wetzel for brunch and may see her again tonight. Tommorrow night, we go back to Philly, where I've got to rush produce my papers and get ready for my new job teaching two classes at Ursinus College, about an hour away from the city. In a few days, Wilson and Carrie, my brother and sister-in-law, will be arriving to move into new digs in Brooklyn. They left Texas yesterday but got the flu bad and are spending some days in Memphis. This officially ends the Novitzki Texas adventure, which began when Wilson moved to Denton in 1999 and again when I first arrived in early 2002 ... one of the two of us has been living there at all times since. Never thought we would both be Texans, but that was cool. Liked it a lot more than I thought. What else? I had a lot of fun Wednesday night, my only night between Memphis and Chicago, working and drinking wine with Autumn, my best friend from the PhD program. She is from NYC originally and has lived in Miami and Nasville more recently. Former journalist and thoroughly saavy girl, so an absolute damn pleasure to talk to. That's all for now kids. I'm just writing this to waste time while I check quotes on Lending Tree.