I know, I go through this every time I move. And I’ve moved a lot. But the thrill of having Internet pumped into your own home never gets stale. The contractor’s electrician, a large man who seemed to only speak some Russian-related language, was here all afternoon, but he fixed the phone and Internet! Even better, I found a girl on Craigslist who lives two blocks away and is giving away a couch for free. Brendan and I are going to check it out this evening and make sure the two of us can wrestle it down here. If it all works out I’ll have Internet AND a couch by sundown. Talk about living in style!

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Still no Internet in the apartment. No phone, either. The landlords dropped by to check it out and confirmed that the phone jack is improperly wired. They were pretty ticked off because the contractor who re-did the kitchen told them that the line was up and running. It being a 3-day weekend it probably won’t be fixed until mid-next week, which is about the time I’m heading up to New York: Thursday through Monday. Brendan’s friends are all reuniting at a lake house upstate, and I’m planning to join and spare Brendan the “bachelor among couples” role he’s endured over the past few trips. It’s not a pure long-time-no-see for me, since I met up with most of these kids when I was in New York in January, but it’s always a little strange to be back in the Vassar mix. Hopefully it will be the fun kind of strange. I’m sure it will be, I mean, how could a weekend away at a lake house full of booze and silly people be a drag?

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My flight into BWI Wednesday morning was not only smooth, it landed 15 minutes early, and I was pretty happy when both my bags popped right out of the baggage claim carousel since one of them had a busted zipper when I checked it. Brendan came all the way out to Baltimore to meet me and deliver the keys to the new apartment, so I was able to go straight home! Unfortunately, “home” is a brand new unfurnished apartment, so I couldn’t crash just yet. The place is great. The kitchen, which was just renovated, has tons of counter and cabinet space. The shower is warm with good pressure. The washer and dryer unit, while a little noisy, are my very own. The only real problem, which is temporary, is the lack of Internet. When my landlords dropped off the modem they forgot the power cord, so it’s just a matter of meeting back up with them and setting that up.

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A Cessna 172 crashed a block from our beach house this morning a little before 7. I slept through the engine noises, collision, and explosion, but woke to screaming and thumping feet as my family ran downstairs and to the scene. It hit a rental house a block away filled with children. We could see flames from our doorstep, and the street is still full of emergency vehicles. It’s been a horrible time for a small neighborhood, but our family is safe.

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My last day at PBS was Thursday. I’m starting to get used to that tight-throated feeling that wells up when I leave a familiar place for the last time. Jeannine threw me a going away party complete with an oreo ice cream cake and margaritas. Everybody in the department signed a card and a couple cool gifts — a photo album and a retro PBS logo t-shirt. The same involuntary self-restraint that kept me from tearing up also prevented me from crying out, “hot damn, sweet t-shirt!” but it’s cool (I’m wearing it today on the flight home). I baked cookies and gave them out to thank the department for the wonderful summer, and everybody was very nice about eating them.

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