the study group goes to new york

i definitely don't miss high school. but i do miss being around jan and ingrid and erica all the time.

the study group was reunited in nyc this past weekend, and it was a blast. we drank coffee, we discussed grad school, we ate ethiopian, we giggled. conversation ranged easily from israel/palestine to relationships to the etymology of 'thanks'. activities included coffee at the mona lisa on bleeker st at 7th ave, touring the gerhard richter exhibit and the russian avant-garde book exhibit at the moma, eating ethiopian at meskerem, drinking at talking (separate and integrate!*) at the beauty bar. no matter how long we're apart, we manage to be immediately comfortable with each other in person.

jan's starting grad school at uva in the fall. she and jon are house-hunting in charlottesville (well, jon's house-hunting. jan's going to be paying him rent). in 6 years together, they have discussed marriage *once*. they work out their relationship issues by talking about their friends ("so, dan and rachel broke up" "yeah, she wouldn't convert").

ingrid is considering moving in with tom when *he* buys a house. she's gotten past the "he isn't as into literature as i am" thing because she figures that she'll get more than enough talk of literature in grad school (she's applying this fall to start next fall). she and tom have also discussed his large quantities of *stuff*. his condo is currently overflowing with bikes, computers, stereo/tv/dvd paraphenalia, ski equipment, you-name-it. ingrid is afraid of being overrun, but tom has promised to limit himself to a few rooms that will be his and to keep the kitchen/livingroom/bedroom free of clutter. in turn, ingrid promises to contain her books.

erica and john are broken up, she thinks. erica smokes too much (bad erica!) and is WAAAAY too thin. i mean, she's always been a tiny person, but she's positively *skeletal* now. she loves brooklyn.