Plunkety-plunk

Many things have happened since I last checked in. Some snippets, in no particular order:

Went to another MediaBistro mixer last night (honestly, not sure if these things are worth it), and saw the same fluffily balding guy staring pointedly in my direction. I've now downgraded his status to downright creepy. Hopefully I won't get another emailed invitation to "Get together socially." Got hit on subsequently by another weirdo. Did I make any business connections? Not really.

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Felt the first chill in the air, during a month that's supposed to be sweltering. There was such a crisp breeze this morning that I dug my winter clothes out from under my bed. But then the day warmed up and I put them back.

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Today I walked down a midtown street with two piano stores and a choir school. It was after 8 in the evening and the shops were shuttered. Though I longed to hear the trill of some long-forgotten song trickling out between a door crack, I heard no music.

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1)Saw the 70s version of "Superman" in Bryant Park (the one with Christopher Reeve). I'd never realized what an overly long movie it is, which is all the more difficult to sit through when you're unable to hear due to crappy park sound system. Enjoyed flying scenes, however. 

2)Saw a Mexican film called "Duck Season" (which I kept wanting to call "Duck Soup") at a park in Queens tonight with Molly and Ian. It was the last of a wonderful outdoor film series there that offered foreign films with coordinating (nationality-wise) bands and food. Wish I'd thought of that!

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Everyone here is obsessed with summer ending. Already, in a late-July issue, "Time Out"'s cover story was "50 things to do before summer ends." It's as bad as the back-to-school issue of Seventeen that used to plunk its way into my mailbox in early July demanding that I begin to think about wool and boots. People seem to be frantically gobbling up these last few weeks of summer, the Labor Day deadline looming. Who knows, it's my first summer-into-fall here, so for all I know, the second Labor Day ends the temperature plummets and everyone starts wearing turtlenecks. I'll let you know. 

I'm used to long, lazy Austin summers that stretch on and on until sometime in early to mid-November you feel your first goosebump in months, and think, "Oh gee, I wonder if I still own anything long-sleeved?" This has been a mild August, and between the chill, the "Time Out" headlines and the fall clothes in store windows, I sometimes feel as gloomy as though it's mid-winter already. But then I look around at the glorious New York day and remember that wow, it is in fact full-fledged summer!