Yiok

Today, Ben and I checked out of the hotel and he dropped me off at the bus stop after getting me a Wawa breakfast sandwich. We boarded the bus and then suddenly were instructed to unload and board a different one around the corner, but besides a random stop in front of a Bob Evans in Jersey and another random rest stop for one passenger, it was fairly uneventful. Once in NYC, I rushed to meet Katherine and her friend Andy, and we spent hours at a cafe. It was just like seeing her in Korea except I might have chattered faster since I'm back in the English-speaking groove. I was going to have dinner w/them, too, but when I called home, it turned out that Mom had made a batch of new year's soup just for me, so I rushed through the cold and wind to inhale it. It's a Korean tradition, even though I didn't do it properly since I had it on the second day of the new year instead of the first.

Yesterday, I bolted awake at 6am in the hotel room we were sharing w/a couple friends of Ben, upset over a very recent development - someone very close to me was wrongfully terminated on new year's eve. Literally dragged into HR on a vacation day to be informed of the process of firing, and then given a phone call a couple hours confirming it. Everyone else was passed out from partying (that's my confetti gun pointed at Ben) so I raced through vindictive thoughts for about an hour or two before falling asleep again. Thank goodness for friends like Velma, who sent some comfort and words of solace and advice.

We met up w/Ben's friends and ended up at a Chinese/Asian restaurant for lunch, which included ice cream on the house. After heading back to the party house for video game action, we napped before heading to south Philly to meet Joy for dinner at a bar that served vegan food along w/the usual bar fare. She had hung out w/a mutual friend who had asked her why I go to random places to make art. Many think that I could flourish if I settled in one place, "got a job," and worked from there. But it's not time for that yet, though I like to think that I do have a plan that will unfold slowly. When I'm 80, it will all make sense.

[This was the "arts and crafts" table at the party where you could decorate your own cup. A very yummy homemade cake is under the lid in the back.] On the eve, mom got me a scrub and massage at the sauna, and I got a long-overdue haircut. We had yummy tofu soup before heading home. Ben arrived in the afternoon and we swapped out luggage before embarking on a stressful drive to Philadelphia, but got there in time for a good dinner w/his friends before their party. His friends are sweet and thoughtful and work hard to be inclusive, which involved strapping an electric guitar on me in hopes that I would rock out (I failed. Somehow my fingers forgot the five chords I used to know). Yesterday, I said, "I don't have health insurance!!" when we walked in front of oncoming traffic, so after that, they would all surround me while crossing streets to protect me. Nice boys are the best.

During the party, the boys were trying to figure out a name for the new year, and came up with Y10K. Ben decorated his party cup with sticker letters that spelled "YIOK" and Kevin used blue tape to spell it on the basement wall. Being typographically picky, I assumed they were all letters, and figured it was another William & Mary (their alma mater) inside joke. 24 hours later at dinner with Joy, Ben explained the slogan to her and only then did it come together in my mind.

Like I said before, everything will make sense in time!