This is fluffy one

I think the evolution and growth or the fading and death of friendships could be the theme for my trip. Seeing all these people from my past that continue to have at least some impact on my present has led to some interesting internal dialogues. Of course, with Alex here in New York, her being an ex-girlfriend makes things a little more complicated. We are such good friends though it's a little hard to believe. It has been good to finally process some of the detritus from the end of our relationship last year, some things that were better said face to face than over the phone. I think our friendship is the better for it. And as always, we had fun together.

So much to do in New York!

We went to the Dia Museum in Beacon, NY yesterday. This was recommended to me by McIntyre at PAM because of my reactions to Agnes Martin's paintings. Unfortunately, her show had been taken down a week before. There was still a lot of great modern art there though and I had a very strong reaction to Richard Serra's work for the first time. That was primarily because of the space, as the museum is in an old factory of some sort and they've made a conscious decision to use natural light for the vast majority of their pieces, even down in the basement. It makes for a stellar experience that I much recommend. The train goes there from New York and the museum is right off the station so it's an easy hop from the city.

I'm taking off here in a bit, heading towards Portland, Maine for the requisite Portland-to-Portland bragging rights. I'm not sure if I'll stay in Portland or start making my way a little further east. I've got about two weeks left to make it back. More adventures forthcoming.

We ate at an Indian restaurant last night. Good food, slightly mediocre service, and the headline above was their description of one of their naans. I will never get over the admittedly juvenile hilarity of things like that.