West Philly is beautiful. Today, went to the Green Line Cafe and drank some chai tea surrounded by people I want to know. Then bought a bunch of books from this adorably packed used bookstore. Then got really excited about the deals (A Moveable Feast - $1! Day of the Locust - $2! White Noise - a mere $7.50!). Then felt a little embarrassed for my previous unrestrained excitement over cheap used books, which I think (but do not know intuitively) is classic nerdiness. So maybe I deserved my reputation in high school.

Then I got a little depressed talking to my dad about working. I was down in that section of the city where you feel really out of place on a weekday wearing cut-offs and a plaid t-shirt, because all of these business people are buzzing around you and past you wearing their suits and skirts and "sensible shoes". And my dad was talking very seriously about his company's dress code like it was the creed he lives by - shirt and tie for men, "nothing, you know, low cut or anything" for women, as he so aptly described - but then exclaimed "Friday's casual day! You can wear whatever you want on Fridays!". Is this what life adds up to? Hawaiian shirts on Fridays? I mean, I'm sure all of these busy business people are perfectly happy - they're well off, they have their kids at home, a stable job, which is more than I can say. But there's just something so sad about it. Maybe you're ready for it when you get there. I guess we should all be glad we're not like Benjamin Button, which I tried very hard to watch tonight but could only get 1 hour in before I felt like suffocating. Or perhaps we should all be glad that we have not been forced at knife point to finish watching Benjamin Button. Always things to be thankful for.