settled in

Today's my last day as a free woman before school starts on Monday. A couple quick thoughts on New Haven, Yale, and grad school so far:

* everything at Yale seems like it's in a castle. The gym? In a castle. The bar? In a castle. With all these gothic structures around, I keep expecting a knight to gallop out on a horse, but instead, all I see are drunken students stumbling.
* the distinction of the ivory tower and the poverty of the city is physical and startling. While the campus itself is like something out of a fairy tale, it also seems like a physical fortress against the poverty and crime that is the rest of New Haven. Unfortunately, I live in the "rest of New Haven;" in particular, across from a pawn shop and a Western Union. There are nefarious characters loitering on the sidewalks at all hours of the day, seemingly undeterred by the "No Standing" signs that are posted at every corner. That's right, standing is illegal here...ok, not really. But maybe it should be?
* new grad students act the same was as new undergrads, minus the fake ids and twice the anxiety. They drink a lot (school sponsored, interestingly enough), rely heavily on prosaic conversations to break the ice (program/location/undergrad/blah blah blah), exchange numbers with everyone, even the people they'll never speak with again, and subtly-or not so subtly- try to feel out where they stand in the social hierarchy. Me, I just like to spill on people as a way of introduction. Leaving a beer-stain impression is better than none at all, right?

Even before classes start, a couple of my fellow students remind me of the over-eager beavers that so annoyed me at Northwestern. Chill out already! No one wants to hear your random pontifications on progressive taxation and health reform.  But to my surprise, many are friendly and laid-back, definitely a reassurance to a decidedly non-serious person like me. On the other hand, we'll see how non-serious I can be after school starts on Monday. Here's to one last weekend without guilt or anxiety...let the games begin!