our skin gets thicker from living out in the snow

Rochester's weather is so amusingly relative. After a few days of biting cold and endless snow storms, today's weather -- sunny and low 30s -- felt like the first day of spring. The roads were finally (mostly) cleared of snow and I was able to leave my gloves at home, wearing just a light scarf for style, not utility.

Last... Saturday? Friday? I can't remember which night it was, but I met up with MB et al to play darts at the Black Pearl. The Black Pearl used to be Dicky's, the seedy little dive bar where J and M and I wound up our post-graduation festivities with mildly 'Girls Gone Wild'-esque antics. Anyway, KZ and I teamed up and made a decent show of it against MB and E, who happens to be awesome at darts. We settled into the corner of the bar with pitchers of Saranac and fed dollar bills to the jukebox, which had a decent selection.

Oh, actually it was Saturday, because the following morning MB and I headed out to lunch at Thali of India in lieu of our normal brunch. Indian buffet is a genius notion, as you don't have to come with a large group to sample a little of everything. The food was delicious, from naan to chai.

Tomorrow I am going to start my search for a new job. In a surprising twist, part of me wants to stay here in Rochester. It's bizarre, but these past 6 months have been a lot of fun and I've rediscovered a lot of the endearing and exciting aspects of my hometown. We'll see. I used to believe that changing my situation was a simple as changing my location. If only it were that easy! I'm not saying that I have decided to definitely stay in town -- where I end up depends a great deal on the results of my job search -- but if I do stay in Rochester, I think there is a very good chance that I could be happy here. Plus, I'm starting to feel like I need to invest in people and friendships, and it's hard to do when most aspects of my life seem ephemeral. I'm looking forward to nesting somewhere and feeling like I can really settle in. Uncertainty is exhausting.

chili's is the new golf course. it's where business happens.

Friday night, after a co-worker's birthday dinner at Don Pablo's (the pseudo-Mexican Chili's...), I met up with MB along with his girlfriend and KZ at Clover Lanes for a few rounds of bowling. Considering I hadn't slipped into community shoes since the days when I had a perm and a hot date was holding hands while couples-skating, I didn't fare too poorly. I managed 3 strikes in the second game, but didn't break 100.

A few things:
1. For a Friday night at 11pm, I was impressed to see how many 20-somethings were there. Granted, beer is served, but still.
2. The alley itself was pretty standard as far as they go, although I noticed that they have WiFi access and serve chai. Am I alone in thinking there is something wrong with that?
3. I finally had context and opportunity to relay all the little tidbits I've learned about the history of bowling in the USA.

Sunday morning I zipped along a snow-swept Route 20 to Syracuse, to join C in his neck of the woods for a delightful Mexican brunch. Sweet potato fries? Yes, please! I had an enormous breakfast burrito and a delicious, freshly-squeezed (albeit a little pricey) Mimosa while chatting about books. Delicious. I'm always taken, by the way, at the realization of just how rural the areas between Rochester and Syracuse can be. Having never been to the Midwest, I can only imagine that it's very much like western New York state with stronger accents and fewer hills.

In other news, it's cold. I am already snuggled up with my wine, and all I've left to decide is whom I shall invite to bed: P.G. Wodehouse or Daniel Day Lewis.