gorgeous day.

Today I met my friend Jamaica Jones for lunch at the Café at Frick. I had the prix fixe and chose:

• ginger/carrot/leek soup with crème fraîche
• crabcake bruschetta
• frozen caramel souffle with a pecan sandie and warm caramel-pecan sauce.

The ladies who greeted us at the door clapped with glee to finally meet Miss Jamaica Jones. They were dying to find out what someone with such an awesome name looks like, I guess. She doesn’t look like you’d expect, I’m willing to bet, but she is incredibly beautiful and full of energy and also a little crazy-in-a-good-way, which I respect and admire. The name suits her.

We sat next to a table full of retired Gateway School District teachers and recognized all of them but couldn’t remember any of their names. I finally broke and approached them and apologized for interrupting their meal, and then apologized again for not remembering any of their names. I added that I can’t remember some of my students’ names from one semester to the next, so they shouldn’t take it personally. They were so cute, the four of them, lunching in the cafe. I guess my old 5th grade teacher is a volunteer at the Frick because she was wearing a lanyard that said so. Girl genius, I am. See how I put clues together?

Today so far has been one of those perfect days where life seems awesome and full of possibilities. I’m going to Boston, a city I’ve never set foot in, to visit with an old high school friend who is starting Harvard Law in the fall. We’re taking a day trip to Cape Cod which seems impossibly quaint to me. In July I’ll be going to Philly and Baltimore, and in August I’ll be in Brooklyn, D.C., and possibly San Francisco (the farthest west I’ve ever been is Las Vegas.) These are all fun little trips, but if you asked me where in the world I’d go if I could only pick one place I’d never been, my answer would be “to Mexico for Dia de los Muertos!” Not knowing this, Jamaica randomly asked me at lunch, “Hey! I’m going to Puebla for Dia de los Muertos– do you want to come along with me?”

Yes, ma’am. Yes I would like that, very much. I’m not getting my hopes up too much until I get clearance from my principal, and my fear is that first quarter grades are due that very week. Though I guess I could just give everyone a “C” and call it done. Anyway, we’ll see…

My legs are sore from lunges, my belly is full of good food and wine, and there is a thunderstorm rolling in. My day couldn’t possibly get any better, except for the following two bummers:

1. my superfancy bathing suit is not going to arrive in time for my trip and,
2. I have to drive to Monroeville in a few minutes for a hair cut. But even Monroeville, with its Route 22 traffic and its never-ending strip malls, will not spoil my optimism today, no sir.