I tried making the individual lasagna tonight. It actually turned out to be more than I could eat- half of its in the fridge. It turned out enormously watery, but it tasted great (further experiments can only be a good thing!) I also learned that even real American cheese doesn’t melt well in the oven, so if I’m going to use cheese I need to just go ahead and buy the mozzarella. I’d been trying to avoid buying it and most of it going to waste before I could eat it, but I guess I’ll have to plan meals around buying it.

A wonderful woman- mother of a friend of a friend- went with me to traffic court today (and totally mothered me- she made me eat cookies!). The traffic court was in the countryside- some absolutely breathtaking views, but I didn’t have my camera. We saw real bison, and stopped at a Farmer’s Market… which carried bananas, so I guess it’s not entirely valid, but we still got a lot of stuff. I’d been thinking of going to the Botanic Gardens to get some peace after the morning, but the drive was everything I could have asked for.

The Children’s Museum backed out of my interview for some reason- so that was a bit of a blow. But again, it’s an opportunity to explore other projects.

People I meet here keep saying they think I’m so brave, or responsible, or whatnot- for moving here on my own, for handling things like having to go to traffic court for the first time, for hunting down a job in my field… I have a habit of not really understanding. I had to move somewhere, I had to get a job, and I hated dealing with traffic court but there wasn’t any other alternative. What’s funny about it is that I’m not really that great at the little parts of taking care of myself. I’m not great at collecting the trash on time, or getting the mail to a mailbox, or making myself get off the computer and go exercise or do something healthier. Those are things I’m still learning to do.

And as for being brave- to me, it’s just like being responsible, it’s just what you have to do. I’m lucky because I have friends who have let me lean on them so much the last month. If I was really strong, I think I’d do a better job of maintaining a positive attitude. That’s what I want to work on- taking care of myself and keeping myself busy and in a positive mind frame. There are some things I can’t rush- I can’t make friends happen beyond trying to meet people, for instance. But I can keep myself busy and happy instead of waiting and wishing for those things to happen. So that’s going to be one of my overriding goals for the next while, until it becomes habit. I’m going to work on exercising and occupying myself off the computer, and giving myself something to do instead of thinking when I’m feeling down, and to focus on positive thinking.

I got so frustrated tonight that I decided I couldn’t go another hour without a run. I braved rush hour to go to Schenley Park, and explored til I found parking and a path that people were running. It turned out to be very short- but it led me to a track. I’ve always preferred track, so it was a great discovery. I’ve marked the location in my mind and hope to make visits there a regular event. There’s supposedly an ice skating rink there, too, I really want to look into that.

Oh, a favorite story from Shabbat. The youngest at the home I stayed at- he’s about 8, and science for his class is more of a once-a-week troop into the lab. They are studying electricity, and he’s addicted, fascinated, enthralled-and he loves talking about it to me- and I love hearing about it! He wants to do an experiment to try to blow a football out of a tub of water.