Spring. Sprang. Have/Has Sprung.

Without jinxing myself, I would venture to say Spring has finally arrived for a few days here on the shores of Lake Michigan. Today was in the 60's and tomorrow should be in the 70's. Both sunny. Gorgeous. Bike-riding weather. But then Sunday is forecast in the 50's and raining, so let's not pack away our corduroys and sweaters and dig out the Bermudas and tanks just yet.

This week had some ups and downs. I had a good interview Monday and was offered the gig on Tuesday. It's an opera at a university in Evanston to be performed Memorial Day weekend (but while still allowing me to attend Ben & Anne's wedding!). Also on Monday I had dinner with an old whid friend in Wicker Park and we had a great time catching up and talking with his friends. Wednesday I had a great time representing UR at the college fair in Skokie. Fred, from the next university alphabetically (which shared our table), remembered me from last year's fair, and I made two new friends - fellow UR alums in the Chicagoland area. After the fair we had dinner together and talked for a few hours about Richmond, Chicago, etc. Yesterday I found out it'll be 8 more weeks of long hair before it's long enough for me to donate to Locks of Love. I'm getting really annoyed with my hair this long right now, and I was hoping we could have cut it yesterday, but I guess it'll have to wait until June. I was pleased, however, to find that the Institute managed to maintain my appointment with the student who I had requested--the first in three attempts of this nature which has worked. I'm excited I can probably get 2 more cuts out of her before she graduates and moves to Brooklyn. Last night I met a friend at my favorite local independent coffee place and then attended a free performance and reception at the ballet. I had to avoid one of my former co-workers at this event, which made it somewhat awkward, because we don't seem to be on speaking terms right now, but the performance and reception were still nice. This morning I was offered another couple of shows for the summer, and this afternoon I had planned to ride bikes with a friend but she discovered today that her rear tire was un-inflatable, so we met for window shopping and errands (and ran into another friend!) and lounging instead. And I just received an email with more information as to why I haven't heard from one of the places I've applied for next season (but that I'm still on their minds).

Generally it's been a good week. I finished a book Wednesday night, and I made friends with a funny stranger on the train on his way home from the Cubs game yesterday. I have a good feeling about things.

I'm about to head down to Lakeview for poker. I didn't do so well at the last game in January, so I hope I'm due to do well tonight. It would make a great end to this week!