No SmoKinG

Yesterday I went to a talk that had one of those revival effects on me, in terms of getting excited about research. I don't know that it was the talk itself or just the atmosphere, but I cannot wait to be done with my dissertation so I can start something new! (Well, I guess the wanting to be done is nothing new. But the excitement I felt was nice.) And it's not even really new stuff that I will be starting. It will be more about continuing what I've already done, but hey, moving forward. Always a good thing.

I went out to dinner afterwards with the speaker and some of the other students, and then I came home, slowly got back to work, and worked until 3 am. (If only the rest of the world operated on my schedule!)

Dinner was at Fellini's Cafe, which was very good, but they serve huge portions. I think a family of four could have eaten well off of just my dinner. I ended up taking it home with me, had some for lunch, and I still have more to get through. Fortunately, like I said, it's pretty yummy. (I had the Tagliatelle Alprofumo di Bosco, which has wild mushrooms and fresh tomatoes in a cream sauce.)

Meanwhile, while I was out at dinner, J went out for dinner with someone he works with and came back smelling pretty horrid. Since it was raining outside and he forgot his umbrella, he was wet, and since they went to a tavern, he came back very smoky. Interestingly, that's the last time that will ever happen here in Philly now that smoking has been banned. (Or at least, I think so. Apparently, private bars and clubs that are exclusively for drinking may be able to apply for waivers.) I have to say, after seeing the smoking ban work well in New York City, I'm not all that worried about it working well here too. Some people are all upset though.