New York - New Haven

Bernard was chauffeur extraordinaire for me today. I am incredibly grateful that I didn't need to navigate the train system and that we could decide our own schedule.

We started out really early, in case there was traffic. We actually got there really early, so we had a chance to grab coffee, wander around and explore the area. The campus area is incredibly reminiscent of the Oxford campus (I learned later that this was completely intended by the original founder). It was definitely a college town, but it had a permanence and stateliness about it. The shops were boutique-like and upscale compared to Champaign-Urbana. There were more people wearing skinny jeans and fantastic overcoats and jackets with glorious lapels.

At one point I remembered that this was where the Bienecke Library (the rare books library) was built, so I dragged Bernard over to see it. It wasn't technically open with construction on the inside, but we stepped in just briefly, and I was able to see the light seeping in through the marble panels ... This building definitely is not very photogenic from the outside. I liked it a lot more on site.

Nicholas' class apparently went overtime. The crazy thing is that as I was waiting for him outside the building, I ran into Professor Moon! I'd sort of forgotten that he had moved there from UIUC. We could only talk briefly, but he helped me find Nicholas, and we chatted a bit while Nicholas came to find me. I'm really happy for Professor Moon. U Illinois students didn't appreciate how good of a professor he is at all, and he deserves better. He was the type of professor who would try to get us to understand the theory and basis for what he was teaching rather than just give us equations to plug numbers into. I will probably remember how to construct a shear envelope for the rest of my life.

Nicholas looks to be thriving here. We caught up on how his job went back in Europe, and he gave me a concise and loaded tour from top down in the historic Yale School of Architecture building designed by Paul Rudolph. The resources available here for model making are amazing; there's a first year grad program involving designing an affordable home that is design/build; some studios coordinate crits with foreign universities such as Tongji in Shanghai and Hong Kong University; etc. etc.

Afterwards, I got together with Matt Lawlor from Lab !!!!! We shared some biking across America stories since he went with Habitat Challenge, caught up, and tossed around how other friends from our Lab School group were doing. He's considering math in stead of physics as a major, and he is considering staying in academia, which I find unsurprising. He had a way of making ridiculous intuitive leaps in class, but he was also able to explain things so it was really easy to understand. He looks like he's doing pretty good too :D

We began the drive back around 4pm just to make sure the traffic didn't hold us too much. Bernard dropped me off by the Grand Central Station, where I met up with Jeong and Lauren for dinner at a Mexican place !!! Delicious. Talked architecture, Versailles, school, working, Lauren's and Rob's marriage plans (!), all over shrimp burritos and refried beans. Oh it was good times all around.

AND BARACK OBAMA IS PRESIDENT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!