so, massachusetts: i said boston before, but technically i’m in essex for the most part, which is a rural town north of the city. i’m here perhaps two or three times a year, and every time i come back it seems somehow smaller, and unbelievably quiet. i’ve become acclimated to the constant background noise in brooklyn - traffic, car alarms, people, trains every six minutes, et cetera. it’s the same with light; i never remember until i come back how completely dark it gets here at night. there’s no light pollution at all: i can actually see stars. despite going to bed a full three or four hours earlier than i usually do, last night i slept deeply and extensively. at home i tend to wake up a couple times a night and get a drink or pee, but here my head hits the pillow and i’m out for nine or ten hours straight. it’s incredible.

the trip is going well, so far. i didn’t go anywhere over my actual spring break in march, and it feels more like spring now than the early summer i was expecting; this has become sort of an honorary spring break for me, albeit a very relaxed one. today i lay in the hammock outside for nearly an hour, smoking and watching the birds. dinners have been for catching up with my brother and friends of the family. i suspect by tuesday i’ll be itching to get back to my own place but for the moment i’m revelling in this little escape from the city.

tonight i discovered a carefully sealed box in my old bedroom containing pair after pair of exquisite earrings people gave me when i was younger, and several necklaces along the same lines. i suspect i packed them away years ago to take when i moved to new york, and then forgot about them. i’m taking them with me this time, and it feels like i’ve just had a birthday because i barely recognize any of it as belonging to me; it’s all essentially new. i always end up arriving back at penn with an extra bag or two full of stuff - old clothes i decide to rescue, presents from family and friends, mail that’s been sent to my parents’ house instead of mine. it’s a little cumbersome on the subway but it’s usually well worth it.

tomorrow looks like another lazy day, which is fine with me, and then home on tuesday.