I feel like a zombie. I got in at midnight last night and went to bed almost immediately, knowing full well that when my alarm went off at 5:30, I would wish I was someone else. Brutal. It doesn't help that I am too keyed up to sleep on the train on the way home. I tried to read some of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" (for my short story class) on the way back, but I couldn't focus. If I didn't have a morning meeting I would have seriously considered calling in sick.

The best part of my Thursdays, as you all know, is my visit with Devika. Her hospitality is wide and deep. She prepared a delicious meal of breaded chicken breast, her famous version of macaroni & cheese (with gruyere!), and aspiration--this delicious, but slightly trippy vegetable hybrid (broccoli that aspires to be asparagus). Upon my arrival she presented me with a perfectly chilled glass of white wine, and we got right into the rhythm of invigorating conversation. Nothing is idle or wasted with her. Just pure substance. Honestly, I worry that I'm talking too fast sometimes, or talking with my mouth full (I had seconds of everything last night!) because I am so enjoying the company and the food. When you are with someone so generous and so well-balanced as my dear friend, you find that it changes the cast of everything else, too. As for me, I feel that I open up a bit more and feel free to embrace my penchant for sensuality. The specific smells of foods, the sound of deep, unguarded laughter... the heat and swirl--the rich taste of the Turkish coffee or Chai she makes. When a friend prepares to welcome you with love, the only response is to be greedy, and just take it all in. It's the appropriate return of such lavish, extravagant generosity.

And this woman is whip-smart and funny and I leave her feeling like I can go to my often less-than-stellar class because my tank is so full.