2 months in

Things have calmed down here considerably, so it seems as though there will be no more parades or marching in the street for a while. Temperatures are dropping and appear to be staying this way (no more freakishly warm highs in the 70's), so I suppose autumn is finally here to stay. With that comes drier air (other than November rain), biting wind (would wearing a balaclava be too weird for my every day commute?) and fewer people loitering around outside. I may be switching up my public transit way to work to include longer stretches of sitting in warm buses and subway cars, and shorter periods of time standing on street corners waiting for the bus. It will be longer travel time overall, but I sure do get a lot more reading done while sitting down, not worry about missing my stop.

Due to a series of strange (but certainly not unfortunate) events on Friday, my likeness may be part of a photo mural at 1845 Walnut St., an office building downtown by Rittenhouse Square. The planned day of surveying middle schoolers at a charter school went down the tubes; the project director called me at 8:30AM to tell me not to go there and I showed up 10 minutes later, much to the confusion of the school's staff). My colleague and I ambled back to Broad St., where cheery Starbucks employees were handing out $5 gift certificates. We each took one and found the nearest location (not too difficult, though I'm pretty sure Dunkin Donuts would be easier to find), then took our lattes and pastries to Rittenhouse Square where we sat chatting for a while, enjoying the mild weather. Then one of several people taking photographs of the area asked if we wouldn't mind moving benches to be part of their photo mural. We obliged since they were clearly professionals, and attempted to look natural while sipping our drinks and chatting. I'll have to follow up there in a few months to see if my likeness really is in the lobby.

Finally, I am getting better at finding cool free stuff to do here in the city. Last week's election party, tonight's Drambuie-sponsored event with free drinks and hors d'oeuvres, free Sundays at The National Liberty Museum, and of course First Fridays.

The latest installment of Philly food:
Tastykake Sugar-Free Sensables Cream Filled Koffee Kake Cupcakes: That's right, I dared to try the sugar-free version of my favorite packaged sweet snack here. They came in a 6-pack of pairs at Super Fresh, have an impossibly long ingredient list, and leave a weird faux-sugar residue in your mouth. Also, its beyond me why they spelled sensible that way. 10g of sugar alcohols, still too many calories, and no feelings of real Tastykake satisfaction. Never again.

I finally visited some legitimate restaurants here, but still have yet to eat a Philly cheesesteak at one of the big 3 places (Pat's, Geno's, Jim's). Maybe I'll go on a weekend cheesesteak and Miller Lite bender just to test my limits.