Summer?!

Friday, 27 March 1998

So much for spring. Today was a warm, sunny 78°F (I think that's 26°C for you folks using non-medieval measuring systems), which wasn't as hot as New York generally gets in August, but felt like a good impression of June or July. Keep in mind that we saw three or four inches (7-10 cm) of snow, the heaviest snowfall of the year, just five days ago.

I headed out to Pearl Paint and bought a small drawing board. It's a 16" x 21" (40 x 53 cm) Pickett "Aero/Core," supposedly a product of "space-age technology." It's nice and light, as if it were made of styrofoam or balsa wood, but it's got a good, smooth, firm surface, which appears to be a glued-on wood veneer. And it's got two metal straight edges (one on each of the board's short sides), which I should probably assume to not be truly parallel until proven otherwise. I also picked up a cheap t-square (not so cheap that it doesn't have raised edges), a pad of Strathmore bristol (smooth, 2-ply), a few pen nibs and a couple of holders, and a small pen carrying case. I didn't buy ink, since I've got some old bottles of Higgins Black Magic around that I ought to still be able to use.

I headed out to Manhattan on the D train so I could get the view from the Manhattan bridge, which I really ought to do more often. I got out at the Grand Street station and walked to Pearl (Canal Street and West Broadway), which was pleasant, but would have been moreso if my leg hadn't hurt and if I'd had more money that I was willing to spend in Chinatown₁. (Did you know that New York has three Chinatowns?) Well, I'll be in Chinatown₃ on Sunday. I'll have to make sure to set aside some cash for shopping at the big Hong Kong market there.

In addition to my leg, I also seemed to tire out faster than I used to while walking. I think I'm out of shape. Well, I know I'm out of shape, but I think I'm even out of shape for me. Time to work on fixing that now that the weather's nice.