Comings and goings

We have returned from California, again without incident. It sure is easier flying on a not completely full aeroplane. Yelena was probably in her car seat for a total of 20 minutes, but just being able to place her somewhere secure for a minute while I wrangled with the overhead compartment and tray table was very helpful, in addition to not having to share an armrest while nursing or worrying about spraying breast milk all over a fellow passenger.

It was a quick trip. I didn't get to see any friends and I didn't take many pictures, although I did get one of Yelena fast asleep in Grandma's arms. We did make it to the Gregory Colbert Ashes and Snow exhibit at the Santa Monica pier. It was definitely worth seeing, issues with colonialism aside, for the temporary structure by Shigeru Ban as much as the photography (I am a temporary architecture nut) -- but dim lighting, droning music and sepia toned prints weren't exactly baby friendly. And nursing in a port-a-potty sucked. I joked to Aaron that Yelena needed to go to a Lichtenstein exhibit as an antidote.

The pictures of Yelena feature her in an orange (of course!) coat from Uncles Tony and Eric and slyly smiling in the exersaucer.

While in Long Beach I managed to read Jonathan Coe's The Rotter's Club, which was excellent. Very funny, very moving and very political, the triumverate of great literature, if you ask me. It was quite a different writing style than his The Winshaw Legacy, the only other book I have read by him, which was a satire bordering on allegory about the Thatcher years. A sequel to The Rotter's Club, The Closed Circle, was published last year and I am debating whether to wait until June 6, when amazon claims the paperback will be released, or to just break down and get it in hardcover. Ah, the debate of the unemployed. We do have these amazon gift certificates...

Finally, I mark the passings of two remarkable women, Wendy Wasserstein and Coretta Scott King.