Land of Enchantment Day 1

Today I arrived in Albuquerque at about noon Mountain time, flying from NYC via Chicago. After paying way too much for a rental car (live and learn!) I checked into my home away from home - a sweet little casita with 3 affordable rooms for rent. The rooms all share one kitchen and one bathroom, and one small living room, complete with flat screen television. Oh, and there's also wifi. And a kickass cafe - Michael Thomas Coffee - next door. And a yoga / meditiation / massage / spiritual studio of all sorts (The Source) nearby as well. This makes up for the bad karma that is Thrifty rent-a-car. (Never rent from them again!)

After check in and some bonding with a new "housemate" at the Casita, I was off to the Frontier, an Albuquerque icon of which I have fond memories more than a decade old, for a late lunch. What did I have you ask? A Breakfast Burrito, my friend. And, mmm! it was so Good.
Ingredients? Here they are: one egg, hash browns, cheddar cheese and green chile... plus there is, if you choose to add, cold salsa, hot red salsa, hot green salsa, and ketchup. Which I did.

Then I was off to the Tamarind Institute, down the block, to check out their cool lithographs. The informational card below describes what you see above. Beautiful, no? And in the reflection you can see one of the UNM buildings across the street. And oh yes, the gorgeous New Mexican sky.

After the short Tamarind Institute trip, I went over to the UNM bookstore to seek out a map. The first year student who rung me up and I had a little talk about how her first year is exciting but so busy as well... And when I mentioned that I was visiting from Brooklyn, she said she really really wants to visit NY, as she's hardly travelled and is so excited about everything she's heard about NY and Brooklyn in particular too. I assured her that to Brooklynites, New Mexico is exotic and exciting!

After a quick shopping trip to buy some almond milk, earl grey tea and sunscreen, (yay for casita kitchens!), I met up with my old friend (and past roommate) Jim, so that we could walk over to pick up his wife and my friend Lori from her work. Then we all walked over to the Flying Star for dinner, where I partook of the ever so virtuous Buddha Bowl, which consisted of steamed and stir=fried veggies, brown rice and tofu, with some nice ginger flavors. Oh and on the way there, we were accosted by a drunken would-be "friend" who kept begging us to let him give us piggyback rides. He dogged us for a good five plus minutes, almost running into us at times. Sheesh. But funny afterwards.

Over dinner we discussed various esoteric points about librarianship and... bonded. It was bliss to be sharing a meal once more, with old friends, in the Land of Enchantment.