The last month has been hectic. I moved, am living on my own for the first time, finished up my time at The New School, went full time at my internship at MTA, and all the while tried to take care of myself.

I’m living in a studio in Jackson Heights now. I’m doing my best to decorate and get my apartment set up in a way that works for me. I’m still not fully unpacked, and haven’t quite established my new-home routines yet. I’m really happy to be here, I’ve wanted to live in this neighborhood nearly since I first visited it and immediately felt less alienated from my Indian side than ever before. Also, my commute is 20 minutes; I love the E train.

Now that I’ve moved, I think I can reveal that I was the person behind the Woodside Train Camera, a 24/7 live stream of Woodside station. Since I no longer live above the tracks, the currently is currently on hiatus, though expect an update on it in the coming months, it’s not going away forever.

Moving and finals and other commitments have really eaten in to my normal me-time routines. This in addition to my newly really-short commute has lead to very little reading time. I started and gave up on The Sun Also Rises, and am now reading Lauren Groff’s The Vaster Wilds. For the first time in probably a decade, I have all my books on bookshelves, and they look wonderful.

Work has been really fulfilling lately. I’ve made a bunch of progress on a dashboarding project that I was stuck on for a while, which feels great. I’m enjoying work so much, I’m sitting around on weekends wishing I could go in and make tweaks! I’m doing my best to avoid all talk of work on weekends, and so far it’s been easier than expected, given the demographic of many of my friends (fellow MTA-ers).

Last week, Kurt and I attended the opening of a gallery show containing some of Claire Violet’s photography. You should go see the show before it closes on the 31st. Its photos are great.

Yesterday, I attended a celebration for the City’s 401st first put on by Data Vandals at their installation inside of the 51 St-Lex subway station. It was a ton of fun, I learned a little history, and met cool people. Someone gave a pro-public earnestness presentation which I loved.

Next week, I’m returning to San Francisco for my step mom’s celebration of life.

Take care of yourself,
–Natalie