Pas du tout ..

"La plus de change,
la plus de meme chose.."
~ Marcel Proust

Ten months or so have passed since I last visited New York. In late February 2004 it was a mathematics conference at CUNY Graduate Center, which also made for an opportunity to see companions in the NYC area.

So here I am again, doing the same .. almost. Perhaps it's not wise to mix work with pleasure and down-time.

Following the advice of friends far wiser than me, I'm setting down the pen and chalk for a little while. I'm taking a break from thinking about maths until the Winter Term @ UM begins anew in January 2005, though I prefer to think of it as a little "hibernation." (;

(Disclaimer: this does in fact contradict my previous considerations, in view of my post on 21 December '04. No one, however, has ever accused me of being an absolutely consistent entity.)

It will be hard not to sling the backpack of papers and legal pads onto one shoulder as I make way to the coffeehouse. Perhaps two matters of circumstance will save me:

1. My companions over this break (being my siblings) and I have many things to catch up on, which wil provide a good distraction;
   
   
2. Other than Starbucks, there are very few 'good' coffeehouses in the suburban sprawl of Long Island, so the question is moot.

The battle for self-control continues.