I just had a dream that I flew to NYC without telling anyone. I got to Nick’s apartment building just as David was leaving for work. We passed each other in the hallway and said hi. I went up to the door of the apartment and rang the bell. The door was unlocked so I went inside. Nick came into the room wearing a robe; he’d just gotten out of the shower. We walked towards each other and I threw the book and notebook I was carrying on a couch nearby, and we hugged for a really long time. I smelled that fresh just-out-of-the-shower smell on him, on his skin and in his hair, which was still damp from the shower. We just hugged for a long time, and that’s what I remember most. Then I woke up.

Last night when I was working out in the field, in Humboldt Park, I encountered a very friendly orange cat on the sidewalk. I’d seen him last week in the same spot. He came right up to me and meowed, as if to say hello, and I took a few minutes and pet him, let me nuzzle me and rub up against me. He was obviously a stray cat. He was a bit dusty, though not filthy, and one of his ears looked like it had been burnt on the edges or maybe crushed. He didn’t seem to be in any pain though. He purred really loud. Then it was time for me to get back to work and as I walked away, just as he did last time, he followed me for about half a block and meowed loudly. He didn’t want me to go I think. I wonder if I’ll see him on Saturday when I’m out that way again.

Andy is allergic to cats and does not like cats. He’s often said, half-jokingly, that I can choose between him or having a cat. I’ve wanted to have a cat ever since I’ve moved to Chicago, but something’s always stopped that from being possible.

The rain keeps coming this morning in waves: no rain at all and then big heavy sheets of it. What a cruel, stupid war.