Mati

I was lucky to have Mati, a friend from Israel, come through New York for something with the IDF recently. Obviously it was a lot of fun to see him, but another perk of having any friend visit is that I have an excuse to blow off work (yay!), spend money on things I normally wouldn't (yay!!) and see the city.

Highlights of his visit:

-seeing "The Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway – incredible

-being Mati's partner during his first-ever game of beer pong

-feeling worldly at a bar, hanging out with Mati (Argentinian/Israeli), Dave (Australian), and a guy named Rory (British) as well as two other Americans

-a brief visit to the Met where Mati explained, at length, some of the physical principles that make a gun work as we toured the Weapons and Armor exhibit

-eating at restaurants at least twice a day

-trying to explain Christian philosophy during a visit to St. John's Cathedral in a way that doesn't sound totally wacky. I've tried this on several other occasions with similar rates of failure

Life has rapidly returned to normal now that he is gone. I'm back to endless reading, eating cold cereal, and much more solitude. Now that I've figure out how to inflate the air mattress, I'm excited for another guest. Come visit!