Jardin des Tuilleries + silliness = good picture

I'm Feeling: encouraged
Background Noise: Free Fallin by Tom Petty

We visited the Jardin des Tuilleries in Paris, after soaking up some artistic history in the Louvre... Mark and David have a particular appreciation for sculpture, as shown above. :)

I'm feeling pretty happy today - nothing spectacularly over-the-top going on, just some good encouraging moments. And it's not even 2 in the afternoon! AOP began today, which was really fun - as I mentioned before, I really like incoming students, and it's fun for me to explain their requirements, answer their questions, and help them leave feeling less confused, more relaxed, and excited in general about what's on the horizon for them. And I feel like that happened today. I met some cool men and women, made them laugh (again, another really important goal of mine), and got to spend some quality time with other advisors - which I don't do very often. Then I got to talk to MaryBeth - I used to work for her, both for Orientation and in her house (I watched her children). It was nice to catch up and hear about her family. THEN I got to have lunch with Dana - it's basically been a year since we've hung out (okay, a couple weeks, but still), and I had a great time chatting today. My salad at Panera was delicious, and my company entertaining. We're still getting to know each other, and I think we are different in lots of ways, but I can see there being a lot for us to gain from each other. At any rate, it left me feeling cheerful and smiley, and like I have friends. Always a huge plus in my book.

Thought for the day: Are you silly enough? Sometimes I think (okay, I know) that I'm not. Or at least I don't let other people know how silly I actually am on the inside. Why is that? Silliness (when not inappropriate) is endearing, uplifting, and funny - all excellent things! I should be sillier...