Clearing Out my Office at NYU and Meeting a Former Student

Saturday, August 5, 2023

Manhattan, New York City

Clearing Out my Office at NYU and Meeting a Former Student

Breakfast and Beginning my Big Task:

Being jetlagged still, I awoke at 4.30 am while the rest of Manhattan was fast asleep. I could not get over the sight of the Chrysler Building staring me in the face as I got out of bed to use the rest room. There is something totally awesome about being surrounded by buildings from a hundred years ago, each of which is absolutely crammed with character in its upper reaches. Who knew, for instance, that there are a bunch of animal figurines all over the tops of the skyscrapers in Midtown? But when you are looking at the rooftops at eye level, you pick up so much architectural detail as to be charmed out of all expression.

I was a bit hungry (as I am still on London time) and so I ate a bagel (that I had picked up yesterday) with peanut butter that I found in a cabinet. There is a coffee machine in this apartment but no milk or whitener and since I cannot stand black coffee, I passed on it and simply washed my breakfast down with water.

I then went in for a shower, got myself dressed and decided to get out early. My knee was aching really badly and I was very worried about it. I decided to stop at a CVS Pharmacy and pick up Extra Strength Tylenol as well as a knee brace (sleeve) that would provide knee compression. I had also used ice packs at Mary-Lauren’s to cool down any knee inflammation. I suppose I was doing everything sensible to ensure quick recovery.

It was nice to see Manhattan wake up to a new day. There were a few runners and walkers around and when I found out that there were bus stops right on Second Avenue, I decided to give my knees a break and take a bus downtown instead of walking to Lexington Avenue to take the subway. Accordingly, I jumped into a No. 15 bus that was sailing downtown and as it happened to be an Express Bus, I reached Eight Street in less than ten minutes. Traffic was very light as it was a Saturday and the city enjoyed the luxury of a late lie-in.

From Second Avenue, I had to walk across town towards Astor Place. It happened to be the day of some important New York City race (not the marathon which takes place in November) and there were all sorts of freebies by way of drinks being distributed outside Astor Place. I picked up a yoghurt and some canned drinks and made my way to my office.

Continuing the Clearance of my Office:

And so it was that I began clearing up my books and files and boxes of accumulated paper. There was no one on the floor, although the Security Man was downstairs. I felt a sense of deja-vu all over again as I went over all the papers and discarded, directly in the recycling bin, all those items I did not want. Again, I felt as if I were going through my entire teaching career with all the course materials and correspondence in which I have been involved through the decades. Little by little, in the dead silence of the office, with not another soul around, I was able to focus on my work and get going quickly.

Stopping For Lunch:

At about 1.00 pm, I decided to stop for lunch and thought that I would simply get a salad from McDonald’s which is right below my office building. But, of course, to my disappointment, McDonald’s was temporarily closed. The next alternative would have been to go to Wendy’s to buy their chilli (which I love); but Wendy’s was at least five blocks away and I simply did not feel comfortable taxing my knee in that fashion. With little choice, I crossed the street to get to Fresh & Co where I ordered a salad with rocket, green apples, walnuts, cranberries and blue cheese with a balsamic vinaigrette and it was really very good except that I think I was too heavy on the dressing. I carried my salad up to my office and I ate it there together with one of the free drinks I had picked up.

Meeting a Friend From Bombay:

I continued working steadily (disposing off a vast amount of paper) until 3.00 pm when I had made plans to meet my friend Avantika from Bombay who happened to be in New York. We had decided to meet for coffee at Le Pain Quotidien on 13th and Broadway; but as that venue would be a good five blocks from my office, I texted her to ask for a change of venue to enable me avoid using my knees. She did arrive at 3.00pm as she happened to be meeting another professor friend, Tejaswini Ganti, and when she did arrive at the lobby of my building, it was with them.

After greeting them, I took Avantika to my office where we sat down and had a nice chinwag. She is leaving New York in a couple of days to return to Bombay and would gladly have had had a Highlights Tour of the Met with me. But my left knee simply does not permit such an indulgence and I had to beg out of that one. A couple of photographs later, Avantika left. I saw her down to the lobby and said my Goodbyes to her with the promise that we would meet again in Bombay.

Continuing Through the Afternoon Session:

I continued through the afternoon session and soon realized that with my bad knee, I could not climb up chairs and tables to take off the artwork on my walls. As it happened, I had made phone contact with my former student, Aria, who is also the editor of the manuscript of my next book. She would be free after 6.30pm and she told me she would be happy to come to my office and meet me. I was delighted. Not only could I solicit her help in peeling off the posters, etc. from my walls, but I could also ask her if she wanted some of the items in my office such as an antique lamp, a set of novelty candles, a box of upscale tea. She was thrilled to have them all, when she did show up and I was so pleased that some of my long-term goods had found a good new home In fact, Aria took the lamp and dropped it off at her apartment which was just a ten minute walk away; and then she returned to my office to pick me up. She also used her marvelous height to peel off all the decorative items that I had so loved. During her departure, I straightened up a lot of my bits and bobs that were scattered around. I knew, by the end of the day (literally), that I really had very little work to do the next day as most of it had already been done. How thrilled I was, and how grateful to have Aria help me! We could then turn our thoughts to dinner.

Italian Dinner at Patsy’s with Aria:

I told Aria that I would appreciate it if we found a place to have dinner really close to my apartment as I was really afraid of having to walk alone on my bad knee. She was quite cool with that. So we took the Subway to Grand Central Station from Astor Place and as we walked along 43rd Street towards Tudor City, we passed by Patsy’s, an Italian restaurant that appealed to both of us.

Patsy’s was lovely and after we settled ourselves at a corner table, we ordered a white pizza and a salad with arugula and fennel. Throughout the evening, we talked about Aria’s plans—she is taking the LSAT exams to go to Law School—and her living situation in Manhattan where she works as a para-legal in a Law firm. We had a really lovely evening together and I was delighted that I was able to spend so much time with her as most of our interaction has been on email through the long years of Covid when she first began working for me.

At the end of the evening, after we settled the bill, Aria walked with me towards my apartment building. It was a beautifully clear night in New York City and I was quite delighted to live entirely in the moment.

After we took a few pictures together, we said our goodbyes and I entered my apartment building. It was late and I was tired and all I wanted to do was brush and floss my teeth and get straight into bed (which was exactly what I did).

It had been a very productive day but also filled with the joy of meeting a student who is now a friend. What a great way to end my career at NYU.

Until tomorrow…cheerio!