I call myself the human trampoline

Today I:

• handed over a small grant I won ($300) to a Turkish mother of 10 to help buy her children their needed supplies and clothes for the school year. She was bashful, but appreciative.
• invited the two Bulgarians who have most stood by me and welcomed me into their circle to lunch at my apartment Monday. It'll be the first time they visit my apartment and their first taste of "real American food." They were nearly jumping for joy.
• caught up with a friend who had been on vacation, emailed many others who've written me recently, sparred with a worthy opponent ...and had various other digital contacts.
• was greeted warmly by the woman from whom I buy rotisserie chicken and my vegetable guy. I am often introduced to their friends as "my American."
• had two students in my building say hi to me as I passed them on the way in (which never happens).

...and yet the only real feeling I had today was the end of "The Bourne Supremacy." Clips of New York. Seeing it and thinking about that energy took my breath away.

I miss working at my capacity...and meeting friends at dive bars with great jukeboxes.