This is the first post minted on my brand new MacBook. I look forward to improved clarity and functionality, though perhaps these will translate only to the aesthetics of my posts, not the content. The new laptop is one result of a wonderful long weekend spent with my parents. The weekend was the graduation present I requested and the hardware was the graduation present my parents' suggested. So, both parties are satisfied with the weekend, and I have received two incredibly generous presents.

The weekend began on Friday with a trip to New York City to see the Richard Serra exhibit at MoMA. We rode in on the train, chortling quietly as we sped past the stalled traffic on 95. We grabbed coffee and pastry at Grand Central, then walked over to 53rd and 5th. We began our viewing with Serra's more recent pieces, commissioned especially for this exhibit. They were shown in the large installation rooms on the 2nd floor. I haven't been to MoMA since junior year of high school (1993) when Mr. Cobbett took our Modernism class to view "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," "The Starry Night," Mondrian, Cezanne, Braque, and all the other stars of the movement. I scarcely remember the old layout and am very impressed with the new building. The space is appealing and well-designed. There are several stunning vistas and precipitous views. Best of all, they have created a space equal to the power and scale of Serra's massive steel sculptures. As someone who loves works of art but struggles with the inanity of museum-going and museum-goers, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself alone for several minutes in one of the folds of "Band".

The large-scale sculptures readily accomplish one of Serra's stated aims: namely, to make the viewer feel like she is interacting with the works in a visceral, physical sense. As the curving sheets of steel fold in, lean over, and lean back, the human body responds to the space that is either created or withdrawn. The response is not intellectual or even purely emotional, but rather a complex interplay of psychological and biological stimuli. Perhaps Serra has hit upon the conclusive answer to the question of biology vs philosophy: in space, no one can hear you cogitate. The body and the mind, matter and spirit, blend seamlessly into one wholly experiential creature whose thoughts and feelings stream through her physical being. There is no separation and a feeling of extreme well-being permeates.

My fancy has taken flight, so I will hold off on the description of our further adventures until it has landed again.