Well, I just got back from an exciting road trip to New Haven, where I was hoping to sell my car at the CarMax store up there (which, it turns out, is the closest one to NYC). Their offer for my car: $750. This is a car that is worth over $5000 according to NADA and Kelly Blue Book, and CarMax told me with a straight face that it’s worth $750. I not-so-politely declined their offer and walked out.

In an effort to ensure that my 120-mile round trip wasn’t a complete waste of time and gas money, I decided to head over to Yale and check out the area. I had never been anywhere near the Yale campus before, and it’s one of the schools I’ll most likely be re-applying to for my M.Arch. at some point.

I parked near the architecture building (which is currently ripped to shreds as it undergoes a gut renovation), and poked around a bit at Louis Kahn’s building nearby. Very cool building, but unfortunately it was closed when I was there, so I was limited to looking around the exterior. I have no idea where Yale’s architecture studios are being held in the interim, or else I would have checked them out. I’m sure I’ll be back up there at some point in the fall, though.

I had a burger at Loui’s Lunch Spot, which claims to be the place that invented the hamburger. Tiny restaurant, and decent burger cooked in a weird cast iron contraption and served on toast, but hardly the best burger I’ve ever had. I guess it’s one of those places you go once just for the novelty of it.

After that, I did some walking around the Yale campus, which is very large and very beautiful. Lots of old gothic buildings, traditional campus quads, big trees, etc… It actually reminded me a bit of the University of Chicago campus. The surrounding streets have your typical college business district array of pizza places, bars, head shops, etc. Pretty cool overall… I could certainly think of worse places to spend three years of my life. New Haven has somewhat of a reputation for being a crime-ridden hellhole, but the area immediately near the campus seems pretty nice.

So my car is parked back in Newark, and I’m in a bit of a dilemma as how to pay the first month’s rent and security deposit for a slightly more permanent housing situation next month. I’ve already given up on the idea of getting my own apartment right away (that idea will most likely have to wait a few months), so I’ll be looking to move in with roommates for a while. True, my new job is paying me good money, but it will be a while until I’m working full-time and the paychecks start rolling in.