Oh boy, it was going to be hard for Ross not to crack jokes for one day. He had always done it since he was a kid. Part of it was that he truly was a child at heart and wanted to having a good time at all times, so why not let the others around him have a good time as well? Though Brogan was right, it was a defense mechanism. Whether Ross completely acknowledged that or not was unknown, but it was there.
"I'm here for at least a year, with the university, anyways. They have me tenured or whatever that long, and if they really want me to stick around, then we'll just see what happens! As for the museum, I don't think I'll be leaving that anytime soon. I mean, I would love to be transferred back to New York and do the same thing at MoMa, but that's wishful thinking. Oh! And then there's the Times. I could be on the other side of the world and they would probably still have me submit articles on a weekly basis. Better than having to sit in a cramped office all day."
And then his mind went back to the whole keeping in touch with people thing. Normally Ross didn't have issues with making new friends, but he probably was being a bit more distant than normal. At least he wasn't shutting off the world completely. "You know, I think one of them has a birthday coming up, now that I'm thinking about it. I should get him something. Like one of those tiny little cakes that has enough room for one candle on it." Adam would probably appreciate it. Hell, the kid deserved it after all the damn writing he did.