Sundays are my favorite thing in the world. My latest routine is buying the Sunday New York Times, which, at a whopping six bucks, is a treat in and of itself, and locating a spot on a Panera patio to get fresh air, coffee, and a breakfast sandwich all simultaneously. I stay until I've read the majority of the paper, even occasionally reading the Sports section, watching the suburbanites of Brookline take in their Sundays too, with dogs and babies in tow. Last week I watched a mini rainburst from the comfort of the covered patio, and today I had a great chat with two little girls, one of whom had a Batgirl costume I would've (ok, still would) killed for.
Nothing beats the Sunday NYTimes in hard copy. I usually rip things out, and the format, with inline photos, the ability to jump back and forth between articles, and even getting newsprint ink on my fingertips, is way better than a flickering screen. My guiltiest pleasure of all is the wedding Vows column. The cynic in me secretly loves the charming stories of relationships made good, and whoever writes the column has a non-saccharine way of weaving the tale. If I ever get married, I hope my relationship and my celebration are worthy of being covered in a column. Yes, it makes me feel a little like Katharine Heigl in 27 Dresses, but since I'm sure I'll be subjecte to some ludicrous bridesmaid dresses, the comparison isn't too far off.
Sundays are that potluck day: today I had my newspaper hour(s), cleaned the apartment in a team effort with the roommates, did research on grad schools, watched most of both Legally Blonde movies, and ate Vietnamese food. Productive, cathartic, and relaxing, all in the same day. Plus, now it's only 9 pm, which means watching a little TV (Batman movie = I have such a dirty old man crush on Jack Nicholson), doing more grad school research, and even getting to sleep at a reasonable hour. A potluck, patchwork, slightly ADD day. Exactly what I need before a few days at work and an unexpected trip home for a funeral. On a tangential note: weddings and funerals are bizarre uniters of friends grown apart. I wish it didn't take major events to do that. I also wish funerals didn't happen.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
“American Values” — A Smoke Screen in the Debate on Health Care Reform
Interesting article by my uncle, a doctor at University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia. Some of my thoughts on the health care issue later.I shall blog again!
Uh. Apparently a brief blogging hiatus transpired. Numerous apologies. The last weeks of college, graduation antics, a stint of frustrated unemployment, two months of rain, and my recent three weeks of legitimate employment are to blame. Excuses are silly though. Blogging will recommence.
I am hungry to learn. Three months after graduating, I miss classes already. To the point where I signed up for the GRE in a fit of frustration yesterday morning. September 26, bring on the math (eeeek). I'm currently working in a development office, and while it's interesting and I'm learning new skills, my liberal arts, politically nerdy brain misses some of the content I soaked up in college. Not that I have a really concrete idea of what I want to study with my hopefully fabulous GRE scores. I have lots of ideas, actually, so I'm doing some serious research into cities, schools, programs, and professors that hit a nerd nerve with me. A smattering of concepts include:
On a completely unrelated tangent: I love cooking. I bought a set of cookbooks, and had a little internal monologue about needing to cook more often, and bring leftovers to work. Cooking's also such an easy way to entice friends over for dinner and dessert, and gratefully fed friends often bring wine :). Made delicious chili corn cakes, baked apples with balsamic, and some other tasty things (inquire for recipes), and I'll post recipes/photos as I get more creative. I also baked two batches of treats without burning them, a little more cautious after I charred two sheets of chocolate chip cookies I'd been daydreaming about.
One final note: I am reading like a fiend, due to my onset of desire to learn/think. Suggestions are welcomed, and I'm accumulating what is a pretty intense library of my books and a friend's books I'm babysitting for the year. Let's give/borrow/discuss? There's been murmurings of an actual bookclub, on the heels of our Twitter book club attempt, and I'd be so down.
I am hungry to learn. Three months after graduating, I miss classes already. To the point where I signed up for the GRE in a fit of frustration yesterday morning. September 26, bring on the math (eeeek). I'm currently working in a development office, and while it's interesting and I'm learning new skills, my liberal arts, politically nerdy brain misses some of the content I soaked up in college. Not that I have a really concrete idea of what I want to study with my hopefully fabulous GRE scores. I have lots of ideas, actually, so I'm doing some serious research into cities, schools, programs, and professors that hit a nerd nerve with me. A smattering of concepts include:
- political rhetoric, inspired by my favorite professor senior year
- public policy
- global communications, inspired by a 2 year program through the London School of Economics and the Annenberg School at USC
- urban planning/city design
- nonprofit management
- business --don't laugh, I'm serious and I have my reasons.
- development/women's issues related programs.
On a completely unrelated tangent: I love cooking. I bought a set of cookbooks, and had a little internal monologue about needing to cook more often, and bring leftovers to work. Cooking's also such an easy way to entice friends over for dinner and dessert, and gratefully fed friends often bring wine :). Made delicious chili corn cakes, baked apples with balsamic, and some other tasty things (inquire for recipes), and I'll post recipes/photos as I get more creative. I also baked two batches of treats without burning them, a little more cautious after I charred two sheets of chocolate chip cookies I'd been daydreaming about.
One final note: I am reading like a fiend, due to my onset of desire to learn/think. Suggestions are welcomed, and I'm accumulating what is a pretty intense library of my books and a friend's books I'm babysitting for the year. Let's give/borrow/discuss? There's been murmurings of an actual bookclub, on the heels of our Twitter book club attempt, and I'd be so down.
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Happy List
Trying to write more on the Happy List. Check it out! Ladies, let's get back to posting more often, everything you add makes me smile too.
Always helps put things in perspective. If you want to get in on the catharsis and be added as a contributor, let me know!
Always helps put things in perspective. If you want to get in on the catharsis and be added as a contributor, let me know!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Getting Involved
I'm all signed up to volunteer at Wine Riot next weekend! Sponsored by the Second Glass and the Weekly Dig, Wine Riot's goal is to ignore the snobbery of other wine tasting events, and get a younger, less stiff crowd involved. As part of this, they offered a free voucher for one of the sessions to people who would volunteer at another session. I'll be working set-up Friday morning, and then going to the night session on Saturday with the girls! Danielle has been really into wine lately and sparked some interest on my end, and this is a freeee way to get some new insight/a good buzz. I finish classes tomorrow, so it'll be a great way to celebrate!
I'm also planning to volunteer at the United Nations Association of Greater Boston's [UNAGB] Consuls Ball next weekend. My student group on campus, the Northeastern United Nations Association, works with UNAGB to host and staff Model UN conferences for middle and high school students. The ball is the big fundraiser for their Global Classrooms program, and I'm hoping to be able to talk up Northeastern's involvement as well as do a little on-the-sly networking for my jobless self.
To round off my volunteer excitement , my old roommate Sam is a project leader for Boston Cares, and I signed up to play with cats at the MSPCA with her on a few Saturdays in May! Boston Cares is a great volunteer organization that allows people to sign up for various projects and events without a long-term commitment, but lets them take advantage of free time they have to give back a little. I want to look into a few regular volunteer opportunities once we finish moving to Brookline as well.
One last volunteer/community give-back note: found HandsIn during some poking around on Twitter. Check it out! Their mission reads:
I'm also planning to volunteer at the United Nations Association of Greater Boston's [UNAGB] Consuls Ball next weekend. My student group on campus, the Northeastern United Nations Association, works with UNAGB to host and staff Model UN conferences for middle and high school students. The ball is the big fundraiser for their Global Classrooms program, and I'm hoping to be able to talk up Northeastern's involvement as well as do a little on-the-sly networking for my jobless self.
To round off my volunteer excitement , my old roommate Sam is a project leader for Boston Cares, and I signed up to play with cats at the MSPCA with her on a few Saturdays in May! Boston Cares is a great volunteer organization that allows people to sign up for various projects and events without a long-term commitment, but lets them take advantage of free time they have to give back a little. I want to look into a few regular volunteer opportunities once we finish moving to Brookline as well.
One last volunteer/community give-back note: found HandsIn during some poking around on Twitter. Check it out! Their mission reads:
HandsIn harnesses the unique energy and creative passion of 20-somethings, inspiring them to connect with each other through volunteerism and empowering them to change their world through dedicated service and a shared commitment to a sustainable lifestyle.
As the world changes, the means of service are changing too, and this is definitely not your grandmother’s community service and lifestyle network. Instead, HandsIn uses the strength of what’s new and different to tackle the real problems of today’s world.
Change starts with you. Join HandsIn today to become a powerful agent of 21st century transformation!
Sounds like a plan to me!Monday, March 23, 2009
Monday
Things that will help me make it through the week:
- Google Calendar. Runs my life. If you have Gmail and don't use the calendar, I am mystified by you.
- Tomorrow's yoga class--last one for the semester, but learning and remembering to focus on my breathing has probably saved my sanity the last few weeks. An hour a week where all I do is focus on my body and my breathing is amazing.
- Tonight's new Gossip Girl. Utter, utter trash. It's like fashion porn, and it's an hour of escapism. Similar to yoga, in that it allows time to focus on things other than current stressors.
- Going to DC on Wednesday. We're taking an overnight train: I loveee trains. And getting out of Boston means a mental scene change. It's my last Nationals conference for Model Arab League, and we have a great team going.
- My last day of college classes ever is three weeks from today. I just realized that. Wow. Wow.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Always Take the Higher Road
Lesson learned in the past few years: whenever I look back on a conflict situation, I always wish I had taken the higher road. Been the better woman. Left the petty things behind. Thought before I spoke. Kept my mouth firmly shut.
It's easy to mouth off. It's easy to make noise. It's never as easy to make amends, to apologize, or to make the other person understand why you had such a visceral reaction to something. I'm not saying the high road is the least painful road at the time. And I'm not saying that you can't still think the other person involved is completely and totally wrong. But if you make the scene, you de-legitimize your complaint. You look [and eventually] feel like you're more at fault than the other contributor. And it's fairly painful to remove your foot, or even your whole leg, from your figurative mouth.
Always be the better person. You already know you are, so just remember to act like it.
It's easy to mouth off. It's easy to make noise. It's never as easy to make amends, to apologize, or to make the other person understand why you had such a visceral reaction to something. I'm not saying the high road is the least painful road at the time. And I'm not saying that you can't still think the other person involved is completely and totally wrong. But if you make the scene, you de-legitimize your complaint. You look [and eventually] feel like you're more at fault than the other contributor. And it's fairly painful to remove your foot, or even your whole leg, from your figurative mouth.
Always be the better person. You already know you are, so just remember to act like it.
A little introspection never hurt....right?
I'm feeling very "work in progress" lately. The next month or two is all about wrapping up and starting over, basically at the same time, and it's causing a little bit of difficulty figuring out what to do and when. For a girl who's always a little indecisive when it comes to the big things, and who has trouble with change when its not on my own terms, it's been a little rough. My moods have been swinging, my behavior a little erratic, and introspection has been pretty heavy for me. Don't think introspection has led to any new conclusions: only new forms of crazy and indecisive as I come up with more things to think about. And I know this isn't any unique or defining state of being--I think that's been even harder on all of us, in some respects. Almost nobody in my life is grounded and sane enough to be a rock at the moment, so we all end up bearing the craziness on our own, reaching out to each other as best we can while trying not to add to each other's mental confusion. Between the economy, the job hunt, changes of location, and relationship dynamics [platonic and otherwise], we all have our emotional plates pretty full--and are wishing anyone else's plate looked attractive enough to pick a bite off of.
I don't mean to sound so melodramatic--but it's that quarter-life crisis time. Tomorrow morning, the mood will have swung, and I'll be day dreaming about my gorgeous new apartment, ignoring that I need to find a job to pay the rent. I'll be googling jobs in London for next year, as opposed to finishing my philosophy paper. I'll be planning city adventures with friends that may not be in the city at all any more in 6 weeks. Sometimes, I think it's good to have mood swings. It makes you delve a little deeper, and realize that the flipside of the intense emotions, both good and bad, exist on almost every topic. I've gotten some criticism lately for taking things too seriously, or getting too emotional or vocal about situations. While I'm not sure I always pick the right way to express things [yelling when I'm angry, or being THE loudest laugh at the bar], I think my passion, in both directions, is an important part of me. I care pretty intensely about the things I'm involved in and the people in my life, and I usually choose to express that, rather than internalize it. It may get me in trouble from time to time, speaking my mind and my feelings, but I'd rather know I felt things. I've come a long way in the past 5 years in terms of how and when I say my piece, but lately, I think I've been hellbent on reminding myself that I care.
I don't mean to sound so melodramatic--but it's that quarter-life crisis time. Tomorrow morning, the mood will have swung, and I'll be day dreaming about my gorgeous new apartment, ignoring that I need to find a job to pay the rent. I'll be googling jobs in London for next year, as opposed to finishing my philosophy paper. I'll be planning city adventures with friends that may not be in the city at all any more in 6 weeks. Sometimes, I think it's good to have mood swings. It makes you delve a little deeper, and realize that the flipside of the intense emotions, both good and bad, exist on almost every topic. I've gotten some criticism lately for taking things too seriously, or getting too emotional or vocal about situations. While I'm not sure I always pick the right way to express things [yelling when I'm angry, or being THE loudest laugh at the bar], I think my passion, in both directions, is an important part of me. I care pretty intensely about the things I'm involved in and the people in my life, and I usually choose to express that, rather than internalize it. It may get me in trouble from time to time, speaking my mind and my feelings, but I'd rather know I felt things. I've come a long way in the past 5 years in terms of how and when I say my piece, but lately, I think I've been hellbent on reminding myself that I care.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Top Five Friday
1) The middle school teacher/advisor I talked to at the Model UN conference--she was busy looking up YouTube clips and other things online to help with a unit she's teaching, and telling me about getting grants/class time extensions to get more kids involved in their small school's MUN program. She's always so energetic and creative, and really dedicated to helping her kids learn and like it--not just swallow information verbatim and pass the MCAS
2) Not needing a coat today: a welcome change from 4 feet of snow and frigid Maine (although I miss the heated pool and comfy couches)
3) Having one more weekend of spring break before returning to the grind--some time to pull my life together and catch up on things.
4) My new business cards! Some are green with white font, and the other set are Moo Cards, and have different photos on the back that I took myself. Ask me for one!
5) Plans for the month of March! St. Patrick's Day, visiting Linda in Philly, Washington DC. As much as I love Boston, changes of scenery are great, and seeing people I miss is fantastic. On tap for the next few months: California, South Dakota, probably Pittsburgh.
2) Not needing a coat today: a welcome change from 4 feet of snow and frigid Maine (although I miss the heated pool and comfy couches)
3) Having one more weekend of spring break before returning to the grind--some time to pull my life together and catch up on things.
4) My new business cards! Some are green with white font, and the other set are Moo Cards, and have different photos on the back that I took myself. Ask me for one!
5) Plans for the month of March! St. Patrick's Day, visiting Linda in Philly, Washington DC. As much as I love Boston, changes of scenery are great, and seeing people I miss is fantastic. On tap for the next few months: California, South Dakota, probably Pittsburgh.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Disconnect
We--a group of friends from freshman/sophomore year--are up in Maine for spring break. Sadly, no sunshine or beach time, but something almost better: no cell service! We have wireless, which is necessary for jobhunting/checking in with jobs some of us already work at, but the sheer delight of not having to answer my phone can't even be put into words. I'm sure when I turn it on as we head back to civilization Thursday it will practically explode with useless texts, tweets, and voicemails from the Northeastern Development office, wanting my nonexistant money. However, for now, I enjoy the snow, the comfy couches, the heated pool, and the disconnect from life in Boston.
There's about 4 feet of snow outside the gigantic house we rented near Sugarloaf. I went snowshoeing, and didn't even make too big an ass of out myself. Tomorrow, I'm going to attempt to ski for the second time ever: that will probably prove hilarious for all, photos will come when I get back to the city. We have a big heated pool that looks out in the snowy mass that is our yard, full of elaborate snow forts that the boys built, and a few 4 foot deep holes where I sunk all the way in. The house is big and quirky, and has some pretty ridiculous flaws, but plenty of bedrooms and couches and a huge kitchen and downstairs den--and a pingpong table, where I routinely get schooled but am amping up my level of competition. Danielle's venturing up from the city tonight, and we come back Thursday, in time for me to help out at a high school Model UN conference back at NU, and pull my life together over the weekend.
It's comfortable here. It's nice to be with kids I've known for so long--no pressure, nothing crazy, just hanging out, enjoying what I've realized is the last traditional spring break we'll all be able to take together before real jobs, people leaving for grad school elsewhere, and other typical post-grad scatter. On that note--back to sitting on the couch with them. :)
There's about 4 feet of snow outside the gigantic house we rented near Sugarloaf. I went snowshoeing, and didn't even make too big an ass of out myself. Tomorrow, I'm going to attempt to ski for the second time ever: that will probably prove hilarious for all, photos will come when I get back to the city. We have a big heated pool that looks out in the snowy mass that is our yard, full of elaborate snow forts that the boys built, and a few 4 foot deep holes where I sunk all the way in. The house is big and quirky, and has some pretty ridiculous flaws, but plenty of bedrooms and couches and a huge kitchen and downstairs den--and a pingpong table, where I routinely get schooled but am amping up my level of competition. Danielle's venturing up from the city tonight, and we come back Thursday, in time for me to help out at a high school Model UN conference back at NU, and pull my life together over the weekend.
It's comfortable here. It's nice to be with kids I've known for so long--no pressure, nothing crazy, just hanging out, enjoying what I've realized is the last traditional spring break we'll all be able to take together before real jobs, people leaving for grad school elsewhere, and other typical post-grad scatter. On that note--back to sitting on the couch with them. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)