Show Me How Pretty the World Is

Just let it happen.

2011-03-28T21:48:00.005-04:00

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it. Don't wait for it. Just let it happen. It could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot black coffee." --Twin Peaks.

Never seen the movie, but spotted the quote, and I love it. Even when I'm in a bad mood, or super busy, I've been kinder to myself lately, and embracing the things that perk me up or make me really happy. Adding a tiny piece of chocolate to my lunch from Whole Foods. Buying the Sunday New York Times or the latest issue of Vogue. Running to Jamaica Pond. Listening to John Legend's cover of Adele's Rolling in the Deep on repeat upwards of 10 times to get through a Friday at work. Taking advantage of a free afternoon to get a pedicure and bake hamantaschen (substituting nutella for poppy seeds...). Sneaking off with hilarious coworkers to an empty office for a "Finer Things" mid-afternoon meeting--tea and pastries on a paper tablecloth. Buying an insane dress just to wear it as Passover hostess.

Yoga = New Religion?

2011-03-16T23:15:00.003-04:00

Too much running lately meant time for yoga tonight. Pound the pavement, then stretch out the tight legs.

I had the same feelings about yoga that I've had almost every time I've ever gone:

kind of a pain in the ass to go, but must be worth it on some level because I keep going
seems sort of like a cult
lots of very different people all in the same place
why so many $$??

This leads me to believe that somehow, for many people, yoga has taken the place of religion in their lives.

I'm not a religious person in the traditional sense of the word. Religion, at least to me, seems like it's whatever keeps you focused/positive/in touch with yourself or your community. For some people, religion is organized. For some, its very personal. I don't love the God implications of religion, although at this point in time, religion = God in one form or another to most people.

By my definition, my religion is composed of equal parts red wine, gin, running, sunshine/Vitamin D, cynicism, a plane ticket budget, and daily phone calls to my mom.

Yoga seems like a perfect candidate for "religion" status, though. Here are some of the many parallels to lots of organized religion:

spending time focusing on your "intention" as most yoga teachers say: this is your faith-based effort, if you will.
chanting = like prayer. ritualistic, often not the original meaning, but pertinent to the routine of practice
the combination of personal (inner faith, the choice to practice) and community (you could pray or do yoga at home, but instead you show up at a church or a studio)
Different levels of participation: recent convert (free first yoga class! Lots of attention/adjustment from the teacher and fellow practitioners), regular churchgoer (maybe you have a 10-class punch card), avid participant, member of your church (full year pass to your studio), student of religion (taking classes to be a teacher), religious teacher or leader (yoga teacher), prophet (yoga "guru" as they're called), God (Yoga as a whole?)
the idea that religion and yoga are both never over--that you're supposed to strive, get to know yourself and your faith/practice, always growing.

I'm a terrible yoga student the way that I joke that I'm a terrible Jew. I don't go that frequently. I'm not that flexible. I spend a good portion of class giggling (shocking to any of you that know me...). I am often afraid to stretch and reach in my practice, in terms of trying the more challenging poses. I end up staring at others in my class--all of the really unique bodies and abilities, as opposed to staying inwardly focused on my "intention". But, when all is said and done, I get out of yoga exactly what I need, usually, the same way I cherrypick culture and the traditions from of my form of Jewish agnosticism.

I get a stretched out body and mind, and 90 minutes away from my cellphone/computer screen, and a chance to ponder deep topics like "Is yoga religion???" "HOW DID SHE DO THAT HANDSTAND" and "I didn't think it was physically possible to sweat this much."

Religion's a tricky word, and if you're religious in a traditional sense, I don't want you to think I'm being flippant in my comparisons. But I think religion should be a flexible (har, har, yoga, get it) concept--however you choose to stretch your mind and body and grow as a person seems to be as beneficial as it gets. Physical endeavors have brought a lot of clarity to me, the same way a lot of personal time and silence have. It's important to figure out what makes you feel like a bigger and finer you. Whether it's a a church service, a martini or a vinyasa class is up to you.

Hereby resolved...

2011-03-14T11:40:00.004-04:00

This spring, I've added all my workouts for my half-marathon to a "training" Google calendar, in the hopes that if they're solidly scheduled into my life (and my phone), I have no excuse for missing anything.

The same, as of now, will go for blogging. No promises on continuity of topic, or length of post, but since friends are chugging along on Lenten promises to do all sorts of things, it seems like an appropriate time to add a "Write/Blog" recurring "appointment" on my personal calendar. Care for the body, use the mind, etc, etc.

As I plan for future writing, I'll leave you with some of the things that have been revving up my crazed brain lately.

Commonhealth, the WBUR blog, has become a new favorite as I try to catch up to the levels of expertise of fellow board members over at Boston Young Healthcare Professionals. (Look for news of our launch event coming soon!!). More healthcare-related blogs are on my to-find list--suggestions welcome!

Friends planning weddings or bridal showers keeping sending me new design and decoration sites, and my long-standing obsession with fashion has me subscribing to an embarrassing number of fashion, design and style blogs.

As spring approaches and I plan more weekend trips to Haymarket and my extensive Passover feast menu, cooking blogs like Smitten Kitchen and a recently discovered minimalist blog StoneSoup are making me hungry all day long at work.

I'm renewing my love affair with Slate, and the hard-copy redesign of the Sunday NYTimes Magazine means I've been carrying each issue around for days into the week.

Friends' blogs are among the most inspiring I read lately, whether they make me think or make me laugh or make me want to try new hot spots in Boston or make me realize I definitely need to get out for my next run (to run off all that delicious food...).

At least three weekends of travel in the past 2 months mean I've read the latest issues of Nylon, Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Esquire, the Economist, Self, Wired, Fast Company, and others. (One of the many reasons I carry a sturdy purse...)

I've been playing a little over on Tumblr, but more for short things or sharing. More long-form to come in this venue! (now that's on my calendar to post on a regular basis, I have no excuse!)

in an effort to not scream....

2011-01-21T08:43:00.003-05:00

here's a Friday top 5. or 10. It's the sort of week where it's important to remember the good things.

amazing, amazing girlfriends (and guy friends, too)
good weather for roadtrips
people that you're willing to tell the truth to
good hugs
red wine and gin (not together, per se)
roommates who are supportive during yelling and meltdowns
having a really wonderful family
snowboots that are actually waterproof
furry earmuffs
the thought of going to the gym tomorrow
yoga breathing

Common Misconceptions

2011-01-05T22:20:00.003-05:00

If you're in charge, you must know what you're doing.

If you're not in charge, you don't know what you're doing yet.

If you're single, you're lonely or a wild child or a commitment phobe.

If you're in a relationship, you're lame or domestic or want to have babies soon.

If you look put together, you must have your shit together.

If you're settled down, you're boring.

If you refuse to settle down, you'll never find what you're looking for.

If you're loud, you're confident.

If you're quiet, you're shy.

If you're skinny and pretty, you're happy.

If you're not skinny and pretty, you'll never find love or happiness.

If you're not tired, you shouldn't sleep.

Travel is for the rich.

Resolved.

2010-12-20T16:23:00.002-05:00

2010 was the year of physical health. I've lost 1/6 of my body weight. Run 6 races. Dozens of miles. Hiked Mt. Washington. I even have biceps. And triceps. 2010? Great success.

2011 will be the year of emotional health. I don't want to be so cranky at work. I want to see the people I want to see as often as possible. I want to feel more fulfilled in my work life, my love life, and my "extra-curricular" life. I will spend time doing things that make me feel creative or inspired or productive or relaxed or just plain happy, as opposed to frustrated, antsy, or like I'm wasting my time. I will use the Oxford comma in my personal life, just because I can't at work. I will actively seek out new and fulfilling relationships in my life and maintain the ones that have become long-distance. I will sleep. I will continue to work out on a regular basis. I will luxuriate in the great things about Boston and find ways to go all the other places I love and will find out I love. I will eat delicious and healthy things but never begrudge myself a glass of wine with friends. I will focus on the positive, even if that means indulging in a good old-fashioned rant session to clear my head. I will lead the life I want to lead, and not just daydream about it.

To 2011, and a happy year.

Playing with pretty things

2010-11-22T23:50:00.003-05:00

Even when business isn't ideal, I love the fact that my dad's jewelry store is usually involved in happy situations. You buy jewelry to mark special occasions, celebrate, honor, surprise, treat yourself or someone else--and the end result is something pretty and positive. Not a duty, a burden, a necessity, but something lovely that enhances your literal view and your figurative mindset. His store, while the back rooms are full of piles of paper that border on "Hoarders", is full of the shiny, the glittery and the fancy. His customers have long personal business histories with him, and he may do engagement rings for multiple generations, and remake a great-grandmother's prized necklace for a high-school graduate. They send thank-you cards and call to share happy proposal stories, and his jewelry plays a minor role in so many lovely times in people's lives. He gets to play with pretty things, and make people happy. Does it get much better than that?

My love for fashion and jewelry and building relationships with people, which I remember every time I go down to his store when I'm in Pittsburgh, leads me back to the recurring conversation I've been having with friends lately. Not to be cliche or dramatic, but plenty of us are in that typical "quarter-life crisis", where, in our early/mid-twenties, we're dissatisfied being entry-level, dreaming dreams of bigger or better or farther away, and/or having a hard time pinpointing just exactly what we should be doing.

New goal? Focus on two main questions.

1) What makes me happy?
2) What am I good at?

Ultimately, I'm seeking the ideal intersection:

What can I do that I am good at that also makes me happy?

(Yes, I'm idealistic enough to believe my work should make me happy, not just provide the means for my existence. No, I'm not currently interested in your argument that I should find a 9-5 that supports me in just doing things I actually love in my free time. But thank you, and best of luck with that in your own life, it just won't cut it for me.)

This currently results in lots of mental or physical post-it notes full of pros, cons, top 5s, lists of things I loathe and detest, cities, classes, things to learn, things I know I'm terrible at, and things I hope other people think I'm good at. No guarantees that I'll figure out anything any time soon, and while I trawl craigslist (JOBS, people, the adult services sections have been shut down....), keeping up hope I'll spot something that hits a nerve, I want to know that I'm not just settling. That I'll find the best way to play with the pretty things, in one way or another.

I refuse to be hoodwinked.

2010-10-26T21:00:00.003-04:00

Leif: facebook is single people hell.

Facebook announcements of engagements and marriages, the general public, and inane questions are trying to trick me and a lot of my fellow singletons.

Not in a Halloween, here's a Reese's cup, sorry my Sarah Palin mask scared you, kind of way. But trying to trick me into thinking that at age 23, I should be in a serious relationship, engaged, married, or even on the way to being a mom. 23 can mean a lot of different things, and I sometimes get the sense that the universe is trying to corral me onto a plane of existence I'm not prepared for.

I have the ultimate respect for my friends on these paths. More power to them. They have really nice apartments with their significant others, great cocktail parties, the occasional puppies, and I'm looking forward to the open bars at their weddings in the near(er than I'd predicted) future. The time and energy and commitment they put into the relationships in their lives blow me away, and I hope I have that success some day. But it's not for everyone, not right now.

Take off the scary mask, people and things who make me think I'm not on the right path. I don't like your pointed questions about "how is such a ___, ___, and ____ girl single?", how your facebook pages bombard with me with relationship statuses or your public displays of affections or proposals. You're no legitimate vice-presidential candidate, and I'm just not that "grown-up" yet.

Career change?

2010-08-26T12:08:00.003-04:00

After I spilled out myriad suggestions for daydrinking and brunching around Boston on very little notice...

Dana: Oh my God. You should write a book

me: I so would. Quit this job. Eat and drink (and run to keep from getting obese) for a living.

Dana: You should pitch it to the Travel Channel

Dana: You'd be way better than stupid Samantha Brown
me: Loud Jewish girl with a penchant for patios, gin cocktails, and french fries.

You know you'd DVR that. Maybe watch it with the volume kept low? :)

My agenda for tomorrow's sunny Friday forecast--a brunch and drinking adventure around Boston and Cambridge with one visiting Swede. Stay tuned for tweets and mini-blog posts, and maybe brainstorming on a travel show pitch?

Anything Worth Doing....

2010-08-20T10:32:00.003-04:00

...is worth doing well. Cliche? True. I don't care whether it's completing a work project on deadline, forging personal relationships, writing a blog post, or baking cookies, I don't really see the point unless you're in it to make something real. Something with impact. And not just doing something to get it done.

If you're going to write a letter, spellcheck it.

If you're going to invest (increasingly rare free) time in a friendship or a relationship, make sure it's not with a toxic or time-wasting person.

Planning an event? Make sure that the invitations arrive on time, that attendees can hear the live band, AND that there aren't any names misspelled on the nametags.

Having downtime? Actually turn your cellphone off, and stop pretending that multi-tasking is relaxing!

Running a business? Figure out the balance between being a good person and being a good businessperson--you won't have customers if you're an asshole, but you also can't pay bills with good will.

It's my continuing obsession with both the big picture and the little details. Seeing the forest, the trees and the leaves. Whatever you want to call it, keep it all in perspective.

writing is good for the soul.

2010-06-10T21:10:00.000-04:00

1,179 words down, and I feel less crazy than I did all day at work. Inspired by 21.5.800, I’m going to try to write at least 800 words a day for 21 days. I might not get to the yoga part, because I’ve been more into running and weights lately, but I could definitely use the writing. Not everything I write will be for public consumption, but if you’re interested in reading what I’m writing, let me know. If you’re doing it too, I’d probably like to read whatever you’re up for sharing!

a little perspective

2010-04-06T23:34:00.003-04:00

I ultimately want:

an office where I can wear every ludicrous get-up I can create out of my closet (thank you, September Issue, I still would want to work in fashion some day....)
the freedom to be blunt, honest and forthright as a result of my rank or level of respect
to call all the shots

In the end, I need:

a job that grows with me, challenges me, and gets me to give as much of myself as I can
to work from 9-5 as often as possible, but have the passion for what I do to keep me liking it even when it temporarily takes over my life
to work with (for, if I have to) people I respect and trust

I currently have:

the chance to try something new
an opportunity to learn some patience
a path to meet some amazing people
an entree into figuring out what it is that I'm good at AND like to do (the two shouldn't be mutually exclusive.)
the state of mind where I rememberthat nothing is carved in stone, for better or for worse, and that keeping an open mind is for the best.

I'll take it.

What Gets You Over the Hump?

2010-03-31T13:25:00.003-04:00

Wednesday = Hump Day.

Halfway to the weekend, far enough away from Monday to maybe diminish some of the pain.

What's getting me through the week:

An awesome 2 mile run this morning: longest I remember ever running without stopping, and no pain afterwards. longer tomorrow if I can!
NU Open Classroom series is about global jazz tonight! Meeting up with Sam for class, and maybe Will for a drink.
Tickets to Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers with Dani and A tomorrow! Seen them over half a dozen times, and they're still one of my favorite live acts.
Leaving for San Francisco next Friday (and spending time until then plotting my adventure). For a real vacation. More than a week long. No babies, weddings, funerals, or other life cycle events, just seeing 4 fabulous boys and not checking my work email! (my brother Jeremy, my cousin Dan, Stivers, and Leif!)
Delia comes back from Cuba this weekend!
The rain is stopping? Forecast of sunshine for the weekend and maybe frolicking on the beach?! I almost don't believe it.

Home.

2010-03-29T11:45:00.005-04:00

You may not be able to pick your family, but I sure can pick the friends who turn into family. I'd say I know how to pick friends who can hold their red wine too, but judging by the spots on my carpet and floor, I'll take that back.

I barely ever go home to Pittsburgh any more, but the times of the year when I'm family-/homesick are usually the Jewish holidays. I'm not religious by any stretch of the imagination, but holidays to me are all about family, food and comfort. And on Passover, I miss home, my parents and brother, my grandparents, home-cooked food and years of memories and traditions (sorry for the shmaltz). My wallet is way over my frequently booked last minute flights though, so I have to make do.

I haven't been home for Passover in years now, so I figured I'd start my own traditions here, and instead of my blood family, I'd invite the people who are my Boston family. This is the 3rd or 4th year I've hosted my own very non-traditional seder "experience", and I have to say, I'm completely and utterly obsessed with the people in my life for making me feel like I have a family here.

Everyone brought friends and wine--the boys even brought us flowers!!--I had extra hands to peel apples and fry latkes, and people to stay until the wee hours to polish off wine and laugh in the kitchen. Pictures to come, but 25 bottles of wine, as many or more people, pounds and pounds of latkes, and an obscene amount of food (zero leftovers), and a whole day of love and conversation and spilled red wine left me feeling home, and not entirely homesick.

Many thanks and much love, and here's to having home wherever I have friends.

Finding Ada: Badass Women in Technology and Science!

2010-03-24T08:52:00.005-04:00

Checking out Finding Ada for more background, but March 24, Ada Lovelace Day, celebrates women in technology and science--two fields where even today, there's a lack of recognition of women leaders, groundbreakers, earthshakers, and general rabblerousers. Ada Lovelace was a pioneer in the world of computing--back in the 1800s. Maybe not on a MacBook, but the woman knew what she was doing, and Ada Lovelace Day now pays tribute to women making an impact in the "nerdier" fields.

Although there are plenty of modern female role models in science and tech, I'd like to do a little throwback. I was a huge bookworm, even as a kid, and I read a ton of biographies. One of my favorites was a big, dusty hardback copy of a biography of Marie Curie. I loved her story, for starters because she was into some revolutionary political activism, and left her home country of Poland because of the political climate. She managed to study at amazing places like the Sorbonne, met a man named Pierre (hot name), and although he died tragically, she succeeded him as a professor of physics--no mean feat for a woman in the early 1900s.

Mme. Curie and her husband discovered polonium and radium, and were integral in researching and applying the therapeutic features of radioactive elements: treating cancer. Mme. Curie wasn't from a lot of money, and she worked hard for her success--no fancy laboratories or cushy existence, but hard work and passion for what has truly become a vital part of the resources for treating cancers (this is starting to sound like some of the language I use for writing thank-you letters at the hospital I work at....). Curie won not one, but two Nobel Prizes for her work--and although some write it off after it was awarded to Obama so quickly, a Nobel Prize is no mean feat, and two is pretty damn impressive.

She died of what was likely the side effects of radiation in a lab without safety precautions, something we know how to prevent today. (Crazy sidenote: the notes and other materials from her lab had to undergo more than two years of decontamination from radiation before they could be put on display for the public. I bet her insides actually glowed.) But her work lives on in the men and women who can now live longer as a result of radiation therapy stemming from her truly awesome work in a shed full of dangerous elements.

Women are still breaking new ground in the world of science, but we owe a lot to women like Curie who came before us--there's not a lot of "first woman to be educated at" statements in current biographies, because generations of women have already knocked down those barriers. The fact that her father enabled her to get a solid education in her early years had a lot to do with her success as well. I'm a firm believer in attacking problems of inequality from the ground up, and education is definitely the first step.

If' you're not familiar with the world of education/public policy, S(cience)T(echnology)E(ngineering)M(athematics) efforts are gaining traction in legislation and practice, ensuring that boys and girls alike have the best access to these vital fields--also important, because professionals in these fields typically make more money. If women are encouraged, alongside their male classmates, to pursue more generally "masculine"fields, they add crucial skills to their already growing arsenal, and can apply what they learn in STEM fields to anything from law to government to education as well as the sciences.

Want to do women a favor? Don't write science and technology off as a boy's world. Do science experiments with little girls if you babysit. Encourage friends to think outside the box or learn a new skill in the sciences if they want to expand their horizons. Don't assume a woman with a nice manicure can't build circuits or examine specimens in a lab. Women like Marie Curie, Gina Trapani, and girls like Jenn Walsh you may not have heard of yet: they're the past, present and future of life as we (may not) know it.

Cities: Always keeping me guessing.

2010-02-28T21:46:00.005-05:00

Today's "new place": a soul food spot in the basement of a bookstore. Jway Cafe is down a flight of stairs from Jamaicaway Books, and today, with my pulled pork sandwich, I even got to hear part of a lecture on the Harlem art renaissance. This was not part of the initial plan, but hey, I'll take a bonus! The lecture was given by the woman who served me my sandwich, and was on an old-school slide projector! Totally not what I was expecting, but was both delicious and educational--go figure. I'd go back for sure....and maybe try the sweet potato pie. We obviously also went to Gadgets (of the kitchen sort) and Boing (fantastic toy store). I don't think bouncy balls and weird kitchen utensils will ever lose their appeal to me. I obviously bought random little things at both places--planning on wheat muffins in my nice cheap muffin cups and hours of cubicle fun from the Bucky Balls I'd been dyingggg to buy for ages.

I love that the city has little unexpected things for me, even after 5 and a half years of living here. I always think I have a good handle on it, but then I find new places, meet new people, realize how many jobs and projects are out there that I've never even considered. Boston also continues to be the biggest small world ever for me. Running into NU people, friends of friends, old coworkers--sometimes I like it, sometimes it makes me want to run away, but at least friendly faces are always nice? I don't think I'll be in Boston much longer than 2011 before peacing out (where? Stay tuned, I'm starting to come up with ideas...) but at least I'm never bored here.

On a less people-note--with our apartment's fit kick (Sarah's kicking my ass, but I have biceps now!!) also comes a renewed obsession with walking everywhere. Even when it's raining or snowing. I love somehow always spotting new things on walks I've done a thousand times--tiny colorful houses, signage, storefronts. Great thing I noticed spraypainted on the Harvard St. sidewalk today: the 35' safety boundaries surrounding the space that will soon be a women's health clinic down the street from me. Walking, as opposed to public transportation or the passenger seat of Sarah's car, lets me pet puppies, find out the name of adorable babies, and take detours that the 39 or 66 won't really be in the mood for--and the busses don't drive around Jamaica Pond! Counting down til summer when walks will be accompanied by flipflops, sunglasses, and a towel and book for spontaneous sunning...

New York City in two weeks!
San Francisco in 6 weeks!
Warm weather...can't come soon enough.

Not quite a 365 project, but....

2010-02-11T15:47:00.007-05:00

More like a 52 project.

I usually hate New Year's resolutions. There's nothing original to resolve, and everyone poops out on plans to save more money, go to the gym more often, or keep in touch with friends better.

However.

Sam and I came to the conclusion that the best kind of resolution was to just do something that made us happy--we agreed to make our best efforts to visit one new place a week in Boston, every week, for a year. Places could include restaurants, bars, parks, museums, other attractions, but the ultimate goal was to escape the rut and routine of going to the same places over and over again, when we live in a city of so many options!

So far, so good. I'm behind on keeping note, so this post will be a little excessive, but I'm also hoping that updating with a new place a week will galvanize me to write more frequently.

Week 1: Brunch at the Friendly Toast
The Friendly Toast, in Kendall Square, is a new outpost of the original Friendly Toast in Portsmouth, NH. The Boston iteration lacks the 24-hour convenience of the former, but what it lacks in hours it makes up in kitschy charm and delicious toast. Boston needs more 24-hour places, as far as I'm concerned. South Station Diner is great, but its a little remote from most neighborhoods, and it's too tiny to take a whole crowd at 4 am. Anyway.

Sam and I caught up on all the New Year's Eve gossip over basic and delicious eggs/toast/homefries/bacon, and made friends with a great couple sitting next to us. They overheard us bemoaning all of a sudden being grownups, and piped in with some of their expert suggestions: not to worry too much, and to avoid credit cards. I love talking to strangers--I think my mom bred it into me to talk to people in all sorts of environments, and while I know it surprises friends I'm with sometimes, meeting people enhances any experience, even if it's a single-serving experience, a la Fight Club.

Week 2: Dinner at Teranga
Flaking on other plans, I met Sam, Vilvaraja (referred to as V in the future) and Jake at Teranga, a tiny Senegalese restaurant that opened recently at the corner of Washington and Mass Ave, right next door to the fabulous Mike's Diner. We were lucky enough to have the owner as our waitress! I love Ethiopian food, but wasn't sure quite what to expect at Teranga. I ordered a spicy fish dish (I rhyme, fantastic), but wasn't expecting a WHOLE fish, eyes, mouth and all, to end up on my plate. I tried to avoid eye contact, then picked the skeleton clean.

Week 3: Vietnamese Food in Chinatown (can't remember the name of the place!!)
Sam taught English in Vietnam last year, and a friend she met there was in town visiting with his cousin. My friend Will is also Vietnamese, so when we decided to go to Chinatown for authentic Vietnamese food, I dragged him along too. When we got there, the...gringas? is there a similar word for non-Asians? among us boycotted the menu and asked our Vietnamese friends to order us the best of the best. For less than $10 a person, including tip, we feasted on soups, noodles, rolls, and other delicious things I don't know the name of. I'll definitely be going back.

Week 4: Drinks and Snacks at Regal Beagle
Coolidge Corner has some wonderful restaurants, but lacks a true bar scene. Regal Beagle is still more of a restaurant, but Sam and I snagged bar stools in the back, with a good view of both parts of the long, skinny space. I ordered sweet potato fries--which turned out to be whole fried sweet potatoes! Cocktails were strong, but tasty, and named after things from the show Three's Company--a little before my time, but cute concept. We also loved whoever's writing is on the chalkboard detailing the rotating menu line-up. The place is super busy because it just opened recently, but I'm hoping it turns into more of a low-key neighborhood hangout...

Week 5: Publick House for dinner
I cheated a little, I'd been there once before, but Sam and our mutual friend Lisa hadn't. Publick House is famous for three things: beer, mac and cheese and mussels. We skipped the mussels in favor of mac and cheese this time, and gossip over food and beer. One thing I'm loving about our plan to try a new place a week is that it's a great excuse to invite people along. I took classes with Lisa senior year, but don't think I'd seen her since graduation!

Week 6: New Place Jackpot!
Sam and I marked off 3 in one day! (four for Sam!) We headed to Metropolis in the South End for brunch and people-watching, a gallery space for an indoor Valentine's-themed arts market, topped off with South End Buttery for a snack on the way home. I spotted possibly the cutest child I've ever seen in my entire life at the Buttery, so we loitered and watched him run around the coffee shop. Sam went into the Boston Public Library for the first time waiting for me to get to Copley to walk to the South End--I can't believe she'd never been in there! She discovered the wonderful courtyard, and I recommended the Russian section for quiet study space since she's taking night classes.

The quest to try new places continues! We'd love recommendations. A personal favorite, something off the beaten path or in a neighborhood we might not be familiar with, a brand-new spot...and if you want in, just let me know! The more the merrier. Stay tuned...

On Recipes from Jewish Grandmothers

2009-12-20T20:48:00.004-05:00

My mother has requested a dish called "osso buco" for her birthday dinner (she's a Christmas baby!). My paternal grandmother made it for her birthday for years, but now Gram lives in South Carolina and we won't be with her until the 26th. I called my grandmother up to try to get the recipe. Disaster ensues.

Precursor: the last time I asked my grandmother for her mandelbrot recipe, she left out crucial ingredients like, oh, I don't know, baking powder. Needless to say, my first attempt at mandelbrot was a little terrible. I have two theories behind this problem:

1) No Jewish grandmother works from written recipes. Recipes live in the mind, and involve measurements like "a little of this", "a handful of that", and "oh, who knows, just taste it til it seems perfect". Because she was working off of a mental recipe, she just plum forgot the baking powder.

2) Through a scheming grandmother complex of never wanting anyone else to make her signature dishes as beautifully as she did, she purposefully left off an ingredient or two, knowing I wouldn't be able to tell, my cooking would turn out a little mediocre, and she would remain queen of Jewish cooking for all time.

You decide.

Anyway. So I call up my grandmother, who at the age of eighty-something, is, to put it kindly, deaf as a fucking doornail unless you're sitting right next to her. My grandfather picks up, and I tell him what I want, warning him of my past recipe strife, and asking him to tell her that I want the WHOLE recipe, no shenanigans. He gives the phone to her. Before I can even get out of my mouth that I want her osso buco recipe, she has handed the phone to my grandfather because she can't understand me. Through multiple phone-passings-off, we are both finally on the same page that I need the recipe. Highlights of the phone conversation are as follows:

Gram: "Then add tomatoes! You know, I used to just pick them out of the garden, back in the day, but a can will do."
Me: "What size can?"
Gram: "A can. One that's big enough. You'll know."

Gram: "Put all those ingredients in a bag. Shake the bag. Shake it hard."

Gram: "Pour in some white wine. I like all kinds. PLENTY of white wine."

Gram: "Just bake it til it tastes good. You'll know."

We get to the end of the recipe-imparting. I rack my brain, trying to see if I remember any other delicious components of the dish. There are always big chunks of carrots. She has not remotely mentioned carrots. I call her out on this.

Gram: "Oh, carrots...of course, carrots. Brown them. Big chunks of carrots. Very important. Did I not say that? Carrots"

I am skeptical. This seems like scheming grandma, not forgetful grandma. I will win. I will make delicious osso buco. I ask if there are any other ingredients. She says no, wishes me luck with the dish, suggests I rob a bank to pay for the expensive veal shank bones that are the base of the dish. This seems like a good idea.

I call my mother, to tell her about scheming grandmother recipe ordeal. One minute in, my grandmother calls through, to tell me I should cross-check her with the Silver Palate recipe for osso buco, because "I'm old, you know". She tells me that I will make it beautifully, that my mother will love it, and that she wishes she could be there to taste it. Sighhhh. Cutest grandmother ever. I fly down to visit her on Saturday!

I love my grandmother, and am now in a quandary over how to gauge future recipes. Does she love me? Does she want me to fail? Are the two mutually exclusive? (I hope not??) Wish me luck on the osso buco journey. I remain wary.

I will be her one day. Never trust my recipes when I am a grandma and have to guard my Jewish culinary renown. Maybe don't even trust me now. But remember, even if I set you up for failure, I love you. It's for your (my?) own good.

What's in your closet? (and why I DO think it matters)

2009-12-09T21:51:00.008-05:00

Even if you swear you're "not into fashion", you still get dressed in the morning. Getting dressed requires making choices. Choices about your style. Otherwise you'd go to work in a paper bag, or better (worse?) yet, naked. In other words, everyone has a style. It's more a matter of how you choose to express it.

I follow a bunch of fashion and style blogs, a stack of home and design blogs, and religiously read magazines from Vogue to Nylon to ID to Paper. I love some of it, ignore a lot of it, and wish I was the style editor for a big chunk of it. And yes, I think the pricetags on most of things on the pages are ludicrous. Because they are. Nobody should follow these publications or "experts" blindly, or they would go bankrupt. I use everything from magazines to people on the T to IKEA as inspiration for how I dress myself and the world around me, and can do so for low-brow pennies on the high-street dollar. But I do make style choices, for a variety of different reasons, depending on the day. And so do you. Unless you dress exactly like your roommates or your sister or your girlfriend every day, you have style.

If you think that style doesn't matter, I hate (ok, LOVE) to say that I think you're wrong. When you don't have much to judge people on, appearance ends up being one of the first things we utilize to form our opinions about people. It can be in a good way or a bad way, but the way we look does speak to a few things about us. It can subtly impart that we're trying to impress or follow the rules (slicked back hair, carefully ironed pants, expertly matched accessories) or that we bend the rules (tattoos peeking out from crisp white sleeves, a tasteful nose piercing). Big jewelry or bright colors can hint that we want to be remembered, while simple or dark clothing can indicate a push to blend in and not make a scene. Trendy bag = penchant for labels? Or just a love of that designer's aesthetic. Jacket from your mom's era? Sentimental value, or maybe you just hate the only leather jackets for sale in 2009 don't make you feel badass. Dressing for yourself, or dressing for other people: we make choices about what we wear, where we wear it, and what we want to portray dressed like that. Or we'd show up naked, and not care at all.

(Still think I'm wrong? Look at a picture of yourself when you were 2. And then one age 7. Then 11. 15. 20. Today. Are you wearing the same things? Do you cringe at some photos? Is part of the cringing not at acne or blurry photography, but at what you're wearing? Still wish you could wear pink puffy dresses or Superman pajamas in public, but some part of you says you shouldn't? I'm right. Fashion and style matter. You're welcome.)

(STILL think I'm wrong? Would you wear your bathing suit to a job interview? Would you wear your business suit to the beach? No? Yeah, I'm right. I thought so.)

Don't get me wrong--I'm not saying you have to spaz every time you put on jeans: "What am I saying if I put on boot cut or skinny, acid-washed or dark rinse?!?!" Style and fashion shouldn't be a singular obsession: you can look like Heidi Klum and still be bad at your job or be a terrible person. But don't write it all off, either. Think about how your favorite concert t-shirt or a dangly pair of earrings or a killer cocktail dress can lift your mood. And how uncomfortable you are when you're wearing shoes that hurt, an ugly sweater your mom made you wear, or when you know you're having a bad hair day. We all make style and fashion choices, and you may as well admit it and enjoy it. And if you want to go shopping, give me a call.

Suggestions if you want to open up your mind to the world of style?
The Sartorialist--one of the pre-eminent fashion photographers today, Scott Shuman
Garance Dore (Thank you to Kate!) Scott's girlfriend Garance, a photographer and illustrator
Put This On (thank you to Leif) "how to dress like a grownup" (I will be writing more about this...)
New Brahmin (Boston style) Local fashion and style buffs who work for Boston publications
New York Times Fashion and Style. The eponymous NYTimes.
The Moment (New York Times) NY Times style blog
The Selby amazing photos of interesting people, their style, and their homes

Magazines:
Vogue (British edition highly recommended) Vanity Fair, Nylon, ID, Paper, and many, many more.

Comment with your favorite style and fashion blogs, please!

On the kind of customer service that keeps me from yelling at you

2009-11-20T12:15:00.003-05:00

I have worked in customer service for years: retail, food service, secretarial work. Cliche but true, the phrase "the customer is always right" [at least until they're out of earshot] is something to tattoo in a highly visible spot in your brain. While customers shouldn't ignore the humanity of service workers, they are still paying for a service, and expect and deserve polite, respectful, and non-condescending communication. Regardless of age or gender.

Case in point: If you are an MBTA worker, and the trains are running 10 and then 25 minutes late, do NOT berate ME for "cutting it too close" and rudely blame MEfor the fact that I will be horrifically late for work. Instead, apologize for the delays and thank me for my patience. If you do that, I am much more likely to empathize with you also having a stressful morning, surrounded by soggy, late commuters. If, however, you choose to talk down to a 22 year old girl, when I pay the same $60 a month for your services as the rest of your beleaguered customers [only to be late 75% of the time] I will call you out on this in front of said platform of fellow angry riders. I played zero role in making the train late (for the millionth time this year), and therefore, will not accept your Masshole attitude alongside my lack of caffeination and sopping wet shoes.

This same advice goes to sales clerks (how do YOU know that I'm not going to buy anything? I usually do, and if you're a snob, I will tell the cashier that any other salesperson helped me and screw you out of any commission), waitstaff (I tip insanely well), and staff at universities or human resources (I am a student/employee, please don't treat me like a moron).

Do unto others, don't be an jerk, the customer is always right--all synonyms for the same thing. Treat your consumers with at least a modicum of respect. Or beware their early morning rage.

Just another great cab conversation...

2009-11-18T20:28:00.003-05:00

In my cab to a strange business meeting last night, I had a Lebanese cab driver. He asked me what I did, and when I said I raised funds for Mass General, writing all the thank you notes to rich people, he started telling me about the Muslim theories behind giving.

He spoke about "zakat", the philosophy of giving in Islam. In his culture, giving was more of an obligation, not a thing to be congratulated for. He told me that the best way for a wealthy person to give was in such a manner that the recipient didn't know the giver, and the giver didn't know the recipient, commenting that in this type of situation, nobody could feel better than or worse than the other party. There should be neither pride nor shame in giving or receiving, he said. Also, he said, the idea of people tacking their names all over buildings or donor lists, expecting a pat on the back for giving, when they were in the financial position to be generous, was silly.

This made total sense to me. I told him that the word for exactly this concept in Judaism is "tzedakah", or obligation. Giving is expected of everyone, in greater amounts from the wealthy, and in small amounts from everyone, and flashy or public recognition of tzedakah is unnecessary and runs counter to the underlying philosophy. There are 8 levels of giving, described by a Jewish philosopher. The top level is teaching or enabling someone how to support themselves so they don't require money from others, and the level right below that is the double-blind giving described by my Muslim cab driver. He laughed when we realized the parallels between our two cultures, when for others simply realizing there was a Jew and a Muslim in the car could have been awkward. We both smiled discussing the things in common between the two beliefs and cultures were and how not many people pause to realize the links.

When I asked why he left Lebanon, the conversation segued into a Munich-like dialogue(if you haven't seen the movie, please do), about how politicians and people at the top create much of the conflict in the Middle East, while everyday people just want to live their lives, support their families, and be happy, regardless of ethnicity, wealth, or political affiliation. He left Lebanon, where politicians at the top almost caused a civil war a few years ago, hoping for a place with less conflict and the chance to live a good life.

In a world where we're always dead set on finding the differences, whether Democrat/Republican, man/woman, Jew/Muslim, American/foreigner, I hopped out of my cab, truly touched by the simple and compassionate conversation between two regular people, willing to see how similar all people are.

On Being Employed!

2009-11-15T22:29:00.006-05:00

Exciting news! I negotiated my way into a full-time position at my temp job. This means the following:

I can stop trolling craiglist (NOT the adult section, thankyouverymuch)
I will have real health benefits!
I will get paid more!
And the best part: I know what I will be doing for the next year or so, and can make other plans accordingly.

When I was looking for jobs, it was hard to turn that part off and do anything else. I had no central basis for coordinating other things I wanted to do, and was constantly thinking about applications, resumes, and references. Even at my temp job, I had a difficult time wanting to make more solid relationships with my coworkers, because I didn't know how long I was going to be there, and I felt insecure suggesting changes or speaking up. My new job extends me new responsibilities, opportunities for professional development, the comfort to strengthen relationships with coworkers, and the security to flex my muscles in my everyday duties, as well as the ability to enjoy the rest of my other time and ambitions in the near future outside of the 9-5 window.

Now that I can take a mental deep breath, I'm signing up for a real gym membership, applying to be a Big Sister (they ask that you have a secure lifestyle for the foreseeable year to even apply!), plotting more networking and community involvement, and spending weekday afternoons reading and going to the movies instead of writing cover letters. The chunk of actual and subconscious time taken up with the job search and stress is out the window for the time being, and truth be told, I won't miss it a tiny bit. Now I can just giggle at the Missed Connections part of craigslist, instead of the marketing/PR and nonprofit sections of the job posts.

Since I'm working in development (read: bringing in the $$ bills, y'all) at Mass General, I'm hoping to learn enough useful things to contribute skills (and my free time) to nonprofits that need an extra hand--a big perk of learning and working at a large and stable organization. Listservs like Young Non-profit Professionals Network (YNPN) disseminate work, volunteer, and networking opportunities in the Boston area--check it out if you're in the field. There are some great programs going on at Mass General too, like the Home Base Program, which provides crucial psychological services to veterans returning from deployment with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, and I'm excited to volunteer at more events.

I plan to use any comp time I get on the job to travel on the weekends. Places on the itinerary are DC and NYC for starters, but I'm always looking for new places/people to visit, and saving up time to make it out to California to see my brother, my cousin, and maybe Leif and Stivers if they're lucky!

On a slight tangent, a friend on Twitter mentioned a great program that doesn't seem to have a general group in Boston: Dining For Women. Once a month, women (don't see why men couldn't be included too) meet for a potluck dinner, donating the funds they would have spent going out to dinner to women in need. I'd seriously love to set up a chapter, any takers? Check out the site and the mission statement below!

Mission Statement:
Changing the world one dinner at a time
DFW empowers women living in extreme poverty by funding programs fostering good health, education, and economic self-sufficiency, and cultivates educational dinner circles inspiring individuals to make a difference through the power of collective giving.

Play Nice, Win Big.

2009-11-05T08:50:00.004-05:00

It pays to be nice to people.

Case in point: I'm running late to work this morning, and I stop by my usual Dunkin Donuts. The people who work there are super friendly and nice, and they know me as a regular by now. I make it a point to always be pleasant with them, even if an order gets screwed up or the line is long, and I ask how they are or how their weekend was. This morning, I walked in, and before I even actually got in line, one of my favorite women behind the counter got my attention, showing me she'd ALREADY made my bagel! I was in and out in no time, in a great mood, and a little renewal of faith in humanity after the typical morning T ride.

Treacly/sentimental, sure. But my mom always taught me that it's right to be pleasant and friendly to everyone. The coffee shop worker, the janitor, the secretary, the store clerk--not only are they real people who deserve friendliness and respect, they can also be your best connections (transition from altruism to a little premeditation). If you befriend the office secretary, you always get a warm welcome and are guaranteed quick responses. A clerk is more likely to do you a favor or hold an item if you don't treat them like dirt. Vice versa, your boss will love if you notice she's having a rough day, and your dad is thrilled when you remember to wish him good luck before a big meeting. And everyone I know was on the bottom rung at some point in their lives. I worked for minimum wage at a deli and folded panties at the Gap. To this day, I tip counter staff, try to not wreck clothing displays at stores, and say "Thanks, have a good day!" to stressed out workers. I do expect the same, and am often disappointed by the lack of basic politeness and pleasantries in others, but hey, maybe I'll start a trend.

This translates into every facet of life. Everyone is a real person with real feelings and real problems. Even superficial or quick relationships should be two-way, and cognizant of both parties' humanity. Unless of course the other party just fired you, dumped you, or gave you the wrong version of your half-caf latte, two Splendas, one cream. Then clearly that person is the spawn of Satan and deserves to roast in hell....

A little net love

2009-10-14T10:52:00.004-04:00

Bought my own domain name! (convinced to do so by Leif) Hopefully I'll be setting it up soon, redirecting my blog, adding some new components, etc. I'm no technophile, but I'm going to give it a shot!
A Google Wave invite is headed my way! (courtesy of Dan) I've heard a lot about it, and Danielle scored some early access, so I'm excited to check it out, see if all the fuss measures up. I watched a video or two on it a while back, and seems like something I could really take advantage of, especially with the number of people I keep in touch with on an almost all-online basis.
Pistachios + Levi Johnston = hilarious
It's Always Sunny = I want to knit my cat mittens, now that I can knit
I love the ease of online donations: if you haven't already, even $5 makes a difference. I'm walking in the Light the Night walk tomorrow night at Boston Common to raise money for leukemia and lymphoma research. Our friend Eric Zagorda passed away almost exactly a year ago following a long battle with leukemia, and in his memory we're raising money. He was an active educator and vocal advocate for medical advancement in this area, and staying involved with the cause is one of the best ways to remember him. Check out my team's page, and make a secure online donation

AND it pays to have friends in high places: Samantha works in the Student Affairs office at Northeastern, and got a mention of our fundraising into the VP for Student Affairs' blog! Thanks Sam!

REALLY?

2009-10-13T11:09:00.001-04:00

From my internal All-User email at MGH:

Animal Walk will affect traffic tonight

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is in town and is having its annual Animal Walk tonight. Traffic delays can be expected.
The Animal Walk will travel the following route:
At approximately 7 pm, the animals will depart Pacific Avenue in Cambridge, turn right onto Albany Street and right onto Mass. Ave.
They will turn left on Memorial Drive and stay on Memorial Drive until the Charles River Bridge on Msgr. O'Brien Highway.
They will turn right to cross the Charles River Bridge and pass in front of the Museum of Science.
They will then go down Martha Road and take a left on Nashua Street to the TD Garden ramp.
Thank you.
MGH Parking and Commuter Services

...anyone want to go look at elephants and zebras in the rain? No?

South End Exploration

2009-10-12T17:55:00.018-04:00

The South End: one of my favorite areas of the city to just meander through. A little old, a little new, and always amazing colors.

I would live here happily...
The clouds reflected = perfection

Color close-up

Contrast the worksite with the cityscape (want to paint one too?)

My mom, an architect, always taught me to remember to look up.

She loves construction sites, too. I always take a second look.

He's keeping an eye on things....

Storefront on waltham...

Dream brownstone. All that's missing is me walking down those steps leaving for work in the morning...

Group of wildly fashionable men, checking out the abandoned Sahara restaurant...

Just made me smile....

Twinkle twinkle

Shadow and light and an amazing space at the South End Open Market

City gardens. One day, i'll have a spot in one.

Ivy-covered anything

Pravda, eat your heart out--some boozehound left your classy nip outside a classy hotel last night...this would make an amazing ad.

My answers, to be continued....

2009-10-07T10:38:00.003-04:00

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
2. What is your greatest fear?
The mundane.
3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Not saying "bless you" when someone sneezes, and forgetting to reciprocate (and mean) the question "how are you doing?"
5. Which living person do you most admire?
6. What is your greatest extravagance?
Magazines, big earrings, and text messages. And a second lime in every gin and tonic.
7. What is your current state of mind?
undercaffeinated, anticipatory, and antsy
8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
being "nice" and "normal". I doubt the actual existence of these virtues, and if they do manifest, they'd certainly be boring.
9. On what occasion do you lie?
10. What do you most dislike about your appearance?
11. Which living person do you most despise?
12. What is the quality you most like in a man?
Remembering the details
13. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Tolerance for differences among women
14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Literally. Fuck. Seriously.
15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
16. When and where were you happiest?
17. Which talent would you most like to have?
18. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Less quick to speak my mind--not that I will ever stop speaking my mind, I just wish I'd think it out a little more often before opening my mouth.
19. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Making and maintaining the many amazing relationships I have, overcoming time, distance, and differences--harder than I ever would have thought.
20. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
21. Where would you most like to live?
London when possible, Geneva in the summer, although I can see myself settling in Boston...
22. What is your most treasured possession?
23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
The mundane.
24. What is your favorite occupation?
25. What is your most marked characteristic?
Anyone who knows will say my loud, distinctive laugh. And I always have bandaids and bobby pins in my purse.
26. What do you most value in your friends?
A sense of warped humor, good hugs, and the quiet ability to step up.
27. Who are your favorite writers?
Kerouac, Vonnegut, Austen, Feynman, Chabon, Chbosky, Singer, Lamb, Diamant
28. Who is your hero of fiction?
29. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
30. Who are your heroes in real life?
31. What are your favorite names?
32. What is it that you most dislike?
Expensive plane tickets
33. What is your greatest regret?
34. How would you like to die?
35. What is your motto?

Proust Questionnaire

2009-10-07T00:19:00.002-04:00

I love reading Vanity Fair--who doesn't love fashion, politics, and world affairs all in one magazine? One of my favorite parts is the very last page, where a famous/well-known person answers the Proust Questionnaire, explanation below. I love the range of answers to a fairly simple set of questions, and I've answered them myself before. Take the time to read through them and ponder your answers. Post the answers to any that move you in the comments, and I'll post my answers tomorrow.

(From the Vanity Fair website!)

The Proust Questionnaire

The Proust Questionnaire has its origins in a parlor game popularized (though not devised) by Marcel Proust, the French essayist and novelist, who believed that, in answering these questions, an individual reveals his or her true nature. Here is the basic Proust Questionnaire.

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
2. What is your greatest fear?
3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
5. Which living person do you most admire?
6. What is your greatest extravagance?
7. What is your current state of mind?
8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
9. On what occasion do you lie?
10. What do you most dislike about your appearance?
11. Which living person do you most despise?
12. What is the quality you most like in a man?
13. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
16. When and where were you happiest?
17. Which talent would you most like to have?
18. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
19. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
20. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
21. Where would you most like to live?
22. What is your most treasured possession?
23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
24. What is your favorite occupation?
25. What is your most marked characteristic?
26. What do you most value in your friends?
27. Who are your favorite writers?
28. Who is your hero of fiction?
29. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
30. Who are your heroes in real life?
31. What are your favorite names?
32. What is it that you most dislike?
33. What is your greatest regret?
34. How would you like to die?
35. What is your motto?

Can't See the Forest For the Trees (or how to see the big picture and the details all at once)

2009-10-06T11:28:00.002-04:00

A conversation with Delia this morning reminds me of my ever-present obsession with the seeming mutual exclusivity of either The Big Picture or The Little Details. She commented how it seems silly for feminists to rail on and on about the hijab as a restrictive facet of life in the Arab world, or about how it should be chairPERSON, not chairMAN, when female genital mutilation, among other things, is still a major concern.

In my experience, people have a hard time striking the balance between focusing on the long term or big picture, or having the presence of mind to also pick up on the little details. This can range from ensuring a fabulous high-profile speaker and a wonderful venue for an event, but forgetting to make a schedule checklist for the event preparation volunteer staff, to enacting mandatory health insurance, without noting that mandatory doesn't mean everyone will actually have insurance or have access to prompt care.

Is wrapping your head around The Big Picture or The Little Details a one or the other skill? My time spent as a program assistant helped enable me to at least be aware of both, and make sure to crosscheck that all the little details supported the big picture, at the same time as ensuring that the big picture could be appropriately implemented at the lowest level. I can see how people at different, more specific levels of business, government or leadership can let one slip away--I still don't think that's ok. Menino should have an understanding of the ways that laws get implemented in local communities--for example, if bike lanes are painted in all around the city, how is that being publicized? Are people aware of the laws that go along with biking and driving together in the city? At the same time, areas with high numbers of bike accidents should be made aware of the new lanes, and perhaps bike organizations and community safety organizations should be encouraged to discuss the new lanes, and new behaviors that should go along with them.

Naomi Wolf's article addressing what Muslim women want looks at the big picture and the details on a much larger sociopolitical landscape. By addressing the movers and shakers among Muslim women, instead of the often superficial claims of the hijab and other customs symbolize repression and old-fashioned culture, she looks to BOTH the overarching issues and the lowest levels of activism. Headscarves? How about women who are victims of honor killings? And how about more press for the headscarf-wearing women who are business owners, political activists, and non-profit leaders?

Moral of the story: instead of being tied to the top-down or the bottom-up perspective of an issue or a task, perhaps more success can be garnered by taking the opportunity to look through both lenses. If people at either end continue to see a concept as workable in only massive or minor ways, we'll continue to have problems "solved" or "addressed" on paths that never intersect on a real solution.

The Compliment Cycle

2009-10-05T15:00:00.004-04:00

I work in a mostly female office (oh, the world of development), populated with lots of well-dressed, super-pleasant women between the ages of approximately 22-55. This creates what I think of as the compliment cycle, or the ego boost train I got used to when I was in Switzerland for a month living with a large group of girls: even without full-length mirrors and an ironing board, we all made a serious effort to remind each other how gorgeous and stylish we looked every morning!

What this means: women are psychologically conditioned to use compliments as a way of doing several things:

1) ingratiate themselves with each other
2) establish a personal connection
3) talk about something other than the weather/the weekend
4) make each other smile/feel good about themselves

I'm not always sure if we truly DO love the other woman's lipstick/handbag/new haircut, but it's an interesting bonding and socialization method that definitely exists in offices and other social situations. A compliment is a quick way to have a one-on-one interaction with someone you don't know anything about, and usually opens up for a "oh thanks, I got it on sale/at this store, you should check it out" or a similar conversation extension. And even when you notice that the compliment is part of a fairly established office routine, it never fails to make the other woman smile or walk away feeling a little bit better, knowing someone else has noticed her efforts to put on a good face to the rest of the world. When you don't always interact on a professional level with everyone in your office, or even know everyone's name, a semi-superficial--ok, entirely superficial--compliment is the simplest way to create connections and a positive atmosphere. Women can be catty, or we can be complimentary. We're good at both, and in a workplace like mine, compliments rule the day. Try it!

The compliments even work with men, who are usually more surprised and pleased with the comment than a woman, since its not such a typical "how about the Pats?" interaction between men. And men--if you notice, in a non-sexual way, that we look particularly nice or have cut our hair, we'll be endlessly impressed with your observational powers and that you took the time to try to make us smile.

Any more advice?

2009-09-29T23:19:00.003-04:00

I've gotten quite the stack of advice lately. Since most of it has come from reputable sources, I'll take it all into consideration.

Don't go to grad school unless you know what you want to study
But take the GRE now, while you still remember how to multiply
Check your work (especially if it's algebra on the GRE)
Stop being so closed off
Don't be afraid to realize you don't want something you think you've wanted for a long time
Change is important, and you have to let it happen (even kicking and screaming)
Go to sleep--stop being the last one awake and the first one to wake up
Find the balance of giving things time and not settling for something that's not right
No need to be in such a rush
Have another glass of wine
Give people (boys) a chance
Make sure you find things to fill your life other than the 9-5
Leave your hair down, instead of pulling it back in a pony tail
It's ok to ask for what you need, and it's ok to say no.

Had a long conversation with a potential client of a friend today (check out the friend if you're in need of graphic/web design!). Entrepreneurs are refreshing--that need to DO something, try something a different way, figure out what they don't like about the status quo and offer another option, even if there's the huge potential to flounder or fail along the way. The process of planning and surveying is part of the joy for them. I love asking someone starting out in a new project all the questions, trying to find the "sweet spot" of what someone is looking to create or offer. It's like editing your own work--almost impossible to find the holes or grey areas in your own writing, or your own ideas. Gaining the perspective of others is crucial to the self-discovery process. If you just continue to self-examine, you'll magnify things or let others fall by the wayside, instead of allowing an outside observer to draw your attention to what's not immediately obvious to you at short distance.

""He left any job where he wasn't learning or when his dignity, however defined, was anywhere compromised" , from You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers. Another book that made me laugh out loud on the T. If someone's not giving you a weird look, you're living too quietly.

Can't Help But Fill Up the Calendar

2009-09-09T12:09:00.004-04:00

Now that I've been at work for almost two months, it's about time to get back into a busy little routine. I miss classes and campus life on some level, so the only solution is to start signing up for events, classes, and other ways to get myself involved in things other than my social circle.

Open Classroom: Northeastern offers the community the chance to audit a class on urban policy and issues taught by Prof. Bluestone. Once you're registered, you can sit in on any of the classes from 9/10-12/10. A group of us are signing up (let me know if you do too!), and while I may not buy all the books recommended on the official syllabus, I'm strangely hungry for poli-sci nerd knowledge and a classroom setting.
Fashion Week Boston: on the opposite side of the spectrum, I want to take advantage of some of the free events offered during Boston's own Fashion Week, with some events taking place over the course of a month. It's no NYC or Milan, but I'll take a little runway and cocktail action any time, any place. I've RSVP'd to a few already, and open to other suggestions
Groupon: Danielle and I bought coupons for a month of kayaking at Boston's Community Boating, to get fresh air and a kickass view of the Zakim at sunset, but Groupon has plenty of other discounted options for getting out and about or just relaxing--check it out!
BCAE: I'm investigating classes at the Boston Center for Adult Education--hoping for a drawing or wheelthrowing class, but like I said--I miss classes and learning something new will keep me from feeling static.
As more and more people enter the race for Sen. Kennedy's vacated seat, I'd love to get involved in a campaign, but biding my time a little to see who else jumps on board before picking one to volunteer for--anyone have insight or reasons to go for one over another?

Always room for more things--suggestions, resources, and ideas welcome for ways to get over the campus portion of my life but kickstart involvement on a whole new playing field!

Apparently, I miss classes.

2009-08-31T12:12:00.004-04:00

The NYTimes Sunday Magazine had a pretty intense article about Memorial Hospital, an institution battered during Hurricane Katrina. The Times has continued to cover various facets and stories stemming from the tragedies during Katrina, and the damage, the aftermath, and the multiple revelations of flaws in our public and private systems, social prejudices and injustices, and capabilities of our government (or lack thereof) are myriad. Katrina is an ideal case study, sadly, for the difficulties in public policy, crisis strategies, big vs. small government, and the government agency and non-profit team effort that running the country has become.

The recent NYTimes article focused on the crisis management and ensuing murder charges that came out of an incredibly difficult, stressful, and tragic situation at one affected hospital during Katrina. The problem with crises is that a crisis only occurs when there are no logical or planned-for responses--if you knew what to do, it wouldn't be a crisis. For all the planning, education, preventative measures, structure, and hierarchies that exist in various organizations, a true crisis throws them all out the window. This is related to the division of public policy and legal or practical implementation--just because you have a great idea of how to solve a problem doesn't mean you will be able to properly structure the system that will actually address it, institutionally, socially, and in the long run.

I apparently really miss classes, because this is the sort of thing I've been thinking about non-stop since I read the article. Check out the piece, and more later...

Yiddish!

2009-08-04T12:16:00.003-04:00

On the heels of my last post, and on a lighter note:

Learn Yiddish!

...or at least learn hilarious phrases to pepper your daily conversations with. I never realized how many words/phrases I use until my roommates and friends pointed it out. My grandparents still can speak Yiddish, and used to use it with each other when they didn't want us know what they were discussing. My dad can tell a few off-color jokes and slyly insult people using it. My use extends to words like chutzpah, schmaltzy, shmatte, and other things Tom loves to take out of context.

Spice up your vocab, learn a few choice comments from the link above! Practice the gutteral "ch" sound, and quick reminder: Yiddish can be super sarcastic. My dad loves the phrase "go in good health" (gei gezint, loosely transliterated from how he pronounces it), which is actually kind of like saying "don't let the door hit you on the way out" depending on the situation. Usually, it's a charming language--my grandfather has called me "shana punim" or "pretty face" for years (collective awwwww).

So. Use Yiddish. Use it well. Use it sarcastically or sincerely, whichever works for you. L'chaim.

2009-08-04T11:38:00.004-04:00

I am consistently amazed, impressed, inspired by the strength, insight, and compassion of the people I'm lucky enough to surround myself with. The sheer tenacity and aplomb with which they handle stress, tragedy, confrontation, disappointment, challenges, uncertainty, and each other keep me going and remind what I have to live up to. If one measure of a person's success is the company they keep, then I win.

Their toolbox for life includes the following, and more:

laughter, analysis, overanalysis, hugs, snuggling, late night phonecalls, unexpected mail, patience for inanity, calm, tolerance of views that directly contradict their own, the ability to see the bigger picture, love for those they disagree with, and an unconditionality of support and respect and being-there-ness that trumps distance, conflicts, and all the weird stumbling blocks of life.

Vague, yes. But more a side note to myself that I so value the people around me and what they make my life. And a reminder to keep that mentality in the back of my mind even when things seem rough, and to make sure the people that make daily existence possible know how much they mean.

Daily dose of schmaltz over. Daily dose of Yiddish word provided.

Sundays are good for the soul

2009-08-02T20:54:00.003-04:00

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.

2009-07-31T11:04:00.001-04:00

“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!

2009-07-31T10:18:00.002-04:00

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:

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.

I want to bring both a solid knowledge of material and a real skill set to what I do in the future, and I think a combination of work experience and more school is the way to go. Any insight into what YOU see me doing, or programs you've heard good things about?

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.

The Happy List

2009-04-13T01:17:00.002-04:00

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!

Getting Involved

2009-04-12T17:28:00.002-04:00

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:

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

2009-03-23T12:19:00.002-04:00

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.

Always Take the Higher Road

2009-03-18T17:33:00.003-04:00

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.

A little introspection never hurt....right?

2009-03-18T01:14:00.003-04:00

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.

Top Five Friday

2009-03-06T13:33:00.002-05:00

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.

Disconnect

2009-03-02T18:17:00.002-05:00

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. :)

Definitions

2009-02-26T09:03:00.004-05:00

Senioritis

Definition: the ability to convince oneself that going out on a Wednesday night is infinitely more important than a philosophy paper worth at least 20% of a class grade.

Additional facets: when the paper is due in less than 2 hours, and you are on facebook, twitter, or, even better, blogging about your inability to care about the paper or any other school work.

One step further: staring out the window is far more preferable/rational/productive than referencing philosophers on the subject of natural rights.

Synonyms: apathy, alcoholism, oblivion.
Antonyms: productivity, A+ on that paper.

Use it in a sentence: Marisa's senioritis led her to imbibe many delicious cocktails with her friends on a weeknight, kept her convinced that her philosophy paper wouldn't matter in 10 years, a month, or tomorrow, and helped her justify sleeping in on top of it all. NU 09.

[to make myself feel better, I am reminding everyone that I do have almost 100% in Legal Argumentation, for what that's worth.]

Positivity and Shoes

2009-02-23T12:27:00.004-05:00

"And the less I seek my source for some definitive, the closer I am to fine."
-indigo girls-

We had a really good, positive executive eboard meeting last night. There has been some really tricky conflict in the group this semester, with some opposition, passive aggression, and lots of bitching behind everyone's back. My actions definitely played a role in some of the negativity. Everything came to a bit of a head during the Harvard Model UN conference a week or two ago, forcing us to confront some of the clashing of minds.

By acknowledging the friction, we can actually deal with the issues head on, and it was necessary to put the issue out in the open. The stress wasn't so much with each other as with some of the problems the organization is dealing with this semester. We all discussed the need to see each other as resources and walls to bounce ideas and stress off, and reminded ourselves that even if we yell or get upset about something, it shouldn't get personal and we should be more of a support for other eboard members.

After we put the tension issue out in the open, it made it a lot easier to interact without the hedging, combative doubletalk we'd been dealing with. A lot more laughing, a lot more understanding, and a smoother path to accomplishing tasks and working through the myriad to-do items for the United Nations Association. I'm hoping it stays like this: we all work hard and care about the goals and members of the organization, and it's a lot more fun when we're not snarking at each other and can work together more happily.

Random piece of advice: if your shoes hurt, but your day isn't over yet, don't bother taking them off. It will only hurt worse when you have to put them back on. ahhhhhhh.

Rainy Sunday Musings

2009-02-22T15:19:00.004-05:00

Update on my life status:

Did not get an interview for the first job I applied for/actually wanted. Disappointing.
Have since sent in two more applications, and have notes on another half dozen job postings of interest to get started on. Let's cross fingers and toes for at least an interview sometime in the next month. [as I was writing this, one of the places I applied emailed to say they just filled the position. Sweet....]
Signed my lease in Coolidge Corner! Bon and I (and Toomey for the summer) will be in Brookline until August 2010 as it currently stands. We have plans for lovely home design, good lighting, big bookshelves, and maybe a cat! Lots of updates on apartment-related things to come--I've never lived off-campus except for a sublet, and I have myriad ideas.
Lots and lots of "Oh good, I'm not the only crazy one" conversations. We're all at bizarre places in life right now, and it's good to know I have plenty of solid company in overanalysis and procrastination.
People are getting engaged and getting pregnant (separate people, no shotgun weddings in my crowd yet). I still think of everyone I know as approximately 16 and therefore not in any sort of position for those things. But babies are cute, even if it freaks me out watching people I know holding them (I would post the picture of Leif with the baby Nikki nannies for if it didn't make me laugh so hard. I might still.)
I am having the strongest travel urges lately. Part of me hopes I DON'T get a job right away, and would then have an excuse to just buy a plane ticket and a nice camera and disappear for a little while. Sites like The Big Picture make me want to take the kinds of photos that inspire emotion and a different way of understanding things.
Trying to solve my constant indecision/grass-is-always-greener problem. I can see the pros and cons of almost anything, and I need to find a few anchoring principles to try and cut the internal haggling down a little.
Getting off of campus more often. Sam and I went to see Arusi Persian Wedding at the Boston Public Library yesterday, and also picked up information for some events going on for International Women's Day in March. When I worked at the Women and Public Policy Program at the Kennedy School, they put on some great programming, and I'd love to check out some of it there and around the city this year.

Off to a United Nations Association executive board meeting...it'll be strange to end my involvement on campus when I graduate, but also freeing after putting hours and hours of time into it for five years...

What I'm Reading

2009-02-10T00:12:00.005-05:00

Adding various things to my Google reader today, and came across a bunch of great sites and blogs that I'm looking forward to reading more of.

Although this Incomplete Manifesto is from a design company called Bruce Mau Design, I think many of the points are so applicable to lots of processes, creative or otherwise. Particular favorites include:

Don't Clean Your Desk: You might find something in the morning that you can’t see tonight.
Take Field Trips: The bandwidth of the world is greater than that of your TV set, or the Internet, or even a totally immersive, interactive, dynamically rendered, object-oriented, real-time, computer graphic–simulated environment.
Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it
Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child): Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.

Other sites I'm intrigued by:

White Hot Truth
Daily Poetics
The Happiness Project: especially because we've been trying to update The Happy List more often. Figuring out what makes you happy helps you to remember to do it.
Wanting to read more of Bob Sutton's workplace blog too. So many conversations I've had lately about jobs and the future have circled back to wanting to work in a good environment, for a good boss, as a good employee, and what all of that means.

(One more set of interesting rules from Daily Poetics: Immaculate Heart College Art Department)

What are you reading? Any good suggestions? Also recently launched, if you're looking for a good way to get into reading print materials and not just blogs: The Twitter Book Club! Check out the first book announcement and get involved!

I spy, with my little eye...

2009-02-07T05:12:00.004-05:00

I really like people. And watching them. And listening. And asking questions. And figuring out how they all interact with one another. Lots of good ways to do all of those things.

Favorite experience today: watching a pair of deaf men signing at dinner in the South End tonight. Between their amazingly expressive faces, rapid and energetic signs, and the clear chemistry and rapport between them (couldn't tell if they were in a platonic or romantic relationship), I could barely keep myself from staring at their fantastic conversation.

Next to them was a large table of about a dozen men (not to stereotype, but we were at Francesca's, on Tremont, on a Friday night, most likely a gay crowd), whose appearances ranged from preppy to gauged ears to fauxhawks to trenchcoats. They were laughing and flirting and carrying on, didn't care how big a scene they made.

I wonder what I looked like to the surroundings tonight. At the open studios we went to, we were fairly obvious in our checking-out of the artists and the crowds, and openly commenting, sometimes knowledgably, sometimes not, about lots of pieces. I know plenty about jewelry and nothing about paintings, Kate's been checking out more galleries lately. At dinner, Kate and I rambled through a bizarre range of topics, texting and googling things. I knew one of the waiters, so he gave me a backrub, demonstrated the latest dance he'd learned, and fawned over us. We ate all sorts of random things, topped off with take-out containers of cake. Lots of laughing, but also lots of getting really worked up about a few subjects. Wonder if anyone watching thought we were students or professionals, silly or smart, interesting or vapid, pretty or plain, boring or invested.

I think I learn a lot about myself and my community by actively observing--how else can you get such a good sense of people's behavior, especially when they're not always aware of being watched?

Eeeeek.

2009-02-06T00:09:00.004-05:00

I missed a day. Been trying to write every day, and just noticed it's 12:09 am. Booooo.

Stealing a concept from Pursue the Passion, and writing 5 things I'm excited about on a Friday:

A grownup apartment!! So soon!
Taking yoga classes. I've only gone to two so far, but I feel so much more centered and relaxed after each class. An hour where I only focus on my body and my breathing takes some pressure off of my poor brain
Liking my new roommates! I'm always ambivalent about getting new randoms, but as usual, I've been proved too cynical, and the three new girls are laidback and funny and easy to live with
My new haircut--chopped off 8.5 inches to donate to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program, in memory of my friend Eric who passed away from leukemia this fall. It was an emotional thing to do for that reason, and cutting off my hair always feels like a good catalyst for change in my life as well.
My mom's second-round interview for a sweet job. She's so smart and interested/interesting, but hasn't had a full-time job in a while--spent time taking care of me and my brother, and working part-time for my dad's jewelry business. She's both an architect and an attorney though, and is getting back into the workforce, looking to do consulting and contract work. First round went well, and I'm excited for the next round on Monday for her! It's funny with us both looking for jobs at the same time. It's been a while since she's done it, and I had to remind her about things she didn't have to consider last time, like following up via email a week later, since things get lost in inboxes so easily.
And a sixth for good measure: my best friend Val got into Columbia's Physical Therapy program!

Friday's my day off--hoping it's sunny and productive. And not thigh-freezingly cold.

Exciting Grownup Things!

2009-02-04T23:14:00.002-05:00

In procrastinating on the job hunt, I've resorted to apartment searching! (I will pay for my new cute apartment with my non-existent paycheck! Yay!)

Bonnie and I settled on Coolidge Corner for our area, and we saw three apartments last week, and have appointments to see three more Thursday night/tomorrow. Bonnie was my freshman/middler year roommate, and one of the only people I could live with again (a few of my former roommates also make that shortlist <3). We've got the same goals for an apartment, and the patience with each other to make living with each other a fairly good idea.

Top characteristics our dream apartment will have: (We've had decent luck thus far)

2 spacious bedrooms: enough room for queen beds
closet space! Both in and out of the bedrooms--we both have a lot of STUFF, but like all of the stuff to have specific living places
open, airy kitchen. We both like to cook and entertain, and a kitchen that connects with the living space and allows interaction with guests is a huge plus
natural light, and lots of it
NOT a million-floor walk-up. Elevator, or 1st/2nd floor, por favor
close to Coolidge Corner, and well as a C and/or D-line T-stop: need places nearby for when we don't want to be in our beautiful new apartment, or need to run errands.

We'd also love the option to paint our space, and a balcony or patio would be a lovely bonus. It's the first time either of us has really lived off-campus other than a short sublet though. We're trying to not jump the gun and take the first cute place we see, and ask lots of questions, take photos, and scope out potential flaws in any place we check out. A learning process.

I've also been scanning lots of home/design websites...I know I want a queen sized bed. I know I want fabulous bookshelves and lighting--both of those are funky European examples of things I will hopefully be able to afford in the future. I want to be able to hang my colorful jewelry and scarves on the wall as decoration, and have plenty of wall space to tack up the hundreds of magazine clippings, postcards, scribbled notes, and photos that inspire me and get me going. The space to fold and organize my ludicrous amount of clothing would be unbelievable.

After 5 years in fairly homogeneous spaces at NU, and living with random roommates for a year or two, I'm looking forward to really making my own space. Graduating and starting fresh in a new place at the same time will be a little shock to the system, but doing both at once will help make the shift seem more concrete. (And a new bed! A big bed!!)

Seriously? Seriously.

2009-02-03T15:46:00.005-05:00

Dating A Banker Anonymous

In one word....
Horrifying.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'd love to live a mildly extravagant life. I like nice clothes, good food, luxurious settings. But I also like to think I like people for who they are, not what they're worth. I'm also obnoxiously independent--the thought of relying on someone else's net worth for my enjoyment out of life is petrifying. If I'm going to live in a fancy world, I'd better be able to handle it on my own dime: reliance on other people is not my thing.

As the daughter of a luxury goods retailer, I know how this economy works people's emotions and stress levels. Nobody in any business likes coming home in a bad mood because they can't pay the office bills, or because they lost a huge account or millions of dollars for a client. Last thing someone in bad work straits wants? A person they thought loved them, not their wallet, freaking out over fewer vacations in Maui or no Fendi bag for their birthday.

I know to some, this economy feels like a bad joke that will eventually play out and go away. I personally haven't felt it like others have, but I've witnessed some of the problems second-hand. DABA girls: go back to sleep, and wake up on a different side of the bed (an empty bed, most likely, since your financier boyfriends should leave you in the dust for your poor behavior). Go out and work hard at your own job, buy your own drinks for once, and text your ex something encouraging to get him through the next bad day. You better hope he forgives you. You should hope he'll buy you a pity drink when you lose your job in fashion PR or spa services, and have gone through a few more finance guys on hard times willing to put up with your crap.

Cover Letters = On Their Way Out

2009-02-02T22:24:00.002-05:00

When (not if) I am in charge of a company or business, I will never ask for cover letters. Resumes, ok, maybe. Just so I can justify hires to other, less creative folk. However. Some other item submission will be substituted. Options thus far include:

papier mache
haikus
wire sculpture
colorful acrostic poems
collages (please let all glue dry before sending in)
videos
short story
cartoon
song
dance
mural
torn-out notebook page with impressive doodles.

Cover letters are all hot air. I'd rather submit a Post-it Note flipbook cartoon. I'd hire me.

Going Professional

2009-02-02T19:41:00.004-05:00

I'm trying to revamp my resume. Boost my job image. Get myself hired. Not be homeless and jobless effective May 1st.

Like every Northeastern student ever, I have a resume that sums up my basic experiences at jobs and internships and touts my decent GPA. There's an application deadline at the end of the week for a non-profit consultancy job (one-year duration, some business classes provided, menial (but at least existent) salary, and health insurance provided). A connection at the company warned me that HR is potentially looking for people with work experience, even though the program is geared towards new young professionals.

My goal is to highlight the work experience I have managed to obtain during 5 years at Northeastern. Even though I'll be a new grad, my resume doesn't resemble it. However, my current resume doesn't pop. I've looked at it so many times that it's more likely grey words than anything engaging or active. There are a few tactics I'm trying though:

Stronger, more active verbs at the beginning of all my bullets. I want words more representative of the activity they are referencing: create = not specific. Participate = lame. Good verbs are hard to come by, however.
More quantifiable terms. Created something? What number of something? For how many people? In what span of time? Did I come in way under the deadline?
Specific skills I want to highlight: supervising interns, copyediting and proofreading a publication, managing several projects at once reliably,
Social Media: my knowledge of and interest in blogs, Twitter, and other forms of marketing and communication
My range of experience: while it may seem slightly less focused than the resume of a business major or engineer, I think my strength at any job will lie in my familiarity with multiple fields and skills.

Suggestions? Willing to read and comment on my resume? Any skills I might not be thinking of that you would either want to see as an employer or know I have as an acquaintance?

Being in the Now

2009-02-01T23:37:00.000-05:00

Quick post (a paper for school beckons):

One of my favorite things in the entire world is being surrounded by the people I love. We packed 30 people into a living room to watch the Steelers/Cardinals Super Bowl. I'm from Pittsburgh, and so I'm clearly a Stillers fan. But the best part was the atmosphere. The older we get, and the more settled down/in relationships/scattered around the country my group gets, the more rare big group settings are. Being curled up in close quarters, laughing at mostly nothing, and just enjoying being together: sure, it's very Jewish mother-hen of me, but there's really nothing that's much higher on my list in life. I spend a lot of time thinking about the future lately, but sometimes, I just love the present.

Big Fish, Shrinking Pond?

2009-01-31T18:01:00.005-05:00

Either the world's shrinking or we're getting bigger. Maybe both.

My roommate from freshman year, Bonnie, and I are apartment-hunting for post-grad. Our primary area for a place is Coolidge Corner. We both remember thinking how far away Mission Hill was from our freshman dorm 5 years ago, and now it seems like a quick walk. Coolidge Corner is sort of the same phenomenon. We still have lots of friends who see it as distant from our Back Bay/Fenway area, but since it was so clear/fairly warm today, we walked home down Longwood. The walk took less than half an hour.

Coolidge Corner, the Harvard Ave/Allston area, Brookline Village---all much closer than we realize, especially when walking or bussing. Taking the Green line inbound to go outbound, or walking to Hynes, makes the distances seem irrationally long. We all have a tendency to get caged in by the weather, but over the past few years in warm seasons here, it's interesting to find out how small and dense a city we live in. None of the distances are great, you can walk home from Harvard Square or the North End if you're feeling ambitious, and there's lots of great neighborhoods dotting the city. With the advent of GoogleMaps and IPhones, etc, there's no excuse not to wander and find all the great new places in your area, whether

It's not just a small physical world though. I stopped in at a friend's apartment the other night, and spotted a vaguely familiar face. Turns out it's a kid who was in a class I had dropped. We start talking, and I figure out another way I knew of him: another friend had suggested I get in touch with him last semester to work on a Model UN-related project. We exchanged contact info, and are planning to coordinate. Lots of my networks overlap, I run into people I know in odd places all over the city, and I'm hoping the networking pays off as the job search continues.

6 degrees of separation? It's been more like 1.5 lately. Maybe we just know all the right people, so they all know each other.

I like that my world is expanding, physically and personally, especially as I'm getting ready to graduate. I'm poised to get out of the college bubble and see the city and my network and my goals in an alternate light. I'm not content to stay in the same neighborhood. I'm loving meeting new people left and right. I'm starting to find job opportunities that speak to me. I'm figuring out how to present myself as the best person for the job. I don't want to leave my smaller world behind--I want to put it in my pocket and take it with me.

On My Own

2009-01-30T17:58:00.004-05:00

Although I get labeled a connector, a social butterfly, what have you, I actually lose my mind if I don't get enough alone time. And I don't mean alone doing homework time.

Today, I left my apartment, no laptop, no plans to meet up with anyone. I snagged a window table at Trident Bookstore on Newbury, and had a delicious quiet lunch with myself and my book. Proscuitto, melted brie, baby greens, and walnut pesto, with a side of sweet potato fries (and a cup of coffee. I'm a nicer person after a cup of coffee). I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love right now, and I read the segment where the author is in India studying meditation--felt pretty appropriate. I read and tuned out the conversation around me except for a general buzz and my cute waiter.

I spent another few hours wandering up and down Newbury and Boylston--going in any shop that caught my fancy, trying on (and only rarely buying) lots of things, peeking into stores for 1 minute or an hour. I didn't even put on my headphones, and didn't spend any time on the phone. It was clear, and warm enough to not button my coat, and puddles have shrunk enough to be avoidable. I didn't even really think about my major stressors right now (job, apartment, impending doom of graduation). I'm not sure I thought about much of anything. Me time.

I love running errands by myself, and as much as I usually end up at a table with a rotating cast at Espresso Royale, I'm fairly content to sit by myself for hours. I can do work or not, people watch, think, stare. It's a crucial part of my life to have alone time. I've gone to movies and shows by myself on occasion, grabbed dinner or a quick drink, love traveling by myself, have to see certain museum exhibits on my own, and shopping for a purpose is usually best done on my own. Not to say I don't often prefer other company, but I'm learning to enjoy my own too.

What do YOU do by yourself? Anything in particular you will or won't do?

Word Counts

2009-01-29T08:52:00.003-05:00

Word count limitations or requirements are ludicrous. The point of any paper should be to write until you have proven your argument or discussed the topic to your full intellectual satisfaction. When I write a good paper, and then spend just as long as I spent writing it editing it down to fit some arbitrary word limit, or adding in nonsense to reach a minimum, I am mildly incensed. Just one more reason why I love learning, and hate homework.

word count: 80.

Condensed?

I usually write just the right amount of words. Don't box me in with your requirements.

Cheap and Chic in the City

2009-01-28T15:19:00.005-05:00

Everyone I know is on a bit of a shoestring budget. And if they're not, they probably should be, myself included.

Living in the city and scrimping is a pain though: there's so much to do, and see, and eat, and wear.

My suggestion? The Hershey's Kisses solution to dieting, applied to city life. Instead of holding off on any and all junk food/spending, you find a small solution that satisfies your stomach or lifestyle urges. It keeps you from eventually binging on an entire chocolate cake or $500 purchase, and curbs the desire to spend or eat improperly.

Danielle (Being a Beginner/The Novice Palate) and I, along with a group of other financially challenged college kids/young professionals, are maintaining a public Google Calendar (see bottom of this blog) at Super Fun Things to Do In Boston. [note: yes, the title needs some polishing...]. We've been adding free or cheap things to check out when we've got free time or a few bucks.

Options include:

wine tastings (Federal downtown, Best Cellars on Boylston, etc)
Radical Movie Nights at Lucy Parsons Community Bookstore in the South End
live jazz every night of the week at Wally's Cafe on Mass Ave
10 or 20 cent wing nights all over the city --Whiskey's, Red Hat
Trivia nights--the most original being Sex and Drugs Trivia at The Savant Project on Sunday nights
I'm currently posting some of the best options from this Boston Globe article on recession deals at some amazing restaurants all over the city
[suggestion from Delia Cheap Ways to Enjoy the Arts in Boston
Free movies at the Mugar Omni Theater at the Museum of Science

Some of my favorite cheap things lately: the Museum of Fine Arts, free with NU ID, Wally's on a Monday night, 50 cent tapas at Masa in the South End, and checking out free concerts at Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory.

Check out the calendar, go to a few events, and comment if you'd like to be added as an editor so you can add free and cheap events you've found!

MBTA, Up the Ante, Please.

2009-01-26T16:14:00.008-05:00

Topic of current (okay, constant) obsession: public transportation. Much more to come on this.

This is a week or two old off of Gizmodo, but still interesting: GoogleMaps adds Transit Layer

I wish Boston was on the list of cities they were doing the transit map for.[Sidenote: Warsaw, but not Boston? And not New York??] Especially if it would map the bus routes. I'm slowly but surely learning how to use certain bus lines to get places that aren't T accessible, but I'm still not very good at it. If I easily could see on a map where a bus would be able to drop me, I think I would be more adventurous about it.

Also: the MBTA needs to take a hint from NYC. If it doesn't run past last call at bars, it's not serving its true purpose. The cab companies would probably throw a tantrum, but the significant college/young professional/bar-going population in the city would potentially jump on the public transportation bandwagon, and maybe even be more loyal day-time customers. I realize the budget issues plaguing the MBTA, and recognize that expansion of services, when there's a slew of other tasks at hand, doesn't seem like the logical answer. However, increasing the connection the local population has to the service could potentially boost overall ridership and popularity, and bring the MBTA the city support it needs.

Other details the MBTA should look into include notification systems alerting you to the wait for the next train, a la London and DC, phone service in the underground stops so you can let the poor people waiting for you know you're STILL waiting for an E train, and stand-alone public bathrooms like the ones popping up all over major cities. Interesting: searching for MBTA on Twitter, yields a Twitter account, encouraging people to join the movement for an extension of the Green Line to Somerville. Social Media + Transportation seems like a natural, swift duo to me.
One more note: I miss London Black Cabs. If one more Boston cab asks ME how to get to the address I provide to him, instead of, oh I dont know, calling his dispatcher, using a GPS, or maybe even knowing the layout of the city, I will scream. I will remain in his cab because it will be cold, but I will not be tipping that person.

A Change of Mental Scenery

2009-01-25T12:50:00.004-05:00

I always end up at the same local coffee shop to do work: Espresso Royale. Sometimes, it's a little counter-productive because so many people I know head there too, or stop in simply because they know I'll be camped out there. I don't concentrate as well in my apartment because I always have the temptation to reorganize, curl up on the foof and watch tv with the roommates, or crawl into my bed to sleep.

However, lately I've had difficulty focusing anywhere. Danielle (www.beingabeginner.blogspot.com), suggested setting concrete blocks of time for specific tasks, and not veering into tryng to multi-task or do multiple other things in a short span of time. [Like right now, I should be writing my philosophy paper on civil disobedience. But I'm blogging. Because that's semi-productive, too, right? Ugh].

Sometimes the library works. Sometimes setting goals, like announcing to myself that I can't read the new Wired until I've written xxxx number of words for a paper, or can't go to sleep until I've replied to all my actually important emails, is the solution. But sometimes, its like there's no getting anything real done. And it's frustrating.

Part of it is that my mind has been all over the place lately. Part of it is that I can't seem to prioritize my to-do lists in any way, shape, or form. What comes first? Getting in shape? Keeping in touch? Finding a job? Apartment? Schoolwork? Stuff for my dad? Sleeping? Freaking out about the future? Usually, the last one takes priority in some combination with one or two of the others as background.

Reading has been helping settle me, however. The Witch of Portobello and Eat Pray Love both have passages that caught my frenetic little mind and clarified a few things. The Witch of Portobello, by Paulo Coelho, talks about learning to be ok with the blank spaces in your life. I have a very hard time actually doing nothing, so instead I fill my time trying to do multiple things at once. Extremely unproductive. So. My current theory is to learn to love the blank spaces--meaning, when I have time to breathe, time to think, time to be, I won't try to multi-task. And maybe, in time, it will help streamline the rest of my productive time.

Ramble, complete.

In other news: Some Reasons to Blog. I think I'm going to try to ramp up my efforts here. We will see how it goes.

Every Day for a Year: Can You Commit?

2009-01-24T17:09:00.002-05:00

Leif (check him out at www.lljn.org) mentioned an idea today that I think I want to run with. The idea of a 365 day project--doing something, consistently, every day for a year, and documenting the process. I've been doing some research on the concept, to see what other people have done. The majority of the first links that pop up are 365 day photo projects, an idea I love.

Example: Project 365, Take a Photo a Day

I've been meaning to get back into more photography, and not just the drunk, at a party, let's capture the same moment as we always do, photography. Boston's a beautiful city, and I love so many of the moments and details I come across on a daily basis.

Other ideas we tossed around:

learning new words (10 new Italian words, for example, every day)
blogging every day--this I am all about. I need to get back into the practice of not just speaking my mind, but writing my mind, in a more cohesive manner
going somewhere new every day (this would get old, and a little more complicated to document)
meeting someone new every day--issue being, how to document? Get their autograph? Get their life story? Take a photo with them? Put them in your pocket? Also, the idea of how you want to remember them, their faces, their names, and if that's even the point.
could also do something physical daily--whether that's building up a number of repetitions, or building up to running a marathon, and incorporating daily activities to reach this goal.

I think I might give serious thought to both photographing and blogging daily. Any other ideas for a cool 365 project? Should it be a journey or a production? Want to get on board?

Teaching and Learning

2009-01-22T12:26:00.000-05:00

In my last semester of college. I've taken 4 classes every semester I've been in college, and had dozens of teachers in high school. Out of the over 50 teachers I have had the (dis)pleasure of sitting in a classroom with, only a handful have truly seemed to teach, rather than lecture.

My psychology of language class has potential--speech and communication are huge, and I've always been interested in the differences between different speakers of language and why it all matters. However: my professor is not actually teaching me anything at all. She is reading from her slides, talking, but not teaching. The information on her slides is only applicable to me if I understand why it's important--what about my body of knowledge will change as a result of this class? It's the same reason I didn't care about calculus until engineering friends in college helped me see the relationship to real-life issues, and not just problem sets.

Don't get me wrong: I love learning. But that's just it. I love learning, not listening to lectures. I can read lectures for myself. What I want is a teacher who interacts and reacts with the class, helps to illuminate some part of the world in a manner that I can't for myself. Whether that's the ability to veer off of the curriculum if the opportunity presents, using relevant examples from the world at large or personal experience, or truly engaging with students so that we feel enabled to ask three-dimensional questions that help us take anything beyond fact away from the class experience.

I've had a few professors and teachers whose passion, flexibility, and connection to students have really opened up topics and ideas to me, or enabled me to delve further into a subject beyond taking down lecture notes. Urban politics, political communications, AP US History: all things I maintain a solid interest in. The professors in these classes took the actual students into consideration, asked for our participation, input, and questions, and took it upon themselves to go into details, use anecdotes, relate concepts to real life, and make subjects realistic.

Teaching is like being a good employer in many respects: you can get more out of those "beneath" you if you treat them like a valuable component of the system/process, rather than tossing words and orders into empty space without any regard to comprehension.

Skipping to a conclusion--I think these are many of the reasons I would consider teaching, as well as one day being a good employer. Learning and working aren't just means to the end--they are inherent parts of life and experience, and deserve to be treated as such. I don't want to be force-fed information like an goose whose liver will be used for pate. I want to taste my meal, savor it. Maybe even come back for more next time.

Things I Am Excited About (all deserving of capital letters)

2008-12-30T00:11:00.000-05:00

www.conjectured.com and www.workatjelly.com

The idea of a more organized coffee shop/idea swap experience is hugely attractive to me...I like surrounding myself with friends (usually studying or working on different topics than me) and feeding off the range of energy and ideas. Tempted to check out a Boston Jelly, especially if I get into...

Consulting for my dad

His custom-design jewelry business could use overhaul in a few areas: PR, marketing, demographics, events, engaging the public, new media, rhetoric/message/branding, etc. We talked for a long time tonight about various ideas I have for the Pittsburgh audience, as well as branching out in various different directions. Nothing he adds to his business will hurt--it will only help or serve as a testing mechanism for future attempts. Plus, most of my ideas would be pretty low-cost--he could pay me or a young person with a similar background to do a lot of the groundwork for minimal money and with minimal supplies beyond a cellphone and a computer. Goal is to convince him to hire me (and actually pay me, something he is horrific at following through on) for the spring...

Job hunting

Both petrifying and really exciting. Need to make lots of lists of fields/companies/inspirations/interests to research. Boston Best Businesses, using Danielle's connection to a career consultant, calling up all my old bosses, gathering together any actual skills and useful knowledge I've garnered from college, revamping my LinkedIn, blog, Twitter, happylist blog, etc to be useful demonstrations of my skills, and continuing to be excited about the things I'm passionate about.

Getting my act together

This sounds like my New Year's resolution list, but that's fine. Grocery shopping, gymming, redoing my Google Reader to encompass everything I need (and actually reading it), meditation, keeping in touch (writing actual letters, too) with people near and far, learning how to manage my money in any way shape or form, planning the travel I need for 2009, finding an apartment with Bonnie, paying off any bills, getting a Blackberry-type object, and remembering to take time for me and for the seemingly less consequential things in my life (beyond school and activities and to-do lists). Typing things out makes them seem real: if I have to reread this when I go back through this blog, maybe it will make me uncomfortable enough to follow through.

To Be Continued :)

Check out www.itsthehappylist.blogspot.com for more exciting things in my life and in other lives!

2008-11-17T19:32:00.000-05:00

I have cried more times in the past month than I may have cried the rest of 2008. I'm not sure if this is me letting myself go more often, or more weird things in my life, or hormones, or what. I suppose it's cathartic on some level, but the control freak in me is really upset (maybe I'll cry about it...).

8 days until Thanksgiving. So excited for my family and girls at home and my dog.
3.5 weeks until the last day of the semester.

Some of the good in the past week:

phonecall from my cousin living in Boston
shabu shabu with the girls and toomey for Danielle's birthday
a nice relaxing night at Punter's on Saturday
giving my 2nd to last presentation in PolComm today
randomly warm days in November when I could wear flipflops
the people I see constantly (i.e, almost every day) on campus--the routine makes me smile.

2008-11-08T02:50:00.000-05:00

I reread all the entries in my old livejournal just now.

So many entries still ring true. And part of me was a lot more honest and open freshman year. Hard to believe this is my fifth year of college. I think I need some of the introspection I allowed myself back then. Now, I think, and then put those thoughts on the backburner to focus on something more "pressing". Introspection is pressing though. And necessary.

2008-11-07T02:44:00.000-05:00

My roommate Lori, to me at the bar tonight: "you're that girl that everyone tells their shit to."

2008-11-03T12:32:00.000-05:00

When I'm stressed, I hold my breath.

Bizarre, no?

The trickledown effects of it are even sillier. By holding my breath, I cut off oxygen to my brain and probably make it more difficult to use my braincells for the time being. Holding my breath forces me to tense all the muscles in my body, especially my back, causing muscle pain that stresses me out more.

But, I think I know why I hold my breath: in the face of stress and uncontrollable outside forces, only I can control my breathing, and when and how I do it. It's akin, in many ways, to people who use food as a control mechanism (not in an extreme way, but I do that too--I'll tell myself I can eat when I've finished certain tasks or timespans of doing something).

Control is a big deal in my life. I'm learning how to share power and responsibility this semester, and to try to lessen my burdens, and it's tricky business for my personality and my lifestyle. Because I lack control over so much at the moment, it's harder to maintain control, mentally, over the things I actually can maintain oversight on--making me more stressed in the process.

I surround myself with other high-octane control freaks, which by proxy makes me feel like my levels of insanity are normal, when in fact we're all crazy. At least there's comfort in company...? This semester is not what I planned on in any way shape or form, and I'll be a changed person afterwards for many reasons. I guess the lesson is to take away everything I can from the stresses and the control lessons and the things and topics I'm engrossed in, rather than try to maximize the current experience as much as I've been stressing about.

2008-10-21T19:55:00.000-04:00

I like learning. No matter how much I can complain about being busy and having a lot of homework, I think I like the chance to be exposed to a lot of things and a lot of people and (un)consciously soaking up as much information and as many ideas as humanly possible. The opportunity to pick up bits and pieces from a variety of arenas has been invaluable.

I may have written about this before, but all my classes interconnect in a way they haven't in any other semester.

Non-Profit Program Design and Fundraising
Political Communication (NOT about the elections, strangely)
Public Policy and Administration (taught by Michael Dukakis)
Capstone (this is the only one that doesn't fit in)

Non-Profit helps me understand how to better plan, ponder, and structure most things in my life. PolComm brings public policy on disabilities (the focus of our project) in with the design aspects of non-profit work. Public Policy addresses many issues in the election season, and informs what can be altered through PolComm, as well as what is taken care of through non-profits. I TA for a class on Model United Nations and run the club connected to it, and I'm learning myriad amounts about management, leadership, education, public speaking, and international issues and negotiations.

Having friends in most majors, and friends who are interested in subjects from beer to biomedical engineering makes learning about things outside of my own sphere surprisingly easy. In a single group setting, I can talk about quantum physics, rock climbing, what prescriptions you can drink beer with, atonal music, and how twitter is being used with mainstream media. I have friends who are: Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, NRA members, religious zealots, atheists, dirty hippies, capitalists, money grubbers, minimalists, shopaholics, vegetarians, carnivores, actively ambitious, too smart to be anything but successful, humble, proud, loud, and quiet.

If you pay enough attention to those around you, you can learn so much.

2008-10-18T10:08:00.001-04:00

absolutely nothing makes me happier than spending time with the people i really care about.

in the face of everything else: death, stress, worry, insecurity, overload of work, i continue to realize that the people in my life are what make everything else worth the time i put in. i have to keep remembering that, because if those i value fall by the way side, pretty soon nothing else holds the same importance, and I would rather not come to that conclusion that too late to change things.

love you all. be safe, be healthy, be happy, and let's keep making time for each other.

2008-10-15T11:08:00.000-04:00

Thoughts to be expanded on more thoroughly later:

my massage yesterday really chilled me out
i don't like most of the clothing i own
i think i may have mildly overcommitted myself this semester
i want a comfy couch or arm chair to do homework and reading in
i miss a lot of things
leadership is a complicated concept
more hugs and cuddling in my life would be good
having a hard time prioritizing and focusing
craving more outside time
in disbelief at how old we all are

2008-10-09T18:44:00.000-04:00

this semester full of group projects and student groups is going to (hopefully) make me practice playing nicely with others.

whether my group members or I emerge with scratches, war wounds, or psychological trouble can be evaluated at the end of December.

2008-10-02T00:13:00.000-04:00

this made me smile so hard today:

where the hell is matt?

2008-10-01T13:18:00.000-04:00

Somehow, it's already October. In the midst of 4 of my own classes, the night class/president/TA/jack of all trades experience that is United Nations Association, NUCALLS eboard, mentoring(?) freshmen, actually getting my ass to the gym, trying to stay in touch with friends and family, and getting to know my roommates, its already October. How does that happen? Next up is the BU MUN conference this weekend, Yom Kippur, ladies from London in town, getting drunk and crashing a bride show, pre-election insanity,

There's a lot I feel like I never get around to, or talk about in the hopes of eventually doing. Part of me thinks I need to stop trying to make myself feel guilty/unproductive for not getting to them, and the other part of me knows I need an on going to-do/want-t0-do list to keep myself going.

The one thing I'm loving about campusy-ness this semester is meeting people. My Pol Comm class makes us learn everyone's names, and it's like having 40 new friends to run into. I'm learning all the names of the Model UN class, and it'll make it easier to work with people and a lot more fun. Because of student leadership, I'm also having a chance to meet and network with other people running clubs and activities, and they're almost all the kind of people I identify with. With so many friends studying abroad, I'm glad to have the opportunity to expand my horizons.

All of my classes make me think--even if the work load isn't intense like pharmacy or engineering, its a lot to wrap my head around and it keeps my brain buzzing long after class. The materials all tie together, and are extremely applicable to my past work experience, my current student leadership, and my ambitions--which is scary! A lot of philosophical conversations have risen from what I'm learning, and I feel many more coming on.

In spite of/because of everything going on, I'm still feeling a little unglued a lot of the time. Having a hard time settling into a routine, and figuring out why exactly I feel the need to be so busy all the time. I'm missing a lot of people, and wishing a thing or two had gone differently. The nice part is there's a lot of people and things to help me remember why I'm excited about the semester, but sometimes I think I keep myself busy just so I can't get bogged down in my own brain.

October excitement:
-VP debates tomorrow
-Halloween
-Kenzie comes at the end of the month
-massage appointment in two weeks
-fall weather
-Jon Stewart at NU if I can snag tickets

2008-09-23T00:55:00.000-04:00

Wally's was exactly what I needed tonight. A little hole in the wall, with 365-days-a-year live music (Monday is blues night, according to the website). The place has been around since 1947, and it's oozing character, by barely trying. Low ceilings, minimal decor, mostly awards, photos, and some low-key art, but a great crowd, mix of old and young, everyone clapping, swaying, singing. An unfancy bouncer, bar, and bartender--all I drank was Red Stripe, but the chalkboards boasted drinks, wine, and whiskey, too--and above all, great music. Tonight, the set allowed for multiple boozy singalongs, and the music on between sets was the right fit too. Mike and I got kept captive by some crazy drunk woman telling us about her mom's multiple bypass surgeries, and it was all we could do to keep from busting out in ridiculous laughter. Cue more Red Stripe. The night ended, at least for us, with some James Brown (get on up...) and a clove and giggle filled walk home, as we let out the compressed hysteria at gastric-bypass-woman. Tomorrow's my day off, and this was a good way to ease on into a day off full of everything I can't fit into my day's on. Sing myself to sleep with a little James Brown...

2008-09-21T23:58:00.001-04:00

im sick of being angry or manic just because im afraid to admit im hurt or slow down.

on the up side, my classes actually all strangely fit together.
keeping in touch with people helps me feel more whole
im learning to be ok with change and growing up
my hair is getting really long
breezy fall days are here!!
i miss parts of the 'burgh
trying to let more in
need to stretch
and sleep.

a bottle of wine later (is that when we're all really honest?)

2008-09-15T23:01:00.000-04:00

a smidge overwhelmed
but we all know how i love the manic
wishing i didnt feel so down regarding the/a boy
optimistic about my classes
ambivalent about plenty of things
missing some people and family at home
wishing i felt less all over the place
glad i have my independence
a little sad that no relationship has a major pull on my time
needing more sunshine in my life
ready for some real life responsibility
in need of a goal/purpose beyond the immediate future
absolutely craving affection/sex/anything in that category
proud and embarrassed that i let myself open up a little
wanting to both move on and never let go
not quite ready to grow up. or am i.
feeling a little too observatory/girl in a fishbowl at times
how connected are we all, really? or all we are just moving around and past each other?

So true.

2008-09-02T16:06:00.000-04:00

Can we all agree on this?

In other news, Google Calendar runs my life.

letting it go

2008-08-29T08:44:00.000-04:00

Squint your eyes and look closer
I'm not between you and your ambition
I am a poster girl with no poster
I am thirty-two flavors and then some
And I'm beyond your peripheral vision
So you might want to turn your head
Cause someday you might find you're starving
and eating all of the words you said

today = brunch. beach. brain on fire.

2008-08-25T01:14:00.000-04:00

top goal of the moment:

banish unnecessary usage of the the word "like" from my vocabulary. effective immediately. any readers, please help me enforce this with any method you see fit. thanks.

of mice and men and interns and clarity

2008-08-18T15:58:00.001-04:00

If I've learned one thing from my myriad internships and jobs, its that I want to be a good supervisor. A good boss. A good coworker. Someone that helps to shape a positive, enjoyable, productive work environment.

A job isn't just the task at hand--its something that consumes hours of lives, a purpose behind a drive, and also affects the lifestyle and mental state of the worker, beyond the effect the actual work done in work hours has on a business or on clients or on the world.

It doesn't take much to be a pleasant part of an office. In all honesty, I think it takes more effort to be curt, brusque, unfriendly, unhelpful, uninviting, and cold. By chatting with coworkers, smiling, editing others' work or taking on a project someone can't handle, inviting someone for lunch or coffee, offering to pick up something or run an errand for a busy boss, or answering the simplest or toughest of questions, you can make a huge difference in the comfort level of a work environment.

Encouraging workers to take a break, rather than chaining them to a desk forcefully or subconsciously, is another great way to boost morale--even the most motivated people can't focus for 8 hours a day--why make them try? Condone coffee breaks, and employee bonding. Happy employees do more work. Angry employees will procrastinate and do mediocre work.

Don't discourage dialogue. Don't ever make someone feel stupid for asking a question, because one day, that person will be too cowed to ask a question, and you might not like the result of the work they do without questioning.

Also, just remember things. Not big things, but you know, when your intern is coming into the office, or when their last day is. Just one of those ways to make employees feel valued.

that's it for now. something more coherent later--I want to read more about workplace theory at bigger companies, or more productive companies.

our need for definitions

2008-08-10T23:00:00.000-04:00

dating. seeing each other. relationship. boyfriend. hanging out. whatever. hooking up.

why do we feel the need to define (or not define) our romantic/sexual relationships so much? the range from immediate serious relationship to serious commitment-phobe within my group of friends makes for interesting gossip and conversations.

a friend of mine feels "dating" is too serious a term for what he and a new interest are doing--but aren't they going on dates? my silliness lately, when contrasted to recent engagements in my crowd, seems overblown.

do we seek to define because it gives us security? do we leave things undefined because definition might mean we care? do we wait to see if someone else defines first as part of a power struggle? leave things loose so we don't lose pride if it doesn't work out?

Not falling apart

2008-08-07T00:57:00.000-04:00

My happy list post today just proves to me that a lot of what stresses me out is just in my head. Even with a week as stressful as the last one or two have been, there's so many little (and big) things that should keep me from blowing up.

The weekend with the London ladies was exactly what I needed: some of my favorite people, in my favorite city, and all we had to have to make a good time was each other! We ate and drank and shopped and napped and caught up and LAUGHED! Emily's parents treated us to Maroon 5 tickets out in Mansfield, which was an unexpectedly wonderful night--Adam Levine is gorgeous, and I'd forgotten how much I love their music.

This week is all about trying to take a deep breath and not overinvest myself. I stepped down as the chair of a committee for Generation Progress, a PAC/networking organization launched by a friend. I'll remain involved, but wised up and took a leadership load off. I'm almost at the end of all the summer orientation fairs for freshmen, and onto some of the final preparations for the student groups I run. I'm also freelancing right now, and am quite a bit behind on my hours, but I'll hopefully get around to it this week and the next.

Starting/continuing to ponder jobs. This internship has been a minor-league disaster. Jobs and bosses and work always make me think about how I'd do it better as either an employee or a boss in another instance. I really want to own my own company eventually--not sure what the mission would be, but I've been talking about creating the ultimate work environment obsessively lately. Grad school's also in the back of my mind. My poor buzzing mind.

I booked tickets home for two weeks from now, and tickets to Tampa to see my grandmother right before classes start in September. Classes start?! Eek. Still trying to figure out what my 4th class is going to be: options I've found range from journalism on the web to psychobiology to Islam. We'll see what I pick.

Taking.
Deep.
Breaths.

I think that's the top priority on my long to-do list. That, and remembering to focus on the happy things.

lets have a conversation...

2008-08-01T02:44:00.000-04:00

this was quite possibly one of the worst weeks ive had in quite some time.
tomorrow will be better, because it has to be.
one nice thing, is when your chips are down, you do realize how wonderful your friends really are, not to be toooo cliche.
i need to reset, shed some responsibility, and really take care of myself for once. and not just say it, but do it. otherwise, we're going to have a problem.

I can see the whole city from the top of my building...

2008-07-29T16:58:00.000-04:00

So I've switched gears.

I'm working for a lobbying/consulting group that has clients seeking change on the state legislative level. It's letting me get a closer look at yet another thing I could do with my soon-to-be-achieved BS (any irony here?) in political science. I've worked at the MA State House before, but for a senator, and it's a way different world as a lobbyist. We have about a dozen active clients, all seeking either budget earmarks (we successfully passed every earmark we lobbied for--the governor didn't line-item veto any of them this month!) or seeking support for legislation. I'm not sure how I feel about lobbying, tactics, or the entire field of elected politics right now. July has been one crazy month, and the legislative session 2007-2008 ends Thursday, when its do-or-die for every bill thats been raised in the last two years. Same-day election day registration is a big cause in the state right now, and we're involved. August will be crazy quiet in the office after all the legislative hubbub is over, but they want me to help redo their marketing materials, which will be good experience.

I also picked up a freelance gig working for a new website called www.povo.com--check it out! Kind of cross between Yelp and Wikipedia. More on that later...

what if?

2008-07-21T23:37:00.000-04:00

its that time of the year--im overanalyzing.

go out? stay in?
sleep? work out?
job? suntan?
beach? city?
flipflops? heels?
nerd it up? drink harder?
look for love? enjoy being selfish?
criticize? ignore?
try to fix the flaws? look for just the good in things?
ambition? enjoy the little things?
care for myself more? care for others more?
the big picture? the short-term?
keep making to-do lists? just turn my brain off?

in other news:
i'm definitely scanning the internet for post-grad jobs in london.
im way excited to be on campus for classes in the fall.
im loving summer in the city: bars, free live music, life chats over coffee or champagne, long walks in the south end.
im trying to say yes to most things this summer.
rihanna is the current musical guilty pleasure.
late nights on porches make long days at the internship worthwhile.
summer tans and dirty feet are good for the soul.
i'm proud of my brother for deciding to go to california in the fall, and looking forward to watching him love college like i have.
living by the water is essential to my sanity.
laughing in the back corner at work with the interns is so gratifying.
i know i made the right choice in coming to boston for 4 years so far.

the end of the beginning of the end.

2008-06-07T00:08:00.001-04:00

Yesterday and today brought the end of the two internships making up my 3rd coop rotation.

The jobs weren't what I expected. However, if I've learned anything from the coop concept, its that so often, what you reap from the situation isn't all about the good parts. Its the entire experience: good, bad, how your boss treated you, how you interacted with the environment, learning about the sphere of work you were involved in.

I still need some focused reflection time on the jobs, but I think that even though the outcome of the past 5+ months is a far sight from what I thought it would be, I'm satisfied with my choices and the end result.

This semester was quick, and kind of blurry though. In a year or two, I'm not sure what the defining moments will have been. One of the more mellow semesters I've had in Boston, and introspective on some levels, but without the focus and the drive to really delve into things with the passion I'm used to.

I go home Monday, and am hoping that with some time at home, and my 21st birthday in two weeks, I can use the change in lifestyle and schedule as a catalyst. Cast off any feelings about the past chapter in my life, and start a new one: pick the tone, set my goals, and take a different approach to all the parts of my life.

The general election is now a go, with Obama as the confirmed challenger to McCain. As a political science nerd, this will also be a big part of the next chapter of my life. Other bits that have to comprise my next chapter:

-summer internship
-fall classes on campus for the first time since fall 2006
-deciding whether or not to prepare for the LSAT
-beginning the job investigation
-cleaning house, mentally, and physically. I want to slim down my body, my belongings, my neuroses: less baggage all around.
-taking advantage of Boston, because after May 2009, who knows where I'll be
-making the most of time with friends and family: traveling to see people, jacking up my phone bill keeping in touch with those who aren't anywhere near me, and making time in what's going to be a busy summer and year for the ones that matter--and only the ones that matter. Nobody who brings me down, or frustrates me, or is an emotional drain. Only the good ones--and I'm lucky to have enough of those around.
-finding things that center me, and remembering to keep them high on the to-do list. working out, reading the paper, walking in the south end, sitting by the esplanade, going to the MFA--things that always make me happy.
-being a more positive person in other people's lives--not being such a worrywart or complainer or overanalyst.
-plenty of sleep, plenty of water, plenty of hugs.
-more writing.

April showers bring...a lot of thoughts in May

2008-05-06T22:17:00.000-04:00

Having two internships simultaneously, along with new responsibilities in two student groups (a presidency and a vice presidency) makes for a split-screen brain lately. it's hard to know which part of my life to concentrate on: work, campus life, personal wellbeing, social life, connections back home and outside of the city, the future. Sometimes an influx of things helps me pull it together and focus: currently, I'm all over the map.

Public Relations Internship:
Minus: Basement desk. No windows. Lack of connection to other staff/interns upstairs. Clients that aren't exactly sparkly. Lack of on going projects because I'm not there every day.
Plus: The nicest, most laid-back boss ever. After a month or two, more freedom to try and learn. Realizing I'm learning a little more about the industry than I thought I would. Interesting conversation with a freelance copywriter entirely by accident on the phone this morning.

Marketing internship:
Minus: No other staff my age. Lack of ongoing projects because I'm not in every day. Bizarre company set-up. Boss is getting laid off effective Friday. Very little interaction with company owners, even considering the tiny nature of the office.
Plus: Strong positive interaction with (slightly insane) boss prior to her layoff. Seen as insightful as a result of being part of the target audience of the company. Freedom in many aspects of my small projects.

End result (with one month left of each job)--still no idea what I want to pursue post-graduation. July/August yields an internship with a consulting/lobbying firm with progresive roots, near the MA State House. On the ground work, the chance to directly lobby, they want me to do PR (!) after seeing it mentioned on my resume. Working downtown, near the commons, beautiful weather. WIll have three day weekends every week. Hopefully very hands on, active, influential in small office and on political platforms.

I've been here almost a month??

2007-10-22T15:31:00.000-04:00

It's hard to sit down and write a blog entry when there's so much else going on.

I'll just get some of this updating out of the way by bulletpointing, otherwise I'll perenially be weeks behind.

After we found out our internship placement, needless to say we spent the rest of the day after classes googling our new jobs and trying on first-day-of-work outfits. Having so little time to feel prepared before starting a job we'd never even interviewed for was weird...especially coming from NU, where I apply and interview for jobs and internships all the time, this felt really strange and unnerving.

My first two weeks there have gone well though: I work on the Equalities Team for the Greater London Authority (GLA) at City Hall. The City Hall building is fondly nicknamed "the testicle" by locals, but it's a neat space, down by the water with a great view of the city. My team consists of about 6 people, who work on various equalities issues like race, faith, gender, and bi/gay/trans. Those 4 issues, along with age and disabilities, make up the "6 strands" of disadvantaged people whose concerns the GLA seeks to address. My supervisor's name is Sue--she's lovely, very nice, kind of on the meek side, and I feel like I overwhelm her a little, but she doesn't dislike me. I also have another supervisor, Julia, on Thursdays, who is a little more my speed. My projects will consist of updating statistics for the annual "State of Equality in London Report" and then utilizing gender statistics from that report and a variety of other sources to create a "Status of Women in London" report in time to be useful for the mayoral elections n the spring. I'll also get to help out on a womens conference to be held in March, for International Women's Day--I'm considering flying back then if its something I get super-involved in. I didn't do too much work the first two weeks, but I went to a lot of meetings, met the mayor by accident in the elevator (and we discussed breakfast sandwiches??), and started to wrap my head around all of the statistics. Last week, I went out for tapas and to see Stomp with the team to celebrate some birthdays and work anniversaries, which was a lot of fun. The woman who is the big big boss, the advisor to the mayor on women's issues, is the British version of my old crazy boss from spring coop, which never fails to make me laugh.

Classes are going well too, I just turned in my first paper for my British Politics and Policy class--it was on civil liberties, and hopefully I get a good grade...I'm not so sure how my BS skills will stack up to the British grading system, but I guess we'll wait and see. I have a few more papers and exams, as well as my dissertation, that comprise my final grades. My professors are both pretty chill--we all think our Parliament professor would be fun to go out drinking with.

Edinburgh was the 2nd week we were here, and the Friday we got back, Jess and Laura, my two old roommates, came to visit! Jess is studying in Perugia (Italy) and Laura is studying in Belfast, so they both hopped on a plane and came in for a long weekend. It was SO much fun. We had a whirlwind weekend where I tried to play tourguide and show them the best parts of the city. We went out for delicious Moroccan food the night they came in, and then out with my friends to a weird club by school. Saturday, we were all over the place--Westminster, Portobello Market, the Tate Modern, all over. That night, we went to a great pub with a bunch of my friends. Sunday, we hit up Camden Market, and went to an amazing restaurant down by the Thames, where you could sit outside near heat lamps and wrap yourself in big wool blankets while you ate and drank.

All weekend, the three of us just kept talking about how lucky we are, and how surreal it seems to be in London, Belfast, Perugia, traveling to other cities. Our lives are just so unbelievable sometimes. It was fantastic to see them. The three of us are a wonderful team--really laidback, excited about everything, flexible, and wanting to get our hands on everything. We also encourage each other to buy too many cute things, but that's another story.

The weekend after they were here, I went to Dublin with 5 other kids: Mike, Jordan, Julia, Steph, and Miranda. We'd bought the tickets a few days after getting to London, and then promptly forgot to make accommodation plans. We scrambled around all week, and ended up finding an apartment for the first two nights, and decided to find a place for Saturday once we got there. Fly by the seat of our pants, if you like. Also, the apartment was for two people, and we were 5 people to a room, and that was going to be a bit of a challenge...

We flew out of Stansted airport, an hour outside of Londn, right from work on Thursday, and because of a flight delay, didn't end up in Dublin til around midnight, then had to get to our hotel--Jordan and I sketchily pretended to be a couple and got the keys to our little apartment and picked the others up on a corner and wandered around until we found it--SCORE. A huge king bed for the 3 girls to share, a flat screen tv and couch with cushions for the boys, a kitchen....so great.

The next day we spent wandering around Dublin, seeing the basic sights: St. Patrick's, Guinness Factory, St. Stephen;s Green, etc. Gorgeous. We did a bit of a pub crawl through Temple Bar that night, ending with the boys abandoning us on a street corner with Australians and wandering home to buy a Cosmo and frozen pizza, curling up on the couch to watch bad tv.

Saturday, we checked out of our apartment, and had finally managed to find a hotel with a room available. We went to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells, and did some more walking around, just seeing the sights. We watched the rugby game in the pub connected to our hotel, then went out, ending up at the Gin Palace?? So fun, made friends, sang crazy songs, and generally made a big scene. Sunday, we woke up to check out, and went to catch a train out of the city, north to Howth. My internship boss used to live in Howth, which is a fishing village about 20 minutes outside the city, and recommended that we spend Sunday there, hiking around the cliffs. We happened to be there on a market day, so we got fresh food and sat to eat and peoplewatch, then spent a few hours up in the cliffs, both on and off paths... I'm a city girl, and the rest of my pack are outdoorsy, so there were a few patches where I was a little nerved out, and my heavy weekend bag on my back didn't help matters. The views were unbelievable though, and the high we got from getting to the top made it all worth it. Pictures to come some time soon. We came back down, tired and muddy, and wandered around until we could get a table at a restaurant. After, we got a few beers at the pub by the train, then got a cab to the airport: our flight was crazy early on Monday, so we didn't bother getting a room and just crashed at the airport from 12-6 am. We just found tables and boothes to curl up in, listened to music, played cards, and watched people. We saw a guy get arrested for choking another guy who encroached on his sleeping space?! Then we caught our flight home, landed, hopped on a train back into the city, and managed to be on campus by 930 for our 10 am class. Needless to say, we all had massive trouble keeping our eyes open, but the weekend was a major success on all accounts. It was a great group to travel with, and I loved Dublin.

I'll try to get all caught up in one more post tomorrow, but I have work in the morning....

London Bridge: Isn't Falling Down, It's Where I Get Off the Tube Three Times a Week!

2007-10-16T20:46:00.000-04:00

and three weeks later....

I've literally been too busy to sit down and write a legitimate blog post. And even now, I really should be working on my Policy paper that's due next Monday. I suppose it can wait.

So in summation, I love London. Our area is great--lots of restaurants, a silly convenience grocery store, two wine shops, a good local pub, a stationery store, a hardware store, and another pub. Also an amazing cookie shop. And the tube stop is 3 minutes from my front door. There's no real shopping, which is good, or I would be even broker (not a word, I'm aware) than I am.

The first week we were here was literally like summer camp. We went to intro meetings and classes, and seminars, and were pretty much on our own to get settled in and see a little bit of London. And see London we did. We went on a bus tour through the city, which got detoured because of a crazy biking event, and did exploring on our own. The programme also took us on a tour of Parliament, which is all I'll see of the place, since my internship placed me elsewhere. The first week was great to just settle in a little, have lots of time to get to know one another, and get our bearings a little bit.

The second week, we went to Edinburgh with the whole group, thereby wrecking any semblance of routine we managed to create the first week. Edinburgh was a 4 hour train ride through the countryside, and a really nice little adventure to take us all on in the first few weeks. We stayed at a really cool little hotel that felt like the Scottish version of our flats, and served cute little breakfast in the morning. We had lectures and the chance to sit on on Scottish Parliament, which was awesome. We watched a debate in the morning on whether or not the Scottish National Party had held up its end of the promises it made coming into office. The MPs were really intense and yelling and mocking each other: pretty sweet, and nothing I could've imagined going on in the Senate back home. It was a cool window into another political system. The UK has a devolved system, where Scotland and Wales have their own Parliaments, but also send MPs to Westminster. The building Scottish Parliament is in is also interesting--apparently cost a fortune, and seems a little unnecessary, but since my mom's an architect, I got a kick out of it.

While in Edinburgh, we also had free afternoons and got to do some sightseeing. We saw Edinburgh Castle, bought some plaid scarves, did a funny little tour of the underground part of the city, and hiked up a little mountain/hill in the center of the city. We ate and drank at some cool pubs, and generally wandered around the city. I liked the way the city felt: old and kind of grand, without being overwhelming at all. The architecture was cool, castles are amazing, and it just seemed...mature? London feels like a younger city, and is definitely more fun, but I liked Edinburgh a lot.

While we were there, we all had different roommates too, which was really nice to just bond with some new people and switch up the social scene a little bit. I loved taking the train there and back as well: its relaxing, scenic, and less of a pain than flights. Having a few hours with nothing to do but read and listen to music was definitely ideal.

We found out about our internships on Monday the 8th: and were due to start them Tuesday the 9th. There was a lot of hubbub the day before, because Gordon Brown, the new Prime Minister, was hypothetically going to call a snap election, which would have meant that MPs would have gone home to their constituencies to campaign, and nobody would have been placed in Parliament. I knew I wasn't getting placed with an MP because I didn't receive security forms, but there was a general spike of insanity in the flats for a day or two.

My placement is...drum roll...

At London City Hall, with the Greater London Authority, working for the Equalities Team, primarily on gender.

What does this mean?

I'm working on a team of about 6 people, who report to one or two of the advisors to the mayor. My projects will consist of updating the "State of Equality in London" report with this year's stats, then pulling all gender-relevant pieces out to compile a large body of data and trend for a "Status of Women in London" report for the mayor, as well as maybe working on a womens conference that will be held in the spring. I like my team thus far, and am going to dinner and a show with them this week, actually.

Got sidetracked editing Armine's Fulbright application, so I'll continue this tomorrow...bedtime!

2007-10-01T04:01:00.000-04:00

week 1 in london: check.

i've been keeping a little notebook elsewhere, and thus haven't been "blogging" literally, but I have plenty of things to relate....

which will happen later, because im off to class :)

but all is well. it was a crazy busy week. I love the kids I live with, and I'm slowly growing obsessed with London. I'm going to look into work/grad school here for after I graduate (if that ever happens). I'm missing everyone at home a little, and as my roommate Miranda says, we all have FOMO--fear of missing out on things at home. but i'l survive, especially because everyone emails me! London holds a lot for me this semester, I'm excited. We go to Edinburgh tomorrow, then start internships next week, then a bunch of us are going to Dublin. Should be good! More later, I promise...

hellooooo london

2007-09-24T04:23:00.000-04:00

we made it!

im in London, or South Kensington rather. Living on a super posh street where our neighbors all pay millions of pounds to live, and if we make noise on on the street after 11, we might get fined? Let's see how that turns out.

We had the quite the adventure getting here, but aside from lack of internet til now, it's been pretty smooth sailing. The people all seem really awesome. We're living 11 each in 3 flat-suites, with 2 triples, a double, and 3 singles. Lots of US kids, a bunch of international, and a mix of grad students and undergrads. There are 5 of us from NU, 3 from Cornell, 2 from Goucher, and most people came as the only one from their schools. Love my roommates thus far, we stayed up and had a little girl bonding last night.

The day we came in, we ended up being up for 36 hours. I'm thoroughly impressed with us. We got into Londond at 7 am, and didn't go to bed until 2 am (we'd all been up since 7 am the day before...). We got in, unpacked a little, ran errands, met up with other people, etc, had drinks in the flats with most of the group, then split up--we went to Earl's Court to meet up with Dave, a friend of mine from home. We saw his flat, went to a pub, then I sat in our kitchen for a few hours with some of the kids, talking politics--clearly. The next day, we had a flat meeting with our RAs, a break, then met over by where we'll have classes to go on a bus tour. There was a ton of traffic because of some biking event, so we did a lot of "shilly-shallying" according to our tourguide. We saw lots of major things, but I was so tired I dozed off a few times. Got a chance to know a few more of the kids. Then we went back, I finally got to meet my roommates, and had a little downtime. One of my roommates if from Canada and goes to Cornell, the other goes to Goucher in Maryland. Phoebe, from Goucher, came in the night we all got there at 10 pm, and our director told her someone should be there to let her in. Only everyone who was awake was out, and the people who were asleep couldn't hear any bell or call, if one was even audible. So she crashed in a hotel down the street--she handled it so well, I would've been livid. But they seem like a lot of fun!

Now I have to run to get dressed, and go to our first intro meeting with people from our program, then we have a tour of school and an introductory lecture for one of our classes. Typically London weather--it's raining, so I get to break out my ladybug rainboots and paraplouille from Geneva :)

More later!

<3
Marisa

I'm Ready, I Am (?)

2007-09-18T11:26:00.001-04:00

oh hello suitcases...

i leave for the boston pitstop on the way to london tomorrow. and im attempting to actually pack, after a month at home where you might think I would've gotten myself organized. Wrongggg. I did unpack (most of) my boxes when I got home, but my room is still a disaster. Things are hanging and piled everywhere, and I'm wishing I wasn't so materialistic. Too much stuff to try to narrow down into two 50 pound bags.

I went to Florida this weekend to see my grandma for her 91st birthday with my family! We don't get down there as often as I'd like, and especially when I'll be lacking normal phone contact for a few months, I'm glad I spent some time with her. My family has been really busy while I've been home too, so a chance for everyone to not be at work/in school was great right before I leave.

Packing is my nemesis--I flip out during the process, then once I get to the place I packed for, I realize I'm grossly overpacked and probably could have chilled out just a little. I'm trying to be rational about this trip, plan for leisure and travel and work and going out and all of it, without packing my suitcases too full to bring home new UK clothes and trinkets. I did pretty well packing for a month in Geneva with only one suitcase, so hopefully my talent continues!

I'm loving reading everyone else's study abroad blogs compulsively and it's making me even more excited to be in London. Adrienne is in Brussels, Laura's taking a break from pharmacy in Belfast, Jess is in scenic Perugia, Dave is already in London (where he'll only be .5 miles away from me!!), Grace and Cait left for Greece today, Troy is in Paris, and I'm sure I'm forgetting people. Ryan also lives about 30 minutes outside of London, and it'll be cool to see his campus. A guy I'd met a few years ago randomly got in touch, and he lives in Madrid! Knowing there are friends in other cities is comforting, and I'm hoping to have lots of weekend trips to meet up with them and see more of the continent.

I have a love/hate relationship with change, so packing up is always hard for me. I adore my family and my life in Boston is fantastic, and that makes it hard to want to leave either of them for something else new and different. I had the same problem when I moved to Boston for school--but look how well that turned out. Going to Geneva this summer was like a test run for leaving for a while. I was in Geneva for a month, and London will be 3--doesn't seem so long when I think about it that way, and I bet I'll be so sorry to leave at the end. Also, now that I'm considering Peace Corps after I graduate, I need to get used to change!

Two days in Boston will be great in between Pittsburgh and London--I need a dose of Beantown and its lovely residents before I flee the country. I am in need of a change, some things at school had gotten a little stagnant, and nothing mixes things up like new experiences and a little break. Keeping in touch has never been a problem for me either, so things will be mostly the same when I get back in January.

Now that I've taken yet another procrastination break from packing....next time, I'll post from Boston!

Oy Jews or Joy Jews

2007-09-13T00:05:00.001-04:00

I took a break from packing/freaking out about traveling this weekend and next week, and went to Rosh Hashanah services with my grandfather tonight. I hadn't been to my synagogue since I went away to Boston, and I was definitely curious to see if anything had changed and to run into the temple regulars I enjoy. I didn't realize there was a new junior rabbi, a younger woman, along with the senior rabbi, a man that my family doesn't have a very positive outlook on. The new rabbi gave tonight's sermon. I was prepared to scoff at it. For background, I'm what I call an agnostic Jew. I'm culturally Jewish, see being Jewish as more of an ethnicity than a religion, and have a relatively skeptical view of religion these days. That being said, I was very active in my synagogue's religious school and youth group before I graduated high school, and used to have more respect for a lot of it. I'm unsure of how I view spirituality, religion, and its accompanying views and outlooks these days, and maybe I went to services tonight to get a new perspective on it.

The sermon the new rabbi gave talked about joy as it related to Rosh Hashanah--the Jewish New Year (its 5768 this year), and to Judaism overall. Judaism can often get a bad rap, for having disciples who point of the negative in life more often than the positive. She referred to the two types of Jews that exist as Oy Jews and Joy Jews--those who see more of the negative, or those who seek to see the positive. She and other rabbis and researchers see joy in life not as a condition, but as a practice: being joyous is a conscious decision, and requires attention to your own behavior, soul, and outlook on your surroundings. Being joyous is a tenet of Judaism, according to her studies--as Jews we are to take in all of the good things in our lives that G-d has given us and rejoice in them! As stated in the Shulchan Aruch (46:3), Laws of Blessings dictate that all Jews are to seek out at least 100 things to bless in their lives every day. Sounds like a lot, but just making the effort to find that many things to be positive about can change the lens through which you see life.

This past year has been a stressful one for me, my family, and a lot of my friends. Sometimes, its easy to forget all the good things we have and to just focus on worrying or fixing all the issues. For years, I have actually kept a notebook of what I call "the happy list"--things that just make me smile. Some of my friends in high school keep one as well, and I kept an online list with some college girl friends too. I definitely let the list fall by the wayside this year though--I've been busy, stressed, traveling, focused on a million worrisome things. Maybe all I really needed was to stop and (cliche drumroll...) count my blessings. There are so many tiny things that can lift my spirits, and they can help me forget whatever is bothering me: ten minutes at the reflecting pool in Boston calms me down, and my dog jumping on my bed while I pack helps me feel less stressed. As I get ready to leave from a month at home for a few days in Florida, a day back home, two days in Boston, and then three months in London, I need a way to ground myself. I want to start making sure I notice all the blessings in my life. There are thousands of wonderful things around me to balance out whatever truly minimal problems I have in my pretty charmed little existence.

I want to challenge myself, and the people around me, to be Joy people, not Oy people, and make all the blessings a bigger part of our lives.

Inaugural "blog" blessing list for today:

-the perfect fall weather!
-being spoiled enough to have my little brother take me for errands in his convertible in the gorgeous weather
-that packing is so hard only because i have so much pretty clothing
-the chance to take a break from my usual frenetic life at school and relax at home for a month
-sitting outside reading a trashy novel on my porch
-a delicious lunch at Aladdin's with a high school friend
-reading through old yearbooks
-that I get to see some of my cousins and their adorable kids this weekend
-apples and honey with my mom to celebrate the new year when she got home
-how excited i am to see as many of my Boston friends as possible in the 50 hours in the city
-all the cute pictures from Geneva everyone keeps posting!
-that the reason for going to Florida this weekend is my grandma's 91st birthday
-going to services tonight with my grandfather
-keeping in touch with people i care about--emails, phonecalls, IMs
-my cozy bed that's calling to me...

off to the land of NATO and belgian waffles....

2007-07-04T16:34:00.000-04:00

One of the girls I met on the trip made the most on point comment tonight. She said she feels like she has a lot of “holy shit, is this my life?” moments lately. We were talking about how we were so excited to go to the NATO offices tomorrow (NATO?!?!?) and just couldn’t believe some of the things life handed us sometimes. Kathryn just came off the dialogue trip to Egypt, went to Paris, and now she’s in Brussels with us. I couldn’t agree more. I feel like I lead sort of a charmed life, and get so many crazy opportunities, that sometimes its hard to believe its really happening to me. We had a great, really 28-hours long first day of the trip, and I’m excited for more.

Kate was running a little late on Monday, and to be honest, so was I. We grabbed a cab to the airport for the goal time of 2:30 at ticketing. We met up with plenty of people in line, and began the challenging job of meeting and remembering everyone’s name. With 36 people on the trip, it was clearly going to take a while. We were all in the airport waiting area for a few hours together, and got to know some people a little. Everyone confessed to being nerved out about the trip, and it was a big relief to know I hadn’t been the only one stressed about packing or having an inexplicable nervousness about the whole adventure. We all seem to be self-confessed nerds, which I love.

When we boarded, I had a major case of the giggles on the runway with Kelsey, Sobaika, Brett, and we were so distracted by our laughing that we were really surprised when we just took off suddenly! I loved Air France—we got served dinner (with wine!!) and had little TVs in the back of the seats to watch movies on. I tried in vain to read some of the Passas readings I missed—after a plane and a train ride, I only have one left!

We arrived at Charles de Gaulle at 6:15 am, explored the airport a little, changed some money, and got a pain de chocolat and coffee before our train at 9:40. Changing money into foreign currency, whether back in the US or abroad, seems to be a little pricey with service charges, but you do what you have to do.

I LOVED the train—would rather use that for transportation than anything else! Fell fast asleep for the last half hour, after checking out the French countryside and laughing at Andrew trying to eat the “cake” they passed out. We congregated outside the train station, found some maps, and trekked the very short distance to Hotel Ibis, where we couldn’t check in until 3! We all split up, and wandered around the city for about 2 hours. Kate, Ximena, Dana and I walked in the direction of city center, taking lots of photos. We were really excited to find a little open air market that reminded me of Haymarket at home—fresh fruit, guys at the stalls catcalling in a pretty friendly manner. Besides food, the vendors were selling clothes, funny food, and random household items. Plus, there were cute kids and dogs everywhere! We bought blackberries the size of shooter marbles and some other fruit to munch on. Everyone’s stomachs were a little uneasy after our travels, and fruit was a good answer

We also found a fantastic playground with big rope and metal play structures like some of the ones in the South End in Boston. Dana climbed almost all the way to the top, only to be a bit perplexed as how to get down…. (Pictures) We made our way back (both ways having been through an Arabic area, with lots of Arabic signage. Very cool, but none of the four of us knew any Arabic. Dana’s French was helpful in a few places, though. We stopped for falafel (amaaaazing) and fries at a place near the hotel, and also bought umbrellas for the Brussels portion of the trip, which appears to probably be pretty rainy
We all met back in the lobby a little after 2, met Prof. Passas, who is a CJ professor from NU joining us on the trip, who seems really enthusiastic, and had a little chat about the events for the next few days –early start tomorrow!! Finally, keys were distributed, which caused some mayhem—the hotel staff simply handed key pairs out, without noting what pair got what keys, and with no final list of where everyone was. It took a while to get sorted out and with everyone in a room and hopefully on a list, but I think everything turned out ok. Everyone milled around for a little, then took shower, took naps, and crashed for a little while

I set my alarm clock for what I thought was 6 pm—I was right, only my clock was set on AM hours, and it never went off! I was really glad to learn this now, as opposed to tomorrow morning. Everyone ended up sleeping through the planned 6:30 dinner rendezvous, so we all headed out a little after 8.

I had a chat with Kate (my roommate in Brussels) about her previous month—she spent a month in Egypt on an NU service learning trip, and then a week in Paris before meeting up with us here in Brussels. It sounds like she had an amazing experience. They had a final project of research on the operations/success of a microlending organization similar to the Grameen Bank in Egypt, and interviewed 24 women who received loans about their experiences and goals. The project seems to have made an interesting impact on her. We also discussed what we want to research here on this trip. Prof Garcia has yet to really make the guidelines for our research paper clear, but we both have ideas about where we want it to go. Kate’s really into environmental stuff, and wants to write about the desertification. I want to continue some of the women’s issues stuff I started learning about at WAPPP, since I wrote my middler year paper on gender quotas in elected politics, and want to write my dissertation in London on women in politics. One of the researchers who contributed a chapter to one of our required readings, Vanessa Farr, talked about gendered effects of war—women as instigators/participants, women as victims of war, women affected by men who experienced war, etc. I’m hoping to maybe figure out a way to meet with her, since she doesn’t appear to be on the slate of people we meet.

Overall, today went well. The group of people on the trip seems really cool, and we’re all excited to get started on the meetings, etc. The lack of knowledge/organization of Prof Garcia and her assistant, Yasmin, has me a little perplexed—they don’t seem to be keeping great tabs on everyone, and their attention could’ve prevented the room issue. But hey, we’re big kids, so hopefully we can learn to handle ourselves.

Tomorrow’s meetings have us all gathering in the lobby at 7:30 am, and being in meetings til about 2 pm. We then have a dinner arranged for the birthdays of some of the people on the trip. Seems like internet will be spotty—we got free wireless in the Paris airport, and not again since then. I let my mom know I arrived safely, but that’s probably all anyone will get for a little while. They want 10 euro for 45 minutes of internet—that’s almost $15! No thanks.

We went out for dinner after our naps tonight, and ended up at a little Mediterranean place that could actually handle the 14 of us that ventured out together. We got beers, wine, coffee, pasta, couscous, soup, salad….delicious. And fantastic minty tea to finish. As we were all chatting, a woman at the table next to us leaned over and asked me if I was from Michigan. I was surprised and said no, why? Turns out her best friend is from Michigan, and my accent (didn’t know I had an accent?) reminded her of her friend. Half the table left to go to the Gran Place, in the center of town, but we stuck around to finish our tea and chat with her table. We had a confusing moment trying to ask our waitress about gratuities, and the woman next to us was really helpful with the right French. That’s one of the things I love most about traveling: meeting random people, having genuinely nice, welcoming conversations, and feeling a little off the beaten path. One of the men she was with was hitting on me a little, tried to kiss my hand, stared a my chest, etc, but hey, men are men no matter what country you’re in.
We stopped and peeked into lots of stores and restaurants, scoping out places we might want to come back to with our free time the next 3 afternoons. We also talked about Geneva plans at dinner—lots of museums on the horizon!

The early wake-up tomorrow means bedtime for me…its already midnight here, and I’ve slept for about 4 hours since Sunday night. More to come, with pictures soon!