Holy Candidates Batman! March 31, 2008

You can totally tell that NEPA is important.

This time.

Everyone is crazily getting ready for the appearance of both…on the same day.

Just a little hectic around the office.

When I Grow Up March 28, 2008

I was in the shower yesterday when I started thinking about all the different things I wanted to be when I “grew up”.

You know when you’re really little and the world seems full of so many possibilities, possibilities that transcend time, distance, gender or species? When you’re little it seems perfectly feasible that you can be absolutely anything you want to be.

My friends have great stories about their childhood aspirations. One wanted to be a spider. One petite little girl wanted to be a high school football player. One wanted to be an “Army Ballerina”.  I can’t even begin to count how many kids wanted to be vets when they grew up.

Me? Nope. Nothing too outrageous. I didn’t aspire to change my species or even my gender. Actually most of my aspirations were very sexist. The first thing I remember wanting to be was a tightrope walker. It was circus week in preschool. I wanted to wear a leotard and walk across a jump rope holding an umbrella. It was the first time I ever REALLY wanted something. Everyone knows the tight rope walker is the coolest part of the circus, and I knew I could walk across that jump rope without losing my balance. I did end up playing the tight rope walker in our circus, but then my aspirations dropped pretty low.

I wanted to be a waitress. (Of course, there’s nothing wrong with waitressing, but really, the other kids want to be doctors and astronauts and I want to wait tables?!)

Then it evolved to secretary. (Hardy har har, I’m currently living that “dream”)

Then a teacher, until my mother convinced me that “those who can’t do, teach”. Which, I think, is just the result of poor guidance when she was young and wanted to be a science teacher. Her counselor told her teachers can’t find a job, so she changed her aspirations and now hates her job…the cycle continues.

Then I wanted to be a scientist, until I realized I hated science in 4th grade.  Somehow upon entering college for Pre-Optometry I forgot that fact. Two years later I remembered and promptly dropped that major.

Then I wanted to act/direct. Because obviously the people making the music videos on VH1 and MTV didn’t actually listen to what the song was about! I could have done a much better job.

Then I wanted to be a writer, a journalist or a columnist. Maybe an editor. Someone talked me out of that too. “There’s no money in it, you have to work all the time, you shouldn’t do what you love because when it becomes work it ceases to be enjoyable.” Bollocks.

Now I have a multitude of aspirations, big ones and small ones.  Things that would make my mother cringe and others that would leave her beaming. But nothing I really want to be with the same intensity I had during circus week in preschool. Maybe I should look into joining a circus. I still have a thing for sequins…

What did you want to be?

One of those March 25, 2008

Did you ever have one of those days where Murphy’s Law decides to prove to you just how much your life can suck?

Today is one of those days.

And the worst part is I know I’m to blame. I can’t even shake my fist at the universe or Karrma or really bad luck. It’s all me. Human error, copy errors, overlooked information, lack of proper organization. Me, me, me, and me.  No one else. And it’s not even noon.

The One Where I’m Incredibly Honest March 20, 2008

So this “I’m unsatisfied with my current life situation” bug has bite me too.
All day I’ve felt, frustrated. With my life. With my lack of interesting and compelling and new prospects.
I’ve felt frustrated with the fact that this is not completely truthful.
I DO have interesting and compelling new prospects for my life.
I’m in the midst of planning a huge surprise for my parent’s 25th Wedding Anniversary, I sent out my second batch of poetry today, I’m applying for a faculty position at a leadership camp, I’ve (once again) made a vow to a healthier lifestyle, I’ve got some shit going on.

But still, nothing feels large enough, new enough, satisfying enough. There’s no instant gratification in any of those projects. There’s no huge life changes involved. I know that part of my frustration is due in part to watching my classmates (who I started school with) going through the pre-graduation freak out. I had my own mini-version last year, but soon I was enrolled in an MBA program and still living in the same area. Now I have the urge to leave. To go somewhere and put off further education.

The more I think about it, the more I’m seriously considering waiting to enter a Ph.D. program. I think I’d really enjoy participating in a service organization for a year or two. I’d like to do Teach for America or Americorps. I’d like to have that kind of experience where I not only gave back, but I was able to participate in something bigger than myself. And I can’t do that kind of thing when I’m “settled”.  On the other hand, a Ph.D. in Women’s Studies isn’t that easy to pick up when I’m settled either, and if I continue with this trend I won’t be ready to “settle” until I’m 40.

I think that’s my biggest fear. I don’t want to be settled. I don’t want to miss the opportunities that are only really available to 20-somethings. I also hate the idea of quitting. I think sometimes about dropping everything and buying a one way ticket somewhere, but the guilt and the disappointment I’d feel in myself always keep me from doing such. I WANT to finish my MBA before I’m 23.

I want to get my Ph.D., I want to open my own business, I want to teach for America, I want to take 4 years and devote myself to competitive shooting and see how far I can get, I want to travel the world and spend a few months or years living abroad.

I also want to have a career, I want to get married. I want to have a dog and a house and a kid or two. I want to be able to work part time when my hypothetical children are young. I want to celebrate 10 years with the same company, I want to bake cookies and document moments in photographs. I want to grow editable food in a garden and religiously attend book club meetings and yoga classes. I want educational summer vacations across the country…

The problem with being a Twenty-Something is that this state of “anything is possible” is incredibly overwhelming.

And our time is fleeting.

Letter Series Take Two March 19, 2008

Dear Serendipity,
I just want to say thanks. Thanks for making the Eddie Izzard at Union Square Theater during the week of March 1st too expensive for me to buy. And thanks even more for making the Izzard show at RADIO CITY music hall not only 1/3 of the price I was expecting, but also the day after my 22nd birthday. The utter disappoint I faced earlier in the month is not even comparable to the joy and rapture I’m currently experiencing.
Yours in Faith and Karma,
Really Excited Mega Fan Girl

Dear Black Velvets,
You are temptation in a glass. Frothy, dark Guinness nitrogenated goodness mixed with the love of my heart, bubbly, sweet champagne—oh such a magnificent goblet of decadence! Your intoxication successfully made me watch in helpless disbelief as many a’garbled and inappropriate words tumbled out of the mouth that I previously controlled.
You’re a tricksy devil Velvet, but ooo, I love you anyway.
Also, if you could work on getting “Black Velvet in my little boy’s smile….” out of my head, I’d appreciate it.
Thanks for all the fish,
The Gaelic Lush

Dear Leadership Camp Leaders,
I’m really honored that you’ve encouraged me to apply for a teaching position at your camp. I will be taking you up on that offer, expect a class proposal shortly. However, I do feel that you could have been a little more hasty in informing me of such. Especially considering you knew (though no where does it state this fact on the website) that my graduate student status makes me ineligible for the position I originally applied for. I would have appreciated a little more time to try and create a 9 week course proposal. You know, like maybe a full two weeks? That would have been grand.
Sincerely,
Mildly Irritated, Yet Fantastically Excited Potential Summer Faculty Member
Dear Body,
I know we haven’t been bff lately. I’m sorry, sometimes I get a little caught up in myself. The neglect of our partnership has badly affected both of us and I promise I will do my part to patch up our rocky relationship. I’ll I’m asking is you meet me halfway. If you would, I don’t know, maybe stop sucking? Yea, that’d be great.
Deal?
Unconditional Love and Respect Until You Start To Suck,
The Brain
Dear Girl Scouts,
Ambushing me in the cafeteria with sad puppy dog eyes and boxes of thin mints is not cool. It qualifies as a form of entrapment and you should be ashamed of yourselves.
No Love,
The Sucker Who Bought Another Box

Sionainn is Gaelic for A Blog of Her Own March 17, 2008

Oh day of the best of days!

You should know by now that St. Patrick’s Day is my favorite holiday. My family starts preparing weeks in advance, out come the shamrocks and the green lights, the Guinness and Harp are ordered, the leprechaun traps are set, it’s a pretty big affair.  And you should also know that I’m shameless in the lengths at which I will go to celebrate it correctly with my family and friends, aside from staining my hands green every year during the rice krispy treat process, which is one “tradition” I could do without—I need to remember to wear gloves next year.

This year is no exception to my St. Patrick’s Day shamelessness, I am skipping class tonight and will be writing the 5 page paper that missing class entails so I can partake in colcannon and Dubliner, soda bread and Black Velvets (the lovely combination of Guinness and champagne). I’ve also decided that there will be a “I don’t work on St. Patrick’s Day “clause in any work contract I’ll ever  have to sign. I’ll work Christmas or Easter, but you’re not getting me to work a full shift on March 17^th.

After I get out of here I’ll be making my way down to the Shaba Homestead to hang out with the family and boyfriend and friends and lose to my baby brother in pool. There will be much off-key singing, unfortunate jigging, and embarrassing question asking (boyfriend was already asked 3 times when we’re getting married during his pre-party time at the homestead yesterday….poor guy).

I’m decked out in my green and my Celtic jewelry, and debating whether to go with the Guinness shirt, the Irish Chick shirt, or the standby Everyone Loves an Irish Girl.

I’ve already correctly responded to a “Top of the Morning” salutation, which, if you don’t know, is “And the afternoon and evening to you”. See, learn things from Ablogofherown, and  I made you a little more Irish.

Now enjoy your Tartan Terrors and Seamus Kennedy, don’t you dare drink an American beer, especially if it’s green (the horror), don’t let me catch you wearing orange above your green (or calling any half-and-half a “black and tan”) and enjoy this should-be-official holiday!

In parting I’ll leave you my favorite toast, a fun one that’ll impress your friends exponentially as the drinking increases….

“Here’s to you and yours from mine and ours, and if mine and ours ever comes across you and yours may you and yours be as good to mine and ours as mine and ours have been to you and yours!”

 I’m off, the pipes are calling…

Slainte

I’m Baaack. March 13, 2008

I’m back from the Gilmore adventure, have finally found a few spare moments to fill you in on my life as it stands.

First of all the Gilmore adventure was fan-freaking-tastic. In bullet form, because it’s easier:

· We went on the Gilmore Diet. Which translates to a completely non-nutritional junk food fest: mallomars, popcorn, twizzlers, marshmallows, cinnamon toast crunch, reeses cups, milk duds, and diet soda (hehe). Not to mention the bottle of rum and numerous bottles of wine that we “chilled” in the snow outside our inn.

· About the inn, Pro: we had entire place to ourselves , Con: the owner was rude and dining area was under construction—but we did bribe a maid to let us use a few plates and a microwave.

· We received the immediate friendship of all of the locals (save the rude innkeeper).

· We watched somewhere around 20 hours of Gilmore Girls, ate lunch and dinner with the richest couple in town.

· I BOUGHT SHOES. (Mine are the metallic blue!)

· We had the world’s fastest wine tasting (10 wines in 10 minutes, I kid you not!)

· Went horseback riding-my horse, Rose, had horse ADD and scared me to death by suddenly making a break for a dead branch that looked tasty.

· We visited Yale and pretended to be students. I think our constant camera flashing gave us away.

· We had the best cheeseburgers I’ve ever had at Louis’s Lunch in New Haven.

· We bought a liter and a half of wine and finished it all, in one sitting, at the little Italian restaurant where we had the best traditional Italian dinner and talked to the friendly waitress for an hour. The consumption of such a large volume of wine had our Richest Couple in Town friends whispering their concerns for our safety to each other, “There are only three of them” “That’s a really big bottle”.

· We spent way too much money, but had such a good time.

 

It was definitely a great way to spend my spring break. Unfortunately Spring Break has been over for almost a week and I’m still working on digging myself out of all the work that March always brings with it. I’m off to Binghamton tomorrow to present at my first conference, it’s exciting, I feel academic. After that this weekend is full of school work and midterms and work-work before the wonderful drunken reverie that will commence on St. Patrick’s Day. I’m super excited.

Then I’ll be crazy busy with organizing and running our university women’s studies conference for the next two weeks.

 

So, how are you?

Horray! March 2, 2008

Exciting things to mention:

1) My blog has reached the 1,000 hits mark. Huzzah!

2) Tomorrow morning I embark on the Gilmore Girls Spring Break Extravaganza with my lovely cousin and her friend Emily. I’m super excited. It’ll be a week filled with horseback riding, wine tasting, inn-staying, GG marathon viewing, cocktail sipping, and giggling girlie fun times!

Short list, but now I’m off to finish a paper so I can be sans internet for this week! See you on Sunday!

Bag of Tricks March 1, 2008

I have this strange fantasy of being a celebrity. It’s always the same general fantasy, and to be honest it’s rather odd. In my daydreams I’m not rocking out on stage or filming a cinematic masterpiece or even signing my New York Times Best Seller, nope, those aren’t the fantasies that I spend my days thinking about. My fantasy is much cooler.

In my fantasy I’m giving a magazine interview. You know, like one of those “What Mariska Hargitay Carries in Her Purse” features that accompanies the longer cover story. This is how strange my mind is, I don’t even imagine telling a mass media writer how I became a successful fill-in-the-blank, I imagine telling her what lipstick I use. Perhaps because I find the little mundane things about people the most interesting. I like knowing what brand of toothpaste someone uses, or the kind of groceries they buy…no matter who they are.

When I was in high school I used to house sit, and my favorite thing to do while I was bringing in the mail and feeding the cats was taking a few moments to peak into people’s cupboards and magazine racks. I liked to create character sketches of them in my mind, figure out who they really were when they weren’t in the public eye. I’d rather know, really know about a character in a book than read about the adventure they go on. I am fascinated by humanity and I love to know things about people without really “knowing” them. I think this is probably the reason most of us read each other’s blogs. To have that connection with someone who is essentially a stranger.
It’s also probably why I’m an avid facebook stalker, but hey, let’s focus on the positive.
Anyway, I figured it may be a while before I have someone interview me and put the innards of my purse on display for a fancy magazine spread so I decided to do it myself, and let you all learn a little more about me. So without further adieu,

Shaba Dishes on Some of Her Favorite Must Haves!
We sat down with award winning actress/director/hat model/best selling author/tambourine player/Olympic athlete/ Nobel Prize Winner Shaba and asked her to spill her guts….of her purse that is.

Burt’s Bee’s Chapstick- I always have to have some sort of chapstick on hand and I love this stuff.
Isadora Lipstick in Summer Red-I’m really in love with the blazing red lips look right now and I really like the Isadora brand, even better-it was on sale!
Oil of Olay moisturizer- Oil of Olay is my go-to face care line, I use this for day wear and at night I use a heavier cream. It’s part of my attempt to take better care of myself.
Verizon Envy- My new toy! It has a full keyboard and look…it’s green! So far I’m pleased with it, except that it has a stupid inbox limit so I have to deleting my messages.
A pen- I never, ever go anywhere without a pen. I carry two or three in my purse and I usually have one in my coat pocket as well. You never know when the next great idea will hit you.
Note from Boyfriend- I printed out this facebook message Boyfriend left me over a year ago because it’s my absolute favorite. I keep it in a little pocket of my purse and look at it whenever I miss him or just need to be reminded how great my life is because of him. It’s kinda dopey of me, but what can I say, I’m a romantic!
Purple bracelet- I picked this up at NY and Co. over Christmas because it’s my favorite color, and it was only 5 dollars. I try to wear something purple every day…it’s my power color ☺
Green Mead brand Memo notebook- This goes along with the pen. I started carrying a green mead notebook like this one two years ago just as a catch-all type notebook. I normally denote specific meanings to my notebooks (i.e.-one is purely for school, one is just for quotes, one is just for quotes…etc.) and I needed on that was just for whatever. I usually end up writing a lot of lists and future plans in these little books.
Janet Fitch’s Paint it Black-In an attempt to keep up with one of my 101 in 1001, I’ve started carrying a book with me wherever I go. I used to do this a lot in middle school, reading between classes or after I’d finished my lunch or something. It also kept me from feeling incredibly self-conscious since I was a dorky mullet-sporting, monogrammed turtleneck wearing-geeky middle schooler and I didn’t have a lot of friends. Reading allowed me to play the role of the “weird-but-smart girl”.
Ipod nano- It’s green! And it just happened to be tuned to Alanis when I turned it on. Rock on.
Bad Girl Lash Mascara- My newest beauty obsession, I love this mascara. I’m not a huge makeup person, mainly because I’m lazy and would rather sleep the extra 4 minutes it would take to apply makeup in the morning. However when find a few seconds I usually just swipe on some mascara and lipstick and head out the door. This product is great because it doesn’t bother my eyes and it gives you huge lashes in only two or three swipes. Definitely worth the ridiculous Sephora prices.

I originally intended to post pictures of all these things but I can’t seem to figure out why some of them turned out to be HUGE. Eh. You know how to google.