Proposition 8

It appears that proposition 8 has passed in California. The issue of gay marriage seems to me to be a very simple question of basic human rights, and I find it strange that a supreme court decision can be over-ruled by a simple majority of voters. If given the opportunity, many voters as late as the 1960s would have denied African Americans the vote and equal treatment under the law, and I see many similarities between these two cases.

In my ethics class last spring, one of my colleagues did a presentation on gay marriage and concluded that to respect the rights of those with religious beliefs, a "marriage" should be closely linked with the church, be defined as the union of a man and a woman, and entitle the recipients to a church ceremony. Civil unions, on the other hand, would not be religiously affiliated, would not occur in the church, and would be offered to homosexual and heterosexual couples. Both marriages and civil unions would grant the couple the same legal rights. This makes sense to me and bridges the divide between religion and civil rights.

So why does it always come back to this vitriolic hate between religion and homosexual rights supporters? It just makes no sense to me.

In any case, I fully support gay marriage, under any title the law wishes to give it, so long as the same legal rights and protections are afforded to all our citizens. And I'm sorry to hear that religious creed is now embodied in the California state constitution.

One reason why Pitbulls are the most awesomest dogs EVER

You just don't know their character until you have one. Here's a video of a laughing pitbull.

In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day

A couple of days late, but the sentiment still remains. Take this quiz to find out YOUR pirate name!

My pirate name is:

Captain Bess Bonney

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Livin' in the moment

Idea borrowed from from Pilgrimgirl.

I am wearing my fluffiest slippers, brown elasti-pants (so comfy!), and a white cotton tank top and faded green cotton long-sleeve t-shirt from Old Navy.

I am reading background material for my independent study, a Cary Grant biography, and the second book in the Inda series by Sherwood Smith.

I am hearing dogs barking, the ever-so-soft breathing of my sleeping puppy, and Grace’s sighs of jealousy as she sulks in a corner by the door. Thankfully all the construction stops around 7PM around here. However, to make up for the reprieve, I do have a contractor here in the house, banging in a new countertop.

Learning all the time how to be a better person. Now I just have to practice.

I am thankful for my friends who shower me with much needed affection now that I am thousands of miles away!

I am hoping that my independent study in the spring isn’t nearly as overwhelming as I feel it will be. (Something about conducting research in Spanish on a topic I know very little about…)

From the kitchen comes the noise of the contractor. But it is also the home of some Tin Roof ice cream that will be consumed the moment the contractor leaves.

I am creating memories.

Bringing beauty to my home by filling it with friends, family and laughter.

Around the house we need an empleada. I am the worst housekeeper ever. At least, it appears that way since every day everything in the house obtains a new coating of lead dust (from the car exhaust - yay for leaded fuel!).

Outside my window is the fenced-in front patio (?). I’m not really sure what to call it – Bubba will be kept here, but now it’s just a stone-paved area, with plants all around and a little shed that looks like Hansel and Gretel’s house (according to da’ Momma).

I am thinking about my independent study proposal and all those internship applications I haven’t yet completed.

One of my favorite things is that the puppy actually SLEEPS once in a while.

A few plans for the rest of the week include a girls-only French-Peruvian fusion lunch at Café Crème on Wednesday and shopping for something to wear to the soiree at the Ambassador’s residence on Saturday night. Gotta find something slightly more dressy than the two pairs of jeans, 5 t-shirts, and 4 sweatshirts that I packed in my suitcase when we left the States in July. (Update: household goods scheduled to arrive in 2-4 weeks.)

Makin' friends, tra-la-la-la

Here's a quick shot of me (looking like a booger) n' my favorite El Sol students, Cathy and Phil. Cathy hails from Ireland (with a nice rich N. Ireland accent) and is the only girl I know whose daddy actually did buy her that pony. She's in Peru for approximately 6 months to volunteer with an organization that allows her to combine her education degree and Human Rights law degree; then she's off to Ghana for another six months to be a something-something-insert-fancy-human-rights-education-consultant-title here.

Phil, on the other hand, hails from Park City, Utah, where he manages a ski resort. Apparently his company hires a lot of kids from South America to work through the winter, as the local rich Utah (or is it Utahan?) kids can't be bothered to make $15 an hour. He's blessed with a spitfire Peruvian girlfriend, who tries to keep him in line, and an interesting lifeview as a reformed (i.e. excommunicated) Mormon.

This week, I'm off to meet a whole new group of students outside the hallowed walls of El Sol. One such gentleman hails from Japan and has been in the majority of my classes for the last couple of weeks (interesting factoid: as a result of a very nomadic childhood, at the ripe old age of 24, Rocky believes he's visited somewhere in the range of 60-70 foreign countries). Since several of his friends will be in town from Japan, we're hosting an El Sol dinner with the Japanese friends and have invited the students and teachers at El Sol: which includes people from China, Algeria, Canada (oh my!), France, and (obviously) Peru. Should be quite the international forum.

For Yael

When we lived in San Isidro, I walked past this building nearly every day. And it makes me think of you, Yael. Although, as far as I know, you didn't attending an engineering-specific high school and Penn's buildings are prettier (what can I say? I'm fond of the place)...

Shown: Colegio de Ingenieros del Peru

Moving!

We're packing up and moving to the new house in the morning...hope to be up and running again this weekend, but can't promise to post more news until da' Momma leaves! And I may not have internet (stolen or otherwise) for a little bit. But, in the famous words of Michele's former and Nicole's current governator, I'll be back!

Selling yourself in photographs

While reading other people's blogs, I came across the Mosaic Maker for Flickr. Now I'm very proud to present the outcome of a half-hour's search through other people's photos for my soul...

1. Ryan McGinness, 2. Garlic, 3. Baddesley Clinton, 4. Green Tea Sunset, 5. ryan, 6. coffee & the city, 7. Acrophobic mountain climber.., 8. mmmummm..mummm...mmmmummmmumumum, 9. Day 106 - I am a librarian, 10. Still in love? I think so ; ), 11. This is becoming a habit, 12. Sgt. Pookah Hodge

Basically, the outcome is a result of a meme from PilgrimGirl, the instructions of which are as follows:

"If you want to play too, type your answer to each of the questions below into a Flickr search. Using only the first page, choose your favorite image, then copy and paste each of the URL’s into the mosaic maker (3 columns, 4 rows)."

And the questions are...

1. What is your first name? (Ryan)

2. What is your favorite food? (garlic)

3. What high school did you attend? (Clinton)

4. What is your favorite color? (orange)

5. Who is your celebrity crush? (Ryan Gosling)

6. Favorite drink? (tea)

7. Dream vacation? (hiking)

8. Favorite dessert? (ice cream)

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? (writer)

10. What do you love most in life? (love)

11. One word to describe you. (driven)

12. Your Flickr name. (Pookah)

For your consideration

My friend, Akoua (see her Blog), is volunteering in Lesotho for the Peace Corps and I invite you to take a look at her Uncle Matt's charity webpage (Bike For Beds). He is attempting to raise money for hospital beds for the hospital with which Akoua works. I promise not to think you're a horrible person for not supporting his efforts, but it is a charity which will be donating ALL proceeds to the hospital. And it doesn't take much in this case to make a difference. Please consider donating.

Say what?

Setting:

El Parque Olivar, Sunday, August 4th (see post on La Vida Peruana)

Cast:

seemingly homeless man

seemingly drunk man

Aaaaaaaaand scene:

Seemingly drunk man wanders over to seemingly homeless man, who is sleeping under an olive tree in the grass. Seemingly drunk man unzips his pants, pulls out his weiner, and proceeds to pee on the leg of seemingly homeless man.

Seemingly homeless man shakes his pants leg, delivers a word or two to seemingly drunk man and then rollos over and returns to napping.

Seemingly drunk man walks away and continues his pee on an olive tree, close to the main path, and across the way from where young children are playing.

End scene.

*****

Unfortunately, I did not catch any photos of this happy occurrence, but I did witness it. Along with Anthony's exclamations of, "I would've kicked that guy's ass!"

However, I do have some very lovely shots of Grace: one is of her trying to will me to stop taking pictures and move forward, the other is of her newfound interest in coi fish.

To redeem myself in Nishchay's eyes

Since Nishchay called me out on my lack of culinary prowess (for which he can't be blamed, because I admitted to having been dragged to a Chilis (ugh!)), I am called upon to redeem myself by proclaiming all the Peruvian food I have eaten thus far.

In fact, I even made Anthony take me out on Saturday night so I could take pictures of Peruvian food I have eaten. I completely forgot to snag a quick pic of the sinfonia de causas, which was perhaps the most Peruvian thing I ate that evening, but at least I was not at an American fast food chain.

Nishchay, this is what I ate on Saturday (sea bass, papas amarillas, y arroz). So suck it (and I mean that with all possible love).

And I also wish it to be known that I have consumed a lot of ceviche, tried a pisco sour (tastes like tequila, only sweeter), eaten sushi, and tasted some other varieties of prepared fishes. My favorite still remains the ceviche, but I am working on it.

However, most nights, we do not go out. I still cook approximately five nights a week. Since we weren't feeling good when we first got here and we are sliding into winter here, I have made a lot of soup. I found a few Peruvian recipes (because, believe it or not, you can't find all the ingredients you need to make some basic American dishes) and tried them out. The most successful dish was a Peruvian chicken soup made with chicken breast, but I also tried a different sopa de pollo, plus a seco de res which is made with beef. The beef that I bought, however, was not all that tasty. It's a little difficult buying carne here, though, because their cuts of meat are completely different. And for those of you out there who really like hot, spicy food, Lima is not a great source of chili peppers. They have an aji amarillo, which is technically orange and is decently spicy, but nothing compares with the chipotle chilies at home.

Note to readers: this means that when you come visit, Anthony will not allow you in the door without an offering of IPA (beer) and chili peppers - dried or ground.

Almost forgot one!

e) where everyone with my sense of humor should shop.

Un beso para mi Martita

Estas fotos son para Martha, porque te gustan las flores (son los flores afuera de las ventanas del apartamento y los flores en Miraflores, circa del mar)...

Something amusing I know you will want to comment on...

So I have a couple of pictures for you, my lovely readers, to discuss with your usual humor. This isn't quite like "Bimbo, sabor de la familia," but it's along the same lines...

a) a picture for Mel, depicting how the Peruvians worship her.
b) decapitation: it's what happens when you cross against the light.
c) the original.
d) really, who wants a diploma from this place?

La casa mia (temporarily)

We live on the 4th floor of the building I posted on lavidaperuana, which means that our front door is the elevator:

Since we have an alarm, the keypad of which is located in the master bedroom, it is a bit of a pain to unlock both elevator door locks, then drop all your crap, and run to the back forty of the apartment to disarm the alarm. If you don't make it in the allotted thirty seconds, the embassy guards automatically send out a car full of foreign national personnel to check on you. I understand this is a personal safety issue, but all the same, we had the guards here the other day because Anthony forgot about the alarm and opened the elevator door to take the dog for a walk.

I'm not even going to talk about the 6:30AM wake-up call I had the other day, when Anthony forgot his keys and couldn't get back in the apartment...

Anyway, if you turn right from the main doorway, you enter directly into the combination formal dining room/living room. The room is actually big enough that we can probably get a good game of two-hand touch going. And yes, outside the dining area IS a balcony:

As you can plainly see, we're doing all we can to really settle in here, making the place our own...

Actually, all our belongings are still on a boat somewhere in the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean - we're not sure which at this point. So this place will continue to look as if we don't live here until the day we leave. Which I'm told may be in the next week or two.

So the tour continues. If you walk through that door you see next to the bookcases, near the dining room table you'll see...Anthony! In the kitchen! Doing kitchen stuff!

Or getting himself a cup of coffee in the teeniest, tiniest tea cup you ever did see. Seriously folks, the teacups that came as part of our welcome package may fit a coupla' mouthfuls of water. That's all she wrote.

So the kitchen is clearly much bigger than our DC kitchen. We can fit Anthony, Grace, Pookie, AND ME! At the same time. Without getting on each other nerves (much).

Behind Athony, you may catch a glimpse of our laundry room, which also leads to the "maid's quarters," but I didn't take photos of that so you'll just have to imagine the beauty! The splendor! The strangely tiny living conditions they expect our maids to live in... (and maids! They expect us to have maids!)

If you take the door next to Grace, however, you enter our "den." The U.S. government graced us with a couch, a chair, an entertainment center, a t.v., and a dvd player that doesn't seem to like our dvds. It pretty much rocks our socks off.

The den is also magically located to the left of the main entrance; if you take a right out of the elevator, you hit the living room/dining room combo; if you take a left, you hit the den. This is the room Grace likes to play in the most, because it has carpeting.

You have explored half our apartment now!

Kinda to the left of the entertainment center, there is a short hallway. At the end of the hallway to the right is the "office." We call it such because the government was kind enough to provide us with a couple of desks.

Oh yes, and a bookshelf. Another empty bookshelf. I usually keep my computer in here, but I can't often steal a signal from this room so I am relegated to typing away like the mad hatter I am in the master bedroom.

This is probably an excellent time to say, "Pancho, thank you so very much for not securing your wireless internet connection. It has provided me with hours of entertainment at your expense."

That short hallway also basically ends at the guest bedroom, which is, as you can see, utterly lovely. We have not bothered to make the bed because a) that requires motivation, and b) we are not expecting any visitors while we are here in the temporary digs.
Yes, da' Momma, I know you're coming in two weeks, but I think we'll be in the house by then!

Anyway, I'd also like to point out the fact that all the wood furniture is from Drexel Heritage, a store that is far too expensive for any of us "normal" people to afford. Way to go, American-made.

The hallway turns at a 90-degree angle to the left and you have to bathrooms and the master bedroom to go. Both bathrooms basically look the same. You've got your typical marble tiles, with the see-through shower, a toilet, and your always-necessary bidet. Because heaven and earth would crumble if my butt weren't squeaky clean. From a stream of water that geysers out of a toilet-like contraption.

I will sincerely never understand the unholy love of a bidet.

And finally, what you've all been waiting for: the master bedroom! Because this IS where the magic happens. Or at least, it's where all the dehumidifiers, air purifiers, and god-knows-what-else machinery is located. It's also where the safe is. Oh! And it's also the SAFE ROOM. If someone breaks into the apartment, we're supposed to run here, lock the door, and hit some special keys on the alarm keypad to notify the embassy that we are under attack. We can apparently hide out in here for a good hour or so before someone with a blowtorch and a baseball bat can get through the door. Or something like that. Good times. Good times had by all.


P.S. You just love my slippers, I know you do...

Check me out...

I started a new, mulitple-people-friendly blog to talk about my Peruvian adventures. You can read my PC entries here.

Arrived!

We made it to Peru, despite all of Anthony's naysaying. Right now we're in temporary housing, as they gave our home to some Master Seargent a few days ago, while he waits for his house to be ready. In any case, the temporary apartment is about 30 times the size of our condo in DC and we're still trying to figure things out. Two days later and we now think we have a handle on where the grocery store is.

Anyway, I'm still pretty beat - sore throat, headache, achy, exhausted. So I'm going to keep this short and get back to you all at some later time. I just wanted to let you know that we all (including Grace and Pookie!) arrived safely.

Updated schedule re: leaving for Peru

now til 6/30: North Carolina
6/30 til 7/3: Washington, DC (but I probably can't see many people b/c I'll be separating my things into piles for the movers)
7/3-7/11: Massachusetts
7/11-7/13: New York
7/13-7/17: Washington, DC at the Hotel Helix
7/17: depart for Peru

If you're interested in seeing me before I go, take a look at the schedule and try to plan accordingly. I'm not sure that I can fit in everyone or everything or even anything, but I will try.

Driving to North Carolina

A family that travels together, stays together, right? So we drove down to North Carolina with both Grace and Pookie. Grace is a veteran car-rider, but Pookie? Well, let's just say he survived a few drives to my office to pick me up from work and had no lasting trauma.

The drive from DC to Charlotte takes approximately eight hours, when Anthony isn't allowed to drive 100mph all the way. And the furry kids are packed in the backseat of Bubba (our very beloved Jeep), along with our luggage, two plants, a bag of kitty and puppy crack (i.e. their toys and food), my backpack full of library books and my computer, and whatever else we could stuff back there. Basically, there isn't much room in the car.

So we start out the ride with Pookie on my lap, wrapped up in a beach towel, kitty-sausage style. Although his eyes never shrink below the size of a mid-sized potato, his full-on paralysis eventually weakens and he is desirous of some hiding. He hides in that tiny area between the seat and the door, then moves to the area where my feet go but so far up that he is practically touching the underside of the dashboard, and then he moves to the backseat with Grace. Grace isn't so desirous of his company so she keeps sitting on him. (I can hear her thoughts now, "Squish the kitty! Squish the kitty!")

After a few minutes of "Squish the kitty!" Pookie starts to pant, which is the tipping point for me to lose my ever-loving sh#!, yell at the dog, and forcefully move Grace across the seat by injecting my thumb up her butt.

This goes on and on for hours, when I finally get the bright idea to pull the kitty out of Grace's tush and set him back on my lap. Silly me, I think this will be COMFORTING to Pookie.

Instead, Pookie is still terrified and keeps shoving his head in my armpit. Like those five-year-olds that think that you can't see them just because THEIR eyes are closed, Pookie feels completely invisible with his whiskers tickling my underarm.

Yet just as he begins to feel all safe and warm, a semi drives past, making that special noise only semis can make. The terror races through the cat, causing him to get warm - or so I think. I let Pookie go, and he crawls into the backseat, right under Grace's butt again.

Then I realize. MY CROTCH. STILL. FEELS. WARM.

That damn cat! He peed on me. We are officially no longer friends.

Our new home, but with someone else's stuff in it.

The following are a few pictures of our new home in Lima, Peru. Boy, do I EVER hope that single roll of toilet paper is still there when we arrive.

Feels like forever

Anthony and I celebrated our four-year anniversary by going hiking in Shenandoah National Park. I don't know if it means anything, but .25 miles from the parking lot, the heavens opened and we were totally deluged with rain.

Crossed fingers

I hope no one is waiting breathlessly for an account of the past few weeks. There has been much to do, and there is still much to do. And in the blink of an eye it appears we will be in Lima. I am still working on nailing down my Spring semester so I can finish graduate school, and Anthony and I are attempting to figure out what the hell it is we are doing with this whole move, but visit our families first schedule. And Saturday I leave for Colorado to try to relax – you know, by climbing the Rockies or something (whatever it is that Eric has planned for Marilyn and I). Then I have less than 2 weeks of work, we travel to NC for almost 2 weeks, we pack out of our condo, we travel to MA for almost 2 weeks, we spend some time in the NYC area so we can see the Dropkick Murphys and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and then we drive to Miami to catch our flight to Lima. If you have magically, mystically been left out of the schedule, I am SO SORRY, but the planning has been left up to Anthony and by that I mean, very little planning is being done and we are flying by the seat of our pants. Perhaps you could call me to tell me how much you love me…? While I still have a telephone, that is.

So if you missed me, here’s the quickie update: I am well, Anthony is well, the furry children are well, and the extended family is well. All’s well.

Great, now I can get back to work….

Thoughts

My paternal grandmother passed away last night from cancer. She lived in Florida all my life and I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve ever seen her. You could say, without exaggeration, that we were not close.

Gram is the grandmother that walked away from her family of six children when my dad was (I believe) in high school, so the relationship between her and the rest of the family was always strange, and always difficult. She was the kind of grandmother that you didn’t develop intimacy with, who was just as enigmatic as people named Cher or Prince – familiar enough to be called a single, one-syllable name, but so distant as to remain a question mark on the family tree. I really didn’t know her at all, and I can’t say that she knew me either.

Gram remembered my birthday because I was born the year that she vacationed in Germany. Yet if you were to collect all of her grandchildren into one place, she probably couldn’t differentiate one from the other.

Yet I never felt a lack in my life because my grandmother wasn’t there. She just wasn’t. No harm, no foul – things happen; people lead different lives; not all families must be close. So with her death, I don’t feel much personal loss.

However, at the same time, I feel genuinely saddened by her passing. Cancer is a horrible, horrible disease that I would not wish on anyone. And I am sure that she developed close bonds with other people in her life, who are devastated by their loss.

It's a miracle - I'm writing again! (And this time it's not for grad school.)

I spent my last 2 hours and fifty minutes in a classroom on Cinco de Mayo. It would have been ten minutes less, but my professor wanted to keep us late to talk about Aristotle. But the fact of the matter remains – I never have to enter another classroom again. Yes, I still have two courses left to complete for my degree, but I won’t be entering a classroom to complete them. It is a minor victory, but a victory all the same.

My final two classes are electives that I can take in Spring 2009. I intend for them to be an independent study and an internship. Which is why I’m taking an intensive Spanish class when I arrive in Lima this summer. Something about the fact that all Peruvians speak Spanish…

Since the last time I wrote, I also failed a couple of things (not class – three more A’s, thank you very much!): the State Department Foreign Service WRITTEN exam (that was a first for me) and the Boren Fellowship (my application was not selected). My neighbors are going to cohost a FAIL Party with me, since Katie also failed the FS exam. We’re thinking mid-week, and we’re thinking lots of bubbly. And in case you’re overly concerned, don’t worry, it’s not as big a deal as getting that B+ in stats last semester which totally ruined my 4.0 GPA and made me cry. I am still upset about that grade, but the FS exam and the fellowship are hardly a blip on my radar. Neither outcome is affecting my next steps in life anyway.

So, what is next, you ask? Well, let me just plonk myself right down and tell you! To start, my little sister, Preyasha, graduates from UVA on Sunday. Which means that da’ Momma and San are currently fighting traffic to get to DC. They are crashing at my house until Tuesday. We only have to make that hellacious trip out to Charlottesville on Sunday, so the rest of the weekend will be spent eating, eating and eating. Oh, and da’ Momma will be snuggling with her favorite grandchild, Grace.

Then I have two days to clean and re-sort the condo before all hell breaks loose and the entirety of UPenn class of ’01 comes to stay. I’m housing Michelle, Tom, Nicole and Mel (and Estee, once she makes up her mind!), and we have a bunch of wedding and non-wedding stuff to attend. Melanie and Johnny will be representing Florida over at Andrew’s pad, Lisa will be representing Philly (can I get a woot-woot?) over at Ben’s, and Eric will be representing Colorado (in all it’s hippie-ness), also at Ben’s. It will be kind of like our Vegas trip in ’05 (was it really three years ago???), only it’ll be called Reunion ’08. Let the good times (and the bribery photos) begin…

Shortly thereafter I am traveling with Marilyn to visit Eric in Colorado and then things should roll down-hill from there. I finally decided to forsake my Peace Corps dreams to be with my “family” because I feel that I can make a Peace-Corps-like experience happen in Lima – and still be surrounded by the ones I love (not to mention my stuff)! So once June rolls around, I’m quitting my job, packing up the condo, picking up a renter, making the last rounds with my DC crew, visiting my family in MA (and some friends along the way – hiya NYC crew!), visiting Anthony’s family in NC, and then driving to Miami (and probably meeting up with friends in the greater FL-state area) to catch our flight.

So really, nothing much is happening in my life. As things progress, I will try to keep you informed though…

My internet personality

My Personality

Neuroticism	1
Extraversion	51
Openness to Experience	1
Agreeableness	44
Conscientiousness	98

You do not experience strong, irresistible cravings and consequently do not find yourself tempted to overindulge, however you rarely get angry and it takes a lot to make you angry. You get overwhelmed by too much noise and commotion and do not like thrill-seeking activities. You prefer facts over fantasy and are more interested in what is happening in the real word. You dislike confrontations and are perfectly willing to compromise or to deny your own needs in order to get along with others, however you do not particularly like helping other people. Requests for help feel like an imposition on your time. You are well-organized and like to live according to routines and schedules. Often you will keep lists and make plans.

Take a Personality Test now or view the full Personality Report. PureAwakening Jewelry.

But whoever said I was normal?

Normally, when I go on vacation and have a really great time, the first thing I do when I get back is clean up my six thousand or so photos (thank you, Photoshop) and post them on the internet for all to mock. Then the second thing I do is write about it here.

So, since I didn’t immediately sit down to my computer and type out a few words after my trip to New York over Spring Break, but instead sat on my lazy arse and did nothing but watch movies for the rest of my school-free days, Martha totally called me on it. She’s all like, why aren’t you posting? If I can find the time between my Microbiology midterm and my three other exams to blog for the world, so can you.

You can basically say that she’s guilted me into this. That damn girl and all her peer pressure…

Now, where was I? Ah, yes, New York. Two weekends ago, I was in New York. The basic outline went a little like this:

Friday: arrive way too early to hang out with my girls and spend a couple hours wandering around the West Side waterfront, talking to my mom and reading Becoming Jane Austen, before meeting with one Dave “I’ve got a new job that includes – get this! – benefits!!” K. for lunch. Eat at Chelsea Market, and have some non-Jewish stranger butt into our conversation because I couldn’t remember the word “yenta” (yeah, who knew I could work that into conversation?) and then call Dave out for not being Jewish enough to remember it himself. Then said stranger immediately begins making out with his girlfriend. Totally awesome lunchtime entertainment.
Then Dave shows me his cubicle in one building, and the front door of his office in the company’s other building. I saw walls made out of hockey pucks and tennis balls. And then I see how adorable Dave is, because he wallpapered his cubicle with pictures of his Penn friends. Awwwwww…

Pick up Mel at Penn Station and cab our way to Estee’s place. Eat again, this time at Café Arte, where one kid butts into our private conversation about Batman and then pukes in his napkin, and another kid stands behind Mel and Estee, staring vacantly at a mural on the wall behind our table. She doesn’t even respond when I start talking to her. Very weird, but didn’t even remotely slow down our eating of all things Italian and drinking of all things wine.

Saturday: beginning of the end for all the edible cheese of Manhattan. Eat cheese for breakfast. Stand in TKTS line, pass on partially obstructed views of Spring Awakening, and let Mel talk us into A Chorus Line. Eat at Juniors for second breakfast (yes, we’re hobbits). Have cheesy grits. Yum. Play at Dave & Buster’s – both Mel and Estee kick my sorry bum at the basketball game, we all score some major ticketage at the trivia game, I royally suck at skeeball, Estee and I are amused by Mel’s dance/stomp moves, and then we turn in our apparently miniscule number of tickets to get two Care Bears for Estee’s twin cousins. Then I watch Estee, who clearly works too much, sleep through A Chorus Line. But she tells me she loved it. Mel sings songs from A Chorus Line for the rest of the weekend.
Next we attempt to find this wine bar in Estee’s neighborhood by calling the concierge at one of the Times Square hotels that Mel has pre-programmed into her phone. As expected, without knowing the name or location of said establishment, we and our new concierge friend are completely unsuccessful. However, Estee saves the day by using her Blackberry for good. We find a great place on West 54th called Casellula’s, where we feast on (you guessed it) cheese, meats, beet salad, and wine. It was glorious.
Our evening was spent making fun of Mel for her crush on Daniel Radcliffe while watching Harry Potter 5. Oh yeah, and eating cheese pizza from this awesome pizza parlour across the street from Estee’s apartment (Estee, you SO need to send me the name of that place so I can tell all my friends about it).

Sunday: Our only reason for climbing out of bed was to eat brunch at Josie’s (well, Estee had Hebrew lessons, too, so she got up at the buttcrack of dawn – ON A SUNDAY). Mel and I are mysteriously the only people to arrive on time (15 minutes early if it must be known) for a one-o’clock brunch. Knowing that Josie’s doesn’t take reservations, we (wrongly) assumed that everyone would be on time to get a table – because they don’t seat parties until everyone has arrived. So Estee makes it to the restaurant around 1ish, but the boys, well, they weren’t even close. Jordan was fifteen minutes late, and just as we convinced the waitress to seat us at 1:30PM even though we weren’t all there, our own little New York socialite, David R., makes an appearance. Apparently the party was ready to start.
I think we gave Estee the best brunch of her life, because our conversation broke all barriers of the PC world. We talked religion, politics, and racism. The racism comes in when we learned that Mel’s law school actually makes minority students take a type of Ms. Manners course. She tried to explain it to be far less prejudicial, and claim all sorts of excuses on their behalf, but we find it really adorable that her school wants her to fit in so much that they’re willing to teach her how to wash her hands before eating and other such handy tidbits. In fact, she even taught us a thing or two about “work hugs” and the “work kiss.” I don’t know what these things are, but I think it’s safe to say that the “work kiss” is something that my boss would make up just so he could touch the female employees without getting fired. It’s a dirty, dirty world, my friends. And don’t you even try to think otherwise.
Post meal – which for me included homemade oatmeal (I dedicated my breakfast to you, Martha!) – Jordan escorted us to Zabar’s, where we bought (surprise!) cheese and bread for our afternoon of George Clooney. Cuz that’s right, boys and girls, we ditched Jordan after the wine shop and spent the rest of the evening watching Ocean’s 13 and Michael Clayton. Part of the evening also included playing such games as Six Degrees of George Clooney (Mel can get there in only TWO setps!). Then we ordered another cheese pizza from the awesomest pizza parlour in all of NYC. (Yeah, I said it. Go ahead and try to prove me wrong.)

Monday: Mel (I take no credit for this) convinces Estee to go into work even later than the 10AM time she already expected. Mel eats more cheese for pre-breakfast, to kind of line her stomach for the greasy goodness to follow. Cuz we ate at some diner a block away from Estee’s apartment. This is where we learn all about Estee’s pro bono political asylum case. This is the kind of thing that makes me even remotely interested in that whole lawyering business. You can actually do SOME GOOD in the world with that law degree. Amazing stuff really.
Estee and I also discovered that the skills I developed when conducting criminal investigations for the State Department overlap with the skills she’s developing as a lawyer. I wonder if she’s heard of the READ technique for interviewing…? Anyway, that was a cool discovery.
Like the two proud mommas we are, Mel and I then helped Estee onto a bus and stood on the sidewalk waving until a) Estee noticed we were still there, and b) the bus drove out of sight.
Then it was back to Penn Station for the train-ride home. Mel and I hung out under the arrival/departure sign until her train prepared to board and we had to say goodbye. And I heard her cry, ‘ere she drove out of sight, Merry Spring Break to you and to all a good night!

*****
Had I known I was going to lay like a vegetable for the rest of Spring Break and not get any of the papers done for school that I planned, I would have staid in New York longer. Instead, I sat around waiting for Comcast to fix my DVR (which suddenly stopped showing a picture for any of our recordings, and which I furthermore fixed myself becaue Comcast was apparently too busy to bother showing up for any of our appointments), watching movies, playing with the dog, celebrating Marilyn’s first annual 29th birthday, catching a stupendously spontaneous dinner with Jeff and Liz (we didn’t even have to plan it out three months in advance), and cooking Andrew a nice, traditional St. Paddy’s Day dinner (which, by the way, he totally failed to mention in his Georgetown blog; I feel so snubbed).

This week has therefore been a round of catch-up at school. Things are going well enough, but I really have to get cracking on some of those papers that will start raining down on me hard and fast in the next couple of weeks.

At the same time, Anthony’s dad is training up to DC from Charlotte today so we have company for the weekend. If you’re in the area, and you’ve always wondered where Anthony got his strong, masculine build from, this is the weekend to drop by my place. Otherwise, I will be hiding in the coldest, darkest, dankest, quietest hole, madly dashing out papers and presentations.

I lied

I actually do have something to post. I am sitting here at work, and not getting anything done by the way, and all I can think about is the fact that Spring Break starts in TWO DAYS! I haven’t felt this great about a break from school in, well, ever. I have never looked so forward to several days without homework in my life.

And to top it all off, I’m spending Friday through Monday with your favorite girls and mine: Estee and Mel! We’re having a mini-girls reunion, Northeast style. I have no idea what we will do – Mel threw out the idea of seeing a Broadway show, Estee threw out the idea of Netflix, and then Mel returned with the idea of an all-Harry-Potter weekend (something about having the hots for some underage kid named Daniel Radcliffe). Everything is good by me, so long as there is not one ounce of schoolwork in the whole deal. That, and I must be allowed to seriously fondle the jingle-cat, Motik – my only requirement.

So maybe by Monday I’ll have some new pics to post and maybe, just maybe, I’ll have a life to discuss. In the meantime, however, it’s back to that old grindstone with a midterm due for Program Evaluation and a bunch of reading to cram into my brain.

Because my life is so boring (thanks grad school) that I have nothing else of substance to post

Another quiz, yoinked from Rob, but modified a little by me…

1. Do you consider yourself a "grown up" at this point?
Sometimes, but it's tough to wrap my mind around that concept. I probably feel it most when I get sick and my mom isn't there to make me papaling soup, bring me some ginger ale, and force me to lay on the couch in front of the t.v. all day while she cleans up the house around me. Now, when I'm sick, I either take care of all of that myself or it doesn't get done – so I usually opt not to be sick.

2. Where were you on September 11?
I was working at my first post-undergrad job, which was an extenuation of my student work study job at the University of Pennsylvania Archives http://www.archives.upenn.edu. My boyfriend at the time called me at the office to let me know what was happening – it didn't even look real.

3. If you went to college, do you think it was worth it?
I wouldn't exchange my college experience for anything – that is where I met the greatest people on earth and really learned a lot of things about myself. I could wish for a higher GPA and less student loan debt, but the friends and experiences more than make up for that.

4. What did you drink on your 21st birthday (or at any related celebrations)?
Oh my, I vaguely remember Michelle and Ally wrenching my head back and forcing me to consume a "blowjob" shot – the glass it was served in was far too big for my mouth… The drinks for the rest of the evening are blurred.

5. What do you remember most about High School graduation?
Wow, taking me back. Two things: a) I remember that the song I had hoped would be our class song was reneged at the last minute (despite the democratic vote) by our chorus teacher and a handful of the "popular" girls in our class – so now instead of the Beatles "In My Life," the sound of sixty tone-deaf high school students attempting to hit the high notes in Whitney Houston's "One Moment in Time" will forever haunt me; and b) I gave the valedictory address and changed a few things last minute so some of my friends could get a shout-out – then I had the privilege of helping hand out the diplomas. That was pretty cool.

6. Do you keep in touch with friends from High School (stalking on Facebook or MySpace doesn't count)?
This would nearly be an incontrovertible "no," except that I am the fairy godmother to my dear Christy's first-born, one Ms. Sarol Madison, and I do my best to send my love to Christy's twin sister, April, who spent some time running in circles with me as members of the track team. I should also take a moment to give yet another shout-out to my gal, Petes (What up, P?), who is so generous to remember me and send me little notes every once in a while.

7. Are you any good at texting, or do you prefer a good old-fashioned phone call?
I don't text, and I hate talking on the phone. I have to reconcile myself to it because many of my closest friends are scattered to the four winds, but it is a painful, torturous procedure. I've said it before and I'll say it again, just why can't we all live in the same building so I can pad over to your places in my PJs???

8. How old were you when you got your first cell phone?
Twenty-one? Shoot, I don't know.

9. Best Apple IIe game: Oregon Trail or Number Munchers?
What the heck is IIe?

10. Who was your favorite member of New Kids on the Block?
I'm not gonna lie, it was Jordan. And I even went to their New Year's Eve concert because my mom is the rockingest and gave me tickets for Christmas.

11. How many friends do you have on Facebook/MySpace?
I haven't a clue. I don't have time for networking sites. I never signed up for MySpace, and I just added myself to Facebook in January because I heard that my old Pookah could be seen there – but I've been really negligent since.

12. How many of those "friends" do you actually know?
Any friends that I actually have on Facebook are people I actually know – the bulk of them are friends of mine from my undergrad days.

13. Do you have a job?
If only to pay for the mortgage, groceries and gas for Bubba (yes, my Jeep has a name).

14. Do you contribute to a 401(k)?
Yes, two of them in fact. The 401(k) at work, and the IRA through my financial institution.

15. Relationship status?
I'm as good as married, but not even engaged. Anthony and I are going on four years now (not quite up to the years racked up by Nishchay and Roxanne, Martha and Brian, KT and JD, or even Nicole and Hans, but pretty significant no less).

16. How often are you in contact with your parents?
Da' Momma and I are in contact every couple of weeks – it would be every day if she didn't think that she was irritating me – and I haven't had any meaningful contact with my dad, other than a forced reunion at da' Momma's hands which resulted in nothing, since shortly after graduating from college in 2001.

17. When you really think about it, does the fact that you are 30 (or close to it) blow your mind?
No.

18. Do you remember what a hanging chad is?
I never knew what the hell that means.

19. Did you vote in 2004?
Yes – how could I not when I was working for a nonprofit that built its reputation on being an election watchdog group?

20. Do you still live in the town that you grew up in?
Not even close. I live in DC, which is a significant distance from Clinton, MA.

21. What is your favorite 90's era Disney movie?
That really narrows it down to Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Little Mermaid for me, none of which I'm content with singling out.

22. MC Hammer or Vanilla Ice?
"Can't Touch This" vs. "Ice Ice Baby"? Is it even fair to ask this question?

23. Did anything in your life turn out the way you thought it would by this point?
No, but nothing good ever does.

24. Are any of your friends married?
Yup – Nicole, Yael, Aurit, Christy, Tyler & Saleah, Katie (What up P?), Katy… And there's more to come – Nishbutt, Jeff, Martha…

25. Do any of your friends have kids?
Yes! – Yael, Christy, Tyler and Saleah, and April have have little chub-chubs. And I STILL don’t know what the hell to do when faced with an infant (the first thought is usually “Run!”).

26. How about your siblings (if you have any)?
Nah, Dan is still living the life of a single, tattoo-ed, overworked bachelor. Any of you females free up there in MA?

27. During your quarter century (+3.5!) on Earth, what is the coolest place that you have visited?
I have been privileged to travel quite a bit, but I’d have to say my favorite place to go was the Grand Canyon – you can’t beat rafting down the Colorado…

28. Did you play an instrument in high school?
Nope, only in middle school. And if you must know, I started on the flute, worked up through the clarinet, and ended on the piano.

29. Do you still play that instrument?
Nah, I leave the music to the people with talent.

30. What was your first email address?
Something or other @aol.com.

31. How many Troll Dolls did you have?
ZERO. Even then I thought they were kind of stupid – kind of like the pet rock of the 90s.

32. Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers?
I never had to make the choice – I watched them both!

33. Who was your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?
Was there really a difference?

34. Who was your favorite Spice Girl?
If I had a gun to my head, and had to choose one over the rest, I’d say Scary Spice. For two reasons: 1) Her hair in the good ol’ days rocked, and 2) She was on Dancing with the Stars, one of the few shows I DVR. LOVE IT! (Although I didn’t much care for their music – “If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends…”????)

35. Are your grandparents still around?
Still kickin’ it old school: I have one grandmother and 2 grandfathers (one of which isn’t technically my grandfather – he was my Nonnie’s 4th husband and the only Grampie I ever knew).

36. Favorite book that you had to read for school?
Back in the day it was probably Lord of the Flies. But I will read almost anything.

37. Any old person aches and pains yet?
Absolutely – something about having a herniated disc a little over a year ago really put a kink in things.

38. Can you still do the Macarena?
No, never could, but I bet Mel can.

39. Did you believe in the Y2K hype?
At the time, I was working for a chemicals company helping them get their computer system Y2K ready – so sure, why the hell not?

40. What is the oldest article of clothing that you still wear?
I have a suit that’s about six years old – but generally speaking, I don’t keep old clothes. I am often giving things away to Martha’s Table or to my little sister. It’s called “recycling.”

41. Have you been brainwashed by Apple and purchased an iPod?
I love that one necessarily leads to the other…but dogmatic quibbles aside, yes, I purchased one, but no, it wasn’t for me. I had an old I-River MP3 player up until a few weeks ago, when someone actually stole it from the gym. I can’t believe anyone would take it since it was basically held together with a piece of Scotch tape.

42. How many times did you see Titanic?
I saw it twice in the theatre, and the last half or so at least once on t.v.

43. Do you think you'll have kids before you are 30?
That’s relatively unlikely. I turn 29 this year and I am not yet married – it’d be tough to crank out multiple kids in a year and a half, plus get married first so they’re not traumatized by the fact that mommy and daddy conceived before becoming hitched.

44. Are you the youngest person at your job?
It depends on how you look at it. Of the twelve contractors, I’m the youngest by a few months. Including all the government employees that work in the office too, I am older than a number of them.

45. When did you start your Blog? Who introduced you to it?
I don’t remember how I got introduced to all things Blogkind, but I have been writing on here since October 16, 2002.

46. How many Blog entries have you made since then?
Only 326 – I’m not a very prolific writer. That makes it approximately 65 posts per year.

47. If you could be any age, what would it be and why?
This is a really dumb question. I have no reason to wish to be anywhere or anytime else than I am right now. I am where I am supposed to be.

48. Caffeine of choice: Coffee or Soda?
I am in the process of kicking the caffeine to the corner. I don’t drink coffee anymore (except the occasional post-dinner cappuccino) and I only drink soda when I’m sick (da bubbles!). So that means that my real vice is tea.

49. What teacher has had the greatest influence on you?
Hands down, Mrs. O’Connell, 3rd grade. She was so encouraging.

50. What do you think is your greatest accomplishment in life thus far?
Does “making it thus far” count?

Another way to see if you read my blog

Yoinked from Rob , as per usual.

1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies. (I cheated and picked 14)
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Fill in the film title once it's guessed.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions

1. Let me explain it to you. Mitchell's the man. I'm the idiot. You're the screw-up. And we're all losers. Welcome to music town. Empire Records, guessed by Martha.

2. Welton Academy, hello. Yes he is, hold on. Mr. Nolan, it's for you. It's God. He says we should have girls at Welton. Dead Poets Society, guessed by Martha.

3. Still, a girl likes to be crossed in love now and then. It gives her something to think of... and a sort of distinction amongst her companions. Pride and Prejudice, as guessed by Christy.

4. Hold it! Let's see some credentials. SLOWLY. You're a Chewley's Gum Representative? And you're what? Stirring up all this anti-smoking sentiment to sell more gum? GET OUT OF HERE! And you people, don't you have jobs to go to? Get out of here, go commute! Bunch of easily-led automatons. Try thinking for yourselves before you pelt an innocent man with cigarettes! Clerks, as guessed by Yael.

5. I wanted to see exotic Vietnam... the crown jewel of Southeast Asia. I wanted to meet interesting and stimulating people of an ancient culture... and kill them. I wanted to be the first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill!

6. I belonged to a new underclass, no longer determined by social status or the color of your skin. No, we now have discrimination down to a science. Gattaca, as guessed by Estee.

7. Sometimes I got so bored of trying to touch her breast that I would try to touch her between her legs. It was like trying to borrow a dollar, getting turned down, and asking for 50 grand instead. High Fidelity, as guessed by Yael.

8. Go and boil your bottoms, you sons of silly persons! Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as guessed by Yael.

9. It's not just about me and my dream of doing nothing. It's about all of us. I don't know what happened to me at that hypnotherapist and, I don't know, maybe it was just shock and it's wearing off now, but when I saw that fat man keel over and die - Michael, we don't have a lot of time on this earth! We weren't meant to spend it this way. Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements. Office Space, guessed by Martha.

10. Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time. Old School, guessed by El Gordo (come on guys, I can't believe it took this long for you to get this one - it's a classic!)

11. Well hoity-toity Mr. God-Like Smarty Pants. The Muppet Christmas Carol, guessed by Christy (nice one!)

12. I thought all writers drank to excess and beat their wives. You know one time I secretly wanted to be a writer.

13. I think we've all arrived at a very special place. Spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically.

14. No, dwarves retire early. Common fact.

May old acquaintance be forgot...

I think I mentioned several times in the past month or so that I would update you on things. In my defense, each day that passes makes me one day older, and, (here’s the important part, folks) therefore that much more mentally impaired. In other words, I forget things. Lots and lots of things.

For example, last night I showed up to class and totally forgot to write up a research paper proposal. Which was due last night, by the way.

So yeah, I forgot to update you all on a few things. I don’t believe I told you how much I did not enjoy Sweeney Todd, nor did I mention how totally rockin’ my Tuscan Pot Roast turned out for that dinner party (my first pot roast ever and the fans, they went wild!), and I think I may even have left out the fact that I attended Andrew’s Non-Profit Fund Silent Auction on Saturday night and went through a whole gamut of emotions. First, I was hungry, but Andrew took care of that by having the whole event catered. I stuffed everything I laid eyes on into my maw and then some – I think I finally stopped when I realized that, no matter how many crumbs had fallen, tablecloths do not taste good.

There were sweet potato fries, macaroni and cheese, quesadillas (both chicken and veggie), tortilla chips and salsa/guac/sour cream, beef on a stick, chicken on a stick, roast beast sandwiches, focacia with plum tomatoes and mozzarella, chocolate chip cookies, some desert that looked like chocolate moose in a chocolate cup topped with chocolate and more chocolate…

Needless to say, I finally quenched the hunger demons and was able to more rationally review the items up for auction. And while I would have really loved that round of low stakes poker with Professor So-and-So, or that dinner out with the Dean, I had my heart set on that “Date with Andrew McLaughlin.” So I gathered my ones and my pom-poms and prepared myself to scream like a twenty-one year old virgin at her first sighting of the Beatles.

Have I hyped the event enough? Because it was awesomeness personified. Until the emcees ran over on time and the staff at the Clarendon Ballroom threatened to turn off the mic. What that meant for me is that the “Property of Andrew McLovin” tattoo I had inked on my ass that afternoon would never see the light of day because they skipped four live auction items in favor of auctioning off the real crowd pleaser: an African safari. My hopes and my dreams at that moment can be described in a word: crushed.

So my deflated pom-poms and I gave Andrew a big hug, expressed our sympathy for Andrew not being able to glory in the adulation of all those MBA women fighting over his hot business school bod, and dragged our feet to the door.

As an aside, Andrew is now the proud owner of a night of low-stakes poker with Professor So-and-So and seven of his closest friends. For the low-low price of $900. So if you live in the DC Metropolitan area, have an interest in poker, and have an extra $100 to help a young Irishman out, Andrew is more than happy to hear from you.

This weekend wasn’t only about undressing Andrew in my mind, though. I also hosted a pre-Valentine’s Day celebration with the girls. We had candy, Pirate’s Booty, tofu and hearts of palm salad, scones, tea, brownies, cheese and crackers, soda, tortilla chips and salsa…and most importantly, Colin Firth. Yes, for five hours, we soaked in all the Pride and Prejudice five women can be expected to endure. There were highs, there were lows, and I don’t believe I can ever convince Marilyn to watch that movie again. It was pretty awesome.

There were also three days lost to balancing Anthony’s checkbook and preparing our tax documents for the accountant. I don’t even want to talk about it so let’s not go there, ‘kay?

I really want to say that it was the most extraordinary weekend I’ve ever had, and while I was ever so happy to see so many familiar faces, it really ruined me academically and I am spending another frenetic week just barely scraping by in class. So, in the spirit of some of Jane Austen’s most classic heroines, I resolve to be less frivolous, more hard-working, and a lot less spontaneous. This next weekend will entirely be devoted to school (What was that I heard? I believe it sounded like a dying rabbit, but it almost reminded me of Anthony railing at the heavens…)

The adult version of Madlibs

I AM.
I WANT so much out of life, including a house with a yard and a kitchen in which both Anthony and I can cook – at the same time, a career I love, an income with which I can support my family, and enough cash to travel the world in style.
I WISH I had a miniature pig to cuddle.
I HATE DC cabbies. Only DC cabbies. What the hell is their problem?
I MISS my family and friends – why can’t we all live in the same town/city?
I FEAR dying before I figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
I HEAR voices in my head telling me to avoid my homework.
I WONDER if every time a bell rings, an angel really gets his wings.
I REGRET former acts of rashness and anger.
I DANCE when no one is looking.
I SING for myself, but much less than I used to.
I CRY during commercials, movies – I’m welling up even now.
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS scrapbooks, when I get the time (5 years behind and counting, my friends).
I WRITE to let people know I care and that I’m still here, livin’.
I CONFUSE some people all of the time and all people some of the time.
I NEED more time…to spend with Anthony (and Grace and Pookie), to write, to scrapbook, to see my friends, to read for class....
I SHOULD call people more often – at least as often as I think of them.
I START nothing that I do not finish.
I FINISH people’s sentences when they take too long to catch their breath.
I'M GLAD da’ Momma gets it. She so does.

Yoinked from Musicguy.

Graduate school for dummies

I started back at school on the 23rd and am now missing my six-week winter break like deserts miss the rain. Sure, I spent most of that time piecing together the most beautiful (read: looks like a six-year-old completed it – in crayon) fellowship application ever, which really means that I spent six weeks agonizing over the essays, the reference letters, and the biographical data, slowly working my blood pressure up to a boiling point. Oh yeah, and that ulcer I’m working on, it’s coming out GREAT.

I have three classes this semester, which should really help my stress levels. I’m at work from M-F, 6:30AM-3:30PM, and then I have classes on Mondays (Ethics), Wednesdays (Program Evaluation) and Thursdays (Intro to Public Admin) until 10PM. My professors this semester seem to have no indication that people actually work outside of the classroom, so they have each assigned a year’s worth of reading for each day of class. I have been reading like crazy and still haven’t caught up – and it’s only the second week of class!

Let me give you an example, so you know that it’s not just me, whining, moaning, and generally complaining my way through the week. For my Intro to Public Administration class last night, I was supposed to read about eight different academic “essays” (which we all know means that each one is twenty to thirty pages long), along with the first chapter in our case studies book. Let’s be generous and guesstimate that I only had to read 200 pages of text. This is on top of the estimated 200 pages of text that I had for each of the other two classes, which somehow must be fit into my Tuesday or Friday evening or the weekend, and must jockey for position with feeding and walking the kids, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, banking…you get the idea. And then Anthony wonders why I am so crazy during the semester. Maybe, sir, it’s because you left your dirty socks on the couch again, which you know gets my undies all in a tizzy. Grumble, grumble.

For a moment there, I thought I was developing an ally in Anthony. After New Year’s, he began his six months of Spanish language training. He spends five hours each day attempting to speak a foreign language and then has to spend a whopping twenty minutes at home completing workbook assignments. After about ten and a half seconds, he develops a headache, announces his need for a break, and then runs to the fridge to grab a beer. He proclaims his misery for at least a half hour to an hour each day and then starts the process all over again in the morning. I thought that because of these experiences, he would be more understanding of my plight.

Not so. He seems to think every night is a good night to participate in happy hour, or go to a movie, or just slack off in general – as if he just forgot that I attend graduate school and am a slave to the man. It’s almost as if he is enjoying the look of pain on my face as he dangles yet another tantalizing idea for playing hookey in front of my eyes (come on, let’s face it – even scrubbing the toilet with my toothbrush and then brushing my teeth with it is a more tantalizing idea than reading yet another public administration textbook).

Yet there is good news to counter the fact that Anthony keeps forgetting that I’m in graduate school (and ergo have no life). Earlier this week, I received a letter from the Director of my program, inviting me to join my program’s honor society, Pi Alpha Alpha. So at least my hard work is paying off in that arena – I will be inducted in April! Can I get a woot-woot?

In other news, Anthony and I are hosting a dinner party this weekend with six of our closest friends. It’ll be a collection of Jews and vegetarians so the dinner menu will be limited, but I think I’ve come up with a good compromise. I’ll try to get online again sometime and tell you how everything turns out. But no promises.

I’m also supposed to attend an MPA happy hour tonight, but I’m not sure I’ll make it. After a full week of reading til late, attending class til late, and stressing out over both, I may want to get some grocery shopping done this evening and then get started on my homework instead of kicking back with a beer and twelve of my classmates. Anyway, my friend who organizes these events just came down with a wicked cold and may not be a) there, or b) a whole lot of fun to hang out with.

We’ll see.

Two days later...

I actually yoinked this from Erin a few days ago and am just now getting around to posting it. Clearly, this whole "class" thing is really getting in the way of my fun.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Technically, my mom got the name from a female character on one of her soap operas and thought it was cool. My middle name is my grandmother's fourth husband's last name, or, to make it more readily understandable, the last name of the man I always considered my grandfather.

2.WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Watching the Iron Giant with Anthony on Saturday night. I'm a sucker for a good Hallmark moment.

3.DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sometimes. But it's nothing like my mom's, which is brilliant.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Bologna. With all that fatty goodness. Tastes best fried.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Two: Grace and Pookie. Well, three, if you allow me to count Anthony.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Sure, why not?

7.DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Is the sky blue?

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yuppers.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Abso-freakin'-lutely.

10.WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? We mostly get Kashi cereals now or maybe Raisin Bran or Frosted MiniWheats, but I could slay me some Reese's Peanutbutter Puffs anytime.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Despite the majority of my shoes not having laces, yes, I do.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Probably a little more-so than average for a female in my age group. I could definitely whip some twelve-year-old boy's tush, though.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Ben and Jerry's. Mmmmmmm, so creamy delicious.

14.WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their eyes and the rest of their face.

15. RED OR PINK? Red!

16.WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I'm so damn uptight – about everything! When the day doesn't go as I planned – down to the smallest detail – my cogs and wheels sproing and I am unconscionably angry.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mom. Shortly thereafter are my girlfriends from Penn…

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? No.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Pants: chocolate brown with cream pinstripes. Shoes: Camel Aerosole knee-high boots.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? My daily morning dose of oatmeal with raisins.

21. WHAT ARE YOU listening to RIGHT NOW? My coworker talking to my boss.

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Orange.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Dryer vents, chlorinated pools, Anthony's cologne, Grace's "lavenderangel" scent (i.e. when she gets a bath), Pookie's nasty little kittybreath, that crisp scent before it snows, Spring rains, lavender,anything baking (brownies, apples, cookies, cakes, whatever – I don'tlike to eat them so much, but smell them, YES!)…

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Anthony.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I yoinked it from Erin so it wasn't actually sent to me, but yes, I like her.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? American Gladiator, or maybe Ninja Warrior. (But to be fair, I hardly watch anything on t.v.– I'm more of a cinephile)

27. HAIR COLOR? Brown, brown, and more brown.

28. EYE COLOR? Brown.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No need when you have 20/20.

30 FAVORITE FOOD? Potatoes in any shape, size, or form. (Something about being Irish…)

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings. I don't watch scary movies (although Anthony didsomehow manage to wrangle me into seeing Rob Zombie's House of 1000Corpses – grrr!).

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Love Me or Leave Me with James Cagney and Doris Day – I highly recommend it.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Tan, with chocolate stitching at the hem and cuffs.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter. I am not a fan of the summer months – something about the humidity.

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Big fat, cuddly hugs.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? No one.

38. Least likely to respond? Everyone.

39.WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Other than a really bland collection of Public Administration andEthics textbooks, I am also wading through Madame Secretary byMadeline Albright, How the Scots Invented the Modern World by ArthurHerman, and Lonely Planet's guide to Peru.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I don't have a mouse pad – at work, I have a wireless mouse and athome I have a laptop with a touchpad.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? The news.

42. FAVORITE SOUND? Grace's snoring, waterfalls, the crackle of wood fires, silence,Anthony's laughter, my mom's voice reassuring me that I'm not entirelycrazy (the crazy, it runs in the family)…

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Egypt. But I'm shooting for Nepal some day.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I don't know how special it is, but I'm particularly good at organizing things.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?Worcester Memorial Hospital in MA.

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Meh.