I can't get no shut-eye!*

I worked all day on Saturday and, though I had thoughts of seeing friends, decided to use the slushy-snow as an excuse to stay in. All was going according to plan - yummy dinner, History channel documentary on TV (Nick's favorite) and the apartment to myself. Until... the upstairs neighbors decided to throw a raging party. Now I'm all for getting your friends together and having a grand ol' time, but does it have to include tap dancing elephants? Because I'm pretty sure there was a circus that filed in the door, up the stairs and performed an award-winning (do they give out awards for tap dancers?) elephant ensemble tap number accompanied by some warped version of Lil Wayne pulsing through the bass.

Nights like Saturday are exactly why I am ready to move out of the city to a quieter town (or a duplex).

*I actually busted into a friend's parents room when I was 7 at a sleepover to say this when the other girls wouldn't be quiet. Apparently I've always been a little cranky about my sleep.

September: A New Year

Screw January, who decided January should be the start of a new year anyways? Maybe it's some kind of Pavlovian response to nearly 20 years of new school years beginning right around Labor Day, but I've always felt that the sudden crispness of the air in September held more promise of a new year than the dull, frigid monotony of January. I mean really, what is even remotely motivating about December 26 through sometime in March when the world (at least New England) thaws? That's serious, hunker-down-and-read-a-good-novel time not hey-let-me-rehaul-my-life time.

Anyways, what that means is that I've been starting to fill my calendar back up again (just like Marisa). Gone are the long, lazy days by lakes or pools, soaking up the sun and disconnecting from the world. Let's see, there's:

• Work: My 9-to-5 job, with busy and slow seasons, keeps me pretty occupied throughout the week.
• Work #2: Ah, retail, gotta love it. Connecting with customers and completing a wall of perfectly folded chinos are the best rewards for a screwy schedule.
• GSEM Task Force: A new group within our Girl Scout council whose goal is to unite and support the service units in the Boston metro area. I'll be specifically working on the Adult Development Committee to recruit, train and recognize adult volunteers. I'm also a working toward becoming a Council Facilitator so I can lead my own training sessions. If you're interested in getting involved - let me know!
  
• "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 [Marisa] 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."
• Football: I plan on actually watching games this year. And spending lazy Sundays cooking lavish meals in my new gorgeous kitchen. Open invitation!
  

Giddy

I am absolutely, positively giddy today. I have been bitten by Spring Fever. I know that winter will return, but for today I can pretend that this 50+ degree weather is actually going to stick around.

Our server (or something related to it) crashed at work today while I was out to lunch with my boss. That means I got leave work at 2 pm and actually have a chance to get outside while the sun was still up. So I decided to take full advantage of the opportunity and walk from Kendall Square in Cambridge to ERC in Back Bay. It was marvelous - even the breeze was warm!

And now I'm working on job apps with Maris while waiting for my pre-photoshoot meeting tonight with Cait Madden.

Chop, chop?

Now that I've figured out interesting things to do with my hair, I'm having the urge to cut it all off. It desperately needs to be a cut (split ends, ew), but I just don't have the money to go see Roger right now. He's the only one I trust to cut it short and not have it be a giant poof ball.

I wish I could donate it to Pantene's Beautiful lengths, but it has bleach/permanent dye in it. That's really sad because I had really hoped to donate. Maybe next time.

Here's what I'm thinking for inspiration:

(Jennifer Nettles, Sugarland)
(Britney - duh, Circus video)

(Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex & the City)

Offer letter!

I got an offer letter yesterday for a part-time position at a health policy institute in Cambridge that I interviewed at about 6 weeks ago. I'm really excited. Even though it's not full-time it's definitely got a lot of pros:

• Trying out a new industry that I might really enjoy (health/wellness)
• Trying out actual PR (as opposed to marketing or copywriting)
• Interesting research
• Great networking opportunity (a lot of the top people in the office went to Harvard Business School)
• Pays better than Banana Republic!

My schedule is also going to leave me two open weekdays to find temp/part-time stuff from KNF&T. Plus, I want to see if I can get a few freelancing assignments.

In other news, I had lunch with an old boss of mine today who just happens to be the daughter of my boyfriend's mother's best friend. Go figure. The world is a tiny, tiny place. Which can be superb for networking and disasterous if you start burning bridges.

I'm still fighting a mean cold (that has taken over my ears and lungs... please please don't let it turn into bronchitis again). So I'm going to go back to bed with my tea and maybe the Wii.

This year is coming to an end

So, yes, school is over. The job search begins now in earnest. But the last week or so has been so unbelievably relaxing. It's consisted of sitting for hours watching movies or TV, drinking wine, playing with a puppy, and eatings lots of delicious food.

But I am reaching that point where I will be fully recharged and ready to take it all on again. The question now is, what do I want to take on? Guess that means it's time to start drafting my new year's resolutions for 2009.

My private property trumps your freedom of speech

Last night as I was leaving the library on Northeastern's campus I noticed a large chalk drawing on the granite landing outside. Now, chalking isn't unusual on campus. In fact, it's usually one of the cheapest and easiest ways for campus groups to advertise an event. This chalking was different though.

In large letters it read OBAMA HILLARY with the communist symbol in the middle.
I almost took a picture because I thought it was odd and interesting. But since it was almost 11:30 and cold, I wanted to get to the train as fast as possible.

I'm mad now that I didn't take a picture. I arrived on campus this morning at about 10 am to find several Northeastern maintenance employees washing the bricks in Krentzman quad. There was a puddle of blue chalk forming below the hose.

My immediate assumption was confirmed later when I got to the library to find a puddle in place of the chalking last night.

So my question is why did Northeastern find whatever the chalking meant to be so offensive that it needed to be washed away before most kids crossed campus this morning. What did the other chalkings say besides the one outside the library? If you know, please leave a comment.

12:27pm Update: Apparently chalking was done by "freshmen college republicans." It is a priviledge on campus, which makes total sense since it's private property. Northeastern retains the right to get rid of anything they deem not okay, especially if you didn't get permission. NEU's publicity rules.

It's that time of year

And I'm not referring to the lovely, warm-fuzzy snowflake-laden holidays. I mean that time of year when you have to coordinate every event down to the minute about 6 weeks in advance. And that means that there's no room when things go wrong or unexpected opportunities arise. Plus, for all us lovely college students it's finals time! So not only do you have a milllion demands from family and friends (maybe it's just because my family has 30 people in it), you have serious academic demands. This usually means that healthy eating habits and gym time go down the toilet. Plus all the germies are now trapped inside all day long, which means I'm also getting sick (you know, the achey-back kind).

Anyone know how to add hours to the day? We could all sleep a little longer!

Today, I Hate

I'm frustrated, angry, annoyed, anxious, and surviving on frayed nerves at the moment. So here are some things today that I really hate. [Expect updates throughout the day.]

• Capstone Thesis. I'm more frustrated by this paper than any other thing I've written in my entire college career. It's fraying all my nerves. But I'm not ready to accept a C in the class. My perfectionism will kill me.
• High school students on campus. A group of screaming, rude inner-city high school kids just got off the elevator. After pushing (literally) past them, I entered the elevator to find they had pushed EVERY single floor button for my ride down.
• People being inappropriately loud. I think this is mostly a symptom of the frayed nerves. But lately any time I'm in a setting that has an expectation of quiet, upon which someone interrupts by blabbing on their phones, I just want to muzzle them.
• Stupid noises in general. I think this goes along with the stress as well. Billiard balls slamming together, children running the halls, elevator dinging - where the hell are my noise canceling headphones now?!

CrazyBusy

That pretty much describes my life. And the lives of all my other manic-happy friends (i.e. Maris' post). But sometimes, I don't want to be that way. Busy. I'm fine with that. Busy to me means being involved with the world, creating something bigger than yourself, or connecting with those who are important to you. Crazy. Well who really wants to be crazy?

So I'm reading the book CrazyBusy by Edward M. Hallowell. He's a phsychiatrist from Harvard. The first part of the book basically describes me, my friends, and pretty much everyone else I run into on a daily basis (with very few exceptions). I just started part two, which focuses on managing and dealing with this modern life. I tried one of the tactics of single-focusing, whereby I dedicated 100% of my conscious brain to working on my midterm. Started at 7, outlined for an hour, 5 min break to get water, wrote until 9:20, 20 minute break in between essays, and just finished at 10:20. A solid six pages of writing, most of which is pretty good. It needs to be polished, citations need to be added. But it's done, and that means I can fully enjoy my favorite band's show tomorrow night without worrying about staying up late to do my midterm.

I'm working right now on charting how I spend my time. Basically like the budget my mother keeps trying to get me to keep for my bank account. I'll report on the results of that in a few days. After more than ten years of being told to, "Do less." by a favorite friend of mine I'm going to see if I can.

And so it begins

The fall semester. Meetings, classes, and events galore. It's going to be balls-out crazy. And if I make it through to Christmas, I just might be okay.

I haven't been sleeping well lately at all. Tossing and turning all night long. I thought it was the stress of the move, but that's settled down now. I'm starting WW again, for real, and I'm going to start walking and doing yoga. I also wonder if its sharing a bed all the time, but I don't know. At least the humidity is gone and the fall nights are rolling in.

Speaking of my new room. It's MINE! ALL MINE!! So great. And it's purple. And I have a whole wall of windows, out of which I can see the sunset and Cambridge. And I get the full sunlight on my pillows early in the morning. I really coudn't be happier about it.

Also, do you ever have a friend that you always seem to be the one who calls or texts them first? Sometimes you start to feel like you might be bugging them because they never seem to initiate anything? Then you promise yourself that you will not contact them first. Until, finally, they get in touch with you, like no time has passed at all. Victory.

Dirty and Clean

I feel slightly dirty even though I just took a shower a few hours ago because I spent the whole evening packing. We have a little bit of the kitchen, the party supplies, and the board games in sealed boxes. That makes me feel so much better. Even time we seal a box with tape I realize we're one step closer to moving out of this place. While we definitely had some great, crazy times here, I am so ready to move on. It's going to be a lot of fun to explore a new neighborhood. I'm ready to feel just a little more grown up. I also keep realizing that there are so many loose ends to take care of: comcast, keyspan/national grid, giving our keys back to our slumlord, etc.

Olympic Fandimonium

Recently we discussed the aspects of being a 'fan' in our American Society class. There's a strong sense of group identity and emotional catharsis in being a fan. You get to experience the emotional highs and lows, you get to commiserate or celebrate with fellow fans, all without lifting more than a beer or your shouts of encouragement for YOUR team.

We've definitely seen this with all of the Olympic hype lately. Now that they've started, it's hard not to get up caught up cheering for USA. Otherwise, you would be unpatriotic, you would be a traitor. As I sat in my living room last night, eating Cappy's pizza in my sweats, I couldn't help but think of the irony of watching the most successful athletes in the world compete against each other.

I'm so glad that I was watching the men's 4x100 relay last night. Because now I can say, "YEAH! I saw it live, as it happened!!" I got to be a part of my team's moment because I experienced the same emotions (albeit not nearly as raw or profound) at the same time they did. Through all the stress of finals this week, it's nice to have an escapist emotional outlet. And really, these men aren't hard on the eyes either. (Click here for NBC's "exclusive" photos from the race. Check out Phelp's face and phsyique as he realizes Lezak just SMASHED the world record and the French team.)

I'm ready to get off this emotional roller coaster

Sunday and Monday was a ridiculous experience of going from the highest emotional high to the lowest low. From speaking at Kyle & Laurie's wedding ceremony to finding out about getting robbed of my jewelry (and old laptop). It was emotionally, and thus physically, draining. Once I got back to the city Monday, I napped and laid in my bed for a few hours, unable to find the energy or motivation to go much farther. And also scared that somehow leaving would have dire consequences. Kari and I did manage to be productive in the evening when we started cleaning the front closet and pantry - which was completely beyond words disgusting. I needed the act of packing to excite me and make moving out of this shithole with my slumlord a reality. 24 days and counting.

Tuesday was slightly more energetic and productive, if only because it had to be for the most part. But then, for the first time since the start of January, I didn't close on a Tuesday night. So I was finally able to partake of Ladies 80s Night at Red Sky ($10 of booze gets you a free three course meal). I had the best experience ever with BPD (Office D. Brown) when filing my supplemental report. After Red Sky, and observing the ridiculousness that is Menino's corraling of street performers at Fanieul Hall (see Universal Hub), I went home and watched TV in our peaceful apartment.

Today was a lot of class and reading, and the next week of upcoming finals is going to be crazy. But the power of positive thinking (I'm convinced that's what it was) brought me to the Jack Johnson concert in Mansfield for free, with the decision made about 45 minutes prior to leaving the city. It took an arsenal of calls to BR sales people but it all came together, and I even ran into one of my best friends from NH on Rt 495 on his way to the concert too.

Of course, listening to music you haven't heard in awhile, and truly hearing the lyrics, makes you start thinking. Especially thinking of things that hadn't been thought about in awhile, that get sparked by seeing someone special.

Well I was sitting, waiting, wishing
You believed in superstitions
Then maybe you'd see the signs

The Lord knows that this world is cruel
I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool
Learning lovin' somebody don't make them love you

Everything in Hollis is so green

I finally wrote my speech for Kyle and Laurie's wedding this weekend.

Being home, ie away from actual life demands in Boston, has been really nice for the last half a day. I feel more productive and focused.

I've only had time to Tweet lately instead of really blogging, but I'm going to try to write more. I promise. It's just hard in the summer, you know?

Also, everything in Hollis is such a lush shade of green.

A place for your stuff

Last Monday of co-op. George Carlin died yesterday (NYT article).
And somehow that combination made me want to post his, "A place to put your stuff."

Stark Raving Sane and the Bad Idea Bears

You know when you're in a great mood? Like, truly a great-everything-is-wonderful kind of mood? I love that feeling.

It's summer. It finally feels like summer. This heat wave has sufficiently thawed Boston out of the last 6 months of winter/sleet/rainy/gray days. Kids were swimming in the fountain at Copley square yesterday - not just splashing around, but legit swimming in it. I sat down at my desk on Tuesday and after about 20 minutes noticed an extra post-it note stuck to my monitor - "I (heart) Carr!!" The two intern boys have made the last month here so, so much better.

Last night after work we out to watch karaoke at Club Cafe with my "she-shes" hanging out. We had to much fun judging people and drinking vodkatonics (I want to be able to TASTE the alcohol I'm drinking tonight). After Club Cafe we went to Fritz, also on the gay Boston circuit because it's the holiday right now in Boston -- that's right it's Pride Week! If the Boston social scene is like that of a small town, then the city's gay scene is comparable to a mansion. Everyone knows everyone - hags included.

I'm actually kind of sad I'm leaving the city this weekend. But anyways, this entry was rather useless, so I'll leave you with a few fun things to check out:

---

This post brought to you by:
Stronghold in Siam - On the Rebound
The Help - Thunder and Bison
The Bad Idea Bears - buy some beer! (or in our case, VodkaTonics)

And stumbled upon a few quotes from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (add that to the re-read list):

• Half of what he said meant something else, and the other half didn't mean anything at all.
• We cross our bridges when we come to them, and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered.
• We are tied down to a language which makes up in obscurity what it lacks in style.
• Guildenstern: A man talking sense to himself is no madder than a man talking nonsense not to himself.
  Rosencrantz: Or just as mad.
  Guildenstern: Or just as mad.
  Rosencrantz: And he does both.
  Guildenstern: So there you are.
  Rosencrantz: Stark raving sane. (This one is for you Ris.)

The revolution will be televised, blogged, and podcast

Obama - Change I hope to believe in
Politics absolutely blow my mind sometimes. Obama has been crowned the Dem's nominee finally after a long, hard, and bitter road through primary season. At the time of my primary in New Hampshire, way back when, I voted for Edwards because his policies aligned most closely with what I feel are right. (One of the best websites for objective comparison: The Pew Forum for Religion & Politics.)And, partly I see now, because I didn't want to have to choose between the first black nominee and the first woman nominee for the big seat in this country. As the battle raged on, I found myself irritated with HRC for failing somehow - failing to be the WOMAN candidate, failing to capitalize on what many saw to be her greatest weakness. So now that the party's decision has been made, and even though I'm registered independent, I'm going to learn as much about Obama as I can and pray to god in November we make history.

Listening to his speech after the last primaries, I can't help but feel what most of his supporters have felt all along - that slight twinge of hope. Maybe? Maybe this candidate will do what he says he can, or at least he'll try, maybe he can save our country from being the ridiculed, petulant teenager of the world. We'll see what happens in the months to come.

Michael Michalko - Creative Negotiation
Interesting read about 2 people, 3 coins, and the way we negotiate power, assets, and position with each other. Reminds me of the mother who has one kid cut the peanut butter sandwich in two and then lets the other kid choose which side he wants. Cut unfairly and you're likely to get screwed, so you're better off being fair out of the gate. And who knows, maybe one day you're brother will give you the whole damn thing in exchange for your extra cookie.

New Math
And sometimes you just need something silly to make you laugh. Mike, the infinite YouTube master (at least to me), sent me this link last night: Bo Burnham - New Math.

Disconnected Life

I've been a little nomad since I've been home. Driving between home and school, sleeping on couches and trying to find my bed beneath all of the stuff I brought home. The last few days at the lake have been peaceful. And now my siblings are here and the craziness is en route. I'm sitting in the College Cafe at 420 Main St. in New London because they have free wireless. I'm escaping some of the insanity that is my family for a few minutes and relishing being alone. I definitely have not fully adjusted to living at warp speed again. But being unplugged at the lake is good. Going to do a little sailing, a little sunning, and a lot of sleeping.