Saturday, August 30, 2008
I CAN SEE CLEEEEARLY NOW
I just got reading glasses. My quality of life has improved a kajillion-fold.
Easy 'Cause You're Beautiful
Greetings from the long island, where Abby (romper girl, for the new york set) and I are enjoying a very leisurely (see also: fattening) existence. This morning I had cookies and scones for breakfast after sleeping 12 hours after a car-ride filled with easy-listening sing alongs with my father, sister, and brother-in-law. None of this is important. BUT I did have two very interesting dreams last night. The first was that my job gave me benefits effective as of october. And secondly that I had a very intense driving-range-competition that I lost and freaked the fuck out.
anyway now on to reality:
I'm glad that we all seem to be progressing to some sort of self-sustainable adulthood, which is to say, holler at making money. I have only recently realized how much of a pay-cut I've taken by quitting my job with my dad. But man, has my quality of life improved.
I think I might, maybe, have a by-line in a future issue of T+L which is thrilling, granted it will be a "researched by" or some equivalent, and potentially not a by-line at all but a girl can dream.
Josh and I have started wearing matching outfits to work - just color-schemes, for now - we're going to see how long it takes for someone to notice. I think it's going swimmingly, I think everyone who has a friend at work should do it.
My first real volunteer experience was totally lame. I knit at the Prince George Hotel, a low-income "hotel" that's really a halfway house. We were supposed to knit baby-blanket squares with residents but none showed up so it was me, and four other volunteers making squares and being awkward. I don't think I'll go back again, we'll see how dog-walking in Harlem goes.
This is an ill-constructed post but basically the gist is, I'm really happy, and I don't think it's lunar. I think I've actually made a life for myself. My job is great, my apartment is great, my roommate is fierce, my volunteering is (in the future going to be I hope) rewarding, and I've started seeing this awesome dude. (eek, this makes me uncomfortable)
I love you all.
ps. cait, let's invite taylor rubin and hayley to this. And can we permanently change the timestamp?
anyway now on to reality:
I'm glad that we all seem to be progressing to some sort of self-sustainable adulthood, which is to say, holler at making money. I have only recently realized how much of a pay-cut I've taken by quitting my job with my dad. But man, has my quality of life improved.
I think I might, maybe, have a by-line in a future issue of T+L which is thrilling, granted it will be a "researched by" or some equivalent, and potentially not a by-line at all but a girl can dream.
Josh and I have started wearing matching outfits to work - just color-schemes, for now - we're going to see how long it takes for someone to notice. I think it's going swimmingly, I think everyone who has a friend at work should do it.
My first real volunteer experience was totally lame. I knit at the Prince George Hotel, a low-income "hotel" that's really a halfway house. We were supposed to knit baby-blanket squares with residents but none showed up so it was me, and four other volunteers making squares and being awkward. I don't think I'll go back again, we'll see how dog-walking in Harlem goes.
This is an ill-constructed post but basically the gist is, I'm really happy, and I don't think it's lunar. I think I've actually made a life for myself. My job is great, my apartment is great, my roommate is fierce, my volunteering is (in the future going to be I hope) rewarding, and I've started seeing this awesome dude. (eek, this makes me uncomfortable)
I love you all.
ps. cait, let's invite taylor rubin and hayley to this. And can we permanently change the timestamp?
Friday, August 29, 2008
Moving along
Hey all,
Life is going pretty well. Although I admit life does sort of settle into a rhythm, I am, for one, glad to be past college. I enjoy the freedoms and people I meet everyday here, with the chance to hear stories and go places that college just can't afford -- and I mean that financially, too.
Our newest housemate, Sarah McCann, is still looking for a job, but she's only recently come to Virginia. I can recall how hectic the job market was; and heck, I will be back there some day. For now, I'm fairly content being a newspaper reporter/editor for an alt. weekly.
I will admit alongside Dan, I do fear death. Hell, news of that beheading in Canada put me in a real rut. And the scores who continue to die needlessly around the world, coupled with the thousands who die naturally. Boy, life does seem fairly finite, doesn't it?
But I don't really mind. We can't be held back by our pasts and the inevitable future. And I'm pretty sure the future holds some really good things.
Like Bill Maher's movie "Religulous" -- GO SEE IT. And Real Time -- his show on HBO -- returns tonight. Woo-hoo!
All things said, I miss the company of all of you, especially my New York compatriots. I must make that leap and buy the ticket to the city.
Life is going pretty well. Although I admit life does sort of settle into a rhythm, I am, for one, glad to be past college. I enjoy the freedoms and people I meet everyday here, with the chance to hear stories and go places that college just can't afford -- and I mean that financially, too.
Our newest housemate, Sarah McCann, is still looking for a job, but she's only recently come to Virginia. I can recall how hectic the job market was; and heck, I will be back there some day. For now, I'm fairly content being a newspaper reporter/editor for an alt. weekly.
I will admit alongside Dan, I do fear death. Hell, news of that beheading in Canada put me in a real rut. And the scores who continue to die needlessly around the world, coupled with the thousands who die naturally. Boy, life does seem fairly finite, doesn't it?
But I don't really mind. We can't be held back by our pasts and the inevitable future. And I'm pretty sure the future holds some really good things.
Like Bill Maher's movie "Religulous" -- GO SEE IT. And Real Time -- his show on HBO -- returns tonight. Woo-hoo!
All things said, I miss the company of all of you, especially my New York compatriots. I must make that leap and buy the ticket to the city.
just sayin'
i'd like to briefly note that this blog was the best idea ever, as it brings me endless joy.
k thats all
k thats all
The Prodigal Son
If you're wondering if I've forgotten all of my dearest friends, who, collectively, are my one shining beacon of hope in this miserable postgrad existence, you can rest assured that I've been closely following your comings and goings on this blog with much hand-wringing and bated breath. In a good way.
I am aware that it's a bonified asshole move to compare myself to the biblical prodigal son through the title of this blog post, but I'm happy to be back on the blog scene, although I have no fresh ideas! I've been hitting the bricks hard recently, and the best thing coming my way so far is a job as a pharmacuetical market researcher. Yes, that's right, big pharma. Well, a consulting group that leeches off of big pharma. It'll help me sleep at night. Essentially I'd be putting my sociology experience to use analyzing the ins and outs of why doctors prescribe certain drugs. Or something. The job itself seems soul-crushing, but it has that really important quality of jobness -- that is, being a job -- which my broke ass doesn't seem to have the option of turning down.
So, RE: Cait, don't worry, I feel exactly how you feel, and I've applied for plenty of receptionist positions and been turned down. Actually a lot. That kind of sucks. And the alternative, i.e. soul crushing market research, isn't a whole lot better, so don't fret!
But on a positive note, let's please all visit each other a lot and enjoy the fact that we're in our early twenties!
P.S. I've made a conscious effort to use "yall" more, now that I'm up north, even though I was vehemently opposed to in while in virginia. I miss college....
I am aware that it's a bonified asshole move to compare myself to the biblical prodigal son through the title of this blog post, but I'm happy to be back on the blog scene, although I have no fresh ideas! I've been hitting the bricks hard recently, and the best thing coming my way so far is a job as a pharmacuetical market researcher. Yes, that's right, big pharma. Well, a consulting group that leeches off of big pharma. It'll help me sleep at night. Essentially I'd be putting my sociology experience to use analyzing the ins and outs of why doctors prescribe certain drugs. Or something. The job itself seems soul-crushing, but it has that really important quality of jobness -- that is, being a job -- which my broke ass doesn't seem to have the option of turning down.
So, RE: Cait, don't worry, I feel exactly how you feel, and I've applied for plenty of receptionist positions and been turned down. Actually a lot. That kind of sucks. And the alternative, i.e. soul crushing market research, isn't a whole lot better, so don't fret!
But on a positive note, let's please all visit each other a lot and enjoy the fact that we're in our early twenties!
P.S. I've made a conscious effort to use "yall" more, now that I'm up north, even though I was vehemently opposed to in while in virginia. I miss college....
Thursday, August 28, 2008
it's hard not to admit defeat
today i got a 3-month temping assignment at a very heartwarming and wonderful non-profit
--that's the good news --
the bad news being i've been placed there as a receptionist/administrative bitch. i really have nothing to complain about i guess, because i am gainfully employed while i search for a full-time job that i really like, but i can't shake the sinking feeling that i've graduated college with a BA and a double major and i won't be able to find any other jobs besides receptionist positions. this thought caused me to have a nervous breakdown on my lunch break.
there's no way i possibly could have spent 20+ hours a week in meetings and events in college (not to mention the time spent on coursework) to become a receptionist. right? there's no way that's fair or appropriate at all. there's no way there are an infinite number of people my age in new york city who are interested in the same jobs as me and are more qualified than me, right? for fuck's sake, there can't possibly be more than like 60 kids of comparable age in new york city right now who are applying for the same jobs as me and have more experience. seriously. i lived to be overextended in undergrad. i loved having absolutely no free time. i enjoyed that shit. how am i not getting noticed?
if there's anything i hate in life, it's being undervalued. and i'm feeling pretty fucking undervalued right now.
well, i interviewed for a job 2 days ago and i should know if they're hiring me within the next few days. so at least that's...potentially good. or potentially another piece of shit to add to the list.
in much better news, sam and i are going ROLLERSKATING here tomorrow night!!!!! if any of you new yorkers are around and want to come please give me a call. it's gonna totally make my week.
oh, right: and on sunday my dear old high school friends -- the utterly ridiculous pop-punk band patent pending -- are playing with andrew w.k. on long island. naturally i'm going. that will surely be a night to remember.
READING:
if on a winter's night a traveler by italo calvino
LISTENING:
my favorite book by stars
suffering jukebox by the silver jews (thanks sam)
all i need by radiohead
--that's the good news --
the bad news being i've been placed there as a receptionist/administrative bitch. i really have nothing to complain about i guess, because i am gainfully employed while i search for a full-time job that i really like, but i can't shake the sinking feeling that i've graduated college with a BA and a double major and i won't be able to find any other jobs besides receptionist positions. this thought caused me to have a nervous breakdown on my lunch break.
there's no way i possibly could have spent 20+ hours a week in meetings and events in college (not to mention the time spent on coursework) to become a receptionist. right? there's no way that's fair or appropriate at all. there's no way there are an infinite number of people my age in new york city who are interested in the same jobs as me and are more qualified than me, right? for fuck's sake, there can't possibly be more than like 60 kids of comparable age in new york city right now who are applying for the same jobs as me and have more experience. seriously. i lived to be overextended in undergrad. i loved having absolutely no free time. i enjoyed that shit. how am i not getting noticed?
if there's anything i hate in life, it's being undervalued. and i'm feeling pretty fucking undervalued right now.
well, i interviewed for a job 2 days ago and i should know if they're hiring me within the next few days. so at least that's...potentially good. or potentially another piece of shit to add to the list.
in much better news, sam and i are going ROLLERSKATING here tomorrow night!!!!! if any of you new yorkers are around and want to come please give me a call. it's gonna totally make my week.
oh, right: and on sunday my dear old high school friends -- the utterly ridiculous pop-punk band patent pending -- are playing with andrew w.k. on long island. naturally i'm going. that will surely be a night to remember.
READING:
if on a winter's night a traveler by italo calvino
LISTENING:
my favorite book by stars
suffering jukebox by the silver jews (thanks sam)
all i need by radiohead
Death Cannot Be Outstripped ... and Other Good News!
I. Death Cannot Be Outstripped ...
Yesterday marked the first First Day of Classes of which we haven't been a part. It's official: academia has moved on without us. Worse yet, the constituents of the incoming Class of 2012 were born in 1990. 1990! The biggest pop hit that year was Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" -- a Prince cover, and it still sucks. (By contrast, the biggest hit of '86 was Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus." 'Nuff said...)
I think it's safe to say that we're about to miss our undergrad days that much more. It's one thing to have left college, but quite another to confront incontrovertible evidence that the university microcosm can and will continue turning without us. During graduation, I kept telling people that it was making me think of death. This is because I am, at heart, an astoundingly morbid person who thinks about death all the time and lives in abject fear of its finality. ("Death cannot be outstripped," sez Heidegger, among other things. Like, "No one can die your death for you," and, "The World worlds, and Beings are all thrown into dwelling in the worlding World.") Morbid or not, days like Wednesday confirm the validity of that death analogy. I wish I could say that today's W&M students are just trying to survive without our guiding lights, to fill the gaping chasm left by our absence. They might look content on the outside, but their insides are sweltering catacombs of grief and existential uncertainty.
But really, they're doing pretty alright without us, I guess, maybe.
I have a job, and it begins on 15 September. The job is at a place called the *I*n*s*t*i*t*u*t*e* *f*o*r* *t*h*e* *F*u*t*u*r*e* *o*f* *t*h*e* *B*o*o*k*. (Suck on that, Google.) It's a think tank, the mission of which involves rather nifty stuff like shifting modes of discourse, humanism, technology, post-Gutenberg life, Marshall McLuhan, interconnectivity, the work and the network, etc. Funded by boatloads of grant money. Led by a charismatic tech-guru. More details as they arrive.
I have a lease, and it begins on 1 September. The apartment is in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Now, before you get on your high horse and accuse me of really, really wanting to be black and all that, consider this: it's very inexpensive. And it has great subway access. And it's -- I jest not -- an up-and-coming gay neighborhood. My reasoning? If the GLBTQ community thinks it's a good place to live, it must be. (They're a finicky people. High standards, Double-Income-No-Kids lifestyles, etc. etc.)
Neither of these advances would have been possible without the hospitality of certain fellow Post-Williamsburg bloggers, on whose strikingly refined leather couch I spent many a pleasant night.
Wish I could give this whole thing a more cohesive structure, but that's all I've got at the moment.
Yesterday marked the first First Day of Classes of which we haven't been a part. It's official: academia has moved on without us. Worse yet, the constituents of the incoming Class of 2012 were born in 1990. 1990! The biggest pop hit that year was Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" -- a Prince cover, and it still sucks. (By contrast, the biggest hit of '86 was Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus." 'Nuff said...)
I think it's safe to say that we're about to miss our undergrad days that much more. It's one thing to have left college, but quite another to confront incontrovertible evidence that the university microcosm can and will continue turning without us. During graduation, I kept telling people that it was making me think of death. This is because I am, at heart, an astoundingly morbid person who thinks about death all the time and lives in abject fear of its finality. ("Death cannot be outstripped," sez Heidegger, among other things. Like, "No one can die your death for you," and, "The World worlds, and Beings are all thrown into dwelling in the worlding World.") Morbid or not, days like Wednesday confirm the validity of that death analogy. I wish I could say that today's W&M students are just trying to survive without our guiding lights, to fill the gaping chasm left by our absence. They might look content on the outside, but their insides are sweltering catacombs of grief and existential uncertainty.
But really, they're doing pretty alright without us, I guess, maybe.
***
II. ... And Other Good News!
II. ... And Other Good News!
I have a job, and it begins on 15 September. The job is at a place called the *I*n*s*t*i*t*u*t*e* *f*o*r* *t*h*e* *F*u*t*u*r*e* *o*f* *t*h*e* *B*o*o*k*. (Suck on that, Google.) It's a think tank, the mission of which involves rather nifty stuff like shifting modes of discourse, humanism, technology, post-Gutenberg life, Marshall McLuhan, interconnectivity, the work and the network, etc. Funded by boatloads of grant money. Led by a charismatic tech-guru. More details as they arrive.
I have a lease, and it begins on 1 September. The apartment is in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Now, before you get on your high horse and accuse me of really, really wanting to be black and all that, consider this: it's very inexpensive. And it has great subway access. And it's -- I jest not -- an up-and-coming gay neighborhood. My reasoning? If the GLBTQ community thinks it's a good place to live, it must be. (They're a finicky people. High standards, Double-Income-No-Kids lifestyles, etc. etc.)
Neither of these advances would have been possible without the hospitality of certain fellow Post-Williamsburg bloggers, on whose strikingly refined leather couch I spent many a pleasant night.
Wish I could give this whole thing a more cohesive structure, but that's all I've got at the moment.
***
III. The Last of the Summer Reading List
Paul Auster, Man in the Dark
Donald Barthelme, Forty Stories
Donald Barthelme, Sixty Stories
Rivka Galchen, Atmospheric Disturbances
Douglas Hofstadter, I Am a Strange Loop
Lewis Hyde, The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World
III. The Last of the Summer Reading List
Paul Auster, Man in the Dark
Donald Barthelme, Forty Stories
Donald Barthelme, Sixty Stories
Rivka Galchen, Atmospheric Disturbances
Douglas Hofstadter, I Am a Strange Loop
Lewis Hyde, The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World
Thursday, August 21, 2008
One Third
The main difference between undergrad and grad school is that on the last day of class, the faculty usually drinks with you and nobody really cares if you putter around the department booze in hand, which is cute. I just finished summer class #3: Theatre and Performance in NYC, or, taking lots of disjointed field trips and not discussing screenings. I'll spare you my crankiness and complaints; here are the highlights:
Berman
Simmel
Armitage Gone! Dance Company
Drag Queens
sharing eye-rolls with classmates.
My final paper is about dog piss, tentatively titled "Yuppies with Puppies." Plus I get to summon Jane Jacobs into my tour de fire hydrants.
Everyone in my program is going home for the weeklong break between summer and fall classes. I, however, will remain here for journal duties. And my mom is visiting. Like, visiting and staying with me. Which is fine and all. I have unisom and am forcing her into at least a loose schedule. And I've given myself a two-night cushion of unwind time between her departure and the start of fall classes.
Fall classes. We have some kind of orientation part deux, this time with the doctoral students who are still in coursework, which means us lowly MA students will have classes with them. I am probably taking a class that's cross-listed with the Art & Public Policy/Arts Politics department, the exact ones are TBD. I also get to meet/meet with my permanent advisor. All of this means lots of fresh faces and oh, four day weekends.
Two of these weekends will be spent a) in East Lansing to visit my bestest bestest friend and b) at W&M for the 7g new kid show. I think this makes up for not venturing home during this week's break.
OOH OOH and I found a ballet studio a couple blocks away from the Team Face Shoebox, and it's cheaper than BDC or Steps. The stretching and releves have commenced in anticipation. I can even take elementary pointe classes; it's been 4 years. Whee.
Oh my good sweet lord, I have just stumbled upon an episode of How It's Made that features MOZZARELLA AND PANTY HOSE.
kthxbai.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The Toy R' Us Kid and the Year of Self-Improvement
So after weeks of searching for an apartment in Richmond only to have my roommates back out on me (it's not really their fault though), I've resigned myself to living in my parents' house for a year.
I'm working in my Dad's office for a year.
I'm teaching English to a Burmese Buddhist monk.
I'm teaching illiterate adults how to read.
I'm also taking classes at VCU which start tomorrow. Why? Four words: No Child Left Behind. In order to get into a teaching program for social studies I need more credits. Lots of work for a back-up plan.
I take the GRE on Saturday morning. Wish me luck. Wish me 700s.
I've decided to grow my hair really long. My sister thinks I'm going to look like a bum and maybe she's right. 23 seems like a good year to be a bum.
I've declared this year my year of self-improvement. I'm going to run. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to get huge or at least be healthy. I just got back from the gym. I'm 1 for 1.
I've started my personal statement to grad schools. I'm applying to schools all over this fine nation - from the purple mountains to the majesty. I could end up in Austin, TX or Durham, NC or even at Columbia (keep your fingers crosses New Yorkers). I just want someone to let me into their school. I'll be a great sociologist. I promise.
I apologize for not updating people all summer. It's nice to know Lucia was concerned about my silence. I didn't have anything exciting or new to write about and I felt like this blog didn't need anymore of my post-grad complaints.
Living in my parents' house will have one plus: drinking on the golf course at night. Also, my friend just got a job at the new club in town called The National (not the band although I did see them there) so I'll have a steady supply of free tickets.
Even though I'm only an hour from Williamsburg I'm going to pretend I live much farther away. Anyone planning on coming to homecoming? I'll go if anyone is down here for it.
I'm working in my Dad's office for a year.
I'm teaching English to a Burmese Buddhist monk.
I'm teaching illiterate adults how to read.
I'm also taking classes at VCU which start tomorrow. Why? Four words: No Child Left Behind. In order to get into a teaching program for social studies I need more credits. Lots of work for a back-up plan.
I take the GRE on Saturday morning. Wish me luck. Wish me 700s.
I've decided to grow my hair really long. My sister thinks I'm going to look like a bum and maybe she's right. 23 seems like a good year to be a bum.
I've declared this year my year of self-improvement. I'm going to run. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to get huge or at least be healthy. I just got back from the gym. I'm 1 for 1.
I've started my personal statement to grad schools. I'm applying to schools all over this fine nation - from the purple mountains to the majesty. I could end up in Austin, TX or Durham, NC or even at Columbia (keep your fingers crosses New Yorkers). I just want someone to let me into their school. I'll be a great sociologist. I promise.
I apologize for not updating people all summer. It's nice to know Lucia was concerned about my silence. I didn't have anything exciting or new to write about and I felt like this blog didn't need anymore of my post-grad complaints.
Living in my parents' house will have one plus: drinking on the golf course at night. Also, my friend just got a job at the new club in town called The National (not the band although I did see them there) so I'll have a steady supply of free tickets.
Even though I'm only an hour from Williamsburg I'm going to pretend I live much farther away. Anyone planning on coming to homecoming? I'll go if anyone is down here for it.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Absolutely Yumz
So things are going well (once again, I'm going to say this is lunar) at work and at home. I'm in the middle of a three-week slim down process that coincides with training for the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure (please sponsor me - email me I will send you my fundraising page). I've scheduled my wisdom teeth surgery for September 4th and I've finally wrapped my mind around the idea of having a part of me ripped out. I signed up with New York Cares and have a quick 1-hour orientation monday before I can start volunteering. Work is going well - my boss called me brilliant and I'm accepting new responsibilities left and right. I love my team and will be discussing benefits and a contract-position in the weeks to come. Also, I work with a coder named Arthur so I find myself saying "thanks arthur..." all the time - matching cream-colored jackets to follow (along the same lines my outfits have been killer lately, I might start live-blogging my wardrobe).
Cuddles with Alex are on the decline as my runs and blackberry-scheduled evenings don't leave much room for snuggles. This is the only bummer.
What else? uh I don't know I feel really sunny and do-gooder-y but I think that's kind of a nice departure from the rest of the jaded 20-something meanderings that usually populate this thing.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Gearing Up for Weeks of Job- and Home-Hunting, the Prizewinning Poet Conducts a Self-Conversation
"I will have a Big Day today."
"Plus-sized. Morning 'til midnight."
"By noon eighty new people will know my name, and fear it."
"Important people."
"Full-time philanthropists. Men about town."
"Women about town."
"People with 'emeritus' in their job titles."
"People with gold-foiled business cards and watermarked letterhead that reads, 'From the office of...'"
"People who custom-order the catalogs that allow you to custom-order things."
"I will bump, serendipitously, into a midtown bricklayer whose cousin works on Oprah."
"Luck is on your side."
"On an elevator in Bushwick, I will offer a throat lozenge to David Remnick's receptionist."
"Chewing gum, also."
"Noticing an errant pigeon hovering above her in Central Park, I will gently shove a famous female out of the way of its descending feces."
"Who?"
"Until it's done, I can't be sure."
"Bring an extra résumé for her."
"I will have taken up pilates by sundown."
"Wearing shorts of a breathable, poly-nylon mesh."
"As I will it to be so, my core muscles will reform themselves."
"The instructor will make positive remarks using the words 'star,' 'pupil,' and 'almost superhuman agility.'"
"Utilities will be included, or else I will negotiate the price of rent to offset their exclusion."
"Bulleted craigslist factoids will affirm the appropriateness of cats and dogs."
"Purrr. Wooof."
"On-site laundry. True bedrooms. Brokers' fees laughed out loud at."
"Then: Beer?"
"Beer."
"I will have a Big Day today."
"Plus-sized. Morning 'til midnight."
"By noon eighty new people will know my name, and fear it."
"Important people."
"Full-time philanthropists. Men about town."
"Women about town."
"People with 'emeritus' in their job titles."
"People with gold-foiled business cards and watermarked letterhead that reads, 'From the office of...'"
"People who custom-order the catalogs that allow you to custom-order things."
"I will bump, serendipitously, into a midtown bricklayer whose cousin works on Oprah."
"Luck is on your side."
"On an elevator in Bushwick, I will offer a throat lozenge to David Remnick's receptionist."
"Chewing gum, also."
"Noticing an errant pigeon hovering above her in Central Park, I will gently shove a famous female out of the way of its descending feces."
"Who?"
"Until it's done, I can't be sure."
"Bring an extra résumé for her."
"I will have taken up pilates by sundown."
"Wearing shorts of a breathable, poly-nylon mesh."
"As I will it to be so, my core muscles will reform themselves."
"The instructor will make positive remarks using the words 'star,' 'pupil,' and 'almost superhuman agility.'"
"Utilities will be included, or else I will negotiate the price of rent to offset their exclusion."
"Bulleted craigslist factoids will affirm the appropriateness of cats and dogs."
"Purrr. Wooof."
"On-site laundry. True bedrooms. Brokers' fees laughed out loud at."
"Then: Beer?"
"Beer."
"I will have a Big Day today."
Monday, August 4, 2008
tale as old as time
Hey e’rybody,
Yeah so where the hell did Dave and Andy go? Hellooooo there don’t disappear on us
I have been wanting to write about this fantastic experience I had last week. Bear with me, it’s nerdy.
I have been working at the museum for a while now, and one would think that by now I would have an idea of my building’s layout, and that I would perhaps become friends with some of the staff members and learn about what they do.
Well that isn’t quite the case. My vague employment status here, coupled with the building’s central purpose of being a storage facility for the museum’s hundreds of thousands of objects and therefore having crazy security, has limited my knowledge of my workplace to an insane degree. However, by some stroke of luck, that all changed last week.
Last Tuesday, I was eating lunch alone on one of the patios outside when a lady came and sat next to me and started talking to me as she ate her lunch. Now I am no longer surprised when people stop to stare at me, as I am sure they don’t know what to make of me—this random girl who has taken up quarters in one of the curatorial offices (my boss is on a trip! For 2 months!) and reads/yells at people over the phone in Spanish (it’s for work, I swear) all day. But this lady actually wanted to know who the hell I was, so I told her. She ended up being very nice—she’s one of the conservators (i.e., object babysitter/restorer/handler) for the collection and has been with the objects since they were housed in New York. Her specialty is the Latin American collection. Just my luck. She offered to take me on a tour of the collection/conservation lab the following day.
Nice conservateur lady picked me up the next morning, took me to collections, and after punching in the secret code, I was in! We took a look at the conservation lab and the objects they were working on at the moment—beautiful pieces for the upcoming horse exhibit—and to the mountmaking studio (badass), and then, on to the 3-story Collections vault/warehouse located deep in the bowels of the building.
Do you guys remember that scene in the Disney classic “Beauty and the Beast”, when Belle goes to the castle library for the first time? Yeah, that’s how I felt when I walked into Collections.
There were 3 huge floors, connected by a central staircase, with endlessly high metal storage cabinets for the objects. They are catalogued by archaeology/ethnography, medium, and region, with random assortments of things like huge totem poles and statues resting in the corners of the bottom floor, from which we entered. She took me to the area where some of the Latin American objects are kept, and we started opening cabinets. Pure joy, man. The variety of objects in the collection was greater than anything I had ever seen. I didn't get a chance to see the gold and precious stone stuff as they have it locked away somewhere else, but I did, however, get a chance to see some incredible textiles and qhipu-the amazing knotted ropes that the Inka used in lieu of a writing system. Needless to say, it was ridiculous and I did not want the tour to end at all. I was so happy that someone finally took note of my lack of knowledge and involvement in other museum activities outside of my little Inka road bubble.
So despite my hazy state of employment, I will continue to work at the museum because I truly love it there, despite being well on my way to poverty. I am currently housesitting and spent most of my weekend walking around in my underwear and watching lifetime movies in the house’s master bedroom, because what else do you do when you have a house to yourself? Don't answer that.
Lastly, I would like to make a suggestion for this blog. There are loads of things I would like to do on the weekends in dc but often I don’t have any way of getting the word out so that interested partiescan join me and I can actually end up doing the things I want because I am in good company. Would it be crazy to list upcoming fun weekend plans and see if anyone in post-williamsburg wants in? example:
- the National Zoo will soon be getting rid of its only hippo, aptly named “Happy” (see; http://www.washingtonpost.com/
- Thao is playing at the Black Cat next Thursday. I know you want to go.
So anyways, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading my rambles. Have a nice dayyyy
Saturday, August 2, 2008
dorks
I don't know if any of you will have any clue what I'm talking about with this post, but I want to say it somewhere:
I saw American Graffiti for the first time the other night and realized there are uncanny similarities between the character Terry "The Toad" Fields and the Freaks and Geeks character Bill Haverchuck. They behave similarly and even look and sound remarkably similar. Yet, seemingly no one has expounded on this on the internet. What's the deal??
Granted, as Freaks and Geeks came almost 20 years after American Graffiti, the show's creators probably just jacked the Toad character because he fits so well/is so necessary in just about any coming-of-age tale. But this doesn't matter to me -- I am a really big Bill Haverchuck fan and I want to talk about this. It depresses me to think he wasn't a Judd Apatow brainchild, made just for Freaks and Geeks.
Thoughts, anyone?
(Toad in the middle)
(Bill)
sigh.
I saw American Graffiti for the first time the other night and realized there are uncanny similarities between the character Terry "The Toad" Fields and the Freaks and Geeks character Bill Haverchuck. They behave similarly and even look and sound remarkably similar. Yet, seemingly no one has expounded on this on the internet. What's the deal??
Granted, as Freaks and Geeks came almost 20 years after American Graffiti, the show's creators probably just jacked the Toad character because he fits so well/is so necessary in just about any coming-of-age tale. But this doesn't matter to me -- I am a really big Bill Haverchuck fan and I want to talk about this. It depresses me to think he wasn't a Judd Apatow brainchild, made just for Freaks and Geeks.
Thoughts, anyone?
(Toad in the middle)
(Bill)
sigh.
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