Intervention

Last night, after a great dinner, Boppy and I went to Michelle's awesome apt for a party. I met a whole bunch of awesome people and drank a lot of alcohol. I slept in Michelle's super comfy bed and woke up to look out the window at a glorious view of the bay. Michelle, I and her 2 roomies (Rory and Chad; as shown in pic) met up with my mom for brunch this morning and then us girls went shopping. We closed the shopping adventure with some iced mochas at Macy's in Union Square and sipped and chatted while adoring this lovely view of the square (see pic).

Later on, we met up for some delish Indian food and now I am absolutely exhausted. These hills are deadly.

"There May Not Be A Heaven. But There Is A San Fransisco"

My trip has been incredible so far. I have never been filled with so much feverish envy of those who live here, especially Michelle and her awesome roomies. Her apartment is incredible with classic architecture and a fantastic view. (See picture).

When we arrived to the SFO airport, we hopped into a classy new mercedes, which took us to The Hotel California. THC is located a stones throw away from Union Square. This historical hotel is laden with song, movie and literature quotes about SF, which adorn the lobby walls and the crests of the rooms. Our suite is decked with several detailed maps of the golden state, which I find really helpful, for my geography knowledge of the west coast is somewhat limited.

Shortly after arriving at our room, we met up with Michelle. She is my BFF from kindergarten-2nd grade, whom I haven't seen in 10 years. I have to credit Facebook for reuniting us. It's a really comfortable feeling, seeing someone you used to spend all your time with, in a different era of your life; after a long break of not seeing each other, and finding that you haven't really missed a beat.

Michelle had made dinner reservations for 6, so we hopped on an adorable little street car and arrived at the ferry building. We walked for a few blocks and got to the chic little restaurant where we were to dine. The food was delicious, but the conversation was even better. Michelle is so dynamic and has so many great things going on in her life. I am really envious of her situation, but not in a jealous way; I am just completely in awe of how great things are for her. Then I look at my life and compare, and yes, I am happy, I feel like I am doing great things as well, however, I haven't taken nearly as many risks as her, and in some cases, I believe that has made all the difference. I mean, she went to Baltimore for undergrad, then moved to SF and who knows where she will live after this. I feel like I have been taking baby steps to get out of my comfort zone, but I am still suffering from not being able to cut the hypothetical umbilical cord. So far this trip has really made me realize how badly I need to go somewhere new for my doctorate. Not necessarily SF, but somewhere where I can make a whole new group of friends and really create a new environment for myself. I have been noticing lately, that as much as I love the awesome group of people that I hang out with in BK, we have vastly different interests concerning our life's purpose. As exhilarating as I find hanging out with artists, musicians and fashionistas; I feel my soul would benefit more from hanging out with scholastic, activist-minded people.

I am considering checking out additional doctoral programs in San Diego or at UCLA. It helps that there are so many maps in this apartment, which I can look to for inspiration and visually explore my options for living in Cali.

Here We Go

Here we go, one more time, everybody's feelin' fine.
Here we go now!
(Yesyesyes herewegoooo!)

-I'm boarding my third flight in a week. Hooray!

San Fran's Ready for Me

I am SO excited to go to SF and reunite with my BFF from 2nd grade, Michelle. She told me that her roomies were planning a party for the night I come in, which is perfect for me and Boppy. One of Michelle's roomates is an artist, and made this kick-ass flyer for the 'event'. I'm just pissed I will be on antibiotics tomorrow, and thus really shouldn't drink. But i know i will still have loads of fun! YAY!

Swine Flu Lullaby

Yesterday, on my way home from maine I started getting the chills and hacking up a lung, while my head throbbed in excruciating rhythms. I sat and waited for the plane while sipping my tea, well knowing that I was liable to infect anyone I came in close contact with. I sat next to a nice, older couple from Florida. I probably infected them.

After finally arriving home, I thought about my predicament, imagining it was swine flu I was infected with. The whole scenario reminded me of 'Lullaby' by Chuck Palahniuk. Lullaby is one of my favorite books, which is founded on the contemporary use of an African culling song that was sung to dying people. It's like a disease that can be caught through the ears.

Anyway, today I went to the doctor and found out that my illness is viral. I got put on antibiotics and I will be able to drink wine at the napa valley wine tour I am taking on tuesday. Hooray!

The Great Outdoors

Tuesday morning I got my tooth fixed (see pic for me on novacaine lol) and afterwards hung out at the g-rents. Granny and I walked to the lake, went on the swings, walked through the woods and did a bit of bird watching. I am really fortunate that my grandparents are so active and able to do outdoorsy activities with me.

After Uncle Moe got back from work we all ate dinner together. G & G got lobsters for us to celebrate my accomplishments. I realized that I haven't had lobster since 2003. I kind of realized that I don't really like the act of breaking apart the lobster. It is kind of gross and animalistic. Not to mention that lobsters are like huge underwater cockroaches. There is actually a breed of cockroach called 'the lobster cockroach'. Go figure.

So Relieved There Are Still Some Good People in This World

WOW. The scariest thing just happened to me. I left my bag with my wallet, i-pod, flight info, and numerous other treasures in the waiting area for the air train. I don't normally do stupid things like this. I rode the air train around in a circle in hopes that someone had brought my bag to the authorities or held onto it to hand back to me. Luckily, by the time I made it around the airport and back to where I had left my bag, this nice, young couple was standing there calling my name and holding my bag. Thank GOD there are still good people in this world.

After my brief encounter with a heavy load of stress, and a session of chipping away at my nail polish, imagining the horrible things my mother would do to me if my belongings were indeed lost; I thought to myself. There is so much that one can find out about someone by looking through their purse. Then I thought about this blog. It's like an open purse or literary news channel of the happenings in my life. Part of me thinks this invasion of privacy is detrimental to personal freedom, however, I continue to post my innermost thoughts for the world to see, if they are so inclined.

This event makes me think about this website http://inyourbag.instyle.com/
This is where people willingly report what is in their bags. This seems like a sincere violation of privacy where individuals don't know who they are until the contents of their purse is compared with the contents of other purses. Thus this representation of oneself through the contents of their purse (rather than the contents of their brain) is a new commodity of self expression, where one is able to use Cooley's process of the looking glass self to help people define themselves by the commodities provided by their society.

Table #5

We were hands down, the most fun table at the wedding.

Come Together

Tonight I went to Dani and Russ' wedding. It was lovely and I had SO much fun. Back track a bit. This morning I woke up and lounged around for a bit and then come noon I had appointed a lunch date with the fabulous Dr.Rogers (aka my scholastic role model). We discussed this summer, my future as a scholar, assignments I should give to future students and ways of commanding authority in the classroom. Nathalia truly is an amazing woman who I aspire to use as a figure of excellence in my pedagogical life. She kept telling me how proud she is of me and that really boosted my ego to a lofty and sky high position, thus starting my day on an incredible note.

Come 2 O'clock, Lauren came over and we started to pre-game/get ready for the wedding. We bonded and laughed and had a jolly ol' time. Later on, Carrie, Erika and PJ showed up and we continued to prepare for the upcoming nuptials.

I can't believe what good looking friends I have. Sometimes I feel like I don't fit in and dont belong, at least in a traditional way, or something. It's really weird. Maybe I just don't see people the way other people see them. I don't know.

The wedding was short and sweet and beautiful. At the reception, I danced until my shoes and girdle came off and tore up the dance floor. I couldn't imagine having a funner time. I don't know if it was the constant stream of champagne running through my veins or the pure awesomeness radiating off of the people I was there with, but table 5 a.k.a. the corner table, was the most kick-ass table at the party. We ordered a round of shots from our waitress and kept the party going on the dance floor more than any other table. Lets just say, if the tables at the wedding had to team up and capture a flag, break a red rover chain, or have a color-war, table 5 would have kicked all the other team's asses.

I love my life.

24 Hour Date

After running errands for approximately 8 hours yesterday I met up with Blair to watch Gattaca. He cooked me a delicious dinner and we spent a lovely evening eating waffles on his balcony and watching movies. I proposed that we go to Coney Island today, and he said he was thinking we should do the same thing. Needless to say, when we woke up this morning, we hopped on the F train and got to the beach. It was sunny with the perfect whisper of a breeze. We lounged on the sand and read books, while children lost their parents, people flew kites, tripped over garbage cans, played catch and teasingly danced against the frigid waves. After getting a nice sun burn on the backs of our legs, we walked around and got some pizza, went on the wonder wheel, and got pistachio ice cream. We went for a walk and then found ourselves sprawled out on the sand again, reading. I wont bore you with my increasingly awesome times with him. However, I must say that he keeps me laughing, thinking and smiling. After the backs of our legs were bright enough to provide light to a distant planet we hopped on the train home. Blair kept making fun of all the freaks around us and I kept being oblivious, but catching on after the fact and giggling. We got back to his apt just in time for the clouds to roll in. Then he made me dinner AGAIN and I had to leave. Part of me just wants to hop on a plane with Blair and go somewhere exotic or not, where we can explore and hang out continuously for days...weeks...months... But as all of my girly how-to-get-a-guy handbooks say, it isnt that simple and I have to keep busy and use a formidable amount of forbearance to get what I want. Not that I actually have the time or resources to go on a crazy vaca with him at this stage in my life. Anyway, I am babbling. I am a happy Nico.

SO MAD!

My cat is continuing to pee on my bed. I am putting an ad on craigs list right now. I can't take this. It isn't fair. I have done all that I can. I can't deal with this.

A Gorgeous Day at the Park

Yesterday was Thirsty Thursday at the park. Carrie brought balloons, a watermelon and pasta salad, I brought some guacamole and chips and a whole bunch of people showed up and hung out. At one point I think there were about 25 people. It was a gorgeous day outside and my back got sunburned. There are a butt load of pics, however none of them are on my camera, thus they are soon to come. I am so happy that the feeling of summer is here!

I <3 KB

I love having Kristen as a roomie. I really enjoy just hanging out at the apartment, watching TV, taking napples, making collages, and talking about life and silly things with her. I am kind of getting sad that she will be leaving July 1st. I think Jason and I should go visit her this summer. I have never been to Detroit. So I am kinda excited!

I was going to go to this club in Gramercy for free booze and a late night of mayhem, but I decided staying here and watching Comedy central : Salutes George W. Bush with Kristen. I think I made a wise choice. I mean it IS graduation night and free booze...but I'm kinda not up for that.

Bags for the People

After a lovely champagne induced lunch, I came home and napped before going to a meeting at Paper Tiger. I suggested/introduced the video that I want to start on DTC advertising. People received it well, and hopefully I can get started on that soon.

After the meeting I worked on a video for 'bags for the people', which can be found at bagsforthepeople.org. I will post the video on here when I am done editing it. I am excited about it. It is coming together well and i put a cute Jack Johnson song on in the background to make it more pro.

I actually really want to go to one of these events and make bags. I think it is such a great idea and a fun way to volunteer and make a little difference in the world.

Commencement

This morning was my graduation. Campus was decorated with hoards of friends and family and of course a barrage of light blue robes. It was around 80 degrees and very sunny. There I was, sitting among a mass of grad students, soon to be contributing members of society, recounting the past year and what I have gained, let go of, and learned.

I realized I got exactly what I wanted. I learned how to be more assertive, independent, harder working, more competent and how to take initiative in adverse situations. I learned that no one initially feels like they fit in at grad school. You have to work hard to feel like you belong. When you finally do feel like you belong, you realize that everyone in your field is completely different and together you make up the department, almost like a puzzle. I like to think I am an edge piece of the puzzle. Considering my studies and the subject area that I wish to pursue, I am off center, but I help to make the innards come together as a full picture of sociology.

While exiting the ceremony, I heard the beautiful vocal stylings of some of my colleagues, singing the Columbia anthem (Stand Up Columbia). I walked down and out of the college walk alone, while this music resonated in my mind. A couple of tears begged to be let out, and I allowed them. I felt happy and fulfilled and a tinge of sadness as I am closing a very industrious and successful, pedagogical chapter of my life.

Then I went to get lunch with the family at Cafe do Monde. It was delicious and I really enjoyed spending time with my family (as always). Being that I am a little girl at heart and still seek approval from my parents, the conversations I had with my father today really made me feel proud and reaffirmed the connectedness I feel with him. I am really happy that we have such a great relationship now.

My life right now is excellent. I have been getting everything that I wanted. I have no reason to be sad, aside from the fact that I have been packing on a few pounds and smoking too many ciggs. I will focus on these things this summer, and work toward changing them,

Convocation

This morning I woke up mad early to go to my convocation for M.A. candidates. It was a long and boring ceremony, but there were some high points during good speeches that almost brought a tear to my eye.

They served champagne afterward at the reception, with strawberries and creme dip. It was fabulous. We stood outside in the beautiful weather on the lovely campus drinking and smuggling bottles of champagne. It was glorious. Tomorrow, another one of these assemblies will ensue for the commencement ceremony.

After our strawberries and champagne, my mom, Carrie, and Katherine and I all went to amsterdam to get some grub. We had a lovely lunch and then came home and napped. Woke up around 8:30 and headed out to SEA for dinner. Yummy.

On a different note, I just found out last night that Kristen is moving out during the first week of July. It makes me kind of sad, because I really love living with her and spending time with her. She truly is an amazing person. It is really awesome that I am so lucky to have gotten to live with someone who I get along with on so many levels. Someone I can go to art galleries with, do topless collages and take ambien with. I hope my next roomie is as cool, however that is a really tall order.

Briarcliffe

Today I went to Briarcliffe to talk to my new boss. I am so excited that this is actually becoming a reality. I am going to be a professor in a matter of a month. I called Dr.Rogers and she congratulated me. I wonder if I will have the opportunity to teach any of my friends. Hmmm.

Yard Sailing and Polish Mayhem

Carrie and I went yard sailing this Sunday. It was fun. We got some rad lighting equipment-she got a chandelier and I got a lamp. We also each got baskets for our Thirsty Thursday picnic.

After a thrifty day, I went to Kathy's grad party. It was really fun. There was an ice luge and plenty of beautiful Polish people. I saw some old faces and met some new ones. There was a lot of good food and all in all, it was a wonderful night. (it's kind of dumb that i don't have a pic of me with Kathy)

OH Suffolk

Last night, Carrie and I went to a party in Medford. Suffolk county is a strange place. You never really know what to expect, unless if its to be surprised. We went to a house/birthday party last night with the most random group of kids. It was like a celebration of diversity on LI. There were representatives of every high school stereotype there. All these creepy guys kept coming up to Carrie. It was pretty funny. Oh Suffolk county. You never cease to amaze me.

America's Favorite Disease

A few of my old friends made this vid. Loves it.

Confident, Happy Airs

For the past two days I have been emitting rays of confident happiness. Thus, since my outlook has been cheery, my reflections off of those to whom I have come in contact with have been positive and rewarding. I handed in my 25 pg final paper for Expertise on Thurs, (which I got an A on) finished proctoring (good riddance to waking up at 7am), I got to see star trek, had a great night with someone who means a lot to me, started being productive and industrious at my volunteer job, had a wonderful day with a new friend, got to bond with a good friend from Montana, hung out with my hilarious roomies, and drank a few slushies with another new friend whose gf is one of my fave ppl from my dept at columbia.

All in all, it has been an positively couple of days for me. I hope this is some rad sort of prophecy for what my summer is going to be like. I can get used to this.

Andrew Bird

This song is about me.

The Little Mermaid

Yesterday after work Boppy came and met up in Brooklyn and we went out for Thai food and then we saw The Little Mermaid. The show made me cry a lot, and then when I looked over at mom, she was crying too because I was crying, or vice versa.

This movie played an important and influential role in my childhood, and boppy's momhood. When I was a wee little girl I always thought I would grow up to become a mermaid, simply because I wanted to so bad. Every beach we went to, I would find an 'Ariel rock' to perch on and sing "Part of your world!', like Ariel did when she sang it while the waves crashed all around her. My mom played Ursula 5 times in community theatre while I was growing up. So on top of watching the movie all the time, I would always go to my mom's rehearsals, and once I even got to play Jetsam and one of the sister mermaids.

The play was really good and left me reminiscing.

Ishmael

I just finished this book and though I have found its intricate arguments which take one outside of oneself and give a new view from which to perceive the world appealing, there are many points represented with which I do not agree.

One major revelation that I had with this book revolves around the idea of religion and its association with agriculture and technology. For us humans to become 'takers' we create agriculture, enabling individuals to stockpile more food/goods than they need. This action of assuring ourselves and family food and taking more land than necessary, was a way of stating that we didn't trust the 'god(s)' to provide for us. Thus, we took the role of producer into our own hands. This symbolic movement of humanity from a 'leaver' culture to a 'taker' culture can be assimilated to eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge. In this single movement we refuted trust in 'god' and assumed the ability/position to decide for ourselves what is good and evil. Through this, taking godly decisions into our own hands, we take an act or position which denies the power of god, making god obsolete.

It is certainly strange that the most crippling wars have been fought in defense of religion..religion which does not focus on relinquishing power to the god(s), but focuses on ourselves and our power. "We must stop thinking we know who should live and who should die on this planet". (p.248

Another qualm I have with the story told through ishmael, is the way that mother culture/nature contradicts herself. We want to fight hunger, so we send out food. We need to stop overpopulation, but do we send out contraceptives? no! The world has been corrupted by people taking more than they need. This began with agriculture taking up more land than necessary and generating profits for the growers. We cannot begin to call any of this earth ours. Many problems have sprung from this. Obesity, overproduction, obscenely rich people, obscenely poor people, alcoholics..along with whole world of individuals living in consumption cultures where over-consumption is the norm.

Another topic that was broached in Ishmael that I wish to discuss is life support. I do not believe in life support. I think that a lot of money is wasted on keeping vegetables alive. I understand that if this someone is close to you, your opinions on keeping them alive than if you are not connected. However, I believe that we should not play God in certain situations. We should not be able to decide who lives and who dies, this simple factor, along with others is preventing the continuation of evolution. Human's existed on this earth for 3 million years before agriculture began. In living a hunter-gatherer type of lifestyle, human's got the food they needed by hunting/gathering on an average of 2-3 hours per day, living quite leisurely lives. This type of life allowed for survival of the fittest to ensue and helped humans evolve into homo-sapiens sapiens. If we hadn't taken the reigns when we did, the next strand of humanoids could have super powers by now. We could all be flying or have the capacity to move things with our thoughts. We only use 8.5% of our brains. The homo sapien sapien strand of humanoid is flawed. We will never knew what was meant to follow our brand of human. We are destroying the world bit by bit.

On another note. I drift off to alien life forms. Imagine if their smartest creature realized the flaw of pretending to be a god and evolved further than us? I believe this is highly likely.

UGH there are so many topics to chew on from this book. It truly was a pleasure to read and left me with a altered/pro-animalistic view of reality.

Keyboard Cat

This is my latest obsession. WWW.KEYBOARDCAT.COM

Mother's Day

was fabulous. I woke up and came home from Dani's and lounged around until it was time to get dinner at Four. I went with Boppy, Derek and Patti. The food was beautiful and delicious, however the company was even better. I am really excited that my brother has such a great girl in his life. It's like i got a brand new sister and she's cool as all hell. Wait, that phrase may not have fir there...cause hell is hot, not cool...what I am trying to say is that Patti is awesome, and i couln't pick anyone better for my bro, or to be a new addition to my family.

After dinner, me and boppy finished watching Sibyl. What a crazy story. I can't believe that actually happened to that poor little girl. It really makes me thankful that my mom didn't lock me in a trunk, trip me down the stairs, or give me cold water enemas every morning. LOL how mother's day appropriate.

Bachelorettes on a Full Moon

Saturday was Dan's bachelorette party. Carrie slept over the night before so that we would be on time the next morning, however we ran into a ridiculous amount of obstacles on our way to Dani's. Once we got there we found out that 2 more girls had yet to appear, go figure, a full moon makes everything more extreme, good or bad.

After Dani nearly had a panic attack the other two youngins showed up, making the head-count 7 and our limo was ready to roll. We popped a cork and told stories on the way there, blasting music and getting silly. We finally arrived at Pindar for our first tasting. We took a bunch of girly pictures and regretted not getting Dani a tiara.

Next we were off to Duckwalk for some more sips of north fork vino. We ate our lunch on the patio and made fun of other people taking the tour. We made a scavenger hunt of types of guys to find and take pictures with, however, this was more of a lofty idea than a realistic happening, as most of the people at the wineries were a) bachelorette parties, b) couples, c) old, or d) ugly. We strutted on, getting sillier and louder as we went.

Next we stopped at another vineyard (its name escapes me) where they had live music and hoards of guys, especially ones in pink shirts. We started talking to some loser with a hemp necklace and Carrie started making fun of me, saying I have friends with blow outs. I responded, and I quote "I have 600 friends on facebook, only ONE has a blow out!!". Yeah, only a drunken Nicole would say that.

Next we were off to another winery with more live music and horses. We stumbled around there for a few and then we got back in the limo and headed back to Dani's. The singing in the car was phenomenal. I really miss blasting girly music with a bunch of girls and singing at the top of my lungs. NYC transportation doesn't allow me this luxury.

An exciting bit of news. One of Dani's bridesmaids, Karyn, pretty much gave me a job teaching at Briarcliffe. I am so excited. This will give me excellent experience to throw on my resume, I am kind of nervous, but I know it will be a good step in the right direction. The only thing bugging me is that it is on Long Island and I sort of have an obligation to my apt in BK. She was saying stuff about teaching a class online. So I guess I could probably teach 2 classes over the summer or something. One online and the other in person, this would afford me only two days of commuting to LI.

We got back to dani's and there were two huge platters of sushi with all the trimmings waiting for us. We gobbled them down and started watching 'Bride Wars', quite possibly the perfect movie for the occasion. Lauren made the most delicious pie with cookie crumbles and a lot of alcohol (it was sOO good). After watching an hour of the movie, the Passion Party lady showed up. She reminded me of a mix of Boppy and June, so I automatically felt comfortable. We played some games, one of which required sort of musical chairs with no chairs but a dildo that you had to pass around in a circle with your knees. It was silly. I won!

After the passion party, I noticed a weird feeling in my mouth. Turns out I chipped my tooth on something. I called my uncle and now I have to go back up to Maine asap so that I don't get a cavity.

OH full moons what would I do without you?!

Amazon Woman

On the way to my meeting, a group of riffraffs were hollering at me, calling me an Amazon woman. I think I used to get offended by people calling me this. But now, I really don't care. I'm tall and I'm thick. Get used to it. I can lift heavy boxes, reach things on the top shelf, and change a tire all by myself. Plus all the google image search for "amazon Woman" gave me was sexy, muscular, wilderness-overcoming bitches...and actual Amazonians who were naked...which is also something I like to do too.

So there! Call me an Amazon all you like. There are many people around the world who take growth hormones and spend a lot of money to get taller. Why should I be offended?

Purpose

This morning I awoke at 7am to find out that I didn't have work. That started the day on a good note.

I was really productive on the last paper I am writing. One more day and I should be done.

I went to that meeting for Media Justice Fund/May First to represent paper tiger. I was introduced as 'the newest tiger'. It was really cool to brainstorm and be sort of non hierarchical with people working toward a common cause. My new 'boss' is really sweet and really allows for creativity. This is a sort of outlet where I can be creative, in a way and learn a lot from a variety of different people who are educated and worldly. I am really excited about volunteering/interning/networking/making a difference in the world.

I have just recently gotten this burst of confidence, where I realize that this is a big city and you gotta make yourself stand out in one way or another in order to get ahead in any way.

I think I am gonna make a video about the overmedication of America. Muahaha

Kitten Emergency

Last night Nicole found 2 kittens in a box, covered in shit on a main road. She saw some dude walk up to the box, which the kittens were crawling out of, and put them back in the box and walked away. Nicole took the kittens home and rinsed them off. I swung by after my meeting to play with these adorable little fluff balls. Nicole has a dog, so they couldn't keep the kittens at the apartment, so we thought of people to come and take them off their hands. Luckily, both of these adorable kittens were taken to new homes by the end of the night. I could never just randomly adopt a kitten. It took months of researching to realize I wanted a cat. But I am really happy there are enough spontaneous, kitten-loving people out there to take care of these 2 kittens whose lives were in jeopardy.

On another note. Pikachu keeps peeing on my bed. It's really been getting on my nerves. What am I going to do in the future when I have a boyfriend who I want to sleep over? I will feel bad for avoiding my cat to sleep at his house but I am sure, no one will want to tolerate the pee stench of an adorable kitty that isn't their own. I really don't want to get rid of her because I love her so much, and she really is such a sweet cat. I just wish I knew what was wrong with her.

P.S. right on cue, once I finished writing this post. Pikachu peed on my bed. UGHHHH

The World of Social Media

So, since my obsession with Paper Tiger and other social justice media companies, I have entered into this whole world of figuring out what different non profit organizations do, and what they stand for. It is a world I never knew existed, but am so glad to have entered. Now that I am researching for internships or part time jobs, I have thrust myself into this world of non profit organizations. I must say, it feels good.

Last night, I went to talk to the woman, sort of in charge of paper tiger. She told me about the internship position that may be available. It is still tentative, because there is someone who may be staying the summer who originally said they were going to leave the country, so I don't know if I have that yet. However, regardless, I have chosen to be a collective member. This is sort of like a volunteer, but it is with a group of people who are interested in the same sort of social justice that I am, who I can really learn a lot from. I am thrilled to sort of be out in the business world. Even though I have barely begun this non profit adventure, I feel like I have already learned a lot about myself and how I come off in the business setting.

What I really love about Paper Tiger is that they have meetings once a week, and they are totally non hierarchical. It sort of feels like doing a group project for a class, where everyone is interested and wants to contribute information. My new pseudo-boss told us about a meeting tonight about the trajectory of social justice video's on the internet. It seems like a really important topic to me, especially since I just finished a paper about the trajectory of the public sphere with use of the internet for one of my classes.

I also agreed to volunteer for this healthcare thing. Since I am also working on and interested in direct to consumer pharmaceutical advertisements, AND I saw this particular group of activists called 'Healthcare Now' at the protest I surveyed, I feel like it would be interesting to help out with the videotaping of those kinds of things.

Ok. Enough about me.

OCD

So yesterday on the train, I happened to sit next to/near people with really obvious obsessive compulsive disorders. Guy number one was shaking his head uncontrollably, number two kept playing with coins, counting them in her hand over and over, and then playing with her toes. (Kind of gross, I was actually sitting next to this one). Number three was this woman who looked like a witch, sitting across from me on the one train. She pretended to be reading something but kept mouthing what looked like 'move all the way down'. It was kind of creepy, actually.

The Daily Grind

I worked a double shift today. Proctoring is the easiest job ever! I sat in two rooms and read, partly scholastic reading and part of the 4th Twilight book. I went grocery shopping on the way home and made myself a delicious and nutritious dinner. Now I am beat. I know it's cinqo de mayo, but who really cares? Everyone is going out and getting shitty, but its rainy, I'm tired and it feels like any old rainy day.

I'm On A Boat

Today was the last day of class at Columbia. It's weird, entering into this stage of uncertainty. I know I will be OK, its just that I feel like my life has been planned out, far in advance, pretty much till now.

After discussing Harry Potter in my novel class, (which i am now totally obsessed with by the way), I met up with Carrie at the movie theatre to see 17 again. It was OK. I was kind of expecting it to be better. I have never really been into Zac Efron, I think he is too pretty. But I like the way he moves. Anyway, after we went to Griffdogs, for some epic hotdogs with interesting trimmings. I had a hot dog with cream cheese, chives and everything bagel seeds. Pretty good. Carrie couldn't believe I have never been there. Our friend Barbie works there so we get em on the house.

So I thought of this analogy for my life right now. It's like I am fishing. Like hangin out of a boat, eating gummy worms...trying to catch a job, internship, man, doctoral program...etc.

BTW Jason says "what's up?"

Carrie's Back!

Which means, back with the mayhem. I spent 4 1/2 hours on work today. Then I went to sell back some of my wares at Buffalo. I was sure they would accept everything, however they only took my 2 pairs of shoes. I made minimal money/store credit. I got 2 new pairs of shoes, a tank top, some sick shorts that are a size 9! However, the other skirts I tried on were size 11 and 13 and were too tight. But the size 9s are slammin.

I met up with Rose for mexican. It was glorious. I love that girl. She is on top of her game, doing amazing things for herself. So dedicated. We drank a few margaritas and wound up in the park. Her and I read aloud the last 2 chapters of the first Harry Potter book. It was hilarious. I really enjoy doing the accents. It makes me feel silly and free like a child.

After that, I came home and got ready for Carrie to pick me up. I danced around my apartment a lot. She came, we went to BCC, i drank a few slushies. Then we went to Sweet ups...hit up legion for a sec, and then back to sweet ups with Damon and crew. It;s been a while since a night like this happened, where I could go out and b awake all hours of the night. I figured it would be in my best interest to take the day off tomorrow, cause I can. It's 6:28 and I still haven't slept. After leaving sweet ups, Carrie and Jeff came back to my place and Jeff did a shotgun. see video. Um i think its safe to say that I haven't had a night like this in ages, and im psyched for summer. lol Jeff was gonna sleep in my bed with me, and then caught pika in the act of marking her territory, now he's in Jason's bed with Carrie.

Harry Potter

Ok so within the past 48 hours, I have become obsessed with Harry Potter. The books are actually really good. Better than the movies. However, it is nice to have the characters from the movie in the back of your mind while picturing things that go on from the book. Anyway, I found out that in 2010 there will be a new Harry Potter theme park in Florida. I can't wait to go. It seems like such a perfect idea, and a way to make mad money.

Plastic Surgery Dream

I had a dream last night that I made my boobs a little bit bigger, lipo'd out some of my stomach, and something else I can't remember. I was walking around all fragile and kept having to go lay down at the nurse's office. Weird.