band I've been listening to:
feeling:
a tad tired after a day in the sun full of friends and lots of food
reading:
Just Don't Call Me Ma'am: How I ditched the South, forgot my manners and survived my 20s with (most of) my dignity still intact by Anna Mitchael
wishing:
my toe nails were magically painted beautifully every day
grateful for:
this weekend. A girls night to the movie Sex and the City 2, complete with dresses, photos of downtown at night, and a visit to my favorite local theater that few others seem to remember. A full day at the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, finished off with some authentic Mexican food in the District del Sol of St. Paul. And a Memorial Day spent at an out-of-the-city beach - full of frolicking families, funny friends, cool dips in the clear lake (full of fish) and lots of bbq'd food.
How was your weekend?
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
bear with me.
So I happened to break my phone during finals week, had it taped together so it was still working for a little bit, broke it again the first night I was home, and have finally had it fixed. I apologize to anyone who actually did get a response from me these last few weeks - usually they were short and half of the time I was scrambling around my purse trying to find that silly tracking ball that is supposed to stay in the middle of my blackberry but had instead jumped ship.
I've also been flitting from the city to my small town life to graduations to moving my brother to hanging out with family to seeing new babies to doing little tasks that I've been asked to help with for the upcoming wedding. (My brothers, not mine.)
AND then there are job applications and answering the one question that everyone asks once they find out I've graduated from college: "What's next?" (I do not blame them, I just wish I had a concrete answer to give.)
Thankfully, I do have a summer job. As for the next big thing, well, I'm working on it. Bear with me and my non-answering self. Please!
EDIT: I should also mention my computer is essentially out of commission. I've stolen my sisters (THANKS K!) for the next week so I can finish up some important things. :)
I've also been flitting from the city to my small town life to graduations to moving my brother to hanging out with family to seeing new babies to doing little tasks that I've been asked to help with for the upcoming wedding. (My brothers, not mine.)
AND then there are job applications and answering the one question that everyone asks once they find out I've graduated from college: "What's next?" (I do not blame them, I just wish I had a concrete answer to give.)
Thankfully, I do have a summer job. As for the next big thing, well, I'm working on it. Bear with me and my non-answering self. Please!
EDIT: I should also mention my computer is essentially out of commission. I've stolen my sisters (THANKS K!) for the next week so I can finish up some important things. :)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Heading home!
I am heading home this afternoon! My plans keep changing, but as of now I will be home from tonight (Thursday) until Monday afternoon.
The tour that I was planning sadly got canceled, so instead of chilling here for the weekend, I'm heading home to celebrate a couple graduations, see some family and friends, and help my mother find the perfect jewelry for my brother's June wedding.
If you are around and would like to meet up, let me know!
The tour that I was planning sadly got canceled, so instead of chilling here for the weekend, I'm heading home to celebrate a couple graduations, see some family and friends, and help my mother find the perfect jewelry for my brother's June wedding.
If you are around and would like to meet up, let me know!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
playing hooky.
Yesterday I went to work, got off a little early, had lunch with a friend at
Then went to Garrison Keillor's bookstore in St. Paul!
source
A friend of mine and I sat in a little alcove to the right of those red-cushioned chairs reading armfuls of books that we had plucked from the wooden bookshelves. This bookstore is like the library I wish I had. I came away with:
Naturally, a Garrison Keillor book. The introduction talks all about St. Paul and the first chapter's title is "We met at the U." I was hooked. I've only read a few pages, but it mentions Northrop immediately, which just so happens to be where I graduated on Sunday. I think it's the perfect time for me to give this book a read.
Then I went to a little league baseball game!
Three guys I know started coaching the 11-12 year olds in a suburb of Minneapolis. Eight of the fourteen players had never played baseball before. It was sunny, the seeds were passed out, the Peace Tea was getting warmer and warmer and the kids were absolutely hilarious. Their team mascot is the huskies, which was my school's mascot my senior year of high school. And, they won! It was only their second game of the season so they are now 1-1.
Then we ventured to a birthday party! It was a little bit more grown-up than this - they both were turning mid-20s - but you get the idea.
I felt like I was playing hooky the whole day. It was so gorgeous out. I ate outside, I watched baseball, I read in the sunlight, I got to hang out with good people, and my tongue is still sore from all of the seeds I fed it last night. Such a good day. Have you played hooky lately?
Then went to Garrison Keillor's bookstore in St. Paul!
sourceA friend of mine and I sat in a little alcove to the right of those red-cushioned chairs reading armfuls of books that we had plucked from the wooden bookshelves. This bookstore is like the library I wish I had. I came away with:
Naturally, a Garrison Keillor book. The introduction talks all about St. Paul and the first chapter's title is "We met at the U." I was hooked. I've only read a few pages, but it mentions Northrop immediately, which just so happens to be where I graduated on Sunday. I think it's the perfect time for me to give this book a read.Then I went to a little league baseball game!
Three guys I know started coaching the 11-12 year olds in a suburb of Minneapolis. Eight of the fourteen players had never played baseball before. It was sunny, the seeds were passed out, the Peace Tea was getting warmer and warmer and the kids were absolutely hilarious. Their team mascot is the huskies, which was my school's mascot my senior year of high school. And, they won! It was only their second game of the season so they are now 1-1.
Then we ventured to a birthday party! It was a little bit more grown-up than this - they both were turning mid-20s - but you get the idea.I felt like I was playing hooky the whole day. It was so gorgeous out. I ate outside, I watched baseball, I read in the sunlight, I got to hang out with good people, and my tongue is still sore from all of the seeds I fed it last night. Such a good day. Have you played hooky lately?
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
tightrope.
These are just a few songs to get you moving Friday morning. But I'm warning you, every single time I hear the song "Tightrope" I get it stuck in my head.
Some of you know this, but for those of you who don't know I am in the process of planning another pay it forward tour! It is a 5-day high school tour ending up in Chicago. This tour has two facilitators - a girl named Joy and myself - and will have 4 other college leaders to help come tour time. Facilitators essentially plan the whole trip beforehand, and the college leaders get on the bus and lead activities from there. (I was a college leader for a high school tour last October.) We leave 3 days after my graduation, or 5 days from Friday. SO SOON!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
have you seen my magazine?
This semester I was part of a class entitled "Magazine Production." As a class we literally came up with all-original ideas for a magazine, including its name, articles, pictures, layouts, etc. down to who would print it and where it would be distributed.The class tries to be as real-world as possible, so we had to apply to get a position on the staff. Everyone who was enrolled in the class got a position, but the application process was to see exactly which position each student would get. (We even had to have samples of our writing and references.) There were only a certain number of people who could work in each position; for example, there really can only be one editor-in-chief. We also had two divisions of the magazine: print and online.
I was one of the senior editors of the print magazine! I assigned, assisted and edited an entire section - called "revive" - as well as a feature story - the "Sister, Sister" story on the cover! I also wrote two pieces for the magazine. As a class we came up with the headlines, etc. along with assisting with all sorts of other small tasks (especially finding sources for stories.)
And now it is real! You can see it online here: http://refuge.umn.edu/
You can download a copy of the entire magazine in a pdf from the website, if you want to see it all and are far away from Minneapolis. I also have a few spare copies, so if you want one give me a shout and I'll send one your way!
Oh! And here are the direct links to the stories I wrote: http://refuge.umn.edu/2010/04/relate/staying-plugged-in/ and http://refuge.umn.edu/2010/04/replay/virtual-romance-taken-offline/
This was such a fun experience and really helped me realize that, good gracious I love editing! I love the process of helping people figure out the angle their story should/could take, along with helping with research, finding sources to talk to, and getting into the way it's written. It was a very fun project and is so rewarding to see it finally in print!
Monday, May 10, 2010
things i did wrong before my last final (ever.)
1.) I woke up early Sunday so I could go to a coffee shop and study my little bum off. Well, my sister had stolen my car late the night before and my favorite study spots are not within walking distance. So I put comfy pants back on.
2.) I finally got my car back, but it was while I was making lunch. So, I proceeded with the lunch. And then the Sex and the City movie may have found it's way into my DVD player. Sometimes those things just happen and who am I to say no to that? Roll with the punches, people.
3.) Finally, at a not-so-pivotal scene in the movie (Carrie was hiring an assistant) I thought, "what am I doing lying here watching this movie instead of studying for my last final ever? Silly me. I'll go to the bookstore." Books AND coffee and lots of people being quiet. I can't think of a better place to study.
4.) I, naturally, get my coffee and then proceed to stack book upon book into my arms until no more can fit and then squeeze them all onto a small table meant, quite simply, for coffee and perhaps a danish, not a bunch of books. And then I proceed to peruse well, all of them. For hours.
5.) I get an idea! (WHOO!) of something I want to do for someone that includes a couple fun books. So I finish reading the mass amounts I had and go in search for another pile. Luckily, this time there was a comfy chair open for my enjoyment.
6.) I GO THROUGH MY NOTES! Coffee's gone.
7.) The whole depositing a bunch of books back on the rack and getting another big pile may have happened one more time. No judgment.
8.) I go home and make dinner.
9.) Titanic is on television. There's no hope. For my roommates or I. We all watch it, scene for scene, even when our television starts getting fuzzy.
10.) Titanic is over. I am going to go over my notes one more time and go to bed.
11.) But first I want to peruse one of those books I happened to buy.
12.) 4:36am rolls around. I'm still perusing. Although I don't think it can be called "perusing" any longer. I'm on chapter 18 and loving this book. There's no hope. I force myself to go to sleep.
13.) I wake up earlier than my alarm (I get almost 4 hours of sleep) and start reading again. I dreamt of this book. I'm loving this book.
14.) 10am-ish I finish the book. I need to shower!
15.) Noon-4pm work
16.) 4pm: My last undergraduate final. Ever.
I BLAME TITANIC.
2.) I finally got my car back, but it was while I was making lunch. So, I proceeded with the lunch. And then the Sex and the City movie may have found it's way into my DVD player. Sometimes those things just happen and who am I to say no to that? Roll with the punches, people.
3.) Finally, at a not-so-pivotal scene in the movie (Carrie was hiring an assistant) I thought, "what am I doing lying here watching this movie instead of studying for my last final ever? Silly me. I'll go to the bookstore." Books AND coffee and lots of people being quiet. I can't think of a better place to study.
4.) I, naturally, get my coffee and then proceed to stack book upon book into my arms until no more can fit and then squeeze them all onto a small table meant, quite simply, for coffee and perhaps a danish, not a bunch of books. And then I proceed to peruse well, all of them. For hours.
5.) I get an idea! (WHOO!) of something I want to do for someone that includes a couple fun books. So I finish reading the mass amounts I had and go in search for another pile. Luckily, this time there was a comfy chair open for my enjoyment.
6.) I GO THROUGH MY NOTES! Coffee's gone.
7.) The whole depositing a bunch of books back on the rack and getting another big pile may have happened one more time. No judgment.
8.) I go home and make dinner.
9.) Titanic is on television. There's no hope. For my roommates or I. We all watch it, scene for scene, even when our television starts getting fuzzy.
10.) Titanic is over. I am going to go over my notes one more time and go to bed.
11.) But first I want to peruse one of those books I happened to buy.
12.) 4:36am rolls around. I'm still perusing. Although I don't think it can be called "perusing" any longer. I'm on chapter 18 and loving this book. There's no hope. I force myself to go to sleep.
13.) I wake up earlier than my alarm (I get almost 4 hours of sleep) and start reading again. I dreamt of this book. I'm loving this book.
14.) 10am-ish I finish the book. I need to shower!
15.) Noon-4pm work
16.) 4pm: My last undergraduate final. Ever.
I BLAME TITANIC.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
it will be evident.
It looks like all I've done these last few weeks is peruse YouTube videos. This is a lie. Almost all of them have been found through other mediums, solely shared on YouTube because of its convenience. Nevertheless, this is incredible and something that I needed to hear after a hard day like today was.
Hope you all are doing well! Good luck to those of you finishing finals, congratulations to those of you graduating and whoohoo to those of you who are just happy it's almost the middle of the week. I fit into every single one of those categories.
Monday, May 3, 2010
doll and the kicks.
So I heard this song via this blog at this page (the non-acoustic version) about a month ago and thought it was wonderful so I starred it but hadn't gone back to it until Friday. I could only find it in an acoustic version online, but I'm a big fan.
More Doll and the Kicks here. Also, more blogging to come this week, hopefully. Literally a week until I'm finished with classes - my last final is next Monday. I'm still working out how I feel about this - excited, anxious, afraid, ecstatic, humbled, nostalgic - all of these emotions are dueling right now.
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