TOO CUTE TO HANDLE

I volunteered to babysit two 8 week old puppies (Felix and Flint) last weekend...

Also, one more thing

Today I was in a cab heading to the bus terminal when the taxi driver´s cell phone rang with ´The Exorcist´ theme song. I thought that was cool enough, but then he answered and said, "Hola mami, como estás?" ("Hey Mom, how are you?).

NPR I Trusted You!

NPR has always been a beacon of hope and joy for me, but this article has shaken my faith in my once close friend. Obviously many of us have already noticed the trend the article discusses, but I don´t need it quantified and flaunted in my face! Shoot this makes me nervous about coming back to the US...

the phone call you never want to get...

Hi friends. I got a call from my Dad yesterday afternoon that my mom was in the hospital with a possible brain aneurysm. It turns out that she actually has a very large brain tumor in the very center of her brain that started to bleed and began to break down the communication pathways between the right and the left side. The good news is that she is stable right now, and the doctors are going to biopsy it tomorrow and decide on how/whether to attempt surgery and/or radiation/chemo depending upon whether the tumor is benign or cancerous. I'm kind of in shock right now, but I saw her and talked to her today and thank god she recognized me and only her short term memory has been addled at the moment. So...yeah. Life.

A new Proposition

So... I was trying to fall asleep last night cerca 2am, but I wasn't sleepy at all... I went though my persistent to-do list, thought about what to wear the following day, and tried to fight for my fair share of a painfully small twin bed when I realized: I am terribly homesick for you all.

Thus, the new proposition. I know we are all busy, generally poor, and spread far apart, but I don't think this should get in the way of seeing each other. I was thinking of when, where, and how we could all get together (the friends in South America are really making this difficult for me), but have come up with a plan. I am giving you all ample notice, and am opening it up to discussion.

The Proposal:
1 year reunion, around June 13th. I figure if we all start to plan a 4 day break in now, the possibility of it happening in three months greatly increases. I know we all have a variety of commitments, but please try to get time off from school, work, etc. and start saving now! (I have vowed to abstain from my daily coffee and put the $$ into a vacation fund... and trust me, this is insanely difficult given my job).

Please post here dates you ABSOLUTELY cannot do (like finals week for Katie, Rye's last week, etc.). I am thinking a beach vacay would be nice (how is it the frisbee teams can always get beach cabins for super cheap? Anyone know anything about that??). However, a visit in a city where someone is currently residing would allow us to possibly save on a hotel... Any thoughts?

Since I have ample time at work coupled with a strange addiction, I will spend my time finding airfare to a great destination that is cheapest for all. Please send me your location for June/July and we can make this happen!

Okay, I realize this is amazingly optimistic (aka borderline naively optimistic) but I really want to give it a shot!

<3

And...

I might have mono. In a house with 13 other people. What fun times will soon be had...

Final verdict to be released in a week. And this is just DAYS after the plague stormed our house (e.g. the stomach virus...which I narrowly escaped only to sprout inhuman lymph nodes.)

Not to pick on Korea but

haha.

I guess whatever works when it's cold?

In the summer...in the summer...

I am happy that so many of you have dutifully been posting to the blog while I have utterly failed to post anything of interest in far too long. I enjoy reading the posts so very much! Also, I am very sad that the Spring Break trip to NYC didn't work out, but I do think it was for the best.

I haven't been doing anything of interest besides going to school. I will brag and say that I earned the highest grade in my legal writing class this past term, which was a delightful surprise and perhaps I will run back to Carleton and shove it in the face of all those English professors who gave me a B+. Haha...sore spot? No!! More importantly, I have scored a summer internship with the SC Dept. of Health and Environmental Control. This State agency controls the enforcement of health and environmental regulations regarding the issuance of birth certificates, nursing home conditions, water quality, building permits, wetland protection, etc. The internship is full-time, but unpaid unfortunately. In this economy, law firms have taken a big hit with the result that any job, whether paid or unpaid, is a good one for a first year student. Thus, I am very content with my position especially considering it is in a field that, as of my desires right now, I want to practice in.

I will also be making a return trip to Carleton in mid-April for my last Alumni Council Meeting as a student representative. I am very excited to see my junior friends who are still there and hopefully Briana! Yay! Aisling and Bethany are still in the area as well. (Jeez - all these people with junior boyfriends sticking around....haha).

In the near future, Columbia has a huge St. Patrick's Day celebration, which I fully expect to participate in and, at the end of May, the Scottish Highland Games are coming to the area (think men throwing around telephone poles, irish dancing, celtic rock, and Haggus!).

Lastly, despite my efforts to avoid the unhappy chore of ironing and dry-cleaning clothes, I shall now have to become an adult in this respect. In preparation for the summer, I now have about 5 suit coats and far too many button-downs for any person to be able to comfortably raise their arms to gesticulate or maintain a reasonable temperature during hot summer months. Luckily, this was all accomplished by a brilliant trip to the local Goodwill on the rich side of town. Thank God for thrift stores!!

Also, Hannah Robinson is engaged (to a Carleton Professor)! That's two of Amy and my's freshman floor mates, from the same room no less, who are now engaged!!

Finally, I recently ate a baby octopus at a sushi restaurant and I think I get headaches now if I don't drink coffee. ADDICTION. Love you all!!

This Earthly World Is Balls

I think this is actually the most tragic thing I´ve ever heard. Also, by posting it onto a website I too am neglecting the real world! Damn Catch-22!

job update

Hello Everyone!
I completed my first week of work at Safe Horizon in the Brooklyn Family Court. It was full of information, a lot of down time, and meeting many new people. The first few days were a little rough, but I think I will enjoy working there. I will have three different tasks that all involve social work, so I am not worried about getting bored. I am really excited about my staff- everyone is not only approachable and willing to answer my many questions, but are also interesting and fun people I look forward to seeing. My boss is very relaxed and definitely knows her stuff, which makes her an excellent trainer. My only concern is that there is a lot of down time-- often times too much. The problem is that if no one comes into our center, we essentially have nothing to do. Luckily, I will be working two days a week at a different location, the Family Justice Center, that is generally much busier. The FJC was formed by the governor's office and houses over 20 different organizations working to combat domestic violence (including specialized police officers, the DA's office, and extremely specialized organizations like the Committee to end Jewish Poverty). It is great to have so many resources working together and within walking distance so our clients can get everything they need at once.

Unfortunately, the job can be pretty emotionally intense. I am learning to separate the rest of my life from my position with Safe Horizon, and how to mask frustrations is front of clients. The most intimidating aspect so far is that many people who have worked with Safe Horizon for a number of years seem jaded with the process (always complaining about corrupt police, not enough funding, loopholes in the laws, etc.) It makes the position feel very surreal, like I just walked onto the scene of a prime time courtroom drama. But since I will only be working here for less than two years, I am optimistic that this won't happen to me.

So that is that! I have about two more weeks of shadowing to do until I am able to see clients on my own, which is very exciting. I will keep you posted on how things go :)

Maxim Photo Shoot...

This is on the set of the Jeff Gordon photo shoot for the October issue of Maxim. The shot mimics the hangover, with Jeff's pit crew passed out after a night of hard work and racing and instead of alcohol everywhere, there's car parts and Pepsi Max...pretty cool idea in my opinion. This pic was taken after the shoot when we got to stand in for the crew and mess around and have professional photos taken of us...SO MUCH FUN. What's great is that Jeff and the Maxim girls wanted to partake in our fun so we all got a shot together.