flying pigs

As if having another growth spurt wasn't enough... I learned yet another fun fact about myself today from Josh, my New Favorite Stylist:

I have naturally curly hair. Naturally. Curly.


This sure beats high school, when I took a searing hot curling iron to my head in order to create a not-so-stunning Shirley-Temple-esque look.

dredging up the past

A: so you dont see value in us being friends or you just dont know of a way that it wont be awkward
Me: right now... both.

Almost 3 months later and we're still not on the same page. When he first broke up with me, I was devastated. I worried that we would never talk again, that the man who had reliably been my best friend for over 6 years would leave a gaping hole in my otherwise ever-changing life. That losing him would mean utter chaos and I would descend into an abyss of overwhelming academics and an even more staggering search for a summer internship.

That was then.

I now know better. The dissolution of our relationship forced me to fully realize my strength as an independent person. I have always maintained a strong sense of self, even within the context of a long-term relationship. But never was that self-awareness so important or evident as when I had to fully depend on myself. When I had to make the decision to physically remove myself from the situation. When I had to literally gather the strength to get off the futon and find my own apartment. When I had to go back to the home that was once ours and reclaim my possessions.

Maybe, to some degree, my detachment from A is a function of bring forced to methodically separate myself from the situation in order to hold it together. I suspect that the more compelling reasons are that we hadn't had a real connection for years, and with his thoughtless actions in the last days A severed any chance we would have had at a post-mortem friendship.

Combine that with the fact that I am busier than I ever have been and hot new guy (STM) has entered my life, and we have a resounding verdict: I don't need A in my life. Nor do I see a point in the future where I will. I harbor no animosity, no regret, not even sadness. I'm just done trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Hi, D! You know, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

Since I've been home I have applied for 21 internships, finished xmas shopping for the fam, learned that I have AMAZINGLY maintained a GPA over 3.0 (thereby retaining a much-needed, much-coveted scholarship), won my fantasy football league's Superbowl, caught up with girlfriends over a midnight happy hour, gone for a spontaneous 4 mile run sans stoppage, saved my dad's computer from the brink of virus-induced death, talked at length with a certain hottie in Malaysia and made 5 batches of cookies. I love winter break.

Behold the fruits of my labor:

gingerbread men and sugar cookies...


candycanes...


nutmeg-powdered nutballs...


peanut butter coconut pecan truffles....

by the skin of my teeth

It wasn't pretty, but I survived. How a final exam grade of 41% translates to a B- overall, I will never know.

The only thing messier than my performance over the past week? Tonight.

in an effort to be the least productive person on earth...

Things I did today:

1. completely blew my accounting final
2. sat next to a man on the bus that smelled like a gas station restroom that hadn't been cleaned since 1982
3. took a nap
4. talked to new man... 3 times
5. organized digital photos
6. did laundry
7. painted my toenails
8. packed for a brief but glorious weekend sojourn to Houston
9. drank coca tea

Things I did not do today:

1. spend any money
2. adequately prepare for marketing final tomorrow
3. care about adequately preparing for marketing final tomorrow

something good

Maybe it's that honeymoon phase glow talking, but I've been really happy lately.

One week of blissful, sinfully spontaneous cohabitation, and I'm well on my way to... where, exactly?

He's perfect.

Smart.
Ambitious.
Incredibly thoughtful.
Just affectionate enough.
Funny.
Uninhibited.
Hot beyond belief.

And I mean really - he cooks.

Who knows if I'm ready, but circumstances could very well see to it that things don't move too quickly regardless of what either party wants. The only foreseeable obstacle is timing, the Story of My Life. If someone figures out the answer to that one, please pass it along...

like riding a bicycle

Two days after my last midterm - exactly 2 weeks and a day after A & I broke up, I met him.

He's everything I would ever want and none of what I was (am?) looking for.

He's not even my type.

And yet I find myself drawn. I recently vowed that I would be more spontaneous and take what life has to offer, but I had no idea that my resolve would be tested so soon.

How do we know when it's right? Is timing really everything, or is that just something we use as an excuse?

indulgence

Roasted breast of quail with corn flan. Shrimp cocktail. Crawfish & lump crabcakes with creole remoulade. Wild mushroom salad. Steak tartar. Seared scallops topped with caviar, sitting on a bed of marinated lobster. Molten chocolate cake with homemade pralines. Pear cobbler with a side of frozen custard. 20-layer bread pudding. Cappuccinos all around.

Sitting in the softly lit front room of a historic Texas mansion, surrounded by seven other future leading businesswomen and one woman of incredible industry savvy, reputation and inspiration, all of us dreaming, confiding, designing our respective paths towards a lifetime of success.

This is what b-school is all about.

change of scenery

new life, new zip code, new URL. not sure what that last one will be just yet, but consider this your heads up. email me if you want to stay in the loop.

too lazy to actually write anything

Your Heart Is Orange

Love equals unbridled happiness for you. You enjoy the wild ride of falling in love. And while the ride is fun for a while, you always get off once the thrill is gone. Your flirting style: Hyper Your lucky first date: Anything you need your passport for! Your dream lover: Is both daring and well grounded What you bring to relationships: Energy

What Color Heart Do You Have?

in studying for microeconomics...

Tonight I came upon a problem from last year's midterm:

You had a reading about a sheriff who stopped a mob who was fixing to kill three innocent people. What questionable thing did the sheriff do?

First, how is this relevant to my comprehension of micro? Second, it's obvious that the use of base vernacular does not prevent one from becoming one of the world's leading economists.

climbing more mountains

I have a shitload due on Monday.

Accounting problem set. Assessment of Nortel financial statement. Read Sealed Air case study and be prepared to present in Marketing class. Microecon take-home midterm due. Microecon real-life midterm Monday evening.

And then there's the McCombs wine club event on Friday. I've already paid $45 in dues, so I totally have to attend.

Not to mention go to my Apple Procare appointment on Saturday to move all the data from my OLD Apple to my NEW Apple... Yes, despite the fact that the UFCU now owns my soul for the next 8 or so years, I splurged on a shiny new MacBook. Because I need it for Stats and no one can tell me otherwise.

Oh and I have GOT to go to the Saturday tailgate and TX-Iowa game. I paid for season tickets, so damned if I'm not going to use every ticket that won't turn out a decent profit.

And the Epicurean club is meeting for dinner at a chic Thai restaurant on Saturday. A girl's gotta eat, right? So that pretty much blows all of Saturday out of the water.

I also have the beginnings of a cold, thanks a lot to A. Zicam is my closest friend these days, as I absolutely cannot afford to be sick right now.

All this, and yet I find myself sitting in the Carpenter Center - a veritable social wasteland where work tends to fall by the wayside and conversations gravitate towards weekend plans, b-school gossip and the scandalous events of the last Think-and-Drink... Why am I here, you ask? Because I'm a grad student these days and thrive on the rush of procrastination.

Sorry so discombobulated... I know I've been absent lately and will try to do better, but honestly, who has time to rehash the glory of orientation and my new best friends and, oh god, PERU? Just call me if you want the details.

hello goodbye

In the past 5 days I have:

• quit my job
• stupidly purchased fantastic new shoes
  
• gotten lost on the New Jersey Turnpike - 3 times
• seen some long-lost Jumbos
• attended a wedding
• shoved items for Peru into a huge ass, brand-spanking-new backpack
  
• packed the rest of my earthly possessions
• rented a van, for the first time at a highly-reasonable "over-25" fee
• drove my crap to Austin to move in with my boyfriend
  
• drove the van 3 hours back to DFW
• drove back to Austin
• unpacked
• gotten my student ID
• cancelled my Blockbuster Online account :(
• refilled a prescription under short term medical insurance (how a paper insurance card can be considered legit is beyond me)
  
• discovered an Austin radio station that plays nothing but early 90's (can you say Rhythm is a Dancer?)
  
• met 13 of my new best friends, all of whom will be hiking to Machu Picchu with me at some point during the next 10 days

Yes, I'm going to Peru. I have been so preoccupied these past few months that I have forgotten entirely to elaborate on that fact. Yes, by the time school starts I am going to be so broke that eating crumbs from the bottom of Ramen noodle packets will be a culinary luxury.

Leading up to this huge adventure, I have gotten vaccinations for tetanus, yellow fever, typoid fever and hepatitis A. I am bringing medicine for altitude sickness, diarrhea and malaria. I have special "international insurance" in the event that I need bones to be reset or, in the worst case, repatriated. I have been so unusually methodical about the entire procedure that it is virtually guaranteed that I am forgetting something monumentally important. Passport, breathable pants, raincoat? Check, check, check. I will undoubtedly have that "oh, shit" moment on the plane.

At the moment, I sit alone in a coffeeshop, waiting for a friend and contemplating settling into the life of a diligent grad student - a prospect both exhilarating and terrifying. For the moment, though, Peru will serve as an adequate distraction from "real life."

Be back in 10 days, hopefully with 1500 more pictures to sort through!

Jeter swallows

I spent yesterday evening at Ameriquest Field, cheering on the Rangers and, of course, jeering the demonic Yankees. I had planned ahead, packing a nice set of Reefs, white linen pants and my navy blue YANKEES SUCK shirt. I had worn it to a 2005 Rangers game and received quite a few compliments, so it is clearly well-received in this town. Much like another town I know.

So when I was confronted by an employee who asked me to remove the shirt before I even entered the stadium, I was clearly appalled. I compromised and agreed to just fold the shirt up so that the "SUCKS" was covered. It was demoralizing to have to pose as a hobag belly-baring Yankees fan, but how else is a girl supposed to get to her seat?

As soon as I got inside I took my shirt back down and sat back to enjoy an evening of ballpark food, good company and all-American Yankees-bashing.

All of a sudden, Don Ritter, our elderly section monitor, was hastily climbing collapsible stadium seats to reach me, at which point he asked me to cover up my shirt.

Sounded to me like he wanted to see some skin. So I obliged.

Periodically throughout the game (which, by the way, was very reminiscent of the heartbreak of Red Sox / Yankees games), Don would catch my eye and motion for me to hike up my shirt. I was quite taken aback by his cheekiness, but went with it.

Somewhere around the 7th inning stretch, however, I got daring:

In the end, the Rangers lost. But it was a fantastically close game, AND I got to piss off some old people.

my progress in the fight against global warming, part III

Victory #1: I began meager training regimen for hiking trip to Peru: running in the mid-afternoon Texas sun. While I was unable to run the entire 3+ miles, I consider walking/running for 30 minutes without passing out in a puddle of my own perspiration to be a win in itself.

Victory #2: By the time I crawled back to my front door, I had in my arms 2 flattened soda cans, 1 regular sized Big Red bottle and a 2-liter bottle of 7UP! Now who throws a 2L bottle out their car window, and what series of events must happen for such ridiculousness to occur?

BIG news

While I know you are all salivating at the idea of poring through my 1200 pictures, I have not yet organized, uploaded or titled any of them, so you will have to wait a little longer. (Don't worry, I will get it done at the very latest before leaving for Peru on Aug 2. The thought of sorting through more than 2000 photos at once is daunting even for me.)

In the meantime, a warm and fuzzy bedtime story that will have special meaning for my fellow height-challenged peers.

Today I went to the doctor to get my immunization records, new prescriptions and pre-grad school check-up. You know, using up the nonrefundable $364.96 left in my Health Spending Account for frivolous non-emergencies.

The appointment proceeded normally - I removed my shoes, stepped on the standard jiggly height/weight machine, got weighed (weight was the same as it always is, leading me to believe that I should give up the whole working out thing)...

Now for the kicker.

I turned around and faced away from the extendable metal yardstick while the attendant took my height.

"Okay," she said, indicating I could step down. Then, quietly to herself, as she recorded my measurement, "5-4."

"UM - 5 foot 4? Are you serious??"

I HAVE GROWN AN ENTIRE INCH SINCE LAST YEAR. Someone should study me (and pay me accordingly) to uncover the secret to undergoing a second growth spurt. I just hope this puberty thing stops at increased height. I would hate to have to revert to wearing fake Doc Martens with shorts and oversized glasses again.

feeling the burn

too tired to think of a title

yes, i'm back. yes, i had the time of my life in Europe. yes, my pix are on the web (but w/o captions so you aren't allowed to see yet!).

however, i have been stuck in jury duty for the past 2 days (yes, i was chosen!)
and i am mentally exhausted. also, having just this evening experienced rock climbing for the first time in my life, my arms are too tired to type.

more to follow soon (i hope!).

sometimes i amaze myself

Two whole days before I leave for Pisa, and I've finished packing. How does one pack for 2.5 weeks on a continent where the weather can range from 100 degrees in Sevilla to 50 degrees in Berlin - in a single carry-on suitcase? Travel with me and prepare to be educated.

OK, so maybe it doesn't hurt that I'm a small person and a majority of my clothes can therefore be rolled up into the size of a lima bean. That in combination with the fact that I dress like a ho.

Words cannot describe how excited I am to escape from Corporate America. I hope to get out of this trip what everyone else seems to have done during their semester abroad or after graduation - what I missed out on by going directly from the Hill to 2650 Lou Menk Drive. The plus side of doing it at this point of my life, however, is that I now have the financial means to do it. You know, the financial means that would probably be better spent investing in my academic future.

Mehhhhh... fuck that shit.

I am going to steep in an Italian mud bath in Tuscany, climb the Tower of Pisa, gorge myself on pasta and gelato, wave to the Pope at his General Audience, enjoy tapas and flamenco in Sevilla, visit Alhambra in Granada, play in Barcelona's Olympic Village, catch the semifinal World Cup match over a pint at the Hofbräuhaus, stroll down Unter den Linden and catch up with an old pen pal over curry in London. I'm hoping that the nonstop sightseeing will somehow counteract the constant flow of local spirits and other epicurean delights to be consumed during my sojourn across the pond.

Email me your addy by Wednesday if you want a postcard!

storm before the storm

about to embark on whirlwind 2.5 week adventure in Italy, Spain, Germany & London. frantically trying to tie up loose ends before departure on Wednesday. will try to update before I leave.........

what the...

911: "Southlake 911, where is your emergency?"

Me: "114 and White Chapel."

911: "Is there a cow on the loose?"

Me: "Uh - yeah...!"

911: "We already have it on record. Thanks for calling!"

car woes

In other news, I took the MINI to Carmax for the third time. For those of you who haven't sold a car to them before, a word of advice: take their first offer. Each additional time you go back they will see the sheer desperation in your eyes, your need to be relieved of hefty car payments.

If you decide NOT to take my advice, however, head directly to a lavish happy hour with an assortment of delicious appetizers, get hit on by a delicious gay waiter, schmooze with brilliant future classmates and realize that, all things considered, $1,000 lost on a car is a drop in the bucket.

my progress in the fight against global warming, part II

Picked up 2 more discarded water bottles on run last night + 2 flattened cans. Wonder if recycling company will still take those...

Finally brought home bottle retrieved from the company trash.

school-related rant

And by the way, to the monkeys who have set up the McCombs secure website:

Damn you all for creating a password protected website with HIGHLY pertinent information that I need for my matriculation at UT this fall, not to mention the webpage for mandatory orientation registration, all of which I CANNOT LOG INTO.

Now it has been previously noted that I am a technology afficionado. I am not used to being outwitted by a piece of machinery. When such a thing happens, I am inclined to think it is someone else's fault.

Furthermore, being told that the root of my problems is a firewall - apparently enabled on 4 different machines in 3 different locations, one of which is OUT OF STATE - is UNACCEPTABLE.

Thank you.

my progress in the fight against global warming, part I

Monday, 4:13 pm - on way to restroom, witness coworker carelessly throw away highly-recyclable Diet Coke bottle

Monday, 4:15 pm - on way back from restroom, with coast clear, quickly dig reach into industrial-sized trash can to retrieve plastic treasure for future recycling

Monday, 7:55 pm - during evening 2+ mile run (go me!), see half-empty discarded water bottles on major thoroughfare, one filled with questionable orange liquid. pick up bottles and continue furtively home, slightly embarassed at odd appearance.

Tuesday, 5:30 pm - purchase 2 new tires to improve MINI's gasoline consumption (& improve resale value)

I titled this entry with the hope that my efforts will at the very least continue in this paltry and slightly bizarre fashion. Hey, at least I can sleep at night.

brought to you by Al Gore

This weekend, I paid $9.50 to attend a lecture. Actually, a recording of a lecture, 30 miles from my house. It was a downer, really.

And totally worth it.

To some extent, the film is preaching to the choir. I would say that most people who cared enough to see the film opening weekend are already environmentally conscious to some degree. But there are things that we can all do better. And as this film gets more publicity, the more impact it will have on those who are currently unaware. Those who need to know. Those who have the power to enact substantial and effective change.

Please go see An Inconvenient Truth.

senioritis

So when you decide to quit your job and go back to grad school, I have discovered that several things happen:

• you become incredibly unmotivated at your place of work
• you spend obscene amounts of money on expensive food, alcohol, fantastic vacations and just about anything else you can think of
• your blogging skills suffer even more than they did before getting into school

Yeah, um... sorry about that last bullet, btw.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes... For those of you that were late or forgot entirely, it's so not a big deal. I always thought my 25th would involve something like an extravagant black-tie party, big enough to rival those New Year bashes in When Harry Met Sally. I mean hello - we're talking quarter century here! Turns out all I needed was a long weekend involving nothing fancier than jello shots, tiki torches, a pony keg and tubing down the Comal. (A word of advice to those who plan on tubing in TX anytime soon - avoid the Comal at all costs and get your ass down to the Guadelupe. Unless, of course, you're into the whole drunken obese white trash scene.)

Which brings me to my present state of anxiety-ridden European vacation planning. How in the world will I get from Barcelona to Marseille to Paris to Munich to London in 6 days without killing myself? Only time will tell.

Travel tips are more than welcome, by the way. Anyone?

today, in brief

things that made today suck a little less:

• getting a free Baby Ruth at the exact moment of maximum sweet-toothiness
• dinner with the rentals at Joe T. Garcia's in the breezy 75 degree weather
• knowing that meeting the McConaugheys will be a very real and bizarre possibility upon my relocation to Austin

summons

I swear, of everyone eligible to be called for jury duty, I must be hounded the most. During my college years I was called to serve no less than three times - exempt, exempt, exempt. I finally attempted to serve last October, but after being placed in a pool was ultimately denied and sent home.

I received my latest summons yesterday, to appear the day that I am scheduled to fly into Boston for the bro's graduation.

The sad part is this: with everyone in this country aching to get out of jury duty, I appear to be the only one who actually WANTS to sit on a jury of my peers, having yearned for the opportunity ever since forensic science class senior year!

So I rescheduled my summons to July - 2 days after I return from my European extravaganza. If I am somehow unable to return in one piece, I will also be breaking the law - hmm....

Apple Genius

Since graduating with a degree in computer science, I have found that there are certain advantages that only someone with my skills can enjoy. I can set up a wireless router, complete with 128-bit encrypted WEP, to thwart ignorant - or sneaky - neighborhood internet thieves. I can build webpages without the need for WYSIWYG web publishing applications (although they can come in handy). I can set up my TiVo with my eyes closed. I know how to set up a wireless print server (WPS) so I can print from across the house, if I so choose.

Or not.

After successfully hooking up the WPS back in March 05, it was with much dismay that I discovered that the $100 printer that came with the purchase of my new Powerbook, the very same one that came with a $100 rebate that I forgot to mail in, still refused to print a single page. Back then I spent entire evenings at a time reading manuals, downloading Mac drivers, attempting to print test pages... anything that would validate my technical prowess. My one small win finally came in the form of one garbage-filled sheet of test paper. (There is a signal! At least I got the WPS right!) Sadly, determining that the problem lay with my computer was as far as I got before giving up. Several weeks later even A, my official technology guru, was at a loss. It didn't help that when he tried printing from his Windows PC the Epson sprang to life within nanoseconds, as if it had already known it would be summoned to complete such a noble task.

For the next year, my "free" printer sat in the corner of my bedroom, shunned from the otherwise high-tech life that I led. For a while I considered selling the damned thing, but doing so would have confirmed my failure. And my therapy sessions of last fall clearly highlighted my issues in that department...

So when it came time for me to move back home, I boxed up the printer and lugged it with me. I had just about resigned myself to a life of emailing myself attachments to print from other, more worthy machines, when I experienced a life-changing event.

Yesterday, after stopping at the post office to mail HP audiobooks 1-6 to Sars, I decided to linger in Southlake's highly overrated, I mean pretentious, I mean acclaimed Town Square. Yes, it's superficial and obnoxiously ostentatious, but it IS good for quality shopping. I was on my way to J. Crew when I saw the brand new Apple Store with a parallel parking spot waiting for me right at the entrance. Anyone who knows me is well aware that such rock-star parking cannot be passed up. Upon entering I was greeted by Hank, an Apple expert, who asked me if there was anything with which he could help. And somehow the awful details of my printer woes came pouring out.

I walked him through the steps I had taken to try to solve the problem, hoping to prove that I really had exhausted my resources and wasn't as inept as he might have first thought. It seemed to work, as he finally realized that I had already tried everything he could think of. Still, Hank wasn't an Apple Genius, so there were still others in the store who might be able to help. Rather than pay an ungodly sum by bringing my unwarrantied Mac to the store, however, he suggested that I purchase the 12 month ProCare plan for $99, schedule an hour long 1-on-1 appointment with a Genius, and get assistance under the guise of wanting to "learn more about printing digital photos."

And he said he wasn't an Apple Genius.

So I did just that. This morning, after my shiny new ProCare account number had been activated, I went online and scheduled an appointment for Tuesday night. A few hours later, I looked at the Epson printer box warily and decided to give it one last try before admitting total defeat.

Fifteen minutes later, I WAS PRINTING.

True, the evidence was pretty lacking - the print cartridges had lain dormant for so long that ink had crusted over all but a few nozzle holes, resulting in a very streaky test page. But I could tell it wasn't just another sheet of computer garbage. There, in poorly-spaced lines of bluish-green and black, was the undeniable shape of a woman with an afro.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out what I did differently. But I've been around long enough to know that you just don't question these things. And I'm still going to my Mac appointment on Tuesday - if nothing else to gloat about my victory. Maybe we can still squeeze in some digital printing tips with the 10 minutes we have left.

MotorPooUSA

Since I put my MINI up for sale, I have received very few calls. A few, but nothing serious. After posting to AutoTrader.com about a month ago, however, I received an unsolicited call from someone at MotorZooUSA. They left a message asking me to call back if I was interested in selling my car at $2000 above the asking price.

Well who wouldn't? I called back and left a message asking for more information.

A couple of weeks went by - nothing.* Just 15 minutes ago, I received a call from Mikhail at MotorZooUSA, touting their unique webpages custom tailored to each vehicle and advanced search engine listings. How they work with Capital One to help buyers finance their purchases. How when buyers go through financing they are much more willing to pay more for a vehicle b/c they are only focused on the monthly payments. (my skepti-radar perked up at this) How all advertisements are run until the car is sold. How they don't even make money off the sale of my car, that they profit off of the financing costs. Mikhail said all I would have to do is cover some minor advertisement costs.

I was then transferred to Jerry for an estimate on how much these advertising costs would be. "Well, for an '04 MINI Cooper that will run about $800. Now of course we wouldn't ask you to pay that much... *chuckle* ... instead you would be responsible for $400 of that. How does that sound?"

I said that sounded pretty darned high. Jerry said we could list my car at $2400 above the asking price, to recoup advertising costs. (Now who in their right mind would pay that much for my car when they can buy a brand new MINI for about that much?) I said I needed some time to think about this and find out more about the company. Jerry remained cordial, but I could definitely hear the frustration in his voice.

After the call, I did some research. First of all, their website is very basic and unimpressive. The information on their website is optimistic and vague. So I googled them and was rewarded with a very insightful consumer review. Apparently this company has been scamming people since 2004. Similar stories, most from people less fortunate than I. Yes, there appear to be a lot of legal loopholes that allow this business to stay afloat (B, maybe you can investigate during your free time?), but that doesn't make them an honest business. Long story short, I think I'll let others be suckered into paying for inflated salaries, aHEM, I mean advertisement costs. BEWARE!!


* Unfortunately for MotorPoo, during that time I began reading Influence - Science and Practice, which described the many ways in which salespeople can manipulate future customers. My heightened awareness of these practices undoubtedly kept me from talking to them for longer than necessary. I advise anyone interested in NOT being suckered to read this. It's not just another boring self-help book, I swear.

obsession

So the real reason behind my cyber-scarceness isn't entirely due to the fact that I spent the better part of last week in Austin scoping out my new digs. Or that I have been researching an upcoming European vacation. Although, yes, that is partially to blame.

The truth is, I've been having an affair.

A short while back I was able to come to terms with my infidelity to A, and so did he. In fact, I think he's come to accept my indiscretions as one of my many endearing charms.

The new infatuation in my life? Harry Potter.

For the past decade or so, I've constantly strived not to fall victim to formulaic young adult literature. This goal has not been that hard to accomplish - since the Babysitters' Club series there really hasn't been a collection of easy reading that could hold a candle. That and I've lately taken a liking to political biographies.

My fall from grace can be blamed entirely on the allure of getting a great deal. Of sticking it to the man. You see, my coworker recently invested in the HP series 1-6 on CD, unabridged and in all of its glory. In total, she probably spent a few hundred bucks on the collection - an unusually good deal for 1,380 audio files, or 3.9 consecutive days of pure, uninterrupted literary escape. So when she offered to let me borrow - ahem - convert them to iPod-friendly files, I couldn't possibly turn her down. Hell, I would burn a copy of I Am the Cheese narrated by Ben Stein if someone was giving it away. I have always been a sucker for free shit.

Even so, I never expected to get sucked in the way I did. And at first, I didn't. I had seen the first 2 movies and thought they were moderately entertaining. I had even tried to read The Sorcerer's Stone a while back, but could never get into it. After the second book, however, I started to enjoy my drives to and from work a little more (all hail the almighty auxiliary input). Something about Jim Dale's voice made the story much more engaging than reading or watching it. By The Prisoner of Azkaban, I was completely immersed in the story. How could I stop listening with all that character development??

Despite that the Half-Blood Prince was 18.5 hours (17 discs!) long, I finished it in about a week. I listened to it as I got ready for work in the morning. I listened on my way to work. I listened during lunch at my desk. I listened on the way home. I let my TiVo do its job as I headed to bed early, preferring the company of HP and friends over 24's broody Jack Bauer. By the end, I was spent, emotionally and physically, having stayed up into the wee hours night after night.

And then the questions. Who is RAB? (I think I know.) Why did JKR have to kill off so many key characters? Who will die in the end?

Good thing there's only one book left. With any luck it will be released during an extended school vacation.

And I'm not talking about one of those sissy 3-day weekends.

eBayne of my existence

So I've decided to become an eBayer. I've thought about selling stuff online for years, but never had the patience to gather all the necessary info, take pictures, post them online, etc. And besides - I'm no small-timer. If I'm going to sell something online, I'm going to go for the big bucks.

That's why I've posted my MINI.

Now, with less than a day left on the auction clock and no one even close to my reserve price, I am freaking the hell out. However, I have bought enough items online to know that serious bidders wait until the last second to secure a purchase. But I'm beyond logic. And it's not even that I'm afraid that I will lose the money spent on posting the auction. Although, yes, my finances are increasingly causing me some concern.

More importantly, what if no one wants Rambo? What do the other MINIs have that mine doesn't? Is my reserve too high? Are the door dings too much of a turnoff?

For now, I will continue to gauge my success by the number of hits received.

tidal wave of relief

Since being accepted to the McCombs School of Business, I have spent a significant amount of time relecting on the two years of academia that now lay ahead of me. Until now, I have always felt that I have somehow had everyone fooled. When you think about it, I really fooled Tufts twice - once as a high school senior and then as a freshman transfer student. After being accepted for the second time, one of my first thoughts was, Man, I can't believe they fell for it again. Both times I knew I was a qualified student, but I also knew that there were plenty more out there. This is even more evident to me now, as I am continually interviewing prospective Tufts students that are ultimately rejected, despite that most are more qualified than I ever was at their age.

With graduation looming on the horizon, I started searching for a job. When I was offered a position working for one of the largest transportation companies in the country, I was even more surprised. What would a computer science major have to offer a marketing department?? They must be hard-up for diverse employees, I supposed.

Regardless of the vast number of accomplishments and qualifications that I can now list on my resume, I have always felt that I was somehow sneaking through the system, that my success was, to some degree, unearned. These days, I think this may be a symptom of not having any particular passion for what I do. As hot husband Tom said on the most recent episode of Desperate Housewives, "No one can give 100% all the time." And if I don't feel like I'm giving something my all, I don't feel as deserving when the kudos come rolling my way.

However. I was accepted to business school. Not only that, but I was accepted to one of the best business programs in the country. Only this time, for the first time in a while, I am proud to know that I deserve that acceptance letter. I know what I want, I have a clear goal in mind, and I understand the steps I need to take in order to reach it. And it is incredibly rewarding to have been able to convey that message well enough for an entire admissions committee to agree.

Tonight, after logging into my Gmail account and learning that I have earned a substantial two-year scholarship, I cannot hope for further evidence that I have made the right decision.

Unless, of course, that evidence happens to include more free money.

giving credit where it's due

Now there's a sight no one has seen for a few months: my feet in running shoes. While I have definitely been satisfying an unusually large appetite due to one of the many perquisites of living at home and therefore feeling a little on the "not-so-petite" side, I had not felt the need to offset the appearance of any unwanted fat rolls... until today, when I decided to run a 5K for the first time in all of my nearly-25 years. This change of heart can be due to only one individual: Flat Stanley (FS).

FS is the subject of a children's book that my first-grader cousin read in class earlier this year. In this book, the sequence of events is as follows:

1. Stanley is a student.
2. Stanley gets squashed by a chalkboard and is renamed Flat Stanley.
3. Stanley miraculously survives this horrific accident and discovers the glory of traveling via envelope.
4. Owing to his new and economical mode of transportation, Stanley goes on fantastic voyages across the globe.

After reading this highly traumatic yet inspiring tale, my cousin's class, like so many others across the country, decided to send their own Flat Stanley around the world. And thus FS was sent off to Mumbai, India; Michigan; Mississippi; Florida and finally Fort Worth, TX.

During our first few days together, we went to all the usual places - work, home and happy hour.

Finally, when we got some free time, we hit up the Stockyards...

... and did some shopping.

Unfortunately, the token longhorn steer that usually loiters outside the Fort Worth Stock Exchange was long gone by the time we made it down there, so we did the next best thing.


Still, I couldn't let FS leave Fort Worth without seeing the real deal. So yesterday afternoon, when my mom proposed that we both participate in a 5K this morning, despite the fact that I had not seriously exercised for at least 3 months and that saying "yes" would require me getting up at 6:00 AM on a Saturday morning, I decided to go for it. Why? Because this race, called Run the Ranch, would meander through the Circle T Ranch, owned by Ross Perot's son. And, just like any other self-respecting ranch, the Circle T had longhorns and cowboys. To deny FS such an opportunity would be a travesty.

Surprisingly, despite the extremely hilly course, I ran all but about 100 feet of the race. And, much to FS' delight, the Circle T made good on its promise to provide proof of its Texan roots.

So thanks, FS, for forcing me to get off my lazy ass and actually do something with my Saturday. I may feel like crap tomorrow, but, by George, at least I will be able to rest easy with the knowledge that I can show my guests a good time.

moving

Yes, I moved back in with my parents at the end of January. This was done under the *crossing fingers, hoping I don't jinx myself* assumption that I would be accepted to the one and only business school to which I applied. If I planned on attending school, I best be saving some $, and if that meant moving in with M&D... well there ain't no shame! I was also eager to live with people that would clean regularly, cook for me, have reliably hot water each morning and pay for maids every two weeks.*

Which brings me to my next point. I am incredibly lucky when it comes to choosing institutions of higher learning. Not once, but twice have I placed all my application eggs in one basket, and twice have I been accepted. Either that's random good fortune or I am setting my sights too low. I prefer to believe it's the former.

So now I am presented with the kind of questions I haven't had to answer in a while - when do I begin my new life? How shall it begin? If I live like a miser, I may have enough to cover the cost of 2 years' tuition by the time school starts... Do I take out loans nonetheless and blow it on pre B-school traveling? Who will travel with me? Could I do it alone? Do I know enough people in other countries?

These, my friends, are questions of which I will take the utmost pleasure in answering.

So... who wants to be my summer travel companion?

* Nothing but love, LT! :)

P.S.

Why didn't anyone tell me about the severe beating that is the graduate school scholarship application process?? Tonight I discovered a scholarship requiring nomination by an Official Representative from undergraduate school, disclosure of past criminal history, 7 essays, a narrative autobiography and optional art portfolio.

Going into debt is looking better every day.

just another manic V-Day

Due to the fact that yesterday at 4 pm our email server hovered between states of intermittent functionality and grinding haltedness, I called it early quits and took my work home.

Given my post-vacation workload, on which I was woefully behind by day 2, I knew that I would be working the hell out of Valentines' Day. By working from home beforehand I figured I could put a sizeable of a dent into my workload. Not quite.

Arrive at work 1+ hr early. 8 AM morning paperwork dropoff - just what boss was looking for. Meeting #1 - totally aced, thanks to work of night before. Lunch - eaten in 7 minutes flat, purse inadvertently left on adjacent seat. Meeting #2 - was nominated mediator and official notes-taker, due to fact that head honchos were MIA; key documents somehow missing from folder. Meeting #3 - 15 minutes after Meeting #2 - relatively brief, yet mind-numbing. In retrospect, AM coffee would have been good idea. Meeting #4 - nothing new to report, having failed on [unrealistic] deliverables. Return to desk, receive call from catering Re: missing purse that hasn't yet been discovered missing. An ad-hoc request here, a few typed up meeting minutes there and an overwhelming urge to throw myself in front of a locomotive and I was ready to call it a day.

It IS nice, however, to arrive home after an unforgiving day at work to a gourmet meal of osso buco, risotto, green beans a l'orange and chocolate truffle cake.

Living with Mom & Dad sure has its perks.

snow bunnies

stranded

A missed connecting flight leads to an unexpected 1 day stay in sunny Phoenix. Good thing I packed for the weather... oh wait.

P.S. I got into UT! Details to follow!

anchorage or bust

Tomorrow I'm headed to the seasonally moonlit state of Alaska for some skiing with Andy! This is me trying to be a good blogger and keep you updated on my haps. Enjoy your weekend & upon my return I will hopefully have some shots of a wintry wonderland, me falling on my ass and aurora borealis!

for a good time

OK, so I wasn't aware until just this afternoon that the State of the Union is tonight. But all plans to watch my regularly scheduled 8 pm Tuesday night programming have gone out the window - I've got better things to do!

http://www.drinkinggame.us

midnight posting

As I type this, I am lying in bed awake, a little more than 2 hours past my bedtime. I was rudely snatched from the edges of a blissful sleep when the sound of a muffled male voice - SINGING - awoke me.

At first it began intermittently. A line here, a verse there... and then a 3 minute break. That was about 1/2 hour ago. The good news is he is not entirely tone-deaf. I was even able to make out the tune to "Light My Fire." The bad news is that our budding musician does not know more than a few correct words to any of the songs in his repertoire. Or perhaps he just likes certain lines so much that he must sing them for the world in an endless loop.

Come on baby, light my fire.
Come on baby, light my fire.
Come on baby, light my... FIRE

At first it was amusing. Now it's fucking enraging. After assessing the situation, I determined that the voice was coming from the bedroom above mine. So I did what any rational person would do and banged the hell out of my ceiling with the wooden handle of a 4 ft paint roller.

Either he didn't hear over the din of his own voice or he continued to spite me, because damned if he didn't turn up the volume a few notches. So I put on my slippers and padded upstairs to request that my neighbor be more... neighborly. Only there was no singing to be heard on the 3rd floor. I even peeked through his peephole to see if a light was on. No dice. Is my ceiling thinner than the hallway walls? Is the voice coming from another apartment? The only sound I heard was that of the occasional car passing by. Maybe during the time it took me to walk upstairs the offender decided to quit being an asswipe.

So I went back downstairs.

He's still singing.

Oh, and did I mention? For the past 10 minutes, he has been serenading us all with refrains from "The Sound of Silence." And no, I wouldn't joke about something so cruelly ironic.