I’m SO glad March is just about over. I bet you can figure out why…
ONE MORE FULL CALENDAR MONTH OF SCHOOL LEFT.
As you can tell, I’m actually obsessed with finishing school. I’ve been going to school since September 1989, and I think it’s time to call it quits. I’m too burned out at this point to even consider getting a Ph.D - just thinking about more schooling makes me want to crawl into a hole and die.
So, what’s next for me post-May 23rd? Well, I’m moving back to the city of my birth, New York City. My dad and I left NYC in 1993 and I’ve missed the city ever since. But hey, you only live once, right? I’m just a broke, unemployed Master’s degree candidate looking to live her life to its fullest (and find a decent job in NYC).
Anyway, March was somewhat eventful:
1. my dad came home from his 6 month job in Iraq
2. I took a trip to the Star City of the South for 5 days to visit the coolest person I know (and her mom)
3. I turned in 2 papers and took 2 midterms No, that doesn’t count.
4. Murky Capitol Hill officially closed and I became officially unemployed for the first time since November 2003
Okay, so perhaps March wasn’t even somewhat eventful - but what did actually happen was a pretty big deal. April will be more eventful - not that I’m really looking forward to all of it; but 30 days of uneventful-ness is really lame. No one wants that.
Every time I inhale, there’s another race blog somewhere.
Here’s the list (of the one’s I find mildly interesting), in order of my discovery:
1. Stuff White People Like
2. Stuff Educated Black People Like
3. Stuff Asian People Like
4. Stuff Black People Hate
Holy crap. I’m really hoping these “Stuff _____ People Like” sites branch out to religions, regions/cities, and even nationalities. Or maybe that’s going too far… Perhaps.
Anyway, Stuff White People Like and Stuff Black People Hate are tied for my #1 favorite. If the authors of either of those 2 blogs read this post, I LOVE YOUR WEBSITES! Seriously. I can only wish to one day have your wit and sarcasm. Keep up the awesome.
Besides the fact that I really enjoyed Spain when I studied abroad there, my name could be considered stupid, and I’m getting a master’s degree, a small part of me agrees with just about everything on Stuff Black People Hate. I’m especially a fan of the author’s responses to the folks who feel the need to post negative comments… Priceless.
Reading these blogs is an excellent way to procrastinate, by the way.
Naturally, I would read the EBP list first, to see how I rate alongside other educated black people; but I ran into the WP list first, so that was my first evaluation. Oddly enough, I have a whole lot in common with white people - 25% of that list (23 out of 92). Does that make me white (or 1/4 white, for now)? Or am I just a product of my upbringing in a predominantly white town/school/neighborhood/college?
On the other hand, I don’t feel like I have a lot in common with my fellow EBP’s… However, according to my recent calculations, I have 7 out of 24 things in common with EBP’s - almost 30% of the current list. That makes me more black than white (for now)!
I guess that makes sense… :)
P.S. my favorite on the EBP list is #13 - “Talking About Uneducated Black People”.
I’m almost out of coffee… and that is NOT a good thing. Unfortunately, as a former barista and wannabe-coffee connoisseur, I can’t buy any “regular” brands of coffee beans ( *bucks, Dunkin Donuts, etc). It’s against my religion, or something. That means I’ll have to go out of my way, through some really inconvenient means, and find a decent bag of coffee beans. In the past few weeks I’ve tried 3 different brands of coffee and have been satisfied with all 3… which is a problem. I’m terrible at making simple decisions.
Coffee #1: Caffe Vita’s Caffe del Sol. I got a small bag of these beans for free at Coffee Fest 2008 (Yes, I am a nerd - don’t hate). Although Caffe del Sol is an espresso blend (Latin American +African +Indonesian beans), the Caffe Vita rep told me it would taste great as a press. He was so right. I could just smack myself for not grabbing more bags while I was there. Caffe Vita is based in Washington (the state) which is absolutely not a short metro ride away. It would cost me $13 + shipping costs for a one-pound bag of these lovely beans. Is it worth it?
Coffee #2: Counter Culture Coffee’s ANYTHING. I love this company - Murky Coffee uses and sells their beans. The coffee I first fell in love with was something from Ethiopia Yirgacheffe (it sucks that I can’t remember any other details; there are a billion farms in Yirgacheffe) and I loved that bright, kinda fruity flavor. Since that fateful day in November 2006, my tastebuds have changed and I no longer adore most African coffees like I used to - I have moved onto the Latin American region. A couple of my favorites now are Guatemala Huehuetenango Finca Nueva Armenia and Colombia Cauca La Golondrina ‘Super Lot’. I’m into the not-as-bright-and-fruity (to put it simply) flavors now. These 2 fit the bill. Unfortunately, my Murky store is dead, but there’s another Murky still truckin’ along in Arlington - which means my only shipping costs would be the metro ride to get there. Plus, I’m pretty sure I’d still get a 20% discount (since I haven’t officially quit, I think). So: $10 - $2 + the metro ride to VA = the price I would pay for just one 12 oz. bag. I wonder if that’s worth it…
Coffee #3: Baltimore Coffee & Tea’s Costa Rican Tarazzu. I’m actually drinking it right now, and it’s just delightful. I heard of BC&T from a friend of a friend (a guy who is more of a coffee connoisseur than I am), so I decided to make the trip up to Annapolis (I like driving adventures) to see the place before devoting $15 to a bag of beans. I wasn’t impressed with the staff, but they definitely have quite the selection of coffee beans. Anyway - I really like the Costa Rican Tarazzu - a lot. I’d definitely buy these beans again. I doubt it’s worth another driving adventure (I can’t really afford gas anymore, since I’m unemployed), but I’d feel comfortable making an online purchase. That would set me back $9.89 + $6 for shipping. Hmm…
I have approximately 5 more french presses left before I run out of beans. Yikes.
I haven’t forgotten about you, I swear. I know I made the pact that I would try to write about somewhat interesting things on a regular basis, but something has come up… I have a ginormous midterm tomorrow in my international development economics class. And God only knows what I’m actually being tested on.
Basically, I’ve been studying my brains out for the past few days and seriously neglecting you. I’m really sorry. I’ve been neglecting other things too, like food and sleep and applying for jobs, if it makes you feel any better. After tomorrow at 9:30pm, I will be a better person, I promise.
The first one basically sums up my entire barista career, from November 2003 until now. I’m so glad someone ranted about it on craigslist. I couldn’t have said it better. This is just an excerpt:
“First of all, I am one of the fastest barista’s in the company. I can take your huge order from you and whip them out in record time without making a mistake. But when you choose to pull up, already having seen the long line on both sides of my window, please don’t tell me that you’re in a hurry and I need to make your drink FAST. This will just make me move slower, because, what kind of idiot stops to get coffee when you’re running late?
Having said that I am super fast, I am human, however, and do make mistakes on occasion. I know it was my fault, and if you come back I will be more than happy to remake it for you and offer you a second drink. But if you act like a dick that I accidentally gave you sugar free caramel in the 16oz instead of the 12oz, then that’s just going to piss me off. Maybe if you hadn’t rapid-fired your 7 drinks at me, then rolled your window up, I wouldn’t mix things up.
Speaking of ordering 7 drinks… no big deal. But when you rack up a $28 tab, and don’t leave a tip, that’s just rude. It’s even more rude when your company pays for your tab, and you still don’t leave a tip. Would you spend $30 at a restaurant and not leave a tip? You would? Oh, well fuck you then.”
My thoughts exactly.
Second, is the rant about the dog shit. It had me laughing from the first sentence:
” All I have to say is Fuck You for not picking up your dog’s shit.”
The rest is just an angry and hilarious rant on how the person is plagued by the dog poo s/he stepped in. Read it.
I found it amusing… perhaps other people will too. Reading the “Best of Craigslist” posts is an excellent way to spend late nights that should be spent doing homework.
Of course, as a grad school student in public policy, I have a crap load of reading to do throughout the semester. So far, all of the reading I’ve done has been straight up boring. I hate having to buy books that I don’t enjoy. Especially when those are the books that no one enjoys, so I’ll probably have a hard time selling them at the end of the semester.
Despite the fact that the first half of my semester readings have been dull, I’m looking forward to a few books.
In the amazon.com review, they compare this book to a thriller and a detective’s tale. Wow. I don’t think the book is written as a story, but I need it to be an interesting read. The IMF and how it screwed over Argentina… sounds like a good time.
I think half of my professors are bffs with this author. I’ve read a ton of his works. Generally, I like the way this dude thinks. This book should be another insightful read about not relying on economic growth to pull nations away from their problems.
More possible solutions to extreme poverty? Why not. I enjoy reading others’ ideas. I like people who think outside of the box with this kind of stuff.
I do have other assigned readings, but I probably won’t read them. Partially because I’m not interested, partially because I hate wasting my time on dull books, and partially because I won’t have time with all the papers I will be writing. Grad school is all about prioritizing, right? Well, I’m making time for what’s important: the above 3 books and my writing assignments.
53 days until this grad school insanity is over. I won’t miss it.
I used to work here. As of last night, Murky Coffee Capitol Hill is no more. I am now a retired barista - and it’s not even my fault.
The store was seized by the DC government because my boss hasn’t paid taxes for a long while. Idiot.
I will miss all the regular customers who made my day a little brighter: Rachel (large americano), the “large half-caf and a Washington Post” guy, Peter (small americano in a medium cup), Lou (earl gray tea), Robert, Erica & Natalia (espressos/classics/cappuccinos), Mark (half-caf coffee), Alice, the medium latte and ham and cheese croissant guy, the biscotti guy, Mickey (large skim latte with 2 splendas), the large skim latte with 6 shots lady, all of the awesome teachers, the double espresso guy with little Jonah, the guy and his wife who got a large breve and a small cappuccino, Trey (medium latte/christina aguilera/britney spears), the medium skim latte guy, the medium skim latte lady, Bill and Evelyn (who always criticized the latte art on their 2 medium non-fat lattes for here), Joe (medium americano), the small mocha with whipped cream guy, the woman with the red and blue travel mugs (the decaf cappuccino and the mocha with whipped cream), Nate (large skim au lait), Brian “Time” (medium super hot white mocha), Tom (the artist), Tom (with the crazy hair), the medium 2% latte guy who later switched to double espresso macchiatos, Ryan (large caramel mocha), the coffee family family (2 larges and a medium or 2 mediums and a large or 1 large, 1 medium and 1 small), Gene and his wife (classics/americanos/medium mochas with whipped cream), Dave (classic cappuccino), Amy (classic cappuccino), Pat (classic cappuccino), Adam (coffee in a mug), “Smokey Joe” who spilled sugar ALL OVER the condiment bar (half-caf for here)…
There are just so many people to remember, but I will miss it all (except for that amazingly hot steam wand that left a nice scar on my arm).
I love TED. And I love Hans Rosling. I really appreciate this video because it makes me believe that there are people in this world (besides myself) who understand that you can’t have a one-size-fits-all solution to global issues like extreme poverty. I feel like such a “development nerd” (if there are such people), but Mr. Rosling gave an excellent presentation. The animations in the video were awesome and very easy to understand. It is so important to not only compare countries to each other, in terms of factors like income distribution and life expectancy, you must look within a country as well. The results are surprising. I really liked how he broke down the data so the audience could see the huge variance within African nations. Just because a nation is poor, it doesn’t mean one can cast a “blanket aid solution” over the entire country…
I could go on and on about this stuff. Just watch the video… and if you love it, go to TED for even more awesomely thought-provoking videos.
