start the countdown…

Tonight is my last night in Connecticut.

That means, MOST IMPORTANTLY, no more commuting for 4+ hours, Monday through Friday (and sometimes Saturday and Sunday).

It also means:

a) I get to sleep until 8am every morning (and can stay up past midnight without freaking out)

b) I can start aimlessly wandering around the city

c) I have a place to live in the city (duh)

d) I have no excuse not to visit my family who already lives in the city

e) Adam will probably be seeing more of me

f) I can start crocheting and cooking (not at the same time) again

I’m almost looking forward to Monday because it’ll be the first day of my new commute :)

All of that aside, I mostly enjoyed myself with my Connecticut family. I actually wish I could’ve spent more time with them – sadly, I’m pretty sure I spent the majority of my time commuting. I’m forever grateful for them letting me live in their guest room (not completely rent-free, but really low rent) and eat their food for 4 months. It’s been real.

Now it’s time for me to get the hell out and (finally) get a life. Booya.

*** Side note: I’m hoping not to spend over $600 at IKEA tomorrow. I would really hate it if I did… but I actually have a lot to buy, so that could be hard. Dammit.

act 3: _______

When I first thought about this “weekend-in-three-acts” thing, I thought I had the three acts all planned out. Unfortunately, act 3 (which I’ve been trying to write for about 20 minutes) never amounted to anything informative, so I decided to delete it.

So, in it’s place I’m going to write about something else: what’s next after NYC?

I’ve been on the East Coast my entire life – except for those times I briefly left the area. I’m a fan of this side of the States. Aside from the insane humidity over the summer and the growing inconsistency of the seasons, it works for me. I started in New York City, moved to Roanoke, spent some time in Charlottesville, and then DC/College Park – and now I’m back in the Big Apple.

After my stint in NYC (maybe 2-3 years), it will be time for a more drastic change. Chicago? Atlanta?

But here’s my problem: I don’t know much about what this “glorious” country has to offer. It’s not mandatory that I live in one of those big major cities. I just don’t know how to pick up and move somewhere. How do people end up in those smaller cities and random suburbs?

That said, I don’t think I’m anywhere close to “settling”. For starters, I’m still single. I have nothing holding me down (well, besides my sanity). Second, not only do I have 90% of this country left to see – I have so much of the world to visit!

I better get to livin’… (sorry about the Dolly Parton reference)

*** Side note: spending time in Atlanta this past weekend got me thinking about where I could see myself after NYC. I like Atlanta. It’s nothing like DC (which is nice), it’s much cleaner than NYC (also nice) and it’s warmer than both places (bonus points).

act 2: beer and barbecue

October 24-25, 2008:

I don’t think I’ve ever drank so much beer and eaten so much barbecue in 2 consecutive days, ever. This is probably because of the lack-of-life I’ve had for the past 2 years (Damn you, grad school).

It started at the Bull Roast. Peter and I each paid $50 for all you can eat and drink barbecue and beer. I am in no way a big spender, especially on alcohol, so this was a stretch for me. I figured, I only hang out with Peter a few times a year; I can afford $50 for a good time. No – not that kind of a good time. Ha.

Anyway, I totally got my $50 worth of beer and barbecue at the Bull Roast. Towards the end of the night I felt good enough to dance – something I rarely do in public, sober. I wasn’t sober, obviously, but I wasn’t drunk. I reached my happy medium where I can still walk and I think before I speak, but I start to talk a little louder and my accent changes. Overall, it was a fun time – all in the name of UVA and football. Go Hoos :)

The feasting on barbecue and beer continued on Saturday before the football game. Instead of visiting all the tailgates we were “invited” to the night before, Peter and I – along with Emily, Megan and Laura, hit up a barbecue and beer place to stuff our faces before the game. Sadly, Peter got a pitcher of Bud Light – a “football beer” he claimed. Umm… no. But I drank it anyway.

the weekend: in 3 acts

***Side note: these acts are not in chronological order. I apologize in advance.

Act 1: Saturday, October 25, 2008. The football game.

For those who don’t follow ACC football, the University of Virginia beat Georgia Tech 24-17! I can’t tell you how excited that made me on Saturday, and how excited that still makes me today. I love it when Virginia wins, but I love it even more when Virginia beats schools at their homecoming games. I was also happy for Peter, who really, really wanted to see UVA beat Georgia Tech. Basically Georgia Tech to him is what the University of Maryland is to me – hell on Earth – and it’s always pleasant one of the best things EVER to watch your grad school suffer at the loss of a football game.

Booya, Georgia Tech.

Oh – and to the Georgia Tech fan who called UVA a “safety school”, he can kiss my ass big left toe. UVA is not a safety school. I hope he felt like a douche bag after his school lost. I wish I could’ve laughed in his face… but I was too busy singing the Good Ol’ Song with my fellow Wahoos.

apologies (and a question)

I just want to apologize for a few things:

1. I haven’t been posting about my 29 Day Giving Challenge and I feel terrible. Don’t give up on me, though – I’m always trying to do good things in the world. When I’m not busy at work or traveling around the East Coast, I’ll give some updates.

2. I REALLY wanted to make a vlog yesterday (even though I hate the sound of my voice when it’s recorded), but I totally failed. I’ll make one, I swear, but it’ll just be on my own time.

3. I just haven’t been posting about anything lately. I guess things are happening in my life, but you guys know the gist of it – I found a new apartment (already “furnished” with a roommate), I work all day, I commute to and from Connecticut all day, and I hang out with Adam. Nothing new.

4. I have a 1.5 day vacation (plus the weekend) – STARTING TODAY! I’m really excited about leaving town, but I might be more excited about not having to commute to work for a couple of days. ONLY 5 MORE DAYS OF COMMUTING BEFORE I MOVE!

5. (the question) I want to change the name of my blog (badly) and the theme. Any ideas/website suggestions? Would it be cheesy to use my name in some creative fashion?

it’s my turn

Since Libby has generously tagged me in her meme thingy, now it’s my turn to be super cool :)

I guess I should kinda follow directions…

Rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is UP.

Hmm… Six non-important things about myself? That could be difficult, especially with my me, in list form page, but I might be able to come up with something.

1. I have an irrational fear of earthquakes. I call it irrational because I became afraid of them before I was ever in one. During undergrad, the state of Virginia was hit with 2 earthquakes (seriously) and I was 100% freaked out. Until then, I thought I could avoid them (by not traveling anywhere near the West Coast) – but now I realize there’s no escape. Crap.

2. I love sharpies. Yeah – the permanent markers. I don’t have every color, but I very badly want every color in every style. It’s a slightly weird obsession.

3. When I was 15 or so, I was cleaning my parents’ George Foreman Grill after dinner, and the top of it fell on my wrist and totally burned the hell out of me. I still have the scar – almost 10 years later. I don’t think it’s ever going away :(

4. I’m absolutely terrible at flirting. Yeah, I fail.

5. When listening to my ipod while walking (which is nearly always) I like to walk in step to my music. I blame my years of marching band. Sadly, if the song is too fast, too slow, or in a weird time signature, that doesn’t happen.

6. I cry at everything. Sappy movies, cute puppies, airports (watching people greet family and friends), saying goodbye to friends… all of it makes me, at least, a little teary eyed. And sometimes my eyes just water for no reason. I have constantly wet eyes.

Okay, I think I’ll be a rebel and not send this out to exactly six people (how about one special blogger who likes surveys and memes?). I hope this meme isn’t attached to one of those chain letters that promises sudden death if I don’t follow the rules exactly. Yikes.

Have fun, toshspice :)

new things

1. I gave my final work presentation today – THANK GOD. I’m so glad I scheduled those 3 presentations in the same week. Now I can concentrate on the other gazillion things I still have to do for work…

2. I FOUND AN APARTMENT. Gosh, what an extremely tiring process. I don’t want to look at craigslist again for at least 2 months. As a matter of fact, I’m removing it from my “Bookmarks” tab in firefox. I’m so crazy excited about moving into the city because my commute to work will go from 2 hours to 40 minutes. I really don’t think words alone can express my excitement. I can finally have a life/start my new life in New York City. Oh my gosh… I’m soooooo happy.

Oh – and my new roommate (I’m down to one roommate now) is great too! I’m already starting to think of how I want to decorate my new space. And since my rent is so low, I can pimp out my room with all kinds of cool things (and maybe even save up for a new macbook).

3. In less than 7 days, I’m treating myself to a mini-vacation. It will be nice super awesome to get away from the tri-state area for a few days. I CANNOT WAIT. Again, my job is great, but my brain is tired.

presentation #2 (5/29)

The gift of today was my 2nd presentation.

This one went MUCH better than yesterday’s in-person presentation. I like the webinars a whole lot better.

But overall, I really do like the fact that I’m telling people interested in social change about the fellowship program we offer. I think it’s important to encourage individuals with great ideas on ways to save the world to take action and make those ideas a reality.

nothing day (4/29)

I got very little done at work today. I arrived around 8:50am, read some emails, then all of a sudden it was 10am and my team wanted to have a morning meeting. Our morning meetings usually last about an hour, but that’s mostly because we go off on tangents a lot – mainly about college football and Sarah Palin. My bladder was about to explode around 11:15am, so I got to leave before they rest of my team began their weekly Sarah Palin bashing. I spent the next 2 hours reading over the powerpoint I would be giving to students at Columbia University that afternoon. Before I knew it, it was 2:30pm – time to leave for 116th Street – and it was the end of my work day. I accomplished just about nothing at work.

I’m not the best presenter in the world. It was my first presentation of my organization and I think it went okay. It looked like everyone understood the words coming out of my mouth, and based on the questions asked afterward, I think I did an okay job explaining things. Luckily, my audience was 3 students + 2 event organizers + 1 co-worker, so it was a fairly small and casual occassion. I still managed to get nervous. I absolutely have to stop doing that.

So, as my day 4 (part 2) gift to the world, I gave my work presentation. It seemed like people were generally appreciative of our presence and advice. Even if one of those 3 students apply for the fellowship, I will be happy.

By the way, I’m still searching for an apartment in the City of New York. I’m sick and tired of traveling all over the damn city then not hearing back from people saying whether or not they want to rent a room to me. Commuting back and forth from Connecticut is a draining process – then to add traveling around NYC to that just makes things borderline hellish for me. Please make it stop.

Tonight I visited a place in Queens, which seemed very nice. For lack of a better adjective, the apartment, my room, the neighborhood, my potential roommate… all of it was nice. So, I really, really hope she gets back to me soon. I want things to work in my favor this time. I need a break from Craigslist.

an off day

Since I had the day off, I stayed inside all day and had very minimal human interaction.

I did some work. I watched Chuck and Heroes. I made fettuccine alfredo with chicken and red velvet cake (from the box). I showered twice – the first time was for cleaning and the second time was because I was freezing. I cleaned my room. I sang a bit. I was on craigslist all day looking for apartments to rent.

What an uneventful day.

Sadly, I didn’t get to day 4 of my 29 day challenge. I’ll pick it up again tomorrow.