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Monday, November 29, 2004
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One thing that I forgot to write about regarding Thanksgiving (and I can't believe I forgot it)....
Before we started dinner, Andrew's Dad gave a toast (as would be expected - we always pray at home but not everyone does that). At the start of his toast, he said something about how things would be better if John Kerry was going to be our next President. Now, I know I'm not as "liberal" as the people I was eating with, and I know I didn't vote for John Kerry (though I would have, had it been only two candidates on the ballot, and I was planning on it, up until the day before Election Day), but I just thought it was so inappropriate. Thanksgiving is a time when we're supposed to be THANKFUL for what we have, and for us to really appreciate it, because there are so many people who have so much less than us. So to start a thankful toast like that....
Anyway, I found this article in the Boston Globe, and I thought it was important for me to post. And also, I will post the things that I wrote up that I am thankful for (this was my away message on Thursday):
- I'm thankful for my health and for my family and theirs.
- I'm thankful for the apartment that I live in and the food that I eat.
- I'm thankful for my friends - in Boston, in Illinois, in Ithaca, all over the country and the world.
- I'm thankful to have a job I like going to every morning, that keeps me occupied and provided for.
- I'm thankful for my safety and the support of others in my personal pursuits.
- I'm thankful for my country and those working hard today and everyday to protect me.
- I'm thankful for my faith.
- I'm thankful to have a place to go and people to see today for a festive meal.
I hope you're all thankful for something, too.
- Lizzardie, at 9:48 PM
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Sunday, November 28, 2004
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And now, as promised (over a week ago) - new colors! They aren't too interesting, just a brick red, but it's better than the blue, I think. Still working on the scrollbar - it looks a little off to me, but maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about. :-P
- Lizzardie, at 11:23 PM
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Okay, Post 4/4. Thanksgiving "Break".
This weekend was pretty dull. EVERYONE I know left Boston in favor of home. Yeah, everyone. Susan even flew back to California, and Karen, who's family is from here, went to Washington DC to visit her brother. My roommates were of course gone, as well (Jamie spent all weekend at her parents', even though it's so close in Rhode Island). So yeah, pretty boring weekend. I had Thanksgiving dinner with the CEO of my company, Andrew, and his family. His mother and father live close by, near Harvard Square, so that was convenient, and Jeff from work came as well. It was a collection of Ivy League snobs, of sorts, with me from Cornell, Jeff from UPenn, and Andrew and his sister Kerry from Brown. :-) Andrew's daughter Samantha is 22 months and adorable, and the food was really good - it was a nice evening. And then I came back here for Will & Grace and Apprentice.
I spent most of the weekend watching TV, West Wing/Alias DVDs, and scanning things. I didn't even get dressed yesterday. Yes, I'm that lazy. Today I did get dressed, though, and I rearranged my room! I'm not sure if it gives more space, but I think it looks better and will allow me to be a bit neater (though that may take a miracle). I need real furniture, and with some rearranging of funds, I just might be able to buy it now - we'll see. I'd rather not put myself further in debt, so we'll see.
The most interesting part of my weekend has to do with thefacebook.com. Now, I try not to be obsessed with the site, and have a general rule about not adding people unless they add me (I've made 2 exceptions). But, I got a friend invite from an old friend from high school (yes, the high school friends have started adding me, isn't it cute), and it turns out that she goes to Tufts! That means that since she's from Bolingbrook, she probably lives closer to me now than we did in high school (not that we went to high school for that long together - she was a freshman when I was a senior). But yeah, hopefully we'll be able to meet up, because it'd be nice to have more friends around here. I'm a facebook believer now - maybe I'll even add my actual friends who I've neglected because they just haven't added me. Or maybe I'll stop the obsession before it grows bigger.
That's all. My weekend of continuous updates is over now. Back to work tomorrow.
- Lizzardie, at 10:46 PM
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(Post 3/4)
Post 3 out of... hmm, maybe it will only be 3. :-)
I'm watching an episode of Law and Order that I've already seen, so why not update. :-) This will be about Ithaca.
So last weekend I went to Ithaca for Induction. Liz H and Karen tagged along, so it was nice to have company in the car, although we left really late last Thursday (I had Friday off, yay!) and I required a large Dunkin' Donuts latte halfway through the trip (yes, at 11:00pm). So yeah, I had a lot of time to just putz around. Friday I closed my old bank account (so sad after 5 years) and just generally hung out. Induction was held at the house, which was a little... weird. But yay family pictures. I snuck out for awhile with the alumni (and soon to be alumna Megan) for ice cream, which was a grand time (Jasmine's, also formerly known as Eat Dessert First, now known as Cafe Pacific, but always Jasmine's to me). We had lots of alumni gatherings/meals over the weekend, including dinner at Aladdin's on Friday, the ice cream thing, lunch at Ruloff's on Saturday, Stella's and Ruloff's for drinks Saturday night and ABC Cafe for brunch on Sunday (yikes, that's a lot). For each of those, maybe one of two active students joined us, but that's about it.
My favorite part of the weekend was visiting the Johnson Art Museum. I went with Demetri and Bianchi on Saturday, and while we did peruse the whole Museum, my favorite part was the sub-basement. There were two exhibits, one by E.V. Day, and the other by Jane Alden Stevens. I'm not really sure how to describe the work of E.V. Day, but it is mostly sculptures that involve a lot of string things. Look it up. Anyway, it was fabulous, and my favorite one of the sculptures was probably the red thong and garter belt, just because it was really risque and just oh so cool. The Stevens work was photography, and was an exhibit called Tears of Stone: World War I Remembered. It was all sorts of war photographs - monuments, tombstones, wreaths, etc... There was one that looked to be a wreath leaning against a building with water flowing down over steps. Because it was black and white, it was almost as if it could double as blood. There were cards lining the walls of the room, and people had written there thoughts on the exhibit on them. The first card I read said, "Enough". The whole exhibit - the way it was set up and the cards were really moving and beautiful. It broke my heart to see it, but it was incredible. I don't want to bring politics into this, but I think that you cannot deny that war is sad, no matter what.
On to more cheery things. Saturday night, after spending time with Scott and Julie and other leadership people doing Alumni Advisor things (mostly just brainstorming and talking, one of my favorite things to do), a bunch of us went out to the bars. It was my first time drinking with Megan, which was really exciting. I'm glad she'll be around another semester, even though she's graduating. We went to Stella's first, at my demand, because I wanted a particular drink there. I knew what it was, but couldn't remember its name. Now I know it though AND I know exactly what it's made of (according to the description at least) so maybe I can recreate it. :-) The drink is called a Drunken Hemingway. It has Stoli Vanil and lime juice with a lime wedge and pineapple wedge garnish, served in a martini glass. DELICIOUS. I love Stella's. Afterwards, we went to Ruloff's, also a good time, and then back to the house at midnight for Kathy's 21st birthday. I got her some drinkware - martini glasses and a shaker - while Demetri got her a foot stool. Kathy had given Demetri his Christmas present early, and it was a jewel-encrusted turtle. Ohh, how I love my friends. Anyway, after presents, we went to Wings Over Ithaca, because Kathy wanted a under-21 friendly venue that still serves alcohol. That was fine with me because I hadn't had wings in a long time. YUM.
Sunday was pretty chill - brunch, meeting and then heading off. Liz had to be dropped off at the Albany airport, and I then proceeded to take the wrong way home (it put me out of my way about 15 miles) but ahh well. I got to spend some time talking to Karen, which is always nice. I was EXHAUSTED when I got back, though.
Okay, that ends the Ithaca portion of my entries (though I'll be back there next weekend for a big discussion meeting and the formal, and to present my scholarship - I'm borrowing one of Cat's dresses!).
- Lizzardie, at 7:26 PM
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Friday, November 26, 2004
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(Post 2/4)
Post 2 for the weekend (I'll go back and put the number when I know it, later).
I shall update while my food is cooking and I'm watching the TLC What Not to Wear Marathon. This update is about my car.
I know that my car probably sounds boring, but seriously, I hate the damn thing right now. About 2 weeks ago, the check engine light came on. I was a little worried, because I was going to Ithaca in a little over a week. So I called the Hyundai dealership that's across the street from work, and they said it's probably just the gas cap, and I should drive it for 100 to 200 miles. Right. Anyway, I was worried about it when we drove up to NH, but it got us there and back. And then the next day it went off! Yay!
Of course, on my way home from work, I got into a car accident. Not my fault, mind you. I had turned onto Hancock, right by my apartment. It's one way, and because 2-way. Right at that point, at Charnwood, also one-way, a car decided it would be a good idea to back up around the corner, without looking, right into my car. *sigh* It was rather frightening. And of course, the driver had a 732 area code... that's right, he's from NEW JERSEY!!! OMG, they are such terrible drivers, only made worse by being in Boston. Despite that, though, he's been really great. We didn't file a police report and thus far haven't gotten in touch with the insurance companies, but so far, so good. And of course, the very next day, my check engine light came back on (only to go off the day after that and then on the other day... sigh).
I'm taking the car in on Monday to get an estimate for accident damage, see what's going on with the check engine light, and to get my speaker fixed! While driving to NH (or on the way home, I guess), Herb discovered that my speakers weren't on. Once we discovered that, Liz H discovered that one of the speakers just doesn't work. Argh.
When I dropped Herb off last Tuesday, I had been telling him that I'm a paranoid driver - I'm afraid of hitting something/someone, so that makes me a less smooth driver. He agreed that it's important to not do that. But now... I was driving to work last Thursday, the day after the accident, and I got really shook up. The drivers around here are so disrespectful and careless - of course I got into an accident. And it leads me to believe it won't be the last one. Everyone is in such a hurry that they aren't getting anywhere, and they're going to get delayed. I should just get rid of my stupid car (grrr).
Another post later.
- Lizzardie, at 9:14 PM
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(Post 1/4)
Post 1 of a lot for the weekend (I hope).
I have a lot to update on, so I figure that I'll try and put them in small parts, because otherwise it'll get too long and I'll get bored anyhow. This post is about the Beijing Opera.
About a week and a half ago, I trekked up to Portsmouth, NH, to see the Beijing Opera with Kate and Herb. Kate had gotten comp tickets from a friend of hers and needed a ride - I was happy to oblige, as was Herb, so we both went. I drove, because my car has insurance and two headlights (things that Herb's car does not have or did not have at the time). And, as an added bonus, the show was sponsored by the Cornell East Asia Department. :-)
Anyway, the show was really good. I enjoy theatre a lot to begin with, and the seats were good. It was called The Adventures of the Monkey King, and it was divided into 3 Acts. It was not opera in the traditionally thought of sense (I've never seen an Italian opera, so I can only guess on that), though apparently in the really really traditional sense, it was. Opera is merely a type of theatre, after all. I expected a lot of singing, but there was only singing in the second act.
The three acts were three different short plays. Before each one, they gave us a little backgroud on each, and also taught us fun things about the history or Chinese words or something. For the last one, they translated parts of it into English, so that we would have a better idea what was going on. The costumes were amazing, and so was the action - plenty of dancing and impressive stage fighting. The music was pretty much the same the whole way through, so nothing too impressive with that. In general, I had a really good time and Kate is awesome for inviting me.
It did make me realize how much I miss theatre, though. I hadn't seen a show of any kind in over a year, and I really miss it. It's Christmas time, and I would really like to find a showing of The Nutcracker (okay, that's more ballet than theatre but I love that too), however, I know it would be expensive. I'd just like to figure out ways to take advantage of any theatre around Boston, and if I can't find any here, well, a short trip down to NYC would be worth it for a Broadway musical (and I'm sure Amy would be thrilled by that).
That's all for now. Later on today/tomorrow there will be updates on things like my car, Ithaca, art, Thanksgiving and anything in between, plus other miscellaneous stuff. :-)
- Lizzardie, at 11:19 AM
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Friday, November 19, 2004
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I've changed the color scheme slightly, because everyone complains that the site is hard to read. I am, however, over the blue, and seeing it reversed makes me feel that way even more so. So, you should expect the new favorite color to make an appearance as soon as I have a chance to find the "right" shades - lots of red. :-)
I still have to write about the opera, which I promise to do. Also about Ithaca, which is where I am right now, and everything in between. But not now. Now I will hang out and try and find a new Christmas ringtone for my phone (I need one in place by Friday).
Later...
- Lizzardie, at 3:55 PM
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Monday, November 15, 2004
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Relevant to both my job and this page: Welcome to the new Tom Paines.
I in fact found out about the article from the CEO of my company in an office-wide email today, and it is only relevant to this page in that this is a blog, albiet one of the "skull-crushingly dull" ones. :-)
Tomorrow: The Adventures of the Monkey King: A Beijing Opera. Yeah, I'll be sure to write about that one. :-)
- Lizzardie, at 10:52 PM
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Sunday, November 14, 2004
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All we need is just a little patience....
I think patience is something that I really need to learn. If I want something, I want it NOW, otherwise it's not worth fighting for. Immediate indulgence, that's what I'm for. Or I have things planned out to the month or day or whatever, and since I've done that, I can wait. But I hated waiting in line to vote and I hate waiting at a restaurant or for a parking space. And ohh my, do I hate stopping during a road trip, because I'm so impatient to get where I'm going.
But some things are so entirely out of my hands, even when they have everything to do with me. And it's so frustrating because I know what I want and I know what needs to happen, but I can't make it happen. I mean, I could, but something tells me that I shouldn't be the one to make the first move, that this isn't the right time (and no, we're not talking about hitting on a guy or anything). So I must wait. And wait and wait and wait, and know that I'm so very close yet so very far away. Argh.
In other news, a good weekend. I straightened my hair, just to see how it looks with the new haircut, and I hate it, so not doing that again any time soon. I get my hair cut so that it looks good curly, and since it's so think and plentiful, it would really have to have mega layers to look good straight, except that looks like clown hair curly. It's lose-lose, really.
Liz Hartman is here now - I picked her up from the airport yesterday. We then went for Indian food for dinner (nice place, Diva in Davis Square). Then, after dropping off our leftovers, we headed BACK to Davis Square to go to The Joshua Tree. We were meeting up with this guy and his friend that Liz pseudo-knew. In that, his aunt and her aunt are friends, and they put the two of them in touch with each other. We spent the first half an hour we were there trying to figure out which set of guys they were, and whether we wanted to talk to them. :-) Today we had dinner at Christopher's (apparently my default place to take people, and the same table at that!) with Kate and Alex and Herb, and then Kate and Alex and I went back to Herb's to watch the first half of the Patriots game (Liz had a work thing to go to). And that was my weekend. I intended to make food for the week tonight, but that clearly did not happen, so I guess I'm eating soup tomorrow or eating out. Ahh well - I can cook tomorrow night. And perhaps the Beijing Opera on Tuesday with Kate (and maybe Herb). And work tomorrow. And that damn patience thing - arghh!!!
Truth takes time (I think that's my third pop culture reference this post - at least knowing so).
- Lizzardie, at 10:48 PM
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Friday, November 12, 2004
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The hair cut is shorter than I was hoping for, but it does look a million times better. It's more curly and less frizzy and has some actual shape to it. She cut some long layers in the back and angled the front - all and all, it ends up being about shoulder length. I'll be happier in a month when it's grown a little longer. :-)
After my haircut, I went for a walk. I walked down to Harvard Square and then along the river, which was really pretty. It was a nice day outside, and then got really cold, so I'm glad I went when I did. The leaves and just the general atmosphere were really nice - if I had a way to display pictures, I would.
I did, however, lose my car key. Yes, I know that I lose my keys all the time, but this time I think I lost just the single key while I was out walking, so it's really gone. No big deal - I have a spare that I will now have copied, but it still sucked. The following day, my check engine light came on, too! I think my car has something against me. The service shop at the local Hyundai dealership said it is probably the gas cap, but still... my car is only under warranty for 8500 more miles, and I've had problems 2 times this year already, with possibly a third. :-/ Ahh well. Less than 2 years until I'm done with payments and can then trade it in. :-) And in the meantime, Herb gave me some tips on how to take care of her better (as he usually does, and I then promptly forget).
Monday I saw the most traumatic Law and Order EVER. Seriously. It was so bad that my roommate spent all of Tuesday thinking about it and shuddering.
I've been contemplating some things the past couple of days. Nothing bad, per say, just stuff on my mind. I think it's the general process of getting back on your feet after a rather bad period of time. It'll all work itself out.
Tomorrow, I pick Liz Hartman up from the airport, for her 5-day stay in Boston (before we both head to Ithaca). It'll be good to see her and to have some fun galavanting with her (if she has time, her training keeps her pretty busy).
Wine always seems to taste better when I'm enjoying it with other people.
- Lizzardie, at 7:15 PM
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Saturday, November 06, 2004
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I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow. I'm kinda scared, because I haven't cut my hair in over a year (terrible, I know) and the last time I did it was when I donated it. At that point, it was so short and I wasn't a big fan. So tomorrow, I'm hoping to take off the dead ends, but preserve as much of the length as possible, while doing something to bring out the curl. I'm paying a decent amount for the cut, so hopefully it'll be something nice. Here's hoping...
- Lizzardie, at 9:42 PM
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Friday, November 05, 2004
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This article pretty much sums up how I'm feeling about the election these days: Give it up, you wussies (just the first part of the article, it goes on forever). I know that it won't show up forever, especially if you're not registered with the Chicago Tribune, so I'll post my favorite part here:
"I am deeply upset with friends and associates who are denigrating Bush supporters as being rural, religious and somehow dim. I think very hard about the coalitions that joined to elect Franklin Roosevelt so many times and I see exactly the same people -- that time on the Democratic side. They were depicted as noble working class people in all of Diego Rivera's paintings in those days. I just can't make the transition into demonizing them just because time has passed.
"Why they would choose "morality" over economic self-interest confounds me, but that's what they did.
"Who am I to judge?
"The sense is that if you are not at Northwestern or the University of Chicago or a lesser place like Harvard or MIT, working on an advanced degree, well then, you are simply not equipped to make a political decision. That is just so wrong. Life is what qualifies people to vote. The issues, the beliefs, the challenges, the dreams -- those are the things that inform political decision."
Anyway, moving on.
I went to the doctor this morning. I hate going to the doctor, though it helps that my new doctor out here is nice. She's young, her name is Elizabeth, she's from the midwest and she's new to the area. Anyway, that didn't change the fact that I have high-ish blood pressure and now need to do something about it. So... yeah, more exercise and healthier eating are supposed to be on my list of things to do for improvement. Sounds like I could stand to lose a few pounds, too. Not exactly the news you want to hear at 23 when you go to the doctor, but I suppose it could be much worse.
After the doctor's, I went to work. Not much fun for the day, but I got to go home at 4:00pm. I stopped by Best Buy to get my new West Wing DVD, and then home for a nice long nap. Mmmm, nap. And now I'm hanging out around my apartment and no work tomorrow! Woohoo.
- Lizzardie, at 8:29 PM
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Wednesday, November 03, 2004
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I had written this long post about the election, but I lost it. :-( So I'll just say that I hope people get over it and themselves soon so that we can remember why it is that we're all Americans, remember the freedoms we enjoy and the privileges we have, and fight intelligently for the rights we still want and need.
And in other news... life is good for me. It feels nice to say that. :-) I feel calmer, happier, more content. I'm ready to move forward. My job is good, albiet ridiculously long hours (more than 11 today, yikes!). I'll get over that, though.
This weekend was fun. I dressed as a vampire for Herb and Jeff's Halloween party. It was good to see people there who I hadn't seen in awhile, including Bolcar! On Sunday, I went to brunch with that same crew, and then lounged in front of the TV, only getting up for trick-or-treaters. I forgot how cute the little kids in their costumes are!
Also, I was elected Alumni Advisor of the fraternity this Sunday. This was really exciting to me, particularly since so many great people were running. I hope they'll stay involved and I'm really excited about working with the new eboard. :-)
Okay, maybe I'll go to bed early tonight (ha, I say that every night!).
- Lizzardie, at 9:14 PM
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