Day 342 - Finish a Law School Outline
Date: December 14th, 2010
I suppose it should be hideously embarrassing that in three years of law school this is the first time I've accomplished this, but I was pretty darn proud of myself. Usually the deadline gets too close and I end up just rereading for detail to prepare for the exam. This time, I buckled down and forced myself to push through. It felt good to get the hang of something, even if it was my last time at the rodeo.
Day 343 - Finish a Law School Exam in Under Half the Time
Date: December 15th, 2010
Along similar lines, I'm going to continue to pat myself on the back about finally properly managing law school exams. The first portion of the exam was multiple choice. I ended up taking a cat nap because I got done so insanely quickly that I had a solid 90 minutes until I was even allowed to look at the second portion of the test. Man did that feel good.
Day 344 -Be Fully Prepared for a Law School Exam
Date: December 16th, 2010
I know, similar theme, but when the essay portion of my exam on the day before this hit, I realized I wasn't as prepared as I'd hoped. Yeah, okay, I managed the multiple choice just fine, but the essays were a killer. I started to get disheartened, thinking I'd go all the way through law school without once feeling like I knew what I was doing on an exam (though I suppose that part of what they're going for most of the time). Then I took my exam on day 344. As I looked through each question, I knew the answer. That or I knew where to find it in my notes. And man did that feel good.
Day 345 - Hang My Own Stockings
Date: December 17th, 2010
Justin and I don't have stocking holders. We both go excited about decorating for Christmas, but didn't realize until we got going that we were missing certain parts that we needed to get in order to fully enjoy the season. Like things to hang stockings on a mantle. We decided to go a different route this year and hang little mini-stockings on our tree instead. I stuffed his with a massive Hershey kiss (filled the whole thing). I love Christmas.
Day 346 - Go to a "White Elephant" Party
Date: December 18th, 2010
Yeah, so, I had no idea what a "white elephant" party was before going over to Justin's dad's house, but once I got there, I realized it was awesome. See, everyone buys a gift and puts it in the center and then people draw numbers. People then pick out and open gifts based on the numbers and the later people can force trades down the line. I, of course, managed to get the one dirty gift in the entire pile. It was like the universe drew me to that package. Hilarious.
Day 347 - Get a Ring Resized
Date: December 19th, 2010
For Christmas, Justin and I had decided to get each other promise rings. We both bought them a few months back and tried them on just for good measure. Turns out, his was almost two sizes too small. After twenty minutes and way too much soap (and Justin keeping his eye closed the whole time so he wouldn't see it before Christmas) we decided we needed to get it resized. Two things shocked me. First, it was the easiest thing, like, ever. Second, they did an absolutely incredible job. Its impossible to tell where they added metal - they kept the pattern pristine. So, our Christmas was wonderful.
Day 348 - Shop for Christmas from a List
Date: December 20th, 2010
My family is somewhat romantic about Christmas. What I mean by that is that we like to surprise each other. We particularly like getting that just perfect gift and seeing the person's reaction when they open it. Justin's family tends to be a bit more utilitarian about the season. I thought I wouldn't like that, since I'm a big fan of big surprises, but it turned out to be fantastic. Shopping from a list was so easy and it ensured that people got exactly what they wanted. The best part, for me, is that I don't have to choose a Christmas style - as long as we do Christmas with both families, its the best of both worlds.
Day 349 - Take a Drug Test for a Job
Date: December 21st, 2010
I'm not going to lie... I'm mostly just happy that no one watched me pee. Sorry if that's gross. I'm just saying. I'm... not particularly a fan of having an audience for such things. That being said, other than not wanting to lose privacy, it goes without saying that I wasn't particularly concerned about the whole drug test thing. You have to, you know, use drugs to fail one of those tests.
Day 350 - Graduate Law School
Date: December 22nd, 2010
So, of all the things happening these last couple weeks, this one was simultaneously the biggest and the reason why none of the others have been big. In preparation for my last finals, graduating, etc... I've had to scale back a lot of this project. As I reached that day, it became more and more emotionally clear that focusing on graduation was the right choice (not that it was significantly in question before). It was an incredibly proud moment. Especially getting to sit next to my classmates and see them experience the same joy and pride at finishing one of the harder life tasks that exists today. The speech by our classmate was incredible. She did a great job capturing what it was like for our class to go through law school together.
For me it was particularly touching to have family there. My parents were there, of course, but Justin's family also came to the ceremony. My parents made a wonderful dinner afterwords and we spent hours just relaxing, enjoying the day and socializing. Its amazing to feel like all the divergent aspects of your life can come together seamlessly for a day. My graduation day was, without question, one of the highlights of my life.
Day 351 - Give Christmas Present Advice to Someone
Date: December 23rd, 2010
In particular, by someone, I mean Justin's mom. I got a call asking if something she was thinking of would be something he would like. As simple as that question was, it carried with it a high level of trust, for me at least. As with the graduation, I've come to deeply enjoy getting to interact with my boyfriend's family in a positive, affirming way. They're all such wonderful, open people. I laughed after I hung up the phone because I realized it was the first time I'd been trusted with even a somewhat mundane question like what to get someone for Christmas.
Day 352 - Go to Midnight Mass
Date: December 24th, 2010
I've been to church (quite a bit actually) and I've been to Mass a few times. I'm not Catholic, so Mass is still a rather new experience for me in general. One thing I definitely hadn't done before was go to the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at a Catholic Church. Justin's mom goes every year and when he mentioned it to me, it seemed like the perfect thing of the day. In addition to being a very Christ-centric activity (given that it is Christmas and all), I found it delightfully uplifting to be surrounded by people celebrating the season.
The one thing that threw me off is that I'm not used to the Catholic versions of hymns and verses. So we started praying multiple times and I confidently started saying the words I knew, only to look around and realize I was the only one saying it that way. It led to a couple awkward stares. That didn't dampen what a great night it was though.
Day 353 - Have my Own Personal Christmas
Date: December 25th, 2010
Every year, for my entire life, I've done Christmas morning with my parents (or someone's parents). There comes a point in everyone's life when they begin to want their own traditions and their own distinct memories. This year, instead of spending the night at my parents' house the night before and waking up there, Justin and I stayed at our place, woke up without an alarm, relaxed on the couch in pajamas and opened a couple presents. For the first time ever, I had my own personal Christmas at home. It was lovely.
Day 354 - Play Bumper Pool
Date: December 26th, 2010
Bumper pool rocks. Justin cheats though. That's a lie. I'm just a sore loser. We went over to Dawn and Tony's for a Christmas dinner and got a few rounds of bumper pool (the table was my dad's gift to them) in after we ate. Its great. I love it. Its so much faster than pool and even not being very good, people can challenge each other. Pool, when people aren't that good, takes for darn ever. With bumper pool, the table is so small that most people will sink their shots rather quickly regardless of skill. Also, Justin cheats.
December 27, 2010
December 14, 2010
Finals are a PITA
Well, as the year draws to a close and I'm entering finals, I'm reminded of why so many people told me this project would be difficult or impossible when I started. My concern about being able to keep it going has been growing, even though I'm now less than a month away. I'm loving every minute of it, don't get me wrong. Its just that I've entered the final mile of the marathon. There's still the possibility of failure, even though victory is so close I can taste it.
Day 333 - Create my Own Sudoku Puzzle
Date: December 5th, 2010
I love puzzles and I've been playing with them since I was a young kid. I decided it couldn't be that hard to make one so I decided to try my hand at it. Yeah, I was wrong about it not being that hard. My mind is too linear for puzzle creation. I tried to make a line that went 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 and then fill in everything around it. Turns out, instead of creating a puzzle, I just started myself on the hardest sudoku puzzle in existence. As frustration set in, I tried another strategy. I filled in all the 1s and then all the 2s. It took several tries to make it all fit, but eventually I had what the completed puzzle should look like. Then it was just a matter of figuring out which numbers to remove to make it a puzzle. I think I may have now created the easiest sudoku puzzle in existence in my attempt not to make it too hard. I'm still calling this one a success.
Day 334 -Decorate my House for Christmas
Date: December 6th, 2010
For most of my life, I lived with my parents. For the brief time that I lived in the condo, I didn't really spend Christmases there. The first year I was here, I went to California for Christmas. The next year, I was in Boston until right before the holiday and spent the actual morning at my parents' house. This year, while most of Christmas is going to be either at Justin's family's house or at my parents' house, most of the season has been/will be in the condo. So I took out a bunch of the holiday decorations my grandmother had left me (including a fabulous German pickle ornament) and put them up around the house. I have Christmas candles, nutcrackers from Justin, bowls of candy (homemade bowls) and ornaments on our tree. I love Christmas.
Day 335 - Send Back a Broken Phone
Date: December 7th, 2010
Verizon annoys me sometimes. That being said, I feel like they handled my phone situation pretty well this time around. It started fritzing out the day Justin left for Vegas (the 5th) and we immediately took it in for repairs. That's code for, give them the broken phone and they replace it. Thank goodness for warranties. Mine had decided that working buttons were for losers. I got the replacement phone in the mail and immediately sent the broken one back to their headquarters/repair shop/north pole/whatever. Ahh to be done with the hassle. And to realize that I've never done that before when what I needed to do was spend the day studying. Hooray for small miracles.
Day 336 - Toast my Last Day of Classes
Date: December 8th, 2010
So, December 8th, 2010, at 2:25pm EST, I had my last class of law school. It was the culmination of 20+ years of schooling, without any breaks or gaps. What began in kindergarten with nap time and macaroni art, has reached completion with anti-discrimination laws and how they apply to voting rights. I'd like to say that I didn't know this was where I'd end up when I was a 5-year-old, but let's not kid ourselves. I argued my case for chickenpox, decried the racket that was forced naps in the afternoon and petitioned (with the much vaunted tantrum method) for free reading after recess. I was on the path when I stepped out of the womb.
As for the class itself. I was lucky to have a professor who was so incredibly cool and laid back. I brought in apple cider (Martinelli's, of course) and cookies and asked the class to raise their paper cups (cause we're classy) to the graduating 3Ls. Then I sat back, took notes and sipped my cider. Like a boss.
Day 337 - Have a Legal Interview
Date: December 9th, 2010
So, when I interviewed at Legal Services, it was for an unpaid externship. Because of that, the thoroughness of the interview wasn't quite as much as I would expect from a law firm or a government job. I'm not knocking it. I definitely felt like there was a real process for determining if I would be right for the job. I mention it only because the reason I get to count the interview I had last week is that the level of thoroughness was so much as to be unexpected.
On the bright side, having not lied on my resume or pretended to do things I haven't, it was easy to answer all the questions the interviewers asked. I got asked, in detail, about all of my previous legal work and was walked through my resume job by job to answer questions. I will say, I actually rather liked the format. Then again, as I said before, I'm a linear thinker so... it meshed well with my brain. I got a great vibe from the interview, but I haven't heard back officially yet so its still just fingers crossed at the moment.
Day 338 - Make Candy from Scratch
Date: December 10th, 2010
I missed Justin while he was gone. I mean, no kidding, right? But, as his arrival back in Michigan got closer, I decided I wanted to do something nice to surprise him. I was going to get him his favorite candy, but then I realized that it was just as easy to make it from scratch. And since I hadn't done that before, it seemed like a good use of resources. I made candied cinnamon almonds (with hints of nutmeg and vanilla, of course). In addition to being a very simply recipe, it gave me an excuse to taste test my creation. Yeah. They turned out awesome.
Day 339 - Hang Stockings
Date: December 11th, 2010
So, one of the things that Justin and I have kept in mind in the condo is that we don't want to go too nuts with the Christmas decorations. We got a small tree (about 5 ft tall), a few ornaments, one string of lights. Its been decorated, but not in a way that's, you know, insane. So as we decided what to do about stockings, we were both struck by a brilliant idea, at the same time, in the grocery store. See, Kroger has these little mini-stocking ornaments. We grabbed one each and I'm going to embroider our names into them after finals. Then we'll have our stockings, but in that cute mini-apartment sort of way. In the meantime, we immediately hung them on the tree because, well, Christmas is awesome.
Day 340 - Drive in a Blizzard
Date: December 12th, 2010
As a general rule, I avoid driving in horrible weather like the plague. While I've driven in snow before, I've generally opted to be the passenger in that four wheeled death machine if the weather is bad enough. Unfortunately, I broke my streak this past weekend because Justin had, we're pretty sure at least, food poisoning. He was laid out and in pretty bad need of a CVS run. So I donned my coat, hat and gloves and shuffled out into the storm. Keen observers will note that it was dying down by midday and that CVS is only a couple blocks from my house. Keen observers can just shut up. It was still pretty nerve-wrecking for me and it was totally a first.
Day 341 - Put Together a Comprehensive Christmas List
Date: December 13th, 2010
The last Christmas list I made took the form of a sarcastic note to Santa Claus indicating what things not to bring me for Christmas that year. My parents considered it brilliant satire. I was 12. As for my older years, I've generally been pretty romantic about Christmas, choosing to observe people and drop hints as a means of figuring out gifts and letting people know my preferences, respectively. This year, I do not have that luxury. See, Justin's family is much bigger than mine, which neatly triples the breadth of my Christmas givings. So last night, he and I sat down and laid out a spreadsheet with what we've gotten and for whom. I've seen my dad do that before, but I hadn't had the pleasure. It is a fantastic OCD exercise, if I do say so myself. Goodbye sorting Skittles, hello Christmas spreadsheet. Tis the season.
Day 333 - Create my Own Sudoku Puzzle
Date: December 5th, 2010
I love puzzles and I've been playing with them since I was a young kid. I decided it couldn't be that hard to make one so I decided to try my hand at it. Yeah, I was wrong about it not being that hard. My mind is too linear for puzzle creation. I tried to make a line that went 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 and then fill in everything around it. Turns out, instead of creating a puzzle, I just started myself on the hardest sudoku puzzle in existence. As frustration set in, I tried another strategy. I filled in all the 1s and then all the 2s. It took several tries to make it all fit, but eventually I had what the completed puzzle should look like. Then it was just a matter of figuring out which numbers to remove to make it a puzzle. I think I may have now created the easiest sudoku puzzle in existence in my attempt not to make it too hard. I'm still calling this one a success.
Day 334 -Decorate my House for Christmas
Date: December 6th, 2010
For most of my life, I lived with my parents. For the brief time that I lived in the condo, I didn't really spend Christmases there. The first year I was here, I went to California for Christmas. The next year, I was in Boston until right before the holiday and spent the actual morning at my parents' house. This year, while most of Christmas is going to be either at Justin's family's house or at my parents' house, most of the season has been/will be in the condo. So I took out a bunch of the holiday decorations my grandmother had left me (including a fabulous German pickle ornament) and put them up around the house. I have Christmas candles, nutcrackers from Justin, bowls of candy (homemade bowls) and ornaments on our tree. I love Christmas.
Day 335 - Send Back a Broken Phone
Date: December 7th, 2010
Verizon annoys me sometimes. That being said, I feel like they handled my phone situation pretty well this time around. It started fritzing out the day Justin left for Vegas (the 5th) and we immediately took it in for repairs. That's code for, give them the broken phone and they replace it. Thank goodness for warranties. Mine had decided that working buttons were for losers. I got the replacement phone in the mail and immediately sent the broken one back to their headquarters/repair shop/north pole/whatever. Ahh to be done with the hassle. And to realize that I've never done that before when what I needed to do was spend the day studying. Hooray for small miracles.
Day 336 - Toast my Last Day of Classes
Date: December 8th, 2010
So, December 8th, 2010, at 2:25pm EST, I had my last class of law school. It was the culmination of 20+ years of schooling, without any breaks or gaps. What began in kindergarten with nap time and macaroni art, has reached completion with anti-discrimination laws and how they apply to voting rights. I'd like to say that I didn't know this was where I'd end up when I was a 5-year-old, but let's not kid ourselves. I argued my case for chickenpox, decried the racket that was forced naps in the afternoon and petitioned (with the much vaunted tantrum method) for free reading after recess. I was on the path when I stepped out of the womb.
As for the class itself. I was lucky to have a professor who was so incredibly cool and laid back. I brought in apple cider (Martinelli's, of course) and cookies and asked the class to raise their paper cups (cause we're classy) to the graduating 3Ls. Then I sat back, took notes and sipped my cider. Like a boss.
Day 337 - Have a Legal Interview
Date: December 9th, 2010
So, when I interviewed at Legal Services, it was for an unpaid externship. Because of that, the thoroughness of the interview wasn't quite as much as I would expect from a law firm or a government job. I'm not knocking it. I definitely felt like there was a real process for determining if I would be right for the job. I mention it only because the reason I get to count the interview I had last week is that the level of thoroughness was so much as to be unexpected.
On the bright side, having not lied on my resume or pretended to do things I haven't, it was easy to answer all the questions the interviewers asked. I got asked, in detail, about all of my previous legal work and was walked through my resume job by job to answer questions. I will say, I actually rather liked the format. Then again, as I said before, I'm a linear thinker so... it meshed well with my brain. I got a great vibe from the interview, but I haven't heard back officially yet so its still just fingers crossed at the moment.
Day 338 - Make Candy from Scratch
Date: December 10th, 2010
I missed Justin while he was gone. I mean, no kidding, right? But, as his arrival back in Michigan got closer, I decided I wanted to do something nice to surprise him. I was going to get him his favorite candy, but then I realized that it was just as easy to make it from scratch. And since I hadn't done that before, it seemed like a good use of resources. I made candied cinnamon almonds (with hints of nutmeg and vanilla, of course). In addition to being a very simply recipe, it gave me an excuse to taste test my creation. Yeah. They turned out awesome.
Day 339 - Hang Stockings
Date: December 11th, 2010
So, one of the things that Justin and I have kept in mind in the condo is that we don't want to go too nuts with the Christmas decorations. We got a small tree (about 5 ft tall), a few ornaments, one string of lights. Its been decorated, but not in a way that's, you know, insane. So as we decided what to do about stockings, we were both struck by a brilliant idea, at the same time, in the grocery store. See, Kroger has these little mini-stocking ornaments. We grabbed one each and I'm going to embroider our names into them after finals. Then we'll have our stockings, but in that cute mini-apartment sort of way. In the meantime, we immediately hung them on the tree because, well, Christmas is awesome.
Day 340 - Drive in a Blizzard
Date: December 12th, 2010
As a general rule, I avoid driving in horrible weather like the plague. While I've driven in snow before, I've generally opted to be the passenger in that four wheeled death machine if the weather is bad enough. Unfortunately, I broke my streak this past weekend because Justin had, we're pretty sure at least, food poisoning. He was laid out and in pretty bad need of a CVS run. So I donned my coat, hat and gloves and shuffled out into the storm. Keen observers will note that it was dying down by midday and that CVS is only a couple blocks from my house. Keen observers can just shut up. It was still pretty nerve-wrecking for me and it was totally a first.
Day 341 - Put Together a Comprehensive Christmas List
Date: December 13th, 2010
The last Christmas list I made took the form of a sarcastic note to Santa Claus indicating what things not to bring me for Christmas that year. My parents considered it brilliant satire. I was 12. As for my older years, I've generally been pretty romantic about Christmas, choosing to observe people and drop hints as a means of figuring out gifts and letting people know my preferences, respectively. This year, I do not have that luxury. See, Justin's family is much bigger than mine, which neatly triples the breadth of my Christmas givings. So last night, he and I sat down and laid out a spreadsheet with what we've gotten and for whom. I've seen my dad do that before, but I hadn't had the pleasure. It is a fantastic OCD exercise, if I do say so myself. Goodbye sorting Skittles, hello Christmas spreadsheet. Tis the season.
December 5, 2010
Holiday Catch-Up
Ok, so, the second-wind thing, while true, didn't result in me updating more religiously as I intended. Instead it made each of the project days significantly better. I enjoyed my daily experiences a lot more this last week and a half, which, you know, is important. I do apologize for not being more interesting though.
Day 317 - Seek Advise from an Expert
Date: November 19th, 2010
For the first time since I started at work, I hit a wall that couldn't be broken down with independent research. All the books, articles and cases I could find pointed the same direction, but the attorneys at work knew that wasn't how cases turned out. I learned a valuable lesson about the legal community. The response wasn't simply to dismiss the concerns I had, but to bring the issue to someone known to be an expert among their legal circles (without sharing case information, of course). Knowing when to ask and when you know is an important distinction and it was a good lesson for me.
Day 318 - Set up a Room with my Boyfriend
Date: November 20th, 2010
When I lived with my previous boyfriend, we didn't really plan things... together. It was the only other experience I had living with someone (not counting a freshman year roommate that I'm pretty sure was karmic retribution for some horrible thing I did in another life). When Justin moved in, most of the condo was already organized in a good way since I'd been living here for a while, but the basement was still being used for storage instead of as an exercise room. Together, we set things up the way we wanted, organized everything and stepped back to reflect on our work. It was a wonderful feeling to work with someone so evenly.
Day 319 - Go to a Wine Tasting
Date: November 21st, 2010
So, I'd been saving one of the more romantic things on my list for a special occasion and November 21st was just that occasion. About a week before our six month anniversary, Justin and I started talking about what we should do to celebrate, but we couldn't come up with anything. Just as we were getting ready to give up and have a night at home (how terrible that would've been...) I got an invite to a local wine tasting. We decided right then it was the thing to do. It was a lovely occasion. We got to sit together, talk about the different wines, enjoy the flavors from local wineries, and snack on really tasty appetizers. The part we both enjoyed the most, though, was hearing about RESULTS. See, the wine tasting was a charity even for RESULTS and part of the event was a presentation about the work RESULTS was doing around the country and around the world. We both found ourselves frustrated that we didn't have money to donate, but we both ended up on the e-mail and mailing lists by the end of the night. I would urge anyone interested in making a difference to check them out. Its a great organization.
Day 320 - Attempt a Rubik's Cube
Date: November 22nd, 2010
The key word here is "attempt". It was hard. I looked online and found stock combinations that should've worked, but I decided against following someone else's step by step. I'll figure it out at some point, but for now, even trying was more than I'd done before.
Day 321 - Offer to Pay for Someone's Groceries
Date: November 23rd, 2010
It just didn't seem right. I was at the store getting ingredients for Day 322 and the woman in front of me kept having to put things back. A can of peas here, a can of green beans there. And just a couple days before Thanksgiving. Usually I wouldn't say anything, because I don't want to embarrass anyone, but it didn't seem right to ignore it. So I decided to offer to pay for the things she'd had to put back. She didn't take me up on the offer and for a while that bothered me because I felt like I could've done more. Then it struck me that forcing her to accept the cans of food wasn't somehow better. If anything it would've been rude when my intention was good. So I left it at her declining my offer and realized later, when I thought back, that I'd never made anyone that offer before.
Day 322 - Make a Pie from Scratch
Date: November 24th, 2010
I told a lot of folks that I was making a pie from scratch and for the most part, people assumed that I meant the pie filling and were impressed. Not quite. I meant everything - as in the filling, the crust, everything. See, excluding the last few years, my grandmother always made the pies for Thanksgiving. She bought crusts the last couple years, but even then she still made the filling. This is the first Thanksgiving she hasn't been alive for so I wanted to do something to honor her memory. I figured the best way to do that would be to make the pies. I made six pies because I was having Thanksgiving with Justin's family and there were 25 people there.
I spent about seven hours on my feet, making dough, rolling it out, cutting apples, mixing pumpkin batter, shaping crusts and baking. It was fantastic. I started with a pile of ingredients and I ended with pies. It was such a wonderful feeling. I made four pumpkin pies (that, of course, being the quintessential Thanksgiving pie), one cherry and one apple. When I got to the cherry and the apple I decided to get creative with the crust. I made one lattice crust (something I learned directly from my gramma) and one full crust top with a design cut into it. In the end, I was incredibly proud of the pies. I got wonderful complements on them from Justin's family, but the highest complement I got came a couple days later from my dad. He said it tasted like gramma's. I had to walk to another room so it wouldn't be obvious I was crying. That was exactly what I was hoping for.
Day 323 - Share a Tradition
Date: November 25th, 2010
One of the things that has been unique to my family was the Dorito breakfast. When I was a little kid, my gramma and I would sit in our pajamas and pick out all our favorite kinds of junk food. Then we would lay out the food on trays, elaborately as though it was the actual point of Thanksgiving, and we would sit and eat and watch television together. See, my parents generally made an early dinner, but didn't eat any other meals on Thanksgiving, so gramma and I decided we needed breakfast. It became a running tradition for every year. So, not unlike the making of the pies, I made a point to continue the tradition my gramma and I had started.
Justin and I originally intended to wake up around 9am and have the Dorito breakfast at the condo, but I had to finish two of the pies and we ended up not being able to relax until 11am. Then, of course, we had to get ready and go see Justin's family. He was so wonderfully sweet and apologetic that we didn't have time for the breakfast. He'd even gone to the store a couple days before and bought all the snacks for it. I started to say it would be ok to just have it a day late, but when we got almost to Justin's dad's house, he stopped at a CVS. I wasn't entirely sure what he was doing so I just relaxed in the car, still thinking we'd have the breakfast on Friday.
He came back out with two shopping bags filled with snacks. Doritos, twinkies, cupcakes and other goodies. I couldn't keep the smile off my face by the time we got to his dad's house. When we got there, we explained the Dorito breakfast tradition to his extended family and, much to my surprise, not only did they think it was a cool tradition, they were all for participating. Some of the best memories I have from Thanksgiving are Justin, his dad, his little nephew Christian, his brother and other family members snacking on Doritos, hostess cakes and other goodies before dinner. It was lovely to get to share that happy memory of my gramma with his family.
Day 324 - Shop on Black Friday
Date: November 26th, 2010
Generally speaking I avoid shopping on Black Friday like the plague. I hate the crowds, the pushiness and waking up early the day after a good turkey coma. But, since I'd never done it before and Justin's extended family was in town, it seemed like a good way to kill two birds with one stone. I did something new and we spent time with relatives he doesn't get to see very often.
Day 325 - Show Someone my Memory Boxes
Date: November 27th, 2010
I'm a moderate pack rat. I don't keep everything, but keeping things to remember the important parts of my life is very important to me. While Justin and I were staying at my parent's house, dogsitting, I decided to rummage through the box to look at some things. I ended up showing him my baby book, speech finals pamphlet, high school pictures and other neat memories. It was about halfway through showing him all the little knickknacks of my life that I realized it was something I hadn't shared with anyone before. It truly is lovely to have a best friend and boyfriend that I feel so comfortable with.
Day 326 - Be Part of a Secret Santa
Date: November 28th, 2010
In my life, I have had a few different boyfriends. In only one other case was I with someone long enough or close enough that I spent the holidays with his family, and that wasn't particularly inviting. One of the things that has been incredibly touching to me (and also completely new and unexpected) has been how much I've been accepted by Justin's family. Given my past experience, I expected to have to fight every step of the way just to be seen as human. Instead, when it came time to figure out the Christmas gift exchange, it was just assumed that I'd be included as Justin's girlfriend. It made my day.
Day 327 - Walk Backwards on a Treadmill
Date: November 29th, 2010
Yeah. I was grasping at straws. Also, it was hard and I fell down.
Day 328 - Mail Out Bar Reference Forms
Date: November 30th, 2010
The real reality of the fact that I'm almost a licensed attorney (assuming I pass the bar and don't flunk out of law school, of course), it starting to set in. Its a little scary, but also incredibly exciting. The last thing I needed to do was ask people for references. Now its just a matter of time and studying.
Day 329 - Apply for a Fellowship
Date: December 1st, 2010
One of the things that I've been intimidated by is the quality of competition for good legal jobs. My passion for public representation and public interest law is the main reason I became a lawyer, but even those jobs are often going to people who have the journal credentials instead of the passion (or, in some cases, both). I decided that my fears about not being as qualified or as good as my competition shouldn't stop me from at least applying. I had the realization that not applying guarantees you don't get the job so I should at least give it a shot.
Day 330 - Make a Paper Airplane
Date: December 2nd, 2010
I've folded little paper airplanes in class before, but I didn't realize until this year that there is a real science to a good paper airplane. My dad got me a book on paper airplanes that I decided to save for a time where I really needed good projects. As I've started buckling down to study for finals - now is that time. Folding a proper airplane, built for distance (instead of annoying a substitute teacher) is incredible difficult. Good to know.
Day 331 - Listen to Christmas Song Parodies
Date: December 3rd, 2010
One of the things I used to hate admitting to is that I love Christmas. I really truly do. Somehow that become uncool though. Generally speaking, I sought out traditional Christmas songs and jingles when other people weren't around. Well, Justin doesn't have the same love of Christmas I do, but he's definitely making the effort to see why I love the season. He introduced me to some hilarious Christmas song parodies that, rather than bothering me like I thought they would, just made me giggle. Hooray for hilarity.
Day 332 - Cut down a Christmas Tree
Date: December 4th, 2010
When I was really little (as in, too young to remember), my parents cut down trees. Most of my life, though, they would pick out a tree at a pre-cut farm and we would take it home and put it up. Most recently, my parents switched to a fake tree to make things easier. Built in lights and the whole shebang. One of the traditions that Justin's family has though is to go cut down a tree at this huge sprawling farm in Grass Lake. So we walked around, picked the perfect tree out for his mom and brother and cut it down. It was delightful. We could smell the fresh pine in the air everywhere.
The best part was this amazing church down the road from the tree farm. They open up and serve fresh donuts, hot chocolate, and pastries to the people cutting down trees. In addition to being the best fresh donut I'd ever tasted, the church was incredibly beautiful. 150 years old and seated next to a beautiful graveyard (yeah, I know that sounds macabre, but it was really serene and peaceful with beautiful trees), the church looked like it could've been a Christmas ornament. But, in particular, the whole day was lovely. I so deeply enjoyed being part of Justin's family's Christmas tradition.
Day 317 - Seek Advise from an Expert
Date: November 19th, 2010
For the first time since I started at work, I hit a wall that couldn't be broken down with independent research. All the books, articles and cases I could find pointed the same direction, but the attorneys at work knew that wasn't how cases turned out. I learned a valuable lesson about the legal community. The response wasn't simply to dismiss the concerns I had, but to bring the issue to someone known to be an expert among their legal circles (without sharing case information, of course). Knowing when to ask and when you know is an important distinction and it was a good lesson for me.
Day 318 - Set up a Room with my Boyfriend
Date: November 20th, 2010
When I lived with my previous boyfriend, we didn't really plan things... together. It was the only other experience I had living with someone (not counting a freshman year roommate that I'm pretty sure was karmic retribution for some horrible thing I did in another life). When Justin moved in, most of the condo was already organized in a good way since I'd been living here for a while, but the basement was still being used for storage instead of as an exercise room. Together, we set things up the way we wanted, organized everything and stepped back to reflect on our work. It was a wonderful feeling to work with someone so evenly.
Day 319 - Go to a Wine Tasting
Date: November 21st, 2010
So, I'd been saving one of the more romantic things on my list for a special occasion and November 21st was just that occasion. About a week before our six month anniversary, Justin and I started talking about what we should do to celebrate, but we couldn't come up with anything. Just as we were getting ready to give up and have a night at home (how terrible that would've been...) I got an invite to a local wine tasting. We decided right then it was the thing to do. It was a lovely occasion. We got to sit together, talk about the different wines, enjoy the flavors from local wineries, and snack on really tasty appetizers. The part we both enjoyed the most, though, was hearing about RESULTS. See, the wine tasting was a charity even for RESULTS and part of the event was a presentation about the work RESULTS was doing around the country and around the world. We both found ourselves frustrated that we didn't have money to donate, but we both ended up on the e-mail and mailing lists by the end of the night. I would urge anyone interested in making a difference to check them out. Its a great organization.
Day 320 - Attempt a Rubik's Cube
Date: November 22nd, 2010
The key word here is "attempt". It was hard. I looked online and found stock combinations that should've worked, but I decided against following someone else's step by step. I'll figure it out at some point, but for now, even trying was more than I'd done before.
Day 321 - Offer to Pay for Someone's Groceries
Date: November 23rd, 2010
It just didn't seem right. I was at the store getting ingredients for Day 322 and the woman in front of me kept having to put things back. A can of peas here, a can of green beans there. And just a couple days before Thanksgiving. Usually I wouldn't say anything, because I don't want to embarrass anyone, but it didn't seem right to ignore it. So I decided to offer to pay for the things she'd had to put back. She didn't take me up on the offer and for a while that bothered me because I felt like I could've done more. Then it struck me that forcing her to accept the cans of food wasn't somehow better. If anything it would've been rude when my intention was good. So I left it at her declining my offer and realized later, when I thought back, that I'd never made anyone that offer before.
Day 322 - Make a Pie from Scratch
Date: November 24th, 2010
I told a lot of folks that I was making a pie from scratch and for the most part, people assumed that I meant the pie filling and were impressed. Not quite. I meant everything - as in the filling, the crust, everything. See, excluding the last few years, my grandmother always made the pies for Thanksgiving. She bought crusts the last couple years, but even then she still made the filling. This is the first Thanksgiving she hasn't been alive for so I wanted to do something to honor her memory. I figured the best way to do that would be to make the pies. I made six pies because I was having Thanksgiving with Justin's family and there were 25 people there.
I spent about seven hours on my feet, making dough, rolling it out, cutting apples, mixing pumpkin batter, shaping crusts and baking. It was fantastic. I started with a pile of ingredients and I ended with pies. It was such a wonderful feeling. I made four pumpkin pies (that, of course, being the quintessential Thanksgiving pie), one cherry and one apple. When I got to the cherry and the apple I decided to get creative with the crust. I made one lattice crust (something I learned directly from my gramma) and one full crust top with a design cut into it. In the end, I was incredibly proud of the pies. I got wonderful complements on them from Justin's family, but the highest complement I got came a couple days later from my dad. He said it tasted like gramma's. I had to walk to another room so it wouldn't be obvious I was crying. That was exactly what I was hoping for.
Day 323 - Share a Tradition
Date: November 25th, 2010
One of the things that has been unique to my family was the Dorito breakfast. When I was a little kid, my gramma and I would sit in our pajamas and pick out all our favorite kinds of junk food. Then we would lay out the food on trays, elaborately as though it was the actual point of Thanksgiving, and we would sit and eat and watch television together. See, my parents generally made an early dinner, but didn't eat any other meals on Thanksgiving, so gramma and I decided we needed breakfast. It became a running tradition for every year. So, not unlike the making of the pies, I made a point to continue the tradition my gramma and I had started.
Justin and I originally intended to wake up around 9am and have the Dorito breakfast at the condo, but I had to finish two of the pies and we ended up not being able to relax until 11am. Then, of course, we had to get ready and go see Justin's family. He was so wonderfully sweet and apologetic that we didn't have time for the breakfast. He'd even gone to the store a couple days before and bought all the snacks for it. I started to say it would be ok to just have it a day late, but when we got almost to Justin's dad's house, he stopped at a CVS. I wasn't entirely sure what he was doing so I just relaxed in the car, still thinking we'd have the breakfast on Friday.
He came back out with two shopping bags filled with snacks. Doritos, twinkies, cupcakes and other goodies. I couldn't keep the smile off my face by the time we got to his dad's house. When we got there, we explained the Dorito breakfast tradition to his extended family and, much to my surprise, not only did they think it was a cool tradition, they were all for participating. Some of the best memories I have from Thanksgiving are Justin, his dad, his little nephew Christian, his brother and other family members snacking on Doritos, hostess cakes and other goodies before dinner. It was lovely to get to share that happy memory of my gramma with his family.
Day 324 - Shop on Black Friday
Date: November 26th, 2010
Generally speaking I avoid shopping on Black Friday like the plague. I hate the crowds, the pushiness and waking up early the day after a good turkey coma. But, since I'd never done it before and Justin's extended family was in town, it seemed like a good way to kill two birds with one stone. I did something new and we spent time with relatives he doesn't get to see very often.
Day 325 - Show Someone my Memory Boxes
Date: November 27th, 2010
I'm a moderate pack rat. I don't keep everything, but keeping things to remember the important parts of my life is very important to me. While Justin and I were staying at my parent's house, dogsitting, I decided to rummage through the box to look at some things. I ended up showing him my baby book, speech finals pamphlet, high school pictures and other neat memories. It was about halfway through showing him all the little knickknacks of my life that I realized it was something I hadn't shared with anyone before. It truly is lovely to have a best friend and boyfriend that I feel so comfortable with.
Day 326 - Be Part of a Secret Santa
Date: November 28th, 2010
In my life, I have had a few different boyfriends. In only one other case was I with someone long enough or close enough that I spent the holidays with his family, and that wasn't particularly inviting. One of the things that has been incredibly touching to me (and also completely new and unexpected) has been how much I've been accepted by Justin's family. Given my past experience, I expected to have to fight every step of the way just to be seen as human. Instead, when it came time to figure out the Christmas gift exchange, it was just assumed that I'd be included as Justin's girlfriend. It made my day.
Day 327 - Walk Backwards on a Treadmill
Date: November 29th, 2010
Yeah. I was grasping at straws. Also, it was hard and I fell down.
Day 328 - Mail Out Bar Reference Forms
Date: November 30th, 2010
The real reality of the fact that I'm almost a licensed attorney (assuming I pass the bar and don't flunk out of law school, of course), it starting to set in. Its a little scary, but also incredibly exciting. The last thing I needed to do was ask people for references. Now its just a matter of time and studying.
Day 329 - Apply for a Fellowship
Date: December 1st, 2010
One of the things that I've been intimidated by is the quality of competition for good legal jobs. My passion for public representation and public interest law is the main reason I became a lawyer, but even those jobs are often going to people who have the journal credentials instead of the passion (or, in some cases, both). I decided that my fears about not being as qualified or as good as my competition shouldn't stop me from at least applying. I had the realization that not applying guarantees you don't get the job so I should at least give it a shot.
Day 330 - Make a Paper Airplane
Date: December 2nd, 2010
I've folded little paper airplanes in class before, but I didn't realize until this year that there is a real science to a good paper airplane. My dad got me a book on paper airplanes that I decided to save for a time where I really needed good projects. As I've started buckling down to study for finals - now is that time. Folding a proper airplane, built for distance (instead of annoying a substitute teacher) is incredible difficult. Good to know.
Day 331 - Listen to Christmas Song Parodies
Date: December 3rd, 2010
One of the things I used to hate admitting to is that I love Christmas. I really truly do. Somehow that become uncool though. Generally speaking, I sought out traditional Christmas songs and jingles when other people weren't around. Well, Justin doesn't have the same love of Christmas I do, but he's definitely making the effort to see why I love the season. He introduced me to some hilarious Christmas song parodies that, rather than bothering me like I thought they would, just made me giggle. Hooray for hilarity.
Day 332 - Cut down a Christmas Tree
Date: December 4th, 2010
When I was really little (as in, too young to remember), my parents cut down trees. Most of my life, though, they would pick out a tree at a pre-cut farm and we would take it home and put it up. Most recently, my parents switched to a fake tree to make things easier. Built in lights and the whole shebang. One of the traditions that Justin's family has though is to go cut down a tree at this huge sprawling farm in Grass Lake. So we walked around, picked the perfect tree out for his mom and brother and cut it down. It was delightful. We could smell the fresh pine in the air everywhere.
The best part was this amazing church down the road from the tree farm. They open up and serve fresh donuts, hot chocolate, and pastries to the people cutting down trees. In addition to being the best fresh donut I'd ever tasted, the church was incredibly beautiful. 150 years old and seated next to a beautiful graveyard (yeah, I know that sounds macabre, but it was really serene and peaceful with beautiful trees), the church looked like it could've been a Christmas ornament. But, in particular, the whole day was lovely. I so deeply enjoyed being part of Justin's family's Christmas tradition.
November 19, 2010
Moar Days
I've started to feel a bit of a second wind, which I was hoping for and counting on for the last month or so. I'm particularly excited because I adore Christmas and I can't wait to geek out with all sorts of holiday traditions I've never had any business participating in before. As for this last week, it is, most assuredly, the last boring week you all will be subjected to. Bring on the holiday cheer!
November 12, 2010
A Whole New Block Entry
Stuff.
Day 294 - Research a Legal Question for a Friend
Date: October 27th, 2010
There are strict rules against pretending to be a lawyer if you're not one. There's that whole, ethics, thing to contend with. However, one of the things that is nice about studying the law is that, as long as you're clear with people, you can help informally with legal questions. What was particularly nice for me was being able to point a friend in the right direction so he could take care of a situation pro se (meaning, without a lawyer). I felt useful.
Day 295 - Watch Wrestling on TV
Date: October 28th, 2010
I figure if I'm going to force Justin to watch my silly shows like Desperate Housewives and other miscellaneous, unforgivably dumb television; the least I could do is see what his unforgivably dumb television is like. It was... unforgivably dumb.
Day 296 - Get Rejected by a Potential Employer
Date: October 29th, 2010
I have been fortunate in my life that when I've applied to jobs, I've tended to get them. I generally interview pretty well and I know I work hard so my recommendations are good. That being said, I'm realistic about how bad the economy is and how fierce competition is for jobs, especially for newly minted lawyers. Even so, I was surprisingly okay with getting rejected for a job. I applied very broadly and got my first rejection, of my life, when I checked the mail. While I would very seriously prefer to have a job lined up (how glorious it would be... seriously), I found myself unemotional about it. It didn't feel personal. Rather, I just wasn't the person they needed. Hopefully I stay this zen about things because with as many apps as I've put in and as few jobs as there are available, I expect a few more rejection letters in the weeks to come.
Day 297 - Eat a Tamale
Date: October 30th, 2010
Oh the simple joys in life. Like trying a new food for the first time. Being squeamish about hot food (see the Ethiopian cuisine adventure if you doubt it), I'd never tried tamales. Why? Because sometimes, when people describe them, they call them "hot tamales". Seriously. That was all it took. I was surprised at how different they were from what I thought. I expected the consistency to be similar to a burrito, but it was more like... Mexican meatloaf.
Day 298 - Give Out Candy on Halloween
Date: October 31st, 2010
There is a transition point in everyone's lives when they stop going trick-or-treating because it becomes a dumb kid thing. That is usually during their teenage years when they're not forward looking enough to understand that, for the sake of peer pressure, they've giving up access to several months worth of free candy. I mean, come on teenagers. Its totally worth it.
After that, the next transition comes when you go from just not participating to actually giving out candy. The last couple years I sat on the sidelines and watched my parents give out candy or held the dogs back while kids came to the door. This year I actually did the handing out. I feel old.
Day 299 - Study with a Podcast
Date: November 1st, 2010
What the hell is a "podcast"? I feel like there should've been an alien invasion for this to be an actual term in the American lexicon. Its so many kinds of not ok. Turns out its also just a fancy, Apple term for video. Its not a podcast. Its a video. Only nerds care about the format. Also, it was a highly enjoyable and effective means of study. But whatever.
Day 300 - Be a Poll-Watcher
Date: November 2nd, 2010
A couple years ago, I was a challenger working for the Obama campaign. My job wasn't to challenge votes. It was to make sure no one from the McCain campaign challenged votes. This year I was assigned a little more interactive of a task. I had to gather the numbers for the Peters campaign (Gary Peters) and report them back to his war room. I also had to report back if there were any challenges, machine malfunctions or anything like that. Two years ago, I mostly sat around and watched people vote. This year, while there was still a lot of down time (since there were no challengers at my location), I at least got to be more directly useful.
Day 301 - Get Electronically Fingerprinted
Date: November 3rd, 2010
That was kind of epic. So, here's the thing. Never talk to people in a waiting room. About things. Ever. As my mother and I were waiting to get fingerprinted (since we're both applying for the bar at the same time), we were roped into a conversation with a very talkative, very weird young man. It was essentially passable until he brought up politics.
Now, I don't know what free pass all the darn "libertarians" think they had to rant on about politics even when people don't want to listen, but let me tell you, I gave that guy a piece of my mind. Actually, that's a lie. When his train of thought took a detour to crazyville, I just stopped talking and thought about puppies. It seemed more effective, long term, than saying anything else.
Also, the machine that takes fingerprints was totally neato.
Day 302 - Help an Old Woman Carry Groceries to her Car
Date: November 4th, 2010
I'm nice.
Day 303 - Cram for a Test with my Mother
Date: November 5th, 2010
That was weird. We set aside the day to cram for the MPRE (the ethics portion of the bar exam). Generally speaking, when I study with someone, I'm pretty effective... but it took a solid 2-3 hours to get over the cognitive dissonance associated with the fact that I was studying with my mother. Actually, we both got distracted by this game where you breed frogs. Its best for there only to be one person like my mother or I in a study group and several militantly productive people instead... but such was not the case.
Day 304 - Take the MPRE
Date: November 6th, 2010
I still think she and I did pretty well on it. We both took our time, read the questions slowly and had spent a long time studying for the test the day before. Also, we went to Steak and Shake afterwords so its really hard to be upset or worried about anything. They have bacon-cheese fries now.
Day 305 - Have a Birthday Dinner with my Boyfriend's Family
Date: November 7th, 2010
Now, don't think I'm cheating here because truthfully, I have had birthday dinners before. However, in previous relationships there was always this weird feeling that I was interrupting something personal if I, the lowly girlfriend, dared to attempt to join them at their family-only affair. So when Justin talked about his family wanting to come to Ann Arbor and get dinner at Mongolian BBQ, I got a wonderful feeling knowing that I was assumed to be on the guest list, rather than off of it. More than that even, my parents came too. It was such a great sense of family to see his folks and my folks all sitting at one table. And his nephew is the cutest thing since adorable, adorable sliced bread.
Day 306 - Write a Letter for Someone
Date: November 8th, 2010
I tend to prefer not to be someone else's voice, but I've found that there are times when knowing how something should be worded from a business standpoint is so helpful that it doesn't matter if their personality is infused in the letter. So, with that in mind and having been raised by a family of psychologist/HR managers (its like being raised in a pack of wolves, but with more use of the word "paradigm"), I set to writing a letter on behalf of a friend who was having some trouble at work. I eagerly await the results of the lettering.
Day 307 - Talk my Way out of a Ticket
Date: November 9th, 2010
I get a lot of parking tickets. Like, a lot of parking tickets. Its not on purpose, but if you park in Ann Arbor long enough, you're bound to get caught on an expired meter. Usually I just shrug, roll my eyes and whip out my wallet (because what else can you do). On this particular day, though, I got back to my car just in time to see the officer begin noting the license plate. I tried to do the casual "oh, I was just leaving", but that didn't work. So I begged. No, I'm not kidding or lying. There comes a time, in a young woman's life, when the effectiveness of her actions matters more than their outward appearance. Also, seriously, it really had only run over about two minutes earlier.
Day 308 -Mail Out Resumes
Date: November 10th, 2010
Remember that whole, applying broadly thing I mentioned earlier? Yeah, well, its a pain in the butt. I spent several hours doing this before realizing how lucky I was not to have had to do it before. Its horribly tedious, seriously annoying and it costs a buttload in postage. It will, however, be completely worth it if I find a good job once law school is done. Being particularly passionate about public interest law, as much as I may complain a little about the tedium of the application process, I'm happy to jump through whatever hoops I need to get a chance to work in the field.
Day 309 - Change a Car Battery
Date: November 11th, 2010
I'm awesome. Actually, this was one of those moments like installing cable much earlier in the year. I was so utterly convinced that I wouldn't be able to do it, but it turns out that going slow and following directions made it darn easy. Justin and I worked together to get the battery in his car replaced and I learned a valuable lesson about cars. Unlike medieval dragons (with I had previously equated them), they won't burn your face and then eat you if you get too close to them. I guess what I'm saying here is that installing a car battery made me feel a bit like a knight. Or perhaps a squire, since Justin did most of the work. What? That thing was heavy.
Day 294 - Research a Legal Question for a Friend
Date: October 27th, 2010
There are strict rules against pretending to be a lawyer if you're not one. There's that whole, ethics, thing to contend with. However, one of the things that is nice about studying the law is that, as long as you're clear with people, you can help informally with legal questions. What was particularly nice for me was being able to point a friend in the right direction so he could take care of a situation pro se (meaning, without a lawyer). I felt useful.
Day 295 - Watch Wrestling on TV
Date: October 28th, 2010
I figure if I'm going to force Justin to watch my silly shows like Desperate Housewives and other miscellaneous, unforgivably dumb television; the least I could do is see what his unforgivably dumb television is like. It was... unforgivably dumb.
Day 296 - Get Rejected by a Potential Employer
Date: October 29th, 2010
I have been fortunate in my life that when I've applied to jobs, I've tended to get them. I generally interview pretty well and I know I work hard so my recommendations are good. That being said, I'm realistic about how bad the economy is and how fierce competition is for jobs, especially for newly minted lawyers. Even so, I was surprisingly okay with getting rejected for a job. I applied very broadly and got my first rejection, of my life, when I checked the mail. While I would very seriously prefer to have a job lined up (how glorious it would be... seriously), I found myself unemotional about it. It didn't feel personal. Rather, I just wasn't the person they needed. Hopefully I stay this zen about things because with as many apps as I've put in and as few jobs as there are available, I expect a few more rejection letters in the weeks to come.
Day 297 - Eat a Tamale
Date: October 30th, 2010
Oh the simple joys in life. Like trying a new food for the first time. Being squeamish about hot food (see the Ethiopian cuisine adventure if you doubt it), I'd never tried tamales. Why? Because sometimes, when people describe them, they call them "hot tamales". Seriously. That was all it took. I was surprised at how different they were from what I thought. I expected the consistency to be similar to a burrito, but it was more like... Mexican meatloaf.
Day 298 - Give Out Candy on Halloween
Date: October 31st, 2010
There is a transition point in everyone's lives when they stop going trick-or-treating because it becomes a dumb kid thing. That is usually during their teenage years when they're not forward looking enough to understand that, for the sake of peer pressure, they've giving up access to several months worth of free candy. I mean, come on teenagers. Its totally worth it.
After that, the next transition comes when you go from just not participating to actually giving out candy. The last couple years I sat on the sidelines and watched my parents give out candy or held the dogs back while kids came to the door. This year I actually did the handing out. I feel old.
Day 299 - Study with a Podcast
Date: November 1st, 2010
What the hell is a "podcast"? I feel like there should've been an alien invasion for this to be an actual term in the American lexicon. Its so many kinds of not ok. Turns out its also just a fancy, Apple term for video. Its not a podcast. Its a video. Only nerds care about the format. Also, it was a highly enjoyable and effective means of study. But whatever.
Day 300 - Be a Poll-Watcher
Date: November 2nd, 2010
A couple years ago, I was a challenger working for the Obama campaign. My job wasn't to challenge votes. It was to make sure no one from the McCain campaign challenged votes. This year I was assigned a little more interactive of a task. I had to gather the numbers for the Peters campaign (Gary Peters) and report them back to his war room. I also had to report back if there were any challenges, machine malfunctions or anything like that. Two years ago, I mostly sat around and watched people vote. This year, while there was still a lot of down time (since there were no challengers at my location), I at least got to be more directly useful.
Day 301 - Get Electronically Fingerprinted
Date: November 3rd, 2010
That was kind of epic. So, here's the thing. Never talk to people in a waiting room. About things. Ever. As my mother and I were waiting to get fingerprinted (since we're both applying for the bar at the same time), we were roped into a conversation with a very talkative, very weird young man. It was essentially passable until he brought up politics.
Now, I don't know what free pass all the darn "libertarians" think they had to rant on about politics even when people don't want to listen, but let me tell you, I gave that guy a piece of my mind. Actually, that's a lie. When his train of thought took a detour to crazyville, I just stopped talking and thought about puppies. It seemed more effective, long term, than saying anything else.
Also, the machine that takes fingerprints was totally neato.
Day 302 - Help an Old Woman Carry Groceries to her Car
Date: November 4th, 2010
I'm nice.
Day 303 - Cram for a Test with my Mother
Date: November 5th, 2010
That was weird. We set aside the day to cram for the MPRE (the ethics portion of the bar exam). Generally speaking, when I study with someone, I'm pretty effective... but it took a solid 2-3 hours to get over the cognitive dissonance associated with the fact that I was studying with my mother. Actually, we both got distracted by this game where you breed frogs. Its best for there only to be one person like my mother or I in a study group and several militantly productive people instead... but such was not the case.
Day 304 - Take the MPRE
Date: November 6th, 2010
I still think she and I did pretty well on it. We both took our time, read the questions slowly and had spent a long time studying for the test the day before. Also, we went to Steak and Shake afterwords so its really hard to be upset or worried about anything. They have bacon-cheese fries now.
Day 305 - Have a Birthday Dinner with my Boyfriend's Family
Date: November 7th, 2010
Now, don't think I'm cheating here because truthfully, I have had birthday dinners before. However, in previous relationships there was always this weird feeling that I was interrupting something personal if I, the lowly girlfriend, dared to attempt to join them at their family-only affair. So when Justin talked about his family wanting to come to Ann Arbor and get dinner at Mongolian BBQ, I got a wonderful feeling knowing that I was assumed to be on the guest list, rather than off of it. More than that even, my parents came too. It was such a great sense of family to see his folks and my folks all sitting at one table. And his nephew is the cutest thing since adorable, adorable sliced bread.
Day 306 - Write a Letter for Someone
Date: November 8th, 2010
I tend to prefer not to be someone else's voice, but I've found that there are times when knowing how something should be worded from a business standpoint is so helpful that it doesn't matter if their personality is infused in the letter. So, with that in mind and having been raised by a family of psychologist/HR managers (its like being raised in a pack of wolves, but with more use of the word "paradigm"), I set to writing a letter on behalf of a friend who was having some trouble at work. I eagerly await the results of the lettering.
Day 307 - Talk my Way out of a Ticket
Date: November 9th, 2010
I get a lot of parking tickets. Like, a lot of parking tickets. Its not on purpose, but if you park in Ann Arbor long enough, you're bound to get caught on an expired meter. Usually I just shrug, roll my eyes and whip out my wallet (because what else can you do). On this particular day, though, I got back to my car just in time to see the officer begin noting the license plate. I tried to do the casual "oh, I was just leaving", but that didn't work. So I begged. No, I'm not kidding or lying. There comes a time, in a young woman's life, when the effectiveness of her actions matters more than their outward appearance. Also, seriously, it really had only run over about two minutes earlier.
Day 308 -Mail Out Resumes
Date: November 10th, 2010
Remember that whole, applying broadly thing I mentioned earlier? Yeah, well, its a pain in the butt. I spent several hours doing this before realizing how lucky I was not to have had to do it before. Its horribly tedious, seriously annoying and it costs a buttload in postage. It will, however, be completely worth it if I find a good job once law school is done. Being particularly passionate about public interest law, as much as I may complain a little about the tedium of the application process, I'm happy to jump through whatever hoops I need to get a chance to work in the field.
Day 309 - Change a Car Battery
Date: November 11th, 2010
I'm awesome. Actually, this was one of those moments like installing cable much earlier in the year. I was so utterly convinced that I wouldn't be able to do it, but it turns out that going slow and following directions made it darn easy. Justin and I worked together to get the battery in his car replaced and I learned a valuable lesson about cars. Unlike medieval dragons (with I had previously equated them), they won't burn your face and then eat you if you get too close to them. I guess what I'm saying here is that installing a car battery made me feel a bit like a knight. Or perhaps a squire, since Justin did most of the work. What? That thing was heavy.
October 26, 2010
Another Block Entry
Hi All,
I'm posting another brief synopsis of the project so far. The past couple weeks have flown by. Justin and I are getting our things settled, applying for jobs and I'm studying for school and the bar. The lessons I've been learning aren't daily anymore - they are weekly. I've continued to be more joyful, more open and happier because of this project than I ever was before. So, I am sorry if these particular daily things aren't as interesting as they used to be, but for me they've been just as enlightening.
Day 278 - Learn the Animaniacs Song
Date: October 11th, 2010
With a little help from Justin, who, to his great shame, already knew all the words; I learned the song. It was a delightful respite from things I've had to stretch to accomplish.
Day 279 - Learn to Throat Sing
Date: October 12th, 2010
One word. Weird. I assumed it was essentially humming, but it felt entirely different. I would recommend googling some videos and attempting it. You haven't lived until you've felt your throat vibrate.
Day 280 - Do a Chinese Firedrill
Date: October 13th, 2010
So, Justin, Ingrid and I were driving down to DC for the weekend (for job hunting, house hunting and vacation purposes) and Ingrid recommended that we do the old classic road hi-jink known as a Chinese firedrill. For those who don't know, that's when everyone gets out of the car, runs a lap around it and jumps back in. Usually this is done at an intersection, but not being much for traffic violations and danger,we decided it would be a better idea to do it in the drive-thru of a local McDonald's. In short, it was amazing and we're awesome.
Day 281 - Hold my Breath Under the Appalachian Mountains
Date: October 14th, 2010
I've gone back and forth to DC a bunch of times and every time I come across the tunnel under the mountains I attempt to hold my breath. I'd never previously succeeded. Though I assumed I'd fail, I tried again, mostly out of habit. When I saw the light start to open up on the other side of the tunnel, I was shocked to realize I'd not yet taken a breath. Huzzah! Huzzah for being awesome.
Day 282 - Sit in on an Inner-City High School Class
Date: October 15th, 2010
As part of a promise to Ben, I'm going to write a much longer and more detailed entry about this experience. While I've generally attempted to refrain from political commentary, I'm suspending that rule for the purpose of this entry.
Day 283 - Read a Graphic Novel
Date: October 16th, 2010
I've been an avid reader from a young age. While I used to enjoy picture books, I never read an actual graphic novel. I was surprised at how fully the pictures told the story. I'd expected the story to be somewhat barren without detailed prose. Then again, you really can't go wrong with a title like "The Walking Dead".
Day 284 - Crack a Safe
Date: October 17th, 2010
As part of the awesome trip, we all went to the Spy Museum and did an interactive tour to stop a nuclear bomb. That museum, man, that's some heavy stuff right there. Part of the experience was shuffling through a room filled with hidden compartments and papers to look for evidence. There was a safe in the corner and I spent about fifteen minutes looking for papers before realizing that no one had been able to crack it. In a moment of divine ego-stroking, I figured it out in about 15 seconds. I'm not exaggerating. I walked over, looked at it, spun a dial and thought "oh, that's the trick" before solving the rest of the locks. It was epic and I feel brilliant.
Day 285 - Have an Open and Frank Discussion About my Future
Date: October 18th, 2010
On the way home from DC, Justin and I had an eight hour car ride to entertain each other with. Considering our decision to move in together and the fact that we're looking for jobs in the same places and all other manner of major life decisions, we decided to lay all our cards out on the table and start talking future plans. By about hour five I'd realized that what he wants and what I want are so deeply in sync that I couldn't have planned it better if I tried. By hour eight I was tired, but I knew exactly what Justin would do in the even that our youngest child (a girl), at the age of fifteen, decided she wanted to go to a concert with a boy on a school night if her GPA was 3.7 and she'd one cut school to see a walrus exhibit at the local zoo. No, seriously, that's how detailed the conversation got. It was lovely.
Day 286 - Watch a Hockey Shoot-Out
Date: October 19th, 2010
I went with Justin and his mom to a Red Wings game. Other than the Wings losing, it was awesome. We got to buy snacks from Justin's brother Aaron (he works at the Joe), watch a super exciting game and see the capper - a shoot out that broke a 4-4 tie. Other than the Avalanche winning the shoot-out, it was super exciting.
Day 287 - Learn to Read Braille
Date: October 20th, 2010
Not unlike secret codes and sign language, understanding braille feelings like being in a cool club where no one else know what you're writing. The system is pretty genius, though my fingertips are definitely not sensitive enough to be able to read it by hand without practice. I have new-found respect for the blind. I'm just kidding. I always respected the blind.
Day 288 - Call a Random Number and Have a Conversation
Date: October 21st, 2010
It took, I'm not even kidding, 15 calls before I managed to get a conversation past 30 seconds. People are wary of strangers calling on the phone and wanting to shoot the breeze (I wonder why). I was ready to give up when I talked to a lovely woman from Ypsilanti. She has 3 kids, a dog named Trip and she works two jobs to get by. We only talked for a few minutes, but she seemed utterly delightful.
Day 289 - ***Redacted***
Date: October 22nd, 2010
So, my project is to do a new thing every day for a year. I did a new thing this day, but I don't feel it is appropriate to broadcast it on the internet. I know that makes it more intriguing than not, which is counter to what I want... but here's what I'll say... Justin can vouch that I did a new thing for this day. As can my mother. Other than that, you know nothing and see nothing.
Day 290 - Attempt my own Baking Recipe
Date: October 23rd, 2010
Baking is chemistry. I learned that on day one. So what made me think I could make meringues without an electric mixer and with fake sugar, well, I'm not sure. The result was a weird, puffy, souffle-omelet-rubber-cake-wheel that tasted bitter like my tears of disappointment. Seriously. It was a monstrosity.
Day 291 - Had a PJ Day with my Boyfriend
Date: October 24th, 2010
I'm a big fan of laziness. I wish laziness were motivated enough to be famous so I could write it a letter telling it how awesome it is. Then I remember that laziness wouldn't bother appreciating my hard work. In any case, Justin and I both needed a relaxation day so we stayed in PJ's, watched TV and cuddled all day. Granted I applied to jobs and did some school reading, but it was an all day PJ fest and its the first time I've done that with someone.
Day 292 - Clean out my Basement
Date: October 25th, 2010
I've often done major cleaning projects when forced, yelled at or threatened with grounding. I've rarely done them without such motivation. For a long time, the basement room at my condo has been filled with things I'm "storing" there. Which really means stuff I put there and forgot about. So I decided it was time to clean it out. Sort of like Spring cleaning, except that its fall and its just the basement. It felt like Christmas though... I discovered a ton of stuff I forgot I had. And its nice to have my basement back.
Day 293 - Get Keratin Put on my Hair
Date: October 26th, 2010
I was curious to see if there was anything, in existence, that could kill the frizz. I think I finally found something. Its called keratin and it helps build up the hairs' own proteins to make it stronger and less frizzy. I'll let y'all know how it looks in a couple days when the salon styling wears off.
I'm posting another brief synopsis of the project so far. The past couple weeks have flown by. Justin and I are getting our things settled, applying for jobs and I'm studying for school and the bar. The lessons I've been learning aren't daily anymore - they are weekly. I've continued to be more joyful, more open and happier because of this project than I ever was before. So, I am sorry if these particular daily things aren't as interesting as they used to be, but for me they've been just as enlightening.
Day 278 - Learn the Animaniacs Song
Date: October 11th, 2010
With a little help from Justin, who, to his great shame, already knew all the words; I learned the song. It was a delightful respite from things I've had to stretch to accomplish.
Day 279 - Learn to Throat Sing
Date: October 12th, 2010
One word. Weird. I assumed it was essentially humming, but it felt entirely different. I would recommend googling some videos and attempting it. You haven't lived until you've felt your throat vibrate.
Day 280 - Do a Chinese Firedrill
Date: October 13th, 2010
So, Justin, Ingrid and I were driving down to DC for the weekend (for job hunting, house hunting and vacation purposes) and Ingrid recommended that we do the old classic road hi-jink known as a Chinese firedrill. For those who don't know, that's when everyone gets out of the car, runs a lap around it and jumps back in. Usually this is done at an intersection, but not being much for traffic violations and danger,we decided it would be a better idea to do it in the drive-thru of a local McDonald's. In short, it was amazing and we're awesome.
Day 281 - Hold my Breath Under the Appalachian Mountains
Date: October 14th, 2010
I've gone back and forth to DC a bunch of times and every time I come across the tunnel under the mountains I attempt to hold my breath. I'd never previously succeeded. Though I assumed I'd fail, I tried again, mostly out of habit. When I saw the light start to open up on the other side of the tunnel, I was shocked to realize I'd not yet taken a breath. Huzzah! Huzzah for being awesome.
Day 282 - Sit in on an Inner-City High School Class
Date: October 15th, 2010
As part of a promise to Ben, I'm going to write a much longer and more detailed entry about this experience. While I've generally attempted to refrain from political commentary, I'm suspending that rule for the purpose of this entry.
Day 283 - Read a Graphic Novel
Date: October 16th, 2010
I've been an avid reader from a young age. While I used to enjoy picture books, I never read an actual graphic novel. I was surprised at how fully the pictures told the story. I'd expected the story to be somewhat barren without detailed prose. Then again, you really can't go wrong with a title like "The Walking Dead".
Day 284 - Crack a Safe
Date: October 17th, 2010
As part of the awesome trip, we all went to the Spy Museum and did an interactive tour to stop a nuclear bomb. That museum, man, that's some heavy stuff right there. Part of the experience was shuffling through a room filled with hidden compartments and papers to look for evidence. There was a safe in the corner and I spent about fifteen minutes looking for papers before realizing that no one had been able to crack it. In a moment of divine ego-stroking, I figured it out in about 15 seconds. I'm not exaggerating. I walked over, looked at it, spun a dial and thought "oh, that's the trick" before solving the rest of the locks. It was epic and I feel brilliant.
Day 285 - Have an Open and Frank Discussion About my Future
Date: October 18th, 2010
On the way home from DC, Justin and I had an eight hour car ride to entertain each other with. Considering our decision to move in together and the fact that we're looking for jobs in the same places and all other manner of major life decisions, we decided to lay all our cards out on the table and start talking future plans. By about hour five I'd realized that what he wants and what I want are so deeply in sync that I couldn't have planned it better if I tried. By hour eight I was tired, but I knew exactly what Justin would do in the even that our youngest child (a girl), at the age of fifteen, decided she wanted to go to a concert with a boy on a school night if her GPA was 3.7 and she'd one cut school to see a walrus exhibit at the local zoo. No, seriously, that's how detailed the conversation got. It was lovely.
Day 286 - Watch a Hockey Shoot-Out
Date: October 19th, 2010
I went with Justin and his mom to a Red Wings game. Other than the Wings losing, it was awesome. We got to buy snacks from Justin's brother Aaron (he works at the Joe), watch a super exciting game and see the capper - a shoot out that broke a 4-4 tie. Other than the Avalanche winning the shoot-out, it was super exciting.
Day 287 - Learn to Read Braille
Date: October 20th, 2010
Not unlike secret codes and sign language, understanding braille feelings like being in a cool club where no one else know what you're writing. The system is pretty genius, though my fingertips are definitely not sensitive enough to be able to read it by hand without practice. I have new-found respect for the blind. I'm just kidding. I always respected the blind.
Day 288 - Call a Random Number and Have a Conversation
Date: October 21st, 2010
It took, I'm not even kidding, 15 calls before I managed to get a conversation past 30 seconds. People are wary of strangers calling on the phone and wanting to shoot the breeze (I wonder why). I was ready to give up when I talked to a lovely woman from Ypsilanti. She has 3 kids, a dog named Trip and she works two jobs to get by. We only talked for a few minutes, but she seemed utterly delightful.
Day 289 - ***Redacted***
Date: October 22nd, 2010
So, my project is to do a new thing every day for a year. I did a new thing this day, but I don't feel it is appropriate to broadcast it on the internet. I know that makes it more intriguing than not, which is counter to what I want... but here's what I'll say... Justin can vouch that I did a new thing for this day. As can my mother. Other than that, you know nothing and see nothing.
Day 290 - Attempt my own Baking Recipe
Date: October 23rd, 2010
Baking is chemistry. I learned that on day one. So what made me think I could make meringues without an electric mixer and with fake sugar, well, I'm not sure. The result was a weird, puffy, souffle-omelet-rubber-cake-wheel that tasted bitter like my tears of disappointment. Seriously. It was a monstrosity.
Day 291 - Had a PJ Day with my Boyfriend
Date: October 24th, 2010
I'm a big fan of laziness. I wish laziness were motivated enough to be famous so I could write it a letter telling it how awesome it is. Then I remember that laziness wouldn't bother appreciating my hard work. In any case, Justin and I both needed a relaxation day so we stayed in PJ's, watched TV and cuddled all day. Granted I applied to jobs and did some school reading, but it was an all day PJ fest and its the first time I've done that with someone.
Day 292 - Clean out my Basement
Date: October 25th, 2010
I've often done major cleaning projects when forced, yelled at or threatened with grounding. I've rarely done them without such motivation. For a long time, the basement room at my condo has been filled with things I'm "storing" there. Which really means stuff I put there and forgot about. So I decided it was time to clean it out. Sort of like Spring cleaning, except that its fall and its just the basement. It felt like Christmas though... I discovered a ton of stuff I forgot I had. And its nice to have my basement back.
Day 293 - Get Keratin Put on my Hair
Date: October 26th, 2010
I was curious to see if there was anything, in existence, that could kill the frizz. I think I finally found something. Its called keratin and it helps build up the hairs' own proteins to make it stronger and less frizzy. I'll let y'all know how it looks in a couple days when the salon styling wears off.
October 19, 2010
Block Entry
Hi all!
One of the things that I realized about, well, life, in the past month is that as things get difficult, its important to prioritize. The project started as something I'm doing for me and its going to end that way. So, when it came time to figure myself out and potentially miss days for the sake of getting an entry done the night before, I chose to get the extra sleep, do the school reading and then do my new thing.
I have a feeling that things will be mostly catch up entries for the next month because of how busy life is. My primary focus is on completing the project, which I'm ever more certain I will do. In the meantime, here are entries to let y'all know what I did over the course of the last couple weeks.
Day 270 - Get a Couple's Numerology Reading
Date: October 3rd, 2010
Justin and I decided to see what things the universe has in store for us. For me, I wanted to see what the difference was between getting a reading myself and getting one as part of a couple. While there was some overlap (she talked a bit about my numbers for his benefit and his numbers for my benefit), the discussion of compatibility was really interesting. As for me telling you if we're compatible... well, I think I'll leave the surprise for the rest of y'all.
Day 271 - Redact a Document
Date: October 4th, 2010
Working at Legal Services gave me the opportunity to work on some incredibly interesting cases. As a result, I wrote briefs and memos for those cases and found myself looking at things that would make great writing samples for later jobs and opportunities. Unfortunately, there are a bunch of details in those briefs and memos that violate that whole... confidentiality... thing. So I sat down and took what was actually a shockingly long amount of time to redact the documents.
Day 272 - Help Someone Move
Date: October 5th, 2010
I've moved a lot and I've gotten a lot of help doing so. I have not been on the other side of the equation until recently. Justin and I decided to move in together a bit later in the year, but we went ahead and took some of his stuff out of his place and brought it over to mine. I didn't realize how difficult it was to help someone else move. I spent most of the time looking around and wondering what I could be helping with. Until I got instructions, it was really impossible to tell what needed to be done.
Day 273 - MacGiver Something
Date: October 6th, 2010
I came to the distinct realization that I needed measuring tape and didn't have any. So I took a piece paper and folded it into eight sections (seeing as it is eight inches across and all) and then I marked the folds. Then I took a piece of string, placed it on the paper and marked off the inches on it. Voila, measuring tape. That's about the time I realized that my solution not being "go to the store and buy some" was an utterly new experience for me. Huzzah!
Day 274 - Convince Someone to Try a New Look
Date: October 7th, 2010
This one was pretty straightforward. I was excited at how much my opinion counted. It was a lovely day.
Day 275 - Cook Dinner for my Parents at my House
Date: October 8th, 2010
Justin and I decided it was time for our parents to meet each other so we set up a nice dinner at my place to introduce them to each other. We spent the whole afternoon cleaning and cooking so we could serve an awesomely delicious dinner. I'm officially calling the night a success. It was especially nice to feel like I was able to host a night for my parents instead of continually mooching from them.
Day 276 - Watch a GameCast on an iPad
Date: October 9th, 2010
Since football season started, Justin and I have watched every game together. We have either gone over to his dad's house, gone to a bar or stayed at my place. But this weekend, we were on the road down to Indiana. So we used mobile internet to watch the GameCast on my iPad. Its similar to the MacGiver-ing I did earlier in the week, but a lot more high tech.
Day 277 - Go to a Country Wedding
Date: October 10th, 2010
This year, I've been to four weddings. Justin and I went to his friend Sarah's wedding in May and then we were both in our friends Ben and Lisa's wedding in August. After that was my friend Nick's wedding, which we drove out to Grand Rapids for. Last, but certainly not least, was Kyleigh and Matt's wedding in Indiana. They had a beautiful fall ceremony on 10-10-10 out on a farm. The crunch of the leaves, the gorgeous flower and table arrangements, the rolling hills of the farm - they all created a lovely ambiance. But the most wonderful part was the look of joy on the faces of the bride and groom. It was delightful.
Another catch up entry to follow. As soon as I get time. And in the meantime, I'm counting down the days until I've finished this amazing project.
One of the things that I realized about, well, life, in the past month is that as things get difficult, its important to prioritize. The project started as something I'm doing for me and its going to end that way. So, when it came time to figure myself out and potentially miss days for the sake of getting an entry done the night before, I chose to get the extra sleep, do the school reading and then do my new thing.
I have a feeling that things will be mostly catch up entries for the next month because of how busy life is. My primary focus is on completing the project, which I'm ever more certain I will do. In the meantime, here are entries to let y'all know what I did over the course of the last couple weeks.
Day 270 - Get a Couple's Numerology Reading
Date: October 3rd, 2010
Justin and I decided to see what things the universe has in store for us. For me, I wanted to see what the difference was between getting a reading myself and getting one as part of a couple. While there was some overlap (she talked a bit about my numbers for his benefit and his numbers for my benefit), the discussion of compatibility was really interesting. As for me telling you if we're compatible... well, I think I'll leave the surprise for the rest of y'all.
Day 271 - Redact a Document
Date: October 4th, 2010
Working at Legal Services gave me the opportunity to work on some incredibly interesting cases. As a result, I wrote briefs and memos for those cases and found myself looking at things that would make great writing samples for later jobs and opportunities. Unfortunately, there are a bunch of details in those briefs and memos that violate that whole... confidentiality... thing. So I sat down and took what was actually a shockingly long amount of time to redact the documents.
Day 272 - Help Someone Move
Date: October 5th, 2010
I've moved a lot and I've gotten a lot of help doing so. I have not been on the other side of the equation until recently. Justin and I decided to move in together a bit later in the year, but we went ahead and took some of his stuff out of his place and brought it over to mine. I didn't realize how difficult it was to help someone else move. I spent most of the time looking around and wondering what I could be helping with. Until I got instructions, it was really impossible to tell what needed to be done.
Day 273 - MacGiver Something
Date: October 6th, 2010
I came to the distinct realization that I needed measuring tape and didn't have any. So I took a piece paper and folded it into eight sections (seeing as it is eight inches across and all) and then I marked the folds. Then I took a piece of string, placed it on the paper and marked off the inches on it. Voila, measuring tape. That's about the time I realized that my solution not being "go to the store and buy some" was an utterly new experience for me. Huzzah!
Day 274 - Convince Someone to Try a New Look
Date: October 7th, 2010
This one was pretty straightforward. I was excited at how much my opinion counted. It was a lovely day.
Day 275 - Cook Dinner for my Parents at my House
Date: October 8th, 2010
Justin and I decided it was time for our parents to meet each other so we set up a nice dinner at my place to introduce them to each other. We spent the whole afternoon cleaning and cooking so we could serve an awesomely delicious dinner. I'm officially calling the night a success. It was especially nice to feel like I was able to host a night for my parents instead of continually mooching from them.
Day 276 - Watch a GameCast on an iPad
Date: October 9th, 2010
Since football season started, Justin and I have watched every game together. We have either gone over to his dad's house, gone to a bar or stayed at my place. But this weekend, we were on the road down to Indiana. So we used mobile internet to watch the GameCast on my iPad. Its similar to the MacGiver-ing I did earlier in the week, but a lot more high tech.
Day 277 - Go to a Country Wedding
Date: October 10th, 2010
This year, I've been to four weddings. Justin and I went to his friend Sarah's wedding in May and then we were both in our friends Ben and Lisa's wedding in August. After that was my friend Nick's wedding, which we drove out to Grand Rapids for. Last, but certainly not least, was Kyleigh and Matt's wedding in Indiana. They had a beautiful fall ceremony on 10-10-10 out on a farm. The crunch of the leaves, the gorgeous flower and table arrangements, the rolling hills of the farm - they all created a lovely ambiance. But the most wonderful part was the look of joy on the faces of the bride and groom. It was delightful.
Another catch up entry to follow. As soon as I get time. And in the meantime, I'm counting down the days until I've finished this amazing project.
October 2, 2010
Another Catch Up Entry
Hello again, fantastic people.
Its that time again. The time that I realize that while I've barely hung on to not messing up the project itself, I've failed utterly at keeping all you amazing people in the loop. I can only hope that playing big catch up one more time will be enough to get my writings back in the swing of things. So, without further adieu, here are ten paragraphs about my amazing life.
Its that time again. The time that I realize that while I've barely hung on to not messing up the project itself, I've failed utterly at keeping all you amazing people in the loop. I can only hope that playing big catch up one more time will be enough to get my writings back in the swing of things. So, without further adieu, here are ten paragraphs about my amazing life.
September 28, 2010
Day 259 - Get "Grilled" by a Boyfriend's Parents
Date: September 22nd, 2010
I had a ton of "should've known" moments before I went over to Justin's dad's house for dinner last week. The first clue was when it got scheduled almost a week in advance. The next was when a significant portion of his family was there (his mom, his dad, his stepmom and his younger brother). The last, and perhaps most obvious of the hints was when Justin's stepmom, Brenda, told me to go sit down at the table so they could grill me. By then it was too late.
In truth, I tease, but I could tell how much they care about Justin and making sure he's happy. There's not much else to tell that isn't private, but that it was a new experience for me to sit down across the table from someone's parents and speak to them, adult to adult, about my choices. It was also a new experience to speak openly and honestly about the choices I'm making with Justin as a couple. Its not that I lied with previous boyfriends... I just didn't talk about it.
By the end of the evening I had the distinct feeling that all parties were rooting for the relationship to succeed. I knew Justin and I were. I know my parents were, in part because I'm around them so much and talk to them as openly as I do. After dinner, I could tell that Justin's family felt the same way. That's the kind of support that makes going from law student to lawyer much more manageable. You mean, we have to grow up at some point? And I was just starting to enjoy this pseudo-adulthood I'd been cultivating.
I had a ton of "should've known" moments before I went over to Justin's dad's house for dinner last week. The first clue was when it got scheduled almost a week in advance. The next was when a significant portion of his family was there (his mom, his dad, his stepmom and his younger brother). The last, and perhaps most obvious of the hints was when Justin's stepmom, Brenda, told me to go sit down at the table so they could grill me. By then it was too late.
In truth, I tease, but I could tell how much they care about Justin and making sure he's happy. There's not much else to tell that isn't private, but that it was a new experience for me to sit down across the table from someone's parents and speak to them, adult to adult, about my choices. It was also a new experience to speak openly and honestly about the choices I'm making with Justin as a couple. Its not that I lied with previous boyfriends... I just didn't talk about it.
By the end of the evening I had the distinct feeling that all parties were rooting for the relationship to succeed. I knew Justin and I were. I know my parents were, in part because I'm around them so much and talk to them as openly as I do. After dinner, I could tell that Justin's family felt the same way. That's the kind of support that makes going from law student to lawyer much more manageable. You mean, we have to grow up at some point? And I was just starting to enjoy this pseudo-adulthood I'd been cultivating.
Day 258 - Calculate my Carbon Footprint
Date: September 21st, 2010
I have a what now? I was reading an environmental policy article between classes the other day and I stumbled until a calculate your own Carbon Footprint website. It seemed nifty enough to spend ten or so minutes on. Turns out my carbon footprint is big enough to be seen from space. I don't actually plan on spending too long on this entry because the great lesson of the day was that sometimes, given new information, there's simply nothing that can be done.
The site seems to offer forth the idea that if you know your carbon footprint, you can change it. Magically, with the power of knowledge, you'll stop producing as much smog as once before. Unfortunately for me, though my carbon footprint is admittedly bigger than I expected, there's nothing from my calculator that I could change. I already have mostly energy saving whatevers and I can't not drive my car as much as I do (since I have to commute to work). So other than a philosophical study of futility, there was little to be learned for the day.
My footprint is 60, by the way. In case anyone is interested in a comparison.
Have at it.
I have a what now? I was reading an environmental policy article between classes the other day and I stumbled until a calculate your own Carbon Footprint website. It seemed nifty enough to spend ten or so minutes on. Turns out my carbon footprint is big enough to be seen from space. I don't actually plan on spending too long on this entry because the great lesson of the day was that sometimes, given new information, there's simply nothing that can be done.
The site seems to offer forth the idea that if you know your carbon footprint, you can change it. Magically, with the power of knowledge, you'll stop producing as much smog as once before. Unfortunately for me, though my carbon footprint is admittedly bigger than I expected, there's nothing from my calculator that I could change. I already have mostly energy saving whatevers and I can't not drive my car as much as I do (since I have to commute to work). So other than a philosophical study of futility, there was little to be learned for the day.
My footprint is 60, by the way. In case anyone is interested in a comparison.
Have at it.
Day 257 - Spend a Day as a Vegan
Date: September 20th, 2010
Dear sweet holy mother of all that is good and righteous in this world, may I never come to believe that this was a good idea again. Seriously. First of all, whoever tried to say that the little soy-composite-wood-chip-dogs were a substitute for hot dogs can just go jump off a ginormous bridge. Secondly, rice-soy-cheese-substitute-cardboard is an affront to my very womanhood. Thirdly, well, just, ew.
Dear sweet holy mother of all that is good and righteous in this world, may I never come to believe that this was a good idea again. Seriously. First of all, whoever tried to say that the little soy-composite-wood-chip-dogs were a substitute for hot dogs can just go jump off a ginormous bridge. Secondly, rice-soy-cheese-substitute-cardboard is an affront to my very womanhood. Thirdly, well, just, ew.
Kill it! Kill it with fire!
Day 256 - Walk Through a Corn Maze
Date: September 19th, 2010
Corn mazes are, apparently, some sort of midwest staple. I didn't realize that until the corn got up higher than my eyebrows and suddenly every country road had sprouted a sign advertising one. I decided that absolutely had to be on the thing of the day list so as soon as the weather got crisp enough (cause it just doesn't seem right to have a muggy corn maze experience), Justin and I headed out to the nearest good sized one and started wandering around.
Corn mazes are, apparently, some sort of midwest staple. I didn't realize that until the corn got up higher than my eyebrows and suddenly every country road had sprouted a sign advertising one. I decided that absolutely had to be on the thing of the day list so as soon as the weather got crisp enough (cause it just doesn't seem right to have a muggy corn maze experience), Justin and I headed out to the nearest good sized one and started wandering around.
September 23, 2010
Day 255 - Entertain Someone's Parents at Home
Date: September 18th, 2010
I'm generally a social creature. I like hosting parties. I like going to parties. I enjoy the company of friends. That being said, one thing I've not done, by chance, was host a friend or boyfriend's parents in my home. Mainly because I've tended to lean on my folks for doing the hosting, but partly because, quite frankly, I just didn't feel established enough to do that before now. What I mean is that for the first time in my life, recently, I've really come to feel as though the age of the people I invite over doesn't matter. I've stopped worrying as much about being seen as a kid and started just enjoying how comfortable my place is to be at.
There's not much to tell about the actual entertaining. Justin's dad and stepmom came over to watch the Michigan game. It was wholly disappointing, despite Michigan pulling out the win. I love the Maize and Blue, I really do, but the game brought back horrible memories of last season. Michigan fans remember last season. When we roflstomped (its a technical term) the easier opponents and then lost basically every game after that? Yeah. I remember. I wept. Our defense is looking about the same as before. To my untrained eyes at least.
That being said, I greatly enjoyed the sense of solidarity that comes from watching the game with people. Don't get me wrong. PJ's, popcorn and my screaming at the television is another fantastic way to enjoy football; but none of my past boyfriends or boyfriend's families have really liked football before. And, you know, screaming at an inanimate object seems slightly less crazy when other people are there joining in the fun.
I'm generally a social creature. I like hosting parties. I like going to parties. I enjoy the company of friends. That being said, one thing I've not done, by chance, was host a friend or boyfriend's parents in my home. Mainly because I've tended to lean on my folks for doing the hosting, but partly because, quite frankly, I just didn't feel established enough to do that before now. What I mean is that for the first time in my life, recently, I've really come to feel as though the age of the people I invite over doesn't matter. I've stopped worrying as much about being seen as a kid and started just enjoying how comfortable my place is to be at.
There's not much to tell about the actual entertaining. Justin's dad and stepmom came over to watch the Michigan game. It was wholly disappointing, despite Michigan pulling out the win. I love the Maize and Blue, I really do, but the game brought back horrible memories of last season. Michigan fans remember last season. When we roflstomped (its a technical term) the easier opponents and then lost basically every game after that? Yeah. I remember. I wept. Our defense is looking about the same as before. To my untrained eyes at least.
That being said, I greatly enjoyed the sense of solidarity that comes from watching the game with people. Don't get me wrong. PJ's, popcorn and my screaming at the television is another fantastic way to enjoy football; but none of my past boyfriends or boyfriend's families have really liked football before. And, you know, screaming at an inanimate object seems slightly less crazy when other people are there joining in the fun.
September 22, 2010
Day 254 - Smoke a Hookah
Date: September 17th, 2010
When did hookahs get cool? Has this always been a thing or did it just happen? Because it seems to me that, having never heard of them, I was in the majority for most of my childhood. Then, when I went away to college, they were just everywhere. People I'd only met once before were asking me if I wanted to go smoke a hookah. Assuming that it was an offer of illegal drugs, I politely declined. Seriously. At least once I did the "no thanks, I'm not into that stuff", assuming that hookah was cool new college lingo for pot. So imagine my surprise when, after walking past it for five years completely oblivious, I realized that there was a hookah bar inside my favorite Ann Arbor cafe.
When did hookahs get cool? Has this always been a thing or did it just happen? Because it seems to me that, having never heard of them, I was in the majority for most of my childhood. Then, when I went away to college, they were just everywhere. People I'd only met once before were asking me if I wanted to go smoke a hookah. Assuming that it was an offer of illegal drugs, I politely declined. Seriously. At least once I did the "no thanks, I'm not into that stuff", assuming that hookah was cool new college lingo for pot. So imagine my surprise when, after walking past it for five years completely oblivious, I realized that there was a hookah bar inside my favorite Ann Arbor cafe.
September 21, 2010
Day 253 - Fold a Fortune Teller
Date: September 16th, 2010
When I was in grade school, I was the chick that always wanted to go play with the boys outside instead of sitting around and combing the hair off my dollies. Consequently, I did not fit in when I lived in Indiana. I was there during the prime, future-predicting years of my life. No, I'm not talking about the years when you form into the person you're going to become and walk in the mold you've created until adulthood. No no no. I'm talking about the years when gaggles of giggling girls scouts sit around and talk about what kind of house they're going to live in and how their rich, handsome husband is going to be a millionaire. Or maybe that's just Indiana.
When I was in grade school, I was the chick that always wanted to go play with the boys outside instead of sitting around and combing the hair off my dollies. Consequently, I did not fit in when I lived in Indiana. I was there during the prime, future-predicting years of my life. No, I'm not talking about the years when you form into the person you're going to become and walk in the mold you've created until adulthood. No no no. I'm talking about the years when gaggles of giggling girls scouts sit around and talk about what kind of house they're going to live in and how their rich, handsome husband is going to be a millionaire. Or maybe that's just Indiana.
September 20, 2010
Day 252 - Learn my Name in Arabic
Date: September 15th, 2010
There was little to the actual experience for today, but having seen my name written in Chinese and hieroglyph (I've had an interesting childhood), I wanted to see what it would look like in Arabic.
There was little to the actual experience for today, but having seen my name written in Chinese and hieroglyph (I've had an interesting childhood), I wanted to see what it would look like in Arabic.
كريستين
So pretty.
I found a lovely site that contained translations of most common names in English and their corresponding Arabic versions. It was a nice reminder of how beautiful language can be. English doesn't always display the pure, intricate poetry that language has to offer. I mean, not with words like aardvark and doppelganger. Seriously, English? Come on!
I already liked my name, but seeing it in Arabic reminded me how beautifully language can display a thought, action or person to the world
September 19, 2010
Day 251 - Watch a Silent Film
Date: September 14th, 2010
There are very few things that truly shock me anymore. After being caught off guard at the amazingness of, well, most of the world, this past year; I'm finding it harder and harder to be completely awe-inspired by things. Perhaps is that I've moved onto slightly less glorious pursuits than at the beginning of the year. Or maybe the shine's off the silverware, so to speak. Either way, I found myself truly expecting to be utterly and completely bored on Tuesday evening as I walked to Cosi to meet up with Tim, Christine and Ingrid.
There are very few things that truly shock me anymore. After being caught off guard at the amazingness of, well, most of the world, this past year; I'm finding it harder and harder to be completely awe-inspired by things. Perhaps is that I've moved onto slightly less glorious pursuits than at the beginning of the year. Or maybe the shine's off the silverware, so to speak. Either way, I found myself truly expecting to be utterly and completely bored on Tuesday evening as I walked to Cosi to meet up with Tim, Christine and Ingrid.
September 16, 2010
Day 250 - Join a Weight Loss Challenge
Date: September 13th, 2010
As a general rule, I prefer dieting alone. I have come to realize that this is probably self-defeating behavior. See, I don't like other people knowing my weight (who does) and I'm not a fan of people knowing when I mess up; though a full year of being a beginner at everything is helping rid me of that concern. In any case, the main reason I generally exercised and dieted alone was that when I inevitably messed up, there was no one there to judge me. Yeah, I know, mildly embarrassing to admit, but what good is a year of self-reflection if not to examine traits like this?
What I realized a couple days ago is that I never had a particular reason to diet before. One of the old sayings about diets goes that you need to hate your body more than you love food. That axiom vastly underestimates the extent to which I adore, nay, worship at the alter of bacon. More than that, I've always been a confident person despite not being, ya know, a looker. So I never had that momentary feeling of worthlessness that made me proud put down the fries and declare myself a slave to food no more.
Recently, I realized that I do have a reason to diet. A big one. One of the many places I'm applying to work is with the Judge Advocate General. You know how, when you're applying to school, there are stretch schools and safety schools? Well, JAG is one of my stretch schools. Its also an area of legal practice that I find incredibly interesting and fulfilling and that I would be insanely giddy to get a chance at. As I started to put together my applications for law firms, clerkships, fellowships and JAG, I ran into a wall I never expected. JAG has a fitness requirement.
Who'd have thunk it? I certainly didn't. But it became the clearest motivator I've ever had. I can be a clerk without being a looker. I can have a fellowship without being able to pull off a micro-mini and a tank top (in fact, its probably better that way). But even if I have a stellar interview, wow the military-grade socks off the recruiters and prove myself utterly and completely worthy of the job; I still can't work there if I'm out-of-shape.
So I bit the embarrassment bullet and signed myself up on a site called FatSecret. There are tons of fitness challenges, weigh-ins, recipe sharing and other nifty tools to guilt and shame our collective fatness into collective fitness. Hopefully that works, because even now, before its an issue, I can tell what kind of shame I will feel if I lose an incredible opportunity over a cheeseburger and fries.
As a general rule, I prefer dieting alone. I have come to realize that this is probably self-defeating behavior. See, I don't like other people knowing my weight (who does) and I'm not a fan of people knowing when I mess up; though a full year of being a beginner at everything is helping rid me of that concern. In any case, the main reason I generally exercised and dieted alone was that when I inevitably messed up, there was no one there to judge me. Yeah, I know, mildly embarrassing to admit, but what good is a year of self-reflection if not to examine traits like this?
What I realized a couple days ago is that I never had a particular reason to diet before. One of the old sayings about diets goes that you need to hate your body more than you love food. That axiom vastly underestimates the extent to which I adore, nay, worship at the alter of bacon. More than that, I've always been a confident person despite not being, ya know, a looker. So I never had that momentary feeling of worthlessness that made me proud put down the fries and declare myself a slave to food no more.
Recently, I realized that I do have a reason to diet. A big one. One of the many places I'm applying to work is with the Judge Advocate General. You know how, when you're applying to school, there are stretch schools and safety schools? Well, JAG is one of my stretch schools. Its also an area of legal practice that I find incredibly interesting and fulfilling and that I would be insanely giddy to get a chance at. As I started to put together my applications for law firms, clerkships, fellowships and JAG, I ran into a wall I never expected. JAG has a fitness requirement.
Who'd have thunk it? I certainly didn't. But it became the clearest motivator I've ever had. I can be a clerk without being a looker. I can have a fellowship without being able to pull off a micro-mini and a tank top (in fact, its probably better that way). But even if I have a stellar interview, wow the military-grade socks off the recruiters and prove myself utterly and completely worthy of the job; I still can't work there if I'm out-of-shape.
So I bit the embarrassment bullet and signed myself up on a site called FatSecret. There are tons of fitness challenges, weigh-ins, recipe sharing and other nifty tools to guilt and shame our collective fatness into collective fitness. Hopefully that works, because even now, before its an issue, I can tell what kind of shame I will feel if I lose an incredible opportunity over a cheeseburger and fries.
September 13, 2010
Days 239-249: Lots of Stuff
First, a note on what the diddly is going on. The last ten days have taught me a completely different lesson than I ever expected to learn. That is that no matter how amazing, how life changing, how uplifting a project is... eventually things get difficult. I'm nearing the home stretch. There are only about 100 days left until the end of the year and contrary to what I thought back in January... I'm still not sure I'll be able to finish. I figured if I made it to August I'd know I could do it. Now... not so much. Largely because I've discovered the ability to love something and hate it at the same time. I long for the familiar. I want to spend a day just doing things I'm good at instead of knowing I'm going to be a beginner, yet again.
As such, while I've hung in there, keeping up with blog entries has become a bit tiresome for me. I'm guessing that doesn't shock anyone who got used to daily updates and now is stuck with my once weekly push to catch up. Rather than subject myself and y'all to ten days of relatively mundane experiences with even more mundane lessons, I'm going to do a speed catch up (about a paragraph per day) and see if I can clean slate my way through the next 115 days. Wish me luck!
As such, while I've hung in there, keeping up with blog entries has become a bit tiresome for me. I'm guessing that doesn't shock anyone who got used to daily updates and now is stuck with my once weekly push to catch up. Rather than subject myself and y'all to ten days of relatively mundane experiences with even more mundane lessons, I'm going to do a speed catch up (about a paragraph per day) and see if I can clean slate my way through the next 115 days. Wish me luck!
Day 238 - Go Ziplining
Date: September 1st, 2010
As I drove back up through Ohio, thinking to myself "gosh, I wonder if there's anything good about this state", I realized that there had to be something. I know, I know, my Michigan colors are showing, but seriously.... what the heck Ohio? Other than astronauts... what is there? Apparently there is also Ziplining, and it was incredible!
As I drove back up through Ohio, thinking to myself "gosh, I wonder if there's anything good about this state", I realized that there had to be something. I know, I know, my Michigan colors are showing, but seriously.... what the heck Ohio? Other than astronauts... what is there? Apparently there is also Ziplining, and it was incredible!
September 10, 2010
School is Hard
Hi all!
I know I got so close to being caught up, just to slip behind again. For those who don't know, this week was the first week of the last semester of law school for me. Keeping up with doing a new thing each day has been almost impossible, but I'm proud to say that I haven't slipped yet. I have, however, slipped on entries. My plan is to catch up this weekend, but only time will tell if that actually happens.
Hang in there and I promise new delights and joy as soon as is humanly possible!
~Ms. Pallaton
I know I got so close to being caught up, just to slip behind again. For those who don't know, this week was the first week of the last semester of law school for me. Keeping up with doing a new thing each day has been almost impossible, but I'm proud to say that I haven't slipped yet. I have, however, slipped on entries. My plan is to catch up this weekend, but only time will tell if that actually happens.
Hang in there and I promise new delights and joy as soon as is humanly possible!
~Ms. Pallaton
September 7, 2010
Day 237 - Go Zorbing
Date: August 31st, 2010
Perhaps the most ridiculous thing on the list for this year was something called Zorbing. I assumed that I wouldn't get a chance to do it since, well, its only found in one place in the entire country and that place is Tennessee. Having never been to Tennessee and not having had much free time until just recently, Zorbing was high on the hopes list and low on the priorities list.
Perhaps the most ridiculous thing on the list for this year was something called Zorbing. I assumed that I wouldn't get a chance to do it since, well, its only found in one place in the entire country and that place is Tennessee. Having never been to Tennessee and not having had much free time until just recently, Zorbing was high on the hopes list and low on the priorities list.
September 6, 2010
Day 236 - Visit the Creation Museum
Date: August 30th, 2010
I decided to take a few days to let what I saw at the Creation Museum simmer a bit before writing about it. Having been an atheist for most of my younger days, then agnostic, then Christian and now some odd liberal mish-mash of evangelical Christian and randomly spiritual (because Jesus is, like, awesome, dude), I really had no idea what I was in for when I decided to go to the museum. For anyone who doesn't know, the Creation Museum was founded by Answers in Genesis as part of their campaign to bring Creationist thought into the mainstream. Now, I'm Christian. I believe wholeheartedly in Christ, God, the Trinity and all sorts of other whatnot and whodunits. But one thing I never, really for even a moment, believed in, was Creationism. Mainly for that reason, going to to Creation Museum was a step outside of my comfort zone.
I decided to take a few days to let what I saw at the Creation Museum simmer a bit before writing about it. Having been an atheist for most of my younger days, then agnostic, then Christian and now some odd liberal mish-mash of evangelical Christian and randomly spiritual (because Jesus is, like, awesome, dude), I really had no idea what I was in for when I decided to go to the museum. For anyone who doesn't know, the Creation Museum was founded by Answers in Genesis as part of their campaign to bring Creationist thought into the mainstream. Now, I'm Christian. I believe wholeheartedly in Christ, God, the Trinity and all sorts of other whatnot and whodunits. But one thing I never, really for even a moment, believed in, was Creationism. Mainly for that reason, going to to Creation Museum was a step outside of my comfort zone.
September 2, 2010
The Rolling Hills of... Umm... Middle America
Hi all!
Some people may already be aware, but I took a brief excursion for days 236-238 that included some of the things I'd be meaning to do since the beginning. Those entries should be posted by tomorrow so, ya know, don't get antsy. I thought I'd give the teaser though, just, you know, to keep people tantalized and whatnot.
And now... sleep. Entries tomorrow.
~Ms. Pallaton
Some people may already be aware, but I took a brief excursion for days 236-238 that included some of the things I'd be meaning to do since the beginning. Those entries should be posted by tomorrow so, ya know, don't get antsy. I thought I'd give the teaser though, just, you know, to keep people tantalized and whatnot.
And now... sleep. Entries tomorrow.
~Ms. Pallaton
September 1, 2010
Day 235 - Powerwash a Deck
Date: August 29th, 2010
One of the things I've always wished for, my whole life, was that things in my life would just clean themselves. I so greatly prefer to be surrounded by clean things, but boy do I hate the actual process of cleaning them. First of all, its gross. Those things are dirty. Think about it. Second of all, its hard. Well, harder than watching TV and wishing, at least.
One of the things I've always wished for, my whole life, was that things in my life would just clean themselves. I so greatly prefer to be surrounded by clean things, but boy do I hate the actual process of cleaning them. First of all, its gross. Those things are dirty. Think about it. Second of all, its hard. Well, harder than watching TV and wishing, at least.
Day 234 - Watch a Marx Bros. Movie
Date: August 28th, 2010
I have tended to avoid doing things that are just slight variations on things I've already done. At the beginning of things I told people I wouldn't go eat at the Olive Garden in Ypsi and count it because I hadn't been to that location before. I made a few exceptions for particularly interesting or unusual variations. I counted authentic pizza and Ethiopian food because those are more than just variations - they are unique and untested. They present an opportunity for a new experience. Such was the case with watching a Marx Brothers movie.
I have tended to avoid doing things that are just slight variations on things I've already done. At the beginning of things I told people I wouldn't go eat at the Olive Garden in Ypsi and count it because I hadn't been to that location before. I made a few exceptions for particularly interesting or unusual variations. I counted authentic pizza and Ethiopian food because those are more than just variations - they are unique and untested. They present an opportunity for a new experience. Such was the case with watching a Marx Brothers movie.
Day 233 - Have my Initials Carved into a Heart in a Tree
Date: August 27th, 2010
Friday was an absolutely beautiful day. After a round trip to Lansing to finish some paperwork, I wanted nothing to do with the indoors, computers, work or cars. So Justin and I went to the arb for a little while. He'd never been, which, given my current proclivities, made me all the most insistent that we go as soon as possible. I've come to really adore showing people new things and convincing them to do new things. Other than drugs. I have no desire to convince people to try drugs.
Friday was an absolutely beautiful day. After a round trip to Lansing to finish some paperwork, I wanted nothing to do with the indoors, computers, work or cars. So Justin and I went to the arb for a little while. He'd never been, which, given my current proclivities, made me all the most insistent that we go as soon as possible. I've come to really adore showing people new things and convincing them to do new things. Other than drugs. I have no desire to convince people to try drugs.
Day 232 - Run Out of Gas
Date: August 26th, 2010
Some days are amazing, but have no obvious lesson. Others have an obvious lesson and are, well, less than delightful. Such was the case last Thursday. I planned on doing one of my at home kits for a new thing (I still have a paint by number gathering dust and waiting to be ceremonially broken out) once i got home from work, but that was not to be. As part of my job, sometimes I have to do what are called "court runs". That's the generic term for any time someone has to leave the office to drop something off, pick something up or file something. I was dropping off an overnight request for documents at an office complex that turned out to be in the middle of East Deliverance Nowhere.
Some days are amazing, but have no obvious lesson. Others have an obvious lesson and are, well, less than delightful. Such was the case last Thursday. I planned on doing one of my at home kits for a new thing (I still have a paint by number gathering dust and waiting to be ceremonially broken out) once i got home from work, but that was not to be. As part of my job, sometimes I have to do what are called "court runs". That's the generic term for any time someone has to leave the office to drop something off, pick something up or file something. I was dropping off an overnight request for documents at an office complex that turned out to be in the middle of East Deliverance Nowhere.
August 31, 2010
Day 231 - Be Completely at Ease with Someone Else's Family
Date: August 25th, 2010
My family is very friendly. For years, whenever I've gotten to know people, I've eventually invited them to come hang out with my folks, get dinner with my folks or visit my folks at their house in Fenton. See, I enjoy my parents - I find them delightful - I choose to be around them on a regular basis. I know, weird right?
That being said, in my whole life, I've never felt as comfortable around anyone else's family as I have around my parents. I suppose that's fairly normal, given that I know them better than anyone else. The reason its noteworthy though is that I've spent a fair amount of time around other people's families in my life. In addition to being around parents of friends throughout high school and college, I had the same boyfriend (on and off) for almost a decade, so I spent a fairly hefty chunk of time with his family.
In all those years, while I've really adored my friends families, I've still felt like I had to be on good guest behavior. The same goes for my ex-boyfriend's family. Even up until the last time I saw them, I felt like I had to talk and act a certain way that wasn't entirely myself. I was making an impression, if that makes sense. I expected that "on your best behavior" thing to persist for a good deal of time with Justin's family since, well, I'm just now getting to know them.
That's why, when I looked around his dad's house on Wednesday, I was shocked at how at ease I felt sitting on the couch and watching TV. The jokes I cracked were the first ones that came to my head. The way I sat was the way I sit at home. The conversation I had with Justin was the kind I'd have if we were sitting by ourselves. That was the first realization I had. The second was that I'd never felt that comfortable with someone else's family before.
As I write this entry, Justin and I have decided to start a more serious relationship (he's no longer my not-a-boyfriend), but the day we spent with his family was about a week before we made that decision. I found myself delighted at the fact that I felt so at ease. It was, in truth, a small but important part of the reason we got more serious. The biggest reason being, of course, that Justin is amazing. But that's neither here nor there.
What does all this have to do with the larger, meta-experience that is my project? Really nothing besides the fact that I'd never experienced it before and it made me super happy. Not every story has a moral - some days are just wonderful days.
My family is very friendly. For years, whenever I've gotten to know people, I've eventually invited them to come hang out with my folks, get dinner with my folks or visit my folks at their house in Fenton. See, I enjoy my parents - I find them delightful - I choose to be around them on a regular basis. I know, weird right?
That being said, in my whole life, I've never felt as comfortable around anyone else's family as I have around my parents. I suppose that's fairly normal, given that I know them better than anyone else. The reason its noteworthy though is that I've spent a fair amount of time around other people's families in my life. In addition to being around parents of friends throughout high school and college, I had the same boyfriend (on and off) for almost a decade, so I spent a fairly hefty chunk of time with his family.
In all those years, while I've really adored my friends families, I've still felt like I had to be on good guest behavior. The same goes for my ex-boyfriend's family. Even up until the last time I saw them, I felt like I had to talk and act a certain way that wasn't entirely myself. I was making an impression, if that makes sense. I expected that "on your best behavior" thing to persist for a good deal of time with Justin's family since, well, I'm just now getting to know them.
That's why, when I looked around his dad's house on Wednesday, I was shocked at how at ease I felt sitting on the couch and watching TV. The jokes I cracked were the first ones that came to my head. The way I sat was the way I sit at home. The conversation I had with Justin was the kind I'd have if we were sitting by ourselves. That was the first realization I had. The second was that I'd never felt that comfortable with someone else's family before.
As I write this entry, Justin and I have decided to start a more serious relationship (he's no longer my not-a-boyfriend), but the day we spent with his family was about a week before we made that decision. I found myself delighted at the fact that I felt so at ease. It was, in truth, a small but important part of the reason we got more serious. The biggest reason being, of course, that Justin is amazing. But that's neither here nor there.
What does all this have to do with the larger, meta-experience that is my project? Really nothing besides the fact that I'd never experienced it before and it made me super happy. Not every story has a moral - some days are just wonderful days.
Day 230 - Wax my Hands
Date: August 24th, 2010
I'm an only child. One of the perquisites of being an only child is that every once in a while, I got, umm, pampered. There's really no way to explain that without sounding deeply spoiled. So, I think, in the interest of time, I'll just admit to being deeply spoiled and we'll move on. When I was younger, I got to go to the spa about once every couple of years to enjoy a massage, facial and mani-pedi.
I'm an only child. One of the perquisites of being an only child is that every once in a while, I got, umm, pampered. There's really no way to explain that without sounding deeply spoiled. So, I think, in the interest of time, I'll just admit to being deeply spoiled and we'll move on. When I was younger, I got to go to the spa about once every couple of years to enjoy a massage, facial and mani-pedi.
August 30, 2010
Day 229 - Face my Superstitions
Date: August 23rd, 2010
I'm a surprisingly superstitious person at times. I tend to think that things are supposed to happen and I don't want to carelessly mess that up by, you know, breaking a mirror or opening a fortune cookie improperly. I thought about this as I ate my Chinese food and tried to stop myself from looking at the fortune before I ate the cookie. It won't come true if you do that, you know.
As I finished a delicious meal, it struck me that believing, even in passing, that my fortune cookie fortune could come true no matter what I did is a superstition of its own. So, in an act of calculated defiance, I smashed the cookie inside the wrapper, read my fortune and went about my business. Then I went on a bit of a superstition spree. I opened up a step ladder at my house and walked under it, then undid an umbrella in my kitchen. I was going to break a mirror, but it struck me that in addition to superstition, there is a good reason for that rule. Mirrors are made of glass. I'm sure y'all can work out the rest of the logic.
Granting this entry is rather short, my main lesson came a few days later when all Hell didn't break loose in my life. I have officially trial-and-errored superstitions and found them lacking. Your welcome.
I'm a surprisingly superstitious person at times. I tend to think that things are supposed to happen and I don't want to carelessly mess that up by, you know, breaking a mirror or opening a fortune cookie improperly. I thought about this as I ate my Chinese food and tried to stop myself from looking at the fortune before I ate the cookie. It won't come true if you do that, you know.
As I finished a delicious meal, it struck me that believing, even in passing, that my fortune cookie fortune could come true no matter what I did is a superstition of its own. So, in an act of calculated defiance, I smashed the cookie inside the wrapper, read my fortune and went about my business. Then I went on a bit of a superstition spree. I opened up a step ladder at my house and walked under it, then undid an umbrella in my kitchen. I was going to break a mirror, but it struck me that in addition to superstition, there is a good reason for that rule. Mirrors are made of glass. I'm sure y'all can work out the rest of the logic.
Granting this entry is rather short, my main lesson came a few days later when all Hell didn't break loose in my life. I have officially trial-and-errored superstitions and found them lacking. Your welcome.
Day 228 - Go in a Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride
Date: August 22nd, 2010
The second day of our Chicago adventure was significantly more laid back. The plan involved walking. Then getting on a train. Then being home. Not unlike the last time I was in a major city, I relied on the fact that they are jam packed with activities to ensure that something new happened. At first that didn't seem to be as solid a plan as I'd hoped though.
The second day of our Chicago adventure was significantly more laid back. The plan involved walking. Then getting on a train. Then being home. Not unlike the last time I was in a major city, I relied on the fact that they are jam packed with activities to ensure that something new happened. At first that didn't seem to be as solid a plan as I'd hoped though.
Day 227 - Eat Authentic Chicago Deep Dish
Date: August 21st, 2010
The interesting thing about the Chicago trip is that, for the most part, I'd already done some form of everything we did that day. I say its interesting because it was an amazing experience and, on the whole, it was an entirely new feeling day. But going thing by thing, I'd done all but one of the things that were on the activity list already.
- Take a train into Chicago... done.
- Go to a Major League Baseball game... done.
- Drink a beer at a sporting event... done.
All things that, absent having done them already, would be amazing things of the day for my project.
The interesting thing about the Chicago trip is that, for the most part, I'd already done some form of everything we did that day. I say its interesting because it was an amazing experience and, on the whole, it was an entirely new feeling day. But going thing by thing, I'd done all but one of the things that were on the activity list already.
- Take a train into Chicago... done.
- Go to a Major League Baseball game... done.
- Drink a beer at a sporting event... done.
All things that, absent having done them already, would be amazing things of the day for my project.
Day 226 - Learn to Install a Children's Car Seat
Date: August 20th, 2010
So we enter day two of "Kristen really should've planned ahead" mode. Thankfully, Justin's family was there to rescue me.
Justin and I were on our way to spend the weekend with his family in Chicago so we drove over to Kalamazoo on the Friday before to socialize and get ourselves in the right place to catch the train we were all taking into the city. As we pulled off the highway at 10ish at night, I realized that I hadn't done a new thing. I'd spent the day packing and cleaning and hadn't thought for a second about the fact that all the officially awesome stuff didn't start until the next day.
So we enter day two of "Kristen really should've planned ahead" mode. Thankfully, Justin's family was there to rescue me.
Justin and I were on our way to spend the weekend with his family in Chicago so we drove over to Kalamazoo on the Friday before to socialize and get ourselves in the right place to catch the train we were all taking into the city. As we pulled off the highway at 10ish at night, I realized that I hadn't done a new thing. I'd spent the day packing and cleaning and hadn't thought for a second about the fact that all the officially awesome stuff didn't start until the next day.
Day 225 - Dye my Eyebrows
Date: August 19th, 2010
My mom dyed my eyebrows. It was, well, I'd never done it before.
Interesting works. Interesting is a word I'd use for it.
I worked the long shift at work and found myself pushing 10pm without a new thing of the day. Determined not to fail, I let my mother put chemicals on my face for the enjoyment and amusement of the crowd. About halfway through the process, I had the eyebrows of Frida Kahlo (and the jawline of a young Mick Jagger, but that wasn't because of the chemicals).
She had gotten a kit that was a two step process and, delightfully, didn't involve just putting hair dye on the brows. I was mildly concerned about that prospect until she showed me the kit, which was actually kind of neat. Three little bottles on a tray gave her like ten or fifteen uses. I had a momentary realization of how little hair there was on any give person's eyebrows. That's not the kind of thing I generally choose to think about, but it was interesting, to say the least.
There was very little philosophizing after my eleven hour shift and hour long commute. Not going to lie. Mostly just didn't want to fail the project. And now I have dyed eyebrows. Thanks will power. You did me a solid on this one.
My mom dyed my eyebrows. It was, well, I'd never done it before.
Interesting works. Interesting is a word I'd use for it.
I worked the long shift at work and found myself pushing 10pm without a new thing of the day. Determined not to fail, I let my mother put chemicals on my face for the enjoyment and amusement of the crowd. About halfway through the process, I had the eyebrows of Frida Kahlo (and the jawline of a young Mick Jagger, but that wasn't because of the chemicals).
She had gotten a kit that was a two step process and, delightfully, didn't involve just putting hair dye on the brows. I was mildly concerned about that prospect until she showed me the kit, which was actually kind of neat. Three little bottles on a tray gave her like ten or fifteen uses. I had a momentary realization of how little hair there was on any give person's eyebrows. That's not the kind of thing I generally choose to think about, but it was interesting, to say the least.
There was very little philosophizing after my eleven hour shift and hour long commute. Not going to lie. Mostly just didn't want to fail the project. And now I have dyed eyebrows. Thanks will power. You did me a solid on this one.
Day 224 - Give myself a Virtual Makeover
Date: August 18th, 2010
In a delightfully superficial turn, I found a site that allows you to do personal makeovers with their software. Having had a long day the day before, I decided to go through the lighthearted exercise of making myself feel pretty. So I found a picture that didn't have any makeup on and was a pretty normal shot of my face and went to work.
In a delightfully superficial turn, I found a site that allows you to do personal makeovers with their software. Having had a long day the day before, I decided to go through the lighthearted exercise of making myself feel pretty. So I found a picture that didn't have any makeup on and was a pretty normal shot of my face and went to work.
Day 223 - Visit DHS
Date: August 17th, 2010
I know I'm behind on entries, but I held off on this one because I didn't want to go from Jon's awesome Korean adventures to the depressing existence that is the Department of Human Services. One of the things I've encountered in my job is that there are "bad guys". People or organizations who, if we have a client who has a problem with them, we know we're in for a fight. The Department of Human Services is one of those.
I know I'm behind on entries, but I held off on this one because I didn't want to go from Jon's awesome Korean adventures to the depressing existence that is the Department of Human Services. One of the things I've encountered in my job is that there are "bad guys". People or organizations who, if we have a client who has a problem with them, we know we're in for a fight. The Department of Human Services is one of those.
August 25, 2010
Day 222 - Outsource Something
Date: August 16th, 2010
Around the time I started my project, my friend Jon Hop was getting himself established in Korea and decided that he should write a blog both about his experiences there and about the game of Go. It is my intention to learn (at least the basics) of Go as one of my things of the day and use his first book (that's right, he's written and published books on the subject) as my teaching tool.
More relevant to this entry is that fact that his blog is incredibly insightful and well written. See, I'm a control-freak. An honest to goodness, dyed-in-the-wool control-freak. If something is mine then by dernit I'm going to dictate how it goes. So, as part of the "stepping outside my comfort zone" aspect of the project, I decided to force myself to relinquish control for a day and see what happened.
To be fair, I didn't totally give up control. I picked someone who's an awesome writer (which made me a lot calmer about it) and who lives in another country (making it highly unlikely for the material to be lacking). But as for micromanaging my hand-selected, eloquent-writing, living-in-a-foreign-land friend... I managed to bite my metaphorical tongue long enough to let him do his thing without interference. The result is an amazing entry with a completely different style than mine - in other words, exactly what I was hoping for.
Around the time I started my project, my friend Jon Hop was getting himself established in Korea and decided that he should write a blog both about his experiences there and about the game of Go. It is my intention to learn (at least the basics) of Go as one of my things of the day and use his first book (that's right, he's written and published books on the subject) as my teaching tool.
More relevant to this entry is that fact that his blog is incredibly insightful and well written. See, I'm a control-freak. An honest to goodness, dyed-in-the-wool control-freak. If something is mine then by dernit I'm going to dictate how it goes. So, as part of the "stepping outside my comfort zone" aspect of the project, I decided to force myself to relinquish control for a day and see what happened.
To be fair, I didn't totally give up control. I picked someone who's an awesome writer (which made me a lot calmer about it) and who lives in another country (making it highly unlikely for the material to be lacking). But as for micromanaging my hand-selected, eloquent-writing, living-in-a-foreign-land friend... I managed to bite my metaphorical tongue long enough to let him do his thing without interference. The result is an amazing entry with a completely different style than mine - in other words, exactly what I was hoping for.
Day 221 - Consult a Cookbook for a Recipe
Date: August 15th, 2010
I haven't used my grill in a while. I know this because rust doesn't form quickly. Nor do wasp's nests establish themselves and then die over night. And upon opening my grill, I found both rust and a now-defunct wasp's nest. I am of the belief that neither of these things will make my steak taste particularly juicy and/or delicious. And thanks to this delightful discovery, Justin and I were left with spectacular cuts of meat and no known ability to cook them. Ok, granted that eventually any form of significant heat would cause the meat to be cooked, but I do not abide ruining good meat.
I haven't used my grill in a while. I know this because rust doesn't form quickly. Nor do wasp's nests establish themselves and then die over night. And upon opening my grill, I found both rust and a now-defunct wasp's nest. I am of the belief that neither of these things will make my steak taste particularly juicy and/or delicious. And thanks to this delightful discovery, Justin and I were left with spectacular cuts of meat and no known ability to cook them. Ok, granted that eventually any form of significant heat would cause the meat to be cooked, but I do not abide ruining good meat.
Day 220 - Ride a Jetski
Date: August 14th, 2010
After riding the motorcycle, I put off riding a jetski for a couple weeks because, well, fast things without walls make me fear death. And I know that now. After a little convincing and seeing pictures of my mom riding a jetski, I decided it wouldn't be prudent to be less of a badass than my parents. So I told my folks I was ready to go and pretended not to be petrified.
I'm keeping this entry short because pictures exist, just not on my harddrive. Justin and I went up to the lake for dinner and hanging out with my folks and he was kind enough to take pictures of me riding the jetski with my dad.
I enjoyed it significantly more than the motorcycle. Despite my general fear of death when I'm moving fast, I did find that knowing the water was there made my less concerned. We headed down to the other side of the lake to see the boats lining up for the boat parade. There was a fantastic display of hilarious creativity that will also be featured in the picture update for this entry. Needless to say, riding a jetski and seeing the boat parade made me feel incredibly lucky to have the life I have. There's a certain level of ridiculousness and exhilaration that happened that day that simply cannot be matched.
All I could think, that whole evening, was how good life was. I was with my family and Justin and Wes. We were relaxing, goofing off, eating good food and all around enjoying the atmosphere. I also got to enjoy my thing of the day without much fuss. It was the right level of calm for me given the slight lull I'd been in.
After riding the motorcycle, I put off riding a jetski for a couple weeks because, well, fast things without walls make me fear death. And I know that now. After a little convincing and seeing pictures of my mom riding a jetski, I decided it wouldn't be prudent to be less of a badass than my parents. So I told my folks I was ready to go and pretended not to be petrified.
I'm keeping this entry short because pictures exist, just not on my harddrive. Justin and I went up to the lake for dinner and hanging out with my folks and he was kind enough to take pictures of me riding the jetski with my dad.
I enjoyed it significantly more than the motorcycle. Despite my general fear of death when I'm moving fast, I did find that knowing the water was there made my less concerned. We headed down to the other side of the lake to see the boats lining up for the boat parade. There was a fantastic display of hilarious creativity that will also be featured in the picture update for this entry. Needless to say, riding a jetski and seeing the boat parade made me feel incredibly lucky to have the life I have. There's a certain level of ridiculousness and exhilaration that happened that day that simply cannot be matched.
All I could think, that whole evening, was how good life was. I was with my family and Justin and Wes. We were relaxing, goofing off, eating good food and all around enjoying the atmosphere. I also got to enjoy my thing of the day without much fuss. It was the right level of calm for me given the slight lull I'd been in.
Day 219 - Go to a Saloon
Date: August 13th, 2010
Like most people my age, I've seen awesome western-bar-themed dance movies and thought to myself "what sort of mystical playground is this saloon I keep hearing about?" That's why, when my original plans with Tim fell through (we were going to go to a street fair in Ypsilanti, but it didn't exactly look legit), I was really excited that he mentioned going out to Diamondback Saloon along I-94. Having never been there before, I had to keep my expectations reasonable.
Like most people my age, I've seen awesome western-bar-themed dance movies and thought to myself "what sort of mystical playground is this saloon I keep hearing about?" That's why, when my original plans with Tim fell through (we were going to go to a street fair in Ypsilanti, but it didn't exactly look legit), I was really excited that he mentioned going out to Diamondback Saloon along I-94. Having never been there before, I had to keep my expectations reasonable.
Par for the course, I assume.
August 24, 2010
Day 218 - Have a Cavity Filled without Novocaine
Date: August 12th, 2010
Well, today didn't work out as I planned.
Well, today didn't work out as I planned.
August 23, 2010
Day 217 - Prepare a "Food Combining" Meal
Date: August 11th, 2010
One of the reasons why I've been in such bad physical condition is that I never thought about food. I ate things that taste good. I was pretty shocked to start learning what things are high calorie and what things are low calorie when I started paying attention. For example. I could eat this:
Or this:
For about the same number of calories. And no. That's actually not an exaggeration.
One of the reasons why I've been in such bad physical condition is that I never thought about food. I ate things that taste good. I was pretty shocked to start learning what things are high calorie and what things are low calorie when I started paying attention. For example. I could eat this:
For about the same number of calories. And no. That's actually not an exaggeration.
Day 216 - Look Up Criminals in my Neighborhood
Date: August 10th, 2010
One of the things that makes the internet delightful is that it puts a world of information at your fingertips. Unlike in years past when paranoid peoples had no simple way to know whether or not they were surrounded by creepy people, now there is a website for all your creeptastic needs. I, however, had not previously desired that information. I know it seems counter-intuitive for someone, especially a young woman living alone, to not want to know if there were criminal types living in the neighborhood, but I really genuinely didn't.
One of the things that makes the internet delightful is that it puts a world of information at your fingertips. Unlike in years past when paranoid peoples had no simple way to know whether or not they were surrounded by creepy people, now there is a website for all your creeptastic needs. I, however, had not previously desired that information. I know it seems counter-intuitive for someone, especially a young woman living alone, to not want to know if there were criminal types living in the neighborhood, but I really genuinely didn't.
August 20, 2010
Day 215 - Get Acupuncture
Date: August 9th, 2010
I'm afraid of needles. There was a time when this fear was debilitating. When I was younger, it often took several nurses to hold me in place while I got my shots. I would generally succumb to psychological warfare though. Around three-four minutes into full on tantrum phase, my mother would quietly tell me that if I didn't calm down, the doctor might accidentally break the needle off in my arm and then there would be more needles and some cutting involved to get it out. This usually quelled the physical manifestation of fear long enough for them to give me the shot.
I'm afraid of needles. There was a time when this fear was debilitating. When I was younger, it often took several nurses to hold me in place while I got my shots. I would generally succumb to psychological warfare though. Around three-four minutes into full on tantrum phase, my mother would quietly tell me that if I didn't calm down, the doctor might accidentally break the needle off in my arm and then there would be more needles and some cutting involved to get it out. This usually quelled the physical manifestation of fear long enough for them to give me the shot.
Day 214 - Return a Tuxedo
Date: August 8th, 2010
Anti-climatic, right? Yeah, that's how I felt too. I decided that this should be the thing of the day after the wedding for one, very brief reason. I was struck by how deeply sad I was that it was over. Sure, returning a tux (I went with Justin and Ryan to bring theirs back) isn't in and of itself a sad act, but it felt like watching the slow, poignant, end of an era.
You know at the end of the movie when the guy walks away into the sunset? Or after a ball game when they shut off the lights? Or after a hockey game as all the people walk to their cars and the zamboni rolls out onto the ice to smooth away the lines and scars of the game? I had that feeling. That's when it hit me - the day before there was a sort of euphoric high that came with sharing a joyful moment with friends. August 8th had the corresponding "low".
The difference between this "low" and others is that it was surprisingly somber, for me at least, but not sad. The memory lingered and brought a sense of completion. It wasn't until the people were in their places, the tuxs were returned and the parties were cleaned up after that the wedding truly felt like it was over. And now, kids, its back to the grind.
Anti-climatic, right? Yeah, that's how I felt too. I decided that this should be the thing of the day after the wedding for one, very brief reason. I was struck by how deeply sad I was that it was over. Sure, returning a tux (I went with Justin and Ryan to bring theirs back) isn't in and of itself a sad act, but it felt like watching the slow, poignant, end of an era.
You know at the end of the movie when the guy walks away into the sunset? Or after a ball game when they shut off the lights? Or after a hockey game as all the people walk to their cars and the zamboni rolls out onto the ice to smooth away the lines and scars of the game? I had that feeling. That's when it hit me - the day before there was a sort of euphoric high that came with sharing a joyful moment with friends. August 8th had the corresponding "low".
The difference between this "low" and others is that it was surprisingly somber, for me at least, but not sad. The memory lingered and brought a sense of completion. It wasn't until the people were in their places, the tuxs were returned and the parties were cleaned up after that the wedding truly felt like it was over. And now, kids, its back to the grind.
August 18, 2010
Day 213 - Dance the Hora
Date: August 7th, 2010
August 7th was boring. Nothing of any interest or importance happened. By the time evening rolled around I just kept thinking to myself "gosh, I can't wait to go to sleep so I can wake up tomorrow and have a more interesting day". I mean, seriously. Literally nothing cool happened at all. It was an utter waste of a day.
August 7th was boring. Nothing of any interest or importance happened. By the time evening rolled around I just kept thinking to myself "gosh, I can't wait to go to sleep so I can wake up tomorrow and have a more interesting day". I mean, seriously. Literally nothing cool happened at all. It was an utter waste of a day.
Oh. Right.
August 16, 2010
Day 212 - Hook a Computer up to the Television
Date: August 6th, 2010
For Ben and Lisa's wedding (sensing a theme on these entries?), my parents' house was the staging area for the bridal party and my condo was the staging area for the groom's party. My parents generally keep their place spiffy regardless of what's up. I, on the other hand, do not. Its not on purpose. Its just that cleaning takes effort and I generally choose to expend mine on something else. Like television or mercenary spelunking.
For Ben and Lisa's wedding (sensing a theme on these entries?), my parents' house was the staging area for the bridal party and my condo was the staging area for the groom's party. My parents generally keep their place spiffy regardless of what's up. I, on the other hand, do not. Its not on purpose. Its just that cleaning takes effort and I generally choose to expend mine on something else. Like television or mercenary spelunking.
August 15, 2010
Day 211 - Go to a Bachelorette Party
Date: August 5th, 2010
One of the things that I was highly irrationally (and totally selfishly) excited about during the week before Lisa's wedding was that I got to participate in the pre-wedding goodness. When I was in Alana's wedding, unfortunately, I was only able to be in Hawaii for a couple days. I had class in the days before and after her wedding so I had to come, do the last 48 hours before the ceremony and then turn right back around. Consequently, the first bachelorette party I got to attend was Lisa's.
One of the things that I was highly irrationally (and totally selfishly) excited about during the week before Lisa's wedding was that I got to participate in the pre-wedding goodness. When I was in Alana's wedding, unfortunately, I was only able to be in Hawaii for a couple days. I had class in the days before and after her wedding so I had to come, do the last 48 hours before the ceremony and then turn right back around. Consequently, the first bachelorette party I got to attend was Lisa's.
August 14, 2010
Day 210 - Cook a Romantic Dinner
Date: August 4th, 2010
August 4th was a rough day. Work was long and tiring. The weather was cloudy. I was pretty, well, lethargic. Turns out I wasn't the only one. Around 10AM I started getting texts from Justin about how rough his day was going too. I think there was some sort of weird, work being tiring mojo going around. I decided to offer Justin an evening in Ann Arbor, if he was willing to make the drive, figuring we'd watch some TV, relax and just not think about the rest of the day. That was the original plan, at least.
August 4th was a rough day. Work was long and tiring. The weather was cloudy. I was pretty, well, lethargic. Turns out I wasn't the only one. Around 10AM I started getting texts from Justin about how rough his day was going too. I think there was some sort of weird, work being tiring mojo going around. I decided to offer Justin an evening in Ann Arbor, if he was willing to make the drive, figuring we'd watch some TV, relax and just not think about the rest of the day. That was the original plan, at least.
Day 209 - Examine a Witness in Court
Date: August 3rd, 2010
Remember a while back (like a week ago) when I promised no more work entries unless I got to do something epic like stand up in court and speak before a judge? I got to stand up in court and speak before a judge. And it was epic. There aren't pictures because, of course, I couldn't tarnish the sanctity of the courtroom.
Remember a while back (like a week ago) when I promised no more work entries unless I got to do something epic like stand up in court and speak before a judge? I got to stand up in court and speak before a judge. And it was epic. There aren't pictures because, of course, I couldn't tarnish the sanctity of the courtroom.
...but this is about what it looked like...
August 13, 2010
Day 208 - Make Myself Throw Up
Date: August 2nd, 2010
In a wild swing the other direction from the amazing upliftingness that was the bridal shower or the superfab time that was the weekend on Holland, I decided to explore another one of the "things that aren't good for us". A couple weeks ago, I spend the evening drinking by myself. You know, for science. So what else is there that we all just know is bad for us? Well, bulimia, for one.
In a wild swing the other direction from the amazing upliftingness that was the bridal shower or the superfab time that was the weekend on Holland, I decided to explore another one of the "things that aren't good for us". A couple weeks ago, I spend the evening drinking by myself. You know, for science. So what else is there that we all just know is bad for us? Well, bulimia, for one.
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