'Cause that's pretty much been my life in the past month. So far in September I have moved across the country; settled into a new apartment; started a new job; bought a car; traveled to New York City TWICE - once for work, once for play; and become an adult. Okay, just kidding about the last one. That hasn't happened yet. But the rest are true. Which explains the lapse in blogging.
So I live in Massachusetts now. I can't really tell you what it's like. I haven't had time to take it all in yet. I think I've been busier in the past few weeks than I've ever been in my life. Which is a huge contrast from a month ago, and two months ago, when I was lying by the pool and the biggest worry on my mind was the shade of my tan. Life sure can change quickly. Today is the first day all month that I have nothing to do.
Well actually I do have plans today, kind of. They include walking to the park down the street for the Watertown Faire on the Square, taking my baby SUV for a drive (we've been apart for a whole week now!), and MAYBE going to the gym. My running shoes traveled all the way from California this week, so they deserve to see some action. I COULD log on to my work computer and start tackling the millions of online-training sessions I have to finish... I've been telling myself all week that I'm going to catch up on those this weekend. But now that it's actually the weekend, I'm feeling a change of heart. Isn't the point of being a grown up that you don't have to work on Saturdays??
I think I'd better get dressed if I hope to accomplish any of my plans today. I am determined to visit the fair, at least. That's a pretty big deal in Watertown, from what I can tell.
Pictures and additional updates will come sometime in the near future, I think.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Last Night
....I had a dream that I was on an airplane flying to Japan. But the weather became really stormy, so the plane had to make an emergency landing in South Korea. I remember being really afraid that I was going to get lost (completely feasible for me) and be captured by the Kims. How is it that I've had multiple dreams involving Kim Jung Il?? He is not exactly a hot topic on my mind.
What I should be dreaming about is flying to Boston, Massachusetts... seeing as how I will be flying there in 3 days. Like, indefinitely. Because I have to start my grown up job and my grown up life, and at some point I pulled out a map and decided that Massachusetts would be a fun place to be a grown up.
Which means I have 3 days to pack up my life and fit it inside two and a half suitcases. Plus a carry-on. Um, wasn't it just June?? Wasn't I supposed to have all summer to do this? Apparently tanning and sleeping and pool-going take up more time than I thought. Sometimes I really, seriously dislike being a procrastinator.
Also, I love tricks. Don't cross me or I will become a wiley schemestress :) It's all in good fun.
What I should be dreaming about is flying to Boston, Massachusetts... seeing as how I will be flying there in 3 days. Like, indefinitely. Because I have to start my grown up job and my grown up life, and at some point I pulled out a map and decided that Massachusetts would be a fun place to be a grown up.
Which means I have 3 days to pack up my life and fit it inside two and a half suitcases. Plus a carry-on. Um, wasn't it just June?? Wasn't I supposed to have all summer to do this? Apparently tanning and sleeping and pool-going take up more time than I thought. Sometimes I really, seriously dislike being a procrastinator.
Also, I love tricks. Don't cross me or I will become a wiley schemestress :) It's all in good fun.
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Definition of Cool
Isn't it funny how the meaning of "being cool" changes as you get older?
For instance, in elementary school, I like to think that nobody is really "cool" or "uncool." At least in the early years. Everyone is just a kid, and hopefully some varying degree of "cute."
By the time you reach junior high and high school, you become very conscious of who is cool and who is not. It's a huge popularity competition, in some respects. I don't think I was ever very cool in those years. I was a good student, which apparently was not that cool, and I was somewhat shy. I may have been a little awkward. By my final year of high school, I think I no longer cared much about being cool or not. Which is funny, because this was probably my coolest year of all. (By this time I had become considerably less awkward, I had a boyfriend, and I was pretty sociable.)
In college, the definition changes A LOT. Being smart no longer makes you an outcast. Intellectual curiosity and high academic achievement are ideals to strive toward, not to mock. (Well, hopefully. I generally felt this way at Cal Poly, most of the time.) Eating lunch alone is socially acceptable. Dressing cute for your 8 am class in unnecessary and uncommon, as most students will stroll in wearing jeans or sweats. And whether you like to party it up or play Dungeons & Dragons on the weekends, you will probably be able to find plenty of others who like to do the same, thereby assuring you that your activity of choice is cool to someone.
And then when you graduate, it changes even further. Suddenly it's "cool" to be mature and successful, I think. It's cool to have a job and an apartment and stability. Maybe it's even cool to get 8 hours of sleep at night. And suddenly it's NOT cool to drink too much alcohol, or to goof off all the time, or to make too many inappropriate jokes. Right?
Sometimes I wonder what the popular kids from the high school era are doing. Are they successful, or are they just bumming around?? Are they still cool? One perk of NOT being super cool in high school is there is no rude awakening once it's all over. You know, no reality check, no thinking "oh shoot, I've gotten by this far with my good looks and popularity and endless stream of followers to reassure me that I'm awesome... now what?!" (At least in my imagination, this is what some of them are thinking.) I just think it's interesting, and sort of ironic, how this whole coolness factor evolves as you become an adult.
In conclusion: I think the geeks probably do grow up to rule the world. Along with the business majors, of course. Maybe this means that in adult land, cool and uncool will finally reach a happy medium.
For instance, in elementary school, I like to think that nobody is really "cool" or "uncool." At least in the early years. Everyone is just a kid, and hopefully some varying degree of "cute."
By the time you reach junior high and high school, you become very conscious of who is cool and who is not. It's a huge popularity competition, in some respects. I don't think I was ever very cool in those years. I was a good student, which apparently was not that cool, and I was somewhat shy. I may have been a little awkward. By my final year of high school, I think I no longer cared much about being cool or not. Which is funny, because this was probably my coolest year of all. (By this time I had become considerably less awkward, I had a boyfriend, and I was pretty sociable.)
In college, the definition changes A LOT. Being smart no longer makes you an outcast. Intellectual curiosity and high academic achievement are ideals to strive toward, not to mock. (Well, hopefully. I generally felt this way at Cal Poly, most of the time.) Eating lunch alone is socially acceptable. Dressing cute for your 8 am class in unnecessary and uncommon, as most students will stroll in wearing jeans or sweats. And whether you like to party it up or play Dungeons & Dragons on the weekends, you will probably be able to find plenty of others who like to do the same, thereby assuring you that your activity of choice is cool to someone.
And then when you graduate, it changes even further. Suddenly it's "cool" to be mature and successful, I think. It's cool to have a job and an apartment and stability. Maybe it's even cool to get 8 hours of sleep at night. And suddenly it's NOT cool to drink too much alcohol, or to goof off all the time, or to make too many inappropriate jokes. Right?
Sometimes I wonder what the popular kids from the high school era are doing. Are they successful, or are they just bumming around?? Are they still cool? One perk of NOT being super cool in high school is there is no rude awakening once it's all over. You know, no reality check, no thinking "oh shoot, I've gotten by this far with my good looks and popularity and endless stream of followers to reassure me that I'm awesome... now what?!" (At least in my imagination, this is what some of them are thinking.) I just think it's interesting, and sort of ironic, how this whole coolness factor evolves as you become an adult.
In conclusion: I think the geeks probably do grow up to rule the world. Along with the business majors, of course. Maybe this means that in adult land, cool and uncool will finally reach a happy medium.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
I Might Be Blogging from Inside the Matrix
Last week I watched The Matrix. For the first time. Yes, I do realize that I'm probably the last person on the planet to see this movie.
I'm secretly kind of bad at understanding movies. I blame this on my tendency to space out for extended periods of time, causing me to miss important plot details and wind up confused. I guess I thought this was going to be that kind of film, so I never bothered to see it. (With a book, it's easy to go back and re-read pages if you need to, but with a movie, you kind of have to take it in as you go along... unless of course you plan to become good friends with the rewind button.)
I actually found it to be a very interesting movie. And I must mean that sincerely, given that that I'm still thinking about it days later. I happen to like philosophy an awful lot, and if you let it, I think this movie opens the door to some interesting philosophical ideas. It questions the meaning of reality. Is the world as we know it actually real, or just real to us because it's all we know? Is a spoon really a spoon, or do our minds just think it's a spoon? And speaking of our minds, they are pretty powerful. How much of our version of "reality" do they control, and how much can we control them?
And then of course there is the age-old argument of fate versus free will. I don't think this movie changes the fact that I believe in the forces of the universe, although maybe my "universe" actually consists of some machines gone wild. Or something else gone wild that is controlling what I think.
Of course, if I'm in the Matrix right now, then the creators of the Matrix are reading this and laughing at me seriously hard.
Even so, it was a good movie. Just in case you've been living under the rock next door to mine and you still haven't seen it, I give it my recommendation. Just be prepared to get in touch with your thoughtful side afterwards.
I'm secretly kind of bad at understanding movies. I blame this on my tendency to space out for extended periods of time, causing me to miss important plot details and wind up confused. I guess I thought this was going to be that kind of film, so I never bothered to see it. (With a book, it's easy to go back and re-read pages if you need to, but with a movie, you kind of have to take it in as you go along... unless of course you plan to become good friends with the rewind button.)
I actually found it to be a very interesting movie. And I must mean that sincerely, given that that I'm still thinking about it days later. I happen to like philosophy an awful lot, and if you let it, I think this movie opens the door to some interesting philosophical ideas. It questions the meaning of reality. Is the world as we know it actually real, or just real to us because it's all we know? Is a spoon really a spoon, or do our minds just think it's a spoon? And speaking of our minds, they are pretty powerful. How much of our version of "reality" do they control, and how much can we control them?
And then of course there is the age-old argument of fate versus free will. I don't think this movie changes the fact that I believe in the forces of the universe, although maybe my "universe" actually consists of some machines gone wild. Or something else gone wild that is controlling what I think.
Of course, if I'm in the Matrix right now, then the creators of the Matrix are reading this and laughing at me seriously hard.
Even so, it was a good movie. Just in case you've been living under the rock next door to mine and you still haven't seen it, I give it my recommendation. Just be prepared to get in touch with your thoughtful side afterwards.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Ensenada
This past weekend I had the chance to visit Ensenada, Mexico via cruise ship. My expectations were set pretty low after having received quite a few "tips" pointing out that Ensenada is not the cleanest, safest, or most luxurious place to visit. Fortunately, when you aren't hoping for too much in the first place, there's nowhere to go but up. Which is probably why I ended up having a perfectly enjoyable time.
I was able to catch a city tour that included wine tasting at one of Mexico's oldest wineries, a visit to Ensenada's pretty & artful convention center, and shopping time downtown -- where I definitely paid my dues to the tourism industry by purchasing way too much cheap junk. I practiced my haggling skills, somewhat... although I felt kind of silly because I am certain that the locals live off of American tourists who are convinced they have fabulous haggling skills. (In reality, I'm pretty sure that most items are priced at about double the intended selling value anyway... hence all of the 50% off "sales" everywhere.)
[Inside the winery]
[Inside the convention center... one of the ceilings]
Seriously, these people must think we are pretty darn cheap... coming to visit their city on a fancy ship, and then beaming with pride when we can get a $10 item down to $6. I guess they're used to it.
[Downtown]
Afterwards, I took a slighly sketchy cab ride back to the ship. I was halfway expecting the taxi to fall apart (that poor car was shaking and squeaking like you wouldn't believe), but both the car and myself made it back in one piece. All in all, it was a fun outing with few mishaps.
Okay, so maybe I did get temporarily lost in downtown Ensenada. And this was AFTER the original tour bus had already departed, because our one-hour shopping allowance had come and gone. AND I had left my cell phone on the ship because certain people warned me not to use it outside of the U.S. So I guess that's what I get for taking too long and shopping too slowly. But you know how it goes... all's well that end's well.
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