Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing.

- Oscar Wilde

It seems like when we were young, life was so much simpler than it is now. I'm beginning to think, however, that life is easy and we are the ones who complicate it.

As children, we were hopeful, had a lot of fun, and life was simple. We knew what we wanted (even if it was just to play more) and people said what they meant and meant what they said. Our views of others were simple - we liked those who smiled and disliked those who looked mean or were untruthful.

I'm beginning to think that as I've grown older, I've forgotten some of the simple things that make me happy. I don't always listen to what I really need and I don't "play" as much as I used to. Perhaps this distance I have created between my childhood self and my adult self has complicated things and this complication leads to necessary complexity.

So, I'm going to be happy like these people and enjoy the simple things in life that I sometimes miss because I am not paying attention.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone took a few moments today to remember what they are truly thankful for in life, be it family, friends, health, or education. I have been home for the past few days spending time with my family and absolutely loving being home and realizing how much I truly miss them when I am away. 

I hope your Thanksgiving was as wonderful as mine was.

I love collecting quotes, so I've decided to start sharing some with you.

The Ballerina Project

Have you heard about the ballerina project?

I am in love with the stark contrast between the harsh lines of the cityscape and the soft, flowing figures of the dancers. It is an absolutely breathtaking series of photos.

 

These are my favorites, pick yours here.

Homeward Bound

 

I’m kind of useless when it comes to packing. I usually try to put together a list of things I need for the different obligations I have, but I tend to end up throwing lots of random pieces into a suitcase I have to sit on to zip shut. But I'm going home!

Yay! See you soon!

A Splendid Weekend

I spent this past weekend in Northampton, MA, at my alma mater - Smith College.

(No, there wasn't snow, but isn't this beautiful?)

It was the first time that I have been back since graduating in May. Seeing some of my friends from school was absolutely wonderful. I have missed them like mad, so it was great to reconnect and relive the good old days of dorm life.

A few highlights of the trip:

After just a few hours of being in Northampton, I dragged everyone to Local Burger. As one of my favorite restaurants in the area, there was no way I was not going to have a burger. The moment I bought my plane ticket, I began craving a cheeseburger like a hormonal pregnant woman. Being the great people they are, we were able to make it and got more food than any of us desired to eat. Since it's Local Burger though, we finished it all.

I was fortunate enough to have been at Smith during one of the infamous shows at the Greenhouse. So we saw lots and lots of mums and all sorts of other plants the garden has.

The weekend was also characterized by a perpetual concern for the state of my cell phone, as I forgot the charger. This concern was immensely amplified, however, when I realized around 2 am on Saturday night that it was missing. As anyone who has lost anything knows, this is one of the worst feelings possible. Fortunately for me, the first place we checked was the lawn. My heart lifted out of my chest when I saw it light up on the lawn as we called it. Crisis averted.

I also the new first years and chilled with my AWESOME friends!

Annnnd the planning has begun for my trip to Europe this spring! Hopefully we'll be visiting Paris and London. It will be over the week of Easter, so maybe we'll see some of the festivities.

 Yay!

Bedtime.

what do you wish?

i wish it were christmastime.

i wish candy - specifically chocolate - was a healthy snack that was recommended for your daily diet. that way, i would easily be the healthiest person alive.

i wish it were saturday already. that would mean i was home, in wisconsin, with my family.

i wish my best friends weren't all in places i am not.

i wish it wasn't already november. that means i have been here for six months and have only six left, which really is not that long.

. . . . .

but it's wednesday, which means we are halfway through the week!

ET, phone home

So, I was going to make a post about aliens and my recent obsession with the possibility, but then I reevaluated the idea and realized it is as silly as I have always thought.

 

After further consideration, however, I have decided to go with it. This is a space for me to share my random thoughts, so that is what I will do. So, this may sound silly. Actually, if it doesn't, you are worse off than I am.

Anyway, a few nights ago I had a dream. In this dream, I was some sort of conspiracy theorist who saw signs of extraterrestrial life and believed the government was hiding this information from the public for "protection," as certain people believed this knowledge would be destructive. They believed that this information, the possibility that we, as a global community were coexisiting with another form of life somewhere else would be too much to handle.

I woke up that morning utterly confused. Why was I dreaming about aliens? Since when have I been into these conspiracies?

To my shock when I got my morning newspaper, the cover story described how scientists across the world were joining together in a hunt for extraterrestrial life. The story went on to describe this two day collaboration, which did not mention any alien sitings (http://www.expressnightout.com/, November 8, 2010 cover story.)

Then, yesterday on Castle (classy source, I know), the whole episode was about aliens. Some of the absurd comments Castle made only furthered my thinking and offered support to the theories I developed in my dream. Needless to say, it turns out (surprise, surprise) aliens were not involved in this murder and everything could be explained logically.

While I am still unsure of what I think about this whole alien idea, I do know one thing. This string of thoughts has led me to wonder about the world we live in. There is no doubt in my mind that far from every detail of every story is revealed to the public (as no one knows what happened to JFK). In fact, sometimes the story may not even make it to the press. So how can we carry-on despite this blatant withholding of information?

I understand that a certain level of non-transparency may be justifiable in the interests of National Security, but as we know, "absolute power corrupts absolutely." There are certain departments within the government that are seemingly beyond reproach and have no need to divulge what they know. Unfortunately, it is likely that the secrets and lies will continue, and they will only become more sophisticated as time goes on.

At the same time, however, we often turn a blind eye to anything that doesn't fit nicely into our predispositions. So how much use would it be to know that aliens really do exist when it is significantly easier to live with the belief that aliens disappeared when ET returned home?

. . . . .

For something less "heady," check out this picture. And I promise that this is one of the few conspiracy theories I will babble on to you about.

Click the picture for more fun!

And My First Comments!

Ahh!!

I feel super cool. 

More to come, stay tuned!

Happy Tuesday.

P.S. This post is unintentionally shaped like a Christmas tree. Perhaps I am just giddy, but don't you see a resemblance?

You're First

YAY!

I have my first follower! (Even if it is my roommate. And I begged her. {I love you roommate!})

credit

 

A Few Things That I Miss

Since graduating from Smith, there have been a few things about the school that I have been missing liking crazy. Some are people, some are places, a few are things, but altogether, I am really starting to miss this place. 

Since graduating, I have been blabbering on and on about this school to everyone I know. I really did love it, though. When I went to Simon's Rock, I was still trying to figure out who I was and trying to figure out college. At Smith though, I was older. I had begun to figure out college and I was surrounded by a house full of girls looking for friends, fun, and a challenge. I had begun to understand the more academic aspects of schools and was ready to understand myself and my place at Smith. Altogether, this made for an incredible environment, a great learning experience, and I have made some of the best friends I have ever had.

A few of the people I love, here...  

(Aren't my friends gorgeous?)

This girl - a fellow diva

This girl - my co-adventurer

This girl - my husband

This girl - soon to be travel buddies (!)

 

These girls too

 
And so many others that are more or less summed up here - by Park House!

I miss you beautiful ladies and I cannot wait to see you tomorrow! So much fun. It will be epic.

Will be back after the weekend!

Goal #1: Learn to Cook

My three most notable experiences in the kitchen are as follows.

1996

At the age of 7, while watching my mom make dinner, I was told a tragic story regarding one of the neighbor girls. While attempting to drain boiling water, she spilled the water on her forearm and spent the evening in the hospital treating the burns. A few weeks later I heard another story of a girl who burnt her herself while taking a cake out of the oven. Combined, these two experiences convinced me that cooking was an unnecessary health risk that could be avoided by letting someone else cook.

2009

I moved into a house with four other girls. I was faced with my own kitchen for the first time. I decided that learning to cook would be fun because it would be an excuse to purchase cute kitchen supplies. I christened the kitchen it by purchasing a cupcake pan and a set of mixing bowls. (These supplies were each used once.)

2010

I can still count my experiences in the kitchen on one hand. I have decided, however, that this has gone on for long enough. I am convinced that I need to learn to cook and bake. If I at least make an effort and it turns out everything I touch is terrible, others will no longer expect me to cook and I can return to the simplicity of takeout. On the other hand, if I succeed, I will hopefully have developed a new hobby.

. . . . .

I figure, if I can do chemistry, how hard can cooking be? Essentially they're the same... right? You combine ingredients, somehow they change form, and you end up with a final product that doesn't necessarily resemble what you started with. At this point, the main difference I can see is that in one you are told to never consume what you are working with and the other is all about consumption. I hope this venture doesn't lead to my death.

To further my belief that cooking isn't that difficult, I have convinced myself that if people have been cooking since, well, since people were alive. So, how hard can it possibly be? (Although, it seems to involve much more magic than science.)

To end on a positive note, I think I have potential. I am generally pretty good at following directions and I have a few cookbooks that have seemingly clear directions. Occasionally, I get impatient, forget to purchase key ingredients, or don't have the necessary cookware, and decide to proceed anyway, but most of the time I follow directions. Enough prepping myself though, it is time for my excursion into the kitchen to begin, and important events will be highlighted on this blog.

Once Upon A Time, I Was The Perfect Housewife

... For anyone who knows me, and knows the fact that I am anything but the perfect housewife, this may be a shock. But yes, it was Halloween. Furthermore, it was simple to put together, which was needed considering I had been sick/out-of-town the days leading up to Thanksgiving.

Needless to say, DC was hopping. Earlier that day, the Steven Colbert and John Stewart rally occurred. Estimates said around 215,000 people were in town for the rally, which made the city a mess (lines were formed at the metro outside my apartment for at least three hours in the morning.)

Highlights of the rally included the Roots, the Mythbusters (who were recently in DC for the National Science Fair and may have been filming an episode {possibly with Obama}), then of course, Stewart and Colbert. Their part of the show included a replica of a Chilean miner rescue pod, Cat Stevens and Ozzy sharing the stage for a short set (crazy I know), and other random guests (including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, R2D2, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, T.I., and a closing speech by Stewart.) (photo source)

Anyway, a few friends from high school were in DC for the event and stayed at my apartment. My roommate also had friends visiting, so Saturday night, there were about twelve of us in our two-bedroom apartment. If it hadn't been Halloween, giving us the perfect excuse to go out and come home exhausted, it would have been interesting.

But, we went out. As I said, I was the perfect housewife (a costume which prompted being proposed to thrice throughout the night) and my roommate and co were "Counting Sheep." Surprisingly we saw two other sheep while out and my favorite costume were the Chilean miners (of which we saw at least three groups.)

So, that's when I was a housewife. I hope your Halloween was fabulous!

the beginning of something {possibly} wonderful

i just graduated from smith college and promptly moved to washington, dc to enjoy life, work a little, and learn to love myself.
welcome to this blog.

having made previous attempts at more specific blogs, i am beginning this blog to discuss anything i want. hopefully it will become a way to share bits and pieces of my life, love, and happiness with my family and friends.

we'll see how long this lasts

i now have a little blog

we will see how long i can make this last

you may be surprised

credit

who knows