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April 29, 2002
Good News
So, I never got around to telling all of you about my good news -- right after I got it, I succumbed to a very nasty cold and didn't feel like doing much of anything. Now that I've recovered, I'll catch you all up.
Two Fridays ago, I was woken up from a deep sleep by a phone call at around 10 in the morning. (I don't have classes on Friday, so I sleep in. Sue me.) It was the organization that I had interviewed with in DC a few weeks back for a summer internship -- and despite my groggy voice, they were calling to make me an offer for the summer! Why is this a good thing? Let me count the ways:
1. I have to do an internship to graduate.
2. They are going to pay me a fair amount of money.
3. I'll be moving to Washington at the same time that Ñaña's baby is born, and then I'll be there all summer to get to know her in all of her splendor, spoil her rotten and basically imprint my existence onto her impressionable newborn brain.
4. It's a really great internship working on the types of national security issues that interest me most.
5. Did I mention the money?
Though there are a lot of details to be cleared up (see below), it was such a relief to be able to say, "Summer internship? Check."
Three days later, on Monday, I got my scholarship news for next year. It was very, very good news. I'll be a teacher's assistant in economics (oh wow, am I grateful for my teaching experience!), and though it's a notoriously time-consuming and stressful job, it's also an awful lot of money toward my education that I don't have to pay back.
It's been a little weird, actually. There's almost no way that I can explain this without seeming at least a little snobby, so I'll ask you in advance to forgive me: the TA positions for econ are really, really competitive. I knew that I was qualified and that my grades were high enough, but I also know that when many qualified people apply for few positions that it's anybody's guess who is going to come out on top. So I wasn't exactly surprised when I got it, even though I never felt like I was a shoo-in. Anyway, it took all of about 3 hours for me to encounter the first person who clearly felt that she* should have gotten it instead of me. Her congratulations were, shall we say, less than sincere -- and it's a reception that I've gotten a few times since then. Like I said, I don't feel like I don't deserve the fellowship, so it's not like all of this is feeding into some strange guilt complex. But it is the first time, that I can remember, that I have been in this position.
Anyway... next year's finances? Check.
*Tiny little snarky note: This person and I share the same alma matter. There are a few of you out there who know what this means. :)
So, where am I now? You mean other than caught in some sinister, finals-filled hell?
I'm trying to condense what would be about 14 days worth of finals and papers and projects into the 8 days before I go to Italy. I need desperately to find some place to live in Washington for the summer, and even more desperately to find some one to sublet my apartment here in the Big Apple. I need to find a way to get a small, private bank loan to tide me over until the internship starts, and then again after it ends. I need to -- occasionally, at least -- sleep, eat, pay some attention to dear, sweet Jason, remember to keep up with daily chores like showering and feeding Boogie, and just hang on for dear life until there's time for a breather.
If you have any ideas on what I should see in Italy (Florence and Venice), where I should live this summer, who should live in my casa, and/or how to remain sane and solvent, please allow me to direct your attention to the comments link below. Help me out, ¿sí?
Posted by shannon at 01:35 AM | Comments (3) | For related posts:
April 28, 2002
Normally when I log onto Trillian, there are at least one or two people logged on a ready to entertain me. It's part of the reason that I don't log on when I'm really working hard on school work -- they're just too amusing to ignore, even when I'm writing or studying. I've been studying quite a bit this weekend, and Jason and I have been running around and having some fun on the rare Saturday when he doesn't have to work and the weather is beautiful and cooperative.
Anyway, I finally logged on today to see who was around... and there's nobody! They're all off having a real life. To which I say: good for you.
Posted by shannon at 12:19 PM | Comments (1) | For related posts:
April 26, 2002
One year ago today. This is a special one.
Posted by shannon at 11:58 PM | For related posts:
April 24, 2002
Stuffy head, sore throat, upset tummy.
I must be getting old, because I don't remember a head cold being so debilitating.
Posted by shannon at 11:55 PM | For related posts:
Sorry about the down time -- everything hosted at Casa Queso was broken while Jason's ISP and Verizon were... well, doing nothing, really.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm getting sick and though I have had some really amazing news in the last 5 days, I'll wait to share it until I'm feeling a little less crappy.
As you were...
Posted by shannon at 01:01 AM | For related posts:
April 21, 2002
Street Fair
New photos from today's street fair fun!
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Also, behold the necklace.
Posted by shannon at 01:15 AM | For related posts:
April 20, 2002
Earthquake?
Did any of my fellow New Yorkers feel this? Or do I sleep that deeply? I didn't feel a thing.
Posted by shannon at 03:05 PM | For related posts:
April 19, 2002
My buddy Jillay has been going through a bit of a rough patch.
First, there's the most recent in a series of no-good, low-down dogs who take advantage of my sweet, loving friend. She doesn't always seem it, but she's a sensitive wee thing -- and I'm about to take some names and kick some ass on her behalf. (You listening, punk?)
Then today, I came home to the following message flashing on my screen: i know that you are "unavailable" but I just wanted to share with you that I was just rear-ended and I am going to the ER. Too bad I don't have a boyfriend who's a Dr.! talk to you later.... (She's okay, just a sore neck and back.)
So, if you're feeling like doing something nice today (or if you've had the pleasure of eating Jill's yummy homemade Italian cheesecake -- you know who you are), drop her a get-well soon e-mail, ok? You can write her here. It'll do your karma good!
Posted by shannon at 07:29 PM | For related posts:
Friday Five!
Friday Five time!
1. What's your favorite TV show and why? Easy -- The West Wing. I love the fast-paced, witty banter. I love the debates on important issues, and I think that Aaron Sorkin and his co-writers always do an excellent job of making the viewers think about their beliefs. I love the reverence with which the President and his staff treat their responsibilities. I love that the characters so obviously love their jobs. In short: it's politics, people. Of course I love it.
2. Who is your favorite television star? I'm not sure. I don't think I have one. Of course I love Bradley Whitford, but I don't have any long-time loves on the telly.
3. What was your favorite TV show as a child? The Cosby Show. I saw some reruns the other day and was relieved to discover that it is actually funny.
4. What show do you think should have been cancelled by now? I'm not sure. If I think of something, though, I reserve the right to add it later!
5. What new show do you hope escapes the axe this season? Scrubs! First of all, it's a funny, funny show. Jason and I almost always watch it on tape, and without commercials it's just long enough to eat dinner, but not so long that I feel guilty for not studying. Dr. Cox cracks me up, and J.D. is cute (and he reminds me of Jason)!
Posted by shannon at 12:26 AM | For related posts:
April 18, 2002
A Fond Farewell
I'll miss Buster too, Jillay. I remember the day you bought him -- the aqua racing stripe made all the difference, didn't it?
Even without power locks, power windows and cup holders -- even for all the times he got stolen or broken into or just plain old broken -- he was very good to us.
I hope you found him a good family with a big garage where he can enjoy his golden years!
Posted by shannon at 02:59 AM | For related posts:
On Call
As she once said, having your significant other be on-call is an exhausting experience. I used to not mind it so much, but recently I've been finding it unsettling. It's probably because I miss him. He's been travelling a lot, and so have I. For people who spend almost every night together, we sure don't see each other much.
We rely on each other heavily when we are stressed out, we find great solace together. This works extremely well, unless we're BOTH really stressed out. Like now. He's on one of his most time-intensive rotations, and I'm at the end of a five-course semester. We're sleep-deprived, travel-weary, over-scheduled. I'm broke. He's trying to get his apartment set up. I'm on pins and needles over a financial aid decision to be revealed on Monday. He's tied up in knots over the fellowship decision. I could go on and on. I want to whine to him, he to me... but we're pressed for time and focused on our respectively over-loaded lives. (My overloaded life, by the way, isn't really over-loaded compared to his. My "needs"? I want to whine to him about this stupid presentation that I'm not ready for because I put it off for so long. His? He needs me to listen to him talk about trying to save the premature triplets whose mother might not survive, the two oncology patients that died today and the little one with asthma who might be brain dead. See? I'm awful!)
We're going away to Italy with his family soon (see sidebar for count-down!), and every time I think about it I am at once overjoyed and overwhelmed. Why am I overjoyed? See the paragraph above. Oh, and it's Italy. Why am I overwhelmed? Because that means I only have X number of days (see sidebar for 'X') to get all of my work done, find an internship, possibly find a place to live for the summer, sub-let my apartment, and pack.
What happened to spring, careless and free? Isn't there somebody I can call about this?
Posted by shannon at 02:08 AM | Comments (2) | For related posts:
I, too, am the grumpalumpagus. Together, we are the grumpalumpagii.
Posted by shannon at 01:00 AM | For related posts:
With Friends Like Us
Well, shit.
Posted by shannon at 12:47 AM | For related posts:
April 17, 2002
The Say Smell is the Sense Most Connected With Memory
Jason got home from the last of his fellowship interviews late last night. He went to his house, dropped off his stuff, got changed out of his suit and installed his air conditioner so that his computers wouldn't explode in the heat. Then he came back to my house and we spent the night here.
This Friday night, my school is having a gala at the Tavern on the Green. I'm very excited -- I have a dress I've never worn and if all goes well, I'll have shoes to match by the end of the day. Jason realized last night that after back-to-back-to-back-to-back interviews, his suit was hopelessly rumpled and dirty. He's on call tonight (which means that he left this morning for work and won't be done until tomorrow morning), so I offered to go to his house, get his suit, and drop it off at the cleaners so that it would be ready for Friday.
I was (am) really anxious to get to working on my presentation, so I hurried over there around noon (good Lord, it's hot out there). When I walked into his room, I heard the familiar hum of his air conditioner and relished the cool air on my legs. But the most powerful thing was the wave of memories. The air comes out of the the A/C, after being churned through its cooling mechanism, with a very faint, not-at-all-offensive smell -- it smells like summer.
It smells like the beginning.
Posted by shannon at 12:41 PM | For related posts:
April 16, 2002
New pics from our weekend in DC!
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Posted by shannon at 11:56 PM | Comments (1) | For related posts:
My Creature of Habit
OK, stop me when this starts to sound familiar.
It's April, and all of a sudden it's blazingly hot. I'm working around the house -- cleaning up and the like -- and Boogie is following me around, griping. He's a very vocal cat, as you might recall. Anyway, in the process of straightening up, I feed him and change his water. I clean out his litter box and fill it up again. You'd think he'd be happy. But no, he keeps up with the chorus of whiney meows.
I get all hot and sweaty cleaning, so I switch on the A/C and fan for a few minutes. All of a sudden, there is silence.
Sound familiar yet?
Posted by shannon at 11:37 PM | Comments (2) | For related posts:
Nostalgia, Otra Vez
The New York Times has an article about touristing in the Ecuadorian highlands during the holidays that makes me want to go back.
"After dinner, everyone went outside where effigies of men representing the old year were to be burned. We were given bags containing 12 grapes and told to make a wish as we ate each grape. A brass band loudly played for dancing and anyone standing still was at risk of being pulled into the fray. Always looking for a new partner was a masked woman dressed as the widow of the dying year; nearly every man and woman and child took a turn with her. The effigies were set afire, helped by splashes of kerosene, while the dancing was helped by slugs of the anise-flavored liquor called aguardiente, consumed from a common glass. At one point the band demanded its share. Refueled, it played on while the dancers took turns leaping over the bonfire and into the new year."
Posted by shannon at 12:38 PM | For related posts:
April 15, 2002
New Why? page! (There should be a new About page sometime soon, too!)
(Nota para los que entienden esto: Háganme el favor de corregir el español por e-mail si se necesita. Gracias!)
Update: New About Me page is up -- and this time it actually tells you about me.
Posted by shannon at 12:21 PM | For related posts:
I'm back! Thanks for all of your comments, I'll post something soon!
Posted by shannon at 11:10 AM | For related posts:
April 12, 2002
I'll be out of town (again!) this weekend. Be a darling and leave me a comment?
Posted by shannon at 12:14 AM | Comments (5) | For related posts:
Friday Five!
1. What is your favorite restaurant and why? Hmmm. I love restaurants in general, so this is a hard one. Well, I'll just pick one that I've eaten at recently (tonight!): Pampa. I love the steak, I love the sangria, I love the exposed brick walls and I *love* that they play Shakira.
2. What fast food restaurant are you partial to? McDonald's.
3. What are your standards and rules for tipping? Normally, somewhere between 15-20%. In New York, always 20% unless the service is unusually good or unusally bad.
4. Do you usually order an appetizer and/or dessert? The latter more often than the former!
5. What do you usually order to drink at a restaurant? Coca-Cola!
Posted by shannon at 12:10 AM | For related posts:
April 09, 2002
My paper is due at the beginning of my 6:10 class. I just printed it. Check the time stamp.
I am a paper-writing mega-star.
Posted by shannon at 05:56 PM | Comments (3) | For related posts:
I'm showered and sitting in front of Jason's computer, pounding out a few pages of my paper before I go to my first class. Everyone please turn your attention to the time stamp. (Alright, now everyone who knows me please get up off the floor -- where you have fallen in disbelief -- and return to your seats.)
Posted by shannon at 07:14 AM | For related posts:
April 08, 2002
Help!
I'll admit it, I'm not the picture of organization. I manage to keep the important stuff together most of the time, and many who have never visited my house have told me that they think I am hyper-organized. But here, in my living space, I'm a bit of a mess.
One of the things that has helped me a good bit in my eternal quest for better organization is a filing cabinet. I can't be counted on to organize and file my papers and documents as often as I should, but I eventually go on a filing spree and things get where they are supposed to be. My filing cabinet was pretty ugly and cheap, but it got the job done.
A few weeks ago, the top drawer got off of its tracks and I couldn't get it open. I tried "rocking" it open. It didn't work. I tried pulling it extra hard. Still nothing. After about and hour of trying different things, I felt it begin to give. Finally!, I thought, pulling a little more insistently. Then, a horrible noise and then there I was, holding the front of the drawer in my hand.
So I need a new filing cabinet. Badly. Quickly. My already disorganized life is approaching a crisis-level.
Posted by shannon at 01:13 AM | For related posts:
April 06, 2002
Pleasantville
I grew up in a small town. My parents still live there. It's a quaint, somewhat provincial place that inevitably leads you to think of unlocked doors, PTA meetings and 4th of July parades. My mom called today and told me a story.
My parents were tired of watering the lawn with sprinklers. They'd given the task of mowing the lawn over to the kid down the street about 20 years ago, but they'd kept up with the watering since we moved in in 1980. In a fit of decadence, though, they finally broke down and installed a sprinkler system a few months ago. At this point they were informed by the Borough that they also needed to install an additional water meter.
My mother, a good, law-abiding citizen, went down to the Borough Hall to arrange the installation. Let me paint a picture of Borough Hall for you. It is a one-story building in the middle of town that houses the Borough Council and Mayor's offices, though they are seldom in daily use since all of those positions are voluntary and the people who hold them have day jobs. It is also the police station, a tiny part of the building that is dwarfed by the parking lot required to park all four of Pit*man's police cars. Across Broadway (yes, Broadway) from Borough Hall is the Town Library and the Veteran's Memorial.
So as I was saying, my mom went down to Borough Hall to arrange the installation of an additional water meter. She ran into one of the most dangerous beings in Pit*man -- a low-level bureaucrat with just enough power to be passive-agressive, but not nearly enough brains to know when to stop. I didn't get the details on my mother's interactions with this woman because every time I prodded her for details, she started grinding her teeth and muttering. From what I understand the woman was unhelpful and surly, and my mother left with the distinct impression that, although she had set up an appointment for installation, nobody was going to show up. She was right.
The day after the missed installation appointment, my mother did what any reasonable, intelligent person would have done when faced with the prospect of dealing with this woman again -- she went over her head. This isn't as easy as it sounds since many of the "bosses" of Borough government don't have full time hours at Borough Hall. My mom, who is pretty well connected in town because she used to be active in the business association when she worked in town, was lucky -- she knew how to find them.
Every day at three o'clock in the afternoon, the 'big shots' of the Pit*man Borough government get together at the Pit*man Bakery (conveniently located next to the Borough Hall) to have coffee and donuts and check in with each other. To those in the know, this is called the 'Pit*man Security Board' (a name which caused me to shriek, "What? Pit*man has a militia group?"). In all of her white-haired, pollyanna-ed glory, my mother showed up at the bakery a few minutes before three and ordered some ice cream. (It was years after leaving Pit*man that I realized that not all Mom-and-Pop bakeries have ice cream and Italian water ice.) She sat down with her book, and waited.
The first member of the Security Board arrived (we'll call him Kent), and greeted my mom heartily and asked how she was doing as he ordered his coffee and pastry. She commented that she was having "a devil of a time" getting the water guys out to install another water meter, and she just didn't know what else to do. As they were talking, Kenny walked in and listened intently. Less than five minutes later, Kent and Kenny were on their cell phones (a detail which led me to shriek, "What? The Security Board members have cell phones now?!") to Coxy, the guy in charge of Public Works.
The next day, my mom had "the entire Public Works department" at our house installing the extra water meter.
Am I waxing nostalgic for my little town? A tad. Deep down inside, I'm still a small town girl. These days, though, the small discoveries that I make about my parents as I get older and hear their stories are more poignant than my small-town nostalgia. I realize now that when people tell me that I am skilled in understanding politics and power that, to the extent that it is true, I get it from my mother. More importantly, I realize that in terms of raw talent she is infinitely better at it than I am.
(Edited 9/25/02: As an indication of the smallness of my hometown, it was not long after I posted this that somebody mentioned to my mother that I had written it. Apparently, doing a search for the name of the town brought then right to me... and since I'd prefer not to have everybody there reading this site, I finally got around to inserting an * in the middle of the town name in order to keep curious Google-ers away.)
Posted by shannon at 01:16 AM | For related posts:
April 05, 2002
I'm trying out a new feature: Recent Photos. I'm not sure if I like the way it works right now, so we'll see.
(Note: Upon switching to Movable Type, I had to disable this function. The pictures that were originally posted are below.)
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Posted by shannon at 09:28 PM | Comments (1) | For related posts:
Posted by shannon at 08:27 PM | Comments (1) | For related posts:
I have just returned from Baby Gap. This baby is going to be the best dressed infant this side of the Mississippi once I'm done with her. That is all.
(Just to be clear, when I say "this baby" I mean my friend's baby. No baby here.)
Posted by shannon at 07:44 PM | Comments (1) | For related posts:
I swear, the situation in the Middle East makes me more and more angry every day. I'm angry at both parties. Hell, I'm angry at everyone -- the British, the Syrians, the Egyptians, the Israeli settlers, the Palestian suicide bombers, the Bush Administration, the Jewish lobby in the U.S., al-Jazeera, etc. In the famous words of Anil, they're all wrong.
Posted by shannon at 06:42 PM | For related posts:
Friday Five!
Brough to you by Heather and the Friday Five:
1. What are the first things that you do in the morning to start your day? Stumble out of bed, brush my teeth, shower.
2. What are the last things that you do at night before going to bed? Wash my face, brush my teeth, finish my homework and get my things together for the next day.
3. What daily routine have you recently added to your day? Cleaning up a little bit around the house -- I don't really understand why, but recently I've been doing a little bit every day. I hope it lasts.
4. What routine do you wish you get rid of? Reading stuff for school that I am not interested in.
5. What's the one thing that makes you feel like something is missing if you don't do it some point within your day? Checking my e-mail.
Posted by shannon at 12:24 AM | For related posts:
April 03, 2002
Sadly Not Real
And just in case the goodness and righteousness of the Bartlett Administration didn't clue you in, here's a a tip: the West Wing isn't real.
Posted by shannon at 05:32 PM | For related posts:
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| You are a very simple and leisurely person. You are quite contented with your life and have no ambition to improve it. Which Blogging Tool Are You? |
Pitas! How... 20th century. If this wasn't such a cool test, I wouldn't even post my results.
*sniffs in distaste*
Posted by shannon at 02:38 PM | Comments (1) | For related posts:
From Where I'm Sitting
According to The Weather Channel, this is what should be going on right now:
The reality?
Posted by shannon at 01:52 PM | For related posts:
Exhaustion in Solidarity
I know exactly what you mean.
Posted by shannon at 10:44 AM | Comments (1) | For related posts:
I might get around to a "real" post later, but it occured to me recently that I can now say "One year ago today..."
(Warning: For about the next two and a half months, the correct completion of that sentence will be "Once year ago today... I was a crazy woman, all worked up over a silly boy, clumsily making decisions about my life and future without really caring how it all turned out, and generally miserable. Oh, and I spoke better Spanish then." You have been warned.)
Posted by shannon at 12:36 AM | Comments (3) | For related posts: