I walked into CVS the other day and it looked like Christmas puked all over the place. Seriously? Is it that time of year already? Every commercial on tv has jingle bells in the background. As someone who has always been a huge fan of the holidays (typically, I go full throttle on November 1st with my Christmas music), I'm just not feeling it this year. I don't know why.
I definitely prefer Thanksgiving over Christmas. Less stress, no presents, and you still have a bit of a holiday season to look forward to.
For awhile, my family went away every year around Thanksgiving, so our dinners were either non-traditional, or we'd do some American style buffet. I'm pretty sure we did the Sizzler or something one year. But I loved it! Those unusual Thanksgivings are the ones I remember the best. I can't remember when we started being home for Thanksgiving. Probably when I was out of high school? My parents are usually away the few weeks before Thanksgiving, so we've gone to other family members' houses for dinner. I don't know, most of my Thanksgiving memories in college are forgettable. Except one!
The year I was in Prague (2006), I was bummed about not being around my family for my favorite holiday. So we decided to get our study abroad group together and have a Thanksgiving extravaganza. We all made dishes that we were going to miss from home, and even went so far as to get a turkey and pumpkin pie. A few of my classmates never had pumpkin pie - the girls from the Netherlands and one girl from the UK. Before we ate, I asked if we could all share what we were thankful for. It was a wonderful experience I'll never forget. They weren't my family, but we had a great holiday.
Two extra points for Thanksgiving '06 since I left on a plane for Spain the following morning. Everyone else went to Auschwitz...I went to glorious Madrid and ate tapas and went dancing and wandered fabulous art museums while listening to my iPod on shuffle. Alone. Best. Thing. EVER.
Anyway... last Thanksgiving was pretty much awful. To make a long story short, politics got involved and it was nasty. I spent the hour ride home bawling about how disrespectful some people are to others views and why does my favorite holiday have to get shit on and my God I'm just going to eat Thanksgiving dinner by myself next year.
Here's to a better one this year. I have a lot to be thankful for (which I shall cover in a later post) and I expect this years spread will be nothing short of delightful.
And if people are going to fight, I am having a back up plan for the closest place that is serving a Thanksgiving feast with all the fixins. AKA I will have a Boston Market platter waiting for me at home just in case.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
terminal meltdown
Note to self: don't go to the Reading Terminal on days where they have events and/or on Saturdays in general. What a zoo. No one has any respect for others, everyone over the age of 50 walks the slowest they possibly can, and the people running the stalls are so busy that they hardly take a second to be polite.
NEVER AGAIN.
It was the Forgotten Foods Festival, and it was so darn crowded, I didn't even get to try my teaberry ice cream I looked forward to for about a week. Which may be a good thing because my internal organs prefer when I keep ice cream out of my diet.
NEVER AGAIN.
It was the Forgotten Foods Festival, and it was so darn crowded, I didn't even get to try my teaberry ice cream I looked forward to for about a week. Which may be a good thing because my internal organs prefer when I keep ice cream out of my diet.
Monday, November 9, 2009
goings-on
After almost a week on strike, Septa is back to work. It was a nice surprise to wake up to. I didn't want to risk taking the bus to work (you know, if my driver decided he wanted an extra day off), so I took the train for the last time. As much as I complained so hard about the strike, I won't lie - I'll miss the comfort of the train, the silence, the rather smooth ride. I also really was starting to like the walk. I took the bus on the way home - traffic wasn't bad but I was stuck at the transit stop for about a half hour. That is definitely something I didn't miss.
Regardless...I'm glad to see that the thousands of people who depend on public transportation now can get back to normal.
We finally got our wireless router this weekend - and THANK GOD is all I can say. No more switching wires around and having to wait my turn if I needed to check something on the internet that the iPhone doesn't allow. We got the router from Microcenter. If you ever need any techy type things, definitely check them out. You can find them online and they have a store in Radnor (and stores elsewhere I believe). They have great deals. We got our router for $35 and it was so worth it.
This weekend was very, very busy, but it was a good one! Friday night we had some Mexican food at the Adobe Cafe and came home to watch The Count of Monte Cristo - one of my favorite movies. I'd recommend it to anyone - there is something for everyone in it. I'd also recommend the Adobe. The one in Manayunk is SO MUCH BETTER than the one on Passyunk. I think the atmosphere is nicer and the waitstaff is much more efficient. Cody got a bit of a bonus in his check, thanks to making the switch to his new employer, so it was a nice treat. Thank you Cody :)
On Saturday, I took Cody to B&Bs grocery outlet. If you live in the Philly area and haven't been to B&Bs - MAKE THE TRIP! It is hysterically wonderful. You can find it just off of the Turnpike past the Downingtown exit (Morgantown I believe it is). It's in the furniture outlet mall - if you ask the toll booth person, they can direct you to it. We got $150 of groceries and cleaning supplies for about $50. Just check the labels for dates, but other than that you can find some fantastic deals. Afterwards, we went to the ultimate fast food spot - Sonic. I'm glad there are none that are too close to me, otherwise I'd weigh about 100 pounds more. We then hit up Microcenter for our router and then Bed, Bath & Beyond for my cousin Jaclyn's bridal shower gift. *sigh* We were all over the place. We wanted to go bowling that night, but we were just too beat. We sat in and watched some Office episodes and crashed pretty early.
Sunday was another busy day... Woke up and went to church, sped home to do some chores, and then I had to make the trek to Delaware County for my cousin's shower. It was really nice to see my family - and even better to hear so much good news from so many people! Jaclyn seemed to enjoy her day and she got a lot of great things. After the shower, I came home, made dinner, attempted to watch the Eagles game but passed out by 9:30.
Can I get a weekend from my weekend? I'm pooped.
A lot of busy-ness going on at work and I expect to work some long days ahead. Our yearly retreat is a week from today and there are a ton of things to do to get ready for it.
Is it just me, or is November seriously flying by? So much to do, and so little time! I'd say I better get started on my Christmas shopping, but I prefer to wait until Christmas Eve. And no, I am not kidding. A tradition I tell you...
Friday, November 6, 2009
my wednesday
On Wednesday I had a lunch meeting with two women who work in the International Programs department. A lunch meeting which they paid for...at Pod. If you know Pod, then you know the place is no joke. It's pretty pricey and a bit fancy, even for lunch.
How did I get this meeting, you may ask. Well, back in the summer I emailed an adviser in the study abroad program, basically detailing my love for travel and how I'd love to someday help students plan their study abroad. I think it is an important, invaluable, once in a lifetime opportunity that shouldn't be ignored. I said I'd love to meet with an adviser to see what direction I should take in regards to my future Masters program so I can someday be an adviser myself.
After no response for a few weeks, I decided to email another adviser. She was super enthusiastic and said she'd love to meet with me over coffee. Coffee was eventually replaced by Pod. Like I said, Pod's a big deal. I started to put crazy ideas in my head for the following reason: I had applied for a job a few months ago as an assistant to an executive in the IP department. I was hoping and praying that this meeting had something to do with that job, not just my future education choices, so I got dressed up in my finest business wear, printed out updated (and beautifully formatted, if I may say so myself) resumes, and was SO pumped. I even started thinking "hey, maybe they have an opening and they want a young, dedicated lady to kick ass and take names in the field of study abroad advising." You know, if advising had anything to do with kicking ass and taking names.
Bah. No such luck.
The two women I met with were REALLY nice. Very honest in the fact that it is incredibly difficult to get a job working in the study abroad field. Very honest in the fact that if you are so lucky as to get a job doing this, you will be paid peanuts for several years and not much more after that.
Drats. Not that I want to do this for the money. If you want to work in education, you should put the idea of being wealthy far, far out of your mind. But the thought of making even close to what I'm making now makes me nauseous. The thought of possibly not finding a job in this competitive field makes me even more nauseous. Like I want to vomit on the cat sitting on my lap right now.
Anyway... it wasn't a total loss. I was advised to go into the Higher Education Administration program rather than the International Communication/Education program. Apparently, the first option would probably open more doors for me. Agreed. But the curriculum can be pretty dry. So my next plan of action is to speak with someone who has gone through this program and see if it's something I can tolerate. But the last thing I want is to end up in a business office at a university. I want to work with students and gosh darn it I will. I think. I hope.
So here I am...back in the same spot as before. A bit lost on what I want to do. I still would LOVE LOVE LOVE to do this, and one part of my brain says JUST DO IT LYNDSEY!! But the other part says...look at other options, please, for the sake of someday being able to not worry about my bank account before buying a new pair of shoes because the ones you have are falling apart.
Ahh so quite a predicament. Regardless, I have to get on gear with taking my GREs and making tough choices. I refuse to be a slave to crazy professors for the rest of my life. Or at least I want to be a slave with some say. And have little minions below me so I can delegate work to them.
To dream. It's so fun.
I think I would have taken this disappointing lunch meeting a little better if I didn't have a doctors appointment immediately following it. There's nothing like getting your dreams crushed (well, kind of crushed...more like slowly depleated) and then having a doctor poke and prod your lady parts 45 minutes later.
Life, how I love you sometimes. Grr.
How did I get this meeting, you may ask. Well, back in the summer I emailed an adviser in the study abroad program, basically detailing my love for travel and how I'd love to someday help students plan their study abroad. I think it is an important, invaluable, once in a lifetime opportunity that shouldn't be ignored. I said I'd love to meet with an adviser to see what direction I should take in regards to my future Masters program so I can someday be an adviser myself.
After no response for a few weeks, I decided to email another adviser. She was super enthusiastic and said she'd love to meet with me over coffee. Coffee was eventually replaced by Pod. Like I said, Pod's a big deal. I started to put crazy ideas in my head for the following reason: I had applied for a job a few months ago as an assistant to an executive in the IP department. I was hoping and praying that this meeting had something to do with that job, not just my future education choices, so I got dressed up in my finest business wear, printed out updated (and beautifully formatted, if I may say so myself) resumes, and was SO pumped. I even started thinking "hey, maybe they have an opening and they want a young, dedicated lady to kick ass and take names in the field of study abroad advising." You know, if advising had anything to do with kicking ass and taking names.
Bah. No such luck.
The two women I met with were REALLY nice. Very honest in the fact that it is incredibly difficult to get a job working in the study abroad field. Very honest in the fact that if you are so lucky as to get a job doing this, you will be paid peanuts for several years and not much more after that.
Drats. Not that I want to do this for the money. If you want to work in education, you should put the idea of being wealthy far, far out of your mind. But the thought of making even close to what I'm making now makes me nauseous. The thought of possibly not finding a job in this competitive field makes me even more nauseous. Like I want to vomit on the cat sitting on my lap right now.
Anyway... it wasn't a total loss. I was advised to go into the Higher Education Administration program rather than the International Communication/Education program. Apparently, the first option would probably open more doors for me. Agreed. But the curriculum can be pretty dry. So my next plan of action is to speak with someone who has gone through this program and see if it's something I can tolerate. But the last thing I want is to end up in a business office at a university. I want to work with students and gosh darn it I will. I think. I hope.
So here I am...back in the same spot as before. A bit lost on what I want to do. I still would LOVE LOVE LOVE to do this, and one part of my brain says JUST DO IT LYNDSEY!! But the other part says...look at other options, please, for the sake of someday being able to not worry about my bank account before buying a new pair of shoes because the ones you have are falling apart.
Ahh so quite a predicament. Regardless, I have to get on gear with taking my GREs and making tough choices. I refuse to be a slave to crazy professors for the rest of my life. Or at least I want to be a slave with some say. And have little minions below me so I can delegate work to them.
To dream. It's so fun.
I think I would have taken this disappointing lunch meeting a little better if I didn't have a doctors appointment immediately following it. There's nothing like getting your dreams crushed (well, kind of crushed...more like slowly depleated) and then having a doctor poke and prod your lady parts 45 minutes later.
Life, how I love you sometimes. Grr.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
a hex on Septa!
Between a crazy few weeks at work (gotta love grant season!), wedding junk, being anti-computer at home, and various weekends goings-on, I have been terribly lax in updating my blog, which I promised that I would be good with. Thank you, Lora, for bringing this to my attention.
So what's been happening in your life? Mine has been a bit hectic to say the least... on the wedding front, I've made some big strides. We booked the caterer, which I'm way excited about. I wish they had a website so I could promote the crap out of them. They're called Company's Coming and their food rules the world up and down and around the block. Cody, my mom, and I went for a tasting a few weeks ago. This was no tasting, this was a full out gourmet feast. We LOVED the food. Seriously loved it. I hope it's as good on the day of the wedding. If you're ever in Manayunk on a Tuesday in the winter, go to the Terrace Bistro at Shurs Lane and Terrace. It's $35 prix fix and all you can drink homemade beer. This is what they do when it's not wedding season. I seriously recommend it.
We got our photographer - check him out here. He is great, just the kind of person we wanted. We did our engagement shoot on Halloween and it was amazing. He made us feel super comfortable and we're so happy with the photos. He posted them on Flicker the same day! Service doesn't get any better than that. It was rainy and chilly, but we made the best of it. All photos were done on UPenn's campus. The leaves were such a stunning color, and I think the rain actually helped my ridiculous hair.
My mom and I got my dress a few weeks ago (thank you a million times more, Mom!!). We first went to Bridal Town out by Collegeville - sooooo not me. I didn't care for their styles and none of the dresses they had to try on fit me. I am very impatient when it comes to shopping so we left pretty quickly. We ended up at David's Bridal and the 2nd dress I tried on I fell in love with. It's so me. I can't wait to wear it again! Now I'm on a mission to find some bridesmaid dresses that go with it.
So I think I'm on track considering the big day isn't for another 10 months or so. I'm kind of enjoying this whole planning deal, more than I thought I would. I think I'm happy that I decided to have the wedding here instead of away. I can involve more friends and family, which is really important to me.
In other news....... this damn Septa strike!! If you're my friend on Facebook, you know my feelings about it. I'm so annoyed on various levels. But optimistic me is trying to find the bright side.
Pros:
1. The train is way more comfortable than the bus.
2. I'm forced to exercise a lot more than before - I got lazy since the bus picked me up and dropped me off in front of my house. Occassionally it would be at the bottom of the hill near my place, but that's hardly 5 minutes of walking up hill. I, thankfully, live between 2 train stations and both are about 10 minutes of walking away. Plus I have to walk to work once I'm at 30th Street. Yes, pounds will be shed and muscle will be gained...I hope...
3. People are a lot quieter on the train. On the bus, there is always this group of women on after work and they don't SHUT UP. On the train I can zone out to my favorite 80s hits and read my blogs.
Cons:
1. Cody had to buy train tickets since he doesn't have a monthly pass - this is $10 a day. $10 a day that we need for saving. Boo.
2. The mad crowds at 30th Street. People are evil when it comes to getting on the train first.
3. No guarenteed designated drivers on the weekends when I want to go out. Sigh.
4. The INCONVENIENCE it causes people that aren't near Regional Rail. Thank God I live near not one, but two train stations. I can't imagine what I'd do if I was still in South Philly. It would take me at least an hour and a half to walk to work, maybe more since the South Street Bridge is still closed. I feel so badly for those that honestly have no way to get to work or school.
Anyway, I hope the strike ends soon, but it's not really looking like it will.
A change in subject... we got another cat! Yes, if it wasn't obvious before, we are now the crazy cat people. Meet Miss Mitts (I did not pick her name...if I did, it would be Julie Andrews).
So Mitts makes 4 cats...and Patrick Swayze of course...NO MORE!! Too many animals! Thankfully, Cody is really on top of keeping the litter clean and I am vacuuming all the time so it really doesn't feel like a cat house. But dear God it is. At this point, I don't think I could have it any other way.
I'd love to write more, but it's just about dinner time and I need to figure what's gonna be cooking. Thanks to my Aunt Roseanne, I now have my very own Better Homes and Gardens cookbook so I'll be making tastier food soon enough.
Good evening all and in final thoughts: Phillies, I still love you. Next year boys, we'll do it again next year...(hopefully after Ryan Howard spends some considerable time in the batting cages to bring his game back up).
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