Spring Break 2013!

This is what I did on Spring Break:

This is about to get scandalous, dear readers… but not at all. Unlike many of my peers who went to Chile, Singapore, Puerto Rico, Anguilla, and Hawaii (warm places!), I didn’t venture further than the Midwest.

My Saturday started off at 2:30 AM after an insignificant amount of sleep and watching the first 2 episodes of Girls. So far, I think all of the characters are pretty awful, but I guess you are supposed to hate them. It is really funny, though. I also think the main character, Hannah, is the worst so far because even though she does run into issues, she takes the attitude that things are ‘happening’ to her instead of is totally self-absorbed when she tries to actually ‘take action’ for herself. I am very intrigued and have been watching as a fun form of procrastination.

Saturday, I headed off to Chicago airport to get to exotic Milwaukee for Wes’s funeral (refer to my last post for more details). It was nice to see family. We did get German brunch, which I am a fan of. We collectively decided our family is good at eating.

I went back home to CT on Monday night and vegetated for the rest of the week. I have been trying to get ahead in homework, sleeping, coding, and applying for jobs. Basically, same as I would be doing otherwise, but with more free time minus not being stuck in airports or on buses. I also bought things to support the commercial enterprise that is America.

Getting back into the city today- yayyyyy!

(And because I am behind) This is what I did last week:

To start this post off right, last week I ate at: Bare Burger (won a gift card and got the jerk chicken burger and split a banana peanut butter vanilla shake with Michelle); Lena (got a grilled chicken salad and a blackberry juice with my two of my awesome Coty coworkers); Argo (I really need to end this habit, but I told myself it was healthier than other stuff and justified the whole tea situation); Souvlaki GR (we wanted to go to Meatball Shop, but there was a 2 hour wait. I devoured my souvlaki. It was delicious.); Lula’s Sweet Apothecary (caramel with ginger cookies ice cream); BBQ (not even worth explaining, but I hung out with Jon and his sister a bit); Murray’s Bagels (I obsessed over this day in and day out. Lost sleep- worrying about my bagels. It was a serious situation. My uncle asked me to pick up some bagels to take to Wisconsin, so I got 2-dozen assorted bagels from the Chelsea spot and froze them. I had to plan where to get bagels, how to get them (last minute delivery fell through, so I walked), how to store them, and how to pack them. It took way more effort than I anticipated, but I ate a poppy seed one for lunch Friday when it was still hot and I reached a new level of divination. Bagels= magic. And friendship= magic. Therefore, bagels must also= friendship. Basic math.); and hit up Eataly for a late night gelato run (vanilla with cornbread cookie crumble and salted caramel in a cone happened).

What else did I do last week?  

A splash of homework and job applications and a dash of things of similar variety. By this I mean participating in yet another ridiculous Stern ‘marketing study’ where I had to answer questions ranging from females’ unattractiveness in photos (so messed up on so many levels, so I chose 5 for every single photo. You can throw out my answers, Stern. You’re welcome.) to eating/ ‘evaluating’ my experience eating Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans (read: me also not eating sausage jelly beans because I have standards #SorryI'mNotSorry.). I also went to some Wasserman talks to get into a stronger career frame of mind.  There is still 5-10% (it varies depending on the time of day) that is like ‘I am moving to Thailand and am going to teach children English.’ Then, there is the other 5% of my decision making that tells myself to do that in 3-5 years. Maybe maybe. Otherwise, still going to class, eating with friends, trying to get a job, and coding. I will probably continue to do this for the rest of the semester.

“The power of imagination makes us infinite.”

- John Muir

Celebration of the Life of Wesley Paul Foreman

Of course, I was sad when I learned my Grandpa Wes had died, but I knew he lived a good life. He was a kind, lovely man who was a veteran, chemist, and avid Badger fan. He loved a good game of football and couldn't stay away from the games. He also used to tell me stories about his days in his college fraternity- frat brothers puking on the rugs from drinking too much and all- and even about how he was suspicious he worked on the A-bomb (the government never really said what they were doing, just that they needed to do it). He never complained about anything and was happy to just be. Everyone loved him- and I really mean that. Everyone. He was a top notch guy.

Wes asked that no one be sad when he died in his funeral instructions. He wanted his loved ones to celebrate his life and know that he was content. My aunt Nancy hired a historian to help Wes write his life story a few years before he died. The book is called Bats, Bases, and Burets for his love of baseball and chemistry, but only a few copies were printed for the family. I am so glad she did this.

Here are a few excerpted quotes from his book, so you can get an idea about his philosophy on life and what he was like:

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I had been planning on spending part of my Spring Break visiting Wes because he was sick. I usually come to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving, but I missed the last family get-together because I was in Australia. However, I found out about a week and a half ago that he passed on. I am happy that I came to see my family in the Midwest, but I do wish it was under other circumstances.

Nancy, Heather (the new inductee!), Andrew, Ira, Myra, Terry, Linda,  Helena, and myself

I did not tell most people the real reason I was going to Wisconsin because (at the time) it was either too fresh and I didn't know what to make of the situation- or just inappropriate to share. I was not trying to be duplicitous, just trying to gauge my feelings (which is why I am sharing this information on my blog). I also know some of my posts are more frivolous, but I feel that Wes's outlook on life (and death) is important to share.

I hope for my own death that no one is sad and that people will consider how I have also been living a good life. I am very content. Things are far from perfect, but they do not need to be. Be happy for just being.

SNL after-party and casually getting bronchitis

Things have been really crazy. I started coaching last Sunday, got Bronchitis (and still technically have it), and have been eating out a lot. That is the short version.

The long version of what I have been up to (in no particular order):
- Applying for jobs like a crazy person... or a college Senior looking for a job. They may be one in the same. It is stressing me out. The whole figuring out how to earn money thing.
- I am going to start apartment hunting with Michelle and Shelly in April.
- I am figuring out my Spring Break plans. So far, they involve ordering a ton of bagels to take to Wisconsin, sleeping on a very long car ride in and out of Ithaca to drop my brother off at school, and sleeping at home. I might have to go into work if I don't finish enough stuff this week- TBC...
- I did finally buy groceries yesterday (and did laundry!). It was magical. I went to the 23rd St Trader Joe's and the store is beautiful, large, and has a great selection. It is .1 miles further away from me than the terrifying Union Square one. I tried shopping at other grocery stores, but other ones are too big and expensive or have too many choices. This last week, I literally ran out of food and didn't even care. #adulthood
- Walked to the Highline only to realize I went too late with my friend and it was closed. We resorted to going into Chelsea Market instead and she got a Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie, which the NYT apparently ranked as the best cookie in America. Liliana and I thought that it would have been the best cookie if it was warm with milk- or if Liliana made the cookies herself (because it is more fun when you make the cookies yourself/ when your roommate bakes cookies in your kitchen).
- It is sunny outside!!!
- Went to an SNL after-party that started at 3:30 am (lol! what?). My friend Michelle invited me, Shelly, and Adrian out (partially because Justin Timerberlake was supposed to show, but he didn't. There were some other famous people there, though. It happened.). It was at a venue called The Cutting Room, which was really cool. The people who work at SNL are beautiful and it reminded me of my longing to be part of the beautiful people- but maybe I was for those few hours. Anyways, there was a bar and karaoke and lots of pretty people. You know, normal things. Like going to an SNL after party. It was casual.
- I have been sick for 2.5 weeks. This is ridiculous. I still technically have bronchitis and feel better than I have in the past few days. I have my voice back and keep coughing. I also want to sleep all the time, but I think that might just be me being tired about life vs. tired because I am sick. On the other hand, I have not taken any time off from work or school or missed anything since I have been sick, so maybe it is my fault for being sick because I should be resting my body more. Who knows?
- I went to a Shabbat dinner (again- look at me being Jewish!) because two of my friends invited me. It was free food and I saw lots of people from my Birthright trip, which was nice.
- I am still doing some coding. I need to get on that. So far, I know the basics of Javascript, CSS, and HTML. I need to hone my skills a bit more.
- I went to a fundraiser for the movie Michelle is producing. The fundraiser was at Brad's and I won the raffle/ got a Bareburger gift card, so we are going there for lunch on Monday. I like food. I also ate some of the free Insomnia cookies at the fundraisers, which seems to have been a theme of this last week (free Insomnia cookies- way way way too many).
- It was Cupcake Day once again at work. I got the Red Velvet. I felt like I ate too much after, but YOLOs is how I feel about it.
- Ate out with friends at Hummus Place, Financier, Argo, Starbucks (2 times- I am a cray cray child- but just got tea [so it was acceptable since I was sick]), Tacombi (it was delicious- like tears of life delicious), Green Symphony, Hard Rock Cafe, and Naya (expensive Midtown Lebanese restaurant).
- Went to a job fair expo thing at Wasserman. #whatismyliferightnow?
- Coughed my way out of a meeting for 7 minutes straight, then had to leave a giant lecture hall 3 times because I was coughing so hard. At least 100 people probably will forever recognize me as 'that-girl-who-coughed-really-hard-that-one-time-in-RFA-and-it-was-terrible.' I guess that means I have a reputation now?

Some overly sentimental thoughts on life and leisure

"Sometimes there's so much beautyin the world, I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is just going to cave in."- American Beauty

I love American Beauty and this is probably one of the greatest movie quotes ever. I thought it was appropriate to my feelings today. Today was long and I am kind of sick, so not feeling 100% makes things hard. I started off the day not being able to sleep (and making that an excuse to not go to the gym), so 5 AM on involved applying for jobs (aka writing love letters to various companies), watching Mac Miller puke to wake up (online, silly), reading for class, coding for fun, working, and meeting for a group project. I really like learning how to code- I think I have HTML down and am getting the hang of CSS (just the basics, but it makes me feel like a wizard). Maybe I should have minored in producing and computer science... Anyways, work was fine- really excited about the big project I am working on.

However, I got to watch a pre-screening of the pilot for the new season of World of Jenks with a Q&A with Jenky himself. He is a champion of the world- and that is how I feel about it. His show was funny, sad, and true. And that made it beautiful. It didn't seem overly produced and seemed authentic- I know it isn't really, but the cynic inside me melted and I actually almost cried at a few parts. It seems so ridiculous, but it reminded me of how happy I have been. My mood has been really good lately, but being sick has really put a damper on how I feel overall. Yesterday was especially frustrating, but as I told my roommate, as I was walking down the stairs to the subway I saw a man on crutches because of his legs being deformed. He struggled for every step he took, but he kept on trekking. It made me think, 'Why should I complain when I walk with ease?' I felt frustrated by fleeting things, but I have my health and have been so fortunate lately. It is hard to complain, so I toughened up and felt less upset.

I spend my morning walks outside looking up at the skyscrapers to remember where I am and where I want to be. When I see the Empire State building in the distance, I remember working there and I can't help but feel proud and like this city belongs to me- and I belong to it. It reminds me of the magic of the city- and I don't want to lose grip of it. This place is really special. I also had the fortune of running into my friend Diksha last night, who warmed my heart a bit by simply saying she never worried about me. I should stop worrying about me, too. I want to focus on the beauty of life and really take advantage of all that there is. Actually, that is basically what I always want- but I won't give up on the ambition- my fire is just fueled more, now. Going to keep on trekking and indulge in the beauty of what life has to offer. So maybe life is just like a box of chocolates...

Also, I want to clarify that I am proud to be the person I am right now and that is enough. I think a lot of advertising messages (that target both men and women to feed into their insecurities) insist that you (the consumer) is and never will be good enough. They must buy, buy, buy improvement of the self in the form of a product or idea. However, this only creates a vicious cycle of ineptitude and insecurity. The continuation of such disaffections promotes low self esteem, depression, and seclusion. Of course, no one overtly opts to take part, but those who choose to take to the ways of Walden may have a point (or just really like trees). You are good and right as you are.

On a more concrete note, meeting for class today was crazy frustrating. It induced the most anxiety in me that I have had all semester, which means I really need to stop hacking out my lungs and go to the gym as a pretend healthy human.

Other highlights of the week were getting coffee and dinner with friends, as well as bonding over an early dinner of over-priced falafel with my Entrepreneurship group. We are too cute. Eating food is wonderful.

Entonces, in school, I have a research paper I need to start thinking about for my Global TV class (ideally it would have to do with Jersey Shore being broadcasted globally in its original/dubbed format) and a midterm next week. Holla, holla. In life, I am coaching skating at City Ice for the first time on Sunday- yayyyyyy!

In other news, NYU is #1 most douchey American university (obvi): http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/10-douchiest-colleges-in-america

More thoughts to come. I am like Thought Catalog from one human brain (and much more ego-centric because this blog is MINE!).

Allora.... a domani!