if the good lord's willing

the rest of that expression is: if the good lord's willing and the creek don't rise. i really like it for some reason. it seems to me something that boxa might like as well. will have to incorporate it into daily usage.

some observations, as usual. first, was on the nrw subway line in nyc on friday and there were a group of 15 year old boys on the train chattering away and one of them goes, "drunk people are hilarious!". ain't that the truth.

second, my method of getting to jfk is to take the long island rail road from penn station and then use the airlink. sat morning i was on the train at 4:15 am - which is filled with drunk people taking the train back home from their night out in nyc. being sober on these trips is always a little tiresome. drunk conversations really are dull. i suppose they are only interesting if you're drunk, and i wanted to turn around a smack the people behind me. many of them are macking on other drunk people, sobbing, passed out, insane. it's worse than the second floor of sd on a wed night.

made it to florida - my grandparents live in naples - about 30 min south of ft. myers on the gulf coast. i took an extra off term my junior winter, and lived down here with them and worked at the restaurant at the beach club. it was not a bad place to twittle my thumbs while i saved my parents 10k, but it's always strange to be back here b/c of that. people on the trams think i'm just another visitor and it's like - no no - i was an employee. =) check it out here. i'm the oldest grandchild on my dad's side, who was the oldest of 5 kids, so my grandmother is only 50 years older than me, and we get along pretty well - which i didn't realize is not always the case. my grandparents friends are always going, "it's so nice you want to come and spend time with your grandparents!" and i'm always responding - "they're the ones doing ME the favor!".

spent the last couple days spending money - hit up the outlets near ft. myers, and i got my hair done. have to get things started on the right foot on monday right? just watched the sunset over the gulf of mexico, and then dinner calls and the hot tub. it's been cold cold cold here, but quite a bit warmer today, and then hopefully tomorrow as well. being down here i've been riding a bike to the beach each day - which i haven't done in a long while. i know the expression, 'it's like riding a bike' - ie, you never forget how once you learn, but why don't you forget? it certainly is not easy to learn - i think i still have a scar or two - but why haven't i forgotten if i haven't done it in such a long time? hmmmmmm.

saw a quote i like from shakespeare: 'if music be the food of love, play on." play on indeed.

dinner time!

send itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikinis, and sandollars

on target

as ally says, "lyon!"


more here.

allow myself to introduce

myself! no - j/k. close second though. my brother - jly. taking a (web) page from several of the other blogs i read (stalk) - i thought i'd interview my brother on the blog so you can all meet him.

by way of introduction - jly is a freshman at d, a member of the red-headed mafia (yes. i don't know WHY i don't have red hair, but it's been this way for 23/4 years now, and i've a) realized that i don't, and b) come to terms with it. but thanks for coming out), and has an interesting perspective, as he is a frosh guy - pretty much the worst status on campus - good news! it's gets better from there.

he was interviewed back in the spring for a track article - you can find that here. jly's responses to my questions took up a good 17k of blitz material, so i have edited for time and content. and for the purposes of this interview, i have assumed the 'doodad' monkier, so as to not confuse you with the 'lyons' bit. (don't get any ideas diana)

doodad: name three songs that would be on your ultimate basement mix

jly: This is a very tough decision. You see, I consider myself a connoseur of all sorts of music. From classic rock, the hip/hop, to sweaty dance floor techno, I do and have done it all. Delving further into my music interests, I realized that the basement I'm in certainly has quite a bit to do with it. If I was in heorot, which I am still not a brother at, it would have to include some hot new mike jones or e-40 tracks. After a bit of introspecition and quiet thought, I believe I feel as though I've come to a reasonable solution. My ideal basement mix would be one that repeatedly played culture club's smash hit "karma-chameleon" as many times as permissible.

doodad: you asked me for a 'self call' shirt for xmas. what is one thing that you have done while on campus that would illustrate your deservingness of such a shirt?

jly: Again, a tough one. I hope everyone who has read this question realizes the irony of this question. I must, in fact, self call my face off in order to gain the respect needed to warrant a self call t shirt. The big one I would say can't really be included on the internet in the same way that those wild pictures from that crazy weekend that me and 3 of my best buddies had in that secluded cabin (love you guys!!) shouldn't be on the internet. If anyone who shouldn't see this, (or those) saw this (or those) I would be fucked. Therefore, in the interest of not being fucked, I'll leave here that I learned my lesson that the powers of a self call shirt are far too expansive for a frosh.

doodad: you are the third in a line of mcintyres/lyons to go to d and soon a fourth will be on campus as well. what do you think this says about the lyon/mcintyre family?

jly: I think it says that the amount of ruling done on several persons parts is unfathomable. Now it's very obvious that the mcintyre half of the lyon/mcintyre dynasty, which is in it's 6th reigning year at d, upholds the traditional athletic standards a little better than the Lyon half. Tyler and Hope could have been described as 'freight trains' in the national high school lacrosse rankings. You and I made states a couple times. I feel as though I need to make up for this in the basement Olympic department. I'm going to get really good at pong. That's what I'm saying.

doodad: as most of us know, you have red hair. explain your position on the term 'ginger kid'.

jly: well as nearly everyone knows, the term ginger kid was made popular by the hit tv show "south park". In fact, I had not even heard the term before said show did a delightful episode on it. For those of you dull minded enough not to partake in the show, I will explain furthur. The show's antagonist, Cartman, presents a school project on how red haired and freckled kids, or gingers for slang, have no souls and and terrible beings and that everyone else is afraid of them. Now being a ginger myself, I know for sure that I am a pretty bad person, not entirely sure whether I have a soul or not, and I'm almost certain that everyone is afraid of me. No the show's protagonists, Kenny, kyle, and stan decided to teach jerkoff cartman a lesson by sneaking into his bedroom at night and dying his hair red, and putting freckles on his face. Cartman wakes up and hilarity ensues. He recruits a ginger following at his school, tries to kill everyone who isn't ginger and is just about to do so when kyle and stan tell him how he really isn't ginger. Yada yada yada, cartman works his way out of that one and another 30 minutes of my life is over. Really I didn't have any problems with people in high school calling me ginger because I knew for a fact that I was better than almost every person in that school (not excepting any teachers save alex wells) so I wasn't too worried about them repeating something they had heard on comedy central the night before. Come to think of it, it didn't happen that often because I was somewhat of a mangchild that crushed life in it's entirety and that indicated who the big daddy was to any dolts in that school. If they get lucky they might someday watch CBS and then repeat something intelligent, but until that day, I will still pick Gerald, my stuffed teddy bear, over anyone in that school (again, save cyrril alex wells). That's the story, perhaps I will have a new chapter for d at a later date, but until then, you stay classy, san diego.

doodad: what's the most important lesson our dad aka 'big jeff' or 'the man in the yellow fleece' has taught you?

jly: that would of course be the infamous "smarten up" lesson. This lesson was great for several reasons. Whenever I was being an idiot in his presence (which, mind you, happened quite a bit) he'd come over to me and grab my collar, twist it around and pull up all while telling me to 'smarten up'. All of this physical pain didn't really teach me much at the time because I was a pretty stupid kid, but looking back, I now know that when my dad is around, I shouldn't throw snowballs at cars. Good lesson.

doodad: you have an unusual predilection for our cat - sadie. tell us about your relationship.

jly: We're just friends.

doodad: pirates arrrrrrr cool. if one of the main classes at swashbuckling school would be laughing and jumping off something, what other classes should there be?

jly: Well first of all, if there was a class called laughing and jumping off something at d, I guarantee the entire cross country team would have taken it already. Not only does this class sound like it would involve much pillaging and plundering, you may even be required to swab the decks. Second of all, if a class like this existed, there most certainly should be one on how to blow bubbles, taught by spongebob squarepants, one on how to play pong, taught by me, and open only to freshman girls because every single one I have seen is god awful.

doodad: describe your proudest pong victory thus far.

jly: I was minding my own business one Wednesday evening in freshman fall term when I received a blitz from Stephen G. Muchetti. He was wondering, fresh off his fourth-place-at-heps performance, if I wanted to play some pong that night. I don't normally like pong a whole lot. Wait. What am I saying? I was over at Heorot in 10 minutes. It was me and steve verse these two brothers. Naturally these brothers introduced themselves, found out I was a froshy frosh and gave Steve a weird look as if to say "your trousers are down." I know that really meant "you're playing with a freshman? You're gonna get reamed." Well as we know, these two brothers did not know what they were getting themselves into. A few minutes into our game of tree, it was clear who the victor was going to be. I think Steve and I combined drank a total of 4 cups that first game. These brothers asked if we could run it back to try to regain their honor. Being the gentlemen that we are, Steve and I obliged. Bad Decision. Whipping them in the second game, Steve and I could have still probably drank another full tree, did a handstand, and performed the entire skit from Wet Hot American Summer where the caped boy asks all those girls at the table if they want to play dungeons and dragons. Man that's a good scene. That's real.

doodad: like the rest of the lyon family, you have a head for remembering movie quotes. what's your favorite go-to move quote?

jly: This question is really not fair because there are so many situations that have an insatiable void that can be filled only by the correct movie quote. When you're eating a sweet chicken parm at food court, you can't say "this chicken parm is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get". First of all someone who rips that line off in food court deserves a quick jab to the face. Second of all, that is the most overused movie quote I can possibly think of except for maybe that stupid quote from napoleon dynamite. Which one, you ask? All of them. All of them suck and that was a terrible movie. No, no. The correct quote there would be derived from Anchorman and formed like this: "man, this chicken parm is delish. But it is filling." So you see, there are correct movie quotes for correct situation and if you're too much of a dolt to not know the correct quote for the situation may god have mercy on you. Reflecting back on what I just said, I realized that God should not have mercy on you if you're not able to find a good quote for a situation. This being said, I believe in two excellent quotes that can be applied to many situations. The first comes from dumb and dumber. Given whenever someone says anything remotely idiotic, I like to boost their morale with "man, you are one pathetic loser." Next from Hook, and not in any instance in particular, I like to say "You're doing it peter. You're playing with us peter!" As is true in nearly any aspect of life, it's really all about delivery. If you mess up the delivery, you mess up the quote. Then no one gets the reference and then you have a whole lot of awkwardness and it's just a bad time.

doodad: define: facetime, obvi, later dance and ballin'
Facetime. No idea
Obvi – this is clearly slang for the word obvi, you dolt. I think guys use it when they are trying to hit on a girl and want to agree with her, but also convince her that he is understanding and kind at the same time.
Later dance – ahh, yes. One of the finest productions of heorot (of which I am still not a brother). I believe tessa clare and devin j. riley formatted this delightful way of futhur embarrassing people they had just spanked in a game of pong. You see, when one sinks the the last half cup in a game of pong, the opponents are disheartened and dejected. They hate you because you just beat them and now they have to go stand idly on the side with a beer in their hand while you re-rack for another round. What better way to really show them who the big papa is than by mocking them right in front of their face with the later dance? I know no better way.
Ballin – urban dictionary defines it as "Living in affluence/wealth and flaunting it". This also has been perverted into a pong term because it's double meaning comes originally from the hardtop. A player is said to be a 'baller' if he can pop the j or cross up some poor fool. In pong, if you can sink cups like it's your job and you're employee of the month, you are said to be a 'baller' and frequently yell out "bawlliiiinnnnn" whenever you sink. Go sox.

doodad: who would win in a death match - cornell or d - and why?

jly: This is answer is obviously d for several reasons. I see nowhere in a program of Cornell-ian events, a place for green key weekend. Many years ago when green key weekend had an actual significance to the college other than "if you're not blacked out, you didn't have fun", green key kind of sucked. Now days, green key is one of the finer classes this institution has to offer. Seriously, if you don't have a good time during this weekend, you're not human. Last, and certainly not least, Cornell does not have pong. Pong is the best thing in the entire world. Cornell sits in their little dorm rooms with their beruit tables and mistakenly calls it beer pong and thinks about how [not] sweet they are. "oh man, did you see me throw a ping pong ball into that plastic red cup? That took so much skill. Rabble, rabble, rabble. I love this game! God. I'm sick of hearing about how sweet beruit is. Any moron can throw a ping pong ball at a cup. It takes a d student to hit a ball into a cup with a paddle, or to save a ball after it's hit a cup. And what the fuck is with washing the ball off after it goes into a cup of beer? I've seen the sludgiest of basement sludge in my days here at d and I have yet to see a brother wash a ball off. It's not that big a deal. If you're loaded on keystone, the last of your problems is a little dirt.

doodad: share some of your 'interests'

jly: I'm very interested in chocolate milk.

doodad: whenever people find out i grew up on cape cod they ask me what that was like - given that the place is surroudned by water and there's not much to do in teh winter. what would you say to them?

jly: When I'm asked what it's like to grow up on cape cod I usually make something. I tell them that after labor day gumdrops start growing on trees and streams start flowing with hawaiin punch. Jesus people. It's no different than western Massachusetts, northern Idaho, or any part of Texas. I live on Cape Cod. Sure, it's a tourist haven in the summertime and nothing pisses me off more than getting behind someone with a New York license plate whose head is on the swivel while they are looking for the nude beach. But it's my tourist haven. We have a high school, a home depot, and recently added was a BJ's wholesale store. The worst part by far is the sea breeze that keeps the air warm enough to make sure we get a nice batch of freezing rain, but never quite cold enough to freeze the ponds. What we have here is a place that's wicked cold in the winter time, while still remaining really hot and crowded in the summertime. So what's it like? It sucks, and yes, I'd really rather be in Hanover right now.

doodad: you're on teh track team. what is the track teams strangest tradition?

jly: I can't answer this. I heard you have some pretty strange traditions with the track team, though.

Oh man. That's hilarious. I love myself

there you have it. feel free to friend him on fb. after all - you're prob panhellenically related through me.

phew!

hey kids -

got some good news today! tests are passed, backgrounds are checked, and i'm good to go with the new job! HUGE relief. i feel like i just got accepted to college again.

i'm starting feb 5 - which means tomorrow is my last day at my job. started cleaning up my desk and stuff today - really weird to think i won't be going in next monday. as long as i've lived in new york i've gotten up and gone to work at my office. and now i'm joining a huge company and working with smart people who must have seen something useful in me at some point, b/c they seem to think i can add something to the company. only time will tell i suppose.

so - i think is pretty much the end of the gchatting - at least at work. you can still catch me here of course - but i will miss having you guys at my fingertips. it's a lot easier to stay in touch when there's a joke here, and an update there. but we'll see.

going to florida on sat am to see my grandparents and take a break that i don't feel guilty about. plenty of time for pondering, so i'm sure i'll be updating.

in other news:

very satisfying things = sinking a full = filling in the crossword puzzle = jamming it home from down town in foosball = sinking a jump shot = very satisfying things

and speaking of crosswords - laurak let me know that she opened her orgo book last night and found a crossword from soph summer. a good 4 years ago this summer. don't the years go by in a blink.

send sunshine and graceful exits

playing with the boys

a note:

dear [guy i met at last night's basketball game that does not work at megh and taylor's firm],

i got your contact info from xxx [b/c i don't know you at all, but those several well-timed chest passes that resulted in layups for us, as well as your sandy blond hair, have me intrigued] and i was wondering if you wanted to grab a drink [interpret that as you will] sometime.

besides being utterly impressed with your 3-pt jump shot [i'm pretty sure you carried our team. your ball-handeling skills weren't bad either], i enjoyed meeting you yesterday, and we could continue our conversation about snow days [which was SO adorable!].

if not, no worries. i'll [cry myself to sleep each night] catch you at next wks game, where hopefully we'll pull down another win [carried entirely by you].

lyon

to send or not to send?

regardless, send answers and a facebook profile

genius

this d-affiliated (or not affiliated. please note - this blog and the views of its blogger are in no way representative of the views of the college. that's what student assembly is for.) this d oriented blog would be utterly remiss if it did not post this incredible video, featuring prominently d's campus, 'mascot' and spirit (pun intended). major props go to ivygate for discovering said video, and posting such a complimentary accompanying post.

for the record, i have no friends that have ever said they would never consider attending d. quite the opposite in fact. ;-)





send self-satisfied smiles and the name of my band

outrageous

no - not the britney spears song. that's how megh described the fact that i haven't updated this for a week (to the day). megh's ability to hound people for procrastination is why he will one day be an excellent manger. i'm just waiting for the phone call where he says, "lyon. we're starting a business that will be just like the d, and you still won't have to iron my clothes or get me chocolate to cleanse my pallet" and i will say, "megh. i'm giving notice effectively immediately and getting on the next plane." but i digress.

yes - i realize i have not updated in a bit. this is not b/c i have run out of observations or judgements, (like any of you thought that had happened) but rather because i have been so stressed about the state of my job i haven't really been able to focus on anything else. as it were, the state still hangs in limbo - a terrible terrible place to be as evidenced by dante's 'divine comedy' - but i do miss posting here (aka - flattering myself that people want to know what i've been thinking about.) again, i digress.

seriously though, haven't been up to much. a lot of retail therapy - to the deteriment of my bank account. am WAY over budget for clothes. happily, am under budget for food. clothes purchased may not fit as a result, but surely it is easier to scrounge up food than $150 dollar dresses for $100 dollars off?

i spent a lot of last wk drinking. the annual exeter reception for nyc was on wed - open bar so of course we had to get our money's worth. had a lot of vodka cranberries. went to a tuck prof's book release at mcgraw hill - was def good for strategic access to the kind of men i'd like to date (mba, rolling in the dough, an affinity for htown) but sadly the only convo we could muster centered on slow cookers (aka crock pots). a boy who is handy in the kitchen IS an appealing quality though.

sat night i hung out with steger at an '06s apt and had the good fortune to play pong. said event was pretty much populated by phi delts - who i am becoming bff with by the basic principle of psych 21 (you think you have a lot of friends? you don't. it's b/c you live near a stairwell. aka - proximity breeds familiarity). nice to chill and beat some phi delts at pizong - and with winter carnival coming up, we all must get back in the mindset.

saw celeste on thurs when she was in the city for her dr appt. she'll be back and forth throughout the term which is a nice treat for me, even though she does not like popping back and forth so casually.

just went for a run in central park and was expecting there to be lots of people doing the same, as is par for central park - however pretty much had the place to myself - which both scared me and elated me. it was starting to flurry - which made for lovely winter scenes under the street lights. still have yet to have good snowfall in nyc - both a good thing and a sad thing.

next two wks v. much up in the air - depending on job situation for planning. diana and huyett are supposed to be in the city in some capacity - not sure when i'll be here. everyone cross their fingers about the job thing. headed to chicago next wknd to see skips and laurak and boxa - v. excited, as have not been to chicago since self was like 6 to go to wedding of now divorced aunt and uncle (time flies like an arrow. fruit flies like a banana). boxa is insisting we go to some museum. might have to veto this. hmmmm.

anyway, life is either a great adventure or nothing at all. here's to the great adventure.

send contingency plans and a worry stone

mlk day

one of the best things about the real world is the abundance of three day wknds (if your company is good enough to give them to you that is). every month or so is a three day wknd. none of this 'memorial day is a reading period' baloney anymore. sometimes the real world has its advantages.

a few things:

1. i talked to my boss. he took it MUCH better than i was expecting (spare me the 'i told you so's please). i feel like i've just passed through a v. important tunnel or something. i will say that i have been awfully awfully lucky this past year and a half when it comes to the job situation. learned a lot, worked with some wondeful people and done some cool things. i guess that's all you can really ask for. onwards and upwards i suppose.

2. i just joined zipcar! for those of you that don't know, it's a car sharing service. you sign up, reserve cars and zip! either around town or on road trips or what not. it will be really nice to have the option of a car - i will let you know how it works out. apparently i can rent cars in any city as well (ie - boston!) not just nyc - which will probably come in handy. will have to see but i'm kind of psyched.

3. my new favorite song - regina spektor 'fidelity' - a song i was introduced to by christine, and then heard in the sephora yesterday when ally and i were shopping. the video is v. interesting as well - i think it's a pretty and poignant song. thank god for youtube who has made it possible to scrape the video and share it here with everyone. enjoy.



send road trip ideas and ways to pay the mini mart back

blogging is the new wednesdays

it appears that blogging is the new 'cool and ragey, drink porchcrawlers til you boot' thing to do, or maybe it's just sweeping the track team. have stumbled upon another d blog - note the latest addition to the link list - this one happens to be authored by yet another kid that i've hooked up with - not sure if his blog will prove to reflect positively on my hook up choices or not but decide for yourselves.

i do have big news - i took a job not at the company that is big and is also a verb - but at a start-up like division of another big company that is one of the big three networks. a little superstious about it all - so i don't want to go into too much detail until i actually start - but it's based in nyc, and it's headed by a d '97. he actually went up to htown this wknd. i think that's how i knew i made the right decision. am chugging cranberry juice in an effort to cleanse my system if you know what i mean, due to some poor choices over xmas break. i think i am about to turn into a cranberry.

to that end, however, i would like to thank everyone who listened to me rant and rave and stress, and offered advice and support over the last three months. without y'all i would not have made it - i am fairly certain of that. and i would also like to say that while i hope my dad has no idea that this blog exists, and he will probably never see this, i could not have done it without his 'advice from afar' as he calls consulting. without him i would have crashed and burned, or if not that been v. much up the creek without a paddle and a leak in the canoe.

been a busy but relaxing wknd which is nice. had our office party last night - so was v. drunk off of champagne early on. stein came into the city for some quality cuddle time. i prescribed some coupling episodes to balm her soul - and we crashed around midnight. had brunch with ally this morning at 7a - my most favorite brunch place in the city and then we rode the ferris wheel in times square. if you're like me, and did not realize there is a ferris wheel in times square - it's in the toys r us at 44 and broadway. full size, super cool, we rode in the e.t. car. it was fabulous.

i talked with zana the other night - she's doing well out in seattle. busy busy, going to be in san fran for the summer and taking arabic again - but having fun and making a little sense of it all - which is always nice. diana and huyett are coming down in a couple weeks which will be super fun - and laurak is officially back on the east coast for the spring - but hopefully i will see her sooner than that when i fly to chicago the first wknd of feb to see skips. the jet blue flight was so cheap it was like - why not go! going to be a short but fun visit. v. excited.

so that's pretty much it from my end. taking it easy tonight - thinking about last mlk day which was a total blast. the flare made an appearance in a big way. onwards and upwards i suppose.

send something other than cranberry juice and ideas on what i should eat for dinner

how to leave a job

song stuck in my head right now is the fray 'how to save a life', but my real question here is 'how to leave a job'. this job search business is coming down to the final 48 hours - and now i have to focus on how to tell my boss. how do you do it when you aren't angry, you don't hate your job, and you wish you and your office mates could think pretty pink and blue thoughts forever? i am not sure of the answer. my main thinking, much like graduation, is 'it's been really good, but it's time to move onto something new.'

rosi's advice was 'the best way out is through. do it with style.' i have often reflected on that one, but it sure doesn't make it any easier. is there an ideal time for quitting? there's an ideal time for asking for a raise - i believe it's tuesday in the early afternoon - but all my searching for articles/advice on how to quit are coming up empty, with the only choices being career services material from the university of rochester or something. looking for a new job really is one of those things that you enter into and have to go all the way through. til the end. happily, i feel like i've been progressing and are almost there, but as i told kevin the other day - i hope that the light at the end of the tunnel isn't an oncoming train.

in the course of seeing the possibilities i got in touch with chris mah '06 - who i don't think i've ever met, but he insisted that we dirty danced at some warhorse (xc/track party) at some point in the last 4 years (probably true, but it is not unusual for me to think i'm meeting someone for the first time and it turns out we played copious games of pong, or i propositioned them or something two years ago). anyway, he provided some invaluable advice about his current employer, so i would like to thank him, as well as draw attention to his v. amusing blog. go on - read it. there ain't no shame in stalking from afar. in fact, i'm convinced that's the entire point of blogs.

i received an xmas present in the mail from laurak - she sent me a tin mug to replace my pusser's painkillers mug that was sacrificed to the sd kitchen at some point senior year. this gift was quite serendipitous b/c i had seen matching tin plates in a thrift store the day before, which i went back and purchased yesterday. excellent choice on her part. word on laurak is that she might be back on the east coast for the spring, which would be excellent for all of us, and perhaps we could have another delightful roadtrip up to htown for the 30th anniversary of sigma kappa this spring. we were alerted to this event by the alumni newsletter - it's sat, apr 14 for everyone who is not in the alumni affairs database (hi diana), despite embodiment of sd principles and repeated requests for financial donations. strange.

i also hope to get out to chitown to see skips, laurak, boxa and gherk sometime soon, as airfares are ridiculously low on jetblue, and it's like why not go? we will have to see how this job biznass unfolds however.

ppocket had some exciting news - once again - you must bug her for it - but go polly pocket! you deserve it and you will make an excellent lawyer i am sure of that. if you can cox us around the head of the charles bends like a pro the first time you do, the defense won't stand a chance. =)

send five-year plans and a get out of jail free card

monday morning

hey kids -

i know - it's not monday morning anymore. it's a fleetwood mac song. the only one (besides come monday by jb and manic monday) that i could think of so go with it.

interesting day - sort of manic - juggling 20 different things - though i suppose that's not that different or unusual really. updates from the wknd:

went with taylor and megh to see the professional bull riders at madison square garden on sat. their company gave them their box - so we had copious beers and a delightful view of the action. the bulls were so cute - i kind of felt bad for them. at the end of the riding they just trotted back through the gate into their home. the bull riders were also cute, and v. young. taylor suggested that we find out where they were hanging out that night - but we were stymied by hangovers from daytime drinking. the bull riding was interesting b/c there was about 8 seconds of drama - if that - every 10 minutes. the goal was for the riders to stay on the bull for at least 8 seconds, at which point they were judged on style and awarded points. after the riders were thrown off it was v. dramatic as well - which the bulls almost landing on the riders, or the riders being flung off, or the bull chasing the riders after they were off, or people stuck to the bulls. let me tell you - it looked v. dangerous. we just cheered, and danced to the music, and heard an american idol contestant sing a song that sounded suspiciously like fuel (i'm sure you know what i'm talking about). taylor and i pregamed said event at a country bar called 'live bait' that looked like a bait shop. the place had an outboard motor for decorations, and boasted 'marriages performed' in paint on the wall. i had a crocodile dundeeee, but there were red neck martinis, and bamma slammers, and otherst to try. highly recommend.

am going to play in the corporate basketball league with taylor, which i am quite excited about. she and i coached a 7th and 8th grade rec bball team in htown our senior year. our record was quite good, though we occasionally drove to the wrong gym and had to bring donuts to the next practice to make amends. we saw quite a lot of backwoods nh and vermont, and sampled many local restaurants as well. bottom line - we know a damn good press play!

talked to huyett last night - she had a great time in costa rica with the fam over new years, and will be down in nyc for a wknd at the end of jan - wahoo! she hopes that robin will be able to hang out as well, and had a big dinner with d kids, including maynard, who is back in btown for a bit, the other night - which sounded like a v. good time. shout out to steve-o, who blitzed to say that he's enjoying the blog and in arizona training for bike races for the winter, and while he does miss htown, he is v. happy to be where there ain't any snow. check out his blog for updates on his adventures. lingley checked in - she's enjoying a well-deserved off term in maine this winter, applying for jobs for june in dc, but possibly will make it down to nyc in the course of her travels during the next few weeks. she's got a new paramour who she's been traipsing about with - blitz her for more details. also talked to diana - she had a great time in hawaii over new years with the boy - back in action in btown now, trying to figure out life (aren't we all) but hopefully that will include a trip to nyc in the near future for some overdue usual suspect facetime.

as for me, am playing the field a bit with job stuff - if only these jobs were on campus in htown - i feel certain i could pull them off, as evidenced by my hook up record when it comes to playing the undergrad field. i suppose that would defeat the purpose though.

will close with some words of wisdom from ceppos (hi ceppity) re: a convo about making out with people after they have booted:

ceppos: but every one who has ever made out with a frat boy on a weds night
has made out with someone who's booted

unfortunately, i think she's right. good thing we don't remember these things . . .

send mouthwash and a crystal ball

placidly among the noise and haste

okay - one more, and then i promise to return to the gossip and insights. if you couldn't already tell, i'm just trying to make a little sense of it all . . .

desiderata

go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. as far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. if you compare yourself with others,you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. but let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

be yourself. especially, do not feign affection. neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

take kindly the counsel of the years,gracefully surrendering the things of youth. nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. but do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

you are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. and whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

therefore be at peace with god, whatever you conceive him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

with all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

be cheerful. strive to be happy.

max ehrmann

my declaration of self esteem

another good one. my eighth grade algebra teacher had this poster on her wall and i used to read it over and over again. at the end of the year i copied it and put it in my quote book b/c i liked it so much.

i am me.

everything that comes out of me is authentically mine because i alone chose it.

i own everything about me; my body, my feelings, my mouth, my voice, all my actions, whether they be to others or to myself - i own all my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes.

because i own all of me, i can become intimately acquainted with me. by so doing i can love me and be friendly with me in all my parts. i know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me and other aspects that i do not know, but as long as i am friendly and loving to myself, i can courageously and hopefully look for solutions to the puzzles and for ways to find out more about me.

however i look and sound, whatever i say and do, and whatever i think and feel at a given moment in time is authentically me. if later some parts of how i looked, sounded, thought and felt turn out to be unfitting, i can discard that which is unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for that which i discarded.

i can see, hear, feel, think, say and do - i have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be productive, and to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me.

i own me, and therefore i can engineer me - i am me and i am okay.

life for rent

if my life is for rent and i don't learn to buy
well i deserve nothing more than i get
cos nothing i have is truly mine

while my heart is a shield and i won't let it down
while i am so afraid to fail so i won't even try
well how can i say I'm alive

if my life is for rent and i don't learn to buy
well i deserve nothing more than i get
cos nothing i have is truly mine

- dido 'life for rent

in the words of gi jane - the best thing about pain is it lets you know you're still alive. i suppose you could say the same for adversity right?

i bleed d green

quick post b/c there's lots of work to be done before the wknd, etc. etc. but god do i miss d right now. not even school exactly - i played plenty of pong over vacation with the bro so i'm good on that front - but htown in the winter. the way the snow hangs on the trees when you run pine park or drive around the green and balch hill is covered with snow and it gets dark early so the lights come on and it's clear and the stars are out when you walk back to your room after studying in sanborn.

i'm sure part of the problem is that winter term was always my favorite, and i know that no one has any snow due to this infernal heat wave the east coast is having, but man, wouldn't you really rather be in htown right now?

send granite of new hampshire and good old days

suddenly i see

aside from being in love with that song right now, that title seems to make a lot of sense for a new years post. the roman god of january is janus and is depicted as a two faced god - one face looking forward and one backwards (or something - don't hold me to specifics) but i like the idea of a crossing of a threshold at midnight last night.

tomorrow it's back on the chain gang - the holidays, in which normal behavior seems temporarily suspended are over. in fact, i think a bridget jones quote sums it up v. well

was really beginning to enjoy the feeling that normal service was suspended and it was OK to lie in bed as long as you want, put anything you fancy into your mouth and drink alcohol whenever it should chance to pass your way, even in the mornings. now suddenly we are all supposed to snap back into self-discipline like leen teenage greyhounds

puts it quite nicely really. and similarly, it's been about 2 weeks since i last worked and i am not sure i am ready to get back into it again. i know, poor me.

new years festivites were quite delightful. we walked over the brooklyn bridge on sunday - something that i've def been meaning to do for awhile - with boxa, mulley and miniboxa. it was a gorgeous day - v. good for reflection and clearning the spirit. i spent last night d party hopping with celeste, hayley coleman and kate van brunt. we went from here to there and stayed up until 4. certainly a memorable evening. heard from skips last night - she was back in chicago and had been playing pong all day. was v. jealous of course, and we vowed to go to vermont next year for the holiday in an effort to recast new years at sd in a more grown up way. sounds like a plan to me. called lots of other people at midnight - many of whom did not pick up - but the sentiment was there nonetheless.

had breakfast this morning at alice's tea cup with mulley and boxa before they headed back to boston. the place sort of reminded us of sturbridge village or colonial williamsburg. we could hear, "felicity felicity! come pour the tea!" fun to partake of a little tea and scones however. i think brunch is officially my favorite meal.

here are my resolutions for 2007:
1. run a marathon (obvi, v. easy to tell if i have in fact done this on 1/1/08)
2. learn french. enough to express myself in french, as opposed to erroneously used phrases here and there.
3. buy a computer. this resolution has elements of setting up savings plans/budgets/etc. which is mostly why i have resolved this. that and the fact that this computer is now officially 6 years old.

well - busy week ahead. as jan 1 draws to a close i will say happy new year to all.

send old acquaintances and new mistakes