It's is now officially the week before my spring break, and I'm scrambling to finish all kinds of projects before I head off with Rachel to see NYC people and Megan and hopefully all you 'hersters ('hamptoners and holyokers?)
But until then, its work, eat, more work, this, sleep.
Sunday, 28 February 2010
Friday, 26 February 2010
Friday day
I just spent the best half-hour ever catching up on everyone's posts. Had a good, well needed Friday night laugh at/with you all.
Rach: Question - What do I want to do with my life? Answer - Come hang out with meeeeee. I'll go where you are. Rosie and I can share.
Sam: That woman should be dead. How is she still alive, and how can I get her genes? She, and now Selena, are clearly going to live forever.
Carms: I want to eat that baby. But seriously, Megan, start catching some babies. Or making them. Or something.
Rosie: How do they get all those foods on that website looking so delicious? I'm pretty sure I saw an egg sandwich on there that they make at McDonalds, and it looked like the best thing in the world. I need to get me some of those glossy white plates and then everything I cook will be a lot more appealing.
Selema: I'm glad you're alive and $100 richer. The IUD is the worst thing that can ever happen to you, sort of. Most people will tell you that the cramps will get better, so you should listen to them. Everyone else's experiences say that the cramps won't eat you from the inside.
My news: 1. I watched a documentary about Bob Dylan and now I can't stop listening to him. 2. There's so much snow here! 3. My boss played a horrible practical joke on me at work yesterday and I wanted to cry. 4. We're spending the whole weekend moving apartments (booooring) but as of Monday I am a Holyoke resident. (5. Cutest thing ever: My little Spanish grandmother calls it Holy-okie.) 6. Am having the worst craving ever for a big chocolate chip cookie right now. 7. Am also having a craving for you peoples!
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
another chapman theme song
wish it wasn't by vampire weekend
hehe whaaaaaaa, chillin out in boston after a stressful sick week of travel. don't know what to do with my life. never known. amherst was clearly postponing for four years the big question: WHAT DO I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE. haha oh, wo/mans. i'll take suggestions in the comments section.
love.
hehe whaaaaaaa, chillin out in boston after a stressful sick week of travel. don't know what to do with my life. never known. amherst was clearly postponing for four years the big question: WHAT DO I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE. haha oh, wo/mans. i'll take suggestions in the comments section.
love.
Incredible
Random post but I just saw this headline in a South Dakota newspaper: "Woman arrested with .7 blood alcohol level sentenced." And I thought to myself...that must be a typo...because i'm pretty sure during orientation week at Amherst I learned that .4 was usually toxic. But after reading the article http://www.argusleader.com/article/20100223/UPDATES/100223067 I realized it wasn't a typo and this woman actually had 9 times the legal limit in her system.
Crazy South Dakota news for the day. But seriously, some of you science people, isn't this nuts?
Crazy South Dakota news for the day. But seriously, some of you science people, isn't this nuts?
can someone please have a baby asap!?
And speaking of babies, the french government has given me "l'Assurance Maladie Maternité" - in case I get pregnant any time soon? because I look pregnant? we will never know... All I know is that I went to pick up an anti-inflammatory medication at the pharmacy today (for my elbow, still not completely healed after my weekend of mountain madness) and the pharmacist wouldn't give it to me at first because it can be potentially harmful to unborn babies. I assured him that I wasn't hiding any unborn fetuses in my belly. jeeeez. are they trying to tell me something?
recipes
I keep getting all of these recipe request emails, and I'm afraid to respond because some sorry person is going to get stuck with my 'fried chocolate' recipe while I get a bunch of legit recipes that I'm never going to use.
Maybe I should forward them to Rachel and let her answer them for me. Or maybe I can just direct you all to this delicious-looking website that I'm pretty sure I've already linked to before.
Where are you for the week of Mar 6-13? Me and Rach are spring breaking around.
Lots of love, Rosie
Maybe I should forward them to Rachel and let her answer them for me. Or maybe I can just direct you all to this delicious-looking website that I'm pretty sure I've already linked to before.
Where are you for the week of Mar 6-13? Me and Rach are spring breaking around.
Lots of love, Rosie
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Crazy morning
What a crazy morning I've had (Julian, this post has a lot to do with menstrual troubles, so read on with caution):
1) A plane crashed into the north Austin IRS building. They think it was not an accident.
2) I got an IUD placed and the procedure was actually not bad. After I got it, I was contemplating my obvious immortality having defeated the scariest prospect of a young 20 something (being pregnant), and feeling great and strange at the same time (never been on any form of birth control before).
3) While said euphoric feelings were had, I found a $100 bill whilst walking to the bus from my GYNO appointment! More feelings are mixed in and I'm just... completely at a loss. Some drug dealer is very upset right now (only drug dealers ride the bus and carry around easily lost $100 bills right?).
4) The cramps I now have a debilitating. Destry, I remember you totally prostrate on the Chapman couch a lot after you got your IUD, and I feel your pain, literally. It feels like dieing from within. Like God is churning your insides in a hamburger grinder. I think God gave me this $100 to make me feel better. I wish everyone who got an IUD found one too.
1) A plane crashed into the north Austin IRS building. They think it was not an accident.
2) I got an IUD placed and the procedure was actually not bad. After I got it, I was contemplating my obvious immortality having defeated the scariest prospect of a young 20 something (being pregnant), and feeling great and strange at the same time (never been on any form of birth control before).
3) While said euphoric feelings were had, I found a $100 bill whilst walking to the bus from my GYNO appointment! More feelings are mixed in and I'm just... completely at a loss. Some drug dealer is very upset right now (only drug dealers ride the bus and carry around easily lost $100 bills right?).
4) The cramps I now have a debilitating. Destry, I remember you totally prostrate on the Chapman couch a lot after you got your IUD, and I feel your pain, literally. It feels like dieing from within. Like God is churning your insides in a hamburger grinder. I think God gave me this $100 to make me feel better. I wish everyone who got an IUD found one too.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Scandals of Holyoke
I am so overdue for posting! And things are happening!
Work story back-story: Everyone who's done community development in Holyoke has known that the City's Office of Community Development (OCD), which distributes federal funds to local community development and affordable housing projects, is useless and incompetent at best, malignant and corrupt at worst. But, despite many people's best efforts, no one has been able to prove their wrongdoing on paper. Until now... (cue threatening music). We recently found that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) did two audits of the OCD last year, and documented all kinds of malpractice. At first it just looks like major misappropriation of federal funds, but the deeper you look, the shadier it gets. Millions of dollars are missing. Houses definitely aren't being built. Competing agencies (ones that actually build affordable houses) have been put out of business. And individuals are pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest on loans that have been sitting in bank accounts for years. And this has been going on for 30 some-odd years. So my organization has been leading the charge against it! We are making sure that City Hall won't sweep it all under the rug, so we're feeding information to City Councilors and the press. We've met with federal officials. There's a possibility that my bosses will eventually be subpoenaed as witnesses. We're working hard to develop a strategy and might try to organize a city-wide campaign. (One of my bosses wants to get a huge group of people together and storm into the OCD office, but I don't think that's going to happen.) It's all very exciting. Hopefully in the end, the City will have lots more money to do affordable housing projects, some of that money will go to us, the Director of the OCD will be fired, the OCD will be completely reformed, and the corrupt agency that's been receiving all the federal funds will be disbarred. And at the very best, people will be charged with criminal offenses and thrown in prison.
All this has gotten me super interested in corruption as an obstacle to economic and community development. We talk about government corruption in developing countries ALL the time, but what about here? The irony was that we discovered the federal audits the week after the earthquake in Haiti. At the time all these pundits were blaming public corruption in Haiti for enabling the disaster, which is probably true. But all I could think about was that it happens pretty easily here too. The same kind of scandal has taken place recently in Chicopee, Springfield, and probably every city in New Jersey.
The worst of it, too, is not even that some rich white guy has gotten richer off of taxpayers' money. The worst of it is how much opportunity for public services and affordable housing has been lost in the city. 30 years' worth! I get really riled up when I think how much good that money could have done if spent differently.
Whew, so that's that. Exciting! If they ever make an Erin Brockovich-type movie out of this, Anne Hathaway can play my part (or that MySpace celebrity whose picture Selena had on her door).
Work story back-story: Everyone who's done community development in Holyoke has known that the City's Office of Community Development (OCD), which distributes federal funds to local community development and affordable housing projects, is useless and incompetent at best, malignant and corrupt at worst. But, despite many people's best efforts, no one has been able to prove their wrongdoing on paper. Until now... (cue threatening music). We recently found that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) did two audits of the OCD last year, and documented all kinds of malpractice. At first it just looks like major misappropriation of federal funds, but the deeper you look, the shadier it gets. Millions of dollars are missing. Houses definitely aren't being built. Competing agencies (ones that actually build affordable houses) have been put out of business. And individuals are pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest on loans that have been sitting in bank accounts for years. And this has been going on for 30 some-odd years. So my organization has been leading the charge against it! We are making sure that City Hall won't sweep it all under the rug, so we're feeding information to City Councilors and the press. We've met with federal officials. There's a possibility that my bosses will eventually be subpoenaed as witnesses. We're working hard to develop a strategy and might try to organize a city-wide campaign. (One of my bosses wants to get a huge group of people together and storm into the OCD office, but I don't think that's going to happen.) It's all very exciting. Hopefully in the end, the City will have lots more money to do affordable housing projects, some of that money will go to us, the Director of the OCD will be fired, the OCD will be completely reformed, and the corrupt agency that's been receiving all the federal funds will be disbarred. And at the very best, people will be charged with criminal offenses and thrown in prison.
All this has gotten me super interested in corruption as an obstacle to economic and community development. We talk about government corruption in developing countries ALL the time, but what about here? The irony was that we discovered the federal audits the week after the earthquake in Haiti. At the time all these pundits were blaming public corruption in Haiti for enabling the disaster, which is probably true. But all I could think about was that it happens pretty easily here too. The same kind of scandal has taken place recently in Chicopee, Springfield, and probably every city in New Jersey.
The worst of it, too, is not even that some rich white guy has gotten richer off of taxpayers' money. The worst of it is how much opportunity for public services and affordable housing has been lost in the city. 30 years' worth! I get really riled up when I think how much good that money could have done if spent differently.
Whew, so that's that. Exciting! If they ever make an Erin Brockovich-type movie out of this, Anne Hathaway can play my part (or that MySpace celebrity whose picture Selena had on her door).
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Adorable!
a pic from miami...don't these two look like the perfect xmas card couple?
the other pic...is of my niece and nephew..who celebrated his first birthday today! He weighs only 8lbs less than his 4yr old sister, but she still tries to hug/pick him up all the time as shown. fat babies are awesome.
Enjoy!
BOOO
Sooo the bill that we have been working on died today in committee. It was expected to a certain degree in that we never imagined it would pass on the first go (4 year plan remember), but considering all the support we had...over 300 people contacted their local legislators which in SD is like half the population so that's a big deal. But today, right before the hearing, the Gov. came out in opposition to the bill and surprise surprise...it died along party lines. To make it worse, it wasn't even voted on...those republican (boo hiss) legislators voted to table super quickly and it sweeped right through. Talk about cowardly. Ahhh I hate politics. Listening to the opposition's testimony was downright sickening. Besides comparing gays to pedophiles....they claimed the medical definition for homosexuality was "a diseased mind that lends itself to sexually deviant behavior eventually leading to a point where it presents a massive public safety risk". THere was lots of talk about protecting children in public bathrooms and women being attacked from behind by gay/transgender men? (i'm serious!!) It was complete insanity and super bizarre. Although the AP reported that the bill was killed out of concern for religious conflicts...so that's kind of a hit to the legislators because it was clearly a vote for religion and not in accordance with reason/good business practices/actual law.
Positive thought: Many more people supported the bill than we actually thought would, and if the legislators had voted like the people they represent had asked them too, we would have won. So for next year...we have to change the republicans/or boot them out!..but not all of SD. So that is a win, and I get to share in that meaning my time/energy was not wasted.
Negative thought: I hate politics! To steal a quote from Carmella..."fuck dilligence, i just wanna dance!" But tomorrow I am still going to the state capital...4 hours away because SD is an enormous wasteland...for the equality summitt/gay day. Now I can stalk down all the legislators that voted no and tell them how much i hate their guts or lack there of...in person! i guess that's a positive?
Positive thought: Many more people supported the bill than we actually thought would, and if the legislators had voted like the people they represent had asked them too, we would have won. So for next year...we have to change the republicans/or boot them out!..but not all of SD. So that is a win, and I get to share in that meaning my time/energy was not wasted.
Negative thought: I hate politics! To steal a quote from Carmella..."fuck dilligence, i just wanna dance!" But tomorrow I am still going to the state capital...4 hours away because SD is an enormous wasteland...for the equality summitt/gay day. Now I can stalk down all the legislators that voted no and tell them how much i hate their guts or lack there of...in person! i guess that's a positive?
Monday, 15 February 2010
stinky cheese and poetry
hi friends! i hope you are all well in your respective corners of the world. it's been an adjustment getting used to the quiet life aboard the marianna sailboat, just me and my dad, but i'm finally coming around. at first it was just weird to have free time, i was sad to have left laura and friends in the mountains, and plus i was sick and a little handicapped, so that didn't help the situation. but i'm mostly healed of my ailments, and i've found that i quite like the free time to develop new hobbies.
new hobby #1: leisurely reading! (i'm currently reading "the chalice and the blade" by riane eisler, an epic retelling of our prehistoric ancestors with a feminist twist, a must-read!!). (sidenote: my dad is super scared that i'm becoming a crazy feminist because i keep muttering "men" and "patriarchy" whenever we discuss current affairs, hahahaha)
new hobby #2: harmonica! i'm in the process of mastering auld lang syne (and my oh my, do i LOVe that song). some other favorites include oh susanna, careless love (the song that tim eriksen sings on his "sounds below" album), and home on the range.
new hobby #3: battling the french bureaucratic system! my parents have decided that this is the perfect time to integrate myself into the french system (health care, random money, etc etc - not to mention my mom is pretty sure that america is in the process of becoming a military-state or something of the sort and so she wants us to have other options when the shit hits the fan. oh lordy) which entails scrambling around to various offices only to find that we need YET another all-important document in order to take the next step. i feel like we've been running around in circles in an alphabet soup of acronyms and annoying "fonctionnaires".... very fun
new hobby #4: (this one if sort of forced upon me) listening to all of my dad's life stories. i swear i have enough to write a book by now, and the ridiculousness just keeps on coming, to the point where i'm seldom surprised and mostly annoyed. (psh, patriarchy)
new hobby #5: to take care of the multitude of feelings inside my brain and the lack of people to listen to said feelings, i've decided to dive into the quirky world of poetry! i know nothing about the subject, but i'm having fun with this new creative license. maybe you'll get a sneak peak at one of the sillier ones...
aside from all that fun stuff, i've been working a few hours a day doing random things around the boat, like sanding, cleaning, running errands, and generally taking orders from my dad el capitan. at least i get paid in euros!
here are some random pictures of life as of late --
the marina where we're staying in toulon
we went to visit cannes, where my dad was born, and they were having some freakish cold spell. there was snow on the palm trees! and even on the beach!
this tree is in bloom all over. not quite sure what it is but i'm a big fan!
here's my friend laura, atop la bastille(fortress) de grenoble , a city that lies of the middle of the beautiful Alps!
all of us at the chalet in the Alps (jeremy is proudly displaying our bottle of chartreuse, the local - green- alcohol)
one last photo of me looking like a badass on the slopes
i miss you guys a ton! please send me your addresses asap (:
adieu from the land of very stinky cheese!
new hobby #1: leisurely reading! (i'm currently reading "the chalice and the blade" by riane eisler, an epic retelling of our prehistoric ancestors with a feminist twist, a must-read!!). (sidenote: my dad is super scared that i'm becoming a crazy feminist because i keep muttering "men" and "patriarchy" whenever we discuss current affairs, hahahaha)
new hobby #2: harmonica! i'm in the process of mastering auld lang syne (and my oh my, do i LOVe that song). some other favorites include oh susanna, careless love (the song that tim eriksen sings on his "sounds below" album), and home on the range.
new hobby #3: battling the french bureaucratic system! my parents have decided that this is the perfect time to integrate myself into the french system (health care, random money, etc etc - not to mention my mom is pretty sure that america is in the process of becoming a military-state or something of the sort and so she wants us to have other options when the shit hits the fan. oh lordy) which entails scrambling around to various offices only to find that we need YET another all-important document in order to take the next step. i feel like we've been running around in circles in an alphabet soup of acronyms and annoying "fonctionnaires".... very fun
new hobby #4: (this one if sort of forced upon me) listening to all of my dad's life stories. i swear i have enough to write a book by now, and the ridiculousness just keeps on coming, to the point where i'm seldom surprised and mostly annoyed. (psh, patriarchy)
new hobby #5: to take care of the multitude of feelings inside my brain and the lack of people to listen to said feelings, i've decided to dive into the quirky world of poetry! i know nothing about the subject, but i'm having fun with this new creative license. maybe you'll get a sneak peak at one of the sillier ones...
aside from all that fun stuff, i've been working a few hours a day doing random things around the boat, like sanding, cleaning, running errands, and generally taking orders from my dad el capitan. at least i get paid in euros!
here are some random pictures of life as of late --
the marina where we're staying in toulon
we went to visit cannes, where my dad was born, and they were having some freakish cold spell. there was snow on the palm trees! and even on the beach!
this tree is in bloom all over. not quite sure what it is but i'm a big fan!
here's my friend laura, atop la bastille(fortress) de grenoble , a city that lies of the middle of the beautiful Alps!
all of us at the chalet in the Alps (jeremy is proudly displaying our bottle of chartreuse, the local - green- alcohol)
one last photo of me looking like a badass on the slopes
i miss you guys a ton! please send me your addresses asap (:
adieu from the land of very stinky cheese!
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Art Hour in Austin
I had a crazy arts and craft days and made a craft for Chapman! I'm generally against Valentine's Day, but I couldn't resist...
And I made this! It sits a top my bed. What recycled materials is it constructed of, you ask? Yes, cut up toilet paper rolls! It's spray painted in gold, vaguely looks like a dragon and makes me happy.
And I made this! It sits a top my bed. What recycled materials is it constructed of, you ask? Yes, cut up toilet paper rolls! It's spray painted in gold, vaguely looks like a dragon and makes me happy.
Friday, 12 February 2010
hi honeys!
These past few weeks have been extremely crazy. I went to new orleans this weekend and I posted the photos on le facebook . Here's a pretty one:
I stayed with Allison who a few of you met and David Kelly, my study abroad friend from Ireland happened to be in New Orleans! Some of you met Allison (Rachie and Destry) and some of you met David (Rosie) and some of you met both (Carmsie).
Anyway, the superbowl was madness. These are what fans look like:
After the game, people spontaneously pouring out into Bourbon St. For the most part, you couldn't even walk through the street, but the places you could, people lined up into two opposite streams giving high fives like this:
People decided to dance on MOVING cars and wear silly clothes:
It was lots of fun and I returned to Austin on Monday just in time to host a friend from Dallas who brought her Brown friend who went to Dalton so knew all those kids. Small world! This weekend another Dallas friend comes into town for the weekend. And then John comes back from Nicaragua on Sunday. So I haven't been getting much sleep in the past week or so and won't for some time come!! Who needs it?
I stayed with Allison who a few of you met and David Kelly, my study abroad friend from Ireland happened to be in New Orleans! Some of you met Allison (Rachie and Destry) and some of you met David (Rosie) and some of you met both (Carmsie).
Anyway, the superbowl was madness. These are what fans look like:
After the game, people spontaneously pouring out into Bourbon St. For the most part, you couldn't even walk through the street, but the places you could, people lined up into two opposite streams giving high fives like this:
People decided to dance on MOVING cars and wear silly clothes:
It was lots of fun and I returned to Austin on Monday just in time to host a friend from Dallas who brought her Brown friend who went to Dalton so knew all those kids. Small world! This weekend another Dallas friend comes into town for the weekend. And then John comes back from Nicaragua on Sunday. So I haven't been getting much sleep in the past week or so and won't for some time come!! Who needs it?
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Not too much going on in my life. I was pumped for hopefully getting some snow, then we only got about an inch. Lame, lame, lame...how can I skip work if we don't get snow?
Other than that, I went to Georgia to visit UGA again, and there's a really, really good chance I'll end up there for a few years. Athens seems like a really cool town, very Northampton-esque but with three main streets instead of one, and a 60,000 person football stadium instead of Paradise Pond. But there are lots of hippies and record stores and soul food restaurants as well.
I like Carmella's idea about books and music, which is the mean reason I decided to make this post. I'm in the middle of two books: "Breath, Eyes, Memory" by Edwidge Danticat (on my quest to read everything she's written by the end of the academic year), and "Einstein" by Walter Isaacson, which is a fantastic biography. And I've been listening to lots of pretentious indie music, so I will leave you with two songs below.
Love!
Other than that, I went to Georgia to visit UGA again, and there's a really, really good chance I'll end up there for a few years. Athens seems like a really cool town, very Northampton-esque but with three main streets instead of one, and a 60,000 person football stadium instead of Paradise Pond. But there are lots of hippies and record stores and soul food restaurants as well.
I like Carmella's idea about books and music, which is the mean reason I decided to make this post. I'm in the middle of two books: "Breath, Eyes, Memory" by Edwidge Danticat (on my quest to read everything she's written by the end of the academic year), and "Einstein" by Walter Isaacson, which is a fantastic biography. And I've been listening to lots of pretentious indie music, so I will leave you with two songs below.
Love!
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Papayas and palm trees and pinas, oh my!
Hello hello all my Chapman queridas!!!! I was just facebooking and looking and lots of pictures and began to miss you all and your sparks of beauty immensely. So, I write to give y'all a little update of how life is going down in Costa Rica!
I have officially begun my program (thankfully). I was hanging out, for part of the time, in San Jose with Jose during the month of January. This was good in some respects, like the first solid chunk of time we'd had to spend together in a good while-- we got to do normal couple/friend things like actually go on a date! Yummy italian restaurant on my birthday, a welcomed break from rice and beans-- we guzzled down the tasty red wine and pizza with fresh mozz and basil. It was also hard in some other ways-- I realize that I am not one to mozy around parks and sip coffees aimlessly for more than a two week period of time. Need to have my hands and mind in something, working, producing, being inspired. Though I had lots of time to read and write, and get comfortable with the university area (which has served me very well), it was hard at times not to be involved in anything or with a particular group of people.
BUT during that time I did do some cool stuff. On my birthday, there was a coffee fair up in the mountains near Jose's house that we went to-- a pretty big even considering the rural location. I met an artist there, an incredible artist, who I bought my birthday present to myself from-- a BEAUTIFUL, detailed painting that I am in love with. Its warm and lovely. I'll post a picture of it when I take one. Jose and I went to his house and had cafecito with his family, saw his studio-- his house is incredible-- completely decorated with all of his masterpieces-- it is illuminated and gracious, a feeling I have felt in few Costa Rican homes, so full of sparks and magic. It was quite the special thing.
And now, its mad time with lots of gringos. I tend to lug back in all of the crazy group-thrust madness, but there are so really great people in the group who I'm getting to know. Overall its going really well.
And the best part-- my family here in San Jose is wonderful!! The mom is so cute, a little fiesty woman with a great sense of humor and totally into natural medicine. If I had to read her spirit animal, I would say she is a mix between a mouse and a puppy. Cute and squeeky. But an amazing cook. ahh every morning I get a bowl of freshly picked and cut fruit for breakfast-- papaya, pina, melon, fresa-- with yogurt. YUM! and lots of avocado... yes yes the food is delish.
sending you all rays of sunshine and love.
cait
I have officially begun my program (thankfully). I was hanging out, for part of the time, in San Jose with Jose during the month of January. This was good in some respects, like the first solid chunk of time we'd had to spend together in a good while-- we got to do normal couple/friend things like actually go on a date! Yummy italian restaurant on my birthday, a welcomed break from rice and beans-- we guzzled down the tasty red wine and pizza with fresh mozz and basil. It was also hard in some other ways-- I realize that I am not one to mozy around parks and sip coffees aimlessly for more than a two week period of time. Need to have my hands and mind in something, working, producing, being inspired. Though I had lots of time to read and write, and get comfortable with the university area (which has served me very well), it was hard at times not to be involved in anything or with a particular group of people.
BUT during that time I did do some cool stuff. On my birthday, there was a coffee fair up in the mountains near Jose's house that we went to-- a pretty big even considering the rural location. I met an artist there, an incredible artist, who I bought my birthday present to myself from-- a BEAUTIFUL, detailed painting that I am in love with. Its warm and lovely. I'll post a picture of it when I take one. Jose and I went to his house and had cafecito with his family, saw his studio-- his house is incredible-- completely decorated with all of his masterpieces-- it is illuminated and gracious, a feeling I have felt in few Costa Rican homes, so full of sparks and magic. It was quite the special thing.
And now, its mad time with lots of gringos. I tend to lug back in all of the crazy group-thrust madness, but there are so really great people in the group who I'm getting to know. Overall its going really well.
And the best part-- my family here in San Jose is wonderful!! The mom is so cute, a little fiesty woman with a great sense of humor and totally into natural medicine. If I had to read her spirit animal, I would say she is a mix between a mouse and a puppy. Cute and squeeky. But an amazing cook. ahh every morning I get a bowl of freshly picked and cut fruit for breakfast-- papaya, pina, melon, fresa-- with yogurt. YUM! and lots of avocado... yes yes the food is delish.
sending you all rays of sunshine and love.
cait
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Things that are delicious...
So I have been doing some cooking this afternoon. I now have roasted red pepper and eggplant parm in the freezer and my version of lentil soup. Which means I have two more recipes for the cookbook and something in the works...I made these http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/2009/11/best-christmas-gift-for-2009-maple.html maple bacon and chocolate chip cookies which were tasty, but I think I am going to jazz them up the next time I make them...for another recipe in the book....other than that, it has been a lazy afternoon watching the "Puppy Bowl" on Animal Planet. Gotta love those puppies.
It's going to be a busy week for me. This week our (my boss and I slash the ACLU of SD's) bill is going to be discussed and voted on in the State House and then will go to the Senate (hopefully) so fingers crossed SD will be a less terrible place for gay people after this next month. The bill amends the state anti-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation and gender identity. It's the ACLU's 4 year plan to pass it, but we have done so much that it looks like it might actually make it through this year! Also I am supposed to be planning an event?? Which I don't really know how to do.... BUT BUT BUT after this project, it looks like I might be doing just legal projects/paralegal type stuff and thus not interacting with all the judgemental "progressive" SD ladies that drive me crazy. After my last post, I met with the girl from Planned Parenthood that I mentioned and she confirmed all of my thoughts about working as a young woman in SD. Except she has been trying for acceptance for over three years (and several professional hair cuts) without success. So I'm declaring them a waste of my time and dedicating myself to something I am much better at...ie being buried in files and doing legal research. My boss supports this and I feel much better about being here now!
I think I'll go eat a few more of those bacon cookies before bed...
It's going to be a busy week for me. This week our (my boss and I slash the ACLU of SD's) bill is going to be discussed and voted on in the State House and then will go to the Senate (hopefully) so fingers crossed SD will be a less terrible place for gay people after this next month. The bill amends the state anti-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation and gender identity. It's the ACLU's 4 year plan to pass it, but we have done so much that it looks like it might actually make it through this year! Also I am supposed to be planning an event?? Which I don't really know how to do.... BUT BUT BUT after this project, it looks like I might be doing just legal projects/paralegal type stuff and thus not interacting with all the judgemental "progressive" SD ladies that drive me crazy. After my last post, I met with the girl from Planned Parenthood that I mentioned and she confirmed all of my thoughts about working as a young woman in SD. Except she has been trying for acceptance for over three years (and several professional hair cuts) without success. So I'm declaring them a waste of my time and dedicating myself to something I am much better at...ie being buried in files and doing legal research. My boss supports this and I feel much better about being here now!
I think I'll go eat a few more of those bacon cookies before bed...
southpark rachel and rose
Can you tell who is who? Hint: One of us is hiking the AT and the other is wearing pajamas.
Rachel, who is sitting next to me right now, just sent me this disturbing link:http://www.boingboing.net/2010/02/05/shanghais-crackdown.html
It was wonderful to see all the lovely friends who made it to Noho this weekend! Lots of love and open invitations to come live with me :)
Thursday, 4 February 2010
a few notes from la france!
injuries: plenty. after a weekend of intense snow sports, you can be sure the list is long. the worst of them (is not so bad) is a weird twisted elbow thing that happened when i was trying out SPEEDRACING. ON ICE. seriously, wtf were my friends thinking? clearly they must be trying to kill me. obviously i thought they meant cross country skiing when they suggested it (a much tamer version of skiing, aka not downhill) but alas, the language barrier failed us and then there i was, slipping around on ice with giant poles in my hands and huge sticks tied to my feet while people zoomed around me like dainty ballerinas. "it's like dancing," my friend jeremy told me - advice i found completely unhelpful. and so, i find myself handicapped once again, the right arm, for the second time in one month. bravo carmella!
but the weekend is over and i am back on the boat with my dad in the south of france. my new injury(ies) comes in quite handy since i am here with the specific intention of helping out my dad (who had carpel tunnel surgery over the break) and yet i can barely tie up my hair into a ponytail. you should watch me try to use a fork. hilarious
hair : since i'm spending the next month holed up on a sailboat with my dad, i thought this might be as good a time as ever to try this new experiment on my hair called "no 'poo!" . (no one to impress, although i might be meeting up with tim deary tomorrow night? he's living in toulon now!) basically, i wash my hair but without using any products (hence no poo= no SHAMpoo). it started out a bit greasy but i soon discovered combing my hair in the shower fixed that problem. they say it takes a few weeks of adjustment for the oils in your hair to stabilize, but afterwards, you should be rewarded with luscious locks of product-free hair. i might also try to make my own natural shampoo, as leslie mcoclock does (she suggests baking soda for shampoo and apple cider vinegar for conditioner, both diluted in water, fyi)
chocolate: it's more than just a commodity, and beyond even a food group- in truth, it's really an entire lifestyle. breakfast lunch and dinner. example: my friend laura offered me a "yogurt" after a meal the other day, and it turned out to be what we would call "chocolate pudding." oh i love the french, with their chocolate and wine and cheese. there could be worse things in life. :)
missing yous, pics to come soon --
carmella
ps we should have a little section where you tell us what you're currently listening to/reading/etc, to spread the word about new music or whatever. i'll start.
i am currently reading ISHMAEL by daniel quinn and i can't explain how much i am blown away by this book, how many times i have thought argued discussed these same points that he's making. except he does so thoroughly and simply and without tears and yelling. i highly recommend this book. cheers!
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
YEsssssss
Hey Sweethearts,
Ahhh just basked in the glory of the late-night arrival and then early-morning departure of our very own Destry Sibley. So happy to put her in my bed. :) ALSO: so pleased to do my usual catch-up of the chapman blog and my heart singing happy little sounds to see how/what each of you is doing!
I had a really really great day today: breakfast with Destry, driven part way to school by Destry, school was boring today (blaaahhhh), but then lifted weights and pretended I have big muscles, ate yummy yummy garlic-hot pepper-zucchini-onion-mushroom-black bean pasta with soy sauce, went to stitch 'n' bitch and knit a little, AND WENT TO A PLAY! THis is THE most exciting part... play itself? 2.5 stars. HOWEVER, DO YOU ALL REMEMBER "THE PRINCESS BRIDE?" Well, ANIGO MONTOYA (you know, "my name is anigo montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die...") was the fuckin' LEAD. Yes, he's older now, but he was on the stage at the Yale Rep. So fun. In case any of you had your childhood robbed and don't know what the hell I'm talking about, watch this for a summary of Anigo Montoya in a nutshell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3W5GDkgf2w
Love you all to pieces, and CAN'T WAIT for chapman love this friday. It's in my (cyber) planner.
Megan
Ahhh just basked in the glory of the late-night arrival and then early-morning departure of our very own Destry Sibley. So happy to put her in my bed. :) ALSO: so pleased to do my usual catch-up of the chapman blog and my heart singing happy little sounds to see how/what each of you is doing!
I had a really really great day today: breakfast with Destry, driven part way to school by Destry, school was boring today (blaaahhhh), but then lifted weights and pretended I have big muscles, ate yummy yummy garlic-hot pepper-zucchini-onion-mushroom-black bean pasta with soy sauce, went to stitch 'n' bitch and knit a little, AND WENT TO A PLAY! THis is THE most exciting part... play itself? 2.5 stars. HOWEVER, DO YOU ALL REMEMBER "THE PRINCESS BRIDE?" Well, ANIGO MONTOYA (you know, "my name is anigo montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die...") was the fuckin' LEAD. Yes, he's older now, but he was on the stage at the Yale Rep. So fun. In case any of you had your childhood robbed and don't know what the hell I'm talking about, watch this for a summary of Anigo Montoya in a nutshell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3W5GDkgf2w
Love you all to pieces, and CAN'T WAIT for chapman love this friday. It's in my (cyber) planner.
Megan
Monday, 1 February 2010
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