Sunday, October 25, 2009

preparation

Before I started sewing together my egg costume, I prepared by perusing egg pictures online and by eating three eggs. (For those of you worried about my cholesterol level - it's ok, I left out the yolks.) The details are all in the planning and readiness. My dad used to say, measure twice and cut once.

Still, nothing could prepare me for the enormous lines and screaming children at the Jo-Ann Craft store. I have a newfound respect for the textile industry, Project Runway contestants, and my old home ec teacher. Sewing felt eggs is harder than it looks! At one point, I ripped out all of my uneven seams and started over again. I haven't even tackled the bacon fat yet and time is running out!

Edit:

Here is the final result!

Friday, October 23, 2009

"Breakfast" for Halloween!



I've never been big on Halloween costumes. I wore the same store-bought pumpkin costume for almost a decade. In alternate years, I wore store-bought fairy wings and called myself an angel.

In later years, in true undergraduate fashion, I usually wore as little as possible, slapped on a headband with ears, and called myself "a sexy [fill in the blank with an animal]." I never liked these costumes because I felt like I was cheating.

This year, I'm going to make my costume out of felt material. I'm going as "breakfast." I'm going to make a top that looks like an egg and fasten bacon suspenders. I'm going to wear a fake piece of toast in my hair. I'm so excited!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

waiting, waiting, waiting

I am tired of waiting. If I don't pass, I will just take it again. Simple as that.

Still, I'm using this "what if" to concoct crazy, elaborate alternatives that could pan out.

Like this: http://www.helpwantedalaska.com/



Isn't this beautiful? It's Denali National Park in Alaska.

Most people crave tropical beaches, warm weather, and lush vegetation. I prefer the opposite: I want cold, pristine, sometimes-harsh terrain. I want a lonely-looking landscape.

the wonders of Facebook

I joined Facebook a few months ago because I wanted to keep in touch with classmates and touch base with old ones. I spent the first two weeks in a Facebook frenzy, adding people left and right, until my activity slowed to a steady trickle. It was kind of unsettling to see how little and how much people had changed. I think this is why I didn't bother keeping in touch with them for so long.

I'll admit, it's fun to see what people are up to nowadays. Tonight, I had extra time to procrastinate and went down my list of friends. I checked an old boyfriend's facebook profile and lo-and-behold, there he was in a suit - getting married. My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it.

Now, don't get me wrong - I felt nothing. I haven't felt anything for him in years. It just made me feel strange because now another remnant of my childhood has moved onto something so completely out of left field for me. Marriage? A wife? Responsibility? Good god, this coming from the guy who did so many reckless things, just because he could.

I want to congratulate him because I am genuinely happy that he has found someone special in his life. However, I'll just leave it be. We haven't had any contact since I was 20 and we have no reason to keep in touch. I'm just really glad our lives worked out. I wish them all the best.

embarrassed

Just need to get this off my chest. I just botched another interview!! :( I feel so, so dumb. I am going to hide under my covers, wallow in self-pity, and agonize over my stupid answers.

Once I get back up, I'll be fine and try harder next time. I am just oh-so-embarrassed right now.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Frozen

A few days ago, I watched "Frozen," a Tony-nominated play. "Frozen" revolves around three characters: a serial killer, a victim's mother, and a psychiatrist. It was an excellent play with fantastic performances from all the actors, especially the victim's mother. Afterward, at the reception, I stalked one of the actresses enthusiastically. I'm pretty sure I scared her into going home early because she clammed up, looked petrified, and backed away from me slowly.

The play features heavy themes of forgiveness and guilt. The play unfolds over the course of several decades, as the serial killer rots away in prison and the victim's mother struggles to cope. Although the sexual assault and murder of the child is described briefly, most of the play deals with the aftermath of the act. How do you forgive someone who has killed your child? Is it even possible to let go? Is the psychiatrist correct when she concludes that there are no "crimes of evil," only "crimes of symptom"?

The play suggests that forgiveness is a sort of "unfreezing" transformation. We encounter distasteful incidents, threats to our security and happiness, difficult people... and our sense of humanity stiffens. We thaw out by learning to deal with our emotions.

The play really struck a chord with me. No, not the serial killer part, but the part about learning to forgive and practicing it. Sometimes I find myself freezing up only to quickly thaw out later. The process changes a person, softens them up.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

another shiner

I have another amusing story to tell.

Today, I was at the mall to buy a birthday present for a friend. I turned to leave the store and ran face-first into a floor-to-ceiling window pane. I hit my face so hard on the glass that my world went black for a few seconds.

Once I concluded that my cheek was still attached to my face and that no one had been around to upload the incident onto Failblog or Youtube, I had a good chuckle. I scared myself a little but left relatively unscathed. However, if I have an oddly-placed shiner on my face tomorrow, you'll know where it came from.

When I was little, I believed that once I became a bona fide "grownup," incidents like this one would stop happening to me. I'd stop chipping teeth, skinning elbows, and using my face to cushion my falls. Now I'm older but maybe some things never change. What better reality check than doing something utterly stupid that brings you back down to earth?

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

DC bar

Wow, I need to stop eating several hours before bed because snacks after dinner lead to nightmares. Last night, I dreamt that I was taking the DC bar. I already knew, while taking the scantron portion, that I would not pass because I had been too cocky to study. I woke up terrified!