Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Late-Night Haircuts

My younger brother needs a haircut. We both agree on this. Of course, in typical boy fashion, he waits and waits and waits until his hair is poofy (in a funny phenomena, it grows out and up before getting any longer) and he has a little rat's tail touching the nape of his neck before he decides it's gotten out of hand.

Naturally, after going days and days in this unkempt state, he finally decides tonight, at about midnight (also in typical boy fashion), that he cannot go another second without trimming the fuzz on the back of his neck. One more millisecond and the world will stop turning and all hell breaks loose. He's convinced that if he shows up to work in the morning with another fifteen hours of dead cells on his head, he's dunzo. Ka-put!

And of course, who does he recruit to help him in his predicament? Who does he drag off the perfectly cushion-ey couch, away from the welcoming land of Facebook, to assist him in this effort?

Me. The only sister around who's foolish enough to not look busy. I should have pulled up the New York Times when he walked in. I knew I had it bookmarked for a reason.

Not that I'm complaining -- or still complaining, rather (I definitely did my fair share at the time). Once he managed to drag me away from my creature comforts, it was actually quite fun to cut his hair. There is something very satisfying about cutting hair that is not mine. Perhaps I should scrap this film business and become a cosmetologist.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Listen Carefully, My Friends


A relationship is like a wildfire. It burns with an intensity that cannot be matched. It rushes forward, consuming everything in its path with reckless abandon. It cares not what it does, and it only realizes how much damage it has caused when it reaches the end of the trees or a large precipice over which it cannot leap. And there, seeing nothing left to consume, it looks back and goes, "Holy Sh*t. What did I just do?!?!"

-- according to an anonymous friend

Monday, August 9, 2010

Happy 8-9-10!

Yup. A monumental occasion. If today wasn't merely a Monday, I would have bet serious money that all over the world, millions of people were getting married today to celebrate the date.

And it would have been such a great day to tie the knot too. With such a catchy date like today, all those brides could almost guarantee that their future husbands would never forget their anniversaries-- and if they did, they couldn't make up a good excuse for doing so.

Dear Isabella,



I cannot wait until the day that I can show you these pictures and say, "Here, look. You really were the cutest baby on the planet. I have proof."

I also can't wait until the day that I can be the aunt that brings you Christmas presents from faraway places when you are little and then takes you to those places when you are older.

And I can't wait until I get to share with you my ginormous Barbie collection that I am still saving. Just in case God gives me all boys (which would be spiteful), at least I can share them with you.

Love,
Aunt Ginny (or whatever pronunciation of Virginia you can manage as a toddler)

Hopefully Never Again

I was reading through old posts that I've written but never published for some reason or another, and I came across an old one titled, "How to Survive an Entire Day on One Hour of Sleep." The sad thing is, I know I wrote that blog from personal experience. Too much personal experience, if you ask me. I would loooove to never know what that feels like again.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Things I Miss About Big Cities

Recycling
Everyone takes recycling seriously in big cities, and I love it. Almost every single public garbage can has at least two different compartments -- one for plastic/cans and one for trash.

Because of the huge number of recycling bins wherever I looked, it became second nature to me over the summer to pay attention to what I was throwing away. I would automatically categorize whatever was in my hand as "recyclable" or "non-recyclable," and then I would feel a twinge of guilt if I had to throw away something recyclable into the regular garbage can (which only happened when there wasn't one of those green bins around).


Public Transportation
You can get anywhere at any time, and you don't have to rely on other people to get you there (and you are being environmentally responsible).

Want to escape into the city for a morning? No problem. A $2 subway token will get you there. Going out for the evening with friends? A taxi ride will cost you less than a subway ride when you carpool with four, and you wont have to worry about finding and then paying for parking. Oh the freedom!!!


Exotic foods
Part of the magic of big cities is that they are melting pots for different cultures. People from all over the United States and the world make up the unique diversity of the city, and this spills over into the fabulous dining options available.

Because only in big cities can you eat Moroccan food one weekend (seven courses of deliciousness), have Afghani food the next (rose-water soaked rice with shredded orange peel, anyone?), dine on Kosher french toast one morning, and then eat sushi the weekend following (hands down the best sushi I've ever had). I have been spoiled, and my dining options at school will never look the same again.

Leaving Philadelphia (In Letters)

--- WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4th ---

(7:00 a.m.)
Dear Alarm on Phone,
Thank you for not going off and waking up all eight or ten of us sleeping on Megabed.

(7:04 a.m.)
Dear Internal Alarm,
Thank you for waking me up, even when my phone alarm didn't. Because of you, I didn't miss my train.

Dear Friends,
You were all sleeping so soundly that I didn't want to wake you up. But I shall miss all y'all so very much. And I was serious about being pen pals. That's gonna happen!

(9:00 a.m.)
Dear Train Stations,
Thank you for existing. You brought me so much joy today as I sat eating my quiche and waiting to board my train.

(9:56 a.m.)
Dear Train from Philadelphia, PA to Wilmington , Delaware,
I am in love. Thank you for allowing me to check "Riding on a train" off my bucket list.


But I do wish that you hadn't been such a short part of my trip. A thirty-minute train ride is not nearly long enough. You will see me again.

(11:05 a.m.)
Dear Greyhound Bus to Salisbury (Maryland),
Thank you for giving me a huge cold.

Dear Huge Cold,
Thank you for being nice and not showing any symptoms until I got on a plane Friday morning for Arizona.

(5:25 p.m.)
Dear Shiloh,
Thank you for greeting me with a giant bear hug when I got off the bus. It was so great to see you. And thank you for introducing me to your daughter Lydia and showing me your cute little home.

At first she's not so sure what to make of me...

... but then she decides to give me a chance.

Making new friends!

Oh...

Maybe not...

Also, I love that you allowed me to share in a little slice of your domestic comfort for an evening. I am now seriously considering a purchase of that Wii dance game (and I can't get the dance moves for "Hot n' Cold" out of my head).

(10:30 p.m.)
Dear Shiloh and Joe,
Thank you for ensuring that I got my daily intake of calcium and riboflavin -- in the form of the biggest (and most delicious) ice cream sundae ever.


Aaand... thank you Shiloh for giving me a ride to Philadephia when I missed my bus. You are the best friend a girl could ask for.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

"The First Writing Since"

So powerful.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Saying Goodbye to a Beautiful Experience

I have never learned so much, grown so much, and enjoyed said learning and growing so much as I have over the last six weeks.

I hate leaving, but I am excited to go back to Oklahoma (via Maryland & Arizona) and bring back the "new" person I feel I have become.

On a side note: Expect many many more blogs about Philly, even though I am leaving tomorrow. There is still so so so much to tell you.

Monday, August 2, 2010

From Closing Ceremonies

"We are not saviors... We are servants."

- Brian Cook, referring to Teach For America corps members
(2010 corps member)

About Me

... A few thoughts to pass the time...