dammit

In the midst of growing my hair out, of course, which is going very well, surprisingly, this happens:




And now I want a mohawk again :(

another lonely day

Another day of being alone in the office.  Having the whole floor to myself is nice, but also weird.  It's too quiet.  Maybe it's time for a dance party.

Today I'm reading and researching assessing cultural competency in health care.  Sortof a "pet topic" of mine.  Really fascinating stuff, and extremely eye-opening.  More people in the medical world need to be thinking about this kind of thing, and working on it.  Some interesting places to start can be found here and here.

awareness, education

I read this on Wednesday, but forgot to post here...

Please read this week's issue of Philly Weekly.  It's really, really important.

the writing's on the wall

SEE!??  I blogged about not blogging about the Phillies and they lost 368-1 to a bunch of donkeys!

very superstitious

I'm not going to write, blog, talk or think (too much) about the Phillies.  They play way better when I'm watching them play every night and pretending not to care!!

bruises

I got the silk skirt (that I already have in green) in navy this week, because it was 65% off with free shipping. I also got a really fun 1-shoulder bathing suit in royal purple.... and I think this officially turns me into my mother.

But there will be no more clothes shopping for a while, as my husband is about to be unemployed (by choice).  Gotta curb the spending for a couple months.  He's taking the summer "off" to re-do (sand, paint, etc.) the exterior of our house and remodel our bathroom.  YAY!  I think it works out best for both of us if I'm the corporate shill career woman, providing money and benefits and all that fun stuff, because I'm good at it and thrive in that environment; while he does consulting work from home and other random projects that keep him busy, amused, outdoors, relaxed, away from academic or corporate environs, and so on.

Other fun news - I'm starting in a post-grad certificate program in the fall.  My work is paying for me to go through the program in one year, starting in September.  I'm really excited about it.  I wouldn't otherwise be interested in going back to school, but they are paying for it, it goes toward my professional development staff training/education goals, and the program itself sounds super interesting and right up my alley.  I think I feel more well-adjusted when I'm in school.

Growing my hair out, it's going well.  Should be past my shoulders by the fall!

reflections of a diet coke office lady

There were window-washers doing the exterior windows of my office building last week - two guys in harnesses systematically washing and squeegeeing (?) every window in the whole building, which is three wings of 6-10 stories each.  This week they are doing the interior windows.  Now, this is a LOT of windows (our offices are huge and each floor has a minimum of two walls of nothing but glass).  And I think what happens is they finish the exterior, move on to the interior, and then when that is done, they start over on the exterior again.

What a sweet gig - talk about interesting and regular work.  They get to (literally) hang out all day outside, not work in bad weather, be rather voyeuristic, wear whatever they want, and basically come and go as they please. And I bet it doesn't pay too bad either.  Seems like a strong career choice to me.

eternal summer

Went to CVS yesterday to get a bunch of fun stuff for an 18-year old girl's high school graduation gift (those cool patterned fingernail stickers, lip gloss, gift cards, etc.) and found this gem for myself:

Revlon's Creme Shadow palette in "Eternal Summer".  The pale yellow and orange are the shades I've been looking for forever - not too bright, neutral but interesting, etc.  I think I'm going to have to get another one for my purse.

I'm also currently loving the CVS brand cocoa butter dry oil spray. The texture/consistency is great for the summer, I don't feel like my pores are being clogged by a heavy cream on my skin all day (while outside gardening, walking, etc.)  Plus it makes you smell like an Almond Joy.  I mean, really!!! How could you go wrong?

(un)happiness

Been reading a bit about happiness recently - there was an article in the NY Times last month, with a follow-up in NewsWorks, and then this stunning article from the most recent Atlantic, that I tore through today and was unbelievably impressed and enlightened by.

The Atlantic article gets at so many things I experience everyday.  I think my own generation, but most certainly those generations younger than mine, don't understand basic tenets of LIFE.  And this is being passed down to the children they are now raising.  I see this with people in their early 20s, who have been raised to believe they are special snowflakes (with no real rationalization behind it) and have never heard the word "no" or experienced failure.  Which is so unbelievably unrealistic, I can't even wrap my head around it.  How can parents be so short-sighted, to think that protecting your kids from "real life" until they're 18 years old is a good idea? Because... how are they going to continue to be protected from real life, and WHO is going to do that for them, when they get there?

A lot of people seem to think that they can actually "have it all" and that life doesn't involve sacrifices, or hard decisions.  This confounds me.  Unless you are wildly wealthy, there is no way to "have it all".  And honestly, I think that for those who do seem to have it all, it doesn't make them happy (hence the rich, educated folks in the Atlantic article who feel empty inside).  

For example, I don't have children and I probably never will.  This is a decision my husband and I have made, based on what is best for us and our lives, and stemming from our personal goals. So I won't know what it feels like to be a mother.  But I don't focus on that as something I'm "missing out on" because I'm not someone who thinks I need to have everything life could potentially offer me.  I know, logically and truthfully, that if I were to have a child, I would be giving up a great deal of other things that I enjoy immensely about my life, and even more things to come for me.  I have a wonderful new job at an organization that is practically drowning in resources and opportunity.  I am going to get to do a great deal of both business and personal travel.  I am probably going to start working toward (another) Masters degree, or maybe even a PhD, in 2012.  I have money and free time, flexibility and mobility, lots of sleep and lots of parties, a fantastic marriage with the kindest, smartest, most loving and gifted man on earth, a little side business, a love of music and baking and gardening and fashion, and that's my life.  And I adore it.

There are things I won't have - a big family, lots of nieces and nephews and kids growing up around me.  I'm never going to have a "showcase" home (4 cats and a husband who prefers canoeing and geocaching to golf, and uses the dining room table to store power tools, precludes that).  I won't live in the suburbs (arguably a "better" place than where I currently live, but that depends on your metrics). I probably (just being realistic) won't ever have a published novel, or some great collection of creative output to show for myself.

But I'm really happy.  I don't expect my life to be perfect and I don't expect to excel at everything. My parents taught me to accept limitations and be realistic about life.  I didn't come from a lot of money or unlimited resources.  I was never good at math, and I suck at sports. I am just an OK singer, I could never be a programmer or engineer, and I can't draw or paint for shit.  These are just realities, and I'm fine with them.  

I guess the way I gauge my own happiness is not from the gestalt of life, but from the minutiae.  The little everyday things: the sun on my face, a snuggly cat, a really good pear, kneading bread, getting good feedback at work.  I try to pay attention to those things and through the course of a day or week or month or year, they add up into what I define as happiness.

I guess I've never before realized what a valuable, and enviable, skill that is.

art as apparel

LOVE this.

I would seriously wear the shit out of a Lichtenstein suit and don't even get me started on a Van Gogh dress.


Too amazing!

weekend warriors

Friday night we made burgers with sliced avocado, cheddar cheese and lump crab meat, with a summer vegetable salad on the side.  So good!  Also started season 3 of Breaking Bad - finally got to see and enjoy the infamous "pizza tossing" scene.  Love it.

Saturday we went downtown in the early afternoon, checked into the Palomar Hotel, drank champagne + Chambord cocktails, ordered room service (deconstructed Caesar salad, crispy calamari, and gnocchi with bacon and Parmesan cream sauce), watched the Phillies win, took a long hot bath, walked around Rittenhouse Square, had a sushi dinner, walked around some more, went to sleep.

This morning we woke up, ordered room service again (bagel with herb cream cheese and smoked salmon, a spinach and goat cheese omelette, and fresh-squeezed orange juice), went shopping and walked around downtown some more.  Headed home, now we're sipping bourbon and watching the Phillies try to come back in the 4th inning.

This week looks to be much more mellow than last, so I'm hoping to catch up on some reading and writing, and get to a Phillies-Marlins game too.  I'm so happy it's summer!

summertime

Did some summer shopping at Zara today.

Gorgeous striped shift

Blocky striped blouse

Die-cut asymmetric tank (I adore this color)

Bird-print kimono top

As usual, there were about 45000000000 other things in the store I wanted, so I think I'll go back later in the month to stock up on tanks and tees (and hopefully find another of their shift dresses that fit so flatteringly).  They have a lot of great light/summery fabrics right now, but more than anything the colors are mind-blowing.  Reminds me of late 80s Benetton.  Bright greens, royal blues and purples, teal, yellow, fuchsia and orange.  Ever since I broke through with the emerald green silk skirt, I've become way more open to mixing and matching primary colors. 

I love the way my closet looks now when I open it.

new shoes

Finally broke down and bought the shoes I've wanted since March.

I shouldn't have waited, or tried to find anything cheaper.  They are perfect - comfy, cute, and go with everything.

thoughts

My poor husband has been working almost continuously since Sunday on a big issue at his job. Luckily he can do this work from home, but he is running on fumes right now.  I had a pretty busy/stressy day at work myself, but how rude is it to complain about a busy day to someone who's racked up 40 straight hours of work?! [I have a huge 2-day committee meeting at work starting tomorrow, two presentations to prepare and give (no pressure), materials for another huge event to prepare, and the grant I'm running is really ramping up - we have a deadline on July 1. I can't wait for this week to be over!]

So I'm doing everything around the house, like a boss, and it's making me realize how prima-donna-y I can be.  He definitely does a lot around here - today I'm cleaning, taking care of all of the cats (food, ice water, litter), watering plants, fixing dinner, laundry, cat hair removal, various cooling techniques, trash and recycling, etc.  Whew! Perspective and gratitude are pretty humbling things.

something bit me

Last night before I fell asleep, I noticed that the back of my legs were really itchy and thought that my skin was just dry. But when I woke up this morning, I had two HUGE bites on the back of my left leg, and another (smaller) one on the front.  I know they're not mosquito bites (I'm very used to them), nor bedbugs (because I googled that shit, believe me), so I'm drawing the conclusion that it was a spider.

I am directly blaming my husband and his pro-spider stance.  He refuses to kill one (though it's a massacre when he's not looking, so ha!) and I swear, there must be one living in our bedroom.  He better prepare for the Raid-fest that's going on in there tonight.

ho-ho-hoagiefest is back

I was in line around noon at Wawa yesterday, and was approximately 30 people away from the cashier.  It was a mob scene in there!  The Philly cop in front of me turned around and said "I've never seen a Wawa so crowded."  My response was: "Dude, it's Hoagiefest."  He burst out laughing.

He was buying a salad and trail mix, so maybe he just isn't as interested in hoagies as everyone else.

Another point - Wawa has packets of Texas Pete at the deli counter.  SCORE!

my toys are retro, i am old

I have been saying for YEARS that Fashion Plates should come back.  In 2008, I brought my childhood set back to Philly from my parents house, and have been scouring eBay for a (non-bankruptcy-level) version of the elusive "cowgirl" set.

However, upon looking through eBay I see that there was both a Barbie/Bratz version AND a NKOTB version of the toy. How unpleasant.

It was seriously 100% my favorite of childhood, and the clothes in it are surprisingly hip now.  I guess I'll keep looking for the full cowgirl set and keep myself happy with the 1982 version...