A Lesson Each Day

What day are we at now?

2008-11-15T19:27:00.002-05:00

Hey Readers,

I figured I'd use some free time that I have to write a post since I've been getting complaints left and right about not having blogged in a while.

I began this blog with a promise to blog daily, and then I changed that promise to blogging frequently, and as those of you have noticed have pointed out to me, it has now been over two weeks since I have blogged. For one of those weeks I was away at a training course for work, so I will use that as an excuse. However, for the other days I have no excuse besides that I've been traveling on the weekends, working a lot, spending time doing things with friends, and all around avoiding my computer when I get home from work since I spend so much time on it during the day.

But as a life update... I'm very much in love with my job. I have so much fun while I am there and I go back and forth between feeling confident with how I am doing and other times feeling like I need to do more. Either way, the fact that I'm happy while I am at work makes working long hours not so bad.

As for outside of work. I am still looking for organizations to get involved with. I've been following through with the AIDS awareness groups I learned about through the Albany AIDS walk that I attended. Last night I went to a showing of a play that promotes awareness and education on Sexually Transmitted Diseases. It was called "The Adventures of Condom Man". Yes, I actually attended a show with that title. It was a story of a super hero who helps couples one at a time by promoting safe sex. To be honest, it was actually very well done, very smart, very capturing, and very FUNNY. Aside from being exhausted and the showing being a little too long, I really liked it.

I've made some great friends here too. It is a topic I'd like to explore further and tell you all more about, but time constraints won't allow it in this entry.

Sorry for being MIA! I'll be back soon, I hope. No more promises from me though. I'm sorry!

Day 69: Escape from prison

2008-10-29T22:49:00.004-04:00

I watched MythBusters tonight and learned that you can use either braided up hair, toilet paper, or bedsheets, to make a rope to climb out of a window with.

Good to know!

The hair one was sort of nasty to watch, I don't think I'd want to use that. And the toilet paper took lots and lots of toilet paper tied up tightly. So your best bet is the bedsheets. Just remember to tie your knots tightly.

And although they didn't mention it in the MythBusters episode... I'm guessing that Rapunzel would work too? Interesting. Another interesting thing is my train of thought... which has gone from MythBusters to Rapunzel and now to Sarah Bareilles's song "Fairytale" which is one of my favorites on the album and my favorite verse in the song is the one about Rapunzel where she says,

"The tall blonde lets out a cry of despair, Says I would have cut it myself if I knew men could climb hair, I'll have to find another tower somewhere and keep away from the windows."

It is just such a different way to imagine what Rapunzel must have been thinking while that dude, or I guess I should say, Prince, used her braid as a ladder!

So today, I learned something about possible things I could make my own rope out of, if that situation ever should arise, and YOU ALL learned something about how thoughts in my mind jump from one thing to the other :)

Day 68: Car insurance

2008-10-28T22:27:00.003-04:00

So one of the things that I vowed at the beginning of this was I wanted to take the things that I do daily or the things that come up in my life that I would generally ask someone for help with and do it myself. Since I broken my promise of blogging daily, I should probably keep up with this vow.

One of the things that to be frank, has been a GIANT pain in the butt, has been getting my license, registration, insurance, in order since I've moved to New York and become a resident instead of just a student. I've basically avoided this at all costs because really, what New Englander/Rhode Island girl wants to give up our pretty plates with a wave on it for stupid NEW YORK license plates? And those licenses? Give me a break they are a piece of junk.

But yah, I've figured it has been about time that I finally take care of that so for the past few weeks I've been hitting up the DMV trying to get that taken care of. The final step in registering my car has been to switch over my insurance to NY insurance. This task completely overwhelmed me.

I tried to go and get a quote from one of those online places you always see commercials about and I was TOTALLY confused. It asked me a ton of questions that I didn't know the answer to about my car and when it comes to talking insurance policies and what the coverage actually means? That is another language to me also.

I've been trying to recruit people like my dad and friends at work to help me out with this but I figured... hey... I need to do this. And don't get me wrong, I have no problem asking for help when it is needed. What I don't want to allow myself to do is bail out too easily and jump to get someone else's help too soon.

One of the rules that I always tell myself at work is: "Don't ask for something that you can figure out yourself." I forget who told me that in the first place, but it has always served me well. Sometimes I catch myself because I want to ask someone a simple question that I could easily figure out on my own if I just took a few minutes to look it up.

That was sort of how I felt about this car insurance business. So today, I got myself my own car insurance plan. I'm not sure if its the best one and I'm not sure if I will stick with it or change it once I have more time to look into it. BUT, I did it on my own, and I'm sort of proud of myself. And you know what, it really wasn't that scary or hard? Susan at Amica? Yeah, she is so helpful.

Day 67: Put in the time.

2008-10-27T20:58:00.004-04:00

It has been a little while since I've posted which is due to a crazy work schedule during the week and lots of traveling on the weekends. This past week at work was the cumulation of a lot of planning that had been going on in my part since August. We had a 3-day event that meant 12 hours or plus a day at work for the past 2 weeks. Then this past Friday, I left right from work and drove to New Hampshire for the weekend to spend time with my sister.

I feel really lucky because lately things in my life that I've been putting time into working on, have been doing really well. I've been putting time into my job and working hard and I'm getting really positive feedback and that event? it went amazing. I've been putting time into the relationships that I have here in Albany and I'm definitely seeing the benefits of that. I've been putting time into staying in touch with my friends that are living farther away and I feel so happy to still have those solid relationships (I have another trip planned to visit NYC in a couple weeks and my friends are actually planning a party at a bar for me during the trip!). I've been putting time into making sure that I see my family and am able to be with them as much as possible and I've never felt closer with my siblings. I've been putting time into eating healthy and exercising and I'm feeling the difference.

Even though it is a lesson that I've learned at other points in my life and there are definitely exceptions along the way... right now, I'm learning that when you put in the time and work for something, things will work out for you.

And my apologies because one thing where I have NOT been putting in a ton of time is this blog, and it really isn't that huge of a time commitment, so I'm sorry :(

Day 66: Baby Bro

2008-10-19T23:11:00.004-04:00

This weekend I went home and then spent a few hours up at my baby brother's college learning about where he spends his time and what he has been doing with his life.

The campus is beautiful, the food in the cafeteria was delicious, and the video games were totally fun.

I'm really happy that I got to spend some time with my bro and see where he hangs out, where he works, where he lives, where he eats, etc. It is crazy to me that my brother is in college AND that I am NOT in college. It was a little weird to be back on a college campus and be an official non-college person. It definitely made me feel old and I felt like I should be trying to make plans and become friends with some of the people that my little brother hangs out with!

However, its his time now and he seems like he is making the most of it. My little bro-man is growing up and apparently so am I.

Weird.

Day 65: Obama's Economic Platform

2008-10-15T22:39:00.003-04:00

Forget the debate... I learned more about Obama's economic platform and made me want to vote for him more due to this clip.

At a rally, Obama is approached by "Joe the Plumber" (who was discussed in tonight's debate) and asked about his tax plan for small businesses and for taxing those who make over $250,000. Obama takes the time to stop and talk to this man and explain to him intelligently and calmly what his tax plan entails. I think this exact video is brilliant and I love Obama and want him to be my president because of it.

John McCain would not have this conversation with "Joe the Plumber" on the street. He just wouldn't.

Please watch all the way through.

I'm convinced.

If you aren't, tell me why. Because I am so dead confident that we need this man as our next President.

Day 64: Finding Nemo

2008-10-13T23:19:00.002-04:00

So today I learned some interesting things at lunch about Clown Fish. First of all, jellyfish stings don't hurt Clown Fish! Which is why in Finding Nemo, the daddy fish can swim through the Jellies to rescue Dore! Who know the movie men at Pixar were so smart?

Another thing about clown fish I learned is that they have the ability to change sexes for reproduction purposes. Hm. Now why wasn't THAT part included in Finding Nemo? Can you imagine if Nemo was finally reunited with his dad come to find out-- his dad is now his mom???

Think about it people. Think about it.

Day 63 Part 2: Spelunking

2008-10-13T22:35:00.004-04:00

Some caving pictures for your enjoyment...

This is the whole group before we went into the cave:

The group after we scaled over the water:

Notice that I am straddling a rock and there is water below me. The rock is slippery and if I fall I'm in 15 feet of water:

My girl the Chemist:

The crew in the cave:

A cave shot:

The Chemist being carried over the water by Ed the tour guy:

Me climbing:

Me going down basically a mud waterslide. My face is priceless:

Up to my neck in water:

Me and the Chemist:

Post-spelunking:

Day 63: Spelunking.

2008-10-12T22:00:00.007-04:00

So this weekend in general I learned a very important lesson and it has to do with this blog. This blog isn't going to be what I initially planned it to be. As many of you noticed and have commented to me, I haven't blogged in a long time. One of the reasons is that my life has really picked up here in Albany and I've been making more plans than I even have time to handle. Now, in some ways that is good and in some ways that is bad (another post for another day). But what it boils down to is that I have less time to blog and I initially vowed for this to be a daily thing.

I kept wanting to post about things that happened in my days or things that I learned and I've actually been writing them all down but I just haven't had the time to catch up. Even when I've had the time and the desire to write about something that happened THAT DAY I avoided it because I felt like I needed to catch up because of that promise I made.

Well screw that promise. The point of this blog is not to keep that promise of posting every day but to learn new things and experience life. The fact that I am busier and doing more shouldn't be something I feel guilty about it should be something that I stress and worry about when/what to post. I should be EXCITED that I'm too busy to post. Yeah, that ain't so fun for you all, but whatever, I'd doing cool and fun stuff and meeting cool and fun new people. So phooey for you.

Anyways, I think that giving myself permission to not blog EVERY day will actually allow myself to blog more in these busier days. I hope that you all see it that way too?

TODAY for example, I went caving! Caving was an incredible adventure that began terrifyingly by shimmying through a tiny hole/shoot into the ground. I was not expecting that when we walked up. I was expecting something along the lines of the Polar Bear Caves in NH but no way... this was crawling and scooting and belly crawling through tiny crevices and cracks, sliding down rock shoots, scaling across rock walls over a 15 foot pool of water, and getting up to my neck in water to get through a small crevice and get out of the rock cave. It was at points extremely uncomfortable and way outside of my comfort zone and at other points, calming and serene, and at other points it was exciting, thrilling, and totally made me feel like an adventurer/explorer searching out unseen parts of the world.

I also learned the difference between the words "spelunking" and "caving". The trip was advertised as a "caving" trip but I have been calling it "spelunking" all week, because come on, spelunking is a badass word! Today I learned by our guides that spelunking is what you call what people do who just go into caves with no experience no guide no flashlight and just do a crummy job or get hurt or something like that. "Caving" is what our guides say that they do... where they really explore and go with equipment and learn about the caves and learn about the rock formations and are really SERIOUS about the sport.

As for me? I'd like to say that I started the day a spelunker and ended the day a caver :)

An autumn foliage pic I took today is at the top and some caving pictures are below... I'll post pics of actually being in the cave once I get them from the cave leader.

** This last one is the whole that we crawled into!!!

Day 62: Wednesday

2008-10-03T21:29:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday 10/1/08 I learned something new at work. I constantly am feeling like I am the stupidest person in the room but I am picking up little things all the time.

I never realized until today that there was a strict difference between an engine and a motor. I know it doesn't sound very complicated but while writing a press release I interchanged these a few times and they were all pointed out to me and the different was explained.

A motor is electric and runs off of electricity. An engine runs off of gasoline.

Good to know.

Day 61: I suck.

2008-10-02T21:46:00.000-04:00

So on Tuesday, 9/30, I learned something about myself that was actually really disappointed.

Now get this, back on Day 21 I wrote that I learned to triple-check and make sure I remember everything I need when I go to the gym in the morning... and most importantly... shoes!

Well, I am disappointed and embarassed to have to admit that today I learned that I DIDN'T actually learn to triple check my gym bag to make sure I have work shoes because today I forgot my shoes again :(

And really, today my biggest disappointment was that I didn't learn what I thought I learned because if thats true... what am I doing this project for?

As you have all been able to tell if you've been reading regularly, its gotten harder for me to stay on track and we're only about 2 months in. 10 more to go? And I'm not even learning what I claim to be learning? I disappointed myself.

So today, I learned that I didn't learn what I said I did on Day 21 :(

Day 60: Stove repair.

2008-10-02T21:34:00.000-04:00

Today when I got home from work and wanted to saute some onions and peppers, I found a disturbing site. An empty apartment and a dismantled stove.

My roommates had decided to clean the stove and took apart the wire coiled thingy and the silver catch plate thing below it. There was just an empty hole where I was supposed to cook my onions and peppers. Don't get me wrong, I was happy that my roommates decided to take the initiative and clean... but I didn't know how to put that back together! What is a girl to do?

I called my Dad and had him explain to me that it really is pretty simple to put those parts of the stove back together. I was a little scared that I might blow myself up poking metal parts around in the stove but I actually did it and was really excited for myself :)

Day 59: AIDS in New York

2008-10-02T05:29:00.003-04:00

On Sunday, September 28th, I volunteered at the Albany AIDS Walk. I learned about this event only a week before and as soon as I did, I knew that I had to get involved. I called the organizers and asked if they needed volunteers and signed myself up to work the day.

I got there early in the morning and we were very lucky to have a dry and somewhat sunny day after forecasts had predicted heavy rains. Setting up for the walk was really easy since there were a large amount of volunteers (mostly fraternity and sorority members from local SUNY Albany and St. Rose colleges). I met a lot of great people and as is the case sometimes with these types of events, we actually spent more of our time sitting around than actually doing any work.

The day was overall really great though. Once the walk started and people arrived the atmosphere was truly incredible. I've participated in a few of these different walks before and I've never been at one with a more diverse group of people or with more energy. There was intoxicating live music and everybody was literally dancing in the street.

One of the most exciting parts of the event for me where the amount of young children that were there with their parents and families. AIDS is so often a taboo topic and not openly due to the fact that it is spread through sexual contact and drug use. I am part of the group of people that feel that AIDS is best combat through early education and open dialogue from the beginning of what exactly HIV/AIDS is, how it is spread, and how to protect ones self. I was really touched and given hope by the amount of children that were present at the AIDS walk.

I even saw a group of kids that all had on red T-shirts that had been made saying, "Chris's 10th Birthday Party Team" on the front and "AIDS Walk 2008" on the back. I thought that was such a great idea for a kid's birthday event and the kids all looked like they were having a great time running around, dancing to the music, and grabbing some of the free give aways from the different sponsor booths set up.

There was a presentation by the Damien House, an HIV/AIDS support group in Albany right before the event started that brought tears to my eyes. I felt like a pretty big dork standing alone in a crowd of people crying but I was really moved by the man that spoke. The past few years I've spent a lot of time doing volunteer/support/fundraising/awareness work for AIDS primarily in Africa. Although I found it impossible to discuss AIDS in Africa without also bringing up what it is doing in our own communities, I wasn't primarily focused on the crisis at hand within our own country.

However, after learning about all of the great organizations in the capital NY region, I am excited to start volunteering again for local awareness groups. One statistic that I learned today that I had never heard before:

In New York State, every HOUR a new person is infected with HIV.

HIV/AIDS isn't gone people. The problem is still live and still devastating. Look for groups in your own community and volunteer/donate. Please!

Day 58: Muslim Bazaar

2008-09-29T22:45:00.004-04:00

So today I attended a Bazaar at a mosque with the woman that I sat with at the Ramadan dinner. The night of the dinner she invited me to attend this Bazaar with her and I have never been to something like this before and I've been enjoying learning about Muslim culture so I decided to attend.

Just to clarify before we get into this deeper. I have no intentions of becoming Muslim. As those of you who have been reading this know, what I am really interested in doing is LEARNING. Lets go back in time a little bit... when I was in 8th grade, I participated in a friend's Catholic church's Christmas play. I dressed up like an angel, learned dance movements to the Hail Mary, processed down the aisle in front of the entire Christmas services, and participated as one of the angels in a church whose religion I don't even follow's Christmas play.

In college, my freshman year, I joined a Jewish sorority. GRANTED, I didn't KNOW it was Jewish at the time I joined... but it really made no difference to me whatsoever once I found out. I consider myself lucky to bave had the privilege to be exposed to Jewish culture and tradition through the friendships I have made through my Jewish sorority and through the years of planning parties around Jewish holidays and daily sayings or practices that I've had explained to me.

Now I really am just continuing on my lifelong practice of exploring other religions and learning more about other ways of life. I find it interesting that nobody ever asked me if I was considering becoming Jewish even though I spent so much time around Jewish people while at Syracuse. I attended Hillel sometimes, I ate the Jewish meals, I've had motza and eaten at Pickels plenty of times. I planned the damn Hookah for Sukkot event for petes sake! But now that I'm just starting to spend time with some Muslim friends and learning about Muslim culture, numerous people have asked if I plan on becoming Muslim.

So anyways, the Bazaar was really fun! There were different tunics, scarves, and more traditional Indian dress for sale, BEAUTIFUL and exquisite jewelry, henna tattoos, purses, food, etc. The event was only for women and although there weren't many white people there (or people not dressed in traditional Indian clothing) I didn't feel out of place and I was welcomed by everyone.

I have never really seen people dressed in traditional Indian clothing in person... I've seen people wearing the long robes and head scarves but not the dress clothing, and seriously, everything was BEAUTIFUL. I wish I could have taken pictures but I didn't want to feel like a tourist at this event. But the colors and the beading and the patterns and the accessories... everybody looked so amazing and some of those women were drop dead gorgeous, I just wanted to stare. And OMG, the little kids all dressed up? Priceless.

I really enjoyed myself and loved getting to know this friend more. She is really sweet and really makes me laugh. One of the most interesting conversations and also the saddest conversations that we had was with one of her friends. I made a comment about how I am very friendly to everyone I meet and will talk to anybody... my friend commented that she had heard that is the way people are in the South all the time. I asked if she had ever been to the south and she laughed, as did her other friend and they commented that there was no way that they could ever go down and live in the south and they woudln't even dare visit there for fear of being discriminated against. They told horror stories of friends they'd had who had visited the south/gone to school there but dropped out. The joked about the KKK coming after them and what would happen if they walked down the street in their traditional dress.

I stood their awkwardly, wanting to stop them from saying these things, but not really sure what could I say. That this isn't true? I've never been to the south and I especially don't know what its like to be a Muslim in the south or a Muslim here. I felt terrible. The last time I felt like that was in the winter when I had a conversation with an African friend about being discriminated against. It makes me feel guilty, resentful, unappreciative, angry, torn apart, to have these conversations with people.

Someone once told me that the advantage that white people have is that they DON'T have to think about certain things. They DON'T have to think about if they were pulled over because they were driving 5 miles over the speed limit or because of the color of their skin. They DON'T have to think about whether they got their job because of their merits or because of the color of their skin. They DON'T have to think about whether or not they can travel to the south because of the color of their skin (unless they are worried about a sunburn).

And that right there. Is something to think about.

Day 57: Pirates exist!

2008-09-26T22:21:00.000-04:00

So maybe I am out of the loop or maybe I let the drama and fantasy of Captain Jack Sparrow screw with my mind... but did anybody else realize that actual pirates still existed? I didn't!

So as I read this article on MSNBC.com about the U.S. keeping a close eye on pirate ships off the coast of Somalia that had stolen a ton of weapons off of a Soviet ship and are feared to have links to Al-Qaida... what did I think?

Did I think? Oh no, we could be in danger?
Did I think? How are we sure that these people could have links to al-Qaida?
Did I think? Are we taking all of the proper measures to be sure that these people don't get far?

Did I think ANY of these things? Not really.

My real thoughts were... HOLY CRAP... pirates EXIST???

Read the full article here.

And don't worry... more lessons with actual stories involved will emerge again at some point.

Day 56: Legal Euthanasia

2008-09-26T16:14:00.003-04:00

Don't know how factual this one is, but today I learned that apparently euthanasia (assisted suicide) is legal is three places:

1. Oregon

2. Brussels

3. Netherlands

according to a random creepy dude on Craigs List that is...

http://brussels.en.craigslist.org/stp/842505454.html

P.S. For those of you interested, I was on the Brussels Craig's List "strictly platonic" page looking for postings from people that could potentially become new friends for a girl I work with who is doing a rotation in Brussels and struggling to make friends.

Day 55: Boost the deadline a few days.

2008-09-24T21:41:00.000-04:00

Today I learned that if you need something done by a certain date... and you have to send it to an outside person to print it for you.... and you have no control over that person printing it... and even if you give them PLENTY of time to get it done by the date you need it... you should DEFINITELY tell them you need it by a couple days before you actually do need it.

Just in case.

Cause when it comes down to it, you are the one that will look like the idiot if you have nothing to show for the work you've done when it comes time to present it.

Day 54: Ramadan

2008-09-24T08:05:00.002-04:00

Tonight after work, there was a dinner put on by the diversity awareness group at work to honor Ramadan, a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. When I heard about the dinner I was really excited because I've always heard about Ramadan but never really experienced it and I love learning about other cultures. Plus, I've been dieing to try Indian food! A couple weeks back, at another work event, I met a young Muslim couple that I got along with really well. They both celebrate Ramadan and told me that I should definitely go to the dinner and sit with them. After that, I was totally in.

So first, a little background on Ramadan that I learned today. I looked this information up before the dinner, and then during the introduction to the event, most of it was reinforced. The month of Ramadan can when it takes place during the year because it is based on the Lunar calendar.

It lasts for 30 days and although there are numerous factors associated with it, the most notable is that during the month, Muslims fast and abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise until sunset.

Fasting is supposed to teach people patience, sacrifice, and humility. It is not supposed to be a torture mechanism but it is supposed to induce a feeling of peace and calm, cleanse the body, teach self-control and feel sympathy for those less fortunate. Also during Ramadan, Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance into the future, ask for help in refraining from everyday evils and try to purify hemselves through self-restraint and good deeds.

Ramadan ends with Eid ul-Fitr, a day of celebration and feasts. I’m actually sort of ashamed that I never learned this earlier because for the past 4 years I have had a day off of school for Eid ul-Fitr. Yet I never took the take to actually find out why we had that day off besides that it was the day of some funny holiday whose name I couldn’t pronounce. Eid isn't until next week but today, Ramadan was celebrated at work.

The more I learned, the more I liked this holiday because it is practical and it isn’t outrageous. You may think that it is extreme when you hear “fast for a month” but it really isn’t so. Elderly, those critically ill or even anyone not feeling well that day, pregnant women, women on their period, and women nursing are all exempt from fasting. Those traveling are exempt (time differences), children are exempt (ends at puberty) but they often try. For those that cannot fast, they are asked to donate food to someone less wealthy then them and if possible, make up the day that they missed later on in the year. There is also a focus on sharing and helping others and a social aspect of inviting others to join them for meals.

yesterday I decided that today, the day of the work Ramadan dinner, I would fast for the day in order to get more meaning out of it. Throughout the day I jotted down my thoughts and the times that I had these thoughts. This really is kind of funny for me to read now too because I legit just had a word file open all day where I would write something down when it popped into my head related to fasting. Not going to lie, it was REALLY intense.

6:15 a.m. Time to get up! I know the sun rises in about a ½ hour so I’ve got to make sure to get some water into my system.

6:48 a.m. – SUNRISE IN ALBANY, NY --

6:54 a.m. Dang it! I got distracted by blow-drying & straightening my hair that I didn’t realize how much time had gone by and I didn’t drink as much water as I would have liked. Ugh. Here goes nothing…

7:34 a.m. As I’m driving to work I have urges to stop everywhere I want to get something to eat. Weird, since I never usually have eaten at this time… it just goes to show you how much of it is mental. Because I don’t think I’ve ever had a desire to get breakfast at McDonalds. In the words of my brother, “I’d rather lick a toilet”

8:22 a.m. Stomach growling begins. I REALLY want a glass of water.

9:49 a.m. I am trying to ignore that I really want water and coffee.

10:32 a.m. Actual hunger is starting to set in.

11:18 a.m. Hunger is fading. Right now I’m really more bored. Usually I get up throughout the morning to get coffee, go to the bathroom, refill water bottle, etc.

1:02 p.m. Umm… I just went and sat with my friends while they were eating. I’m not really hungry right now but I’m exhausted and my head is cloudy. I don’t know if I would feel this way if I had eaten/drank and maybe I’m just tired? Who knows, but I just want to take a nap right now.

1:08 p.m. I lied. I’m hungry again.

1:43 p.m. Ooooh! Look at that! I went 35 minutes without thinking about the fact that I was fasting.

2:30 p.m. I’m so thirsty and hungry. I want to go to sleep. I want to nap until it is time to eat dinner. I remember my friends used to tell me that when they would fast for Yom Kippor they would try to sleep through the whole day if possible. Yeah. I’m totally feeling like that would be good right now.

2:40 p.m. I wonder how thirsty I’d have to be to be at that stage where you drink your own pee?

2:44 p.m. I send an IM my friend saying I don’t know if I can make it through the day

2:45 p.m. How much of this is mental and how much of it is my lack of food/water literally making me want to close my eyes and nap immediately.

4:19 p.m. Good news? I just had a meeting and forgot about this for a little bit. Bad news? When I stood to get up I felt a little lightheaded.

4:46 p.m. Is this over yet…

5:33 p.m. I’m feeling good. I think this may be the best meal of my life coming up.

---------

The dinner was AMAZING. I had incredible rice, shwarma, rice/vegetable stuffed grape leaves, kebab, hummus, nan, and baklava for dessert. AMAZING. I sat with the wife of the couple I befriended and some of her friends, older women, who all practice fasting throughout the entire month of Ramadan.

I was so proud of myself and happy that I made it through the day of fasting because it really meant a lot to these women and they were so surprised and respectful of the fact that I fasted. That I told them I wanted it to mean something and that I really respected the reasons why they all fast. Also, food was served at 6:30 p.m. but sunset wasn't until 6:50. The women kept telling me that I should eat because I didn't NEED to be fasting but I told them I wanted to wait those last 20 minutes with them. It was hard but it was easier to do it with a group. I can see how Ramandan brings people together, really.

Today was a great day. I learned so much, ate delicious food, made new friends, experienced a new culture, etc. Today's lesson might have been the hardest I've learned so far. Literally, no food and water was so hard.

P.S. Sorry for the long post!

Day 53: The Wizard of Oz

2008-09-23T08:17:00.001-04:00

Today I went to a screening of The Wizard of Oz that was playing at the Palace Theatre in Albany. It was my first time at the Palace and it is a beautiful old venue and I absolutely loved it. They have a series where they periodically screen old films for $5. Tonight they were showing The Wizard of Oz and I decided to check it out.

The theatre was filled with parents with little children (some were dressed up like characters-- so cute!) as well as a large amount of gay men. The atmosphere in the theatre was totally fun... everybody was laughing a lot and just having a good time. At the very start of the movie, the sound was messed up and you could only heard the background music and sound effects but none of the voices. A couple of men filled in for the crowd and literally were reciting EVERY line, with perfect pitch and imitations of the characters voices. Basically it was like Wizard of Oz karaoke. It was HYSTERICAL. The entire theatre was laughing.

Anyways, I heard about this event from a blog I've been reading called All Over Albany and they recommended people check out the movie but also check out some of the political theories and interpretations behind it and the supposed allegories of the characters. They directed me to a few links and I printed them out and read them while I was waiting for the movie to start so they'd be fresh in my mind.

Basically, people say that the movie and the character reflects some of the political situations of the 1890-1900s. Dorothy represents the naive, simple, every day person just trying to get by and get back to normal when a tornado (i.e. a political revolution) carries her to a world with wonderful resources, but serious political problems. In the original book, the slippers were silver, so there is said to be symbolism behind the silver slippers being taken down the "golden" yellow brick road to an "emerald" city... all of which being a symbol for the issues that were going on behind coinage an representation for currency. Where the "emerald" city represents a world where green paper money doesn't really have value in itself and is something that is just built up which no real value behind it. And even though the author of The Wizard of Oz said he came up with "Oz" from a filing cabinet labeling "A-N" and "O-Z" people speculate if Oz really is due to the fact that oz. is the abbreviation for ounces, the measurement used for gold and silver.

The Tinman is said to represent the industrial workers, badly mistreated, and left alone rusted and helpless until the Scarecrow, aka the representation of a farmer comes along to help him. This mimics a much discussed Labor-Farmer movement of the 1890s. Also, the Tinman's dependency on the oil can is taken as a symbol for Rockefellar's rising oil conglomerate (ummm... which if this was meant to be a symbol for larger scale oil dependency, that DEF. still has relevance today-- did anybody see the price of oil shoot up today? ugh.).

Anyways, the movie was totally fun and some of my favorite lines that I wrote down were:

"A heart is not judged by how much it loves but by how much it is loved by others." -Wizard of Oz

"What puts the 'ape' in apricot?" and "A rhinocerous? Imposerous!" - Lion (Both these were during "If I were the King of the Forest" and I just thought they were funny... maybe it was because the same men that were sitting behind me acting out the movie for the theatre when the sound was out continued that throughout the whole thing... and they got such a kick out of these lines that I did as well).

"Some people with no brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?" - (Um, at this point the men behind me shout, 'yah-- and they get elected for two terms!'... which I thought was comical)

"There is no place like home." - Dorothy

If only it were that easy, huh?

Seriously though... seeing this tonight just reminded me what a fun, funny, magical, and educational movie this is. Go watch The Wizard of Oz today.

P.S. Anybody from the fam remember when we were playing some game like "Taboo" and someone was trying to get Chris B. to guess the word "Brain" so they said to him, "If I only had a.....?" and his response was "Chair?"

Day 52: Sound

2008-09-23T08:16:00.001-04:00

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it fall—does it make a sound?

On Sunday, 9/21, I learned the answer to this question.

The book I am currently reading is called “This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession” by Daniel J. Levitin. It is about the human obsession with music and it asks and answers the questions, “What is music?” “Where does it come from?” “Why do some sequences of sounds move us so while others—such as dogs barking or cars screeching- make many of us uncomfortable?" "Why do we listen to music?" "Why are we willing to spend a lot of money on music listening?" "And for those that aren’t willing, why aren’t they affected?" "Why do some people prefer certain types of music?" And more.

I don’t want to come off as a plug for this book because I have really only just begun to read it. However in the introduction chapter, I learned something new already that I found really fascinating. I’m not going to try and paraphrase but I’ll just leave you to read the next two paragraphs as I copied them straight from the book.

“A bowl of pudding only has taste when I put it in my mouth—when it is in contact with my tongue. It doesn’t have taste or flavor sitting in my fridge, only the potential. Similarly, the walls in my kitchen are not “white” when I leave the room. They still have paint on them, of course, but color only occurs when they interact with my eyes.”

“Sound waves impinge on the eardrums and pinnae (the fleshy parts of your ear) setting off a chain of mechanical and neurochemical events, the end product of which is an internal mental image we call pitch. If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? (the question was first posed by the Irish philosopher George Berkeley.) Simply, no—sound is a mental image created by the brain in response to vibrating molecules. Similarly, there can be no pitch without a human or animal present. A suitable measuring device can register the frequency made by the tree falling, but truly it is not pitch unless and until it is hear.”

Pretty neat, huh? And although I won’t plug the book itself since I just started it… I will plug its Web site. It is one of the best author’s sites I’ve seen.

Check it out.

Day 51: Cuse 08 is making moves.

2008-09-22T22:22:00.000-04:00

So Saturday, 9/20, I headed to Syracuse for my first Homecoming.

"Do you think about me now and then?

Cause I'm coming home again,

Do you think we could start again?"

- Kanye West, "Homecoming"

It was so incredible to see my friends and the 24 hours in Cuse was filled with all of the things that I love about Syracuse and none of the things I don't. First of all, Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL day in Syracuse and anybody who has ever lived in that city gets a greater appreciation for sunny, warm days because they happen so infrequently. Therefore, when it is a nice day, everybody emerges and makes the most of it. So the weather alone, made the mood on campus incredible and the fact that it was homecoming, football, people tailgating, wearing orange, drinking beers and listening to music... I think you could just feel the energy and be happy just off of that.

I got the chance to catch up with so many friends and see so many amazing people and what I learned is that the Syracuse University class of 2008 is legit going places with their lives. I don't think that I talked to ANYBODY who wasn't up to something cool or wasn't making moves in their lives. My friends are working in jobs in every field from the fashion industry to the entertainment industry to the steel industry. They are in incredible grad school programs across the country. They are taking chances and moving new places. I am seriously so proud of all of my friends and am so grateful that so many of us got to travel back to Cuse for Homecoming.

The whole time I was there I was just so happy and having so much fun. And I was scared that it would be depressing... but it really wasn't. The whole time I was there was just pure happiness.

I love SU.

A few select pics of the weekend...

P.S. I had to put up the pics of the clothes because when I say that I learned my friends were making moves... it wasn't a lie. One of my roommates from senior year now has her own clothing designs featured in the windows of a store on campus!! How beautiful are these clothes? I want them all. But especially the orange and off-white one in the bottom picture.

Day 50: Online Dating

2008-09-22T21:48:00.000-04:00

On Friday, 9/19, I learned through a lunch conversation with a few co-workers ranging from ages 24-26ish that A LOT of people use Match.com.

I was really surprised by this but then thought more about it... and we're in an age that SO MUCH is done digitally that it really shouldn't be shocking that dating is now taking place online.

Only a few years ago, people would have laughed and scoffed at the idea of people making friends in COLLEGE online. College is sort of know as a place where everyone comes in freshman year desperate for friends and might possibly be the one time in your life that is the most ideal set up for people to make friends. However, nowadays, even freshman in college are making friends online via facebook. It really is sort of sad.

But dating online is becoming the norm for people and not a last resort for those desperate hearts. Everybody that I was speaking with at lunch that were so open and normal talking about Match.com were young, attractive, fun people. One of the guys I had met the week before and had thought he was totally adorable and wanted to spend more time with him. It was so weird to me to hear that he was meeting people online. I thought to myself, "Why does he need to do that? Is there something wrong with him?" but when I thought about that I realized that online dating isn't something that people do nowadays because they NEED to but just because they WANT to and its becoming more of the norm.

Anybody agree or disagree?

With this observation, people may think, "So are you signing up now?" and my answer is no. I am in a position where I am constantly meeting new people every day and using more traditional approaches to meet people. But it isn't something that I would totally rule out of the future. If I came to a point in time where my opportunities to meet new people were stagnant and I wasn't really getting out much... who knows?

Obviously, I always love comments... but I'd like to really propose people throw out their opinions on this one.

Day 49: Inflation

2008-09-21T22:01:00.002-04:00

So I'm backtracking again... my weekends away really cause me to have some problems with posting. Maintaining this blog is a LOT harder than I thought it would be.

Anyways, Thursday I learned that inflation is a real live thing and I can now officially join the ranks of old people that say, "Back when I was young, you used be able to buy ____ for only ____ and now you have to pay ____!"

I got word from some friends that prices of pitchers at my favorite Syracuse bar were raised from $3/pitcher to $3.50 and pizza was raised from $1.00/slice to $1.50! I sent text messages to all my friends informing them of the highway robbery that I felt this was and I wanted to warn everybody since we'd all be headed to Syracuse that weekend for Homecoming.

Now, just so people don't think I'm a brat. I do realize that even with the price increases, this is ridiculously cheap. First of all, I don't even PAY for pizza at this place because 3 years of flirting has led me to be best friends with Benny, the young guy whose family owns the place and always works the late night shift. It even got to the point that the other employees knew me so that if I ever showed up and Benny wasn't there, they recognized me as his friend and continued the free pizza fest for me. Second, later this night I went out for a drink in Albany and one single beer cost $5 so yes, I realize that $3.50 for a pitcher is ridiculously cheap!

However, I now will definitely always be using the phrase, "Back when I was in college you could get a pitcher and a slice of pizza for $4!"

(This type of behavior is why we need cheap pitchers.)

Day 48: We're all going through it.

2008-09-17T22:16:00.000-04:00

Today, I realized that no matter where you live, no matter who you are, you're going to go through some rough times. After being in NYC this weekend, a place that I love, and clearly have a lot of friends in, I've been sort of feeling like, "Did I make the right decision in coming to Albany and starting over from scratch socially and having a REALLY grown up job?"

I sort of wish that I was living in NYC and living in a tiny, crappy apartment with some friends. Working long hours at a job with lots of other young kids right after college. Wandering the streets and taking the subway and trying to make every penny count. Doing things like I did last summer when we planned a free food happy hour tour of the city and going to "quarter pitchers" night at Town Tavern getting the most for our money. I wish I could spend my weekends lounging around at different friends apartments. Having literally a world of options at my fingertips and all of my best friends from school, home, and abroad all right in the same city. Did I make the right choice to come here?

I've grown up SO much in the past few months its sort of crazy. In some ways, I needed that to happen, in some ways, I feel like why am I rushing? I'm young.

So I realized that I'm not the only one having these problems and these thoughts. I'm not the only one struggling to fit in. I'm not the only one who isn't really sure what they are doing with their lives and if the path they are on is the right one.

Now, I never really assumed that I was the ONLY one, but today after having conversations over the past few days with friends and today after a 45 minute phone call around the world... it just really made me realize that we're all susceptible to these thoughts. And you need to be there for your friends and we all need to realize that we can help each other out by just being there for each other.

Day 47: Ultimate Frisbee!

2008-09-17T21:53:00.000-04:00

Today after work, a friend of mine asked me to go join a game of pick up ultimate frisbee. I'd never played ultimate frisbee before and I didn't know the rules but I thought that it would a fun thing to do because I like sports outside where you get sweaty and muddy, it was a nice day and who knows how many of those are left, I had gym clothes with me, I need to meet people, exercise is good, etc.

I also had some reasons to NOT go. That list was:

- The pants I had with me were the ones I'd worn at the that morning and that day, I wore these REALLY tight stretch capri pants that I shouldn't be wearing until I lose like 30 more lbs. I wear them to the gym because they are comfy to work out in and other people wear way more ridiculous stuff than I do. However, I didn't want the people from work to think that I didn't know I shouldn't be wearing these pants.
- Also, since I went to the gym in the morning my long t-shirt was all sweaty. I had a shorter one in the car, but I didn't know if I should wear the short shirt with tight pants or the long sweaty shirt with the tight pants.
- I don't know how to play ultimate frisbee
- I really wanted to watch TV at home.. I'd slated myself some time from my roommate to watch the main TV and see stuff I'd DVRed
- I had plans that night to get drinks from a friend and I didn't want to have to shower again.

Finally, I figured, screw it, I'm going to go. And I wore the tight pants with the short-nonsweaty shirt.

So when we got there, not going to lie, I was a little intimidated but my friend swore to me that nobody would care that I sucked. The rules I learned, were pretty simple. I will try to compair to sports that are more well known... for example. Like football, you have to have one of your teammates catch something (the frisbee, duh) while in a designated "end zone" area. Also like football, you start with the ultimate frisbee version of a punt and throw the football all the way down to the opposing team. You pass the frisbee back and forth to your teammates trying to get the frisbee into the end zone.

A key rule is that when you catch the frisbee and have it in your hands, you cannot run. Like basketball, when you stop dribbling, you can pivot and keep one foot in place but you can't run. When people are passing, you can try to play defense and catch/block the frisbee. If the frisbee hits the ground (by someone dropping it or by it being swatted down by the defensive team) then possession switches and the other team has the frisbee. If you throw it out of bounds, possession switches also (like basketball).

So, I hope that this description of the rules wasn't too boring, but I totally had a fun time and I recommend it to everybody to get out there and play some sports and don't be intimidated if its one you aren't a pro at. Well, you can be intimidated-- but don't let that stop you!

P.S. I'm still playing catch up and writing this post the day after I played... and I actually received an e-mail from someone who I played with yesterday as to where I could sign up to get more e-mails and keep playing with them!

Day 46: Bananas out of style

2008-09-17T21:16:00.000-04:00

So today at lunch, I was discussing with a group of friends (yeah, thats right-- today for the first time I ate lunch with a group of friends! okay, well it was one friend and the rest of HER friends but whatevs) the fruit the banana. We were talking about bananas going bad and how you can freeze it and use in banana bread. One girl recommended freezing bananas whole (not rotten) and then using them in smoothies instead of ice cubes-- interesting!

Anyways, the banana conversation quickly turned from talking about food to talking about something way more technical and advance (which is what happens when you work with engineers/scientists).

Someone at the table had heard on a Scientific American podcast about the future of bananas, and people, the truth is horrifying. The podcast featured an interview with some dude who wrote some book about bananas. Fascinating, I know. But it gets better.

What I learned is that there is only one strain of bananas that are actually eaten by regular people... that is the Cavendish banana. And these Cavendish bananas are genetically the same and they are the only type of banana that is hearty and tough enough to handle the travel time from wherever it was grown to your supermarket. So for anybody that has ever pealed and eaten a banana, that was a Cavendish banana you ate.

The exception being if you are over 50 years old and you've been a banana fan for your whole life. Cause there used to be another kind of banana that went extinct 50 years ago, and that was called the Gros Michel. There was a disease called the Panama Disease that wiped out ALL the Gros Michel bananas! So the banana anybody ate today? Not the same kind of banana Grammy ate as a little kid.

And guess what? PANAMA DISEASE IS BACK. The dude says in the podcast, "It has spread all the way through the Pacific to Australia and it is coming to our hemisphere. It has not hit yet, but I have said often and it is absolutely true that it is coming. No banana scientists, no plant pathologist denies that. "

Did you all read that. NO BANANA SCIENTISTS DENY IT. I'm sorry but if you don't trust a banana scientist, then who do you trust?

So fill your freezers people, bananas are on their way out. You can all thank me later for what I and now what you learned after Monday, 9/15.

And P.S. Fun fact? Bananas are actually berries!

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Day 45: Plan ahead for the subway

2008-09-16T21:31:00.000-04:00

PLAN AHEAD FOR THE SUBWAY!!!!

Basically I was all over NYC this weekend from Harlem to Brooklyn to the East Village. For those of you who don't know NYC, let me clue you in-- thats a lot of traveling and a lot of subway. However, I really actually enjoy the Subway, as odd as that sounds. Last summer I really enjoyed my 1/2 hour subway commute where I would sit and read the paper, get ready for my day, and be shuttled to where I work. I appreciate public transportation a lot more after now having a 1/2 hour driving commute to work.

I can't read while I drive. I can't eat breakfast. I can't close my eyes and rest if I am so inclined.

Even though it wasn't a commute, I do enjoy being on the Subway. All the people, all the noises, all the sights. The hot subway platform and then the burst of cool air conditioned air when you get on the subway car and then when you get out and emerge into the bustling city. I dunno. I just like it.

HOWEVER, I do not like when the train so much on the weekends when lines are closed. And I can never seem to figure out how people know when lines are closed. On Sunday I had to travel from the Village to Columbia. First of all, I didn't double check with my friend that I was traveling to, which stop to get to. I just looked at the map, saw "Columbia" and was all, "Bingo, lets go!".

Well, I waited forever for a certain line, tried to get on a different line that I thought when the same way, realized it didn't and that I was going the wrong way, had to retrace my subway steps, waited forever for a certain line, let a few trains go by that I could have gotten on because I didn't realize that one line was running another line's schedule, I didn't know which trains were running local and which were express. Basically, I was a MESS. And it took me 2 hours to finally get to the place I thought I was supposed to be.

However, when I got off the train, I realized that I was on the wrong side of the damn park and that I was still like 6 avenues from where I needed to be at 8:00 p.m. alone in Harlem with a suitcase. At this point, I hopped in a cab.

So yeah, I am pretty freaking good with the Subway, I know the lines, I know what things mean, I am fairly confident with my Subway ability. However, on Sunday, the 14th, I learned that you can't be too cocky with the Subway because it will turn around slap you in the face. Plan ahead. Make sure you know where you are going, what lines aren't running, and when you need to switch trains.

Winging it? Doesn't always work.

Day 44: Brooklyn is a great place to live

2008-09-16T15:41:00.001-04:00

During my weekend in NYC, I visited some friends that live in Brooklyn. Last summer when I lived in NYC, I traveled to Brooklyn once for a party... it was a rather horrifying experience. We messed up taking the subway, we got lost in a bad neighborhood, and then when we got to the apartment where the party was located-- the apartment sucked and the party wasn't even fun. I'd also visited Brooklyn once a few summers previously when I visited one of my friends at her place of work. It wasn't that pretty of a neighborhood and didn't seem to have much going on.

Needless to say, I didn't really have a good impression of Brooklyn and during the time that I thought I might move to NYC post-graduation, I never even considered the possibility of living in Brooklyn. However, this weekend on my trip, when I headed to my friends apartment I learned that Brooklyn can be a pretty badass place to live! My friends apartment was very big and clean. They had a GORGEOUS 7th floor balcony with an incredible view of NYC and of the Statue of Liberty. It was quieter and more neighborhoodlike than Manhattan, lots of little stores and places to go, and an AMAZING pizza shop right around the corner from my friends where we got pizza with truffle oil. Um, delicious.

Another one of my best friends lived really close by, and we also visited another neat apartment that was really big with roof access-- which is always fun.

Basically what I learned on Saturday 9/13 is that Brooklyn, is a pretty darn neat place to live!

Pics of the view to come!

Day 43: Aggressive Driving in NYC

2008-09-16T15:24:00.001-04:00

So on this day (Friday, 9/12... I'm still playing catch up), I drove into NYC to visit some friends. Yes, I drove into the city and it really wasn't that bad... what was extremely helpful in the trip was the GPS that I recently got for my birthday (BTW- I learned recently that GPS was invented where I work. Yes, that is correct! I didn't include as my "what I learned" because this was the same day as the soda-in-a-meeting lesson and that one was an extremely important lesson). There is no way that I could have driven into NYC alone with printed out directions. I would have gotten miserably lost or crashed into something. Either one. It wouldn't have been good.

So whatever, I drove into NYC and I had planned to park on the street up by my friend's dorm at Columbia. She had been scoping out the parking situation for me for days and learned that there was one street perpendicular to where she lived that had free parking on the street (with actual spots-- not parallel parking!) where I could leave my car for the entire weekend.

When I arrived in NYC there was an ideal spot that someone pulled out of that literally could not be any closer to my friend's apartment. It was right by the corner of an intersection and as I pulled up, I could have darted right into the open spot but decided to be a safe driver instead and waited with my blinker on for a car coming on the left hand side of the road to pass. You can see where I am going with this. The douche bag, jerk-face with no blinker just drove right in even though I was CLEARLY waiting for that spot. I was PISSED.

And obviously, there were no other open spots in this area of parking. So obviously, all the work my friend put in to find this ideal area was wasted. GRRRRR.

I'm still heated when I think of it, but I guess what I learned was that when driving in NYC... go all-out, no holds barred, petal to the metal, AGGRESSIVE driving. Next time, that parking spot will be mine.

P.S. Is "no holds barred" the correct phrase? It doesn't really sound right to me and I couldn't tell you what it originates from so I feel like it is possibly false. After the "all intensive purposes" incident I'm paranoid.

Day 42: Finance

2008-09-12T09:54:00.007-04:00

Hey All, I am WAY backtracking right now because I was away for the weekend and have been super exhausted and busy. However, I want you all to know that even when I don't post right away I'm still thinking of this and planning in my head what to write about each day. Today, I found a great plan from a blog on how to manager your finances and how to manage a budget. That has been something I have been trying to work on and trying to organize in my life. So I learned some tricks today and now the task is to apply them to my life. Some of what I learned:

- Grab a piece of paper and a pencil, and sit down. List all sources of income on a monthly basis. Next, identify all of your major expenditures, such as rent, car loan, insurance, utilities, food, clothing, etc. Even include savings here!
- Subtract your expenses from your income and it is time to analyze.
- Focus on savings versus spending and rethink priorities.
- Put off buying unnecessary items today, and dedicate that money toward a future dream purchase.
- See if you can top how much you have saved each month.
- Make wise cuts.
- Predetermine your withdrawals. Before going to the bank or cash machine, know exactly how much money you are going to withdraw. Make this money last a designated period of time.
- DOCUMENT EVERY TRANSACTION.
- Monitor your budget on a weekly basis.

Day 40 and 41: Movie making!

2008-09-10T17:02:00.003-04:00

Hey Gang, now, I don't want to get into the habit of posting two days together but I just had to for this situation. Back in July, my job gave me a little hand held Flip video recorder to use for work purposes but they also told us it was a gift and we were free to do whatever we wanted with it outside of work.

I took it on vacation with me because that took place right after I got the camera, I wanted to play with it, and I wanted to show off the new perk of my job :) I've had these videos stored on my camera since the vacation and have done nothing with them. To be honest, I haven't even really used the camera that much either, so I hadn't paid attention to how to do any editing, or if any editing was possible with the camera.

Last week I began using it for work and was planning all of my films to be shot in one single take because I didnt think I had editing capabilities. Upon seeing some of the things my peers had put together with the camera, I realized that editing was possible, so I spoke with them, and they told me the basics of how to edit with the Flip camera.

When I got home from work, I loaded everything onto my computer, practiced some different editing and movie making techniques. So yesterday, I learned how to make a movie, with music in the background, cutting up different shots, etc. It took a long time to load together and I left my computer running as I went to sleep.

This morning when I woke up, the movie was completed, and I decided to try and load it onto YouTube to share with you all! I had never done that before, so at 5:30 a.m. this morning as I was getting ready to leave to go to the gym, I got distracted by that and learned how to load videos onto YouTube! However, I wasn't sure if I was doing it right, and again, it took forever to load so I just left it running and went to work. Just a few minutes ago, I decided to check and do a quick YouTube search and see if my video was up there and sure enough it was!!

So check out what I've created from my learnings from the past two days. And if you want to get the link or watch it outside of here, just search YouTube for "Waukewan" at any time. (Oh yeah, and I still have a lot to learn as far as editing goes... these weren't in the order that I wanted them in, I accidentally have a video in there twice, the song starts to repeat itself at the end, etc. but it is still pretty cute and fun).

P.S. $5 says my mom cried.

Day 39: Soda in meetings

2008-09-08T15:43:00.005-04:00

One of the really incredible aspects of my program is the exposure that I am given to top leadership in my company and the opportunities to take part in executive level projects. On Friday I was invited to join in a lunchtime meeting today to brainstorm ideas for the redesign of our external Web site. I was really excited about this because I have a lot of ideas and really like to be able to give my input on ways that I think our company can appeal to the younger generations and be more up to date and energetic.

I'm sort of obsessed with social media and viral marketing. My Google Reader is filled with blogs on the latest trends in the field and the reason that I started my own blog in the first place wasn't to stay more in touch with people, but because I wanted to learn as much as I could about the blogosphere and the world of blogging. My friends all know me as the one who is constantly sending out blogs that would interest them, intriguing articles I've found online, and YouTube videos that range from ridiculously smart and innovative to ridiculously silly. So needless to say, I was pumped for this meeting.

I realized this morning that it was taking place in one of the fancier conference rooms and that lunch would be served during the meeting. I didn't realize until I walked in and met those that we were meeting with that it was our company's top digital marketing executive we were meeting with, as well as a member of her team (and an alum of the communications program I am in!), and two representatives from an outside digital marketing/media firm that are the master creative and executive minds behind my company's video series that I'm obsessed with (example below).

So, when it came time to eat, I didn't get any of the food offered because I am still trying to eat healthy and what they were offering wasn't so. Free things are MY favorite things ever so I opted for just a Diet Coke instead. I guess I must have drank the 20 oz. bottle of soda a little too fast because shortly after the start of the meeting I realized that I had some major carbonation-provoked burping issues. NOT OKAY.

I literally spent the entire meeting TERRIFIED that if I opened my mouth a burp would accidentally come out. I had to keep swallowing them, I felt so bloated, and I am positive I must have had the most ridiculous looks on my face as I struggled to not explode. It was terrible.

So, what I learned today is do not, I repeat, ABSOLUTELY do not, EVER, drink a bottle of soda before or during an important meeting.

I can honestly say, I will never do that ever again. I learned this lesson the hard way, but not the REALLY hard way, because luckily, I kept all those burps down and was able to contribute to the meeting (although whether or not my contributions were seen as valuable, I don't know).

Day 38: Intents and purposes.

2008-09-07T23:02:00.001-04:00

Today, I learned something that I legit had no clue about. I learned that a phrase I use often is actually not what I thought and completely incorrect.

My mom told me today that a phrase she'd read in my blog was wrong and she wanted to make sure I know. In a past entry, I'm not even sure which one, I used the phrase "for all intensive purposes." And what my mom told me, which I had no clue about, is that that phrase is completely wrong and doesn't make sense and what is actually correct is "for all intents and purposes."

Um, oops.

As embarassing as this is and as hard as it is to hear that you've been wrong (and in this case, it is as if I've been wrong over and over and over since I've been saying "for all intensive purposes" for a while) it is always a good thing to learn something new.

Duh :)

Day 37: Wedding registry

2008-09-07T21:51:00.002-04:00

So on Saturday I learned about registering for gifts for a wedding. No, not having to do with my sisters wedding, but for a friend of my roommates.

We went to Target to pick out a gift for his friend and it was really interesting to see how it works. I think that Target is a great place to have a gift registry and it was so easy to use. We went to the store and were able to easily search at a kiosk for the couple's list and print it out free of charge. The print out had the exact store AISLES written down of where you could find each item. It listed if it had been purchased, if it was available in stock, and the price. It was SO useful.

You also could have just gone to the Web site and ordered something directly from the store. Very easy.

It was cool to see how this works and since my sister has gotten engaged these sort of wedding things jump out at me. So sis, maybe what I learned can help you out!

Day 36: Gym people

2008-09-07T19:54:00.005-04:00

Alright, so I'm playing catch up right now and writing a post for what I learned on Friday, September 5, 2008. That Friday, as with every weekend night that I spend in Albany, is a test for me to be able to see if I have made enough connections to make plans and have something to do. I've been spending a lot of time with my new friend The Chemist that I work with. Friday, she had invited me over to her apartment for drinks and to then go out with her, her roommate, and some of their friends from high school.

We went to a bar in Schenectady that I'd actually been to a few times for lunch with co-workers and had also been taken on a date there a few weeks back. It was interesting to see this bar in a different light... or I should rather say in the absence of light, as it was the first time I'd been there at night. There was a live band and the outdoor portion of the bar was a great atmosphere with lots of people. We all had a really good time and what I learned on this day is where all of the people who work at the gym I belong to and all of the really intense, hardcore, gym people go out.

Now, with my quest to make friends and all you may have thought that this was a good thing... to start to recognize some people that I know around town and run into friendly faces. But yeah, that is absolutely not the case. "Gym people" freak me out. By "gym people" I mean those people that have solid muscular bodies, survive off of energy bars and power drinks, only associate with other gym people, and either work at the gym, spend all of their time at the gym, or both. They are buff, they are dedicated, they could all beat me up, and they scare the hell out of me.

These "gym people" I feel judge me. I feel they are superior human beings. I feel like as I fidder fodder around at the gym not really knowing what I'm doing and fighting to lose a few pounds, these "gym people" are probably laughing at me and my incorrect form and technique and way of working out. I've always said that I will not try to debate things that I do not know anything about with someone that does know a lot. I know that I probably am not doing things perfectly at the gym but I do the best I can. I can't run the farthest or the fastest, I can't lift the most, I definitely do not have the best body. And yet I have to work out in front of all of these "gym people" who do know what they're doing.

So apparently all these gym people go out to this one bar and apparently the intimidation that I feel by them translates outside of the walls of the gym.

I'm fairly certain that I will never be one of these gym people and I am fairy positive that I don't want to be. Hopefully, one day I'll get to the stage where I don't feel quite as judged or intimidated by "gym people."

Day 35: Dragonboats

2008-09-04T10:29:00.007-04:00

So, in honor of this weekend's annual Dragonboat Race in the Blackstone River and in honor of the Providence Journal officially becoming my favorite news publication simply for reprinting this photo of last year's race... featuring someone... I know quite well, I have decided to learn about the history of dragon boating.

Dragon boat racing is one of the oldest forms of competition and sport in mankind. It originated in China in pre-Christian times and reemerged as an international sport in 1976. The crew of a dragon boat team usually consists of around 22 people: 20 manual laborers who paddle the boat, 1 drummer, and 1 steerer. Although this is only a general guideline... dragon boats can range from 10 paddlers to 50 paddlers.

The drummer is the "heartbeat" of the dragon boat and keeps the paddlers in unison because let me tell you, from what I've read on Wikipedia and other sites, it is absolutely CRITICAL that you are in sync with the rest of the team, especially the person sitting right next to you. The paddles or oars used in dragon boat racing are not attached to the boat in any way, shape, or form, so this makes it very difficult to stay in unison and you also can't leverage the mass of the boat at all and takes a lot of strength to row. And it is different from canoeing because in canoeing, you row with your back facing where you are going and with dragon boating, you FACE where you are going.

A race concludes by having a "flag puller" grab a posted flag before any other team. This originated because back in the day there was no such thing as "photo finishes" and instant replay, which was even adopted by the nation's pasttime, baseball, last week! If you want to see a badass "flag puller" in action, check the image up above.

Even though dragon boating dates back 2500 years and is the equivalent to China what the Olympics are to Greece, it is still very popular in today's times. It is organized by the International Dragon Boat Federation and is among one of the fastest growing team water sports in the world. There are 10s of thousands of partipants in over 60 countries. Wikipedia says, "The sport is recognized for the camaraderie, strength and endurance fostered amongst participants, and it has also become a very popular corporate and charitable sport." Boo-yeah!

SO basically, dragon boating is the shit. And on a completely serious note, I've heard that it is a really great workout and a lot of fun. If anybody is looking for a team to join or a new organization to get involved in, look out for dragon boating coming to your area. A lot of people, myself included, crack jokes about dragon boating, but it seriously is a pretty cool thing and I'm very proud to know someone who takes part in this sport.

Day 33: Meat balls!

2008-09-02T23:59:00.000-04:00

This weekend I went home to visit my mom and I cooked for her, after which she remarked to me that I was "such a good cook". And you know what? I do love to cook... except I wouldn't call myself a good cook, as much as I'd like to. I basically use the same ingredients and flavors over and over in different combinations. So today, I started to learn how to cook with different ingredients, different flavors, and different methods of cooking.

I prepared by looking through a Weight Watchers recipe book... not for exact recipes to follow, but for inspiration and a little advice. I then went to the grocery store and bought a lot of fresh vegetables and various ingredients for some of the meals I wanted to try. Like my high heels practice, today I STARTED a learning process and hopefully I'll keep up different recipes that I particularly enjoy and tell you about them.

Tonight for dinner, I sauteed onions and green peppers until they were caramelized. Then, I added garlic and some kielbasa, cut up into bite size pieces, to the frying pan and cooked until the garlic was perfect and the kielbasa was brown on both sides. A little salt and pepper and it was done!

I know it sounds totally simple but it was absolutely DELICIOUS. The sweet, caramelized onions and peppers combined with the salty kielbasa was perfect.

I was so proud of myself I didn't want to quit learning new combinations and experimenting in the kitchen. I also decided to make some meatballs. I've seen my mom cook meatballs for years so I had an idea of what to do but I didn't use any recipe or guidelines and just added things that I thought would be good. I used:

- ground turkey
- cooked, minced garlic and onions
- italian seasoning
- bread crumbs
- parmesean cheese
- salt and pepper
- basil
- 1 egg

I know thats pretty standard, but I was proud of myself and they came out delicious! Something that is also exciting for me is that I am cooking for one and cooking in a way to count points and still be healthy with Weight Watchers. The peppers and onions meal I ate was only 6 points... 5 for the kielbasa and I added 1 for the oil I used to coat the pan. The meatballs I counted to be 5 points for 2 meatballs. Obviously, my cooking made a large amount of meatballs. I packed them up 2 per ziploc bag and froze most of them so in the future, I'll have delicious meatballs, in individual serving sizes, ready to defrost. Yum Yum!

Look forward to more recipes as I learn to cook with different ingredients, different flavors, and different methods, while still being healthy.

AUGUST RECAP

2008-09-02T23:41:00.002-04:00

So, I should have done this yesterday, but I wanted to recap for you all everything I learned in the month of August.

Due to what I’ve learned from August 1 - August 31, you can now find me standing up straight, walking around in heels, in beautiful makeup and wearing hot necklaces that I got for a bargain. I will not allow the pleasure of free things cease to thrill me nor will I stop loving my friends. Because of what I learned, I’ll be hanging out in the sun with some old friends and new friends, discussing politics, playing Mario Kart, singing along to La Vie Boheme or John Mayer, and having snacks of apples to boost my metabolism and Cumberland wine. As the time gets nearer for me to be the Maid of Honor, I’ll be God-slapping my sister to seal promises about our secrets, like the kind Julia Child had-- or we could just talk in code. If I ever travel to China, I’ll know some fun facts about their superstitions, I’ll triple check to make sure I have everything I need and that I read up on things that don’t translate into their culture. I’ll be complimenting everyone I meet, doing favors for others such as helping them tie their ties, reading palms, and giving massages. As summer vacation comes to an end, I know that I'll be succeeding at work and that 22 will be a GREAT year.

Much love and please stay with me as we head into month 2 of this project.

Day 32: Labor Day

2008-09-01T22:35:00.004-04:00

So today is Labor Day. Labor Day has always represented a lot of things to me:

- The end of summer
- The start of school
- A day off from school and an extra day of partying in college
- A day off from work
- Good sales
- "Family Fun Day" at Abbott Run

Although exciting and important to me, I didn't think that any of these things were the original intention of Labor Day. So today, Labor Day 2008, I decided to look up the actual meaning and origin of Labor Day. Much to my surprise, there isn't really THAT much more behind Labor Day besides the day off from work.

Labor Day began in 1882 on September 5th and was celebrated in New York City in accordance with the Central Labor Union. The day was created to honor the working men and women of the United States and give them a day of rest off from work. Through the growth of different Labor Unions at this time, the holiday spread and in 1885 there was nationwide celebration by labor unions. Labor Day REALLY IS a day meant for workers to spend time with their families and to just relax and have fun.

I think this is totally awesome. I sort of feel bad that I just spent an hour on my work computer getting some things done! On that note, I hope that everybody had a relaxing and enjoyable Labor Day and have a great 4 day work week!

Day 31: Secret Codes

2008-08-31T22:48:00.004-04:00

So, one of my good friends and one of the most talented and successful people my age that I know, has recently moved to London and began a career as an investment banker. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the going away party or chat with him before he left since I was already in Albany working away. Much to my delight, I recently was informed that my friend is keeping a blog about his experiences.

I try and inspire everyone I know to create a blog because I am in lust with them. However, with this friend, he got the brilliant idea on his own! He hasn't blogged too much yet, but today there was a new entry and it provided me with my new knowledge for today!

The stuff my friend is working on is potential deals and mergers and crazy important stuff in the banking world. He also notes in his blog entry that they do a lot of work on the go and read up on current projects via their blackberries. Confidential information + Blackberry + out in public = something that I find very awesome and cool.

THEY USE CODE NAMES!

I have a really exciting job and learn about a lot of proprietary projects and new developments that we aren't allowed to talk about publically. However, I think that my job would be 10x more exciting if we used code names. I also think that I would LOVE to be the person who comes out with the code names.

So anyways, thanks to my friend for giving me and hopefully you a little insight into the secret world of investment banking and the secret measures they go through to keep things private.

If you want to check out his blog, please do! This kid is brilliant.

Day 30: The new trend.

2008-08-30T22:52:00.002-04:00

Today, my mom taught me the new trend in making promises. The general promise sealer in the United States is a pinky promise. People also use the "Do you swear on our friendship?" or swearing on some sort of thing of important to seal a promise as well. When I studied abroad in Italy, I had a friend from Japan who taught me that you press one of your palms to the palm of the person you are making a promise with above your head to seal the deal.

I learned a new promise sealer via my mom today called the "God slap." The "God slap" is similar to any sort of traditional high five, except that if you call it a "God slap" before you do it, it means that you must obey and adhere to whatever terms you have just determined.

The "God slap" I believe was made up by my mom today, on the stop, off the fly, to suit the purpose of what we was going on at the time. But I think it could be the new trend in sealing promises.

I recommend that the next time you and a friend are discussing something important and it is proposed to have a "pinkie promise" or to "swear on" something, instead you seal it with a "God slap."

Thank you and goodnight.

Day 29: Make new friends.

2008-08-30T22:35:00.003-04:00

"Make new friends, but keep the old.
One is silver and the others gold."

So today, I learned that if you put yourself out there and you network the right way you can really meet great people. Thus far, as I've been in Albany I've been going to random networking events, talking to anybody I can, and doing my best to make friends and people I connect with. I've met a lot of great people but I've had a hard time continuing the relationships. Last night (I'm playing catch up right now), I originally had plans with a girl that I met at work but those fell through around 10:00 p.m.

I was already dressed and ready to go out so I was a little frustrated (at the situation, not at the girl I work with) and decided to text some people that I'd met at a young professionals networking event that I'd attended a few weeks earlier. I'd e-mailed with these friends and we'd all had the "Yeah, we should totally get together and go out!" talks... but one of the things I've learned through my experiences so far is that A LOT of people will say that but not actually mean it... and when you try and follow through they just look at you like your crazy. I was willing to take that risk by texting them, and to my surprise and delight I got a PHONE CALL (which I thought was so much more sincere than just a response text) from one of the girls saying that she was so happy I got in touch with her and that she was about to meet a bunch of her friends and she'd love it if I joined.

So I did! And I ended up having one of the best nights in Albany that I've had so far, aside from when friends have visited, of course :) My networking and reaching out REALLY paid off and everyone that I spent the night with was so nice and friendly and welcoming. We had great conversations and for one of the rare times, I met people that I really fell like are good people and people that I would be friends with outside from this whole "new city, no friends, befriend anybody" situation I've been in.

Yeah, it was only one night but we all talked about hanging out more in the future and I'm really excited about this group of people I've met. I hope I'm not jumping the gun, but I've learned that if you work at it and put yourself out there, it may take time, but you will find a group of friends that you relate to and have fun with.

Day 28: P.I.E. model

2008-08-28T22:03:00.000-04:00

Today I attended a lunch and learn session at work about the "PIE" Formula for Leadership Success. "PIE" stands for Performance, Image, and Exposure. This formula brings together these three elements to demonstrate what is needed for advancement and success within an organization. Performance represents the actual work that you do and how well you do it. Image means what you look like, act, present yourself, etc. basically the message you send without words and the way people view you. Exposure represents the ability that others have to basically see your performance and your image.

Performance tips are to do every task that you are assigned as if it is urgent. Don't be sloppy. But get it done ASAP. If offered, accept the hard jobs. You will learn the most from those tasks. When you present new ideas or new ways of doing things be sure to always relate them directly to current business needs. Ask questions, but not just any questions. Ask the RIGHT questions. Think like a CEO before you get there. READ. Always be learning (woohoo go me). Develop your own style

The image that you convey to others can be an intentional image or non-intentional. Either way, it is important. Be sure that you look put together and prepared for things. Do not slouch. Be ready for any question or anything that comes up. Have executive presence. Demonstrate knowledge of the business and function you are working on. Maintain composure under pressure and don't show your emotions. Know what others are saying about you. Compare the way you act/look to top leaders in the business. Brand yourself and your stlye. Be true to that brand.

Exposure is active openness. It doesn't mean just having your door open but actively seeking and maintaining relationships. Performance multiplied by exposure equals career impact. We all laughed when the speaker said, "If you aren't performing-- don't get yourself exposed." but it is true. Exposure often means getting out of your comfort zone. When on business trips you may be tired and just want to sit in your hotel room, watch TV, and order in room service. But don't do that! Meet people, have conversations, sit with someone new at lunch, get a drink after work, etc. Make time for this and plan ahead. Do some homework... know what is going on in the world and in sports and music and entertainment so you can have some small talk conversations. Work to maintain and follow up on these connections you make.

The way that this system breaks down their importance is as follows:

This just shows you generally if you sit at your desk non-stop and do work, work, work than you aren't going to advance much within the corporation because you need both of those other aspects to be able to move up. We discussed taking advantage of opportunities to talk in elevators, run into upper management and be able to say hello and have a short conversation, and look presentable at the same time. We discussed that you really need to be on your game when you present to upper level management in presentations, etc.

The speakers at the presentation emphasized that these ACTUAL percentages don't really mean much... they are not exact numbers or anything like that. Where I work, making this sort of disclaimer is necessary, because we have a lot of technical people and they take these things very literally. One girl raised her hand and asked if the percentages were meant to represent how much time we put into each of these things while we are at work.

I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing because I was imaging someone spending 60% of their day riding up in down in the elevator hoping that someone important comes in and 30% of their day fixing hair and makeup... and then 10% actually doing work. Could you imagine?? The thought of that cracked me up.

Anyways, this is what I learned today... stay tuned for more thrilling learnings in the life of moi!

Day 27: $1 Necklaces.

2008-08-27T23:13:00.000-04:00

So today, I learned that whenever you are at a jewelry store sale where everything is $1 you should definitely go out and buy as many things that you can find that are remotely cute.

You people may be thinking, "Well duh! Where is this sale, I want to go now!" or possibly, "How realistic is a $1 jewelry sale? This is pointless."

Well, let me tell you... I've been at a $1 jewelry sale and I bought a couple necklaces. It was back in May when I was still in Syracuse and early one Saturday morning I got a text from a friend who worked at thus jewelry store in question. She informed us of the blow-out "we're moving locations and don't want to have to get frat boys to carry hundreds of boxes" sale going on. Now, none of the stuff there I could particularly see fitting into my wardrobe at the moment, but I bought a necklace anyways with the notion, "Hey it is only a dollar!" I was quite satisfied with my purchase at the time.

But then, days, weeks, months, went by when I never wore this necklace. I'd look at it sometimes and try it on with an outfit but it never seemed right. I started to get discouraged with myself and whenever I'd be strapped for a $1 I'd think, "If only I never bought that stupid necklace, I could [buy a coffee/pay the toll without using pennies/get a pack of gum/tip the bartender/do a load of laundry]." See, I love bargains. I also hate wasting money. Bargains can sometimes trick you into spending money that you don't want to spend. I thought that this was the case and that I had been tricked out of my $1.

Well, today, as I was getting dressed, I put on gray dress pants, a black tank top, tan/gold sweater over it, and black shoes (no, not the ones I bought from Wal-Mart last week either). I immediately realized that this $1 unworn necklace would look perfect with my outfit. I put it on and it legit looked perfect with my outfit! I wore it all day and smiled at myself whenever I saw it in the mirror.

This may seem silly and trite to some (especially any boys that are reading this) but I seriously get such a thrill out of buying things cheap and getting good use out of them. This particular case was even more exciting for me, because I had pretty much given up hope on it, and thus causing myself to doubt current bargain shopping purchases and think, "Am I ACTUALLY ever going to wear this? I think I am, but I did waste that $1 on the necklace..." So today, finding a perfect matching outfit for this necklace, months after its purchase, has reaffirmed my beliefs in bargain shopping alltogether.

I apologize for not having a photo up here. I went to the gym after work and changed my clothes/got all sweaty so I didn't want to take any pictures or put those clothes back on. However, instead of getting depressed about the lack of images of me and my clothes and cute necklace, I encourage you all to go dig through your closets and drawers and pull out any shirts, skirts, necklaces, etc. that you may have given up hope of ever finding the perfect companions for. I'd take a pretty fair guess to say that many of you have things in your closet that you bought once because the deal was just too good to pass up but you have never worn.

WEAR THEM!

And then go buy more things :)

Day 26: Hillary Supports Obama

2008-08-26T22:44:00.003-04:00

So tonight at the Democratic National Convention there was a much anticipated speech by Senator Hillary Clinton. This speech means a lot, because anybody who has had at least one ear open for the past year knows that the Democratic party has been largely split between Clinton supporters and Obama supporters. The race between Obama and McCain has been tightening lately and much anticipation has been put on whether Clinton supporters will be swayed to Obama.

Tonight, as I'm typing this, Hillary Clinton is igniting the crowd and giving a powerful speech endorsing our next President, Barack Obama. Her words are heartfelt and truly feel sincere. Basically, Clinton is really doing an amazing job and hopefully her beautiful, powerful, and convincing speech will be influential enough to unite our party and vote Barack Obama into presidency.

Clinton and Obama have always had enough issues in common that I felt she was going to support him once she didn't win the nomination. However, tonight I learned for sure that Clinton supports Obama and that the Democrats are now on their way to a unified party and putting Obama in the White House. I personally have supported Obama over Clinton so unfortunately, I can't speak from a perspective of someone who needed to be convinced by Hillary and was really looking towards what she had to say to help sway their vote. If anybody has any comments on that... please let me know.

Some of my favorite parts are as follows, but you can read the full transcript here. PLEASE, at least read the following items from Hillary Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado on August 26th, 2008. I learned a lot about her strong support for Obama, as well as her personal and professional character. Hopefully you will too:

"Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines. This is a fight for the future. And it's a fight we must win."

"John McCain says the economy is fundamentally sound. John McCain doesn't think that 47 million people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security. And in 2008, he still thinks it's OK when women don't earn equal pay for equal work.With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart."

"We need to elect Barack Obama because we need a President who understands that America can't compete in a global economy by padding the pockets of energy speculators, while ignoring the workers whose jobs have been shipped overseas. We need a president who understands that we can't solve the problems of global warming by giving windfall profits to the oil companies while ignoring opportunities to invest in new technologies that will build a green economy."

"Barack Obama began his career fighting for workers displaced by the global economy. He built his campaign on a fundamental belief that change in this country must start from the ground up, not the top down. He knows government must be about "We the people" not "We the favored few."And when Barack Obama is in the White House, he'll revitalize our economy, defend the working people of America, and meet the global challenges of our time. Democrats know how to do this."

"No way. No how. No McCain. Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our next President."

Day 25: The man in my life.

2008-08-25T23:59:00.000-04:00

Today I learned a little something about what men in my life I can rely on. In my life I have had a lot of ups and downs. I have dated, I have dumped guys, I have been dumped, I have made new friends, lost old friends, I have had long term fights, I have cried by the cause of others, and I have screamed.

Through all of this turmoil and rollercoaster of emotion, for the past 7 years there has been one guy who has been able to make me smile no matter what. There is one guy who has make me feel comforted in any situation. There is one guy whose words are always exactly what I need to hear and perfect for whatever I am feeling.

Last night I saw this guy again for the first time in 4 years. Last night was the 4th time that I have even been with him. An even after last night, I have still actually never met this man. Yes, thats right. This person who has helped me through every difficult situation in the past 7 years, celebrated with me in times of happiness, and very well could be the love of my life is also technically a complete stranger.

This man, is John Mayer.

Last night I saw him perform at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and I learned that he can still light me up like nobody else can and I learned that he has consistenly been the one man that I can rely on through anything.

The show was amazing and I sang along to every word of every song-- including one that I've waited years to hear live, Love Soon.

That being said, I must say that I am a little worried about John. He didn't look well last night. He was wearing baggie jeans, a LONG stretched out black t-shirt (it reminded me of the disgusting t-shirts that my little brother wears to bed that have no shape and are completely stretched out around the neck), and sneakers. He has a new haircut, new sleeve of tattoos, and looks INCREDIBLY thin. He didn't talk to the crowd or engage us as he has always done in past shows.

My theory? I think that he is on drugs. I also think that Jen Aniston broke up with HIM because of these struggles he is dealing with. Through the past 6 months, what I've been hearing in interviews, reading on his blog, and witnessing with my own eyes implies a man who isn't happy. My biggest fear is that he will be the next tragic loss of talent, the next Heath Ledger. I really do think that John is genuinely grateful and happy for his fans. In fact, I think that we are one of the only things that is keeping him going right now. I think John is feeling like a lot of people in their 20s and 30s or at any age of life can feel... lost, scared, alone, unsure of what to do or where to go next, and pondering the meaning of life.

Luckily for me, I've had John himself to be there for me when I feel that way. I've learned today that he has been one constant in my life that has changed drastically since I started listening to his music. We all need a person like that. I hope that John finds one soon.

Day 24: 22 is Great.

2008-08-24T22:08:00.006-04:00

So, today is my birthday. I turn 22 years old. I just had a fabulous weekend with some amazing people. I had some of my best friends from all aspects of my life... friends from home that I've had since the early days of childhood and friends from high school, friends from Syracuse, friends from my sorority, and friends I met while studying abroad. The girls traveled in from Connecticut, New York City, Long Island, and the Jersey shore.

It honestly meant so much to me that they all came to see me and I had a fabulous time with them. When they left today (with the exception of one who is on the couch with me now and staying until Tuesday) it was a really bittersweet feeling because I don't get to spend time with them every day. But I wouldn't have wanted to spend my birthday with any other people and in any other way. Well, we all could have done without one particular pony-tailed skeeze-ball bouncer being disgustingly rude to some of my friends.

But what I learned from this weekend and from today, my birthday, that 22 is going to be a great year. I have a really charming place to live and a new city to explore. I have a great job that allows me to grow and explore and deal with exciting programs. I have wonderful things to look forward to like visits to friends, my sister's wedding, and opportunities with work. And I also have incredible, amazing friends. I know I touched upon this earlier in my Boston post, but I am so fortunate in my life to have such incredible people in it. It means so much to have seen them this weekend.

What I learned today on my 22nd birthday is that this year is going to an exciting one in my life filled with self growth, change, excitement, opportunity, and of course, my network of supportive and loving friends that will forever be a constant my life.

--

Day 23: Free stuff!

2008-08-23T22:08:00.000-04:00

You know that saying, nothing in life is free? And that usually when you get something for free or get some sort of perk, you can trace it back to how you've paid for it in another form. Well, today I learned that SOMETIMES, you can get something in life for free!

Today, two of my friends that were visiting and I went and walked through the park that is right near my apartment. It just so happens that in the park this day there was a Latin Festival going on. Live music, booths of things for sale, food, sponsor tables (I reregistered to vote with my new address!), and lots of people. We also found a little lesser populated area with pony rides and face painting-- for free!!

I was surprised because I honestly have gotten accustomed to having to pay for EVERYTHING. I don't ever expect to get anything for free so of course, it was impossible for me to pass up this opportunity and my friends and I all got our faces painted.

We looked beautiful and I learned that sometimes, if you are lucky, you can get something for free.

Day 22: Cumberland makes good wine!

2008-08-22T22:06:00.000-04:00

Today, I was given the fabulous gift of a bottle of wine from the Cumberland, Rhode Island winery. Who would have thought that RI could make a good wine? But it really was quite delicious!

I've driven past the winery countless times and thought to myself/commented to friends plenty of times about how I've wanted to try it. Today, one of my friends visiting for my birthday brought a bottle because she thoughtfully remembered me mentioning that I wanted to try it.

We had Blackstone Blush table wine (I hope they didn't use water from the Blackstone) from Diamond Hill Vineyard. The wine had 11% alcohol content, and something that I know from wine classes I have taken in the past is that the lower the alcohol content on wine, the sweeter it is. Now, for wine standards 11% is pretty in the middle... a 8 or 9% alcohol content on the wine would be VERY sweet whereas a 13 or 14% alcohol content would make a dry wine. However, for an 11% alcohol content, I felt that it was quite sweet. It would be good for a dessert wine with fruit (it had fruity notes in it) or even for a pre-dinner drink. You wouldn't really want to have more than 1 glass of it-- it was that sweet (to me).

So today, I learned that Cumberland, RI althought not known as a wine hotspot makes a really great wine. I am excited to try more varieties and it is great gift to give (and receive!).

Day 21: TRIPLE check.

2008-08-22T05:31:00.003-04:00

What I learned today is that if you are going to the gym BEFORE work. TRIPLE check your bag to make sure you have EVERYTHING you need. I've forgot things like towel... bra... underwear... etc. but all of those are do-able to deal with. A combination of air drying and those hand blowers is acceptable if necessary. Wearing a sports bra under my clothes is acceptable if necessary. Going commando is (somewhat) acceptable if necessary (and nobody knows).

Today I forgot shoes. NOT OKAY.

Forgetting shoes sucks. My options to go with my dress were either sneakers or my dirty and wet shower flip flops. Neither of those is acceptable. Ever.

I go to the gym right next to where I work, which is 25-30 minutes from where I live. And I have a reverse commute, so if I were to have gone back INTO Albany at this time, I'm sure it would have taken me even longer to get there due to traffic so there was no way that I could return home to get shoes.

I started to drive aimlessly looking for a place that I could buy any form of a crappy black shoe to put my feet into for the day. I stopped at places like Job Lot and CVS looking for ANYTHING. All those stores had were stupid crappy knock-off crocs.

I started to make please to the shoe store gods saying, "Please, just let me find a shoe store and I'll go into work early for the next week." and "If I could just find a place to buy shoes I'll donate them right afterwards to charity and clean out my closet and donate everything I don't use."

FINALLY, I found a Wal-Mart, which was such a clutch move. I bought a pair of black flats for $9.88 and put them on at the check out counter and drove immediately to work.

I decided to make this a little fun and also to distract myself from screaming at the other drivers to get out of my way as I booked it to work, I created this little video for your pleasure...

Day 20: Three-for-one

2008-08-21T11:09:00.004-04:00

So, today I learned a mix of a few different things.

1. Bridesmaids dress shopping SUCKS.

2. If your bathroom floods, clean the soaked stuff immediately.

3. Sucky friends make you appreciate the good friends.

First, I decided to skip the gym and go and try on bridesmaids dresses for my sister's wedding. She picked this designer and color from a web site and the bridesmaids are all over the country so we're supposed to just look up stores that have the dresses and go try them on and then we'll order them from the same place. I originally looked on the web site and 3 stores in Albany said they had the dress maker I needed... so I called them to ask if they had the 4 styles I needed to choose from. First, two of the places said they didnt have the dress maker and the web site lied. The other place the lady was a total jerk to me on the phone and hung up on me saying that she wouldn't tell me over the phone if they had the style dress I needed and that I had to come into the store to find that out.

I totally didn't want to go to the store after she was a jerkbut I figured whatever... I'm not ordering the store from that place anyways. So I went in yesterday and as soon as I got in the store and explained that I needed to try on these different styles so I could decide which ones I wanted to order. The lady is sort of oriental or something, has an accent, and doesn't speak english correctly. Conversation went as follows:

Jerk-- "You go over to her. You order dresses from her."
Me-- "Well, I don't want to order a dress yet. I have 4 styles to choose from so I wanted to try them on first."
Jerk-- "No try on. You order from her."
Me-- "Thats the thing though... I'm not ready to order until I know which dress I WANT to order by TRYING them on."
Jerk-- "We no have plus sizes. You order from her."
Me-- "Plus sizes? What? And I don't WANT to order a dress yet!"
Jerk-- "We no carry 12, 14, PLUS SIZES. Only average sizes. You no try on average sizes."
Me-- "Oh... well... (this is where it made sense to me that yes, this lady is a douche, but I am too fat to try on the dresses here) Okay... do you think I could just LOOK at the dresses in the different styles?"
Jerk-- "You order dress?"
Me-- "I DON'T KNOW if I want to ORDER a DRESS until I SEE THEM OR SOMETHING!"
Jerk-- "No try on. No order. No see dresses. You order from her."

This is when I left the store and immediately went to the gym.

2.) My bathroom flooded a little while back and I hadn't had time to do the laundry of the towels that I used to soak up the water and the clothes that got hit in the flood. I did them today. Not that much of an improvement in smell and softness after being washed and dried. I'm going to try again... but I learned the lesson to just not put it off and wash them RIGHT AWAY.

3.) Not really a story that I want to elaborate on. But put simply, when you have a "friend" that treats you badly and not the way you deserve... it makes you realize that you just that much more lucky to have even one friend that looks out for you, cares for you, and is always there for you. I am extremely blessed (EXTREMELY) to have so many people like that in my life. I don't tell them enough how amazing they are... but I really do love all my friends a lot. And side note... I often say that my friends are a family to me-- but I should also say that my family is also my friends as well.

Day 19: Walk in Heels

2008-08-19T23:16:00.006-04:00

Today I practiced walking in high heels. It is something that I've always wished I was better at but have never put in the effort to be better at it! So today, just while I was doing little things around the apartment and cleaning, etc. I wore the only pair of heels that I own! They are adorable and I love wearing them and soon I will be able to do it non-stop.

I looked up some tips online and practiced those as well.

First of all, I learned that it is often harder to just STAND in heels instead of walking. When you are walking you can shift your weight around and even things out however when you are just standing, you have to have all of your weight on the balls of your feet and have to balance A LOT. A short term goal of learning how to walk in heels is being able to wear them out this weekend for my birthday. A long term goal is to be able to wear them at my sister's wedding in May-- which will require a lot of just STANDING so I'd better get good at that. I learned while you are standing to never lock your knees because you could faint.

While in heels you need to really have strong posture and have your abs tucked in and your shoulders back. Work on balance and standing first and then start to walk. One foot in front of the next and don't be afraid to walk as though there is music playing.

I actually put some on while I was practicing walking... it helps!

I apologize for the horrendous pics but I'm too tired tonight!

xoxo

Day 18: Boost Your Metabolism

2008-08-18T23:24:00.002-04:00

So today I learned some tips to boost your metabolism and some about what metabolism is. I've been dieting for a few weeks now and throughout my lifetime I've been on and off dieting A LOT. So I've been pretty familiar with the term metabolism and with a lot of the following tips, but what I didn't know was what exactly metabolism meant and that these things actually BOOST the rate at which your body burns calories.

To start metabolism is a series of chemical reactions that occur in your body and it is a constant process that is essential to life. It is defined by the amount of energy that is required by your body to do the basic things it needs to do to be alive. And your rate of metabolism is the speed at which your body breaks down the food (energy) that you put into your body. Your metabolism is a process and can be affected by your behavior and it can change.

Some metabolism boosting tricks I learned are:

- drinking lots of water
- exercise
- eating breakfast
- get a good night's sleep
- eat fruits and vegetables
- eat spicy foods
- eating small meals throughout the day

Now, all of these things I knew were weight loss tips because drinking water and eating small meals and eating breakfast all help keep you full. And exercise? Well, duh. But what is cool and a new motivating factor for me now is that these things are also beneficial because they burn the weight faster.

A lot of times I get tired of drinking so much water and skip out on that or I try to go as long as I can in the mornings without eating so that I can have my snacks later in the day when the day is dragging. Also, it can be tempting to turn to a 2 point bag of chips instead of a 2 point apple. But knowing that drinking that water and eating that apple will BOOST my metabolism will keep me motivated to make the right decisions.

And some of the others like spicy foods? Who knew!

17. La vie boheme.

2008-08-17T23:40:00.003-04:00

So, today as I drove home from Boston back to Albany, I was rocking out to my music as per usual while I drive, and I decided that I wanted to put that time to use and learn something that I'd always wanted to. I've always wanted to be able to know all of the lyrics to "La Vie Boheme" and sing the song from start to finish.

For those of you that don't know, "La Vie Boheme" is from the musical Rent and it is a really fun and exciting scene where all of the characters are happy and celebrating and having a good time with one another. The song is making a toast to the Bohemian lifestyle and all of the things that inspire them. I love this and have seen the play/movie/listened to the soundtrack A LOT so I knew many of the lyrics already. However, I have a REALLY hard time learning the lyrics to songs and there are some parts of "La Vie Boheme" that I never could fully understand/sing along to. However, after listening to it over and over and over in the car during my 3 hour ride and rewinding the song to hear certain lines over and over and over... I learned to successfully sing "La Vie Boheme" from Rent from start to finish.

For the full lyrics you can go to any lyrics sites like this one. The full song is long so I'm not going to list them all here, but just some of my favorite parts.

"To days of inspiration, playing hooky, making something out of nothing,
The need to express to communicate,
Going against the grain, going insane, going mad,
To days of tension, no pension, to more than one dimension,
To starving for attention, hating convention, hating pretention,
Not to mention of course hating dear old mom and dad,
To riding the bike midday past the three piece suits,
To fruits, to no absolutes, to Absolut,
To choice, to the Village Voice, to any passing fad,
To being an "us" for once, instead of a "them"!"

and

"To hand crafted beers made in local breweries,
To yoga, to yogurt, to rice and beans and cheese,
To leather, to dildos, to curry vindaloo,
To huevos ranchers, and Maya Angelou,
Emotion, devotion, to causing a commotion,
Creation, vacation, mucho masterbation"

and

"Justice, revolution, screaming for solutions,
Forcing changes, risking danger,
Making noise and making pleas!
To faggots, lezzies, dykes, cross-dressers too,
To me! To me! To me!
To you, and you, you, and you,
To people living with, living with, living with, not dying from disease!"

Day 16: Friends in Boston

2008-08-17T21:44:00.007-04:00

This weekend I went to Boston to visit two of my best friends that I've had since first grade. I've really wanted other people to participate in this as well so I told my friends that they each had to pick a day and teach me something new. I have really brilliant friends who are so smart, experienced, and have had seen incredible things in their life so I know that there is so much that I can learn from them. Things got moving pretty quickly and we were busy catching up and being silly so a formal "teach Katie something new" didn't happen. But I did learn some really great things in the meantime. Let's start with storytime and the lessons following.

One of the friends that I was with this weekend is currently on crutches due to a foot surgery she has recently. We tried to keep our travel around the city to a minimum and when we did have somewhere to go we took cabs. But at times we walked a few blocks to get to where we needed to go and anybody that has ever been on crutches can tell you that going long distances suck. My friend was seriously SUCH a trooper though... she didn't complain at all, but at a few points when she asked to take a break. Both myself and my other friend offered to help out by giving piggy back rides!

This is a lot harder than when we were younger but both of us took turns hauling her around! Now, what I learned from this experience is that if you want to get attention and make friends on the streets of Boston, all you need to do is give your crutch-ed friend a piggy back ride. So many cars were honking and slowing down to yell out the window "WHAT A GOOD FRIEND!" or "THAT IS FRIENDSHIP THERE!" It really was quite hysterical. My friends and I are used to making a scene in public, as we did a few other points throughout the weekend. But at this time, we really weren't even trying, we were just trying to get from point A to point B in the most effecient way possible... which involved piggy back rides!

Through the day/night with my friends I also learned that I am not as good at relationships and keeping in touch with others as I thought. Sometimes I get really caught up with the "woe is me" mentality and while I'm not living in the same places as my friends, I get busy with my own life and only call my friends during MY times of need. The problem with that is that it doesn't give me the chance to check in with others and take the time to hear about THEIR problems and what is going on with them. I learned that the hard way for me and for my friends, who I should have been there for and because issues were brought up that I should have known about but didn't. The reason that I didn't know was because I didn't ask. I should know after over 15 years of friendship that some of my friends don't always reach out when they need help, as I do, but that doesn't mean that they won't respond when ASKED.

So some important things I'm taking out of this weekend is the knowledge of how to impress people and make some friends in Boston and that I need to take more time to make sure my friends are doing well instead of always thinking "woe is me".

Documentation of the piggy-back process below:

**** Also, please note the cardboard cutout of Papelbon in the window of the apartment beyond us. Have I mentioned that I love Boston?

--

Day 14: Julia Child

2008-08-14T23:33:00.006-04:00

--

JULIA CHILD WAS A SPY!!!!

This is just so amazing that I can't even handle it. I've been a longtime fan of Julia and this is something that I DID NOT know. Why am I a Julia Child fan you may ask? Good question. I am a Julia Child fan because of a little old game called Compatibility. The game Compatibility, for those of you who don't know, consists of a deck of 52 cards with random images and words on them. Everything from a picture of fruit to a picture of a globe to a car to a beach to a baby to the one and only, Julia Child. This was always my favorite card, long before I even knew who she was. She just looked so friendly and happy, like she wanted to be my friend and cook for me forever.

Once I learned who was in the picture and learned about her philosophy on life and all the breakthrough things she has done, I loved her more. My friends and I all sort of love her after playing Compatibility for so many years and when we traveled to Washington D.C. together many summers ago, there happened to be a special Julia section at the Smithsonian, which was PERFECT for us.

Well, I thought that I had learned all I could learn about Ms. Julia Child. However, today it was revealed that she was a part of an international spy ring, put together by the Office of Strategic Services (an early verion of the CIA). This was just released this morning and other members of the spy ring included White Sox catcher Moe Berg and Supreme Justice Arthur Goldberg. Check out the full AP article on this story!

Day 12: My sister.

2008-08-12T11:59:00.003-04:00

Hey All,

Today's entry is short. I learned some really important things about my sister today. Things that will hopefully help to IMPROVE our relationship in the weeks and months to come. What YOU all can learn from my lesson today is that you can never underestimate the value of honesty and communication. Don't wait. Listen to me (and John Mayer) and say what you need to say.

xoxo.

P.S. I was offered by someone today that they would like to "guest blog" one day on A Lesson Each Day because they liked the project and felt they had moments of "Wow, I never knew that before" every day. I thought it sounded like a really exciting idea and might be fun/useful for days when I am maybe traveling or have something going on? AND, even with someone else posting for a day... I'd STILL be learning something new and so would all of you so it wouldn't break the integrity of the project. Pretty cool, huh?

I also have a lot of friends who are in the same position as me... out of school, in a new city, with a new job, meeting new people, etc. I'm sure they'd have really exciting stories to tell and lessons they've learned. If you are interested in guest blogging, let me know!

Day 11: Palm Reading

2008-08-11T22:15:00.001-04:00

My roommates have a book about palm reading and I've briefly glanced few it a few times but today I actually sat down with the book and went through and learned some about myself via my palms. The book is called "Palm Reading for Beginners" by Richard Webster in case anybody is interested in checking out the full thing... but, a few highlights that I learned today are as follows:

Traditionally, from your dominant hand you will learn about things in your life that you have done for yourself. Your lesser dominant hand will tell you about qualities, skills, and talents that you were born with.
My square palm (as opposed to oblong) are the hands of people that are down-to-earth, capable, and practical people. They enjoy a challenge and are prepared to work long and hard, when required, to achieve their goals. They have plenty of stamina and energy.

A square palm combined with long fingers means that you are an "Air Hand", which is what I am. The other options are an earth hand (square palm, short fingers), fire hand (oblong palm and short fingers), and a water hand (oblong palm and long fingers). "Air hand" people are inventive, innovative, thoughtful, and practical. They are conscientious, good with details, and need constant challenges. These people are more intellectual than others (ha!), enjoy expressing themselves, and are easy to get along with. They have an inquisitive nature that keeps them perpetually young. They are refined, express themselves well, and are interested in travel, communication, freedom, and anything out of the ordinary (I'd say thats pretty darn true).

Your "heart line" is the major line that runs across your hand from your pinky towards your fingers. Sometimes it curves, sometimes it doesn't. I have a "physical heart line" that ends between my first two fingers. People with "physical heart lines" (one that curves) find it comparatively easier to express their innermost feelings and needs. They can express themselves in a confident and assertive manner. Ending between the first two fingers means that you have a strong balance between idealism and selfishness and have a very healthy balance between thinking about yourself and thinking about others.

Your "head line" is another clear and well marked line on your hand. It starts on the side of your hand between the base of your thumb and fore finger and crosses the palm towards your little finger. It can be different lengths and have different curvatures. The longer the line is, the more detailed and involved the person's thought process is. People with short lines are shrewd and think quicky. My line basically goes across my whole hand and is really long, which probably is why it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to make decisions-- I think SO much about everything. The more the "head line" curves towards your wrist, the more creative and imaginitive you are. Mine curves a good amount. This line also tells a lot based on if it forks at the end, has a sharp bend at the end, or if it meets the "heart line" at the beginning.

The "life line" is thought to be the most imporant line on the hand and although it doesn't have to do with how long you live, it tells about the passion and energy you live life with. It starts between the first finger and thumb and swoops around the thumb. If your "life line" swoops far away from the thumb that means that you have a great deal of stamina and energy and are adventurous, take chances, and make the most of every opportunity. Someone whose "life line" hugs the thumb lives without energy and lacks enthusiasm about life.

If you have breaks in your "life line" those represent periods of change in your outlook on life. Major periods of dramatic life-altering mindsets. I have a pretty far out (but not ridiculously far) "life line" with quite a few breaks, except one major one.

Well, thats all I'm going to get into... there is SOOO much in this book I could literally reprint it all for you. If you are intrigued, check it out even more, but for me and my "air hands" we're going to bed.

xoxo

Day 10: Giving makes you happy.

2008-08-11T18:09:00.000-04:00

Alright, so last night my computer wasn't working right and today at work I was busy all day, so right now I'm playing catch up and writing an entry for what I learned YESTERDAY. After I finally decided that I was so frustrated with my computer that I might actually throw it at the wall, I put it away for the night and just ripped out the page of "Self" magazine I was reading and shoved it in my purse.

The two anecdotes I found really exciting and interesting and wanted to share are as follows:

"To be a kinder person, think positive thoughts. Practicing a technique known as compassion meditation can increase empathy. It works by activating the insula, a brain region that governs emotion, a study at the University of Wisconsin at Madison indicates. To try it yourself, picture someone you care about free of suffering. Let the good vibes roll."

I thought this was really cool because I am currently at a point in my life, as I know a lot of others are, where I am in a new city and most of the people I care about are far away. I think about everyone a lot and I decided that I'm going to start some "compassion meditation" and send my loved ones good vibes and happiness while becoming a more empathetic person myself! So if you all of a sudden feel really carefree, cheery, and insufferable-- THAT WAS ME!

The second thing that I learned from my magazine laast night is:

"Those who spend money on others report feeling happier than people who buy something for themselves, the journal Science reveals."

This is a totally awesome fun fact that Science has dug up for us. I could have probably named many instances of my own where I felt better about getting something for someone else than for myself, but it is really fun/exciting to hear that confirmed by a scientific source!!

That was Sunday's entry-- I'll see you all later tonight hopefully!

Day 9: Tie a Tie

2008-08-09T21:25:00.000-04:00

Something that I want to do is involve other people in my lessons. Any time that someone ELSE can teach me something, I think would be really great. Today, I was home with my family, and as I'd planned throughout the whole week, I decided to have my brother teach my how to tie a tie. There are a lot of other things that my bro-man could teach me and I'm sure I'll be coming back to him in the future months, but to start-- today I learned how to tie a tie!

First of all, the entire time that you are putting it on you need to keep the knot as close to your neck as possible and keep the knot tight. Try to get the steps down first and then try it again, being sure to tighten the knot every after each step. The steps from my brother are as follows:

1. Put the tie around your neck so that the skinny side of the tie is a lot shorter than the fat side, so the fat side is on your right, and so that the fronts of the tie are facing outwards.

2. Cross the fat side of the tie OVER the skinny side so that the fat side is now in your left hand and the skinny is in your right hand.

3. Tuck the fat end of the tie through the loop by your neck (from the bottom), as if you were tieing any sort of knot.

4. Pull the fat side of the tie towards your left.

5. Cross the fat side of the tie UNDER the skinny side so that it is now in your right hand and the back of tie is now facing upwards.

6. Take the fat side of the tie and again tuck it through the loop at the neck, this time from the top, like you are tieing a knot.

7. Make sure that the fat side of the tie is now on the left, the back of the tie is still facing upwards.

8. Also make sure that the tie is pulled tight by the knot and it makes, what my brother calls, a "V-heart". Be sure the "V-heart" is tight.

9. Cross the fat side of the tie OVER the "V-heart" so that it covers the "V-heart" and the fat side is in your right hand.

10. Put the fat end UNDER and through the loop by your neck.

11. Loop the fat end of the tie directly through the triangle knot it lays above (the fat end basically goes between the "V-heart" and the little wrapping you just made around it).

12. Straighten, neaten, and tighten your tie.

I would love for people to try these tips and see if they actually work! I tested it with a few people and they are so/so. Any advice? I def. learned something and hopefully you did too!

P.S. Thanks bro-man!

Day 8: Compliment v. Complement

2008-08-08T15:42:00.000-04:00

You know, I was doing pretty badass and having consistent commenting on my first few posts which really made me feel good, but the past few entries must have sucked since everybody stopped commenting. The only people I know for sure are reading are Kimber and my mom (hi mom!).

Anyways, as far as boosting up the number of readers and the number of commenters, I don't think that this entry is going to do much for that because it is pretty dry.

Today, I learned the difference between the words compliment and complement. I don't think that I realized that there was a different prior to having something I wrote reviewed by my boss. I always knew that there were two meanings to the word, but what I didn't know was that they were spelled differently.

Compliment with an I refers to:
1. an expression of praise, commendation, or admiration

Comlement with an E refers to:
1. something that completes or makes perfect

And thats your something new for Friday, August 8!

Happy Olympics!

Day 7: Maid of Honor

2008-08-07T23:21:00.000-04:00

So, recently (as in last Saturday-- woot woot!) my older sister got engaged and graciously asked me to be her Maid of Honor! OBVIOUSLY, I said yes and I'm totally excited/honored/happy/grateful, etc. that she asked me to take on that roll. All I really knew about being a Maid of Honor (I'm going to capitalize it this whole time to make me sound more important) is that they are super awesome and that they plan a bachelorette party? I think? Even that I wasn't sure about.

I decided to look up the responsibilities and duties of a Maid of Honor so I can learn more about my role. Now, what I looked up were the TRADITIONAL roles... I don't know if my sister will want me to take on all of these roles. But I will ready, willing, and able to wrap my little party-planning, organizing hands around any of the following, that I learned today, are the traditional roles of a Maid of Honor:

- Assist with details of the wedding planning such as shopping for a dress, addressing invitations, and picking out flowers, or whatever the bride wants help with

- Host and plan the Bridal Shower

- Host and plan the Bachelorette Party

- Be "in charge" of the other bridesmaids and plan fittings, instruct them of their duties, and organizing getting the bride a gift

- On the day of the wedding the Maid of Honor should assist the bride in getting ready and basically being their bitch and doing whatever they need

- Maid of Honor signs the wedding license as a witness

- Maid of Honor holds the bouquet during the ceremony

- Make sure the photographer takes a shit ton of pictures

- At the reception, Maid of Honor stands right after the Groom in the receiving line

- Dance with the best man!

- Make a toast or speech during the wedding party!

- Basically know everything about everything that involves the wedding so if need be, she can handle logistics, make sure shit is in order, people are where they need to be, and everything else so that the bride can just have a perfect day and not have to think about any of that

As for a little history, bridesmaids are believed to be from Roman law that required ten witnesses to be at a wedding ceremony and dress in identical clothing to the couple getting married to TRICK the evil spirits. AKA my roll is to attract all the evil energy in the universe to me and not my sister.

This seems like a pretty cool and interesting role, and I'm excited to take on every one of those things (except for being the magnet for all the evil in the room). However, knowing my sister, she probably will want to keep a lot of the planning and decision making for herself and might note dole out all of these tasks to me. Or trust me to take on a lot of these taks on my own. So for now, I'll make it my role to make sure she knows that I'm AVAILABLE for all of these different things.

SO for those of you who have never been a Maid of Honor, I hope you learned something as well! And for those of you who HAVE been a Maid of Honor-- leave me comments if there is anything my research has missed!

Day 6: Olympic symbols.

2008-08-06T22:30:00.000-04:00

Today is a day where I planned to learn something. During my lunch break I attended a "lunch and learn" session that discussed the culture of China, specifically related to Beijing and the upcoming Olympics. I wanted to attend because I am seeking out interesting and new opportunities, as well, I thought this would help me with my career as I've recently been doing a lot of work with our offices in China and working to create a plan to communicate to the people of China. I came across a lot of new information from that session that I found in intriguing and I think you will too.

So, Friday at 8:00 p.m. is the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympic games. 8:00 p.m. on August 8, 2008. 8 p.m. on 8/8/08. In today's session, I learned that this date was selected especially because the number 8 is very symbolic and meaningful to Chinese culture. "Eight" is pronounced as "bah" which is very similar to the pronunciation of the word that means "to make a fortune"... hence, why "eight" is an auspicious number for the Chinese and the Olympics are beginning on a day that consists of all 8s.

This is the Olympic emblem. Looks pretty, right? But did you know that it was designed very carefully and that everything means something. Well, the rings, of course, we all have seen that before. And above that "Beijing 2008" written to look like traditional Chinese characters. Above that, the red emblem is very significant. I learned that red is the most favorable color for Chinese people. It symbols happiness and luck. I probably would have chosen to associate the color red with the country of China before today's lunch because of their flag and the whole fack that it is a Communist Nation, but I didn't realize what the color symbolized.

The white shape in the middle of the red emblem means a few different things. First, it clearly is shaped like a person. A person in motion. You can interpret this person to be a participating in a sport, running, or dancing. Either way, it is a person in motion and that is supposed to symbolize the energy of human beings. The figure has wide open arms to represent the openness and welcoming of the Chinese people into their country. The design was also created to reflect the second character that makes up the Chinese symbol for the word "Beijing". Neat, huh?

The slogan for the 2008 Summer Olympics is "One World One Dream". That is a pretty literal translation and the meaning is pretty obvious, but the official Web site says that:

"'One World, One Dream' expresses the common wishes of people all over the world, inspired by the Olympic ideals, to strive for a bright future of Mankind. In spire of the different in colors, languages, and races, we share the charm and joy of the Olympic games, and together we seek for the ideal of Mankind for peace. We belong to the same world and we share the same aspirations and dreams."

We also learned about the mascots of the Olympics:

I've read a few blogs that have completely dissed this years mascots and I have felt sentiments agreeing towards that until today when I learned about how much they represent and symbolize. The mascots are titled "Fuwa" which means "lucky children" in the Chinese language. What is most noticeable is their color and the fact that each Fuwa is the color of one of the Olympic rings. What I would have never known without attending today's lecture is that each Fuwa represents one of the most sacred animals AND one of the sacred elements of nature in Chinese culture, with the exception of the center, red, Fuwa which stands for the torch/flame which has always been the eternal symbol of the Olympic games.

The blue Fuwa stands for the fish and represents the sea. The Black Fuwa stands for the panda bear and represents the forest, or wood. As I said, the red Fuwa represents the torch/flame/fire. The Orange Fuwa stands for the antelope and represents earth. The green Fuwa stands for the swallow and represents sky.

Each Fuwa also has a carefully selected name that consists of a repeating two-syllable word. Repeating a shorter name in this way is the traditional way of showing affection towards children. From left to right, the Fuwa's indivual names are Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini. If you take the single syllable core from each of these names and combine them to "Bei jing huan ying ni" it means "Welcome to Beijing!"

I was really excited to learn all of this because in the next few weeks these symbols, slogans, and mascots are going to be seen EVERYWHERE and it is really nice to know the background of how these things originated. I love the Olympic games and I always have. Learning this new information has made the 2008 Summer Olympics even more beautiful and intriguing to me and I can't wait for them to get started on Friday!

I hope that this was some new/interesting information for you and hopefully you can wow some people as you're watching the games on television by casually dropping a fact you learned here into conversation!

Day 5: Good posture.

2008-08-05T21:44:00.000-04:00

Today I learned a fun tip from a friend on how to work towards better posture as well as strengthen your core. We e-mail during the day and swap ideas to help us stay on track with our diets and just little extra ways to burn a few calories or make ourselves healthier.

The tip I received today was to set my rear view mirror in my car while I am sitting up completely straight. That way, throughout my whole commute and times in the car I am forced to sit up straight and hold that position. I tried this on my way home today and it really helped me to sit up straight! I can't say that my "core" feels any stronger but I'm definitely going to keep up this little change so that I can improve my posture.

I have always had terrible posture and slouch over while at a desk. When writing I arch my back way over and bring my face very close to my paper. While standing my shoulders hunch. I'm not really sure why these habits have developed but my diagnosis is that I have such bad posture because:

- I'm lazy and it takes less energy to slouch
- Because I never got into the habit, it is more comfortable for me to slouch
- My boobs weigh me down
- Years of swimming gave me strong shoulders that roll forward

Sooo I don't know how accurate any of those things are or how much they play into my bad posture (especially the swimming one... I don't know how I got that reasoning into my head, but it has stuck). However, now I'm going to do something about it. I recently was told by MY JOB to alter the way that I write (hunched over with my face close to the paper) because it isn't very professional looking. It also isn't professional looking to be slouched at my desk and have someone stop in to check with me on something. I really think this is going to help because a couple times as I was driving home I went to check my mirror and it reminded me to sit up straight!

Try it on your commute to work tomorrow and see for yourself!

Day 4: Makeup Application

2008-08-04T13:06:00.000-04:00

Last week I was contacted by a woman that I met who sells Mary Kay cosmetics. After talking for a little while on our initial encounter she asked for my e-mail address, which I gave to her. A few day later I received an e-mail from her asking me if I would volunteer my time and be a "face model" for her products. AKA can I try to sell you some of my goods.

Normally, I would have said no since all I do with makeup is put on a little eyeliner and mascara. Black eyeliner when I go out and charcoal eyeliner for during the day. Thats all I do and thats as much as I vary it. However, with this new project I'm doing, I figured, why not? I like having other people do my makeup and I am not opposed to looking pretty-- I just don't know how to wear makeup or feel comfortable doing it myself. Sooo... why not take this opportunity to learn?

I met her at her house and she took me through some different hand and face products that they sell and literally... when I washed my face with the product that she supplied, my skin REALLY looked fresher and cleaner right away. I was pretty impressed.

She then took me through how to put on eyeshadow and how to use highlighter, midtones, and accent colors. I learned the correct way to put on eyeliner (something that I've wanted to know how to do since high school!) and learned that for my eye shape and size, it is best for me to only wear it on the lower eyelid. I learned techniques to make my eye "pop" and I learned what colors work best for me.

The best part about everything and something I didn't even expect was that she had ME put all of the makeup on MYSELF so that I actually did learn how to do it. I've had people try and teach me before and had people explain what they're doing as they put makeup on me, but it has never helped. Working with her really made me feel comfortable that I could repeat what we did.

I'm not really interested in wearing foundation and blush and all that other junk because I have clear skin and "nice rosy cheeks", as my grandma tells me. I know that you can still wear foundation and blush to even out skin tones and whatever... but I feel healthier, prettier, and cleaner without a clogged up/make-upy face. I've really just always wanted to learn how to play around with my eyes. I really liked everything that she taught me and felt so confident about it that I purchased the eye shadow set and also the facewash and face moisturizer (it is legit amazing). I've attached some pics that I took of my new look. Enjoy! And next time you see me in person with my pretty new makeup on, make sure you tell me how gorgeous I look!

Day 3: Mario kart

2008-08-03T20:24:00.000-04:00

So today, during a game of Mario Kart on the Wii (where I always choose to be Peach) I learned that when you get the golden mushroom, you can press the weapon release button and it will make you go SUPER fast. I also learned how to play Mario Party and use the Wii a little bit better.

Today's "What I Learned" is a little bit different than the others I've posted so far, but this blog is going to be a mix of both serious and silly, planned and spontaneous, big learns and little learns. SO GET USED TO IT! :)

Day 2: Massage

2008-08-02T17:05:00.001-04:00

So this project is becoming much more developed as I go along and much more a real thing that will become a part of my life instead of just a silly blog idea I had. At first I was thinking I was going to write about things I learned randomly throughout a day... and I'm sure I will continue to do that sometimes. However, today as I took part in a local massage school's exploration day, I realized that is dumb.

The whole point of this thing is that I love to learn, am no longer in school, and don't want to stop. What I realized is that not being in school gives me even more freedom to learn the things that I want and not have anybody else have to dictate a schedule, a selection of courses, or a list of requirements that I have to touch upon. It makes no sense for me to NOT seek things out that I want to learn about and make them happen via classes, books, museums, interviews

Today I began a list of what I want to get out of this and things that I want to learn how to do or learn about. I tried to brainstorm everything I have ever asked someone to do for me because I didn’t know how, anything I’ve ever been curious about, anything I’ve ever had a desire to learn about but haven’t had the time/resources to be able to do it.

I’m not even more excited about this than I was before. I’m also more excited about life as this project develops. I’ve been really concerned about my time in Albany and finding a network of friends and build a social calendar but I’m starting to think that maybe this 1-2 year period that I’m living here doesn’t need to be about that. Maybe this time could be about ME and developing myself and doing what I want to do. Through some of my efforts to learn new things, I’ve been meeting people in the process and having great conversation and great experiences. Would it really be such a terrible thing to not have a huge network of best friends in this area? I’m going to do my best to document things as well via photos and videos.

I want to call on you all to help me develop my list of things to learn. If you ever in your day find yourself wondering about how something came about, why something works the way it does, or anything that you wish you knew—PLEASE e-mail me or leave me a comment about it. I’m going to need everybody’s support on this and I think that this has the potential to be a really cool thing.

With that off my chest, today’s new thing I learned was about how to give massages. I attended a local massage school’s “massage exploration day”. We first had a science class where we learned all about the way that the heart works. I didn’t even realize that licensed massage therapists learned all of these things!

Also, did you realize that the heart beats over 2,000,000,000 times in a person’s lifetime?

Or that your stomach sits right below your diaphragm. Your diaphragm is basically the bottom border of the series of organs and internal body parts that protect your heart. When you overeat, your stomach expands and pushes upon the diaphragm which pushes upon the heart and that is why when you have eaten a HUGE meal (something I am familiar with) you sometimes feel like you can’t take deep breaths in!

We also learned what exactly your “blood pressure” is and what the numbers mean. When you say someone’s blood pressure is 120/80, the top number refers to the pressure of the blood coming out of left ventricle against the artery and the bottom number refers to the pressure of the blood against the artery when the ventricle is relaxed. I think I explained that correctly? Please correct me if I’m wrong.

We also learned some actual massage techniques and about Shiatsu massage. Shiatsu is an Eastern form of massage that is big with traditional Chinese medicine and is all about holistic healing and being able to center yourself. A Shiatsu massage will begin with the therapist evaluating your balance of energy by checking your “hara” aka poking around your belly. I was picked to be the person that our teacher demonstrated on and it felt AMAZING but before she started she poked around my belly a little which was awkward, especially with the whole class watching. Afterwards I asked what my “hara” said to her and she said she “was getting energy from my bladder” which meant I was drinking too much water. That was kind of funny because I actually really had to pee and while she was poking my belly I was thinking how awful it would be if I peed my pants in front of the whole class.

I learned some different techniques for Shiatsu massage, which I’d be happy to try on anybody in person! As well, I learned some traditional Swedish massage techniques and a lot about the transfers of energy that take place while giving/receiving massage.

Note to everybody: if you ever give/receive a massage and you feel you have picked up some negative energy from someone, or I guess if you just feel like you have negative energy in your life—you can cleanse that with the help of the herb sage. Our teacher was so convincing that I decided I am going to go to an herb store and pick up some “sage spray” which I guess you can use in your office/bedroom/home/car/wherever to erase all those nasty vibes. Pretty cool, huh?

So that is all for today! I hope everyone out there in internet world has a fabulous day!

Day 1: Summer Vacation

2008-08-01T20:27:00.000-04:00

So far, this blog's ONLY entry has received more comments than any of my entries in my other blog. Which signifies a few things:

1. There is a lot of pressure on me for this to be badass.

2. You people don't comment enough on my other blog.

So, in regards to #1: screw you all, this might possibly suck and you are just going to have to deal. And #2: I apologize for saying screw you, I actually love you all, I'm just nervous. Please forgive me and comment more? Thanks.

Today at the gym, I grabbed a copy of Time magazine to put over the treadmill's screen so I wouldn't be able to see how long I'd been running for or how far I'd gone (otherwise I'd be looking down every 2 seconds). Now, lets face it... I can't run very long without stopping to walk, so while I was walking I flipped through the magazine and what I learned today via an article titled "A Brief History Of: Summer Vacation" is that (drum roll please)...

Back in the day in the United States, schools didn't have summer vacations. We used to have a summer and a winter term so that little kids could help out mom and pops during spring plantings and fall harvesting. And kids that lived in the cities and didn't have to do that bullshit instead had to go to school for 48 weeks of the year! That is revolting.

Luckily, around the 1840s a nice lad by the name of Horace Mann came around and decided that this system was totally whack and that "overstimulated young minds could lead to nervous disorders or insanity." They picked summer for the vaca time because they thought the sweltering classrooms would promote the spread of disease (I would think that the frostbite and diseases picked up from walking miles to school every day in the winter would have been a concern?).

But yeah, thats how the current U.S. school system came into place, which I think is pretty interesting. The system has a lot of critics though and it should be no surprise to us now that other countries kids are way smarter than ours since 1906 was the first time that an official complaint was made about the school system and the "summer setback" having an effect on retention and learning. Not that I would have wanted to give up my summer vacation-- but they've got a point.

So, I hope that everyone else learned something new along with me! See you all tomorrow!

The Introduction

2008-07-31T20:46:00.000-04:00

What am I doing?
I have decided to create a new blog to record one lesson that I learn from each day. For the first time in my life, I am no longer an official "student" yet I am not ready to give up on learning. I decided to put to the test the old manta "you learn something new every day" by each day recording one new thing that I learned from the previous 24 hours. It could be from a book, a television show, an experience, or the back of a box of cereal. It could be something I learned by specifically seeking out to get knowledge on a topic, something that fell into my lap, or something that I didn't even realize I learned until I took the time to reflect. It could be something that I learned about history, the world, current affairs, society, my friends, or myself. One lesson per one day for one year.

Why am I doing this?

I love to write. I love to learn. I love to document moments of my life. I love to share stories and important parts of my life with others. Is there really a reason not to?

What should you know about me?

I like to laugh
I like to color with Crayola markers and crayons
I have had the same best friends since kindergarten
I still hold a grudge for when they ate all of my Dunkaroos frosting when I was up from the lunch table in grade school
I just started my first real world job with a global billion dollar corporation
I am a middle child
I dance to the music in grocery, clothing, and convenience stores
I want to have 5 children someday
I sucked my thumb until I was in the 4th grade
I subsequently had braces from 2nd grade to 8th grade
My mom told me that I could choose to have ANYTHING I wanted if I stopped sucking my thumb. When I stopped, my choice was to go to KFC for lunch.
I have traveled to six different countries
There is more that I want to (and plan to) see in the world than I have the time to describe
My family and friends are the most important things in the world to me
I love to read and primarily only read non-fiction books... in my eyes there are too many amazing TRUE stories to read fiction.
I am an online research junkie and could happily "surf the web" for hours
I love life