Shakes and Scenes in Brooklyn.

We went here for dinner and had mini burgers and shakes and some real real good fries.

Here I am showing the huge basket of fries empty... we did some damage.

Here is Staci, sipping her beer shake. Yep, beer in a shake.

***

After that we headed on the mint-green line to Metropolitan street and saw a show that Staci's former co-worker wrote called "Total Faith in Cosmic Love". It was neato. After our Brooklyn adventure (you see, the light-green line is only a Brooklyn line, thus it is foreign territory. We got from one end of B-town to the other all by our selves (and a few hints from kind strangers...) we took this picture on our way home:

And there you have it.

Pictorial: Staci's Birthday Celebration.

Here are some pictures. I was going to be all fancy and do some great stuff with titles of pictures and everything, but I'm just not in the mood to deal with this thing right now. So... here are a bunch of pictures in a random-ish order. Look at the last picture and check out how HOTT and intense Stac looks...

Me with my 24 ounces of Margarita that didn't get finished.

Staci with her choclately goodness.

Stac, me looking crazy and creepy, and Kristine, the other birthday girl!Aww yeeuhh. On the dance flo'.

Me and Josh... CHEESE!

This has a creepy "Ring" sense to it...

Crack much?

YAY! Staci and Me (and Al and Kristine behind us!)

Dancin Foos.

Josh and Staci and the $14.00 martini!

This is what I call Dance Dance Revolution.

What I Have to Say to You.

Housing Assignment.

Well folks, no more Carlyle.

Carlyle, for those unaware, is the building I live in this year on Union Square, and is also the building I lived in at the beginning of last year, Fall semester. We recieved our housing assingment today for a place called Alumni hall. it's not all bad, good chances we'll have a double, but not the greatest location ever.

We also found out that there will not be a charge for cancellations of housing, which there normally is, a nice fat $500.00 one. Since they changed the housing lottery procedure this year, they've decided to waive that fee. Staci and I may opt out of NYU housing this year and get an apartment.

That's a big freaking deal. What I wanted to do originally because I liked the idea of having my own apt and not being in an NYU building for potentially the last year I have in NYC, but it's still QUITE daunting. We'll see.

Just wanted to update you, and so there you have it.

At the Top of the World.

Some kid saw this at the top of the Empire State Building, took a pic, and sent it to the boys. Check it out:

Career Services.

As I walked into Au Bon Pain ( a soup, sandwich, bread shop) to get my soup for lunch I heard a guy on his lunch break say, with smoke spirals swirling around his tongue, "I want a job that I am excited to go to in the morning. I want to wake up and look forward to work."

To this his friend responded, "that's how all jobs start, that's how they all start..."

What do YOU think about this? First, if you have a job, do you like it? Do you look forward to going? What makes you like or dislike it?

Now, tell me two jobs you would like to have:
a- one that you are currently qualified for
b- a total reach, your dream job

Both of these should, ideally, be jobs that you'd look forward to going to rather than just make you the big dollas.

And there is the daily survey. Let me know!

Improvement.

Well hello all.

I'd just like to say it is sunny and 53 out, and I was pleased as punch to go out in my vest au lieu de mon jacket. Thursday it is supposed to get to 62, then Friday 64... what a dream! Maybe this means spring is really here!

Anyway, I'm feeling markedly better today, though the pains del stomacco have not ended. I went to work today, though I found out that I would have been fine. I thuoght that I would get in trouble for not going, but I guess they make allowances for sickness which is how it SHOULD be, but I thought I heard that they didn't. Someone told me today they have originally said you'de get a "strike" either way (3 strikes... you're out) but then they decided that was too extreme and changed it. So that's good to know for the future. I was fine today, though I'm feeling pretty exhausted, so I'll probably sit on the bed, read, and then fall asleep. Though I have homework I'm feeling quite apathetic and so I'm just going to let myself be sick and get totally better before I start stressing again.

Totally uninteresting blog, I realize. But that's the deal for me lately... boring. So yeah, off to stare out the window at the NYC gorgeousness!

Sick Student.

I'm sick.


Something crawled in my stomach and died, and I am suffering the consequences.


Hopefully sleep will cure it... let's pray!!!

Celebration.

Hello!

We just had our dinner, and now it's about time to get going (in about an hour) to Gypsy Tea where we'll properly celebrate Staci and Kristine becoming legal!

2 sidenotes:

-if you haven't updated in, say, the last 3 or 4 days... it is high time, it is the weekend... let's have it.
-if you have, good on you. Pat yourself on the back... and update again!

alright. There you have it. Keep my procrastination destinations fruitful!

And get set for some awesomely awesome pictures from tonight... they are inevitable.

Shopping Success, Purchase Failure.

I went to Forever 21 (and thought of you Kel) today with Staci. Tonight we're going out on the town to celebrate her and Kristine's 21st birfdees, and so Stac wanted to check out and see if they had anything for her birfdee-girl-self to be wearin! I tagged along because I rarely turn down a good F21 trip.

I picked up about 10 things, as I always do (for some reason when I shop there I'm more adventurous, I'll try almost anything on just for fun), and tried away. I assumed that at least half of the stuff would be No's. WELL.

Only 3 were No's.

But I am poor. And because of this, I walked away, empty handed. Self Control!

The biggest reason I didn't get any of it was because I wouldn't have worn any of it TONIGHT which was the whole point, and I realized that all of it was really springy and summery, and the weather just won't permit that YET. So I figure I'll wait a little longer to make my purchases... and now I don't even have to try on! :)

So yeah, there's my exciting afternoon. And now I'm off to work in about 45 mins. Shouldn't be bad, but there are days when I really wish I didn't work on Fridays...

---

That brings me to my next point: I can't wait to NOT have homework! I look forward to having a job that is like 9-5. And though I'm not sure I'll end up in something like that, I know that I won't ACTUALLY be a professional student like I always pretend, and I'm pretty sure whatever I do won't require me to trace themes through epic literature... just a guess.

ANYWAY... really lame and random blog. Hope you all have fun weekend plans and that your Fritags are GREAT!

Passion is Like, Totally in Fashion.

So today in my Public service class we had a speaker come and talk to us. Usually they talk about their lives, how they got involved in public service, and then what they do now.

This woman today was awesome. She was talking about how she went to Harvard, then went to Harvard Med School and only did so because she was pressured by people. She knew she didn't want to be a doctor but everyone around her told her that it was the best thing to do, it would make her the most money, and she was great at math and science so why not.... After she finished her residency she just realized that if she did become a doctor she would be a bad one because it was NOT her passion. She then went to the Kennedy school for Government at Harvard. Hello Ivy League education (and I'd just like to say she came from a low income household, parents were both elementary teachers... pretty great success story... ANYWAY...). So her point was that she had to go through some things she disliked in order to get to a place where she found what she DOES like. And not only does she like what she does, but she is DAMN good at it, and has an extreme passion for it.

Naturally, to those of us who are contemplating our passions and "what we want to do with our lives" this sparked EVERYONE's interest, so the questions began, and here are some kernels and, as my crazy Epic tradition professor would say, some "chicken mcnuggets...(you'd get a kick outta him Mel...)

She suggested that we do the hard work NOW> She said that there is no definite time lapse that will occur before you figure out your talents and passions, but she said it does take work. She kind of ranted about how she feels people rarely reach their potential anymore because our potentials are so high that if we really went for it, we'd have to expend a lot of energy in the process. I can see her point. She said that it takes some trial and error, but a big part of it is being self aware. She suggested journaling for a few minutes every day, jotting down likes, dislikes, good and bad experiences, etc. This seems cheesy, but hey, I might try it. I kind of already do it (tada!!!) so that's neato.

She also said to ask our friends for honest and unbiased opinions about what we're good at. This is something that came up in bible study too as we deal with what the 20's are all about (age wise, not history).

So here we go. I'm asking you.

Here are some... uhh.. parameters?

First...if you're willing to respond, please type your response in an e-mail. I feel like that way people won't just see other people's impressions and write them down too or be influenced by them. Please feel free to comment to anything in the blog or where you're at with all this, but send me an e-mail if you're going to tell me these things:

--what am I good at?
--what do you think I'm passionate about?
--what am I not good at or bad at?
--what kind of job can you see me doing (and this isn't like "business woman"- be specific!!!)

Please DO NOT consider anything I have ever expressed interest in or claimed to want to do- just take your ideas simply from your observations of my abilities and skills.

I know this is a weird one, but she suggested it and I thought hey, I know that everyone who reads my blog slash would comment on this knows me pretty well and that they would probably be willing to help me out and may have valuable insight. So there you go.

Anyway, again, feel free to comment on this blog, but send an e-mail to claire.cain@gmail.com if you want to answer my silly questions!

[and please don't think I'm searching for complements of accolades here. You're telling me the negative stuff too! I gotsta know!!!]

Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy!

THE BIG 2-1!!!!

HAPPY BIRFDEE TO MY ROOMATE OF 3 (COUNT 'EM!) YEARS! I LOVE YOU LIKE THE OCEAN LOVES SAND. LIKE THE BIRDS LOVE THE AIR. LIKE THE SUN LOVES TO SHINE. LIKE PIGEONS LOVE TAKING CRAPS ON HEADS.

MAY YOUR 21ST BE THE OH-SO-MERRIEST YEAR OF THEM YET!


Everyone wish Staci a Happy 21st!

Wide Open Spaces, New Places.

Yesterday in my italian class we were talking about living in Greenwich, Connecticut. We were talking about our Spring Breaks and one girl is from there, another went to Phoeniz, AZ, I went to Utah... (and then there were the people who went to Prague, Jamaica, and Peru... but I'm not talking about THEM, am I?).

I was just thinking about Connecticut. I could live there. I was thinking about where I'll live after I leave New York, which is inevitable. I am excited to live somewhere new. I think living in just some random place would be so cool, even if it's not some conquering city like New York. The tiny little places across the country with mom and pop stores, or the places with little boutiques, or ... you know, whatever!

I was thinking about Matt and Mel and how they get to head off to somewhere as of yet unknown. HOW EXCITING! I'm sure it's scary too, but how freaking cool! They get to go discover the workings of a new place, a new scene. And inevitably a new culture, no matter where they go. Awesome. I'm excited for y'alls!

So yeah... nothing profound here. I was just thinking about where I'd like to live and where I'll actually live and all that. It has been on my mind like so many other things... as I always say, college make you obsess over the future. Well for the record, I'm not obsessing, I'm just enjoying the thought of freedom, of wide open spaces, as it figuratively were.

If you feel so inclined, tell me one urban and one suburban place you'd like to live. Or let me know if you could ever life in a farm-like town, a big city (like, say, New York!), or if you need something in between. Talk to me about the ideal people... what does your dream city/town look like?

Chime in: Sperm Donation.

I know, it's not everyday that you see SPERM as a subject in my blog, but here's the deal:

Monday on 60 minutes (or was it Sunday? More likely... that was the "I'm lonely" night so the TV stayed on...) they talked about how there are now these crazy families that are connected through half-siblings due to repeated sperm donations of the same donor... so The Smiths, The Jones, The Albertsons, and The Sextons all have children who are half the mother's and half a donors... and because he repeatedly donated, he now has 4 (or in some cases 20...) children floating around in the world he doesn't know about.

Now that angle makes the thing sound negative. The positive is that these people who would otherwise be unable to have children (more often than not, as opposed to my illustration, the people who are using donors are lesbian couples or single moms) can now choose their donor based on a profile and then bare a child.

Many of the people donating are doing it to put themselves through med school, help pay for college, etc. Some of them only do it while single, others continue to donate long after they are married. My question is: how do you feel about sperm donation? If you are (or for the sake of the game let's pretend that the ladies had the choice too, forget the fact that you've got limited eggs etc etc... pretend you got sperm, aight?) male, would you donate? How do you feel about donation post-marriage? What if your boyfriend told you he had donated, would that bother you or make any difference?

You've got the topic, now talk amongst yourselves...

First Tour Over.

This morning I had my first official paid tour of NYU. I had a group of about 25 people... It's pretty challenging to have such a big group. Because it's decision time and springtime, that means a BOATLOAD of people come here every day to learn about the school. I have about 3 tours a week this month, and maybe more next month... Should be challenging to figure out when exactly I'm going to workout (especially, since I usually go in the mornings...), do homework, and all that! We'll see! Should be fun though... And hey, I'm making a whopping 6.75 an hour.. YEAH BABY!

Anyway... it's good to have it over. I was pretty nervous for the first one, my first all by my lonesome. I have lots of room to improve, of course, but I think it went pretty well and hopefully the people got their questions answered etc.

I just finished one of the two assignments I have for today. That's real great, except it is the easier and less time consuming one... so we'll hope that I can really focus this afternoon! Joshua P is coming over now to tell me all about Honduras! And I can't say no to that... so maybe it'll all get crammed in after class tonight... but it's for my favorite class, so shouldn't be too bad.

MAN this week is crazy! And I'm realizing they're all going to be like this! AHH!

Anyway, there's an update (oh... procrastination, you are my friend!)!

Official Spring Time.

CNN says that Spring officially begins today at 1:26pm EST.

FANTASTIC!

Also... it seems weird to have it down to the minute when the season starts... I thought that generally it was the 21st of March... but you can check me on this if you must....

So anyway... very merry spring to you!

Back to the Grind.

Spring Break is now over. Well... in about 4 hours it will be over... I guess I officially am still on spring break until it strikes midnight here, and Monday the 20th sneaks around the corner.

Anyway... I had a GREAT spring break. I had a girl's night (minus some beloved ladies... you were missed!!!). I got to ski a few times with Matthew and my Dad. I got to do dinner with the Teters, dine with my folks a few times, celebrate a birthday, relax, sleep, not sleep, eat good food that I miss, talk to friends, celebrate my heritage through politically incorrect beverages, and NOT do homework. It was great. GREAT.

I miss home. I DON'T want to go back to school, back to the grind.

At the same time....

I'm really excited that there are only 7 weeks left in the semester, and those weeks are the fastest 7 weeks of the year. Spring semester is so quick, and the half that rests after Spring Break is really speedy because there is SO much to be done. There are also some things to look forward to-- Staci's 21st birthday (coming to a world near you this wednesday! And to be celebrated Friday in conjunction with Kristine, my other roomate's birthday!), Easter, SPRING!!!, seeing Dashy again, and ya know, other stuff I'm sure! It's nice to know that school doesn't stretch out in front of me forever... there's only 2.5 semesters left in my college life. In a way that is scary, but at the same time, it's REALLY REALLY exciting. I can only imagine what it's like to say goodbye to undergraduate school, and yet I anticipate that day. That doesn't mean that I'm going to stop enjoying the things I come up against NOW, but I'll tell ya, I'm excited for what life is going to be life sans registration, dorm rooms, crappy wooden pivoting desk chairs.

So yeah.. there's my kind of all-over-the-place rant. I'm still kind of looking for what's next in terms of summer... not sure about a job, and not sure if I'll get to go on tour with WAS or not... waiting on word. I'm anxious to see what will happen with our housing situation, and getting to a place where I'm excited to think about classes for next semester. CRAZY!

Anyway... I'm still just kind of babbling. I'll leave you with these:



Just note that you can't see my crazy goggle tan yet cause this was the first day, first run.... oh BOY.

Justification: Oscar Statement.

Here are three reasons why I thought the Oscars were a little la-la-lame this year:

1- the 36 Mafia song WASN'T good. If you have ears you will most likely agree. I'm all for diversity and mixing things up, but only when it is backed by merit.

2- I LOVE Jon Stewart and I think that he was clearly restrained. I imagine that they gave him some strict barriers. Also, he is not a big huge performer life Billy Crystal or Steve Martin, he is more subtile. I was so psyched he hosted, but I feel like a lot of his charisma was stilted by the audience's density and what I imagine were the Acad's parameters.

3- Can anyone say montage? (thank you Jon Stewart for cracking the joke!)

[Bonus reason: They majorely drilled home their point about how the only real movie-watching experience is in theaters instead of on DVD- OK! We get the point! You want more money, so we need to patronize our local theater! It seemed a little heavy handed to me.]


Now, this is not to say that I didn't watch (thought admittedly I stopped watching and totally missed the best picture because I had better stuff to do), and that I didn't enjoy watching. I liked 'em, I did. There were some good speeches, most everyone looked decent, it worked for me. I liked them, I did. They were just a little low key, and maybe that's a good thing!

That is all.

PS> didn't Jennifer Aniston look classy and great?

Public Appreciation.

Just wanted to say that Melissa is a good friend. A damn fine friend.

I recommend her.

--

There are things, Mel, that knit us together, recent events included. And yet even these things, as you said, are just PART of our relationship. We go back quite a ways through lots of STUFF, and I'm so happy for that. I'm glad that we're always facing NEW stuff, that our relationship comes along with us in life, that it isn't left by the wayside.

I can never express to you what it means for you to say "That's all you've got? Bring it on...."

Thank you.

Cloudy Thursday.

It is odd that tomorrow at this time I will be somewhere over the United States, flying against the jet stream, stuffed up in an aluminum can with wings.

I am tired, but the end, again, is near.

We had a send off last night for the people going to Hondras and Romania. I'm so excited for all of them! I can't wait to hear about their experiences!

It is cloudy today, and it is supposed to be in the sixties for the next five days here. I'm pretty sure there's snow and cool temps in store in ol' Utah. I'll take it though... I'm looking forward, in a n immense way, to being HOME.

Off to see Big D!

Vi Do un Update.

Hello hello!

Well it turns out I am still alive! And here is the latest news, in no particular order, and of no particular consequence:

--midterms are going well, so far the grades meet my approval.

--exhaustion is here and better than ever, but the end is near!

--no Argentina for me this summer. Bummer, but new opportunities are inevitably in store.

--Spring break is in 2 days.

--Shannon Hopkins is in town today- randomness- and so she'll be going to Navs with me tonight!

--Dashiell is still cuter than you ever were (or I ever was...).

--We Are Scientists is on Conan O'Brien on March 14, there will be an Evite.

--I am obsessed with Evite.

--It is sunny today but is supposed to rain tomorrow... please no!

--I love mail, thank you to those who have been sending it!

--I'm looking for brilliant ideas for the summer... share it if you got it.

--A group from Navs heads to Honduras on Saturday, pray if you do.

--The Oscars were boring this year.

--I love Subway chocolate chip cookies... too much.

--I'm leaving now to go to class after I eat a bite of lunch... have a great day!

Just LOOK at this!

SO SWEET!!!!

Babies and Showers and Daffodils: It's Spring!

Well alright, it's only 40 degrees out, and there's some snow and rain in the forecast, but secondo me, in my opinion, it's spring!

Yesterday I went to a bridal shower. SPRING!

Today I saw my nephew in all his glorious beauty and sweetness. SPRING!

Every day the daffodils peak up a little more from the cold ground. SPRING!

Spring break is but six days from my grips. SPRING!

The stores are not displaying tank tops and swimsuits and butt-cheek shorts. SPRING!

Midterms end this week. SPRING!

HOORAY SPRING! (I'm ready, can you tell?)

Other random pictures....

Here are some pictures from a while ago that I thought I'd post just fer funs...

This one is from the Ol' trip to NH with the Navs... this was the night we were stranded there in the wilds of the North East! (at Chilli's oddly enough!)


This is the whole group of navigators from NH!


This is the one from our transvestite Karaoke from like amonth ago. I found it in a normal size and decided I'de post it again. I'd like to point out what different hair we all have. I know that's random, but it really stuck out to me....

That is all.

It's Snowing... What Happened to Spring?

Alright, Alright, I know that spring isn't official until the 21st of March, I know!!!





And actually, these pictures are from the Blizzard a few weeks ago, I just never put them up. There's about a half inch in the grass, most of it isn't sticking on the pavement... thank goodness!

Anyway, I'm off into the wild gray yonder for class and work!!!

Un Segno.

They say getting crapped on by a bird is a sign from God...

Yeah.

I got a sign from God today. Right on my head, in my hair.

Happy March 1st!


PS> Today marks the beginning of lent. What are you giving up for the next forty days? If you haven't considered it, tell my WHY, and if you are just now considering it- good on ya! I encourage you all to think of SOMETHING!