Thursday, December 31, 2009

My year in review

And I thought 2008 was a good year.

I think it's only natural that as I get older, I continue to learn things about the Real World and myself and grow and mature and evolve. But every time New Year's rolls around, I look back at all the ways I've changed personally and it still always amazes me.

I finished my first year of college without losing my mind. I hadn't really thought about this, but college is such an all-encompassing and life-changing experience. Especially with all the problems I had with my roommate (or, more like, all the pieces I had to help her pick up of her own life) and it certainly opened my eyes a bit.

And Mexico opened them even more. Going to Mexico was probably one of the best decisions I have ever made. I had amazing experiences, met awesome people, and learned much more than a classroom could ever teach, as ridiculously stupid and cheesy as that sounds. Life is so different there; not necessarily the lives of the middle class, but the staggering poverty that is not prevalent anywhere in the U.S. is so shocking and humbling. I am so grateful for that opportunity, as well as every other opportunity life has presented me. Which, given the situation I was born into, is quite a few.

Wow, that got a bit sappy. Now I'm off to go party. Later!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

You're not wearing any pants

Last night, we had a party. And I found out just how okay--no, awesome--everything is.

Kimberly is house-sitting for her mother's French teacher. Her mother's French teacher is ridiculously rich and lives in a huge house in what is possibly one of the schnazziest neighborhoods in the country. (I'm not kidding--no one on the corner has swagger like these people do.) So The Group (yes, in capitals) got together for heavy drinking (in which I did not partake because I had work this morning) and hot-tubbing (which I just took off my pants for, thus the title, because I did not have a bathing suit).

It was ridiculously fun! Laura was confessing basically her every paranoid jealousy and insecurity and emotional secret. If I thought before that she vocalised every thought that came into her head, I now know that she actually has some sort of filter! Last night was very revelatory.

Speaking of revelatory, I found out that Mikko told The Group I he made out with him me in August. But it turns out they don't really care! Because Mikko is kinda The Group Whore, and has kissed/made out with me, Brandon, and Katie, and is working very hard on adding Kimberly* and Laura to that list (without much success). So my whole paranoia about them judging is all moot, because it's really just another flow chart in the complicated and ridiculous love triangles/parallelograms/pentagons/hexagons/whatthefuckever within The Group. So I feel so much better now.

And then when we all went in the hot tub, I took off my pants so I could stick my legs in while sitting on the edge.** Katie had just come back from the other party she took two hours off of our party for, and she walked in the door, looked me up and down, and said, "You're not wearing any pants."

No, I am not wearing any pants.



*Even though he and Kimberly dated in high school, he never kissed her? What? No wonder they broke up.
**I was wearing a shirt dress, so don't worry, my ass was covered both figuratively and literally.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

The not-9 to 5

I don't want to go to bed right now. I know I should, because I know I should get as much sleep as possible for work tomorrow, but going to bed only means 6:15 a.m. will be here faster and I will have to get up and go to that horrid bakery-café where I work.

I hate it.

I really shouldn't. It's probably not as bad as I think, because last week was the week before Christmas and thus INSANITY so (knock on wood), this week should be better. I hope. But that still doesn't change the fact that I am working ALL THIS WEEK, at either 7 or 6 a.m., even on January 1st. Which means I either a) don't go out for New Year's Eve or b) stay up until 7 a.m. and go to work sans sleep.

I just hate being on my feet for eight straight hours, with only one half hour break (I'm pretty sure that is illegal?). I hate that I never get out on time. And I hate that one of my managers is a dickhead. I hate that I can't stay out late with my friends when I'm supposed to be on vacation.

I really shouldn't be complaining, because obviously there are much worse jobs, but it does help when my winter break is being eaten up by a job I don't like for money I don't really need. But, I guess, money. I'll have that at least, right?

Saturday, December 26, 2009

I feel old, but not very wise

An Education was also a really excellent movie.

I have a substantial post coming up soon. About work. And how much I hate it. It's probably coming up. If I ever get around to writing it.

But speaking of work, the past week I saw this women who had to be at least my mother's age wearing a New Moon t-shirt. STOP IT. STOP IT RIGHT NOW. You are an adult. You should know better.

Right now I am in Berkeley. We drove up this weekend to move in, because my parents can't get any time off work in January. So our grand Christmas celebration (which is really a Secular Celebration, because we are Jews) consisted of the hotel my parents are staying at finding us a restaurant that was actually open and my friend Bernadette, who is housesitting, coming along with us. And then Bernadette and I baked cupcakes and watched the Doctor Who Christmas Special.

Today we spent all day assembling the furniture we bought at Ikea this morning. What is with those instruction booklets, eh? I get the whole breaking-down-language-barriers pictures, but some words would be nice. Because some of these drawings are whack.

I guess this turned into a semi-substantial post? Of course, that depends on your definition of 'substantial'.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Imagine, for a moment, you have a backpack

I just came back from seeing Up in the Air with Hana. It was really, really good. Go see it. Like, now.

And Merry Christmas, to all those non-Jews. Because those are the only people who exist in the world: Jews and non-Jews who celebrate Christmas.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Somwhere beyond the Seine

Kimberly, Janelle, and I went swing dancing last night. It's the first time I've been in over three months! I felt so rusty. Janelle and I were quite hesitant to ask people to dance at first, because I always feel like you owe someone a good dance if you ask them. Which is totally not true, but that's just how my crazy, paranoid mind works.

At the venue we saw things guy who vaguely resembled our friend Mikko, but when we danced with him, we found out his name was Brandon. (Another friend of ours is named Brandon, and he's actually had a long-standing crush on Mikko.) We literally cackled. Because we are mature, rational people.

Kimberly told me that when she was in Paris, she found a stretch along the Seine where people would swing dance every Sunday. My jaw practically dropped when she told me this. It's as though all my romantic illusions have come true. Some want to go to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower or the Mona Lisa or the Arc D'Whatever; I want to go for the swing dancing.



And I just wanted to say how proud I am of myself for this post's title. I think it's possibly the cleverest one I've ever written. Which says something really sad about me, if you think about it.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Family matters

I have to move all my stuff up to Berkeley over Christmas weekend because my parents can't take any time off in January, so my dad's family had a Christmas shindig yesterday. My dad's family is very different from my mom's; her family is Jewish and are quasi-intellectuals, his is from Iowa and likes fishing, NASCAR, and country music. Of course, even as I wrote that, trying not to sound like an asshole, you can tell which of my parents had a bigger influence on my personality and worldview.

But my dad's family is really nice and it's fun to spend time with them, even if my uncle does roll his eyes a lot when I started talking about the theoretical possibility of time travel.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Work it out

I am notorious on not following through. I make plans in my head and organise lists and papers compulsively, but when time comes to act on those plans or stick to those lists, I rarely do it. Especially when it comes to the gym.

I signed up for a gym membership. I've gone for three days in a row, a personal record.

Let's see if it sticks this time.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The best kept secrets are told

Laura said, "You are incapable of keeping secrets from me."

I laughed so hard to myself that I thought she would be suspicious as to why, but she wasn't. Or maybe she was but decided she'd rather not know my secrets.

Satin Lives

I ignored Adventureland when it first came out (some lackluster reviews turned me off to it), but we watched it tonight and I absolutely loved it. I'm aware that it's a bit cliché, but I think I don't care. I feel like maybe I relate to it a bit too much though; about the having absolutely rotten luck in the realm of love/relationships/sex/whatever. And being awkward. But I've decided I'm in love with Jesse Eisenberg. Also, this movie re-ignited my love for "Pale Blue Eyes".

When Jesse Eisenberg's character put the song "Pale Blue Eyes" on the mixtape for Kristen Stewart's character, who was a big Lou Reed fan as well as other rock'n'roll-ish stuff, Laura said she didn't think Kristen Stewart's character would like that song. I don't think Laura knows what Lou Reed sounds like, much less that he wrote the song and was part of the Velvet Underground.


Later this evening, after we decided to go to Jack 'N' the Box for some late night snacks, I said something while in Brandon's car, I don't even remember what, some joke about something in Spanish and/or Spanish-related and I cracked myself up, and Ben said that it was really cute. Which doesn't mean anything, and I've known Ben for-freakin'-ever, since I was about three, but it made me a bit giddy nonetheless, because that's just how ridiculous I am.

Mikko and I have done a good job at not being awkward after the awkward-ness that occurred this summer. (It involved Pushing Daisies and lots of hours spent on my bed watching TV--use your imagination. Actually, don't. It's probably not as interesting as you'd imagine. Just some lame attempts at seduction and me confessing that Sorry, that ship stopped sailing sometime before I graduated from high school. That's it, really.) I'm pretty sure that we probably wouldn't being hanging out if it weren't for our group of mutual friends, but we've both seemed to reach an unspoken agreement to pretend that nothing happened, except for occasional comments to each other. Which no one paid attention to. And even if they were to pay attention, they were not so obvious as to attract any second thoughts. Which is my biggest fear as far as that whole situation is concerned: that someone in our group of friends would find out. I just feel like they would never really think of me the same way, and the idea of them knowing embarrasses me. Which I think means that turning down the offer was, on the whole, an excellent idea.


Thus concludes your overshare for the evening morning.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Like the TV show

I have a new blog, because I'm not in Mexico anymore, so a blog about my study abroad experiences (more en inglés and not so much en español) is rather irrelevant now.

You'll notice that the URL is "http://entirely-unoriginal.blogspot.com". Because it's stolen from David Mitchell and Robert Webb.

There will be no nudity. Sorry if I've mislead anyone.