Strange Happenings

Some bizzaro things have happened to me over the span of the last few days:

• On the Metro on Friday morning, I was holding on to one of the poles when this woman got on at the stop after mine and proceed to press herself up against the pole. Major Metro foul in any situation, but in this particular case, the geometry was such that her chest area happened to be pressed firmly up against my hand, leading to some tense and uncomfortable moments for me. She didn't even seem to realize I was practically feeling her up on the train - she was just reading the Express, without a care in the world.
• The other night walking home in my neighborhood there was an older woman walking down the street playing a recorder.
• Once again, I could not find basil at the grocery store.

Obviously, you can see I had quite the weekend.

In other news, I am attempting to sell my backpack on Craigslist. Some of you may recall this giant monstrosity of a bag, one that weighed ten pounds before even putting anything in the bag. I had always felt uncomfortable with the bag - it made me feel like a turtle, felt like I was carrying a small child on my back, never enough room on the bus for it, etc etc. But I reached my tipping point last week when I went to this furniture gallery to look for pieces for our new office and it was a lot swankier than I thought - the two women behind the desk actually said, and loudly at that, what a huge bag it was. Then they made me put it in this closet that was super modern and was difficult to get open.....needless to say I was done. My new backpack is on its way....but surprisingly, I have not had any offers on the backpack. It is currently listed in the clothing and accessories section of the Craigslist site - should I move it? Open to thoughts. If it doesn't move, I may try selling it through my neighborhood listserv.

Ways I Spend My Free Time

I have to make this quick, because the world's greatest TV show, Burn Notice, has just started. But I promised I would update today, so here it goes. Re: Discman issue from last night - Aunt Trishie rightly pointed out an alternative possibility I overlooked in my assessment (almost three weeks out of the LSATs and I'm already forgetting my hard-learned logical reasoning!). She said that said man could be worried about his iPod getting stolen (which there has been a rash of such thefts). So maybe he's not hip with technology, or maybe he's devising a clever way to repel iPod thieves.

Anyway, I actually was able to wake up early and go swimming again before work today. That's twice this week! To be fair, the first time I went this week I had to be downtown at 10am, and it was easier for me to go straight there than trek out to work. But at any rate, the morning swim is so peaceful. The vibe is markedly different - serious swimmers who want to put some serious time in swimming. I even had a lane to myself the other day, which was unheard of! However, I may have pushed myself too far, too soon....during my LSATs I'll admit toward the end my exercise regimen dipped. So I'm gradually trying to get myself back in fighting condition. However, this morning I was definitely in a groove, so I decided to do a half-mile swim, no breaks between laps. This was on top of the 30-Day Shred DVD I did last night....so at about 11:45am this morning, after sitting at my desk for more or less three hours, I felt that lactic acid building, and now I can barely move either my arms or my legs. I don't think it was really an aerobic stretch for me, but definitely a muscular one....I am weak, yo! Tomorrow, I will either a) rest or b) do yoga. Ideally I'd like to bike but I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow after work (good idea right before the law school fair? not sure - but I do trust my "girl" and I badly need a hair cut).

Ok, love you peeps, but I am missing my show! Hopefully this will be the year it will be nominated for an Emmy....

This Blog has 9 Lives...

...and I'm on life number 3 or 4 (at least). But as I sit here revising my resume for this law school fair I'm attending this weekend, I'm reminded of the mind-numbing process of applying for a job that prompted me to start this blog in the first place. It's been one year since I graduated from school, and a little under a year since I started my own, real, big-girl job. So some (public) self-reflection is clearly in order.

How have I changed? I think, unfortunately, I have a little less fun than I did in college. As I am fond of saying, and yes, I'm going to quote myself here, "They call it work for a reason." Now that I'm not studying for the LSATs, I have infinitely more free time. But for awhile there it was quite a grind - working and studying, studying and working, which really sucked. Plus there are other responsibilities I never factored in - paying bills, making sure I get to work on time (or wake up on time for that matter), running across the city for doctors appointments or getting things fixed, battling fellow commuters every morning...I mean those little things all add up and start to really drain my energy. Things are getting better now that I have my evenings back - I slept 10 hours last night for lack of anything better to do (in fairness, I was forced to watch the NBA finals - snooze alert).

Secondly, I feel more and more like an adult every day: learning how to speak in office jargon, using a cubicle voice on the phone (although to be fair I just sit in an open area, soon to be moved to sitting in a hallway [yes literally a hallway]), learning the hard way what happens when you don't put a vacation message up. It's like the responsibility train never ends! Today I met someone who went to school at that other university in Ithaca and I felt so far removed from my life in school. I had a moment where I was felt 23 going on 30 (although most days I'm more like 23 going on 80, so I guess this was a pleasant change). Again, exhausting to be on call all the time and not have a safety net of mom, dad, or skipping that 8am class. And since my dream of having this blog optioned for a series on Showtime hasn't materialized, looks like I'm going to continue to slog along in the 9-5 world.

On the positive side, I do have a feeling of independence, a strong sense of self, blah blah. So I guess there are some bright spots to being on your own.

In other news, on Monday I saw someone in the Metro with a Discman, i.e. a mobile CD player for those who can't remember. I was completely baffled. I am not the most technologically savvy (as evidenced by my 137 day absence from Twitter, which, by the way, people STILL keep signing up to follow my tweets, which I can't figure out for the life of me), but the Discman was so 1998. And before you say that some people are not as fortunate as I am (which even on my bad days I am keenly aware), this guy was clearly well-dressed and headed off to work. I mean, who knows, maybe he has a mountain of credit card debt, but if that's the case, he must still be listening to NOW 8 (Now That's What I Call Music 8) - if he can't afford an iPod, I'm assuming he can't afford any new music. I wonder what's on that - the Backstreet Boys? Btw, BSB is boycotting BP. I'm sure that will really get British Petroleum moving on stopping the oil from gushing out into the ocean.

Alright peeps I hope you are still reading this crap. Shout out to Ashley (because she only reads if I mention her name). I'll update again tomorrow on such pressing topics as what I should wear to this law school fair (thoughts, anyone?) and what kind of side salad I am going to make for a BBQ on Friday.