Blogging Memoirs

As I look over the blogs of the last few months I am surprised at how negative most of them are. Most of them are haughty and condescending with a touch of sarcasm sprinkled in for good measure. I guess I misplaced my rose colored sun glasses before blogging. I do think I came up with some "magical" moments, though, and it taught me more about writing to an audience, knowing that my fellow students would be reading it. I wasn't always comfortable with writing my blogs, but I think it's important to be out of your comfort zone sometimes. The best wines are made when the vine struggles; the vine will produce fewer grapes, but those grapes will be the sweetest. Here's to a good year!

He's laughing at us

There's one recurring issue that leads me to believe that there is some greater power - a big guy in the sky - and he's laughing at us. I'm sure you all know well the ever pleasant phenomena of the stress sickness. It's the "I have no time to get sick right now because I have a million things to do so naturally I'm going to come down with the plague" sickness. I do have some time in my life that could easily be designated as sickness time - time when I have nothing better to do than lay in bed and cough and sneeze and wheeze. But this is not when I get sick - it would be too easy! No. Instead I get sick right before finals when I have three ten page papers to write and my family coming into town demanding attention. So now, my pocketbook is a Kleenex box, the sun - as it's a sneeze instigator - is my enemy, and I almost left the house with my bathrobe on this morning. What other explanation is there other than the presence of some sick minded higher being?

Driving...

Here we go...twelve hour drive to Michigan starting momentarily. I suppose if I have any doubts about wether or not my marriage will last, driving for twelve hours to spend four days with the in-laws should make things clear. As always, being the food junkie that I am, I am very concerned with packing enough food for the trip. The last time we drove out we didn't pack any food and were stuck in fast food hell for the whole day. This trip should be even more interesting because it's the first time visitng his family since we got engaged. The moment of truth. Were they all just pretending to like me because they assumed I'd go away eventually, or are they really happy to be inheriting me into their family? Did I mention we're going to my fiance's ten year high school reunion? It's like torture in vacation form...I'll let you know how it goes...

Maybe procrastination is good?!

I used to be a procrastinator - big time. I left everything until the last minute and scrambled like a mad-woman. Having learned my lesson, I have now traveled so far away from procrastination that it may actually be detrimental. I like to plan out the whole semester early on - seriously, I'm one step away from color coding my underwear to alert me of assignment due dates. I am so used to doing everything ahead of time now that when things are thrust upon me last minute, I just kind of stand there, deer in the headlights, looking frantic, and am unable to produce anything. In the event of a disaster, it should be easy to find me; I'll be the one huddled in the corner with my planner checking frantically for any prior notice of the events. I suppose in the grand scheme of life you can't really plan everything with underwear color coding, so maybe It serves us better to procrastinate. I'm not quite ready to give it all up, but maybe I could start by actually taking a day off from school work, and maybe, if all goes well, I would even consider taking a break from the hermit life and socializing....baby steps....

Globalization symposium

Wow! This globalization symposium has been so thought provoking and exciting. I feel so honored that so many amazing people form all over the world were willing to come and speak at our tiny little College. Amazing. Totally inspring. I feel like I could write a book but it would be nowhere near as good as the books written by these speakers. The most provocative thus far has been Vandana Shiva who's latest book, "Earth Democracy" sounds absolutely amazing from the small passage she read to us. Don't you ever wish you could just be a student forever? I feel like I could do hundreds of graduate degrees based on what I've heard, and am very diappointed to have to choose just one - at least for now....

Truckers unite!

A survey of millionaires in America revealed that very few of them had ever attended college, and almost none of them had attended graduate school. Contrary to popular belief, professions like lawyers and doctors have a fairly low rate of millionaires. This is for two reasons: 1) they spend so much time and money on school, and once they are out even their high pay can't always make up for the time spent not earning money and the huge school loan debt they have incurred 2)professionals like doctors and lawyers are forced to look the part (buy the big house, drive the nice car, wear the expensive clothes) and this is incredibly draining on a salary, no matter how large. Who knew that the most likely business of millionaires is the trucking industry? So, my advice to all of you looking to hit it big: drop out of school and get a CDL license, it's a hell of a lot easier and more effective.

Like Riding a Bike....

I was a very serious ballerina for the first fifteen years of my life, then an injury took me away from it for the next seven. I knew it would not be easy to get back into it; as anyone who has ever taken ballet can tell you, no physical activities work the muscle groups you use in ballet. You can work out every day and still be a quaking mess the first day back to classes if you've been away for long enough. I've been back for a month now, and everyday someone tells me that it's 'just like riding a bike'. The idea of coming back to ballet being just like riding a bike is lauphable. Ballet is different for two reasons: 1)the muscles you use to ride a bike get worked out everyday as you walk and climb stairs; therefore your body is not entirely out of shape when you get back on a bike; 2) ballet is much more mentally challenging than riding a bike! You need to be able to remember combinations while telling your body to pull up here and turn out there, and it's exhausting mentally, nevermind physically. The funniest part of being back is trying to do something that I could have done with my eyes closed eight years ago when I was studying with the Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet. This time, when I try it again, my brain knows what to do, and synapses fire and send the command, and my body replies with this strange herky jerky movement that is nothing like the command I gave. So I guess going back to ballet is more like riding a bike after you've been bed ridden for two years and your muscles have atrophed so bad that just putting a leg over the bike is as far as you can get on day one. I just completed day four and am finally able to start pedalling, although not very gracefully, and I look forward to making it to a quick ride around the block by next year.