Appreciating the lives of others through the interweb:

Julie, I envy you.

Bobbie: adorable.

Nina, I must say you certainly are rocking those boots better than I expected. Actually, someone recently featured (for fashion) in the Improper Bostonian was definitely wearing a very similar pair (just goes to show your excellent taste). I would have a link but their website is not so much "working".

I also checked out Nina's link to salon.com's broadsheet and was quite appalled (which I hope is the same way Nina felt) by the article which discussed another article (This Holiday, Equality Is for the Birds) essentially about "traditional" gender roles being preferable on holidays like Thanksgiving. Supposedly, women stay in the kitchen domain and men in the living room not because they feel obligated, but rather because it is their choice.

One woman is quoted as saying

"I love that my daughter is in there with us. She sees that we're there not because we're obligated but because we love it. I'm there not because it's my place but because it's my space. There's a difference. I've chosen it. You learn about your family or friends' culinary traditions, and I think the men stay away out of respect."

I'm worried about the children. Obviously, This woman's daughter likes hanging out with her mom and co. in the kitchen and her son likes being with his father. Great, that's pretty touching and sounds like a wonderful time. But what if things were different, what if the son liked hanging out in the kitchen and the daughter liked to hang out with dad? The article is not as much about equality (as the title implies) but rather about a person's comfort zone. Individuals are socialized to accept or at least understand certain roles. Women often feel comfortable in the kitchen so they "choose" that space. Men often feel more comfortable, well (for the purposes of this post) just not in the kitchen, so the "choose" to go elsewhere.

But I'm preaching to the choir so I'll just stop. So that I don't have to say these things anymore go here.

Work is obviously going very slowly. I think I'm supposed to work on compiling some sort of email list, but the boss is gone. End of story.

An exciting project I have coming up is working with Jesse to make a recycled outfit or two for the fashion show that NU's SEA (Students for Environmental Actions) is putting on. We are very excited, especially because we've decided to make Carlotta and Peter (the new adorable couple in PSA) be our models. This definitely acts as a creative outlet after watching Project Runway, which has somewhat lost it's novelty, but is still at times fascinating (clearly from a sociological perspective of course...)

Apparently there is another "Thanksgiving 2" planned with Jason's friends that I will proably end up going to, which will actually be my 4th.

Shame

There has totally been a movie being shot in the neighborhood where I work in South Boston for the past week (on the same street and across the park) and I am very ashamed to say that this completely intrigues me.

I so have better things to be thinking about with my time.

Recap of Thanksgiving week

I had a lovely time with my family as usual. If I've learned anything (and probably unintentionally) from my family it is to turn off the anxiety during holidays and to just have a good time. There was nothing super special about this Thanksgiving just a lot of things that make it the rather fun holiday it is. Well, actually we did meet Lisa's new boy, they were not obnoxious, and he was, in fact, a very nice person.

Thanksgiving activities:

1) Pre-holiday cleaning (apparently Lisa's boy is allergic to cats)

2) Making a mountain of hors d” oeuvres because dinner is always late

3) Making Apple Cider! (dad's new toy this fall was an apple grinder)

4) Blowing up store bought, fund raiser pies Mack made me buy for NHS (not only was that a waste of money the pies didn't even blow up very well. Next year we will get better fireworks.)

5) Of course, eating turkey and all the fixin's, including the delicious rice stuffing my mom makes that I have only recently come to realize is such a rarity.

Dessert was also quite delightful I highly advise the making of goodin puddin because it is amazing, full of cranberry goodness and is very easy to make.

The fam is well. Our family cars are not so well, which means poor dad must bear the brunt of Mack's complaining and despite the fact that Mack is the only one left to be chauffeured he has enough angst make up for the absence of Steph and myself.

The siblings and I mostly watched TV and poked each other. Our marathon viewings included Dr. Zhivago (random? and it took like 2 days to finish with lots of breaks in between), Flight of the Conchords (awesome), Home Movies (thanks to Jason a staple in our house) and lots of the Food Network and the Science channel.

As usual pics coming soon to a Caro blog near you.

I have a few pictures today.

However, the pictures are not of what I promised, but those will come soon.

Holy crap this waterfall is HUGE! To the left is Jason and the waterfall we took an "easy" hike to get to. We were accompanied by his classmate and friend Abey (who is very cool despite the fact that she suggested we go on the "easy" hike). We were in the middle of New Hampshire because we went to the Tufts "Loj" in mid October with Jason's friends from the UEP program. It was a lot of fun, we roasted marshmallows, drank pumpkin beer and everyone learned that Jason had not made me up (and that I was cool!).

Unfortunately, the "Loj" stewards (undergrads in the Tufts outdoorsie club) were....Very much so undergrads from Tufts. They were awkward and loud about it.



Anyways after getting back from the "Loj" I (and the rest of the PSA) had been invited by Carlotta (really awesome new member of the PSA) to go to the NU LSCC 10 year celebration Gala. Which was pretty cool, Carlotta we knew was getting an award...I think for being awesome. But then she surprised the us all by having finagled the LSCC (sorry Latino Student Cultural Center) into giving the PSA an honorary award for out work with the Justice for Janitors campaign. It was great for her because she got to see all of us look shocked and blush as we made our way to the podium.



And did I mention it was a formal affair:
From left: Me, Krishna, Nicole (behind) Lydia, Carlotta (star of the evening), Peter and Jesse.

I looked much more formal in real life. I had very sexy (dangerously so) shoes on that you cannot see.







More recently last week I went to a Pipettes show with Jason which was quite cool, even though it was totally after my bedtime. After that I went home for the weekend because Steph was in town for the dentist (lame). In an unplanned trip to BJ's we bought the first disc set of the Muppet Show on DVD because it's awesome. Well at least in memory it was awesome, when we actually watched it it turns out a lot of the grown up references are lost on us because it's from 1973 and the kids jokes are, well kid jokes. The episodes got better over time so I'm holding out hope that the second disc set is better. Despite that Kermit, Gonzo, Piggy and the rest of the gang are still my heroes. (If you also watch the show "Heroes" you'll know it goes without saying that in an epic battle between Ms. Piggy and Claire the clear victor is Ms. P. Not only because of her superior physical and mental prowess but also because at heart Ms Piggy is the ultimate bad guy and thus will always win.) But I digress.

The weekend also involved apple picking and playing soccer (sort of) with Mack, watching more TV, making fired in the wood-stove, drinking hot chocolate, reading and bothering Mack even more.

Jason did do a very good job of taking care of me this weekend, Laura, I didn't even have to make him make me tea. And the "trashy" LMA stories are just too good. One day perhaps I can better myself and give them up once and for all, but alas my moral fortitude is too weak!

Also, despite the fact that I did not get the job --which, yes, I am clearly too good for anyways-- I at least was told that there was nothing I did wrong, the other applicant just knew excel more than I did (umm...lame). Also it seems like certain people were unhappy with the decision to not hire me and that at least makes me feel a little special.

As a result I need to:

1) figure out if I will work more hours at my job at the "waffle factory"

2) do this in order to pay of student loans and try to afford the now mandatory health insurance in MA

3) which I read in the metro that today is the second to last day there is to sign up for insurance without facing "penalties". Oops.

However, I am excited that this weekend I get to see Stephanie and the fam because (unfortunately for her yet good for me) she is coming home for a dentist appt.

In Grandma/Aunts news:

We had the ugly shingles removed (well half of them until spring anyway) from the house and there are actually nice clapboards underneath which are being painted an interesting mauve-y color. The trim, in traditional Victorian style, is three colors; dark green, dark red and an off white.

Pictures coming soon.

WTF?

I did not get the job and I am still sick.

* * *

Last week I picked up a book at the Harvard Book Store (downstairs in the used section of course) of collected short stories by Louisa May Alcott, which I just noticed was published by the Northeastern University Press (granted in 1995).

I forgot that "short story" in the 1800's definitely means small novel. I am half way done with one story and it is pretty good so far.

This is what wikipedia has to say about her short stories:

"A lesser-known part of her work are the passionate, fiery novels and stories she wrote, usually under the pseudonym A. M. Barnard. These works, such as A Long Fatal Love Chase and Pauline's Passion and Punishment, were known in the Victorian Era as "potboilers" or "blood-and-thunder tales." Her character Jo in "Little Women" publishes several such stories but ultimately rejects them after being told that they are "dangerous for little minds." Their protagonists are willful and relentless in their pursuit of their own aims, which often include revenge on those who have humiliated or thwarted them. These works achieved immediate commercial success and remain highly readable today."

Status Update

Oh my god. It needs to be 5:30 so I can leave work, go home and sleep. Sadly, it is 2:52 and I am still at work packing boxes and/or catching up on other people through their blogs.

I'm going to try to OD on echinacea so as to not die of the plague.

PS:
Save the bees.
Save the world.

Still waiting to hear if I got the admin job at my internship.

I think I'm getting sick, hopefully it will be a light plague.

I'm losing Scrabulous to Stephie.

Since the Bobbie and Ms Nina are doing it, blogging must be cool. Jason already tried to get me to blog long ago, perhaps now the urge will stick.