I started reading Gawker pretty regularly. It's so great it makes Facebook seem very boring, if it wasn't already. Hearing about how everyone is super excited that finals are almost over this year made me realize that it's really time to give up.
I like to read Gawker at work, especially. Normally I just check NY Times for the news updates, but whenever I mentioned some piece of news, like unemployment rate changes or the healthcare bill, no one would acknowledge my comment. So many things are off limits for discussion, I think that people just like to talk about celebrity gossip and sports. Luckily, Gawker is great for both. I broke the news on every Tiger update there was a couple of weeks ago. The only problem was when they asked me where I read it. Then I would wait for NY Times to update their "sports" blog and send the link around. They respect my news if it comes from there or SF Gate even. Except that no one respects SF Gate. Not even SF Gate.
12.21.2009
11.26.2009
Feliz día de Acción de Gracias
Here is an email from my Spanish host mom. I wanted to share it because she's so sweet - she emailed me on a holiday she doesn't even celebrate because it's one that means a lot to me and my family.
Feliz día de Acción de Gracias., En estas fechas tan familiares me acuerdo mucho de mi hija americana. Un fuerte abrazo y recuerdos a todos los tuyos. Que disfrutes este día y seas muy feliz en todo lo que emprendas. Con muchísimo cariño. Tu madre española.
11.25.2009
California Love?
Not too surprisingly, UC students have been protesting the 32% tuition hike UC Regents approved last week with huge demonstrations involving drums and chants about injustice. It's a tough situation undoubtedly: students who are barely scraping together the money for tuition in addition to all of the other college expenses could be overburdened by the increase, while the state of California is floudering financially and slashing spending anywhere possible, including of course, higher education.
A study my sister worked on is cited this article from UC Davis' The Aggie saying that, "Nearly 90 percent of Californians are "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" about student fee hikes." Yet, 56% said they would not be willing to pay higher taxes to deal with the state budget problems. So who do they want to pay for it?
Personally, I agree with this view of the situation outlined by Ian Ayres for the Freakonomics Blog - the people who should pay for it are the ones who have the money. If you can afford the higher tuition, you'll pay it and if you can't then you'll get help. The UCs are high caliber schools that still are not that expensive, relative to private institutions. The wealthier students will pay the tuition, the poorer students will get financial aid and the ones in the middle? That's where I think the burden will be placed and where some kind of assistance is needed... manna from heaven sounds like a good plan.
A study my sister worked on is cited this article from UC Davis' The Aggie saying that, "Nearly 90 percent of Californians are "very concerned" or "somewhat concerned" about student fee hikes." Yet, 56% said they would not be willing to pay higher taxes to deal with the state budget problems. So who do they want to pay for it?
Personally, I agree with this view of the situation outlined by Ian Ayres for the Freakonomics Blog - the people who should pay for it are the ones who have the money. If you can afford the higher tuition, you'll pay it and if you can't then you'll get help. The UCs are high caliber schools that still are not that expensive, relative to private institutions. The wealthier students will pay the tuition, the poorer students will get financial aid and the ones in the middle? That's where I think the burden will be placed and where some kind of assistance is needed... manna from heaven sounds like a good plan.
11.14.2009
Twitter is only good for finding food
So Twitter is really only good for finding food, right? Scream sorbet is my favorite to follow. They seriously have amazing sorbet that doesn't use any dairy. The best part of their sorbet though is that it actually tastes exactly like whatever they claim it to be. Hard to explain, just try it. I'm in LA right now where the Kimchi taco truck tweets their location and then everyone swarms. I want to try them while I'm here, but I don't want to have to drive really far. Maybe they will be around the corner this afternoon or something.
What else is Twitter good for? Please, tell me if you know.
What else is Twitter good for? Please, tell me if you know.
10.31.2009
Happy Halloween!
Why do people say that? It's not a particularly joyous holiday, but it's fun to say it since everyone is so excited to dress up.
It says a lot about a person what they dressed up as throughout their lives, right? Maybe not one year in particular, but all the years together do.
Here are mine(not necessarily in order... if my mom read this blog, she would correct me) :
- clown
- gypsy (i know, totally un-pc, but i didn't know better)
- witch (not too scary)
- little red riding hood
- mime
- Charlie Chaplin (full on, no talking, waddling with cane)
- Phantom of the Opera
- Princess Leia
- Marilyn Monroe
- figure skater from the 80's
and this year?
It says a lot about a person what they dressed up as throughout their lives, right? Maybe not one year in particular, but all the years together do.
Here are mine(not necessarily in order... if my mom read this blog, she would correct me) :
- clown
- gypsy (i know, totally un-pc, but i didn't know better)
- witch (not too scary)
- little red riding hood
- mime
- Charlie Chaplin (full on, no talking, waddling with cane)
- Phantom of the Opera
- Princess Leia
- Marilyn Monroe
- figure skater from the 80's
and this year?
10.06.2009
Family Thievery
I have a HUGE family, a family that I really like being around, even if they are a little insane at times. Since I moved to California, and my family is all in West Virginia and Ohio (more or less), I have been stealing families. It's a very good idea if you decide to move somewhere without any family. Luckily I moved to a city where I already knew a good deal of people from school, some of whom actually grew up here. This means they have families nearby, families you can steal. Money!
First, I stole Alex's family. Her Mom, Linda, and her sister, Sonja, are great. The beginning of my thievery was probably on Alex's birthday last year, when the four of us went to brunch, then to a 6 year-old's birthday party. There we played with other 6 year-olds and watched a live reptile show - the guy doing the show made Alex touch something since it was her birthday, too. That night I got to meet Alex's brother, Gabe, and his family for the first time (they just had their second baby!). Shortly after that, Alex and I went to Sonja's house for Thanksgiving; Sonja's partner Jim was also there and he is great fun. It was the first time that Sonja had cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner by herself and boy, did she do a good job. I also got to meet their other brother, Anthony, at that holiday.
Now I am on a crusade to steal Julia's and Kim's families. On the day that Kim, my former coworker but now friend, and I decided to put in our joint letter of resignation, I had to take care of some stuff in the East Bay that was going to be very difficult to do by bike. Kim and her Mom were so great - they picked me up at the Lafayette BART station, drove me to my appointment, then we got coffee together and Kim's Mom took us to work all the way in Berkeley. It was so nice to have a Mom to talk to before we made such a stressful career move.
I recently met Julia's parents when we had our Monday Night Dinner Club at her house. We are going to her house for happy hour on Thursday and I am going to put plan Steal-Julia's-Parents into action. Wish me luck!
First, I stole Alex's family. Her Mom, Linda, and her sister, Sonja, are great. The beginning of my thievery was probably on Alex's birthday last year, when the four of us went to brunch, then to a 6 year-old's birthday party. There we played with other 6 year-olds and watched a live reptile show - the guy doing the show made Alex touch something since it was her birthday, too. That night I got to meet Alex's brother, Gabe, and his family for the first time (they just had their second baby!). Shortly after that, Alex and I went to Sonja's house for Thanksgiving; Sonja's partner Jim was also there and he is great fun. It was the first time that Sonja had cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner by herself and boy, did she do a good job. I also got to meet their other brother, Anthony, at that holiday.
Now I am on a crusade to steal Julia's and Kim's families. On the day that Kim, my former coworker but now friend, and I decided to put in our joint letter of resignation, I had to take care of some stuff in the East Bay that was going to be very difficult to do by bike. Kim and her Mom were so great - they picked me up at the Lafayette BART station, drove me to my appointment, then we got coffee together and Kim's Mom took us to work all the way in Berkeley. It was so nice to have a Mom to talk to before we made such a stressful career move.
I recently met Julia's parents when we had our Monday Night Dinner Club at her house. We are going to her house for happy hour on Thursday and I am going to put plan Steal-Julia's-Parents into action. Wish me luck!
9.29.2009
Fall playlist aka I am trying to make a comeback.
Life has been pretty busy for me since June, which is when I started studying for the LSAT. After having taken the test last Saturday, and also having rid my life of other distractions like a horrible boss and philandering boyfriend, I am back on track. I am making a career move, waiting for the LSAT score to arrive so I can start applying to law school, and just generally enjoying life. I got a new camera, so maybe some pictures will show up on here more often. Also, Unca D, too bad you aren't in town this weekend to enjoy this: http://www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/
I'm also going to represent my WV roots tomorrow at the SF premier of "Coal Country."
I will make my foray back into blogging by starting out easy and working off of ap's last post.
With such transitions in life comes a new soundtrack, so here is how I am starting out the fall:
Lastly, now that I've finally finished the LSAT, I can get back to reading for pleasure. I started with The Night of the Gun by David Carr, which I ended up quitting about 90 pages in (not common for me). This book is basically an extension of an article he wrote a year ago, which I really liked then. That said, I could not handle an entire book of it. The book is a memoir, but written in the investigative genre of a journalist, because Carr was so out of it during these years, he had to interview those involved to actually write a memoir. Sounds interesting, you say? I agree. What I could not get down with was the level of humor Carr felt like he should insert. Being addicted to coke is not funny, especially when you're a privileged, educated white male who could have easily made some better choices. I understand that addiction can be a powerful disease, but Carr did not need to approach the subject in this memoir as though it was actually funny to find out that at one point he owned a gun of which he has no recollection. My coworker, who recommended it to me, insisted that the story redeems itself in the second half, when Carr speaks with impressive candor about his rehab attempts, as well as about his inability to meet a "normal" (i.e., not a prostitute or junkie) woman after he cleans up. Perhaps, but when you've been reading nothing but logic questions for four months, you really want your first book back to be one that you simply do not want to put down - which is why I am now reading The Bonfire of the Vanities, by Tom Wolfe. I'll let you know how it goes, but so far so good.
I'm also going to represent my WV roots tomorrow at the SF premier of "Coal Country."
I will make my foray back into blogging by starting out easy and working off of ap's last post.
With such transitions in life comes a new soundtrack, so here is how I am starting out the fall:
- Disappear by Mazzy Star
- Sodom, South Georgia by Iron & Wine
- the only king by the everybody fields
- On to the Next One by Jay-Z
- Be So Happy by The Heartless Bastards
- Cry, Cry by Mazzy Star
Lastly, now that I've finally finished the LSAT, I can get back to reading for pleasure. I started with The Night of the Gun by David Carr, which I ended up quitting about 90 pages in (not common for me). This book is basically an extension of an article he wrote a year ago, which I really liked then. That said, I could not handle an entire book of it. The book is a memoir, but written in the investigative genre of a journalist, because Carr was so out of it during these years, he had to interview those involved to actually write a memoir. Sounds interesting, you say? I agree. What I could not get down with was the level of humor Carr felt like he should insert. Being addicted to coke is not funny, especially when you're a privileged, educated white male who could have easily made some better choices. I understand that addiction can be a powerful disease, but Carr did not need to approach the subject in this memoir as though it was actually funny to find out that at one point he owned a gun of which he has no recollection. My coworker, who recommended it to me, insisted that the story redeems itself in the second half, when Carr speaks with impressive candor about his rehab attempts, as well as about his inability to meet a "normal" (i.e., not a prostitute or junkie) woman after he cleans up. Perhaps, but when you've been reading nothing but logic questions for four months, you really want your first book back to be one that you simply do not want to put down - which is why I am now reading The Bonfire of the Vanities, by Tom Wolfe. I'll let you know how it goes, but so far so good.
9.22.2009
End/Beginning of Summer Playlist
Since summer weather comes late to us here, it's kind of like a summer playlist. I find myself listening to them and sipping iced tea, reading Fitzgerald and lingering with everything I do. Here goes:
- This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) by Talking heads
- Dos Gardenias by BVSC
- Naked if I want to by Cat Power
- Essence by Lucinda (B has the live version which is new to me and I LOVE it)
- Life to Me (Love Me) by Hi-Tek feat. Estelle
- La La by Lil Wayne
9.05.2009
oh, saturdays
I thought today would be a pretty typical Saturday. Turns out it wasn't at all! First, I went to volunteer at the SF Food Bank and just when I was having a great time and decided to come back on a regular basis, the food bank workers came in and announced that a couple of photographers from the NY Times were there to take pictures. They took pictures of us boxing up apples. Apparently grocery stores reject produce that is completely edible but aesthetically unpleasing and the food banks snatch it up. I thought the apples looked delicious.
The second unusual thing that happened was my espresso from the cafe in the title photo of this blog. It was incredible, entirely notable Blue Bottle espresso, prepared to perfection. I sipped it while reading Fitzgerald and came across this quote from Gloria Patch that I identify with immensely at the moment:
The day's not over and I can't even imagine what else this city has in store for me...
The second unusual thing that happened was my espresso from the cafe in the title photo of this blog. It was incredible, entirely notable Blue Bottle espresso, prepared to perfection. I sipped it while reading Fitzgerald and came across this quote from Gloria Patch that I identify with immensely at the moment:
Everything I do is in accordance with my ideas:
to use every minute of these years, when I'm young, in having the best time I possibly can.
Lastly, I was running in Golden Gate park and smelled something, um, chronic. That's not so unusual. In fact, I probably smell that every time I go to the park. What was so unusual though, was that it was coming from a middle-aged man who was walking with his middle-aged wife and what looked like his teenage son. THEN, he passed it to the boy! They were just sharing a joint walking down Stanyan along the park like that's completely normal. Whatever brings a family together, I guess. to use every minute of these years, when I'm young, in having the best time I possibly can.
The day's not over and I can't even imagine what else this city has in store for me...
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