tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89858717915266727732024-03-12T23:17:58.466-04:00In Search of My Blue CastleE.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.comBlogger653125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-77101967880409523842018-04-14T22:38:00.000-04:002018-04-14T22:41:01.605-04:00That Which We Persist in DoingWent to eat hotpot today. My friend and I convinced four other innocent friends to come eat with us, spinning tales of comfort food and good conversation while you cook and eat your food.<br />
<br />
The restaurant was all-you-can-eat and somehow the waiter didn't quite explain portion sizes because he brought our food out on the largest plates I've ever seen. It was about that time that we started getting nervous about the food waste tax called out on the menu for excessive leftover food. As a result, we all dug in, eating as though our lives depended on it.<br />
<br />
It stopped being delicious heaven about halfway through but I kept on pushing myself to eat more. I can report, I left very little left on the plate. It was only after we left, when my friend and I were bemoaning our overstuffed bellies and impending food comas, that we contemplated whether it would have been just better to actually enjoy the meal, even if it meant paying the extra fee.<br />
<br />
In other news, I'm still working on doing a new thing every week. Here is the report:<br />
<br />
Last week: I wrote a violin descant and harmony to a piece of music. I like the result. Not sure how it will play out (pun intended).<br />
<br />
This week: I attended a training seminar for what to do in an armed violent encounter. As a rule, I don't like guns or violence or watching guns or violence so it was one of those "face my biggest fears" kind of experiences. I also got to practice throwing a few punches - also a first. Along with contemplating my mortality, I'm also contemplating getting some more training. <br />
<br />
Spring decided to have a first this week, too. Weather got up into the 70s yesterday!<br />
<br />
And a work first: One of the new hires at work smiled yesterday. This was his first smile in the two months he's worked with us. We were so excited, my coworker and I applauded and cheered. And then he blushed AND smiled. :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kirtland, Apr 2018</td></tr>
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E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-65150368205604332072018-04-05T20:55:00.001-04:002018-04-05T21:07:42.472-04:00Sleep Less, Do MoreLast week, I attended a Women in Leadership symposium. The panelist speakers were excellent. One gave this advice: Stop watching mindless TV. Sleep less, do more.<br />
<br />
That was my mantra and my new experience for the week. Rather than curl up to a good book or a good movie during my evenings, I pushed myself to get work done.<br />
<br />
As a result, I hand-drew and colored a bunny for a pin-the-ears on the Easter bunny game and dyed a dozen Easter eggs. I worked an evening from home and wrote checksheets for work. I even cooked a beef brisket on the stove in an attempt to make Dduk Guk, which turned out merely edible.<br />
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I'd say this new experience was something I'll keep doing.E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-82958402967956435082018-03-20T23:02:00.002-04:002018-04-05T21:03:51.178-04:00Something NewNew goal this week: try something new every week (until further notice)<br />
<br />
This week? Vegan Lemon Tart.<br />
<br />
The result? Eh. I apologize in advance to the people who are eating it for our refreshments tomorrow.<br />
<br />
I probably shouldn't have used raw almonds in place of raw cashews (but they were so much cheaper!) <br />
<br />
I probably should have also gotten a much stronger food processor (also new this week!) that could have creamed everything more.<br />
<br />
I probably should have used a different recipe with not so much coconut oil.<br />
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In other news, I just realized this week that a plant that I inherited from a coworker when he changed jobs is still alive! It's been at least 3 months.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Its name is Jade</td></tr>
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E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-40426077190732787852018-03-15T22:21:00.001-04:002018-04-05T21:05:31.452-04:00Hi, It's MeTurns out I still have a blog.<br />
<br />
I think my brain is broken. It saddens me. But at least it's not a broken heart or a broken soul, or maybe it's all of those.<br />
<br />
In any case, it's sometimes quite easy to forget about my broken brain.<br />
<br />
I don't remember it when I'm watching the cryoceiling at work get lifted 45 feet into the air.<br />
I don't remember it when the sun is shining and when the deer watch me cautiously as I walk to my car.<br />
I certainly don't remember it when I'm at the library, trying to find an appropriately "intellectual" movie to borrow along with the guilty pleasure Hallmark movie in my hand.<br />
<br />
I really only think about it when I'm driving home and thinking back on my day and realizing, "Hey, you, those negative thoughts, those despairing thoughts? Those aren't the thoughts of a normal brain."<br />
<br />
So I try to be kinder. "It's okay, brain. You worked really hard today and no one thinks you should quit your job or that you aren't smart enough to handle it."<br />
<br />
I pray that the kind words are the true ones.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gulf of Mexico + Me, Mar 2018</td></tr>
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E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-2845893692750331482015-03-01T22:00:00.000-05:002015-03-01T22:00:02.443-05:00The Weeder Course: Are You Serious about Living In Boston? I have a friend who heartily dislikes February. I congratulated her when she survived it this year, mostly because I was also congratulating myself for surviving it. <br />
<br />
The hardest thing about February wasn't the snow or the shoveling or the long commutes or even the long walks when the public transportation wasn't running - it was the exhaustion from dealing with all of these things and then getting up the next day and facing it all over again. <br />
<br />
Here are some of the month's highlights:<br />
<br />
(1) Sledding in the park and walking across a frozen solid pond.<br />
(2) Having some nice people on the subway make room for me. (One nice lady even pulled me onto the subway with her after we had waited through three previously full trains)<br />
(3) Visiting the Longfellow House in honor of George Washington's Birthday (the Longfellow House was GW's war headquarters when he was in Boston) <br />
(4) Visiting the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (for free) and deciding that :<br />
(a) I kind of wish Isabella and I could have been friends<br />
(b) I want her house<br />
(c) I am very upset that someone stole a lot of artwork from there in 1990<br /> (d) I want Ally Carter to write a fictional story in the Heist Society series solving the heist. <br />
(5) Shoveling snow one weekend for 8 hours and then rejoicing by jumping around in the snow<br />
(6) Finding a good doughnut shop near my house<br />
(7) Walking in the snow back from the temple<br />
(8) Going to Dallas (for work training) and finding boots for Boston. (Since Boston is sold out and back-ordered until June)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-7067630675342733762015-02-14T20:54:00.001-05:002018-03-15T22:23:01.928-04:00No Man is an IslandI was riding the green line back towards the red line, the line that would take me home. My mind was on the book I was reading, the bread and eggs and milk I would be buying, on the wonderful weekend I would be spending in my house, doing lazy snow day activities for the first time since the snow hit. <br />
When I went to switch trains, I noticed a cop was standing guard over the inbound train entrance, his arms outstretched. "No one is allowed down here" and he turned and looked over his shoulder with a glance that told me not everything was normal. <br />
<br />
When I got to my train entrance, there were three security guard standing entrance and another couple guards directing everyone outside, quickly and brusquely with little to no explanation beyond, "Shuttle buses will be coming." The red line train was down...again. I sighed. With all this snow in Boston, the red line seems to be shut down more often than it's operating normally. This didn't seem like a disabled train but no one looked stricken or in shock.<br />
<br />
I followed the group of people outside but paused when I noticed a few cops questioning people in the entryway, "Did you touch her? Did you try to stop her?" <br />
<br />
I looked at the passengers being questioned. Again, no shock. <br />
<br />
With a heave the doors were flung open as I followed the masses out the doors, past the interrogations and into the outside where we blinked in shock to see the entire street in front of the station blocked with at least a dozen emergency vehicles and sirens announcing the arrival of more. <br />
<br />
Annoyance at being left in the cold, high and dry without a way home; those were the emotions I heard and saw expressed. Did anyone around me know what was happening? <br />
<br />
My mind spun through worst-case scenarios and I prayed that none of those were true. <br />
<br />
Curiosity wanted to know what the incident was that shut down the entire red line and stopped up all downtown traffic. Another part was too afraid to face the reality that perhaps someone(s) had died. I turned around and walked away. <br />
<br />
It took me and hour and a half to walk through Boston, over to Cambridge and then on to Harvard Square. As I stumbled, slid through the snowy streets, the snow covering my hat and coat, I continued to pray for those involved. As I passed red line stops, I wondered if the people milling outside, calling friends and family to pick them up, realized that an accident rather the weather had caused the confusion. I wondered if it would be on the news, on the national news. "An already overtaxed and weary subway line halted by another kind of emergency" I could see the headlines, even if I didn't know the details. <br />
However...<br />
<br />
No one around me in the grocery store said a thing. No one on Facebook mentions it. So I state it here: Something tragic and sad happened today on the red line. <br />
<br />
"Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee." E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-20239248442500488252015-01-30T23:35:00.004-05:002015-01-30T23:35:48.426-05:00JanuaryThings I've done this month:<br />
<br />
Read eleven books<br />
Become a member of the Museum of Fine Arts<br />
Hiked around Arnold Arboretum<br />
Had Boston Cream Pie from the place it originated<br />
Survived and shoveled through my first blizzard (nor'easter)<br />
Given a 10 minute talk in Chinese<br />
Set a goal for the year<br />
<br />
<br />
Things I haven't done:<br />
Written any stories<br />
Played an Instrument<br />
Studied Chinese or Japanese<br />
Opened a textbook<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm not sure where that puts me. But I'm not regretting it. E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-1932242883014375562015-01-20T22:32:00.000-05:002015-01-20T22:32:25.733-05:00Open Mouth, Insert FootMy roommates and I started a quote wall and it seems I run circles around my roommates when it comes to saying funny things. Except, rereading them all, I'm realizing, I'm not funny so much as I am awkward and kind of ditzy-sounding. <div>
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"My facebook doesn't know who I am"</div>
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"I need to get all my geese in a row" </div>
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<br /></div>
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I try to tell stories and it's like I'm a stand-up comedian but I don't get my own jokes. </div>
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E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-48077148694704584052014-12-31T20:12:00.001-05:002015-01-03T18:09:46.324-05:00Book Year In ReviewIt's that time again - my 2014 in the books I read. This year was significantly different in many ways though and I think my reading choices and my reading favorites from the year will show that. As a result, I'm doing this book year in review a little differently. <br />
<br />
The Book that Changed My Life in 2014: Court Duel by Sherwood Smith<br />
Genre: Fantasy<br />
One-sentence blurb: The politics of overthrowing an evil ruler and replacing him with someone who is good has never been an easy road to tread. <br />
My life: For the last year and a half of graduate school, I had a great patron of the arts who handed over book after book for me to read and I eagerly consumed just about everything that came my way. In fact, I have been so spoiled by her recommendations and our book discussions that I almost feel at a loss here in Boston despite having three library cards. I must confess I started this book slowly until it gripped me and I finished it so quickly that I woke up the next day, excited to keep reading it and realized that the story was already at its end. So I read parts of it again and again and again. And then broke down and read it all over again. And then I still continued reading parts of it. It's like I couldn't get enough of Shevraeth but neither could I figure him out. He confused me and inspired me, a puzzle that I couldn't solve but I wasn't really sure why I had to solve it anyway. I haven't figured him out even now but somehow along the way, Shevraeth became a good friend and is now a permanent part of my reading fall-backs. Some friends are made in the difficult times of our lives and those friends are the ones worth keeping. <br />
<br />
Authors that Have Left a Permanent Impression:<br />
<br />
Rainbow Rowell<br />
Genre: Young Adult and Adult Contemporary (yep, I looked it up)<br />
My life: Although I had a friend who told me about this author, it wasn't until I heard an interview she did on NPR that I started asking questions. I sprinted through Attachments, Fangirl and then Landline. I recommend them all but Landline will leave you breathless in a good way. She explained in the interview that not a lot of books focus on the romance of life after marriage and her book focuses on it in a way that inspired me even though I've never been married and know little about romance in general. Rowell's books remind you that love is about caring deeply and being loyal and how people are worth the sacrifices we make for them and they also leave a strong message that someone somewhere someday will love you for who you are, warts and all. Given the difficulty of my living situation, these books were a message I craved to hear. <br />
<br />
Keigo Higashino -<br />
Genre: Mystery<br />
My life: Confession: I've never really been into mysteries. Murder mysteries? I pretty much avoid them as much as possible. I can't really say what possessed me to pick up one of his books from the library or why I continued reading past the first chapter when it was clearly a murder mystery. But keep keep reading I did, and soon enough, I was laughing. Out right and out loud. I wasn't sure if it was a bad translation or just a misunderstanding of Japanese culture but when the wry sense of humor I sensed in one of the characters appeared again and again, I had to believe it was on purpose. I finished the book and spent an entire year looking for ways to get my hands on more. I've now finished three of his books and still clamoring for more. I learned something new about myself: I can enjoy a good mystery. <br />
<br />
Miyuki Miyabe<br />
Genres: Fantasy and Mystery<br />
My life: Armed with a list of my Japanese friend's favorite authors, I went looking for this author. Then, imagine my surprise when I was in the youth section of the library and found a large 800 page book by her. Miyuki created worlds that always had me scratching my head but also left me inspired and thinking about long after the book was closed and the story finished. It was tempting to live in her worlds but the interesting thing is that her worlds always, always asserted that life is better than any fantasy. Live in the present. Your good efforts will not be enough to change the world but somehow they will be enough to change you. Good words to remember as I start to carve out a new life. <br />
<br />
<br />
Summary of my 2014:<br />
<br />
I spent eight and a half months of this year sleeping on the bedroom floor of a friend and six weeks sleeping on the bedroom floor of my sister. I was unemployed for six months and looking for a job for ten. I moved twice. These first twelve months post PhD have been hard, harder than I anticipated. And somehow the wounds from my graduate school are still so gaping and obvious that I bite my tongue to keep back the bitter words and the bitter tears. <br />
<br />
In many ways, I am glad that 2014 is behind me. But in some ways, I am shocked to find myself loathe to leave it. <br />
<br />
With the stress and uncertainty of 2014, I also found that the loved ones around me are true and faithful and won't let me fall or give up or starve. For that lesson alone, it was all worth it. E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-51780841984916555732014-12-30T23:31:00.001-05:002014-12-30T23:31:46.096-05:00Living CourageouslyThey say to live your life without regrets. <br />
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For me, regret is simply a by product of living. <br />
<br />
Because I am not perfect, there are times I say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, or choose something different than the best thing. <br />
<br />
It's not then about living without regrets but living with them.<br />
<br />
Knowing that I may say the wrong thing and do the wrong thing and choose the wrong thing and giving myself the courage to say and do and choose anyway<br />
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<br />
<br />E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-59906466262839811982014-12-21T17:19:00.000-05:002014-12-21T17:19:01.133-05:00AnswersDear Erin,<br />
<br />
We here at Google have noticed lately that you've been spending a lot of time in the past three days on Facebook and rereading old posts of your blog. If you will kindly refer to the quote of the day that we posted on your email, James Joyce once said, "The actions of men are the best interpreters of thoughts." Your every Internet action allows us the best interpretation of how you currently feel about your life. <br />
<br />
Our big data analysis shows us that people who similarly spend large amounts of time as you have are usually contemplating their lives and are waiting for direction on how to improve them. Our personalized ads, which we like to think of more as "life improvement promotionals" (LIP) are here to help you adjust to your new life in the Boston area. Not only that, we place them along the sidebar and also interspersed on your Facebook newsfeed for helpful access to creating a better You. <br />
<br />
Some of the LIP we provide you are as follows:<br />
<br />
(1) Find a new place to live! <br />
(2) 10 ways that you're scaring off men<br />
(3) Helpful hints for dressing your husband more professionally<br />
(4) Take time with your husband away from your newborn. <br />
<br />
We know that moving to a big city as a single woman/married woman/married woman with children is difficult. So, please take our suggestions seriously. If you will note in all the pictures in the promotionals, we make people's lives better!<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
<br />
The Google Life CoachesE.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-81217857270407283552014-12-16T23:23:00.002-05:002014-12-16T23:23:38.865-05:00ConnectionsA few weeks ago, my roommate's friend from Idaho came to visit. I went to pick her up at the airport via public transportation. As we rode on the T, she looked around at everyone on their cell phones and asked innocently, "Doesn't anyone ever talk to each other?" <br />
<br />
I looked around at all the strangers, quietly making their commutes together and shrugged.<br />
<br />
The thing is, we do talk to each other. <br />
<br />
When I was on the airport shuttle bus and saw people and their luggage piling on and cramming together, I wondered aloud how I was going to manage to get out of my seat and climb over the luggage to get off the bus when my stop came. My seatmate looked at me, then at the crowds of people and turned back with a smile. "Just cough REALLY loud." I started laughing and he and I just grinned at the thought of convincing everyone that I had a communicable disease. <br />
<br />
Last week, when our bus driver got the bus into a fender bender, despite the fact that we all had to wait for a new bus to come by to pick us up, when we climbed off the bus, every single passenger gave the bus driver encouragement and kind words. She had admitted to us that she had never gotten in an accident before and the worry she felt for the situation was written all over her face. <br />
<br />
Today, taking the T to Harvard Square, the driver called out in a sing-song voice, "We're at Harvard!" and then said slightly more professionally, "Harvard Square." I chuckled and looked up to find a girl across the aisle also chuckling at how happy the driver had sounded. We smiled at each other for a second and then looked around to see if anyone else had also noticed.<br />
<br />
There's the college-aged boys who rushed to get seats on the T and then looked up and saw me, standing beside them, in my skirt and heels. Immediately, one of them jumped up and offered me his seat. I tried to turn him down but he insisted and so I took his seat and then he stood our entire trip, without one word of complaint. In fact, when we got to the same stop and alighted and parted ways, one of his friends noted I was going to the same bus stop and he smiled and nodded in my direction. <br />
<br />
On the bus ride home today, a man and his adorable 3 or 4 year old daughter were riding together and carrying on a cute conversation in Spanish that included the girl giving her dad kisses and hugs. When they got off the bus, the dad mentioned that they were leaving the bus to his daughter and picked her up. The daughter turned towards all of us on the bus and called out, "Adios, amigos!" And we all chuckled. Some even called back out to her, "Adios." <br />
<br />
We don't talk often but I'm finding I enjoy these moments, glimpses into the lives of people around me. Glimpses into the friendliness we can show and share. E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-7695186330080231772014-12-13T11:33:00.000-05:002014-12-16T23:01:02.135-05:00The Good"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. My optimism, then, does not rest on the absence of evil, but on a glad belief in the preponderance of good and a willing effort to always cooperate with the good, that it may prevail."<br />
<br />
~Helen Keller, Optimism (1903)<br />
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Hasebe - A commercial about learning to overcome discouragements and failures to achieve his lifelong goal of playing professional soccer. Feeling lost since coming to Boston, this was a great reminder of the importance of not giving up on one's dreams. <br />
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I was looking for something silly to entertain me while I cleaned house last weekend and found myself crouching by my laptop on my floor to watch this and marvel. People care about each other and deeply. <br />
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This song lately has been my favorite of this Christmas season. It's a beautiful reminder of why I celebrate Christ's birth and life. <br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/iO7ySn-Swwc" width="560"></iframe>E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-25290467581659895882014-12-03T22:22:00.000-05:002014-12-03T22:22:45.669-05:00Your Soul is ShowingToday, I talked with a guy at church about the Old Testament. After sharing his personal thoughts, he said, "Wow, I'm baring more of my soul to you than you probably like." I just smiled and admitted that I'd been doing a lot of that recently too. He smiled, "Your soul is showing." <br />
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In full disclosure of baring my soul, here are things I've been up to lately:<br />
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I've been at work now for a month. Turns out, most putts don't drop, most kids do end up being just people and most work is dull rather than otherwise. (to quote Jenkins Lloyd Jones) The honeymoon is over - now the real adjustment begins. <br />
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I got my library card from the Boston Public Library on Monday. Rejoicing commence! Also, I need book recommendations. Please!<br />
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After a conversation with a coworker, I decided to pick up studying Japanese in earnest. I promptly went to download an app for it and found Duolingo which is really cute and awesome and isn't available in Japanese ...So, I'm learning German. <br />
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On Saturday, my roommate and I went on a quest to find Boston Cream Pie and we couldn't find any.<br />
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On Sunday, my roommate was giving a guy a ride to his car after a cookie exchange activity. He yelled, "STOP!" when we got to his car. My roommate slammed on the brakes and all the cookies in my lap (two plates full) went flying. <br />
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Yesterday, in English class (yep, I'm in ESL again), we discussed Wind Chill and Hypothermia. I was freezing before I even walked out into the cold. I think we should only study warm things in winter. E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-14407675442912819852014-11-27T19:16:00.001-05:002014-11-27T19:16:04.281-05:00Who is the Secretary?I work for the Office of the Secretary. That's what it's called. OST, for short. The other day, THE Secretary sent an email. It was a Happy Thanksgiving message and was very kind considering that I realized that it was from a Very Important Person. <div>
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I kind of wished that there had been a name at the bottom of the email though because I wasn't entirely sure who THE Secretary was. I mean, his name. </div>
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I know he's THE secretary of Transportation.</div>
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His name is Anthony Foxx, in case you were wondering. (I looked it up) </div>
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This is his picture. </div>
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Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Foxx">Wikipedia</a></div>
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Fun fact: He is the former mayor of Charlotte. </div>
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The more you know...</div>
E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-4443348371817054442014-11-16T22:25:00.001-05:002014-11-16T22:27:14.011-05:00Tuesday in Photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Charlestown Navy Yard (as seen from the bridge)</div>
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Charlestown Navy Yard - the day was as gorgeous as this picture make it look </div>
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USS Constitution </div>
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Cannon on the USS Constitution </div>
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USS Constitution</div>
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USS Cassin Young - WWII battleship</div>
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USS Cassin Young was hit twice by kamikaze pilots </div>
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This sign made me smile. Do we really expect it to work another 80 years? </div>
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Buy Safety Shoes - because even dogs shouldn't suffer</div>
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The dry dock at the Navy Yard - future home of the Constitution. </div>
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I stopped to take a picture for Isa because it showed Daejeon</div>
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And saw a few official looking Korean men in suits. I ended up attending a Korean war memorial service. I was the only person in attendance not formally invited to the event. </div>
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The ropewalk - I spent a bit of time looking for this. I really like ropewalks. I want them to turn it into a ropemaking museum. </div>
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Commandant's house - well, it originally was. Not sure what it is now. </div>
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The walls of the Navy Yard are beautiful and apparently quite famous - there was a plaque honoring its designer. </div>
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Bunker Hill memorial. </div>
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The view from the top - Breathtaking in more ways than just one. (It was 294 steps to the top)</div>
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Bunker hill, trying to capture feeling of the redoubt</div>
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This man whose name I don't remember was the one who inspired the sleep deprived and sore patriots from giving up. He stood on top of the redoubt during the charges and was the man who uttered the famous "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes." He died during the third charge. </div>
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A walk through Paul Revere Park - they put up the names of men who had served in various wars from the North End. Despite it's size, Boston feels small and intimate to me. I love it. </div>
E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-70951809595532831212014-11-16T09:41:00.002-05:002014-11-16T09:41:48.557-05:00In Which I Spent Veteran's Day RememberingOn Tuesday, Veteran's Day, I did a lot of things that would help me remember the people who served for our country. I went to the USS Constitution (War of 1812), I visited the USS Cassis Young (World War II), I visited a Korean war memorial and incidentally found myself in attendance at a memorial service, I even walked half of the Freedom Trail (Revolutionary War) and saw a memorial dedicated to those soldiers who lost their lives in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. I will show pictures from those things in another post. <br />
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I want to focus this post on the site that helped bring the other sites into context and left what I hope is a permanent impression. That site is Bunker Hill.<br />
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Perhaps it is no surprise to any of you if I were to tell you that I am a pacifist by nature. I don't like war. I ache when I think about the families on both sides that give up their loved ones and the men and women who give their service and time and even lives. I long have felt that the politics of war are beyond the lay person's experience and motivation for fighting. Was the Civil War about slavery? Yes, ultimately, it came down to an issue about social and economic factors that centered around slavery. But do I think that an 18 year old farmboy off to fight for his side did so because of his ideologies about slavery? Some did, even many perhaps. But I often think that the things those boys and men thought about on the front lines were their loved ones and the hope that fighting these battles and defending their side would protect those they were closest to. This thinking could clearly be wrong - I'm no history expert. Suffice it to say that while I think war can be necessary and I'm grateful to live in a country that values the freedoms of its citizens to choose for themselves their course for their life, I often wonder, was this the only way? <br />
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While at Bunker Hill, as I wandered the grounds and read that the colonists stayed up all night digging a redoubt on the hill and then fought all the next day, I couldn't help but imagine what that must of been like. The western world's most powerful army was descending on Charlestown with their thousands. If such a force were to come down upon me in my homeland, I'm sure I'd be besides them, digging for my life and for my family. I'd be digging even when the exhaustion set in and my arms burned and my eyes stung and my back was thrown out. I'd dig and dig and dig, wishing that the digging would make the fear lessen, would help ensure victory and with victory, safety.<br />
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Mesmerized, my eyes scanned that hill, wishing that I could see what that had really been like. Instead, I could only read the accounts of it. The untrained colonists panicked when the first casualty was a beheading by cannonball. The Americans bravely fought off the British for two attacks but succumbed on the third from lack of ammunition, exhaustion and no bayonets. The Americans in their very hasty retreat made a point to gather and carry with them all of their wounded. The British lamented their losses. It was a hill "too dearly bought" by the blood of 1000 British soldiers.<br />
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It was a decisive battle, pivotal in unifying the patriot cause. Over a hundred years after this battle, women raised money to put up a monument to honor the men who defended and died here. By this time, no one who had personally witnessed the battle was alive. The people raising the funds and gathered for the dedication had heard about that battle perhaps through word of mouth, stories that passed down through generations. These were their children's children wishing to pass on the stories and the memories to future generations. Climbing that monument is not easy; I imagined the women in their skirts and petticoats climbing and climbing in the heat of the summer. Climbing until they reached the top, where they paused and looked out on Boston, on the shores of the Mystic River and on the shores of the Charles. Climbing back down, on now shaky legs, I put my head down. War is hard for me. But truly, truly I am grateful. Grateful for those who have served, who, even if they knew little about the ideologies, thought their loved ones worth giving their lives for. Grateful for those who knew much about the ideologies and felt that giving their lives was worth it to secure a life for their loved ones that they felt would benefit them. Bunker Hill put everything else I saw on Tuesday into this perspective. <br />
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So, thank you, all of you who fought in wars and combats. I am grateful for your service and your sacrifice. E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-70086144495728827602014-11-14T18:07:00.000-05:002014-11-15T21:13:29.234-05:00When Even Going 500 mph Doesn't Make You PromptAt 7:30 am this morning, I arrived at work and left promptly at 8 am....to go on a field trip. <br />
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We left the building and rushed over to a bridge - don't ask me for its name - where we saw a line of people already lining up and looking down along the river bank, another hundred people scattered along the walkway. People, rushing off to work, started asking questions. What's the big event?<br />
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A flyby, we told them, of five F-15s. In ten minutes! Except it wasn't 10 minutes. It was more like 45. We waited and waited and waited. While we waited, we talked airplanes and aviation. We talked about the beautiful weather and jumped every time the subway train passed, thinking we had missed the big event. <br />
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We got antsy but the signs were pointing to good things. The helicopters stopped moving around. The boats stayed out of the waters. The planes at Logan airport weren't putting any new planes into the sky. And then, just when I thought it wasn't worth the wait, they showed up. Flying by slowly. We all stopped and looked up, including the traffic. <br />
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It was great but slightly disappointing. "Where were the afterburners?" My coworker teased, but in that way where you really meant what you said. As if they sensed our slight sadness, they flew by again, this time faster, with more thunder echoing off the buildings. <br />
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We cheered. E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-29605978061320653472014-11-10T21:39:00.003-05:002014-11-10T21:39:43.849-05:00Harold Has Some CompetitionI'm trying to investigate Boston with as much zeal as I wandered aimlessly around Sendai two years ago. I confess, the cold makes that difficult. But in our lesson yesterday we learned that Joseph Fielding Smith said that, "People die in bed. And so does ambition." I thought of how lovely my warm bed is and knew those words were meant for me. This, then, is my wake up call (pun intended). Off to explore, rain or shine! <br />
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Today's adventure was the Boston Public Library. I can't get my library card there until I have some sort of proof of residency, which means I have to wait until my first pay stub. This saddens me to no end but I thought the adventure would be worth the look-see anyway. It was! <br />
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Note: This is a very brief preview. I didn't have a lot of time to spend - only about an hour. I anticipate many more trips in the future. <br />
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It was everything a library should be and more! The first half of my trip, I wandered around the galleries with the murals and shadowboxes and marionette display. It was a strange kind of museum as I wandered along with several other visitors, in complete silence (it was a library, after all), taking pictures.<br />
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After the inspiring quick jaunt around the artwork, I searched next in earnest for the books. I looked for those authors that I can't find in a lot of libraries and found them! Higashino, Miyabe, Kearsley. And three shelves full of books in Chinese and a shelf full of books in Japanese. The nonfiction section was extensive. A kind of panic set over me when I realized that my time was so limited and there was so much reading to do!<br />
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A shadowbox showing a cute couple in the rain. </div>
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The third floor. Don't you just want to curl up with a book? Or dream the hours away? </div>
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In the courtyard. Sorry, it's dark. But so beautiful, right? </div>
E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-67395313323239036182014-11-09T08:39:00.000-05:002014-11-09T08:39:06.114-05:00Of a SaturdayThis is what my Saturday would look like on facebook:<br />
Mount Auburn Cemetery is gorgeous in the fall. - with roommate #nofilter<br />
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This is what my Saturday would look like on Twitter:<br />
Boston Trivia Night. Team 6. I'm so glad the Boston natives decided to sit at my table. #winning<br />
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Doesn't my Saturday look wonderful? It was, really. But also misleading. It only accounts for about 3 hours of the day. It doesn't include the six hours I spent cleaning and winterizing my apartment or the three hours it took to run errands. Or even the fact that I woke up at 5:30 am (which is earlier than I get up during the week) and therefore was exhausted and asleep by 10 pm. <br />
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And that's what a blog is for - to dispel any misconceptions you might have about the grandeur of my life. :)E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-78048215360625233122014-11-04T20:11:00.000-05:002014-11-04T20:11:01.960-05:00It's Official?I wasn't just nervous; I was terrified. A million 'what-if's ran through my mind as the plane lifted off the ground as my stomach turned somersaults. The ground was falling beneath us as I tried to even my breathing and focus my eyes on the airplane wing. "During take-off, the wing lengthens to create a larger pressure differential to create more lift. Once we are in level flight, the wings will contract to their normal length." Aerospace engineering; I can do this, right?<div>
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Today, one of the more senior engineers in my group came out to greet me, "I've been hearing rumors about you." I looked at him nervously, my mind racing about the stories I've been telling people since I got here, nervous little factoids that probably reveal too much. "Rumors? What kind of rumors?" He smiles, to encourage me. "Well, not rumors, I guess, so much as the fact that there are other people here talking about you. Someone from another technical group asked me, 'You guys are hiring rocket scientists now?'" Another engineer called me a rocket scientist. Does that make me one? I blurted out, "I wish." </div>
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There is an airplane taking off from the airport that we can see from our office window everyday at noon, headed to Japan. I asked my coworker who pointed it out, "How do you know?" He responded, somewhat sheepishly, "I know my airplanes. The only airline that utilizes that type of airplane is JAL. I'm a nerd, I know." I tell him I like that nerdiness; I wish I knew my planes. "But you know space," he adds. I'm not sure that I do but I'd like to. I like watching that plane though. It makes my world feel a little smaller. </div>
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My roommates are wonderful and from the moment I've moved in, life with them feels like summer camp. I never attended overnight summer camp but this is what I imagine it's like. We talk about boys and laugh about life. When I asked them if we could make s'mores, they both looked ready to oblige. </div>
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The commute is short in the morning and long in the evenings. It feels surreal. This is my life? Surely, I'm just subbing in for someone right now, a warm body to take up space like a placeholder. I try to tell myself, "This is your life now." But it still feels unreal. </div>
E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-82220152097093304682014-10-25T23:55:00.001-04:002014-10-25T23:55:40.328-04:00In Which We Went to the Mountains without STORESor Baby's Day as Related By Her Aunt (In Supposed Baby's Own Words) (authors note: Quoting as much from our conversation today as possible)<br />
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I woke up exhausted, you know, like bored. My dreams were about some princess that got married to some guy but I didn't know her name and since I was with my daddy and I couldn't ask her, I woke up because then I could go play. But Mommy told me it was too early so I went downstairs and turned on the lights and turned on the fan and then went back upstairs with my dolls to play with Grandma. Then she got tired so I woke up Mommy and Erin and then we skyped with Aunt Lanie from N-O-R-W-A-Y. <br />
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Mommy dressed me in my Ever After Dress and I ate pumpkin bread for breakfast and then we left to go to the mountains. It took forever to get there! We were gone so long that I got homesick for home and wanted to go back. It must have been the longest day ever though because it was still light when we got to the mountains and they told me that we couldn't go back for a long time. <br />
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We stopped to eat lunch and I absolutely insisted we go to the Public House. In the restaurant, I played with Raven and her new friends, the talking fork and the Malt vinegar bottle named Eric. Then I tried to give Raven curly hair and it got all twisted and Erin said I had made a really big knot and that we'd have to cut her hair! NO! So I apologized and Mommy and Erin worked on fixing it. Erin said a miracle happened because Raven's hair is perfect now. <br />
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After lunch, we drove up to a mountain. It was really bright and sunny and there was this really boring rock that Mommy and Erin insisted we take pictures at. They suggested we go on a short hike but that was boring. Where were the stores? Wasn't there a Target <i>anywhere</i>? Mommy told me that we were in the mountains to enjoy nature and God's creations. We went on a hike and I was the best hiker. We hiked the trail two times! At the end of the second hike, we saw a real wedding! A man and a woman were getting married on the mountain! I stopped and watched the whole thing. They even kissed! <br />
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We went back to the town and saw a man walking his dog on the street! On the street! He should have carried his dog across the street. Mommy and Erin told me to stop talking so loudly about the man walking his dog and that dogs are allowed to walk on the street. We stopped for ice cream and I had pumpkin and chocolate chips. Then I got full and ate some of Mommy's chocolate ice cream. <br />
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I fell asleep when we drove back and when I woke up it was dark and we were back close to home. <br />
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Baby watching the wedding - so intent and yet so respectful</div>
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E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-52714574420949033322014-10-18T22:57:00.002-04:002014-10-18T22:57:34.861-04:00Walk Collegiate, Talk CollegiateI reread Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell today. When I read that book, I can't help but imagine my freshman dorm room, a small little rectangle that barely fit two beds and two desks. When Cath's roommate asks if they want a couch in their room, I'm nodding my head in complete agreement when they agree that it won't work; is the couch going to take up the narrow walkway between the beds? <br />
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Freshman year was an awkward affair. I found myself staying up later than my social roommate, very non-socially working on homework, while girls ran up and down the hall, giggling or whatever it is people who had friends and lives did in halls, late at night. <br />
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Then I joined a rugby team, my own sisterhood. I made a friend with a boy who made me laugh and never studied and stumbled into a friendship with the girl next door who gave me courage. And life got better. <br />
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Reading Fangirl took me back there, to that awkwardness, to that loneliness, but also to the thrill of learning and studying and making friends and spending evenings doing silly, harmless things that made college worth remembering.... and I missed it. I really miss it. <br />
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I ache to realize those days are gone. Even if I were to re-enroll in college courses, I won't be going to the dorms or eating every meal in a cafeteria, although I'm really ok with that. Really. <br />
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Ach, it's hard growing up. It's hard realizing that you don't get to do it over again. It's done. <br />
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I think I'm mostly pausing because I'm facing a new start, a new step and, frankly, it's freaking me out. My first real job where I have to do real engineering and NOT mess up. I have to focus on making a career and eking out a living. I have to dress professionally and commute to work and be an adult who...I don't even know. What do adults do? I have to make friends and find ways to make my life meaningful and memorable...when I really just feel like that freshman girl who wandered around campus feeling lost, and small, and insignificant, and alone. E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-78144051266144417072014-10-17T14:28:00.001-04:002014-10-17T14:30:51.392-04:00Captions Included<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The middle of Virginia, as seen from the train</div>
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Gwiyomi all ready to go; where to go is the question</div>
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(please note that her bag is coordinated with her outfit)</div>
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What can I say? 17 makes everything better - </div>
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even the amazing soda machine at Noodles and Co.</div>
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The sweatshirt makers clearly didn't anticipate actually using the hood; </div>
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the shoulders are inches above her actual shoulders..and we couldn't stop giggling</div>
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Photo of me, taken by Baby. </div>
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Apparently, I'm sitting on her teddy. Oops.</div>
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Look at this face? So innocent, right?</div>
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I have to say, I love the oreo crumbs and Baby's headband that looks like flowery skiing goggles. They add a certain touch of <i>je ne sais quoi.</i></div>
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Just wait until I strap her in. (She demands that you do, actually)</div>
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Picture taken by Baby.</div>
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With her carseat facing backwards, she's never actually seen anyone drive a car before. </div>
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But somehow she acts like she knows exactly what she's doing. Sneaky, sneaky.</div>
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Also taken by Baby. </div>
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Baby clearly doesn't want my advice..or me taking a picture of her.</div>
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This was my view of yesterday, while I lazily checked average temps for Boston in Nov.</div>
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I'm in for a climate shock, I just know it. </div>
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Baby's pig spider. I love it! </div>
E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985871791526672773.post-46670222360234844422014-10-16T15:13:00.003-04:002014-10-16T15:13:55.887-04:00Book RantI just read a novel in Chinese. <br />
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I thought that I would note this accomplishment in a somewhat official capacity. <br />
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It was lazy reading - I didn't look up every character I didn't know. The advantage of this is that I was able to read without interrupting the flow of the story. The disadvantages were such that I never actually knew anyone's names, and it took me a longer time than normal to figure out basic details in the story, such as the fact that you take a boat to the airport when you are in VENICE and that you spend significant time talking about clothes and making clothes because you are a CLOTHING DESIGNER. <br />
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I consider these disadvantages minor, but perhaps knowing more of the details of the story would have helped create better empathy with the story and its characters because, by the end of it, I was thoroughly frustrated with everyone. Although I kind of doubt that. Seriously! I didn't understand all of the details of that rubbish story about how roses are red because nightingales bled on them but it certainly would not convince me that I wanted to date anyone, much less that itinerant clothing designer mentor that the main character dated twice, TWICE!<br />
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As you can tell, missing the details didn't prevent me from forming strong opinions about the story. <br />
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I can't comment on the literary merit of the book - I didn't get the details after all - nor can I even really place this book in any kind of context, it being the first book at the library that I pulled off that had traditional characters. So, instead of a book review, I'm doing a book rant. Here are some issues I have with the story:<br />
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(1) Fate - It's a popular topic in Chinese media. I only own like two Chinese movies and one of them is so iconically about fate and two people living parallel lives and just missing each other that by the end of the movie, when the guy puts his head down and prays to the heavens to just give him a miracle, you're crying along with him. "Put us out of this misery, PLEASE." As fate would have it, they end up together through an earthquake. This book doesn't beat you over the head in the same way as that movie but it lays it on pretty thick. For instance, the guy the main character has liked for years but for whom the timing has never worked out, is looking through some of her stuff and finds a picture of her as a child in the park with her parents with him in the background! The main character knows things will work out eventually - it's fated to be! The thing I dislike about these scenarios is the lack of choice. In both of these, love feels like something out of our hands. In one case, it would send me into fits of despair - why can't we ever find each other?! - and in the other case would make me brazenly hopeful - who cares that he has a girlfriend? he was mine first! Yes, I do realize that love doesn't always come when we choose and in the way we choose but we do choose to love and denying that, I think, is a mistake. In the book, there were significant times that I felt characters didn't communicate or act because I felt that they decided to just let fate handle it. In most of my experience, fate is quite ok just never handing you certain opportunities ever again. In my life, "letting fate handle it" is just a way of saying, "I'm going to be ok if this is the end." <br />
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(3) Careers vs Relationships - In almost every circumstance in this book, the characters put their careers ahead of their relationships. Move to Germany for three years without actually involving my husband in that decision? Been there. Move to New York for a year without actually communicating it with that guy I was about to start a relationship with? Yep, done that. Move away permanently from Hong Kong without considering with your boyfriend what that means for the future of 'us'? Old hat. The thing I don't get about it, is why on earth are we subscribing to this philosophy? Careers are important, yes, and sometimes it does require being separated but should that be our go to? And why can't we at least talk about it, make sacrifices and figure out something together? Life is messy - I get that. We're all trying to achieve some balance and find happiness and fulfillment in many different aspects of our lives. Maybe I'm too much of a romantic but am I the only one out there who thinks that, in the prioritization of life, people matter more than my job? At least those people that I intend to have a lasting relationship with. Then again, maybe those international moves are just a really passive way to giving someone the brush off. Which, just, ugh! There was just one, ONE! time when the girl is in Paris and exploring her options for expanding her branch to Paris and everyone tells her that it will require her to live for an extended period of time in Paris and she realizes that it comes down to choosing to prioritize her career or her relationship and she chooses her relationship. I actually cheered then. But then her boyfriend got all self-conscious about her making a sacrifice for him and eventually they break up anyway, which leads me to my third (and take heart, final) rant. <br />
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(2) Men and women as equal contributing partners - This is less a commentary on the book and more a commentary on society in general but it made me very sad. The main character is in her fated relationship with her guy and is also a successful clothing designer, even expanding her Hong Kong business overseas while her partner is a TV new reporter. When they realize their apartment is just not big enough to hold their stuff, the girl offers to get a bigger apartment but the guy refuses because his salary can't afford a bigger apartment, even though hers clearly can. She doesn't see why they can't use her income for housing but he refuses to touch her money. Also, as outline above, when the girl turns down expansion to Paris, he tells her he's holding her back, eventually leading to their breakup. You could argue this is just a personality thing but the guy makes several comments about flak he's getting from colleagues and friends about not being a good provider, and in some moments, he admits he is afraid she will leave him because (at least financially) she doesn't need him, which makes me think it's not just about him being stubbornly independent. Which brings me to the question: why are men expected to be more successful than their female counterparts? Why do we put that pressure on men? And put that pressure on women? That somehow achieving their potential in some way diminishes the potential of her partner? <br />
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Take heart, the rant is over. Next time, I'm going to be more careful in choosing a book in Chinese to read. But at least I know now I can read a book in Chinese. Success!E.M.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00865827403585769057noreply@blogger.com0