Part 5? Really? Hm...perhaps I need to stop spending time thinking up things to do and start spending time doing them. Which reminds me of what I keep telling myself recently: "Stop being so lazy."
41. Go back to Finland in warmer weather
I visited Helsinki while I was studying abroad, but had the bad sense to do it in February. Even though I spent most of my time trying to get warm (except for the time in the sauna, when I was trying to not die), I was totally charmed by the city. It's somehow modern and quaint at the same time, and I image it would be an amazing vacation during summer.
42. Go back to Prague with Dan
He was supposed to visit me when I was studying abroad, but his car burst into flames one day and effectively put an end to that plan. I'd like to go back and spend some time there without having to think about the paper that's due in my Media and Communications class.
43. Own one amazing dress
At the moment I own about 5 mediocre dresses. I want one that takes my breath away. In my head it has a very full skirt.
44. Own one pair of designer shoes
I'm not one for buying stuff just for the name, but I would like to own one pair of really special shoes.
45. Throw a fancy-dress dinner party
For my 30th birthday, we all got drunk in a bar. I'd like to do something a bit classier, though I might have to wait until we move to an apartment that can accommodate more than 3 people at a table.
46. Take a tour of the Library of Congress
How have I not done this??? I only live 5 hours away from it! I really need to make friends with someone who lives in or around DC.
47. Take a tour of the White House
Apparently this is harder than just calling and making a reservation. It stays on the list, though, because it's not impossible.
48. Visit Mount Rushmore
Sometimes I get all dreamy-eyed thinking about all the other countries I want to go to and all the things I want to see there, and I forget that we've got some pretty cool stuff here, too.
49. Go to Montana
I've been to a lot of states in my life, but there's an entire swath that I haven't stepped foot in, and I'd like to change that. Plus, I imagine its really beautiful.
50. Camp in Yellowstone
So long as I do it in the Montana section, I can hit 2 goals with one trip. Of course, after learning that Yellowstone is a GIANT VOLCANO, I might rethink this goal.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Not enough distance...
Kudos to Pamie for having the courage to post her high school journal entries. I was also fortunate enough (or...really...is it "unfortunate enough"?) to have rediscovered all my high school journals in a box at my parents' house.
She has this to say about her vantage point:
So...yeah, I'm just at the 15-year mark for most of what I wrote in high school, and it's still cringe-inducing enough that I can barely bare to read it, much less release it into the wilds of the internet. Maybe in five years my self-indulgent anger, ill-advised crushes, wandering poetry, and haughtily judgmental ramblings will seem charming.
For right now, however, stay out of my room.
She has this to say about her vantage point:
I don't know how many of you out there are fifteen..And know that in like, ten years you'll find these letters and it still won't be funny, and in like, fifteen years you'll find them again and someone will laugh and you will be like GET OUT OF MY ROOM, but right around the twenty year mark you might see a couple of these letters and be like, "Wow. Okay, maybe that one went a little too far."
So...yeah, I'm just at the 15-year mark for most of what I wrote in high school, and it's still cringe-inducing enough that I can barely bare to read it, much less release it into the wilds of the internet. Maybe in five years my self-indulgent anger, ill-advised crushes, wandering poetry, and haughtily judgmental ramblings will seem charming.
For right now, however, stay out of my room.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Things To Do In 2010
You might recall (all 3 of you) that I have been posting pieces of my "Life List" (tm Mighty Girl) for the past few months. This post will be another list, but a much more short-sighted and immediate list: Things To Do In 2010.
This is not a list of resolutions, because I don't really like making resolutions for the same reason I don't like giving things up at Lent: I tend to forget promises I've made to myself, then I do things/don't do things I promised to I wouldn't/would do, then I remember how I forgot, then I feel bad.
I have a really good feeling about 2010. 2009 felt like a strange, twisted, hard, uncomfortable year -- a 365-day struggle to stay afloat. I'm happy to leave that all behind and look forward to what's up ahead. Perhaps the optimism has to do with the feeling of a new decade starting (I know, I know, it's actually the end of the last decade, no year 0, etc, but whatever: there's a zero on the end of it, it FEELS like a fresh start), or perhaps I'm actually redirecting my "I just turned 30" anxiety. Regardless, I'm excited.
Things To Do In 2010
- run 2 1/2 marathons
- ride my bike to work one day
- see my brother get married
- go on a road trip with my family
- get my finances in order (I'm looking at you, small-but-annoyingly-hard-to-kill credit card debt)
- focus on creating amazing events for Women in Children's Media
- focus on saving money wherever and whenever possible
Not exactly the most ambitious list, but who says everything has to be a list of goals? Can't we make a list of stuff we are really looking forward to, rather than a list of crap that we need to fix about ourselves?
This is not a list of resolutions, because I don't really like making resolutions for the same reason I don't like giving things up at Lent: I tend to forget promises I've made to myself, then I do things/don't do things I promised to I wouldn't/would do, then I remember how I forgot, then I feel bad.
I have a really good feeling about 2010. 2009 felt like a strange, twisted, hard, uncomfortable year -- a 365-day struggle to stay afloat. I'm happy to leave that all behind and look forward to what's up ahead. Perhaps the optimism has to do with the feeling of a new decade starting (I know, I know, it's actually the end of the last decade, no year 0, etc, but whatever: there's a zero on the end of it, it FEELS like a fresh start), or perhaps I'm actually redirecting my "I just turned 30" anxiety. Regardless, I'm excited.
Things To Do In 2010
- run 2 1/2 marathons
- ride my bike to work one day
- see my brother get married
- go on a road trip with my family
- get my finances in order (I'm looking at you, small-but-annoyingly-hard-to-kill credit card debt)
- focus on creating amazing events for Women in Children's Media
- focus on saving money wherever and whenever possible
Not exactly the most ambitious list, but who says everything has to be a list of goals? Can't we make a list of stuff we are really looking forward to, rather than a list of crap that we need to fix about ourselves?
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Valentine's Day, the movie
The first time I heard about this movie, I thought: "lame." When I read the synopsis on IMBD, I continued to think: "lame." When I saw the cast list, however, I wanted to give the trailer a try. I mean, Julia Roberts? Anne Hathaway? Bradley Cooper? Topher Grace? Jennifer Garner? (Of course, when I saw Joe Jonas on the list, I kind of recoiled.)
The trailer had me right up until the last 15 seconds, where Jessica Biel manages to ruin it. (Though, to be fair, it's not her acting so much as the line she was given.)
Really? We're still making "cell phone as vibrator" jokes? Just because the phones are now iPhones are Blackberries doesn't change the fact that this is a really tired joke.
...I'm still going to see it, though.
The trailer had me right up until the last 15 seconds, where Jessica Biel manages to ruin it. (Though, to be fair, it's not her acting so much as the line she was given.)
Really? We're still making "cell phone as vibrator" jokes? Just because the phones are now iPhones are Blackberries doesn't change the fact that this is a really tired joke.
...I'm still going to see it, though.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Currently reading and listening to...
A Widow for One Year by John Irving.
I like Irving, but he's kind of predictable. Sure enough, I got about 5 pages in and there was some weird sex thing. His predictability, however, also means that I have a good read to look forward to.
The Boy Who Knew Too Much by Mika.
Can't get enough of him.
I like Irving, but he's kind of predictable. Sure enough, I got about 5 pages in and there was some weird sex thing. His predictability, however, also means that I have a good read to look forward to.
The Boy Who Knew Too Much by Mika.
Can't get enough of him.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Life List, part 4
This month is NaNoWriMo, in which people dedicate themselves to writing 50k words in 30 days. Anyone who has ever written anything knows that that is kind of crazy, that it takes incredible discipline to write over 1k words a day (working all 30 days) or over 2k words a day if you take the weekends off. I don't really have that type of discipline, but watching others commit to it reminded me that I've also slacked off on this blog...which does not require nearly as much writing, and therefore is even more pathetic when I can't manage to do it.
So, I'm going back to working on the Life List (I actually checked it in hopes that, in the time since I had last looked at it, I had accidentally accomplished something on it. I had not.), and here are the next 10:
31. Win an award for a book I worked on
- This could mean editing or writing...or copyediting...or fact checking...basically I just want some kind of award.
32. Create a lasting legacy at work
- Meaning, create something on my own that people will continue to use after I am gone.
33. Have a window seat with a cushion on it
- There was a show on when I was younger that had a family in it named the Torklesons (anyone remember this show?). One of the daughters was roughly my age and she had a window seat that she sat on every night when she talked to the moon. I was totally enchanted by it.
34. Have a backyard with a deck and a grill
- Mmmmmm hambuuuuuuurgers...
35. Live within walking distance of a town
- Preferably one with a dessert shop that I can walk to. Just to balance out the walking, you know?
36. Parasail
- Floating along above the water in a seat with a giant parachute on it sounds awesome. I suspect I will be terrified most of the time.
37. Organize an event for over 500 people
- I think this one actually has the potential to happen soon, which is exciting and also anxiety-inducing.
38. Meet more authors
- Authors are awesome.
39. Hire someone
- I should probably add "and manage" after "hire" since I mean at my job and not a contractor or plumber.
40. Read every book on the EW New Classics List
- Out of 100, I've read 25. That's sad.
So, I'm going back to working on the Life List (I actually checked it in hopes that, in the time since I had last looked at it, I had accidentally accomplished something on it. I had not.), and here are the next 10:
31. Win an award for a book I worked on
- This could mean editing or writing...or copyediting...or fact checking...basically I just want some kind of award.
32. Create a lasting legacy at work
- Meaning, create something on my own that people will continue to use after I am gone.
33. Have a window seat with a cushion on it
- There was a show on when I was younger that had a family in it named the Torklesons (anyone remember this show?). One of the daughters was roughly my age and she had a window seat that she sat on every night when she talked to the moon. I was totally enchanted by it.
34. Have a backyard with a deck and a grill
- Mmmmmm hambuuuuuuurgers...
35. Live within walking distance of a town
- Preferably one with a dessert shop that I can walk to. Just to balance out the walking, you know?
36. Parasail
- Floating along above the water in a seat with a giant parachute on it sounds awesome. I suspect I will be terrified most of the time.
37. Organize an event for over 500 people
- I think this one actually has the potential to happen soon, which is exciting and also anxiety-inducing.
38. Meet more authors
- Authors are awesome.
39. Hire someone
- I should probably add "and manage" after "hire" since I mean at my job and not a contractor or plumber.
40. Read every book on the EW New Classics List
- Out of 100, I've read 25. That's sad.
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