2008: The good, the bad, and the ugly

I thought I'd take a few moments to reflect on the past year. First, there's one thing I want to clear up. This will, like most of my blog posts, be kind of a shallow, silly reflection. For some reason I feel the need to let you know that there is (at least a little) more to me than what I write on my blog. I actually do spend time at the end of most years reflecting and journaling about accomplishments/frustrations of the past year and goals for the next. I just don't care to plaster that all over the internet. So with that disclaimer, here goes...

The Good: These are a few of my favorite things.

• School. The thing in 2008 that was most different from 2007 was school. I started grad school in January, and it pretty much changed my life. I was forced to learn how to better manage my time. I'm still not good at it, but I like to think I've done a decent job with balancing school, work, friends and family. School has provided me with something to work toward, and I needed that. It has been both challenging and rewarding.
• Friends. One of the best things I have going for me is some pretty stinking awesome friends. This year, I met a few new people who have become very good friends. I have deepened relationships with existing friends, and really feel like we're "doing life" together, and I like that. My friends put up with my ridiculousness, constantly amaze me with their hilarity, encourage me, humor me, and sing and dance in my living room. Literally.
• Travel. After last year, I convinced myself that I should "settle down" a little. After all, I am in my late twenties. But who was I kidding? The bite of the travel bug has not yet healed. It may never heal. This year's big trip, of course, was to a little country called China for a little event known as the Olympics. But other trips along the way were pretty fun too... Disneyland with mom and dad, NKOTB in Chicago with Kelly and Jess, Phoenix with Julie, Bon Jovi with Kate, Gatlinburg with small group friends, and Nashville with Jordan, to name a few!
• Emma. It's always fun to spend time with my awesome niece, and this year she has been more fun than ever. I love when she randomly says things like, "Stephanie, you are a good reader." And of course the biggie... "I love you, Stephanie." I have to admit I was caught off guard a couple months ago when, on the phone, she said in her whiniest voice, "Stephanie, will you take me to Disney World? I really want to see Mickey." [Guess who said yes...]
• High school reunion. Our ten-year reunion was a highlight of my summer. It was such a blast, and so fun to see old friends again. It was not awkward or pretentious. Just plain fun. Plus, I uncharacteristically stayed out till 3am!
• Little, sometimes spontaneous things. Summer nights at Rick's Cafe Boatyard. Going down the slide at the Children's Museum. Hours upon hours at Paradise Cafe. Colts games. Random concerts. Facebook stalking. (Watch out. I might mean you.) Leisurely Sunday afternoon lunches when I should really be studying. Marrying off one Meghan and getting a new Meghan. Setting up a pinata with two ladders in the middle of the street. Wine on the ceiling. Playing "pretend we're wives of rich doctors and the kids are with the nanny," and enjoying a day of food and shopping. Writing haiku at Steak N Shake (or anywhere, really). Laughing until I can no longer breathe. Making a pre-party drink without a recipe. Attempting yoga in the living room and falling down. It's a collection of little things like this that make up life.

The Bad/Ugly. (I am combining these. And hoping for a shorter list than the "good" list.)

• School. Ok, I know I used that on my "good" list, but school is a double-edged sword. It was often a source of frustration, and occasionally sucked the life out of me. Sometimes I think of all the things I could be doing if I weren't studying. (The grad school word for that is "opportunity costs!")
• The break-in. This one's pretty obvious and doesn't require much explanation. But let's just say that I STILL don't have a window. I must admit, though, that firing the contractor brought me joy. :)
• The other break-in. Well, not really a break-in, but a broken car window. Funny how that was replaced in less than 24 hours.
• Lots of other stuff. There are plenty more things to add to the list, like that S-word that so often rears its ugly head (selfishness!), and my inability to prioritize, but I am saving those things for the privacy of my journal...

Overall, I'd call it a good year. Here's to an even better 2009. And may your "good" list be much longer than your "bad/ugly" list!

Adventures in Bell Ringing

This morning Jess and I rang the bell for the Salvation Army at the Marsh in Carmel. I may need to add this to my list of great ways to observe people and their behavior. 

We were signed up for a two-hour shift. About 30 minutes into our shift, an old lady came, dressed in her Salvation Army apron with her own bell and kettle. She said she would go to the other set of doors, but she came back shortly thereafter, saying it was too cold at that end. Plus, there was no stand for the kettle. She asked if she could sit on the bench that was next to our kettle. So she sat there for an hour and a half... every once in a while, she would ring her bell a little. Or tell us what to do. Or provide us with random facts, such as, "a kettle this size holds $1,000. The larger ones hold $1,500." This is a little perplexing to me. Wouldn't it depend on the denominations of the bills in the kettle?

People are funny, and I love watching them. Here are a few highlights:

• Several people pointed out that we were inside the doors rather than out in the cold. This wasn't our choice - we went where the kettle was. One man even clucked at us. Really? At one point, I said to Jess, "I wish we'd been keeping track of these comments." To which she replied, "Five so far."
• Sometimes, people walk by with no intention of giving, then you say hello, or wish them a merry Christmas, and then they stop and dig for money. 
• I said "Merry Christmas" to one lady, who told us she was half Jewish. She then said, "Did you know there are Jews who believe in Jesus? We meet at 72nd and Keystone on Friday nights at 7:30. I play the tambourine and dance. And I'm 80!" We loved this woman.
• There was a man with two young kids in a cart. He said, "See this nice lady? I want you to talk to her while I run to the car to get the grocery list." So we were not only bell ringers, but also babysitters. I looked at Jess and said, "What if he doesn't come back?" But no worries, he did. We let the kiddos ring our bells. And they didn't even donate any money!
• Another man sang the praises of the Salvation Army and said he donates to them instead of Goodwill, because Goodwill sells things instead of giving them away. He obviously hasn't seen that commercial explaining how Goodwill works to create jobs...
• We saw one guy walking in from the parking lot and Jess said I needed to talk to him. I didn't... and he walked out with a dozen red roses. Totally proposing today, I bet!
• One older man commented on how full the kettle was getting as he squished his dollar in. I told him it was because we were doing a good job. He said that's why they send the cute girls instead of the old men...

The moral of the story? Watch how you act around the bell ringers! They may blog about you later. :)

Standing Out Among the Masses

I don't think I can begin to count the number of electronic holiday greetings I have received at work over the past couple of weeks. It seems like every hotel, CVB, and AV company wishes me a "holiday season of peace and light" or something like that. And don't get me wrong - it's not that I don't appreciate their sentiment, but when you get a lot of these they all start to look the same. 

This afternoon, I received a rather unique one from Tony in Anaheim. (I met Tony in March when I was there for a visit. We had an enjoyable lunch, and discovered we both have an affinity for Spree candy.)

Here is what I received:

Dear Hershey...

It would be really nice if you could sell unwrapped Kisses for baking purposes.

Love,

Steph

Seven Days of Cable Knit

Yesterday, I successfully completed Meghan's "Seven Days of Cable Knit" challenge. "How does such a thing come about?" you ask. Meg saw me last weekend wearing cable knit on both Saturday and Sunday and said, "I bet you could wear cable knit for a whole week." So I did. No one would have noticed at work had I not told them what I was doing. 

I have at least two more that I didn't wear this week, so I guess it really could have been "nine days of cable knit."

I would like to give a special shout out to the Gap Outlet, which was along for the ride with me, furnishing 3/7 of this week's sweaters, plus the two that could make days eight and nine a reality. Thanks also to Target, Banana Republic, Carson Pirie Scott, and Kohl's, without whom this would not have been possible. And to God, of course, the creator of cable knit. (Sort of.)

Update

Well, friends, it is finished! With five and a half hours to spare! Those little marks coming out of the top are the extra half page I wrote. Yep, ten and a half pages! Check me out, going above and beyond.

School and I are on a break now. And I couldn't be happier. I am going to sit in front of the television for the rest of the evening, and not feel guilty about it.

Paper-Writing Essentials (Or: I am a big dork)

I'm not sure why I dread writing papers so much. I like school. I really do. And I like writing. But there's just something about reading things that ten other people have written about a subject and then summarizing it into my own paper that just drives me nuts. I guess I'd prefer to write about my experiences rather than writing about what other people have already written about and researched.

That said, when it comes to writing papers, I am a major procrastinator. Tomorrow at midnight, I have a 10-12 page paper due. I started writing this afternoon...

As you can see, I have some essential items on my table. First there's the Mac. I spend more time with the Mac than with any person in my life. Is that pathetic? Maybe. You can also see my giant Figment coffee mug. In addition, I have a bowl of popcorn (not too buttery or it would upset Mac), a Fannie Farkle's cup full of Fanta, plenty of dry journal articles, and one more thing...

I decided to make a thermometer tonight. I used to make these when I was raising support for summer projects, but I'd never made one for writing a paper. As you can see, I added some motivational messages. As you can also see, I am only at 4, and still have a long way to go. My favorite might be what I wrote at the bottom. I wanted to be able to color it in as soon as I made it, so I even added "title page." Yikes. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

And finally, what's a blog post without an unflattering photo of me? (Thanks, Photo Booth.) This is very reminiscent of Meghan's photo when she was studying for boards. But my paper is way less hard than boards!