Reading and Fitness Make the Time Fly By

I haven't been posting much this month. Mainly just hanging on and doing a lot of reading. I joined/formed a Southern Literature Reading Group. Our first book was "House Behind the Cedars" a book published in 1900 by an African-American writer named Charles W. Chesnutt. The book takes place in North and South Carolina and is all about racial issues and star-crossed lovers. The discussion was really interesting and fun, and Miz M got to think up the questions. Our next book is "The Last Gentleman" by Walker Percy. I'm also trying to catch up on my New Yorkers, and I bring extra magazines to work on Fridays to catch up on back issues. I'm super-attached to them for some reason, and I can't bare to throw them away without reading every last drop. It's a worthwhile quirk though, as I recently read an interesting article about medical marijuana in CA from April or something - oh, informal/illegal markets do tweak my student economist side.

I'm also increasingly focused on fitness. It's becoming an obsession/priority lately. Joining an intermural soccer team at school has provided me with two good options per week to run around and kick a ball with other people. With another friend, I do aerobic dance and pilates on different days of the week. I'm trying to also keep up some jogging, but it's not as fun as these group activities. I had my dietitian cousin look over my food journal, and help me with some suggestions. One great one is to track my progress on the FitDay website, which I must say is amazing. It adds up all your calories for you and calculates your exercise. And! You can make reports about these things. Pretty cool, indeed. I'm fixing to get healthy and I feel really happy about that.

Miz M Supports Obama

Check out my friend's blog: http://densiinhazleton.blogspot.com/

She's volunteering for the next month for the Obama campaign in PA. I think that is an awesome thing.

The Unfortunate Lugie Incident

So I experienced an odd dream sensation a few nights ago: I hocked a lugie in my sleep. I was dreaming that I had something in my throat like some phlegm or something. I woke myself up and I was sort of like, "uh, did I actually just spit on my pillow?" So I felt around and, yep. Maybe I swallowed a bug? I think this is less gross than peeing the bed, but not by much. I informed Mr. D of this unfortunate lugie incident, and he said he'd bring his goggles next time he visits. Hee. Gotta love that one.

In other news, I have a new pseudo-nemesis. Her nickname is Hairy/Mary. She has extremely hairy eyebrows and she is in my class about the labor market and workers etc etc. She always makes seriously outrageous stereotypical lefty comments, "the capitalists want to just make money and down with the man etc etc," without actually tying the comments to the reading or anything else like a newspaper article or case study or whatever. Then, instead of listening to her peers' response to her ridiculous comments, she checks her bets on the football scores on her computer while they are talking. I know because I was sitting next to her in class. It's sort of dumb to judge what crap people are doing on their computers besides taking notes, but I go ahead and judge within the following hierarchy of appropriateness:
1. Actually taking notes
2. Doing the reading for the class during the class
3. Doing the reading for a different class
4. Checking email (might be actually important)
5. News website or other possibly interesting website or blog
6. Perez Hilton (come on, he's posting some hilarious stuff about Sarah Palin. Sort of relates to #5)
7. Sports (see Hairy/Mary? Not very appropriate!)
8. Porn (never appropriate)

Happy Labor Day!

Mr. D visited this weekend and we had a great time. We did a mix of hanging out, eating good food, and visiting some local outdoors sites. We went to the local swimming hole and the highest point between my town and the coast. Mr. D finally got to try a local favorite Locopop. His choice was Mexican chocolate with creme, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. Mmm. With only 7 months left of school, I've found I want to take advantage of the local amenities while I'm here. And Mr. D should too! What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't take him to the best BBQ place and some local nature sites? Not the kind of girlfriend I'd want to be anyway! Even though it's hard not to see each other very frequently, we've gotten used to trying to make the most of it when we are together.

My new German roommate made herself scarce this weekend. She is quite independent and does much on her own. She made some friends that took her camping in the mountains, and stays out late chatting with folks and finding cool places to watch the Democratic National Convention. She is great, and it inspires me to get out and do stuff as I've been meaning so often to do.

Vrrooooooom! Vrooooooom!

Still making an effort to expand my Southern cultural experiences, I went to a NASCAR race in Bristol, TN last weekend with some friends from North Carolina. I enjoyed the pimped out campers (TVs and karaoke machines) and even a retrofitted short bus with a foldable commode, shower, and bed. In fact, my friends and I showered in the "short bus" and I must say that the shower was quite roomy and enjoyable. And hell, it was in a bus!

The evening festivities involved lots of 'Merican beer drinking, and lots of drunken southern boys trying to get their game on. It was not much different than Northern drunk boys, except they maybe call you "honey pie" and stuff more. Most wouldn't harm a fly but of course there were the usual creeps too. I tried to pass off a creep by saying, "Well, Southern guys only like Southern girls so you wouldn't like me..." When that didn't work, I told two Southern guys to like each other, then ran away. I'm clever like that. Hee.

The race itself was (1) fast, (2) LOUD, and (3) full of fires & fumes. The fumes made me a little groggy actually, and I feared for a second that I might be getting carbon monoxide poisoning. But then I realized that CO is odorless and that maybe I was just getting tired.

Probably my favorite part of the weekend was stopping at my friend's grandmother's house for her amazing Southern cooking. She made ham and biscuits and green beans and candied carrots and boiled custard and fresh tomatoes. I was pleased beyond all about this delicious food, the NASCAR Southern soul food, and it kept me happy and satisfied for hours.

The death of the best dance party in town.

I went out dancing with a friend last weekend, to this place that USED TO be the best dance party in town. This bar had a warm fuzzy hipster vibe that made everyone feel comfortable to dance. Unfortunately, the owners sold it. The man that now owns it has painted the walls all black and installed flatscreens that play running text messages like "hey polka dot banana u r hot" and "bartenders here are the best" (which was posted by the bartender semi-anonymously.) There was also a fog machine and several "up in yo' face" disco lights. It was a little bit much, so I went over to the bartender and said:

Miz M: "can you chill on the fog machine?"
Dude: "the effect is psycho-somatic. i spent $2500 to make sure it was just shooting water. it's probably the smoke that is bothering you."
Miz M: "well, i guess i don't really like fog machines"
Dude: "well, we're a club so... (shrug). i'll be getting some smoke de-ionizers next month to help with the smoke. it bothers me too, and i'm a smoker"
Miz M: "okay, thanks."

Following the fog machine exchange, another semi-anonymous message appeared: "what this place needs is a fog machine". Hmm, that sounds kind of passive aggressive for someone trying to get a club on its feet. But maybe he's aiming for a different clientèle. An ass-holey, chauvinist clientèle, perhaps? Maybe that's harsh but I miss the old place and will probably grieve that my next year in this town will be sans a truly groovy dance party.

Intern Woes

I've been working at my summer internship for a few weeks now. How strange that June 1 marks one month of summer already. The climate in the Southeast has definitely messed with my biological clock - in Chicago, it's barely in the 70s yet - yet here is climbing steadily towards the 90s.

My summer office does interesting stuff and it's a great working environment to be in. However, there are a few glitches from time to time that have taken some getting used to. In my first week, I didn't really understand their paper recycling system. And this place is REALLY into recycling. So there were a few times where my supervisor said to me, "um, you know you can print double-sided here." And "um, we recycle paper. We use the paper that is printed on one side and print it on the other side and then we recycle it."

Got it.

Despite this lay-down of the office law, I couldn't really figure out where to recycle the paper or how to actually use the paper that is printed on one side because of all the three printers, I had never seen the double-sided feature used. So, because I couldn't figure out how to print double-sided, recycle the paper, or throw any paper away where someone wouldn't see it in the garbage, I just started taking scrap paper home and throwing it away in my own garbage. It sounds crazy, I know, but sometimes one's gotta make some tough choices to get along.

I have since figured out the recycling thing though, and thus spend several minutes a day moving one-sided paper around to the recycle printer tray and then to the two-sided paper recycle bin. Success! Added bonus: they allow you to order the pens you like (unlike my previous workplace where you had to BYO pen).

Ups and Downs and Ups Again

More end of the semester confessionals and reflections have occurred over the past few days.
One girl shared a haiku she had once written about her kneecaps, which she wrote at some restaurant called Haiku, while dining with her physical therapist. Uh-huh. You can't make this stuff up.

More potlucks and parties, and just a little more work to go.
The presentations are done and I just have one more beastly little problem set before my first year of graduate school is complete. Yes!


On a more serious note, I went to a memorial service yesterday for a librarian that passed away. I did not know him well, but he helped me out with a project last semester, and I really liked his personality. His death was very sad because he was very young, but I did feel inspired in the celebration of his life. I glimpsed some of my own dreams - having a family and a dog, sharing joy with family and friends about little things in life (the song, "Let It Snow"?), and also about the importance of pursuing intellectual passions, and embodying those ideals in some way. For this man, it was very important to share information and pursue intellectual thought and intellectual integrity. And I really admired this idea that was conveyed so strongly by his family and friends. I hope to have my intellectual passions and pursuits resonate more deeply throughout my life. I hope that my loved ones understand my sense of humor and the things that bring me joy. I hope to be the most full and effective and loving version of myself.

Why do goats like to eat pants?

I spent the day touring local farms in the area with a few girls from school. We had a great time. We saw a local goat farm, a winery, and a meat and poultry farm. We petted goats and a really pretty cow who licked my hand with his sandpaper tongue. We picked our own eggs from free-range chickens and talked to many of the people who owned the farms or worked there. The goats kept trying to chew on all my friends' pants, but my pants weren't very long so I let them chew on my sweater. We tried some local wines and some tasted not so good but there were a few dessert-type wines with North Carolina's muscadine grapes mixed in, which I really enjoyed.

It was great to get away from the school life for a bit, and do something that I really enjoyed with cool people who enjoyed it too. It was a wonderful day and it made me excited about the summer, and about the region in general. I felt really inspired by seeing the nice life that these animals have and it made me want to buy local meat and support the farms. Really, I felt in love with it! I wish I had taken some pics but if i get some from the girls I'll try to post.

Shhhh! I Gotta Tell You Somethin'

It's the end of the semester confessional! I've had three fellow students this week separately bust out a TMI session about their sex lives. How many times per week. Who has an IUD. Current lack of libido. etc. etc. That edginess that everyone feels at the end of the semester seems to manifest in funny ways, and apparently my classmates tend to unburden themselves of personal information. My technique has been less confessional, and more about getting silly. I wear my huge 70s Target sunglasses everywhere, even at night, and I think this is very funny.

Math Makes Me Laugh

Mr. D and I came up with that choice phrase to put on a t-shirt someday soon. Due to my struggle with "the math" this semester, I think when I'm done with this term I'll laugh at math the way that one would laugh at adversity. Because, really, for me it has been the same thing. To capture it, I write this formula:

The Integral of [Math*Adversity - Obscene Amounts of Time] = Laughter

Man, I'm going to miss writing those equations.

Holy Shit! I have about 10 more days of school left! It so snuck up on me! I'm kind of tired from the thought, even though it's now time to gear up and pump out the term papers and projects in the next week. The last week of classes is pretty much for presenting so the work for that mostly has to be done now. I'm glad I wasn't thinking about this earlier. In some cases, ignorance IS bliss.

My thoughts are on the summer and my upcoming visit to Chicago. I'm planning to go to a Cubs game and out to eat with Mr. D at a few restaurants that I like. I'd like to see my family and maybe go mini-golfing or something with my brother. Yessss! Only 10 days to summer bliss.

Three Magical Weeks

Mr. D is coming to visit for a few days, the first time he has been able to visit this semester. It's a whirlwind time as there are three weeks left to the semester, but I think we'll be able to squeeze in some fun. It's hard to believe that I'm almost finished with my first year of graduate school!

This semester has been kind of tough in that my classes have required a lot of time, but that has made the semester speed by. The basketball season became a bright spot in my schedule, and I kinda became a superfan.

I've decided to stay in North Carolina for the summer. I have a pretty sweet internship working with business assistance and socially-conscious investments. It's a totally new field for me, but I'm looking forward to doing something that I've never done before. I also have 4-5 weeks where I won't be working, which is a new thing for me as well. For the past five years I had a job where I had to work a lot of weekends May through October. It seems so refreshing to have more time for weekend fun this summer. I'm going to spend a week in Chicago, maybe a week at the beach, and the other few weeks - who knows?

When Life Moves Too Fast to Worry

I felt remembered on my birthday this past Sunday by family and friends. Though I almost forgot to spend much time on reflection as I spent two days of my birthday traveling through two time zones (does that mean I'm 30 instead of 29 since I lived through March 16th twice?) on my way back from Thailand. The proceeding few days was spent feeling jet lagged and too distracted for reflection on my birthday.

Overall though, it was a birthday on the end of a truly amazing vacation. Maybe the best vacation of my life so far because it had all elements you'd want on a vacation (except a beach). It had family, friends, an exotic location, new experiences, beautiful souvenirs, relaxing massage, good conversations, and great food. I finally got to try a durian fruit, which has been one of my dreams for 5 years. It was good good good to accomplish a dream, and the fruit had an interesting flavor with a stinky kind of aftertaste that got into the nose/sinuses. It was a unique as I hoped.

Grapefruit Gummies and Calc-u-hell

I've been in the depths of calc-u-hell for the past two days since I've been trying to finish a problem set for a class that's way above my head. It's one of those, "I just need to turn something in" type classes, and even with that, I've spent over 10 hours, only done half, and it's still probably wrong. Calc-u-hell.

What makes it all surreal is that I leave for Thailand in five days. I'm going with my mom to see some family, and to see my best bud who lives over there. Her request for American treats: grapefruit gummies and Wheat Thins.

Last week, I traveled to Charlotte to sit with Mr. D in the airport for a few hours. He was on his way back from Jamaica, and we just sat and talked and hugged and drank coffee. It felt like stolen time and it was lovely, definitely the most fun two hours I've ever spent in an airport.

Also, one of my new Southern friends punched a guy in the lip; another new friend bit a guy on the cheek. This was supposedly all in the context of flirting. I'm not going to insult the Southerners by implying that this is how they do things down here. These attempts weren't successful at getting a number or landing a man. I guess my consolation is that though they may look put together, these gals are still a little rough around the edges...

Party Street

So I live on a "party street." About once every other weekend, some big house full of dudes throws a huge kegger. Two days later, there's about 40 trash bags full of red cups and chip bags and panties sitting on the curb. (Okay, they aren't full of panties, but I thought that sounded kind of funny.) The dudes usually make some noise on the street, but my apartment is kind of set back so it never bothers me.

Currently, though, I'm working on a presentation and a take home mid-term for next week in my apartment. (I will also note that it is 5 p.m. on Sunday night.) I keep hearing these silly cheers, almost like on a movie or TV show about frat parties. The guys: "Oooooooooh!!!" and the girls: "Whooooooooooooo!" then the guys: "Ooooooooh!!!" and the girls: "Whooooooo!" Am I somehow in the TV show too? Peeking through the curtains like, "Oh you crazy kids. Don't walk on that slackline while trying to drink a beer and play the beanbag game."

"Oooooooooh"
"Whoooooooooo!"

That About Says It...

I like to read my horoscope every day. Today, it summed up my deeper feelings of late...

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You tend to be even more compassionate these days, yet in an oddly detached manner. Fortunately, this intellectual separateness allows you to feel even more, for you are less concerned now about losing yourself in someone else's pain because of your tenderheartedness. Accept the fact that you cannot save the whole world. You can certainly help some deserving people along the way, however. (By Rick Levine.)

"Winter Flip-Flops"?

And...a surprise from the Southerners! Their reaction to cold weather has thusly confounded me. It has been dipping down into the 20s and 30s the past few weeks and I have expected an outright tirade against the cold. But no! I have not heard the depth of complaining that my cohorts in Chicago would surely entertain.

Some people do seem to wear heavier-than-usual coats around here, but even more people seem to be in total denial about the colder weather. Many people still do not wear coats and no one wears hats. It's like it is not in their vocabulary or consciousness! Some people just throw on a flannel and consider themselves good-to-go. One girl told me that she switched from her summer flip-flops to her "winter flip-flops" aka those clog-type shoes. (They qualify as flip-flops because they don't tie, I guess?) I've even noticed that many of the children don't have actual winter coats. Rather, the parents just tuck the child or children into their lapel of their flannel or whatever and run out to the car real quick.

The Invisible Hand Is Gonna Knock You Out

I find myself in class sometimes trying to suppress boredom. I usually do this in one of two ways - cultivate controversy or cultivate apathy. Since it is the beginning of the semester, I've been choosing to cultivate controversy. Today, I said in class, "Well, I don't believe in totally free markets." I mean, how smug and fluffy is that?

I also told a story that I heard on the radio about a Muslim woman speaking out AGAINST cultural tolerance in European societies because it allows for extremist Muslim societies to practice oppression of women behind closed doors. I thought it was an interesting discussion point to wrap one's head around. But, I also hoped it might piss somebody off. Make this fun for me, people! Can I get a rise outta your tired asses?!?

Still, I admit that these comments could have been made with a little more sophistication.

I have a deep-seeded fear that I really annoy my classmates with these type of comments. On the other hand, I don't take myself too seriously either. However, there is a Spanish woman in my class, and she takes that shit SERIOUS! Our teacher was explaining an economics concept and she was all, "this doesn't make sense?! does that make sense?!" and it was kind of aggressive. And I was all, girl, you need to chill out on confronting the teacher. He's no Adam Smith! That invisible hand is gonna knock you out!

Boom Goes My Diet-Namite

I'm still on the cooking tip and today I made a whole wheat pasta with lima and green beans and a bastardized pesto sauce. I guess it was a pesto sauce good for winter in that it did not require ole sturdy basil that can often be unavailable during this time. Bastardized pesto sauce contained:

• olive oil
• fresh garlic
• chopped parsley
• anchovies
• capers
• lemon zest
• lemon juice

And it was pretty damn good.

Miz M's brother came a'visiting this weekend. We had a great time. I took him out for some bodacious pulled pork BBQ, biscuits and gravy, and my favorite country ham. Needless to say, boom goes my diet-namite.

For the most part though, we just hung out. I did my homework in the mornings while he slept in, we ate good food, watched a lot of TV, and made fun of each other. It was a blast.

Retirement in Toyko

My friend in Japan sent me this photo. I thought you'd enjoy it too, dear readers.


I've been thinking that Mr. D has been up to something. Developing a slots business in Toyko came as a surprise!

Curry Couscous

I made some Israeli couscous today with red onions, yellow zucchini, mushrooms, curry powder, raisins, salt, chicken, and fresh mint. I made it up and it was totally tasty and I'm taking it for my lunch for the next two days.

Deeper Than Doughnuts

Have you ever noticed that a day can have a theme? It might be a random theme like doughnuts or something. Like, no matter where you go, people are always discussing doughnuts or eating doughnuts or wearing some hipster t-shirt with a doughnut on it. But sometimes, a theme that emerges out of a day can be more meaningful. Let me explain:

Today started out with a phone call from a friend who is at a prestigious medical school and who has decided that she will be a psychiatrist. And she's going to be damn good at it. She was helping me think through a personal problem, and I found her insights to be very helpful. Later in the day, I heard a radio program with an expert on ADD and ADHD who is actually a teacher at her medical school. While I don't have ADD, I still found his discussion of the benefits of exercise for the brain, and how meditation can be AS EFFECTIVE AS MEDICATION for people with ADD, to be interesting and applicable outside of ADD in particular. He also discussed a term "biofeedback," which caused a mad search online to figure out what it was, which led to reading about the medical benefits of meditation on the Mayo Clinic website. And so on, I found a link to this website www.worldprayers.org through the Mayo Clinic website. Which generated this beautiful random prayer:

For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.

the way of the bodhisattva - shantideva - 8th century

It's pretty deep that there were some people praying this prayer for, presumably, us, way back in the 8th century. I find that comforting and inspiring.

I'll Make Myself Happy Just To Please You

For New Years 2008, Miz M's resolutions are not out of the ordinary. I've been feeling a pull to workout more, and also to improve my diet. I want to lose about 10 pounds in the next couple of months. My jump start? I ate at this raw food place in Chicago with my mom the day before I left town. It's a cool, unpretentious place with great healthy food. Despite that people can get a little over the top in promoting the raw food lifestyle, the energy of the food does seem to be on a higher plane. So I want to cook a few "raw" dishes this next months, or at least use the raw foods idea to inspire me to be more creative with vegetables and eat more vegetables in my diet.

Being back in Chicago made me realize how much I miss the "foodie" opportunities that abound there. Between all the great and creative restaurants, the ethnic grocery stores, and the corner yuppie-foodie stores, you can eat pretty well and pretty interestingly in Chicago within a budget. That was one of my hobbies in Chicago, and it's pretty damn dismal here in North Carolina. My theories were confirmed by two sources (Mr. D's mom and my dad's eccentric Bosnian friend Boz) that the groceries down here are unusually expensive. It's very hard to eat those fresh fruits and veggies on a graduate student budget. One thing that might make me happy is to learn more about Southern cooking while I'm down here. The question is, how do I cook Southern and also try to lose weight? I know and fully support the importance of bacon in these Southern dishes, but that goes against my other goals. Just one more thing to be resolved in 2008... you gotta have something to work on!

I am also going to try to incorporate meditation into my life this year. My goal is to try to meditate for at least 5 minutes each day, maybe more. It sounds simple, but I think it will be hard to stay committed to it. I meditated for 5 minutes yesterday and already remembered a dream last night. In the dream, I was driving a construction crane in order to help my parents solve a legal case. Huh? In the dream I kept saying, "Well, I'm driving a crane but at least I'm outside." You can't pay for entertainment like that.