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In 2011…

I traveled to:

  1. Taiwan
  2. Vermont
  3. Lake George, NY
  4. San Francisco
  5. Atlantic City
  6. Scotland

I attended:

  1. A late gift exchange in January and an early one in December, pot lucks at both
  2. An International Food and Restaurant Show in New York City
  3. Couchadelphia
  4. A surprise birthday party
  5. An amazing thesis presentation about the psychology behind research laboratory design, and how scientists really don’t like socializing (even when their buildings force them to)
  6. Ag Field Day and the NJ Folk Festival
  7. A panel for Girl Scouts about Women in the Sciences and Engineering, as a Bachelor of the Sciences Finance major working in Information Technology
  8. A tie dyeing party
  9. A family picnic with homemade Jamaican food
  10. Two going away parties
  11. One welcome home party
  12. Two 5Ks, one I directed runners and one I ran in 35 minutes
  13. Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool!
  14. A 4 hour lunch at a local Afghani restaurant
  15. A 25 mile bike ride
  16. Reunions for a college dance troupe, a college art/lit mag, study abroad, and overseas volunteer friends
  17. Trivia at a hole in the wall bar in Princeton
  18. A birthday party at a cowboy bar
  19. A brunch at a Pakistani buffet with 4 different beef dishes in a row, rose water ice cream that tasted like perfume, and pink tea that was very pink and not very tasty
  20. A lovely New Year’s Eve at friends of a friend’s apartment in the Lower East Side, to cap of a year with many, many trips to NYC

I saw:

  1. Black Swan
  2. Riverdance
  3. An exhibit on war photographers, modern Chinese photography, 9/11, Harper’s Bazaar photography, and Depression era photography at the International Center for Photography
  4. A Doctor Who premiere
  5. My college Chinese Dance Troupe perform, with the Filipino cultural dance group and their accompanying buffet dinner
  6. Marina & the Diamonds
  7. Harry Potter 7, Pt 2 at midnight
  8. Savage Beauty: Alexander McQueen at the Met
  9. A nighttime community production of Hairspray at an outdoor theatre
  10. Sufjan Stevens, in Brooklyn, perform his newer electronic dance album complete with crazy props
  11. IKEA twice in one weekend (lingonberry sauce and meatballs are delicious all the time though)
  12. Rocky Horror, live, and lost my Rocky Horror virginity
  13. And tasted art at the Princeton Art Museum
  14. Frank Turner at Theatre of the Living Arts, which has a fancy name
  15. The Muppets Movie, at midnight
  16. Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows

Overall I’d say it was a good year, and I look forward to doing even more in 2012. Hope you had a great one too!

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2012 01 02 Administrative Comments (1) Permalink

Christmas in New York, 2011

Edge of a Tree

Like they say, there’s nothing quite like it. Except, I’ve never really seen any other cities at Christmas, so perhaps it’s just hometown bias. Click any picture to see it larger.

Macy's Light Tree

Macy's

Gingerbread Wheel

Robot Christmas

Red Trees

Rockefeller

Hazy Tree

Silver Bush

Fendi

Trump Tower Wreath

Henri Bendel

Elf

5th Ave Star

F.A.O. Schwartz

Saks 5th Ave Light Show

Red Balls

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2011 12 25 America Comments (0) Permalink

On Giving and Receiving


Source: Creature Comforts

It’s the holidays, a time when even us non-religious folk get wrapped up in the magic of sparkling lights and gift-giving. Because everyone loves gift giving!

It’s the receiving of gifts that’s trickier, because, even if they don’t intend for it to, every gift given demands a partner. Or maybe that’s just me.

I’ve been blessed to know some GREAT (and sneaky!) gift-givers who’ll still get you something—even after you’d explicitly planned not get gifts outside of the exchange(s) (yes, sometimes plural!) you’re mutually participating in. But, how can you be upset when someone gets you a great gift? You can only try and repay the favor. It’s just another sign that:

Letting go of the life we planned
Source: Unknown

(What’s ironic is my next post will be all about the planning I’m doing for next year, in terms of adventures and things to do! It’s all about finding balance, and I’m pretty sure that’s a moving target.)

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2011 12 21 Link Comments (0) Permalink

New Cube Decor

Less inspiration; More self-creation
WastedRita via Miss Moss

I might need this tattooed behind my eyelids—or maybe not since I don’t blink enough when staring at the monitor. The cause for my bloodshot eyes isn’t glamorous.

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2011 12 14 Link Comments (0) Permalink

The Power of Food

There is something about food that brings people together. My personal theory is that it’s a social lubricant and awkwardness buffer far more effective than alcohol—for one thing, more people eat than drink so the odds of efficacy are STATISTICALLY higher. People say alcohol loosens you up and reduces inhibitions; food loosens your clothes, and when everyone’s eyeing the last piece of asparagus inhibitions are reduced, or opportunities for funny-smelling pee eliminated. You can be polite all you want, but truly delicious food will inspire you to voice your opinions on who gets the last piece.


You would fight for this pumpkin pie, right? Baked by Jodie.

Food is also less judgement impairing than alcohol, although I will admit to some difficulty in thinking when full of delicious food. As a bonus, there are no angry full people, just sleepy ones.

The process of getting to full is a communal one, everyone can eat and even at a basic level comment on food. You run out of topics? LET’S DISCUSS THE SOUP!


Autumn potluck

Or, better yet, let’s just MAKE soup. Busy hands are just as effective AND they produce food—two for one!

I’m lucky that I have friends who agree with me, on the power of food, the joy of cooking, and the pure thrill that comes from trying new foods. The past couple of months we’ve hosted an autumn potluck, where the pie was eaten, and also a Saturday brunch at a Pakistani restaurant, courtesy of a great Groupon discount and verification from actual Pakistanis that the food was authentic and delicious.


The pink tea was not a winner, but the four types of beef were.

Trying new food as got to be the best ice-breaker of them all: no one really knows what to expect and there are always some delicious, some suspicious, and some downright hilarious things to be found.

Buffets are particularly good for this, or sharing family style, so everyone gets a chance to sample.


Sometimes food is just funny.

What’re your thoughts on food as a social lubricant?

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2011 12 09 America Comments (3) Permalink