I had a very relaxing weekend, something I haven’t had in quite a while. I spent this Saturday largely by myself, getting some quality alone time. I chatted with my housemates in the morning over breakfast. Then, I went out for a run. Although I got a bit overheated (I’m just not made for warm weather), it was wonderful to get outside in the ( Read more... )

I'm home suffering from a wicked stomach bug. I swear I have never been sick so often as I have been this year. Blame it on poor self-care or high stress, I guess ( Read more... )

To make an official announcement on my decision on grad school (i.e. the next two years of my life): I’ll be attending Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio. It was an eleventh-hour decision, given that I found out that I made it off of their waitlist on Monday after work, and they wanted a decision today. I’ll be getting my M.A., but I’ll be ( Read more... )

And April showers bring…bad metaphors ( Read more... )

We are now well past the six month mark here in Seattle. It’s a bit scary to think that we’ve only been here that long, but at the same time, it’s astonishing that that much time has already passed. It seems so strange that it was in August that I met my community, my Seattle family. Time has flown, but simultaneously, it seems that no time has ( Read more... )

One thing I reallly love about JVC is that it forces you to be creative in ways of entertaining yourself. The standard weekend events are typically out, unless you've saved some stipend for splurging. If you're me, you've spent all of your budget for the week on bus passes and coffee (and the occasional book). I've had to diversify my ideas of ( Read more... )

My walks to and from work afford me a great deal of time to think and analyze the world in which I now dwell. This experience has been, to use a cliché, a mixed blessing. I tend to overanalyze situations, so an extra hour and twenty minutes of solo time does not remedy this situation, but it does give me time to come up with creative and unusual ( Read more... )

I wrote this a week ago, while waiting for my plane at Sea Tac. This entry doesn’t exactly hail the halfway point of my year, but I suppose it comes close enough. I’m headed home for Christmas, but it seems like I’ve been living in Seattle forever. I’m not quite in love with the city, as some other JVs in the area are, but I like it for what it ( Read more... )

The future is my ultimate muse; nothing can inspire me like the promise of tomorrow. Here I am, sitting in a chain coffee shop - I will give you three guesses which, and the first two don’t count - and all I can focus on is what is to come. Sure, a few events of the past few days live in my frontal lobe, but overall, my mind is consumed by what ( Read more... )

I have made what could be one of the most important decisions in my life. I have decided to pursue my Ph.D. in English and throw all my other plans out the window. Some people probably are not shocked by this development. I am a little shocked at myself for finally admitting what I really want. Sure, publishing is a very practical and profitable ( Read more... )