First semester of graduate school? Check.

So I successfully survived my first semester as a graduate student. I'm pretty sure I passed all of my classes, so life is good. I'm liking the entire no calculating of GPAs in my program. It certainly takes a certain amount of pressure off.

I am very much looking forward to my winter break, which I guess officially started last night. Before I go back to the land of the malls, I am getting my life back in order, replenishing some of the money that I've spend this holiday season (at I job a love), and see old college buddies that have moved away. I am looking forward to going home though, and seeing my Teaneck friends, being the youngest child yet again (and all that that entails), etc. etc. My home time will last for a shorter time this year than it has in the past. Boston is starting to be my home more and more, so I will be returning to work and to spend time with my Boston friends in early January.

It has been an interesting segue out of undergrad thus far...While things are different than undergrad, they aren't too different. Some friends have moved away while some still remain. I'm living with my freshman (sophomore & junior) year roommate, along with another college friend. Although for the first time I have my own apartment, pet, utility bills to pay, etc. And even though I'm at the same school, things are still different. I spend the majority of my time on campus split between two buildings, so the rest of the campus is beginning to feel a little foreign. As normal, the freshman seem as young as ever. When I met up with one of my old roommates this past week, she remarked that I look older, which is funny, because I don't really feel that much older. I guess as with most things, sometimes its easier to notice change as an outsider.

In the past I have whole-heartedly disagreed with the ideology that "Ignorance is bliss." And overall I still believe that it is better to know than to not know... but for some aspects of my life I've decided that I need to practice ignorance more often. Too much knowledge, I've decided, can be wholly unnecessary and make me feel bad about things that are not worth spending the time or the energy on. Too bad I'm such a curious person. But you know,

"Life's not about what's better than..."

Music is my boyfriend

Thanks to Lifehacker, I've recently come across two great music websites:

Songza, the so called "music search engine and internet jukebox" lets you search by artist or by song, and then lets you listen (free of charge) to whatever comes up. I haven't thoroughly tested the site yet, but it comes up with a decent amount of results for the searches that I've done.

Then there's The Hype Machine which tracks music blog discussions. Specifically, it pulls out posts about music, accompanied by song tracks, and compiles them all in one place. It tends to tap the music blogs that are more centered around indie/non-pop music, so its a good place to find new artists/songs.

In other news, by a random stroke of luck I won two tickets to see the John Butler Trio perform at the Orpheum this past Sunday... and they were absolutely amazing!!! John is one of the most talented guitarists that I've seen in a while. His lyrics and song writing skills are phenomenal as well, and I'm just sad that I've only started listening to him now. I highly recommend listening to some of his music.
(pictures to follow)

Pushing Imaginary Buttons

Wednesday night I had the absolute pleasure of seeing Sia in concert @ the Paradise. For those of you who haven't heard of Sia, she used to be the lead vocalist for Zero 7, an band that Zach Braff used for some soundtracks. One of her singles, "Breathe Me," was also used for the series finale of "Six Feet Under." Anyway, Sia's performance was amazing. Not only is she an amazing songwriter, but she also has a lot talent as a singer and great stage presence. I really enjoyed her set - I think I knew all of the songs except for 2, which is interesting because I really only started listening to her a few weeks ago. Haha, but I think listening to her performance on kcrw.com really got her songs in my head... I think she performed the exact same set list, plus a few other songs. One of the other songs that she performed was "Destiny," which was awesome because it is one of my favorite Zero 7 songs.

So Sia and her band started the set with this great up-tempo, makes-you-wanna-dance song called "Buttons." It addition to the amazingness of the song, all of the performers started off the show wearing these hilarious/creative neon-tape, stick-figure costumes. You really have to see it to appreciate it, so here's a little video from the end of that song. Buttons If you listen closely, I do believe that I am the first person to "wooo!" at the end of the song. I was a little excited, sue me.

Here's a video of her performance of Breath Me. (Also one of my favorites)

*Aside: I'm pretty sure I know who was took these videos, he was standing a little infront and to the left of me*

I hope she comes back to Boston soon :)

From someone with more genius than I

Because my friend's awesome, check out http://www.triggerimages.net/thriller/

I need to be a part of this some year...

For your reading pleasure...

I happened across an article that I thought was interesting. I'm not sure how I feel about everything in this article, but on the whole, I'm with you Tony.

---

Friday, October 26, 2007

The Catchy Name is Catching On (by Tony Campolo)

The name "Red Letter Christians" is catching on! Increasingly within the Christian community (and even in the general public), people are becoming aware of the growing number of us who are basically evangelical in our theology but who shy away from designating ourselves as "evangelicals." They know us to be Christians with a high view of scripture, who affirm the doctrines of the Apostles' Creed, and who believe that salvation comes from surrendering our hearts, minds, and souls to the resurrected Christ — but are reluctant to call ourselves evangelicals. They realize that is because the label "evangelical" has come to be almost synonymous with the "Religious Right." While holding to the same theology as evangelicals, we do not want to be known as being anti-gay, anti-environment, pro-war, anti-feminist, and pro-gun — all of which have been pinned on all evangelicals (perhaps unjustly) by the secular media.

There are critics who do not like our name, nor agree with our progressive social agenda. In the October issue of Christianity Today, there was an editorial in which the columnist explained what he thought was wrong with becoming Red Letter Christians. What was interesting in his critique was that he got us right! He grasped what we were all about – and with great effectiveness. First of all, he described us as people who, when we go to the voting booth, ask whether or not a candidate's tax policies serve the interests of the rich to the detriment of the poor, whether or not there should be policies to stop global warming, and if he or she supports Bush's war policies. See what I mean? He understands us perfectly! They are exactly the kind of questions we believe Red Letter Christians should be asking when they vote.

The second criticism leveled at us in that CT editorial was that by calling ourselves Red Letter Christians, we were giving priority to the words of Jesus, suggesting that what he taught makes earlier teachings in scripture secondary, if not inferior. Again, he has us right!

We believe that the Sermon on the Mount presents a morality that is superior to the justice proposed by Moses. But then, Jesus himself said as much. He is the one who said that while Moses allowed for divorce and remarriage that he had a higher law, and that while the retributive justice of the Hebrew Testament proposed "an eye for an eye" and "a tooth for a tooth," that his new commandment was to love our enemies and overcome evil with good.

Surely, the CT columnist does not intend to put the purity codes of Moses, with all of their kosher regulations, on par with the morality of the red letters in the Bible.

I think we're on to something, and it may be soon that those evangelicals who do not want to be lumped together with Religious Right ideologies soon will be adopting this new name. There is a growing number of evangelicals who, when they find out what we're all about, will say, "That's what we think, too!"

Tony Campolo is founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education (EAPE) and professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University.

(from God's Politics - http://blog.beliefnet.com/godspolitics/2007/10/the-catchy-name-is-catching-on.html)

A brief respite

Tonight, for the first time in over a week, I was able to truly take a night off. Sure, I didn't really study much on Friday or Saturday night, but the thought of the impending anatomy exam was hanging over [most] of the first-years' heads. Of course on my night off I end up doing errands/chores, such as laundry and installing a new shower head, etc.

While I hope to do well in grad school, I've definitely reached the point of not caring if I get straight A's or not. My goals are to pass all of my classes (passing being a B-), pass the Boards, and not get too overly stressed out in the process. Are my future employers really going to be looking at my GPA? Of course I want to do well and make myself and my parents/family proud, but I do not feel like it's worth it to freak out about every single exam. Then again, maybe my ideas will change once I get the results back from the three exams that I just took.

These few months have been, and will continue to be, a period of self-discovery and self-defining. I didn't think that grad school was going to be that big of a change, but it's been enough of a change that I think I am redefining myself and figuring out who I am and what I want all over again. This process has been quite invigorating, if not terrifying, but exciting none-the-less. I don't think the core of myself has changed all the much, but rather, what's changing is what I choose to emphasize and how comfortable I am with these things. I do believe I am beginning to talk in circles, so I will end with one of the highlights from the past week.


On May 20th I had the honor of attending Jacob and Heather's wedding, the first wedding of my high school friends. Weird, but if anyone is ready to get married, it's definitely Jacob. What struck me, while I was riding with Nicole to the wedding, is that it felt exactly like high school. Nothing had changed. Sure, we all have college degrees now, and are a few years older, but the essence is still the same. And to a certain extent, I think it will always be that way... we may change, but our friendships will [hopefully] stay the same, always being able to pick up right where we left off. For that, I am thankful.

Help, I have done it again
I have been here many times before
Hurt myself again today
And, the worst part is there's no-one else to blame

Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small
I'm needy
Warm me up
And breathe me

Ouch I have lost myself again
Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found,
Yeah I think that I might break
I've lost myself again and I feel unsafe

Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small
I'm needy
Warm me up
And breathe me

Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small
I'm needy
Warm me up
And breathe me

"Breath Me" by Sia

And that's the way things go...

I think this has been one of the most stressful weeks of the semester... even more so than when I had an Anatomy exam, Anatomy practical and Physiology exam within the span of two days. I have a feeling this week of hell is going to last until the end of next week, which sort of puts a damper on things...
It started last weekend, which didn't really feel like a weekend since I spent the majority of my Saturday working the Parents Weekend "Arts Alive!" Festival at Tufts. Then there's this paper/project for my Occupation & Adaptation (O&A) class that's been hanging over my head that's due next Friday. Just trying to get everything done this week that needs to be done was highly stressful, or maybe not highly, but just more than usual.
Next week I have a midterm on Wednesday, Thursday, and then that paper/presentation on Friday... plus an Anatomy exam the following Monday. Funnn times, yes?

Please excuse my b*tch session, it needed to get out in some medium.

I will say that I had a highly entertaining morning. As part of my O&A class we are observing special needs classrooms in different towns/schools. I (and Sam) are observing a medium-functioning classroom in Lexington HS. We have the pleasure (in my opinion) of going to gym class with the kids for the first part of the morning. I think those 40 minutes was some of the most enjoyable time that I've had in a while. The kids are great and play so well together, despite whatever challenges they are facing. The classroom aides are absolutely hilarious, taking each other out... calling inappropriate fouls on Sam... and just acting ridiculous in general. I think I spent at least half of the time laughing (in a good way) at what was going on. It was also fun to play soccer, even if it was in a really laid-back and relaxed way. I think I would enjoy coaching a soccer team of disabled kids... The rest of the classroom time after soccer was good, although Sam and I were definitely fading slightly. I have so much respect for the teacher and the aides with everything that they have to deal with, every day. I imagine that there is a high turn-over rate among special-ed teachers... but who really knows?

Apparently this is not the week for good relationship karma, because it seems like the majority of the people that I've talked to have been having issues. Deeana attributes it to being about a month into school and early relationships ending and what not. Come to think of it, the past two september/octobers have sucked for me, so maybe there is truth to Deeana's hypothesis. Non-platonic relationships are such funny things. (So are platonic relationships for that matter.) I feel like it's very easy for things to be misunderstood and people's feelings to get hurt. I guess that's the nature of the "game" though. I wonder if the entire online-dating scene has exacerbated/changed this cycle. That would be an interesting study. (I also wonder what the divorce rate is among couple who met online, but I think we need to wait a couple of more decades to start running those studies).

To conclude on a somewhat positive note, we had a guest speaker come in for my Clinical Reasoning I class this week. Steve is a professor in the Classics department at Tufts who contracted Guillain-Barree Syndrome about a decade ago. This syndrome basically causes damage to motor neurons, resulting in varying degrees of paralysis. In Steve's case, he was fully paralyzed at the onset of the disease, and now uses a wheelchair and is functionally mobile with his upper extremities. Anyway, what stuck in my mind was how Steve talked about his therapists. During his stay in the hospital/rehab clinic, the majority of his doctors were okay, but it was his therapists and nurses that made the biggest impact on his rehab. It was his therapists that really got to know him and his condition, and really cared about his progress. In regards to his OTs, he said that they were really good at finding creative ways to allow him to get better and to increase his independence. Basically, they allowed him to live again.

This is exactly why I want to be an OT.

Today was another long day at work. During parents weekend we usually hold a 'parents weekend concert' through the music department. This year, it was decided that there would be an entire "Arts Alive" section of the weekend, include multiple performances of many different disciplines across various stages/venues. I was one of the first student staff members to arrive, getting to Tufts at 11:30am, with the festival starting at 2:30p and ending around 7:30/8pm. Despite the overall craziness and how much being on your feet for 8.5 hours is tiring, it was still a pretty good day. Draining, but good. The fact that I enjoy my job so much makes me wonder if I'm doing the right thing by going into OT. Is OT my greatest joy that is also the world's greatest need? I'm not 100% sure, but I think so...

This being my fourth year in events managing, I'm fairly comfortable doing what I'm doing. I've learned how to accommodate to the needs of the performers and audience members as best as possible, while still being a b*tch if need be to get things done. It's a very fine line that you have to walk as an events manager (in my opinion), but it's not that hard once you get the swing of it.

I had a moment of unexpected near-bliss tonight, which was really surprising, but also very pleasing. Now I love music, and music of all kinds, but it is rare for a piece to really grab hold of me and capture my attention to it's fullest. I can remember the first time I vividly had this feeling... it was during a chamber music concert my junior year. I was working the concert when one of the string quartets began to play Beethoven's String Quartet No. 15, Mvt. III. I can remember being in awe of the piece and my heart soaring along with the rises and falls in the music. It was absolutely breathtaking. I'm sure this was not the best that this piece had ever been performed in the history of music, but the feeling was certainly one of remembrance.

I recaptured a bit of this feeling this evening while I was listening to the Orchestra perform the first movement of Beethoven's 1st Symphony. (Oh Beethoven again, I just realized the coincidence... interesting.) I don't know what it is, but music has this magical ability to kindle feelings inside of you that are hard to get elsewhere. I do not believe my words properly convey what I felt, so I think I will use the words of those before me...

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

"Music is what feelings sound like."

"Music is an outburst of the soul."

"Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends."

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture...

In Memory...

Today I attended a memorial service for one of my dear friends, David Rawson Jr. David and I sang together for four years at Tufts. I have so many memories of David, I don't even know where to start. I guess the beginning will suffice...

David and I first met in the dining hall during freshman orientation. I was eating with my [now] best friend, and he introduced himself and asked if he could join us. When I told this story to David for the first time he didn't remember our first encounter, but I did. David had a smile and a charm to him that was hard to forget. Then we ended up auditioning for Chamber Singers, and both got in, and thats where our real friendship started.

I really got to know David during our tours to Italy and Spain. In Italy we shared wine and home-made mozzarella, spent too much money on drinks, and watched a brawl start (and end) right by a restaurant we were eating at. In Italy, Diana and I taught David (as well as the other boys) how to meringue and salsa; we sang (without permission) in one of the biggest tourist attractions in Toledo, and bypassed groups of Americans waiting to get into clubs.

I know that all sounds a little frivolous, so I guess I'll just say that David was such an amazing person. Always positive, never spoke negatively about people, intelligent, caring, I really could go on. David's life on this earth ended too early, but his presence will be felt for a long time...

(me, David & Andrew)

So I talk about AND a lot (okay, maybe just occasionally, but whatever), and I'm sure that some of you must be thinking, "What is all of this AND business?" Well, one of our lovely new members (Geneva) started a bulletin board, so if any of you are interested in reading about what I do on Thursday nights, check it out...

http://andtrinity.proboards98.com/index.cgi

(feel free to join in the discussion, even if you don't currently attend AND, or never plan on attending AND)

Lost in Translation

Sad, Lisa Moore from Funky Winkerbean died.

That aside, AND (A New Day...) was really good today. My favorite factoid of tonight is that when you translate "Abba" from the original Aramaic into English, the word is "Daddy." Not "Father" or "Lord," but "Daddy." Now "Abba" is the term that Jesus often uses to refer to God. I don't know about you, but that sorta rocks my world and put an entirely new spin on things for me. The use of the word Daddy instead of Father or Lord adds this entirely new level of intimacy. God is no longer just a disciplinarian (ref: Col 3), but now also a loving dad that you can go to with all of your fears, worries, and scrapped knees... or someone you can run to to celebrate that new job or acceptance into grad school. From my experience in the world of Christian communities, I feel like people often feel that God is distant and so far removed from plain 'ole human existence, which apparently is not the case. But enough of me proselytizing (if you know me well enough, which you probably do if you're reading this, you know I don't do that anyway), Mike D's "lesson" today rocked my socks and hopefully this will put my spiritual life back on the upswing.

On a completely random note (but not too random if you were at AND), I am a pretty firm believer that you are entitled to your own beliefs (as long as these beliefs don't cause harm to other people). But if you must protest, please do not do it with pictures of aborted fetuses. I know what 1st and 2nd term abortions look like. I DO NOT think that young children need to know what they look like, and if you are going to protest in a public area during a busy time of day, you are exposing children to something that is (in my POV) really inappropriate.

(Steps off the soapbox)

Going through some changes

Today I fell in love with Boston all over again. Not much can beat a walk through the commons on a crisp fall morning. The cool air blowing, people walking their dogs, young parents pushing their kids in strollers, ducks playing in the pond. I know it seems contradictory, but my early Sunday mornings like these are a retreat from everyday life, even if I am going more into suburbia. It's amazing how quiet and beautiful downtown Boston can be sometimes.

Some of the trees have started to turn, and soon we will be surrounded by an amalgamation of reds, yellows and oranges. Bostonians will pack away their tee-shirts and shorts and bring out the long-sleeved shirts and the fleece jackets.


I will be undergoing a sort of similar change. My life has turned over the past month. Now I am working on packing away part of my life, my "leaves" if you will. Overtime these leaves will decompose, and then in a few months hopefully something new will bloom.

I have to admit, going through this entire process of change is terribly exhausting. Especially when you add work, school, and the myriad of other things that one deals with in their daily life. I can't wait to get to the spring.

(pictures are from the fells)

Should I Stay or Should I Go

The Boston School of Occupational Therapy is unique in the fact that it is one of the few (I think) OT grad programs to offer study abroad opportunities. There are three international schools that I could potentially study at; Queen Margret University College in Scotland, Oxford Brooks University in London, or Karolinska in Sweden. Pretty cool, huh? If I went, it would be during my spring semester in 2009. So now that you have the background, here are my thoughts.

I never got a chance to study abroad as an undergrad, and really regret that. All of the people that I know who went abroad had a great time. Then again, this is not undergraduate, this is graduate level studies. Could I even hack it abroad?

Going abroad would also push me back by a good 6 months. Is it worth the extra money? Katie [a classmate] made the point that she would just rather save the money from going abroad, and just travel sans school for 5 months, which is perfectly reasonable point. Would I not be able to enjoy my stay in a different country if I had to focus on school? Will I have the time (or money) to travel for a few months? (Or a friend to travel with, I don't think I could, or would want, to do the solo traveling thing outside of the US.)

Oh decisions, decisions. Any semi-quick decisions; applications are due October 15th. I feel the same sort of stress that I feel when I think about my fieldwork II. How can I be expected to make decisions about my life 2 years in advance when I barely know what I'm doing next month? In two years I could potentially be in a serious relationship where I wouldn't want to leave, or I could even be married! (Okay, 99% chance of not being married, but Audrey, didn't your friend get engaged after only knowing the girl for three days??)

Its in times like these when my two halves do battle. The wanderer part of me says go and don't look back. The other part of me (whatever you want to call it) says to do what's "safe." I wonder who I'll listen to.

The Wisdom of Others, Part A

"Being brokenhearted is like having broken ribs. On the outside it looks like nothing's wrong, but every breath hurts."

A Week In Review

I am so glad this week is over. It's certainly been one hellish ride. I can't wait for this month to be over either, that would be nice too... except the first week of October brings my first exams as a grad student. I'm sad to admit that I'm not where I should be with my studies, and that I really need to haul ass until October 1st... and past it really.

We finally got our assignments for my Fieldwork I class. I'll be observing a larger classroom in Lexington once a week for about 2 months or so. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I do know that I'm nervous. I feel like the majority of first years have a good amount of more experience than I do, especially with peds (read: pediatrics = children). I just hope that I don't make a fool of myself or do anything that reflects poorly on the school. Odds are that everything will be absolutely fine and I might even love it and want to work in schools (I doubt it). I think my biggest fear is missing my alarm and waking up/arrive at fieldwork late, which would be doubly bad because I'll probably be carpooling with someone.

This Thursday at Metrorock I banged my knee up fairly decently. I decided to start of my session doing this bouldering route with a traverse across and arch (think no where for Tara's legs to go), and my hand slipped of a hold and I fell [safely] onto the crashpad, hitting my knee against the wall in the process. The bruise doesn't look that bad, but it was sore for the next 36 hours or so, which was a pain (haha, get it?). It didn't stop me from succesfully navigating my first rotary on my bike today. I was very proud of myself (and relieved that I didn't get killed).

In other thoughts (I don't have the attention span to stay on one topic for too long), trying to plan my fieldwork II placements have been difficult and interesting at the same time. Do I want to stay in state? In the north east? Or do I want to go someplace completely different? Maybe I'll go to Alaska and climb Denali in my spare time (if I have any). Or I can go to Colorado and do some ice climbing or maybe Hawaii and learn to SCUBA. I've been feeling the need to escape recently. For various reasons, I feel like Boston has been closing in on me a little. I need to figure out how to fill this new void in my life and fill it quick. Some people at BSOT commute from places that are a lot farther away than my measly 1.25 miles, so maybe I just need to move. Or maybe by the time morning rolls around I'll be okay again. There's too much time for me to swim through my thoughts at night, and I'm pretty sure that's what gets me in trouble.

The night is dark.

The night is quiet.


The night heralds the dawn.


Let me look expectantly to a new day,
New joys,
New possibilities.

Amen.

Oleeeeee, ole ole oleeeee, oleeee ole!

As I found out tonight, the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup is taking place right now in China. As I write this, the USA is beating Nigeria in the 61st minute. It has been a VERY long time since I've watched women's soccer, or soccer in general, and oh how I've missed it. Ooo, the Nigerian keeper just went down! Anyway, Kerry has had to endure me shouting at the TV for the past 30 minutes. Good soccer is so much fun to watch. So much action and excitement! (Even if it's not a high scoring game... *ahem.) The stadium looks so empty, and I wish I could be there to watch. I can pretty clearly remember going to 2003 Women's World Cup games at the Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. I think the level of play has risen a lot since then. There's something empowering watching women playing such a physically demanding sport. I also enjoy watching the women referees, whom I've noticed are wearing headset, I'm assuming to communicate with one another.

Watching soccer also makes me miss it. I'm not really sure what I miss the most about not playing soccer anymore. There's the game, the comradery among your teammates and (sometimes) the other players, the competitiveness... everything. It really is such a beautiful game with all of the fast-paced strategy and skill. I used to often wonder why my life would have been like if I kept playing club in 7th grade... or if I had worked hard the summer before freshman year to make it onto the varsity team at Tufts. I'd really like to get back into coaching and maybe reffing - AHHH!!! TAKE HER DOWN! DON'T LET HER SHOOT!!! - sorry, I digress, the game almost got tied up. Aaaaand, I just lost my train of thought.

Moral of the story, soccer/futbol rocks.

Random thoughts #478

• Having every song on the radio seemingly relate to you can be both comforting and saddening at the same time.
  
• The passing of time is extremely relative.
• You know that college is back in session when every single seat in every single coffee house is taken.
  
• Tequila shots do not taste good without salt first.
• Walking around town sans shoes is generally not a good idea... unless you have friends to steer you away from piles of glass.
• Classic rock has no better setting then a bar.
  
• Very few things can substitute for time with your gals.
  
• Cleats should always be worn when playing outdoor soccer.
• Playing outdoor soccer without sidelines is just sorta dumb, and sucks for the out of shape.
  
• And as The Beatles said, All you need is love. The good thing is that it's pretty much every where you look if you pay attention.
  

Life Planning 101

Today I met with one of the fieldwork coordinators to discuss the fieldwork placement and planning, but let me back up...

One of the steps towards becoming an OT is completing different levels of fieldwork. Fieldwork I takes place in conjunction with your academic coursework and is done on a very part-time basis. This semester it's about 3 hours every week starting sometime in October. Fieldwork II generally occurs after the completion of all academic coursework and consists of 2, 12-week, full-time placements in an OT facility/organization of some sort. And now I continue...

If all goes as planned, my academic coursework should take roughly 4 academic semesters (2 years), which means that I will be starting my level II fieldwork in the summer or fall of 2009. But apparently we need to start applying for our placements now. Scary, huh? I will probably do one placement somewhere locally, mainly because it's easier and I would also be closer to family and friends. For my second placement I would really like to go elsewhere, for example, back to Wyoming.

In the coursework office there are files upon files of organizations that we have (or have had) fieldwork contracts with. Guess how many there were for WY... none. None for Idaho either, which is the closest state to Jackson. Isn't that just peachy? I guess what that really means is that I have my work cut out for me, but the fieldwork adviser suggested that if I didn't have any solid leads by December I should just move on. I'm trying to get my networking groove on, but I really don't know... What happens, happens, right?

Listening to: Once Soundtrack (I'm in a cliche mood, but I guess there's no better music to listen to when you're in such a mood)

And now for something new... (sorta)

After a wonderful summer of trips to the Philippines and The Tetons (absolutely amazing, see facebook for pictures), concerts and other summer funness, things are swinging into full gear for another year of school. Even though I'm still at Tufts, with pretty much the same job, etc., Things do feel different. While still familiar, the campus seems somewhat alien to me, know that I am no longer in the part of the undergraduate majority. Living off-campus for the first time also contributes. I swear, the freshman get smaller and smaller every year. Overall, Tufts is still Tufts, for better or for worse.

The people at BSOT all seem very nice. I have about 30 people in my class, all girls. I guess that fits the stereotype of women being the more caring and nurturing gender. This semester I'm taking Anatomy, Physiology, Clinical Reasoning 1, Occupation and Adaptation: Children & Adolescents, and Health Conditions 1: Pathology & Prevention. Generally, my classes are good so far. Anatomy & Physiology are somewhat of a review for me since I took and A&P class at Northeastern a couple of summers ago, plus some bio classes at Tufts. Hopefully I'll be able to remember a little something from those classes. Most of my classes are in the late afternoon/evening, except for an 8:30am class on Fridays, which I can foresee having trouble waking up for.

Work is gearing up as well. We've started to take outside artists at Granoff, meaning more work and more high-demand people, but I'm still enjoying it. Raises always help too :)

So things are going decently. I'm getting back into a rhythm, but miss things like soccer and singing (I'm still trying to figure out a way to do both). I played in a soccer league over the summer, but the games no longer work with my class schedule. I'm just hoping that I'll be able to keep up with everything academically, I'm shooting for all As if possible, which is something I haven't done in quite sometime. But I also want/have to find a good balance between work and play. There are still a lot of things I have left to figure out, but why does it always seem that the things you want to think about the least you can't get out of your mind?


For your viewing pleasure, some summer highlights:

Modest Mouse @ Download Music Fest

Introducing Olive, the cutest black dwarf hamster ever :)



Nickel Creek & Fiona Apple @ BOA Pavillion

Cliff Walk @ Newport, RI

And of course, the Tetons

Now listening: Near you always - Jewel (you know you love the old school)

Quotation Time: Hunger

We hunger to be known and understood. We hunger to be loved. We hunger to be at peace inside our own skins. We hunger not just to be fed these things but, often without realizing it, we hunger to feed others these things because they too are starving for them. We hunger not just to be loved but to love, not just to be forgiven but to forgive, not just to be known and understood for all the good times and bad times that for better for worse have made us who we are, but to know and understand each other to the same point of seeing that, in the last analysis, we all have the same good times, the same bad times, and that for that very reason there is no such thing in all the world as anyone who is really a stranger.

- Frederick Buechner

Four down, two-and-a-half to go

So... It's been a while. Quite a while. Lets recap, shall we? (Hopefully in chronological order, no promises though)

• I was accepted into the Tufts U. graduate program for Occupational Therapy (aka: BSOT - the Boston School of Occupational Therapy)
  
• I graduated from Tufts U. undergrad with my Bachelor of Science in Engineering Psychology with a [completely BSed] minor in Biomedical Engineering.
• As a graduation present we took a family trip to the Philippines. It rocked.
• I was able to attend the New York Live Earth show (which was really in NJ). Thoroughly good times... save the earth!
  
• I am now living in a 3-bedroom apartment in Somerville with Kerry and Audrey. They rock.
• I'm working part-time at the music department doing the usual. The job rocks. (It really does though, great boss, funny coworkers, and money is always nice.)

Overall, life is going pretty well, I don't really have much to complain about (well, besides my inability to keep a phone alive for more than a year and the fact that I lost my beloved T-pass). I am really enjoying my summer and not really looking forward to going back to school. I fear that I'm going to grad school just so I don't have to find a job yet, and partially to appease my dad. Not good reasons, I know, but I'm hoping classes will renew my enthusiasm for school.

I'm not sure if this blog will ever achieve it's former glory. I've gotten too lazy to update consistently, and am not good enough with uploading my photos to my computer to make this a photo blog. I guess we'll just have to see what happens. To leave you with some visual tidbits, a few pictures...


(oh and on a side note here are some ways to increase your gas mileage. Yay environment.)

know thy self before fertilizing others' lawns

They say that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence (or something like that anyway). Sometimes it truly does seem that way. One of my bad habits that I'm trying to kick is the tendency to compare different aspects of my life to those of other people. I compare soccer skills, singing talent, academic prowess, relationship status, life achievement, etc., etc., the list goes on. I've been discovering over the past few weeks that I often tend to think that things are better than they really are for other people... or maybe all that people tend to show is the good and just cover up the bad (which I am fairly good at myself). As much as I want my friends to be happy, its nice to realize that other people's lives aren't all peaches and cream sometimes. What is life without a little bit of lemon anyway? Along with the working to not do the comparison thing anymore, I'm trying to be more grateful for what I have; and in the grand scheme of things, I have a lot. Sometimes its so easy to focus on the things going less-than-perfect in your life than the things that are going great.

Today I went to Park Street Church for the second time. (My general rule of thumb is that I should do most things twice before making a judgment.) The guy (Tom) that gave the message (or whatever you like to call it) today was different from the regular pastor that speaks, and while I did not agree with somethings that he said, I do think he made some good points. One of the things that he spoke about what something to the extent of figuring out what you want to do with your life. Often times you hear people say, "Oh, I just want to follow God's will" or "God will lead me to where I am supposed to be," etc. Tom thought that this was good and faithful mindset, but many times people just wait for God to tell them what to do instead of listening to their desires and dreams. Tom's thought is that God plants these desires and dreams into our minds, so following these thoughts are the same thing as following God's will. The challenge is in figuring out what you really want... something that I am having a difficult time with.

By the end of this week I should have heard back from BSOT (Boston School of Occupational Therapy) on my acceptance/denial. While I think I'll be happy about getting in, I don't think I'll be that sad about not getting in, because I'm still not 100% sure that I want to be an OT. Part of me thinks I know what I really want to do with my life, but there are so many ways that could manifest itself. The question is if I really have the talents to do what I want to do, and what I would have to sacrifice to achieve that dream. Scary thoughts.

God, YHWH and all other incarnations

As always, religious matters always get press... Here's what I've been reading about recently.

Crypt Held Bodies of Jesus and Family, Film Says
care of the NYT
-- Jesus ossuary found... hmmm... people ask what repercussions this would have on Christianity. I'm not really sure myself. I'm sure some people would use it to debunk Christianity, but I guess it really depends what you believe the focus of the religion is. Is it Jesus's crucifixion, his resurrection, his deeds, or his teachings? (I myself am leaning towards the last two, but that's just me and I'm still working on it.)

I was also going to post about the recent mandate of the Anglican communion to ban the blessing of same sex unions by the American Episcopal Church, but NYT has already archived those columns (bums...). Here is the official 'Primates Meeting Communique,' which basically says that the Episcopal Church may no longer administer the Rite of Blessing on same-sex unions (among other things). By now you should all know that I am fairly liberal and don't really care for the Communique mandate. Yes, I can see why homosexuality is such a big issue, but I do not think that it should be focused on as much as it is. Mainly because I think there are other things that are in more need of attention, like caring for the poor and the downtrodden and all of the people that are forgotten many a time. Sort of like what Jesus did. Yes, he also said something to the equivalent of "stop sinning," but homosexuality was not one of the things that he really talked about. If I remember correctly, he said loving thy neighbor and loving thy God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit were the two most important things. I guess it comes down the the question of "How do you love your neighbor," which is a tricky one indeed. Showing them the "right path," sure, but who is to say that they know "the right path." Christianity has evolved (slight pun intended) over the past 2000 years or so, and I for one cannot claim to know the will of God. I've read Leviticus and Paul's letters and all of that, and you know, I'm still not convinced that this homosexuality thing is bad. As Josh says in The Gospel According to Biff, it's like the pig thing. :Shrug: Really, who knows? Certainly not I.

fleeting thoughts

Part of me worries that I am forgetting how to be my own person.

A lot of me worries about the future.

Sometimes I miss the way that people used to be.

I wonder what is normal, and why I feel the way I do sometimes.

Rarely (recently) can I articulate myself well enough to get across what I'm feeling.

At times I wish my thoughts would slow down so I could get a grasp of them.

I worry about how people will percieve me if I have this problem.

I wish... well, a lot of things.

Reflections on a Summer and Semester

Sitting/lying in bed while recovering from my wisdom teeth surgery has left me with a considerable amount of time on my hands to tie up loose ends and reflect on the past couple of months. As always, the problem that arises when I post is how much to actually write about, but sometimes getting things all out in the open is a good thing, right?

So where to start... I think freeform will work. As much as I couldn't wait for the fall semester to be over, I can't wait to get back to Boston. I'm just getting bored here in NJ. Maybe I'm antsy to get school over with, maybe I want to get back to my job at Tufts, maybe I simply miss Mike... it's probably a combination of these three or of more factors.

Part of tying up my loose ends was writing/submitting an end-of-the-year report to ACMNP, the organization that i volunteered with over the summer. I know, I'm about four months late, but better late than never, right? (Hopefully...) I ended up going on a facebooking blitz and catching up on everyone. Wow, have things changed since august. Two of my friends are now engaged, a few people are planning to go back to the Tetons, some people have plans for after their graduation. As I read about the lives of some of the people that I spent my summer with, I found myself saddened that I haven't really kept in touch with many of the people that I met this summer. Haha, I think I was too busy falling in love with someone (which I don't regret one bit), but I still wish I was better at keeping in touch with people.

Along that same thread, as my time at college draws to a close, I wonder how good I will be at keeping in touch with the people that I've become friends with over the past four years. I've slowly noticed that I've been letting most of my relationships fall to the wayside for the past year or so. I don't know if it was the trip itself, or if it was just another marker in my life, but I don't think I ever fully "recovered" from my trip last winter to Palestine/Israel. 'Recovered' may not be the best word, but my life has seemed different since that time.

I hope whatever this change is that it's not permanent, because I'm getting awfully tired of it. I'm afraid of the effect that this change may be having on my relationships, and I'm afraid that it will cause me to lose people that I hold close to my heart. But hopefully I'll get this 'problem' sorted out in the near future, and with luck I'll get my life post-May figured out as well. I feel like chances are that I'll be sticking around the Boston area next year... anyone looking for a roomate?