Under construction...

...playing around to make my blog more fantastic...

Things I love...

(...or why I had a fantastic weekend):

- urban green space

- wine tasting

- Trophy cupcakes

- visits from Momma

- indian food

- warm, sunny days

- lounging on the front porch while the neighborhood goes by

- engaging in the arts community (piano concert @ Benaroya!)

- feel good movies where the guy gets the girl (in a not completely ridiculous and predictable format)

- (followed by) artsy, depressing movies that inspire hours of analysis with the roomie

- dark chocolate covered edamame

Spring has sprung in Seattle, my friends. And it is good.

The end of the Humanities?

As if being an English Lit/French double major didn't have enough of a you'll-never-get-a-job-with-that-degree stigma, it seems the current economic state has made it even worse. According to this article in the NY Times, the humanities are suffering a slow and painful death in the face of economic doom. It seems that education for the sake of education is becoming less and less a viable option in an economy that requires specific and technical job skills in order to avoid the unemployment lines.

I LOVED my humanities education, and don't regret for a second studying what I did - but I can't help but wonder if I would have chosen a different path had I started college this year, in the midst of this massive recession.

Sometimes. Always. Never. (With thanks to Britta)

I sometimes...

- wonder if I'll actually achieve the things I've set out to achieve in my life.
- wonder what life would have been like if I had pursued dance from an early age.
- think about getting my MA in English

I always...

- am overwhelmed by the beauty of where I live. always. without fail.
- have about three life plans rotating in mind, each of which sounds perfectly wonderful, and perfectly plausible on some level.
- think about traveling - where, when and how.

I never...
- say no to chocolate. it's a serious addiction.
- manage to keep my room organized for more than a few days at a time.
- keep in touch with as many people as frequently as I would like to.

I like this poem

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond by E. E. Cummings

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look will easily unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully ,suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;
nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility:whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands

Warm and Fuzzy's on the Bus

I went to a potluck the other night for the organization I interned at this fall, which involved a bus ride through downtown into South Seattle. I don't make it any farther south than Seneca very often, so it was nice to get out into some new neighborhoods. I was especially drawn to the vibrancy and life that seemed to abound in the International and Central Districts. Lots of cultural stimulation - art galleries, street art, fantastic little hole-in-the-wall restaurants everywhere, museums. It's on my list of places to explore.

But back to the bus ride. I was seated in the back, in the awkward row of seats that face each other, so you either end up staring uncomfortably at the people across from you, or end up twisting oddly in your seat to make it so that you're facing forward. I was doing the latter. A stop after I got on an older women got on and sat straight across from me and stayed on until we were in the heart of downtown. I noticed her pull out a pad of paper about halfway through the ride, but didn't think anything of it. I figured she was jotting down a to-do list, or absentmindedly doodling or something. I would have hardly noticed when she got off, save for the fact that as she left she handed me this:



I was caught completely off-guard, and she was gone before I could even register what had happened. My face reddened, and I was simultaneously touched, flattered, and embarassed. I've always thought of my profile as being a little weird. Not ugly, per se, but not attractive. The fact that a stranger had such a different impression of me was humbling. It's amazing how much impact such a simple gesture can have!

Thanks, kind woman on the bus. You made my night. Next time I find myself with pen and paper in hand, in the company of strangers, I'm going to make and effort to pay-it-forward. :)

Coffee Shop Cool

I'm at Herkimer Coffee, a coffee shop about 10 minutes from my house, working on cover letters and resume stuff. I just wanted to note that every person I can see who is on a computer is either on a Mac or a Sony Vaio (me included). It feels funny (but somehow, oh-so-cool) to be part of this artsy, organic-coffee-drinking, fancy-computer-using crowd, our keystrokes drowned out by the indie music filtering through the shop at perfect volume. Then again, this is Seattle. What did I expect?

Also of note - I'm MUCH more productive here (despite breaks for blog posting) than chez moi.

Oh, and one more thing. It's sunny here (ok, partly cloudy - it counts), and WARM! I can feel spring coming.

Turns out I'm an Idealist

In an attempt to feel like I'm being productive in my job search, while actually just putting off writing yet another cover letter/pouring over craigslist for the 700th time today, I've been taking some career personality tests. The Keirsey Temperament Sorter is a well known one, so I thought I'd give it a go, and see what it had to say about me. Apparently I fit into the "Idealist" category and can be described as follows:

All Idealists (NFs) share the following core characteristics:

Idealists are enthusiastic, they trust their intuition, yearn for romance, seek their true self, prize meaningful relationships, and dream of attaining wisdom.
Idealists pride themselves on being loving, kindhearted, and authentic.
Idealists tend to be giving, trusting, spiritual, and they are focused on personal journeys and human potentials.
Idealists make intense mates, nurturing parents, and inspirational leaders.
Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self -- always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.
Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet" that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things.

Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a "soulmate," someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds.

Idealists are relatively rare, making up no more than 15 to 20 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.

Princess Diana, Joan Baez, Albert Schweitzer, Bill Moyers, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mohandas Gandhi, Mikhael Gorbachev, and Oprah Winfrey are examples of Idealists.

I'd say it's surprisingly accurate. Another test, the Holland something-or-other, determined that I am an SAI, or Social-Artistic-Investigative type. Apparently this means I'd make a perfect rabbi or dental hygentist.

Little Rays of Sunshine...

Despite the dark clouds of looming financial ruin and the never-ending job search, I find that 2009 has brought with it a fair amount of sunny spots. For starters, my two roommates and I began the year by moving into a new house. It's a fabulous little number in bright yellow and orange. I'll try and post a picture in a bit, but for now I can't figure out how to make it not broadcast my address when I past the google map image into this post. So for now, just imagine it.

We warmed the house by hosting a rather colorful (literally) dance party:


I ended my four month internship with what turned out to be the best of the four resource packets I've put together. Not only that, but I met the former US Ambassador to the DR Congo, and reignited my interest in Africa (esp. the Congo and Rwanda).

And amidst the lows and feelings of despair that come from the incessant job search, and constantly teetering on the edge of being absolutely broke, I find the most encouraging people pop into my life. My parents, my aunts, my friends. The wonderful little Ethiopian man who drew my blood at my doctors appt. yesterday. Everyone is so reassuring that things will work out, that things will get better. That I am ok where I am. Lots of little rays of sunshine.

AND, I just applied for what sounds like the most WONDERFUL job. I'm not going to elaborate, because nothing's happened other than a swift reply on my part to the craigslist posting. But even the possibility of working at this place is amazing. Tune in later for developments.