laying in bed and watching the snow fall

i just wanted to write about this sweet moment so someday i can go back and remember these few seconds of peace.

so quiet, so serene, so beautiful it takes me away from the stress for a few minutes.

i live in a snow globe.

but that silly california bear on my wall keeps reminding me this isn't forever.

oh, HELL no

just found the inspiration i need to kick ass on the paper i'm currently writing:

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/beck-yapping-palin-kitchen/

this was a way too upsetting reminder of all the times i was told by my male peers that my "place" was in the kitchen, growing up.

while i have a lot of issues with palin, i have absolutely no tolerance for this type of male chauvinistic behavior.

i swear, if i see a beck book at christmas, i'll throw it in the fireplace.

good god, how i love emerson

I've had to read some of the essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson for my American Political Thought class. This guy puts to words ideas that I've been thinking about for years. He's completely provocative but completely natural, all at once. I'm positive I'll be reading him until the day I die.

"Prayer that craves particular commodity, anything less than all good, is vicious. Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view. It is the soliloquy of a beholding and jubilant soul."

Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance"

"Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet."

Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Circles"

autumn. today. glorious.

i told scott today that from now on, i will be depressed every october. why? because i live in the most splendid place on earth to enjoy autumn.

we started here to enjoy lattes while getting some work done with leah. they just finished renovating it and the new layout blew my socks off. i mean, a whole other room with tables and cushy booths, shielded from the noise of the espresso bar? happiness.

and then we went here.

and we got this stuff.

and then we sat here for awhile and enjoyed life.

then we decided to go to here to do some browsing. we spent 60 cents.

i hope whatever city we land in next will be as delightful as this one.

neon colors, leaving on jet planes and whatnot

so....school has sequestered my attention already.

and so has traveling! i feel like i am on the road lots.

i was just in montreal. they like neon colors. so do i. that's where the photo above was taken. arcade fire's "neon bible" album makes much more sense now.

we also were in the adirondacks last weekend. good times learning how to start fires. scotty and i (being the city people that we are) watched a you tube video before we left on "how to start a campfire". yep. we are an embarrassment to many of our family and friends.

and next up on the tour of north america:

washington dc (conference)
fresno (research)
nyc (with corey and lissa!)
catskills (thanksgiving)
and then back to california (christmas)

with more probable trips to dc and california to follow into the spring...

oh boy oh boy.

sample first day conversation

me: hey, it's great to see you again.
person: yeah, same here. did you know your eyes are all red? are you on drugs? dani, i've told you those things aren't good for you...
me: yes, i'm aware. allergic conjunctivitis. caused by pollen, ragweed, etc. not drugs.
person: ewwww, get away! (while jumping a step backwards)
me: not contagious. hence the allergic.
person: well you look really bad.
me: thanks.
person: you should wear your sunglasses indoors today.
me: yeah. (putting sunglasses on)
person: you look funny.
me: thanks.

and, repeat.

new semester, new personality

in reconvening with my school friends yesterday--which was oh-so-glorious (more on the CRP love fest later), unsurprisingly, the conversation stumbled into how the next semester would be treating us. we've been through the emotional rollercoasters, breakdowns and neurotic fits of rage and bouts of hilarious laughter for no explainable reason, and we bonded through it all. but what is to come of the next 3 1/2 months of our lives?

my first semester, i was happy social girl. onto one party and then off to the next. i loved school and thrived.

into the second, i stressed myself into a pit of despair. five tough classes, ta'ing for an extremely demanding prof, design competition, and writing a proposal for my internship which still has yet to end. oh and maintaining a relationship with scotty? yeah. you could say i cried.

summer i was overwhelmed. struck by everything nyc had to offer and confused about where i ended up in life. not sure i had ever experienced a feeling people call 'loneliness' and not sure how to handle it once said 'emotion' was identified. got a slight obsession with soft serve and gilmore girls.

and fall? it's my favorite season, hands down. i'm predicting OCD mode. i've got a thesis to write, which means many many hours on my own schedule. i've got a few more activities to juggle, and i'm striving for a more balanced life. iCal is already my best friend. i've got six different calendars with six different to-do lists....and counting. it's a brilliant application. i'm going to have almost every hour of the day accounted for...that includes eating, sleeping, and chill time. it's like what i used to do as a child. no really, at age 9, this is what my daily schedule looked like:

6:00am Wake Up
6:05am Take Bath (we didn't have a shower)
6:25am Brush Hair
6:30am Blow-dry Hair
6:45am Curl Hair
6:55am Eat Breakfast
7:10am Pack Backpack
7:20am Make Bed
7:30am Get Bus To School

and then somewhere between then and now i became a person who hasn't made her bed in like three years. the word rebellious my mom might deem too much of an understatement.

so here's to hoping i won't rebel against my attempt to become my 9-year-old self again.