Maryland Homecoming

So last week I (potentially) bored you with my thoughts on feminism, and this week I had some trouble finding a new topic to discuss. I have decided to stop just ranting about my life, so I have decided to become slightly controversial instead - yay. I will briefly fill you in on my life first though. I spent this past weekend at the University of Maryland for Homecoming and as you can probably guess IT. WAS. AWESOME.

Ok, so the main purpose of this post if about baseball, presidential debates, and football. As you all know, last night was the final presidential debate, along with the 7th game against the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals to get in to the world series, and an NFL game between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears.

Now, I have many thoughts on these things. First, why does all of the primetime television shows get cancelled for the debate while the sporting events get to continue as planned? This seems unfair to me. If the media is trying to encourage the public to really tune in to the debate, then cable channels should be either airing the debate or playing undesirable shows so people are basically forced to watch the debate. 

First: I will start with football. I hate football. Other games I understand and even appreciate, but football is just so, football. So basically, that is all I have to say on this matter. But I do love watching Maryland football, only because I love the Terps. 

Second: Baseball. For those of you who don't know, I love baseball. I am a true Dodger fan, but since they always disappoint, I take to watching the postseason regardless of who is playing. Oh, and I always root for the underdog. So when the Yankees were playing the Orioles I had a hard time finding friends here in New York. The Orioles put up a good fight and I was proud of them. But then the Yankees had to get and get swept by the Tigers? ARE YOU KIDDING?!? It's like they didn't even try! If only they played that way against the Orioles. ugh. So now that the World series is between the Giants and the Tigers I don't really care, but I will still probably watch the games just because they're on. 

Third: The debate. Did you watch the debate? I watched the debate! Even though I had already voted by mail i decided to watch the debate. If you haven't voted, or if you know who you are voting for, it's still good to watch because otherwise you won't get all the jokes being told for weeks after. So now I will post pictures of jokes from the debates. 

Well, needless to say that I am an Obama fan, and I am sorry if you are a fan of Romney in any way, but you did choose to read my blog. 

So the only point of posting about football, baseball, and presidential candidates in one post is that they were all on television on the same night at the same time. Which I feel is wrong, but it did give me something to write about. 

I Am A Feminist

Lately I have been compelled to write a post about the experience of being a woman in modern society. First and foremost, I believe that everyone should be a feminist, and that everyone should read the You Should be a Feminist blog. Second, I think people are confused about what it really means to be a feminist. I know what you are thinking - feminists are crazy people who think they are better than men and burn their bras- WRONG! According to google, the definition of a feminism is "The advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men." 

Do I believe that women are better than men? no. Do I believe that men are better than women? no. I believe that women and men should both be able to vote- which they now have the right to do but that was not always the case. I believe that men and women should have equal opportunity to run and hold political office, which is technically true, but not in practice. Do I think Sarah Palin would have been a good person to have in office? No. Is there any reason that Hillary Clinton can't serve as president? Nope. Hillary would probably be doing a great job. What about Michelle Obama, can you see her as the President of the United States? I sure can. Anyway, this blog post is not meant to be political, so I will move on. 

If I can perform the same job at the same level as a man, I believe that we should be receiving equal pay. In America, the average man makes $8,100 more than women on an annual basis. That's just not fair. I'm not saying that women should make more money than men, I just think there should be equal pay for equal work. 

Moving on. As you know, I have recently moved to New York. What you don't know is that every single Tuesday of my senior year of college was spent in the TV room of the sorority house watching Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.  This was probably the worst idea I could have ever had knowing that I would be moving to New York. While I know how unlikely it is to be randomly assaulted by a stranger on the street, I know that it can happen. So sorry men on the street, I automatically fear you because society has taught me to do so. Also, I live in a very safe neighborhood in Manhattan and only have to walk two blocks to the subway. Why must I pass a group of older men on the street thanking me for getting dressed up that day because they like to look at me? I didn't get dressed up for you, creepy old men! I'm just wearing jeans and a t-shirt to go to work - if I look good, it's for me! 

I guess what I am trying to say is that being a woman is hard. We are expected to be perfect - beyond perfect. We are expected to always look nice, which includes but is not limited to: hair, makeup, facial hair grooming, total body hair removal, clothes, and completely nonsensical shoes. Later in life, women are also expected to manage work, child-rearing, and housework while still looking nice. WE ARE NOT SUPERHEROES. Although, I do fancy my mom and my grandma superheroes. Maybe that's the secret. Maybe women ARE superheroes. Women find ways to take care of themselves and their families and make it look so easy. I personally think that my mom can do anything. Now, I know that's crazy and my mom is not actually a superhero and that kind of thought puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on her, but I still think it's true. Now think - are men superheroes? I don't think so. 

One of my favorite shows on television right now is NBC's Parenthood. I think it is a very realistic family dramedy that literally melts my heart every time I see it. Anyway, this last episode one of the main characters, Julia, had a total meltdown because she realized that she couldn't be a superhero. Let me fill you in: Julia and her husband have one biological daughter. They wanted to have more kids, were unable to get pregnant, so they adopted an older boy. Julia is a prominent lawyer at a respected law firm who was on the partner track. That's a lot of pressure, right? This week Julia realized that she needed more time to be a mom and take care of her family, which made her fail at work, which led her to quit her job. Now, Julia is lucky because she has an incredibly supportive husband who is a stay-at-home dad, but still, I can appreciate the panic attacks she had on Tuesday night. 

So anyway, all I am trying to say is that being a woman is hard. We all want to do everything ourselves and be perfect, but perfection is impossible. Striving for perfection is unrealistic and will lead to panic attacks, thanks Parenthood for that lesson! So think about it - what do YOU think the hardest part about being a woman is? Feel free to post comments!

Working Girl

Hi again,

so, as you know, yesterday was my very first day of work at the GAP! Let me be the first to tell you that it was just a little overwhelming. Since I used to work retail, I figured I was pretty prepared to work  retail in New York. HA! Could I have been more wrong? I don't think so. I have never seen more people come in and our of a store in my entire life. It was so crazy! From the time the store opened until I went home there were at least fifty people in the store at all times. Now that fifty is just a guess, but I'm assuming there were actually more people, but I have a hard time judging amount of people in an enclosed space.

So you know how sometimes you walk in to a store and everything is a mess and you are like, GOSH WHY IS EVERYTHING A MESS DOES ANYONE WORK HERE? Yes, people work there, and I will never judge a big, busy, store ever again. I spent half an hour folding clothes to make a table look beautiful, then move on to the next table. I would just go back and forth between tables all day because the second you leave the table customers come over and mess everything up! Newfound respect for retail workers - seriously. And when I wasn't folding clothes or helping customers on the sales floor, I was running up and down from the stock room to get different sizes for specific customers or to refill the stock that sells SO FAST!

After work I got to see my Big from my sorority, which was super fun! Today I was back to classes, and my next day at work is on Wednesday. 

Weekend Adventures

Hi All,

I hope I am catching you in the midst of a good weekend! This weekend was particularly enjoyable for me.

Well, let's back up a second.

As you know, I have been searching for a part-time job since my arrival in New York about a month and a half ago. Well last week my efforts were finally rewarded - yay - and I am now an employee of the Gap! To be completely honest, I used to dislike the gap. I thought it was a store for middle-aged people and blah blah blah. I could blame this on the fact that I grew up in the materialistic city of Los Angeles, and I'm going to. Recently, I have found myself stumbling in to the gap more and more often because of the super cute clothing in the window drawing me in. The clothes are fun, bright, cheery, fashionable, and most of all, reasonably priced (for the high quality of their items). I love working retail. I used to work at Nordstrom the summer after I graduated from high school. It's a great way to meet a bunch of people and actually have fun while you are at work. So my first day is tomorrow and I will definitely let you know how it goes. Also- I'm not going to publish the location of my job for everyone to see on the interwebs, but if we're friends and you want to visit me at work, just ask and I'll let you know.

Ok, back to this weekend. I found out I got this job and I panicked - if I have a part time job I will no longer have time for my friends in Maryland! My Thursday evening class was cancelled and I took it as an omen to impulsively go to Maryland to visit my best friend and my boyfriend because who knows when my next free weekend will be? (In two weeks, for homecoming, but still I was panicking). So I took the bus down on Thursday night and spent Thursday night and Friday catching up with my friend and going shopping. Who doesn't love shopping?! And I bought a new outfit for my first day of work, from the gap obviously. Then today, Saturday, we went back to the good old University of Maryland to tailgate for the football game. I don't particularly like football, so while my friend was at the game I spent the afternoon with my boyfriend - yay! Then we all got dinner together, and now I am sitting on the bus once again back to the Big Apple so I can be at work at 9:45am tomorrow (woah, early for me).

I wish I could say the fun stops there, but it doesn't! My big from my sorority is spending the night at my apartment tomorrow because she is down for the long weekend (not fair) from Boston. She's kind of a super genius and is getting her Ph.D in Biochemistry from Harvard - woah, right? I haven't seen her since LAST October, NOT OK - but that will all be remedied tomorrow. Also - I might be seeing another friend from Boston tomorrow or Monday, so all in all it has turned out to be quite an exciting weekend!

My Favorite Things

One of my most favorite things is...CHOCOLATE! Obviously. If you ever meet a girl who doesn't like chocolate, I would be weary of her. I am telling you this because yesterday I went to Hershey Park for the very first time. To be honest, I'm not super in to amusement parks and rides and stuff, but my boyfriend wanted to go with his family, and I do love chocolate, so we went. It ended up being a really fun day and I am very glad that we went! My favorite chocolate candy is Reese's, and I couldn't believe all of the different kinds of Reese's products that are in existence. Did you know that there is such a thing as a Reese's bar? I bet you didn't.

From GoogleImages

Yeah, that's exactly what it looks like. A hershey's candy bar stuffed with peanut butter! Let me be the first to tell you that it's delicious and dare I say better than a peanut butter cup?

Ryan and me at Hershey Park!

Anyway. School has been going really well, for those of you who were wondering. I feel like I am actually learning things in my classes that I can use in my career - it only took 16 years of structured education... My favorite assignment so far has been what is called a "pre-course interview" for my foundations of counseling class. We had to interview someone we didn't know very well (easy for me, just moved here) for 15 whole minutes, as a mini-therapy session. I was so nervous before I conducted the interview, but as I was doing it and after it felt so good and made me feel like I could really do this as my profession. It was an awesome experience and I can't wait for my future!

In non-school related news, I don't know if any of you know how obsessed I am with Erin Condren. Erin Condren is a designer who has an online boutique of basically anything you can think of that can be personalized. Now I know what you're thinking, tacky silver items that can be engraved - WRONG! She has iPhone cases, planners, stationery, note pads, note books, etc. I normally think this items are kind of boring, but hers are just so fun! She is super good at having specials on her items, which is when I usually order them. I just can't get enough!

My iPhone Case

My Planner (I can't rotate it, weird)

And now, because of her lovely sale promotion a few days ago, I have ordered personalized stationery to my collection!

My Stationery (mine will have my name, obviously)

How cute, right! I'm so excited for it to come! I love sending hand written notes of all kinds, and I think my new stationery will definitely help me continue my habit.

Overall, this week has been pretty fantastic, including the fact that I finally got a part-time job! I can't wait to start working and hopefully get a real routine going on here in New York. Ok, this is all for now, have fun shopping on ErinCondren.com! 

Back to the Grind

Hi bloggers and joggers,

Today, I decided to go to the gym. I know, I know, I have been in the city for the month and this was my first time at the gym! (please don't give me this lecture). A wise friend has told me that when it comes to running, if you don't use it, you lose it. Today I learned first hand that this is, indeed, true. I haven't run in about four months, and today I could barely run at all. I was on the treadmill for 35 minutes, and I only went 2.25 miles. PATHETIC.

From GoogleImages

Yup - that's basically what I felt like, a turtle on a treadmill. Whatever, I will keep with it and get back in shape, I promise myself. In addition to running, I also want to get in to biking. For now that means just alternating between treadmill and bike in the gym, but hopefully it will eventually lead to biking outside on a real bike. I think biking gives you a great opportunity to do something on your own, safely, and gives you the opportunity to really see a city. Lets just say it's something I'm thinking about. I'm also planning on starting this ab workout routine, I'll let you know what I think.

In other news - my classes are now in full swing and I am a little overwhelmed with the amount of reading I have. Everyone always says "Graduate school is a lot of reading," but you don't really comprehend the amount of reading they're talking about until you actually get there, trust me.

I perpetually feel like I have a never ending stack of reading to get done. For example, on the average week I have 200 pages of reading along with reflection papers and other various assignments. The good news? I have been able to keep up with all of my reading and assignments thus far, which is encouraging.

More next time, 

B

Fall In To School

Well, as you could guess by my title, school has started yet again! I am starting a brand new school for only the fifth time in my life, which I guess is pretty normal. I started off my educational journey at the ripe age of 3(ish) at Sinai Akiba Academy. From the time of mommy-and-me classes to the sixth grade I spent the majority of my time learning hebrew and other aspects of the Jewish religion while basically learning nothing about english grammar, or math, or anything else that would help me in the real world.   I started Harvard-Westlake School in the seventh grade and graduated from high school there in 2008. It was at HW that I came to understand how learning something new could be awesome. It was also where I learned that some subjects were just never going to make sense to me (i.e. chemistry). When I graduated from high school I started college at The University of Massachusetts, and let me tell you it was the worst four months of my life. I only lasted there a semester before I transferred to The University of Maryland where I had the best three and a half years of my entire life, so far at least. At UMD I was able to join an amazing sorority, find a major that made me excited to learn, and had experiences I will never forget. I was finally able to be confident in my academic life as well as my social life, and decided to study abroad (as you know), and apply to graduate school (as you also know). 

Today I had my orientation at Teachers College and I cannot wait to start my classes on Thursday. You could say that I am a nerd, but I really love school. I love school so much that I want to spend my life working within a school, but to do that I need to spend at least two more years experiencing more school for myself. On Thursday I will tell you all about my first class, yay!