Hola Amigas!

Once again I find myself updating my blog and eating Hershey's Miniatures instead of working. Worst. Employee. Ever. But I kid - I have been mostly productive the rest of the day. At least I've finally figured out how to keep my computer from crashing. It's been driving me insane. Grr. 866 MhZ just doesn't cut it anymore. Especially on a PC. I keep wondering what I have to do to finally move into the new century and off of Windows 98. I guess it could be worse - it could be Windows 95. Or, God help me, DOS. *shudder*

And, good times, I get a new month in my archive! Woo! Today I finished up this huge, huge project at work, which is pretty rewarding. Work has actually been more that a bit busy recently, and of course there's all kinds of other crazy-ass stuff going on, which I'll get to in just a moment (gah - just had flashback to Office Space...)

anyhoo...where was I? oh yes, July 15th...

(commence wavy flashback)

The orchestra concert was very fun. It was exciting that we were able to have it, although that was tempered somewhat by the fact that none of my friends were able to come hear it. The only thing we made a grand mess of was the Harry Potter suite. It was quite a doozy. But everything else we played pretty well. I had to sight read The Sound of Music, and I screwed up Edelweis (my favorite song!) but on the whole I think it was ok.

Weekend

On that Saturday (the 17th) I took a one-morning self defense class, which was very interesting. I think it's a worthwhile thing for almost anyone to know. I think, as a woman, that sometimes the instinct to assist can overwhelm the instinct to run far, far away, and the class said a lot about trusting one's instinct of danger and not presenting oneself as a good target.

After that I sprinted to the bank to get quarters, and then, because I was downtown, I was inevitably drawn to a quick stop at H&M, where I got a couple of adorable pairs of earrings (accessories are a guaranteed winner). ;) Then I went home and cleaned my car, inside and out. I hadn't done a single thing for months, so it was quite an endeavor. I usually don't keep just random stuff all over my car, but naturally the outdoor crap does quite a good job of accummlating. When I was done, it was actually the cleanest it had been since it left the dealer. :)

That night Amanda and I went to dinner with some other friends and then went to go see Super Size Me, which was fascinating. I haven't eaten fast food with quite the same fervor ever since reading Fast Food Nation, and this had much the same effect. I think it just really said a lot about Americans' relationship with food, as well as how much influence the food companies have on what we eat. It's truly a vicious cycle - the food companies really come out looking like they have all the power. Although it must say something that there have been more developments recently in bringing better choices to the market. Heh - and no more supersizing!

Sunday I spent a lot of the day working on the unpacking and doing more laundry than I have ever done in my entire life (mostly leftover from the Cape...oy), and then when Jens got back, we went out to dinner with his friend Anita (the one he was visiting in NYC, along with a bunch of other Cornell people). She was really nice. Apparently the reason for her trip was that one of the guys they knew got married to his boyfriend on that Saturday at Cornell. Aw.

Multimedia Adventures

Mostly what I remember about the week after that was that it was hot. Hot hot hot. Not so much that Jens deigned to turn on the A/C, natch... ;) Tuesday I bought a second-hand VCR. I probably shouldn't explain why, because it would sound really, really bad. And not like that, people! Let's just say that Amanda and I are models of modern American excess. Tuesday Jens and I watched TAR, Wednesday we set up the TiVo (finally! yay!), and not only did we set it up, he was able to arrange the cables so that we can, without doing anything, 1) watch TV, 2) record TV, 3) use the VCR, AND 4) use the DVD player. This is not all at the same time (just one at a time), but before we were using my cruddy tv which had no A/V inputs, so all of this was just not possible. Now, however, it's all good. =) Thursday after work I went to a free concert downtown by Fountains of Wayne. They rock. Stacy's Mom only gets better and better with each hearing. I just got Utopia Parkway, and I hope it's as good as Welcome Interstate Managers. Then I met up with Amanda, Kate, Jose, Jens, Jess, and her boyfriend to see Much Ado About Nothing, as put on by the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. It's definitely one of the best things to do in Boston in the summer. They put up a stage in the Boston Common, and then everyone brings blankets and food and sits out under the stars to watch Shakespeare. Mmm. I really like it when they do comedies, too. Somehow the tragedies can just be too much for summer. I had never actually seen any performance of Much Ado (shocking, isn't it??), so I really enjoyed it. The actors playing the main characters were actually married in real life, too.

The weekend was pretty uneventful (should have known - calm before the storm). I finally got my car emissions checked (a whole six days early!), and spent most of the rest of the day (what else?) unpacking. I finally got the bathroom all organized (did anyone else realize that I had not one, not two, but three spare gigantic bottles of body wash??).

The DNC comes to Boston

Sunday was interesting because I had my first shift as a volunteer for the Democratic National Convention. Woo!! The first shift was neat. I was assigned to be one of the people answering the phones, which is where all the incoming calls to the DNC hotline were routed. After a brief training and watching someone else answer phones for a little while, they set each of us up with our own phone and computer. It worked out ok because the phones weren't ringing off the hook or anything like that. Most of the questions were pretty mundane, and a lot of the calls were from volunteers that either were a) missing materials or b) needed to change their shifts. We were all required to wear the volunteer polo shirts (which we got to keep - such excitement!), khakis, and closed toe shoes. Yeah, I kind of fudged on that last one. It is summer after all! The coolest thing about volunteering was that I met this great girl. It had to have been one of the most hilarious conversations in memory (but only in my memory). (to set the scene, we were sitting at the computers, and then walking to the volunteer lounge, and clearly, there is a lot of paraphrasing going on...)

Shilpa (that's her): I can't wait to go see Garden State.
Me: Me either. I adore Zach Braff.
S: Check out the article in the NYT on the movie.
M: Cool. [reads article, then surfs over to Weddings and Celebrations]
M: Yay - a new Vows column!
S: No way, I always read that too!
M: Hey, want to check out the volunteer lounge?
S: Sure. Sorry if I'm limping, I got a bit injured in a softball game on Friday night.
M: Oh, no problem. I play softball too, and on Friday nights.
S: Is it an alum league?
M: Yeah... [crazy music starts...]
S: An Ivy League alumni league?
M: Yeah...[hits fever pitch]
S: I play with Columbia!
M: I play with Dartmouth!
S: No!
M: No!

So, basically, we both love movies, we both love the NYT, and we play in the same freakin' softball league! So, in actuality, we had technically met before, because Dartmouth played Penn/Columbia at some point early in the season. Anyways, clearly one of the bigger coincidences that has happened lately. It was most amusing.

and donuts!!

Of course, it gets even better, because after volunteering, I wandered around the shopping center next door, and what did I find but...a Krispy Kreme! YUM. I immediately bought one donut (glazed creme filled). Cloud nine. What can I say? I hadn't really eaten yet either. ;) On my way out I bought a chocolate frosted and a classic glazed. Yum Yum and...Yum. Don't worry - I shared with Jens when I got home.

Monday I volunteered again, and there were so few calls that they sent us home early. Oh well. I kind of felt like I had had my fill, so I called up and cancelled my last shift. It was neat having the DNC here, though. Aside from the draconian security measures. What could have been better than nominating Kerry in his home state?? And although it's only almost all for show, it was cool to see all of the prominent Democrats come out and say their piece. The place where I was volunteering was far away from the actual convention, so I didn't get to see any VIPs. :( It felt good to be a part of the whole goings-on, though.

What do they call these things now? I guess we can go with "couples shower"...

Friday (the 30th) Jodie, a Dartmouth '00 arrived in town, fresh from a several state and country tour. She and I are both bridesmaids in our friend Karilyn's wedding (which is in just over two (2!) weeks). She had just been checking out her new home in Columbus, OH, where she's going for grad school in biology. She was staying with me for Karilyn and Andrew's shower on Saturday. We had volunteered to make a few items to bring to the shower, so we made those up Friday night. She made shish kebobs, and I made cupcakes and pasta salad. The cupcakes were marble cake mix (mmm) with white frosting. I ended up decorating them to spell out KARILYN ANDREW HEISEN. Hee. :) Of course the people at the shower wanted to know "who" that was. ;)

Saturday of the shower Jens and I took off a bit early, and Jodie (and the food) got picked up by another Bostonian going to the shower. We drove over to just outside Worcester to pick up all my materials for the triathlon I was doing the next day. Yes, triathlon. Earlier in the week I had thought about bagging the whole thing, but I reasoned that I had paid for it and that I had been doing my training pretty well up until June, so I would still probably be able to complete it, albeit not very fast. And I wasn't sure about the swimming part, considering I hadn't been swimming for a couple months! eek! But it was only a half mile swim.

Anyways, after that we drove up to Keene NH for the shower. It was good to see Karilyn and Andrew, becuase it had really been ages. I also got to meet some of their friends who I hadn't known before. It was a nice day, so we were able to hang out, eat lots of good food, and play some volleyball. The bride only got smacked in the face with the ball once, too! (AND by the maid of honor...) No, really, it was fine. :) At least we hope she'll be recovered by the wedding. ;)

TRIATHLON

Yes, the big event. It was about an hour's drive to the race location (start time: 7AM), so I left my apartment at about 5:30 and drove over. I had *all* my supplies: bike, helmet, swim cap, swimsuit, goggles, shoes, socks, shorts, tee, water bottle, food for after the race, etc. When I got there I had to park a bit away from the race site, so I rode my bike to the staging area and set up my gear. I had dressed just in my swim suit, and then I laid out my shorts and tank to wear for the bike/run, as well as my socks and shoes. I was in the second "wave" of the race, i.e., the second group of people to start the swim. I was rather nervous at the beginning, but by the time they had us down and into the water, I just went for it! The swim was actually pretty fun, once I got into it. It was in a big lake, and we basically swam in a squarish-trapezoidal shape, out, down, and back. That went pretty well. Then, the bike. The less said about that, the better! Ugh. The hills were crazy. I couldn't believe I made it all the way through that course. Of course, it didn't help that I was riding my Ames $100 special bike with all of five gears! ;) If I do this next year, I'm definitely getting a better bike. The run was probably my favorite part. I had actually starting running on the treadmill back in April/May as part of my training, and I found that contrary to my previous experience, it actually worked for me as a workout. I used to hate it, too! I think I like it because it's so easy to do - it's just running. All you need is your shoes and the road. I had also read a training book earlier, and I think I fixed a couple things about my technique, which helped quite a bit. I finished the run, and then I was done! Whew! In all of 1 hour 56 minutes. The distances I did were: 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, and over 3 mile run. The run was definitely my best segment - I averaged an 8:40 mile, which I was very happy with after having done the swim and bike. My overall standing was about the 80th percentile, clearly not that great, but ok considering how miserable the bike was. If only they made biathlons with just swimming and running! I'd do that in a second! :) Or maybe just a triathlon with a flatter biking course. I'm thinking about doing it next year, but we'll see. I think I'd have to be more sure that I could commit more time to training.

As if that wasn't enough fun for one day...

I stopped at the mall on the way home from the race to pick up a couple things I needed (and a couple I didn't, like a BOGO pair of shoes from Payless...but they're so cute! (I swear, they're really close to a Michelle K pair I wanted last year that cost $150...clearly out of my price range. These ones, not so much.) So, I come out of Old Navy, and I get in my car. Naturally, I try to start the car. Car refuses to start. Repeatedly. Call Dad. "Dad, you know about cars...what the hell?" He gave me some advice, none of which worked. *sigh* Call AAA. They send tow truck. Supposedly. Meanwhile, here I am. I have not eaten a full meal all day, and I just competed in a triathlon. I was not quite in the right state of mind to get stuck in a parking lot not near home with a malfunctioning car. Well, I was in some sort of state. I did use the opportunity of sitting around not being able to do anything to catch up on my phone calls. :) Jens called from work and spent a half hour commiserating with me, which was very nice of him. The tow truck took so long to show up (2 - TWO! - hours) that the dealer I had planned to take the car to was going to close and I couldn't leave it there. So in a matter of seconds, I called Amanda to find the number of another dealer, called them up, and ascertained that they did in fact have a late night drop box. Whew. So, we towed the car and Amanda came to pick me up from where we left it. *sniff*

The best part (in a completely ironic way, of course)

Monday morning, I am awoken by a call from the Chevy dealer. In yet another of the most hilarious conversations from recent days, it goes a little like this:

Chevy guy: You the one with the car that doesn't start?
Me: Yes.
C: It starts.
M: NOOO way.
C: Yes
M: No.
C: Yes.
M: No.
C: I'm really not kidding.
M: I swear to God it didn't yesterday. I tried it a billion times.
C: Well it does now.
M: Huh. Well, color me flabbergasted.

Yessirree, my car magically started again. Goody. So the good part about that: no need to fix anything. Well, sort of. While they had it in the shop, they ran a diagnostic, which didn't come up with much of anything, except that there seemed to have been an error in it at some point recently. Jens, who sees the forest where I see the trees, says, "well, didn't you say that the anti-theft light had been staying on recently when you started the car?" *Jane smacks head* But of course he's right. So that's the running hypothesis. :) But, it wasn't all bad, because while they had the car, they fixed the recall notice that was on it and repaired my ventilation system, which had blown a fuse and developed the nasty habit of either blowing much too much air or not at all. So, aside from the towing fee, not at all a bad deal. Especially since my brand new extended warranty covered it all. =)

So, that was enough eventful for this week. Otherwise it has been farily low key. More TAR-watching (ooh, Egypt and the pyramids! the memories...), a nice double date dinner with Steve, Jose, Jens and me, and that's about it. I finished a book called Bling by Erica Kennedy, which was quite interesting. Completely different world than the ones I usually read about. V. fun too. Now I have to start my book club book!

Tomorrow we start softball playoffs, when we have a rematch with...Cornell! This time Jens won't be out of town so he has no excuse! May the best school win. ;) On Saturday I'm getting my hair cut at a new place. Amanda got her hair done there a couple weeks ago (on the recommendation of another of our friends) and it came out very well so now I'm going to try the stylist out. On Sunday Jens and I have our make-up dinner for our three month anniversary. It should have been last Sunday, but apparently when I made my hints about a dinner on Sunday, this is the one he thought I was referring to. Yeah, well... He ended up working pretty late last Sunday because it was the start of the month, so it wouldn't have worked that well anyways. And he came over and consoled me about my car after he got off of work anyways, so I didn't mind. =) It's still going really well. The one thing I have realized, though, is that these things are not so simple as I would have thought. I really always thought (clearly because of lack of experience, but whatever) that if I could find someone I love and that loves me, that would be it. And he does have virtually everything I would have hoped to find in a guy. But then it's alternately a bit frightening and claustrophobic to think, "this is it." And it doesn't have anything to do with him, but just the idea of "it," that thing that all are supposedly searching for. I am probably too influenced by societal expectations and media, but at this point it is a bit difficult to separate one's personal sphere from those two spheres and really consider things independent of them. Time will tell, I think. For now, all is good. =)