diana banana

my first painting

2009-03-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

it's been awhile since i've updated. i wasn't going to, but steven thought it would be a good idea and I agreed. Sometimes I need a little external motivation to do something. Basically, my friend Patrick let me come out to his studio space and create this work of art. I have been going through all this emotional stuff lately, and have been overly analytic. I need some type of artistic outlet because my mind isn't able to grasp everything that's been going on.. I had been thinking a lot about metaphors to try and figure it out, and came up with the idea for this painting. I had so much fun making it- patrick even showed me how to stretch the canvass myself, so i literally made the entire piece myself (well, with some help with the canvas from patrick)

below are some photos from the event.

scrabble pictures

2008-11-13T22:16:00.000-08:00

this is a picture during the only game i won that night.

this is a picture of the two coolest buddies i made that night. the dude's name is paul and he is hilarious. i think the woman's name is heather and she was excellent company on the train ride home.

this is the facilitator going over how to use the timers. apparently he thinks we are morons. he is a little bit strict, but i still loved that he ran the show and got so many prizes donated. he is a good guy in my book.

scrabble, coffee and school

2008-11-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

that is my life this past weekend.
this week is one of my busier weeks and i am sure that next week will be on par. it's the end of semester, so i am currently spending most of my days drinking coffee and eating bagel sandwiches at mercury and swim cafe, eyes glued to my laptop, highlighter in hand. it's not bad, actually. as much as i complain about it, i really enjoy the process of learning. call me a nerd, but i love school even though it can stress me out at times.

last night was my scrabble tournament. it started at 3:30 and ended at 10:30! it was a lot of fun. I played well for my skill level- not the best i've ever played, but not the worst. I got two bingos (one being 'persona' and the other being 'eloping') and walked away with two books, two cookies and a 15-dollar gift card for some japanese restaurant. i ranked 17/21, which goes to show how fierce the competition was. the fun thing about it was that it didn't seem competitive. people were there to play their best and have a good time. the high score of the night was 497!!! that is CRAZY!! it is inspiring, really! so yes, i had a lot of fun and i'm glad i went. also, food was included and swim cafe served free coffee and made this delicious sweet potato and black bean dish, salad and a homemade apple cobbler with ice cream for dessert!

i've also been practicing yoga a lot to maintain my sanity. it seems like yoga is the one consistent thing in my life and i really value it. this morning josh and i went to a 6:30am class and i feel great. i love practicing so early in the morning. i am really tired to start with, and my body takes much longer to wake up, but it heightens my body awareness and by the end i feel so energized and the fact that i am up so early and have that great of a start to my day inspires me to be productive and tackle the things i need to tackle. for example, it is 11am right now and i have a)practiced yoga b) ate a delicious breakfast of steel cut oatmeal and fresh fruit with soymilk c) read 4 articles for class tonight and d) updated my blog. and it's only 11!!!

okay. thanks for reading and i hope to post some pictures from the tournament soon.

fuck yeah!

2008-11-05T07:04:00.001-08:00

barack obama is president and me and some of my closest friends were there to witness it.

it's been awhile

2008-10-27T11:21:00.001-07:00

and i realize there is too much to update in one post.

things are okay. i am trying. just trying.
academically i am feeling a bit underwhelmed. I am happy with the amount of work- it's enough to keep me busy but not too much where I am going to go crazy. The quality of the work is what underwhelms me. I'm not convinced I have a place in urban planning. I just don't feel interested in a majority of the work to date. That's not to say it's not interesting or I could become more engaged in later semesters. I'm still going to continue working hard and trying to find my place within this sphere.

socially things are up and down. I am making a pretty big effort to go out and explore the city and make new friends. last week I went to the california clipper with a group-- it's been a bar/lounge since the 30s and has a ghost!

Here is a picture of the bar when it first opened:

Here is a picture of the woman who a psychic identified as the ghost:

Things that I am looking forward to include the following:
1. meghan's visit in december!!
2. getting to see julie's new apartment when i visit for thanksgiving
3. california for christmas!
4. volunteering for redtail farms next season! (i shopped there regularly this season at the market by my house and the farmers are this young, hipster couple and we discussed me helping next season at the market)
5. working on this new song i am writing for piano, maybe even finishing it

2008-09-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

has anyone else seen the new commercials trying to stop the hate on high fructose corn syrup??

i can't figure out how to post the video in my blog, but here's the link

i'm sorry, i like hating on HFCS!
sure it's not the worst thing in the world for you, but it's what it stands for. it supports the entire system of unsustainable agriculture i am trying to fight. one that idolizes mass monocrop corn production, is ruining small, diverse farms and is probably one of the lease energy efficient ways to sweeten overly processed plastic foods that fuck with people's taste buds!

AND, the woman in the commercial was totally on buffy for a few episodes in the 4th season and i hated her character then, too!

more than a month??

2008-08-30T16:49:00.000-07:00

well, i won't bore everyone with the entire past month, but here are some highlights (with pictures!) in my recent memory.

1. josh and i went to critical mass yesterday. there were literally thousands of cyclists and we took over the street and it was totally insane and so much fun. at one point i saw two cyclists with a stereo attached in the middle, blaring classical music. everyone went silent for a good minute to listen to it. eerie.

anyway, before the route got started, josh and i got our pictures taken for bike salute. there is a guy trying to get 1000 pictures of people with their bikes over their heads:

2. steven is such a good roommate. i have been craving sushi pretty much the entire month, but have been too broke to treat myself. steven decided to take me to coast, which is one of the better sushi places in chicago. it was just what i needed that day-- good company (steven, josh and i) and good sushi! i guess i sort of need that every day, but it seemed extra special last week when it happened. we went all out and here are some photos from our dinner:

3. we got a puppy!! well, it's steven's puppy, but since i live with him it's like it's mine. i was nervous at first to live with a dog. then i saw him, fell in love and all my worries went away.

4. classes have officially started. so far nothing seems too demanding.. it seems a lot like undergrad except more students pay attention. it's only the first week, so we'll see how long this phase lasts, but right now i'm pretty happy about the workload. still no word on my research gig, but time will also tell that story. i just get to wait it out.

pictures coming soon

2008-07-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

as soon as i find the cord to upload photos from my camera.

the apartment is coming along, coming along. we FINALLY got internet and cable today. i don't care so much about cable as i do the internet. it's very nice to have you, back!

saturday i went to chris's housewarming party/birthday celebration. i had a pretty good time. played guitar hero for the first time and got to meet some of his coworkers, who were really cool. kevin and greg came in from lansing and it was really good to see them.

i've also been watching a lot of X Files with steven. he has the entire series on dvd so it is keeping me busy! i need to admit how cute david d WAS. so pouty and mysterious in the show! and young!

other than that.. not much. i am waiting joseph's arrival to the city. not sure what we're doing, but it's about the company anyway :)

the last of it

2008-07-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

well i'm officially in that weird limbo where i'm just waiting to move. emotionally i am ready to get OUT of here. i'm tired of waiting and I can say that I'm ready to face the physical challenge of moving to just DO IT. i get to wait until Monday, though.

until then my days are fairly jam-packed. today i work 3 - 11 and then i am trying to get as many people as possible to come out dancing with me at Luna. so far i have a few people confirmed and a lot of possibles. julie is definitely going, which is most important and if Nicole can sway her bff's birthday bash to dancing then she is in, too. plus people from my work and hopefully a few fellow yogis.

tomorrow: suzanne's last vinyasa class followed by homemade waffles and scrambles tofu with the family for our last brunch together. then i work 5 until close.

and sunday i have Rob's last vinyasa class, which will be extremely emotional for me. but it will also be a lot of fun i bet. afterwards a bunch of us are getting tea and having brunch, which will be so nice. i'm really going to miss the yoga shelter a lot. i hope to practice every time i come back to visit.
then i get to finish packing, cleaning, get the van and hopefully some rest before i hit the road monday morning.

annnd, i'm out.
and i'm ready.

moving!

2008-06-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

well, steven and I made a very brief but very productive trip to chicago the other day. Amidst many dingy apartments with coffin-sized bedrooms, we found and secured our new apartment.

It is cheap, close to the blue line in Logan Square and oh so cute and the bedrooms are a really nice size. The living space is tiny, but both Steven and I concluded that we'd rather each have a nice bedroom and sacrifice a little living space. Here are some pictures-- i didn't take them but they're from the craigslist ad.

oh, and the lease starts July 15 so i am totally freaking out about moving in two weeks.

official

2008-06-19T12:06:00.001-07:00

so i am officially published!
the article isn't technically out yet, and it actually isn't in a 'peer reviewed' edition of the journal, but i am still really excited about it.

it's in the Journal of Food Research and Distribution and the title is
here is a link if anyone would like to read it. or at least see my name.

the yoga retreat was awesome
i keep processing it more and more every day, taking away something new.
the big crazy thing i did, that really pushed me to my edge was i HELD A TARANTULA. and yes, i am still scared of them, but the idea of touching one doesn't make me want to cry anymore, so i think that is progress.

retreat!

2008-06-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

well, even though i am very nervous/apprehensive about going to this retreat, i am also very excited and think it will be very helpful and inspiring for me. In two weeks I am going to the very exotic land of Holly, MI for a yoga retreat

will i be the youngest person there? the most socially awkward? the only one to not make a breakthrough? the only one worrying about stuff like this? i'm not sure, but i am going anyway.

saturday morning

2008-05-31T12:17:00.000-07:00

this morning has been really great so far. nothing extraordinary happened.. but i did get up and go to yoga, which is the best way to start my day. it was Suzanne's class and her voice is so angelic and soothing i couldn't help but feel at peace afterwards. Then I went to the farmer's market and picked up some mushrooms, lettuce and 'hydroponic cucumbers and tomatoes' which means they were grown in water, not dirt and in a greenhouse. organically, of course. i love supporting local farmers. it makes me feel good about myself, like i am taking action on my value system instead of just contemplating my values. same thing about riding my bike.

speaking of my bike-- i just went to Albe's Bike Shop and got reflectors put on so I dont' have to worry about dusk-time driving. for free, i might add. AND the dude was really cute! it was a good visit to the shop!

the other thing that made today so lovely was lunch at Inn Season with julie and my mom. i got the basil-pesto (yes nicky, i got pesto) seitan open face sandwich with grilled eggplant and coleslaw and corn chips.

work later, for now relaxing and watching my mom scratch her instant lottery ticket. cashword multiplier.

two for free movies

2008-05-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

so i just got back from the longest bike ride i've ever embarked on. For the cycling enthusiasts it will seem like no big deal, but for me it was.

it started the other day when i rode my bike to Rob's for a bonfire and felt so good about not having to drive. i got excited and motivated and found myself thinking that i could bike to work and back. so today i decided to ride my bike to family video (i wasn't working) to see how long it would take. I think i am really fast because it only took about 32 minutes to ride 8 miles. granted i was a bit sweaty by the time i got there, but it didn't seem that bad! AND, there is a new policy where workers get the 2/$1 movies for free, so I rented

and

and i am still motivated/excited so i think i am going to ride my bike to yoga tomorrow morning instead of driving! we'll see how i feel in the morning though.

being mindful

2008-05-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

so even though a lot has been going on, i always think i have nothing too important to update my blog with. that's a lie though because i think life in general is important no matter what one 'does' to occupy the time. i've been thinking a lot about time and what i do with it and how none of it really matters unless if i'm paying attention to it. one moment i could be planting a tree, pulling a weed, staring off into space, striking a warrior pose, reading, updating this blog.. all this stuff.. and it's not until i pass judgments on it that i deem it good or bad or become attached to it.
in theory, sitting down is just as meaningful as taking a run or cleaning the bathroom.

i heard this analogy the other day when i was listening to Guatam Jain
The analogy was about how when we attach to things our experience of something can change and either lead to suffering or to joy. He used the example of buying a new, expensive car and it's your first time driving it and you hit a giant pothole. The initial reaction by most is that it hurts your heart and you become worried or upset. Now, picture the same exact car and situation, except it's a rental. You may not even care about the pothole. In fact, you might notice the car's superb suspension! it's the detachment from the car that allows us to remain present in the situation.

anyway, he talked about a lot more things and i could probably discuss them forever but one analogy is enough for one blog update.

i get to hang out with Jenny tonight and i am so excited! We're actually going to Guatam Jain's third lecture so I am also looking forward to learning more from him. And maybe we'll go to the new Panera Bread that opened in Birmingham, too.

Okay, time for me to get clean and run some errands. Hope everyone is doing well!

east coast to the west coast

2008-05-10T10:26:00.003-07:00

breathe. relax. settle back in. i have to remind myself of these tips daily.

two weeks ago i was in Washington DC visiting nate and meghan. I forgot if i updated anything about that, but in a nutshell it was a fantastic trip. i got to meet all three (yes, three!) of meghan's cats, sleep on a tempurpedic-padded queen size bed and eat lots of vegan food. and of course spend time with one of my best girlfriends who i wish lived closer so that i could gossip with ALL THE TIME. and start a vegetable garden with! unfortunately i didn't get to go dancing because it was raining the night of bliss and i didn't want to walk in the rain and dance with soggy socks. however, i did get to ride a tandem (a 2-person bike) with Nate and all i could keep saying was "this is so cute. i can't believe how cute this is."

last weekend i visited Joseph in Tacoma and Jenny + Evan showed up, too. it was so much fun and i got to see so many things in the city. Tacoma, Seattle and a day trip to Portland. We ate really good food, saw really beautiful parks and also got invited to a high school kegger. literally we saw a gang of 15-20 high schoolers carrying a keg, a tap and lots of red plastic cups to this abandoned manufacturing plant-turned park to party and we got an invite during their stroll. we declined. and joked about calling the police. ha. but it was really great seeing joseph and getting insight to how he's been living his life the past two years! i only wish the midwest landscaping was as beautiful as the west.

now i am sipping on coffee waiting to go to work for a whopping three hours. i am wearing a freshly ironed skirt and it still feels warm. my mom is sick and watned subway so i got myself a foot long veggie sub and somehow ate all of it plus chips and i am glad i waited on going to Shakers for a hot fudge sunday because i am really full right now.

oh, last night Jenny and I snuck into the movies, too. we are so bad!

more later
i hope you all enjoy your day

happy earth day

2008-04-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

i don't have any particular plans.
i try to behave like you have to respect the earth every day.

but i might wear green.

and here is something very cute to look at:

never say never

2008-04-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

so i am getting over being sick. i used to say that i never get sick, but apparently i am a liar because i got sick. and it was terrible! i spent the first two days denying that i was sick, one day spent completely bedridden and today i am feeling a bit better but have to take it easy because in a few days i will be on a plane to DC!

but yesterday when i was at work, hyped up on caffeine, kevin AND christy visited me! it was very exciting. I love getting visitors at work. It's like a breath of fresh air. Just the pick-me-up I needed.

Today I am trying really hard to not exert myself. I have more energy, so I want to do things like clean and go to yoga and it's really hard to relax.

fuck yeah

2008-04-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

i just heard from UIC and it looks like i will be going there!!

full tuition scholarship.
living stipend.

i can't even believe it.

no encouragement needed

2008-04-07T08:05:00.000-07:00

today is the first really nice day of spring. I thought yesterday was nice, and today it is really nice. I woke up and had a hearty breakfast and then went on a half-hour bike ride. My mom and I are going to play tennis soon. Later Kathy and I are going to do yoga and walk around outside and have a fabulous dinner. This makes me so happy.

I remember when I used to hate moving in general, but now it brings me so much happiness. I also remember never having the energy to be active (and usually forcing myself to be active anyway). Now I can just go for a bike ride because I can and I want to. No prompting by anything except my desire. it's so nice.

yesterday the fam came over and we had brunch and took a walk through the nature center. I don't know why I haven't been back there since I've been home (perhaps the weather, but I honestly forgot it was here). Afterwards I went over to Rob's and got to meet his cats and sit in front of his fire pit...

lately i've been doing things like this and it's been such a nice reprieve from boredom and disconnectedness. It's not to say that I'm happy all of the time. I'm not. But I'm getting used to the idea that I can be happy and I can be sad at the same time. It's not "i'm in a good mood or i'm in a bad mood" it can (and is) both. which i think is normal. and if it's not, please don't tell me. thanks.

sleeping in

2008-03-28T09:20:00.001-07:00

this morning i didn't wake up until 10:45am. Yesterday I didn't get up until 10:30am. Maybe tomorrow I will sleep until 11! I doubt that, because I love suzanne's morning vinyasa class too much to sleep through it.

I started doing flyering for the yoga shelter in exchange for free yoga. I spoke with Steve, the owner, about working something out for yoga because I am struggling with money and he didn't even hesitate. The exchange literally took 3 minutes before i had a month unlimited pass. So the other day I went to Birmingham to put fliers in local businesses there, and people had a lot of animosity. I thought it was weird and it made me feel like i was some unwanted solicitor. Then, I went to Royal Oak to flier, and I literally ran out of fliers. The community there is so much more supportive and welcoming than Birmingham. It was totally bizarre.

Not much else... my sister Nicole made banana cream pie for easter and it was SO GOOD. My mom made rice pudding which was also delicious. It has inspired me to try and make it vegan style, since I like soymilk better. And I think I'll use brown rice, too. this is all a plan, anyway.

AND! I get to go to DC the end of April to visit meghan!! This make me very excited.
AND! the weekend after that I get to go to Seattle to visit joseph!!

Can April be almost over yet??

tax returns

2008-03-15T10:06:00.001-07:00

are awesome. i now have enough money to pay for the groceries i just bought (yes, i am sort of a food snob and pay too much money for food, but i don't even care) AND i will be buying a new pair of jeans, i hope.

i work tonight at 4. not happy. but i can wear jeans to work because it's a holiday weekend!

lately i have been trying to acquire a taste for Kombucha. I just drank a whole bottle of the strawberry kind. It's still pretty potent to me, but it felt good afterwards.

last night i ate lots and lots of sushi. spicy asparagus rolls, futumaki rolls, edamame, and more. it was delicious.

oolong formosa

2008-03-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

that's the type of tea i am currently drinking, and it's delicious. I almost always get the gunpowder green, but my life is changing drastically, why not my tea consumption?

yesterday nicole came into town and so i got to hang out with both sisters at the same time. we drank coffee and shopped and it was really fun. i also got a pair of brown rocketdogs for 8 dollars, which also made me happy.

today i have had nothing to do all day, so i laid in bed for awhile, and have been reading/writing/internetting most of the day at bean and leaf. it's been good, but i'm feeling a little restless now. i'll take the breather, though, because i seriously feel like my mind has been racing nonstop for the past two weeks. just so much stuff has been going on. it's really nothing too crazy, but i typically just close myself off to these types of things, so i'm not used to it.

another tidbit: i got into UIC! I won't know about funding, so it doesn't help my decision currently, but I did just decline to UBC. The idea of moving so far away was really stressing me out. as sad as i am about not getting to do that program, and not live by the mountains and the ocean simultaneously.. i feel good with the decision. the releif outweighs the sadness.

so, steven, we are one step closer to being chicago roomies!

and, meghan, i need to come to dc sometime soon and ashtanga with you.

decisions

2008-03-05T13:18:00.000-08:00

i am so confused about grad school, still.

british columbia... the school itself is very cheap and i did get an international student scholarship to cover internation fees.. it would only be around 3600/year which is insanely cheap. however, i'd have to consider the cost of living in vancouver is much higher. I think I could hopefully get some more scholarships, and I think I could get a research assistancship, says my potential faculty advisor. He says that most students are on some type of scholarship/funding. Vancouver would be amazing. Beautiful. It's also very far away and it would be a huge transition.

university of Michigan... they are giving me a lot of money, so tuition would be close to free. maybe 2000? Cost of living in ann arbor is fairly high, too, but it seems more affordable because i wouldn't have to spend much money actually moving out there. I know I love ann arbor, and it wouldn't be such a huge transition. However, I feel like grad school is this next level in my life and I don't want to think that i'm just "moving back" to ann arbor.

UIC NEEDS TO GET BACK TO ME.

i wish i knew.

how fast can time go by?

2008-03-02T14:03:00.001-08:00

as apparent from the past two weeks, it can go by lightening speed.

i don't even know where to begin. I am not going to bore anyone with all the details about what's been up.. but in general it consisted of a lot of hanging out and seeing old friends. I've put off sleeping to hang out more than usual, and that is coming to bite me in the ass today. The trip to South Bend/Chicago was really great. I went in the B+W photo booth with joseph and chris and got really awesome pix out of it. however, i was so tired that by the end of the night all i could do was get aggitated and keep saying "i'm not staying in chicago tonight. we're leaving tonight. i'm not staying." i was able to enjoy all the great company, though. Chase's band was really good and it was so cool to see a crowded room at a local show! they seem to have a pretty decent following. maybe it's just because chicago is cooler than lansing, but when a room is full and everyone is watching the band it makes me think they are going to 'make it' even on some small scale.

today i had to wake up at 7am for a work meeting, which was pointless. and all my coworkers talk about the AM behind her back and also this girl Katy, who is getting fired anyway. part of me likes being in on the gossip, but mostly i feel bad. i don't like when people are hating on other people, especially in a work setting. i guess i am just insecure and think they could be talking about me, too. they tell me they like me, though. it still doesn't make the whole situation any better. the thing is, I like the AM! I mean, she's a little strung out and 'by the book' but she's just doing her job and she's pretty funny and very efficient.

anyway. i took a two-hour nap today and am drinking coffee now. i work in a bit, which i am not looking forward to, but will gladly accept any and all hours.

hoping everyone is having a good day.