Monthly Archives: October 2010

>the beauty of morningside heights

Posted by Laura

Laura has followed and chronicled our summer adventures of living and traveling on the road so poignantly and with such a humorous, realistic voice. I can only hope to write half as beautifully when I guest write on her blog.

I honestly miss reliving my past life every few days through those blog posts. Besides our roadtrip being the opportunity of a lifetime to spend some time together with my best friend, one of the main things Laura and I learned on our trip is the wonderfully beautiful idea that (and im stealing this from Laura’s blog post) the beauty of the States, and our world is not just found in a national park , tropical beach, or historic city, but is lived out everyday —whether it is a 500 mile drive away or right around the corner.

I am a nature girl at heart. I feel most at home when I am barefoot in a field with the mountains as my guardian. This same sentiment is one of the most fundamental things that bond laura and I so closely, as wild girl soul mates if you will. Now I don’t know if you are a loyal reader of camping across America, but if you are then I’m sure you know that I am currently living in Manhattan.

YES MANHATTAN- A CONCRETE JUNGLE !!! Who would have ever though? But I had the great opportunity to get my masters in Climate and Society at Columbia (still staying true to my nature girl instincts). I am learning all about the climate, greenhouse gases, clouds, earth resources, etc. Hey, a girl’s got to learn about it to protect it, right? Anyways. When I first arrived in Manhattan I was unsure of how I would possibly manage to survive in the craziest city on Earth coming from Stonehill’s 375 acre wooded campus. If anyone knows anything about me it’s that I like my trees, my grass, my big sky, my flowers, my trails and my animals. That and that I love to paint landscapes. In fact, the second week of laura and my friendship (dating way back to the year 2006) we crept away into the night to paint a masterpiece (ok, maybe not) using our bare feet, sticks and leaves. Yes, I kid you not. (Laura, btw where is our painting—its gonna go over our fire place whenever we get the chance to live together).

BUT how can I complain about Manhattan? My block is beautiful; on one corner I have the famous Seinfeld restaurant TOM’S and at the other end is the biggest catholic cathedral in the word (unfinished, but still). Riverside Park is a mere three blocks away. The subway station, my 24 hour grocery store, my 24 hour Duane Reade, a post office, Columbia’s campus, a plethora of shops, restaurants, and bars are literally a skip away (a skip being 4 blocks max—my post office is 10 feet to the left of my door).

I am taking the lesson that laura and I so humbly learned on the road—that beauty and adventure is everywhere. And I am lucky with my busy grad student schedule that beauty and adventure are right around the corner.

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>rest.

Oct 8

Posted by Laura

>Thursday’s are the one day I have off from both jobs, so I try to find a genuine balance between productivity and vegging out. This Thursday was no exception, as I found myself both relaxing and getting some stuff done. For instance,

autumn not only equals changing of leaves and cooler temperatures. it also means cooking and baking scrumptious foods like roasted sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie:

I use much of my free-time to cook, since this has always been a hobby of mine. The other night after I came home from the museum, I whipped up a fall-friendly meal for my friends Ibrahim, Dashawn, and Laura. On the menu: stuffed peppers with apple-chicken sausage, cheddar cheese, spinach, and sauteed apples and onions. I am especially digging the pumpkin (after buying a huge can of it at the grocery store), and have used it to make pumpkin oatmeal and the pumpkin bread above. Next venture? Pumpkin black-bean burgers!

Aside from cooking, free-time in autumn is a wonderful chance to go on runs and walks in my neighborhood without wanting to keel over in the 90 degree heat. I live right by Meridian Hill Park, which has hosted a drumming circle for over 30 years. I went a few weeks ago with my friend Laura and hope to go back again when I have off from work:

On the productive side, I have been trying to go for runs on my days off. I miss running so much–its such a stress relief–but I’m oddly finding that I am so sore from waitressing and the last thing I want to do before or after a shift is put more physical stress on my body. Oh well! I’ve been to yoga a few times and have really enjoyed it, but there is just no time! And no money! Oy vey. I’m also trying to find other internships/jobs for the winter and spring, study for the GRE’s, and potentially apply to grad school, all the while keep up on the news and reading for pleasure.

When I do read, I read here:

I’m currently enthralled by A Time to Betray by Reza Kahlili

That couch is where I’m actually laying right now as I type. And it’s where I’m going to now get back to my book before I fall to sleep soundly next to my friends on my nightstand:

-the doll is from my friend Alex, who is from El Salvador. It’s a worry doll-she gave it to me during the final stages of thesis-writing and told me to put it under my pillow.

-the log cabin is an incense burner from the Adirondacks. The scent is a mixture of pine, balsam fir, and smoky wood.

-the bears in the back are also from the ADK’s, and are the base of my table-lamp.

-the odd guy on the right is also a bear I got in Albuquerque. He is supposed to have special powers…

Goodnight!

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>new realities

Oct 7

Posted by Laura

>Sorry that it has been a little while-I swear I am trying my best to keep up with this. I have really been looking forward to writing another post, yet I have been so swamped and exhausted lately that I haven’t had a moment to breathe. Which leads me to realization #1: I actually want a 9-5 job. Now, this is not to say that I want a mindless paper-pushing cubicle job where I sit in my business casual for eight hours minus the lunch break and the staff meetings. Rather, I simply yearn for the ability to be home by dinner time and to have my weekends off. Currently, my schedule is kind of insane. I’ll walk you through it.

1) Wake up at 8:30. Put on coffee. Take a shower. Eat breakfast, watch CNN.

-This is my favorite part of the day, and no matter how early I have to wake up, I make sure I have time for a good breakfast, a hot cup of coffee, and at least 30 minutes to watch the news.

2) Walk to the metro and head to the Smithsonian. Work from 10-3

-This internship varies from being awesome to being…not so awesome. For instance, one of my assignments was to research the Gullah, an African American community that resides in Georgia/North Carolina and are known for preserving more of their African linguistic/cultural heritage than any other African-American community in the U.S. I got to read about this fascinating group for hours, write up summaries of films that we’re showing, and research books that the museum should buy as part of a suggested reading list.

On this flip side, my current project is taking the Smithsonian handbook–a confidential,crazy important 700 page binder–and making 16 replicas for some committee. So let’s do some math: 700 pages x 16 copies = 11,200 pieces of paper that I have to make copies of. And reorganize into the correct order. And re-hole punch (no one told me the copy machine could do that..damnit).

3) Walk to the metro, and head out to Bethesda for work

-I try to read on the metro since I am always too tired to do so when I’m home, but I usually just fall asleep.

4) Work from 4:30-close, which can vary from 10pm to 11:30.

-Light candles, polish silverware, sweep, mop, serve tables, pour wine, constantly sneak pieces of bread and butter, go slightly delirious, hopefully make some money.

5) Usually go out afterwards. This is what kills me in the end, but I am making so many new friends and there is always a lot going on! I have fun, but it all comes with a price. Why? Well, because even though the next day is Saturday, I have work from 8-4:30. And it will be very busy. And I will be very hungover and going on five hours of sleep.

With all this being said, I wouldn’t trade anything for being in D.C. right now. It’s sort of a rite of passage after graduating to submit yourself to a crazy schedule, and I am still enjoying myself immensely. Moreover, it really hasn’t hit me yet that this is LIFE, a life I am choosing for myself, and that I have the ability (more or less) to form it any which way.

This is kind of cool. And crazy.

That’s all the rambling I’ll do for now. For a future sneak peak, I plan on posting realization #2 soon, along with reasons as to why I am loving autumn so far.

Cheers!

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>New Homes

Oct 1

Posted by Laura

>
So, I decided I might try to keep this going. I think I got over my initial fear of blogs–just as long as I refrain from telling you about mundane, daily nuances, or start showing you pictures of my children on their first day of school (kidding). Those blogs are the WORST. In any case, I’ll try my best to be witty. Maybe informative. Imaginative. Who knows! For now though, I miss writing for an audience, and a blog seems to be a good way to fulfill this need.

Okay! Well, since you guys followed the life of me and Nic on the road for a month, I guess I’ll do a “where-are-they-now?” type thing. My dear friend Nicole is up in Morning Side Heights in Manhattan–a far far far 300 miles from me. Miss. Intelligent is getting her M.A. in Climate and Society at Columbia University; the program is a year long and allows her to conduct her own field study/research next summer anywhere in the world! She is also interning at the Earth Institute with their tropical agriculture program. I really wish I understood more of what this all means, buuuut I don’t. You should e-mail her and ask yourself! ncrescimanno@gmail.com

As for me, I am finally settled in a new house (as of yesterday…the white one pictured above) and really feel like I can finally take life by the reigns. I moved to College Park, MD about a month ago to start my internship with the Smithsonian African Art Museum. I lived in Danielle’s basement living room for most of September while I looked for housing in DC. While College Park was convenient, I am so happy to finally be in the district.

This was my room in MD–quaint, but as you can see, I didn’t have a door. Or windows.

Here is the entrance. Not quite burglar proof.

Here is my room now; I’m not totally unpacked or decorated, but you’ll get the jist:

I’m going to find out if I can paint the walls, in which case, there will be a 30% chance that I actually will. For now, I am just happy to have some real sunlight.

I live with three dudes, which is awesome. They are 25,31, and 32. They all have real jobs and are super friendly and chill. Hopefully they’ll become a big-brother figure for me. I also live with a girl, her name is Zoe:

So, on top of interning, I am also a server at Le Pain Quotidien. While I’ve waitressed before and KNOW how much I despise it, the money is good and everyone at the establishment is super awesome. Le Pain and its frenchness attracts many French West-Africans, so a good portion of the wait-staff, along with one of my managers, is African. So between the museum and the restaurant, I am surrounded by the love, comfort, and familiarity of all things African. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

As I wrap this up, I realize that while I said I would refrain from writing about mundane shit, I just posted pictures of my bedrooms. At this rate, I’ll post a few more of the house (for you, mom) and then promise that the next post will be more exciting. Maybe.

I’m off to explore my new neighborhood!