Bird Crap

First of all I have to say that PM's post was absolutely amazing. It was comforting to read given the fact that I had a day that felt a lot like this...

And now I feel a lot like this...

You ever feel like sometimes life, or at least some aspect of your life, just craps on you? I know we all feel that way sometimes, and I don't want this to sound whiny... but I NEED a moment. As such I've turned to you. I wish I had something deep to say about what I've learned from today's struggles, but I haven't learned the lesson yet. I'm paused for the moment--if you will--and simply having a moment. 

"You cannot find peace by avoiding life." 

--Virginia Woolf 

From the bottom of the ice cream carton, 

GMC 

Strong Women

I know I blogged just a little while ago, but something's been kicking around my head the last few hours and I felt like I needed to articulate it.

I've felt very strongly the last few months that, contrary to what some may think, the Strong Woman needs a Strong Man. I feel like most people have the stereotype in their heads of the domineering woman leading around a submissive man who bends to her every whim, but I realize this is not true.

Rather, Strong Woman are driven. They are caring. They are affected by the people around them and the trials they are facing. They deal with issues at work as well as issues of those they care about. Because of this, the loads they carry are heavy and varied, usually filled with personal information and intimate anecdotes.

When a Strong Woman becomes saturated by these cares she needs to find a way to release these feelings, usually by sharing them with someone; however, because these are others emotional and private problems, they can't be shared with every person,. Even those closest to the Strong Woman can't be told everything she wishes to share with them.

Which is where the Strong Man comes in.

The Strong Man is the person the Strong Woman can confide in. He is there to hold the Strong Woman, listen to her fears, commiserate with her, and talk through her feelings. A Strong Man is invigorated by the thought of being stable and open for the Strong Woman. Likewise, the Strong Woman wants to be there for the Strong Man, to lift and support him. Together, the Strong Man and the Strong Woman are two halves to a healthy whole; they both give of themselves freely, are passionate, and know what they want from life, but they provide differing viewpoints and, together, help balance each other and carry each other through life. They might fight sometimes - Strong People often do - but love, respect, and shared experience keep them together.

The Strong Woman needs the Strong Man. On their own, each is a source of charity and support, but the two together is an unstoppable force for progress, growth, and good in the world around them.

My Last First Day

Dear Rack, Aqua, and P-Mizzle,

So I'm sitting on the top bunk of Green Bean's bed right now. He's sharing a room with the Strong Man  this semester which is cool because he is my favorite of the roommates. Their new apartment is definitely a step up from the last. It's still old but the carpet is a natural, sanitary color... and it doesn't smell like old kitty litter. They've even gotten better about keeping their kitchen clean! This is all very good news for be because I will likely be spending a majority of my free time around here. Not simply because I love the Green Bean and it's fun to spend time with him, but because I feel so isolated at my own apartment. Yes, this is the part where you get an update on my roommates. The never ending saga of my undergraduate career.

I'm still living with the hypochondriac-prone ginger, and we had one other girl move in... knowing what to refer to her as is difficult as she is an exchange student from China... so I feel like any code name I use for her will be politically incorrect. Help me think of something? Anyways, she's sweet as apple pie but she doesn't speak or understand English very well. the hypochondriac-prone ginger is well... a little awkward and so I feel a little trapped in my house despite my adoration of both my roommates. They can be hard to talk to for very different reasons. Anyways, that's that. It's fine. We all know I spend more time in The Tower (read that in a grimacing voice) than I do my own house.

AHhHhHhHhHhH!!!!!

Okay, so getting to the point... tomorrow is my. last. first. day. OHHHHHH. MMMMMMM. GGGGGGG (read that in Paul Mitchell's squeaky excited screaming voice, you know the one). I am excited, mournful, scared, nervous, and overjoyed all at once that this chapter of my life is coming rapidly to a close. December feels so far yet so near all at once. BARF. Though there is a silver lining in all the mixed emotion that I am feeling... my class schedule. This is the part where you all hate me... but mostly Aquafresh I think... given that she is graduate student hell for one more year.

Here it is in ALL it's glory...

Monday: Spin class... to reclaim my body from a summer of deliciousness and work.
Tuesday: Topics in political philosophy and work.
Wednesday: KC Lecture Series and work.
Thursdays: See Tuesday description
Friday: Student/Professor research lab for the Center for Protecting Our Most Cherished and Basic American Values and Expression of Political Choice and work.
Saturday: mine.

Yes, yes I love this schedule because I am doing... wait for it... basically NOTHING when it comes to actual school work. Work, work for the department is a totally different story but I LOVE my job this semester so it's okay.

Anyways, I could blab some more but I think this is it for now.

Oh, Paul and I both have set some pretty serious physical goals to reach by election day. If you other ladies want in on that action we'd love to have your participation. I'm going to keep myself accountable to you all here. Six pack by November 6th! Ohhhhh!

Okay love you all and remember... "The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off."

XOXOXO

Sundries and Quandaries

I arrived in DC yesterday morning at approximately 8:58 a.m. I flew in on a red eye flight. If you've never done this, be it known that I don't recommend it for the sake of comfort, sanity, or convenience. That being said, for some inexplicable reason, I enjoy red eye flights. The biggest perk of this flight was that I had all day to pack, and yet I didn't finish packing until about 10:30 p.m. My flight left at 12:55 a.m., so I was pushing it a little... BUT both of my checked bags were underweight! *HUGE sigh of relief* I could have brought an extra 10 lbs worth of something... Probably shoes.

I took a shuttle from the airport to my building. I didn't want to look like a fool riding the metro with all of my luggage. Definitely a good decision. I got to my place with no incident at all, and got up to my room with little trouble. After being given a lovely tour of the building I'm living in (which took about 5 minutes because there aren't very many places students are allowed to go), I reached the following conclusions:

1. I could not be more excited about the free laundry machines. I might do a load of laundry tonight to get the weird smell (left by the laundry machine in my summer apartment) out of my towels, simply because I can do it for free.
2. I actually underestimated the amount of storage space I would have, so naturally I'm making a list of things for my mother to send to me.
3. If I don't like the people I'm living with, I'm doomed. The size of these quarters reminds me of Crime and Punishment and the guy's obsession with a square yard of space...

Having reached these conclusions, I promptly fell asleep. To be fair, I needed a nap due to my loss of two hours traveling, but I think I might have overdone it. Slightly. I slept for approximately
(wait for it)
6.5 hours. Yeah... I'm in the coolest city ever, right smack in the middle of it, and I slept away my first afternoon. Boo. It's alright though, no one else really arrived until around 6 p.m.

Here's a nice panoramic picture of the view from my bed, courtesy of my phone.

Last night after my long nap, I went to the Whole Foods Cafe with my roommate (for now I'll call her Tolly, which is short for Tolerable, because I know next to nothing about her so far, but she seems nice enough. I think we'll get along fine...) and a few other intern girls. It was delicious, and pretty affordable for a healthy meal in DC. I think. (As if I know all about the cost of living in DC...) I've been told it's reasonably priced.

After dinner we went to Trader Joe's to get a couple necessaries (i.e. milk so that I could have cereal for breakfast this morning). One of the girls was planning on picking up some shampoo, but decided she needed a more mainstream, less organic brand. Oh DC... The friendly clerk at the register asked if I had any good weekend plans and I told him I was just moving in. He asked if I was living around here, I replied yes, but didn't divulge any more information since one of the girls had just been saying at dinner how we have to be careful not to talk about where we live... He said that this was one of the more expensive parts of the city. I just had to chuckle.

On to this morning. I got up at nine-ish, thought it was much earlier, and got in the shower. Question: how in the world are you supposed to shave your legs in this shower?! I tried putting my foot on the soap shelf, it's too high for comfort and balance. I wish there was a more comfortably-placed ledge upon which I could rest my foot. I guess I'll just shave standing up straight, but if this is part of growing up, I plan to protest.

After my less-than-convenient shower, I ate breakfast and ventured to the metro station - going the very long way because it was daylight (when I figured out where it was last night it was not daylight, and therefore I was disoriented today) - to go to Target. Target probably just saved my budget. It's far away, so I didn't do all of my grocery shopping there, but I did get all of the sundries I needed to live like a first world human. So now we're in business. Also, Target has the most genius beverage ever, and I was so excited that I bought two boxes of it.

HERBAL CHAI TEA!!!! No actual tea leaves involved so I can drink it and be completely W.o.W. appropriate. I've never seen this anywhere before, but now I know - it's at Target. I love my life.

Anywho, I just thought I would let you all know that I'm here, alive and well. More interesting stories to come, I'm sure.

- The Rack

Introductions

I feel the first posting needs to be a brief introduction to what this is and who we are.

First off, this blog may not make sense to any outside people who read it. However, to the (soon to be) old biddies in charge of maintaining this blog, it means quite a lot. 

Let's start with our story.

Once upon a time there were four college co-eds attending a rather conservative, religious university.

The first will be known as "The Rack."

She is the youngest of us all, and despite what the shirt may say, she doesn't hate everyone. Just most.

The next would be "GNC," pictured below:

She is from Texas and she's not afraid to let people know it. 

The next would be "Aquafresh:"

Don't let that mug fool you. She's the sweetest.

And finally there's me, "Paul Mitchell:"

...I feel like this picture speaks for itself. 

The four of us met while TA-ing for various Political Science classes at the aforementioned university and became fast friends. We spent the next two years helping each other through break-ups, make-ups, finals, and futures, usually with some help from midnight Denny's runs and pool time. 

Unfortunately, we've gotten to the point in our lives when our paths are diverging. "The Rack" is heading off to DC to take the political world by storm during an internship, "GNC" is in our college town wrapping up her last semester, "Aquafresh" is there with her, but buried under homework as she begins her second year of an MPP programs, and I am an hour away from them, working as a field rep for a non-partisan political action group (don't worry, I get confused by my job description too). 

This blog is our attempt at sticking together and keeping involved. 

So if you're a random passer-by, don't be surprised if you see pictures of DC one day, then pictures of a political rally in a podunk rural town the next, followed by a blog post about how the author is planning to throw herself into oncoming traffic to avoid midterms. All of these might happen. And if you want to keep coming back to check it out, you will probably see them all in real time as we each take turns to write and talk about the experiences we are having and the struggles we are overcoming. 

Because of the nature of this blog as well as the positions we hold in life, we will almost never use names; neither our own or those we work for or come in contact with. If this proves a little confusing, we apologize. Just remember that you can still read it for it's entertainment value without knowing the exact details of what's going on.  I have no doubt this blog will prove laugh-inducing at times, just like I assume it will have it's poignant moments as well, as we struggle through life, trying to make it on our own and realizing we can't. 

And that's what this blog is for. To remind us that we never have to make it on our own, because through thick and thin, no matter how far apart and how different our lives become, we still have each other.

So head high, full speed ahead! As we charge forward, I have no doubt that our futures will be filled with lots of laughter, a few tears, and more potential and promise than we can imagine.

-"Paul Mitchell"

...I would get the 'boy' name...