has been my first week back at Cornell and RA training. So much to do, so little time. Here are the highlights:
I met my new co-staff and boss!
I had Shabbat dinner at Rav Ami's and Eliana's with their friends who were visiting from Israel. The calm buzz of intelectual energy in the room was palpable. We also had a delicious spinach/basil soup!
I made lots of friends with other RA's...really good people who care a lot about Cornell and the students who go here!
I was a cohort leader and I got to guide seven other RA's through the training process!
I helped Rudy move in and was rewarded with delicious dinner and wine at Madeline's!
I saw Beasts of the Southern Wild and I will literally never be the same again.
I started seeing friends I have missed dearly and deeply. How wonderful to be back at Cornell!!!!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Tomorrow I
am heading back to Cornell University for RA training. I cannot believe that the summer of dreams has come to an end. I also can't believe that I managed to unpack from sophomore year and pack for junior year in the last three days. (I didn't want to unpack when I first got home because I missed school and unpacking means you are here to stay; I didn't want to pack earlier because I was enjoying home so much and packing means you are leaving again).
My last day consisted of breakfast on the porch (we have a bistro set!) with Mama, errands, a little babysitting, a little Real Housewives of NJ, dinner with Daddy, and a run around the neighborhood. I spent my last night with a delightful group of friends from high school. We watched the gymnastics competition, played with a puppy, and went to the Otter Lodge. It was a most fitting end to my summer at home.
I will miss so many things. But so that I don't feel badly about leaving, I will list three things that I won't miss:
1. air conditioning
2. being confronted with all the clothing items I have refused to throw out over the years despite their lack of fit or style
3. meeting people outside the college age range at bars
My last day consisted of breakfast on the porch (we have a bistro set!) with Mama, errands, a little babysitting, a little Real Housewives of NJ, dinner with Daddy, and a run around the neighborhood. I spent my last night with a delightful group of friends from high school. We watched the gymnastics competition, played with a puppy, and went to the Otter Lodge. It was a most fitting end to my summer at home.
I will miss so many things. But so that I don't feel badly about leaving, I will list three things that I won't miss:
1. air conditioning
2. being confronted with all the clothing items I have refused to throw out over the years despite their lack of fit or style
3. meeting people outside the college age range at bars
Monday, August 6, 2012
Tonight is
The one week anniversary of me sleeping on my back. For the first time in memory, I have not been sleeping on my stomach, a position which has apparently been torquing my neck and crushing my organs. My dreams in the past week have been very colorful and I have been very conscious of my body. It's an interesting experience. I hope it has a positive affect!
Laila tov l'kulam!
Laila tov l'kulam!
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Today I
went to the Seneca Park Zoo with my mother. We have been wanting to go all summer and finally seized the opportunity! There is a new Africa exhibit called Ngorongoro and there is a beautiful lion habitat. We spent a long time just looking at the sleeping lions (there are three: two females and one male, all about 2 years old) and asking the lion expert lots of questions about lions. One of the young females really reminded us of our own little girl cat, Zara, so we were calling her Zara at the zoo today. It was legitimately hard to step away from the lions. They are captivating! And we are cat people, so we were easily captivated.
There was a monsoon as we were trying to exit the zoo so we spent a little extra time in the monkey house. We read about the havoc that the palm oil industry is wreaking on the orangutan population and other rain forest dwellers. Buy sustainable palm oil products!!!
There was a monsoon as we were trying to exit the zoo so we spent a little extra time in the monkey house. We read about the havoc that the palm oil industry is wreaking on the orangutan population and other rain forest dwellers. Buy sustainable palm oil products!!!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Today I
went to see a chiropractor. Of course, I have been self-adjusting my neck and back for most of my life, but it was great to get an expert in on the action.
I feel great and I got some exercises to do for my neck which I hope to practice regularly. Then, in the spirit of getting healthy, I ate some carrots and hummus for a snack. I think I will also floss my teeth tonight.
There's no stopping me now!!
I feel great and I got some exercises to do for my neck which I hope to practice regularly. Then, in the spirit of getting healthy, I ate some carrots and hummus for a snack. I think I will also floss my teeth tonight.
There's no stopping me now!!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
This weekend I
experienced the best of Rochester, NY.
Rochester is an undervalued city, but not by me. If you've ever had a conversation with me, I have probably tried to convince you of all Rochester's merits: great art culture, lots of available free parking, general accessibility from place to place, nice people, attractive neighborhoods and parks, etc. I like to say that Rochester has all the things that great cities have, just smaller and less expensive (museums, shows, concerts, sports, historical landmarks).
Often, Rochester is accused of not having a vibrant nightlife scene, not having young attractive single people, and not having a beach.
Well, this weekend proved all of that wrong. I went out with large groups each night, filled to the brim with young attractive single people. We hit up some nice bars on Park Ave on Friday, and then the East End on Saturday. The populace was friendly and spirited! I have no complaints about the Rochester night scene--on the contrary, I have only good things to say. Costs are reasonable, lines never get too long, and there are lots of cool places to choose from!
Earlier today, I debunked another anti-Rochester legend: no beach. Well there is no ocean, that's true, but there is certainly a beautiful beach along Lake Ontario! I met my girlfriends at Durand Eastman Park and we hung out in the sand and in the water. There was a festive atmosphere and many good looking lifeguards. And no sharks. What more could a girl want?
Rochester is an undervalued city, but not by me. If you've ever had a conversation with me, I have probably tried to convince you of all Rochester's merits: great art culture, lots of available free parking, general accessibility from place to place, nice people, attractive neighborhoods and parks, etc. I like to say that Rochester has all the things that great cities have, just smaller and less expensive (museums, shows, concerts, sports, historical landmarks).
Often, Rochester is accused of not having a vibrant nightlife scene, not having young attractive single people, and not having a beach.
Well, this weekend proved all of that wrong. I went out with large groups each night, filled to the brim with young attractive single people. We hit up some nice bars on Park Ave on Friday, and then the East End on Saturday. The populace was friendly and spirited! I have no complaints about the Rochester night scene--on the contrary, I have only good things to say. Costs are reasonable, lines never get too long, and there are lots of cool places to choose from!
Earlier today, I debunked another anti-Rochester legend: no beach. Well there is no ocean, that's true, but there is certainly a beautiful beach along Lake Ontario! I met my girlfriends at Durand Eastman Park and we hung out in the sand and in the water. There was a festive atmosphere and many good looking lifeguards. And no sharks. What more could a girl want?
Friday, July 27, 2012
Today,
my friend Liz posted on my facebook wall that she saw me in a commercial on MTV Italy for the show Savage U. Just one step closer to eternal fame and glory!!!
Savage U is a series on MTV that follows dating and relationships expert/columnist Dan Savage around different college campuses. When the show came to Cornell, there was a group on facebook asking people to sign up to be on the show. It sounded like a cool opportunity, so I called the producer, told her about myself, and filled out an application. The application asked for the gritty details of my dating life, and apparently I impressed them because I was asked to appear on the show!
A few weeks later, Dan Savage and the whole production crew took over Cornell. They hung out on the quad polling random students about the dating culture on campus, they went to the bars, they ate in our cafes. They also interviewed a few people like myself for about 2 hours at a time.
My interview took place on the beautiful Willard Straight Hall patio overlooking West Campus and Cayuga Lake. It was a chilly day, which was fine, because I wanted to wear a scarf. I was bummed that they didn't want to do my hair and make up, but luckily I was having a good hair/skin day. The producers were also bummed for a different reason. Despite my saucy application and phone interview, I vowed to be only the most ladylike of guests on the show. They were expecting something a little more...edgy. But I couldn't really see a good reason to lose my dignity on national television.
I got hooked up to a microphone and the producers told me to "do homework" while I waited for Dan Savage and his producer Lauren to come talk to me. I happened to have a prelim that week so I was actually studying when they came over (prelim=success).
We talked for a solid hour and a half about my dating experiences at Cornell. Dan was quick witted, smart, funny, and he gave some really good advice! I never felt like his jokes were at the expense of anyone else, which I appreciated. He told me that he predicted I would spend my whole life searching for the perfect Nice Jewish Boy and then one day fall madly in love with a Puerto Rican and live la vida loca with him forever and ever.
After we were done filming, he asked me to show him pictures of the boy I was currently seeing. I didn't have a smart phone, so I logged onto my facebook on Dan Savage's iPhone and found a few pics. He was impressed! Then he showed me pictures of his husband (partner? boyfriend? something) and his son. Delightful.
The Cornell episode aired in mid-June, and there have been many other episodes as well. Some of the content is inappropriate for a younger audience, but the show also covers some very important topics! Definitely worth checking out.
If you see the show (it's on MTV.com, and it's really quite interesting!), just know that it is totally unscripted and totally real--Dan Savage really is that nice and funny! And you might even learn something!
Savage U is a series on MTV that follows dating and relationships expert/columnist Dan Savage around different college campuses. When the show came to Cornell, there was a group on facebook asking people to sign up to be on the show. It sounded like a cool opportunity, so I called the producer, told her about myself, and filled out an application. The application asked for the gritty details of my dating life, and apparently I impressed them because I was asked to appear on the show!
A few weeks later, Dan Savage and the whole production crew took over Cornell. They hung out on the quad polling random students about the dating culture on campus, they went to the bars, they ate in our cafes. They also interviewed a few people like myself for about 2 hours at a time.
My interview took place on the beautiful Willard Straight Hall patio overlooking West Campus and Cayuga Lake. It was a chilly day, which was fine, because I wanted to wear a scarf. I was bummed that they didn't want to do my hair and make up, but luckily I was having a good hair/skin day. The producers were also bummed for a different reason. Despite my saucy application and phone interview, I vowed to be only the most ladylike of guests on the show. They were expecting something a little more...edgy. But I couldn't really see a good reason to lose my dignity on national television.
I got hooked up to a microphone and the producers told me to "do homework" while I waited for Dan Savage and his producer Lauren to come talk to me. I happened to have a prelim that week so I was actually studying when they came over (prelim=success).
We talked for a solid hour and a half about my dating experiences at Cornell. Dan was quick witted, smart, funny, and he gave some really good advice! I never felt like his jokes were at the expense of anyone else, which I appreciated. He told me that he predicted I would spend my whole life searching for the perfect Nice Jewish Boy and then one day fall madly in love with a Puerto Rican and live la vida loca with him forever and ever.
After we were done filming, he asked me to show him pictures of the boy I was currently seeing. I didn't have a smart phone, so I logged onto my facebook on Dan Savage's iPhone and found a few pics. He was impressed! Then he showed me pictures of his husband (partner? boyfriend? something) and his son. Delightful.
The Cornell episode aired in mid-June, and there have been many other episodes as well. Some of the content is inappropriate for a younger audience, but the show also covers some very important topics! Definitely worth checking out.
If you see the show (it's on MTV.com, and it's really quite interesting!), just know that it is totally unscripted and totally real--Dan Savage really is that nice and funny! And you might even learn something!
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