sidewalks.

This week, I have spent $120 on gas. And I’m not even done yet. Gah.

Trust me- I cannot wait until April 1st. Not only will Omega and I have our own humble abode (yay!) but I will never have to worry about commuting ever again. Why? Because I will be able to WALK TO WORK. GLORY! 

I think that’s when you know you’ve made it in life. When you are able to walk to work. It’s what I miss the most about living in DC. I always took the Metro going to work but unless it was raining, I walked home to George Washington University from the FCC. I don’t really know how to explain it but it was just a fantastic feeling- going outside, walking by the National Mall and the White House, being able to have my own space, dancing along the sidewalk as I listened to the White Stripes- it was a lot better than being a sardine on the Metro. 

Those were the days. 

Anyway- things are moving forward and that’s all I can ask for. Maybe luck will shine upon us and we will be able to find a place with a STOOP! Ah, it’s all a girl can dream about! 

For those who followed me during 30 for 30- scout’s honor, I completed it! I realize that I didn’t take pictures during the last three days of the challenge but I have to say- there’s only so many days that I could be in front of a self timer and take a picture of myself and only myself. And I found out the magic number is 27. However- through those 27 pictures, I received a lot of awesome feedback. My friends told me that 30 for 30 was the reason why they were excited to read the blog and I actually inspired one of my friends to take the 30 for 30 plunge! 

I honestly would recommend everyone- boys and girls- to do the challenge. It has completely opened my eyes when it comes to shopping for clothes. While my lovely roomie, Omega, and I were thrifting on Thursday- as I was going through the clothes I noticed that I wasn’t picking out stuff on a whim. I tend to do that a lot whenever I shop. I actually took the time to ask myself- would I be able to remix this? How many outfits could I make out of this dress? 

I discovered the beauty of remixing. To tell you the truth- I never got bored. Everyday was exciting because I put myself to the challenge of creating the 30 different outfits. I noticed what’s missing in my closet- I desperately need more scarves, belts, and tights. They can instantly make any outfit a brand new one. As for my shoes, the weather has given me no choice but to wear my mocs everyday because they’re waterproof, they have traction, and they’re warm. Early on in the challenge, I found out the hard way that flats simply were not going to work with this ridiculous winter that we’re still going through in Upstate NY. Only hours after I wore my flats, I felt a cold coming on. After that lovely experience, I vowed not to wear my flats until spring finally comes around. Also- I got to see how versatile my work clothes are. I can’t wait to shock my office by ::GASP:: wearing different dresses and pantsuits!

I would have really liked to have done this challenge when I was in college. I would have had some more fun with it because I wouldn’t have had to include my work clothes. Too bad it didn’t exist before April 2010. I could definitely see me and my friends doing this together. The pictures would have been a lot more fun too because knowing me and my awesome roommates that I was so fortunate to live with (seriously- I am the luckiest girl in the world because I got to live in Higgins 400 and 306)- the photo shoots would have been pretty epic. Drogen’s. Taco Bell. The Beijing House. Steve’s new neighbor’s lawn. River Street. The possibilities would have been endless.

It’s off to pack for the work week! I’ll leave you with one confession:

Whenever I see this sign, a smile instantly appears on my face, and I know I’m home. 

I get it from my father.

My friends love to tease me over the fact that I read really fucking depressing books. Not the “oh woe is me” chick novels but I like to read the really heavy historical shit like The Gulag Archipelago. I get it from my father. I can’t remember a day in my childhood where he wasn’t talking about history or showing me his history books. When I was 9, he gave me Where the Buck Stops, a collection of President Harry Truman’s letters, to read. I guess it’s no surprise I have a political science degree and a philosophy degree under my belt. Thanks Dad!

(yep, that would be me and my pops at my college graduation.)

Today wasn’t any different. For the past two years, I’ve been meaning to read Maus and I’ve just never got around to it. It’s a biography about the author’s father and how he survived the Holocaust. What distinguishes Maus from the other Holocaust biopics is the fact that Maus is a graphic novel in which the Jews are depicted as mice and the Nazis are depicted as cats. Initially, I was in the bookstore to purchase V for Vendetta but I figured that it could wait for now. I need to get around to reading Maus. So far it has exceeded my expectations. There’s nothing more that I love in life than a reading a page turner. 

This evening my best friend Mary and I had a phone date. We haven’t seen each other since Memorial Day but with her, time means nothing. We’ve been best friends since the 9th grade and have been inseparable ever since. Distance, schmistance, you should have seen us go when she was in Haiti last summer and I was in Albany! Oh the wonders of Skype.

I was talking to her as she was driving back home to Rocha-cha-cha-ester in the snow. I figured that since I couldn’t take a picture with her, then I might as well take a picture of me talking on the phone with her ;D

30 for 30 (holy schnikes! only 4 more days left!)

  • White cardigan- PacSun
  • Scarf- Maxwell’s
  • Dress- Forever 21
  • Belt- Forever 21
  • Sweater Tights- American Eagle
  • Shoes that you can’t see because they were all wet from sloshing around in puddles today- White Mountain 
no alarms and no surprises, please.

If there is one quirk about me, it’s that every week I like to buy a bar of chocolate for myself. When I was in NYC last weekend, my friends and I went into a Duane Reed to escape the cold, and my little and I headed straight to the candy section. I saw this: 

I was intrigued. I’m no stranger to the combination of chili and chocolate. In Oneonta, I tried Mexican Chili Chocolate gelato at The Latte Lounge. It was delicious. However, I could not justify spending $4.00 on a chocolate bar when I knew that I would be able to get it cheaper upstate. I found it in Price Chopper for $1.99 with my Advantage card. Victory was mine.

I broke the golden supermarket rule of eating something before you buy it but I couldn’t help it- curiosity is a cruel mistress. As I took the first bite, I didn’t notice anything. It felt as if I bit into a regular dark chocolate bar. It wasn’t until I savored the chocolate that I was able to taste the spices. I wondered if this was a mistake because the spices were a little overwhelming. I felt a little heartburn from the chocolate bar. Then, I got used to it and started to enjoy the fact that it was spicy- keep in mind though, I ate it in three separate sittings. There’s no way you can eat this all in one shot. This is a chocolate bar meant for savoring and in fact, the next time around, I would look to pair this with a nice red wine. 

Trente pour Trente! 

This is Thursday’s outfit. I apologize for not looking more enthused. Photographing yourself with a self timer can only be so entertaining.

  • White Cardigan- Pac Sun
  • Striped Top- H&M
  • Jeans- American Eagle
  • Headband- Claire’s

…and it’s awkward pose Friday! It turned that work ended up giving me a snow day. 

  • Grey cardigan- New York and Company
  • Grey striped top- Kohl’s
  • Jeans- American Eagle
  • Belt- Gap
  • Scarf- Maxwell’s

I’m actually very surprised that I haven’t remixed this outfit yet. It seems like I would have definitely worn it earlier in the challenge but it isn’t. Only five more days! Boy has this month flown by! 

Finally, before I go and call some more landlords to secure a humble abode, I always like passing a good thing on. If you’re looking for a good moisturizer, I highly recommend Burt’s Bees Radiance Day and Night creams. I purchased this back in Potsdam. Slowly but surely, I’m on a mission to purchase only all natural cosmetics, soaps, and shampoos. This was my first all natural moisturizer and I had heard nothing but great things about it. 

After using it for four months, I can absolutely say that wow! These moisturizers make your skin feel baby soft even after applying makeup. Even when it’s 7PM, my skin is still supple and soft to the touch. The craziest thing about these moisturizers is that they’re not heavy to the touch at all. At first, I was really skeptical about them because the formula does feel watery and I was wondering if I wasted $40 on crummy moisturizers. Trust me- a little bit goes a very, very long way. I am so impressed with Radiance. I used to buy this

but I never received such awesome results that I’ve experienced with Burt’ Bees’ Radiance line. It’s definitely more expensive than Clinique ($24 for Clinque, $18 each for the Radiance day and night creams) but it’s worth it. 

the bomb shelter.

My future roommate and I finally scored an appointment to view an apartment. I had high hopes on this one- it was reasonably priced, heat and hot water were included, it was in an awesome location, and the landlord was really nice. 

Until we walked in and realized that it looked like a bomb shelter. There were exposed pipes and wires everywhere, including a huge water pipe that took up a whole corner in a bedroom. I wanted to like it but just like you can’t turn a ho into a housewife, you can’t make something feel like home when you can’t envision yourself doing really awesome things in there. After viewing the apartment, my future roomie gave me a lift downtown and she said:

“One day, we’re going to find a place and the first thing we’re going to do is watch Annie Hall. And then Manhattan but Annie Hall is so much better than Manhattan.”

We’re going to find that place. If George and Weezy can move on up, well so will we! 

I ate lunch at Lil’ Buddha Tea but I guess that doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone. I had this AWESOME VEGAN burger. Usually, “awesome”, “vegan”, and “burger” don’t fit well in my vocabulary but this time- oh they do. It was a grilled jalapeño and corn patty (they had me at jalapeño), karma sauce (I believe it is melted vegan cheese), lettuce, tomato, pickles and served on a toasted bun. I could have ate 10 of them, they were that delicious. 

After that, I went on a walking tour of Albany so that future roomie and I could have more options available to us other than the bomb shelter. I can actually say that I’ve been up and down every street of Center Square within a hour and a half. Honestly, I thought I looked like a total sketchball. I mean- it’s totally normal to go up and down the streets and write down the phone numbers of random landlords. I didn’t mind it though- not even the cold. It reminded me of canvassing aka going door to door to voters’ homes and asking them to consider voting for your candidate. Some people hate canvassing, I lived for the chance to go out and canvass. Although I found out that my legs got used to being attached to a body that was unemployed for three months- they hurt so much after trekking across Center Square. 

I must have worn something sensible, right? You can be the judge of that. I love wearing dresses and tights. I honestly think my sweater tights are warmer than any pair of jeans I own. Here’s my 30 for 30 outfit today. I took it right after I came home from the Center Square trek. In my humble opinion, it’s what a warrior would wear. I wore this exact outfit on Election Day. I like to think it brings me some good luck.

Nah- I couldn’t wimp out on you guys like that! Although it was comfy. 

  • Dress- Forever 21
  • Grey Cardigan- New York and Company
  • Sweater Tights- American Eagle
  • Scarf- The Pear Tree, a boutique in Canton, NY (speaking of Canton, I could definitely go down for some food at the Blackbird Cafe and a Lime Rickey at the Hoot Owl. Seriously- you owe it to yourself to check out Canton. It won over my heart.)
  • Mocs- Minnetonka
  • Flower- Claire’s

Tomorrow 30 for 30ers, I’m just warning you: I’m going to repeat an outfit for a little bit. I have an interview for another part time job and it’s going to require a suit. But once I get home, I’m going to be more than happy to remix an outfit to lounge around in. 

i wear my sunglasses at night. (nyc, post grad sorority, and wonderful cheesecake and deadly animal surprises)

I’m back from NYC and I’m back in Saratoga! While I was going home to Sullivan County on the train (which always excites me, I love trains) I thought to myself- you know, NYC is not meant to be a city to visit. I feel that to truly appreciate the city, you have to live there. One day, I hope that I will be able to take the city on. There’s so much of it that I haven’t seen yet and so many more good times to be had. If anything, that was the best part of the trip. I went there for the sole reason to see people that I haven’t seen in a long, long time. I was able to see two of my friends that I haven’t seen in two years and I can’t even tell you how amazing it was to roam around Manhattan like we used to. I saw two of my former colleagues which was awesome because I haven’t seen them since November and I’ve missed them since everything wrapped up. I also got to see a couple of my college friends, including my little sister from my sorority.

What is a little? In a sorority or a fraternity, each sister or brother gets to mentor and guide a pledge during the pledging process. I was so happy to finally hang out with my little- we were both extremely active on Oneonta’s campus. In fact- that’s the reason why I wanted her as my little because she’s such a strong woman and we’re alike in the way that we were constantly busy because we wanted to make our campus a better place. Unfortunately, when you get two busy people together, you have to deal with two different and busy schedules. I always felt guilty because I never was able to spend as much time with her as I would have liked to. I had a reputation amongst my friends- that in order to see me, you had to live with me because I was always off doing something. 

This weekend we got to do something that we never were able to do within the last two years. We got to hang out. I didn’t have to go and do something. Instead, we got to see things together. I can’t even tell you how nice that was. 

It’s really funny, one would think that sorority life ends after college but it’s not true at all. The weird thing is, I feel more attached to my sorority after college than during college. I think it’s because during college- you take it for granted. You’re always with each other, so you don’t realize how much the phrase “loyal sisters all” means until you don’t have them by your side anymore. Still after graduation, they’re the ones I call when I’m having a bad day or when something really awesome is happening. It teaches you that yeah, you really can be close to over one hundred sisters, both past and present, and they’re still going to know everything about you and that you can have a conversation and have it MEAN something. My sorority was one of the biggest reasons why I got through the campaign, and the funny thing was, it wasn’t just the Oneonta chapter. It was also the Potsdam chapter. You’d think that it would be impossible for a girl to become really close friends with other girls that she barely even knows and the only thing that they do have in common is that they’re in the same sorority. It’s not impossible. Even though we’re from different parts of NY, going to different schools- or in my case, my Potsdam sisters were still in school and I was the one with a job- they weren’t just my sisters from another chapter. They are my sisters. And just like my sisters in Oneonta, I will have their backs no matter what. Unless they killed someone. That could be a deal breaker. 

Although this trip made me realize something. I never cared about wind advisories before. Now I do. It was almost like NYC traded places with Chicago and wanted to be known as the windy city for a change. I’m not even exaggerating, when my friends and I were walking to the Met, we felt like a mini tornado was hitting us. I wore my sunglasses all day, even at night because I wear contact lenses and after I felt a piece of sand blow into my eye, I decided that enough was enough- even if I looked like a total tool, anything was better than getting a scratched cornea. Thankfully, NYC has streetlights everywhere you go, so it wasn’t as cumbersome as one would think to wear sunglasses at night.

It was my first time visiting the Met. Unfortunately, a wave of tourist fever came over me and I thought that the Met was the same thing as the Museum of Modern Art. I was wrong. Yet we still had an awesome time. My friend L and I discovered something that people would disregard as immature and juvenile: that male nude sculptures in the early ages have really tiny penises. As time goes on, the penises get bigger and bigger. I made a point of this to L, and my natural loud, boisterous made that point to other guests of the Met. I made three teenage girls laugh.

This was my first time in NYC since I left DC almost two years ago. The biggest difference between NYC and DC for me is that I lived in DC and I’ve only visited NYC. I learned something: You can take the girl out of DC but you can’t take the DC out of the girl. Which is weird because I live closer to NYC and I enjoy NYC because people are more laid back there than in DC and there’s so much more to do in NYC than DC. However, I couldn’t swipe the MetroCard to save my life and I was wishing that I was able to put some money on my SmarTrip. What is a SmarTrip? Eh, I’ll let the WMTA explain it: 

A SmarTrip® card is a permanent, rechargeable farecard. It’s plastic, like a credit card, and is embedded with a special computer chip that keeps track of the value of the card.

Using a SmarTrip® card is fast and easy. Instead of inserting a farecard through the Metrorail faregate slot, you simply touch the SmarTrip® card to the circular targets on top of or inside station faregates. Likewise, you can tap the SmarTrip® farebox on Metrobus to pay your fare with SmarTrip®

I fucking loved that thing when I was in DC. It made life SO much easier. Yep. I looked like a total tourist. I also wish that NYC would get on the ball with its subway system. In DC, there are electronic signs that let you know when the next train is coming. In NYC, only a few subway stations have that. DC also has cell phone towers placed throughout the Metro system, so you’re able to use your phone while underground. My little didn’t understand why I kept looking at my phone until I told her that was just my habit to do so because in DC, you can use cell phones on the train. Then again, there is a beauty to not being able to use a cell phone on a train. It frees up more time to get to know perfect strangers. I met this one guy on the Bronx train who went to UAlbany. It was awesome to find out that it’s really a small world after all! 

For dinner, we went to Jackson Hole Burgers. I can’t believe I’m going to say it, but Five Guys, eat your heart out. This place was awesome! Instead of bread for patrons to nibble on while they’re waiting for their food to come out, the waiter brings out pickles to start! After that, I knew that Jackson Hole won over my heart. Just like Five Guys, Jackson Hole has an open kitchen where you can see your burger being cooked. The big differences between Jackson Hole and Five Guys is that:

  1. You have control over the way your burger is cooked. I like mine medium. E coli, schmee foli. Five Guys cooks their burgers well done. 
  2. Jackson Hole’s burgers are a half a pound. Really. The line cook will take a slab of ground beef that is bigger than your hand and will slam it on the grill. 

I was in carnivore heaven. 

 After a lovely dinner, we went to this fantastic bar on the Lower East Side called Pianos. My friends and I danced the night away- even though I can’t dance. Really, I can’t- my sorority nicknamed me Claps because I can’t clap to the rhythm of our sorority songs and I can’t dance to rhythm. We also came across The Little Cupcake Bakeshop where I had a delicious Nutella cappuccino that not only gave me the caffeine to last the whole night but it also kept my hands warm during the cold, blustery walk.

In the morning, my little wanted to take me to IHOP because I’ve never been there, but unfortunately, it was packed. We then ventured into Manhattan and ate at Big Daddy’s Restaurant. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to taste their famous tater tots because I was strapped for cash and tater tots can only fill you up for so long and if I was going to spend money- I wanted it to be for something that would keep me revved up during the day.  I enjoyed an awesome sandwich called the Chicken Lickin Sandy- grilled chicken breast with bacon, avocado, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, melted jalapeño jack cheese and herb mayo on ciabatta bread, served with sweet potato chips. Yummy doesn’t even begin to describe the experience. 

During the trip, my friends kept telling me to get a new wallet because mine was literally falling apart. I refused though. I loved it to death, it looked like a boombox. While we were on Canal Street, my little decided to take matters in her own hands and bought me a wallet because she didn’t want to see me walking around with my old one anymore. It’s really cute! It has monsters all over it! I decided to take advantage of the fact that we were on Canal. My newfound friend B and I went to a Chinese bakery and got bubble tea and red bean buns. Needless to say, I was in food heaven in the city…which is another reason why I like NYC a lot better than DC. There’s so many different cuisines and you can actually get a decent slice of pizza there. 

It’s back to Albany now. I had a wonderful night with my friends and it was totally unexpected. I hung out with Marc of Cautious and Carefree, Zac of Albany Sucka , and Guilderland Matt. I saw Marc as I was walking back from work and we all had an epic night full of watching documentaries about the most deadliest animals in Austrailia and capped the night off with eating delicious cheesecake at Cheesecake Machismo on Hamilton Street in downtown Albany. For $5 for a drink and a beverage, you cannot go wrong. I had the Black Stout Cheesecake. 

Oh yeah- and I’m still keeping up with 30 for 30! 

Saturday

That’s Little and I at Pianos! I know you can’t see the whole outfit but to tell you the truth, I didn’t want to ask my friends to take a picture of my entire outfit. This time was to concentrate on them and not myself. As you can see from my face, I was (terribly) dancing up a storm! Who needs rhythm when you’re having an awesome time?

  • White Top- Kohl’s
  • Vest- New York and Company
  • Scarf- Maxwell’s
  • Belt- Forever 21
  • Leggings- Kohl’s
  • Boots- borrowed from a friend because she didn’t want me walking around NYC with my mocs.

Monday

There isn’t a Sunday pic. I sowwy. I was just ridiculously busy with walking around NYC, having an awesome time with my friends, and by the time I got home, I was too exhausted to take a picture. For those of you who are interested- I stayed true to 30 for 30 and wore an Oneonta sweatshirt and leggings because you always have to represent the best college in the SUNY system ;D

  • Jacket- New York and Company
  • Tee Shirt- American Eagle (which has a graphic print of NYC!)
  • Jeans- American Eagle
  • Mocs- Minnetonka
  • Scarf- A friend gave it to me back in college
  • Daisy- Claire’s

My bangs were doing the Rod Blogojevich today.

That’s unfortunate.

  • Black drape cardigan- Kohl’s
  • Scarf- My friend gave it to me in college
  • White Tee- Kohl’s
  • Pants- New York and Company
The last two outfits are my favorite because since I work at an office- I have to mix my work clothes with my regular clothes during this challenge. The beauty about doing 30 for 30 is working with what you have and creating outfits that normally you don’t wear. I would have never wore this outfit to work without 30 for 30 and honestly- I’m glad that I stumbled upon this combo. Not only is it office appropriate, but it’s comfy and stylish…or at least I hope it’s stylish ;D 


I say the right thing but act the wrong way, I like it right here but I cannot stay.

I’m getting a haircut tomorrow. Radiohead is coming up with a new album on Saturday. I got to do some campaign work. And I’m sleeping on a comfy couch tonight. I love Albany.

Life is good. A little weird and highly unconventional, but good. 

(and in case you’re wondering, the whole suit is from New York and Company)

I’m tired. But here’s a picture of Isabelle, the Henry family’s dog. She’s my favorite!

The Valentine’s Day Show: Listen to Me at 8PM on WEXT 97.7 or at www.exit977.org!

I’m so excited! Tonight I’m going to featured on WEXT 97.7’s My Exit, a show that lets listeners be the DJ for a hour! I’m honored to have been selected for the program, WEXT was voted as the Best Independent Radio Station in 2010 by Metroland and I can’t believe I’m getting a chance to be apart of it! The show’s theme is Hope and I will be playing tracks from The Beatles, Bright Eyes, Feist, Passion Pit, OkGo, Matt and Kim, Bruce Springsteen, Wilco, David Bowie, The Killers, We Are Scientists, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Van Morrison and Arcade Fire! 

If you live outside the Albany area, you can stream the show by visiting www.exit977.org and click on MP3 Stream at the left hand corner!

I find it so funny that the show is airing on Valentine’s Day! Here’s the thing- when I was a DJ in college, by pure coincidence, I always had a show that happened to fall on Valentine’s Day. When I found out, for some weird reason, I couldn’t help but smile. Maybe it’s because I’m living the vagabond life and I was greeted by a familiar constant. 

30 by 30 time!

Oxford Shirt- New York and Company

Dress- H&M

Belt- Forever 21

Tights- American Eagle

Shoes- Steve Madden (I highly recommend these heels for the office. They’ve actually comfortable, durable, and they were only $50!)

there goes the baker with his tray like always.

I’m ridiculously excited for Monday. I found out that my friend’s family in Milford wants me to stay with them for the night and I’m oh so happy about that because even though I won’t be seeing my Megan (she’s doing some fancy-dancy book larnin’ at law school), I love her family! Seriously, my dream house is their house. I don’t know how to describe it other than the fact that it’s full of antiques, it’s always warm, and as weird as it sounds, I love the smell of the house because it always has a woodsy scent in the air. There are way too many good memories in that house, especially one night during our senior year in high school, Megan and I were on the computer and for some reason or another, we started talking about *NSync. We found out that we both loved JC Chasez back when *NSync was in their heyday and wondered whatever happened to him. We thought he had the best voice and was the sexiest one out of the whole group. I don’t think Google was popular back then so we either Yahoo’d or MSN searched him and found out that he actually came out with a solo album back in 2004 called Schizophrenic.


Apparently he had some pretty choice songs on it that had lyrics like…

Keep in mind I’m a love machine

Get it 24-7, call me anytime you need

Some extra attention, did I forget to mention

School’s back in session, get ready for a lesson!

I just want to feel alive and do what it takes to satisfy you

Hour after hour baby, all night long with you

All day long I dream about sex

And all night long I dream about sex

And all the time I think about sex with you.

or!

Woke up next to you
You were lying fast asleep
Didn’t think to wake you
You were all up in my dreams
She had, no makeup, no toothpaste
I don’t wanna wait
‘Cause she’s such a sexy dame
I just can’t control my thang

and finally, the classiest song out of the bunch…

‘Cause when I’m all alone

I lie awake and masturbate

I love to hear the sounds you make

Baby, here I come.

That is a far, far cry from the God Must Have Spent A Little More Time on You Days.

 

Needless to say, we had to get it. We made a run to the Oneonta Wal-Mart and to our surprise, we found that Schizophrenic was in stock AND all of the lyrics were intact! So much for the family values, Wal*Mart. Ever since then, it has become our car CD and unfortunately/fortunately (whichever way you want to look at it), Megan and I have actually used up some of our brain cells by memorizing all of the lyrics. If anything, we performed an act of charity because Justin is getting all of the love these days and JC was just left behind in the dust when he went solo. Probably because he sang about jerking off. 

30 for 30 time…and another shot of, what I like to call, the TOOL wall in my brother’s room! 

Black Drape Cardigan- Kohl’s

Grey Striped Tank Top- Kohl’s

Leggings- Kohl’s

I’m really excited to get a haircut on Tuesday. My bangs are doing the Belle thing, where one will just hang out, no matter what you do to it. It’s all good though, Belle was always tied with Ariel in the number one spot when it came to Disney Princesses. Let’s just say this, if I could, I would live in the Library of Congress. You know the part of the movie where Beast shows Belle his library and says that she can use it to her heart’s delight? That’s how I felt when I received my Library of Congress card.


$394.10

That was the amount of my paycheck today. Usually I don’t gloat about these things. Yet after receiving $161.80 from New York State Unemployment every single week since November 15th, I was ecstatic to hold a check in my hands that was rewarding me for a hard day’s work. Although I would have been elated to receive $161.80 every week when I was in high school or college, I found out you can’t do much with $161.80 in the real world, even when you’re living with your parents. First thing I’m doing is that I’m paying for my car insurance, knock off some credit card payments, and get a haircut. I need to save up the rest because I get paid two weeks from now. 

(notice that the little brother’s room is still as classy as ever and the Maxim shrine is growing like wildfire. Look at the top of the windows. And the Solo Cup from Monday’s picture is still there. Kid’s turning 18 on Sunday.)

Honestly, that’s the beauty of 30 for 30. I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but you’re not allowed to shop during the challenge. Yesterday, I wrote how much I wanted to re-create Matt Berninger’s look  and I thought that I wouldn’t be able to until 30 for 30 was over because I needed a tie. I decided to attempt to tie my scarf in a way that made it look like a tie. This is honestly one of my favorite outfits I’ve created so far for 30 for 30. The only thing I would change about it is that I wish I was able to wear it with leggings but leggings aren’t exactly appropriate when you’re working at a law firm. This is also a very awkward pose. Then again, I’m a very awkward person to begin with so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that as I was trying to figure out a cool pose, I tripped over myself, noticed that the self timer was going off and it was either now or never. The result is this picture. 

  • Vest- New York and Company
  • White Button Up- New York and Company
  • Jeans- American Eagle
  • Moccasins- Minnetonka
  • Belt- Gap
  • Scarf- Maxwell’s, the variety shop every kid from Oneonta visits at least once during their college career. 

This weekend, I don’t feel bad that I’m not in Albany and missing the nightlife. Why? I’m still sick right now. If I was living in Albany, I’d be doing what I’m doing right now at home. Staying in. It feels awesome.

it takes an ocean not to break.

Today solidified the fact that people who specialize in researching legislative history are good people in my book. I was trained to how to use LRS, which is basically New York State’s legislative research database. I’m no stranger when it comes to researching legislation, that was basically my job when I interned at the FCC. Just like the staff at the FCC, my trainer at LRS was so nice. Honestly, even though it’s a lot of behind the scenes work, I really enjoy researching legislation. I find the whole process fascinating, especially when it comes to analyzing the intent behind a certain bill. The only downside to the day was that my sinuses are still killing me. I just want to sleep this whole thing off.

I’m getting more excited about things now. It was cute, one of my friends asked me if I had a guy in my life and I told her that my love life is non-existent. I don’t know what it is, but I’m really secure in my life right now. That things are going to be good, no matter what. My friend told me that she wants to take a road trip in the summertime since she’s going to be laid off by then. I realized that I will be too, the internship ends in July. Pre-campaign Alex would have been scared to death about that. Not knowing what’s going to happen next. Post-campaign Alex doesn’t worry about that kind of stuff anymore. I was so worried when I was in Potsdam about the aftermath and what’s going to happen next. I wish I never did. Yeah, it’s good to have a healthy fear of uncertainty but I don’t want to think of things like that anymore. I just want to dive into life and just take each day as it goes…smile, run down the streets, laugh, laugh, and laugh some more, be carefree, lay in the grass, listen to music, hike up mountains, and jump into rivers. In fact- I used to do all of those things. For a while, I thought they weren’t going to happen again. Now I see that no matter what happens to me in life, I will always have that part of myself…

Why?

I don’t think I want to know the answer. It would ruin all of the fun.

This is my “I have already gone through a box of tissues and my sinuses are dragging me down” face. I thought about not doing a 30 for 30 picture because I look like death but what’s one bad picture going to do to me? Nothing. In my hands I have my certificate stating that I’m a rockstar when it comes to researching legislation and Mucinex. Combine the two together and you have one productive Alex when she’s feeling under the weather. 

  • Scarf from the Pear Tree (I’ve been wearing this a lot this week)
  • Dress from Forever 21
  • Vest from New York and Company (wore that yesterday)
  • Belt from Forever 21
  • Tights from American Eagle
  • Boots by White Mountain via DSW
  • Flowered bobby pin from H&M

There is a look I want to try out. I’m embarrassed to say it but I had no idea that The National existed until last April. I wish I knew of them sooner because I have clearly been missing out on some great music. High Violet is one of my favorite albums of 2010 and it got me through some pretty tough nights in Potsdam when I was homesick. 

Also, I think that Matt Berninger, the lead singer, is dead sexy. His wife is a lucky, lucky woman. This might sound weird but I want to recreate his look…he wore an outfit like this when he was performing in Brooklyn:

I want to see in March if a vest, a tie, and a cute button up would look as good on me as it does on him. I think we’ll make it my first outfit as soon as 30 for 30 is over.

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