Dear Josh

Remember FD1?

Remember when he winked at me a month or so ago?

Remember when he winked at me again on Sunday? Remember when I sent him the following e-mail?*

Dear Josh,


Thanks for winking at me. It's good to know you think I'm attractive and still (yes, still) think we might be good together. Unfortunately, we're not a good match. How do I know? Because we went out once before and then you asked me out again and I politely declined saying we're not a good match. Why aren't we a good match? Unfortunately, I don't like baseball and I know you have season tickets for the Yankees. Also, I'm not going to hang out with you at your place a.k.a. your parents' place. As much fun as I'd probably have with your parents (parents like me), I don't want to go with the three of y'all to your country house this summer.


I am glad you're "getting out there" and meeting people, but honestly, you're making my self-esteem plummet. Please stop.


Best of luck,
Sarah


*I may not have sent the e-mail above, but I am this close.

PowerPoint Makes Us Stupid

In honor of not moving forward in an application process solely based on a 3 slide PowerPoint, I give you "PowerPoint makes us stupid."

Don't be such a pill

Fifty years ago next week, the FDA approved the birth control pill as first oral contraceptive. Like all matters regarding sex, the pill's approval was not met without controversy. Some doctors claimed that the birth control pill would be the end to the world's poverty problem, to divorce, to unwed pregnancy. Others feared it would make men impotent because, if on the pill, women would become the more dominant sexual partner which, duh, would make men feel inferior.

Obviously, the pill has stuck around. While most women go on "it" to prevent unwanted pregnancy, there are other benefits such as clearing up acne and regulating cycles. Getting a prescription for birth control pills is almost like a rite of passage. Every woman has her own reasons for doing so, but fortunately, taking birth control correctly usually produces the same end result: no babies.

That's where birth control pills end. Yes, there are no babies (usually). There's clearer skin. There's the fact that you're period comes like clockwork (unless you're me and you have a period for a month and you're not having sex - super fun). But, there's still diseases. For some reason a lot of people (who don't want to get pregnant) think that getting pregnant is the worst thing that can happen if you have sex, but it's not. Don't get me wrong. Pregnancy is life altering even if you're not on 16 and Pregnant. Birth control pills can prevent pregnancy when used correctly, but they cannot prevent STDs. End of story.

I am glad that women have the choice to use birth control pills as a type of contraceptive, but I hope that most are smart enough to only use them in monogamous relationships.

Running Across the Grass

As far as parks go, it's hard to beat Central Park. I'm sure you can, but there's something about a massive (843 acres) park surrounded by skyscrapers that makes it magical. There's a zoo, two ice-skating rinks, and a castle. Come on - how do you beat a park with a zoo and a castle?

Amazingly, this post is not about Central Park but rather Bryant Park. Bryant Park sits steps away from Times Square and is home to the New York Public Library. Not surprisingly, Bryant Park used to be a bit shady (not in the tree-lined sense of the word) and was the frequent site of muggings and drug deals. (It says so on the park's website. I'm not just exaggerating.) Now, Bryant Park hosts Fashion Week twice a year. It's also the permanent home to public ping pong tables, chess tables, restaurants and bars, and a carousel. During the winter there is a skating rink on the lawn surrounded by a holiday market. In the summer time, they hold free outdoor movies on the lawn.

Normally, the lawn opens in the late spring for the local business person to enjoy during lunch. Because of all the rain we had over the winter, the lawn is currently roped off. There's a sign that says it will open on April 30 - only a few more days! Amazingly, people don't cross the rope and walk through the grass. I was incredibly tempted to run across the park the other day, but resisted. I envisioned being tackled by Bryant Park security guards like those crazy people at baseball games that jump into the outfield and run across the grass before they're tackled and arrested. I don't think I would have been arrested for running across the park lawn, but I didn't think it was a good theory to test.

On Friday, I worked from Bryant Park for the afternoon. (Did I mention free wireless?) A coworker and I got there right around lunch time and it was packed. Luckily, we found two seats next to a couple finishing up lunch at one of the few tables in the park and slipped into their seats once the left. They offered to let us sit with them, but I didn't want to crowd them. (Who says New Yorkers aren't nice?) As the day progressed, the business people left and more tourists and families arrived. I looked up and there was a couple next to me waving to someone behind me. I turned to see who it was because I'm nosy like that and saw a little girl, perhaps 2-years old, wandering on the lawn. Her parents were beckoning her towards them, but all she saw was freedom in the grass. She ran her waddle-y run further into the middle of the lawn. Not wanting to cross the barrier onto the grass, her parents followed along the edge of the lawn. Unfortunately, hundreds of people sat along the perimeter of the lawn, myself included, and so they had to walk behind a few rows of people sitting. The little girl went deeper and deeper into the lawn and thus further and further from her parents. Everyone sitting along the perimeter began to watch as she ran uninhibited through the grass, jealous that she was free from judgment for running through the yard. As the little girl approached the far end of the lawn she realized her parents were "lost" in the crowd and she turned around to run back. Sensing that this was not the course she should take she turned back again. Then she started to cry. Her parents called her name and waved to her frantically. She saw them finally, started waving back, and ran towards them.

Inhibitions are one of those weird, learned behaviors that are introduced at a young age. The little girl never cared that people were watching her run across the grass. It was only when she couldn't find her parents that she noticed something was strange. Still, she didn't care about the people watching her. Although I don't know for sure, I would put money down that the little girl would be much more cognizant of all the watchful eyes in a few short years. Certainly, some are less concerned with what their peers think than others, but most people have some level of inhibition.

I wish I was a brave as the little girl running through Bryant Park.

Project Plans - Part 2

Interview for job 1 - nice.

Project plan for job 2 - 3 slide powerpoint.

Job 1 already has a pool for the specific location I applied for, but good thing we have the same job for alternate locations. NYC for the year; somewhere else for 7 weeks in the summer. It'll be like summer camp, right?

Project Plans

I've applied for two jobs . . . I'm on my way.

Ready, set, project plan.

No really.

Plan a conference for 50 people in Houston by Friday at 9:00 a.m.

Perhaps one of the most random posts ever

Ugh. I did something super stupid last week. Really, really stupid. Hopefully, forgivably stupid, but stupid all the same.

You know those conversations that you shouldn't have with people? I'm talking about the kind of conversation where you know what the answer is before you ask the question, not just where you think you know the answer. The kind of conversation that you wouldn't normally have, but after a few drinks and very little food you decide should be had anyway. The kind of conversation where the other person tries to change the subject but indulges you anyway at least for a little while - longer, perhaps, than he should have and definitely longer than he wanted. The kind of conversation where you wake up the next morning not sure of the damage you may have done and a week later you're still unsure.

Know the kind of conversation I'm talking about? Yeah, I did that. I turned what would have been a really good night with a friend into something awesomely bad. Ugh. 

I'm one of those people who really does learn from all the experiences in my life, but I kind of wish I could edit that one mostly because I don't like the feeling of uncertainty. Fingers crossed I didn't completely cross the line and kill a friendship. Why do I care that we still remain  friends? Because I do. That's who I am. I move forward, and I try to bring it all with me. (It's super fun being me sometimes.)

I supposed time will tell. Bah.

Men in Tights

I went to Boston for the weekend not too long ago. It was the same weekend as Anime Boston which, according to the events website, boasted over 17,000 attendees. It's "New England's largest celebration of of Japanese animation, comics and pop culture." Events included an auction, panels, karaoke, and game shows, as well as a costume contest and starlight ball. I can appreciate the artistry of the comics. I can even understand thousands of people coming together to celebrate something. I draw the line when grown men dress as an animated character. Yup, that's right kids, grown men dressed up as animated characters. While waiting for the bus back to New York I stood next to a man dressed in all black, leather, a sword, and a funny hat (pointed, made of straw). That I don't get. Why would you spend your weekend dressed up in such a silly way? I just don't get it.

Instead of attending the anime convention, I spent the weekend with a good friend enjoying the historic sights (and sites) and seafood. Who doesn't love history and seafood?

This nice fellow let me have my picture taken with him. He's dressed as a colonist (a.k.a. Revolutionary War soldier) at the Battle of Concord.








Oh the hypocrisy. Love it.