growing

1. I continue to sleep it off and, slowly, feel better.

2. Despite this, I am able to work from home so that I don't feel like a total leech on society.

3. I'm learning who my friends are.

newness and returns

1. Starting up a new photography blog has made me pay more attention to my camera and my surroundings.

2. I am finally starting to breathe again.

3. Lent, as always, brings reflection and opportunities.

limerence, surprises, and speed

I count the hours and get butterflies in my stomach as each one passes, even after almost two years. Limerence is a fantastic thing, and I hope it never goes away.

I get a phone call on the way home from work informing me that I have a flower delivery. I grin and expect the usual lilies (always wonderful) but am greeted with a surprise full of tulips instead.

My new computer rips through tasks that took the old one forever.

Sweets, Warmth, and Nonchalance

A rice krispie treat from the vending machine perfectly complements my morning coffee.

It's warm out. For the first time this year, I head to work leaving my long coat at home. This fake spring will be missed when winter returns next week, but I'm enjoying it for now.

A subway horn coming down the tunnel makes me jump, but a nearby infant is completely unconcerned.

amusement, foreshadowing, and surprises

Linguistic conversations in Spanish amuse the hell out of me. "Is it ombudsman or ombudswoman if the person is female?" "Ombudsman. Kind of like how it's 'la defensor del pueblo'." "No. I'm a feminist. I'm putting ombudswoman."

I step outside and notice that I don't immediately lose feeling in my arms and legs. It's not Spring yet, but this is a nice preview.

I am surprised every time I look down at my hands - surely these polished and put together nails cannot be mine.

getting older, dreams, and comfort

"So long as we get to be old together, I'm ok with being old."

Planning vacations and various weddings makes me dreamy.

A phone call to my mother comforts me even though I'm feeling sickly.

happiness, sunshine, and espionage

A man dances on the street corner with his baby girl in arms. His face glows with absolute exuberance.

I miss my exit on the way home and take the longer way, but it's nice, since the sun shines on my face as I scan the radio for familiarity and intrigue.

My cousin and I bond over the wonderfully high tech special effects in old James Bond movies.

dancing, whistling, and dreaming

My muscles ache from the much needed pilates class. The instructor asked if I used to be a dancer: "You spot all the time. Did you dance?" "No, I just fall a lot, so I need to see where I'm going."

It's warmer out. As I walk to the doctor at lunchtime, the man next to me softly whistles and unrecognizable but enchanting tune.

I spend a large part of the day daydreaming, a past time I have not engaged in in far too long.

25 things

1. I did not pop my knuckles until college, since my mother believed that it made your knuckles big and smacked my hands whenever I tried.
2. Competitive piano for 12 years is what actually made my knuckles big.
3. I play a number of instruments but want to learn more. So far, piano, violin, voice, and a bit of harmonica and guitar. On the list: getting better at the guitar, learning to play my djembe, and possibly playing the banjo.
4. I am constantly lucky with good internships. I find great organizations, but even within the organization, I end up with the best assignments and supervisors - not because I'm more qualified (I'm generally not), just because I'm lucky. Hopefully I will be as lucky with permanent jobs.
5. I wanted to be a litigator for a very, very long time. Writing a thesis on poverty alleviation and seeing the excess and total obliviousness of law school changed that.
6. I am (mostly) fluent in Spanish. I really want to learn French, Portuguese, and Russian.
7. If I won the lottery, I would pay back my debts, travel, learn lots of languages, and start a poverty NGO.
8. When I was a child, I wanted to be a concert pianist, a piano teacher, or a lawyer. When I got mad at my piano teacher, the list was modified to concert pianist, lawyer, or rockstar. I still kinda want to be a rockstar.
9. I hated being tall growing up except for when we played basketball in gym class. I hated being tall as a grownup until I rode a crowded bus in Spain. Now I'm sort of ok with it, unless I'm shopping for pants, in which case the angst returns.
10. I love coffee but only recently started drinking it in the morning. Generally I prefer to drink it like most people drink alcohol - very late at night and with friends. I drink enough of it that the caffeine in a latte doesn't seem to affect me unless it's a double or triple shot. I loathe chain coffeeshops and prefer independent, kinda dirty ones.
11. I acquire a lot of books but am happy to lend most of them to others or give them away once I've read them. The only exception to this is my dogeared copy of On the Road, which I've read about thirty times in the seven years I've owned it. Despite this philosophy, I still have boxes full of books at my grandmother's house, my apartment in Austin, and (already), my temporary apartment here.
12. I absolutely love to take photos. My favorites are candids and landscapes, since the photographer has more control over the result of the photo than the subject, so it allows for more creativity on my part.
13. I've been all over the US and most of Spain. My favorite cities are Barcelona, Austin, Asheville, and San Francisco. I was thoroughly enchanted by Portland but not there long enough to judge.
14. I was terribly shy until the middle of high school and am returning to that despite my best efforts.
15. My best friends are the ones I can talk for hours with about pretty much nothing using little to no effort. I haven't had many of them, but they're especially dear to me, and I am distraught if I fall out of touch with them.
16. I want to live somewhere that is near the mountains and the water. This puts me on either coast. Haven't narrowed it down much past that.
17. I came to college determined to study microdevelopment and majoring in International Business and Business Economics. I got into International Business but hated statistics and all other business classes. I changed majors to Spanish and Political Science. I still wrote my thesis on microdevelopment, but with very few sigma symbols.
18. I have a very concrete sense of personal space and don't like strangers touching me, which has made an internship with people from different cultures interesting. Despite this, I am very affectionate with the people I love.
19. I am excited to have time for recreational reading this semester. I am almost done with Secrets of a Fire King. I picked out two new books on Amazon - Love Letters of Great Men, and Pathologies of Power by Paul Farmer. I don't think this is a common combination. I'm more excited about Paul Farmer than the other one.
20. I competed in debate for seven years but absolutely hate arguing over anything. I viewed debate as a game and reveled in the fact that, after an hour of heated argument, things usually ended with the beeping of a timer and everyone could go get coffee together.
21. I absolutely love to cook and can spend hours looking at recipe websites. Despite this, I generally use recipes as a loose guide of where to go rather than actual instructions.
22. I'm a grammar nazi and get some sick enjoyment out of my role as an editor on a journal at my law school. A few times a semester, I seriously contemplate buying a tshirt that says "Bad grammar makes me [sic]." I blame my mother.
23. I have a love/hate relationship with instant communication. It allows me to keep in close contact with my friends, but that contact is more shallow with a lot of people than it would otherwise be. I have similar attitudes about the 25 things note - I think it's a great exercise, and I love learning more about people, but I feel like they should at the very least ask or talk to me. That's why I'm doing it this way :)
24. My two favorite clothing items are my knee high black leather high-heeled boots and my worn red carolina hoodie.
25. I believe that beaches and coffee are both better enjoyed at night with good friends.