A Conversation with my Mother on "Groundhog Day" , and while she Might Think I'm Crazy, I think I Make Total Sense

My Mom visited this past weekend.  She came out with some neighbors who were checking out the University of Pittsburgh.  It was a really fun weekend (it's always fun to show off Pittsburgh to people visiting for the first time).  We drank champagne (because I was all out of regular wine), I put her to work crafting for Love of Friends (she's a teacher, cutting things and crafting is a talent of hers), and at one point we started talking about the movie Groundhog Day.

Mom: "That's a movie I would like to watch.  I haven't seen that in ages."

Me:  "Yea, that's a good movie.  Well, we could certainly rent that."
        "Man that would suck.  Out of all the days to have to relive...Groundhog day?  Really?"
        "Although, I guess it would be better than re-living, say, Christmas over and over and over."

Mom: "Why???"

Me:  "Because, then it would be like that story you read to us as kids about the boy who wishes it was Christmas every day, and then Christmas was absolutely horrible!"

Mom:  "I guess reliving Christmas every day would not be so great."

Me:  "Really, the only way it wouldn't be so bad, is if you were re-living a totally normal, boring uneventful day over and over."

Mom: "wait, what?"

Me:  "You know, a totally average day, then it wouldn't be so bad to relive it, cause really, Tuesdays aren't all that different from Wednesdays, and most of the time you can't really tell the week days apart anyways, so it wouldn't be so bad.  Maybe you're living Tuesday over again, but maybe it's actually Wednesday which just feels a lot like Tuesday."

Mom:  "Ew, that's weird.  Why do you think that?"

The discussion kind of ended there because I was exhausted and went to bed.

But I still think I'm right, and not that I'd like to have to live any day over and over again, but if I did, I'd want it to be some random boring Tuesday over Christmas or any other holiday for sure.  I feel like when it's all said and done, the special occasions and holidays are great, but what we'll really miss are the boring average every-days.  What do you think?

Thoughts While Apartment Searching on Craigslist

2 bedroom in Pittsburgh...oh really?  Pittsburgh?  that's it?  That's as specific as you're going to get?  Well guess what I don't even believe you. There's no way this apartment is even anywhere near Pittsburgh.


This is nice!  Oh my gosh this is so nice!  No wonder, for that much money it better be nice!  WHY DON'T I MAKE A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR?!?!?!  :: reconsiders career in non-profit ::

This is cool, this is nice.  The northside!  Gah!  Why the northside? That might as well be Siberia without a car!  Maybe I should buy a car...


Ew.  floor to floor carpeting.  no.  


This looks promising :: opens listing :: oh no. no way we're living in a building that looks like that.  How did that design ever get approved?  The seventies must have been an awful time...


Hmmm, handyman special.  We could do that.  We're industrious!  And the rent is so cheap!  of course, we've talked about doing a lot of things... and we're really not home much... and I don't really want to spend the time I'm home ripping out tiling... and I always hate painting 5 minutes into the process.




So Precisely and I are moving.  Well, looking to move.  And yes, we have a pretty sweet apartment.  Open, with lots of natural lighting, tons of space, a sweet shared walk-in closet, BUT, we've also had a leaking roof since I moved in.  And it's been patched, but it keeps coming back, leaks spring up in new places, and we're not in college anymore, so a leaky roof is neither romantic or tolerated, and our landlord seems to be less than interested in the maintenance of the roof, and we don't have money to make him an offer for the building... so we're moving.

Anyone know of a 2-3 bedroom apt. opening up in Lawrenceville come May or June???

Hanging With the Wicked Smart kids, How do you Like Them Apples???

So Boston.  It was great.  Couldn't have gone much better actually.

On work:
The meetings were fantastic.  Informative, productive, more successful than I think any of us had originally anticipated, and have only furthered our excitement and enthusiasm in moving this project forward.  Nothing beats an education like the one you get through learning by doing.  The learning curve might be steep for us, but it's also such an exciting space to be in.

On travel
Boston gives next to no warning in terms of traffic.  You see a sign for an exit/detour/closed lane and it happens right away.  We put our rented Camry through it's paces, but it all worked out.   Even when we got stuck, in a snow bank, in a cemetery in New Hampshire, and dug our way out with a sign.

I couldn't have made this up if I'd tried.

On Cambridge
We were staying right in Harvard Square, which actually proved to be more boring than one would think.  Apparently, the wicked smart kids spend their weekends studying or something because it was surprisingly quiet for a college campus.  This was especially strange for 3 kids that had gone to state schools.  We still managed to have a good time though; ate, drank, danced, and were merry.

Also, you can't get into Harvard's library without a Harvard ID.  You can request a guest pass, but the process seemed to require a process more intense than that of applying for a passport.

All in all, Princeton > Harvard.

On Coffee Shops
Maybe because, like Seattle, Pittsburgh is often gray and rainy, so we have a large number of coffee shops on any given street, in any given neighborhood.  And nice coffee shops too.  Coffee shops that are warm and cozy, and have good lighting and lots of table space, and comfy couches, and make you want to spend your afternoon working there.

This is not the case at Harvard.  There are apparently only 4-5 cafes in the neighborhood, meaning that on a Saturday, they are swarmed and overflowing with students.  This lack of space resulted in us holding an afternoon work session at a Mexican restaurant.  As it turns out, margaritas and queso sauce, make for a pretty good time while outlining operational processes, and drafting financial projections.  Note to self: Hold more meetings at Mexican restaurants.  Note to Cambridge: More coffee shops.

"For Boston" - The Hold Steady

Back-Up Singers, Boston, and Sacrificing One Dream for Another

When I was 7, I wanted to be a back-up singer.  I had seen an episode of Full House, which had concluded with a performance by Jesse and the Rippers.  My young impressionable self decided that being a back-up singer would obviously be just about the coolest thing ever.

I told my Dad about my back-up singing ambitions, and he was more than supportive.  "I think that would be so fun," he responded, "being up there with the band, in the midst of all the excitement, it would be great!"

Then I told my Mom.  Her response was a little different.  "A back-up singer?!  Why don't you want to  be the lead singer??"

I did it anyways.  In college.  Katie Geise and the Polygons was probably my peak of coolness.

(KG & the PG's)

So, when the artist asked if I would be interested in singing back up with her band Big Hurry for their upcoming CD release show, I was thrilled.

Look at them!  Aren't they cool?  I have crushes on all of them!

However, as I grew up, my ambitions began to expand beyond that of being a back-up singer.  Somewhere along the way, the idea of entrepreneurship and being part of creating a business popped into my head, and has been something I haven't been able to shake.  Then, because of my current work in non profit, I became more and more interested in the newly emerging 4th sector, the triple bottom line theory, trade vs. aid, and how businesses can positively impact and perhaps even solve social problems.

Somehow, the stars aligned and I've found myself involved with a group of truly amazing individuals who are working on forming a social venture in Haiti.  There was some nice press on the project that was picked up by Yahoo a couple of weeks ago.

We have the opportunity to go to Boston this weekend to meet with some industry folks who can hopefully give us some more insight and education into how to make this operation work.

Unfortunately, going to Boston means missing the CD release show.  More than missing the opportunity to sing back-up and maybe play tambourine, I'm upset that I will be missing the show.  I have watched this band from their first public performance, evolving into the talented group they are now, and becoming friends with them along the way.  I'm sad to miss out on celebrating this major milestone with them.

So, if you are in Pittsburgh, I urge you to go to Brillobox on Friday.  Big Hurry puts on a great live show, they have awesome guests performing with them, it will be a great time.

As for me, I'll be rocking out to the the new CD on the plane to Boston, because watching a business evolve is pretty cool too.

Being Swedish

(or, Precisely's advice on how to get through winter.)

While getting ready for work this morning...

Precisely: "Have you checked the weather yet?"

Me: "No.  Why?  What's it doing?"

Precisely: "It's 0 degrees out."

Me: "%*#$!!!" stamps foot  "I can't do this anymore!  I'm sick of my snowboots, I hate my puffy coat, and I don't want to wear 17 layers!"

Precisely: raises eyebrows "It's not patience.  It's not a toddler having a temper tantrum.  It's winter.  It comes once a year, and we have another 2 months of it, and you have to deal with that."

Me: sulks

Precisely: "Just be sure you bundle up."

Me: "I'm sick of all my winter clothes, I have nothing to wear."

Precisely: "Just be Swedish."

Me: skeptical look

Precisely:  "Put on the biggest sweater you own, a small skirt, some thick tights, and goofy shoes, and you'll be all set."

So that's what I did.  10 minutes later, Precisely comes back into the closet.

"Cute," he said. "Isn't it fun being Swedish?"

"I guess so?" I responded. "What will be fun is when it's warm again."

"hey," he said. "You're parents could have never moved out of Minnesota, and then you'd be stuck there, where it's really cold."

Truth.  Here's to another 2 months of winter.

En-ter-tained

So far, the year 2011 has left me with more interesting entertainment than I almost know what to do with.

- The 4th Season of Big Love is finally on On Demand.
               Polygamy, gambling, affairs, smuggling, murder, politics, family, faith, cults.  What will those wacky Mormons get into next?

- For Christmas my Dad got me a subscription to the New Yorker.
              "You're a grown-up now," he said.  "It's time to start reading the New Yorker."  Which is AWESOME.  But, it comes once a week, which means I barely have time to finish one issue, when the next one comes.

- Precisely, for ages has been telling me to listen to the podcasts by radiolab.  I finally took his advice, and am full on addicted.  It is SO COOL!  They talk about all kinds of things, from lying and deception, to heroes and altruism, to success.  They interview really interesting people, and have a wonderful way of making science, math, and technology fascinating, even to us normal people who have little to no understanding of those kinds of things.  (Holly, if you're reading this, they did a brief episode on "the voices in our head" and how we can talk to ourselves, which was the discussion after dinner at Christmas.)

At this rate, I don't think I'll be bored until April.

Resolved

2011:

1. Talk less, listen more.
2. Eat less white sugar.
3. Read more fiction.
4. Strength training.  Just do it.
5. Man up and find a dentist.  Then make an appointment with said dentist and get your teeth cleaned.
6. Start using quality detergent or lavender water or something that will make your clothes smell AWESOME, and maybe encourage you to do your laundry on a more frequent basis than once a month.
7. Buy a hula hoop.
8. Cook yourself a good meal once a week.
9. Make your bed.
10. Tweet less, kiss more.