the wonderful world of veena.

another month gone.

2012-02-27T13:50:00.001-06:00

With February coming to a close, I thought I would reflect on how I did with this month's resolutions:

no facebook. Other than checking it twice - once to get contact information for something that was due for my Professionalism class, and once because Facebook kept sending me emails saying that I had notifications pending - I've been good about following this one. And I have to say, it's been really nice. It took me a few days to get out of the routine of clicking on it, but once I managed about three or four days, I was fine. I'm hoping that my use from now on will be scaled back a bit, but who knows.

sending one personal email each day to a friend. Hmm. I definitely did not do this every day. I don't know why I think I will keep up with something like that. I will say that I was definitely better about correspondence this month than I usually am, and I did email people more than usual, but I was nowhere near close to sending one email each day. I'm hoping to stick to a goal of one or two per week from now on.

Additionally, as some of you might know, I stopped drinking in the middle of January as part of my training for my 10k, and I am happy to report that I have stuck with that. I did not, however, also stick to my plan of giving up soda. I was doing really well until a family dinner at Texas de Brazil, when my brother ordered himself a Dr Pepper. It just looked so refreshing, and it looked like it went so well with the food, that I couldn't resist. I'm not drinking as much soda as I was leading up to the holidays, so that's at least something positive I can take from that.

I'm coming up with my resolutions / goals for the month of March and will be posting those in the next few days.

Happy Monday!
xx

a few fun things on the horizon.

2012-02-26T18:43:00.001-06:00

This semester is turning out to be one wacky ride, both within and outside of school.

Practicum is trying its best to swallow me whole between now and Spring Break, and I am refusing to allow that to happen. Our final deliverables to our partners are due in the coming weeks, in addition to a project for Program Evaluation. It's going to be hectic and busy and crazy, but I'm confident I'll survive it.

Outside of school, I have many other things that are keeping me busy, but they are all things I am excited about, such as:

babies. One of my classmates just had a baby last week, and my good friend Lisa Jain is expecting her first baby in May. That means that as of today, I have already attended two baby showers in the last month. I would say that's more than enough, but I'm just waiting to hear someone else speak up and say they are expecting as well.

a fun-filled wedding and all the fun-filled activities that go along with it. Catherine and Drew are getting married in Little Rock at the end of April, so not only does that mean I got to go to Miami for an awesome bachelorette weekend, but it also means that I get to attend many fun events here in Little Rock to celebrate their upcoming marriage. There was a celebration dinner last weekend, and there is a wine-tasting shower for Catherine in two weeks, complete with an appearance by a sommelier. I can't wait for that one. And then comes the actual wedding weekend at the very end of April.

race weekend. That's right, that 10k that I've been referring to since September is finally about to happen. Marathon weekend is a week away, and I'm looking forward to it. For one, I am confident that I can actually complete the entire race, which is not something I would have said six months ago. For another, there are a lot of Clinton School students participating in the various races, so we're going to get a few cheering sections together along the route.

kickball. Yep, it's that time of year again. Kickball season starts the same day as the Marathon, which seems a little wacky to me, but I guess that's why I'm not the one in charge. I'm looking forward to this season - we're keeping the novice team fun, which is how it's supposed to be. After all - as Nathan Jesson puts it - it's a sport designed for 10-year-olds.

spring break. Oh yes, in between all of this is that little vacation I planned for myself to visit the Mann siblings in London and Paris in mid-March. I am so looking forward to seeing them. Only 20 days until I set food in London-town. That's so soon!

tom petty and the heartbreakers AND regina spektor in concert. They're playing together here in Little Rock in April, so Angela and I decided we should get ourselves some tickets for that.

[these next 3 are technically after school ends, but they deserve recognition as well]

san francisco! Miriam and Dave have been living out there for nearly three years now, and I have yet to get out there to see them. That also means that I haven't actually seen Miriam and Dave in nearly three years. I decided that I needed to see them before I headed back to Bangalore, and upon some searching, I realized that tickets from Little Rock to San Francisco are pretty reasonably priced. And about $200 cheaper than flying from Memphis. So I coordinated with Miriam and booked myself some tickets for the weekend after school wraps up. Not only am I thrilled at the prospect of spending a solid three days with them, but San Francisco is also the home of the global office of room to read, so I will also get to meet the people with whom I've been communicating all these months.

walker's wedding. My dear senior year Rhodes roommate Emily Walker is getting married Memorial Day weekend in Memphis, which of course I can't miss. Her wedding is at the Dixon Galleries in Memphis, so it's going to be both beautiful and an awesome throw-down. I'll get to see a lot of people I haven't seen in years, which I am very excited about. So that makes two babies and two weddings in one semester. There must be something in the water.

bangalore, istanbul, nepal! Since my dates for my IPSP got pushed back, I'm going to have close to 6 weeks in Bangalore to hang out with everyone and catch up and hopefully finalize my Capstone project. And in the middle of those 6 weeks, my awesome Clinton School classmate Kellen is getting married in Istanbul, so I'm going to treat myself by taking a little trip over there for his wedding. So now we're at three weddings, all within a span of three and a half months. I sure hope it's not catching... And then it's back to Bangalore for a few weeks - which will hopefully include a visit from my Macaroni - and then up to Delhi for a bit, over to Kathmandu for a week, and then to rural Bardiya for a few months.

Like I said, it's going to be busy. But I am genuinely thrilled about all of these events. I'm trying to squeeze in a trip to Hot Springs for the races, a trip to Fayetteville for an Arkansas baseball game, and / or a trip to St Louis to hang out with preggo Lisa. We'll see. I'm running out of weekends!

Any ideas for other things I should add?
xx

gifts from home.

2012-02-22T08:03:00.000-06:00

Amai recently sent a few things for me with one of Kishore's colleagues who came to Syracuse for training, and my parcel arrived from Syracuse yesterday. The main thing was my USB drive that I had left there in July. It's been a long process to get that back to me, but I felt there was no point in buying a new one when I knew I had a perfectly good one that just needed a little extra help finding its way here.

The other thing she sent were two 2012 Peace Child India calendars. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, PCI printed nice calendars to sell to friends and former interns. Since she knew someone was coming in February, she waited a few months to send them to me. It was so nice to page through it and see the pictures that they chose to use. Brought back some great memories from my Boys' Home and traveling days. Since she sent two, I displayed one in our kitchen and have kept one for my room.

And the last gift, the one that nearly made me cry, was about ten 5-Star bars that she and Kishore had sent along with the other things. I knew about the other stuff, but the 5-Stars were a complete surprise and made me completely homesick. Yesterday had been a really long day - we were on the road around 6.45 for Practicum, and I didn't return home until nearly 9.30 that night - so not only was it awesome to receive a parcel, but to find such an unintended and completely thoughtful and awesome gift inside was fantastic. I definitely teared up a little.

It made me remember how nice it is to receive little things from home, little reminders that people remember you and are eager to have you back. It also made a list begin forming in my head of all the little things I am looking forward to once I hit Bangalore shores in June. Things like 5-Stars. And Cadbury Crackles. And gobi manchurian... But that's a list for another day. And believe me, it's going to be a good one.

But for today, I'm enjoying a little taste of home, thanks to my Boss and my Bava.
xx

10k tuesday: it's crunch time.

2012-02-21T23:41:00.000-06:00

Race day is in less than 2 weeks!

While I haven't gotten up to the full 6.2 miles - and I most likely won't now that it's so close - I ran 5.5 over the weekend and survived. It took a bit longer than I would have liked, but I'm partly chalking that up to not having run a long distance in two weeks. Which is my own fault, I know. So I'll live with it. And also to the fact that somewhere between miles 3 and 4, I seem to just hit a brick wall. I need to work on that. In the next 2 weeks.

Since I'm not supposed to run too long of a distance the week before the race, I was thinking that I might do a 6.5-7 mile jog/walk, just to keep myself in practice and to get used to a longer distance. As in, jog 3/4 of a mile, walk 1/4 of a mile, and repeat. That way I'm still getting in a good run, but I'm not attempting to do the whole thing at once and "running" the risk of injuring myself [pun intended, even if it is a bad one]. Which is, in all honesty, always a possibility with me.

At this point, I'm just ready for the race to be here.
Then I have to find new ways to motivate myself to keep running.
xx

it's a small world after all.

2012-02-15T20:35:00.000-06:00

One of the things I can never get over living in Little Rock is how small and inter-connected this town is. Since moving here at the end of July, I have consistently run into people I know. And not just people from Helena, although there have been quite a few of them, but also people from Rhodes and Memphis and even someone from Chattanooga.

And it's not just running into people I already knew prior to moving to Little Rock. It's also continually running into people I've met while here. I was at Town Pump one night and ran into a guy whose kickball game I had umped a few weeks prior. And it's meeting people who know people I know. One of my friends from college was in town from DC a few months ago and we realized that he grew up with one of my classmates at the Clinton School. My dean knows one of my dad's close friends from Helena. While in Miami a last month, one of Catherine's friends from Little Rock was telling a story about her cousin, and somewhere in the middle of it, I realized her cousin was one of the second-year students at the Clinton School. And just tonight, at a Create Little Rock event for Little Rock graduate students, I ran into two girls from Helena as well as Angela's classmate from law school who knows both of them, plus a ton of other kids from Helena.

I always knew Arkansas was a small place, but I guess I just never realized how overlapping all the circles were.

It's a small world, for sure. And shrinking every day.
xx

book update: the lost flamingoes of bombay.

2012-02-11T10:02:00.000-06:00

Well, I finished The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay [Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi]. I still haven't decided yet how much I liked it, though. The beginning was really interesting, a nice homage to the complexity and randomness of Bombay, but somewhere in the middle it lost its thread a bit. The plot went in an odd direction, and I just wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. It picked back up again about two-thirds of the way through, and the end turned out more interesting than I was expecting, based on how the middle was going.

I thought the characters were interesting, although I couldn't quite get a grasp on the character of Rhea. The main character, Karan, went through a lot of transformations over the years the book covers, and although I could sympathize with a few of them, there were a few character turns that were a bit baffling.

The bit in the middle that dealt with the court system in India was the part I found to be a bit plodding, mostly because most people know how the corrupt the court system is in India, and the result of the trial that takes place was completely predictable. If you don't know much about India's court system, that part could be interesting, but for someone who knows it fairly well, those 75-or-so pages felt like a bit of a drag. That was where I lost the thread a bit and is possibly why it took me about a week longer to finish than it should have.

By far my favourite parts of the book were the passages on Bombay the city...

"So this is Bombay, monster muse, part witch, part clown, always absurd, often charming - my rogue ballad; this is Bombay, meri jaan."

"Without the distraction of beauty, without the consolation of art, people find respite in each other. Yet the sparks between two people do not qualify as companionship. In Bombay people don't offer each other too much talk or touch; rather, they look each other in the eye like soldiers, wounded and brave and crazy. And lucky to be alive, if not happy. The power of this city is the mad desire it arouses in you to live an unlonely life."

"Love. It was this city, its ghastly buildings and the sea. Dark petals of red roses dancing in the wind and the roofs of crumbling cottages. A shell on the beach and the hum of a blind beggar. The amber cast of the street light and a dog howling at the moon. Everything was made out of it. Everything had come forth from it, as it would on day return into it. Love."

There just aren't enough ways to describe how beautiful and complex Bombay is. I can't wait to go back for a visit one day.
xx

10k tuesday: inching our way there.

2012-02-08T13:01:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of update yesterday - I left home at 6.30 in the morning and returned only at 10.30 pm, when I promptly fell into my bed and did not emerge until 8.30 this morning.

But. I have a very positive update for this week. I ran 4.2 miles on Sunday and actually ran it faster than the 3.8 last Monday, which was pretty exciting for me. Also, because it was Sunday and I wasn't crunched for time, I drove down to Big Dam Bridge and ran along the River Trail, which was probably the best decision I could have made. Because it's a long trail, I didn't run around in circles 25 times, and it's very scenic down by the river and Murray Park. I think I'm going to try to do the remainder of my long runs down there from now on.

Part of the reason I think I was able to pick up my pace so much was that I had done a half-hour run on Friday. I'm going to try to stick to that schedule from here on out, as time allows.

This Sunday I'm hoping to get up to 4.6 miles. Ideally I would do something closer to 5, but it all depends on how I'm feeling.

Look at me, I'm a running machine!
xx

becoming a good citizen.

2012-02-05T21:30:00.000-06:00

This month's good challenge is to become a better citizen. I get the emails about what the daily task is, and I thought I would share my responses to today's. Today's task was to make a list of the issues about which I am passionate. My list includes issues both domestic and international, and it encompasses things about which I am passionate as well as things about which I would like to learn more.

education. I believe that every child in the world should have access to education, regardless of location, socio-economic status, or gender. It's something I was passionate about here in the States, and it is something I have become almost crazed about since living abroad.
sustainability, in all shapes and sizes. Many people think that living sustainably means living in extremes, but that's not the case. Doing little things, such as recycling, turning off lights, not leaving appliances plugged in 24/7, or drying your clothes on a line instead of in a dryer can make a difference. Starting small is at least starting.
a woman's right to choose. I may alienate people who are reading this, but I am a firm believer in a woman's control over her own body.
freedom of religion. While not being a particularly religious person myself, I have no qualms with people who do have strong faith. I do, however, have issues with people of any religion who try to push their beliefs onto others. The beautiful thing about the world in which we live is that there is space for everyone to believe whatever they want to believe, and none of us has the right to trample on that.

There are other things in which I have been involved over the years, but those are probably tops on my list at the moment.

Apparently I will be referring back to this list in the coming weeks as part of my month-long attempt to become a better citizen, so check back to see what comes next.

random rambles.

2012-02-04T22:58:00.000-06:00

It's been a hazy-crazy-dazy kind of week, so my copout is to leave you with a list of the things shuffling around in my mind at the moment...

1. Jane and Dillard came down yesterday and we went to see Will Hoge play at Stickyz downtown. They've seen a lot of his shows over the years, but I hadn't seen him since Music Fest 2001. He's still awesome. And I remembered how much I love live music.

2. Today was our student session with President Clinton. It was pretty cool to sit right in front of him and listen to him answer my fellow students' questions. He knows so much about such a variety of subjects. If only there weren't a two-term limit...

3. It's looking like we might just be able to complete all of our interviews for our Practicum project. Maybe. Let's give it a few more weeks before we make any big decisions.

4. Tomorrow I am supposed to run 4.2 miles. I've never run that far before in my life. I've been having some sort of mental block about getting past the 4-mile mark, so here's hoping it's not too traumatic.

5. I'm almost finished with The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay. It's been a bit of an up-and-down read. I'll do a full review next week once I've completed it.

6. It's going to be a crazy semester. My weekends are full from now until I leave for India in May. How that happened, I'll never know. But it's going to be one hell of a ride.

7. Each week I get more and more excited about my summer project. All of the contacts I've had at Room to Read are awesome, and the more my project gets cemented, the more I can't wait to get there and get started.

8. I'm slowly beginning to make some big decisions about the next few years. Once I get a few more things confirmed, I'll announce them to the blog-o-sphere.

9. At this time, in 6 weeks, I'll be running around London with Ellie-Bear. I can't wait.

10. I've generally gotten off to a good start for the semester. Staying on top of my reading; no more 6am runs; reading for pleasure every night before bed; cooking at home more often and generally eating better; 7.5 hours of sleep every night... I like how we've started, now let's see if we can keep it up.

That's all for this week. It's going to be an early Saturday night for this girl. Hopefully next week I'll have some more fun things to impart.
xx

10k tuesday: taking a bit of a philosophical turn.

2012-01-31T22:16:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I ran 3.8 miles. 3.8. That is far and away the longest I've ever run in one stretch in my entire life. And it was pretty painful. Partly because it's the longest I've ever run, but partly also because I hadn't run since my 3.5 miler last Monday. I realize now that that was probably not the best decision I've ever made, but I made it through. The other factor was the weather. While it's been pretty cool the last few weeks, yesterday it was a sunny 65 when I went for my run, and the heat zapped whatever extra energy I might have had. I know that while I need to keep extending my distance, it is equally important to do a shorter run in between to keep building my endurance. So before I hit 4.2 miles over the weekend, I need to do a 20-30 minute run Friday morning. This week should provide me at least two more opportunities to run, including the weekend, so that I hopefully won't feel so sluggish when the time comes for me to extend my distance a little bit more.

The philosophical angle comes from a guy I "met" while running yesterday. He was probably in his mid- to late-30s and had come to walk when I was just about to reach my halfway goal and was seriously wondering what the hell I was thinking trying to run 3.8 miles. As I passed him, he wished me a good afternoon and said he wished he could run but that his legs couldn't take the pressure. I greeted him and went past, continuing on my run, while he completed one lap at a leisurely stroll and then left the park. Now, I don't know how much he had walked before he came to the park, nor do I know how much he walked after he left, but I doubt it was very much.

So I spent the second half of my run philosophizing about how lucky I am that my body allows me to run. I'm not a great runner, my pace isn't fast, and god only knows what I look like out there, but at least I can do it. I know I can run at least 3.8 miles, and I'm only getting stronger with each run. I realized how much I take for granted my body's ability to do things and that I need to take more advantage of the physical things I can do.

I think all sorts of crazy thoughts to help me get through my runs, but this was a bit of a new turn for me. Let's see how long my newfound vigor lasts.

And fingers crossed that by the time of my update next week, I will have crossed the 4-mile mark.
xx

looking ahead into february.

2012-01-29T04:28:00.000-06:00

Since I am once again awake at an ungodly hour to watch Rafa, I thought I could go ahead and share my goals/resolutions for February. They're going to be interesting, since one is the reduction of a major habit, and the other is [hopefully] the beginning of a new one.

no facebook. That's right, I said none. From midnight February 1st to 11.59pm February 29th, I will not be logging in to my Facebook account. It's something I've been wanting to do for a long time, and while it would probably make more sense to boycott Facebook during finals or some such event, I decided to go ahead and do it in February. And this leads into my second resolution for the month...

write one email every day to a friend. Partly because of the ease of Facebook, and partly because I'm a bit lazy, I have become really bad at writing personal emails to friends to catch up. So this month, instead of reading people's updates online and posting my own, I am going to reach out via email to restart a more personalized conversation. [and yes, I realize that phone calls and handwritten letters are even more personalized, but here's the thing: I don't like speaking on the phone, and stamps are expensive, so this is really my best option. baby steps]

and an ongoing one for the semester:

continue to read for fun for 20 minutes each night. I've been keeping up with this so far, but it's only been a few weeks. My goal is to stick with this for the duration of the semester, partly because I enjoy reading, partly because it's a good way to get my mind off of school, and partly because I sleep much better when I've calmed my mind down a bit before bed. I currently have about 100 pages left in The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay [Siddharth Dhanwant Shangvhi] and then am hoping to move on to the first book of the Hunger Games series [Suzanne Collins].

Bring it on, February. I'm ready.
xx

1 out of 2 ain't bad.

2012-01-28T00:52:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of the month, I set two goals for myself: to visit the LEGO exhibit at the Clinton Library and to book tickets somewhere - anywhere - for Spring Break.

Well, I'm batting .500.

I haven't made it to the LEGO exhibit yet, but that's because Dylan was out of town, and we decided to make it a family outing. We've postponed it for a week, so I should still be able to make it over there before it closes on the 12th of February. I'm not sweating it. Yet.

And as for Spring Break. I'M BOOKED! Through sheer luck and awesomeness, the Mann siblings actually want me to come visit. I am flying into London and spending a few days with Ellie-Bear before taking the train over to Paris to spend a few days with Mr Rob while Ms Ellie "studies" for an exam. And then it's back to London for a few more days of fun before heading back State-side. I. can't. wait. This trip excites me for many reasons:

I love the Mann siblings.
I heart London. a lot.
I've never been to Paris.
I needed something kind of crazy and spontaneous. and out of town. [remember those itchy feet I'm always going on about?]
my cousin, who lives in Italy, is possibly going to be in Paris at the same time.
lots of cool people live in London, and I very much enjoy hanging out with them.
it's roughly halfway between now and my return to Bangalore. makes the time go by so much faster.

So all in all, I'd say I did fairly well with my January resolutions. I have some bigger ones in store for February, which I will update you on in a few days.

Happy weekend!

veena's attempts at eating better.

2012-01-25T17:17:00.000-06:00

Notice I didn't necessarily say healthy, because let's face it, I really like my chocolate and my ice cream every now and then. I have, however, been attempting to eat better than I had been in recent months. With the onset of the holidays and finals, my diet went for a toss, and I'm attempting to get it back on track.

I'm incorporating more fruit and veggies into my diet, carrying carrots to class with me rather than cookies. I'm trying to have salad a few days a week, and I'm also hoping to take advantage of evenings when I'm home relatively early to actually make something fresh as opposed to just heating up something out of a box. Obviously there will be days of Lean Cuisines and the like for dinner, but there was one point last semester where I was essentially living off of them, and that wasn't good. Additionally, I've mostly cut out bread and sandwiches, mostly because I think I had too many of them last semester and burned myself out.

One of the main reasons I didn't stick to a good diet last semester was that I rarely went to the grocery store. I really liked being able to go once and stock up for about 3 weeks, which was also why most of my food came from out of a box. I know that eating better will require more frequent trips to the grocery store, and that's just something I'm going to have to build into my schedule as time allows.

I'm not doing this because I necessarily want to lose a whole lot of weight; I'm doing it because I realized how out of hand my diet got towards December and Christmas last year, and I want to get out of that habit of snacking on junk food at odd hours of the day and night.

In addition, I have cut out alcohol and soda from my diet. I wanted to do that leading up to my 10k in March anyway, so it seemed like perfect timing. I don't tend to drink a ton of soda, but - again - because of finals, I was drinking entirely too much Dr Pepper. That's been a fine transition, since my body isn't used to too much of either anyway.

The main thing I've noticed so far is that I get hungry more often, but that is partly due to the fact that my runs have been getting longer recently, and I sometimes forget that I need to increase my calories on those days. I've also gotten back into the habit of having a banana a day and drinking a glass of milk in the night [my mother would be so proud]. And while I get hungry more often, my appetite is also less when I do eat. Which means that instead of having 3 big meals a day, I tend to have something like 5 small ones throughout the day, which [I've heard] is healthier for you anyway.

So far I don't have any amazing insight into how this has changed my life, but it's only been about a week. Give me some time, and I'll keep you posted.

Also, I'm on the lookout for some good, easy grilled and baked chicken recipes. Things that aren't too work-intensive. If you know of anything, send it my way!

Happy eating.
xx

10k tuesday: holy 3.5 miles, batman.

2012-01-23T21:27:00.000-06:00

So I clearly didn't get around to running 4 miles over the break. Instead, I finally realized last week that my race is in less than 2 months, and I need to get myself in gear. I've been staying on top of my running, and I finally hit 3.5 miles today. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't easy, but I did it. I've been going back and forth between how much I need to increase my time / distances from here on out, and I still haven't come up with anything conclusive. If you have any suggestions, be sure to let me know.

I also made a very big decision last week in regards to my running: NO MORE 6AM RUNS. That's right, no more getting up at ridiculous hours of the morning and running when it's cold and dark. That's not for me, and I finally realized what a toll it was taking on me. And besides, being in bed by 10pm is just not feasible for a graduate student. So instead, I am sleeping until 7 and then running as and when I get time during the week. Some weeks I might be able to run 3 times, others maybe only once, but I prioritize getting back on a proper sleep schedule more than being able to run a super fast 10k. Call me crazy.

Last week I got in a good 20-minute run between Program Evaluation and work, and today I did my 3.5 miler between Professionalism and work. On the days we don't have noon programs, I usually have time before work to get in some sort of run, and then I have at least one day over the weekend to have a nice long one. And you know what? That's good enough for me.

Until next time.
xx

and spring semester has begun.

2012-01-20T13:52:00.000-06:00

Apologies for the radio silence of late. A new semester began on Tuesday, and it has been mostly nonstop since then.

Tuesday is Practicum day, so after class from 9-10.30, we headed down to Monticello for interviews and got back home only around 7. Wednesday I had class from 9-12, came home and went for a run, and then had the girls from 2.30 until about 6.30. From there I had a call with my contact at Room to Read and then headed over to celebrate Jordan's birthday with some pizza and a viewing of the season finale of Homeland. No better way to start watching a show than by beginning with its last episode. Then Thursday I had class from 9-1 and again from 1.30-4.30 and then went to the temple, which is over in North Little Rock. From there we had a family dinner, and then it was back home to get a start on all of this reading.

Luckily I don't have class on Friday, so I managed to sleep in this morning and get in a good run before settling down to some more work. It's going to be a pretty crazy semester, particularly through Spring Break, so I'm going to have to be good about setting my schedules and sticking with them. So far I have also been able to be in bed early to read for fun for about 20 minutes before going to sleep, which I've been grateful for. As the semester gets more busy, and as the public programs start up again, we'll see how long I am able to keep up with that, but to make it a week is a pretty good sign.

I have also switched up my running routine a bit, which I will discuss next week during one of my fabulous 10k tuesday posts. [no, I haven't forgotten about them. I'm just not sure about weekly posts on the subject any longer. we'll see how things go]

So here's to a fun-filled semester where I don't lose all my marbles.
xx

celebrating catherine.

2012-01-16T21:24:00.000-06:00

To celebrate Catherine and Drew's upcoming wedding, we headed down to Miami for a girls' weekend. To recap:

[yummy daiquiri]

After a late lunch on the roadside, we got ourselves dolled up at headed to a salon called Blo. Apparently it's a big thing in Miami to get your hair blown out before hitting the town, so off we went to partake in champagne and chocolates and crazy hairstyles.

[catherine gettin' her hurr did]

Following our primping, we had cocktails and appetizers at Liz and Chris' apartment.

[yummy spread]

[the girls]

[me, catherine, walker, and liz o]

[brooke, julie, and liz j]

On Saturday we set out for a fantastic late brunch and a nice stroll on the beach.

We took a break in the afternoon before having a "classy" lingerie shower followed by a fantastic street-side dinner and a visit to the club "Love/Hate", where Sunday night is "Early Hip-Hop Night".

Once we decided we were probably not "old school" enough for the music, we ended the night at the Playwright Irish Pub, where we spent a few enjoyable hours regaling the non-Rhodents with tales of our collegiate escapades.

All in all, a pretty fantastic weekend.
xx

the books, #21-25.

2012-01-11T22:15:00.000-06:00

I realize it's been a few months since I last updated my book list, but things have been a bit hectic. So, without further ado:

21. The Millennium Trilogy [Stieg Larsson]. You know which ones I'm talking about, the Dragon Tattoo, Played With Fire, Hornet's Nest books. Admittedly, I haven't read the third one yet, but that's because it doesn't release in paperback here for another month. I'm kicking myself for not having bought them in Bangalore - they've been out in paperback for nearly 2 years over there. I read the first one a few years ago, and while I liked it, I did find the beginning a bit slow-going as it introduced all the characters. The second one went much faster for me, as much of that background was out of the way. I'm intrigued to see what the third one has in store. And then after I've read the third book, I'm watching the Swedish versions of all 3 on Netflix - I've heard they're awesome.

22. The Memory Keeper's Daughter [Kim Edwards]. If you read this and didn't cry at least once, I'm pretty sure you're dead inside. And that's coming from someone who's not particularly a crier. It's both a heartbreaking and a hopeful story, and one that you won't forget all too soon. And it will make you thankful for the people you have in your life.

23. The Outsiders [SE Hinton]. An old classic that I've read and re-read numerous times over the years; between my brother and me our copy is pretty tattered these days. There's never a dull moment reading about the adventures of Pony Boy and the gang, and it's a jarring look at class differences in America. [although I normally despise books that are made into movies, I love the movie adaptation of this one. how can you not, with that lineup?]

24. A Fine Balance [Rohinton Mistry]. This isn't one that I necessarily enjoyed [you really can't, given the content of the book], but it is one that I found very interesting and difficult to put down. It's terribly sad and depressing, but it's also very eye-opening. It's a behemoth of a book, and it runs the full gamut of emotions, but I think it's definitely worth reading. I also loved the quote that Mistry used in the preface: "Holding this book in your hand, sinking back in your soft armchair, you will say to yourself: perhaps it will not amuse me. And after you have read this story of great misfortunes you will no doubt dine well, blaming the author for your own insensitivity, accusing him of wild exaggeration and flights of fancy. But rest assured: this tragedy is not a fiction. All is true."

25. Water for Elephants [Sara Gruen]. The book that made me want to join the circus. Not because it's necessarily a glamorous life, but because it sounds like one hell of an adventure. I always like books that are told through flashbacks and memories, and this one did not disappoint. It's a quick, interesting read that made the rounds of my TEFL group during our one-month stint in Kolkata. I'd love to re-read it but have no idea who has my copy. And if I keep re-reading, the only thing that happens is that my stack of yet-to-be-read books continues to grow. I haven't seen the movie version of this one, and I haven't quite decided if I'm going to. Anyone have any comments on it?

So there you go, 5 more books for you.
Next on my to-read list:
The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay [Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi]
The Hunger Games [Suzanne Collins]

Any suggestions for what I need to be reading?
xx

woo pig.

2012-01-06T11:09:00.001-06:00

It's Cotton Bowl time, so to get us all in the mood to cheer those Hogs on to victory, I leave you with the Arkansas fight song. Can't wait to sing it all day/night long.

Hit that line! Hit that line!
Keep on going!
Take that ball right
down the field!
Give a cheer. Rah! Rah!
Never fear. Rah! Rah!
Arkansas will never yield!
On your toes, Razorbacks,
to the finish,
Carry on with all your might!
For it’s A-A-A-R-K-A-N-S-A-S
for Arkansas!
Fight! Fight! Fi-i-i-ight!

WOO PIG.
xx

january: looking forward.

2012-01-04T23:37:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned in my first post of the year, instead of resolutions that I have to keep up with for the entire year, at the beginning of each month I am going to make a list of a few resolutions/projects/things I hope to accomplish. I am pretty good at sticking to things for a month, and it also means that I will end up [hopefully] being much more productive month-by-month.

So here are the things that I want to accomplish in January:

visit the LEGO exhibit at the Presidential Center. the exhibit has been up since September, and I've just not had a chance to get over there and see it. since I'll be back in Little Rock a week before school starts, I'm hoping to spend some time strolling through all the exhibits down at the Presidential Center, but I particularly want to see that life-size Razorback up close and in person.

figure out my plans for spring break. originally I thought about just chilling out in Little Rock and/or Memphis, until I realized that that was a crazy idea. now I'm drowning in ideas and need to just pick one and stick with it. so far I'm toying with Boston/Philly; London/Paris/south Italy [those depend on the availability of any or both of the Mann siblings]; San Francisco; New York; somewhere completely crazy like Spain or Greece; or a completely random road trip to wherever I end up. any thoughts or suggestions?

I realize this is less like a list of resolutions and more just my to-do list for the month, but I'm hoping that documenting it on here might hold me to it. Daily/weekly/monthly resolutions will come later once I've thought this through a bit more.

Any ideas for things I should attempt?
woo pig.
xx

10k tuesday: round and round and round we go.

2012-01-03T20:57:00.000-06:00

I realize it's been a while since one of my 10k tuesday posts, and that is mostly because I have a tendency to lose track of what day it is when I am on holiday. That has been further perpetuated by the fact that my parents had two long weekends in a row for Christmas and New Year, and I had my wisdom teeth removed last Friday. I finally glanced at my watch today and saw that it said Tuesday. yikes.

I've been doing much better with my running since the semester ended...it helps that I can get up at 10 [or 11, on occasion] and still be able to go for a run. My motivation for those 6am runs fell by the wayside a long time ago. I have been helped considerably by being in Memphis for a few weeks and having had the opportunity to run a few different routes near my parents' house. I'm going to have to find new places to run once I'm back in the Rock.

In good news, my new running shoes are working out well, and having varied music for my runs has been good. I am unfortunately not going to be into a regular schedule until probably the end of the month, so I honestly have no idea how the next few weeks are going to go.

So far, so good. Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself.
woo pig.
xx

out with the old, in with the new.

2012-01-01T18:38:00.000-06:00

Happy 2012!

To celebrate the new year, I spent the evening of the 31st on my couch, watching bowl games and Hindi movies and a Big Bang Theory marathon. [sidenote: I got my wisdom teeth pulled on the 30th, so I wasn't up for doing too much]

I am not a big one for resolutions, as I tend to get distracted and forget about them. Additionally, what I find to be most pressing in January tends to not seem so important once May or June rolls around. So this year, I thought I would try something a bit different. Instead of resolutions to last the whole year through, at the beginning of each month I will come up with some sort of resolution or project for that month, and see if I can see it through. That way it will be something that is pertinent to my life for that month, and only doing it for a month ensures I might actually keep up with it.

There are a few overarching things that I have on my list, but they are ones that are always in the back of my mind: to travel to new places [Miami and Nepal are already confirmed; hopefully I can add Leh and/or Manali to the list over the summer]; to go to a Packers game [Super Bowl? I think yes]; to read more; to hand-write more cards and letters; to be better about keeping in touch with people; to be better about exercising; etc etc. But I never make resolutions about these things, because I know they will ebb and flow as the year passes by.

2011 was a great year, but I am always excited to see what a new year will bring. New adventures, new friends, new trials and new triumphs, and lots of new memories.

So here's to a fabulous year ahead. Cheers.
woo pig.
xx

feeling a little incomplete.

2011-12-21T19:59:00.000-06:00

Sunday will mark the first time since 2001 that I will be in the US for Christmas Day, and the first time since 2007 that I will not have spent it with the Devaraj family. Don't get me wrong, I have loved being in the States for the build-up to Christmas, reveling in the songs and the movies and the Tacky Christmas Sweater parties and the [very] light dusting of snow that we got a few weeks ago. And I'm so glad to get to spend some time with my parents and brother and cousin over the holidays this year. But I would be lying if I didn't admit to feeling a little out-of-sorts about the whole thing.

Christmases in Bangalore are so different and so wonderful. Midnight Mass at St Patrick's with all the 17-year-olds dressed to the nines for the Catholic Club party. Wine and cake and gift exchanges at Bern's house and not getting home until 3am. Christmas Eve dinner at Kamal and Tanya and Kim's. Sheilamma's mutton biryani made to feed an army. Christmas night dinner at Nelson's. Viji's cute miniature tree and her sweet attempts at decorating the office so the interns don't miss home. Homemade wine that lasts for months. Making 5 pounds of Christmas cookies at Bern's and another 7 pounds at Dorothy's house. Bottomless bottles of Old Monk.

I'm so lucky to have so many families around the world with whom I have had the opportunity to celebrate. I guess I'm just having a bit of a difficult time re-adjusting to Christmas-ing in the States. Give me a few days, and I'll be just fine.

At least here I get to watch A Christmas Story all day long on Christmas Eve.
woo pig.
xx

for the love of projects.

2011-12-17T00:43:00.000-06:00

You know how I love my projects. Particularly if I have a whole month off. I plan on spending most of it catching up on sleep and old tv shows on Netflix and Sidereel, but I do have quite a few other things that I want to get accomplished over the coming weeks...

read for fun. I've been saying it for months now, but I just haven't gotten the time I would like to read for fun recently. Between school, work, public programs, trips, and everything in between, I have read a whopping 1 book for fun this semester. 1! That is unacceptable. Meanwhile, the pile on my bookshelf continues to grow, rather than the other way around [come on, we all know I am a compulsive book-buyer. that's just not something that is ever going to change]. So for my 4-week break - which includes a few days at the beach over MLK weekend - I have set myself a target of finishing 3 books for fun. I'm pretty confident I can do it. First up is The History of Love [Nicole Krauss], followed by The Girl Who Played With Fire [Stieg Larsson], and concluding with Moonward [George Appupen, graphic novelist by day and drummer for Lounge Piranha by night].

learn how to work my fancy new camera. As a Christmas present to myself, I splurged and purchased a Nikon D3100 [in black]. It is by far the most awesome - and most expensive - thing that I own, and although I know the basics of it, I am eager to master it. I have been wanting an SLR for a while, and I finally told myself to just suck it up and do it [it helped that Best Buy ran an awesome sale the Monday after Thanksgiving that included an extra long-range lens and a Lowepro camera bag. officially a fan of "Cyber Monday"]. So I did it. And now I want to make sure I know all about how it works before I head out to Nepal for the summer.

clean out all my crap in my parents' house. I know that in the next 5 years, my parents will most likely downsize to a smaller house, and I will most likely not be in the country when that happens. I was at college the last time they moved, so all of my crap from growing up just moved with them and has never been properly sorted. I did a bit over the summer, clearing out my closet and most of the drawers in my room, but there are still boxes in the attic that have yet to be touched. My plan is to spend one whole day [two, if needed] and go through and purge as much stuff as possible.

catch up on the news. Even with getting the ny times headlines sent directly to my email every morning, I am still weeks - and possibly even months - behind on what is happening here in the US as well as abroad. I want to catch up on all the headlines and maybe even <gasp!> read an actual paper or two.

run. I am well on track for being prepared for my 10k in March, but I am hoping to make a little more progress over the break. My goal is to come out of the break being able to run at least 4-4.5 miles [wish me luck] at a decent pace and/or run for at least an hour. Those two are kind of interchangeable, so we'll see how things go. Between the neighborhoods around my parents' house, the track at Rhodes, and Shelby Farms Park, I should be able to get in a variety of routes and scenery. The tiny park near my house in Little Rock just isn't cutting it any longer.

weed through my facebook pictures. I realized the other day that I had a stupid number of albums [that included a stupid number of ridiculous pictures] as well as a stupid number of tagged pictures of myself on facebook and decided to start weeding through them. I've brought myself down from 800-something tagged pictures to just over 500, which is a promising start. More than that, however, I want to purge and merge my albums.

print pictures from the last 4 years in India. I toyed with selecting and printing pictures when I returned in July, but time ran away from me and I never got around to it. Turned out to be a-ok, though, because as part of my camera purchase from Best Buy, I also got a coupon for a free photobook from Shutterfly, which is really actually better than printing them out and sticking them in an album. So I need to go through all the stuff on my harddrive and choose which ones I want to include in my book. Which will mostly be pictures of the Peanut, let's be honest.

Those are the big things. I also have an appointment with an oral surgeon about my wisdom teeth, an appointment with the eye doctor, and various lunch and dinner dates, so I will hopefully keep myself busy.

Now to see how many of these things I actually accomplish.
woo pig.
xx

done-zo.

2011-12-14T10:31:00.000-06:00

First semester of grad school is in the books.

We had our last final this morning, and now that it is over, I am free for a month. That's right, a whole month. Granted, it's going to be a busy month, with work, possible wisdom teeth extractions, the Clinton Center holiday party, the Cotton Bowl, and practicum stuff, but still, it's a month where I don't have to worry about classes and - most importantly - I don't have to wear business casual.

I have a whole list of projects that I want to accomplish over the break, but that can wait for tomorrow.

Today, we celebrate!
Woo pig.
xx

10k tuesday: almost halfway there.

2011-12-13T14:58:00.000-06:00

I've run a few times since my last update, and I'm currently hovering right around 2.8 miles. My goal is that by Christmas I'll be up to 4 miles. Is that impossible? Most likely, but I'm going to give it my best shot. That month off from school should help me out quite a lot - being able to get up at 10 and go for a run is much more motivating than trying to get up at 6. Especially since these runs are only going to get longer from now on.

Probably my most exciting news is that I FINALLY got new running shoes! It was pretty much a miracle. I sucked it up and went to the mall yesterday and walked out with some silver Nike something-or-the-others. I ran with them today to start getting them broken in, and I guess it went alright. I'll really only know as I start getting into longer runs.

Hopefully once finals finish tomorrow, I can get into a rhythm of running every other day. We'll see how long that last for me. Wish me luck, regardless.
woo pig.
xx

a finals update.

2011-12-09T16:32:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, I posted about all the projects, papers, and presentations that stood between me and Christmas break. Well, I am happy to say that we are over the hump, and there is finally some light at the end of the finals tunnel. Here is my list from 2 weeks ago, with a few updates:

Nov 28 - Leadership Final Development Plan due ... done!
Nov 30 - Law & Ethics paper due ... done!
Dec 7 - Decision Analysis Final Project due ... done!
Dec 9 - Communication Final Memo due ... done!
Dec 9 - Law & Ethics Final Exam due ... done!
Dec 13 - Practicum Integrative Learning Paper due ... beginning tonight...?
Dec 14 - Decision Analysis Final Exam ... begin studying tonight...? ha!

Yes, that's right. There are now only 2 things standing between me and a full month of watching old shows on Netflix and reading for fun!

I am hoping to begin work on my Integrative Learning paper tonight as well as begin to trawl through the study guide that Dr Bavon gave us for our final exam. But you know what? If I don't, that's ok, too. Because sometimes it's ok to take a night off and recharge your batteries.

Almost there!

woo pig.

10k tuesday: excuses, excuses.

2011-12-06T20:10:00.000-06:00

I have a slew of excuses as to why I haven't done any running between last week and today. Where would you like me to start?

It's been cold. I've been up late working on papers and projects and therefore haven't been motivated to get up early to run. It's been raining nearly every day. Now that I know I can run at least 3 miles, I'm not so worried. I know I'll have time over the holiday break to catch myself back up. Running for half an hour in that park is getting really repetitive. I still don't have new running shoes.

And yes, I know they are all only excuses. I know. I do also know that once tomorrow is over and I have completed and turned in this behemoth of a project, I will be in a much better mental frame of mind regarding the running. I wanted to use it as a break from the work, but I've not been getting enough sleep to also be able to include that into my schedule.

I will get back to it. And once I do, I will have much more intriguing updates for you. Until then, keep your fingers crossed I finish this project in time to turn it in tomorrow...
woo pig.
xx

that brother of mine.

2011-12-05T20:09:00.000-06:00

My brother turned 33 yesterday. 33. It's hard for me to imagine, because we both kind of like to pretend that we are still about 8 years old.

My brother is both my biggest fan and my greatest foe. He challenges me on a daily basis, and as annoying as it sometimes is, I know it is only because he expects the best of me and for me.

He is the one who had to follow behind me when I learned how to navigate steps. He is the one who patiently taught me the ins and outs of sports and allowed me to play with him and his friends even when it was obvious I shouldn't have been. He is the reason I have devoted the better part of my life to the Packers, and he taught me the importance of remaining loyal to your childhood teams, regardless of their ups and downs.

He is the one who first broached the subject of my going to boarding school, and, looking back, it was the wisest decision I ever made regarding my education. When I raised the idea of volunteering in India for 6 months, he was the one who encouraged it. And when I broached the prospect of moving back there on a semi-permanent basis, he supported me from the beginning and was the one who convinced my father that it was the best course of action for me.

My brother is my biggest protector and my greatest champion. He is my childhood hero, my idol, my strength, and my support. He's my big brother.

[we're pretty cool, if I do say so myself]

Hope it was a great day, brother. No one deserves it more than you.
woo pig.
xx

this one time, i made thanksgiving dinner.

2011-12-01T21:05:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday, I was somehow trusted with feeding my family for Thanksgiving. My parents were out of town and flew back only on Thursday afternoon, and since it was the first time I'm been in the States for Thanksgiving since 2006, I wanted to make sure I got my traditional Thanksgiving dinner: chicken biryani.

So since my mother wasn't around to wave her magic wand, the task fell to me to feed everyone. I looked through a few recipes online and watched a few videos to get some ideas for how I wanted to make it - eventually I chose one to use as my main guide and tweaked it a little to make it my own.

What follows below are pictures of my endeavor along with the steps I took to get there. Hope you enjoy!

Above you have all the ingredients for the chicken marinade:

chicken [I bought one package of drumsticks and one of thighs and cleaned them. with bones is better than without]
2 green chillies, chopped [this was an addition of mine]
plain yogurt
garlic, chopped
ginger, grated [the recipe called for it to be chopped, but I prefer grating it]
turmeric powder
chili powder
garam masala powder
salt
coriander powder [again, an addition of mine]

Add all of these ingredients to the chicken, mix it up nicely, and let it marinate for an hour.

[winner winner chicken dinner]

[close up of your green chillies, ginger, and garlic]

[your standard masala dabba to hold all of your spices]

[here's what it looks like all mixed up. I might have gotten a little over-excited about the yogurt]

After this, I washed the rice and soaked it in water for half an hour.

Meanwhile, I chopped some onions and tomatoes. Technically the recipe called for sliced onions, but I don't like slicing onions. Call me crazy.

[chopped onions, tomato, and cilantro]

[onions with some other stuffs]

At this point, I put some oil into a huge pot and heated it up with some cloves, cardamon, bay leaves, and some of those chopped onions. Once those started getting a bit brown, I added the tomatoes and then eventually the chicken.

I brought this to a boil and then reduced the heat to low and let it cook slowly, stirring every 5 minutes or so.

While that was stewing, I filled another large cooker with water, and heated it with some bay leaves, cardamon, and cloves. I then added the rice [after draining it from the water in which it had been soaked], brought that to a boil, and then reduced the heat and let it simmer.

I cooked both of these until they were thisclose to being done - essentially almost all the way, but not quite.

Then I fried the last of the chopped onions in some hot oil to use for the layers.

At that point, I got another large pot and started layering - started with chicken on the bottom, then a layer of rice, added some of those fried onions, some turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder, and garam masala powder, and some saffron that had been soaked in warm milk, then added another layer of chicken, another layer of rice, and some more of the spices.

This is what it looked like:

I then put the lid on, put the pot on a griddle plate [to keep it from getting direct heat], and heated it on low for about 15-20 minutes.

This was the finished product, after being mixed:

Next on my list: the ins and outs of tandoori / butter chicken.
woo pig.
xx

10k tuesday: picking up steam.

2011-11-29T22:34:00.000-06:00

Well, I have survived my first few 25-minute runs and am pretty happy with how things are shaping up. Or, at least as happy as I can be, considering I'm running.

Being in Memphis for Thanksgiving and running in my parents' neighborhood was good for me, because it provided a change of scenery. The park near my house was great for those short runs and runs with intervals, but in reality it is too small for when I get into upwards of 45-minute runs, so new sights were a welcome change. Also, it gave me a chance to run on some inclines, which worked a few new muscles for me.

Right now I am increasing my time so as to increase my endurance and not really worrying about distance; there is time yet for that to become my focus. My current goal is to be able to run for 60 minutes [God help me] by Christmas - to get there I am going to increase my time slowly over the next few weeks [5-10 minutes per week]. Once I hit that, I might consider changing it up a bit and rotating short runs with longer ones. We'll see how it goes and what kind of mood I am in by then.

The biggest factor right now is the weather. Now that we are into the end of November / beginning of December, mornings are getting cold. Like 40 degrees cold [that's 4 degrees to you fans of the Centigrade scale]. That's pretty chilly. And I have leggings and fleeces and gloves, but it's just generally difficult to motivate myself to get out of bed when I know it's that cold outside. My main motivation is that I hate running on treadmills and indoor tracks, so this is my only alternative.

Now that I know I can run 25 minutes without a hitch, I'm in a much better frame of mind as to what my abilities are. That usually puts me at just under 3 miles, which is almost halfway to a 10k. I know that with a bit more training, I'll be able to run the full race. It won't be pretty, by any stretch of the imagination, but I can do it. Being able to know that is pretty big.

And before you ask, no, I still haven't bought new running shoes. I suck, I know.
woo pig.
xx

[sorry I missed my 10k update last week - I was out of the house by 5.50am and not in again until I reached my parents' house in Memphis around 9.30pm. if you are one of the 3 people who read this update each week, please accept my apologies. I don't foresee missing any more in the coming weeks]

oh christmas tree.

2011-11-26T20:41:00.001-06:00

First time I've gotten to decorate one of these in 5 years.

Happy Holidays!
woo pig.
xx

more kudos for bangalore.

2011-11-25T15:26:00.000-06:00

It seems you can't turn around these days without reading something about Bangalore.

The other day, Maggie forwarded me an article about a group in India that calls themselves the ugly indians. They get together on the weekends and clean up different parts of the city, spending days picking up rubbish, painting, and putting dustbins in place to encourage Bangaloreans to stop throwing rubbish on the streets. It's something that is desperately needed, and I'm happy to see something is being done to clean up the city.

Then, yesterday, I stumbled across an article about the best music festivals in India. #2 on the list is the Fireflies Festival of Music, an all-night outdoor music festival that my dear friend Ananda and his friend Akshath organize every year. I attended the last two editions of Fireflies and have gotten to see tons of awesome performances by people and groups from all over India. In 2010, I got to see Lounge Piranha perform for the first time, and this year, I was right in the front for Something Relevant. [side note: the picture is of STR's performance this year, but you can't see me, because I am right on the other side of that super tall guy]

And, as I previously posted about, Bangalore has been named by Lonely Planet as the #3 city to visit in 2012, coming in right behind London and Muscat.

I'm glad to see my city getting so much attention. But every time I read something new, I miss it just a little bit more.

6 months until I get to see that crazy, cloudy, drunk, fat city again.
woo pig.
xx

i am thankful.

2011-11-24T21:21:00.000-06:00

Today, I got to spend Thanksgiving with my family for the first time since 2006, and it reminded me of all the things I have to be thankful for.

I am thankful for my family. They have stood by me through all the ups and downs and all the crazy decisions I have made. They supported me when I wanted to move to India, and they supported me [and probably cheered a little] when I announced I was moving back to the States for grad school. No matter what, I know they will always be on my side.

I am thankful for Prakash. I know these months haven't been easy for him [nor for me], but he has toughed it out. I am so thankful that he loves me enough to let me go and that he has the faith that I will return.

I am thankful for all of my adopted families all over the world.

I am thankful for all the educational opportunities I have been given.

I am thankful for friends near and far.

I am thankful for food, for shelter, and for clothing.

I am thankful for being able to live my dreams.

I am thankful for freedom.

I am thankful.

Woo pig.
xx

what the coming weeks will bring.

2011-11-23T11:47:00.000-06:00

This is such a great time of year for so many reasons:

for the most part, it's getting colder outside.
college football games become more and more dramatic.
all the lights and decorations going up for Christmas.
holiday parties with yummy food.
people generally have a spring in their step thinking about the holidays and spending time with families.

...the list can go on for days. For grad students, however, this time of year brings many other things with it, such as finals and projects and presentations.

My calendar between now and Christmas looks something like this:

Nov 28 - Leadership Final Development Plan due
Nov 30 - Law & Ethics paper due
Dec 7 - Decision Analysis Final Project due
Dec 9 - Communication Final Memo due
Dec 9 - Law & Ethics final paper due
Dec 13 - Practicum Integrative Learning paper due
Dec 14 - Decision Analysis Final Exam

I'm hoping to get almost all of those first three things completed during this long weekend, but let's be honest, once those football games start on Thursday, my motivation and concentration fly out the window.

But once the 14th hits, I am free for a month.

A whole month. Just imagine.

woo pig.

room to read = awesome.

2011-11-21T11:44:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned a few days ago, I am going to be working with room to read in Nepal for my IPSP next summer.

For those of you who don't know, Room to Read is an amazing organization that, amongst other things, builds libraries for government schools in ten countries in Africa and Asia and runs a Girls' Education Program to keep girls in school. I am beyond excited to be working for them, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can parlay my IPSP into a Capstone and a potential <gasp> job post-Clinton School.

A few weeks ago, Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times wrote an awesome article about the work Room to Read is doing, and it made me even more excited about working with them next summer.

Happy Monday!
and Woo pig [#3 in the BCS poll!].
xx

namma bengaluru, tourist destination.

2011-11-20T15:05:00.000-06:00

Lonely Planet recently released it's list of the top 10 cities to visit in 2012. Number 3? Namma Bengaluru. The description couldn't be more accurate, particularly the quip about being "perpetually drunk on the good life". Just reading that short blurb made me completely homesick for masala dosa, mutton biryani on banana leaves, Old Monk, Rest House Road, and the good ole BMTC buses.

oh to be back in my city of boiled beans.
woo pig.
xx

random rambles.

2011-11-19T11:07:00.000-06:00

I realized it's been a while since I've subjected you to one of my random rambles, so here we go. Try to contain your excitement.

1. I'm going to the Arkansas / Mississippi State game today! First college football game in I don't know how long, and I can't wait.

2. My project for next summer is [mostly] confirmed. Looks like I'm going to be spending 10 weeks in Nepal working with room to read. [sidenote: Room to Read is also the organization I want to work for post-Clinton School, so this is uber exciting]

3. Thank goodness next week is Thanksgiving. Even though I have about 4 papers / projects that I will be working on, it will be nice to have an extended change of scenery.

4. Found out last night that Dylan Perry's mother is a cosmetologist - got myself a cheap lowering of the ears booked for next week.

5. Finally finished Little Bee and have moved on to The History of Love. Just wish I had more time to read for fun.

6. I really need to clean my room but have zero motivation. Anyone feel like helping me out? I'll pay you $5. Thanks.

7. We had Family Night last night and went to see Ides of March [yes, it's still playing]. Although the movie was pretty disappointing [except for you, Ryan Gosling], we had a blast, because we were the only people in the theater. Sometimes it's ok to not spend a Friday night doing work.

8. Still need new running shoes. Zero motivation to go to the mall. Maybe Monday...

9. I was lucky enough to introduce Ritu Sharma of women thrive worldwide before her Public Program on Wednesday. Experience of a lifetime.

10. Did I mention I'm going to the game??

Happy Weekend!
WOO PIG.
xx

about time to get those ears lowered.

2011-11-16T22:56:00.001-06:00

I go through weird phases with my hair. When it's short, I want it to grow quickly. When it's long, all I want to do is chop it all off. locks of love has come in very handy - whenever I would get sick of my hair, I would just chop it off, donate it, and grow it out again. It was a great cycle that served me well for a while.

And now the time has come once again. My hairs have grown ridiculous long and have lately become more unruly than I have the patience to deal with. However, because of the layers in my hair, I don't think I can cut off the requisite length for locks of love and still have enough hairs on my head to be satisfied. [sidenote: in 2004, the lady cut off 12.5 inches of hair from my head, and I've really never been quite the same since then] On top of that, because of my attempts at running, I want to make sure my hair remains long enough to pull back into a ponytail. At the same time, though, I want to make sure it doesn't get so long that it becomes too heavy and annoying to run with.

My original plan was to just trim the split ends, let it grow a bit, and chop it off in January. But then I remembered the running dilemma, so I axed that plan. The new plan is cut a significant amount off - say 4 or 5 inches - which generally just makes it easier to deal with. Then I will re-assess after my 10k in March how I feel about continuing to grow it out or what I want to do with it.

Enter my second dilemma: paying for a hair cut. For the last year and a half, I have been getting Prakash's barber to cut my hair. How much does that cost, you ask? Well, I will tell you. It costs approximately $2.50 - $3.50, depending on how unruly my hair is on a given day. That's right, less than $5 to tame this mess. And I realize it is unrealistic to expect that here in the US. I know. But I still refuse to pay more than $12 - $15 to cut some hairs off my head. I mean, really. So I have to find a place that satisfies my needs.

I'm hoping to get it cut this weekend, so I might have some new looks to show off come next week. I'll keep you posted.

[how girly do I sound talking about my hair? yikes]
Woo pig.
xx

10k tuesday: slowly getting back in the groove.

2011-11-15T07:59:00.000-06:00

Well. I finally did it. I finally got off my bum and started running again. I ran last Friday as well as yesterday and finally made it through Week 5. Which is pretty crappy, considering how long ago I began this endeavor, but hey, I did it.

Yesterday I completed my first 20-minute jog. And I survived it. That was a pretty good boost to my confidence. I had to run at the park near my house, which is a pretty short loop, which is both good and bad. It's good because it's pretty easy to convince myself I can do another lap, and it also doesn't seem like I've run as much as I have. But it's bad because it gets a bit repetitive.

If I stick to my schedule, I think Sunday will be another long run, so I think I might drive down to Murray Park and jog on the trail down there. It will be interesting, because it will be the first time I've really run in "public" [my neighborhood at 6.20am doesn't count], but I think a change of scenery will do me good. I can't do those long runs through the neighborhood because of the hills, so I'm trying to think of alternate places so that I get to change it up a bit.

I also need to really make myself start sticking to my schedule, because we're now into the actual training portion that the LR Marathon people gave us, which has me needing to be able to run 4 miles by...oh...next week. No biggie.

I did realize a HUGE change in my attitude both on Friday and yesterday once I got back into my routine. I think one of the things that will keep me at it for the next month is the fact that it's a great stress-buster. I'm not usually one who freaks out too much about schoolwork, but I do know that the next month is going to be a bit crazy with trying to get everything taken care of, so I think this is going to be a great study break and stress break.

In other news, I did finally get some new music on my phone, which has come in handy.
I have, however, still not gotten new shoes. I'm terrible, I know. I was going to go on Saturday but then ended up leaving earlier than planned for Helena, so that didn't work out. It's looking like it might be this Saturday or Sunday before that gets done.
As for the fleece? Nope. But it was 70 degrees when I went for a run at 6.20am yesterday. So I think it's ok. This weekend? Who knows.

It's good to be back again.
Woo pig.
xx

bitten by the traveling bug.

2011-11-11T23:58:00.000-06:00

No matter how much I love a place, after a while of being still, my feet begin to itch to get out of town. It's not that I want to move, it's just that I need to get away for a few days to clear my head and see some new scenery. Even when I was in Bangalore, I made it a point to go somewhere - anywhere - every few months...it helped that I got to travel with the groups, so I had at least 3 built-in trips each year.

Since moving back to the States I had been doing pretty well. I got to go over to Charleston in July to visit the best friend, and I drove to Nashville in August to see Lindsay, Steve, Catherine, Drew, and Lizzie. And then nothing. The craziness of school engulfed me, and I was busy adjusting to homework, papers, presentations, parties, karaoke, happy hours, and the like. There was so much going on that I was ok.

And then it hit. I needed to get out of town, fast. Luckily, I had already planned to go to Ann Arbor to visit Shalini, and that coincided pretty well with my itchy feet. I got out of town for 2.5 days, had a great time catching up with her, and thought I would be alright. And then I got back, and those feet started itching again. I went to Memphis last weekend for my mother's birthday, and I'm going to Helena tomorrow, so I'm still getting out of town, but I want more.

I wanted to go somewhere new. Somewhere different.

Enter Lindsay and Catherine. They are planning Catherine's bachelorette party in Miami. Granted, it's not until January, but it gives me a lot to look forward to. The only problem is that, while booking my tickets the other night, I seem to have awoken a monster.

I suddenly found myself looking up flights to San Francisco, to New York, to London. I found another website and started looking up train prices from London to Italy. I can't get enough of looking up prices. I find myself checking almost daily to see if prices have gone down and to see if any new deals have emerged. It's really not a good thing. Especially since I don't have the money - right now - for all these endeavors.

The problem is that I know I will have the money, eventually. I will hopefully have my money from India in the next few weeks. I'm slowly earning money babysitting and have cut back - for the most part - on my expenses. I'll be getting back some money I loaned to a friend in the coming months. I get a stipend from school that covers most of my travel and living expenses for next summer. And while I know I should save the money for the future and blah blah blah, all I can think is that I want to travel to all these awesome places while I have the chance.

So here is my lineup at the moment:
I am going to Helena tomorrow. Memphis for Thanksgiving. Memphis for Christmas and New Year. [hopefully] San Francisco just after the New Year to see Miriam and Dave [haven't seen them in 2.5 years!]. Miami over MLK weekend for Catherine's bachelorette. Baton Rouge for St Patty's Day. [hopefully] New York for Spring Break. [still debating] Rio for the World Youth Congress in April [it's very expensive to get down there, plus the cost of the visa. it's still up in the air]. and then wherever I end up going for my IPSP.

That looks pretty solid to me. What do you think?
And knowing all of this awesome-ness is in my future should keep me pretty well grounded for the craziness that is about to be upon us.

Now to figure out how to break my obsession with the travel websites. Any suggestions?
Woo pig.
xx

a little funkified.

2011-11-10T22:10:00.000-06:00

I know my updates have not been particularly thrilling or exciting the last few weeks. Honestly, I've just been in a bit of a funk. I've not been sleeping well, I've not been exercising, I've been eating too much, people have been getting on my nerves, I've gotten itchy feet...the list goes on.

I know it's a cycle I'm in - I'm not exercising, so that puts me in a weird mood for the day, which means I procrastinate my work, and then I don't sleep well, so I then don't feel like getting up and going for a run. I know that. But I've just not been able to pull myself out of it.

I had hoped that these weekend jaunts would be good for me, and they have been, but the effects were not as long-lasting as I would have hoped. They keep me cheerful for a few days, and then I just get the blues again. My days have been getting longer, and with it getting darker earlier now, it's messing me up. For instance, I have stuff straight from 9am to about 9 / 10pm. I would love 2 days off where I don't have to worry about assignments or readings or projects or presentations or facilitations or any of the other crap.

I also know that I have probably over-committed myself. It's not that I can't do all that I've signed up for; it's more that it's probably not sensible. But then again, I've never put much stock in being sensible. I always do better when I'm busy, but it's been many years since that included homework. My brain shuts down by about 10pm, and I prioritize my 7-8 hours of sleep, but many times that means I don't have much free time during the day, or my schoolwork wouldn't get done. I've spent many Friday nights doing homework, and I'm going to be spending part of Saturday and most of Sunday doing work as well.

It's not that I can't do the work. And most of it is interesting to me. It's more that the work piled on top of everything else is beginning to take its toll.

So tonight, I am re-prioritizing. It is currently 10.08pm [coincidentally, I was born at 10.08pm. I thought it was interesting]. I am going to finish this post, brush my teeth, get into my bed, read some Rules for Radicals [it's for class. not one I would choose of my own volition], and have lights out no later than 10.30pm. And tomorrow, come rain or shine, I am getting up at 6.10am, I am going for a run, and by gosh, I am going to be in a good mood, I am not going to let people irritate me, and I am going to have a good, productive day.

And so it shall be true.
Woo pig.
xx

10k tuesday: the week that wasn't, round two.

2011-11-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

Once again, I have been lazy and have not run. First I was tired when I returned from my trip, and then I had a lot of sleep issues last week. As in, I didn't get any. It really threw me off my pattern, and honestly, I was in a pretty bad mood by the end of the week. But tomorrow! Tomorrow I will be back to my routine, and I will give you full updates next week. Veena-promise.

My main issue is that I know one of the reasons I've been in a grumpy mood is because I haven't gotten any exercise, but I also know that the longer I go without exercising, the lazier and less motivated I become. I went back and read my post from when I first signed up for the 10k, and reading the part about the registration fee kind of kicked me back into gear. So hopefully tonight will bring sleep and tomorrow will bring a good run.

Until then,
Woo pig.
xx

my mother the magnificent.

2011-11-06T21:51:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I drove down [over?] to Memphis to hang out with my mother for her birthday. It's the first time I've been in the country for her birthday since 2006, so it was really nice to be around and to get to spend some time with her.

For those of you who are not aware, it is a widely known fact that my mother is the greatest mother in the history of mothers.

Growing up, my mother worked full-time and still made dinner - home-cooked Indian meals - nearly every night. She never missed any of our sporting events, plays, awards ceremonies, or other school-related happenings. Every weekend she fed a horde of hungry boys who tromped through our house, and she wouldn't have had it any other way.

I know these past few years have been difficult for her, especially realizing that we are most likely never going to live on the same continent again [hey, it's been hard for me, too], but I know that no matter what, she will always support me following my dreams, wherever those may lead me.

One of the greatest moments of pride in my life was the first time someone told me that I was just like my mother, because I cannot think of anyone else I would rather grow up to be like. She is my role model, my inspiration, and my hero.

Happy Birthday, Ma.
Woo pig.
xx

cultural taboos.

2011-11-03T01:17:00.000-05:00

We had a panel at school today about the taboos that exist in different societies. It was interesting to hear about taboos that exist in China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and it was also very amusing to listen to Sophia's tales of translating taboos from Pakistan into life in the United States.

Here's what I would have said about India:

Remember always to eat, give and receive money, and generally do everything with your right hand.
Never touch someone with your feet/shoes [this is one I have to remind my girls of every day].
Also, always take off your shoes when you enter someone's house. To this day I get on to my brother's friends who don't take off their shoes once they come into the house.
Public displays of affection are not acceptable in the villages; in the cities it can go either way.
Women are not advised to purchase alcohol themselves [never stopped me, but I've also never been one for rules].
No bare shoulders or short shorts in the villages; they're acceptable in the city center.
At most roadside shops, you are expected to bargain. Shopkeepers will never respect you if you pay the first price they say - it's more of a suggestion, anyway.
Remember that in India, many people live at home until they get married. After marriage, the son often continues to live with his parents, and his wife moves in.
If you are white, you will most likely be asked to pose for pictures everywhere you go. My advice to my interns was to charge people; that usually got them to go away.

There are tons of others, but those were the ones that came to me off the top of my head. Feel free to chime in with any others you can think of!

And keep those feet away from me.

Woo pig.

10k tuesday: the week that wasn't.

2011-11-01T20:25:00.000-05:00

This is a sad update for me, because I have not run from last Monday to today. There were a few reasons for this:

1. I had a pretty bad cold last week. Normally that wouldn't slow me down too much, but I decided to take it easy and get rest, because...

2. I went to Michigan last weekend and did not want to make myself sicker by running in the cold prior to my trip.

3. a minor point, but my ankle, although having held up well during my run on Monday, bothered me a bit on the following days.

So all of that added up to Veena not doing any exercise last week. I didn't do yesterday because I needed one night of solid sleep after my crazy weekend. Although I have quite a bit of work to do tonight, as well as a long day tomorrow, I am hopeful that I can get myself out of bed to get in a run in the morning. I'm afraid that if I am lazy for too long, I won't get back into it until it's too late. So wish me luck.

In good news, I did finally get some new music on my phone! So that was a plus. Hopefully I will actually get to listen to it in the morning.

Here's hoping I have a better update next week.
Woo pig.
xx

112,000 people is nothing to scoff at.

2011-10-31T22:26:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I ventured up to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to visit Shalini and to experience a game at the Big House. It was so nice to see someone from "home" and to have an excuse to use all of my Bangalore slang for a few days - people in Little Rock just don't get the beauty of being able to call someone "macha". It's tragic, really.

I got into Ann Arbor around 10 on Friday, so we headed down Main St to grab some grub and a few drinks. Over pizza and beer/cider, we reminisced about Bangalore days gone by and caught up on the last few months. I'd forgotten how nice it is to be able to walk places - I did not set foot in a moving vehicle from 10pm Friday night until 2pm Sunday afternoon.

Saturday we bought hoodies and a few other game-day necessities and traversed the block and a half from Shalini's house to the stadium. It's pretty cool to step out the front door and see the giant M on the stadium. The game was pretty awesome, and it certainly did not feel as though there were 112,000 people there. Of course, being me, I managed to stand in front of a fellow Arkansas fan from Memphis. What are the odds.

[walking into the stadium]

[that's what 112.000 people look like, in case you were wondering]

[Niall kept attacking me with my own claw. how rude]

After the game, we wandered around a bit, had some lunch, picked up Halloween costumes [I was a doctor. creative, I know], and just chilled out. We went to one of Shalini's classmates' houses for pre-party drinks, where I found out that my $8 bottle of wine actually had a screw top. What did that mean, exactly? Well, it meant that I spent the evening drinking straight out of the bottle. Classy, I know.

From Lauren's we met one of Shal's classmates at her school and headed over to another classmate's house. Holy crapy, so many people. It was ridiculous. So of course we found some random Indian kid and became friends with him. Approximately 4 hours later, we realized we needed food, so in lieu of an IHOP, which apparently doesn't exist in Ann Arbor, we ended up at some random Indian joint that was open at 2.30 in the morning. And boy, was it good. We finally stumbled into bed at about 5 in the morning. It's been a while since I've had one of those nights.

We took it easy on Sunday, grabbing some food and wandering through the U of M campus to see some of the sights. It's a very pretty campus, but so huge. It was a shock for my small-campus senses to see just how large their campus is. I would be lost for days if I ever tried to go there on my own.

[outside the Weill Building, home of the Ford School of Public Policy]

[strolling through the U of M central campus]

I had a great time, and I will definitely be heading up there again at some point. Most likely post-February, when the temperatures become bearable once again.

But for now, it's back to the grind.
Woo pig.
xx

commuting.

2011-10-26T13:57:00.000-05:00

How long is your average commute from your home to work/school? When I first moved to Little Rock, I was astounded that it only took me 12-15 minutes to get from my house to school downtown. 15 minutes! For the better part of the last 4 years, I have spent an hour and a half each way to and from work. An hour and a half! That's right, I would spend nearly 3 hours on buses every day. The thought of only spending about half an hour in the car was incredible to me. I couldn't get over it.

Well now I'm kind of over it. It's not so bad in the mornings, but when I've been running around for the better part of 12 hours, that 15 minute drive home can seem absolutely endless. Particularly because Little Rock drivers seem to be getting worse each day.

I think it's also partly because most of my friends live closer to downtown, so it takes at least 12 minutes to get to any of their houses. And also because if I have a 45-minute break in my day, it's not enough time for me to come home, so I end up hanging around school and not getting anything done.

It's funny how something I was so excited about 3 months ago is now something that I dread. Never satisfied, that's me.
Woo pig.
xx

10k tuesday: the good and the bad.

2011-10-25T07:22:00.000-05:00

The bad news: I'm coming down with a cold.
The good news: I'm confident that with my stellar immune system I'll kick it in a few days.

The bad news: I twinged my ankle a bit at our kickball game on Sunday.
The good news: I managed to make it through my run yesterday, so it doesn't look to be too bad.

The bad news: My arches are beginning to act up now that I'm on to longer intervals of running.
The good news: It's motivating me to get off my lazy bum and get some new running shoes. Coming soon!

The bad news: Still the same old music on repeat on my phone, and I don't have the proper wire to connect my hard drive to my new computer.
The good news: I have nothing to do this evening, so I'm going to pull out my old computer and transfer some music on to my phone tonight.

That's pretty much my week in a nutshell.
Woo pig.
xx

look who's famous.

2011-10-24T15:14:00.001-05:00

The Clinton School posted a brief write-up about our participation in the Race for the Cure on Saturday, which includes a picture of yours truly with some of my classmates. Go check it out! Kudos to Maggie for being the catalyst for this.

Also, Maggie and I have generally been around the Clinton School blog a lot recently since we've had a lot of speakers in town these last few weeks. Check them out if you have time - you can read all about Pervez Musharraf's visit last Thursday.

Happy reading!
Woo pig.
xx

where have i been, you ask?

2011-10-24T07:53:00.000-05:00

Well, in all honesty, you probably don't, since you're one of about 3 regular readers of this. But I will answer your question anyway.

I've been at the fair. I've been at Electric Cowboy. I've been walking downtown Little Rock [and North Little Rock] to "Race" for the Cure [I say "Race", because there were so many people that it took us 80 minutes to walk a 5k]. I've been stuffing my face with wonderful food and cheering on the Hogs at DBuff's house. I've been attempting to read ahead for the week. I've been playing kickball. I've been watching the Packers dominate. And I've been hanging out with Jordan and his mother.

And all of those activities were absolutely fabulous. I didn't get as much work done this weekend as I would have liked, but I don't care, because it was a great weekend.

And now it's back to the grind. Another week starts today.
Woo pig.
xx

really makes that 10k look like a piece of cake.

2011-10-20T20:22:00.000-05:00

I'm sure most of you have heard about this already, but one of the big stories this week was about the 100-year-old Punjabi man who set a Guinness Record in becoming the first centenarian to complete a marathon.

I've been spending so much time thinking about the 10k that I am running - in March, mind you - and trying to figure out how I'm going to run for what could end up being an hour and a half, and here is a man - a 100 year old man - who ran 26.2 miles [completely off my radar] and who ran for 8 hours. 8 hours! At this point, the thought of running longer than about 20 minutes kind of annoys me; forget about 8 hours.

So needless to say, I've put a curb on the cribbing after reading his story. I'm pretty sure my 28-year-old body can handle that 10k come March.

Woo pig.
xx

who wants a ride?

2011-10-19T19:28:00.000-05:00

I've finally been able to catch up on reading good these past few days, and I keep finding more and more awesome stuff. Today's one-good-thing-a-day email features a story on Leon Logothetis, a tv host, producer, and author who is driving across the country. Along the way, he will be picking up hitchhikers and donating money to local schools, although the two are not necessarily connected. You can read the full write-up on good here - it explains it much more clearly than I just did.

I wish he were driving through Little Rock or Memphis - I could get a free ride somewhere.
Woo pig.
xx

10k tuesday: round four.

2011-10-18T20:32:00.000-05:00

This week's update is a bit all over the place.

Last week I finally completed 3 workouts in one week! I ran on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, making it through Week 3 and the first day of Week 4. On Thursday I decided to challenge myself a bit and, instead of just running in the park, decided to run through the neighborhood, which includes a few hills. I survived, but just barely. I needed it, though, because obviously the entire 10k in March won't be on flat roads, but it hurt. I think it was also because it was later in the week, and I am usually running on less energy by Thursday than on Monday. I do however think it is good to do the third day of each week on the road, as it's good practice.

Because of the run on Saturday, combined with three - yes, three - kickball games on Sunday, I took Monday off. My legs were seriously hurting after that weekend, and I realized the need for some rest. I took today off also, because I had to meet my Practicum team at 8.30am, and we were supposed to spend the morning gardening. I realized last night that it would not be prudent to wear out my muscles and then go work in the garden at Mabelvale, so I refrained. I'll get back into the flow tomorrow, but that means I need to be in bed by 10pm. On the dot. It's only Tuesday, and I am already exhausted, which is not a good sign.

If I can get in runs tomorrow and Friday, then I will complete Week 4 this week and be back on a schedule of one week of the workout correlating to one week in real time. We'll see how that works out for me.

No new aches or pains to report, which I count as a success.

The mornings are getting cold, so I'm going to have to start wearing my fleece and probably carrying some water with me to keep my throat from getting too dry.

I really need some new music on my phone. The same 10 songs on repeat are getting old. I'll figure it out one of these days.

Tomorrow I WILL wear my arm weights for my run. Really. If I don't, you have permission to never speak to me again. But seriously, I paid for them, so I need to start using them.

Fingers crossed I wake up in the morning.
Woo pig.
xx

possible capstone?

2011-10-17T19:51:00.001-05:00

It seems like every day I find a new organization that I want to work with for either my IPSP or my Capstone. Today was no exception.

Adult illiteracy has been a big problem in New Orleans, so Big Class has been working to get illiterate parents more involved in their children's education. I read about it today over on good and now want to go work with them next year for my Capstone. Working in New Orleans for a semester - or a year - on education and literacy. I can't really think of anything better. Except for being in Ladakh. Or working for Room to Read in Bombay. Hmm.

I wonder what tomorrow's IPSP / Capstone find will be...
Woo pig.
xx

just the weekend i needed.

2011-10-16T19:56:00.000-05:00

After a slew of crazy weekends, I needed a calm one, and that's just what I got. Other than Arkansas Puzzle Day yesterday and kickball today, no real commitments. No Razorback game Saturday, which freed up a good 3.5 hour chunk of the day. No assignments due on Monday that I needed to break my head over. Just a nice, calm, relaxing weekend. Just what the doctor ordered.

When I finished work on Friday, I headed home, did a bit of reading, had some food, did a bit more reading, and eventually headed over to Dylan Perry's to chill out for a while. Sydney brought a board game, so that kept us entertained for a little while. I was still home and in bed by midnight, which was nice.

I started off Saturday morning with a run [Week 4 Day1!] before heading down to Sturgis for Arkansas Puzzle Day. It is exactly what it sounds like it is, and even though I didn't win a prize, Laura and I automatically won the student gift certificates to Boulevard since we were the only two students who showed up. $25, which is roughly the equivalent of 4.5 meals at Boulevard, is nothing to shake your head at.

After that I came back home and caught up on my blog posts and a few other housekeeping things before crashing out for about 2 hours. That's right, I got in a 2-hour nap on a Saturday. And it was magnificent. Then I spent the afternoon and evening reading ahead for next week and making 7-layer dip. I met Dylan and a few of the Class 6-ers at Town Pump for a few drinks followed by the yummy awesomeness of Waffle House. Thank goodness for that nap, or I would never have made it to 2am.

Today I slept in [hurray!] before heading over to Interstate Park. We had a doubleheader today with games at 1.15 and 5, so I decided to go early to watch the intermediate team's game at noon. They needed a fourth girl to bat, so somehow I ended up playing on their team as well. We won, in case you're wondering. And then the novice team won our first game, after which a few of us decided to just hang out down at the park before our next game. We had a nice spread of cookies, 7-layer dip, and chips, and we kept ourselves entertained for a few hours before our second game. We lost that one, unfortunately, but word on the street is that we should still make the playoffs.

So although today was a bit long - and I missed the Packers game because of all the kickball - it has still been a fantastic weekend. Other than the fact that my body is feeling a bit run down - I'm definitely not made to play 3 games in one day. Here's hoping I can finish up my reading for tomorrow quickly, because I have every intention of being in bed by 10pm. Week 4 Day 2 is looming in the morning.

Happy week ahead!
Woo pig.
xx

where will you educate your children?

2011-10-15T00:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, this article ran on the New York Times website.

Education has long been a passion of mine, starting when I was in high school and extending into my life today. I've spent most of my life learning, tutoring, teaching, or some combination of the three. It's also something I think about nearly every day:

Where will I educate my children?

Will I send them to schools in India? Will I enroll them in schools in the US? Do I chuck both of those ideas and send them to school in Finland? [hey, don't knock it, they've supposedly got the best education system in the world]

This is something that is readily on my mind. Schools in India focus more on academics, forcing students to have good study habits, something I wish I possessed. Schools in the US focus on being well-rounded, forcing students to be able to have good social interactions and to participate in a variety of activities.

In India, most of the good schools are single-sex schools, and I have vowed my entire life never to send my children to single-sex schools unless they explicitly asked to go. In the US there are cities that have great public schools and cities where private schools are better - it's all a matter of where you live.

I like the structure of schools in India, but never having attended one and only seeing them from the outside, I feel that they are too rigid and in many ways expect too much of their students academically. If you read through the article above, you would have read that there were some universities in India who were only accepting students who scored above 99% on their exams. That's nearly impossible, and yet children in India will forego sleep, food, and many other things to get those results. And if they don't get those results, they don't know what to do, because academics is all they know.

In the US, academics are important, but so much more of a child's education comes from outside the classroom - from playing on sports teams to acting in plays to being part of a community service group, each little bit adds up to a whole, well-rounded person. Universities here certainly take grades into account, but they also look at how much was done outside of class. I got accepted to Rhodes not because of any outstanding academic achievement but because of my commitment to the Community Service program at Baylor.

I think because of the opportunity I had to go to Baylor, I want nothing less than that for my children. There are a few "alternate education" schools in Bangalore, but nothing that can rival the facilities of my high school, except for maybe the international schools.

Although I know it is way far off in the distance, I have spent a lot of time contemplating how I will fit my thoughts into the school systems in India. My vague idea is to put my [hypothetical] children through international schools and then board them at Baylor their final 2 or 3 years of high school, if they want. I know the idea of sending your children across the world is scary, but I also know they won't be alone over here. And above all, I think that it would be a great experience for them.

Of course, thinking all of this, I also realize that there will likely be a lot of changes that occur in the schools both in India and in the US by the time I have children and they are ready for school. But that doesn't mean that it's not something that is constantly on my mind.

I know that no matter what, I don't want my children to become part of a system that requires perfection from its students. I want them to do well, certainly, but I also want them to enjoy the best parts of being in school - spending time with friends on weekends, attending school events, being part of theatrical productions, exploring their artistic side, volunteering their time, and getting to know the world around them. I want to set them up to succeed.

How about you?
Woo pig.
xx

the good challenge.

2011-10-12T20:31:00.000-05:00

I have stated many times on here that I am a fan of good, so I don't think it is something I need to go over in graphic detail again.

Each month, good issues its readers a 30-day challenge that revolves around some sort of social issue. The challenge for the month of October is to get healthy, and each day they offer a new suggestion of something to do.

Last month's challenge was to get connected, and they had some really interesting challenges on there, but I discovered it mid-month and so couldn't keep up from day-to-day. Instead, I am issuing myself a challenge to complete everything on the list by the end of the semester. Yes, I realize that means I get approximately 85 days as opposed to 30, but this is my universe, and occasionally I get to make up the rules.

So from now until the end of the semester, a few times a week I will post about which part of the challenge I completed. I'll publish the full list each time, with completed tasks crossed out and the current one being discussed highlighted in bold. If that doesn't make sense, it will once I start. I hope.

Until then, here's the list in its entirety. Maybe you'll join me in my challenge?

1.     Send someone a postcard.
2.     Have a conversation with a service employee.
3.     Share an old photo with a friend.
4.     Ask a relative what they did today.
5.     Coordinate a group event.
6.     Get coffee with a co-worker.
7.     Buy a friend a gift under $5.
8.     Email a Twitter pal.
9.     Video chat with a faraway friend.
10. Feed a homeless person.
11. Do something nice for a neighbor.
12. Give 5 high-fives.
13. Call someone you haven’t talked to in years.
14. Say Hi to three strangers.
15. Make something for someone.
16. Leave someone a Thank You note.
17. Teach someone something.
18. Cook dinner for someone.
19. Send a friend three links they’ll love.
20. Give three compliments.
21. Leave a positive comment on a stranger’s blog.
22. Ask for someone’s advice, and take it.
23. Thank an old teacher.
24. Go to a neighborhood business you’ve never been to.
25. Call someone instead of texting or posting on Facebook.
26. Lend someone a book.
27. Introduce two people who don’t know each other.
28. Email someone you admire but have never met.
29. Settle an outstanding argument.
30. Have a conversation with someone 20 years older or younger.

[I don't know why the numbering and indentation have messed up. I'll figure that out before I start posting about my task completions]

Wish me luck.
Woo pig.
xx

10k tuesday: round three.

2011-10-11T12:33:00.000-05:00

Well this week's installment is certainly a bit more upbeat than last week's. I am happy to report that I finished Week 2 as well as Days 1 and 2 of Week 3. Victory is mine! [almost]

I managed to get in runs both Wednesday and Friday of last week as well as yesterday, so I have at least not fallen further behind. I thought about trying to catch up, but I am not going to run on back-to-back days again just yet [I learned that lesson a few weeks ago], and we have a kickball double-header this weekend, so I figured it might be a bit much. I'll think about keeping Saturdays and Sundays as possibilities once the season is over.

Once I decided not to do the back-to-back workouts again, my knees haven't given me any trouble at all. In fact, they've felt great. I'm a bit worried about what's going to happen once the training kicks up a notch at the end of November, which requires me to run 5 days a week, but we'll cross that hurdle once we get to it.

I still haven't purchased new running shoes. I know, I know. Last week was a bit hectic and all over the place because of midterms, so I just didn't have time. I'm hoping to maybe get that taken care of this weekend.

Otherwise I don't have much to report. I am still deciding on my timed run this weekend, because that would mean doing Week 4 Day 1 on Friday, running a timed mile Saturday, and then a kickball doubleheader on Sunday. I like to pretend I can do everything, but I'm pretty confident that doing all of that might be the end of me. I'll re-assess Friday evening and see what I feel up to.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!
Woo pig.
xx

a long time coming.

2011-10-09T16:32:00.000-05:00

If any of you can remember the last time I posted pictures on here, you're doing better than I am. There are a few reasons for that:

I've not taken that many pictures. A travesty, I know, but I think taking so many pictures those last few months in Bangalore left me a bit burned out.
I've not taken the time to upload the few I had taken onto my computer. With my old computer, it used to take ages for the pictures to load, and I never had the time or energy to deal with that. Of course, I forgot that I now have a super fast computer, and 200 pictures transfer likethat.
I'm lazy. We all know this.

So here I am, with a few months worth of pictures to share with you. I'm warning you now that there are a lot. Hope you enjoy.

[this little guy was eating up all our tomato plants]

[boys cooking]

[our fabulous feast]

[downtown little rock]

[pedestrian bridge downtown]

[how many guys does it take to put a grill together?]

[love crowder's swag]

[me and my boo]

[me and my other boo]

[these guys]

[getting those letters ready for kickball shirts]

[full seriousness going on here]

[me and the dubz]

[I'm pretty sure that one went in]

[sniffing the toast? really?]

[with the birthday girl]

[family picture. be on the lookout for our christmas card]

[busch model]

[13-year-old female drummer. she's my hero]

[with britney at the blues fest]

[cherry street banners]

[still haven't gotten over my obsession with funny signs]

[mural on cherry st]

[attempt at getting a crowd shot saturday night]

[I was really hoping they'd supply that naked body, too]

Happy week ahead!

Woo pig.

the greatest show on earth.

2011-10-08T10:26:00.000-05:00

Nope, I'm not talking about the circus. I am speaking of the King Biscuit Blues Festival, the greatest staple of my childhood growing up in Helena.

The Blues Fest, as we locals like to call it [although I'm not sure if I'm still allowed to refer to myself as a local, considering I've not lived there in 13 years], is hands down the best weekend of the year. Three days of nonstop performances, vendors selling everything from jewelry and clothing to funnel cakes and sno cones, a bbq competition, and wrapping everything up with a stop at Pasquale's Tamales at the end of Cherry Street. I also have vague memories of riding an elephant in the middle of crowded Cherry Street during one Blues Fest of my childhood.

As much as I love and adore Blues Fest, I have unfortunately only been once in the last 11 years, and it was raining that weekend, so we didn't even spend very long downtown. While I was in college it always clashed with volleyball tournaments that I had to work or with Homecoming - sometimes both - and then I've been out of the country the better part of the last half decade. I tried my best to get down there last year, but it was too close to my return to Bangalore, so it didn't work out.

But this year is different. I made it a priority from the beginning of the year to make sure I would get down there for Blues Fest this fall. Luckily it coincided with a relatively light weekend for us, so 4 of my classmates and 1 girl from Class 6 are joining me for a giant road trip down to Helena [-West Helena, for those of you who are already acclimated to the new name] to enjoy the blues.

I can't wait.
Woo pig.
xx

citizen of the world.

2011-10-06T23:06:00.000-05:00

One of the questions that I have found the most difficult to answer since arriving at the Clinton School is also the one I am most often asked:

Where are you from?

Mine, like many others', is a complicated answer, and I never quite know how to respond. Yes, I lived in Helena for 15 years, but I've not lived there in 13, so it doesn't really qualify, especially since my parents also have not lived there in 7. They now moved to Memphis in 2004, just after I finished my 4 years at Rhodes, so I guess that was "home" for about 6 years. But then I've been in Bangalore for the better part of the last 6 years, so that's more like home at this point. [in case you're trying to do the math and are coming up a few years short, it's because of my 2 years in Chattanooga, which is probably the place in the US I consider home above all the others]

On top of which I continue to claim loyalty to Arkansas for the Razorbacks, to Memphis for Graceland and bbq, and to India for pretty much all things awesome.

So where does that leave me? Either having a long-winded answer to what should be, in most people's eyes, a very simple question. Or else with a response like the title of this post.

It's a question I'm asked all too often, and one I've come to dread above all others.

Where are YOU from?
Woo pig.
xx

10k tuesday: round two.

2011-10-04T17:45:00.000-05:00

To tell you the truth, I had hoped to have more updates for you this week. In an ideal world, I would be finished with Week 2 as well as Day 1 of Week 3 [does that make sense?]. Unfortunately, I live not in an ideal world but in a graduate school world where things do not pan out the way we [I] hope.

In the first week, I missed completing Day 3 that Friday because I had to get breakfast for my Law & Ethics class. Last week, I did Week 1 Day 3 and Week 2 Day 1 back-to-back, which in hindsight was not the best decision I've ever made. Because of that, I had to take a few days off before I could finish Day 2 on Saturday.

I was all set to complete Week 2 yesterday [Monday] until I realized that I had to be downtown half an hour earlier than usual to print out my paper and get it turned in. I know it just sounds like an excuse, but running in the pitch black at 6am in 40 degree weather is just not my ideal scenario. So then I decided I would complete Week 2 today, until I spent about 3 hours tossing and turning like a madwoman last night. When my alarm went off this morning, I couldn't even open my eyes to turn it off, so that quickly got shot down.

So here I am, getting more and more behind in my training. I'm hoping to be in bed early tonight anyway to rest up for my Decision Analysis midterm, and I think a nice little workout might be a good way to get me up and about in the morning. And that will put me back on my M-W-F workout routine, with kickball [sort of] filling in on Sunday - at least for a few more weeks. I'm trying not to run on the weekends, partly because I am going to be out of town pretty much every other weekend for the next 2 months, but also mostly because those are my only days to sleep in, and I crave that.

I can, however, update you on the first 2 days of Week 2:

I could definitely feel myself moving a bit faster on the second day. I think the first one I was being cautious since the intervals increased, and I just wanted to make sure I would survive it, so then on the 2nd day I knew kind of how far I could push myself.

I am, however, a bit confused on how the phone tracks my distance. I run in the park down the street from my house, and I usually count the laps as I go. I'm pretty sure I did more laps on Day 2 than on Day 1, but according to the gps on the phone, I actually ran a shorter distance. So I'm confused. But whatever, I'm surviving. That's my biggest goal right now. I'll worry about distance and time and whatnot at a later time.

Also, purchasing an armband for my phone was definitely a great investment. It is so much easier without having to carry my phone in my hands. Plus it keeps me from checking the time constantly.

If I were still on schedule, this weekend would be my first timed run, but because I've gotten behind, I think the earliest I'll be able to do it is next weekend. I'm a little bummed about that, but right now midterms and papers take precedence.

Things I need:

a new pair of running shoes, as decreed by my brother. he claims that should help take care of my potential knee issues [the knees did NOT like the back-to-back workouts last week. at all]
a good running fleece. these mornings are getting a bit chilly. any suggestions?
more music on my phone. I put a few songs on there, but all of my music is still on my external harddrive, and I honestly haven't had time to transfer it onto my computer. potential Wednesday night plan following Bavon's midterm? possibly. but honestly, I'll probably get distracted and forget and then only remember when I go for my next run.

Other notes:

eating healthy has been difficult since I have NO food in my house, and no chance of purchasing more until probably Thursday.
I keep forgetting on mornings I don't run to do my weights and abs. it's very intermittent. I'm hoping that if and when I get into a proper schedule, that will also fall in place. we'll see.
I haven't yet been brave enough to take my arm weights with me on a run. maybe tomorrow? depends on if I grow my balls of steel overnight.

And there you have it. I can tell you're thrilled to know so much about me and my running habits.

Woo pig.

besties.

2011-10-02T11:48:00.000-05:00

I think the picture says it all.

[photo Jacob Slaton / Jacob Slaton Photography for Clinton School]

what a way to finish the week.

2011-09-30T18:18:00.000-05:00

This has been a crazy, hectic, up-and-down week, but today made up for all of it. Former President Bill and current Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton are in town for the weekend, and we had the opportunity to see both of them today.

This morning, Bill spoke at the opening and dedication of the new pedestrian bridge and wetlands down by the Presidential Center. And in the afternoon, after getting a picture with the Clinton School students, Hillary gave a lecture to an audience of about 150 people. Following the lecture, I got to meet Hillary and get a picture with her, which I will post on here as soon as Jacob uploads them.

It was, hands down, the coolest experience of my 28 years.

In other news, today also concludes my 30-posts-in-30-days challenge. I apologize that some of the posts were a bit dry on those days I was running around doing other things, but I'm pretty proud of myself nonetheless.

Will I do it again? Possibly. But most likely not this month - there's enough other stuff going on. There is a cool thing that good did this month where they challenged people to do a new thing every day, such as send someone a postcard or say hi to 3 strangers on the street. You know I am a sucker for things like that, but it was already a week into it by the time I found out about it. I wrote them all down, though, and will do my best to get through them before the end of the semester. I'll keep you posted on how that turns out for me.

Until then, however, it is back to paper-writing and presentation-making for the rest of the evening. Wish me luck.

And Woo Pig.

i honestly don't have anything to say.

2011-09-29T22:23:00.000-05:00

Well, that's not entirely true. I have many things to say. But most of the things I have to say relate to things I've already written at length about this week, like my IPSP, all of our upcoming assignments, and getting to meet Secretary Clinton tomorrow.

I do have a lot of other things to write about / discuss / post on here, but I just haven't had the time to collect my thoughts. I left home at 8 this morning and got back at about 9.15 this evening. And while I know that there are going to be many days like that in the months ahead, I also know that, for the most part, our schedule conflicts and shifting around and whatnot should be done. Because of Labor Day, our schedules were messed up for the entire month, but I think after this weekend we should be back on track.

And I need to be back on track. I might be a bit all over the place, but I am a stickler for my schedule, and when it gets disrupted, I get upset. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that there shouldn't be too many more switcheroos.

So for tonight, I will simply wish all of you a happy Friday and a glorious weekend ahead. I for one hope it cools down. A lot. 90 degrees at the end of September does not sit well with me.

Woo pig.
xx

[also. tomorrow marks the conclusion of my 30-in-30 challenge. raise your hands if you didn't actually think I would do it. it's ok. I won't be offended]

so this is the life of a grad student.

2011-09-28T23:51:00.000-05:00

And here begins the crux of grad school. The papers. The presentations. The midterms. The meetings. The projects and evaluations. All due at. the. same. time.

Here is a peek into my upcoming week:
[and yes, I know that rhymed :)]

Thursday. APA Style & Plagiarism Workshop from 9-11am. Practicum meeting with Ashley from 12-12.30pm. Work from 2.40-6.20pm. Heifer 100-Mile Meal from 5.30-8.30pm. and yes, those times overlap. awesome.

Friday. Law & Ethics class from 9-11am for which I have about another 35 pages to read. Clinton Pedestrian Bridge and Wetlands dedication at 11.30am. Photo-op with Secretary Clinton at 1.30pm. Secretary Clinton lecture from 2-3pm. Communications paper due by midnight.

Saturday. Food Truck Festival downtown. Arkansas / Texas A&M game at 11am. Mother and Brother coming to town for the celebration of Clinton's announcement to run for President from 4-6pm. Clinton Staff Reunion from 6-?pm.

Sunday. Kickball at some point. Complete my CITI training and finish up my Leadership presentation.

Monday. Leadership presentation at 9am. Class until 12pm. Panel discussion from 12-1pm. Communication from 1.30-4.30pm for which I have to read about 100 pages plus a case study.

Tuesday. Practicum all day. Need to finish our Work Log and our Press Release and begin work on our Project Description. David Margolick event and book signing from 6-7pm.

Wednesday. Decision Analysis midterm. Student Government meeting from 12-1pm. Work from 2.40-6pm. Erin Ganju of Room to Read lecture from 6-7pm.

As you can see, things are going to be a bit full. And tomorrow, Saturday, Monday and Wednesday include 6.30am workouts.

Remind me again why I'm still up? Oh yeah, finishing up my survey to send to my classmates.
Woo pig.
xx

10K tuesday: the first week.

2011-09-27T07:53:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my first 10K Tuesday post! [I'm a sucker for alliteration, what to do] I'm still not entirely sure how I'm going to format this, if I'm going to do specific categories or just wing it each week. For the first one I'm just going to wing it, and then as we get further into my training, if I see particular things cropping up each time, I might start doing categories. Or, in reality, I might get distracted in a few weeks and forget to keep up with this. We'll see.

Well, I have completed the first week of the Couch-to-5K training as well as the first day of the second week. So far it's not too bad, alternating between jogging and walking for about half an hour. I've been getting up and heading out of the house around 6.30 in the mornings, which has worked out pretty well so far. It's a lot cooler in the mornings than in the evenings, and I know that once I get home from school / meetings / events / work, I don't have the energy or the motivation to then complete my workout for the day.

The main hitches I foresee are my arches and shins, both of which have been problems since I was a teenager. I have completely flat feet, which means that they hurt easily and require a lot of support. I have orthotics in my shoes - both of which are designed for people with flat feet - but I think I might actually need to get a new pair of running shoes. I got these when I returned to the States thinking I would walk or maybe do the elliptical a few times a week - nothing too difficult and nothing high-impact. And then I lost my mind and decided to sign up for a 10K. So I'm going to go this week and see if I need new shoes.

My shins started giving me trouble my senior year of high school, when I got all 3 kinds of shin splints at the same time. I always felt like such a poser hanging out in the training room icing down my shins with all the wrestlers and basketball and soccer players who had legit injuries. So far they've not given me trouble, but I'd really like to avoid that at all cost, so I think I might start icing them down the night before I run, in the hopes that that will prevent anything from going wrong.

I'm getting a bit concerned about my knees, but I think they'll be ok since right now I have every other day off from running. On the off days I'm getting up and stretching, doing some light weights, and I really need to start doing abs, but those are my least favourite, and I tend to avoid them unless someone is screaming at me to do them.

I also have a bit of a problem getting a dry mouth when I run. This has been happening since I was in middle school, because I tend to breathe through my mouth when I run. I know I'm not supposed to, but I've never been good at breathing through my nose. I am trying to work on it, but it's going to take some time. It's also getting cooler in the mornings, which I think is also drying out my mouth. Once I start doing longer jogging times / distances, I'm going to have to carry my water with me and figure out how to juggle everything.

According to my phone, my pace is around 13 minutes / mile, which would be fine by me, except that we're still going in intervals, so I'm still not sure how long I can sustain that. One of the main things I like about this program is that it builds up your endurance slowly, which is my main issue. I know my legs can survive 6.2 miles, but I'm not entirely sure the rest of my body can. I have to keep reminding myself when it's time to jog, "It's a marathon, not a sprint." I'm not used to long distances, I'm more used to running for a certain amount of time, so it's going to take a bit more getting used to.

I also set myself a few challenges along the way. Since it's a 9-week program, and a 5K amounts to 3.1 miles, every 3rd week I'm going to run timed distances on one of my in-between days. So next weekend, I'll run a timed mile; after another 3 weeks it will be 2 miles, and then finally, at the end of the 9-week program, I'll time myself for 3 miles. And once I finish all that it will be time to start the training program that the Little Rock Marathon gave us.

I don't have any updates as far as my weight is concerned, but I'm also still figuring out my diet, so that I think will take some time. I'm not so much trying to lose weight as I am just wanting to tone a bit. Those last few weeks of eating out every day in Bangalore combined with returning to the States and eating out with friends has not been good for me. I'm also cutting back on how much I drink, which I think ought to help.

So I guess that's all I have for this inaugural post. I know it's a bit all over the place, but if you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you should already expect that from me.

Happy Tuesday!
Woo pig.
xx

things we girls need to be reminded of every now and then.

2011-09-26T07:51:00.000-05:00

Another one I found through friends on Facebook - I haven't read through the entire blog, but I love this post, titled I am woman. I am beautiful.

Because even though we often forget it, it's true.

You are all beautiful.

Woo pig.

where oh where should i go?

2011-09-25T22:18:00.000-05:00

As part of my program, my classmates and I will spend next summer abroad working with various organizations. We're more than interns, but not quite staff - we help out with project evaluations and needs assessments and resource building and other various things, mostly things that organizations have been wanting / needing to do for a long time but have not had the time or resources to be able to do so.

We don't have to have our International Public Service Projects [IPSPs] confirmed until mid-March of next year, so at this point in the year we are just beginning to research organizations / projects / places that might be of interest to us.

As of now, I have many different issues I'm interested in working on - education, children's and human rights, and sustainable development - and also many places I am interested in going:

London. I've always wanted to live there for some amount of time, and I figure a 10- to 12-week stint is pretty good. Plus there are a ton of organizations there working on sustainable development. And next summer are the Olympics. In London. What could be better.

Ladakh. What an experience it would be to live in the mountains of Kashmir for 3 months and have the opportunity to travel in northern India.

New Zealand. I've always wanted to go, and with the stipend from the school, I might finally be able to afford to get there.

Greece. Its been on my list of places to go since I was a child.

Belfast. This is one that wasn't really on my radar until I spoke to one of my classmates last week who got his Masters in History there, and he mentioned that he has friends in Belfast who do a lot of work in human rights. I figured it would be worth looking in to.

So now I need to start researching the places and the possible organizations in a bit more detail, but I would love some input about any of the places. And also suggestions of other places I might have not thought of.

You might be wondering why there are no mentions of Africa in my list. That is partially for two reasons:

One is that I have always wanted to go to Africa, but I want to do more hands-on work, as opposed to evaluations, so I am saving it for another time in my life. And two is that a lot of students usually end up somewhere in Africa, and I would like to work somewhere different.

So that's that. Thoughts / comments / suggestions?

Woo pig.

welcome, fall.

2011-09-25T01:42:00.000-05:00

[please note: this was intended to be Saturday's post, but Saturday has run into Sunday...I'm still counting it for Saturday and will have another once I've slept and woken back up]

In case no one noticed, Friday was the official first day of fall. The weather cooperated nicely and, although slightly warm, had a nice crisp feel in the air. I celebrated by stopping by Old Navy and picking up a few bits and bobs, including a fleece and two jackets for the fall. Yes, that's right, I said two jackets. Normally I am not someone who is obsessed with clothes, but I have never really had a nice jacket for fall before; I've always just relied on fleeces and sweaters. This year, however, I decided that it might be time to splurge for something a bit more grown up. I was lucky enough to find two great jackets during the store's buy-one-get-one offer, meaning one of the jackets was 75% off. That's a deal that just can't be beat.

Other than my new jackets, one of my other favourite things about fall is that I can begin to bust out my shawls. I managed to pick up some nice ones before I left Bangalore, and I am looking forward to actually being able to use them.

Beyond my latest fashion statements, we have been having beautiful weather the last few days. Cool mornings and evenings make Veena a very happy girl. And even though the afternoons have been sunny, they've not been super hot.

Fall is my favourite season for many reasons - the leaves changing colour, the opportunity to break out some nice sweaters and shawls, the weather becoming nicer - but probably the things I love most are the crisp feel to the air and the rivalries in college football heating up.

Happy Fall!
Woo pig.
xx

[also. apparently I made a slight miscalculation. yesterday was not the 100th blog post overall, it was the 100th post this year. meaning the 100th post was, in fact, two days earlier. oops. please forgive me - I am a public servant, not a mathematician]

happy 100!

2011-09-23T18:20:00.000-05:00

Today marks my 100th post on here. When I started this blog towards the end of December, I didn't really have any idea of what direction it was going to go in. I still don't, if I'm honest.

At the beginning, it was mostly a mix of nerves over grad school applications and studying for and taking the GRE. I survived all of those happenings and then had to figure out where to go from there. Once I had my tickets booked and my acceptance letter signed and returned, it became more about my last few months in India - my travels, the Cricket World Cup and IPL, wrapping up work, and attempts at daily picture-taking. Since returning, it has been a mix of grad school preparation and the subsequent craziness that has ensued since classes began.

Even though I'm not a niche blogger - I get way too easily distracted for all that - I'm pretty happy with how it's all going. My viewership comes and goes, but it's been staying up this month since I've been posting every day. Note to self: more people read this thing when I post often, and on varying topics. Good to know.

So really what I want to say today is thank you. Thank you to all of you who actually take time out of your day to read my ramblings. I can't really imagine what is all that entertaining for you, but it has definitely been a great way for me to get back into the practice of writing on a more-or-less daily basis, and it's nice to know that someone, somewhere, is reading it.

Here's to the next 100 posts. How long do you think it will take me to do it?
Woo pig.
xx

random rambles.

2011-09-22T21:57:00.000-05:00

1. I keep talking about how crazy this week has been, and I am pretty certain it is only going to get crazier as each week progresses. I fear my nights of managing 7-8 hours of sleep are about to be over.

2. New TV shows started this week, and all I have been able to catch was the last 10 minutes of Parks & Recreation tonight. It's going to be just like when I was in India, only my streaming will be faster.

3. Mansoor Ali Khan passed away today. The world lost not only a legendary cricketer, but a great man.

4. I get to see super fun friends Lindso, Steve, Catherine, and Drew this weekend!

5. Next week I want to start discussing my 5K / 10K training on here in a bit more detail. I know you guys can't wait.

6. We had an IPSP workshop today, and I am starting to trim down my list of places to go next summer. More to come on that in the next few days / weeks.

7. Only a week to go to complete my goal of posting every day this month! I almost can't believe that I'm going to do it.

8. I know I need to post some pictures on here, but in order for that to happen, I need to actually take pictures. Maybe I'll take some this weekend at the World Cheese Dip Festival. Yes, that's a real thing.

9. I can't believe tomorrow is finally Friday. There were honestly a few moments where I wasn't sure it was coming.

10. Tomorrow we celebrate my 100th post! I wish I could say I had something special planned, but I don't. You're just going to have to wait and see what I come up with.

And, as always,
Woo pig.
xx

hazy crazy days.

2011-09-21T22:43:00.000-05:00

So far, we have had 4 events in 3 days at school with another one coming tomorrow night. My classmate Maggie and I have been writing the blog posts for each of the events, which you can read over on the Clinton School blog.

Tonight Joe Klein of Time Magazine spoke at school, and following the event, I was one of the lucky students who got to go for dinner with him and Lindsey, the photojournalist covering him on his current road trip. They are both amazing and inspiring individuals, and it was truly humbling to sit at the table with them. I had to fight the urge to pinch myself through the entire meal.

And by the by, it was a fantastic meal.
Woo pig.
xx

words of wisdom.

2011-09-20T22:12:00.000-05:00

Tonight, Ruby Bridges spoke at school. She was the African-American girl who integrated New Orleans' school system as a first grader in 1960; she actually finished the year as the only pupil in her class because the white parents refused to send their children to school with her. Her struggle was depicted in a famous Norman Rockwell painting that was showcased in LOOK Magazine in 1960.

Ruby had many incredible things to say tonight, but I think what might stick with me the longest was something she said toward the end of her speech: "Racism is a grown-up disease; we must stop spreading it to our children." She then closed with, "We are all part of one race - the human race."

In all the years I have left to live, I don't think I would have found a better way to say it.
Woo pig.
xx

jamie naughton: zappo's speaker of the house.

2011-09-19T12:07:00.000-05:00

Last week Jamie Naughton of Zappo's, the online retailer, spoke at school. I had the privilege of writing the post about it for the Clinton School blog, which you can read here if your heart so desires.

Woo pig.
xx

clear sign that I have lost my mind.

2011-09-18T22:39:00.000-05:00

Since I apparently don't have enough other things to do in life, I decided it would be a good idea to register for the Little Rock Marathon's 10K run in March.

That's right, I said 10K.

Have I ever run 10 kilometers before? Never in one go. Am I out of my mind? Absolutely.

I mostly did it because I need to start getting back into shape, and I knew spending the money for the registration fee was a surefire way to motivate me. You know how cheap I am, and that's $35 that I am never getting back, so I might as well get the most out of it.

Also, the Marathon offers free training, including group runs once a week, so that I can see the other people who are also hell-bent on punishing themselves.

I was originally going to sign up for the 5K, but it's on Saturday by itself, whereas the 10K is on Sunday along with the half- and full-marathons, which I know a lot of other students are running, and I just figured that would be more fun.

The official training begins at the end of November, so in order to train for the training, I am beginning the Couch-to-5K program tomorrow morning.

So now, on top of all the other things going on in life, I will now be getting up at 6.30am three days a week to run.

Here goes nothing.
Woo pig.
xx

happy birthday, peanut!

2011-09-17T01:14:00.000-05:00

Today is my little Peanut's 1st birthday!

I am shattered that I cannot be there for her celebration, but I am participating in spirit.

Here's to the cutest, silliest, craziest little moonchild in all of Bangalore.
Woo pig.
xx

ode to my father.

2011-09-16T13:40:00.000-05:00

Today is my father's birthday. Sixty-nine years ago, he was brought into this world. He grew up without television, without computers or the Internet, without public transportation systems. It is nearly impossible for me to fathom, because he has adapted so well to the changes that have occurred over those years.

My father and I are both polar opposites and twin souls. Where he is quiet, reflective, and somber, I am loud, opinionated, and a bit in-your-face. Where he prefers the quiet of a small town or the suburbs, I love living in the heart of a bustling, thriving city. But at the end of the day, we both like to have a bit of peace and quiet to read and think about our days and relax over some steaming chicken tikka masala. We are also two of the most stubborn people you'll ever meet, which is probably why we argue so much.

While we agree on certain things, we don't see eye-to-eye on most, but there has never been a time in my life where I have doubted my father's love or support. I know that no matter what, he is proud of me and of the decisions I have made, whether it be deciding to move halfway around the world to serve the children of India or deciding to come back to grad school to work toward making the world a better place.

Much of my commitment to service I learned from my father. As a pediatrician in a small, struggling town in the Delta, he saw children whose parents' could not afford health care, but he would never refuse care to a child because their parents' were unable to pay for a checkup or for shots. There were often days he came home in December having seen over 100 patients only to turn around and head to the school for my brother's football or basketball games.

My father also taught me the importance of loyalty, both to family and friends. He trusts unconditionally, which is something I strive each day to do. He made it a point while my brother and I were children to take us to India every summer to visit his mother and family. He speaks to his sisters in India at least once a week. I sometimes go 4 days without seeing my own housemates.

So today, I am wishing my father the happiest, most amazing birthday in the history of birthdays. There is no one I know who deserves it more than he does.
Woo pig.
xx

cards and letters.

2011-09-15T21:25:00.000-05:00

How many of you still hand-write cards and letters?

I for one love to send hand-written cards and letters to people. I often stock up on cards that are blank inside whenever I find good ones and just keep them around for whenever I feel like sending someone some love.

I also love receiving hand-written notes <hint, hint>. There is something so fun about getting a card or letter in the mail, reading what is written on the inside, and putting it away to discover later. When I was cleaning out my room in my parents' house a few months ago, I found shoeboxes filled with cards and letters and postcards and notes from my days at Baylor, at Rhodes, and my first trip to Bangalore, and I had so much fun opening them up and re-reading them. There's something so timeless about it, and it brought back so many random memories.

It was really difficult to keep up with written correspondence while I was in India, partly because I didn't trust the postal system, and partly because I was lazy. I tried to write postcards whenever I traveled somewhere fun, buying and sending them in bulk, but for the most part my traveling was pretty intermittent, dependent on interns and friends' schedules and available funds, so that made postcards even more intermittent. [I also tended to lose them. when I was packing up all of my stuff in June, I came across about 7 blank postcards - I think from Gokarna - that I had purchased and misplaced and never got around to sending. I had even written in a few. apologies to those of you who I forgot to send those to]

Now that I am back in the States, I am looking forward to getting back into the habit of hand-writing correspondence to friends rather than relying on email. I'd like to get something out once a week, but I know realistically that may not happen. Oh well, here's to nothing!

Now to practice my penmanship.
Woo pig.
xx

new obsession.

2011-09-14T08:04:00.000-05:00

Thanks to a few friends on Facebook, I have recently stumbled upon this blog, and it is hilarious. My particular favourite is the latest post - "Open Letter to a Delhi Boy". As someone who once dated a Delhi boy, I can relate. For anyone who has never dated a Delhi boy, don't say we didn't tell you so.

Enjoy!
Woo pig.
xx

libraries.

2011-09-13T18:31:00.000-05:00

Are you someone who likes libraries?

Even though I have a lifelong obsession with books, I have had a bit of a love-hate relationship with libraries over the years...

While I love the fact that they're free and have such an enormous supply of books available, I have always been someone who loves to own books. I know I should borrow them from the library, but I just love owning a book, reading it, and then passing it along to someone else so that they can love it, too. Also, I don't like that there is a time limit on how long you can keep a book; I like reading at my own pace and not feeling as though I have to finish a book quickly just to avoid having a late fee.

Additionally, I have never been a big fan of studying in libraries. The public libraries in Helena and West Helena were not very conducive to studying [no tables and chairs, to my recollection, other than the one at the College]. Plus I was not independent and therefore had to rely on my parents or friends to shuttle me back and forth. I never really got much work accomplished at the Baylor library, because I would always get distracted talking to my friends. Those "study rooms" were rarely used for studying in my day - instead we would sit and gossip for the 2-hour evening study period. And don't even get me started on the Burrow library at Rhodes - it was like a dungeon, the study carrels didn't provide enough room for me to spread out all my stuff [I like a big workspace], and I always felt like I had to creep around in there, like even my footsteps were too loud for the serious kids. The Memphis Public Library, while nice, was just too inconvenient - my life was centered around the Rhodes campus, and I couldn't see the value, at the age of 19, of driving 15 minutes to sit quietly in the library and study.

While I was in college, I became a big fan of studying in bookstores. I would camp out in the cafes of the various Barnes & Nobles around Memphis for hours at a time. They were perfect for me - the cafe meant that I could snack while I studied [a big no-no in libraries at the time], I could wander around and look at books if I needed a break, and the music and customers provided just enough background noise to keep me focused on my work.

In fact, one of the things about my current living situation that appealed to me the most - beyond my awesome roommates, of course - was the fact that we live within walking distance of a Barnes & Noble. I figured I could utilize their cafe space during my free time to get some good studying done. And while I have done that a few times, I have actually spent more time downtown at the main branch of the Central Arkansas Library System.

That's right, I said the library.

See, this isn't your typical library. Up here on the 5th floor [where I am currently sitting], there is a cafe, vending machines, and a fountain. What does that mean? It means I can bring my snacks along, I have some background noise, and - if I decide to get one of the private study rooms - I have a view of downtown Little Rock. Plus, the librarians don't give you death looks if you're being too loud. In fact, they've mostly gotten used to me, and just kind of give me a funny look if they think I need to be reminded to keep it down. And! It's right behind our River Market campus, so it is super convenient if I have a few hours to kill but want to stay in the downtown vicinity for anything happening in the evening / night.

So finally, I have become a fan of libraries.

It only took 28 years.

Woo pig.

tickets are booked!

2011-09-12T20:44:00.001-05:00

I realized that my earlier post-that-wasn't-really-a-post was a copout and couldn't properly be counted toward my 30-in-30 blog challenge - to myself - so I therefore decided to be proactive and do something worth mentioning.

And I did.

I booked my tickets to Ann Arbor!

A little background: my good friend Shalini has also moved from Bangalore to the US for graduate school. She is currently enrolled at the University of Michigan's graduate program in Public Policy, and I promised her when we parted in early July that I would visit her in Ann Arbor.

My reasons for wanting to visit her were many-fold:
1. I miss Bangalore, and any chance to spend with fellow transplanted Bangaloreans [we were both knighted] should never be passed up.
2. I have never been to a game in the Big House, and before last weekend, Shalini had never been to a college football game, period, so I figured this would be a great way to kill two birds with one stone.
3. I like to get out of town every now and then; too much time spent cooped up in one place drives me nuts.
4. There are direct flights from Little Rock to Detroit, and a shuttle from the Detroit campus into Ann Arbor, so it's about as easy of a weekend trip as you can get.
5. It's Homecoming weekend. Game is against Purdue. What could be better.

I know it's a month and a half away, but I'm already getting excited. And I found out today that one of our former Peace Child interns and a U of Mich alum, Chloe, is also going to be in town that weekend. The odds of us actually finding each other amongst the hundreds of thousands of people that will be around are pretty much next to none, I realize, but it's good to dream.

And it will give me a reason to wear lots of warm clothing.
Woo pig.
xx

ten years.

2011-09-11T19:36:00.000-05:00

On this day, 10 years ago, I walked back to my townhouse after my 8am class. It was just like any other Tuesday; I remember craving a nap and hoping that some nice fall weather was on the horizon.

I crossed the street and was almost to the gate for the townhouses when Mike Aggianidis came bustling out and told me that a plane had just flown into one of the twin towers. He hurriedly told me to go watch the coverage so I could let him know what was going on when he got out of class.

I walked into our townhouse and immediately woke up Shelley and told her something was going on. At that point I still had no real idea of what was happening or of the potential impact of it. All I knew was that it was big.

We had each television in our townhouse tuned to a different station and spent the entire day in the house watching the coverage, trying to make sense of the incredible tragedy of it all and trying to figure out what was going to happen next.

Ten years later, this is a day to remember the heroes of September 11, 2001. Nearly 3,000 people died on that day, and many of them were policemen and firefighters who ran into the burning buildings while ushering others out to safety. Would I have had the courage to do that? I honestly don't know. Am I thankful that they did? Every day of my life.

What I do know is that in everything that has happened since, and everything that is yet to come, the events of that day will forever be burned into my memory.

We will never forget.
Woo pig.
xx

apologies.

2011-09-11T10:08:00.000-05:00

I know.

I know I missed writing a post yesterday.

Will you give me a chance to explain?

This was my Saturday:
8am - woke up; showered; gathered all of my Razorback paraphernalia; packed up my car.
9.15am - out the door; FedEx to send Nilah's birthday parcel; Colonial to pick up some Jack for the day; out to Maggie's house to pick up the table for tailgating.
10.20am - picked up Dylan Perry; grabbed some Dr Pepper from the convenience store.
10.40am - met Britney, Sydney, and Papy at Rebecca's to distribute stuff and head over to our class' tailgating spot.
11.15am - after half an hour of trudging down Markham and through the golf course laden down with two coolers, 4 tote bags, and a table, we finally found our spot and settled in.
11.15am-7.30pm - ate, drank, and played bean bag toss and flip cup; wandered around the tailgates; spied on our neighbour's television to catch the scores of the other games.
7.30pm - packed up our stuff; tossed everything into Stan and Stephen's cars; trudged back to the car.
8.15pm-8.45pm - waited for food at Taco Bell [apparently they didn't plan for the crowd and only had 3 people working. smart guys].
9pm - headed over to the AHA house to chill out.
12am - left the AHA house; dropped off Dylan Perry; came home, took off my jewelry, brushed my teeth, fell into bed.
12.30am - passed out.

So now do you think you can forgive me for missing my post?
I promise I will have another one today to make up for it, possibly with the pictures from yesterday.
Woo pig.
xx

playing tourist in memphis.

2011-09-09T22:53:00.001-05:00

My dear friend Matt Haygood came to visit over Labor Day and we decided to head to Memphis since he had not been in about 6 years.

We got in around 5.30 on Friday and decided to hit up Rhodes to check out all the new buildings and generally to have a wander around. It was a nice stroll down memory lane for us.

After that we made our way downtown and had dinner and drinks at Rendezvous followed by a stop at the Redbirds game:

We decided to make it a proper Memphis night and headed to Beale St after the game. Instead of paying cover at any of the places, we just got a drink - gotta love those roadside bars - and wandered, stopping to listen to the street musicians and to check out the various artists showcasing their talents, including this guy, who is a whiz with a can of spraypaint:

From there we called it a night. Saturday brought us breakfast at Waffle House followed by a trip down to the river. While wandering we learned about exciting upcoming projects down at the river:

We also stumbled upon a random gospel festival:

We strolled a bit more and reminisced about MusicFests of yore...

We also went to the Peabody to see the ducks before settling ourselves in at the Fox and Hound to cheer the Razorbacks on to victory.

We had lunch at the Palace with my parents and Lindsey on Sunday before heading back to Little Rock and continuing our game of pretending to be college students again.

Will post the Little Rock details another day as those pictures are on my camera.
Until then,
Woo pig.
xx

Location:Little Rock,United States

the week of ridiculousness.

2011-09-08T22:45:00.000-05:00

This week has zapped me, which is sad for two reasons:
1) Monday was Labor Day, which meant no classes.
2) it's still only Thursday night.

So what has happened in these last 3 days that has been so exhausting? I'll tell you.

Tuesday was a full day of Practicum, including a group assignment to begin working on our Memorandum of Understanding. A full day from 9 to 5. Had to finish purchasing Baby Nilah's birthday present so that I can attempt to get that parcel to Bangalore as close as possible to her actual birthday. Then Nathanial invited me to the Saucer for Trivia, and because I had ditched a few weeks ago, I wanted to go. Went for an hour and had to come home to study.

Wednesday was a full day of classes to make up for missing Monday. Decision Analysis in the morning, a lunch with some of the staff from the Clinton Foundation, and Leadership in the afternoon which included a group project as well. Another 9 to 5 day. Followed by the Republican debate, which Angela and I decided to turn into a drinking game. Who knew they would say "Reagan" so many times? 41 mentions and a bottle of coconut rum later, we were much wiser.

Today [Thursday] was a full-day workshop on conflict mediation. It was interesting stuff, but there was too much sitting around and not enough activities - particularly after lunch. At one point I looked around the room and saw at least 12 people struggling to keep their eyes open. After that from 9 to 5.15, it was over to Sturgis to hear Robert Fogarty of evacuteer and dear world speak. From there it was on to Gusano's to catch the first half of the Packers / Saints NFL Opener before heading home to sort out my life. An hour later, I have finally finished going through my emails and figuring out my schedule for the upcoming weeks - our class schedule is going to be messed up for a few more weeks as a repercussion of Labor Day and this workshop.

And tomorrow we have the workshop again from 9 to 12.30 followed by a Practicum group meeting to discuss our project. After that I have to purchase a grill for my house / our class' Saturday tailgate for the Razorback game before going to visit Mrs Hughes and then eventually on to the Class 6 v Class 7 kickball game. Which is at 5. And then a full night of reading for next week.

But for now it's off to finish learning all about the Delta Garden Study.
I'm still [possibly stupidly] hoping for 7 hours of sleep tonight.
Wish me luck.
Woo pig.
xx

shout-out to christie.

2011-09-07T19:27:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows of my obsession with sports. I grew up going to all of my brother's sporting events and watching whatever game was on tv during dinner. My two lifelong obsessions, the Braves and the Razorbacks, were cultivated at a young age. At any point, if you turned on my television, you would most likely find it tuned to ESPN [or TBS, back when they showed Braves games].

Living in India for the past 4 years made it very difficult to keep track of all my various sports obsessions. espn.com was very helpful in attempting to keep up, particularly columns by Bill Simmons and Pat Forde. Forde's "Forde Yard Dash" was a great way to stay in touch with the college football happenings since it recaps most of the major things that happen over the course of the week - it covers not only scores and recaps of the big games but also various news stories as well.

Last week, Forde's column was a preview of the upcoming season [that I am actually in the country to watch!], and it included a "literary corner" that featured a book review of Gridiron Belles, written by none other than my fellow Rhodent, Christie Mueller! I am about to purchase my copy, and you should, too.

[you can read this week's Forde Yard Dash column here]
Woo pig.
xx

reading for pleasure.

2011-09-06T12:55:00.000-05:00

I have always been a reader. Before I could read for myself, my mother would read to me every night, and if she was tired and tried to skip pages, I would know, and I would make her start over from the beginning. From the time I was about 7 or 8, I've always carried a book with me wherever I go and usually even keep one in my car for those unexpected traffic jams. I love to spend about 20 or so minutes reading each night before I go to sleep; it's a great way to unwind and clear my head before turning in for the night.

The past 4 years have been great for getting a lot of pleasure reading accomplished - those hour-and-a-half commutes on city buses go by a lot faster with a book. At one point earlier this year, when we didn't have any interns and I essentially hung out with myself all day, I was breezing through 4 or sometimes 5 books a month, which is fast even for me.

When I first moved back to the States in July, my reading slowed down considerably because I was trying to sort out moving and cleaning out my room and packing and shopping and school reading and catching up with people in Memphis. I managed to finish a few books right before I moved to Little Rock, and after that I have been stopped cold.

Orientation Week was so busy I barely had time to think, and while the first 2 weeks of school have not been ridiculously busy, I've just been spending a lot of time figuring out my routine and finalizing my work schedule and stuff like that.

All of that means that I have had little to no time for pleasure reading. I opened Little Bee [Chris Cleve] last night for the first time in nearly a month. No, I have still not finished it. It's not that I don't like it, and it is definitely a pretty fast read. It's more that I haven't prioritized making time for pleasure reading recently, and that kind of upsets me. I have so much reading for school that I sometimes forget to take that time for myself and read simply because I enjoy it.

So that is something I am going to make a priority from now on: 20 minutes of reading every night before bed. And if I can do that, then hopefully I can get through at least a book a month. Although that seems really slow to me, I know it's all I can commit to, and it's better than nothing.

And this way hopefully I can do a few more posts about my favourite books that I know you all love so much.
Woo pig.
xx

learning to spell.

2011-09-05T04:33:00.000-05:00

I have always been anal about spelling, ever since I was a child learning my brother's spelling words along with him. If I don't know how to spell a word, I get really frustrated. And if other people misspell something, I get really upset about it. It's just the way that I am.

Recently [I don't know exactly when], the oatmeal did a post about commonly misspelled words, and it was great. If you are someone who is always mixing up "your" and "you're", "their", "there", and "they're", or "its" and "it's", then this will go a long way to clearing things up for you.

And in advance, thank you for finally learning the rules of spelling and grammar.

Woo pig.

woo freaking pig.

2011-09-04T00:02:00.000-05:00

College football is back!

Other than 2 games I managed to catch during my brief visit last year, I haven't gotten to watch college football properly since the fall of 2006.

That's right, I said 2006.

So I am over the moon to be back in the States for college football this year.

Tonight was Arkansas' first game, and Haygood and I decided to go to the Fox and Hound in Memphis to watch the game. When we got there, it looked as though they weren't going to show the game, which was very upsetting, so it was super exciting when we glanced up and saw it was on.

Granted, we were playing Missouri State, but I didn't care; I was just happy to be watching the game. And 4 quarters and 51 points later, we emerged victorious. It was awesome.

I can't wait to spend every Saturday doing just this for the rest of the semester.
Woo pig.
xx

p.s. Even Rick Reilly thinks the Razorbacks are awesome. Here we go, Hogs!

biting the bullet.

2011-09-03T00:37:00.000-05:00

Over the course of however many years it has been since the creation of Twitter, I have refused to use it. I find it slightly annoying, I kind of think it's ridiculous, and I'm too wordy to be able to limit myself to 140 characters. I really just don't see how it would be useful in my life.

And I still don't.

But the other night, I downloaded the app for it on my phone.

Why, you ask? Well, I'll tell you - I did it for Nikolai. He is the Director of Public Programs for the Clinton School, and when I was discussing doing the blog posts with him the other night, he mentioned that he has a Twitter account for Public Programs and wants the students who write the blog posts to also "live tweet" during the speakers.

So what does this mean for me? It means that I am now a pseudo Twitter user. I still don't have an account of my own, and I most likely never will, but I will be utilizing it to inform the world of interesting things our speakers say during lectures / speeches / presentations / panels.

Be on the lookout for me, attempting to limit myself to 140 characters, one day soon.

Woo pig.

do you think I can do it?

2011-09-02T00:20:00.000-05:00

I get restless sometimes and like to issue myself challenges. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may remember - back in April, I think - when I decided to take more pictures of my daily life in Bangalore. While I didn't take a picture every day, I still think I did pretty well taking pictures of things I normally would not have. I got some pretty great pictures, too.

And now I'm ready for my next challenge. I want to see if I can post something on here every day for the month of September. It may be something insightful [wait, who am I kidding?], it may be a book review, it may be grumblings about grad school, it may be links for my posts about speakers at school, it may be an essay on how awesome the Arkansas football team is, it may be only pictures, it may be all about our awesome kickball team, or it may just be something stupid because I need to post something that day. Whatever the content, there should be something every day, including weekends.

I know of a few days when I am going to be out of town, so for those I might have to write something the day before and set it to post at a certain time, but for the most part I hope to avoid that.

So. Do you think I can do it? I do.
Here we go, kids: 30 posts in 30 days.
Woo pig.
xx

coppy holzman: charitybuzz ceo.

2011-09-01T00:33:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, Coppy Holzman, CEO of charitybuzz, spoke at school about his online charity auction website. He was a nice guy, with some really great stories, and I have a feeling he's going to have quite a few Clinton School-ers applying for internship positions with his company in the years to come. For now, you can read my post about his appearance over on the Clinton School blog.

I'm going to be writing the posts for quite a few of the speakers [Maggie and I are going to try to hit up all of them between the two of us], so as they're posted over there, I will link them up over here so that you can all marvel in the magnificence that is my writing.

Hope everyone's week is coming along well!
Happy September, and Happy College Football!
Woo Pig.
xx

what i learned this week.

2011-08-27T11:35:00.000-05:00

First week of classes are finished! It was a crazy, hectic week, but it's been interesting as well. I learned a lot - as I'm sure I will every week - so I thought I could start doing a weekly [or bi-weekly, because we all know I get distracted easily] post about all the various things I learned, both school and non-school related.

Here we go for the first week of school:

1. I've been bitten by the school bug. For the first time, possibly ever, I am excited about being back in school. I think it's because even though there is a lot of reading, there is a lot of practical stuff that we will be doing as well.
2. I really like having my week stacked at the beginning - with the way my schedule has worked out, I have 2 classes on Monday and none on Thursday, save for a few workshops. I know a lot of people enjoy having one class every day, but I love finishing Practicum on Tuesday and knowing that I am over halfway done with my week.
3. My time management skills are going to be tested more than ever before. Along with classes, we have speakers most nights [some of which I write the blog posts for], I'm baby-sitting 3 afternoons a week, I want to volunteer at the Clinton Presidential Center and Arkansas Children's Hospital one Saturday a month, and we have kickball every Sunday. College football starts next weekend. And I already know of 2 potential weekends I might not be in town.
4. I don't think I'll ever get used to how small Little Rock is. After hour-and-a-half commutes to and from the Boys' Home these last 3 years, I still can't get over the fact that I have a 12-minute commute to school. It's amazing, and something I hope I never take for granted.
5. We get some awesome speakers. Through the first week alone, we had Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on Monday, anti-bullying activist Rick Phillips on Tuesday, and a panel about the West Memphis Three - including all 3 defense attorneys and the prosecuting attorney who agreed to the plea bargain - on Thursday. I'm well on my way to beating Fernando's record. Wish me luck.
6. I need more clothes for school. I'm currently on a rotation of 3 dresses, 2 skirts, and various tops. It's still too hot to wear dress slacks, and will continue to be for a while, so I guess it's time to go shopping.
7. Time for reading for fun has been seriously scaled back. I'll be lucky to finish 2 books this entire semester.
8. I think I'm going to become a library-goer. The main branch of the public library - although only open until 8pm - has a cafe and fountain on the 5th floor, which makes it feel more like a quiet bookstore than a library. Right up my alley.
9. Living with fellow students is going to be good for keeping me on task. The other night I sat in the dining room and read while Taylor and her classmate Cassie were studying in the den for their med school test, and I got so much done.
10. I have resigned myself to the fact that many Friday nights are going to be spent studying at home. If it's what I have to do to keep Saturdays free for football, then that's just what I have to do.

That's all for this week. If I learn a super lot again next week, we'll have another post.
Happy Weekend! Think of me writing critiques for Practicum while you're out partying.
xx

double duty.

2011-08-24T15:48:00.000-05:00

Throughout the year the Clinton School, in partnership with various organizations throughout Little Rock and Arkansas, brings numerous speakers to the city to speak on issues ranging from education to sustainability to food, averaging about 2 to 3 speakers per week.

This week itself I have been lucky enough to see Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano as well as Rick Phillips, Executive Officer for Community Matters, a California-based organization dedicated to stopping the epidemic of bullying throughout the country. And tomorrow is a panel about the West Memphis Three case, including appearances by all three of the defense attorneys on the case.

Once a speaker visits Little Rock, a short write-up is posted on the Clinton School's Blog for viewing by anyone who might be interested. Along with these posts are articles about various other things happening at the school, including information about current and former students, faculty, and staff.

Usually the posts are written by Ben, the Director of Communications, but occasionally he allows students to help out with the writing. I volunteered to write the post for Rick Phillips' speech last night, and it is now posted for anyone who would like to read it.

Hopefully I'll have get the opportunity to write a few more as the semester goes on. If I do, I'll be sure to post the link on here for anyone that is interested.
xx

day one is under the belt.

2011-08-22T21:52:00.000-05:00

And what a day it was.

Paranoid that I would sleep through my alarm, I bounded out of bed at 7.06 am, showered, got dressed, got all my stuff together for the day / evening, had a little breakfast, made my sandwich for lunch, and was out the door by about 8.12. Which was earlier than necessary, but I would always rather be early instead of late.

My morning started with Leadership, which went by really quickly. I have been agonizing over my attention span, or lack thereof, these past few weeks, trying to figure out how I'm suddenly going to have to start sitting still for 2- and 3-hour classes. Luckily most of the classes are discussion-based and involve a lot of group activity and / or moving around, as opposed to just being a straight-on lecture. My morning class flew by, and suddenly it was a rush to print out questions for the afternoon, scarf down my sandwich, and head over to Sturgis for the afternoon.

After lunch brought us Communication & Social [Ex]Change, which went pretty well also. I was dragging a bit at the beginning, but that was mostly the after-effects of lunch. Those super long lunch breaks at the Boys' Home got me used to having naps, so I'm having to adjust my schedule a bit and try to get on a proper sleep schedule.

Once that class wrapped up, a few of us just hung around Sturgis until it was time to head over to the Statehouse Convention Center to hear Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano speak. And once she finished her speech, answered a few questions from the audience, and then held a mini press conference, she came and hung out with the Clinton School-ers for a bit and answered a few of our questions.

Luckily we wrapped up right before the torrential downpour, so I at least managed to get into my car before the skies opened up. By the time I strolled into the house at about 8.40pm, I was exhausted and hungry, but I was at least dry. A bit of dinner, catching up some emails, sorting out my stuff for tomorrow, and now it's time to get a little reading done for Friday before crashing.

And doing it all over again tomorrow.
If I'm still alive once noon on Wednesday rolls around, buy me a drink.
xx

we survived.

2011-08-20T10:08:00.000-05:00

Orientation Week is officially over, and we all somehow managed to survive. Everyone kept saying that Orientation is the busiest week of the year for us, and if that's the case, I'm pretty sure I can now do anything I set my mind to.

It was an absolutely exhausting week, but it was also really good. I am not used to full-time days, and sleeping on an egg crate on the floor was just not conducive to good nights. Luckily my bed came on Thursday, and I am now in a much better frame of mind.

A few highlights included:

a faculty-sponsored dinner at Gusano's.
free food all week [I bought one meal for myself. awesome].
an Arkansas Travelers game at which Jordan and I pretty much came up with our life's mission.
a Class 6-sponsored cookout at a beautiful house overlooking the river.
a visit to historic Central High School.
an opportunity to write on the Main St Bucket List wall
a fun night at the Town Pump with some of my classmates following the Dean's Reception
a crazy party courtesy of Snap, Crackle and Pop
a tour of the Clinton Presidential Center [I found my family's brick!].
Britney and me already being branded as the Class Clowns.
meeting the cool faculty and staff of the Clinton School
hanging out with my awesome classmates, who I think are going to be great influences over me for the next 2 years, as well as with some awesome Class 6 kids, who I think are going to be great role models.

Like I said, I am exhausted, but I am also really excited for what the coming years are going to offer. A chance to study the effect of school gardens on childhood obesity as my Practicum project; an opportunity to travel anywhere in the world I wish to go for my IPSP; and a chance to make a difference for an organization either here in Little Rock or anywhere in the world for my Capstone. It's going to be a lot of hard work, a lot of long nights and weekends spent reading and studying and writing papers and presentations, but I think it will be completely worth it.

Now I just need to finish buying school supplies.

second day of orientation, and already the juices are flowing.

2011-08-16T00:14:00.000-05:00

Tonight, while at the Arkansas Travelers' game here in Little Rock, two of my classmates and I got into a discussion of how we could make a minor league baseball team a really strong fixture in a community. Ideas included greening the stadium, using it as a venue for other functions [not just parties, but also as a resource / training center], using it to support local restaurants and eateries, and a variety of other ideas that were banded about over the span of a few hours.

It was crazy, and we definitely had a few ideas that were obviously too bizarre for words, but honestly, I have to say that it's not entirely far-fetched. If we found the right team, with the right owner, in the right town [I voted for Chattanooga], it could actually work really, really well.

I know it seems early on in the going, but it's nights like these that re-motivate me and remind me why I love doing what I do. And it's so nice to be surrounded by so many other motivated people. I am really excited for what the next two years have in store for me.

And to think, the entire thing came about because Jordan harmlessly mention he would one day like to own a minor league baseball team.
xx

and away we go.

2011-08-14T10:58:00.000-05:00

Today is our first day of Orientation for the upcoming school year. Yes, it's starting on a Sunday. Today is a day for meeting-and-greeting, a day for our entire class to come together for the first time and begin the process of getting to know the people we're going to be spending the majority of our time with for the next 2 years.

Today is going to be a pretty simple day - just some introductions, going over the schedule for the week, meeting the Deans, and having a brief reception in the evening to kick off the week of activities.

And then there's no looking back.

The week ahead is going to be full of preparations for the upcoming years. We will be learning about our Field Practicum placements; we will be touring UALR to see all the facilities we will have access to; we will be discussing the book we were assigned to read over the summer; we will be attending various receptions; and we will slowly begin learning about the new world we are entering. There are a few fun things thrown in, too - Arkansas Travelers' game Monday night, a faculty dinner Tuesday night, and a cookout with Class 6 on Wednesday night - but mostly it's going to be chock-full of information and discussions and getting ready for the scary world of graduate school.

Wish me luck. If I survive this week, I think I can survive anything.
xx

dressing like a grown-up.

2011-08-12T17:42:00.000-05:00

One of the things I loved about living and working in India these past few years was that I never had a real dress code. Obviously for the Boys' Home I had to be covered up, but I was comfortable in salwars, and it also meant I never had to put too much time into my appearance. And even when we would go out, the extent of my dressing up was skinny jeans and a nice top. There were rarely occasions when I needed to get more dressed up than that, and if there were, I had my lucky dress and a few saris, so I would rotate those. I don't think I ever spent more than 15 minutes getting ready for anything.

Not anymore.

I'm so excited about starting grad school next week, but the one thing I am not excited about is the dress code. Yes, that's right, we have a business-casual dress code for grad school. I understand the reasoning - it's because they get a lot of famous people and dignitaries randomly showing up, and we need to look presentable if and when that happens - but that doesn't mean that I'm excited about it. Especially because it necessitates purchasing an entirely new wardrobe, and we all know how much I loathe shopping.

I managed to pick up a few things in Bangalore when Tommy had their super awesome, super cheap sale, but obviously I can't rotate clothes here the way I did in India. I've slowly been procuring a few new things here and there, but I'm still nowhere near having enough clothes for the year, or even the next few months.

And then. Last week we got an email detailing our Orientation activities for next week, and on one of the days we have to wear business-formal. Meaning a jacket and blouse for women. A jacket? I definitely don't own one of those, and had somehow not even thought about the need for one. [luckily, I wasn't the only one. all the other girls I've spoken to are equally flustered] So now that is added to the ever-growing list of clothes that I need for school.

Today I went to Target, to see what all I could get from there that's not as expensive as buying at fancy stores. I lucked out, and managed to get a few pairs of dress slacks, two cardigans, and a few pairs of nice shoes. Including my first ever pair of grown-up, man-eating, power-woman high heels. I'm not yet sure if I can survive an entire day of wearing them. But I definitely felt a small part of my soul shrivel up and die when I realized that I needed to buy them.

So from now on, if you see me during the week, you will no longer be seeing the Veena who strolls around in shorts and t-shirts from Old Navy. Instead, you'll see the new Veena who wears dresses and nice skirts and cardigans and dress slacks and ballet flats and high heels.

But on weekends, you'll still find me in my Razorback garb and my pajamas.
Gotta keep some small part of my soul [and reputation] intact.
xx