I’m just glad the polls don’t open at 4am

I’ve recently begun to feel that presidential campaigns and Election Day are going the way of Black Friday.

1) They both get earlier and earlier every year.

Sure, Election Day remains on the same schedule (as does Black Friday), but the preparation starts years in advance (or days, in the case of the sales). In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the (unofficial) campaign for 2016 started about half an hour after the results are announced tonight. And half an hour is generous.

2) They bring out the worst in people.

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a wave of Black Friday shoppers descend on one of the more popular sales of the day. Supplies are limited and these shoppers don’t mess around. There can be elbowing, shoving, and some definite boxing out. All on minimal sleep.

Leading up to an election, the elbowing, shoving, and boxing out is (usually) all verbal. I’m sure that people still have rational discussions about the merits of each candidate, but you wouldn’t know it from Facebook. I’ll be glad when status updates get back to sports, food, weddings, and babies.

3) Expect long lines and cold weather.

The lead time gets longer and longer, but that doesn’t make the lines any shorter, or the November weather any warmer on the day of. You could spend just as long outside waiting to vote for president as you could to buy a new winter coat. And the coat might last longer.

(No, that’s not an election prediction.)

4) There are lots of promises to get you in the door.

All of those circulars that you get in the mail promise the best sale you’ve ever seen on devices you didn’t know you needed until then. But you don’t see the fine print until you’re checking out. (Buy 1, get 2 free only applies if I get here before 5am?! I have to revamp my whole strategy!)

Naturally, there have been plenty of election promises this time around. And though I can’t fully judge if it’s any different from past years, I know that the fine print is just right around the corner.

5) Both days should be celebrated/concluded with a big glass of wine.

Or choose another beverage of your choice, but seriously, celebrate. The way things are going, there won’t be a lot of down time before the next one.

Election Day does beat Black Friday on sticker distribution.

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The 5 people you see at yoga

As per my 27 list, I’ve been at the yoga studio a lot more often recently, and thus feel compelled to share some of my observations. Especially when I start to notice the same types of people over and over.

1) The Stereotype

Before I started doing yoga, I attributed it as a practice best left to hippies and crunchy-granola types. Not in a bad way, but in a I’m-too-Type-A-to-meditate kind of way. I’ve since realized that everyone has their own way of practicing – even us Type A-ers – but it still makes me giggle (on the inside) when I hear someone behind me talking about how they camped out at a Bob Dylan concert and it was so wonderful and soulful.

2) The Competitor

Yoga is not a competition. In fact, every instructor I’ve ever had emphasizes that it’s a personal practice, and that you should focus on what your body can do, not what everyone around you can do. The Competitor hears that and thinks, you clearly don’t know me and how I operate. I can say this because I fall squarely into this category. Sure, I want to focus on my own practice, but if the girl next to me is trying a bind, you bet your ass I’m going to give it a shot.

That is, until I wobble and fall. A Weeble, I am not.

3) The Underdressed Yogi

I suppose that if you’re comfortable, then it doesn’t count as underdressed. But when I look up from my downward dog and I’m staring directly at butt cheek, it’s a little disconcerting. And I find myself wishing that the UY would wear spandex that’s just a teensy bit longer.

Also disconcerting? When that spandex rides up in the front and you’re standing directly across from the UY. But there’s one in every class.

4) The Dude

No generalizations about guys that do yoga. Just an observation that I see a lot more gentlemen in my classes now than I did five years ago. I’m impressed. And also jealous when they’re far more flexible than I am.

5) The Picture-Perfect Yogi

The Picture-Perfect Yogi isn’t defined by how well he or she does yoga, but by how prepared they look for the class. That is to say, I’m not passing judgment on their practice, by any means. But there’s always one who is decked out head-to-toe in the latest yoga clothing (likely from lululemon*), with a brand new mat, and a perfect slip-proof towel to match. If the PPY is new to yoga, at least they look the part. If they’re seasoned and adept at the poses, then you can bet there’s a Competitor close by, eyeing not only the binds, but also the clothes.

Damn that PPY.

My observations are clearly colored by the fact that I am undoubtedly a Competitor (even as I know that that’s not what yoga is all about). But help me out – who have I left off the list? Or, if you’ve never been, who do you imagine I’ve left off?

*Again, no judgment. Just another minor case of jealousy, since I want everything in the store.

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Lucky number (2)7

Don’t act like you weren’t expecting this. You know how I love me a list.

If the 26 list had several items requiring attitude adjustment (letting go of grudges, judging less), 27 is a little more concrete.

So, as I march into my late-20s, I want to:

1) Get married!

2) Go to Phillies spring training in Clearwater.

3) Learn to drive stick. My younger cousin tried to teach me once. It wasn’t pretty. I don’t think I’ll be able to convince him to give me another shot.

4) Make my own creme brulee. (I already own the blowtorch!)

5) Run Boston (which will also mean fundraising, because try as I might, I’m not qualifying).

6) Stop talking about doing more yoga and actually DO more yoga. Let’s aim for once a week.

7) Read more. Last year I set the bar at 10 books, and finished 18. So let’s go for 30 this year. With my new Kindle Fire I’m unstoppable!

8 ) Try a new recipe every other week.

9) Travel somewhere new, even if it’s a neighborhood in DC I’ve never been to before. Though I would like to branch out a little more than that.

10) Create a bucket list. I’m honestly not sure why I haven’t done that yet.

11) Learn to fear the ocean less.

12) Eat dimsum. It just sounds fun.

13) Get involved with the youth program at church. For all the work I do with camp, you’d think I could do a little more locally.

14) Visit the Statue of Liberty. I was sick the day of the middle school class trip and I’ve never made up for it. Maybe we could even throw Ellis Island on there for good measure!

15) Replace my computer. My trusty MacBook is 5 1/2 years old and the hard drive has crashed twice. It’s time.

16) Host a seder.

17) Learn to make challah from scratch. (Do you notice the trend of food goals?)

18) Visit at least one new state.

19) Finish all the “thank you” notes within 2 months of the wedding.

20) Set a new half marathon PR.

21) Take a bike ride out to Mount Vernon.

22) See all the Oscar nominations for Best Picture (before the Oscars).

23) Get involved in international volunteer work.

24) Volunteer at a race.

25) Explore my career options. (Yes, this is intentionally vague.)

26) Give blood. (Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you have to wait a year after getting a tattoo, so I should be eligible in May 2013.)

27) Set a new 10k PR.

I suppose this list could be summed up in three words: food, running, travel.

And I see nothing wrong with that.

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If my birthday list were a test, I would have failed

I didn’t do quite so well on the birthday list this year.

I’m proud of a few things, but others, like I mentioned, are a little harder to measure.

For instance, I don’t think I’ve turned into a bridezilla (#19), but would anyone really tell me if I had?

On the positive side, I have…

…planned the better part of my wedding (#5).

…kept track of restaurants, even if I haven’t made it to all of them on my list (#21).

…taken more pride in my personal appearance (#25). I still sometimes leave the apartment with wet hair, but I also bought some hot rollers and can now leave home with sexy curls. At least, that’s what I tell myself.

…minimized job complaints (#26). Maybe because I’m happier at work, or maybe because there’s only one person who truly gets my goat, but complaints are down significantly.

I’m kind of disappointed that I didn’t make the time for a Duck Tour (#13) or a DC United game (part of #24), but hopefully I’ll get to those by the end of the summer.

So I’m 18/26 with just the weekend to go. Not the best completion rate.

I do, however, still have about 72 hours to get my Duck Tour, stop judging and grudging (for real!), play golf, go to 4 different restaurants, and check out DC United.

Totally doable, right?

Right?

Okay. Maybe just the driving range, then.

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The one-month scramble

When I write out my birthday lists, a year always seems like plenty of time to do everything I want to do.

Then there’s one month left before my birthday and half the list still unchecked, and I remember that I’m a born procrastinator.

This year is no different. I’m scrambling on some things (Duck Tour, DC United), and missed the window on others (Colorado visit, Phillies playoffs *tear*). But there are also a few that I’m not quite sure how to evaluate, because they’re actually ongoing projects. Like these two:

17) Be slow to judgment.

18) Let go of old grudges.

I’ll be honest, #17 could be going better. I still judge. But am I slower to judgment than I used to be? Does progress count? I’d like to think it does. And I generally feel better when I’m less judge-y.

(Although, as I wrote that I remembered an extremely cathartic bitch session with a classmate about the rest of our class…so maybe it’s too soon for progress.)

Letting go of old grudges has been slightly more successful. It’s still an ongoing process (and I’m excluding sports grudges because, well, I just am), but it’s been freeing. But again, is it truly something I can just cross off, dust off my hands, and say, done with that?

The concrete things on my list, those I can check off (or push to next year). But the attitude adjustments, well, maybe that’s just a whole separate life list.

And you know me, I love a good list.

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“She drives me crazy, and I can’t help myself…”

This past weekend BNF and I went up to Philly to meet with the pastor who will be marrying us in less than four months(!). We haven’t had any sessions with him yet, but all my married friends warned me about the “marriage test” they had to take for their pre-marital counseling.

“There are just a bunch of questions to find out if you’re on the same page. You sit in separate rooms, but M and I texted each other to make sure we put the same answers. We don’t have time for extra sessions!“

But apparently Presbyterians are a little more lax than Catholics.

Pastor B talked us through the ceremony structure and the possible elements that could go into it. We talked about reconciling my beliefs with the Jewish-atheist views of BNF. We discussed when, exactly, we’d rehearse the whole thing, since Pastor B has another wedding the night before ours. All very productive and positive things.

But no test.

As we were wrapping up, Pastor B gave us our homework assignment for the next meeting.

“Think of five things you love about the other person, and three that drive you crazy.” And then he shared this anecdote.

“I once had a couple in here to whom I’d given that assignment, and the guy said ‘I can’t think of three things.’ So I said to him, ‘Then I can’t marry you because you don’t know your fiancee well enough. I can give you five things that drive me crazy about her right now!‘”

Quite the sense of humor, Pastor B, but he has a point. If there isn’t one thing that drives you crazy about the other person – even if it’s something small – then you’re probably still on your best behavior around each other.

Think you can keep that up for a lifetime?

This whole assignment made me think of Up All Night. If you have time, watch the clip. I'm glad we don't have a whiteboard.

I can’t speak for BNF (and we’re not actually supposed to talk to each other about our lists before the meeting), but the things I love were much easier to come up with than the things that drive me crazy. And they also help put the “crazy” in perspective. If this list contains my biggest concerns, then we have very little to worry about.

Though, I suppose I’ll withhold judgment until I see what BNF has to say. I can already think of a few things I do that drive him nuts.

All part of my charm, I’m sure.

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Once again the year has exceeded my expectations

From December 2010:

“2010 seems hard to beat, but I think 2011 is up to the challenge.

Next year will see more marathons (or, at least one); the halfway point of my grad school career; five weddings within a three month period (plus another one over Labor Day); hopefully the completion of my birthday list; and a potential trip to Buenos Aires.

I can’t wait to see what else 2011 has up its sleeve.”

• That potential trip to Buenos Aires turned out to be a beautiful reality. It was relaxing, warm, and amazing to meet so much of BNF’s family and friends. And my Spanish was passable, so I’ll count that part a success.

• I didn’t fully complete my birthday list, but I did come up with a new one for 26 that I’m slowly working my way through.

• The weddings were fantastic. We danced and ate and celebrated fairly consistently from March through June (and then in September).

• At this point, I only have one semester left of grad school, and this past semester was the best one so far.

• And as for the marathons…well, I grossly underestimated how many I’d be doing in 2011.

• But the best surprise of all of 2011 was the proposal. Talk about having something up your sleeve!

2010 was a hard act to follow, but 2011 did just fine. And 2012 has a clear advantage, because how could I not be excited about the year in which I get married and get my M.A.?

I love making resolutions, mostly because I love making to-do lists, but at the same time I haven’t really made any these past few years, and things seems to be falling nicely into place. So I think I’ll stick with that method.

No resolutions, just happy years.

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8 simple ways to recapture your childhood (even in a city setting)

I was inspired last week after reading this post and realized that I, too, wanted to get back in touch with my inner eight-year-old.

I also realized that it’s probably not too hard.

1) Next time it rains (warm rain, of course), go outside. Splash in the puddles. Take a friend and see who can make the bigger splash. But mostly just revel in the storm.

2) On a non-rainy night go to a park and catch lightning bugs. You don’t have to put them in a jar or anything, but the simple act of chasing and catching is enough to transport you back.

3) Find a hammock. Lie in it. Don’t get up until you absolutely have to. Invite people to join you, if you feel so inclined. (Okay – this one may be harder in a city. Maybe see if there’s a tester at Target?)

4) Run through sprinklers. On a walk to Union Station from the ballpark recently we passed an entire lawn full, and I was sorely tempted. I was, however, being too much of a grownup.

5) Do arts & crafts. For no better reason than spending time with your friends. (I’d add the free food and drink, but that’s not really child-friendly.)

6) Ride bikes. Race a friend or go on an adventure. But while you’re riding, remember how cool your bike used to look with its streamers and spoke decorations.

7) Have bubble blowing contests and see who can make it the biggest – and who ends up with gum on their face. Added bonus: if you can track down Bazooka Joe bubble gum, you get a little comic with your treat.

8 ) For that matter, play with actual soap bubbles. Do it in the park or, at the very least, in the sink while you’re washing dishes. Trust me – it makes that chore more fun.

I’m sure I’m missing things, but maybe I’ll be re-inspired after volunteering with kids tonight.

They always have the best ideas.

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Since it worked so well the first time…

So far, 26 has started off slightly more hectic than 25 did. Between physical therapy (for my knee this time), a busy work schedule, and travel prep for the wedding where I’ll be wearing this, I hardly had time to finish my 26 list! (I know, I know – a true tragedy.)

But here it is, in all its glory, ready to be checked off.

1) Learn how to shoot a gun.

2) Graduate! (Again, this is something that should take care of itself.)

3) Become a Marathon Maniac.

4) Practice Spanish enough that I don’t have to ask BNF’s family to hablar mas lentamente, por favor.

5) Plan the better part of a wedding (my own, this time!).

6) Visit friends in Colorado.

7) Go to a Phillies playoff game. (This is assuming they make the playoffs, of course.)

8 ) Leave the country (and come back – probably).

9) Seriously: learn how to change a tire. And PRACTICE.

10) Get another tattoo.

11) Donate to a charity every month. I haven’t yet decided if it’ll be 12 different ones, but I really liked Alice’s idea.

12) Read more. Granted, I couldn’t finish seven books that I’d already started in the past year, but I’d like to dream big and set the bar at 10 new books this year. (Not including reading for school.) I’m starting with Seabiscuit.

13) Go on a Duck Tour!

14) Do some “spring cleaning” every other month (or so) and donate the casualties (instead of putting them in the hall of our apartment building with a sign that says “free.”)

15) Acquire a taste for scotch on the rocks.

16) Hit a marathon time between 4:45 and 4:50. (This is most definitely a stretch.)

17) Be slow to judgment.

18) Let go of old grudges.

19) Not turn into a bridezilla.

20) Learn to play golf not of the putt-putt variety – or at least go to a driving range.

21) Keep track of all the restaurants I say I want to go to and actually try them. (Recommendations welcome.)

22) Use my future mother-in-law’s recipe to make empanadas and orange chicken that would make her proud.

23) See the final Harry Potter movie – and try not to complain about how it’s not completely accurate. (Seriously, though, there is no point where Harry grabs Voldemort and falls over the edge of the building with him. Just for the record.)

24) Complete my DC list (minus the segway tour). I’ve already checked off Ben’s!

25) Take a little more pride in my personal appearance. I’m too old to continuously leave the house with wet hair and to not own a curling iron.

26) Minimize job complaints. To stop them completely would be unrealistic, but over-complaining is (no longer) productive. (This one might also be a stretch.)

Feel free to leave feedback, critiques, or what have you. Or just shake your head at my affinity for lists.

That’s also fair.

I’ll be back on Monday, complete with stories of this upcoming wedding – which is sure to be nothing less than entertaining.

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I still have until tomorrow, but it’s not looking good

Let’s get the un-accomplished out of the way first.

Thanks for the tip, Foggy!

4) I’m not finishing Catch-22. And, let me be honest, I have no desire to. But finishing 6/7 books (I will finish One Hundred Years of Solitude by tomorrow), is still pretty damn good.

8 ) I learned what I’m supposed to do to change a tire, but I didn’t actually practice. So who knows if I could do it in an emergency. I did, however, learn how to check the oil, so that’s a step in the right direction.

10) I can say more than those three phrases in Chinese. And I can even write out some of the characters. But hold a conversation? Not a chance.

14) This is a tricky one. I did get a raise. But a title promotion is a little further away. I did, however, learn that I’m on the right track and that it’s possible (though not probable) that I could get the promotion before graduating. So there’s that.

24) I didn’t rent a car. I tried to convince BNF a couple times that it’d be a good idea, to no avail. And that was also in part because he doesn’t like it when (and how) I drive.

Now, for the ones I did, but didn’t blog about:

13) I was ridiculously proud of myself for being more outgoing. I organized study groups, made friends, introduced myself to new people at grad school and just generally took myself out of my comfort zone. It’s still not easy, but I like this more social me.

16) I went to New York! Saw friends! And have more trips planned for the future! But more than just going up to visit, I feel like I kept in better touch with friends who live there. And I think that was half the goal of this one.

17) Going on a road trip – what even counts as a road trip anyway? Well, I made the list, so I’m going to say that I make the rules. We drove up to New York; we’ve driven up to Philly multiple times; and we even threw a trip up to Baltimore in there. Maybe road trips should be more spontaneous, but frankly, our schedule this past year didn’t really allow for spontaneity. Maybe we can plan for that this year.

18) I cooked! A lot! And it’ll only get better/more inventive in the summer.

19) I didn’t play pool often, but I was able to move the balls while breaking. It’s a step in the right direction.

22) I found a church! Even if some of the members are a little odd…

The “life goal” of meeting a Phillies player is still unfulfilled. But I’ve got time. And some of the other unaccomplished will be added to my next list. (Because you knew there had to be another one.)

Bottom line: 20/25 – and, even with the failures, a feeling of accomplishment.

I’ll allow it.

26 – bring it on.

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