Grad School Is The Best

I love my grad program so much. Yes, sometimes we have to read really annoying Robbe-Grillet novels two weeks in a row, but that's okay. I'm writing at least 15 new pages of my novel every single week, which still blows me away. They may not be 15 great pages, but they're 15 pages, and I am loving it.

Here's a list of some of my favorite things about being a grad student:

• Writing all the time
• Reading all the time
• Reading my classmates' work
• Managing my own schedule
• Being unproductive in the grad lounge
• Singing and drinking on porches with my friends
• Not having to wear work clothes
• My professors
• Cubbies
• Spending hours and hours at coffee places with my friends
•  And again, writing

Yay!

Turn Signals

Dear The Other Drivers Here,

Our cars are equipped with these things called turn signals. Their purpose is to let the cars behind you know when you are going to turn or change lanes. Please use them.

Thank you!

Amazing Things

Yay! I can log on to my blog again. It wouldn't let me for a while. Anyway, hello. I am very tired. My grad program is amazing.

So I've been here for over two weeks now. Here's a partial list of the things that are amazing about living in Virginia:

• Taking my groceries in the car, instead of carrying them blocks and blocks
• Doing laundry in the apartment
• Having my own, private, air-conditioned mode of transportation
• Cheap stuff, like a box of cereal for $2.99
• Hearing Southern accents all the time
• Pretty mountains
• The fact that there is a restaurant in town dedicated to chicken and waffles
• Cubbies! My grad program gave each of us a cubby
• Sitting on porches at night
• Theme parties with my awesome classmates
• The cool coffee place nearby

Also, my neighbor has a rooster. That was amazing for about two days, until it started crowing. Now it is not amazing. 

Okay, I have to go to a thing. Being here is great!

Most Useful Aisle Ever

One of the local grocery stores is very, very sad. But it also has this aisle:

Also, note the sleds on top of the freezer.

That's all for now! Stay tuned for Why Are Blinds So Difficult? and I Need To Work on Parking.

Leaving Work

 Warning: This post may get sentimental. You have been warned.
    
Wednesday is my last day of work. I have been working at a wonderful adult literacy nonprofit for over two years now. While I didn't always love LP, I'm so glad that I had the experience. Adult literacy is important work, and I've been lucky to work with some outstanding coworkers.

This job has been tough, especially during the year that I had six different bosses--sometimes three at a time and sometimes none. But it's also been so uplifting and joyful. I've had so many happy moments, from completing a kickass set of meeting minutes, to seeing an event succeed, to seeing one of my students get it. My students and my coworkers have helped me become more confident, and I will miss them.

List time! Here are some of the things I learned at LP:

• I'm so fidgety because I'm a kinesthetic learner
• Bitching about something only makes it worse
• Adult literacy students are some of the smartest, kindest and greatest people ever
• They can also be the most challenging
• I do not know how to walk in heels
• Proofread even after you've spellchecked
• If you memorize too many numbers, your coworkers will think you know everyone's phone number by heart
• Focusing on the positives actually helps (so keep starting those meetings with highlights of the week)
• A five-minute walk, even if it's just laps around the office, can really clear your head
• There is always a cheaper option
• I'm really, really lucky

Things I Am Not Going To Miss

Two posts in a row? I'm on a roll! Yay beer.

Anyway, I just finished my list of things I will miss about living in New York. And now, also in no particular order, are the things I will not miss:

• That block on my way to work that always smells like pee
• The subway when it's not working
• Penn Station
• Nasty people on the subway, especially the people who get into fights at 8AM when the train is packed
• The A train
• The 6 train
• Ridiculous rent
• Overpriced everything
• Getting stuck behind slow-walking tourists on my way to work
• My old apartment management company
• Living in a fifth-floor walkup
• The Second Avenue construction
• Carrying a week's worth of groceries more than 10 feet
• That other really smelly block near my office
• Time Warner. Goodbye, $51 a month for internet!
• Times Square. It is the worst part of the city. Do not go there.
• Pushy people in line at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I actually got pushed at Whole Foods once
• Spending $11 on a basic lunch

Okay, that's all for now. Is it too early for bed?

Things I Am Going To Miss

I am leaving in just over a week. Ahh! Naturally, I've started thinking about those things I am going to miss, and those I will not. I'm not going to bore you with the obvious: I'm going to miss my friends and my boyfriend. Duh.

But these, in no particular order, are some uniquely NYC things I will miss. Please excuse the trite phrasing. It is Friday night and I have had beer.

• Bagel Express
• Those chance subway encounters that make the whole day better. (A few months ago, a ventriloquist had the entire car laughing.)
• Central Park
• The Rockaways
• The deli where they know my order
• My favorite workday breakfast, which is only available at the other deli
• Harlem
• My smoothie places
• The Strand
• My students
• Having two cell phones, and this being totally normal
• Walking really fast
• Stores and restaurants that are open 24/7
• Delivery.  OMG SEAMLESS!
• Talking books with strangers on the subway
• Magical bus routes that go everywhere I need them (M116!)
• Talking fast
• Hearing lots of languages on any given day and getting to practice my languages by eavesdropping and/or asking tourists where they're from
• Hailing a cab
• Hearing people on the street at all hours of the night
• Long walks through different neighborhoods
• The ability to go to lots of literary and cultural events
• Delicious dinner for two for $7 at Vanessa's

There are so many more, but this list is too long already. Also, I'm really proud of myself for restraining from ending with a point about missing the best city in the world. New York's wonderful, but I'm ready for a break from all the noise, chaos and smells. (Note to self: Get a white-noise sound machine that sounds like people yelling.)

Hey, Y'all!

East 95th has been resurrected! Alas, neither Julie nor I have returned to the constantly-shaking, jackhammer-soundtracked wasteland that is our old block, but I am repurposing this blog with Julie's permission. (Actually, it was her idea.)

2013 Update! Julie remains living along the 6 line, now with the volatile companionship of a gigantic cat named Mr. Fitzpatrick Bubbles. I shit you not. Mr. Bubbles is actually his name, and Julie added Fitzpatrick for dignity's sake. Julie loves him with all her heart, and I am afraid of him.

I am a couple weeks away from embarking on a new adventure that will take me from the noise and aggression of Manhattan to the quiet of Virginia, where I will be going to grad school for Creative Writing! Moving south will surely bring lots of surprises, revelations and boozy good times, and I'm going to document them here.

Cheesy Interlude: I'm looking forward to learning a lot about writing, myself and a new part of the country, and can't wait to share what I learn with you! Let's watch me become a better person!

Stay tuned for such posts as: There's Actually A Sign For The Mason-Dixon-Line, Is This Pizza?, Where Are The Bagels? and Driving Here Isn't Scary!

-Marissa