>Yeehaw today is awesome. I went cold turkey on caffeine. I opened a bank account. Pending my first article, I got a freelance agricultural blogging gig. AW YEAH. And it even pays a little cash money. Hopefully I will be able to rise to the occasion, given my scant experience in journalistic writing beyond scheming up absurd headers for my high school newspaper such as "Write here, write now." (It is upsetting that I have probably misplaced important information about world events to remember this).
There's this really cool organization called Seedstock that is working for the promotion of innovation and research into sustainable agriculture practices. When I talked to the founder, Robert, he explained that he was eventually looking to have an institute at a university but is using this aggregation of information as a first step.
Check em out!!!
http://seedstock.com/
Friday, May 27, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Notables & Quotables: May 15- 21
"And basically I found out all the frightening things in life happen quietly and naturally"
-Zoya Danilovna Bruk, in "Voices from Chernobyl", an amazing journalistic project by Svetlana Alexievich
"Just because you love silence doesn't mean you have nothing to say"
-Kader Attia, quote seen at visit #1 of the week to the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA)
"Obviously those aren't fake flowers. That wouldn't be up to our standards, DUHHHH"/
I'm going to go *********** insane if I can't find it"
-Truly insane, though frequently amusing catering supervisor.
"E-Dog, get those plates"
-New highly amusing nickname from catering coworker
"This night reminds me of/everything they deprived me of"
-Nicki Minaj, "Moment for Life," song played at the absurdly over the top prom I catered at the ICA. Irony has never been more lost.
"How many dates have you gone on with people you've met at a truck stop?"
-Lead singer of Georgia Overdrive, at TOAD in Porter Square, a tiny but charming bar with free live music where my friends & I are quickly becoming regulars
-Zoya Danilovna Bruk, in "Voices from Chernobyl", an amazing journalistic project by Svetlana Alexievich
"Just because you love silence doesn't mean you have nothing to say"
-Kader Attia, quote seen at visit #1 of the week to the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA)
"Obviously those aren't fake flowers. That wouldn't be up to our standards, DUHHHH"/
I'm going to go *********** insane if I can't find it"
-Truly insane, though frequently amusing catering supervisor.
"E-Dog, get those plates"
-New highly amusing nickname from catering coworker
"This night reminds me of/everything they deprived me of"
-Nicki Minaj, "Moment for Life," song played at the absurdly over the top prom I catered at the ICA. Irony has never been more lost.
"How many dates have you gone on with people you've met at a truck stop?"
-Lead singer of Georgia Overdrive, at TOAD in Porter Square, a tiny but charming bar with free live music where my friends & I are quickly becoming regulars
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Senior Week...
...Is very very loud. Too bad I am really not in the mood to rage to Kei$ha right now. Feeling a little more in the mood for:
Friday, May 13, 2011
Reveling in Post Finals Bliss*
* Finals are over?
This is so weird I have not actually been able to comprehend it yet, even though I have been done for a full two days. I'm really bored bc I'm at work right now and now was is here for me to watch, so I'm going to make an exhaustive list of things I've been doing to celebrate.
-The night we finished finals, one of my friends and I planned to go out on the town. This did not materialize in the slightess, as we ended up drinking tea and wine on my couch, and hitting the hay after about an hour.
-Read 2 books. Reviews forthcoming...
-Cooked Paraguayan Cornbread, sopa paraguaya, adapted to be heart healthier, using cottage cheese and butter instead of heavy cheese and lard. The results were lighter and fluffier than expected, but still quite nice. And of course, some vegetarian empanadas to go on the side.
-Went on a nighttime raid of "Jumbo Drop," the school recycling program in which old items are donated, sorted and resold. Ironically, I am working part time for Tufts Recycles, so really, I was just making my work down the line easier. Memorable items salvaged included 4 boxes of coffee filters, glittery craft straws, gourmet canned soup, a new wardrobe and a copy of the Wilco album "A Ghost is Born"
-Worked every morning shift at the pool at 6:45. The president's (of Tufts) wife always comes to swim, she's really nice.
-Chilled in the interlibrary loan office of the library and got to return tons of books to other libraries. Nothing like being paid to nose about what other people are ready.
-Went to an absurd unpaid training session for a part time catering job. Received the most boring lecture of all time, 20 minutes about how to pick up and carry a large serving tray.
-Went Salsa dancing!!! At Ryle's, Inman Square's premiere Latin Dance/ Jazz Venue. It brought back a wave of Chile nostalgia, not to mention provoking a good deal of my horrible singing. Also, I have not gotten any better at dancing. The most amusing incident for me was when this guy asked me to dance and I asked if it was actually salsa music that was playing (to be fair, I am rhytmically challenged and they were playing other genres as well) and he judged me super hard, while pretending to pray for my poor culturally barren gringa soul. Despite our lack of dancing ability, our group had a most excellent time. Also it was free to get in which was amazing.
-After accompanying my housemate on her informal taxi service route to the airport, we went on an adventure to East Boston to find Peruvian ingredients for a dish we're obsessed with called Lomo Saltado. (Except that lomo is beef and we are vegetarians) We bought tons of things, like puffed corn kernels, ají amarillo, chica morada and lucuma ice cream. It was epic.
-Then, we rerouted and headed back to Boston's elegant side for a trip to the Museum of Fine Arts to see the Chihuly exhibit. I have never seen such lively, inspired and trippy glass sculpture. I totally want to become a glassblower. Adding that to the list of things to learn this summer.
That's about it so far. But yeah. It's really nice to be done with school I guess, especially since I've been nerding it up with about a book a day, so it doesn't really feel like I'm done with school anyway :)
This is so weird I have not actually been able to comprehend it yet, even though I have been done for a full two days. I'm really bored bc I'm at work right now and now was is here for me to watch, so I'm going to make an exhaustive list of things I've been doing to celebrate.
-The night we finished finals, one of my friends and I planned to go out on the town. This did not materialize in the slightess, as we ended up drinking tea and wine on my couch, and hitting the hay after about an hour.
-Read 2 books. Reviews forthcoming...
-Cooked Paraguayan Cornbread, sopa paraguaya, adapted to be heart healthier, using cottage cheese and butter instead of heavy cheese and lard. The results were lighter and fluffier than expected, but still quite nice. And of course, some vegetarian empanadas to go on the side.
-Went on a nighttime raid of "Jumbo Drop," the school recycling program in which old items are donated, sorted and resold. Ironically, I am working part time for Tufts Recycles, so really, I was just making my work down the line easier. Memorable items salvaged included 4 boxes of coffee filters, glittery craft straws, gourmet canned soup, a new wardrobe and a copy of the Wilco album "A Ghost is Born"
-Worked every morning shift at the pool at 6:45. The president's (of Tufts) wife always comes to swim, she's really nice.
-Chilled in the interlibrary loan office of the library and got to return tons of books to other libraries. Nothing like being paid to nose about what other people are ready.
-Went to an absurd unpaid training session for a part time catering job. Received the most boring lecture of all time, 20 minutes about how to pick up and carry a large serving tray.
-Went Salsa dancing!!! At Ryle's, Inman Square's premiere Latin Dance/ Jazz Venue. It brought back a wave of Chile nostalgia, not to mention provoking a good deal of my horrible singing. Also, I have not gotten any better at dancing. The most amusing incident for me was when this guy asked me to dance and I asked if it was actually salsa music that was playing (to be fair, I am rhytmically challenged and they were playing other genres as well) and he judged me super hard, while pretending to pray for my poor culturally barren gringa soul. Despite our lack of dancing ability, our group had a most excellent time. Also it was free to get in which was amazing.
-After accompanying my housemate on her informal taxi service route to the airport, we went on an adventure to East Boston to find Peruvian ingredients for a dish we're obsessed with called Lomo Saltado. (Except that lomo is beef and we are vegetarians) We bought tons of things, like puffed corn kernels, ají amarillo, chica morada and lucuma ice cream. It was epic.
-Then, we rerouted and headed back to Boston's elegant side for a trip to the Museum of Fine Arts to see the Chihuly exhibit. I have never seen such lively, inspired and trippy glass sculpture. I totally want to become a glassblower. Adding that to the list of things to learn this summer.
That's about it so far. But yeah. It's really nice to be done with school I guess, especially since I've been nerding it up with about a book a day, so it doesn't really feel like I'm done with school anyway :)
Thursday, May 12, 2011
The Ivory Tower Asshole & America's Favorite Pasttime
Last Friday, it was one of my good friend's 21st birthday, and to celebrate, a group of us went to a Red Sox game. This was exciting because it was something I had wanted to do before graduating from school up here. It also showed me how hilariously out of touch I am with the actual "real world." First of all, I couldn't even find normal clothes to wear- apparently I don't own anything red or Red Sox approved. I ended up wearing these absurb Chilean jeans (think acid wash + knee patches) and a tweed blazer, because they were the only things that I had clean. Saving up quarters to do laundry in my sketchtastic basement is sometimes a struggle.
Secondly, despite the fact that I can talk ad naseum about topics such as the Guatemalan Civil War and the politics of "Selective Service Provision in Latin American Cities," when it comes to things that the majority of people actually find interesting, I am absolutely hopeless. Thanks to gym class, I actually know how baseball is played, but as for actual players or stats or any of those things, I am completely lost. It took me a good 15 minutes after arrival to figure out where the score of the game was being tallied and which team was which. I got really confused when they started saying "You" when player Kevin Youkillis was up at bat, because it sounded like booing and I couldn't figure out why everyone would have such bad sportsmanship, especially towards their own teammate.
Surprisingly, given my tendency to be a complete bore at sporting events, I/we had an amazing time. Fenway Park aka the Green Monster (I knew that much at least) is a wicked awesome place. It was so fun to see everyone all excited and varied and it was just so American. And I can honestly say, other than times I was hanging out with family or friends, it was one of those moments where I felt truly present and happy to be exactly where I was. Wanderlust temporarily quenched.
Kind of did miss the insane illegal fireworks and riot cops aspect of South American sporting events though...
Secondly, despite the fact that I can talk ad naseum about topics such as the Guatemalan Civil War and the politics of "Selective Service Provision in Latin American Cities," when it comes to things that the majority of people actually find interesting, I am absolutely hopeless. Thanks to gym class, I actually know how baseball is played, but as for actual players or stats or any of those things, I am completely lost. It took me a good 15 minutes after arrival to figure out where the score of the game was being tallied and which team was which. I got really confused when they started saying "You" when player Kevin Youkillis was up at bat, because it sounded like booing and I couldn't figure out why everyone would have such bad sportsmanship, especially towards their own teammate.
Surprisingly, given my tendency to be a complete bore at sporting events, I/we had an amazing time. Fenway Park aka the Green Monster (I knew that much at least) is a wicked awesome place. It was so fun to see everyone all excited and varied and it was just so American. And I can honestly say, other than times I was hanging out with family or friends, it was one of those moments where I felt truly present and happy to be exactly where I was. Wanderlust temporarily quenched.
Kind of did miss the insane illegal fireworks and riot cops aspect of South American sporting events though...
Monday, May 9, 2011
Study Break
One most test to go, unfortunately the most odious...Statistics. It's actually kind of interesting, I just happen to be really bad at math. But, theoretically I never have to take math for the rest of my college career at least
So pretty much I only reblog links that I think are cool nowadays, but here are two things that struck me today.
Chile today approved the plan to dam some of the last wild rivers in Patagonia for electric power use, but it remains "pendiente" due to a lot of opposition. But the cards are on the table, the government's priority for growth over environmental protection manifest.
http://www2.counton2.com/news/2011/may/09/chiles-patagonia-could-see-7-billion-dam-project-ar-1822086/
A BBC photo essay on the anti-cartel violence protests in México:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13330067
So pretty much I only reblog links that I think are cool nowadays, but here are two things that struck me today.
Chile today approved the plan to dam some of the last wild rivers in Patagonia for electric power use, but it remains "pendiente" due to a lot of opposition. But the cards are on the table, the government's priority for growth over environmental protection manifest.
http://www2.counton2.com/news/2011/may/09/chiles-patagonia-could-see-7-billion-dam-project-ar-1822086/
A BBC photo essay on the anti-cartel violence protests in México:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13330067
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
"You should only have to kill an enemy once every thousand years"
http://www.susanpiver.com/wordpress/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-is-dead-one-buddhists-response/
So I got this forwarded to me from the Buddhist group at Tufts that I am quasi affiliated with, and I think it's a really cool (albeit totally hippy-dippy) way of looking at the major news story of the last few days.
So I got this forwarded to me from the Buddhist group at Tufts that I am quasi affiliated with, and I think it's a really cool (albeit totally hippy-dippy) way of looking at the major news story of the last few days.
Summer
Internship- Check- Officially working with Cultural Survival in some capacity, not sure of the project yet
Housing- Check-Living next to the gym, which should be convenient for working there
Employment- Check???- Have odd work at least through May which will keep me solvent through July, and HOPEFULLY work for the rest of the summer at the library/pool. Round 2 of applications starting soon?
Housing- Check-Living next to the gym, which should be convenient for working there
Employment- Check???- Have odd work at least through May which will keep me solvent through July, and HOPEFULLY work for the rest of the summer at the library/pool. Round 2 of applications starting soon?
Monday, May 2, 2011
Seeing Flowers on Horseback
Word of the day (yep, bringing it back): despabilarse- to wake up, become aware, wise up
One of my professors described the way we had gone through the material for our class this way, which apparently is a Chinese saying for having passed by something incredibly quickly. I chose it as the title for today's blogpost because I feel like it captures this semester perfectly. So many beautiful fleeting moments, so much superficial learning, tempting me to go deeper, so much change, in ourselves and in the ever shifting landscape around us. And suddenly it is over. Or rather, beginning. It took me a couple semesters of college for me to realize that the things I learn the most from are self directed adventures, and that is exactly where I am headed for the summer. I have a list of books several pages long that I want to read, and about as many movies to watch and places to visit. I've finally solidified my plans for the summer somewhat, got housing and hopefully an internship, soon to be revealed because I'm superstitious that something will go wrong with it. Interview tomorrow!
Today as usual was a day of crazy contrasts. Writing on final projects, followed by a marathon of classes, and then to a conversation about peasant land struggles in Guatemala, which deeply affected me. There is no such thing as post war in Guatemala: so much of the ongoing violence is directly linked to past processes. I'm sharing the clip below because it needs to be seen and confronted and acted upon. The context of the clip is that a prominent landowner used the police and army to violently evict peasants for their lands, in order to plant biofuels there. A perfect example of how processes are no longer merely local or global.
Here's an article that gives a bit more background on the issue:
http://wilderutopia.com/international-issues/guatemala-biofuels-production-leads-to-violent-evictions/
And after this, I ended up at an insane mall getting ice cream with friends, which was extra weird because I'm pretty sure I hadn't been at a mall since I was back in Chile. It was the sort of place that people in other countries probably imagine when they think about the US: giant sculptures of Bostony themed things, lights, a giant green monster, cute jelly bean decorations. The hyperreal. Even more ironically for someone who's been writing a paper on water provision in developing world cities for what seems like ages, there was a giant over the top fountain show with music and lights. I felt like an overstimulated child.
It's a crazy world we live in. Safer and unsafer everyday. Just depends on what corner of the world you're looking in.
One of my professors described the way we had gone through the material for our class this way, which apparently is a Chinese saying for having passed by something incredibly quickly. I chose it as the title for today's blogpost because I feel like it captures this semester perfectly. So many beautiful fleeting moments, so much superficial learning, tempting me to go deeper, so much change, in ourselves and in the ever shifting landscape around us. And suddenly it is over. Or rather, beginning. It took me a couple semesters of college for me to realize that the things I learn the most from are self directed adventures, and that is exactly where I am headed for the summer. I have a list of books several pages long that I want to read, and about as many movies to watch and places to visit. I've finally solidified my plans for the summer somewhat, got housing and hopefully an internship, soon to be revealed because I'm superstitious that something will go wrong with it. Interview tomorrow!
Today as usual was a day of crazy contrasts. Writing on final projects, followed by a marathon of classes, and then to a conversation about peasant land struggles in Guatemala, which deeply affected me. There is no such thing as post war in Guatemala: so much of the ongoing violence is directly linked to past processes. I'm sharing the clip below because it needs to be seen and confronted and acted upon. The context of the clip is that a prominent landowner used the police and army to violently evict peasants for their lands, in order to plant biofuels there. A perfect example of how processes are no longer merely local or global.
Here's an article that gives a bit more background on the issue:
http://wilderutopia.com/international-issues/guatemala-biofuels-production-leads-to-violent-evictions/
And after this, I ended up at an insane mall getting ice cream with friends, which was extra weird because I'm pretty sure I hadn't been at a mall since I was back in Chile. It was the sort of place that people in other countries probably imagine when they think about the US: giant sculptures of Bostony themed things, lights, a giant green monster, cute jelly bean decorations. The hyperreal. Even more ironically for someone who's been writing a paper on water provision in developing world cities for what seems like ages, there was a giant over the top fountain show with music and lights. I felt like an overstimulated child.
It's a crazy world we live in. Safer and unsafer everyday. Just depends on what corner of the world you're looking in.
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