Friday, September 24, 2010

sarah (#1)

she shared a room with me when i was 6 - i remember the piece of paper i put on the door of our room (Sarah #1 and Sarah #2 live here!) in my six year old scratch. my bed was on the left side and hers was on the left. i hope i was a good roommate, because she was. so neat, so organized, minimalist (Depression-Era to a T). she lived there until she moved to her own apartment a block away from The Weakley's house on Pike St. -- Jadwin St., Apt. A. whenever i go back to the tri-cities and am driving on McMurray or Jadwin I'll think of her. the space she occupied there.
she used wax paper for my lunches when she packed them (always better than when dad did), and sometimes i even remembered to save the wax paper so she could reuse it
i have her name.
i have her feet - high heels are a killer.
i don't quite have her gift for cooking, yet. hopefully one day i'll be able to master the pies with the evergreen trees in them. and the bunny bread (although brelin already has that under control.)
some phenomenal advice: "the best way to get a man is just to trip him. that way, he'll fall down right in front of you, you take care of him and then he'll realize how wonderful you are."
she used to sing "Three Cornered Hat" in German.
she made my favorite prom/homecoming dresses, always there in the clutch when the hem was wrong or the material too difficult to work with. such patience and talent.
the last time i saw her the conversation started with, "so, who are you bossing around nowadays?" -- she knew me too well.
her brothers and sisters called nicknamed her "Saint Sarah" for very good reason.
impeccable kindness, impeccable determination, impeccable faith.
i only hope that my life is one she'd be proud of.
i love you, grandma sarah.
--
January 11, 1919 - September 23, 2010
--

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

bring out the side ponytails

it's been far too long since i've had time to update you on the current situation, but mostly it consists of working and studying. i knew this was coming, but yet i'm still surprised that i rarely have time to see BFF Bacon. upsetting, yes.
most notably, school started once again. i like all the people in my program and i'm starting to think i might not suck at statistics quite as bad as i anticipated. it is, however, only the third week of classes. check back with me mid-October.
it's refreshing to be back on a college campus, where it's ok to park yourself for three hours and just read. i've also made a gigantic change to my studying: i actually use the library. i'm here all the time it seems, mostly because there's a starbucks attached to it. those GW folks, they know how to get kids to do work. i'm a sucker once again.
the only thing i'm struggling with is my attitude towards undergrads. i'm trying to remember how i used to walk around like i owned the place (which wasn't too long ago) and had to contest with swarms of giggling sorority girls on Letter Days (Wednesdays). but the undergrads are a different breed here at GW. for one, not a scraggly beard or flannel shirt to be found. this definitely gives me the "i'm not in kansas anymore" feeling that i've mostly been able to skirt. this clean-shaven better-hygiene phenomenon is mostly attributed to the culture of the east coast, which i understand. (side note: i usually have to text joy when i see a good beard)
...but there's a general sense of entitlement of the preppy undergrads. a general nose-in-the-air approach to life. as if the mere fact of them getting into this university means you can give me dirty looks for my birkenstocks or crowd the door of the starbucks with your talk to joey's party and the lacrosse game.
and side ponytails with leggings. we don't have enough time for that discussion.
suffice it to say, this is a generalization. yes, i'm making my prejudices known.
there are exceptions to the rule (see: high school classmates who i actually knew who went here for undergrad and were transplanted from the West) but generally, i'm not a fan. i'm sure that someday soon my feelings will change drastically and i'll begin to adopt my general "Rainbow Connection" attitude toward life. it's inevitable. but today, there was just one side ponytail sighting too many.
it is nice, though, to point out the ones who look like they're twelve. i just want to give them a hug and tell them it's going to be ok.