midwifery + Kim is awesome

My friend Kim Dau was featured in a snippet on an NPR station (WUNC) last week. She's a very happy, very talented midwife in Durham who coordinates a local program called Centering Pregnancy.

Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to post it on here. Fortunately, I was able to put it on my Tumblr.com page. Scan through my page and find it on 2/24: http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/jannygirljr

I'm applying for the best job ever!

It's my birthday, by the way.

I finally finished my video application for the Best Job in the World. Video applications are due 2/22, so of course I finished mine 2/21. You'd be amazed--simply amazed!--at the amount of crap I got done today, crap I've had to do for weeks. Funny what a month-long trip away from home will inspire a girl to do. I mailed a ton of letters, sent off boring paperwork, took care of my taxes (read: mailed all forms to an accountant), did Addieville duties, picked up some Argentine pesos, tidied the house, and more, more, more!

Plus I went out for an hour this evening to celebrate Baby Neighb's birthday. And I watched a movie and did this video! Life is good. Hope I'm not too sleepy when I wake up all too early tomorrow.

Watch the video, but don't write evil comments or give me less than 5 stars. 'Cause then, you know, I'd be sad--and a girl shouldn't be sad on her birthday.

noncommittal blogging alert

I decided to get a Tumblr.com account. My username is jannygirljr. Thanks, Lawson, for the inspiration.

There are often moments when I see things I want to share with people, but it's getting to the point where Facebook is rife (or overstuffed) with users' posts on TONS of stuff, so I'm discouraged from posting mine. I don't know why I resist--maybe I don't want people to see how much I am on Facebook wasting my life away.

The articles, photos, and slice o' life stories are often not substantial enough for a blog entry (in my strange rule system), so I usually end up not sharing. Tumblr has granted my wish to be able to have a thought occur to me and post it immediately. Today I remembered a funny photo of my dad and decided to post it along with a story. I guess I could've written about it in my blog, but it seemed more fun to post on my mini-blog. Ew. Mini-blog.

Adieu.

new passion: video ichat

What do you do when you are bored and want to see a friend who's far away? What do you do when your friend Chris is in Buenos Aires and you haven't seen his smiling face in weeks? What if Sweet Blond moved to Ireland in 2000 and never looked back*?

Why, call him on your iChat video! This works best if it's very late at night, chatters have had a drink or two, and everyone is giddy and strange. Note: try not to talk about anything of substance.

*slight exaggeration

I want to be a part of BA, Buenos Aires--BIG APPLE

Oh, it was probably a mistake to sing that song. Now it's going to be in my head for hours. Ick.

All that is to say that I'm returning to Buenos Aires for the first time since I studied abroad there in spring 2001 (that's pre-economic crisis, folks). It was one of the best, most rewarding, and most challenging times of my life. It is my belief that the majority of traveling students feel that way about study abroad programs.

When I got to Bs. As., I was a month away from my 21st birthday and spoke not two licks of Spanish. (Granted, I could say "Hola," which I thought was spelled O-L-A, and I could say one extraordinarily rude thing that didn't sound so bad translated into English.) The first full day I was there, I was STARVING and had no idea how I could go eat. I went to a neighborhood store and pointed to an orange juice container (something familiar!) and perhaps a pack of crackers. Smiled a lot to show my gratitude. Ate the snack and was still hungry.

One of my randomly assigned roommates was a hot young thing from Columbia (that's the university, not Colombia the country). She was confident, funny, smart, and (joy of joys) Spanish-speaking! She took me to a restaurant we found around the corner from our place and ordered for me after translating the menu items.

photo courtesy of Arturo Vasquez, random guy I found on Google Images search

I met so many friends there, started feeling more excited and open-minded about my life (which had recently gotten sort of bland and sad for me, friends and loved ones living away from NYC or moving to other countries). A semester in BA was exactly what the doctor ordered. Since my mid-May 2001 departure, I've been daydreaming about returning. I've spent hours upon hours looking at maps of the city and poring over my photos of gorgeous buildings, lush parks, charming little plazoletas.

Am I very different from the Janet that landed at the Buenos Aires international airport almost exactly eight years ago? Perhaps. Do I want the same things out of this trip as I did the last one? No.

I'm going to try really hard not to annoy my traveling buddies with tales of people they've never met; I'm going to make the effort to keep those old stories to myself (and perhaps email them to former fellow students of the ill-fated first edition of NYU in Buenos Aires). I don't want to relive the long nights I spent drinking too much tummy-expanding Quilmes dancing with friends.

What I'm most excited about is strolling down the beautiful streets, wandering through the parks, soaking up the energy of the city. (Oh you sweet, sweet cliches--keep on keepin' on!) I want to shake myself awake a bit and be somewhere where I'm not entirely comfortable. I want to practice my Spanish and have a lot of alone time. I want to drink wine in a park-side cafe with Liz and Chris and Sweet.

I'll be gone for a month--just cashed in my SkyMiles today for the plane ticket. I'm so, so happy. I'm at the point in my life where this makes sense: my job can be done from anywhere I have internet access, I have some money saved for an apartment and living expenses, and I have the time. It just so happens that one of my dear friends will already be down there (Chris is spending 3 months in Argentina); it just so happens that two of my best friends will be taking turns sharing my adorable apartment with me. Sigh. I feel like a girl with a big ol' crush that makes her smile to herself all the time.

baby neighb

I just got in after a day o' fun with my dear friend A., a girl who just so happens to live two doors away! How convenient to find your neighbor funny, smart, and quite companionable!

Before I got a chance to hang out with A., we exchanged many messages posted to each other's doors. With each note we upped the ante a bit, always saying in one way or another that we should hang out soon. At last we got a chance to have a date, and ever since then we've been going strong. I'm very grateful to have her around!

Though more artistically talented than I, we share a knack for creating little homemade gifts and greetings. Imagine the happy snippets of delight I experience when I find a felt flower accompanied by a little note that says, "Happy spring!" or a little greeting card on my windshield when I walk out to my car to drive around and do errands.

Here are but two photos of greetings A. (or "Baby Neighb," as I and only I am allowed to call her--my rule) has left for me to discover.

For Halloween this year, she made little cupcakes; for Thanksgiving, a hand turkey with google eyes. It's my (well-researched) belief that engaging in little creative activities now and then keeps up your spirits, lets you relax, and causes you to feel more at ease with your life. Listen to me, guys: I have a Master's degree in this.

Dancer vs. Politician

I love this band. The members are charming and extraordinarily attractive (I dare you not to have a crush on lead singer/composer/founder Sanni Baumgartner), and the music really resonates with me despite my not knowing a lick of German. (A number of the songs on the new album, A City Half-Lost, are in German; the rest are in good ol' English.)

I've seen this video a number of times, but I can't get enough of it. It's lush and beautiful--the setting is so very Georgia summer, if you will. The music is pretty yet unpolished in the video, which is a part of a series I'd like to know more about.

Take a look:

Dancer Vs Politician: Justin Fairborn
by eikonproductions

HOPE

Maybe it's The National song playing in the video. Maybe it's Barack's message. Maybe it's the unabashed hope so many millions of us are feeling. In any case, this video inspires me, tears me up, and moves me to action. VOTE OBAMA!

Top 5 Reasons Obama Supporters Shouldn't Rest Easy

Hi, guys. The Obama campaign folks sent me the following list and I thought I'd take their advice and repost it. If you're not pro-Obama, rest easy--I'm not going to pressure you to change your mind (even though I really think you should!). If you are pro-Obama, reading the following list is very important!! Repost this list if you desire.

TOP 5 REASONS OBAMA SUPPORTERS SHOULDN'T REST EASY

1. The polls may be wrong. This is an unprecedented election. No one knows how racism may affect what voters tell pollsters—or what they do in the voting booth. And the polls are narrowing anyway. In the last few days, John McCain has gained ground in most national polls, as his campaign has gone even more negative.

2. Dirty tricks. Republicans are already illegally purging voters from the rolls in some states. They're whipping up hysteria over ACORN to justify more challenges to new voters. Misleading flyers about the voting process have started appearing in black neighborhoods. And of course, many counties still use unsecure voting machines.

3. October surprise. In politics, 15 days is a long time. The next McCain smear could dominate the news for a week. There could be a crisis with Iran, or Bin Laden could release another tape, or worse.

4. Those who forget history... In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote after trailing by seven points in the final days of the race. In 1980, Reagan was eight points down in the polls in late October and came back to win. Races can shift—fast!

5. Landslide. Even with Barack Obama in the White House, passing universal health care and a new clean-energy policy is going to be hard. Insurance, drug and oil companies will fight us every step of the way. We need the kind of landslide that will give Barack a huge mandate.

If you agree that we shouldn't rest easy, please sign up to volunteer at your local Obama office by clicking here:

http://pol.moveon.org/obama/office.html?source=blog&id=14534-5183653-nFgmwbx&t=1

that time R.E.M. played a private show for me and I didn't show up

I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! My dear Brandi posted a couple of Blogotheque videos on her awesome blog, and in my monthly review of her writing, I stumbled across this one of R.E.M. playing in Athens.

Playing behind my house.
Literally behind my house. Maybe fifty feet from my porch. WHY DID I NOT KNOW THIS WAS HAPPENING? True the shows aren't publicized. True Michael Stipe doesn't know we're friends (even though we are, of course). Oh I'm sad. But also excited. I mean, R.E.M. played a show next to my house.

See it here. Now if Sweet and Sarah Beth could cry with me for a minute, I'd feel better.

$2 Radio & Vroman's Bookstore

When I went to the Book Expo America this past May, I was thrilled to see some old friends (Eliza, Eric, Alissa!) and really happy to meet a new one (Patrick Brown of Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, CA). Imagine my surprise and delight to have stumbled upon this blog entry, written by Patrick for the Vroman's site, starring Eliza & Eric of $2 Radio!

Independent publishing houses are able to publish works that you might not ordinarily come across while browsing through Barnes & Noble's bestseller displays; independent bookstores are inspirational and inspired places where you can find all sorts of reading material to feed your brain.

I am so excited to be a part of all this in my own small way--perhaps this time next year I'll be ready to say that I've assumed an even bigger role!

Gooooo Eagles!

My high school reunion is coming up. One day more 'til I see TONS of people I've not seen in a decade. This will be an adventure.

I'm sort of afraid to see some of these people around booze.

accidental drunk

From an email I composed 12/6/2006:

Ah, the lovely prospect of a tall glass of 100% good-for-the-soul-and-bladder cranberry juice on a Monday afternoon when you've slept little and worked all afternoon with whiny tutees, as we are wont to call the oft-bratty children Janet tutors at the elementary school. Craving a glass of orange juice but knowing there is none in her fridge, Janet is thrilled when she encounters a jug of cranberry juice at her fingertips. "Ah," thinks she, "someone brought this as a mixer for last night's shindig." She pours a tall--and I mean tall--glass for herself and chugs it down. Before the cranberries can register, she pours another half-glass and chugs that.

"Ah, what a lush am I!" Janet muses. "I so rarely drink cranberry juice now, and the only time I consume it is about once every month or two at the Flicker Bar when it's mixed with a little touch o' vodka. I'm so conditioned that I am now convinced that this here cranberry juice tastes like alcohol. How embarrassing!"

Then, in a hazy flash (ah, can a flash be hazy? trust me, it can), it occurs to her: BONNIE. Bonnie is the culprit. Or at least Bonnie's mixed drink. She remembers her dear advisor having walked in the house the night before announcing something to the effect of, "This looks innocent enough, but really this juice has..." (The ellipses is meant to include all the sorts of alcohol Bonnie stashed in the innocent-looking juice jug.)

So, folks, that is the story of how a very tired Janet accidentally did shots of alky juice at 6:15 on a Monday night and got drunk in a jiffy.

Thanks, Bonnie.

Love,

Janet

Program Me In

You have to see this new Je Suis France video. My friend Jeremy Wheatley has been hiding away writing songs for a long time, but only recently has he started playing the gee-tar and singing for his adoring fans.

He's in an awesome band called Je Suis France, and he's the star of the new video. I LOVE this video. The song is really cool, too.

THE END.

foodie

Asian Noodle Bowl (complete with chopsticks I usually use to stir tea!)

Garlic Shrimp with linguine

Two hairy guys eat my food and claim to like it.

Brown rice, zucchini + broccoli all spiced up, and herb baked crunchy chicken

Delicious Hummus of my dreams

I started cooking in the last few months. Turns out I'm not all that bad! Also turns out it takes forever to load photos onto blogger. (Anyone know how to speed up that process?)

Zingo in ATHENS!!!

A couple weeks ago, I called Zingo for the first time. I'd first heard about it in Paste and was eager to try it. Here's the deal: you go out, have as many (or as few) drinks as you'd like, and make the smart choice of not driving home with alcohol in your system. You call Zingo. Someone arrives on a collapsible scooter within a certain amount of time (times vary according to which city you're in). The person grabs your keys, puts the collapsible scooter in your trunk, and drives you home in YOUR car. Then he/she gets out, hands you the keys, and removes the scooter. Driver makes his or her way to the next pickup, and you go in, knowing your car is safe at home and that you won't have to worry about being arrested or, as a less drastic option, about having to figure out how you're going to get her car the next day.

Joy!

Last-last Saturday night in Atlanta, Amy, her beau, and I waited at a bar for awhile until our driver showed up. He drove us home safely and quickly. It was over $40 because the bar was several miles from Amy's. (In Atlanta, the service is $30 flat, plus $2/mile and tip.) The article I've linked to at the end of this post shows it's cheaper for us Athenians! ;)

I asked our driver if there was a Zingo in Athens yet, and he said that, last he'd heard, it wasn't in my lovely town yet.

Imagine my joy when I stumbled upon this!

JSYK: themigrainegirl.blogspot.com is where it's at!

Hi guys,

I haven't been writing on here much, but I have kept up my anonymous-until-recently blog! It's really is a project for me that has ended up benefiting lots of migraineurs as well as my family and friends, who want to understand my Migraine disease better.

Have at it if you'd like: http://themigrainegirl.blogspot.com

Tune into SNL!

This is pretty exciting. I know Casey from NYU, though it's up for debate as to whether or not she remembers me. All the same, I'm happy for her. Her BFF/partner in crime, June Raphael, was on Flight of the Conchords for one episode the first season and was really good.

Too bad I can't make it to L.A. one weekend when they're doing this show. Wah.

xo
me

(Thanks for the news update, Lizzie-Lou!)

Taking the devil right out of Halloween!

My friend and former roommate NYU Sarah (known to me by the name of "Lover") sent me a wonderfully helpful link during the Halloween season. Unfortunately for all of us, I never check my NYU email account, so I didn't get the message in time to follow the Christian webmaster's suggestions. If I had, we could have had a Hallelujah Party! (you know, where people dress up as Bible characters!) instead of going downtown and drinking on Halloween.

Let's get planning for next year, kids! http://retirementwithapurpose.com/hobbies/afhalloween.html

don't go warmin' my leg...

I bought a pair of cozy leg warmers over a year ago while on vaycayshun and have yet to actually wear them. Part of my being still remains stock-still against the Huntley Hills Elementary cafetorium wall during the seventh grade dance, fearful that making a move toward the center of the room will bring attention to what is surely the wrong pastel, flowered dress.

Most of me doesn't care what others think of what I'm wearing. (See? I'm soooo self-actualized.)

After having slept off a Migraine most of the daylight hours, I am not feeling too festive. I miss my GHP friends right now and wish we were having one of our characteristic lock-ins. Heartbreakingly, these events are now a thing of the past. Wah. Going out this evening will be festive, I'm sure--seeing The Diamond Center last night was awesome enough, so tonight will be even more fun, especially since the Tom Petty cover band, Heavy Petty, will follow. But bar-hopping and going to see some bands play and friend-DJs spin sort of feels like any other night. If only Chris (see photo, courtesy of C. Tinsley) would get all souped up in his cheap-ass Santa outfit again.


Happy last day of 2007.