College Life, Post Graduation

I've been back in Oakland for 9 days now, and the new semester seems to be in full swing. All of my friends are back in classes, and I'm working about 20 hours a week in the Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science department of the Swanson School of Engineering, along with a new babysitting gig I just picked up, and, of course, those birthday parties at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. There is a nice rhythm to life right now, so I'm very hesitant for anyone to come in and change that.

This past weekend was certainly a whirlwind welcome-back-to-the-dirty-O, full of incredibleness. (Yes, I'm making that a word.) There was dancing: like a white girl, on table tops, with an adorable old man. There was drinking: beer, wine, rum, vodka, tequila, gin. And my personal favorite of the weekend, there was a crate race!

Let me explain. A crate race, in this case, consisted of teams of six people, with no more than three guys, and a case of beer (30 cans), two forties, a box of wine, and a fifth of liquor (at least 70 proof). Originally, we had at least four teams participating, but when it came down to it, we only got two competing teams: the United Kingdom (consisting of our friends Mike, Bruk, Becky, Lauren, Emily, and Tata*)(*Tata killed their fifth of rum in literally like 5 minutes. It was unreal!) and our team, the USSR, which was, from left to right in the picture below, Tom, Javid, Jess, myself, Anna, and Andres.


We thought we had this on lock, but Tata's performance was a little scary. But we ended up pulling through and winning! It was epic and so much fun! Here's us about three seconds after our victory:

In actuality, everyone ended up winning, because we all had such a good time, and we all got to hang out and drink and socialize. Even though a few of us may have been in pain the next day, it was definitely a pleasurable experience, and I would love to do it again soon!

To quote my friend Jess at the crate race: "Sometimes, I look around, and I'm so proud of what my friends have become." I agree, I really do love my friends, so I am one of the luckiest girls in the world.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's that time of year again! 2012 is almost upon us. Christmas was absolutely amazing. My boyfriend, Max, came up on the 23rd and is staying with me until we head back to Oakland for New Years, and then we're off to Albany for the first week of the new year. For Christmas, he got me a jar of bacon mayo (seriously.), a grow-your-own dinosaur plant with lava rocks, and a beautiful pearl bracelet.

I got him his first stocking (he's Jewish), with socks, cologne, and chocolate inside. I found these cute little packages of Nutella with breadsticks, and I knew Max would love them! I also got him a Pitt hoodie, a sweater (it's so soft and cozy), a watch, and a reversible belt.

We went to my Dad's family and my Mom's cousin's house, so it was busy, but it was so nice to see all of the cousins and aunts and uncles and such, and it was great to introduce Max to all of them, since he isn't used to big family things. It was a wonderful holiday all around!

Now, it's time to figure out New Year's plans and make resolutions. I know I tried to have mid year's resolutions in my first post on this blog, but this time, I really want to have resolutions I can keep. I'm really interested in getting into Buddhism, at these in the theory and readings of the faith. I'm also definitely giving up meat. I feel so much healthier when I do it, and it also marks the new stage in my life of being a college graduate. I'm excited to start a new year, with new goals and hopes. ♥

Mamihlapinatapai

“A look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that both desire but which neither one wants to start.”