The Non-College Years

5.29.2010

two months.

Okay, new commitment: get better at updating my blog.

Since my last post, not much has changed in the job arena unfortunately. Still only part-time employed, still looking EVERYWHERE for jobs. I've been on a couple of interviews, nothing has come of them yet. Still hopeful though, something's gotta give, right?

Still riding my bike. Still hanging out with Thailer and Sumari. After they got back from Savannah Sumari started going to Thailer's pre-school, "big-girl school." So when Thailer goes to kindergarten next year, I'm not sure what we'll call that...

Mallory and I spent Easter at Lauryn's and the twins', and everybody came! Great food, fabulous company and lots of little princesses running around. Here are some pictures of our Easter egg hunt:

I took Lauryn and Thailer on a toddler date to Alice's Teacup and to a yoga class in the city. Alice's teacup is a great place for princesses, as soon as you walk in you get fairy wings and a wish-granting sprinkle of fairy dust. Beats McDonald's, right?

Later that week, my very married friend Tahmina and I met Stephanie (who came from Massachusetts for a couple of days) and we went to Alice's Teacup. (What can I say... I love that place!) The food is great, the tea is great and it's super cute.

Also since my last post, I've gotten a couple of calls from Betsy. She finished her semester in Amman, Jordan and her sister flew to meet her for a couple of weeks of backpacking through the Middle East.They went through Syria from Jordan into Lebanon where their cameras were stolen. Then when they tried to get back into Syria they were denied at the border! Apparently the law changed while they were in Lebanon, and you can no longer get exit visas at the border, you must get them weeks in advance in your own embassy. So Betsy and Emily were stuck in Lebanon. They somehow managed to get a flight from Beirut to Amman, so they are safe now, but still can't go to Syria. We'll see how their travels end up!

Speaking of Betsy, she's been asking me to photograph my paintings since I started my blog and she saw that I was still painting. I finally got around to it a couple of days ago. Here's a peek, for all of them go to picasaweb.com/juligannz .

The twins were christened! I flew to Houston about three weeks ago to meet up with them. It was also their first birthday, so there was a huge bash included! I didn't take any pictures, unfortunately, but there was a photographer there. I assume I'll have access to those pictures soon.

The following weekend Mallory and I went to visit her sister in Myrtle Beach. That was a glorious weekend. I don't have any pictures from that weekend, but only because I was too busy laying on the beach, sitting by the pool and eating. You understand, right?

School's out now, so that means the boy went home to Virginia. He came to visit right after I got back from the beach, and I plan on going to visit soon. I miss his face.

So, besides my recent discovery of soy yogurt, that's it for now! I pinky promise to update soon!

P.S.: Here's a better picture of my window:

3.16.2010

one month.

It's been a month since my last post. A lot has happened. Unfortunately not a lot of painting (unless you count my window)

(better picture coming soon)

While painting my window I received a call from Betsy! Don't get me wrong, I love her 27-page emails, but hearing her voice was fantastic. Girl talk is girl talk, even if it's oceans and continents away. I miss her terribly. If she were in the states, I would have definitely paid a visit for her 21st birthday. But alas, she is having the time of her life in Jordan, so that celebration has been postponed until this summer.

Thailer and Sumari are hanging out with their grandparents in Savannah for the month of March. I miss my chickies, but they are having a blast. Thailer is getting extra-cultured: tennis lessons, swimming classes and ballet. She's going to come back extra lean and super energized. I might have to invest in a tennis racket and an adult-sized tutu. A month after prancing and hitting balls, I might be confident enough to put on my bikini and let her show me what she learned. From what I hear, Sumari is well, running things in Savannah. You do NOT want to cross that kid in the playground. :)

Since my girls are gone, I got to spend some time with my other set of munchkins, Lauryn and the twins. Lauryn was a squeaky little ball of ceaselessly-talking energy, as was expected. Alex and Abby were a little hesitant at first. Okay, hesitant is an understatement - they were terrified. Abby eventually warmed up to me. Alex still runs away every time I walk into the room, but no worries, I plan on using bribes for his love.

Almost forgot! I got to see Jack Johnson!!! SUPER EXCITING. Mallory and I went to see him at Sirius XM Studios in the city where he was recording Artist Confidential to promote his new album. Ahhhhh! So good! He played two of my FAVORITE songs and some new stuff. It was fantastic. Just thinking about it now still makes me giddy. He's also going on tour this summer. I can't wait!

Nicole, my roommate did a Seton Hall Theatre production of Much Ado About Nothing. She got super sick during the second weekend of the show though. She had a really icky stomach virus and got really, really dehydrated. The boy and I had to take her to the hospital. Not without mishaps though. When we realized she needed medical attention ASAP, on a Sunday morning, she said she didn't want to go to the emergency room, so we started looking for urgent care clinics. We found a clinic with great reviews and drove over. We go in, only to find a really empty office with lots of plants, candles and brochures. Turns out it was a colonoscopy clinic! Poor Nicole, the lady REALLY wanted to help her. We left promptly and dragged her to the hospital and got her all fixed up. The boy was wonderful, I'm really glad he was there to help.

Since then the boy has become, well, MY boy :)

I went to see a man about a bike today. I've been saying I want a bike since the beginning of last fall. I finally got around to making moves about it. I know nothing about bikes, except that I like riding them and they have wheels. I dragged my friend Nick to come with me, as he knows much more. They gentleman selling me the bike is an old bike mechanic. He payed for college fixing up bikes! He has over 40 at his house. We found one and he's going to finish it up for me. Also, he mentioned a South Orange-Maplewood Bicycle Coalition that schedule community bike rides and share maps. I'm suuuuuper excited.

The kid in the middle is Nick on his 21st birthday. Don't let the picture fool you, this is just one of my favorites. He is a teddy bear. Put a cat anywhere in his 20-foot radius and he melts.

This week is turning out to be pretty great. The boy comes back from a trip home tomorrow and some new work has come up. There are birthdays to be celebrated this weekend, including Nicole's and my new bike will be ready on Friday! I will update again soon with lots of fun pictures and details of my bike-riding. :)

2.17.2010

dust to dust. ashes to ashes.

Today was Ash Wednesday. In the past, I have been a very good Catholic little girl. I attended mass every Sunday, on holy days of obligation and sometimes on a whim. Now... not so much.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy mass. I enjoy church. I enjoy my congregation back home in Atlanta, where every one knows every one and every sings along. Recently, however, I have not been attending as much as I used to and I think I figured out why:

1. I used to attend mass in Spanish. I know all of my prayers in Spanish and subconsciously pray in Spanish in my head. Old habits die hard. Not to mention that I don't know the majority of the prayers in English!

2. Here in New Jersey I attend mass at Seton Hall, aka, where I want to be. It's super close to my apartment and I like the intimacy of the small chapel. However, going to mass means running the risk of running into someone from freshman year, someone I worked on a project once, an old professor, someone I flirted with this one time at the vending machine... conversation sparks and I always receive the, "where have you been?" or "did you switch majors?" or my favorite "are you commuting now?" (I never lived on campus.)

So I avoid it. I don't attend mass. I don't like this. Therefore, this Lenten season I will vow to try and make it to mass every Sunday and to stop avoiding my reality and not be ashamed of it.