Fast Food

Wendy's salads rock. Actually, Wendy's is probably my favorite fast food place, hands down. The best fries, the best delectable frozen treat called the Frosty, the best chicken sandwiches, and the best salads. (If anyone would beg to differ and bring up the chili finger incident, I would just like to point out that that was a hoax. The media was ALL OVER the finger in the chili, but they've really kept the fact that it was all a hoax on the d.l.) I really wish they would bring back the pita sandwiches they had a few summers ago. If anyone has any Wendy's connections, I'd like to request you bring back the pita sandwiches - or at least the Chicken Caesar Pita. McDonald's does win the chicken nuggets contest, though.

Today I wanted a salad for lunch, but didn't have the time or want to take the time to make one. Plus I wanted chicken on it and that would involve a whole thawing process that I just wasn't invested enough in the whole salad craving thing to do.

So it's fast food salad time. Unfortunately, there are no Wendy'ses on my way to school. Oh sure, there's one in Central Square, but I'd probably have to double park and dodge pedestrians and someone would most likely have keyed my car by the time I got back. There's a McDonald's on the way to school and I often wonder how much business they get simply by being the lone fast food outlet on Soldiers Field Road. I'm sure there's some sort of money being passed under the table to the city or big burly guys in suits ensuring that it stays that way.

Anyway, McDonald's salads do not hold a candle to Wendy's salads. From the piddly tomatoes to the browning thick white iceberg lettuce. McDonald's is a big tease too. They put the grilled chicken on top as they pass the salad to you and the chicken smells yummy and seasoned and inviting. It's not really seasoned so much as salted to the point that your tongue does a little pucker as you chew. I enjoy the bleu cheese, but it's really difficult to mess up bleu cheese. It stinks and tastes a little rotten because it's supposed to.

I ate it, but that doesn't mean I liked it, darn it.

I Need to Find the Man Who Considers Chlorine an Aphrodisiac

88 laps today and despite scrubbing in the shower, there is a lingering aroma of chlorine on my skin. Oh well. Small price to pay for losing 2 inches off my a** in the past few months.

And because I am neither smart nor urbane enough to shun my TV, and, in fact, embrace every single trashy VH1 countdown and decade retrospective with glee, I have linked to Television Without Pity on my sidebar. Enjoy!

Little Miss Stresscase Comes Through!

Like San Francisco Jenn says, I feel like I've been rode hard and put away wet.

I slept like a rock last night and woke up this morning feeling achey and groggy. The achey probably had a lot to do with running around like a crazy woman for 3 hours on 3 inch heels. It's almost 2 PM and I'm trying to get into the swing of outlining.

Things went very well, other than being 4 seats short when everyone sat down for dinner. No problem. The tables can sit 10 and they were only set up for 8. Bring out a few extra place settings and we're good to go.

I didn't realize I'd feel like such a hostess to 84 people. During the cocktail reception I found myself running around, making sure things were flowing and that all of our speakers were there. I found myself having conversations like, "Hi there. How are you doing? Are you enjoying yourself? Good. Well, I have to dash over there for a moment, but glad you could come."

Allen and I did tag-team award handing-out duties during dinner, alternately standing by the stage looking pleasant and handing out the silver bowls, while the other scarfed down dinner. Allen and Latesha gave me a very nice gift that just proves people DO listen to me when I speak (it's not ALL white noise) and pretty flowers that I brought back to the BSA office since I'm going to be here more than at home for the next week and a half while I study and write a paper.

This is Allen, me, and Latesha (and my big ole bunch of flowers)


There were a couple of hitches, but none that the guests were aware of, so I call that a success.

Here is a picture of the Board of Student Advisors (well, the ones that could come to the banquet)


The end of the evening. Deshala, Latesha, Allen and me.

I think it's a little ironic that the two non/lesser-drinkers in the picture look the most drunk. (See above: rode hard, put away wet)

Now I've got a Diet Coke with Lime chilling in the freezer and a Criminal Law textbook open to provocation as a mitigating factor in murder charges. Focus, Kelly, focus.

Santa Cruz Jenn, schwong waves would be most helpful right about now.

What a Good Way to Start My Day!

I've lost 2.5 pounds in the last week. Now while this might not seem like much to shout about, it is important because A) it shows this whole diet and exercise thing is working and I'm losing weight, and B) I've crossed this threshold I've had in my mind for some time now and officially weigh less than I have in 6 years!

72 laps this morning.

And the Banquet is tonight, people!

For your viewing pleasure, it's Little Miss Stresscase:




I totally think I could write one of those little books about her.

Thanks to Stacer for telling me how to get her in a file so I can have her as my own forever and ever. What I'd really like is a stuffed Little Miss Stresscase.

Big Fat Knock On Wood

This may just work. After panic, panic and more panic over the past few days, the Banquet may, in fact, be coming together. We have all of the awards but two and those have been ordered and those award recipients will be getting certificates tomorrow night. The food and set-up seems to be in order. I emailed all of the award recipients and all of the coaches who are presenting the awards and the members of the Board of Student Advisors and gave everyone all of the details about the Banquet to stave off any future "I didn't get an invitation" brou ha ha.

Here is what I have hated about this. First of all, it took two months of me getting bounced from administration to the alumni office and back again before I finally found out what our ballpark budget was and that we really didn't have the money to hold the event at the Omni like we have in that past. So instead of finishing up everything at the end of March like I had originally planned, I was really just getting started. Everything since then has been hurriedly put together in this slapdash way that I hate. The invitations went out late with no time for anyone to RSVP. Half the invitations apparently didn't get delivered. The program just got sent to the printer last Friday. We ordered food just in the nick of time. I was apparently supposed to give the AV people 14 days notice and when I emailed them 9 days before the event got a fairly miffed reply saying they would do it, but implying they were not happy about it at all. (To which I want to reply, "You are the AV people. This is what you do. Am I interrupting an important game of Snood on Wednesday evening, or what?")

The J of the INFJ in me is shrieking and pulling her hair out. This is not the way she likes to do things.

In addition, my outlines are not done and I have not memorized an entire semester of Trusts and Estates like I need to by May 4th.

And in the back of my head is my dream of a camera and some days I think, "Oh, heck, just buy it already!" while other days I think, "That might be half of September's rent, you crazy fool!"

AimeeRoo linked to a great little website where you can make your own Little Mr. or Little Miss. Does anyone else remember those books? They rocked.

Anyway, I made myself Little Miss Stresscase. She has a pointy little body in yellow and a sassy pink bow in her hair. Her eyes are worried and her mouth is a little tiny "o". (And of course I'm thinking if I had a digital camera I could take a picture of her because I can't save her or link to her on the website). The best part is when you hit Finish, the site shows your creation and says, "You look great Little Miss Stresscase."

I think I need to hear that every day because, really, I do look great.

Hugs and kisses,
Little Miss Stresscase

Absolutely Useless

Well, since I'm apparently not getting any outlining done today, I figure I might as well post something on my Blog so you all know I'm still here.

My re-cap from the last few days:
Friday - swam 72 laps (set of 32 in 14:50). Got through the middle of February in my Criminal Law outline.

Saturday - swam 80 laps (set of 32 in 14:45). Got to the beginning of March in my Trusts & Estates outline.

Sunday - had a nice relaxing day going to church and doing absolutely nothing except watching The Trouble With Angels whilst laying on my couch. Actually, during choir practice I started feeling kind of icky so laying on the couch seemed like the best idea. Also discovered that I rather like haddock, sauteed in olive oil with Johnny's Seafood Seasoning.

Monday - Didn't work out because I'm still feeling poopy. I don't know what exactly is wrong with me. Symptoms: foggy headedness, feeling like I'm going to pass out if I stand up for more than 5 minutes, and an intermittent stomach ache. Also, a definitive lack of interest in food. Like I KNOW I should eat my soup before my 5:30 class because all I've had today is some peanut butter and jelly toast, but food of any sort just sounds really uninteresting right now.
Have spent the last four hours putting out BSA Banquet fires (Hey, half the award winners didn't receive their invitations. Neat) and figuring out Health Law Society politics (we're in the middle of officer elections and my current officers are debating whether or not to run for next year.

And I've done about a half page of my Criminal Law outline today. I was supposed to work on it for 4 hours and get the lion's share done. Eh. It will all come together, right? Because I am super fantastic law school girl. Right?

Congratulations, Mom!

Everyone give a shout out to my mom who was yesterday named

The Village of Schaumburg's Volunteer of the Year

Update: Article about my mom

Update 2: PICTURES!

Mom and her major award (she's in black on the right):

What's that you say? I look a lot like my mom? Wow, I have NEVER heard that before.

The social conscience of Schaumburg, IL:

Breakypoo

I'm thinking this is probably a bad time to stop blogging every day since my numbers are now averaging 77 a day. Woo hoo! I'm popular with an average of 77 people every single day. However, finals are coming up and I really need to just hunker down and study for the next couple of weeks. So while I'll still post if something exciting happens, or if I'm going crazy with the studying and if I read the words "intestate heir" one more time my head will explode and I need a cathartic release, for the next few weeks my posting will be sporadic at best. Keep checking in, though. Remember, popularity = good.

On a sad note, I don't think I can afford to get my camera. Since I still don't have a job, I feel like $350 (cost + shipping) is just too much. I'm bummed because I really wanted to have it for graduation. My mom and I are conspiring to get my relatives to send either 12 more checks for $25 or 6 checks for $50. Either would work. If that happens, I can get the camera. But otherwise, I can't afford it (unless someone talks me into it because I deserve to spoil myself a little because it's not like I graduate from law school every day and won't I want the event memorialized in wonderful 4 megapixel glory? Not that I'm advocating someone do that, but if someone were so inclined my better sense might be willing to take a little coffee break). These are the times having a sugar daddy would come in reeeeally handy.


PS I have to confess, even I am noticing that my weather girl is a little hottie today. You know that's EXACTLY what I would look like if I dyed my hair purple and wore a red tank top showing my midriff and a red skirt. I've always looked great in red.

Just Call Me Little Miss Sign Seeker

Kristina and I were talking the other day about my vascillating back and forth on whether or not to move to DC after I take the Bar. I told her how when I visited law schools in Boston it was so clear that I was supposed to be there (so very clear that I sometimes wonder if I would have gotten into Harvard if I had applied just based on the sheer "Kelly needs to be in Boston" factor). I've come to DC looking for something like that...some sort of sign. She said, "Well, you know what happens to people who ask for signs. You tend to get your house blown up and stuff like that." And I really don't think my roommates would look too kindly on me if our place got blown up because, Ooooo, Kelly needs a sign. Isn't she special?

Well, the lesson I learned yesterday is that sometimes signs DO happen.

I had a meeting with someone on the Hill on Friday, right? While we were talking about networking and connections and all of that stuff, he asked me where I'm from and told me you have to take advantage of EVERY connection to get anywhere. I told him where I grew up and he said, "Oh, I think there's a new Congressman from there." I said the Congressman's name and he said, "I think that's him." He looked up his name and confirmed that I was right. I said, "Yeah, I went to high school with his daughter." He looked excited and said, "See! That's the kind of connection I'm talking about!"

My graduating class was pretty small, only 164 students or so, and we all knew each other. Still....it seems kind of skeevy to contact this girl after 11 years about job stuff. So I was mulling that over in my head when I went to the Hill again yesterday to meet with someone. This person's office was actually in the House and can I just tell you how cool I felt with my visitor nametag, walking past the No Tourist barriers? Of course I had to ask 4 different people which way the office was because it's confusing in there, so I wasn't quite as cool as I could have been, but whatever. I was in a suit and I was in the House.

After we chatted I walked back to the Metro station. I was supposed to call a friend who works in Maryland about getting together, but there was no answer on her cell. Down from the Metro station, I noticed a couple of restaurants and decided to stop for lunch (since it was 2 PM and all) and wait and see if my friend called. She did eventually and we met up later. Anyway, I had lunch at a Subway and sat there for about a half hour, just reading a magazine and sipping my Diet Coke with Lime (which I still contend is infused with crack). As I was getting up to leave I glanced over at the two girls who had just sat down at the table behind mine.

OK, I'm going to let you guess who one of those girls was. Come on, just guess.

Yes, you're exactly right. The daughter of the Congressman who I went to high school with. The last time I saw her was 11 years and 2 states ago.

I stood there for a second, feeling completely flabbergasted, and then said her name, we'll call her Marisol, with a little question mark at the end. Marisol looked up and said, "Kelly? Oh my gosh!" So we hugged and chatted for about 10 minutes or so about what we're doing and why we're in DC (she's working here) and who we've heard from. We exchanged emails and phone numbers and she told me to get in touch the next time I'm down here.

Now while I still feel skeevy saying something like, "Help me find a job," now that we've bumped into each other, I feel perfectly fine with emailing her and asking for her advice.

Can. You. Believe. It?!

Me neither.

Fat Girl

There's a lot of irateness and anger going around because of articles on Salon and in Newsweek criticizing the plus-size teen shop, Torrid. So I thought I'd just add my voice to the whole hullabaloo.

Or maybe I should just put a big "ditto."

No, I'll go ahead and comment.

The fear seems to be, if we provide cute and sassy clothes for plus-size teen girls, that will encourage their obesity and they will NEVER be motivated to change.

Hooey.

I think Torrid is a fantastic idea! And I will bet my life that these girls know exactly how big they are. I bet they alternately binge and starve themselves, some of them may even purge. I bet they hear cruel remarks from kids at school, and even crueler remarks from their own internal monologues.

Weight has always been an issue in my family and I am glad that now there are finally options for women and girls who don't have ideal bodies and who may eat for other reasons besides being hungry. My whole life my mom had to dress herself in tents with Battenburg lace collars or knit stretch pants and large knit tops from the Lane Bryant and Roamans catalogs. It has only been over the last 10 or 15 years that these catalogs have started carrying clothing even remotely resembling anything cute and modern. I remember as a skinny little swim team 10 year-old flipping through the catalogs and wondering why they couldn't just take what I saw in the malls and at Fashion Gal and make them bigger. The advent of the Lane Bryant store, which sells completely different things than the catalog, is a godsend for the plus-size woman

My parents are both large people, but since I was 13 they have consciously made an effort to eat well, even going so far as to make our house sugar- and white flour-free for several years. My mom has lost a lot of weight over the past several years and has been a dedicated water walker since I was 13 or so (she's limited in her physical activity because of arthritis). She's still plus-size, but unlike when I was growing up she can now leave home knowing that her clothes are cute just like her hair and nails and make-up, which are always impeccable.

As several other people have noted, there have been "Big & Tall" stores around for men for years. Why is it that the women's stores cause such a outcry about our society encouraging obesity?

I saw Super Size Me, and I do think there are lots of things Americans in general could be doing to improve their health and diets. (Newsflash: it's not just Americans anymore. I read an article in The Boston Globe a couple of weeks ago about the expansion of European waistlines as well). It's an individual thing, though, and some people have to hit rock bottom, some people have to have some major health scare, and some people just need some therapy and a desire to be good to themselves before they will be willing to make changes.

Like author Wendy Shanker said in the Salon article, "Weight loss is not motivated by outside sources. You don't lose weight by tough love, whether from your mother or your local clothing store. It's a personal choice, and a difficult choice -- and if I can't do it for myself, I'm not going to do it for the Gap."

Speaking as someone who eats fairly healthy and is still overweight, there are skinny people and there are not so skinny people in this world. I will never ever be tiny. The one time in my life I was actually at my "target weight" according to the doctor's chart was right after I had jaw surgery. I looked emaciated and sickly. Even then, I was a size 7, which is small, but not Jennifer Aniston, size 0 small. I can't imagine what would happen if I tried to get myself any smaller than that. My healthy weight is actually about 15-20 pounds more than the charts would have me believe.

I haven't eaten sugar except for 1 day a month for almost 3 months. I eat fruits and vegetables and salmon and chicken and no-fat dairy and whole wheat bread. I know that I am getting smaller because of how my clothes fit, but according to the scale I'm not lighter. I feel better about myself because I am taking care of myself, but I know I still have a huge butt and thighs and cellulite. But gee, at least nicely made plus-size jeans make my big butt look kind of cute.

I freely admit that I shop for bottoms at Lane Bryant. Frankly, they are pretty much the only store that makes pants and skirts for womanly shapes (although I am praising the A-line skirts that are in fashion right now). I know I'm bootylicious, with child-bearing hips, and a tiny waist. Did you know the ideal hip to waist ratio is .7? Guess what mine is? .7 Have I EVER, even when I was a size 7, been able to find pants and skirts that fit me right? No. Because of Lane Bryant I actually have jeans that don't gap out 5 inches from my waist. Even though I'm glad I'm losing weight, I'm only 1 size away from not being able to shop at Lane Bryant anymore, and then I'll have to go back to ill-fitting bottoms once again.

So I know and the girls who shop at Torrid know and the women who shop at Lane Bryant know that we are overweight. We all have our own self-esteem issues. I can swim a 50 of butterfly and 40 laps of freestyle. I have a BA, a MA, and soon a JD. I am a kind person with many loving friends. But I still feel insecure about my body, just like I have since I started getting hips. As I become more comfortable with myself, the insecure feelings are less and less. I know, though, that no matter how thin I get (or don't get) I will always be a Fat Girl on the inside.

Giving these girls a store they can go to so they can get cute clothes is not encouraging them to be obese. It's letting them have a little dignity and pride while they struggle through those teen years that are already tough enough.

Another couple of applicable quotes from the Salon article:
"When you're trying to change your behavior, if you're depressed or feeling bad about yourself, it's more difficult to be successful," says Lauren Solotar, an eating-disorders specialist and the chief psychologist at the May Institute in Norwood, Mass. "If you feel good about yourself, you're more likely to be able to follow through."

Dr. Caroline Cederquist, the medical director of the Cederquist Comprehensive Weight Control Center in Naples, Fla., agrees. "It's not like all of a sudden we're saying they shouldn't be healthy," she says. "But they might as well feel more comfortable in their skin as they determine how they're going to get there."

So please, all of you people who tsk and stare and judge and judge and judge, remember that the fat person right there is a human being. Probably a human being who is in a lot of pain every single day.

If I Move To DC I'll Be Dressed Super Cute All the Time

DC is my magic clothes world. While I haven't found a new blazer, I did find cute tweed Steve Madden shoes and a new light coat at TJ Maxx Friday night. I got my current light coat in 1998 and went from having it fit great, to being too small, to having it fit great. But despite fitting great, it is getting a little worn. Saturday I found comfy and cute black dress shoes and two adorable Spring dresses, one of which I'll be wearing at graduation.

Kristina, who I'm staying with, determined that these are all signs for me to move to DC. Actually, she told me honestly today that all I keep doing is raving about how much I like it here and what I like specifically, but I haven't really come up with reasons NOT to move here. My one concern is the singles scene, but honestly that concern will go with me anywhere since I'm in my late 20's, single, and Mormon.

My legs are so tired. After basically walking on my tip-toes all day Friday (in 2 1/2 inch heels), Saturday, after doing job research at George Washington University Law School, we went for a walk around the Tidal Basin and saw the last of the cherry blossoms. I'd never been to the Jefferson and FDR Memorials before.

We also walked through the WWII Memorial, which I hadn't seen before. Actually, the last time I was here there was a sign on the land that said "Future Site of the WWII Memorial." I'm such a history dork, but I found it really touching. I was actually getting a little teary-eyed. WWII has always been an interest of mine, especially since my grandpa fought in it. He was the communications guy in a MASH unit (think Radar). He was in England on D-Day and went over on D-Day +3, I believe.

My favorite story of his is about the time he and a couple of his buddies got passes to travel back to England. Apparently they took their sweet time and spent a couple of weeks in Paris. Finally the MP's caught up with them and escorted them on their merry way. Who would ever guess to look at my sweet old Papa?

I keep forgetting this, but I want a record that I AM making it to the gym and exercising:
Tuesday: 72 laps
Thursday: 64 laps (I got there late and ran out of time)
Friday: walked all over DC and parts of southern Maryland
Saturday: walked from the car over by the Washington Monument to the Tidal Basin and around that (does anyone know how far around it is? I found a running site talking about a Tidal Basin run that is 1.86 miles, but I don't know if that's actually the circumference or not) (And I just have to add, how cute are the duck couples? We saw several pairs swimming around and one of the man ducks chased off another pair when they got too close to his woman. Of course, that could be seen as one of those signs of abuse because he's isolating her from all of her friends, but I prefer to think he was protecting her. And maybe I'm thinking too hard about the dynamics of the duck community)

You know what I think I'm really going to like about living here? Being able to go to the monuments and museums whenever I want. I won't have to try to cram it into a trip as a tourist, but I'll actually live here and be able to mosey over whenever the mood strikes.

OK, yeah, Kristina is right. I'm having a really hard time coming up with reasons not to move here.

Reason 68: I won a liter of Coke! I have drunk probably 57 bottles of Diet Coke with Lime since they started their "1 out of 12 wins free Coke" promotion and have won 1 Coke. Friday afternoon I bought a Coke at a CVS downtown and lo and behold I won a Coke. It's a sign.

I H8 Blogger

Because Blogger is the Anti- ...um...Blog, I can't scroll all the way down to the bottom of the comments on my last post to post comments of my own. So this post is my response.

First of all, I think I always need to have some random guy story because I get a lot of comments.

Second, I drafted a short email to the guy last night about not going out and sent it off this morning. Very short. Just we're both busy, let's not shoehorn in a date this weekend.

Thanks for all of your input. You all know I haven't been feeling it for quite some time anyway.

Aimee, you're right, I need to be more than scheduled in. Thanks for reminding me of that.

Stephen, I've actually read parts of He's Just Not That Into You - ironically the last time I was in DC. It's really funny and empowering in a way.

Emily, no need to kick him in the shins. I don't hate him, I'm just not in like with him. I think you should hunt down J for the shin-kicking stress release.

Chris, I've always hated that dating and waiting for the next best thing thing. So disrespectful. Besides, I want to think the guy I'm with is the best thing since sliced bread, and I want him to feel the same way about me.

Elizabeth, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be Crazy Old Lady M. someday in the large Victorian house with a bunch of cats.

I Am A Slave to Mass Media Marketing

Several weeks ago I bought some Oil of Olay body wash with shea butter, assuming it would smell like everything else with shea butter - kind of nutty. Instead it has this really overpowering perfumey smell that I was not expecting at all. So today I decided to get a different body wash when I stopped by the drugstore after the gym. I wanted something fruity because I'm all about fruity lately. I think it's my desire for summer. I'm not going to the extent of actually wearing the Hawaiian Tropic coconut sunscreen every day, but I'm gathering an arsenal of tropical delight around me. Friday, I bought Bed Head Control Freak shampoo and conditioner , which have kind of a tropical scent. On Saturday I got a new candle at Pier 1 that is Mango Tea and Citrus Cilantro blended. (I'm starting to feel that Yankee Candle has nothing on Pier 1 candles. I know, sacrilege! But Pier 1's candles have much more sophisticated scents, in my opinion).

So I'm looking for some fruity body wash and lo and behold I see the Dove Cool Moisture body wash with the cucumbers on the front of the bottle. (Cucumbers signify refreshing, apparently). Immediately the commercial's theme song starts running through my head. "Fresh your body." I'm standing in the aisle of CVS, swaying a little to the music in my head. I may have done a hip shimmy to that last "Lalala la la."

Of course I bought it, all because of a good ad campaign. And also because I too want to look like Miss Piggy does, so natural without all the eyeshadow and hairspray. And also because it does smell good.

I'm eating ants on a log, which I don't think I've had since I was 10 or so. Does anyone else remember that snack fondly? Whenever I tell people what's in it, they always looked utterly grossed out. I think it's yummy. For the record, it's celery filled with peanut butter (the log), topped with strategically placed raisins (the ants).

When making the ants on a log, I had to throw out some old veggies and I had an excellent idea. Like the American mass consumer that I am, when I go to the grocery store I like to stock up. The problem is, I like to eat vegetables. By the time I get to something, I may be able to use part of it, but part of it is often on the way to going bad. Or it goes bad before I get the chance to finish it. So I think they need to make Veggies for the Single Girl (TM) or something like that. For those of us who will only eat one or two servings of a particular vegetable in a week, sell us that much vegetable. Half a head of romaine, one celery heart, two onions, etc. If someone else had thought of it, I might be offended by the implications, but since I thought of it, it's obviously brilliant. DLo, you'll help me get that trademark set up, yes?

OK, enough of this Trusts & Estates avoidance. Time to get to work.

Oh, 80 laps today. I opted out of the long set of 40 and instead did one set of 24 and one set of 16. It's not that I can't do the 40, but I always wind up with a slight headache for the rest of the day when I do that. Not enough oxygen getting to my brain for 20 minutes? I don't know. But today I did 80 laps and no headache. So I think I'll work myself up to the 40 laps - maybe in a month or so after I've been swimming regularly for a bit again. I also did butterfly today.

And, ok, is this showing off? Is this the male ego not being able to deal with the chubby girl doing butterfly? After I did a few laps of butterfly, this guy two lanes away decided to try it himself. It's wasn't pretty. Lots of uncoordinated arms and loud slapping of water.

Crazy Boston Drivers

Every single day that Bunny and I make it home without harm coming upon either her or me, I thank my lucky stars. Because, you see, every single person who drives a car in the Boston area is a raving lunatic. The drivers are not helped by the pile of spaghetti that is the infrastructure and the fact that signage and lane markings are apparently optional and only used casually. My theory is, if you don't know where you are, they don't want you there.

Here's the accident I saw today: We're all driving around a rotary near Harvard. Two lanes. Not clearly marked, of course, but everyone knows it's two lanes right there. The green car in front of me started gravitating over to the left lane, into the space currently occupied by the front of a pretty prominent minivan. Both cars were going about 15mph, and in my head I just assumed green car would notice minivan and self correct, especially since green car and minivan had already been driving next to each other for a half mile, so unless minivan did a little Star Trek transporter move, green car should have realized minivan was still there. But no. Green car continued to go left and, in the slowest accident in history, grazed the front of minivan as the driver of minivan laid on the horn. Both cars stopped and the front bumper promptly FELL OFF the minivan.

What? How could the slowest accident in history make a bumper fall off? My assumption is that the bumper was a casualty of previous accidents and was hanging on by a thread.

I have been in one accident here, but my roommate was driving and I was just a passive observer. That was a stupid accident too. We were leaving the grocery store and had been stopped in one spot in the parking lot for about 30 seconds when the car perpendicular to us just backed up right into Jenn's car. Which basically means the guy pulled out without looking behind him at all because we had been there for a bit.

And then there are those people who are just begging for an accident. I discovered long ago that when being tailgated in Boston, it does no good to lightly tap your brakes in a "please stop following me so closely because if I have to stop suddenly we will both be grievously injured" kind of way. All tapping the brakes does is tick them off and make them get even closer to you. So now I take great pleasure in driving gradually slower, watching in my rear view mirror as the drivers get more and more agitated. OR, as I did today on the highway, say to them "There is a lane on either side of me and you could use either one to go around me. I am NOT changing lanes just so you can go 75 when I'm already going 70 in a 55." And, yes, I do say this out loud. Got to keep myself entertained.

My point is, the drivers here are insane. And I am one of them. I have become the most wicked awesome defensive driver you ever did see. If I ever tried to drive in Tucson again, those snowbirds wouldn't know what hit them. I'd get the finger a lot, I bet.

80 laps today, set of 40 (19:15 boo hiss - I hate it when I go slower), AND butterfly

What Classic Movie Are You?

Huh. Not really sure how I feel about this.

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

It's great that they think I'm all selfless and junk, but Schindler's List? Aren't there other examples of selflessness in cinema without such a traumatic backdrop? What about Mary Poppins? She was selfless.

Camera Help

Hello, blogworld, I need your help.

I want to buy a digital camera. See, I just got the first installment of my Bar loan yesterday and figured what better way to celebrate than to buy myself an honest to goodness digital camera? Happy graduation to me!

My digital camera purchase will have to be the cheapo digital camera for now. Someday I'll be able to afford the nice Nikon.

So I don't know anything about digital cameras, but I'd like to find a decent one for $200 or less. I found an Olympus and a Canon on the Target webpage that look cute and functional. The problem is, I know nothing. Like, what's a megapixel? (I realize half of the internet community just decided to shun me forever). I am drawn to Canons because I have a Canon SureShot now that I think is probably 15-20 years old and still going strong. But how are they in the digital world?

Libra

Even though it's never happened before, today I want the love part of my horoscope to apply:

Expect to fall in love at first sight today, Kelly. A new man will suddenly come on the scene, and an instant attraction will be the result. Whether it turns into anything long term or not is not certain - but you can be sure, whatever happens you'll remember this man for a long time!

Oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please

I love the whole instant attraction thing; so romantic. I'm going to the mall later. Maybe that will be our rendezvous point, even though malls usually make me feel oppressed. Wish me luck!

Pool Stories

There is this man I see in the pool occasionally. We'll call him Sad Ponytail Man. I'm not a fan of the male ponytail in general, but find it becomes very, very sad when the ponytail is accompanied with a rapidly receding hairline. Just let it go, man!

Sad Ponytail Man wears flesh colored swimming trunks, just barely held up by his little smidgen of a bum. I'm not totally sure, because I haven't looked that closely because I don't really want to know for sure, but I think the trunks are a wee bit see through as well. Frankly, Sad Ponytail Man kind of gives me the willies.

Guess whose lane had the only space available to swim in yesterday? I just swam quickly by, averting my eyes from the trunks each time I passed.

He got out of the pool midway through my forty laps, but when I finished he called out to me, "You're just flying." Um, ok. You know, it's nice when people compliment my swimming, but I really never know what to say besides Uh-huh and Thank you. Sometimes people ask me how long I've been swimming and when I say since I was 6 years old they look kind of defeated. But on the upside for them, I can't run worth crap. So if you're a runner, you have be beat seventy-five hundred times over. Swimming is just what I do.

Then he said, "I need to learn how to do that swirly turny thing someday." I said, "The flipturn?" If he was hoping I'd offer to teach him, he can hope away.

Next time on Pool Stories: the woman who I think might have been hitting on me.

I keep forgetting to put this in my posts (I'm so proud I'm actually going):

• 72 laps Monday, with a set of 40 in a row (19:30)
• 64 laps Wednesday, with a set of 40 in a row (18:45) and with some butterfly. Butterfly makes me feel strong.

Thinking It Over

"Fear is not of the Lord. You know that."
"I know that."
"So who do you think it's of?"
"The Enemy, of course."
"Bingo! If this weren't right in God's opinion, he would put sensible caution in your heart, not paralyzing fear."

I read this last night in the book I'm currently reading for 20 minutes or so to help me go to sleep.

I don't know if going to DC is the absolute right thing, but I do know that I have been paralyzed with fear and doubts. And I know that it's pointless and only hurting me.

Next weekend I go to DC. I have several networking appointments set up and one appointment with a legal temp agency. I'm supposed to go out with the guy, but I think I may cancel. I feel bad about that, but exactly one month from today my finals will be over. Which means I don't even have a whole month left to catch up on my reading and create my outlines. I need to spend every spare moment reading and preparing. And, oh yeah, the Trusts and Estates final, probably one of the more convoluted classes I've taken, is closed-book. I suppose it's a good prep for the Bar.

Seriously, though, what's up with the Bar? I have heard several attorneys say, "You will know more about the law the day before you take the Bar than you ever will again." And the thing is, you don't really NEED to know it all because everyone specializes and there are books and online databases and all sorts of resources. The Bar just seems like a rite of passage/trial by fire sort of ordeal. But it must be done.

Today in therapy we mapped out my schedule for the coming weeks, which I'm going to hang on my closet door. It made me feel better to see it all written out, and it seems more manageable that way.

I'm looking forward to a month and a day from now. I have a feeling I'll be asleep.

Teaser

Well, yesterday I was all excited. I got a phone call and an email first thing in the morning from an attorney I work with who told me that a big health care provider conglomerate here in Massachusetts was hiring for a fellowship position in their regulatory department. The position was for 3 years and paid a good salary and the person who got it would probably be hired afterwards as well. The attorney gave me a contact name and told me she was interested in talking to me.

So I started thinking about staying here. I've been so ambivalent about leaving. I have my moments where I really hate Boston, and then sometimes I really love it. DC has seemed like a good idea, but at the same time intimidating and very very unsure. And then I started thinking how nice it would be to not have to move and just stay put and be in the familiar. Sure there are things about Boston that drive me nuts. There are things about my apartment that drive me nuts (occasionally crazy roommate and noisy neighbor to name a couple). But overall, I could stay and be content, especially if I had a job I liked and was making a reasonable amount of money that allowed me to make my student loan payment and rent all in the same month. Then in a year or two I could apply to the Harvard and BU Schools of Public Health to work on my MPH part time.

Hopes all dashed this morning. I got an email back from the attorney at the conglomerate telling me that she had the impression from the attorney I worked with that I had graduated a couple of years ago. Their department doesn't hire recent grads. The attorney I work with swears she told her I was graduating in May.

So now I'm feeling really down and deflated. It's amazing how a smidgen of hope can really get me excited and thinking and planning for the future.

I'm so wary of DC and I keep thinking, well maybe the signs are telling me not to go there. I didn't get the job I interviewed for in DC my second year, I didn't get the job I interviewed for in DC last fall, I didn't get into the HHS program, none of the firms I've sent resumes to are interested in me... It's just so disheartening.

Maybe I should just forget this whole thing and move somewhere where there's a beach.

And There Was Great Rejoicing In All the Land

You might argue that 2:19 AM is not the best time to turn in a paper that has taken over a year to complete. And I would say when you're in a last-time-through final edit groove that started at 12:30 AM, you just roll with it.

Yes, I just emailed the paper to my professor. I can't tell you the relief and the abject fear that are duking it out in my head right now. Mostly it's relief. The truth is, I was never going to be happy with this paper. The topic was way too big. Even though it wound up being 21 pages, I feel like I could have taken the sources I used and gone in about 52 different directions, resulting in a dissertation-esque document.

So I read through it one more time and I shipped it off, with much thanks to my professor for her patience. I need to bake her a cake or something. She's fabulous.

However, if she gives me a C, I will cry.

Someday I need to learn how to channel all this energy to a more appropriate time of the day so that I'm super productive at 2:19 PM instead of 2:19 AM. Here's my question for the day: what makes someone a night person versus a day person? For as long as I can remember I've not been a morning person, to the extent that I vividly remember my 5 year-old self wanting to punch my mother when she would traipse into my room singing "Oh What A Beautiful Morning" to wake me up for kindergarten. That's not normal. My brain doesn't really get going until the middle of the afternoon and I'd much prefer to stay late at work to finish a project than to come in early in the morning. I can pull all-nighters with the best of them, and actually think I do my best work at 1 AM while listening to jazz. And when I say jazz I mean Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, etc. None of this fusion crap (my apologies to those of you who enjoy the fusion crap).

Now I am going to sleep and hopefully will wake up at 10 AM or thereabouts and go for a swim. One of the perks of not having class until 5:30 PM on Mondays. Of course, I haven't actually done the reading for my 5:30 PM class, so that will be getting done after the swimming.

Say Like I Was Snoop Dogg...

Trying really hard not to laugh out loud and wake up my roommates: check out A Day In An Often Ho-Slappin' Life or a Doggie-Stylin' Life, depending on the time of day apparently.

Scroll down on the page to the link to my blog.

I think I should start going by K-E-Double Lizzy.

Swimming and Splurging

72 laps today!
And I felt like I could do more. It's days like this when I think, "Why did I stop swimming again?" Oh, right, because Bally's is evil and likes to shut down its pool for months at a time. According to a calorie burning calculator I found online, I'm burning 656 calories an hour (I swim a little faster than 50 yards a minute).

Of course this morning's exercise has already been negated by the 1/3 pint of Ben and Jerry's I ate this afternoon (has anyone else tried Dublin Mudslide? Heaven! I'm trying to figure out if the Irish creme liqueur ice cream and the coffee-fudge stripe make it unkosher in the Mormon world And if they do, I'll probably just shrug my shoulders and say, eh). My exercise efforts will be a complete loss tonight as I venture out to The Cheesecake Factory with Liz to celebrate our half birthdays. Let's hear it for chocolate raspberry truffle!

(Is anyone else picking up on my slightly elevated mood since I started swimming again?)

My Thundercats Name is Network-a

Because I know how to work it, baby!

More on the Thundercats in a bit. I am just so pleased with the fruits of my networking efforts. Sean at work hooked me up with one person who has already responded and said we can meet up when I'm in DC in a couple of weeks. He has emails out to four other people on my behalf. Martha of Bridesmaid Posse fame and I will be doing lunch and she has some ideas for me. A woman at HHS who I talked with Tuesday night is circulating my resume. I sat down with Diane, another attorney at work, today and she came up with a whole pageful of ideas for me (I was taking notes), including 3 people she could email my resume to and a couple of people I should send emails to telling them she sent me.

Bear in mind, none of these people have jobs, per se, but I am getting my name and my resume out there in the DC health law and policy world. It's only a matter of time, hopefully, before someone realizes how fabulous I truly am. Only a matter of time...

I am in the greatest Family Home Evening group ever, which translates to mean that everyone is smart and a little wacky and nerdy in the best possible way. We've named ourselves The Thundercats because FHE Group 2 or whatever we are is just SO drab. I looked up the Thundercats the other day and discovered they all have names like Cheetara and Panthro. They're also scarily buff.

64 laps today. I was shooting for 72, but even though the spirit was willing, the flesh was weak. Translation: I felt every inch of yesterday's 64 laps when I woke up this morning. However, today I felt the endorphins kick in. That's the best part. The first day back is always the "why the heck am I doing this?" day, and the second day is when your body starts making you feel like you're doing something illegal. At least that's how it works with me and swimming.

And this is why I do it. Today I stopped by the Gap because they're having a sale and I realized the other day that I have NO Spring or Summer shirts. Only sweaters and long-sleeve shirts. And here's the ego boost for the day: I asked one of the salesgirls in the dressing room if she could grab me a shirt and a sweater in a different size. She looked at the items, which were marked L, and looked at me and said, "Yeah, you need those in a medium, huh?" Yes, that's right, not only can I wear the Medium, but I look like I can wear the Medium. She didn't ask if I needed the XL, but if I needed the M. Hooray!

On another happy note my Health Care Paper (my f***in’ Health Care Paper) is done! I am reading over it once more tomorrow morning and then I am shipping it off to my professor. I hate this paper.

April Fools!

Everyone, go to the Chubby Girl Brigade right now! The comments are hilarious too. I thought someone had hijacked the CGB.