Summer is here! And so is our favorite time of the month when all four of us come together to discuss the same topic. This Monthly Condition post is more of a survey than a question, asking each of us princesses a few questions about our Spring. A lot can happen in a few months, but as usual one thing always remains the same – we’re still 20-something and we still haven’t found a cure:
First of all, I liked answering these questions because it reminded me of those surveys that used to go around on email and myspace back in middle school. So without further ado…
Thing that made you happiest to eat: There’s a Burger King near my new place that sells soft serve ice cream cones for 1 riyal (about 25 cents). Been there three times this week. Nuf’ said.
Moment you felt 20-something: When I browsed through some of my friends’ Linked In profiles and realized how far some people have come from the teenage versions of themselves that live in my memory.
Three things you learned: In the last three months I’ve learned bits and pieces of why Egypt is so ticked off at their President, how to write a simple line of computer code, and how to make my own yogurt.
Funny moment: Nothing is really coming to mind…maybe I need more humor in my life?
An adventure you went on: I flew to Dubai and played in a softball tournament. It was great to stay in one of those fancy Dubai hotels while simultaneously living out all my pent-up softball related fantasies. It would have been better if we’d won more games, though.
A conversation you had with a sibling: A topic my brother and I often discuss: which one of the three kids in our family currently holds “Favorite Child Status.” The current consensus is that he does, though I maintain that this is only because I’m so far away.
Thing you’re most proud of: Finishing my first year of teaching. As I mentioned in a previous post, it was the most amazing and challenging experience of my life.
Approximate weekly number of hours spent talking to people not in the same city as you: Well…so since I live across the world this number is going to be fairly high, or at least it would be if a 10 hour time difference didn’t mess up the Skype schedule so much. Basically all the people I love most in the world, other than my husband, live in a different city/country, and even he has been gone a lot on business recently! I’m going to say…6 hours per week, sometimes more.
A Book you read: Gone with the Wind has stolen my attention away from the never-ending Anna Karenina, and between the two of them it may be a while before I actually finish a book.
Song of your spring: Hall of Fame by The Script. I wrote the lyrics in several of my students’ yearbooks, because they summarize so well my dreams for them: “Be students, be teachers, be politicians, be preachers. Be believers, be leaders, be astronauts, be champions, be truth-seekers.” It was also the recessional at my school’s graduation a couple of weeks back. The perfect song to get stuck in your head for hours and bring up all kinds of nostalgic feelings.
Thing that made you happiest to eat: Popcorn, no questions asked. This spring I bet I make a huge bowl of it on the stove 3 times a week and I’ve even started going to more movies just so I can buy the large popcorn and get the free refill on the way out. I even invented a way to get it home without spilling at all. I’m a genius.
Moment you felt 20-something: Everyday, all day. It’s all I do. I most recently felt this way when I was talking to a 42-year-old and he said Jason Bateman used to be the juggernaut. Apparently he was in a show called Silver Spoons and I’m super young and everything wrong about the world because I haven’t heard of it. I also cried in a McDonald’s last week.
Three things you learned: Humidity doesn’t predict rain. Opening up old wounds hurts, but taking the time to help them heal properly is worth it. Parents are real people too.
Funny moment: My friend and I went to a theme park and I decided I was fine going on the Rocket – a thing that slowly raises you up and then drops you down a million miles. As it climbed I was talking out loud, feeling good, looking at the pretty view and commenting on what we could see when suddenly I panicked, screaming and yelling way before we were even at the top. I seriously thought I was going to die. Apparently it was funny because when we got to the bottom everyone on the ride smiled at me as I clung to my friend.
An adventure you went on: I had almost given up on finding the perfect backing fabric for my t-shirt quilt, making one last pass through the store before heading up to the counter with a boring beige that was… good enough, when I saw it. A perfect golden-yellow with a white snowflake pattern. It was magical love at first sight. But of course it was on clearance and a few yards short of what I’d need. All the stores we called were all out of it, all except one who said they should have it but wasn’t able to find it. I decided to take the risk and drive over there, wandering around for 45 minutes with the employees on a Friday night. Again we were on the verge of giving up, we’d looked everywhere multiple times when right where it should have been I found it. I jumped up and down screaming and my two helper friends ran over to celebrate with me. It was a moment I’ll never forget. Never settle.
A conversation you had with a sibling: My brother recently asked me to analyze his text conversations with a girl he likes. I decided he has a decent chance and told him to go for it. He is asking her to go swing dancing this weekend.
Thing you’re most proud of: That definitely has to be finishing my T-shirt quilt, though running a 10k through mud and obstacles is pretty cool too.
Approximate weekly number of hours spent talking to people not in the same city as you: I’d say I spend a solid 5 hours on the phone/skype with friends and another 6+ typing away on the interwebs. Does contributing to this blog count?
A book you read: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. To be honest the plot wasn’t my favorite; I never really got into the two magician’s love story, but what I did adore was their traveling circus and all the beautiful, amazing ways they used their magic and brains to make it incredible. I’m still so sad it doesn’t exist.
Song of your spring: Breathing Underwater by Metric. I heard it on the radio a few times and now it is everything I love about the world. It feels like a song for twenty-somethings, like we’re not sure if we’re doing anything right and yet we’re doing amazing impossible things at the same time.
Food: I’ve be going through a Beets craze for the last few weeks. Boiled, roasted, baked- beets are the best!
20-Something Moment: Friend-requesting an old professor from undergrad (she accepted!).
3 Things I’ve Learned: how to count the numbers in Italian; how NOT to make lasagna; how confusing yet awesome the Oxford undergraduate course is and how unlike any American university ever.
Funny moment: when I held the hand of the random fellow next to me on the plane when experiencing turbulence. Turns out he is an assistant professor in Belfast and told me to ‘look him up’ if I was ever in town. lol.
Adventure: off-trailing it around a castle in the Czech Republic. Can you say nettle stings, everywhere? But still worth it.
Conversation with Sibling: this is an easy one because I have only had one conversation with a sibling in the last three months. This was when I called my sister who recently moved to Costa Rica. It was not a great conversation really, as we kept it pretty surface (avoiding contentious topics). The main thing I remember was her telling me I needed to 1) learn spanish and 2) visit her in Costa Rica.
Most Proud: Asking a security-guard in Russian why the cemetery was closed- and getting let in!
Hours Talking: A lot. I don’t even know. Probably somewhere between 15 and 20.
Book: The Unbearable Lightness of Being. A book that manages to be both beautiful and off-putting at the same time; definitely worth my time.
Song: The Coast by Paul Simon.
Thing that made me happiest to eat: Macaroni and cheese. My husband and I are systematically going through restaurants in our city trying to find the best mac and cheese. Subsequently I know want to open a Mac and Cheese restaurant that specializes in tons of interesting variations on the classic.
Twenty Something Moment: My mother in law casually asked me if I had plans to use my degree at some point in the future. After she left I had a confidence melt down and cried for twenty minutes.
Three things I learned: Money isn’t everything. I need a girl friend to vent with at least once a month…probably more. I can never buy enough cereal to satisfy my husband.
Funny moment: Watching an 18 year old co worker. He is a puppy. That is legitimately the best way to describe him. I think if I threw a ball he would actually play fetch with me.
An adventure: My husband and I decided to drive with no destination in mind. It was a really fun day that ended with ice cream and a sunset beach.
Conversation with a Sibling: Literally the only reason my brothers call me is to ask if I will babysit. They call and try to seem like they just want to catch up and I have to have a couple minutes of awkward talk before they go ‘soooo anyway…I was wondering if…’ Honestly. I know you don’t really care how I am, so just get to the point.
Thing I’m most proud of: I got promoted at work.
Hours talking to someone in different city: I have no idea. Honestly not as many hours as I wanted to.
Book I’ve Read: The only book I’ve been reading lately is with my husband and it’s called “The Meaning of Marriage” by Timothy Keller.
Song of my Spring: Stubborn Love by the Lumineers
Snow Whore’s Mac and Cheese Emporium. I could dig it! Also…Merskank didn’t your mother ever teach you not to hold hands with strange professors?? That story is so you and yet so amusing to me at the same time.
Haha. Thanks Cinderslut. I try not to hold random people’s hands but… well, I have become such a flying wimp lately, it is almost unavoidable. But yeah- he was flying to Prague to attend a conference and does film studies, focusing on African film. Apparently we are all supposed to go watch a film called ‘Hyenas’.