a few of my favorite things

I was about to title this post "Museum, Library, Food" and I realized that they are, indeed, a few of my favorite things, so I wrote that instead and now the song is stuck in my head. The dog (from Denver) above doesn't really have anything to do with anything, I just remembered I hadn't put it online anywhere yet.

Museum
So I kept pestering the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA-sounds like a cool drink) until they called back and told me to come in. I've been going in weekdays from 10-5ish (give or take an hour, depending on what I'm doing) and helping to organize things, hand out cards for their exhibitions, host at-risk-of-dropping-out high school students, and make phone calls to other venues to see how our private party rental fees measure up. The last project is the most challenging, because I hate talking on the telephone to begin with, and in this case I had to pretend to be a mature adult and ask all the right questions (to get specific prices on EVERYTHING you can think of in terms of a 100-150 person private party with catering, sound, dancing, etc). I had to make a "presentation" for the boss with all of the information compiled, so he can see how BMoCA's rental prices look in comparison to the other Boulder venues.

Since I'm not actually planning a party, I have to redirect questions like, "Well, what type of party is this?" and since I sound so sketchy and nonspecific, one woman said to me:
-You know, we're okay with all types of parties. I know a lot of people don't want to mention if it's a sorority party. We're okay with everything; same-sex weddings, birthday parties, greek life. We don't have any neighbors to complain about noise.
-Um, that's great. Yeah, it's just, you know, a party.

So anyway, I finished that today and it felt gooood. The women I work with are all really nice and sweet and welcoming. It's pretty cool to see how much work goes into a small museum, and it's kind of fun to pretend to have a job and learn to talk on the phone.

Library
I have spent a lot of time at the Boulder public library, which makes me want to write about how amazing libraries are. FREE BOOKS! For real! It's crazy, nothing's ever free anymore, and libraries have such an incredible collection of books from all over (times, places, thought spaces). I have read so many great books, mostly from the library, but also from the used bookstore here (oh my, don't even get me started on that place!). I've read Haruki Murakami (Kafka on the Shore, Sputnik Sweetheart), Margaret Atwood (Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake, currently The Year of the Flood), Virginia Woolf (currently To The Lighthouse). I can't remember what else I've read since I've been here, but I've been reading like a crazy person and I love it!

Go to your library!

FOOD
The last section of this post and most important. 1. I LOVE FOOD. 2. This could get a little gross, so a warning to small children and people that don't want to hear about my body (although that's an inevitable risk in reading any of my posts). Seth and I started a cleanse this past week. It's called "The Master Cleanse" and you have to say it in a big evil-man voice every time you talk about it. This cleanse consists of, basically, fasting for 10 days. The only things you "eat" (for lack of a better word) are drinks made of freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 tbsp), grade B maple syrup (2 tbsp), and some cayenne pepper, mixed with 8oz of water. You pretty much drink as many as you want throughout the day, plus plenty of water. At night I drink an herbal laxative tea (eeeww poo) and get this, it's called "Smooth Moves" hahahah oh boy. In the morning I do an "internal salt water bath", which means that I drink a quart of salt water and that reaaaally clears things out. I told you to stop reading, so don't get all bent out of shape because I'm talking about poop (again.. I'm pretty sure this is at least the 3rd post to mention it). Anyway, I am finishing up the 5th day! Yes folks, I haven't eaten food in 5 whole days. It's a miracle, especially considering my irrational obsession with food. I wouldn't be able to do it alone, it's really nice to have someone with whom to commiserate. Especially when, like today, I had to walk around to all of the restaurants downtown to get signatures for a petition. Torture, absolute torture.

The things I've learned recently about myself, specifically from this "job" and my cleanse are that I need to be challenged by someone else in order to do my best work. I tend to let things slide by, do things halfway, and don't really stay on top of completing projects unless I have someone to whom I must answer (i.e. lazy). This is definitely not a new development, because all throughout school, I've been able to get by without reaaally trying (with the exception of some art classes and film classes in college that really made me stop and think). If I'm doing something just for me, I tend to be satisfied with a mediocre job, but if I'm doing something with or for someone else (i.e. a boss or a friend who is holding me accountable) I tend to be more aggressive with completion. For whatever that's worth.
This was long.

blogging from unemployment-dom

It's been quite a while since my last entry, and I hope everyone had a great holiday season (all of 'em). I went home, enjoyed the life of leisure and a break from my, well, break. And now I'm back in Boulder, where it's currently 55 and sunny and I'm bored.

This past Thursday I had a job interview at a consignment store. I thought it went well, although it was my first, yes first, interview ever. For anything. My body had an interesting reaction where my right eye started twitching slightly and my brain went blank for moments at a time. I thought I kept it cool and the managers seemed to like me and they said they'd get back to me this weekend. As in, the one that just passed. So while waiting for their callback, I promptly went out, had a few beers and left my phone under the table of a really stinky, divey bar for good measure. I let it get all stomped upon for a few hours and returned the next morning to pick it up (luckily it hadn't gone home with anyone, apparently Envy's aren't as hot as I thought).

It's not broken and I haven't gotten a call. I've drowned my disappointment with two matinees at the nearby movie theater- yesterday I saw The King's Speech (excellent) and today I watched The Fighter. I'm a big fan of half priced movies, and so today I bought a soda in celebration (of filling out an application to the movie theater) and it was $4.50 for the smallest size. Four and a half dollars. I almost pooped myself. The movie was only $6.25, and if I hadn't already poured the soda I would've saved it and watched another.

The good news is that I filled out a volunteer application for the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, basically pleading with them to let me do anything, at any time, for any amount of time, for free. It's been a week, I'll let you know.

Anyway, I can't imagine anyone actually wanting to read this thrilling update, but I had to get back into writing at some time.

In other news, this seems like the worst idea ever.

booooone

okay, I had all of these high hopes and clever things written in my head for this next post. but then my internet wasn't really working, and an extra day passed and now I have so many things to write about, I'm not sure I can be clever. but I'll try.. for you, my readers. I seem to be most clever when I'm doing physical labor. I try to remember what I had thought up (which was sooo hilarious as I shoveled composted llama poo), but sitting here, it's sort of hard to remember.

The only place I get reception from this crappy-waste-of-money USB mobile internet stick is sitting out on the front lawn of the farm, which happens to be a fairly steep hill, which wouldn't really bother me but I'm trying to simultaneously sip on this tasty wine while I catch up on two days of lost internet time (there are SO many tweets to read.. geeze) and hills do not embrace wine glasses, apparently. noted.

so, where to start. Asheville was incredible, I will surely make my way back there again in the future. I went to the art museum, a few tasty restaurants, as well as every coffee shop and bar available. I spent most of my time/money in coffee shops and bars, pretty much trying to meet interesting people while doing research on wwoof farms in nearby states. there are some awfully cool coffee shops and I'm sure they got sick of seeing me after a while. I eventually heard back from one farm, The Farm at Mollies Branch in Boone, NC.

It's really just a small family farm run by Diane Price and Rob Griffith. They are a lovely couple, Rob is a doctor so I don't get to see him much (but he was a history major before and has TONS of interesting-looking books..if I may judge a book by its cover), but Diane is around most of the time and is super sweet and wonderful. I've been helping out transplanting plants, mulching and spreading compost, attempting to groom the llamas (okay, she didn't ask me to, and they don't really like being groomed..but I'll change that), finding chicken eggs (Diane recently changed up their living situation and they're mad about this, so they hide their eggs ala easter bunny--they're even wonderfully strange colors: off blue, brownish, aahh I could go on for hours about color). ANYway. remind me to get back to the topic of Feminism and Farming. I think I'll write a series of posts on that someday, but I'm still doing my research though so that's for a later date.

let me go into detail about the serious beauty around here. in the past two weeks I drove through West Virginia, into Asheville, and then to here, Boone. it was peak season for colors when I started, and even when I got to Boone the colors were seriously radiant. I've never seen half of the colors I saw while driving here. but after a couple of windy days here, most of the leaves have fallen and the mountain sides no longer hold their bright colors. it's crazy! two days ago I had to catch my breath every time I looked out at a mountain, and now it's beautiful (don't get me wrong, it is nice still), but much more dull.

my first working day I met Shamba (pronounced Shahm-bay), Samantha, and Daniel, who occasionally work for Diane here. Shamba and Samantha lived here in a teepee (sp?) for a year or so. they're aiming to live completely self-sustainably, which is pretty cool in my opinion. so they were out at the farm the other day and invited me to a potluck in downtown Boone. I should add here that I have made a rule on this trip never to turn down an invitation. so I accepted (bet you thought I would make an exception!). I'm becoming quite social and good at conversing with strangers (I guess it's easy when you can fall back on your 'I-just-escaped-from-a-cult-what-have-you-done-lately?'-story.) so this potluck was a nice little mix of Appalachian State students, Boone workers, and jazzy musicians. I shamelessly filled up my plate and grabbed a beer (sorry, but my other rule is to never fill a plate halfway) and settled on the couch where people milled around and complimented my jewelry (oh yes, I'm like a queen of some foreign land). I think I'm overusing the parentheses. oh well, my fingers are going numb because it's really cold on this hill...currently the sun has gone down and I haven't drank enough wine to warm me up.

back to the story. I met loads of very nice people and had a great time. it was Shamba and Samantha's four year anniversary (of dating), and they had to give me a ride home. classy third-wheel action. we celebrated by going out and getting potato skins, nachos, and a literally GIGANTIC brownie ice cream sunday (for my south jersey readers: think Duffers, but bigger). I apologized 327 times for being the third wheel, but they were too nice to tell me to screw off and walk the 15 miles home.

the next night (oh yeah, there's more), Diane invited me to a Kiwanas-sponsored spaghetti supper at her mother-in-law's place of residence. I socialized my ass off at a nursing home, and the ladies looooved me! Diane knows just about everyone that lives there (seriously the sweetest woman alive) and apparently a couch-full of ladies asked her who the beautiful young lady accompanying her was. I was just dashing in my ratty old Pashmina (never been washed and has been to every horseshow/road trip/sickness possible) and $.50 thai earrings. Ardath, Rob's mother, is a lovely lady and was very welcoming when I traipsed into her apartment. I love her name, by the way, so if I ever come up with a child in my lifetime, you'll know where the name came from.

well this post has gone on about long enough (and my computer's about to die). I'll try to do this more often so that you don't have to sit for two hours to catch up with my daring stories of bravery and combat. I know my butt is numb, and I hope that you've been sitting on a comfortable chair and not a grassy knoll like I have. farewell, and until next time, hope you're all doing well and thanks for checking in!