"happiness can be found - even in the darkest of times - if only one remembers to turn on the light."
-albus dumbledore.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

#16 - Getting Good News!

Yesterday, November 9th, I was invited to join the 2011 Teach For America corps in Phoenix, Arizona. It was one of the most exciting things that's happened to me in a long time. I've spent the couple of weeks neck deep in grad school applications, and honestly, I'd almost forgotten about TFA. As soon as I got the acceptance email, that changed. I've been thinking non-stop about how great this experience is going to be. It's going to be difficult - I am under no illusions about that. But I also think it's going to be a really rewarding experience. I'm very, very excited.

The great thing about getting news like this is that it makes your whole day better. Almost immediately after I found out, I went to a meeting with a professor of mine who is writing me recommendations for grad school (which I am keeping as an option on the back burner). He is a brilliant man, but cranky as hell, and I knew as soon as I handed him the list of recommendations that he would refuse to complete the ones that are online. He asked me to switch all of those to paper recs, which I can do, but will be a GIANT pain in the ass. But I was so happy about getting into TFA - so high on the thrill of being wanted - that I didn't even care. It's been like that ever since. I'm really happy, and the world looks a little bit brighter.

Friday, November 5, 2010

#15 - Leftover Halloween Candy

As I type these words, I'm thinking about the big bowl of candy sitting on my kitchen table. My roommate's boyfriend - who is a real adult, and lives in a real house, and so had trick-or-treaters come by - had extra candy after Halloween last Sunday, and brought it over.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays for two reasons: 1) I love watching kids getting dressed up to go trick-or-treating; and 2) I. Love. Candy. Especially "fun size" candy, the kind people give out on Halloween.

Fun size candy is made for people like myself, who love to eat but are terrified of reverting back to their fat-kid days. If I buy a normal-sized piece of candy, I'll eat the entire thing. I have absolutely no self control when it comes to candy. Fun-sized candy provides a tidy alternative. Eating one fun-sized candy sates my appetite for delicious sugary goodness, but won't turn me into a whale.

The bowl of candy the roommate's boyfriend brought over has fun-sized Skittles, Milky Ways, and Reeses. All solid Halloween choices: Skittles for the people who don't like chocolate, and Reeses for the people who don't like Milky Way (although who doesn't like Milk Ways??). My personal favorite is Snickers, but there are none of those in the house. It's a good thing, too - I'm going home in a few weeks, and I need to look fantastic!