back in DC

Moving is always interesting because I can fully see all of the stuff I've been saving, storing, buying too much of. Canned foods, instant coffee, shoes, cardboard boxes, pens...and lots of dust. I'm mostly moved out of the studio but have to go back on Saturday to get the rest of my things and clean the apartment.

With my life in boxes in DC, I don't know whether to unpack or just keep it in boxes since I'll be moving again in July. I can't take everything to Nevada so I should unpack it...but then my parents already have a ton of things so where am I to put my stuff?

When I entered the house last night, I was reminded that it was no longer "my house" but really "my parents' house". A new rug, new painting, and no more Buddy - these minor changes are foreign to me but have been that way for my parents for weeks now. My dad also told me not to spread out my stuff too much because they were expecting four guests at the end of the month. It's a weird feeling to be a house guest in a home that is yours, but not really.

I've moved quite a few times and lived in many cities - Columbus, Chicago, DC, Philadelphia, and now Henderson. So when people ask me "How do you like living in Philadelphia", I have a lot to compare it to and honestly I did not really appreciate Philly until just this year when I began to really take advantage of the city life and living so close to everything.

I loved that I could cross the street and be at one of many things: Chinese buns and bakery (and bubbletea!), Chinatown market or Reading Terminal market (between those two I had almost everything I could ever eat), Wawa (for milk products), great dining around every corner, Chinatown bus terminal, Greyhound terminal, Subway stop...the list is endless. And Philly is a truly walkable city - in a couple minutes you could walk to Old City, Rittenhouse, South Street, or the Art Museum and Boat row - depending on what direction you headed. City living allowed me to have a smaller carbon footprint and me more conscious about my consumption.

Yes there are downsides. It can be a dangerous city and you're constantly exposed to the "ugly side" of urban living. Philly could do more with it's greenery and water ways - Chicago is awesome because of its beautification projects, beaches, and parks. Philly is older, has older roadways and an older infrastructure...driving in Philadelphia really is not fun as the roads are small, rarely have lane lines, and pedestrians are a bit too obnoxious.

Case in point: After getting very yummy cheese steaks from Jim's on South Street I made my way north on a one-way street to my apartment and almost hit a woman as she stepped off the curb to go around a slow-poke group of people in front of her. She didn't hear my screams or cursing because she had headphones in. I swear I grazed her with my front bumper or mirror but she was not really paying attention and that is essentially how crazy Philadelphia is...

Philly has great food. I'll miss it as well as our Quizzo nights. I'll miss being in a walkable city. But I will really miss my friends and the memories that we made out in the town and at NCB.

Happy March!

Only a few days left of classes here at Drexel and I'm really excited to be done. I know I will miss the city a bit (surprisingly, I've grown to almost love it) and definitely will miss my friends. But the recent snowfall here makes me think of the warm Las Vegas air.

I'm trying my best to use up all the food I have in my apartment. The last thing I want to do is haul canned corn and soup across state lines. It's made for some interesting meals but one thing that has bothered me for the last couple days is that all of the bread I've been looking at contains High Fructose Corn Syrup. WTF?! It's marketed as whole grain wheat bread, but secretly it's a ploy to make you think you're eating healthy so you'll buy it but it's really not. I finally got a good loaf at the Metro Bakery in Reading Terminal - even the Dutch bread store had some of the HFCS grossness. It's criminal, I say!!

Also I've recently gotten invited to two weddings, both of close high school friends. I'm so excited for C, B, and their respective fiances and the lives they are building together, but a part of me doesn't really connect with them. It just feels weird to know that this is the norm for my "peer" group now - and I suppose I should be bracing for even more wedding and baby news from other people down the road.

It's 2009, I'm 25 years old, looking at 4 years of schooling plus 4 more for residency. Dating and marriage hasn't really ever been part of the plan. And it's interesting because most of my friends that are doing professional school/doctor/PhD route are not married, not in serious relationships at all. It may be a fact of our goals and ambitions, but I can't help but think sometimes that I am missing out on something that's bigger than you, me, us.



Anyways don't want this to be a downer, just something I've been thinking about recently. But I am very very excited for the next few months - here is the schedule:

March 11: last exam at Drexel!!
March 24 - 27: Las Vegas with mom for apt hunting
March 30: Viewing of Colbert Report in NYC =D
April 2 - 6: Detroit, Michigan!
April 16 - June 29: Saigon, VIETNAM!!!! Classes end on the 16th of June so I'll have some time to travel
June 30ish - July 11ish: road trip with Tracy from DC to Las Vegas! haha it's going to be crazy fun
Aug 3: Orientation for Touro-NV Class of 2013 begins!

a question

"Are you the leader?", the taxi driver asks me after my friends have left his car.

"No...I guess I am just more vocal...", I respond.

a present to myself

I have scheduled a payment for my American Express card for this Friday. So on my birthday, #25, I will have no debt! And it was quite a chunk of change because of all those secondaries and expenses for medical school (okay okay and a few bar nights too), but now I am free of it! No debt for the New Year, Hurrah!

I have also received two gift cards for my birthday: Macy's and Lord and Taylor.
Either they know I love to shop or they think I need new clothes...

a follow up

re: the holidays...

probably we are, or at least I am, thinking about relationships because I have been asked about it several times over the course of parties and get-togethers during the holiday. Like today, the woman cutting my hair asked if I had a boyfriend.

No wonder we're all crazy at the end of the year!

The Holidays

I don't know what it is but lately most of my conversations with friends have revolved around relationships, youth/aging, and the ultimate fear of dying alone. Which is probably a fear shared with all of humanity, so why now - the holidays?? Being reminded of everything that we have, what we see around us, and what we ultimately yearn for? I do not watch many commercials at my apt in Philadelphia but since being home I have been inundated with ads reminding me that "There are only two things that stand the test of time - Love and Diamonds".

So blame it on the holiday ads? Or maybe it is the beginning of the new year and reflecting on a year past, one year older....and wondering how different are we really from our 2007-selves??

Something that I wrote to a dear friend regarding relationships - is it really true that a love lost is better than a love never found?

"You have to LIVE LIFE to its fullest and part of that, to me, means trusting in yourself and in LOVE. you can't be afraid to fall in love or fall head over heels because then it won't happen. and so many songs, poems, stories have been written about love so clearly it is a human experience, to lose and to gain. because like many things in life, you cannot protect yourself from everything and that includes matters of the heart. but still you drive cars and fly in planes and cross the street, and so you must venture into these relationships and be a bit fearful, a bit aware, a bit honest, a bit curious and it's ALL WORTH IT. I KNOW IT WILL BE."

Soon I will turn 25. The quarter-life crisis will hit and hopefully I will remember that as many friends in my past gets engaged and has babies, my future is free to be determined by me.

And so I look forward to 2009!