forever young

Wouldn't it be nice if we were older
Then we wouldn't have to wait so long...

I don't know what the Beach Boys were singing about, but I would have to respectively disagree. I love being young. I have no desire to get married and have kids anytime soon. You may be with the one you love, but the minute you get married its all about bills and what are 'we' going to do with our lives. Although I have many married friends, that's just not what I want for my life just yet.

Last night I had an absolutely crazy night in Jordan. Now, the morning after, its nice to be reflective on the fact that I love being young. I was voted most likely to never grow up in high school, maybe all those voters were on to something...

morning glory

As we are preparing for our newest issue of JO Magazine in Jordan, there is a mountain of proofreading to do but not much else. So I am spending this uneventful morning sipping on coffee, listening to the new Decemberists album and reading through all my favorite blogs. Ah, pure bliss...


Here we come to a turning of the season
Witness to the arc towards the sun
A neighbor's blessed burden within reason
Becomes a burden borne of all and one

And nobody, nobody knows
Let the yolk fall from our shoulders
Don't carry it all, don't carry it all
We are all our hands and holders
Beneath this bold and brilliant sun
And this I swear to all

A monument to build beneath the arbors
Upon a plinth that towers t'wards the trees
Let every vessel pitching hard to starboard
Lay its head on summer's freckled knees

A there a wreath of trillium and ivy
Laid upon the body of a boy
Lazy will the loam come from its hiding
And return this quiet searcher to the soil

So raise a glass to turnings of the season
And watch it as it arcs towards the sun
And you must bear your neighbor's burden within reason
And your labors will be born when all is done

learning

Everyone always says that you learn so much about yourself while you're abroad. So here are two things I've learned about myself in the past month:

1) I love, no not just love but LOVE, looking at pictures of beautifully decorated homes. I have recently become addicted to the 'real estate' and 'house and garden' sections of the NYTimes. I seek out housing blogs and spend countless amounts of time looking through all the pictures, reading about how to freshen up your home. I don't even have a home. I mindlessly drool every time I see a picture of a butterfly staircase. The realization of my obsession came when I emailed my mother pictures of staircases. Who knew?

2) I have really high expectations of people I'm with. Because I have such high expectations, I'm constantly disappointed.

goal

I have made it my goal to update this thing more often. I have gotten so behind and don't even really know where to start. Update on my life in Jordan: As much as I love living in Jordan, life has begun to get a bit monogamous. Work, school, study, hang out with the same people, repeat. As much as I love my friends here, I cannot constantly see the same 9 people for the next six months. Two weeks ago I branched out and met a lot of really cool, new people. It's beyond nice to have some new people that I feel comfortable with and to go out with.

Picture update from the past month:

New Year's Eve was eventful, to say the least, but lots of fun had by all. Especially by the four boys who live below me that came home at 2 in the morning and recorded the next hour of their lives. The next morning I walked into their apartment to check on them and found: a door off its hinges, a broken clothes rack, a broken fan in the bathtub, a toilet seat in the living room, and video documentation of it all happening. The next hour was spent with four of us snuggled up in one bed watching all the havoc that was wreaked.


Sarah's 23rd birthday was this past Thursday, the 20th! On Wednesday night, the roomies got dressed up and went to dinner (steak and red wine, yum!).


Then on Thursday we all went out to celebrate the birthday girl. Caryl and I wore these crazy headbands to display Sarah's love for sparkles.