Murphys Law Gone Right

It’s funny.  I sometimes forget that I have four years of my life documented in this blog.  From my very first post where I outlined the “really cool things about Hopkins”  to my latest post in which I described commencement and all of the goodbyes, I have loved writing about school the ups and the downs, the good days and the bad days.   So I suppose this is my farewell post and I don’t really know what to say.  So much has changed over these four years.  When I began, I thought I had it all figured out.  I would graduate

with a degree in philosophy and economics go straight to law school, emerging from these 7 years of schooling as a successful and independent adult.  It’s not that my plans shifted that drastically, but even a slight change seems earth shattering.   During my four years of college, I was flooded with opportunities.  You can start out as a biology major, switch to political science, and end up getting a double degree in East Asian Studies and International Relations.  I started out as a philosophy major, only knowing I was a good debater and that I should probably put that skill to better use as a lawyer.  However, things change and things come up that you can’t anticipate.  In a twist of fate, I began working at Institutional Donor Relations at Hopkins during the school year.  This experience in development landed me an internship at EMILY’s List, which led me to develop a vast interest in politics, prompting me to try working at the State Department and even on Capitol Hill.  I’m still not certain where I’ll end up, but I do know I want to remain in politics.  For now, I’m working for a start-up non-profit in Washington, D.C. trying to change the world.

In my new life as an adult, I live in a house close to U Street, the historic African American neighborhood where the famous Ben’s Chili Bowl is located and whereDuke Ellington grew up.  I spend my weeknights working late and my weekends at Busboys and Poets where I pretend to be radical and hip, sitting at the communal tables reading next to all of the other “independent thinkers” on their Macbooks.  During these thoughtful mornings, I get a chance for some much needed introspection.  I’ve lately been thinking that my life is divided.  On one hand all I want to do is stay in D.C. and really work on changing the system, devoting my time to reform whether it be party reform, campaign reform, or even immigration reform.  I want to spend my time at the Willard Hotel, where the term lobbying was originally coined and where Martin Luther King Jr. finished his “I have a dream” speech, and other historical hot-spots in D.C.  On the other hand, I wish I could drop everything I’m doing and just travel the world.  It’s hard when you know what’s out there and can’t wait to see it.  While I continue to live vicariously through my friends who are in Cambodia, Mexico, Taiwan, and even Syria, I’m excited because the future is ours for the taking.  Hopkins has provided us with such amazing opportunities, that even though goodbyes are hard, moving on is worth it.  My four years at Hopkins provided me with an array of experiences that shaped who I am today.  While I didn’t want to leave, and was forced to spend the last weekend packing up and cleaning out my apartment, I knew it was time to say goodbye.  Hopkins prepares you for the real world; it would be a waste to wallow in nostalgia and try and stick around because its what is most familiar and comfortable.  Leaving one of my favorite and most vibrant cities (in my opinion) in favor of D.C. wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but goodbyes never are.

In my very first post, only a month after being at Hopkins I identified two things as REALLY cool: “The Welcome” and “The Baltimore Experience”.    Now, after leaving I will modify it slightly such that two really cool things about Hopkins are indeed “The Baltimore Experience” but also, “The Goodbye”.  I’ll elaborate on the former first.

Baltimore is a city constantly changing.  It is a city that frankly, I would never have considered living in had I not gone to Hopkins.  This prejudgment about Baltimore that many, including myself, may have had for a variety of reasons is a huge mistake.  My reasoning would have been it’s not big enough.  The only real cities are New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong etc.  Others may argue that its just like The Wire, why would you go there?  Do not let these thoughts cloud your judgment.  Baltimore according tomany of the park benches scattered around the city might be known as “The greatest city in America”.  It’s Charm City.  It’s home.   During my last weekend in Baltimore, I got off the train and was greeted to a giant street festival known as Artscape.  It is America’s largest free art festival, featuring 150 artists, fashion designers, and musicians from all over.  It is vibrant, funky, and so much fun.   In fact 350,000 people visit it every year.  As I made my way to my apartment, I got to walk through and peruse the different exhibitions, thinking to myself this is why Baltimore will always be my home.  When packing out and moving out, my family and I took a short break to dine at Gertrude’s a great restaurant near campus, and visit the beautiful Cone Exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art–where they have the largest collection of Matisee’s paintings in the entire world.  Other things we considered doing was going to dinner in Little Italy, going to a baseball game at Camden Yards, or strolling through the funky “hon” neighborhood of Hampden.  There are so many things to do and see, Baltimore is a city with character, well worth the visit.  Sadly, four years is not long enough to see it all, and I’m definitely coming back for more of the Baltimore Experience.

And now, as I wrap things up, I’ll elaborate on “The Goodbye” and why it is “really cool”.  I’m not talking about just graduation.  That was fun, but it wasn’t really cool.  What is really cool is that is not really a goodbye.  The experience I’ve had and the friends I’ve made will stick with me forever.  I may have moved, but in the time period that I’ve been gone, I’ve seen over twenty different Hopkins friends, heard from friends around the world, and started new adventures.  Hopkins empowers you to go forth, taking everything you’ve learned, and apply it to your next adventure.  You have a built-in support system of friends and experiences that will help you succeed in whatever you encounter next.  Leaving and saying goodbye is not a loss, but an opportunity.  A chance to make Hopkins proud and change the world.  In the admissions auditorium, on the back of the chairs there are fun facts about Hopkins and many about past graduates.  Some are left blank.  Those chairs are saved for you and for me, for those of us who, will take what we’ve learned and hopefully manage to do something worthwhile.  To make a difference and to change.  So, I hope that all my gushing hasn’t lost you just yet because the important thing I’m trying to say is that college is an experience you will never forget. It is a partnership that if you put in the effort and try hard, you will receive more opportunities for success than you could ever anticipate.  Hopkins is a family that I hope you’ll consider joining.  As I sign off, I want to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my experiences and viewpoint.  I’ve loved answering your questions at Open Houses, responding to posts on the message boards and facebook, and helping to make the college process a little less daunting.  I wish everyone luck with applying, getting ready to go to Hopkins, and in the time after graduation when the world begins.  I suppose, since this is the last time, I can’t say until next time…so I guess I’ll go with good luck and goodbye!

I am now a Johns Hopkins University graduate.  Do I feel any different?  No, not really.  I just have to practice saying “I just graduated from Hopkins”.  In time, I’ll get used to it.  After all, I just left Baltimore and began writing this blog on the tail end of my 3 day vacation at home.  I actually moved to D.C. For now, I’d like to give you the general update on senior week events and graduation.

Senior week was officially kicked off with Club Night on Monday the 17^th, officially 10 days before graduation.  The theme of Senior Week was called Life’s a Beach, so all events somewhat stemmed around that general theme.  Club Night was at this place near Power Plant (an area near the Inner Harbor with lots of bars) at Club Mex.  It was a really fun place and it seemed like practically everyone I knew was there.  We all had a great time, except for the fact that we had to drag ourselves out of bed the next morning to go to Ocean City, MD  for week’s next planned event.  The buses left at 10:30 in the morning so my roommate and I ran over to One World Café in the rain to pick up breakfast before catching the buses.  Since I preferred not to do it the conventional way, I did not rent a room in a hotel with a bunch of friends.  Instead, I had planned on taking the bus with everyone on the way there and having my friend who has a house on in Bethany, DE meet up with me.  Kristen and friends boated over to Ocean City, where we spent the afternoonbefore boating back to her house.  At her house we got dinner and prepared for the evening where the Student Council had organized some sort of drink/free cover special at this bar called Mackey’s.   We met up with our other friends and had a ton of fun.  There was lots of dancing and chit chat.  The next day they had another evening event at this bar called Seacrets—apparently it’s the biggest bar on the east coast.  However, the friends I stayed with were heading back to pick one of our closest friends up at the airport.  Our dear friend and my sophomore year roommate, Abby, made her triumphant return to America after spending the past year at SAIS Bologna.  Another late night was spent catching up and hearing her stories, before I went back to the apartment for more sleep.

The thing about senior week is that there is so much going on that you barely have to relax and regain all the sleep you lost during finals period.   The next day, I actually had to grab a train to D.C. because I was invited to this fundraiser for the Center for American Progress.   I was invited through a friend of my mom’s and was allowed to bring a guest, so I brought my good friend Michael.  We got all dressed up for h’orderves and drinks at the Newseum.  Minor issues was that when we arrived, there were unbenowest to me, 2 parties at the museum that night.  The first clue should have been when there wasn’t a nametag for me or Michael despite the explicit mention that I would be on the guest list.  Alas!  No wonder the Salahis got into the State Dinner in D.C.  crashing parties is a piece of cake.  All I said was, I was a guest not on the list and when asked what company I repeated again, “I am a guest of a friend”.  Nevertheless, I was clearly at the wrong party because when I texted the individual who invited me, she said “are you near Pelosi?”.   I think I would know if I was standing near Nancy Pelosi, let alone if I was at a party with her.  So we high-tailed it out of the still unknown party and headed to the correct Center for American Progress one.    My friend Micheal and I had a wonderful time, we even got to meet Speaker Pelosi, Secretary Albright, and John Podesta–former White House Chief of Staff under President Clinton and now the President of Center for American Progress (CAP).  Needless to say, it was a great night.

Other senior week events included a party on “the beach” which was very enjoyable despite the excessive heat, a senior formal, a crab fest, and the most popular event “MSEEYA”—a party in the MSE Library.  Partying in the very place where I spent so many of my waking hours?  Eating in the place where they forbid snacks except for on q-level?  Doing it all with professors and Deans?  Totally amazing.  I had so much fun at this party and everything from the food to the decorations was wonderful.  This is a great tradition that every student can look forward to for when they finally graduate.   So, after all these events we finally had a day of rest–something much needed considering we needed to be ready at 7:30 in the morning for Commencement.

The ceremony itself was nice, extremely hot, but President Daniels, our class President Affan, and Mayor Bloomberg’s speeches were all engaging and entertaining.  As a politico, I thought Bloomberg did a particularly good job not only referencing his time at Hopkins, but also making reference to the fact that we as individuals need to help change the system that has paralyzed us for so long.  There should not necessarily be two party choices, and neither party has the choir of angels behind them.  He ended by reiterating the notion that we will be the one’s to change this, we must take action, and lastly, “don’t screw it up!”.  The entire week was a whirlwind that ended with some final goodbyes. I said goodbye to my family only to see them a few days later, I said goodbye to my friend’s many who I will see (or have seen) following graduation, and I said goodbye to one of my best friends who will be in Cambodia for 27 months.   These goodbyes were definitely not the most enjoyable thing, and all of it culminated in my long and tear-filled train ride home to Connecticut, where I had to buck up just in time to attend a close-friend’s graduation party.   The following few days at home were spent making the rounds before I headed back to D.C. to start my new life.  Since then, I have been working like crazy sometimes getting to the office at 7 am and staying until 8 pm.  It really varies depending on the work, but I know everything I’m doing is extremely important and interesting.  I’ll update you a bit on my job in  my next and final post.  For now, I must say goodnight because it’s been a long day.  Today, I finished packing up my old apartment, looked at the window with the most wonderful view of the city, and said goodbye to Hopkins and Baltimore.  I moved all of my stuff and left the keys at the front-desk.  In all honesty, it feels strange.  I had so many wonderful memories, I’m sorry to say goodbye.  Even when I started my job in Washington, I knew I could always escape to Baltimore and my apartment there.  Now that I’m officially all-moved in to my DC house, I will think of my old home fondly.  My time in Baltimore and at Hopkins was the greatest time of my life thus far.  As I move forward, I will never forget my time spent in Charm City.  Until next time…

Well, as I write this post I am currently in the library.  I would like to be able to tell you that I completed all of my work far ahead of schedule, but sadly that’s not the case.  I do have 10 pages of a 15-20 page paper due Wednesday, so that’s a start (unless of course you count the 10-12 page paper due the same day that I haven’t started).  Such is life.  Unfortunately, my internal commitment to get to 15 pages within the next couple of hours is going to prevent this from being an extended post.  I shall provide you with a brief update and lovely playlist that is helping me get through these “tough” times.

As I prepare to leave Hopkins, I have been spending more and more time with my friends who I will miss dearly.  As everyone gets ready for senior week and tries to tie up loose ends, I am comforted by the fact that I will be reasonably close and can always visit. That being said, I am slightly struggling to actually acquire a place in D.C.  It’s difficult because I have been so tied up with work that I have been unable to attend many of the Open Houses that are offered during the week and weekend.  Thus, I’ve had to rely on my brilliant wit and charm and hope that it emerges in my brief introductory e-mails.  With my words, I have had to combat misconceptions of crazy college students entering the real world, still clinging to their immaturity and always wanting to throw massive parties.  Yes, I am responsible. Yes, contrary to popular belief a student can be clean.  Yes, I am sociable but do have friends in the city and won’t be clingy.  All of those things are evidently what people want to hear, yet even then it seems that the static qualities of age and sex disqualify you from the beginning.  The mere fact that I’m just graduating proves to be a difficult obstacle to recover from.   Even if you can get past the first round of introductory e-mails, you have to survive the second.   I have had to answer some random and interesting follow-up questions.  One asked my favorite movie, my level of cleanliness, and what I like to do outside of work.  Another asked me my favorite word, what I would do if I found a foppish leprechaun, and what event in history would I like to witness.  And then, if you are deemed worthy, you are provided the address and able to meet face to face.  This third and final task puts you within reach of the apartment, but presents even more obstacles (particularly if it is an open house).   You have to a) charm every one who lives there which means attempting to fit the personality they are looking for and b) somehow seem better and more interesting than your competition.  What makes this part difficult is the mere fact that you may be there at the same exact time of your competition.  Tricky, huh?  So, besides trying to complete my final tests and presentations, I have been working to pass these three level tests in an attempt to acquire an apartment in D.C.  Hopefully by my final post, I will have something concrete set up that I can rely upon.

Well, that’s really all I have to say for now.  I will leave you with my current finals/paper-writing playlist.  There may be some repeats from last semester, but its just because they are so good.  You may notice there’s a lot of rap this semester.  I can’t explain it, other than the Jay-Z that was inspired by his recent SNL appearance.  Also, they are not listed in any particular order.

Daydreamin’ –Lupe Fiasco
Can’t Forget About You–Nas
I Found A Whistle–MGMT
She Said, She Said–The Black Keys
Beginning to See the Light–The Velvet Underground
Together We’re Both Alone–Nicole Atkins
Lose One–Jay-Z
Fake Empire–The National
Talk to Me, Dance To Me–Hot Hot Heat
Stadium Love–Metric
The Boy Done Wrong Again–Belle & Sebastian
Norwegian Wood–The Beatles
Things Behind the Sun–Nick Drake
Peacebone–Animal Collective
Send My Fond Regards to Lonelyville–Elvis Perkins In Dearland
Die By The Drop–The Dead Weather
Tighten Up–The Black Keys
Never Change–Jay-Z

Hope you enjoy!  Until next time…

There is so little time left, I can barely think about it without becoming depressed.  So, instead of dwelling on the soon-to-be-past of “my time in college”, I figured I would spend the majority of this post looking forward to the we’re-almost-adults-future.  Basically, I just want to brag about how amazing all of my friends are and how I am sure I will one day be at a dinner party and get to say “I knew her/him in college…”.   I can also tie this back into the “why Hopkins?” question because I honestly believe the success of my friends has encouraged me to become or want to become successful as well.

A truth universally acknowledged is that every graduating senior is in want of a job.  In fact we all freak out about what happens next.   You might have noticed that many of my posts over this last year have dwelt on my fear of the job market and the unknown future.  At a certain point, I began to accept it.  And well now, I’m forcibly embracing it.  To be perfectly honest, I have a sort of job arrangement.  I’m going to speak in abstract terms because a) I’m still confirming the position and b) I’m not sure about confidentiality policies yet.  Don’t want to ruin a good thing!  Anyway, I’m going to be a paid intern with this political fundraising/consulting firm and by December I will either have a job with them or will be ensured a job somewhere else.  In essence, I somehow met with one of the most successful fundraisers in D.C. for what I thought would be an informational interview, but ended up getting what could be described as an offer I couldn’t refuse.  As such, I will be working for this consulting firm as they start-up/formulate a non-profit dedicated to the belief that political issues can be handled beyond party lines.   I imagine it will be a very busy time to be working, and I’m quite excited.  The premise of the non-profit is to allow Democrats, Republicans, Independents to come together and speak about the issues that matter without the unnecessary political partisanship.   Personally, I think the premise is great and something I truly believe in.  So that’s my plan as of now–work there until the December Launch and let the chips fall as they may.  I actually considered and was accepted to a campaign fellowship program, but am turning it down as I think this will be the best course of action for me.  Plus, this job allows me to return to my old haunting grounds–Washington, D.C.  While I plan on commuting for a little bit while I still have my apartment, I’ve already become obsessed with Craigslist and am checking everyday for a great place to live.

I consider myself extremely lucky to know where I will be–at least until December.   However, many of my other friends have figured out their general plans  as well, and I couldn’t be more proud.  Quite a few friends will be attending graduate school: one attending GW Med School, another going to Columbia Law, and many getting their PhDs from schools like Yale and Berkeley.  In addition, somehave committed themselves to a two year program like Teach for America or the Peace Corps–(my freshmen year roommate was just assigned to Cambodia!).  In addition to this, I even had two friends receive Fulbrights!  Many were also hired at finance firms and engineering firms, while others have received jobs in marking and public relations.  Some are even traveling across the country to work in various science labs and perform research.  I honestly couldn’t be more proud.  Every time I think of what my friends are doing, I am amazed.  Like I said, one day I will be at a dinner party and their names will be brought up and I shall say “Oh so and so is a friend from college”.  Whether they are changing the medical world or the developing world or both at the same time, the people I am certain the people I have met at Hopkins can and will change the world.

Figuring out what to do after graduation seems like an overwhelming process, but these last few months has helped me believe everything will work itself out.  People don’t have their whole lives mapped out, but many have stumbled across something that will entertain them for a while.   As everything seems to come full circle and wrap itself up, I can’t help but be nostalgic.   The people I have met in college have driven me to succeed.  If it hadn’t been for my other friends wanting to do well and getting internships, I don’t know if I would have decided to try living in D.C. for a summer or work abroad for the State Department.  I am so happy to have spent four years here living and learning and can’t wait to see what the future will hold and where everyone will end up.   Well, I suppose I didn’t give any advice on how to find the perfect job for you, but as I said, its something you stumble upon with a little serendipity.  What I hope to have provided is a little perspective.  The people you will meet at school will amaze you, so get ready for a wonderful ride. Good luck making those final decisions!  Until next time…

To the Undecided Students…

I’ll be honest, I can’t completely relate.  Way back, when I was going through the college process, I did some self-analysis and realized that if I had to give myself the option of choosing between a bunch of schools in April, well it wouldn’t go so well.  Therefore, I figured I would get the majority of the process done in the fall and hopefully like a school enough to apply early.  So, while I can’t exactly explain the decision process in a parallel manner, I can tell you why I chose Hopkins.  Why after visiting over 10 schools, I decided I would spend four years here, in Baltimore.

Of course there are many reasons but above all, I would say it was the simple fact of having a campus within a city.  I always wanted to live the college life.  I wanted to drag myself out of bed on a Saturday to go get a three hour brunch at the dining hall.  I wanted to use the word quad multiple times a day.  I wanted to lay outside in a grassy expanse and play frisbee.  Well, that’s not true, I wanted to hang out with my friends while watching others play frisbee.  Nevertheless, I wanted the traditional college experience where I could attend sports games and cheer in the student section.  I wanted to be a part of a community while enjoying campus life.  Yet, I have never been one to isolate myself.  I am from Connecticut, live close to Boston and New York–I love being able to get to a city.  Furthermore, I never wanted to have to drive just to get to a convenience store.  Basically, I couldn’t imagine myself living in the mountains or the middle of nowhere. I love weekend getaways and boutique shopping down a busy street.   When I looked at Hopkins, it offered me both.  I had the ability to live on one of the most beautiful campuses in the country, with Baltimore just across the street.  I have the opportunity to pretend to be a tourist in the Inner Harbor or to eat pasta in Little Italy.  Baltimore was just the city I was looking for.  Well, not actually.  To be honest, I don’t know what type of city I was looking for, but I had never imagined living here.  Yet, this is why I’m so happy to be here.  I don’t know if I ever would have lived in Baltimore had it not been for Hopkins, but it has soon become one of my favorite cities in the entire world.  Having traveled to Paris and Barcelona and New York, I think it says a lot.  Baltimore is hip and has energy.  You can tell that it is constantly changing and improving and that’s what gives it character.  It doesn’t pretend to be something its not.  Sure, Baltimore has problems like other major cities–but as long as you are smart and careful you will be fine.  Many people ask me if I have seen The Wire.  I typically respond, “of course, it’s like a documentary of the streets”.  In reality, there are most certainly parts of Baltimore that face the troubles highlighted in the famed HBO tv show, but it is rare that you will encounter them.  Again, as long as you are smart and act as if you are in every other city, you will be fine.  So, I lucked out.  I happened to get everything I wanted all in one school.

Another reason I absolutely loved Hopkins was because of the distribution requirements.  I’ve always considered myself to be more of a renaissance student.  I like to study a variety of subjects and not necessarily confine myself.  Because of this, I also don’t feel the need to be told what to do.  It actually makes me a little indignant.  At a certain point (and I believe that point is in college) I think students are old enough to decide what they would like to study and what one wouldn’t like to study.  Maybe I don’t want to takebiology, but I am interested in statistics.  I think I should be able to make that choice on my own.  So, I fully appreciate that Hopkins empowers by not requiring any specific classes.  What they do do is require you to take classes outside of your typical discipline.  In true liberal arts fashion, Hopkins asks the students to take some classes within the social sciences discipline, some within humanities, and others within natural science, engineering, or quantitative sciences.  This allowed me to take Intro to Psychology–which I thoroughly enjoyed and another science-like class called Language and Advertising which is also uniquely interesting.  I never feel absolutely forced and I am able to fulfill these basic distributions easily while still taking classes within my major and some just for fun.  Alas, I actually must end this blog in order to start writing a paper for one of these “fun” classes.  Nevertheless, I will leave you with some closing thoughts.

Trying to decide which school is right for you is overwhelming to say the least.  Furthermore, thinking of it in terms of a four year commitment can add even more stress.  You want to be able to see yourself living there and enjoying it–but I wouldn’t worry too much about minute details.  Decide based on major issues and prioritize what is most important to you.  For me, it was the overall atmosphere then it was the liberal arts nature of the school.  I also considered my individual major, the ability to get involved  on campus, and the size.  However, the make/break it moments were having to deal with campus and flexibility.  Of course there are the underlying issues like financials, but those should probably be figured out early.  Lastly, I must say that if you chose to attend a specific school and start worrying about fit or whether you like–remember it is up to you.  You can make a school the most perfect school.  All universities and colleges offer great resources and depending on the school those opportunities may be concentrated in a specific area of expertise, to which they excel.  However, while they may give you the tools, its up to you to make the experience memorable.  College is a great time, and you can’t waste a minute of it.  I sound like a broken record when I say this, but it really goes by so fast.  It feels like I just was getting ready to experience my first Spring Fair, but in reality I just got back from a senior dinner where they gave me my first alumni hat.  Best of luck deciding! Until next time…

Welcome to my humble abode, this is Cribs: Off-Campus Edition featuring*drum roll*….my apartment, commonly referred to as “the PH”.  I suppose I will begin by providing you with a brief background on how I acquired the apartment.  Honestly, all of the work was done by my roommate and my parents.  If you are lucky enough to have people that are willing to do all of those things, then the process might be a bit easier than what one might imagine.  My roommate scoured the internet and spoke to friends about finding an apartment.  We actually had looked the previous year, but ended up living in Charles Commons.  So, we did have a basis to work from.  For example, we knew that some buildings were too far and some had nicer windows than others, it really does depend on your preferences.  In the end, we were deciding between two places that my roommate had discovered.  She sent me some pictures, I gave my input and my parents wrote out a check for the security deposit.  This all occurred during the end of June when I was in The Hague.  People often dread or worry about whether or not they are ahead of the game and starting the search early enough, but hopefully the pictures of my apartment will remain a testament to the fact that you can still get a nice place even during the summer.

Let me begin with the entryway which is pretty standard and contains a shelf where we often leave the mail, magazines, and where my massive collection of books has overflowed.  I admit, I do own a lot of books, and the existence of The Book Thing–a Baltimore locale where you can get free books, yes free!–doesn’t help.  Alas, if you take a left, you will find our bathroomm, which was wonderfully done-over by our landlord, my roommate’s room (which I was unable to photograph), and another small half bathroom that we never use unless there are guests staying with us.  There’s nothing too particular about the main bathroom other than my favorite shower curtain which has mini hot and cold knobs as rungs.   When you leave that branch of the hallway you have two options: walk down the hallway or walk through the kitchen.  There’s nothing to point out in the hallway other than my extra closet and my framed Toulouse-Lautrec poster, so I will take you through the kitchen.

In the kitchen, you will see our lovely green walls and assorted matching dishtowels.  I would also like to highlight my favorite pot holder that I picked up in Newport that was part of Gertrude Vanderbilt suffragette dining collection.  She had teapots and glasses
that all said “Votes for Women”; she would use them when hosting suffrage rallies.  Naturally, I bought a pot holder and have it on display.  Another thing you might note is the massive amount of equipment we have in this kitchen besides the typical oven/microwave.  We are stocked with a cappuccino machine–which we never use, a panini grill–SOO good, a toaster oven, a blender, and a waffle maker.  We also have a large refrigerator and freezer which is particularly wonderful.   The rest of the kitchen is pretty standard.  We have an ecclectic mug collection–including one from Amsterdam, one from the UN, a Hopkins Lacrosse mug, and some hilarious retro women mugs.

After walking through the kitchen, you see the dining area.  The long mirrors that are lined up parallel to one another were here before we moved in.  Can’t quite do anything about that.  We did place a mirror horizontally above the table so it could reflect the city skyline.  I suppose that is the most significant thing about our dining/living room.  We have a wonderful wonderful wonderful view of the city.  I absolutely love it and don’t think it could be more perfect.  There really are no major buildings blocking our view.  We can see campus, we can see the Domino Sugar Sign, and we can even tell when there are thunder storms on the Eastern Shore.  It will be very sad when I have to leave.  I do love it so much and if I had enough money would definitely buy it.  In fact, one of the best parts is that you can see the view from every room (well, except the kitchen).   Our living room is furnished with end tables and coffee tables–discovered by my mother–and a beachesque blue couch.  My parents were actually really great about acquiring furniture over time and thus, had lots to share when I moved into my new place.  As you might have expected my coffee table is a reflection of my political junkie nature with a copy of Politico and Time magazine.

Off of the living room is my bedroom which was converted from a den and is a bit small comparatively.  Nevertheless, I still love it.  My bed was another piece of furniture acquired by my parents and my friends picked out the comforter when I was abroad!  I swear, being abroad during this whole process made me the luckiest person ever.  My parents helped to move in the couch, bed,and other tables before I even arrived.  As you can see I have a bureau with a few decorative mirrors, the Villars tin–from Switzerland, my sunglasses, my rolodex, and my Congressional badge, along with plenty of jewelry.  My grandmother’s vanity functions as a desk because I didn’t have enough room for a large one.  I’ll be honest, I never do work there.  Still, I do have a french bulletin board with white shutters on each side above the desk.  Right now it is full of postcards and photographs.  One of the latest additions is the postcard that is blue with the orange statue.  It is by an artist called Greg Otto and he takes famous city scenes and makes them bright and beautiful.

So I think that’s pretty much it for my “crib”.  I must say I really do enjoy living off-campus, because of the additional freedom and adult-like feel.   I will always remember this as  my first apartment, and I’m pretty proud of it.  Because I live off-campus, I have more freedom in terms of what I eat, when I eat, and where I can eat.  While I might not always have time to cook, every Monday, my friend and I cook and watch Gossip Girl.  Because of this tradition, I do get some practice making my own meals.  It’s quite fun actually.  It has helped me to try and plan my meal more effectively.  I now even pack food for lunch.   Additionally, my building does have very good security.  In fact, I would put it on par with Charles Commons.  In particular, when guests are invited over they have to sign in at the security desk and whoever is on duty calls me on my cell-phone and lets me know who is here.  When I want to have a party, I make a list of names and bring it downstairs and my guests just check in.  My building manager can be called if their are ever issues, and they always have someone on duty.  Another of my favorite aspects of living in this off-campus building, is the antiquated vending machines which only charge 50 cents for cans of soda.  It’s glorious.   Many people may worry about the possibility of living off-campus for potentially junior and senior year, but overall I feel that when that time comes you will be ready.  It allows you to be more independent and transition into what I like to think of a more grown-up lifestyle.  Until next time…

This time I’m blogging as I watch the Oscar pre-shows.  While I love seeing the dresses, I hate hate hate the E! announcers.  Between Ryan Seacrest and Juliana Rancic its painful.  As my sister just said “Ryan Seacrest just asked about Gerad Butler’s small dog.  Nice, Ryan, hard-hitting stuff”.    That pretty much sums it up.   Some of the dresses are amazingly gorgeous i.e. Cameron Diaz and Penelope Cruz.  I’m pretty impressed with the style with the exception of Sarah Jessica Parker’s that kind of looks like a satin curtain.  Oh well.

I’ve realized its been a while since I’ve written about Hopkins sports.  I’ll admit, after my time abroad its taken me a little while to get back into the grove, especially considering I’m not the biggest college football fan.  I’ve attended considerably less games this year, but maybe its just a product of having a busy schedule.  Well, despite the lull this weekend I renewed my school spirit by heading to the annual “Face-off Classic” at M&T Bank Stadium (the stadium where the Baltimore Ravens play).  Every year, some of the best lacrosse teams in the country are invited to play at the “Face-off Classic” where they play in front of a crowd of about 20,000.  This year, Maryland played (and beat) Duke, Hopkins played Princeton, and Loyola played (and lost to) Notre Dame.  Tons of fans from all different teams came to see these teams play.  A lot of people from Connecticut even showed up (some from my lacrosse obsessed town called Madison).  You can always tell because lacrosse players and fans wear their local lacrosse jackets…I only know this because I was once guilty of this.  Lots of Wilton High School and Ridgefield Lacrosse and of course lots of New York and Maryland high schools.

With such an exciting sporting event taking place in the city, there was no way I was going to miss out.  So, a group of 6 of us drove down around 11 in the morning to the stadium.  We aimlessly circled for about 30 minutes trying to find a place to park.  Finally finally finally we ended up in a parking lot in the sun.  The 50 degree weather and the shining sun were perfect conditions for a tailgate.  We pulled out the folding chairs and had a great lunch of chips and guacamole, turkey sandwiches, and fruit.  It was a lot of fun and we had other Hopkins visitors who stopped by the tailgate to say hello.  It was my friend Alex’s first tailgate and I think it was a success.  How American of us.  It actually ended up being  so much fun that we lost track of time and walked into the game a bit late.  I don’t think we missed too much though, since the end of the game was where the excitement was at.  Unfortunately, Hopkins lost in overtime.  I believe the score was 11-10.  It was still really exciting, and despite the loss I think our team looked really good.  I actually feel like we looked better than we had the year we won the National Championship, so hopefully this is a a sign of good things to come.  Apparently, Hopkins was ranked 5th and Princeton 7th–so it was not the worst lost.  After the game, we drove back to Hopkins and arrived home around 5.  It was a wonderfully fun day and I’m excited to attend the upcoming games.  As my friend said at the tail gate, “why don’t we do this more often?”  We really should, if only because we are seniors and there is so little time left, except of course for alumni weekends and homecoming.  Anyway, I’m exhausted and hoping the Oscars speed it up because this could be the most boring show ever and I just want to find out about Best Picture and Director.  Until next time…

Well, I suppose this is my first time live-blogging.  I am currently watching USA vs Canada vie for the gold medal.   I have so dearly loved watching the Olympics, it will be sad tonight when they end. Throughout the last two weeks I have gone to Olympic parties, dressed up as a curler, had watching/studying parties (which typically ended up being plain watching parties), and adamantly rooted for Team USA.   I am still working on getting back into the work mode, and more importantly the writing mode.  My first major paper is due next week and I’ve struggled writing and rewriting the introduction many times over.  Its terrible what a month off can do to one’s writing skills.  In fact, it’s a miracle I can form sentences and compose a coherent blog.

My last couple of days have been very busy here in Baltimore, so I figured I would give you the run down of the last week.  Here’s the highlight reel.

On Monday, I went to work from 9-5 (cue music).  Following work, I headed over to Mason Hall for a SAAB meeting and then back to my apartment for my regular Monday night dinner.  Every Monday night, I have dinner with my freshman year roommate.  We take turns cooking.  This week it was my turn, I made steak and cheese sandwiches.  For having never really cooked before, this regular Monday night has forced me to expand my ways.  I am now bold enough to cook meat!

On Tuesday, I took a bus tour of East Baltimore.  A community activist, Glenn Ross, spoke to us as we drove through the various neighborhoods and we learned about the relationship between Hopkins–the institution–and the people in the surrounding area.  The specific area we focused on was the one around the medical campus.  We passed Patterson Parker and the Kennedy Krieger Center and many Community Based Organizations like Moveable Feast which provides meals to the homeless and the Men’s Center which works to provide services to men like parenting and life skills, job placement assistance and more.  We also passed historic factories like the Natty Boh (a Baltimore based beer) brewery.  It was very interesting and educational.  There has definitely been friction in the area between the university and the community but through projects that are being developed with my class “The Power of Place: Race and Community in East Baltimore” and other outlets the two communities are working together.  With my class, I’m going to be conducting an oral history from a local East Baltimorean.  More details on that to come.  After I went on the tour and had my Baltimore class, I walked over to Shriver Hall to see thespeaker for the Foreign Affairs Symposium.  It was the famed Zbignew Brzezinski!  I had recently seen his daughter, Mika, speak in my hometown when she was on tour for her new book.  I was even more excited to see Zbignew, who is one of the United States’ most esteemed foreign policy experts and served as NSA under President Carter.  I was very impressed with his speech.  While I didn’t necessarily agree with everything he said, but the way he explained his viewpoints made you think he had thought about all of the questions before and was not merely making something up under pressure.  At one point, he said “I make no apologies”, in regards to U.S. action in Afghanistan.  He was direct and honest.  It was really refreshing.  My friends and I all really enjoyed his speech.

My Wednesday was a bit more boring in comparison to the rest of the week, so I’ll just skip ahead.  On Thursday, I had class from 9-4, with an hour half lunch break.  After that I had time to work on a little homework, before meeting up with a group member to work on a project.  At around 7:45 pm, I left to meet two friends to go see a career panel which was based on finding progressive jobs.  It was called Professionally Progressive and it  featured 3 speakers/panelists.  One woman was the Deputy Director of The Atlas Project, a consulting firm which conducts in-depth analysis of campaign related information in key states.  It was actually started by Mary Beth Cahill who was Senator Kerry’s chief campaign manager in 2004 when he ran for President.  She was also the former Executive Director of EMILY’s List, where I spent a summer working and developing my love of politics.  Another one of the panelists was the Deputy Political Director of the Democratic Governors Association.  A lot of his previous political work revolved around campaigns.  The final panelist was a Senior Research Assistant at The Brookings Institution.  It was a somewhat diverse crowd with the first two panelists being inclined to support anything and everything that had to do with campaigns.  My friend acted as the moderator asking questions and thediscussion stemmed from there.  After the panel ended, we reconvened to Nolan’s, an upper-classmen dining hall for Pub Night.  It was fun because it gave us an opportunity to chat with the speakers and learn more about what they do.  One of the speaker’s convinced me and my friend to work on a campaign.  I’ve broken the news to my parents that I may end up living in Wisconsin, South Carolina, or even Texas for a couple of months until the election cycle ends in November.   I suppose I would just pack up my Honda and hit the road.  Apparently, my mother’s only concern is that I would take along with me a GPS.  I’m inclined to agree with her, not that I’m bad with directions but I could use the added wisdom of a TomTom.  A perfect graduation gift, perhaps?

Friday, I spent the day commuting and working in D.C.  A fun day as always, I got to field a ton of phone calls from people calling from all over the country.  I guess many wanted to react to the recent bipartisan health-care summit and share their views.  I’m excited because in the upcoming weeks, I’m going to be in charge of clippings on the days that I’m at work.  It means I get to scan the news to find out anything I can about my boss and see what articles were written about him.  It will be good practice for when I ever do choose to work in communications.   When I returned to Baltimore, I dropped stuff off at my apartment before going back out to Sofie’s Crepes.  A hole-in-the-wall type place, it almost looks like a ships galley where they make the crepes.  While the space to eat may be cramped and tiny, it doesn’t make the food any less great.  After getting my fill, I went to bed content and happy.

On Saturday, I finally filled my craving to go out and about in Baltimore.  Lauren C. and I went out to experience what I’ve recently dubbed the trifecta.   I don’t know if there could possibly be a better combination of things to do besides what I am about to tell you.  Down on North Charles Street, near what I believe is called the “arts district” close to Penn Station is The Charles Theater.  On one side of the Charles Theater is Sofie’s Crepes.  On the other side, is Tapas Teatro.  The best way to experience all three is to start at Sofie’s Crepes, then go see a movie at The Charles–we saw Shutter Island–and then head over to Tapas Teatro for yummy dinner.  We started the trifecta experience at 1 when we caught the shuttle downtown and ended back on campus at 6:30.  I would have passed out in a food coma had it not been for the Nautical Party I had to attend to later that night.

Today it is Sunday; the weekend is now ending and I need to get back to work.  Sadly, the US hockey team was not victorious, but if there was anyone we were going to lose to I am happy it was to Canada (and in overtime).  It made the event so much more exciting and fun!  Well, time for me to devote the rest of the evening to writing a paper on Plato.  Until next time…

It’s good to be back.  Not only have we had a break from blogging, but a whole week off of class as well.  The Snowpacalypse hit the D.C. metro area and paraylzed Baltimore for an entire week.   The unexpected blizzard arrived on Friday February Fifth.  While I typically work in D.C. on Fridays, I was afraid the MARC train would stop running and chose to forego traveling for fear of being stuck in the city all weekend.  Instead, I spent my Friday lounging around the apartment and catching up on some sleep which, as it turns out, would be how I would spend the rest of the week.   Yes, classes were canceled all week.  The break was perfectly lovely.  If only I actually had work to catch-up on, it would have been perfect.  Sadly, it was too early in the semester for me to work on papers or projects.  Instead, I wrote an article for JHU Politik and did a lot of reading.  I can’t tell you how many times I read the New York Times and the New Yorker.  I read all the fashion articles on The Daily Beast and even read some poetry (W.H. Auden’s the greatest).

How did I occupy the rest of my time?  The first Friday of the storm, I went to the gym figuring that later I would be considerablyunmotivated by the supposed mountains of snow.  Later that night, I visited with my friends and watched Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade followed by BBC Planet Earth–Shallow Seas.  A nice relaxing end to a relaxing day.    I watched many many more movies over break including Lawrence of Arabia which is 227 minutes long.  If you have time to watch Lawrence of Arabia on a weekday, you have a lot of time.   In addition, we watched more BBC Planet Earth; New York, I Love You; Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants; and more Indiana Jones.  I also caught up on all of my TV shows and even did some pleasure reading (I started Conscience of a Liberal by former Senator Paul Wellstone).  The best part is my friends were all in the same predicament.  Instead of reading by oneself we all congregated at various apartments and did nothing together.

On Saturday, the snow had finallyaccumulated.  At around 3 pm, my roommate and I finally ventured out to see what it was really like, and let me say it lived up to our expectations.  Cars were essentially buried.  It was like the 19th Century where very few people had cars and most of us were forced to walk right down the middle of the streets.  Traffic lights became pointless and sidewalks were nonexistent.  It  was as if civilization had stopped.  Seriously, we tried to stop at the grocery store at 5:15, but it had just closed.  In fact, everything was closed except for the liquor store which surprisingly had a really long line.  After walking around campus and falling into snowbanks, for quite some time.  We decided to commit ourselves to a mission: to cook great meals all week.   For me it was really learning how to cook, but can I tell you I learned and I learned well.  I actually learned so well that on Thursday night, I got roped into hosting a dinner party/pot luck for 15 people.  Seriously!  During the week we made penne ala voldka, breaded chicken parmesan (my specialty), tacos, salmon, and more pasta.  We cooked breakfast making eggs and pancakes and even once had breakfast in an igloo.  I wish I had pictures of that event, but sadly they are on another camera.  Eggs, fruit, tea, and hot chocolate all made on a gas burner set up in an igloo.   The week was quite fun.  If I had known earlier that we would have a week off, I might have chosen to go home and would have missed out on all the fun.   It has definitely been a week to remember filled with food, fun, and friends.  Now, its back to the grind (which I truly enjoy) so I need to run to make sure I get to my law and morality class on time.  Until next time…