PAGPAPASALAMAT!!

maraming salamat, asante sana, cnacuba, muchas gracias, merci, agyamen ti adu!
anyway you say it, it means "thanks man!" and since this is the season of

thanksgiving I thought I would offer a little listing of my many blessings (and would welcome any lists.long or short.from all of you.in comments or emails).
I Am thankful for:

the kindness of cab drivers
Boston architecture & pizza
making rent for the first time since I've moved here
Mel Torme when I'm lonely
Burl Ives when I'm sad
my new friend Abby (who got me kicked out of choir for laughing)
humor !
my mismatched christmas socks (from TP?I think)
kittergurl hugs
how untouchable I feel when I'm running
Khristian and Buena's (two of my best friends in the Peens) decisions to serve a mission
potty humor and people who appreciate it
phone calls from my Mom
my indian roommate singing in the shower
Christmas smells:cinnamon, ginger, nutmeggy
super cheese Christmas music I LOVE IT!
christmas! (ang pasko ay sumapit!!!)
my Dr Spock bangs
the privilege to study at BU
my pretty freestyle
above all: the free will to love whom I will, come hell or high water-reciprocity or rejection.
and I do.

Happy Thanksgiving.I'm grateful for all of you
meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeErin

oui! I have changed my blog language to French and it's pretty fun! Okay, here is the condom ad I created for one of my classes--thought you'd all enjoy it. I guess you have to click on it to see it--c'est triste! ha ha. The "saja" brand is made up. It's a project for social marketing which is this capitolistic idea that selling a product will do more to change behavior than teaching better behavior. I'm kind of sceptical (Upton Sinclair love me, I've always been a bit of a socialist)--but it was fun making up my character. Our aim is 15-24 year old women in Indonesia--hence the head scarf.

two things

I kicked a goose and I ate caviar.
I always liked sushi with the "little round orange things" on it and I've always wanted to try caviar to see what it was like. Well, tonite eating my sushi I realized that they are one and the same. amazing
I kicked the goose because it was in my way on a run and I didn't realize that geese are a lot lazier/slower than ducks.

Wednesday!

well wednesday has become such a mad dash. I nanny from 7:45am (which puts me out the door by 7:30, up before 7! for me right now in my life this is crazy early) until 5pm, at which point I make a mad dash to catch a 30 min shuttle to the medical campus, take a 2 hour Epidemiology class and then 30 min. back on the shuttle. By the time I am home (like right now) I start to envy things like the alphabet pasta in my soup It is fun to be a nanny-for 20 hours a week I'm paid to pretend to be a homemaker and it makes me realize (sorry) just how really much that is not for me. Not that I don't love my job. I do! Today I got paid 12 bucks an hour to fold laundry while singing to Joni Mitchell! (while the girls were all at school) that's good stuff and I like the parts when they're home as well. BUT I think the reason I like it is because negotiating how many muffins is too many muffins with a 2 year old is SO different from my usual everyday stresses. It's fun to do dishes when your other choice is calculating the prevalence of schistosomiasis (cause I do that a lot)
Kudos to mothers that do it all the time. Kudos to women who don't go mad. I think my soup has cooled down and now I am so hungry. good night

It's been on a little while, and I so I am just shouting out
SHOUT

my three witches (minus one)

Ella and Milena trick-or-treating at my house before I have to dash to class (on Halloween?! stinks!)

Little Willa had to stay home sick

the thing with microwave popcorn is

I always get greedy I know it's going to burn but every pop I think "there's another one I woudn't have gotten if I'd stopped by now" and then I end up with a full bag of inedible popcorn

(this is a picture of breakfast, I'm not sure why)

good behavior bangs & bad behavior bangs

charles

Head of the charles was fun. Lots of venders with chowder and cider and also a band playing (rowapalooza) all set to the back drop of rowers streaming by down the charles river. You almost feel bad for partying while people are working so hard. rebecca (the landlord) asked if I rowed, I told her that I didn't have the upper strength (curse you Busco) The best band was Nada Surf (0f KOHS "Teenage Guide to Popularity" fame). They were good

The weather was also good--which was a kind of luck because the night before we had torrential rain. I've been waiting for that rain ever since Paul (the other landlord) pulled down my storm windows; I've been waiting for a chance for him to say "good thing I pulled down the storm windows"

Today the regatta continues and some friends and I are going to picnic along the river this afternoon. they are cheering for some bear

mad weird

I cut some mad weird bangs while Mandy was here. Actually we went under together at a very shady SuperCuts where all the magazines, posters and customers were men. She had to re-talk me into it twice. I'll try and post lots of pics in the coming days so you can see them properly...they don't always look this guinea-piggish
Tommorrow and Sunday is the head of the charles regatta--lots of JCrew fans rowing down the river. one of those beantown traditions I got the nannying job with the Kittermans (kittermen) only their old nanny doesn't really leave until early November I am also starting the taxicab driver study this week--got my first installment of Dunkin' Donut gift cards to hand out. Woooo I'm sure that will give me lots to say

Happy Halloween (say it like the tape)

last week was a black rain cloud that wouldn't rain, but tomorrow Mandy is coming for my birthday visit and now everything is sunshine and sea dogs

the concert

Do you know what I'm doing? I have this big tub of fluff (it's like marshmellow guts) and I threw a handful of teddy grams in it and then I'm digging them back out one by one with chopsticks so I can eat them for dinner. These are things you can't do when you grow up and become responsible. Tonite was the mixfest concert with: Augustana, Natasha Bedingfield, KT Tungstall, Meatloaf (!), Rihanna and James Blunt. Call it a party for my secret pop addiction. It was good. I think Natasha Bedingfield was my favorite. Her songs kill me. KT Tungstall, though I don't love her kind of bluesy music, was really neat. She did most of her back up vocals while on stage (using one of those foot pedals that record something and then can play it over and over). Very cool. Meatloaf was crazy. Oh my gosh, it was such a weird classic rock extravaganza while he was on stage but I couldn't join in--everyone was singing along but none of it was making any sense to me. His music just confuses me. Someone from the appropriate generation please explain. James Blunt was the last singer. Whoa! First time I've ever gone to a concert and then wished I hadn't found out what the singer looks like up close. He has crazy eyes. Every time he sang lyrics like "I'm out of my mind" and "where is my mind" I was like "yes, you are nuts! Please put on more of the nice pop singers." No, I liked seeing him, he just had this look! like his face was about to explode and all he could do about it was keep singing and try and warn us with his eyes! ha ha
Tomorrow I will babysit for the Kittermens for the first time. I'm ridiculously excited--only because I crave interacting with little kids like I crave beans. I am going to play till the cow comes jumping over the moon with milk in his belly and burl ives on his back! Ha that's another one of those things in English you aren't supposed to do. Aren't blogs great? I can do whatever I want. Buenas noches.
meeeeeeeeeeeeErin

Sleeping on the Job

Hey! What!
I don't know why lately I have this obsession with gangster talk. I can't stop thinking it's funny. Last night we went visiting teaching for the first time and I gave them each this card with our phone numbers and stuff that said "VT's in the house! Word!" in big letters on the top and I thought it was so funny. They were just both like "uh, thanks".
Well, ha ha, it's been quite the hiatus and I am guessing that cost me about 75% of my readership (of four), but that's okay. I'm doing it for me! Yeah.
Do you ever find yourself losing the battle and laughing uncontrollably at really innappropriate (ah! I was rejected as a copy editor for a reason) times? This happened to me (it's been happening a lot lately, actually--"it's the brain drain. His brain is draining." Anyone besides Andrew that can place that quote wins something amazing) yesterday when we had a guest speaker from India in our International Health class. About half a minute into his speech I realized he didn't really speak English. [It took me half a minute because at first I thought I was either hallucinating (it's been a weird past couple of weeks) or else that I had forgotten English, but then I realized that about every third word was either a) not English or b) incoherent] Anyway, that in and of itself wasn't that funny, but then he wrote the word "additing" on the board and then kept pointing at it and underlining it and I was just sitting there wondering what on earth he was trying to say. Then I remembered that time in Africa where we sat in on an English class as the special American gueststars (wooo!) and the (african) teacher was writing these sentences up on the board for his students to copy, but they actually didn't make any kind of sense and all of us couldn't stop laughing even though it was really innappropriate. Then I started laughing at "additing" and I felt like I would never stop. Well, that's my story for you.
Erin

MUGAR (myou' gar)

ha ha ha I am writing this from the Mugar, BU's undergrad library. I like to say Mugar as much as possible in a day. I feel kind of renegade posting from another computer than my laptop--woooo, it's exhilarating. I just watched Akeela and the Bee (Mandy!) and now I am very spelling paranoid. But I am a graduate of the English language and that gives me more than certain privaliges ha ha ha
Today was a bust kind of a day, so I thought I'd better at least make something of the night and come out exploring Big BU to find a good place to watch the Survivor season premier--you know, doing something with my life and all that. I found kind of a Cougareat of sorts with tvs, but no sound really coming from them, so I ran around looking for something else and ended up walking on the treadmill for the hour just so I could watch Survivor on their tv. I guess it's a good comprismise: waste an hour of my life watching tv, but get an hour of, albeit minimal, exercise. It's funny because I use their treadmills a lot, but usually for running, so tonite I felt like I was breaking the law or something and like everyone there was going to know my true motivation had nothing to do with working out. I kept swinging my arms really big and taking deep sighs so no one would catch on.
Well friends, let me tell you a little bit about my floormate, Firas (fee-ross). He is Lebanese/French and he is an economics (why?!!) undergrad at BU. I don't know how old he is because we only ever talk to eachother in these short weird little spurts (ME acting weird around a guy, I know it's really hard to imagine) about things like how much cereal we are eating and how our landlords kind of freak us out. He is a good looking kid--I'll take his picture sometime. He's also nice, smiles a lot, leaves the toilet seat up (ha ha ha or sometimes doesn't and then I know he was pooping and it's even worse) and sometimes randomly microwaves things at 4 in the morning--like last night. I asked him about it and he said he couldn't sleep so he decided to microwave something. I guess that's the story of Firas. Not a lot to say.
There is also a random Taiwanese man (married) living downstairs who uses our fridge, etc. too and then I guess this weekend the long awaited third floormate from India is supposed to arrive. I'm in such an international hot spot, huh? Good thing I am trained well
Well I'm going to walk the Mugar. Good night peeps. Sweet dreams

Okay peeps...

I'm turning the comments back on, but don't think for a second I can't just turn them right back off...So hey! I know a lot of you like to call me and I don't like to answer my phone...ha ha ha. It's my little joke. Am I busy? I don't know--I'm never around, but I'm not sure what I am accomplishing. We, the unemployed, have made an art of spending time without results. But it's not the same as wasting time--I am a student of the world.
Here is my basic schedule:
Mon 11-12 swim class/3:30-5 public health law/6-8 biostatistics
Tues 9:30-12 social & behavioral sciences in int health/6-8:45 comparative health systems
Wed 11-12 swim class/6-8 epidemiology
Th
Fri
Sat
Sun 10-1 church
Fill in the blanks with lots of time: riding the shuttle bus, running, eating donuts (an east coast obsession), going to med school seminars where they offer free food (Mom, ask me about the one I just sat in on about perimenopausal breast cancer), getting lost on my bike in the streets of Boston, reading long dry public health stuff, doing kind of vague mysterious stuff that unemployed people do.
Ha ha...(nervous Mary Elizabeth laughter)...I'm kind of freaking out about finding a job, but no worries...ha ha ha...something will pop UP
in the mean time I'm rubbing pennies
-erin

Hey! Yo!

You know who talks like that? The Koolaid guy.
Well, there are just two (or maybe three) great things that happened today and I wanted to share it:

1. I went to free swim today and after an hour of self concocted drills I ended up with a pretty decent freestyle. I think that no one but me can really appreciate this, but believe me the difference is BIG. Now I know why newborn babies cry so much: they have to learn how to deal with air. I can relate now, having come from the opposite side. Anyway, when I freestyle now I keep my head in the water (versus my previous weird awkward doggy paddling) and then turn it to the side like a whale coming up for air, you should see it-I am so cute! Ha ha that's funny, but my swimsuit is reversable and that is kind of cute.

2. I just got back from "interviewing" with a family that I might nanny for twice a week. Their three girls are 2,4,6 (kind of like my kitties only fastforwarded a year) and they are really cute. The youngest one kept running around with no pants on (because she's potty training) and reaking havoc while we were trying to talk and when they asked the 4 year old if she had any questions for me she said "what's 8 plus 8?" It was so cute my face exploded off my head and I had to run away to catch it. Hopefully things will work out with them, but they'll let me know after the camping trip.

3. I am going camping for the weekend to Camp Joseph Sharon, VT. Wooo! I've never been to Vermont before and I am pretty excited yeah.

4. That's it really. See you next week.

PS
This foot belongs to Brooklyn.I love you--erin

Kicked Out: the story of swim class

Part One: Ready for my second day of classes, starting with Swim class

As a grad student I can take BU undergrad classes for free, so I decide to take "fitness swimming" to learn how to really do my strokes right (Tye/Mel did they teach us that at PHS? I think we must have been playing with the jukebox...or was that in bowling...).

Part Two: The alien getup

At BU's pool you have to wear a swim cap and sometimes (like in my case) that makes you look like an alien. My class is challenging--although I am not very graceful I am excited that I'm able to complete all the lap drills in okay time. My biggest problem: breathing like a swimmer (i.e. through your mouth and not very often) and not like a runner (i.e. lots of water up your nose).

Part Three: Disaster Strikes

After class my teacher pulls me aside and tells me that I swim like a retard. She recommends that I join a beginners swim class so that I don't injure myself or others. I'm crushed.

Part Four/Conclusion: Making peace

After nursing my pride back to reasonable health I stick around for an hour and then sit in on the "stroke improvement" class. Yes! More semi-retards like me and lots more attention to detail and technique. I am home. I declare a peace treaty between me and the teacher who kicked me out.

The End

Next time: adventures in Biostatistics

My First Day of School

I made it

After yesterday's nuts BUSPH orientation (which took the WHOLE DAY) it was really nice to devote this day to finding a bike route to the temple and enjoying the afternoon there.

There were only 3 patrons at the temple (it was a Friday afternoon on labor day weekend...), so all of the old ladies working there were hovering around me like I was a new bride, asking me about BYU and Boston and everything. They couldn't get over the fact that I had riden my bike up from Brookline ("oh my goodness! You're so athletic!"--and how, let me tell you) and one of the Sisters about kicked me out at the end of the session because she didn't want me riding home in the dark.

The Boston temple is very simple and beautiful. It was kind of a miracle to find something so familiar here in a place I have never been to before and it brought some comfort to my nagging homesickness.
Tomorrow the landlords are back from vacation (I've spent this week pretty much entirely alone) so I am excited to have other people in the house again. My new floor mates should be moving in soon too(!). I guess that means no more dancing around the house in my swimming suit....at least not after tonite....I love you -erin