Read this very thoughtful essay by the Harvard Admission Committee on the best way to live in the moment during the teen/college age years
http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/prospective/applying/time_off/timeoff.html
Friday, April 06, 2007
East Coast Living
I was watching a new show on ABC last night "October Road." Usually I don't take an interest in a show just for the scenery but I'm a sucker for New England fall.
Growing up in New Jersey, I've seen my fair share of leaf piles and all the other images conjured up with this magical time of year. Why am I thinking about Fall in the middle of a typical rainy Spring? The answer is, I have no idea.
Here's another thing I love about living on the East Coast: Lax Games. Yes there's something very particular regional about Lacrosse, the way Surfing is to the West Coast. It's a part of our culture, an annual rite of the spring sports season at the high school and college level. It brings people together, okay it's most WASP/JCrew/Preppy types but still we love this game!
I went to my alma-mater yesterday, Drew University, to meet a fellow alum for dinner. I stopped in to watch the men's game until my friend arrived and I felt right at home. There was a LOT of chatter out on the field and the fans were just as eager to support the players on the field. For a game invented by Native Americans, East Coasters have taken it up with a passion and made it a true athletic event. There's a lot of running, a lot of strategy and yet a lot of graceful but rapid passing.
The last thing I love about living on the Coast- we have equal access to everything outdoors because we have both the Shore and the Mountains. Sure the temperatures change faster than the gas prices here lately, that's why Polartec was invented people!
Growing up in New Jersey, I've seen my fair share of leaf piles and all the other images conjured up with this magical time of year. Why am I thinking about Fall in the middle of a typical rainy Spring? The answer is, I have no idea.
Here's another thing I love about living on the East Coast: Lax Games. Yes there's something very particular regional about Lacrosse, the way Surfing is to the West Coast. It's a part of our culture, an annual rite of the spring sports season at the high school and college level. It brings people together, okay it's most WASP/JCrew/Preppy types but still we love this game!
I went to my alma-mater yesterday, Drew University, to meet a fellow alum for dinner. I stopped in to watch the men's game until my friend arrived and I felt right at home. There was a LOT of chatter out on the field and the fans were just as eager to support the players on the field. For a game invented by Native Americans, East Coasters have taken it up with a passion and made it a true athletic event. There's a lot of running, a lot of strategy and yet a lot of graceful but rapid passing.
The last thing I love about living on the Coast- we have equal access to everything outdoors because we have both the Shore and the Mountains. Sure the temperatures change faster than the gas prices here lately, that's why Polartec was invented people!
Friday, February 02, 2007
Candidate Maggie
Yesterday, I began campaigning for Ph.D Admission '08. Much like the many presidential candidates who've thrown their hat into the '08 Presidential Race, I myself have officially declared my intention to become a Ph.D. student in the 20th century British Novel.
My first stop was Storrs, CT to spend the day at UConn. I had the chance to meet a 2nd cousin, who's a professor there, as well as meet my future teachers and students. The campus reminds me a little of Middlebury (in the country) and a LOT of Cornell (mucho money spent on the physical plant). While my visit lasted about 4 hours, I was more than satisfied with what I saw. In fact, I received an outstanding first impression.
I could definitely find my niche in that place and also feel okay spending my weekends back in ol' NJ.
My first stop was Storrs, CT to spend the day at UConn. I had the chance to meet a 2nd cousin, who's a professor there, as well as meet my future teachers and students. The campus reminds me a little of Middlebury (in the country) and a LOT of Cornell (mucho money spent on the physical plant). While my visit lasted about 4 hours, I was more than satisfied with what I saw. In fact, I received an outstanding first impression.
I could definitely find my niche in that place and also feel okay spending my weekends back in ol' NJ.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Thursday, January 04, 2007
People Looking For You
Do you ever feel like everyone is always looking for you? I basically have my cell phone on me at all times, a phenomena I never expected to include in my daily routine.
People from work call me on it (within business hours, luckily) as if anytime, anywhere I will have an answer to their question or can fulfill their request immediately. This morning, for example, I was about 2 miles from my office and I received a call about a bill that's due for our office furniture rental. So I reach over, grabbed my corporate charge card and read off the number while I was driving!
Okay, I'm also known for eating and drinking coffee (my car would tell you that wholeheartedly) while I'm driving so this task is not so far fetched. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I've willingly become one of the people who lives a mobile ungrounded existence. I have everything I could possibly need in my car except a washing machine and dryer!
There are other people looking for me, my boyfriend, my parents at 2 am when I haven't come home. My grandmother always enjoys my calls in transit ("Where are you, on the train?"/ "No Gram, I'm crossing a bridge").
The following people are NOT looking for me: The I.R.S; A Jehovah's Witness; My very short list of Ex's. And with that I await my cell to briiing briing again...
Mags
People from work call me on it (within business hours, luckily) as if anytime, anywhere I will have an answer to their question or can fulfill their request immediately. This morning, for example, I was about 2 miles from my office and I received a call about a bill that's due for our office furniture rental. So I reach over, grabbed my corporate charge card and read off the number while I was driving!
Okay, I'm also known for eating and drinking coffee (my car would tell you that wholeheartedly) while I'm driving so this task is not so far fetched. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I've willingly become one of the people who lives a mobile ungrounded existence. I have everything I could possibly need in my car except a washing machine and dryer!
There are other people looking for me, my boyfriend, my parents at 2 am when I haven't come home. My grandmother always enjoys my calls in transit ("Where are you, on the train?"/ "No Gram, I'm crossing a bridge").
The following people are NOT looking for me: The I.R.S; A Jehovah's Witness; My very short list of Ex's. And with that I await my cell to briiing briing again...
Mags
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Monday, December 04, 2006
Joyeux Noel
December 2006
Dear Friends & Family,
Yes my life has officially become exciting enough to turn into a “Christmas Letter.” Okay so I also never got around to buying cards at half price last year…
Part One: My Work Life or My Life’s Work…
The beginning of 2006 found me studying very diligently for my Masters’ Comprehensive Exam from January through March. It was an intense but rewarding experience as I received a Passing Grade and graduated Cum Laude from Rutgers University. Yes I’m officially a RU alum but I never rooted for the Knights (do you blame me?).
When no full-time teaching jobs came through, I focused on finding another administrative job, as mine was moving out of Manhattan and up to the Westchester area in the fall. After 2 months, I received an offer from the Licensing department of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Five weeks and fifteen pounds lighter, I asked to be fired. Yes it was that bad! Luckily, my old company (On2.com) took me back and I now commute to Tarrytown, NY four days a week.
I have a second job as an adjunct instructor at my local community college where I began teaching during the fall semester. I teach two sections of college composition at Union County College in Cranford and enjoy the challenge of getting my students (most of my students are in the nursing program) excited about William Shakespeare and Arthur Miller, who are among the plethora of authors I teach during the semester.
This coming spring, I will begin the arduous process of applying for a Ph.D program in the Tri-State Area (that’s NY, NJ. CT for you folks out of the East Coast area). The community college I adjunct at will fund my studies and give me a starting professorship. I look forward to beginning that challenge full-time between 2008-2010. In the meantime, I will head out to Chicago to the Wade Center at Wheaton College in March 2007 to begin my research on CS Lewis and Modern Myth Theory, my current area of concentration. Let’s see if I can make my enthusiasm for this subject last until 2016!
Part Two: My Social Life’s Progress
In June, I traveled out to the Coast to see my Gram’s new digs in PDX (Portland, OR) and my cousin Jenn in Olympia, WA. I always have a fantastic time when I visit my family and this trip was no exception! I went there to visit a new place and was never without an outstanding selection of seafood as there was more than enough to enjoy.
Many of you who know me are aware that Maggie and dating don’t often go (if at all) in the same sentence. So to rectify this discord, I caved and joined Match.com because the local Christian dating pool is well quite shallow. About four months later, I received a very eager but polite e-mail from a nice guy named Hernan. I made him go through the online dating routine of emailing, then a phone call, then first date in a safe location. I knew he had my attention when he yanked ( I mean firmly guided me away) from crossing the street haphazardly on 6th and 41st street after we met for coffee in Bryant Park.
I am thrilled to report that he’s got me taking naps, drinking coffee, and R E L A X I N G (not in that particular order mind you). We are having a great time getting to know one another and about our different cultures (he’s from Cali, Colombia and I’m a Jersey Girl). We’re usually found correcting each other’s grammar in our native tongue. He is very eager to get into an MBA program and run a business thereafter in the States. In the meantime, he works as an Account Manager for Eldorado Coffee in Maspeth, Queens ( http://eldoradocoffee.com). Yes I will provide coffee by the pound by mail upon request. Hernan studies harder than me (yes that is possible) for his GMAT exam as well as becoming a fully fluent American speaker (he’s also determined to speak as well as I do...without my SAT vocabulary!).
Well that’s all I have report for this year; I’m sure it’s enough for you to take in! As you can tell, I am healthy and happy.
Best wishes for a Blessed Holiday Season.
Dear Friends & Family,
Yes my life has officially become exciting enough to turn into a “Christmas Letter.” Okay so I also never got around to buying cards at half price last year…
Part One: My Work Life or My Life’s Work…
The beginning of 2006 found me studying very diligently for my Masters’ Comprehensive Exam from January through March. It was an intense but rewarding experience as I received a Passing Grade and graduated Cum Laude from Rutgers University. Yes I’m officially a RU alum but I never rooted for the Knights (do you blame me?).
When no full-time teaching jobs came through, I focused on finding another administrative job, as mine was moving out of Manhattan and up to the Westchester area in the fall. After 2 months, I received an offer from the Licensing department of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Five weeks and fifteen pounds lighter, I asked to be fired. Yes it was that bad! Luckily, my old company (On2.com) took me back and I now commute to Tarrytown, NY four days a week.
I have a second job as an adjunct instructor at my local community college where I began teaching during the fall semester. I teach two sections of college composition at Union County College in Cranford and enjoy the challenge of getting my students (most of my students are in the nursing program) excited about William Shakespeare and Arthur Miller, who are among the plethora of authors I teach during the semester.
This coming spring, I will begin the arduous process of applying for a Ph.D program in the Tri-State Area (that’s NY, NJ. CT for you folks out of the East Coast area). The community college I adjunct at will fund my studies and give me a starting professorship. I look forward to beginning that challenge full-time between 2008-2010. In the meantime, I will head out to Chicago to the Wade Center at Wheaton College in March 2007 to begin my research on CS Lewis and Modern Myth Theory, my current area of concentration. Let’s see if I can make my enthusiasm for this subject last until 2016!
Part Two: My Social Life’s Progress
In June, I traveled out to the Coast to see my Gram’s new digs in PDX (Portland, OR) and my cousin Jenn in Olympia, WA. I always have a fantastic time when I visit my family and this trip was no exception! I went there to visit a new place and was never without an outstanding selection of seafood as there was more than enough to enjoy.
Many of you who know me are aware that Maggie and dating don’t often go (if at all) in the same sentence. So to rectify this discord, I caved and joined Match.com because the local Christian dating pool is well quite shallow. About four months later, I received a very eager but polite e-mail from a nice guy named Hernan. I made him go through the online dating routine of emailing, then a phone call, then first date in a safe location. I knew he had my attention when he yanked ( I mean firmly guided me away) from crossing the street haphazardly on 6th and 41st street after we met for coffee in Bryant Park.
I am thrilled to report that he’s got me taking naps, drinking coffee, and R E L A X I N G (not in that particular order mind you). We are having a great time getting to know one another and about our different cultures (he’s from Cali, Colombia and I’m a Jersey Girl). We’re usually found correcting each other’s grammar in our native tongue. He is very eager to get into an MBA program and run a business thereafter in the States. In the meantime, he works as an Account Manager for Eldorado Coffee in Maspeth, Queens ( http://eldoradocoffee.com). Yes I will provide coffee by the pound by mail upon request. Hernan studies harder than me (yes that is possible) for his GMAT exam as well as becoming a fully fluent American speaker (he’s also determined to speak as well as I do...without my SAT vocabulary!).
Well that’s all I have report for this year; I’m sure it’s enough for you to take in! As you can tell, I am healthy and happy.
Best wishes for a Blessed Holiday Season.
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