Owl City L<3Ve.

Check out the music video for this song... its super cuuuuute =)

Leaving the Ivory Tower

sigh.

All around me, anxious and eager grad students prepare themselves for the next step: their post-MA life. They cram for their GREs, the write up statements of purpose, seek out letters of recommendation, etc. Me? I watch them. As it stands, I will not be entering Fall 2010 as a grad student...anywhere. For various reasons, I am in the process of leaving the Ivory Tower of Academia.

Its a dangerous, uncharted territory for me.

And as I head towards the light, I can only see the major pitfall of having been a student/scholar/academic for the past 6-going-on-7 years: I am completely and utterly at a loss.

Here's the thing, you think college would prepare you for a life beyond it. That it gives you the necessary skills to be successful post-bac as you head into the "real word" as a contributing member of society. That's what you think.

Now, granted, I'm sure that happens for some people. Let's just not call them students in the Humanities/Arts/Letters.

I made a conscious choice, oh, maybe 5 years ago, to abandon the path that leads you to A to B to C and gives you lots of money. What was I thinking?!?! Who would have thunk that 5 years down the road, I'd be backed up into a corner with no skill set, no path, and no options.

Stupid, stupid girl.

Okay, so I'm not completely without skills. They are just...peculiar and specialized. Specialized in a way that is advantageous to no one...not me, not society, nobody. And this, my friends, is the drawback and major complaint filed against academics: That their skill set exists only within the Ivory Tower.

The skills of research, argumentation, writing etc etc etc can make you successful in academia. But how do these skills translate to "real" jobs? They don't. So much of what threatens the university system is the fact that graduates are ill-equipped for the transition from "student" to "job applicant." Forget the civil engineers, the chem/bio majors, the poli-sci majors, business majors... what about me whose degrees are humanities and history....

And so, as I prepare to leave this Ivory Tower that has housed me, fed me and nurtured me, I can't help but feel a bit disgruntled that I will be left out in the cold. I can't do anything! I have always been a mix of "not good enough"-- not quite good enough to do Classics...although not quite good enough to do History, etc etc etc-- but this just takes the cake! Not quite good enough to survive? Not gonna lie, it hurts a little bit. Darwin would probably say that I should have been filtered out ages ago.

But here's the thing that worries me the most: I don't want to be one of those people who settle for whatever comes their way. I know that I've been blessed enough in my life to not have to worry about surviving from paycheck to paycheck, and that I've been given the opportunities that I didn't deserve, but I still choose to live a life that has meaning. I just need to figure it out. And soon!

one-oh-one.

I only just found out that my last post (the hot dog) was my 100th post on Mirth! But since its too late to celebrate that milestone, I decided to celebrate this 101th post instead=) woot woot! Here's to many more useless ramblings, annoying obsessions, and obnoxious over-analysis!!

Oh, and to my 2 readers, hello and thanks for reading =) [haha I delude myself into thinking there are even two readers of Mirth!]

anyway, no updates lately simply because I've been too busy. School kicked in and is kicking me down--I've got to be DONE with my thesis by the end of this year, that's like only like 15 weeks left or something! :o I also started my TAship, which has its better days, and quit my job as a numba one barrristaa baby. But its a crazy situation with the universities (as with most everywhere else), and I'm only barely getting used to how things work.

I planned the transition between jobs poorly, I have to say, because I'm basically living on like, no money whatsoever. Hello cup of noodles, why that kids meal is looking mighty tasty, etc etc etc. I even have a running list of the things I will buy when I get my first pay check (that is, after paying off some of that credit card debt I've been racking up since my income ran out): haircut, shoes, paperclips, those big clips for large stacks of paper, sweaters for when it (finally) starts getting cooler, snacks for my office, large, wall-sized maps for my classes, a couple books... as if my paycheck were even something to cover all of that! I know I have to be better about budgeting my money because its the kind where I get paid only once a month, and knowing me, I'd blow it all in two weeks :(

well, that was a rather pointless post, but there you go anyway.

That's some hot DOG!

I know this is definitely a controversial picture, but I find it extremely funny, in a cute, to-die-for kind of way:


Taken from my filipino friend's FB with a caption that reads, " with bacon, grilled onions, sauerkraut and honey mustard." If you are filipino, this is extra special =]

p.s. no I do not condone the eating of precious pooches--or hot dogs for that matter!

French Feast for the Senses

Whenever I get asked what my favorite food is, my mind goes blank. I am at a complete loss for words. I adore chocolate, but I don't have a particular dessert-type food that I love more than anything. When I go out to eat, I usually choose a western-style restaurant/eatery simply but I also know that I can't live without the tastes of Asian cuisine [I can't give up my rice bowls...which is why I can't go on those no-carb diets haha]. Anyway, so while I can't say what my favorite kind of food is, I do love myself some french food. And have a new culinary hero: Tyler Florence. Excusing that stint he did for, what was it, Applebees?, everything he makes looks delicious and the way he describes ingredients and flavors is just beautiful--this is his take on french food. 

Images courtesy of Foodnetwork.com, go there for these recipes. 

French Onion Soup.

Coq au Vin.

Next on my to make list: this scallop in puff pastry with a beurre blanc sauce.

As well as this: steamed lemon pudding with fresh berries. 

Salivating yet? ; )

Guilty Pleasures and M.I.A.

no, not the singer.

I've been Missing In Action from my blog for a while now. Last week, I got ridiculously sick--summer colds are the worst because not only are you feverish and congested, but its also 95 degrees out as well! Talk about being comfortable. I even had to call into work sick--my first time taking a sick day ever. EVER, in all of my 7 years of working, I had never ever called into work. I guess there's a first time for everything. Needless to say, all last week I pretty much did nothing but sleep and watch Tv.

oh, and this brings me to confessing a secret of mine. I spent the hours between long naps last week reading 116 chapters of the korean manhwa Goong, then watching 24 episodes of the drama. It was perverse and addictive and silly and unproductive and lovely and fun. I will be the first to admit that I am slightly obsessed with aspects of royalty, so of course this was right up my alley. So there, my guilty pleasure is confessed!

I'm heading off to vegas in about two weeks, but I am terribly, terribly, broke at the moment. The money I manage to save up I always end up spending on ingredients! Since I am eating my investments, it always feels like I have nothing to show for the work that I do, which is why I sometimes go crazy with online shopping because it makes me feel better that I have something tangible to show for the money I've spent. This, I know, is not very smart or financially sound, especially while I've got credit card bills to pay, so I must learn how to curb my wants to concentrate on the needs. 

School is fast approaching as well, and I am also in my last two weeks at my current job. At the end of the month I start a new job at school (hurray!) but I am a bit worried that my first paycheck wont be until early/mid october--we get paid monthly. This means I won't have any cash flow for at least a month! I really hope thats not the case, because I don't know what I'd do in the meantime :(

Since I've been a bum recently, I'm determined to be good today. I made my first meal in days, a simple potato, cheese, red pepper, and onion omelet with fresh berries and mango nectar. Now, off to do laundry, grocery shop, hit the gym, and get so useful reading before the day is out! 

[p.s. I am in love with Bath and Body works' Pink Grapefruit lotion/soaps. After using them, I smell my hands all day =) ]

Breakfast

yesterday after a fabulous, home-cooked dinner at sonyas house (sorry no pictures!), I had left over eggs that I tried to pass off to sonya but she suggested I take them home and make a quiche, to which I responded, "I don't make quiches because they don't go well with tea in the morning." But Lo and Behold! This morning I made a quiche for breakfast =) [p.s. it's not that I haven't ever made quiche, no that I don't like eating it, its just I prefer to eat bread-y carbs in the morning hahahaha]



mini-crustless spinach quiches with home-made lox & cream cheese spread over an everything bagel with tomatoes and a glass of orange juice. and not a tea cup in sight!

On another note, I can't believe school is starting in less than a month. I've got so much to do before then! and where did july even go? will. not. freak. out. will not.

My throat has been really scratchy lately, so now that I think about it, a cup of tea sounds delightful=)