From D.C. Back to N.C.

Whew. I would love to say that I have time for lots of updates, but I'm really just too tired. Not to mention that I have a new book waiting for me. (Fast Food Nation. More depressing food journalism--my future awaits.)

I am now back in Cary after a whirlwind adventure. I packed up most of my stuff on Friday, moved out Saturday, then drove to Nags Head the following afternoon.

Rosie took me hang gliding and kayaking on Monday, from which I am still recovering. I had so much fun learning to fly, but I could have done without the whiplash.

Now, I'm back here until Friday. I cannot wait to move into my Chapel Hill house. My own room, my own bathroom, a kitchen with an island...

Speaking of islands, I'm leaving for St. Thomas on Sunday. I don't know when I became so good at traveling around eastern North America, but I really can't complain. And that's all for now.

The LeaderShape Institute: Review

All better! Well, actually, I've managed to replace one affliction with another, trading an emotional breakdown for pink eye...

I feel relieved nonetheless. I have all these lovely pictures through which to peruse, and I'm realizing that getting off the plane to Raleigh was by no means an end, though the usually well-suppressed pessimist in me was screaming otherwise. Despite spending an entire week repeating the phrase "healthy disregard for the impossible," I had promptly discarded all that I learned.

Although the name of the program implies that one will be shaped into a leader by attending, I think I had that part under control from years of being an older sister and an overachiever extraordinaire. What I took from LeaderShape reinforced my hope in people. Remember how my first year of college did that for me? Well, I love being reminded.


Thus, I'm feeling way better about life. I can see my vision falling into place with tangible (and edible) results. I can also see myself 20 years from now still talking (and arguing) with fellow LeaderShapers.

The LeaderShape Institute: Recovery

I can't believe that this time last week, I was packing for Illinois, and now I'm back already. To be quite honest, I am utterly depressed. You know that feeling when you recognize that one of the best moments of your life has passed? Perhaps not. I get them from time to time, and I swear they suck all the happiness out of me. I think Audrey Hepburn's character Holly Golightly accurately described them as the "mean reds" in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

In any case, it's not the week that caused the mean reds. It's the aftermath. I want my life to always feel the way it did in that small town outside of Champaign. Instead, I'll spend the next three weeks working two jobs and preparing for D.C. I know this summer is going to change my life (it already has), but the waiting hurts.

I am physically and emotionally exhausted right now.

I'll post "The LeaderShape Institute: Review" when I'm feeling a little better.

Lagging with Updates, but Not Jet-Lagged

I'm baaaaaack!

I have so much to write, but I should probably sleep soon to once again regulate my schedule.

Expect Germany stories in installments throughout the week.

A picture preview:

Two G's

Germany and Georgetown.

I'll be in the former in a little over a week and the latter in a little over three months.

I know I should live in the present and enjoy my life as it comes, but goodness. I have so much to look forward to!

A Lesson in Civility

I attended the ACC Leadership Conference this weekend at Virginia Tech, and while I'm not sure I took away the main points of the meeting, I really did learn something.

We had a case study involving Rwandan health issues, but I found a few other studies more interesting. A further study of people, for instance.

Specifically, the other ACC schools opened my eyes to a world outside the UNC bubble. I always forget that not everyone shares an experience similar to Carolina's. I feel enlightened after hearing the ways that other schools operate.

And I still like mine best :-)

I will have to elaborate on those thoughts later, however. A weekend devoted to leadership leaves little time to do actual coursework.

Traveling from one world to another

I am off to New Orleans!

For whatever reason, I've been listening to Randy Newman's "Louisiana 1927" repeatedly. Maybe it's just providing the strength and motivation I need for the next few days. I will undoubtedly confront a lot of social & political issues, but hopefully encounter a lot of hope as well.

What has happened down here is the wind have changed
Clouds roll in from the north and it started to rain
Rained real hard and rained for a real long time
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline

The river rose all day
The river rose all night
Some people got lost in the flood
Some people got away alright
The river have busted through cleard down to Plaquemines
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangelne

Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away

President Coolidge came down in a railroad train
With a little fat man with a note-pad in his hand
The President say,
"Little fat man isn't it a shame what the river has done
To this poor crackers land?"

No More Singing the Bus Ride Blues

Yesterday, as I sat on the bus, headed for the chiropractor, I heard two older women discussing the many afflictions with which they were plagued. Actually, now that I think about it, I would have had plenty of complaints to contribute to the conversation, already, at my age. Mostly courtesy of my spine.

Anyway, one woman had just had her gallbladder removed. (If anybody knows the purpose of that particular organ, please let me know.) She also just underwent hip surgery. The other had just endured a particularly nasty ant attack while in the garden, which reminded the first woman that she'd recently been bitten up by chiggers while lying in bed. Who even knew those still existed?

Their conversation did it for me. Those women officially secured my complete and utter adoration for riding the bus.

There's something so rewarding about taking public transportation. It's giving your seat (to one of those old ladies) just because it's polite. It's reading the tattoo of the rider next to you and wondering what compels him to "write," as spelled out on his arm. It's overhearing a seemingly taboo conversation between two strangers.

I find reassurance in the activity. Sure, the interaction is forced, in some regard. We all have places to go and people to see. People, presumably, other than those on the bus. But for that brief time, I feel so at ease with the knowledge that we're all people, and we're all in this together. (Accidental Ben Lee reference. Good song though.)

In this digital age, I fear we are beginning to forget. Twitter and Facebook status updates keep us linked, but remotely. Can much of an emotional reaction be summoned by 10 words on the screen written by that guy you used to know and don't remember how but the relationship must be important because, after all, you're Facebook friends? But then, what if he was right next to you on the bus?

If the opportunity arose, I would still rather have my car on campus. It's convenient. It's quiet. But I'm also glad I don't have that luxury. I still enjoy being packed into a dangerously crowded bus. Technology makes it easy to hate people, just as it simplifies everything else, but learning people's medical histories on the bus endears me to them once again.