uncovering my vintage heart

growing up, whenever my mom and i went shopping we always had to hit a thrift store or vintage shop. i hated it. rather, if there is an emotion harsher than hate, that was how i felt. it drove me crazy to browse at those stores, impatiently waiting on my mom to find whatever "junk" she could. at that point in my life, i was very much attracted to all things new and trendy. owning anything that was "old" or that had previously been used by someone else was appalling to me.

i find it quite humorous and ironic that now i find much intrigue in vintage and antique things, things from previous eras: clothes, household items, architecture, music. i think there is something so charming about old things. they have a story. they've been used and loved. they've played a role in shaping someone's life at a certain time. it's fascinating to imagine what the person who used to own them might have been like.

i haven't fully delved into the world of vintage shops yet, but it's on the list of things to do. i'd absolutely love to find some steals to add to my wardrobe or to furnish my future grown-up apartment. it's going to be wonderful to go on a search for things that are new to me, old to someone else.

thank you, mom, for introducing me to vintage treasures.

another reason why i love my (future) career

i have a class this summer on swallowing disorders. that probably sounds incredibly dull. i mean, who cares about how you swallow anyway? well, you probably would if you couldn't eat or if you had gobs of saliva pouring out of your mouth because you couldn't swallow (did you know the average person produces one liter of saliva a day?). it's a fascinating thing to learn about and quite important for our survival and quality of life.

one of our assignments for this class is to have a fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) done on us. we will have a tiny camera stuck through our nose and down into our throat to watch how we swallow. it's a little creepy, but it's going to be so awesome to see.

also, next year i will get to do a rotation with head and neck cancer and trauma patients at a hospital where we get to do swallow studies and watch surgeries where they remove the larynx. i cannot wait.

seriously, in what other field can your responsibilities span from playing games with preschoolers to working with patients who have just had major surgery? i love speech pathology.

current happiness.

• four weeks of school left, then three weeks of freedom before the fall semester


• the unintentional humor of preschoolers


• cupcakes and coffee, i.e. Cuppies & Joe (love this place)


• sales at the Gap


• weekend getaways to see friends


• discovering local restaurants


• G-chat


• trying new beers


• the upcoming release date of the sixth Harry Potter movie

radical.

on the heels of the last book i read, Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell, and my weekend revelation that i'm quite liberal in my political beliefs (yet still somewhat conservative), comes the next book in my stack, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne. i am beyond excited to read this book. here's an excerpt:

"I have a confession I'm sure many of you will find refreshing and familiar. I don't really fit into the old liberal-conservative boxes, so it's a good thing that we are moving onto something new. My activist friends call me conservative, and my religious friends call me liberal. What I often get branded is radical. But radical is not something reserved for saints and martyrs, which is why I like to compliment it with ordinary. Ordinary does not mean normal, and I lament the dreadful seduction which has resulted in Christians becoming so normal. Thankfully, there is a movement of ordinary radicals sweeping the land, and ordinary people are choosing to live in radical new ways."

here's to the ordinary radicals who are out there fighting for justice and peace while following in the footsteps of the ultimate radical, Jesus. i can only hope to live in a way that i could be counted as one of them.

what's going on?

this video was made after 9/11, but i was recently listening to the original marvin gaye version on my iPod and was reminded of it. the problems we faced when this song was written are still present today and are probably even more prominent now than ever. i know that so often it's overwhelming to realize how messed up the world is, but that doesn't mean that we have to feel hopeless. change starts with you and me, with our attitudes and actions. i love what it says in the song and depicts in the video about dropping labels and prejudices, ending poverty and war, coming together and loving people.

we can help, even in the smallest of ways. find something to stand for. choose a cause to support. at the risk of sounding horribly trite, i really do believe we can all make a difference somewhere for someone else. and who knows, maybe someday that effort you make may turn into a revolution.

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
-Bishop Desmond Tutu

you've got mail

oh, how i love the sheer joy received from opening my mailbox and finding a letter waiting for me!

i know most people view snail mail as old fashioned and inconvenient. however, i see it as incredibly charming and sincere. i love seeing the handwriting of my friends or family on the page, each one of them unique and special. there is something so powerful to me about reading what my friend took the time to write so that i could read it just a few days later. e-mail is wonderful and quick, however, it cannot compare to the experience of receiving a written letter.

my love language is words of affirmation (if you haven't read the book The Five Love Languages, you should. it will change your life). encouraging and kind words make me feel most loved. i think this is one of the reasons why letters and notes are so appealing to me.

i will, of course, accept words of affirmation in all forms (spoken, e-mail, facebook messages, etc), however, letters are the way to my heart. now, if only i could find a man who would write me love letters. wishful thinking, i suppose.

return of the pie maker and chuck

pushing daisies season two comes out on DVD july 21! i absolutely cannot wait. no other show has quite captured what pushing daisies did with its clever story lines, charming characters and whimsical wardrobe. creative genius.

p.s. i need to marry lee pace (aka ned).