my east coast twin

i know i haven't been writing and there is SO MUCH to write about. but i'm tired and i start co-op tomorrow so this is it. the past week i have felt like i am two places at once. thinking about my day has literally been, what did i do here, and what did i do in boston. and, no surprises here, this is due to polo. my team had their first tournament this weekend while i flew out to california. it's been hectic. my west coast self has settled in, gone on a crazy bike ride all around the city (so i can be nice and sore tomorrow), and managed to NOT get lost on public transportation. meanwhile my east coast self has been through practice drama and four polo games. at this point in time i've heard six different versions of the weekend, and somehow i must synthesize from this what actually happened and how to proceed. oy. no one tells how time consuming leading a double life is.

a buffy sampler

the last week has been insane, finishing finals, surprise stay in boston, returning home, and obsessing over polo from a thousand miles away. i'm still "coaching" by writing them practices and getting feedback on how things are going. last night after a somewhat rough practice i ended up on speaker with several of my players. i guess the conversation continued after i went because my goalie emailed me the next day after learning that i am a buffy fan. the subsequent email exchange lead me to spend today watching one episode from each season as i packed. this means nothing to anyone else, but i find it interesting

season 1 - nightmares - what happens when your nightmares become reality
season 2 - innocence - an episode i normally wouldn't watch, i don't know why i never found the buffy/angel melodrama as romantic as other people
season 3 - doppelgangland - haha, willow's evil twin (so to speak)
season 4 - restless - one of my all time favorites, fantastically imagined dream sequences that perfectly capture the main characters
season 5 - weight of the world - another very psychological episode, going into buffy's mind
season 6 - once more with feeling - best episode ever and requested viewing by my goalie, it's the musical episode!
season 7 - conversations with dead people - a very different kind of episode, done in real time, several characters in different locations have encounters that bring about revelations

all great episodes. and going through each season there are at least a dozen other episodes i really want to re-watch again. makes me sad (again) to be gone from boston. i would have had someone to geek out to over buffy.

inspiration

so you haven't heard from me because i have been losing my mind with finals and such. at this point i am down to one remaining final tomorrow morning. i should be studying now but i just can't get worked up because i'm tired of studying and this is the class i felt the most confident in all term. so instead i'm writing my farewell speech for my water polo girls. tomorrow night will be my last practice and i want to leave them with words of inspiration.

which got me thinking about great inspiring speeches i have heard. two come to mind. the first was the graudate student counsil president at my undergrad graduation. his speech was witty, captured the feel of the experience, perfectly delivered, and left me wanting to change the world. i even printed the speech shortly after graduation just so i could always have it. to be honest, i think it's better every time.

the second truly inspiring speech i've ever heard was the alumni speaker that the americorps graduation in 2007. even though this was two years after my americorps graduation, she was able to perfectly nail the essence of the experience, and again, left me feeling as though i would change the world. i was so taken by this speech that i actually approached her afterwards to request a copy, which she happily gave.

kind of cool when someone can touch you so deeply with words. anyone out there had any experiences of great speeches that really spoke to you?

tragedy from afar

have you ever learned sad news in a completely random way? it really throws you. this weekend i was taking a studying break and wiki-surfing. on a whim i looked up my hometown and there was an entry regarding a city council shoot-out. turns out on thursday, this guy who had been cited for about a hundred different zoning and other violations walked into a city council meeting, opened fire and killed five people.

i'm from a very mid-america suburb, and in the past ten years there has been one murder in the area. so to have five (six if you include the gunman who was shot as well) is fairly shocking. the mayor is in critical condition after being shot twice in the head.

even though i don't spend all that much time in kirkwood, at this point in my life it is the only place i can call home. so i find the event deeply troubling. it's hard to see the challenges facing the world, face the fact that even your hometown bubble is struggling with the same challenges, and recognize that no matter where you go life is a struggle and people will suffer for no good reason.

speaking with your hands

the other day i was studying my hands (i REALLY hadn't understood the reading) and began to wonder what someone would think of me based on my hands. i tend to have a lot of bruises and cuts on my hands from boxing, as well as scars on almost every knuckle. yet i have hands on the small side and thin fingers.

there was a time in high school when i got into palmistry somewhat, and one of the the things i found most interesting was knowing it's not about reading lines but about picking up on cues from your hands about how you interact with the world. it's obvious when you think about it - your hands are after all how one physically interacts with most of the world.

all this lead me to do some additional reading on palmistry and a somewhat shocking revelation. most people have 4 main lines on their hand, the heart line, head line, life line, and fate line. but i am missing the fate line. now this is not totally uncommon, but it's an anomaly all the same, and i feel a bit worried by this. supposedly lacking a fate line indicates a tendency to roam and avoid settling into any pattern. so much for that dream of when i can stop searching for something.

i think if someone had to judge me based solely on my hands they would conclude that i'm someone who is rarely satisfied, and probably holds a lot in. what about you? what would your hands tell a stranger?

sports and politics: not for the first date

there's a funny kind of camraderie created when you realize you share an unpopular belief with someone else. for instance, a week or so ago several people who were early to class were discussing obama. a friend who sits next to me turned and said, "can you tell me why everyone is so into obama?" EXACTLY my thought. i'm not bothered by him, if he won the democratic nomination i'd be ok, but frankly my vote goes to hillary. it's nice having someone i can talk politics with who agrees that hillary probably is the better leader, and doesn't feel the need to interject some unfounded comment about traveling backwards in time. seriously people.

on a completely different note, most of you know i hold very unpopular views on boston sports teams. and being in boston when the patriots are in the superbowl is a special kind of torture. yesterday i was studying, and in one of my many random conversations with my 1L stalker we realized that we both hate the patriots. again, it was nice to be able to say "i hate the patriots and their fans are overly arrogant" and not have someone threaten me. and can i just say? THRILLED i am that the giants won. my 1L stalker gave me the full breakdown of the game today and it sounds great. and before you get upset, note that i am not thrilled so much that the patriots lost (because honestly, who cares?), but that the underdog wins. such is the nature of sport my friends. in the final battle it matters not what was accomplished before, each is given the same shot at glory. and with that bit fo melodrama, i am off!

plan b

one of my polo girls mentioned "free running" this week and suggested it was my kind of activity. one of them then sent my a video link and it turns out free running is essentially running through urban settings, jumping/flipping over rails, across rooftops, cars, and up walls. it's pretty sweet and i should pick it up. that got me thinking about all my random activities and suddenly i hit upon the perfect way to put them all to use.

i will be a stuntwoman! it's completely perfect and i'm headed to california in 4 weeks as well. so if this whole "law school" thing doesn't work out, i'm going to hollywood to live off my ability to flip and fall gracefully. haha! screw you career services!