The Prodigal Roommate Returns

My darling Hummykins has been gone forEVER.  First jet-setting to Vegas for two weeks, then North Carolina for a week.  But now she's back and all is right with the world!

This is what one would typically see walking into our apartment - the three of us Facebook stalking, Stumbling, and sometimes school work. (Sometimes Cary is on the end, but mostly he's in his room studying.)  For three long weeks it was just Kate and I, but now the trifecta is complete.

We noticed that our comments on blogs and conversation topics turn...bitchier...when we're together.  It reminded me of a TruBlood episode I watched recently in which Bill Compton explained to Sookie that when vampires live in "nests," they become more evil.  So basically, since our nest is full again, our snarkyness is going at full blast and our tongues are sharper than ever.  Watch out!

Eyjafjallajökull and the Yosemite Conspiracy

In light of the Eyjafjallajökull erupting in Iceland, our pre-bedtime conversation was centered around volcanoes.  Cary mentioned that he thought he heard that a volcano in Yosemite or Yellowstone or something might erupt sometime soon.  Now how would you react to this news?  "Oh really? Interesting" or "That's not good, can we do something about it?" or "Where did you hear that?" are all good options.  Kate, however, flew into a rage:

Kate: Oh they would say that!
Cary: What?
Kate: The MEDIA!  "Oh the attention's not on us! Hey! We're still here! Pay attention to AMERICA!"
Cary and I exchange glances...
Cary: What??
Kate: I don't trust the media.
Cary: But it's seismology.
Kate: Well still.
Me: I'm not sure that this is the appropriate reaction, Kate.
Kate: I just think we exaggerate.

Kate then proceeded to rave about the virtues of Iceland.  Cary was not as enthused and proposed making Iceland a national park.  I reminded him that we cannot make other nations into national parks. And then Kate chimed in:
"Anyway, since when is Iceland a part of Europe??"

I'm still laughing.

By the way, Cary was misinformed.  No eruption anytime soon.

Grrr...

Who's cranky today?  Me.  So here's a list of things that make me want to punch people.

• When cars stay still at green lights
• I don't know about you, but I have places to go.
• The "oh no we're going to run into each other" dance
• Uh oh, we're walking in the same path!  I'll go to the right - oh wait you're going right? Ok so I'll - no wait, STAY STILL!
•  Guys talking about their work out regiments

• I will never care about how many reps you can do, or what protein concoction you've replaced your breakfast with, or how ripped those squats made your quads...or pecs...or anything of the sort.

• Sneak preaching
• You know who I mean.  That kindly old lady sitting at the other end of the table.  "Sure, ma'am, I'll pass you a napkin...no, no thank you, I would not like to pray with you. I'm already acquainted with Jesus.  No really, it's cool.  Would you believe that I'm Jewish?

• The dude that sits with his legs all the way open

•  There is no way your gentleman parts are so huge that you need to take up three subway seats so that you can have breathing room.  Move over.

That's not such a big list - and I feel better already!

HUNGRY!

Being the cleaning champions that we are, my roommate, Cary and I worked up a hunger. Naturally, we panicked.  OH MY GOD WHAT ARE WE GONNA EAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY FOOD!?!?  (Maybe not as panicked as that, but you get the idea.)  After Cary rejected my kettle corn and mini pizza suggestions (c'mon, what's better than that?) and after we gingerly avoided some questionable looking tupperwares, we managed to come up with a pretty classy menu: lobster ravioli with vodka sauce, lightly sauteed asparagus...and nachos (of course).

This hodgepodge of flavors is pretty representative of today.  Slept at the Loft, woke up with puffy eyes and a nice wheeze courtesy of Jonathan Poopstick.  Chicken pot pie for breakfast.  Coffee pot fiasco (we really must remember to use a filter next time).  Room cleaning.  Irresponsible nut-cracking.  Typical Saturday stuff.  And now it's almost midnight and Cary and I are working on our second plate of nachos.

¡Olé!

Balancing Equations

Lately I've been feeling a mixture of pomposity and dejection. On one hand, my fabulous lab partner and I just won an award at the Undergraduate Research Conference. On the other hand, I've been rejected from all the law schools on my list. On the bright side, I got into Teach For America so I won't be completely lost come May. Anyway, my mixed emotions have put me in a reflective mood...

Since I became a mole-person of the psychology lab, I've spent very little time in any other academic building at NYU. So I found myself reminiscing about my pre-med days as I walked through the Silver Center (main academic building) after the Conference. I remembered having to meet with some big-wig frog-lady in order to get approval to take Honors Chem. She peered at me from behind her glasses and basically said that she did not advise that I take it. I wouldn't do well. Forget it. Obviously I took it, got a B and now I'm going to teach chemistry.  Funny how things work out.  

 This post is random, I need to be funnier.

Side note:  honors chem turned out to be horrendous because of this terrible man -> isn't he terrible?  He might look harmless with his beard and his carefree tie-less outfit, but he made my first semester of college quite tearful.  If you see him, step on the back of his heels...everyone hates that.

Maybe I'm speaking another language...

So about 2 weeks ago I quit my waitressing job at a hotel restaurant…or at least I thought I did.  I said “I need to stop working.”  And my manager said “Ok I’ll try to have you out of here in a few weeks.”  I’m not sure that’s how quitting works.  April is a busy month for me – like many important things happening, not just a bunch of doctors appointments - so him saying I’ll be done by the end of the month was not really comforting.

So anyway, I was still working there last weekend.  Now, the weekend kitchen-bus boy dude is very creepy.  Every time I walk in his face lights up – not in an “I’m happy to see you” kinda way, but in a “I’m raping you with my eyes” kinda way.  It’s very unsettling.  I try to stay on my side of the kitchen door, but when he comes out, I make sure to send him on some kind of errand far, far away from me.  But this past Sunday I wasn’t thinking on my feet.  He snuck up behind me and said “¿Cansada bonita?”  Startled, I took a few steps to the side, but I was basically trapped behind the breakfast counter.  “Ha ha…sí, estoy cansada.”  So apparently “yes, I’m tired” translates to “please give me a massage” because that’s what he started to do.  He started rubbing his creepy little hands on my shoulders.  Thank the lord, a customer came in so I scampered away.  This never would have happened had quitting worked like I thought I was supposed to.

So I was also STILL working this morning.  And I was hit by the swinging kitchen door FOUR TIMES!  Back! Head! Arm! Other arm!  Then 10:30 AM finally rolled around and I could finally start closing up.  When a couple walked in...

Me: Oh, I’m sorry, we’re closed.

Couple: You make us bagel?

Me:  No, I’m sorry, we’re closed.

Couple:  Bagel?

Me:  *Sigh…I make you bagel. 

After making the bagel…and a hot chocolate…and a coffee, I finally got to go home. 

Working at this restaurant job has made me question how people understand the words that are coming out of my mouth.  I think I’m speaking English but…I guess people are hearing different things.

Some explanations

You may be wondering about the title and description of my blog.  

"gold-hatted, high bouncing lover" comes from a poem by Thomas Parke D'Invilliers a.k.a F. Scott Fitzgerald

Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;

if you can bounce high, bounce for her too,

Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,

I must have you!"

The interpretation kinda sucks because it's talking about a man that needs to use a lot of flash and/or "bling" to impress a girl.  But as it applies to me, I often feel like I do a lot to prove myself.  I try to take on a lot of things, be a good friend, look nice, dress well, be funny - all to basically make people say "I must have you!" in whatever the case may be.  One of my greatest fears is mediocrity and not taking advantage of every opportunity available to me.  So I will wear gold hats, and bounce, and love until I am satisfied and until you are satisfied.  That makes me sound like a terrible people pleaser, but it's not really like that.

Speaking of opportunities...that brings me to my title!

The Halo Effect is a psychological phenomenon related to a quote by Sun Tzu: "Opportunities multiply as they are seized."  Basically, the more accomplishments you achieve, the more likely it will be that you will achieve more.  For instance, if I receive an award and put it on my resume, then people evaluating my resume will see that others have decided that I am valuable in certain ways, and add that value to their perception of me.

So whenever we do something interesting, useful, prestigious, or different (even if it seems totally unrelated to our goals) we increase our chances of seizing new opportunities in the future and gaining what we want out of life.

That may have bored you and I apologize.  However, I think it applies to my life right now because I am taking a detour.  I'm teaching even though I ultimately don't want to be a teacher.  I have a Psychology degree even though I don't really want to be a psychologist.  Eventually I'd like to go to law school.  And culinary school.  And many other things that seem unrelated.  But I think that as I go along and collect evidence of my various interests, my true passion will come to me.  And I'll be prepared to seize it.