How do you like your eggs?

Since spring (and Easter) are right around the corner, I am devoting today's post to eggs. Here are my thoughts on two types in particular: hard boiled and raw.

A person with no knowledge of eggs may think that a raw egg is inherently tougher than a hard-boiled egg because of its hard outer shell. They might handle the raw egg with less care because they assume it is unbreakable. What they don't understand is that the hard-boiled egg has the same consistency throughout, while the raw egg has a fragile yoke that will spill out if the shell cracks. In fact, the primary purpose of this shell is to protect the contents within.
The lesson here: be careful how you handle eggs of either type, because you never can never be sure what's inside.













...on second thought, I might not be talking about eggs at all.



Also - Happy Leap Day to all! I can honestly say that I have not-a-clue where I will be or what I will be doing next time Leap Day comes around. And you know what? I'm okay with that. There's more to life than knowing all the answers.

Also, also - please listen to this song. The lyrics are weird, and I love it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRjf1B5sDYw

My current mood

Is plaid.

Does this make sense to you? I didn't get it either.

But today, while I was putting my laundry into the dryer, I thought to myself:
'I'm in a plaid mood right now'
Then I had to figure out what the heck that meant.

Take a look at plaid: Lines of various colors and widths, some parallel and some intersecting. Now translate colors, widths and directions into thoughts, feelings and emotions.




Given my day (500 pages of reading and 4 hour test, followed by an afternoon/evening of relaxing, eating my favorite foods and listening to beautiful music), I think I have every right to feel plaid.

Is anyone else seeing the metaphor?

A Dose of Existentialism

For your ears, at least.

In the spirit of calming myself down before my test, I'm listening to a series of songs that do an excellent job of putting things into perspective. Yes, I have a huge test in two days, but right outside birds are chirping and babies are laughing (well, not right now, but during the day). Life goes on.

So here are two. I dare you to be stressed after listening.

1. The Beatles - Within You Without You (also check out the mix from the Love sountrack) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsDfbpYXHRI
Featuring...a sitar!!! Score.

2. The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzR7u4rwFSY
Takes me back to....middle school

Hear Me Out

If you have nothing better to do today (or even if you do), please try to listen to Jose Gonzalez's album In Our Nature. I am usually pretty ADD when it comes to listening to a particular album or artist for an extended period of time, but I can't stop listening to this one. It's been almost a week.

Plus, the guy is from Sweden. Little known fact: I am strangely fascinated by Swedish people and things.

So just go listen.

I'll even link a few videos so you don't have to put in as much effort...

1. Down the Line:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhGRjWvnkD0
(the weird picture is the album title)

2. How Low:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEioJPYnUxE&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLDF1AFD121187880E

But, like I said, they're all good, so don't stop there.

Happy Friday. Go do fun things on my behalf.

And Devastation Ensued

Pardon last night's blog. Sometimes Exhaustion drops in and wants to write a guest post. (At least you only have to read her posts. She tends to stick around and whine about her life every time she visits)

Anyways, tonight I'm back with devastating news. First, the back story:

A few weeks ago, my earbuds finally died. I didn't like them much (earbuds in general, that is), so I was excited to finally upgrade to real headphones. After a bit of homework (ie. price comparison) I bought these:





















*I also tweeted this lovely photo. Yes, I have a twitter.

And a love affair ensued. I spent my days listening to soul-meltingly clear music (either from my iPod, or streamed from NPR, one of the few music-related sites not blocked on my work computer). Finally, I could escape the working world and be with my one true love (music), all while being pretty darn productive.

Jump to today. My last day at work before CPA exam #3 attempts to suck out my soul for good. Needless to say, I've been pretty stressed spending my days at work (ie. not studying). About mid-afternoon, I heard the familiar bleep of an incoming email. I was elbows-deep in a project, so I didn't check it immediately. Then I heard the other members of my 4-pack (think a giant cubicle that fits 4), utter such sayings as "what?" and "are you kidding me?"

I looked up from my project to meet their devastated faces. "Read the email," they said.

I will transcribe the email as best I can (without inserting any personal feelings). It was a company-wide email from one of our managing partners, and said:

"It has come to my attention that many of you are listening to music on your earphones during work. This practice has become a distraction that is preventing you all from serving our clients in the best way possible. Therefore, I ask that you listen to music on your own personal time rather than at work."

So now, upon my return to work next Tuesday, I have 10 hours of silence to look forward to. And now, like at the end of all great love affairs, my heart is broken.

Some Days.

Some days I'm optimistic about these tests: "Come on. You're almost there. Keep it up!"

Other days, I'm not. I sit at work all day, dreading the the hour that I'll be forced to go home and read over boring material or attempt to answer one brain-twisting trick question after another. Other days even the thought of studying makes me feel sick.

Today is an other day.

Unless.

This past weekend, for the first time in a while, I watched a bit of background TV while studying. During a commercial break, I saw a preview for The Lorax Movie (based on the Dr. Seuss book). Up until that point, I had totally forgotten that the book was being made into a movie. I read that book many many times when I was little, and even though I was young and naive, I still realized that there was a deeper message (not that I knew what it was, per se)

Fun fact: though I'm pretty anti-tattoo (not anti, but I don't think I'd ever be able to pinpoint an image or phrase that I'd want to have on me forever, no less a location), the word Unless was pretty damn close at one point. It says a lot, without saying much at all (much like myself?).

Anyway, I'm kind of excited to see the movie, but also a bit apprehensive to see it interpreted into film. Either way, I love the imagery. And truffula trees.

Somthing to make the light at the end of the tunnel shine a bit brighter

Somewhere in the archives of this blog, there is an entry about the concept of becoming 'away sick.' Think home sick, but reversed. My inner nomad gets away sick pretty often.

For the last 6-ish months, I'd been so busy between work and cramming for tests that just the thought of traveling was exhausting (actually traveling - forget it). But now that I've officially scheduled my last test, I've been giving some thought to what I'm going to do with my life once I have leisure time at my discretion.

A co-worker friend and I were bouncing ideas around during a study session, and the subject of music festivals came up. In general, I'm a fan of music of almost any and every variety (but please don't force country music upon me or I will become angry sorry Hoover House roommates), so a long weekend of nothing but live music is somewhat of a dream.

After realizing that sold-out Coachella tickets might be hard to come by (I've dubbed the term Poach-ella to mean waiting to pounce on someone's tickets when they sell them at the last minute, but then you have to deal with insane prices and camping logistics. I spend a good deal of my life worrying about logistics, but I try to keep my worrying and my traveling in separate spheres).

Then we remembered Sasquatch - the hip cousin of Coachella located up in Washington (State of, not DC), and co-worker friend remembered that she has a friend at U-Dub (University of Washington, to those of you not in the know) that she's been promising to visit.

So a few dollars later (give or take a lot of dollars),
I'm taking a (musical) vacation!
I'm thinking this is just the ticket (pun intended) to cure my away sickness and motivate me to study my brains out (ie. not fail my remaining tests).
































And look - I'm even featured on the festival poster. I'm so honored!

Valentine'$ Day

When did Valentine's Day become all about blowing huge amounts of money?
Since money can't buy love, I'll take a cheap, heartfelt gesture any day of the week.
But I also wouldn't refuse chocolates if they were offered. (Dark is my favorite)



In other news, I just got a 10% on a practice test. Brutal. It was only 10 questions, but still...ouch.

Confessions of a Party Girl

I have something I need to tell the world. It has recently come to my attention that I am ridiculously boring. It's 8:30 pm on a Saturday night, and I'm laying in my bed in my pajamas. Even worse (or better?), this is exactly what I want to be doing.

I guess I must embrace my new-found lameness.

Good night (seriously)

50%

I am officially half way done with my CPA exams! I've been studying non-stop since early October, and, until tonight, I was only 1/4 done (had I not passed test # 2, that would still be the case. I shudder at the thought of having to take the same test again/realizing that the 6 weeks of my life I spent studying for the failed test were given up unnecessarily).

The half-way point is a pretty big milestone for me, because now I have momentum on my side. Now that I'm "over the hill," hopefully I can will myself to keep this up for a little bit longer.

Oh, and I just scheduled my final test for early April. Finally there is a light at the end of this long dark tunnel. Feeling: relief.




















I think I can!

Oh In(tro)verted World

A weekend of fresh air and no studying is just what I needed.

Today I went out for a bike ride with my mom. We had to ride on main streets for a few miles to get to the actual bike path. During that part of the ride, we attempted to chat (which isn't easy on a bike). I like talking with my mom, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I just don't have anything to say. Today was one of those days, so I was somewhat relieved when we hit the main bike path (higher speeds and no streets to cross) and all I could hear was the sound of wind in my ears. There was no pressure to speak, allowing me the freedom to retreat into my own head...

Sometimes I feel that my mind is a massive cave with infinite tunnels to explore. The more I think, the more I might find. I've gotten in the habit of going to bed at least an hour before I intend on falling asleep to give myself time to think. I think about what is, what was, what could be. Things I said, things I didn't say, things other people said. I try to fit all the pieces of my life together like a puzzle, and fill in the missing pieces with theoreticals. My friends often tell me that I overthink things, but I don't know if there is such thing as overthinking. I don't think I could ever think too much (or get tired of thinking). There are no judgments- just me and my thoughts.

On a related note, my mom saved me this magazine, which featured an article about the power of being an introvert and the pressure society places on introverts to conform. As you might have guessed, I am an introvert. We are a thoughtful, cautious breed. This is not to say that we are antisocial people (many people are incredibly surprised to find out that I am an introvert because I can also be extremely sociable and talkative), we just need our thinking time.

I Know Your Secrets

Tonight I had a lovely phone-date with my college housemate/jacket-twin, Laura (we returned from winter break having bought the same North Face-ish furry jacket, hence the jacket-twin title), who sadly moved back to Chicago. She thanked me for introducing her to one of the songs I'd posted in a past blog, which leads me to believe that she reads my blog (shout out!).

So, now I know that I'm not just writing these posts to myself. Not that I'd stop writing if that were the case.

I'm home for the weekend. Too many weekends in Los Angeles makes me claustrophobic for fresh air and open spaces and no traffic. Early this week my mom told me that a new bike path opened near the reservoir by my house, so my weekend plans include bike path exploration, spending time with my dog and visiting college friends.

[Of course, I should probably squeeze some studying in, but I've realized that if I never take breaks it's hard to stay focused. I didn't take any breaks while preparing for my first test, and, well, look at the blogs I posted during that time: bad and worse]

Also, here's a link my sister sent me this morning (sorry for all the linkage). I thought it was brief but insightful read (I've never thought about the two types of love, but I've definitely experienced them).

Happy weekend.