So many comments yay!
I'm excited about all the comments on the last post! I definitely agree with most of what everyone said. There is obviously no reason to be "dumb" to please a guy, but sometimes it can be a little intimidating. There is also no reason to lie, but being too proud of our nerdiness right away can also be scary. And Matt had a good point when he said there is a limit to how aggressive a woman should be - but his limit is more "annoying" than "aggressive" it seems. But thanks again for all the comments. My goal is to just have fun and go with the flow. :-)
In other WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY exciting news, I submitted an abstract to a conference in Valencia, Spain, which is taking place in early October this year. I got accepted to present, which is great, but what's even better is that I'm one of the few students NASA is funding to go!! So I get a free trip to Spain!! Wahoooooooo! Anyone have any suggestions on where else I should visit in the 2-3 days I have before and after? (The conference is M-F, but I plan on staying at least over the weekend.) I've been to Madrid, Barcelona, Toledo, Segovia, Cordoba, Sevilla, and Granada, so I'd like to explore some place new.
And finally, this is my 100th post. Seems like not too long ago that I started, but I'm impressed I've stuck with it this long. Now time for me to say something cheesy like "Here's to another 100." :-)
Aggressors and smart women - turn-on or turn-off?
One thing I hate about blogging is trying not to be *too* personal. I think
Jen does a great job of pouring herself out without us (or at least, the majority of us) knowing who she's talking about when she refers to people other than herself. But I can't even attempt to say what I've shared with only a few because I will be embarrassed if everyone reads it! And for some reason I think you'll see me as weak, which isn't on my top 10 ways for my general friends (and not-so-friends) to see me.
In a bad 30-hour stretch with many things going wrong (including getting sick when I was supposed to drink and go out with friends), a short, but seemingly good relationship ended. Without going into any details, I just have to say that men can be just as confusing as women, and I've now been through enough relationships in the past 2 or so years to know that it's a fact!
Today a very good friend of mine and I talked about the "game" when it comes to those annoying but wonderful beings we call men. Some interesting things came out of the discussion, and I think a hotly debated topic is the idea of a woman being the aggressor. Some men find it a turn-on, but only for short-term flings. Others love it all the time. And others don't want any part of it. How are we supposed to know what to do!? I guess that's all part of the mystique and fun of the chase.
Another interesting twist is when you throw a smart woman into the mix. We don't want to hide who we are and what we find interesting, but how much should one "censor" what they say in order to not scare someone away? Now I'm not talking super-nerd here, but when does a smart woman become a turn-on, and when does it become too much for the man?
Thoughts anyone?
Just Stop Smoking
I went to see Thank You For Smoking tonight with some dance friends, and I walked away from it thinking two things. 1) We need to question more what people state as fact and 2) everyone should stop smoking - now. The film doesn't dwell on the dangers of smoking. There is nothing as extreme as dying 40-year olds that need oxygen masks 100% of the time to live and have laryngeal cancer. It's the satire and biting humor that got to me. With that kind of tone, you can't help but think how stupid it is to smoke.
I don't think everyone will see the movie and feel it was another convincing argument against smoking. A number of reviewers stated that this film would do well on college campuses and with the university-minded. It made me wonder if those types of people will feel the same way I did, or if I'm just odd, and anything that has even the slightest overtone of being against smoking will make me raise my banner and march along with them. But truth be told, dearest blog readers, it's stupid, so please quit.
Missing Home
Sometimes the timing is odd when you miss home. I had a good weekend, but for some reason last night I just really wanted to be with my family. Maybe it was the sadness during the movie
Crash that we watched, maybe it was because it was Easter, or maybe it's because it's been a while since I've been home. Maybe it's not that I'm sad I'm not with my family (any/all of it, not just my parents), but maybe it's that I'm afraid of losing them. My grandmother says each day is a blessing, and she's still happy to be here, but she's not necessarily afraid of death. I can't imagine myself ever being that way. I am absolutely afraid of dying, and writing this blog is making me feel the same things I was last night, so it has to be it.
I know this is kind of rambling, but it's been hard to figure out why I was upset last night. Why do I have to be so upset by even the thought of death? Is it because I've never lost someone that close to me? I think of my strong friends who have, and I can't fathom that pain. I've always thought it's better to love and to have lost then to never have loved at all, but when my thoughts lately are always about losing those that I love, it's hard to focus on the now.
That is an extreme exaggeration of course - I don't always think about death. But with TV shows and media these days, it's hard to not be faced with death all the time.
I think I need to stop thinking about this and go to bed, but I can't help but tailor what "Christianity" is in order to go with my desires - that all good people would go to Heaven. This is a whole different debate for a different day, but I want to see everyone I love up there, regardless of faith, and if God is so forgiving, just, and loving, how can that not be true? Definitely more on this later.
Odd personal webpages
I noticed something recently I thought was funny. Every personal webpage I've seen that someone from MIT has made has their picture, likes, hobbies, links, and all that jazz, as most of those kinds of websites do. But then, they also post their resume. For whom? I don't know. Is it for an employer to check out what you look like on the beach before they check out your CV, or is it for your friends, whom you want to impress with your numerous awards and high GPA. It's just an odd combination that I don't get, but look for my resume here soon.
Not.
Keep on smiling
It's hard to write down now all that's going on and how great the last few weeks have been without being overly gushy. So let me just say, you are amazing, and I can't help but smile when I think about you. :-) See, there I go again.
XOT in Boston
Let me just say that I laughed harder this weekend than I ever have in my life. Hannah came up to visit from GT for the weekend and stayed with me, while Laura came down from Vermont to visit and stayed with Davene. We all met up for dinner and drinks at the Cactus Club on Friday, and we just "girl-talked" for like 3 hours. But "girl-talking" with these girls isn't exactly lady-like, which is awesome. I mean, at one point, Davene showed us how she could hide her flask in her bra. Awesome. Of course we also caught up on Coyote gossip, new interests, plans for the future, and all that jazz.
Saturday I had to work, but after that, we went out to dinner in the North End for some excellent Italian food with a crappy waiter who took our wine glasses away before he even carded us. Then, when we asked for the wine menu, he checked all our IDs before even giving us the menu. Weird. But dinner was excellent, as was gelato. :-) We came back to my place to drink, and Marc joined us. Poor Marc. Trying to meet these 3 crazy girls, but of course, he was amazing, and they loved him.
I wish I could list all the reasons why I was laughing so hard, but you wouldn't understand. But for those who were there:
"Apparentlaaaay, we are in the 3rd graaade. Y'all need to grow UP"
"So I was S'ing and P'ing..." You know what it means - I'm trying not to be too vulgar. But how does that work?
"I'm 1/16 Chinese." "What's the rest of you" "Black!"
"Do you need to change your shoes?"
And of course some never have i ever...
Anything I forgot?
We then went out to the bar to celebrate Dave's birthday, and in too short of a time, the night was over. The weekend went soooo quickly, and I attribute it to the fact that we barely stopped laughing. What a great time. :-) Thanks ladies!!
New Pictures
I put up new pictures on ofoto.com. The username is biffbabe@hotmail.com, but ask me for the password (I had a problem of someone posting nasty pictures in the past, so that's why I don't post the password.) Enjoy!
