Whitney, is that really you?

I'm pleased to announce that one of my childhood heroes has finally beaten back her demons of crack cocaine and a drug-dealing husband that used to front Public Enemy. That's right, folks, Whitney Houston is back and lookin' mighty fine, I might add. It's amazing what divorce can do.

In other mindless gossip, it seems my beloved Studio 60 is on the chopping block. Aaron Sorkin, how could you have failed me so?

Oh, and for you New Yorkers out there, hurry up and buy your Kevin Federline tickets for this Saturday! Believe it or not, if you don't buy your ticket, the show might be (gasp!) cancelled due to poor sales. And the tickets are only $20. I wonder what would happen if they gave the tickets away?

(um. can you tell that i'm procrastinating? or rather, that i'm looking for inspiration as i finish my application to be a summer intern at the state department?)

God is a Chicago Bears fan

Life doesn't get any better than sunshine, clear skies, Chicago stuffed pizza and your very first, live and in person Bears game at the venerable Soldier Field. I can now die in peace.

God actually wanted me to be at this game. I can prove it.

Reason #1 -- I was in Chicago to attend an MBA student conference. And it happened to be a weekend where the Bears were playing at home. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Reason #2 -- These are the hardest tickets in town. When we told people on the bus to the stadium that we didn't have tickets, they literally laughed at us. The whole bus. No joke.

Reason #3 -- The scalpers were getting arrested. Turns out, the Bears are not only having their best season since 1985, but an article in this week's Tribune about fake tickets brought the police out in full force. On horses too. My friend Ohio saw the police snatch tickets from a guy who bought them from a scalper and then saw them chase after and arrest the scalper. We also only met about 4 scalpers -- who ever heard of such a thing? There's usually a freakin' army of scalpers!

Reason #4 -- The whole arrest thing kinda freaked us out, so we gave up after more than an hour. As we were walked away from the stadium, we ran into a season ticket holder who wasn't going to the game and had two tickets that he was willing to sell within our price range. And we were far enough from the action that no cops were present.

Reason #5 -- Not only did we avoid the cops, getting arrested in Chicago, and the long box office line, we found our seats before the end of the first quarter and were sitting in the front row of the top section, right around the 10 yard line.

Reason #6 -- God knew I needed to end my weekend on a high note, after a mildly awkward but thankfully brief run-in with the ex. Seriously, there were 500 people at this conference and I just had to sneak into a breakout session and unknowingly sit down only 4 people away from him?! God evidenly has a sense of humor too. Or maybe tormentor tendencies.

But at least He's a Chicago Bears fan. 7-0, baby, and a team record 41-points on the board before the half. Aw yeah.

There's beauty in the breakdown

One of my favorite symbols in life is the lotus flower. (Random Lady V Fact: The lotus also happens to be the only thing I would ever get tattooed on my body). The reason why I love this flower (other than the fact that its seeds are yummy) is its symbolism -- the lotus flower is a picture of true beauty that grows out of the murky, muddy waters of the earth. What a truism in life -- we have to go through the shitty times to arrive at a place of purity where we can reflect the beauty we've come to appreciate.

I think I'm having one of those very moments. I received some rather unsettling news yesterday from a friend and had a mini breakdown, while driving through the streets of the District. Yeah, bad combination but at least it was only a mini breakdown. Anyway, I was feeling pretty awful about myself -- angry at choices I've made, appalled by my stupidity, disgusted by my naivete. As though having two midterms and an economics presentation in one week wasn't bad enough.

But there is beauty in the breakdown. I just had to look up and away from my dark and twisty self-criticism to see it. Within hours, I had friends from Boston to Saskatoon giving me pep talks, offering words of encouragement, stroking the crushed ego. The real beauty is how it all fell together -- first the phone calls, then emails, then a Beantown friend happened to be in town tonight and, when I got home, a random letter of encouragement awaited me. It's like I was set up to be broken down, but whoever set it up made sure I had all the right resources to be lifted again. I'm not fully recovered from the breakdown but at least I'm a work in progress. Yeah, you need to go through the shitty times first, but you don't always have to do it alone. If you're blessed enough, you'll have people to lean on and learn from.

Thanks, ladies.

I was determined to know beans

I love the folks in The G Unit. We managed to cobble together a quick study break trip to the Great Falls National Park and a whole bunch of people showed up! When you're so used to city living, you kind of forget how important it is to venture into the country every once in awhile. It's good fo r the soul to enjoy the natural world, you know? As Henry David Thoreau says, "On tops of mountains, as everywhere to hopeful souls, it is always morning."

Well, we didn't exactly make it up to the mountaintop today but we did enjoy a leisurely hike through the woods and an intense, physically demanding game of wiffle ball. Nothin' like wiffle ball to r efresh a tired mind and stir up a healthy competitive spirit. We played girls against boys -- the girls started strong but quickly fizzled. Summer was in charge of pitching and, I gotta admit, she struggled a bit. No, Summer, the ball is supposed to go OVER home plate, not 5 feet to the left! Of course, it didn't really help that all of our fielding skills piled together couldn't have filled Thumbalina's pinky nail. We even tried to cheat, attempting to infuse some tackling into the game but that didn't work so well either. In fact, the whole game was so ridiculously funny that we even had an audience -- the girls were being cheered on by other park guests, but luckily, the crowd dispersed before we started embarrassing ourselves (much like the Detroit Tigers ...)

I wonder what it is about nature that brings people together, even if they aren't outdoorsy types. Maybe there's just something about fresh air, beautiful scenery and a shared activity (e.g. hiking or wiffle ball) that encourages people to be more open with each other. I had a chance to bond with a few more Gang members today and if it hadn't been for this activity, I'm not sure we would have had much in common. Hopefully the weather will hold up a little while longer and we can do this again. Here are a few more photos of the park and the intrepid adventurers:

My new obsession

The best thing to happen since Sydney Bristow first donned a hot pink wig is network TV's decision to replay episodes online. Since I can't seem to break away from studying in time to catch my favorite shows, I catch up online. It's the most wonderful thing EVER -- and I don't have to pay for Tivo or DVR either.

If it wasn't for the Internet, I never would have met my new obsession, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. There are a number of reasons why I love Studio 60. Chandler and Josh are convincing, funny, charming and electric together. Can't say the show always has me laughing on my ass, but hey, you gotta start somewhere. Aaron Sorkin made up for the lack of laughs this week by having Sting on the show. Any show that features Sting earns an A+ in my book. S60otSS also portrays a non-crazy Christian as the lead female character, Harriett. I appreciate that. One of my favorite lines in the show so far -- "Jesus must have been funny in order to have had so many people listen to him." Everyone knows God has a sense of humor. We all know people he must have created while in a fit of hysterical laughter.

So, yeah, my newest friends are Matt, Danny, Harriet and Jordan. I love them.

And now I'm about to hang out with my other friends, Meredith, McDreamy, Cristina, Izzie, George and Alex. Shame on you if you don't know what I'm talking about. Would it make me too big of a TV dork if I subscribed to the their podcast?

Dating and football

Speed dating is a lot like a live fantasy football draft.

1. Things move so quickly and it can be a bit overwhelming, especially if it’s your first draft.

2. There are a lot of men to choose from and you can’t always keep their names straight.

3. All the men are assigned numbers.

4. You really want to give the sleepers a chance, but sometimes you just can’t stomach the risk.

5. No matter what, there are always picks that you steer clear of.

But, on the upside, if it’s a live, in-person draft, there’s also plenty of beer, food, some good-looking men, and sometimes, just sometimes, you get really lucky even in the most unexpected ways.

Such was my first speed dating adventure. And since I was accompanied by three other Gang of 100 girls who have become my regular partners in crime, I think they have earned Prophecy nicknames. Now, there aren’t many well-known things that come in 4s…I mean, the four horsemen of the Apocalypse doesn’t really strike me as an appropriate way to refer to this group. We’ll go with “The Four Seasons.” Here, then, are the highlights and lowlights of The Four Seasons’ speed dating extravaganza:

We (that is, Winter, Autumn, and Spring) started with drinks at Winter’s house (a bit o’ liquid courage never hurt no one) and headed into The ‘Ginia to meet up with Summer for a hectic evening of “hurry up and find your hookup.” Within 30 seconds, I was on a first-name basis with our server, Red, who provided food and more booze. Way to start the game!

But speed dating is freakin’ hectic. First, the ladies sit down. Then the men file in and home in on the girl they first want to meet. It almost feels like fifth grade gym class. You have four minutes to get to know the other person before the hostess blows a rather lame-sounding whistle. It all moves rather quickly and I could barely keep all the men straight. Some had the same name, some were rather forgettable, others were sweet but not so cute, a lot of them are IT consultants… and, sadly, I can’t say there were any hotties present. Oh well.

Remember my reference to fantasy football and how you want to find the sleepers but sometimes can’t bear to pick them over a sure thing? Yeah, well, there’s a lot of that in speed dating. This one guy, #35, seemed nice but had a wonky eye. And there was a sort of latent awkwardness to him. I just couldn’t mark him as a “yes.” Speaking of wonky eyes, we had two wonky eyed men and one wonky ear’d man.

And then there’s the pick you steer clear of. In our case, it was #42. He sat down, hushed me, pushed a blue gift bag toward me, and ordered me to pick a card. No joke. For some unknown reason, I obliged and found myself having to tell him where we’d go on a road trip, what I’d pack and who would drive. This was also the same man who fondled Winter’s hand under the guise of a palm reading. Ew.

And then Red came to my rescue. About halfway through the evening, he came over with a business card and a beer that I hadn’t ordered and told me it was compliments of a regular customer who thought I was cute. That’s bold, y’all. Sending a drink to a girl who is in the middle of a speed dating evening? I figured this guy definitely deserves 10-minute make-out session …. I mean, a hello. But then I got worried he had a snaggle tooth or was missing a lip or a nose or something and maybe I wouldn’t want to make out with him anyway.

Well, turns out, Red looked out for me – Mystery Man turned out not only to be Super Cute Man but Super Genuine Man and Super Sweet Man. He told me he had seen me through the window as he passed by on his way out of the office, got to his car in the garage, drove it up two floors, then promptly parked it again because he just had to come say hello to me. I think I blushed. Then he asked me if he could take me out to dinner. I think I blushed again. Hee.

Anyway, The Four Seasons ended up staying at the bar for at least another 2 hours, drinking and hanging out with Mystery Man, Red, the hostess, the bartender, the bouncer, and two other Speed Dating fellows. This night definitely scores in the top 5 DC Nights I’ve had so far. As an added bonus, Red didn’t charge us for 2/3 of what we ordered and a Speed Dating man picked up the tab that was left. Who needs to cram for an accounting midterm, a stats midterm, and an econ case presentation when you can be meeting random men in strange bars?

Yes, we do more than drink. Sort of.

A small cadre of Gang of 100 members went off on a mini bike adventure this past weekend! We made sure to take a picture, just so we could get a non-alcoholic photo posted to the website. It was a great ride -- maybe 10 miles or so, pretty easy. Surprisingly, I wasn't even sore the next morning. I love when that happens -- maybe that solitary game of squash paid off.

Thanks to a certain, newly-engaged Boston friend, I'm currently listening to a Time music compilation called "Body Talk." Yep, that's right -- a whole collection of love songs, spanning eight CDs, at least two decades, and a maple tree forest's worth of sap. But it's strangely addicting. A middle school mix tape of love songs couldn't top this -- Greatest Love of All, All by Myself, Don't Let Me be Lonely Tonight, Dream Weaver, Let's Stay Together, Back in the High Life Again, Total Eclipse of the Heart. That's only a small sampling.

Speaking of love and newly-engaged friends, I just received yet another engagement announcement email from an old high school friend from the Lone Star state. When did engagements become an epidemic? And when did I get the vaccination shot? Engagement is the perfect relationship phase. You get the bling, you get the spotlight, you get most of the benefits of marriage, but you get to keep your own bank account and house. Sweetness.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog -- speed dating takes place tomorrow evening around 7:30pm....

Time trashes all trophies

A wise man I know recently shared a story with me. It went something like this:

"A former track star was invited to speak at his highschool, where he had graduated a number of years earlier after setting a number of track and field records there. But as he walked through the old gym, reminiscing about years gone by, he noticed that his old highschool trophies were conspicuously missing from the display case. Confused, he looked around the backroom, only to find that all his medals and trimmings of victory had been unceremoniously dumped into the trashcan to make room for the new record holders."

How many of us still bask in victories from days past? How many of us strive and drive and persist, only to find we're chasing the wind in vain? What is it all supposed to be about, anyway? I certainly don't claim to have the answers, but here's another story for you:

"There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, "And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?" This too is vanity and it is a grievous task. Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up."

I think we were meant to have a spirit that calls out to spirit, that yearns for eternity and love, that extends mercy and an open hand, that reaches beyond for something more grand and noble than we can possible fathom. Cool. I hope we all find it.

Squash the thirst!

I recently enjoyed some one-on-one time with a Gang of 100 member, who I'm calling Sourdough. I had mixed feelings about him back when I met him in March -- thought maybe he exhibited meat head/frat boy tendencies, although he was probably a nice one. Luckily I was wrong. We talked about our families, our thoughts on religion and spirituality, stuff that's actually meaningful and has nothing whatsoever to do with school. Made me realize how many quick judgments I've made about other Gang members. Why do we always DO that? Hmmm. I wonder what kind of snap judgments they've made about me?

Anyway, finally, I'm at a place where Gang members are more than just people I go to school with, alkeishas who I drink with, or smartypants that I call up when I can't figure out economics. Folks have more or less settled into their own social groups or closely knit clusters and we're really starting to get to know each other now. In Club5, for example, we're getting comfortable enough with each other that our meetings are starting to get a bit more tense, now that we don't feel the need to be extra careful with our words and opinions. I think it's a good thing, provided we still maintain respect and honesty in the Club, because more thoughts are being expressed. MBA students would probably make a fascinating psychological or sociological study. I should quadruple major.

I played squash today. For the first time ever. And if you had seen me, you would have known it was my first time ever. While I completely understand the need for goggles, I want to know why they can't invent fog-free goggles. And I want to know why the squash ball is so small. And I want to know what real squash players do to strengthen their other arm. My right forearm is sore and I'm worried that if I continue playing, my left arm isn't going to develop and I'll be lopsided.

So, yeah, I opted for physical activity and roommate-bonding tonight with Grey's Anatomy, rather than obscene drinking with the Gang in Clarendon. However, as much as I love Grey's Anatomy and my roommates, I'm wondering if obscene drinking would have led to a different kind of physical activity and I could have foregone Grey's and the roommates because, dammit, y'all, it sucks to be single and not getting any when you used to have regular access for nearly two freakin' years. I had a bit o' fun way back during the first week of classes (which was, like, eternity ago) and wouldn't you know it, that well seems to have dried up. I tell you, this girl is thirsty! Good thing I'm off to do speed-dating for the first time ever on Tuesday ... heh.

Top 5 reasons why MBA students are dorks

5. We use words and phrases like "diversify," "joint probability," and "decision trees" in everyday conversation.

4. We refuse to be seen in public without our laptops, cell phones and business cards.

3. We want to know why the school building is closed on Sundays, preventing us from working there on the Sabbath.

2. We call our Thursday night happy hours "IPOs" -- short for "informal public outings."

1. We listen to rap songs about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in our accounting class.

Dammit, I am a freakin' MBA student. If you have other reasons to add, please feel free ... lay it on thick. We deserve it.

------------------
Oct. 27 -- I'm in Chicago for an MBA conference, staying with a friend at GSB. She was just looking at some of the goodies that we brought back from the Career Fair and jumped at the pen with the built-in post-in note flags. And she says "oh i love these pens!" That's Reason 6 why MBA students are dorks.

My heart is smiling

Over the weekend, about 10 members of the Gang of 100 went out to Virginia to help fellow member "The Chaos" move into his new apartment. Now, The Chaos has earned this name for reasons which are too numerous and overwhelming to explain in full. Suffice it to say that I've been keeping his car at my apartment for the past month because it's currently boot-eligible in The District. He's been living rent-free (and kitchen-free) with a 60-something old broad because he moved here without first finding a place to live. On the day that tuition payments were due, he was calling the bank for a loan. He tried to get me to pretend to be his current landlord because he didn't get around to telling the old broad that he was moving out. I think the evidence speaks for itself. But, he's a good (albeit frenetic) guy. Endless entertainment.

Anyway, The Chaos recruited some of the Gang to help him unpack the UHaul trailer that he, his brother and bro's girlfriend drove from the Midwest. Not only did we all show up, but we had his boxes pretty much unpacked in just a few hours -- and I'm talking dishes in cabinets, books on shelves, even pictures hung on the walls. It just made my heart happy that after only knowing each other for a month, we do this sort of stuff for each other.

And I got to thinking ... I've been so obsessed with studying and getting my career in order, that I might be forgetting other, more important things in life. So, I've added a new element to the blog -- Today's Three Sparks (look over to the right). Each day, I have to come up with three things that spark my imagination, passion, thoughts, or inspiration. They might be little things, they might be big things. Who knows. All I know is that I want to find three things every 24 hours that inspire me and remind me that I'm part of a big world.

Scorsese says Whitey is dead

Went to a 9:45pm showing of "The Departed" tonight with the Gang of 100. Scorsese nailed this one. No joke. Everything, from the brilliant use of music, the camera work, and the acting, to the adaptation of the original Chinese screenplay and the complexity of the characters was impeccable. While I know this film was adapted from the Asian hit flick, it was eerily reminiscent of the Whitey Bulger story....hmmmm....Beantown boys Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg had the best Boston accents, although Leonardo DiCaprio's was pretty impressive. All three men looked great. Leo was fabulous. Go see it.

I left the theater, still shaken up and desperately wanting a cup of steaming herbal tea to soothe the nerves and slow down the heart rate. Then I couldn't find my car. Figures. So, tea-less and car-less, I walked the streets with a Gang of 100 guy, since I had made a deal to drive him home if he walked me to my car. Finally found it, drove him home, got home and found brownies that my roommate had made earlier today. Nice. Still no tea but brownies will suffice.

Of course, I'm now exhausted. Too many late nights this week -- including last night, which happened to be my very first Washington DC date, as well as my very first post-breakup date. We did the jazz club and dance club thing all in one night. Not bad, eh?

And, yes, I've changed the look of the blog. Was getting tired of the old one and really wanted to play around with the beta blogger.

Okay, I resolve to be highly productive tomorrow.

Rumor has it ...

... that Thursday night was an evening of debaucherous conduct among MBA students at a certain school in the Washington DC area. While there might be photographic evidence (Flickr, anyone?) of such slovenly, shameless schmoozing and snogging, I don't have access to it (yet) and you'll have to entertain yourself with words for the time being.

I hear the craziness began at Lucky's Bar around 6pm and continued on at Steve's Bar until about 2am. At least one of The Elders' men finally scored with a Gang of 100 woman ... there might have been more but when one is overwhelmed with a room spinning with more booze and bawdiness than a bordello in Bangkok, it's rather difficult to keep track of everyone and everything.

But let's not leave out The Elder women -- one of them repeatedly infringed upon the personal space of a Gang of 100 man by removing and replacing his belt while on the dance floor. Multiple times. Hell, who needs subtlety when the drinks are free and the music is pounding?

And, oh, the lascivious, lecherous liplocking! At least four members of the Gang of 100 were captivated with a game of tongue-twister ... some of them with each other. Scandalous. And I loved every salacious, slovenly second of smut. The night definitely hit its low point when one desperately-seeking Gang of 100 girl sucked face with Random Penis #1 on her right, only to turn to her left and entertain Random Penis #2 with the same methods.

Granted, it was a stressful week for all the aforementioned individuals. No wonder we had engaged people engaging in some rather raunchy dancefloor cavorting. I've not seen anything quite like it since Simon Smooth Money hit the pavement in a badly calculated attempt at the worm. As for me? I stayed sober and in control the entire night, all the better since I could observe and ogle the obscenities taking place before me. Not that I wasn't tempted. There was Justin, the brother of the bartender, and Random Big Black Man, who kept trying to cop a feel. Then again, nevermind. Temptation wasn't even an issue.

Is this really the future of corporate America? 'Fraid so, comrades.

Only in The District, kids. Only in The District.

Random Thoughts

A few things that amused me today:

Presidential Player. That's Bolivian President Evo Morales to the left. The President's team played the International Correspondents and won 11-1.

Beauty don't equal grace. I tripped on my own feet this morning while simulataneously walking to the Metro, reading the Post, and adjusting my iPod. That's nothing compared to this model mishap at Paris Fashion Week. Why is it so darn amusing when people fall?

Curiosity killed the cat. Derek Jeter continues to be the lust of my life (at least in October). Send those little pussycats back to Detroit, boys.

Dishin' Fashion. Project Runway gossip!! Looks like we'll have to wait until Oct. 18 to find out if Jeffrey Sebelia actually cheated. In the meantime, check out how he responded to a PR fan on MySpace.

Rex Kwan Do. The Chicago Bears are 4-0 this season. I love them. With a little bit of luck, I'll actually go to my first-ever game at Soldier Field on Oct. 29. Can anyone help my luck??

Give it up, Screech. First, he was selling tshirts to avoid foreclosure on his house. Now he's doing sex tapes, with titles like "Saved By the Smell." Ew.

Isn't life already in 3-D?

For a sweet, funny, playful, imaginative, charming, surreal good time, be sure to check out "The Science of Sleep," starring Gael Garcia Bernal (of "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Motorcycle Diaries" fame). Directed and written by Michel Gondry, who also directed "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and a multitude of music videos (e.g. The White Stripes, Rolling Stones, Kanye West, Bjork, Chemical Brothers)

You'll enjoy this movie if:

1. You've ever blurred the lines between dreams and reality.
2. You have a vivid dream life.
3. You've made a fool of yourself while pursuing a boy/girlfriend.
4. You like the idea that love is creative, romance isn't always sickening sweet, and eccentricities are the best part of us.
5. You just want to ogle Gael Garcia Bernal.

Clearly, I loved the film :)