A Little Bit of Everything (And it all Happened Today)

Sorry, I know this is a little
hard to see, but it says
Merry Christmas

Tale #1-So, I love Christmas just as much as the next gal, but come one people Christmas was 53 days ago.  It's officially time to take down the wreaths, red bows, and Frosty-the-Snowman inflatables.  I mean, I thought I was a little behind with my Valentine's wreath still hanging over the kitchen table, but by no means can I even compare to these folks.  And, I'm sure these were also those people who were the first to put their decorations out too, probably skipping Thanksgiving altogether jumping straight from orange and black to red and green.

Tale #2-On a slightly more puzzling note, today I was mistaken for a 2nd grader.  That's right, at 20, both a student and teacher thought I was 8.  First off, I was sending on a park bench waiting to pick Oliver, my second grade heartthrob, up from school.  Completely minding my own business (actually I was super engrossed in Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique but that's a different blog for a different day, so any-who) I got up from my seat to greet him, when this teacher comes up to me and says, "What are you doing out of line? Is your parent here yet? Did you shake hands with your teacher to let them know that you'd left the group?"

For a second there, I didn't realize she was talking to me, but she was looking me dead in the eyes expecting me to answer.  "Um, I'm actually not an elementary student," I answered, "I'm Oliver's babysitter.  I'm here to pick him up and take him to a piano lesson."

"Oh, so sorry for the confusion. I guess I just thought, with you being there and um;" at this point, her words began to drift off as she abruptly turned around.

Wow, I thought, didn't quite realize I was channeling the second grade look today but whatever.  However, a few minutes later a second-grader snowball fight broke out.  Even though I was standing with all the other babysitters, I repeatedly found myself being plummeted with slushy balls of ice.  The first few times I thought it was kind of funny.

Maybe, Olie told his friends to hit me with their snowballs.  We'd agreed it was perfectly find to throw snowballs in my direction as long as they were aimed bellow the belt.  But then, Oliver walks over and asks, "Hey guys, that's my babysitter.  She's not in second grade."

"Oh sorry. She just looks so much like us," on little boy called back.

Really, twice in one day.  It's not like I'm 4 feet tall.  Granted, I was sitting down the first time, and I guess you could say my outfit of blue jeans, a brightly colored sweater, and ponytail were channeling the quintessential second-grade look.

Tale #3-So after spending 45 minutes in the Brooklyn Public Library, I went to pick Oliver up from his piano lesson.  As I was waiting in the wet room, I noticed a magazine you wouldn't necessarily expect to find in a cool Williamsburg apartment...Men's Journal.  Cover stories include "How to Pick the NCAA Winner" and "Nascar's Greatest Drivers."  And while I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find this magazine on my dad's desk, it seemed slightly out of place in a hipstery, Brooklyn neighborhood.  Perhaps I'm being to narrow minded here, but it just seemed a little odd in my opinion.

So, that's it. Nothing too exciting to report today. 

Just 3 random occurrences I felt needed to be documented.  

The Cubic Zirconium of Romance

Valentine's Day is the Cubic Zirconium of romance; it's the yappy-dog-that-fits-in-a-pocket-book of holidays.  And, for any single gal over the age of 10, it's the least day favorite day of the entire year.  Unfortunately, I have class and work today, so I must leave my pajamas behind and brace the super scary world of cute couples.  And, if you ask me, the only way that this day will even be the least bit tolerable will be if I drown myself in red velvet cupcakes and sugar cookies piled high with pink icing.  


I guess you could say this is my "I hate Valentine's Day" post.  This is the one day a year when you feel like a complete Debbie-Downer for admitting that you had love, but I just don't care!  Why can we just go back to the good ole days of elementary school where every person in the class received Valentine's card?  I certainly miss those cute cardboard papers. 


Manhattan is the capital of people living my themselves.  Pop culture constantly writes of the hard-charging carer girl who gets her comeuppance, either violently or dying a slow death by late-night memo and Chines takeout. It's the city where independence is celebrated; at least 364 days a year. It's that pesky 24 hour span-Valentine's Day- that gets the city is a dizzy.  Thanks to this one day of dread, twenty-somethings everywhere are wondering if they should trade in their little black dresses for a litter box and catnip.  Am I called to a life on singleness?  And all because of conversation hearts and overpriced teddy bears...well, I'm taking a stand. I'm here to say celebrating alone is actually much more rewarding.  Really, I don't need a man to buy me a box of chocolates and cheap red roses.  I'm perfectly capable of dropping into Duane Reade and picking of a box of Russell Stovers if it fits my needs.  

The Dark Side of Chocolate

Twenty-seven million people are enslaved today, announced the Not for Sale state director, Diedre Mars, at Friday night's screening of The Dark Side of Chocolate.  The documentary follows a team of journalists who investigate how human trafficking and child labor in the Ivory Coast fuels the worldwide chocolate industry.

After a stressful week of writing papers, reading French fairytales, and deciphering Heidi Klum's Good Housekeeping interview, the only thing I wanted to do on Friday night was put on comfy pajamas and crawl into bed.  But, my friend Kate-Marie (yes, she too has a double name) was hosting a chocolatey event.  I was in desperate need for a good story for a Valentine's article assignment and figured writing about fair-trade chocolate might be an interesting spin.  Little did I know that the film would pull at my heartstrings so severely.  

Just this Valentine's Day in the United States, the chocolate industry is expected to net $1.5 billion dollars.  Unfortunately, it comes at the cost of 12-15 year old children being ripped away from their families, sold into slavery, and forced into a life of poverty.  For only 230 euros, plantation farmers are able to purchase these children, who have been deceitfully promised a life of fair wages.  As I watched the film, a feeling of helplessness overcame me.  Preteens are constantly exposed to pesticides as they traipse around African forests carrying machetes and oversized loads of cocoa beans.  

Make sure you notice the
Fair-Trade Logo! 

The proof is in the film footage; each day at least 10-15 children are illegally smuggled into the Ivory Coast. Nonetheless, authorities adamantly deny child trafficking.  

So, what can we do to insure this atrocities no longer occur?  Well, being a consciousness shopper definitely helps.  The purchases that you make every day have an effect. Researching who you buy from matters. It's one of the easiest but most powerful actions we can make.  Sure, it's frustrating that fair-trade chocolate has to be so expensive, but with buying fair trade chocolate, consumers receive excellent products, plus the peace of mind that they are addressing poverty, preserving the environment, and promoting an end to child labor.

Fair trade chocolate is available at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Fresh Market and other speciality stores.  A white chocolate with strawberries Divine bar will run you about $5.50.  I know it's pricy, but well worth it; and did I mention that it's super super tasty!  

What would you do for $3,000?

On Mondays and Wednesdays I have 75 minutes to kill between Modern American History and Journalistic Inquiry, so the time is usually spent grabbing an omelette and printing out reading material in the Weinstein computer lab.  

Today, I had over 100 pages of French fairytales to print out, so I knew I'd be at the machine for quite a while.  Well, of course just as I swipe my card and am charged $3.50, the copier jams.  And so, I had a rather awkward conversation as I waited for the mutilated paper to be removed. I just couldn't resist sharing it with y'all....

When I walked in the printing center, the girl at the front desk was filling out a questionnaire.  It looked pretty officially (not like one of those stupid quizzes that will tell you the name of your 5th child or anything), and with RA interviews wrapping up this week, I just assumed it had something to do with that.  Then, all of a sudden, one of her friends walks in and asks her what she's doing. 

"Oh nothing much," she replies, "just filling out a form so I can be an egg donor.  I really want that new Coach bag, and it pays $3,000. Why not?"  

Her friend and I just kind of stands there, speechless.  Did we just hear her correctly? Is this NYU sophomore really going to sell her eggs to a complete stranger for a designer handbag?

As I stand there trying to pick my jaw up off the ground, she turns to me and asks what I think about it.  

"Um, yeah, I don't know," I mutter.   

The copier still isn't fixed; I promise I'm not just evesdropping for no reason.  So, I listen to this girl call up her mom and ask her all these ridiculously personal questions about her family's medical history. 

"Oh crap; dad only has his associated degree. If they don't pick me because of his stupid educational mistake, I'm gonna be so pissed!" 

"Ok, so Grandma died of a stroke. Maybe we'll fudge it a little, and I'll just put down that she died of old age." 

All of a sudden, after I'm completely invested in this girl's life, the computer-tech guy fixes the copier, and 100 pages of The Great Cat Massacre sputter out.  I'm forced to leave the printing lab and ponder.  By no means am I condoning this girl's decision here, but if she was at least going to use the money to, oh I don't know, maybe pay back her student loans I could possibly see some justification. But come on, for a bag? 

So, this whole conversation really got me thinking; is this really what the world has come to?  

1) Has our commodity fetishism taken hold of our lives so deeply that we're willing to put ourselves in danger and possibly risk our ability to have children in the future just so we can have the latest it item?

 2) Do we really need designer babies; what ever happened to the good old days when a baby would be born and then (and only then) would a parent even know if it was a boy or girl? Now, we have to genetically design our kids to be a super geniuses with  blue eyes, standing at 6'5". 

I brought this whole incident up to a few of my friends in class.  And,  I was informed that on the second page of each addition of the Washington Square News (NYU's local), is an add for sperm donations as well.  Sure, they'll pay you $1,200, but would you really want a little you running around without your knowledge?  

I guess everyone just thinks we're desperate college kids who'll do anything for a little cash. 

Warmer Weather brings Alarming Assignment

Just as my roommate Jen says, these last two days have been spring teasers. For the first time in weeks, I was able to leave my dorm without weighty winter wear.  No winter boots here; just cute beaded blue flats for my feet.  Maybe the groundhog was right, and we will have an early spring?

Of course the beautiful weather did bring one downside.  As I walked into my journalism class, my professor told the class it was the day for our first timed writing assignment.  Our class of 12 had only 30 minutes to wander the Village streets asking passer-byes if they would continue to read the traditional newspaper even though media growth is aimed at electronic reading devices.

Just so you know, the results were split.  50% of polled New Yorkers were adamantly opposed towards turning to the computer.  One NYU professor even said, "Newspapers are now more important than ever.  I love the smell of the older generation. I'm keeping mine in print."  Of course, he did happen to say this as he was tapping away on his Blackberry.

In total, my article was only 6 lines.  Sure, it wasn't my best work, but the assignment did help me get over my fear of walking up to strangers on the street and having a conversation.  I'm approached 10 people in New York City, and no one bit my head off.  Everyone I approached was super friendly and willing to talk. Thank goodness!

Mommy Makes a Trip to Manhattan

To celebrate my 20th Birthday, my mom left Macon for a few days and made the trek to the Big Apple.  Although her Thursday flight had a two hour delay, she safely made it to My City, luggage and all.  I had work in the afternoon RALI interviews that eventing.  So, we weren't really able to catch up on all the latest gossip until I arrived back at the hotel that evening.  We indulged in delicious Chinese food from Suzie's, watched Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, then called it a night.  Both of us were exhausted and in need of a peaceful evening in.

Picture from For the Love of Duke

In search of the perfect prom purse for Becky, Friday was spent wandering about the city. We had lunch at the Macy's Cellar and creepily stared at shoppers from the Starbucks cafe.  We shopped at Anthropologie, where Mom bought me a cute dress for Becky's graduation party.  And, I found a girly, navy frock to wear for Good Housekeeping. After walking for hours, we took a cab to Lincoln Center.  The New York City Ballet was performing 3 pieces at the David Koch Theater:  Mozartiana, The Magic Flute, and For the Love of Duke.  Absolutely beautiful and incredibly graceful; those are the only words that could even begin to describe the performance.  Although our seats were in the nosebleed section, the $20 tickets were well worth their price. 

On Saturday morning, we had a relaxing morning at the hotel. I tried to catch up on some reading, and mom planted crops on Farmville.  We left the hotel to make our two o'clock showing of The Lion King.  Last year, we saw the fabulous Mary Poppins, so our expectations were quite high.  Of course, they were matched!  We weren't watching people dressed in zebra print; it really seemed like the cast were actual animals.  Plus, my grandmother, Ma, had given us fabulous seats for our birthdays...exact middle on the front row of the mezzanine.  Dinner was had at TGIFriday's.  And, we ended the day with cupcakes from Crumbs bakery and a showing of Charlie St.Cloud.  However, the funniest thing happened when I told Mom we needed to make a trip to Gramercy so I'd be able to grab clothes for today.  It was already 8:30, and we were 15 blocks and 4 avenues away from my dorm. So her suggestion was just to buy a new outfit. So, that's just what we did. We used my GAP gift card on a new shirt, and my Victoria Secret's gift card on 5 for $25 pink panties. 

My Favorite Book 

Unfortunately, today was her departure.  Before she left, we drank coffee and read my favorite book, The 12 Dances Princesses.  Ever since I was a little girl, we'd always read it on special occasions-birthdays, graduations, 1st days of school, etc.  

She just sent me a text saying she safely landed in Atlanta.  I'm proud to say, no tears were shed as I saw her cab drive away.  I know I'll see her in about a month for Spring Break. I'm just so glad she was able to leave the family for a few days for a visit! 

No Longer A Teen

So, I'm going to be completely honest here. This morning, when I woke up I completely forget it was my birthday.  I took my shower, made my cup of coffee, and ate my oatmeal before I even looked at my phone and saw that my inbox was filled with well wishes.

An 8:00am recitation section insured my early departure from Gramercy, where I literally skated down 3rd Avenue on my way to Modern American History.  All the streets were iced over thanks to last night's freezing rain, and I missed the 7:36 bus by milliseconds.

Cutest Card Ever!

Classes were nothing out of the ordinary.  Just a normal day as a NYU sophomore. Sure, my grandparents called to wish me a Happy 20th, but really the day wasn't really all that different until I went to work.  Now, 3 days a week I'm a babysitter for these super sweet kiddos in Brooklyn.  Well, when I went to pick up Oliver the first words out of his mouth were "Happy Birthday Ashley. How's your day been? I made you this Birthday card." Olie's only 7, and I'm sure his precious handmade creation took him no longer than 5 minutes to make, but it's truly something I'll always cherish.  Scribbled in red ink on a hot pink background, his birthday bulletin is just so darn cute.  Then, when we got home from piano lessons, he and his sister Sophie handed me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers-seriously adorable!

At 6:30, I was off to to ALPHA celebration supper at City Grace.  ALPHA is a 10 week introductory course to Christianity, and I'm one of the leaders for the college group.  When I first found out the beginning banquet fell on my big day I was a little peeved. Here I am beginning my twenties at a church event .  What a bad attitude I had.  In reality, I couldn't have asked for a better night.  Pastor Steve had the best one liner ever and I can't help but repeat it...Jesus is like the meat and potatoes in our lives.  He's the only one who can really fill us up.  Seriously, how great is that?  It's just what I needed to hear.

When I got back to the dorm, I checked my facebook account.  I can't believe I had over 100 birthday wishes.  Y'all are just oh so sweet.  I have such amazing friends, and it's days like this when you really grasp just how blessed you are.  I know this sounds nerdy, but all those people took time out of their busy schedules trying to make my day special, and I just want to thank them for that.

Tomorrow morning, my mom arrives in the Big Apple. Then, the real birthday celebration will begin.  I mean sure my day's been wonderful, but its just not the same without her.  I'm sure I'll be writing about all our NYC adventures in the days to come.

But anyways, now I'm twenty.  I heard the groundhog didn't see his shadowed, so we're supposed to have an early spring. I just hope this old wives tale is true. I'm really starting to miss my flip-flops.