Happy (Almost) Thanksgiving!

I've always loved Thanksgiving, and I think every year but three that I can remember, we've had Thanksgiving dinner at my house in Vienna. The exceptions are the year my grandparents (dad's parents) took us to the Homestead resort in West Virginia for a joint Thanksgiving/Dad's birthday celebration, the year my family tried going out for Thanksgiving dinner, and the year I studied abroad in France.

My memories of the holiday consist of sleeping in, waking up in time to see the last bit of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, lounging in pajamas for a bit before getting dressed and helping with last-minute preparations. In recent years, we've also had mulled wine prior to the meal, which I love. The spices and warmth are a perfect winter alcoholic beverage, and a great way to kick off the day.

For us, Thanksgiving has always been about being with family. It's a holiday of thanks, eating, and family time, and little else. We don't do any of the crazy 4am shopping events on Friday, and while we sometimes go to Black Friday, generally we take it easy, stay home, and continue eating and drinking. The time off from work, lack of obligations, and being at home makes it a really nice break right before the rest of the "Holiday Season."

This year is a bit different - in addition to this being the first Thanksgiving in 12 years without Riley, there are a few other changes to our guest list. Rather than having out of town family, my sister and I are each having a friend over, and Harry is having his boyfriend over. One of my mom's best friends from her childhood, my "Aunt" Renee, and my aunt's friend and his boyfriend are coming this year, as well. It'll be a fun family and friends food fest!

Why yes, yes I am excited.

Tae Kwon Do

I did tae kwon do fairly religiously while at Northwestern. For the first two years, I rarely missed class and tested for a new belt (rank) at the end of each quarter. As I got busier, I didn't go quite as regularly, but I was still an active member in the club, and it was a huge part of my life at Northwestern. I really loved it. It was a fun and somewhat untraditional form of exercise, and having the 1.5 hours of class time twice a week dedicated to it was also a great mental break from class work.

I hadn't done TKD since graduation in June '08 until I took a TKD class at GWU last night. It was amazing - I can't believe how much I have missed it. Everything was familiar, from the order of activities of the class down to the old, unairconditioned gym in which classes were held. The blocks, the stances, the kicks, and how the master taught and led the class were all familiar, as is the soreness I feel today in my shoulders and calves from doing things I haven't done in two years. It was great to be back, though, and I look forward to going to more classes in the future.

R.I.P. Riley

My dog, Riley, passed away last week. He was twelve and a half, and we had had him since just before my 12th birthday in 6th grade. He had been ailing for a few months, but when my dad took him to the vet on Tuesday, he was much sicker than we thought. My whole family is having trouble adjusting...we know he's gone, but I still expect to see him around the house. He had a great life, "the life of Riley," we used to say, and I think everyone who has ever met him had a story about a time when he stole food either off their plates or somehow got up on the dining room table when we stupidly left the room unattended.

I stayed at home last week and Monday night, and it's weird to not have him around, cocking his head at us, trying to understand what we're saying, or barking for treats at exactly 9pm, or lying in the hallway opening his eyes to look at us whenever someone passes by. He leaves a big hole in our lives that will be difficult to fill. I love you, Riley.

Parlez-vous français?

On the bus on the way to work this morning, I overheard some people speaking French. They spoke slowly enough so that when I could hear them, I understood what they were saying. Their speech had all of the idioms and expressions I had come to recognize and appreciate while studying abroad in Nantes in the fall of 2006. As I listened to them speak, I started to think of my host family in Nantes, and the similar snippets of conversation I'd overhear on the bus there, on my way to classes. I realized it has been four years this fall since I was in France, and I miss it - the people, the language, the food - I need to find a way to go back! Upon my arrival at work, I emailed my host mother Brigitte and said as much. I remember roaming around Nantes with Molly, discovering new crepe places, ordering food and not being *quite* sure if we said what we meant, and ordering pizza over the phone and being so excited when we actually received what we ordered, watching American television dubbed in French and being amused at the difference in voices, and discovering what French université is like for les etudiants français.

I need to start saving up for a trip to Europe!

Job Contemplations

One thing I've learned about myself at my current job and past jobs is that I thrive when I have a variety of responsibilities. The more diverse my job description, the happier I am. I've also learned that I actually enjoy speaking with clients on the phone, and feeling like (a) I'm able and qualified to help them, and (b) they value and appreciate what I have to say. Accidentally getting into the consulting field has turned out to be a possible career path. I like doing research when I know it will help a client complete a particular project, especially when I have the opportunity to discuss it with them and maybe even witness or participate in a grant proposal as a result.

I've always hated sort of useless busy work, that's repetitive, and that isn't valued. So, being able to do work that real people out there see and use is pretty amazing.

L'Shanah Tovah 5771

I realized it's been exactly a (Jewish) year since I last updated this. And I also felt bad for having neglected it for a year...considering a ton has happened since this time a year ago.

Rosh Hashanah is coming up this Thursday and Friday, and will be observed by some synagogue attendance followed by disgusting (and delicious) amounts of food consumption. My parents are almost done with all of the food preparations, and I look forward to a feast of kreplach, challah, matzoh ball soup, apples and honey, brisket...other food I'm usually too full for by the time I see it, and desserts including honey cake, apple cake, and chocolate cookies, for which I find room in my stomach to eat every year.

A year ago around this time, I worked as a paralegal coding asbestos litigation documents in Rockville, MD, commuting from Arlington, VA and back. In January 2010, I left that position for a different job. Today, I work as a Grants Associate for a grants consulting firm in Washington, DC, and live in DC near Chinatown. Last year...well, I kind of hated my job, and wasn't very happy with my life overall. This year, I love my job, and my life, and my apartment. My new job has a great, flexible working environment, supportive coworkers who don't spend their days under head phones, and an atmosphere that enables me to make whatever I want of my position. This past summer was the most fun I've had over the summer possibly ever - I traveled often, saw a lot of people and places, and had comparable numbers of people visiting me.

As the sky turns bluer and the mornings are almost cool, I look forward to fall, a season of pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bread, college football, crisp, cool air, beautiful fall foliage, and numerous other things. With the help (or distraction?) of all of that, I'll be studying for and eventually taking the GRE, and continuing the process of applying to grad schools.

Shanah Tovah (Happy New Year)

This past weekend was the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Happy 5770! Next Monday will be Yom Kippur, the Day of Attonement, in which Jews repent for sins they have committed against God during the previous year. Jews are supposed to settle sins committed against others with those people. The point is to get yourself inscribed in the Book of Life for another year - Stephen Colbert actually covered this on his show last night. (http://www.hulu.com/watch/97278/the-colbert-report-tue-sep-22-2009).

The ten day period between the two holidays is known as the Days of Awe. The Days of Awe are sort of the personal introspection and reflection period leading up to Yom Kippur. We Jews are supposed to think about the past year, what we've done wrong and right, what we have to attone for on Yom Kippur, and what we want to change for next year. These 10 days can determine whether or not God inscribes us in the Book of Life.

As Stephen Colbert demonstrates on his show, Jews are supposed to hear the blowing of the shofar in synagogue on these two high holidays. There are a number of other somewhat archaic customs associated with this period, most of which only Hassidic and other similarly Orthodox Jews practice. There is one custom, however, which I know my conservative synagogue practices - it involves throwing bread crusts into a moving body of water. Called taschlich, this represents the tossing away of one's sins. I have never participated in it but I can see why it is an attractive practice. I can imagine that it might be quite cleansing.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are completely opposite in spirt. Rosh Hashanah is a big festive affair that one celebrates by eating disgusting quantities of delicious food with a large group of happy people. Yom Kippur is solemn, quiet, and introspective, and it is observed by fasting from sundown the evening before to sundown the day of and praying in synagogue. I've always associated these two holidays with the beginning of fall. When I was still in school, this meant the beginning of a new school year, a time to renew my scholarly commitments and make a fresh start if I so chose.

I never really think of myself as a particularly religious or spiritual person, but this time of year seems to consistently bring out the religion in me. Going to synagogue, the one to which my family has belonged for at least 15 years, and in which I was bat-mitzvahed, is beautiful, familiar, and filled with memories. Attending services on the high holidays causes me to reflect upon my religiousness, as I'm sure is intended, and to consider wrongs I may have committed during 5769. So, I apologize if I've offended anyone out there. In terms of my goals for the new year: I hope to continue the gym/weight loss/fitness trend, and not be defeated by the holiday season in December. I look forward to enjoying my job, whatever it is. I would like to know what I'm going to do with my life, or at least what I want to study in grad school. By this time next year, I will have taken the GRE.

Being Jewish becomes increasingly personal, as I grow up and no longer live at home. What I once did because my parents said so, I now question and consider for myself. This is not something I would ever have imagined I would do as a child in Hebrew School, but I've recently done a lot of things I never thought I would do, such as taking trapeze class and eating almost healthily. I hope this trend of trying new things and making myself leave my comfort zone every once in a while continues as well.

There's a little lesson and introspection for you.

Shanah Tovah!

Kate's in the Real World Again

After being unemployed for about a month in May, I decided to join a gym as a sort of early birthday present to myself. I think it's one of the best "real world" purchases I've ever made. I've been working out pretty regularly, usually 3 times a week, since then. I never used to feel so committed to exercise, but after doing so regularly for several months, (starting when I still worked at Troutman and used that building's gym 3 or 4 times a week), I feel like a slob when I've gone too long without exercise. I had a personal training session at the gym today, and my legs currently despise me as a result, but I look forward to doing some of the exercises on my own.

I've also been to two Flying Trapeze Classes (http://washingtondc.trapezeschool.com/about/index.php), one in July and one on Sunday. It's not something I would ever have thought that I would do, but it is so much fun! Flying through the air (connected to a harness with a net below you) and doing a "trick" is pretty thrilling. I'm looking forward to going again. Maybe I'll figure out how to post pictures on here, otherwise they'll eventually be on facebook.

I began working again a little over a month ago, a litigation paralegal job that I obtained through a temp agency. Currently it's a temporary position. It is really nice to have a routine again - something to do every day - as well as having a paycheck. The job does require a car because it's in Rockville, MD, and if I take public transportation it takes me about 1.5 hours to get there using a bus, 2 metro lines, and another bus. I'm borrowing my dad's car for the time being, which is great, but if I decide to keep the job, I'll probably eventually have to get my own car. Right now, the cons are outweighing the pros regarding car ownership.

I'm really excited for fall - I'm still in love with the beautiful and vibrant range of colors that we have in Virginia. They are especially striking in comparison to Chicago/Evanston's mostly yellow-leaved fall. Pumpkins, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bread, apple cider, crisp cool weather, beautiful blue skies...maybe it's my favorite season.

Happy Birthday, Lunar Landing

I've always been fascinated by outer space and space travel. I went to Space Camp when I was 10 - I had an astronaut jacket, used a training simulator, participated in a "mission," and saw Cape Canaveral and its launching pads in person. In sixth grade, I had a page-a-day calendar with photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope. I read and science fiction and watched sci-fi movies.

I first read "The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe at camp when I was 13. Now one of my favorite space books, it describes how the space program began. It begins with fighter pilots, and goes into what kinds of people were a part of it - the men who achieved space flight and how the country perceived them. The book explains the progression of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs and the Space Race urgency that drove space exploration at the time. The 1950s and '60s were a time of aeronautical experimentation and growth.

The lack of space exploration in the last decade or two is somewhat troubling. Yes, we have the International Space Station. Other countries send their astronauts/cosmonauts/etc. into space, and are pouring far more resources into their respective space programs than the US. Outside of the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, the general American population seems apathetic towards space exploration. Yes, the moon is a lifeless rock stuck orbiting Earth. However, it is an excellent jumping off point for further exploration. We've already been there, so we know how it works and how to do it successfully. Establishing some sort of permanent base on the moon would encourage a solid commitment to space exploration.

Currently, scientists and politicians only discuss going to the moon or Mars, or maybe in the distant future, Saturn's moon Enceladus, which the Cassini spacecraft have indicated could possess the ingredients necessary for supporting life. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11736311/). All of these destinations offer us opportunities to explore sustaining life in new and harsh conditions, to discover new resources, and to move us closer to discovering where else in the galaxy life might exist. We cannot assume that we are the only thinking creatures in existence. It seems unlikely that there would only be one planet on which circumstances combined to produce life, considering how many solar systems and planets there are in the Milky Way Galaxy, let alone other galaxies.. Wouldn't we also be able to learn from other sentient life? Maybe other planets' sentient life achieved industrialization without increasing the planet's temperature, or created a "greener" or reusable form of energy that is easier and cheaper to produce than what we currently use. Of course, to even attempt to have this conversation, we have to find those other life forms.

I can only imagine what it is like to go into space. Without the thorough training that astronauts undergo, the process of space flight - lifting off, successfully exiting the Earth's atmosphere, actually seeing Earth from space, and being weightless, not to mention realizing your life is currently relying on the spacecraft you're in and the men and women on the ground controlling the mission - is unfathomable. Perhaps it is this incomprehensibility that leads to the currently perception that space is a waste of money that can be better spent elsewhere. Forty years ago, we rallied around the great unknown of space exploration as an incredibly patriotic example of American ingenuity, exploration, and technical prowess. The mystique of space used to be a part of the consciousness of the American people - we need to bring it back.

Iranian Elections

Now that I'm unemployed, I have all day to read every article in my Google reader. This means that I've been reading a lot about these elections. As soon as the results were published, most people assumed there was something wrong. Now there are articles describing rioting against Ahmadinejad's government and the election process as a whole. Young Iranians and especially women feel they were cheated. It is not my place to say the election process was flawed, or that the Iranian governmental system is unstable. However, it appears increasingly likely that a democratic process was attempted and the incumbent government intentionally interfered with its results. If this turns out to be true, it puts our government in an awkward position - not because we have to play nice with Ahmadinejad's government if/when it is officially accepted as the winner, but because we care greatly about free and fair elections, and that phrase pops up frequently in discussions about countries with "unstable" governments. As it becomes increasingly evident that the elections were neither fair nor free, the US sort of ends up eating its words...or at least ignoring its stated policy.

I don't know how much this will really interfere with our plans for the Middle East. I assume Ahmadinejad's election will make Israel more uneasy about giving up territory to a Palestinian state, but that could just as easily be attributed to Netanyahu's being the prime minister instead of Tzipi Livni. There are always so many different factors in play.

I've always felt that change in nations has to come from within the nation itself and from the nations' own people, rather than be foisted upon them by an outside force. Hopefully this will occur in Iran sooner rather than later. If Iranian citizens who oppose Ahmadinejad constitute a large enough proportion of Iranian society, they will destabilize the system (assuming that the Iranian government doesn't go the way of SLARK in Myanmar/Burma, and start imprisoning everyone who makes the slightest objection to government policy).