Class of 2004

So my 5 year high school reunion is a week from today. Of course, that kind of landmark makes one pause a moment. The unoriginal question "where did the time go?" immediately springs to mind. But when I stop to ponder that question, of course it's easy to break down where the time did go. For most of us it's been four years of college and one year in the proverbial "real world". Ta da. Here we are. But still it's almost impossible to comprehend the speed of time in which all that has happened.

The other thing I realize is how much really has changed in that span of time. Or, more importantly, how much we, ourselves, have changed. For me, it's funny to think of who I was in high school, compared to who I am today. In high school I was shy, timid, studious, unadventurous, self-conscious, self-doubtful. And yet, incongruously, I was also confident in my abilities, competent and convinced that I was capable of great and interesting things. I've since grown out of that first, adolescence-inspired list of adjectives (and thank God for that). But, I believe the second list of qualities still holds true.  

I'm not actually attending my reunion, but if I were I'm sure I would be equally impressed with the changes my peers have undergone. In the past year I've actually caught up with some people who I went to high school with. I'd been out of touch with them for years. I was impressed by all of them, regardless of my naive, limited impressions of them from high school. I was also absurdly pleased with how well we get along now. It seems a testament to each of us not only that we've matured individually but that we can recognize and appreciate that maturity and independence in others. In some ways we have grown up together, yet we have each traveled very different journeys. Reconnecting at this stage brings with it both a comforting familiarity and an exciting newness. Cheers to you, class of 2004.

Jotting things down

So this writing revolution of mine (aka my recommitment to blogging and booking) is not proving to be a piece of cake. Not that I thought it would be, but I do find that I need to constantly prod myself into sitting down and typing something out. I find this curious because it is indeed something that I want to do. I enjoy it; I find it very satisfying when I get on a roll, and I always feel accomplished when I've made some progress. So what then is this natural force that makes me disinclined to actually do it? But here I am again. I'm trying. So I guess I will give myself credit for that. I feel that so long as I am constantly nagging at myself, there's hope.  

I carry a little notebook with me to jot ideas down in, but it's a far cry from being able to actually flesh out and develop a thought while I'm on the go. Much as I love my macbook, it's not as portable as I would wish. So, I'm putting on my christmas wish list a request for one of those teeny tiny word processing laptops so that I can carry it with me. My parents don't know that's on my wish list but they soon will... a mini laptop and a really good traveling backpack (more on that later). Being able to write on the t or stop in a coffee shop to do some work on my way home would greatly increase my free writing time. So enough excuses. I leave you now to put in some quality one-on-one time with my book. 

All aboard

I have a love/hate relationship with trains. They are inconvenient, slow and often unpredictable. For the four years I spent up in Montreal, a ten hour train ride was my main way of getting to and from school. I grew to despise Amtrak's Adirondack route. Each time I would suffer through so many stops, hours waiting for customs at the border.  More than once I made the trip on minimal sleep and with a crippling hangover (you'd think I'd learn). 

When I was in Italy, I spent every Saturday at a train station in some tiny overlooked town, leaving what had been my home and my family for the week, only to board a train and start all over again. So often I just wanted to take some time and enjoy where I was and who I was with, to take a little break from the road. 

Now I'm living in Boston, riding subway cars multiple times daily. Each time is  different experience, new people to watch, new conversations to eavesdrop on. At the moment, I find myself on the commuter rail to Providence. What is not normally a pretty view out the window is even bleaker now that the yellow-orange leaves have fallen from the maple trees and only the grungy brown oak leaves are left hanging on.

And yet, it is safe to say my train-love outweighs my train-hate. I'm at home in train stations. They hold a promise of adventure, of stories not yet told. I sit here, rocking to some Jason Mraz (specifically Make it Mine) and I feel like I'm in a movie as the buildings, cars, trees glide past me. I remember a 22 hour trip from San Remo all the way down to Sicily - first a sleeper train to Rome's Termini station, then a 12 hour trip down along the west coast, through Naples, onto a ferry, off a ferry and finally arriving in Acireale, just north of Catania. That train trip showed me a whole country. It was my grand introduction to the summer that would follow. 

Trains are so much more personal than planes. You're down on the ground, you can see life happening. And they're so much more welcoming than buses. Buses compete with traffic, traveling the infrastructural arteries of a place without getting close enough to see the beauty. Even the train to Montreal was a beautiful trip, traveling up through the woods of Vermont along the shores of Lake Champlain. I'd often see blue heron, deer, and bald eagles. In the woods houses were nestled, smoke rising from chimneys. In winter ice fisherman sat rigid in folding chairs on the lake. 

Trains are fascinating. While out the window you can see life as it passes, on the train you can see it up close and personal. You get a real broad slice of people from the area, businesspeople, students, economically disadvantaged, regular joes on the way to the football game, and me. 

Trains make me nostalgic and hopeful and ready for an adventure.

A Practically Perfect Halloween

Oh Halloween, that day of mischief and mayhem. Generally I'm not a big fan of this particular holiday, but this year was different. For once I didn't have a half-assed costume. I wasn't a cat or a cowgirl - I was an actual recognizable character. As many of you know, Mary Poppins made  her debut this year. A few people have said, "of course you would be Mary Poppins" and I'll admit that it was not the most adventuresome costume.  I could have shown a little more skin, and probably will next year. But there is no debating that my costume was a hit.

For starters, we had a costume contest at work. The grand prize was an extra paid day off, which is nothing to sneeze at. So I figured it was worth a shot. As it turned out, only 4 people dressed up at all, and only 2 (myself included) put in any considerable effort. The other contender was a woman dressed as a scary old man with crazy gray hair and a cane. Much to her embarrassment, she realized once she got to work that her costume closely resembled another coworker of ours. Though it wasn't her original intention, everyone thought she dressed up as Norm. Because of the inside joke factor (and I think also the fact that she's been around longer) she got double the votes that I did. Bummer. 

Later that afternoon, the woman running the costume contest stopped by my cubicle. She informed me that they were awarding me an extra vacation day also just because I went all out. Sweet! Mary works her magic! I was a little disappointed that I didn't win outright, but hey I'm not picky when it comes to bonus vacay.

Halloween night, I re-donned my Mary ensemble (yes, she and I are on a first name basis now) and we went out on the town. People in the street cheered me and stopped to take pictures with me. At the bar people came over to our table specifically to say I was their favorite costume of the night. When we went for drunk food, people in line tried to get me to sing Spoonful of Sugar. You will be happy to know I was not so far gone as to acquiesce. 

All in all, I would say it was a success. I have already planned what I will do next year, but you will just have to wait and see. Cheerio 'til my next post!