Mac House

Come one, come all

2006-07-05T14:02:00.001-07:00

Alright people, A & S have already gotten their boston tickets. i haven't heard from the rest of you yet, but this is just a little nudge to get your butt in gear. i expect to see all of you by august 10th!

love to my favorite jv's ever. i can't wait to see you.
love, j

2006-07-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

I booked my flight...

2006-06-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

... and you should too! I will get to Boston at 7pm on Thursday August 10th... can't wait!

Greggo - beautiful pic of the house - can't wait to see it next summer!

Since we are still planning this year's reunion, we can hold off on next year's - but I agree that Raleigh should be the place and my only date restriction so far is the weekend of June 23, 2007 since I'll be in Sacramento for my high school friend Suzanne's wedding - and I get to be a bridesmaid! I'm going to be a pro at this by next summer...

Bar studying is so boring, but so necessary... so back to the books and to bed.
Talk to y'all soon - get those Boston tickets!!!!!!!!

Love
Shan

Paint

2006-05-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

Now, I know you all will find this horribly suprizsing

but this is a picture of my house... The paint on the walls will be changing and these are not my bar stools... but you get an idea of what my house will be like when you come to visit in 2007 (Raleigh is the desintaion for reunion 2007, I hearby declare)....

Ok, in all seriousness, I can relate to the domestic stuff Shannon is going through as I search for furniture and paint colors... It's a great task, but it's coming along... I too, am thrilled about August and belive a questionare may have to be sent out to get everyone updated... and prepared for this year!

Lots of Love to all and a special Hurah for Aho on his new job! So happy for you buddy!

Greg

WOOOO HOOOO

2006-05-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

That is so exciting A-Ho! Not that your ability to get a job was ever in doubt.... I'm thrilled for you. Will this employment be in London?! You left off that quaint little detail....

Hope this short post finds you all well. I'm in apartment mode - Dan and I are using the week before bar studying begins to play house and fix up our place. Very fun, except for when I hit my limit in Lowe's Home Improvement Store and I wonder how I went from law student in Manhattan to suburban housewife in Brooklyn in a matter of minutes... but even then I'm loving it. It's the MIT in me...

Talk to you all soon - and can't wait for August! Maybe I should look into flights...

MWAH MWAH
shan

get your cups...

2006-05-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

...because i'm going to be serving kool-aid.

i've got a job. da da da. i've got a job. da da da.

if you can't tell, i'm doing a little, excited dance. and come the end of september, i'll be doing PR for a certain company that we all know (and most of us love)...and which also owns the website you're reading right now. i'm afraid to use the name online because they're EVERYWHERE. but i'm sure you can guess. or something.

miss you all tons. post more! can't wait to see you in august.

love,
A

New address

2006-04-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hey Gang

For anyone who still reads the blog I wanted to send out my new address...

7600 Filgate Court
Raleigh, NC 27615

That's right kids, I have moved into my new house, the house that I own... scary stuff! Can't wait until this summer.

Love

Grego

sad day

2006-03-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

greg-o, sorry to hear about kelly's brother. that's so sad. and really makes my intended blog to complain about my roommateless situation (she's on vacation and i'm bored/lonely) seem completely out of place now. so, instead i'll just post a quick "i miss you and love you all." can't wait 'til august.

love, j

Boston and other things

2006-03-07T10:48:00.000-08:00

Hmm... where do I begin...

First, did we all confirm that Boston was set for August 11-13? I hope so because the next week I am going to Cleveland for a conference and I don't want to miss Mac House 2006...

On a sad note, and I underline and bold the word sad... Kelly's brother was shot and killed last week. He was on duty (he was a police officer) chassing a burgler on foot when the burgler fired shots back in his direction. It is a horrible horrible loss and tragic event especially when one takes into consideration that he left behind a beautiful wife and one year old daughter... Please keep Kelly and her family in your thoughts and prayers... It woke me up to a lot of things and I can't tell you enough how much I would encourage you all to let those in your life know how much they mean to you... especially family!

Ok, on to other news. I am working the house still. The inspection came back with some items for the home owner to fix and we'll see what happens. We're stills shooting for a close at the end of March but not sure if these developments will force us to walk away...

Not much else. Work is going well (although sometimes it seems less important)...

I miss you all and wish to contact with each of you sometime soon (with phone calls or im's or all of the above)...

I love you all so much!

Grego

in like a lion

2006-03-06T09:39:00.000-08:00

wow, Greg-o! that's so grown up of you! any more news now? post photos if/when you buy it! i have successfully avoided anything other than camomile tea for the past 5 days. and a jesuit is buying me dinner next monday. i'm getting back to my JVC roots (aka i'm totally broke until i get my next paycheck on the 1st of april).

i had the pleasure of talking to julie on the phone on sunday. or maybe saturday. it all blurs together. it's the last week of our term here. i have an oral exam on friday (eek) to determine whether i'm allowed to stay a doctoral student. hopfully i'll pass. then i'm spending a week with jack in london before heading home to spokane for a month starting on 20th december.

in the mean time, i'm doing lots of work and trying desperately to find a job. i had an interview with a certain well-known and well-loved search engine last wednesday. for a european PR job. i thought it went well. they said i'd have to learn some languages. total job perk. and they give their UK employees 5 weeks of vacation a year. hurrah! i also have an interview for a summer internship in LA next week in london.

finally, i'd like to point out the recent set of classic get fuzzies in the tear away calendars...generous and gefilthy (which someone suggested is related to gefilte fish, a possibility i hadn't considered) on saturday and mmmmmmonkeys today. mmmm mmm good.

ok. i've rambled long enough. i hope everyone is well. i'm already counting down the days until mac house reunion 2006...literally: it's 158.

ok. love you all!
bub
x

House

2006-02-27T13:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is the name of of very own Anthony Paul, but it is also something I am going to buy!

I am having a house inspection tomorrow afternoon and then the real fun begins... the Oh my God, am I really old enough to be doing this... Am I really wise to be buying a house when all I want to do is travel and visit friends and drink beer and eat good food... oh well, I like the house and am excited about moving out on my own! I think the only weird thing is the thought of living alone... I've been truly blessed to have mostly good roommates in my life (save the Frat House and my first house in Raleigh). I don't know how I will react to living alone.

On another front. I came despertely close to calling Kelly this weekend. I think I miss the idea of her a lot more than I do her, but gosh, I just wanted someone to cuddle with... is that so bad?! I am such a cuddle whore.

I am off to DC this week to see Coldplay with Chris and then to hang out with other friends over the weekend. We'll see what happens, hopefully I'll take in good food and culture, something I am in sore need of.

Ok kids, I miss you all... and think often of the good times past and long for the good times ahead (especially a great party weekend in Bosotn this summer!) Did we set a weekend yet? I am anxious to see all of you!

Grego

PS: Think, the next time the Winter Olympics will be taking place, we could have our reunion in Vancover... no, not the Couve, the real thing!

G

Hey Hey Hey

2006-02-26T11:43:00.000-08:00

hi guys.

just wanted to send more blog lovin. jules and i had a lovely nyc weekend - in true mac house reunioning style we wandered around, ate good food, drank and hung out, then ate some more sweets. more of you should visit me and indulge in these good times!

i'm at a tea place now working on my 35 page paper. i have two pages so far, go me! at least i now have a document entitled 'draft' saved to my research folder. baby steps, baby steps.

a-ho: drinking this yummy amazing tea makes me sad that this place did not exist when you and jack were in town and he wanted good tea. we could have come here. but then again we wouldn't have gotten to eat those ridiculously good chinese dessert cake things and had such an adventure!

jules: so good to see you! hope you had a fun ski weekend in maine and a nice week in burlington with the fam.

greggo: what's the house update?! i can't believe you might become a home-owner soon!

bern: oh bern, where art thou?! i miss you. write to us.

lots of love to you all
shan

Hello, Hello

2006-02-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

How are you all? Well, I just had a lovely week in nyc with Shan, so I know she is well, but I'm not as sure about the rest of you. I can't wait for our 3rd annual reunion this summer to find out. I know this is still a ways off, but I can't help but think how much fun we will have. Shannon and I have already scouted out a fantastic Mexican restaurant for one meal, as I think I've mentioned before, but the rest is up in the air. I have been dreaming up the idea of a little party though. I think we all know a handful of people in Boston, so perhaps a little mojito infused party is in order for this reunion. We start drinking at 5 and tell our guest to arrive around 8.

Okay, I know the reunion is still a ways off, but I'm excited, and have to focus on the certainties of this summer-running a half marathon with suz, seeing you guys, and officiating alli and kartik's wedding-after my comprehensive exam is finished. cause other than that, i don't know what the f*ck I'll be doing. But no need to worry about tha too much right now. I'm on vacation and desperately need this week to catch up on work. So back to the grind for me.

love you all.
xoxo, j

House

2006-02-17T11:39:00.000-08:00

I am making an offer on a house tomorrow! I'll send pictures if and when I get the offer accepted.

Kelly and I

2006-02-08T07:27:00.000-08:00

Broke up... guess I am still on the search for a girl with a nice rack and my values...

I miss you all and look forward to catching up with folks soon...

Cheers!

Grego

greetings my lovelies

2006-02-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

hello all. sorry to have been so blog deficient nearly a month into the new year!

i wanted to check in and post my preferences for the reunion. i will be studying for the bar all summer (bleck) so need to postpone the festivities until after july 26th. my plan was to fly out right after the bar and spend a few weeks in CA with the family and vanessa's little one, which should be joining us sometime in june or july. i can fly straight from CA to boston for the ease of reunioning but the earliest weekend i could manage would be the 11th-13th of August. the following weekend (18th-20th) is fine with me also - but i think that is the weekend before greg's trip so maybe he would prefer a recovery weekend in there? discuss.

as for me i am just trucking along, dealing with the worst case of senioritis ever. i just want it to be may already! i have a job for next year, i am moving in with dan right after graduation, i just want to get the bar crap over with, why do i need this last semester?! why?! do i really need to write a 40 page paper on CA's paid family leave law and its ramifications for other states? do i really need to suffer through a class on federal courts and the federal system? is any of this more than just a stalling tactic?!

ok maybe some things will be cool. like when i get to go on a police ride-along in brooklyn in april. that is if i convince my randomly overprotective boyfriend that it is ok and that i won't get shot. it was cute when he referred to me as a 'precious commodity' and said he didn't want me to die, but come on, how cool does it sound? ok, cool in the "oh my god cops are fucking crazy and target poor minority communities and unnecessarily draw their guns and speed the wrong way down streets" sense of the word cool.

hope everyone is doing well.

jules: can't wait for our new york weekend. my loan money finally came in and there are so many yummy restaurants in TimeOut i really want to try....

a-ho: sorry about the job frustrations. i have no doubt that something great will come through for you. you are ridiculously overqualified intellectually for practically any job, except of course for the role of eccentric genius professor. are there any openings for one of those?

greggo: glad your work stuff is going well and that we catch up on IM occasionally. we will swap life angst on the phone soon.

bern: where you at?! and when do you want to reunion? while this is still 7 months away i can't help but think i'm already an old woman who needs to plan ahead... we are all getting old.

ok back to my studies and my to-do list with like 15 zillion things on it..........
MISS YOU ALL
shan

another new year

2006-01-29T02:34:00.000-08:00

hello my friends, and welcome to the year of the dog. according to the new york times, it's the best year to get married.

i haven't actually read that article. nor do i plan to. but, you know, i'm encouraging mac house weddings now, because i miss you all and i wish i got to see you more often. stupid atlantic ocean. stupid expensive flights. stupid having to pay rent. suffice to say i wish you all a fabulous, year of dogging.

i'm in the process of writing my LAST chapter. ok: the introduction and conclusion still have to be written, and everything needs major editing, but i'm still excited like nobody's business. very excited, and only mildly hung over from the chinese new year party last night.

i've still had no luck finding a job. this is tough. and no fun. i just want a job. in london. where they'll sponsor me for a work visa. is that too much to ask? apparently.

it's bright and cold in oxford today. i hope it's warmer and cloudier where you all are.

oh, and on the topic of the boston reunion: my preferrence is that it be either in the first half of july (not the weekend of the 14th-16th, because i have a wedding) or in the first half of august. sometime in the latter half of july, i'll probably be heading back to england, but it's probably easier to get from london to boston than from spokane to boston. go figure.

ok. enough from me for now. love you all.

A
x

A new year

2006-01-09T12:33:00.000-08:00

Happy 2006 everyone,

I don't know if anyone is out there or not but I wanted to give a shout out to my PDX crew!

Hope everyone had wonderful holiday seasons. No meats and sweets this year but my holiday was an enjoyable experience. I went to upstate New York for three days before Christmas to meet Kelly's extended family and somehow survived that experience without being too terribly affraid. Her family is very nice and friendly... and it was nice to see where Kelly grew up.

New Year's was very anticlimatic for me this year. It didn't strike me in anyway and it actually seemed a bit depressing. Another year on earth searching for answers to the big questions.

NC is treating me well. I find myself a tad restless at work and at home. I am taking some steps to set up home ownership in 2006! I can't begin to explain how stressed this makes me. Am I doing the right thing? Will I get in over my head? Will I lose my shirt trying to pay a mortgage? Etc...

I'm also looking forward to a Boston reunion this summer. It should be fun to spend time with all of you again. I don't know if life will ever be as simple as it was with each of you. Sure, there are a lot of quirky and annoying things about JVC but maybe it was still an experience of a lifetime. I don't know...

Ok, back to work, drop me a line at my gmail account sometime folks... Gregory.McNamara@gmail.com!

I love you guys and wish you all the best in 2006!

Greg

Happy New Year!

2006-01-05T07:11:00.000-08:00

Hello! To those I haven't spoken to yet, I just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year, and i wanted to put the first post of the new year up on the blog. I hope you all had a great holiday. I can't wait to hear about it, and i can't wait even more to see you all this summer. I've been scouting places out for us to explore (Shannon even helped when she was in town). And in just the past few days i have found out two very exciting things. One, there is an all you can eat sushi restaurant that has $13 lunch. it's in the burbs, but it's all you can eat sushi!!!!

even more exciting is my second discovery- Milk Stout. i had a couple last night at a little place called sunset grill (although sometimes i call it sunrise, but i'm pretty sure it's sunset). i can't wait to eat some chocolate chips and throw back one or two with you all this summer (but not on the power out night).

Talk to you all soon.
Love, J

oh, get fuzzy

2005-12-07T23:48:00.000-08:00

per usual, i'm running late. hope you're all well. i'll be back in the US next week, and i can't wait to talk to y'all!

but what what? is it satchel or rob who's gay? i can't figure it out:

less confusing, but equally wonderful, is today's comic:

ok. love you all!
A.

Mac House... What

2005-11-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

Hey Kids,

Just a few minutes to type so I will have to be brief.

First, welcome back to the blog Bern! I am sure we'll see you post more again in six months... I would recomend occupational therpy, and UNC-Chapel Hill has a great program!
I say live it up and make the most of the time you have...

Shannon, happy early birthday, I am going to try and call tomorrow but I'll be in TN for a conference for work. But have a wonderful celebration.

Julie, nice catching up the other day. Hope you have a wonderful week as excitment continues to build for Turkey day.

A-ho, how's the last year shaking out? Any news to report?

Ok, my quick update. I am doing well. Work has been busy this fall but I prefer that to the mindless tasks that I feel some people get. My exciting news at work is that I am going to my first out of town conference tomorrow on the dimes of my employeer. It is going to be fun.

Personally, things are going well. I am still seeing Kelly. She has moved to Asheville for the OBGYN rotation. We met half way last weekend and camped at a beautiful state park. We had a good time. I'll see her briefly over thanksgiving, and meet her mother. I'm flying to Wisconsin on Tuesday for the holiday and return on Friday... should be a good quick trip.

Ok, off to a meeting, but hugs to all (especially Shannon for her big day tomorrow)...

I love you all and am so thankful for my dear Mac House!

A Nice Dream

2005-11-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

I had this nice dream last night that I was driving on Interstate, in Portland. No, not the interstate, but Interstate, and I came to this house and I went in and to my utter amazement and surprise there you all were. And it was so nice and comfortable and happy and I was a little sad to wake up and realize that there would not be a reunion with you all for a while.

But then I had to get over the initial sadness because i was so happy to see you all, and because i had to prepare for section today. Section went well, and i've used this afternoon as a good catchup for all the little things that get put off during the week. I'm also resting up for the big stoplight party tonight-you wear green if you're single, red if you're not, and of course yellow is anybody's guess. i'm not sure if tim will be there or not. i haven't really talked to him since we "broke up." so, part of me would like to see him, but the more realistic part knows i would just be distracted and ultimately dissapointed if he were there. so, on to new men wearing different, vivrant shades of green....i'll keep you updated.

love you all. hope to see you soon, in dreams or otherwise.
love, j

Canyoueven believe it?

2005-11-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody!!!!!
Let's see....my life...JOb is starting to really suck. I think I will quit in February and nanny for my niece (born in September we have one more '05 baby due on Thanksgiving) while I figure out what kind of school I want to go to. Any thoughts on Occupational therapy? Social Work is starting to get me down. AndI'd get to take a cadaver lab as a pre-req. neato.
I had a kind of date thing on WEdnesday and I'm not sure about it, but people seem to think I should give it one more shot. He's a "moderate, socially liberal republican" does that deserve another chance? He does like karaoke and the OC though. We met at Carol's - remember that place? Sorry Greg you slept through that whole part of our CHicago reunion.
HOpe all is well with you all. I never quite noticed the blog death and resurrection since I would only have checked it once or twice since the reunion anyway.
Well that's about it for me.
Love you
Bern

more happy...

2005-10-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

news! mike and katie had their baby!!!! now i know very few other details than this except that it is a boy and his name is Finn. greg-o has the details and the contact information so i'm throwing this one back at him...

happy...

2005-10-16T01:03:00.000-07:00

BIRTHDAY, MICHELLE!

while i'm not sure you actually read the blog anymore, my computer is doing an amazing job of withholding (sp?) your email address from me, so i thought i'd shout my birthday wishes for you into the abyss of cyberspace in the hopes of its reaching you somehow.

also, in completely unrelated news, i saw the ULTIMATE must-have geek squad clothing item yesterday at the gym: a hoodie from the institute for advanced study. it's the more geek squad-ish for being so rare. i am fully commited to finding a way to buy one. any tips oh how to do so (that don't involve my visiting princeton) are welcome.

love and miss you all. and espeically you, michelle, on your birthday!

A
x

Ok Ok

2005-10-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

Hey kids...

I have news of a promotion a really nice girl... both are fun things happening in NC... What's new in England? Mass? IL? NYC? Ohio?

oh hurrah

2005-09-28T01:02:00.000-07:00

just a quick post because i'm late for coffee.

1)it sounds like greg is the only one who escaped the "end of the summer" relationship syndrome. jack "i think i need a break"ed me last friday. i'm not entirely sure what that means, since our phone conversations have, if anything, increased in frequency and quality since then. confusing. on the plus side: i get to make out with the freshers (new student orientation begins on monday). hold on to you hats.

2)greg: she sounds great, and while i didn't really need to know about her rack, i did just inform you all that i plan to scam on confused 18 year olds next week. so it's all fair.

3)i can hardly say how happy i am that y'all decided to start posting again. i miss you guys tons, and it is always a great pleasure to hear how you're doing.

4)julie, it was very sweet of you to send me pictures of oliver. oh how i need a dog. and the responsibility to care for a dog. all in good time.

5)shannon, you are very lucky to have a birthday present like the goblet of fire. the preview makes it look fantastic. and at least your interest in the movie release preceeding your birthday is rather selfless: brokeback mountain comes out (ha) the day before my birthday. and while i loved the novella--which is heartbreaking--i'm mostly excited to see Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal dressed up as cowboys and making out.

6)why did i number my paragraphs?

7)i'm with you julie. maybe darby has some massive writers' block, but these cat facts have to go. in related news, i still prefer being compared to satchel for my love of cheese:

but i thought this get fuzzy was brilliant:

8)ok. this wasn't a short note. must run.

9)love you all! xoxo

the blog is back to let you know it can really shake it now (if any of you get this title you win!)

2005-09-27T21:03:00.000-07:00

ok, what's the deal with get fuzzy? i hate cats. stupid cat facts!

Hope to all Mac House Friends (and significant others)

2005-09-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I can't believe the number of recent blogs. I had about written this thing off, maybe their is hope after all that technology will save us from not being in the touch that I know we all wish we were... Michelle, you out there, somewhere, anywhere?

Ok, I digress. Here is my update since last blog.

I have been consumed by many different projects both at work and in my personal life- let's start with Work...

As some of you may know I am coming up on nearly two years with the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and today I actaually have my reveiw for the last year. I hope it goes well as it will dictate a lot of my future plans, or at least my future plans here at the Chamber. More on that later today or tomorrow or later this week. I think my biggest problem now is getting a little bit more ability to do some neat things and to try and grow professionally. I am starting a new program for Young Professionals which will help me 'network' with other Young People and larger companies who are sending these people. It is good because if it goes off I can be looked at as a person who started something great for the younger leaders in our community... we'll see... I've been busy trying to wrap up our fiscal year (I know I sound so professional, and it sometimes makes me sick too), which ends on Friday. New year will have it's share of challenges but I've become good at what I do and have a good bit of respect among my co-workers and members of the business community so that is a good sign of a good review today...

Personally, I have been busy with more weddings. As many of you know Megan Wrona (formaly known as Hargrove)'s older sister is one of my best friends, and I was the best man for her wedding. I stood up for her husband (who is quickly becoming one of the coolest guys in town) and had a great time at their wedding. It was 100 degrees and hotter than hell, but it was wonderful (sans the lady who couldn't seem to keep her legs together who was directly in my view of sight at the wedding... but at least she wasn't old... oh wait, she was!) We had a fraternity reunion on Friday night and that was fun, but at the same time I feel like I am in a very different place then the guys now... part of growing up... Saturday night we had a bachelor party for a friend from high school which was wonderfuly fun and scandelous (lap dances, etc).

I am also happy to report that I have met a nice lady recently. She's a good liberal, progressive, Irish Catholic girl, who fits the bill of 'nice rack, Greg's values!" She's a med student at UNC and is 32, which has thrown me for a bit of a loop but I'm not to worried b/c we have a lot in common- A love of sports, the outdoors, social justice issues, drinking Guinness, etc. It's been nice, and I hope to continue to see where it goes.

Ok, back to work... but I am so happy that this has started again. I miss each of you and think of you often. I love you all!

Always
Grego

HOPE AFTER ALL!

2005-09-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to report - what I hope you all already know - that the latest Harry Potter movie, based on my favorite of the books - The Goblet of Fire - is coming out in theaters the day after my 25th birthday - November 18th!

WOOO HOOO.

But what does it say that I am more excited about a kids movie coming out than I am about turning 25?! Hmmm.

and yet more hope arises...

2005-09-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

hello! wow! i am finally at the end of a long week and after lunch and a nap i feel like i'm finally coming up for air. how are you all? let me see what hope i can instill in you all. i'll start with the not so good and try to lean toward the good...

so, i was "dumped" last week, but i didn't realize i was even in a relationship. alas, it was the least harsh "break up" i've ever experienced, generally because the basis of tim and my conversation centered around his 14 hour work days, some of which begin at 1 in the morning. so, i'm not taking this one personally, i'm chalking it up to shitty life timing. i talked to him a couple days ago, and it doesn't actually seem like much has changed between us. so that's good right?

i'm finally doing most of my course work, so this is also good, and i'll be in boston this weekend so hopefully i'll actually do things to prepare for next week. i taught my section today, which is still a bit of a struggle for me, but i really like the students and am encouraged by some of their hatred of the capitalist system.

we're having a party this weekend which i am also excited about. i'm trying to encourage some people to crash in our apartment already so that i can cook breakfast for them. can i make smancakes without you all or does that violate some machouse code? maybe i'll just stick with eggs and monkey bread.

so that's about it here. to recap-not much of a love life...work, work, work....the weekend is here.

i miss you all and would give anything to cook you all smancakes sunday morning. but what am i saying? s and a are our smancake cookers. i guess i would give anything to eat their smancakes sunday morning. does that sound dirty? i didn't intend it to.

love, j

amid the sadness, hope...

2005-09-19T18:32:00.000-07:00

yes, this blog has become sad. i commend a-ho for trying to resurrect it from the ashes and i too shall attempt to provide hope to the sadness that is our blog (and our country, our world, our leaders, etc. etc.)

life has been one huge rollercoaster over the last few weeks. happiness at being back in NY, worry over getting clerkship applications together, sadness at the destruction of new orleans, comfort that everyone i knew down there made it out safely (as far as i know), excitement at starting school, disappointment in my seemingly stagnating relationship, utter shock and delight at getting an interview for a clerkship in Manhattan (it's this thursday - please cross all fingers, toes, eyes, and frankly any body part possible for me), extreme nervousness about appearing way too eager at said interview and blowing the one chance i have at clerking next year (but then again, i am thrilled to have even been called by one judge!), and hope that the relationship stagnation is a temporary side effect of job stress and impending future angst and that it will be resolved when we both find ourselves employed in new york for after graduation. hmmm.

so that about sums it up, give or take. i am really hoping to get this job so i can relax and enjoy my final year of law school. my clinic has been great, but i've only spent one day in family court thus far. what a place. what a place. i'll reserve my comments on that fucked up part of our system for another day. it just makes me realize what growing up white and privileged allowed me to get away with. i most certainly could have been adjudicated delinquent on numerous occasions if the circumstances had been otherwise. and that is really fucked up.

so wow, i've done a lot to shed hope on the blog. wah, waaaaah.
i do hope all of you are well and that we blog more frequently again
i miss you all - write or call me soon!
and if there is good news and hope to report - report it here!
MWAH MWAH
shan

this is just sad

2005-09-09T01:36:00.000-07:00

two birthdays have come and gone, and no one has updated. i'm sure a few people are still checking it occasionally, because i get hits to my website from here every now and then. and since i'm as bad about writing as anyone, i thought i'd break the silence...

so i'm back in oxford for one more year. i'm a tad homesick and a little apprehensive about the upcoming year (term doesn't start for 4 weeks still) since literally ALL my friends finished last june. which means i have to make new friends. or i could just read and knit a LOT.

i'm also beginning to think about what to do after i finish. as of now, my theory is this: i'll apply for jobs in the following cities: london, new york, washington and seattle. there will be a variety of industries: NGOs, publishers, businesses (gasp). really, i just want a job. i need some real skills, so that someday i can get another job that will eventually lead me to what i've decided is my true vocation: organic goat farming on the oregon coast. i'll subcontract out the actual farming, though, so that i can just hang out with the goats and read a lot. come visit.

in other news, jack is living in london and i'm living in oxford. which sucks. i remember why i hate long distance relationships. it's only 2 hours, but it might as well be 3 days. it's just a hassle to set up times to see one another. sigh.

i now demand updates from other mac housers. i hope the end of the summer was good to each of you.

love you tons,
bubba

not dead yet

2005-07-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

despite the wonderful new gmail address, i must say that i still thing the ol' blog serves a purpose.

in any case, i wanted to say how AMAZINGLY wonderful to see you all this weekend. i had more fun than i can say. even puking up my innards all day saturday. can't wait until next year.

katie just got into town. i have to go see her. hurrah!

love you all,
bubs

Blog is born again

2005-06-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

As the southern representive on the official Mac House blog, I hearby declare a state of emergency! The Blog is officialy on life support. Show the the blog some love... or at least pretend that you love her... come on, she needs our support! Ok, enough of my stupid jargen. I degress, can you beleive that next week the Mac House kids will play again. I have a feeling that a trip or two to Golden gate park will be in order to lie in the grass and listen to different cell phone ring tones... and just be completly lazy. I also vote for strong drinks and power hours (I have been training hard all year!)

I fly into San Fran late Wednesday night and leave on Sunday (July 10) at 6pm. I then take a red eye through Sin City (that's Vegas baby!) and retunrn to Raleigh Durham at 6:30 AM just in time to shower, shave, and put on a tie for work the next day! If that's not hard core, I don't know what is!

I can't wait to see you all!

Aho- How's the CD coming along?
Bern- Nice catching up last night, glad we're up to know good...
Julie- How is Isreal? So enjoyed our hot date a few weeks back...
Shannon- Thank you for hosting us this summer... I can't wait... Oh, and I think I'm staying with my friend Eric in Oakland for Wednesday night and haning out in the city on Thursday...

Love everyone!

Grego

blog in state of abandonment

2005-06-17T05:11:00.000-07:00

the blog is so sad, no one has posted in so long that it feels completely and utterly abandoned, so i am going to give it some love.

well first of all, can you believe that tom and katie are engaged!!!!! what crazy and oh so important breaking news this morning. it woke me right up.

on to less exciting things but more relative to my life. summer has been busy. i'm working three days a week in an office, and on the other two days i wind up working from home for my other jobs and running errands all day. so, i'm tired but good, and heading toward vermont this afternoon this afternoon with emily. i'm worried that baxter won't recognize me because i chopped my hair off on wednesday. i didn't want it super short, but it's super short. however nothing is ever shocking since i've shaved it, so i didn't go into hiding or anything. i just keep reminding myself that it'll grow. by the time i see you all in san francisco i'm sure it will be a length you're all used to.

i leave for israel on wednesday. i 'm excited but feel a little tired by the prospect of getting ready. i think that just means that i need some good sleep this weekend. there really does seem to be a lot to do this week before i leave, and then i need to pack on top of that! what do you bring for 10 days when it's going to be hotter than hell? i think a small amount of clothing detergent is the way to go. i need to look at the recommended packing list.

if i don't get a chance to talk to everyone before i leave, well, i'll see you a few days after i get back in san francisco! yea!

love you all. can't wait to share stories (and hopefully presents) of my new strange cult experience with you.

julie

My Shannon

2005-05-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hey Kids,

As many of you know, a one Shannon Kahle has told us all a great number of stories over the years and I think it is approriate that we congrtulate Shannon for giving us all reasons to live vicariously through her (I may have just mispelled vicariously- forgive me please)...

I don't have any real fun updates... I did catch up with Kim Keefe (HCA) from Portland and she did share an update that does not relate to me but it is great news. She told me that Mike and Katie are expecting a child in October! I am so excited for them, they will be adorable parents. When we have our reunion we'll have to find a baby gift.

All is going well here. I am off to New Hampshire on Thursday to see my friends Evan and Allison get married. I'll see Julie (yeah) and get to hang out with some good friends in a very relaxed setting. Not that I'm stressed out but it is going to be nice to get away.

Um, not sure what else. I have dated a few girls lately and none of them blew me away with their charm, wit, chest size, or values... no nice rack, nice values... she is out there somewhere, just keep my eyes open...

I miss you all and look forward to seeing you all soon! Won't be long now! Take good care kids and know that a boy in NC loves you!

Grego

greetings from down under

2005-05-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

hey kiddles

i'm in aussie land and just wanted to send a quick hi - love that my brother has wireless internet...

can't wait for the mac house weekend of fun - will try to pick up some fun australian goodies we can all enjoy together in SF - and by goodies i of course mean snacks and booze.

its been great being in sydney with paul and holly these last several days. end of finals was rough and i left new york in a blur of tears and emotional breakdown. i arrived at the airport hungover and crying and the nice man at curbside check-in waived my overweight baggage fee. guess there was a silver lining in the clouds after all. but things seem back on track now - and i'm on vacation, what could be better. oh wait, i know - i could be getting laid on vacation instead of being the fifth wheel but details details. the fam is getting along very well all things considered and its nice having more time with holly while my bro is at work. we went to these gorgeous 'blue mountains' outside sydney yesterday - like a mini grand canyon filled in with eucalyptus trees. really cool. lots of other highlights and perhaps a photo slide show later in the summer.

back to the fam for now - we're still trying to decide what to do today. but luckily since we are all up by 7:30 am (the horror!) we have plenty of time to decide...
wow, i'm whiny in the mornings...

ok love to you all
wish you were here - it reminds me of vancouver (being on the water) and all that is missing is you guys and those amazing veggie dogs...

LOVE
shan

oh and ps - favorite aussie phrase: 'bush walking'
no get your mind out of the gutter - it just means hiking...

Summer Fun

2005-05-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

i have 4 pages of a paper left to edit, but these are the most convoluted pages, hence i cannot bring myself to begin the arduous task. so then what better time to update you all about my happenings i ask. and of course, there is no time better than the present.

yes, i am almost finished with my semester. this paper will officially be emailed in on tuesday at which time i will do a dance of joy a la "perfect strangers," and will continue the summer of fun that i embarked upon a few weeks ago, and begin a few summer jobs to keep rent covered and my brain active. you heard correctly, i now have a few summer jobs. i will be interning with united for a fair economy, where they will be paying me peanuts-ironic isn't it? you can check them out to see what type of work i'll be doing at www.faireconomy.org. i'll also be doing some research with a research team on campus. that may be less interesting, but will certainly give me some great research experience. the best part is that they are both entirely flexible and part time.

and of course i am embarking on a trip to israel, which will include taking field notes for a professor in order to study the effectiveness of the birthright program. will i come back a full zionist? only time will tell, but me thinks no. you can always go to birthrightisrael.org to find out more about my newest religious cultlike experience. what is it with me and these things?

aside from jobs and finishing classes, i have had a chance to spend time with the fam in burlington (in fact, i'm heading there this weekend for derek's graduation). i have also had time to explore a bit more of boston, and to catch up with friends, and to realize just how boring my life really became during the semester, and how distracted school makes me. so i'm reacquainting myself with normal fun things in life. this includes meeting friends of friends, and even meeting a few interesting boy prospects. not sure if anything will come of these encounters, but one can hope...i'll keep you updated.

alas, it is now time to return to the editing. i can't wait to see you all this summer.

love, j

power hour

2005-05-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

hello, my friends.

in preparation for mac house reunion 2005 (subtitled: how on earth has it been 3 years since we met?), i am in the process of creating a new power hour CD.

i need your help. send me MP3s: housea(at)gmail. don't send me more than 3 or 4, but if you send from your gmail account to mine, there should be no problem.

i'm particularly hankering for new-ish songs, since i haven't downloaded a new MP3 in like 8 months. there's some song from the OC about california that may be apropos if anyone has it. but use your imagination.

hurrah! and thanks!
love,
anthony.

count me in

2005-05-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

i haven't gotten my ticket yet, seeing as i still don't know about summer jobs, but i will be there that weekend at some point. i can't wait!

Moo-Moo

2005-05-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, my boss said the word moo-moo today in an eamil. I just had to share that with you...

Are we set for the second weekend in July (my bday, mohito anyone) for our Reunion? I want to book my flight but wanted to make sure everyone was on board...

I love you guys!

Greg

the laze

2005-05-04T06:05:00.000-07:00

you know i check the blog almost every day, always dissapointed when there isn't a post, and then i realize that i am 1/5th to blame. shame on me.

anyway, classes finished for me a week and a half ago, and i promptly headed to burlington, and didn't do a bit of work for 9 days. it was wonderful. i think we should have our reunion there next year. you all would love it, and then you would get to meet the current love of my life-baxter that is. i also fell in love with The OC while there. really a stellar show. you all must watch season one-it's out on dvd now.

now i'm back in boston, and just finished an Op Ed on self-checkout lanes. what a fluff assignment. my analysis is-use 'em for the small stuff, but enjoy yourself with the big orders and have a friendly exchange with the cashier. as far as i can tell, they aren't really costing anyone's jobs. no more guilt about self-checkout lanes-hoorah!

now that that is finished, i have my real work to get to, but am feeling a bit unmotivated. i keep myself distracted by looking for dogs- yep, i think i'm getting one this summer, i am so excited, looking for summer employment, and perusing (sp?) friendster. i need to get this work done so i can get out of the house, or i may go crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i can't wait to see you guys this summer. i'm really looking forward to that. also getting excited about israel and other dangerous travelling plans. maybe i'll go on some sort of rock climbing adventure or something.

i'll catch up with people soon. it's been a while since i've talked to most of you. greg, thanks for the nice drunk dial. so sweet. shan, good luck with your finals. when are you heading back west? a, congrats on your latest chapter. do we ever get to read this book that has consumed the last two years of your life (clearly an exageration, i keep up with your daily posts, you seem to have plenty of fun)? b, where are you? m, are you out there at all?

miss you all.
love,
~j

may is not july, either...

2005-05-03T08:59:00.000-07:00

but it is closer.

i finished that chapter yesterday. finally. HURRAH. i had a beer and a nap to celebrate, and started on body chapter #4 (of 6, i think) today. i also did a word count: i've written a bit over 60,000 words now. by the end it should be around 100,000.

*pats self on back
*contemplates another nap

miss you all.
xoxo
anthony

April is not July

2005-04-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hey Kids,

I write with my Mac House update...

First, last week was painfully awful. I got into a car accident on Wednesday (some jack a$$ ran into me at a red light), the girl that I liked said she liked me too... as a friend... and to top it off, my weekend was filled with boredom... how did that happen...

Ok, but today is a new day. I too am preparing for a wedding speeach and am preparing the "Top Ten" list of things I have learned about the groom to be that may help his future wife... should be fun, here is hoping we get a hot brides maid or two.

I have been reading a Charles Kuralt book about his travels around America. It's quite good. Just finished a chapter on New Orleans and I could only think of my fun weekend there last summer with our very own Mamma Kahle.

Summertime should be hear soon. Weather keeps changing here. Last week was amazing, then the weekend turned cold. Part of my funk, I'm sure.

I look forward to your hugs!

Love you all!

grego

it's awfully rainy outside

2005-04-25T04:21:00.000-07:00

it's a miserable spring day here in england. dark and drizzly. perfect for keeping me hunched over my desk, typing away at a chapter and sipping mint tea. once i finish this chapter (please god let it be this week!), i'll be half done with my doctorate. ok. that just means half done writing it. the editing process will be horrific. but i'll burn that bridge when i come to it.

to cover the pitter-patter of raindrops on my windows (a sound that makes me long to nap), i'm listening to dar williams and a wonderful mixed CD that julie-marie made for me. both are making me smile but also reminding me how much i miss you all. i can't wait for july in san francisco.

i had all sorts of interesting things to say this morning when i woke up. they've left me now, so i'll revert to rants about current affairs.

1) i simply cannot believe that the conclave picked cardinal ratzinger to be the new pope. at the same time, i think if any office can change a person for the better, it's the papacy. i wouldn't be able to sleep, worrying about all those souls under my care.

2) speaking of boats, i got the model yaght to st louis safely. i even wore a white collared shirt on the journey, and managed not to get it dirty at all. i did, however, spend a hefty amount on taxis and sky-caps. my dad took one look at the box and said, "UPS can take that the rest of the way to spokane." i'm glad we're not farmers or anything.

3) speaking of farmers, i'm about to finish the most boring novel ever written: knut hamsun's growth of the soil. yes, i love it. yes, it makes me cry. no, i don't recommend reading it.

4) speaking of books, i'm counting down the days to harry potter 6.

5) speaking of potter, i want to hear all about julie's weird dark side of the moon-esque harry potter thing.

6) speaking of the wedding (see number 2, above), the wedding last weekend was wonderful. and i didn't get a nosebleed at this one (though i am wearing the nosebleed sweater from that JVC wedding as i type. it's become my lay around the house sweater, a must for any graduate student). apparently my toast was quite good. i don't remember it. because i was nervous, not because i was drunk.

7) speaking of nervous, i should get back to work.

love you all,
A

It's all coming together...

2005-04-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

WOO HOO I am writing to express my utter joy and excitement at having the most amazing place to live this summer. Not only is this relevant to the blog b/c you guys should be happy when I am happy, but it also means I have a place to host the MAC HOUSE REUNION 2005.

Let this be an official invitation. Please come join me in San Francisco at my adorable, fully furnished, very private and amazing studio apt - it's the 'garden level' of an old Victorian house, i.e. half in the basement but still with some windows so it's no dungeon. It's in the Castro, near where the Castro meets the Mission, right near beautiful Dolores Park and close to Noe Valley, a cute lil' neighborhood where some of my NYU friends will be living. It has plenty of room for guests - a queen size bed, two little 'sitting area' places and a fully separate kitchen and bath - so plenty of carpeted floor space for y'all to crash and my amazing landlords (a gay couple who live/work in the remaining part of the house - one does non-profit work, one runs an art gallery) have even offered a futon pad to put down if I have people come to stay.

How did I manage to come by this great place? How did I, a lowly law student who couldn't even visit the place in person, manage to beat out 6 others who looked at it? I exploited my resources, that's how. I sent Janet as a proxy and then I followed up with a more personal email, to which I attached my resume, hoping that all my good-doing would score me some brownie points. Lo and behold, the guy worked at an SF AIDS organization and now does non-profit consulting. BINGO. Done and done. He even admitted to googling me and was impressed that I am who I say I am. It's insane what the internet has done to the housing rental market....

So this unnecessarily long post shall come to an end - I'm just so excited since housing searches in places you aren't currently residing are a pain in the ass and I have found the perfect place for my summer adventure!

SO COME ONE, COME ALL. Pre-July 10th or so since Greggo has a free ticket he wants to cash in and it expires then. I would certainly offer up 4th of July if that works, since I'll have a day off and perhaps more time to take off if I can swing it.

Let's get the planning committee up and running - can't wait to see you guys!!!!
LOVE
shan

quick hi

2005-04-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

so i posted a few days ago and my post was lost in a bad internet connection problem.
but since i'm in class, briefly - what is wrong with satchel today? he looks drugged, holding on to the wall, rambling about stuff from his women's magazine. so strange.

i'm in the midst of sublet finding for san fran and have a few studio options that might allow for extra room for the machouse reunion! very exciting.

jules - got your postcard. very cute. i am super stressed with work too, so while i would love to see you, it's probably for the best that we both get work done instead. we'll save the good times for the summer!

a-ho - glad you liked the coin purse thing. glad i didn't send you a puppy.

bern and greg - good to chat with both of you recently!

more soon
love to you all
shan

the most exciting thing ever

2005-04-11T17:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, well maybe not really the most thing, but it is right up there with sex, chocolate chips, spring and of course Harry Potter! I am talking about the Wizard People. This artist, in New York I think, put together a spoken word performance that coincides with the first Harry Potter film. You watch it like you would watch the Wizard of Oz and the Dark Side of the Moon. So currently, I am downloading the soundtrack. Anyone interested in a July viewing?

love you all. can't wait to watch this with you. i'll probably have to do a pre-screening without you all...sorry. i'll make sure it's worth it though.

good luck with the advisor a. and with the boat. that's a tough one.

love, j

the lazarus of blogs

2005-04-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

anyone else remember that scene in lamb in which jesus raises lazarus from the dead, but he's kinda stinky, and biff remains unimpressed? me too.

confession: at this very moment, i'm using the blog to avoid doing my work. i'm meeting with my supervisor tomorrow at noon to submit the 3rd body chapter (of 6) of my dissertation. only problem is that the dang thing is only about a quarter done. so my plan is to take care of other things, and then just give him the section that's written with a detailed outline of the rest of the chapter. maybe that will trick him into thinking i'm a conscientious and responsible graduate student. HA HA HA.

anyway, then wednesday morning i'm getting up at 4 am to get a taxi to get a bus to get a plane to st louis, MO for my friend brandon's wedding. i'm best man and haven't written my toast yet. i wish you were here, shannon, to help me.

the whole trip to the middle of the country would be less amusing if i weren't dragging a model yacht along with me. one of my dad's friends collects, yup, model yachts. he bought one on Ebay and asked me if i wouldn't mind bringing it back to the US for him. thinking it was the size of, say, a large squirrel or small dog, i said it would be no problem.

the model yacht arrived last week. the box it's in is 55"×18"×18". yes. that's big enough for me to fit into it if i bend my knees a little. and it weights about 60 lbs. now imagine me dragging that and a wheely bag through the two busiest airports in the world. oh, that's right: i'm flying from heathrow through o'hare to st louis. i love my life.

i do wish i'd scheduled a couple days in chicago, though. it would be great to see bern.

ok: enough typing. time to...eat.

love you all. see you soon?

anthony

the dying blog

2005-04-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

y'all are letting the blog die a slow and painful death. it is similar to my present situation. i got some sort of horrible cold that began in my lungs, migrated to my head, and then dissapeared almost entirely, but left me with a fever. so it's 60 degrees outside, and i have spent the afternoon in a 2 and a half hour nap, and have ridiculous amounts of work that i need to attend to. i may be screwed for the end of this semester. we'll see.

still no full summer plans, but i am going to israel for ten days at the beginning of june, and i will find out friday if i can finagle that into some research with a bit of monetary compensation. wish me luck. when is our reunion again? july?

i miss you all, but have to say i'm happy to be in isolation for the next 3 weeks, attempting to get healthy and attempting to get work done.

love, julie

out of the loop?

2005-03-21T09:28:00.000-08:00

bern: where you at? and what is this black tapered jean story?!?!

eagerly awaiting details (or a phone call!),
shan

ps a-ho, thanks for the address. greggo: send me yours again, k?
bern and jules, i think i've got yours covered...

oh my

2005-03-20T23:44:00.000-08:00

bern: black tapered jeans? i hope you got them off of him asap.

just kidding.

feliz dia de san patricio y otras cosas...

2005-03-17T10:46:00.000-08:00

hi all! i'm back from panama (yeah, i realize this may be a way random statement since i'm not sure y'all got the memo that i was heading to panama for spring break on a cheap ticket...) it was great - more details, perhaps a pict or two on the blog and some souvenirs are on their way to you shortly. i should have your addresses by now - but perhaps sending them to me at stk221@nyu.edu would be helpful. especially you a-ho. funky international address...

i am now heading off on a road trip with the boy - we are going to the poconos and hershey, PA and any other random spots on the way that strike our fancy. the place we are staying tonight - the Shannon Inn and Pub - has rooms with jacuzzi tubs next to the beds. i'm way excited. and janet - upon me telling her the name of the place (but omitting the jacuzzi detail) said, "wow, and on st patrick's day? you should make sure to tell them your name is shannon, maybe they'll even give you a free drink!" oh sweet, sweet janet....

so hope this finds you all well.
more soon (after sunday when i return)
and love to you all
shan

brilliant

2005-03-17T07:13:00.001-08:00

fyi, yesterday's get fuzzy was an instant classic:

taking it easy

2005-03-11T01:09:00.000-08:00

just a few things from me today:

1)i gave up alcohol for lent, so there has been nothing even resembling drunken debauchery in my neck of the woods. i had told my friend mike that i'd break lent for his birthday (today), but now i'm sick, and i don't think alcohol would do me any good in getting better.

2)i miss you guys. the other day i was in london, doing some post-archival wandering, and i saw a guy standing on the sidewalk next to the houses of parliament chugging jagermeister. later in my walk, i saw a guy walking a short stubby horse (like the tables, but more like a horse, but the size of a lab). and the horse was peeing on the sidewalk. it was hilarious, but i wish one of you had been there to share my joy.

3)here's a link to a random news story from good ol' washington state. a different battle between organized labor and walmart.

i'm sure there was more to tell, but it's almost 9.30, which means i'm due for another nap. mwah!

xoxo
bub

Drunken Debauchery

2005-03-06T08:07:00.000-08:00

I had a night of drunkenness that I daresay I haven't quite experienced since the last time we were together in Chicago. Luckily the hangover seems less painful, sadly though there was no lake adventure last night. Lots of fun, wish you all could've been here. I even wrote a manifesto-it's about rice. I would post it here on the blog but it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense if you don't know about the special rice cooker we have in the house, and there are some horrible grammatical errors as well. It will have to be preserved on the paper towel I wrote it on for the time being.

I can't wait for July.
Love, J

Lucky Lab Nostalgia

2005-03-04T13:37:00.000-08:00

Just thinking how nice it would be to go to happy hour this afternoon at the Lucky Lab-good company, good beer, yummy, spicy satay, and last but not least, all those cute, happy dogs.

no hotdogs in oxford

2005-02-28T22:28:00.000-08:00

well, maybe they exist, but they don't seem to be featured in stores. and they're certainly not on the streets. sad day.

i can't believe it's march tomorrow. i imagine shannon will join me in wondering "how the hell am i halfway done with this degree thing?" oxford is boring. i'm extra boring. i've given up alcohol for lent. i've also proved completely incapable of finding a summer job, so i think i'm gonna spend the summer taking naps in spokane. joy.

this is all very fractured. i'm exhausted and about to fall asleep, but i wanted to point you all toward this article from today's new york times. nothing earth shattering, but it's always nice to be reminded of the little ways in which we shape the world. especially by a former labor secretary. i particularly liked the following passage:

"The fact is, today's economy offers us a Faustian bargain: it can give consumers deals largely because it hammers workers and communities. We can blame big corporations, but we're mostly making this bargain with ourselves. The easier it is for us to get great deals, the stronger the downward pressure on wages and benefits. Last year, the real wages of hourly workers, who make up about 80 percent of the work force, actually dropped for the first time in more than a decade; hourly workers' health and pension benefits are in free fall. The easier it is for us to find better professional services, the harder professionals have to hustle to attract and keep clients. The more efficiently we can summon products from anywhere on the globe, the more stress we put on our own communities."

anyway, i miss you all. is it july yet? can't wait to see you!

xoxo
A.

Hot dogs in Vancouver!

2005-02-21T17:43:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to let you know that as we were driving up to whistler from the vancouver airport, our driver agreed to stop at a hot dog stand!!!! mmm, mmm, mmm. delicious. the start to a wonderful vacation. i was thinking of you all. skiing has been great so far, and i'm beat. this seems like a great place for reunion 2010.

more later.
love, j

Going West

2005-02-18T04:04:00.000-08:00

I'm off to Vancouver for the week. I actually won't be there until tomorrow, but i just wanted to drop a short note to say farewell and that i'll be thinking of you all often.

Love,
J

Happy Valintines Day To ALL My Friends

2005-02-14T13:14:00.000-08:00

For those who are reading this I love you!

I love you for who you have been;
I love you for who you are;
I love you for who you will be;

I love you for who you have been to each other;
I love you for who you are to each other;
I love you for who you will be for each other;

I love you for you have been to me;
I love you for you are to me;
I love you for who you will be to me;

For those who have read this I love you!

Hey Kids, I just wanted to let you know I love each of you. Each of you makes my heart swell with love and I am glad that I have been blessed to have you in my life. On this day of love I send my love to New York, Boston, Chicago, Christ Church, and Columbus. My hope is that the six of us will be together again this July... Until then, may you always know that I love each of you...

Work Angst

2005-02-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

Ok, that's not fair, I do like my job, but today I wanted to scream. We (the City of Raleigh that is we, not the Chamber) had a very special visitor today. That's right, for those that haven't heard, the President of the United States was here today. He spoke at our Performance Arts center which happens to be right accross the street from the Chamber. Our whole staff (minus the staff who actually went to see him or got invited to see him speak) huddled in the Board room to see the motorcade go up the street. Funny thing though, he went up a wrong way street, yes he knew it was and traffic patterns were changed for him, but I thought it very symbolic.

Ok, I got that out, what else shall I blog. Life is going ok. This weekend is almost here, thank goodness. I am hanging out with friends tomorrow night, Saturday afternoon I'll do little but get ready for a wedding. Drive an hour to go to my first wedding of 2005 (six more to go) and celebrate with my college friends. Sunday, I'll watch some college basketball and maybe hang out with the Duke Graduate Student. Her and I have gone out a few times and she seems very sweet, yet a little timid and somewhat shy. She is very sweet though, and not an easy put out (see the UNC grad student, Shannon you know the story)...

I am continuing to look for the next adventure for me to take on. Is it grad school? Is it a job change? Is it anything? I don't know. This week has been a hard one. I had a funeral on Tuesday for a woman who helped lead our Church Youth Group in middle school and high school. Her oldest daughter was in all of my classes with First Communion, Confirmation, etc, and we graduated HS together. She was only 50. Cancer sucks...

Anything else, no, not really. Hope to see your smiling faces soon...

Aho= Interviews? What's the story? Any news from the land accross the Pond?

JLO= I hope to see you this spring. I want to try and go back to Boston sometime this spring but it might have to wait until my trip in July...

Shan= The Duke graduate student is a little bit less likely to give random pleasures but she is more in line with my 'type.'

Bern= I miss you... see you this summer... How are you?

Michelle= Honk if you read this...

Grraaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrggh!!!!

2005-02-09T17:45:00.000-08:00

Ok thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

I'm reporting in from the library, where I'm trying to muster the energy to work on all of the bogus crap projects in front me. The first: A journal assignment that requires me to look up sources, print and photocopy them, sort them, number them, check them, highlight them, arrange them - I'm surprised that massaging them and telling them how great they are isn't part of this too. Then it's off to an annoying project for work which requires me to reinvent the wheel - or in other words, write a paper it would take someone else in my office about thirty minutes to crank out but could take me hours since, gee, to write a position paper about alternatives to incarceration and the upcoming NY legislative session, one might want to be versed in either alternatives to incarceration or the NY state legislature, and being versed in both would be downright helpful! Currently I feel minimally comfortable in my knowledge of each. And when are these due you might ask? TOMORROW, naturally.

Ok so in hopes that this entire blog won't become a one woman pity party, I'll switch gears. I've been having a fabulous time otherwise. So smitten with Dan, so happy. Janet was in town this weekend - she sends her love to you all. We ate, shopped, wandered, and celeb sighted (One of the Olsen twins at a West Village restaurant!) We saw the play Hurlyburly with Ethan Hawke (fabulous butt crack shot but otherwise he's in bad shape and played a strung out, out of shape gross guy...), Parker Posey (on coke even funnier of a character than usual), Wallace Shawn (hilarious short bald guy from Princess Bride and Clueless fame) and others - all in all highly amusing. Janet and Dan got along well - she referred to him as "sweet" and "gentle" - if she only knew.... hehehe.

I'm looking forward to next week, when I might possibly return to some kind of nice routine. I don't have additional projects to do, mothers to entertain, crappy weather to keep me lazy. I will start exercising again in order to be sane and I will actually read for class. What a concept.

But until then, I will remain in this grraaaarghhh mood - or at least for tonight and the better part of tomorrow. I have to be at school at 7am to help out with this public interest job fair (why oh why did I agree to this weeks ago?!) and then let the weekend begin again. Nearly.

Gee do you see how I can't end this post and get to work.
Right, so I'll comment further....

Jules - Got your message while mom was in town, have been a nut ball since she left Tuesday (god, was that yesterday?) - so I will try to call soon. Maybe later on tomorrow night? Hope all is well and we catch up soon. I would love to see you in Boston or NYC soon - when is your BC trip?

A-Ho - Hope the interviews went/will go well - I would love to see you in San Fran for the summer, oh the good times! And hikes! And wine tasting! And park lounging! And club going! Woo Hoo!!!!

Greggo - How's the dating scene treating you? Can't wait for the updates....

Bern - Where you at? How's the new car treating you? Not refusing to start again I hope. Come to the blog, come to us.

Miss y'all mucho mucho.
Back to the grind.... (not that, sickos, I wish....)
Shan

your math is horrible

2005-02-03T04:39:00.000-08:00

what are they teaching you over there in england bubba? your math is horrible. a 50/50 chance? bah! perhaps a 20/20/20/20/20 chance?

i also just wanted to blog about satchel. he's great! always thinking about the womyn.

MIA: bubba

2005-02-02T23:25:00.000-08:00

can we talk for a second about how funny satchel is? i just love that dog.

in other news, this isn't a proper report on how i've been. i've been crazy and not very good at managing my time. i miss you all, though.

there's a 50/50 chance i'll be in one of the following cities for most of the summer: washington, new york, boston, chicago, san francisco. more on that later. and more generally later.

until then, much love,
bubba.

Exciting Mail

2005-01-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

Ok, so maybe it wasn't just a random hook up... she sent me mail... the girl from New Hampshire sent me mail!

julie...not so scandalous

2005-01-25T10:09:00.000-08:00

i spent saturday and sunday in the midst of A LOT of snow. it was fantastic. so much fun.

now i'm sore and tired and trying to be motivated to be a student. it's a tall order.

love, jules

Greg is scandelous

2005-01-24T10:24:00.000-08:00

Ok, I bet that caught your attention... for all those reading this, I have returned to the guy who just does things that don't make much sense (seeing my early college days as a reference)...

Let's just say, spent Friday night and Saturday morning with someone who I don't really like, but hey what can you do...

I miss you guys.

Hope to see you all soon!

Love

Greg

Bern's Dad

2005-01-12T20:41:00.000-08:00

There is a really nice article on Bern's dad in the Daily South Town newspaper. I copied the link, but act fast. The archive is only available for seven days.

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dsnews/093nd1.htm

love to you all,
julie

starting the new year with a crash... or two

2005-01-05T09:02:00.000-08:00

hey y'all
i thought - gee, no one has written in the blog in 2005 - and then i saw i hadn't written in ages. tsk tsk tsk on me.

i hope every one had a wonderful holiday season and that everyone is off to a great start in 2005.

i'm still in sacramento and bored out of my mind, as i have this paper i still have to write from last semester that isn't due until the end of january. i got a web cam for christmas from my brother so i can stay in touch while he is in australia and well, i've been so bored i decided to do a little filmmaking for the boyfriend back in NY. yeah, turns out i have quite a knack for this - except i had a mini meltdown last night when soon after completing a 20 sec film, my computer just died. i pictured me taking it into a computer fix-it guy and coming back to find him smiling from ear to ear after "recovering" the most recent documents.... luckily the nice people at Dell helped me fix the computer over the phone and no homemade porn popped back up upon start up. phewwww.

so that's about it in my world. some paper writing. some porn making. getting very antsy to return to NY - i'm taking a red eye tomorrow night and it's not soon enough. on parental overload and getting suburban depression. not good.

so write to me everyone and tell me how you are
i miss you all tons and can't wait for the 2005 reunion tour
MWAH
shan

oh - and the title of the blog, besides referencing the computer crash - also references my new years eve when i drank too much champagne and chambourd and while trying to sit on the toilet to pee i slipped, fell sideways, and impaled myself on the bath tub. oops. big bruise. happy new year!

A new day, and another year

2004-12-28T11:44:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe that 2005 is just days away. I am still wondering what the heck happened to 2003 let alone 2004! Oh well, with 2005 there will be new stories, new blogs, and yes I'm fairly certain new and improved Shannon's. Shannons are really what makes the world turn, as Shannon shares her amazing feets and wonderful stories I can't help but look forward to Mac House Reunion 2005!

I am doing well. Work is somewhere between slow and insane. I know that sounds odd. I have a big event next week and it's very under control but I do need other people to get things to me and right now they are not responding! Thus my need to blog...

On the front of my dating search (as I told Shannon earlier this week) I had a one bad blind date (something to do with Cheescake in a to-go order) and am still meeting new people in different ways... It can't be that bad.

I am meeting up with Megan and Rob Wrona tonight to watch the Carolina basketball game. Should be good to see them, but it will make me miss each of you. I really am looking forward to Mac House 2005. Will we be doing the Bay Area tour? I think this sounds like a logical destination. I vote for early July or late June. Any other ideas? Maybe a long weekened for the 4th of July or something...

Oh well, my love continues to extend to each of you. You are all some amazing people who are doing such amazing things. Gosh, I just get giddy when I think of our little cult!

Mwah :-)

different things

2004-12-25T01:11:00.000-08:00

firstly, merry christmas to you all. i hope this day finds you surrounded by family and friends. i am so thankful to have you in my life. and boy do i love christmas.

in sadder news, this article was in yesterday's oregonian: 41-year-old michael egan, a downtown resident with known mental health problems, was shot and killed thursday morning near pioneer courthouse square, after an altercation with another portlander. i thought this christmas we might all say an extra prayer for him and for those we served in portland.

with that, i must get to bed. big day tomorrow. a spokanite just led the responsorial psalm at the vatican's midnight mass. weird.

much love,
anthony

merry christmas, mr potter

2004-12-21T16:59:00.000-08:00

on my way out to a gonzaga u basketball game with the family, but i just wanted to alert you all that the new harry potter book is scheduled to be published on 16 july 2005. YAAAAAAAAAY. we'll have to schedule our reunion for 2 weeks after that so we can all talk about it.

all my love,
a
x

what a day!

2004-12-20T09:12:00.000-08:00

well, let me first say, i love the monkey picture. it is the new backdrop on my computer. fantastic!

what else is going on? well, it is not quite 12:30 and i have already had quite an eventful day here in burlington. i just sent my final paper in last night, and now i have my first real day of freedom. my freedom started last night with indian food, "chasing liberty" and "love actually." very nice indeed. then, my first real day of freedom started with a 7:45 am phone call from suz saying she had been in a car accident, that she was ok, but her car was undrivable. so, in this lovely, balmy, snowy, -8 degree weather, i cleaned off the car, and picked my darling, unhurt sister up and brought her to school. then i stopped to pick derek up from the tire place, where he dropped his car off in a timely manner for new snow tires.

after a quick kibbutz with jennie, in which she showed me the hideously ugly pink and green comforter my mom had bought for suz for christmas, i ran back to suzanne's to pick up her little three legged pup ella. ella was soundly sleeping in bed still, and we were ready to start the day.

then, as we were about to leave, i realized that ella had chewed the hell out of my ipod cable-bad ella. then i realized that the lovely indian food from the night before had not only stained the counters, but had leaked all over my new fleece coat. ugg. so, i went to the restaurant to ask them to double bag take out from now on and to inquire if they knew of any good cleaning mechanism for curry (that was still greasy on my coat!!!). they said bleach. BLEACH!!! that won't work. they were not helpful at all.

so, i headed to jennie and derek's for some solace, when jennie called to say they were taking baxter to the doctor cause his face was all red. thankfully they left the door unlock, as i swaggered up to the house carrying a bag full of greasy coat, ella's bag of goodies, my backpack and ella herself, the little monster. i wasn't in the house for more than 5 minutes, when duncan began attacking little ella and wouldn't let up. what a friggin day!!! i'm ready to go to sleep, but i've yet to get my christams shopping done. aye yie yie ( i have no idea how to spell that).

ahh, but i feel a bit better after that little rant. i guess i'm going to try and enjoy my break now.
hope you all are well. i'l talk to you soon.

shannon, sorry i haven't called you back yet. it was a busy weekend. hopefully we can catch up soon. i'm heading ot malone tomorrow, so some down time is on its way.

love, grumpy julie

latvia is the new estonia

2004-12-15T05:33:00.000-08:00

hello, my friends. thank you for all the kind birthday wishes. i did, in fact, have a very good day. i was in denver with my parents to watch my sister play basketball. denver: kinda sucks. i know there are mountains and all, but the city itself is so flat. and boring. but it's always good to see becky. i even saw her get a minor concussion during one of her games. and we met her boyfriend and his parents, who are very nice, but very suburban.

J & S: I really feel for you this finals time. I was in the Gonzaga U library yesterday working and everyone looked so run down. I was well rested and relaxed, but so hungry I almost ate a microfilm.

G: thanks for the IM. How's Shannon's pick-up advice working out?

B: glad to hear you're still alive. i will track you down sometime soon.

to finish, please enjoy the picture below. this is its caption: "A detail of Chris Savido's "Bush Monkeys," an acrylic on canvas portrait of President George W. Bush made of monkeys, is seen at an East Village gallery in New York. The painting caused so much controversy at an art show at the Chelsea Market that the president of the market had the show shut down. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) (December 14, 2004)"

Analyzing the Evidence

2004-12-13T18:21:00.000-08:00

So the date was a possible success, which is all that can be asked for really.

Let's analyze the evidence:

He got the number. He put it in the phone. This has a tendency to make the fact that he'll call more probable than without the evidence, which makes it relevant. Em will introduce it as an out of court hearsay statement that goes towards his state of mind at the time and his intention to call. But if he doesn't call, and this later goes to trial, he will still not have called. And that will suck.

Ok I'm officially insane and making no sense. To be fair to me, I'm in the middle of a 24 hour take home evidence final (see the connection here?) and my brain is fried. I have until 11am tomorrow to get this to make sense (my test, not the blog) and I'm a little worried.

But back to the dating...
Some guys call. Some don't. This is the dating reality. I've had guys put my number in their phone and then later morph into losers who don't call. But really, it looks good. And the fact that he didn't call by Saturday isn't probative. A Thursday night date should be followed up with a Sunday night phone-call. Anything sooner seems pushy for guys who are playing by the rules. They want to at least appear to be having a busy weekend and calling at the end of the weekend or beginning of the next week to inquire into your busy weekend and to set up future plans.

So that's my take. Again, keep me posted.

I'm officially on the verge of brain explosion - must go print out my non-sensical ramblings about evidence (the exam answer, not the blog) and read it over. I'm seriously considering taking a huge break and seeing The Life Aquatic at 11pm and then going back to the test after my head is clear and i can see it all anew. but it is way risky and very ballsy to take a movie break in the middle of a final. But can't i treat it like a good crossword puzzle and convince myself that if i put it down for awhile, when i pick it up again i'll be miraculously brilliant?

Let's Hope.

ok enough procrastination for me....
love to you all, can't wait to be out of finals hell and into holiday bliss
a-ho, hope you got my silly e-card - HAPPY BIRTHDAY (on the 10th)!!!

MWAH
shan

A (possilbe) success

2004-12-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

Well, the date went off without a hitch. Em reported that there was good conversation and that he was just as cute or more so than his picture. And then, at the end of the date, he asked for her number, and as she stumbled for a pen in her purse, he whipped out his phone and said, no worries, i'll just put it in my phone.

so, there you have it! her number is in his phone. but now what? it's saturday and there has been no more communication. plus, em went on the onion personals today and saw that peter had been on line this morning. does this mean he's still looking for that right someone?

Help! she really likes him, but what if he doesn't call? is it a good, bad, or indifferent sign that he put her number in his phone? would he really have done this if he didn't intend to call? was he just being polite? is his diffEQ final exam on thursday causing any conflict here?

looking for answers, but not wanting to know the truth...the HEN project.

Ask Shannon, Esq.

2004-12-08T20:47:00.000-08:00

So i love you all for not only providing me with tons of finals studying distraction, but asking fun questions!

Jules - and more specifically Em - here are my thoughts on the coffee date. She should come across as herself, not as some over-dressed trying too hard version of herself. So in choosing an outfit for the date, she should consider the following factors...

1. What she likes/looks hot in.
2. What he'll likely be wearing - will he be in business attire? Will he have had time to throw on something more casual?
3. What is the dress code of the site of the date? If it's a hip coffee shop, then you don't want to look dressed for a business meeting or a bar. You want to look jeans relaxed - but hot. So opt for the slightly tighter jeans (not those baggy stained ones you wear while doing laundry or feeling bloated) and a cute top or sweater. Nothing that says "I'm trying to be flashy" but nothing that says "I picked up this crumpled dumpy sweater off my floor this morning, it smells ok." And not a t-shirt, even if it is your favorite vintage hip t-shirt. This is a date and you do want him to think that on some level you are trying to impress him or look nice.

Those are my thoughts. That said, I may not be at my outfit selecting best, as I am in finals mode and wearing whatever I pick up off said floor that smells ok. Or whatever I pick up off the boy's floor, but that's neither here nor there....

So report back on the date and keep it going. I like to think of this as an advice network or dating colloquium - not a support group. When we are 35, single, with more pets than most people have kids, need to lose 20-30lbs and have stopped going outside, then this will become a support group. A sad pathetic awful support group.

But for now we're just having fun and trying new options. RIGHT?!

Right.

OK back to the federal rules of evidence....
MWAH MWAH
shan

more dating advice needed

2004-12-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

well, this little blog support group is now being extended to friends who have internet dating concerns and who have questions they need answered. please help (shannon).

em, my roommate, is a laid back, jeans kind of gal. she has recnetly been perusing the onion personals and is meeting peter for coffee tomorrow evening at a hip local coffee shop. peter works in finance, but does not define himself by this. he is currently working on a green engineering degree and at one point owned his own carpentry business. and he is hot-t-t-t-t-ttt (at least from his on-line pics).

so, after a busy day of work, what should emily throw on to meet peter in the early evening?

thanks,

from the HEN project (Help Emily Now)

remember me?

2004-12-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,
It's Bern. I haven't checked the blog in years, I think. But seeing as my roomies have recently entered the 21st century and gotten DSL and compuers that run at reasonable speeds, and I am not too shy to ask to borrow too much, I just may check in a bit more often. I won't make that a promise, though.
So 1. Hi all!!! Good luck to those of you in finals. I do not envy you - yay for 9-5 jobs, ooh so I don't make any money - big deal.
2. Since I cannot promise the next time I will be on here, HAppy Birthday Bubba!!! Will you be back here for your birthday or still in Jolly old England - and do you hate it when people call it jolly old England?
3. I too, do not believe that I am one to give tips on getting ass, as my ass getting skills are also poor. Well, I don't know - if it's just ass you want just go to late night bars looking relatively decent and find the drunkest girl who is still in a state to consent. If you wnat something slightly more meaningful, then I can't help you. As we all know I am incapable of finding meaningful relationships that actually LEAD to something.
-DO NOT go to bars that you always go to with your friends there are only 40 year olds besides you.
-DO try something new.
-DO NOT use cheesy pick up lines.
Yeah, I don't have much.
I do love you all and miss you. Have a great holiday season.
Your favorite angry black man,
Bern

one more thought

2004-12-06T19:58:00.001-08:00

this is an important one, although i'm sure not a problem for greg, shannon, or bern:

do talk to strangers

(ps thanks for the finals package shan. i love sarah harmer. i haven't gotten to listen to the mountain goats yet, but i know i'll love them. i mean come on, it's mountain goats)

"get all of us a hot piece of ass"

2004-12-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

hmm, well, here are a few things that are of importance for all of us to remember when it comes to attracting members of any sex:

1) do not shave your head, no matter what your friend tells you
2) make good eye contact, but not too good or it could get creepy
3) be friendly, courgal, thoughtful in conversation, but not in a machismo way. if you were walking her out to a cab it's to be friendly, not for safety, if she seems the type let her hail the cab, feel the situation out.
4) um, do you all remember that this is me writing. when was the last time I "got ass?" oh right, in a tent where it was mutually decided that there was just "nothing, not bad, not good, just not exciting." right, pretty sure i should be the one getting advice, not giving it. so please include thoughts for me. here are a few i can think of

-don't write papers until 11:00 on both friday and saturday night
-don't wear old, grey hoody sweatshirts out to the bar, yes it's comfortable and i love it, but come on, it's like bringing your blanky with you on an overnite-just not cool
-do get a haircut so a mullet doesn't ensue, and spend more than $10 on it
-do pluck eyebrows more frequently than once a month
-do shave legs ( i haven't done this yet, but i think after three years, i might be ready)
-do buy new clothes once in a while that will go out of style with the season, it's fun to have fun, chic things
-do find young, fun friends, not 30 year old grad students who don't go out
-do stop eating so much chocolate when studying, don't want the freshman 15 to happen again, once was bad enough
-do have a weekend without visitors so you can go out with friends in town

umm, ok, maybe not quite as exciting as shannon's list, and certainly not as ridiculous, but it's a start for me. it's my list of things to work on next semester. i'm not sure if that helps greg-o, but perhaps a critical appraisal of someone else's troubles will help you identify your own.

one more thing, did we just create a support group?

"get greggo a hot piece of ass"

2004-12-05T13:01:00.000-08:00

hey all

it should come as no surprise that when finals are nearing i am looking for any and all online distractions to keep me from the painful realization that i must study and make really long outlines and learn from them or i will fail. or in law school terms, get below a B-.

so in this online procrastination, i will start a blog exercise entitled "get greggo a hot piece of ass"
how we play this game - we all come up with at least one strategy for helping our favorite southern frat boy score with the ladies and post it on the blog. greg will then take these strategies and put them into action. sound like fun? and yes, greg is well aware and in full support of this game plan.

so here go my ideas....

1. the bar scene. go to a place with youngish but still legal college coeds. wear your best polo and a white hat. buy them beers and tell them that 'living on a prayer' is your favorite song ever. tell them you would love to check out their dorm room...

2. respectable adult dating. put those networking skills to work for your love life. don't hesitate to ask people in your age/work range if they know of anyone that might be a good match for you. wear nice respectable business clothes and suggest after work drinks sometime.

3. online dating. really, it's what the world is coming to. start out nice and slow with some friendster messaging then move up to the realm of 'nerve' or really for you greggo (looking for the nice rack and your values) perhaps eharmony or match.com.

4. when all else fails, you could always scrape together $5000 and buy a very real looking, synthetic woman doll. now i'm not talking those frat boy blow up dolls with mouths permanently in an open 'O' formation, no no. i'm talking about something i saw on Real Sex on HBO on friday - these laytex, silicone dolls that cost $5000 and are custom designed right down to the pubic hair formation (it's real european hair!) - they have functioning holes in all the right places and, unlike barbie dolls, they are anatomically correct and have joints that move in proper directions. it was truly fascinating to watch the process unfold from online ordering to making and painting and dressing the dolls to delivery to the grand finale - this couple having a threesome with their doll. it got a little skeevy when this other guy with a moustache kept talking about how much he loves his doll and how sometimes he is fooled in the moment into thinking he is with a real woman. um, dude, it's still plastic. but he seemed to be in seventh heaven.

for all the above ideas, remember the following items on the checklist:

- go for it, be bold!
- shower
- brush teeth, use mouthwash, have good breath for kissing
- smell nice but not too much cologne or no one will get close
- wear clothes that match the dating environment - for bars, the polo and white hat. for after-work drinks, a nice button down and slacks. for online dating, feel free to search in boxers.

so there are my ideas - ranging from the standard to the insane. please supplement them with your own!

love to you all
distract me while i'm in finals hell, please....
MWAH
shan

Reunion-Yea!!!!

2004-11-27T05:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, a little belated. I think i messaged with nearly everyone, alas, it is such a challenge to get on the phone with all of the guests, the baxters and the three legged dogs!!! that's right, suz has her very own new schnauzer pup, but little ella came out, the umbilical cord had cut off one of her little feet, so now we have the cutest 3 legged schnauzer running around. my dad is beside himself. when suz told him "she's my dog, dad, i'll take her out to pee," his reponsee was "she's my dog too! i mean, it's my house, i'll take her out."

so all is well except for the damn paper i need to email in by tomorrow. i'm a little over half way there though, but work is not really on the agenda today. it'll get done somewhow i hope. i'm starting to hit the finals wall and realize that i have not had a life for the past 3 weeks or so. i can't wait for break. here i come chicagoa!!!

and as for reunion, i would love to be in the bay area. can we throw a trip to san francisco into the mix. i will need to see dave td if i'm out there, and maybe matt pollizotto, even if he is getting married.

alright, i must go. i'm on my parents old, slow computer, and it's driving me crazy. tlak to you all sonn.

love julie

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2004-11-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

hey all,

just wanted to wish you all a very happy thanksgiving. i am thankful for many things this year, not the least of which is the fact that i have all you wonderful people in my life. so very thankful and happy about that.

janet and bob send their regards - as i'm sure paul and holly would if they were awake right now and aware that i was blogging - janet again offers to host a future machouse reunion here at the Kahle Compound outside Sacramento. hmmm. we would have unlimited food and alcohol, a swimming pool, sleeping accomodations and access to such fun entertainment as the river, the bowling alley and a hick bar or two. If any one is interested, feel free to suggest it to Greg (our reunion chairman and social liason) and we'll look into it for next year....

hope this email finds you and your families well
love you guys
shan

oh the humanity

2004-11-22T01:52:00.000-08:00

why did two of the most evil men in the world have to ruin the wholesome goodness of poncho wearing?

happy thanksgiving week! oh how i miss quorn turkey.

Happy Birthday

2004-11-17T09:05:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Shannon, Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday Shannon from your favorite mildly conserviative frat boy Grego! I hope you are having a great celebration week... I think we spoke last Friday night but it is kind of a blur, I was a little drunk if you could not tell. I was so drunk that I don't recal seeing many hours of daylight on Saturday because of the hangover induced from all those damn Capitan Morgan Shots...

I think I called Bern too, but I don't think I actually talked to her... did I talk to you Bern? I don't recall?

As for the rest of you, a Happy Early Thanksgiving. This holiday will always make me think of each of you and how grateful I am to have you all part of my life... and of our amazing feast we had with so many variations of turkey... umm turkey.

Love to each of you... and may you continue to know how wonderful each of you is to me.

Love

Grego

back to life

2004-11-10T01:00:00.000-08:00

can't mourn forever, eh?

in my ongoing attempts to be hopeful about the future, i've decided it's nice that W will have to clean up his own mess. and maybe by 2008 people will realise how bad his policies are. i won't hold my breath.

england has been dry but cold so far this month. i head home four weeks from tomorrow. very excited. hopefully i'll have a new chapter written by then. that would make me feel good about myself.

not really that much interesting stuff to say. the house of commons here passed a gay marriage bill last night. that's exciting. i bought a book on the 6 wives of henry viii. also exciting (at least for me).

and now i actually have to go do some work. i miss you all terribly.

mwah!

Boston and other things

2004-11-09T06:02:00.000-08:00

Hey Mac House Kids,

Nice to see the bloging taking place... I thought I'd add a few tidbits to the world...

First, in the red state that I live in, has relected a democrat govenor and for the firt time in recent memory the state house is controlled by the democrats... but we did elect a scary conservitve Richard Burr to take over the retired John Edwards...

Work is good, busy, but that is the case for many people. I continue to be involved in different programs and am meeting a lot of people. I think the struggle is that because I am engaged with people during the day that I have little energy to meet people on my own. It's hard because I'm not meeting that many people my age through my work.

I went to Boston to see old friends over the weekend. It was great to see Julie. Thanks Julie for all of your hospitality on Saturday night. Sushi, beer, saki, Harvard parties, etc. Saw Tim and Gwyenth as well and they are good... planning a fun wedding. Saw two McNamara cousnins who I have not seen in ages so that was great... all in all a great trip.

Hope that you all are doing well.

Love grego

emerging from election depression

2004-11-07T16:05:00.000-08:00

so yeah, it's been a rough week...

but some tidbits for y'all to bring you out of the darkness and back into the light with some fond JVC memories -

i've been listening to this song from the Garden State soundtrack and I SWEAR - though maybe it's just an auditory hallucination - that one of its lyrics is something like "you're the sweet to my meat" - or something VERY SIMILAR. makes me laugh every time. oh sweets and meats.

and another throwback to our year of communal living - i saw the movie "Saw" this weekend starring our good friend and mac house mascot Danny Glover. He was slightly deranged in this film - which was gross and scary and required me to avert my eyes and cling to a young man i should not be clinging too (more on that in a minute) - but it was an enjoyable performance out of him. kind of serious and heady - not his usual role by any means. though he still played a cop, of course.

so the young man - you all recall my dorm-cest hook up of last October? well he's made a recent revival - out of the world of friendship and back into the world of hooking up. and yet - as i explained to jules earlier today - 'i'm just not that into him' and without the clouded head that comes with mind blowing sex (which we aren't having, begging the question - does he have herpes and not want to tell me?) i can see with clarity that while all of this cute behavior out of him is nice (real dates, cute comments, lots of cuddling) - it is what i wanted from him a year ago, not what i want now that i've moved on and come to realize that i am far too cool for him. so there. does this mean that i'll stop making out with him and spending the night? that remains to be seen...

so my lovelies - i miss you all. i am jealous that jules and greggo are hanging out in boston and am jealous that a-ho is not currently living in america - while i am reading 160 pages of Criminal Procedure, but that is neither here nor there. and i am jealous of bern for just being so awesome - and i need to call her back from our round of phone tag.

back to the books
love to you all
sweets and meats, Danny Glover, and remember - we can always move to a commune and raise goats. i'll make the cheese. it will all be okay.

shan

mourning interupted

2004-11-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

it's hard to mourn when a mac house reunion is in progress. greg is in town now, so it's mini-reunion. perhaps there will be some drunk dials going out tomorrow night. watch out!

four more years...of darkness

2004-11-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

i hereby declare a period of official mourning on the mac house blog.

army of lawyers

2004-11-02T01:52:00.000-08:00

viva la démocratie!

Election Eve - Go Kerry

2004-11-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

Hello kiddles - for good luck, I'm blogging for Kerry so that "yeah Nader" isn't the top post on the blog heading into this election - sorry Jules.

I love how the electoral map looked this morning on electoral-vote.com and also loved the description of the guy behind it all. very cool. A-ho - how did that make you feel as an ex-pat?

Any bets going into this? Are we going to know the outcome tomorrow night? Are any of you going out and doing election day stuff?

I would have loved to join the "armies of lawyers" (how funny a mental image is that? row upon row of suited people carrying briefcases and looking all serious and boring) - but alas, I have to present in my seminar tomorrow and can't skip town to head to the swing states to drive off evil voter intimidating republicans with my shiny 'poll monitor' badge.

Ok - in class and got to pay attention. Been up to my old Shannon tricks lately - I'll blog about those later...
LOVE YOU ALL
and (please oh god please) may this be the end of the reign of the monkey!

nader!

2004-10-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

yea! rob is voting for nader! i wouldn't normally be so excited about someone splitting the vote, but luckily rob is a cartoon character and it will not impact the real world. as much as i want to see bush out, so would hate for nader to split the vote, i would love to see some real change in our society one day.

amazing night

2004-10-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

hello, my friends.

i've been at oxford for three weeks now. enough time to get minimal work done, feel mighty homesick, and lose most of my patience and all of my principals. but tonight my faith in humanity (or maybe just bureaucracy) was renewed. kinda.

instead of going to my one prescribed weekly class (i know, my life is tough), i decided to attend one of the semi-termly "Transatlantic Dialogues in Public Policy" at the american studies institute here. this little dialogue/seminar/lecture was called "housing the homeless".

now, this is all rather run of the mill, i suppose. EXCEPT that it was chaired by a guy called adam sampson, who is the national director of an organisation called shelter, which does all sorts of housing outreach, research, training, campaigning, etc all over the UK. he was joined by terrie alafat, the head of the homelessness and housing support directorate for the UK government, and philip mangano, the director of the US interagency council on homelessness.

now, all this in itself wasn't so amazing. certainly, mr mangano was less than inspiring (he talked a little too much about praying for a solution to homelessness. i zoned out; started thinking about sharks), but terrie was absolutely brilliant. very insightful. the uk is making some very aggressive moves on homelessness and related support services. PLUS...she's a native new englander. an expat. which i thought was fascinating. she did a phd in social policy (or policy generally?) at chicago, and only fell into homelessness stuff after working with local governments in london after she moved here with her husband.

yes. my point: social policy seems like a possibility here, where a strong central government directly controls the funding and service expectations of local governments. with the single-payer healthcare system, people actually get the preventative care they need, and homeless services are handled primarily through local government agencies, making it possible (to a much greater extent than in the US, at least) to measure the incidence and causes of homelessness. the UK woman was very good at describing policies and their effects. the US guy, on the other hand, talked a lot about the importance of the verb "to end" and how bush has pledged to end chronic homelessness by 2013. lots of talking. not much of a plan on how to do it, it seemed. forced to say something nice about him, i will acknowledge that it was in part thanks to him that funding for FQHCs was increased in 2002-03, which in turn made life at old town clinic much easier. but STILL.

anyway, i'm sure i've bored you all to death. i'm really excited, though. it was so nice to talk with people about these things. people don't do that here. which is disappointing. but yeah. ok. weak and confused with hunger. going now. clop clop clop.

love you all,
a.

ps - i'm re-reading biff right now. it's still hilarious.

yoga satchel

2004-10-18T04:56:00.000-07:00

yea yoga satchel! what could be better than an incompetent veterinarian and yoga classes?

cost of war

2004-10-13T02:13:00.000-07:00

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
April 16, 1953

a republican said that! a republican! amazing. i just can't imagine bush even thinking that. or even making the first step toward connecting the concepts.

but really, i pilfered the quote from costofwar.com.

today is my and jack's one year anniversary. he says 'hello' to julie and shannon and 'can't wait to meet you' to bern, greg, and michelle. supposedly we're going someplace fancy for dinner tonight. hurrah.

what else is new? not a lot. i had my first meeting of the year wtih my advisor, so i feel really behind in work. and i keep having "what do i want to do with my life" crises. as i told jules in an email last week, i think my vocation may be to teach anti-war songs to the animals of the forest. in a totally non-'freaky montana anti-government nutbar' sort of way.

in the meantime, i'm content to read articles about fancy beer and stress out about 16th century property rights.

love you all,
a.ho

greetings my little monkeys

2004-10-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

so i LOVED the monkey photo from a-ho. brilliant.

i also love that he has taken up the blogging again - i feel as though my blogging has fallen by the wayside. i will do better.

i just got back from a lovely fall break in vermont/boston. Baxter really is the most adorable baby ever. and he is lucky to have such a great family and such amazing baby gadgets and gizmos - who knew it was so complicated to have a baby in the year 2004. chariot to cart the kid on a bike ride, a warmer so the baby wipes aren't cold on his tushie, monitors, vibrating baby papa-sans, mobiles galore... just astounding. i want to be a baby again - can we ever get a do-over?

back to the reality of law school and the fact that the reading i haven't done in nearly a week didn't just go away. hmmm. but i think i'm rejuvenated and ready to renew my studies with fervor! (or at least say this in the hopes it will come true)

i had an interview this morning that was just lovely - with a woman from the Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center in San Francisco. not sure i want to do employment stuff but it sounds really really cool - and they would kick in an extra $1000 on top of my NYU grant, which couldn't hurt. i still think i want to spend a summer in the public defender's office, but at least there is this as a potential. we seemed to have a lot of 'witty banter' so i think it went well.

ok time to read criminal procedure, go get vegan organic asian salad bar for lunch (my new obsession: this hole in the wall place called 'temple' - looks kinda sketchy but since it's vegetables i don't worry about ecoli or eating rats instead of chicken - it's really yummy), and then do journal office hours (and scout the cutie who was in there last time... hehe), and then class and more work and on and on. don't i sound busy?

Greggo - i am SO sorry i didn't give you a call back last week before i left town - i hope the race was great (i heard from julie that it went well) - we'll talk soon.

Bern - sorry i woke you up on saturday - hope we chat soon.

A-ho - now read your daily blog on my way to electoral-vote.com - but also very glad to read you on the mac house one. isn't the map looking prettier these days???

Jules - thanks again for the fabulous weekend. i'll email you to get jennie and derek's address to send a thank you card. unlike the ones i never sent from mac house. oops.

Michelle - if you are out there - happy almost birthday (or did it just happen?)

LOVE YOU GUYS
shan