The Vegetarian Tries Again

Take two for the vegetarian cooking! I decided to try this recipe because, honestly? It was colorful. Yes, it's that easy to get me to cook--it just has to be colorful. Total prep time? About an hour. I honestly thought it would be more difficult to find all the ingredients, but it was easier than I thought. But who would have known chili garlic sauce is a common thing to have at Stop and Shop?



Speaking of chili garlic sauce. Fair warning: it is deadly! Stupidly, I realized I was not putting the other ingredients in the mix in the proportions called for on the recipe. So, being me, I said, "You know what's a good idea? Adding more chili garlic sauce! It can't be that bad."

Wrong. Very wrong. This stuff is potent and usable in small doses. It's like someone took all the capsaicin from a hundred jalapenos and put it in this inconspicuous looking jar.



The final product is worth it. The combination of mint, chili, pineapple... well, lets just say the mix works and is really filling. (I blame the spiciness.)

The Next Two Weeks

I'm getting into the thick of things now. There's always a point in the semester when the layers of homework, papers, and textbooks completely trap you underneath them. And I think these two weeks are it!

So in this art of staying positive, I have to address the issue of competing priorities! How does one accept challenges when all the dreary stuff is weighing you down? Well, it's working WITH the life stuff that makes the positivity so much more effective.

What is one to do when one gets too many offers to do fun things when school interferes? Or how do you go and enjoy yourself doing fun things at the expensive of turning down someone else? How do you stay positive when you have to face the life stuff that just sucks the air right out of your lungs?

For me it comes down to this: you have enough time to do all the things you need to do, and maybe just enough to do the things you want to do too.

For the stress, I have a boxing gym in my parent's basement that's my go-to. It has nothing to do with aggression and everything to do with a sweat-soaked, energy-depleting workout. And when I'm at my apartment, I have the gym up the road.

For piece of mind, I have trashy television, the internet to talk to friends (way more important in health than people give credit), and a mild winter that lets me walk outside.

So I have a new challenge for myself, something I've made excuses about... going to the free classes at my gym. I've wanted to try Zumba or Yoga for a while now, but haven't mustered the courage to go. My challenge? One gym class a week! Challenge #4: Attend gym classes!

How to Speak Vegetarian

Just in case you were wondering how the cooking from yesterday went (ahem, Felton)... I did not get food poisoning! A person can only give herself food poisoning so many times before she learns to follow recipes the right way. Lets not forget the cookout/slip n slide fiasco of 2009.

This is the recipe I tried:

Hawaiian-style Sweet-and-Sour Roasted Pineapple and Bell Peppers



(the photo from Vegetarian Times... mine did not look so much like this)

I find being a vegetarian harder when it comes to actually cooking meals because it's not just "lettuce, tomato, etc." You have to find new things to do with vegetables, which makes me revert back to the old cheese/pasta diet.

But it doesn't lessen the fact that hey, I was cooking. And I did not call Felton one time to ask what an ingredient is or where I could find it in a supermarket. Upgrade! Felton*, a college friend and secret chef, is my go-to on cooking advice. The woman can make gourmet out of leftovers. Not that I'm jealous or anything.

The Art of Staying Positive

Actually, attempting to stay positive is like a complete reworking of my brain. I think the natural human condition is to think the opposite way. The cynical, this-is-never-going to work, that-could-never-happen-in-real-life way.

Since I started on this "journey" in the Real World, this is the one thing I have the most trouble with. It's easy to sink into the "whatever" mindset. It takes actual work to maintain positivity! Plus getting knocked down is way easier than being propped up, ex: no temp work for a week, four consecutive blown internships interviews, bad grades, gaining weight.

I wouldn't be honest if I said that this journey is an easy one, but I've noticed that thinking good things seems to bring good things. It's like putting the vibes out brings in better ones, as long as you keep the flow going. Inactivity seems to be my biggest enemy... I'm extremely good at hibernating at my parent's house.

Tonight, I decided to let go of my grilled cheese/pasta and cheese diet and actually get my act together. Part of overall health is your diet, after all. I know I feel terrible after downing an ice cream the size of my head. Or eating a muffin from Dunks because I was too lazy to pack and carry something healthy.

I'm attacking this health thing from every angle: diet, exercise, and stress. I've learned what a difference stress truly makes on health. And not just because I study it!

There is truth in the notion that thinking positively lowers your stress. Easier said than done, especially commuting anywhere in Boston. But I have learned to just stop myself, breathe in the moment, and think long-term. The commute lasts half an hour, then what?

I know now that to be healthy in this life, I need to think ahead a lot more than I do now. I need to get my homework and studying done, and not the night before. I need to make time for the gym. Make time to cook. Plan ahead!

I'm going to Memphis in a month and I need to set some personal goals:

1) Spend time every night working on school work.
2) Spend less time hanging out on my parent's couch.
3) Gym! Enough said.

I think I've had a good starting point and now I'm getting to the hardest part: maintenance through the rough part of the semester. But as anyone knows, you can't just give up. If there's one thing a person should define themselves on it's this.

The actions of someone who gets back up and tries again speaks volumes more than the person making excuses.

Don't Put Your Weight On My Board!

I rolled up to the abandoned warehouse around noon. It was literally the only day that it was cold and snowing all winter, and this three-floor monstrosity had no windows, just those eerie shredded curtain-like sheets billowing back and forth with the wind pushing the snow through into the building.

I called the friend who'd invited me, because quite frankly, even I'm not that adventurous that I wander into abandoned, half-burnt down and collapsed warehouses alone. The call went something like this, "B*&%^, if you think I'm walking my a$$ into this creepy m*&*^^&% warehouse, you have another thing comin."

Her response, "Oh, I'm on my way, stop being such a p^$$%."

I waited for her outside the door where someone had made a makeshift "bridge" to the door over the mud, and I'm assuming, broken glass, by putting a board over it. Already a good sign.

When she finally arrived, I was partially wet and completely cold from standing out in the snow. The errand that took so long? A beer run, of course. Being a Penn Stater, I could never be angry at someone for making a beer run.

We crossed the board and entered the warehouse--an old tannery that had burnt down decades before. Being in the basement of the place, light filtered in barely through the holes in the walls. It was light enough to see the various rusted hooks hanging down from the ceiling. At the end of the building was the set, illuminated by a complex movie-set lighting structure connected to a generator 25 yards away. Also in the room, a propane heater that people were clustered around.

There was a motley crew of film students already assembled, some running around looking for equipment, some chain-smoking, and one random sound guy duct-taping wires around his waist.



My friend, lets call her *Amy, decided we should all take a tour of the warehouse while the boys did the sound check. Yes, the boys. Amy and I were the only girls in the place. Amy, Amy's brother, Amy's other friend, and I ventured to the end of the darkened basement and started up a creaky wooden staircase. The second floor was identical to the first: blown out windows, glass on the floor, graffiti everywhere. The difference was that this floor was actually illuminated from the outside. I didn't know the scale of this warehouse from outside, but the building was actually massive.

We crept along the boards on the second floor, noticing that the wood had been warped and the floor was sunken in places. We also made sure to avoid all putting our weight in the same spot for too long, just in case. And of course, in places there was no floor at all.

Amy thought, oh hey, the second floor is unstable, you know what else we could do? Go to the third floor! We found another staircase in a back room and continued our way up. Amy went ahead of me and called back "that stair is questionable!" to which I responded "What stair? It's just a board!"

We went up to the third floor, in rougher shape than the second. The exposure clearly had taken hold up top and all I could think about was how if we fell through the floor, it's not like the one below us would stop our fall. We'd keep falling to the basement. Amy peeked out a window, "I don't remember that ceiling be so collapsed the last time, that must be new."

Eventually we wandered back down to the basement where they decided it was time for the extras to line up. I have never been in any kind of film before, so I had no idea what it was to be an extra.

"Ok, so you guys are just going to scream when I say action!" The director(?) told us. I'm not sure who he was, but everyone else seemed to be paying attention to him, so I did too.

He said "action," and I started giggling. I don't think he was very pleased. We were supposed to be tough "thugs" and there I was, about as white as can be. I'd also had my hair back in a side bun and make-up on. Plus, I'm sure my fur-lined London Fog winter coat made me look legit.



Eventually I started not to care that I felt like a total jackass and went for it. And it was kind of fun. I broke out my best Boston accent and started yelling what the boys were yelling.

This went on and off all night. What was supposed to be a four-hour extras shoot turned into... well, I'm not sure because I left after 6:30pm. The problem was I am highly identifiable in the crowd as one of the only girls, so when the boys were switching hats and coats, it's not like I could. I'm still pretty identifiable. Unlike my friend, *Ford:



In between takes, it was a whole lot of smoking, drinking, and boys being boys. Poor Amy, to have to keep those guys in line!

And so for challenge #3: This one is all about getting out of my comfort zone. I booked a trip to Memphis with a friend! Why Memphis? Why not!

Is it me, or is the TEMPerature rising?

Today was the second day as a temp. Here's how it went: commuter rail to orange line. State Street station to... crap, which direction is this? Damn! Did this street name just change? WHY do four streets intersect at this weird angle and which slant am I supposed to take? You know what, I'm just going to sit on this bench and use the map on my iPhone.

Oh, here's the building, totally out of numeric order on this street. Is that the aquarium? Did I just walk all the way to the aquarium? Go me!

My job was to sit at the front desk of the office on the eighth floor and transfer calls. Which happened roughly twice an hour. My temporary co-workers told me to go on facebook, read, keep myself awake. I got my $11/hr (that's what this job pays) for answering approximately 15 telephone calls and playing on the internet all day. Like I said, it's not going to feed you, but temp work is worth it for the student with limited options (food services).

Weirdest part of my day: Crossing over the site of the Boston Massacre to get to my train that was under the Old State Building.

Tomorrow brings about the student film... and I have no idea what ones wears to a student film. I'm working on challenge #3. Stay tuned.

Adventures in Temp-dom

Today was my first official day as a temp. And you know, it was all the work and none of the commitment. I loved it. I spent five hours entering info into a computer and stuffing envelopes and still made more than that poor kid behind the counter at Dunks during the morning rush. I sat in my corner, typed away, and not once did someone yell in my face. Upgrade! Plus today was it, so I don't have to go back. No continuing projects.

So basically: adequate pay, low pressure, plenty of time for school. Not so much time for the gym, though. Plus if I have a heavy school week--no thanks, Bob*, no work for me. To which, Bob* says, "No problem," and calls me the next day with something else.

Now, clearly, I will not be making a solid income this way. I do not mean to mislead the masses here in that temp work will feed you. Because honestly, in this city it won't. Not unless the company decides to hire you and give you benefits. However, if you're a student with weird class schedules needing to make a few bucks, it might be for you.

Tomorrow I start a three-day gig at some office downtown where I will be paid for answering phones and daydreaming. Now it's time to let you all in on challenge #2:

THE CHALLENGE: I was asked by a friend to be an extra in her student film. Normally, I would say "ahhh hellll nah," mostly because seeing myself on film is like staring into the cold, icy death-eyes of Medusa. Not an exaggeration.

So challenge #2: Be an extra in a movie. LETS DO IT.

The Staffing Agency

First off, let me say that navigating Boston is like spinning around in circles like dizzy-bat and going the only direction you can still walk. Of course, this city is so small that you can pretty much walk across the whole thing in an hour if you wanted to. What's interesting here is how the streets change names after a few blocks, so Winter literally becomes Summer (street). I definitely pulled a "I'm going this way... oh wait, just kidding, I'm going that way." "Hold up, which way am I going?" I think I needed David Bowie to get me out of the labyrinth.

Boston is an interesting city in general... the history around every corner (literally), the feel of walking along in Downtown Crossing, the food (the bars!). The New England "feel" is one of walking down cobblestones, breathing the crisp bay area, hearing the tourists ohh and ahh over hundred-year-old churches, and the convergence of young minds.

I like the old-time feel of walking past the King's Chapel or Old North Church. The Boston Common is always full of people (sometimes protesters), and there's good food pretty much anywhere you go. I even have a favorite vegan Thai place in Chinatown!

So as I commuted in by "T" today to meet with the staffing agency, walking through Boston in 50-degree weather lifted my spirits. I entered a massive, well-kept professional building and was met with a clean, two-floor staffing agency right up front.

Up front at the door, there is no receptionist. There's a phone and a list of extensions with the note "call the person you're supposed to meet." So I picked up the phone and called. A few minutes later, a woman came down to hand me paperwork and asked me to fill it out. She seemed extremely annoyed that I kept asking questions, but it seemed odd to fill out paperwork BEFORE I'd even spoken to anyone... about anything. Jobs, qualifications, payment.

I read all the paperwork and filled it out in my own good time. I read every sentence, every word, every punctuation mark. I don't think this went over well with the "receptionist." Eventually, the person I came to meet came to get me, lets call him Bob.

Bob was a thin, tall man who looked to be about in his early thirties. He smiled and shook my hand, and asked me for my passport. Apparently staffing agencies need your passport before you interview as well. So I figured, what have I got to lose?

He made a copy and we went into a dimly-lit interview room with three chairs, a phone, and tiny table. I sat at the table and he sat in the corner facing me. He went over my skills, where I would like to see myself, my class schedule, and what I would be interested in doing (temp work a few days, etc).

I was honest: no, I don't know where I see myself but I'm going to keep looking. Am I qualified to do temp work? Yep. How am I paying my bills? A mix of prayer and a savings account.

At the end, he recapped the way he was going to sell me to companies and I liked the way it sounded. If you ever want an ego boost, go meet Bob* at Wegetyoujobsstaffingplace* because that alone might be worth the trip. But you have to look at this objectively. Staffing agencies get paid commission on the people they send to companies that hire them. So, the name of the game is get as many qualified people in your arsenal as possible so you can use them over and over and get as much money as possible. They also get a bonus if you go permanent, and maybe you'll refer your friends.

So now I've completed that, I'm glad that I did. Now I just get to wait and see if anything comes of it.

The Future Is... Daunting.

I promised to be completely honest on this blog, and so it will be. The goal here is to capture this awkward phase of being in your early twenties and trying to make a life in this economy.

And so, here is the honest truth: the future is a daunting, as the headline indicates. It's the uncertainty in job interview after job interview... finding the right spot, the right fit.

Tomorrow brings about my interview with the staffing agency. I have no idea what to expect out of this. And like every other paranoid person, I googled "staffing agencies" and read all the good (and allll the bad) yelp had to offer. Then it hit me, we are definitely a generation of people who need to google every detail of our lives and read the reviews, just so other people can tell us if we're making the right decision or not.

Amazing! How did people make choices pre-search engine, I wonder?

I have to amend part of my life rule list: Not to allow online reviews deter me from living the experience myself. What works for one person may not work for the other, right?

I pose this question to my readers (all two of you): Why do you let other (interweb) people dictate your actions?

I'm still working out that answer myself.

The First Challenge(s)

There must be something to the notion that being optimistic brings good things. In my first step of this whole process, I decided to check the negativity at the door. If you know anything about me, you know that this is basically like hacking off a limb. The daughter of two of the most paranoid Jews in the world, I never had a shot. Their obsessive worrying makes me live at an anxiety level most people only experience in the fifteen seconds before bungee-jumping off a bridge. Dealing with this anxiety comes with three distinct personality flaws:

1) An inability to be late. Ever. If I'm not ten minutes early, I'm already late. This factor was instrumental in many fights with college friends who thought it didn't matter what time you arrive a bar. Wrong! Fallacy! You must arrive at the bar for the drink specials!

2) I can't sit still. Watching television all day is what I may dream about when I'm stuck at work, but in reality it's boring and gives me migraines. How much "Toddlers and Tiaras" can you watch before you truly lose all faith in humanity?

3) I have to feel productive. I set ridiculous goals for myself so that if I hit it, I feel accomplished. Examples: Do one load of laundry (done!), apply for 5 jobs a day (we'll get to this), take a dog for a walk (who cares if it's mine?)

So you can see how difficult it was just to stop myself and say, "To hell with this worrying!" "I lost my job, I did not lose my pride!" (I may have been listening to The Script.) I adopted the mantra: "You miss 100% of the shots you never take."

I went onto Monster.com and applied for 12 jobs. In a row. At four in the morning because I couldn't sleep. At approximately 2:00PM that same day, I got a call from a staffing agency where I'd sent my application. (You should know that about 25% of the job listing on Monster are put up by staffing agencies.)

Ok, I know what you're thinking. Really? A staffing agency? They only do temp work! That's for desperate people! However--remember the rules? I can't say no if it's within reason. AND I have never been a temp. Seeing as how I'm currently unemployed, what do I have to lose?

So I'm going for it. CHALLENGE #1: Respond to a staffing agency! ACCEPTED.

My Declaration

Welcome to 2012.

In my much anticipated follow-up to Adventures From The Ledge, I'd like to introduce you all to Adventures From The Real World.

I came to a realization somewhere between losing my first real long-term job and being overworked as a Tufts graduate student: I'm 23 and, damn it, I'm not doing anything about it! A life overworked is not a life lived, and a life not lived? Well, is there any bigger regret?

So here are the rules I have to abide by, and yes, the brutal honesty of the Real World will be reported. In detail.

1) I can't say NO to any offer (within reason of course, I'm not insane.)
2) I have to make an effort to try something new (possibly crazy) every week.
3) It has to be my absolute priority to break this post-collegiate "Real World" curse! I can be happy without a career, without a boyfriend, and without a concrete five-year-plan, despite what the movies lead you to believe.

In my Adventures From The Real World, I'm going to prove to everyone that happiness isn't just something Will Smith pursues in celluloid. It isn't a mythological object we're still trying to research the location of. And it certainly isn't something reserved for the career-driven, the beautiful, or the rich.