I went to the gym yesterday for the first time in about a month.  I really didn't want to go but I did it anyway and it felt really good.  I woke up today not hating the alarm and I feel more energized and less depressed.  I have been pretty sedentary since I started working full time.  Sitting around all  day has been bad for my back, eyes and morale.  I was only at the gym for about half an hour but it was a good first step for getting back in the habit.  A few months ago I had a month free at sweat gym and I was addicted to it.  I wanted to go everyday for hours.  I normally only went for about an hour but all I could think about was what I wanted to do next.  With so much other stuff going on I haven't had the same kind of intensity for the gym.  But it still makes me feel good to go on a regular basis.  Hopefully I can keep it up through the rest of the summer.  The gym I go to is called Planet Fitness.  I go there because it is cheap and some friends from theWooden Shoe also signed up to go.  We call it the gym of the people because it was signs that say "no judgement zone" everywhere and they have pizza day and bagel day once a month.  I haven't been there yet for the food days but I bet it is fun.  I pay $20/month and I get to always bring a friend (usually ryan comes with me) and free tanning and half price drinks for the cooler.  I haven't bought any drinks and I don't think I'll be tanning any time soon but I like being able to bring a friend. 

Tuesday was Rebecca's birthday.  We normally go to the movies on her birthday.  This year we went to see Thor and ate so much popcorn and drank soda!  The movie was fun but a little convoluted.  I wish it had been a Thor/ Adventures in Babysitting crossover.  Adventures in Babysitting is my only reference to Thor before this movie.  It is frustrating when movies are made just to make sequels or as a set up for other movies (like the avengers).  It isn't that hard to give a movie substance and all I mean by substance is a good backstory and chemistry between the characters.  It was entertaining enough though.  After the movie I gave Rebeccas some birthday presents including the Lady Gaga cd, the first 2 seasons of the Jersey Shore and a bottle opener with Madonna on it.  I think she liked all her presents.  I didn't have any wrapping paper, so I was very "green" and wrapped her presents in plastic bags and shoe boxes. 

I finished the Girls to the Front book yesterday.  After I finished it I spent a lot of time at work reading reviews of it and most of them were pretty spot on.  It was a really fun read.  There is a lot of gritty details about how things went down.  I think Marcus's perception of the times and how riot grrrl resulted from everything else going on during that time period was really apt.  I read Allison Wolfe's review of the book and I really enjoyed it. 
http://www.nypress.com/article-21671-reconsidering-riot-grrrl.html
Marcus does always describe Wolfe as being goofy and does downplay the legitimacy of bratmobile as a band.  I also really enjoyed Mike Mckee's review of the book in the Philadelphia Weekly
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/music/A-Misunderstood-Movement-Riot-Grrrl.html
Marcus melded together a lot of research and many interviews to craft an enthralling narrative of the times.  When I started reading it I immediately got hooked.  I really tried to stretch it out so I didn't finish it right away.  The last chapter was a total downer.  I would love to hear what other people thought of the book.  I feel like I need some time to process some on the described moments of oppression olympics style cutting each other down for being privileged.  That stuff is really tricky to deconstruct.  It was interesting to read some of the women's perspective now on some of the extreme stuff that they did when they were younger.   Like purposefully making yourself the victim to win an argument and things like that. I definitely would recommend this to anyone interested in the 90s, punk, feminism, etc.  I always disconnect grunge like Nirvana from more underground punk bands and this book was a good reminder of how connected everything was before Nirvana signed to DGC and "punk broke."
The lastest issue of Bitch magazine has a good article on Courtney Love, Frances, her mother Linda Carroll, and her biological grandmother Paula Fox.  I recommend it if you like that kind of stuff.

The biggest news is that I officially accepted to NYU, so I am going to be moving to New York sometime this summer.  I'm pretty exciting about this move, especially because this is a huge next step on what has seemed like an endless quest to become a nurse.  I started taking prereqs in 2006 when I was working in Trenton and taking night classes at CCP.  I took 2 classes and then I took a years off to switch jobs a few times, travel and work on more personal stuff.  Fall 2009 I started taking classes again and it felt like an uphill battle.  I took Anatomy and Physiology and molecular biology first semester and had to drop molecular biology and forfeit the tution for it because it was so challenging.  Second semester I suffered through A&P 2 with a sexist, offensive professor.  I also took nutrition with an awesome professor.  Last summer I hit my head against a wall multiple times taking microbiology with the same shitty sexist dude and this fall I took Developmental Psychology with another wackadoodle sexist dude.  This spring I took molecular biology.  I really liked the professor but after turning down drexel and getting waitlisted at Penn I had little steam left to plow through another class that felt like it was going nowhere.  I took all these classes while switching jobs numerous times, negotiating conflicts, doing finances, ordering zines and about a hundred other things at the shoe, going through some other personal stuff like deaths in the family and break ups. 
Getting accepted to a school that I actually want to go to feels like a great reward after going through all that crap. 
This are the things I am excited about:
Moving near NYC friends, Carolanne, Molly and Veena.
Having a cute apartment with Ryan and TK and Dodger.
Having a college schedule with no work (winter break will actually be a break)
Delicious food in NYC
New stuff to do
New friends
Not driving as much

Things that I am worried or sad about:
MONEY (debt and the high cost of living in NYC)
school being hard
missing philly friends
schoolwork hanging over my head all the time.
missing the Wooden Shoe
Not having a lot of free time
Adjusting to a new city.

Work has been so busy lately so I haven't had much time to update.  When I started this blog I thought I would have time to write everyday.  Clearly that has not been the case. 
This weekend drove to Maine to see Molly for her thesis art show.  She graduated with her MFA this weekend!  So cool!  Friday's drive was rough.  By the time we got through NYC it was around 7:30 and both Ryan and I were done with driving.  Unfortuantely we had about 5 more hours to go.  Neither one of us had gotten enough sleep on Thurs.  Halfway through Massachusetts Ryan became delirious so I was on my own for the rest of the driving.  We got to Molly's apartment around 12:30am after leaving philly at 3:30.  Such a long day! We gave Molly hugs and immediately fell asleep. 

On Saturday we ate so much delicious food.  My favorite was Japanese dinner.  I always write off sushi as something as I am not crazy about, but that was wrong of me.  Q, Ryan and I ordered a bunch of food to split up.  We got avocado and cucumber sushi, tempura, sweet potato sushi, spring rolls and scallion pancakes.  It was all of my favorite things!  Other food highlights from the day including good coffee, flatbread vegan pizza and a hot lemonade in a pint glass with Maine maple syrup.  The lemonade was an amazing drink.  So good. And it was very appreciated that it was served in a full pint glass instead of a small mug.  So much deliciousness for less than $3.00  Throughout the day we walked around with Molly, her parents and her partner Brian.  It was fun crew.  We went to a few thrift stores.  I tried on a lot of clothes but the mirrors in one store were very unflattering so I couldn't bring myself to buy anything.  We also walked to the water and saw boats.  There was randomly a piece of the Berlin wall by the water.  After so much walking around we went back to Molly's apartment for naps before her opening.  I was still pretty exhausted from all the traveling on Friday. 

Molly's opening was so fun.  There was tasty snacks and a lot of cool art to look at.  Molly's art was the best art.  Some of her classmates had done some really interesting projects.  It was fun to decompress with Molly after the show and get the background on the people and the projects.  Much gossip was said. It was so good to hang out with Molly and Q.  They are some of my oldest Philly friends and whenever we hang out it feels really comfortable and homey.  We have been through so much together.

We ended Saturday by dancing at a Portland gay bar called Styxx.  I loved it.  The dj played a mix of top 40 music from the last decade.  I love going out and hearing songs I know.  They played the Punjabi MC song Beware of the Boys which is a fav to dance to.  I prefer the version with Jay-Z but I'll take it.  I don't think I have heard that song out dancing in over 3 years.  It was a fun time but we couldn't stay super long because we had a long drive back to Philly on Sunday.

We were woken up on Sunday to news that Molly and Brian had bought us a bunch of baked goods for breakfast.  It was a really nice surprise.  We ate scones and muffins and home baked bread (made by molly's roommate Michael) and had coffee.  Then we had to say goodbye to Molly, Q and Brian.  It was so sad.  I'll be seeing Molly soon since she is moving to Brooklyn in a few weeks.  Knowing she would be in nyc is part of the reason I applied to nursing school there.  Since Q is living in the bay area now I never seem to have enough hang out time with him. 

Sunday Ryan and I drove all day to get back to Philly at a reasonable hour.  We stopped for snacks and soup in a bread bowl from pantera bread.  And got home to find out the Dodger left so many presents for us.  Someone flaked on picking him up to take care of him so he was alone for a lot of Sunday.  I was very mad at him since he peed on 2 novels that I had to throw out a couple of other important things.  We have since made up though.  I think he gets anxious when left alone for too long.  We threw out one of his favorite carpets to pee on so hopefully that will help.

Last night I watched the movie Blue Valentine.  My favorite doctor that I used to work with is the abortion dr in the movie.  I had no idea that he was in the movie.  It was kind of freaky.  I guess they were going for realism so they cast a real abortion doctor to do it.  The movie was a little slow for me.  Being that I have a lot of experience in dysfunction relationships (my parents and my own), it didn't offer anything that was eye opening or that struck a chord.  I really like Michelle Williams and I sympathesized with her character a lot.  The Ryan Gosling character seemed sympathetic sometimes, but mostly annoying.  He encompassed a lot of the qualities that annoy me about men.  He carried around a ukulele and plucked it inappropriately, he didn't listen, didn't pay attention to body language, and was in denial about most things.  His intentions were probably ok, but he fucked up a lot. 

I got some exciting news today.  I got accepted to the NYU accelerated nursing program.  This is pretty big news.  I had applied to UPenn in the fall and I got waitlisted and then rejected.  I was pretty bummed and depressed about school stuff.  I took biochem this spring and even though it wasn't that difficult, I had no attention span for school work.  I wanted to do everything but study.  I was even tempted to give up the nursing school idea all together.  But when I got the acceptance letter from NYU this morning I was pretty ecstatic.  Moving to a new city and starting school would be a really exciting adventure.  I would have to decide in the next 3 weeks.  EEEEEEEE.  The prospect of moving to NYC in just a few months seems so weird.  I've lived in Philly for so long.  I love routine and the thought of change stresses me out even if it ends up being good.  Even considering my reservations, I think this could be a really good move for me.  I've been working towards nursing school for years.  Moving to New York for awhile would be a great pay off.  It would be a 15 month program with sessions fall, spring, summer and fall of 2012 and then I would be a nurse.  Crazy life changes!
This may sound silly but I have always wanted to have my own apartment by myself of just one other person.  Moving to New York would definitely satisfy this life goal. I like the idea of having a small amount of living space to take care of and having a minimal amount of stuff.  If anyone knows how to go about looking for apartments in NYC (or let's be honest, Brooklyn) let me know.  It seems totally overwhelming. 

I got so excited about my blog and then I haven't had time to post until now.  Last week Ryan and I had to buy a new refigerator for the house.  We spent hours gchatting about what kind would be best.  I wanted to upgrade to the 2 door-side by side refrigerator and then I got worried that it wouldn't be big enough to fit a pizza box.  That was pretty much my biggest concern.  Will our new fridge fit a pizza box?  I also didn't want a fridge with the freezer on the bottom because I have this feeling that that is where food goes to die.  I felt so much anxiety about not making the right decision or spending more money than necessary.  But we got a fridge on sale and then we got it delivered and they took the old one away.  The online reviews for our fridge were pretty good and we got an extended warranty.  All of that was just in time for Ryan's birthday/housewarming potluck.  The party was so fun.  I got to talk to a lot of people that I don't to see very often.  We watched my work's lady gaga parody video a few times and it was a crowd pleaser.  I got a vegan treats cake and people brought pies and homemade ice cream.  We even got a plant for a housewarming gift.  It was nice to be able to show people the house.  I feel really proud of it, even though I'm not totally moved in and haven't been able to help with a lot of the labor of painting and floors. 

School sucked up so much time and energy this semester.  My final is this Friday and I cannot wait until I don't have to worry about school work any more.  I really want to concentrate on going through my stuff.  Getting rid of things, moving, eating better, going to the gym, and working on the house.  It would also be nice to see friends and feel like I am a part of a community again.  I've been feeling pretty isolated due to school work.  Having to get up early for work and the cold weather haven't exactly motivated me to get out to events.

The day after the party was spent cleaning the house again because Ryan's mom, sister and niece were visiting from Michigan.  Hanging out with other people's families is always a challenge for me.  I feel like I always get shy and tongue tied.  It was fun hanging out with his niece though.  She is 3 and talks non stop.  She doesn't miss anything and asks questions about everything.  When I was in Michigan about 10 mins after we first met she asked me "Why do you have hair on your mouth?  I don't have hair on my mouth."  I felt a little awkward but just told her that it grows there and some people have it and some people don't.  I like that she speaks her mind and asks so many questions.  She was also really fond of my cat, which I really appreciate.  I liked letting her feed TK treats.

I realized while ryan's fam was staying at the house that Titty Kitty appeared to be hunting something in the house.  She does this by staying by one area for hours and trying to get under whatever shelf or furniture is there. I was so afraid that Tk was gonna catch a mouse and run around the house with it in her mouth, which may be frightening for a small child.  Luckily TK found her mouse at night after they had already caught their flight.  She has been on the hunt ever since for more mice.  It is cute when she is up all night patrolling the house.  After she catches her prey she sleeps for days and barely lifts her head up to eat.  Being a mouser is a hard job.

Yesterday I went to NJ to go to the dentist and had dinner with my mom.  We went to Olive Garden.  It is a not so secret guilty favorite of mine.  After dinner we went over to the public library for their book sale.  They get tons of book donations that they sell for fundraising and then at the end of the sale they have a day where you can pay $5 and fill up a brown bag with as many books as will fit.  I used to be a very fast, avid reader and I could plow through books pretty quickly.  Owning books wasn't really a problems since I was always reading.  Now I acquire books as if I read quickly, but it takes me months to finish a book, especially while taking classes.  I have amassed a huge collection of books that I intend to read.  I grew up in a hoarding household and have spent a lot of time resisting the urge to hoard.  The process of getting rid of stuff is mysterious to me, so it is better if I don't bring stuff home.  There are still a few things that I tend to hoard because they are nice to have around and you can "always use."  Books have become one of those things.  I try to keep them organized and I do get rid of some from time to time, but having a wall full of books is comforting to me. I came home with one bag full of books that I am excited to read.  I'll let you know in a few years when/if I get to them all.

Things that have been on my mind lately: moving, birth control options, the depressing state of reproductive justice in PA/the country, and the Obamas.