The Road Less Traveled

I can count on both hands, and some toes, the number of COVID19 emails and articles I’ve seen talking about all the things to do during our current global situation. Their lists (yes, from the marketing people) have been:

- subscribe to this new service ($$$)

- shop our online sale! ($$$)

- sign up for this service to read articles for “free” ($$$)

And I was pretty disappointed by most of the emails I was reading...but there were a few that warmed my heart a little.

- free delivery and no service fee when you order from local restaurants

- all proceeds of ____ sale are going toward helping homeless or those in poverty receive the supplies that are currently unavailable to them

and so on, and so forth. These are the companies and groups that I was happy to see in my inbox, knowing that someone was doing something to help the world.

But, we’re human, and we can only do so much for our community and our global family. That’s just reality. And that’s okay!! If you spend the whole time giving, and no time taking care of yourself, then you’ll have nothing left to give.

So, with that in mind: here are some ideas for social distancing and quarantine activities!

At Home Activities:

- Photography! The majority of us have a smart phone and it’s got one (or two, shoutout 11 pro peeps) cameras on it — use that sucker!! Take silly photos with your family (fuzzy or otherwise), snap pics of your plants or collections of things, or even take photos of random stuff in your house (I know you’re bored enough to).

- Editing these photos is also a good pastime, with lots of free apps on smartphones, and online editing software like PicMonkey and similar — have fun playing with filters and stickers and all kinds of creative adjustments

- Online, Virtual Tours! This is such a cool resource that has been taking root in the last few years as accessibility and outreach have been gaining prominence! Many museums and national parks have posted online tours (similar to Google Street View) of their amazing spaces for online viewers around to globe to interact with. Get out there (online), and explore some amazing works of art and nature, alone or with the whole family through a TV!

- Share the love online and talk about the new things you’re discovering to encourage others to take advantage of these great online-passes to some of the worlds best views (on walls or outdoors).

- Read - yep, the easy one. Whether its new blogs from people online, the book that’s collecting dust on your “to read” shelf, or something like Audible where you can listen to a book and still get something else done - feed your brain!

- A good follow-up to reading is writing! Head online for good writing prompts, or even silly games where you can write a story with the help of the whole family, sentence by sentence!

- Online Concerts! Many artists are doing online tours, and you can enjoy some “live”music from the comfort of your own couch!

- I personally love Tessa Violet, and she has created her “Something to Look Forward To” Tour, where she plays her music, and has dance breaks to engage her audience and take polls of what song she should play next

- ReThink a Space: this one’s a little more broad, but if you have an area of your home or outdoor space that feels as stale as the air you’re breathing while staying inside all the time, REDO IT! Now is the time to start that obnoxious project that takes too long! Some of the most obvious spots are:

- Bedroom/bedroom closet - change out winter for spring!

- Guest room closets (because who knows what’s lost in there)

- Office spaces/playrooms (equally busy, equally disorganized!)

- Bookshelves/display areas

- Crafting: now, I know we can’t all run out to a Michelle’s or a Hobby Lobby, but I can almost guarantee that most of us have some form of markers/pens, and maybe a printer (but if not, have faith!)

- Checkout online tutorials for drawing or calligraphy, and get those hands moving! There are plenty of studies about how calming coloring is, and stimulating the brain with simple things like learning calligraphy are perfect for indoor or outdoor activities solo, or with family

- Pictionary! Or the like. There are online prompts if you don’t have the physical game in your house, and websites like Jackbox have online versions so you can play with your friends, without being in the same room!

- Collaging/crafting with outdoor objects: take a hint from the children that keep wanting to bring home spikey balls or a pretty leaf! Sometimes those objects are silly but can create a fun craft! Using some thread or string, and a stick or two from outside, make a hanging wall decor piece or mobile with the things you are collecting on your walks!

- Video games!! Although it’s not an option for everyone, video games are a great time to have some competitive fun between members of the household, and also help to connect online with other friends who are also playing the game

- Steam and Origin are the two main gaming platforms I know of, and The Sims, and other games, are on sale right now to help offer entertainment and connect people digitally!

- Cleaning, which I’m sure we’ve all done a bit of at this point (not judging if you haven’t but here’s your list of ideas!)

- Starting from top to bottom, now is a great time to get that deep “Spring Clean” that everyone talks about this time of year! Dust of the tops of things that you forget about, like picture frames or door frames, and go down from there, wiping down surfaces, cleaning that gross space between your window pane and the screen (it’s disgusting but if the windows are open, you get to breath all that funk), and continue on to dusting baseboards and sweeping/vacuuming/mopping floors

- And disclaimer: I have not done all these things, but I’m still on the “Rethink a Space” part, so there’s stuff all over the things I want to clean...

- Don’t forget to Clorox those popular surfaces we forget about, like light switches, cabinet knobs/handles, and the power buttons for things like a Keurig or other small tech

- write snail mail for family and friends you’re unable to see at the moment! Yeah, technology exists, but there is always something special about hand-writing some fun messages to send to your loved ones!

- If you think ahead, you can make some fun art, and send that along with your letters, as a bit of cheer to spread along to others!

- Find something to research: whether it’s how video games are made, how to grow new plants, the sound in space, or what that cool movie you just watched mentioned! There’s a million resources online, and even in your local library (using Libby, an online library source for e-books, and more!

- Checkout online resources for your everyday habits: gym or yoga studio’s facebook or YouTube, university resources for free classes/access to databases, educational resources for children (often found on library sites)

You may notice that cooking is missing from this list. I realize that grocery shopping is difficult at this time, so I’ve tried to think of ideas that involve resources you already have in your homes/yards. If cooking is your thing, or you’d like to take it up during this time, please, do so!! It’s such a great way to feed your brain and your body at the same time! Checkout online channels like “Binging with Babish” and other food related YouTubers or Bloggers to find new recipes or content. If you need to go out and grocery shop, just remember to be courteous of other’s and take hand sanitizer or Clorox mini-wipes to get those surfaces like cart handles and self-checkout/checkout screens and surfaces.

My brain is tapped out for ideas at this point, as I’m mainly doing the things mentioned above because they fit with my personal lifestyle and interested, but if you guys have thought of or done some things that might interest others, please list them below!! And those with kids: PLEASE, link a Pinterest board of ideas, educational (and FUN) websites you’ve found, or even just some good games/crafts/activities you’ve been trying out! I heard a coworker talking about a scavenger hunt they created that involves the kids texting/collaborating online to complete the outdoor hunt!

Get creative, do the most mundane thing in a new way, and hang in there! And if anyone wants a FT date, or more help researching things, please, let me know! I’m happy to dive deeper or even chat in general to help alleviate some of the adjustments and isolations going on right now - please don’t hesitate to reach out.

List of Links for Interactions/Ideas:

- Kelsey Ramirez (art-based ideas): https://www.kesslerramirez.com/blog/things-to-do-while-social-distancing

- Threads of Fate (wholesome naturalistic community): https://www.thethreadsoffate.com/pages/community-journey-taking-action?mc_cid=1ca95a65b0&mc_eid=3d56a629ef

- Harry Potter Alliance (yes, it’s a real thing, and yes, I’m a member) is hosting an online convention for conversations and events to bring us all together online: https://secure.everyaction.com/BEWi3AjhpEyWzUCDG-V7xw2?emci=21658d3b-0a6b-ea11-a94c-00155d03b5dd&emdi=96ab3eea-876b-ea11-a94c-00155d03b5dd&ceid=2470797

- All Online Libraries, By State: https://www.lib-web.org/united-states/public-libraries/

- Good Housekeeping’s Virtual Tour List (includes Zoos! I didn’t even realize!): 30 Amazing Virtual Tours of Museums, Zoos, and Theme ...www.goodhousekeeping.com › life › travel › best-virtual-tours

Spring Cleaning:

On the wings of Marie Kondo, many people have soared or crashed in the name of the KonMarie method. This high-volume spring cleaning has become the latest hit, inspiring the instagram teens, YouTube millennials, and even the odd mom or two to get started with full-fledged, “purge it all” cleaning.

The basic breakdown, for those that don’t live off of Netflix like the rest of us (good for you, enjoy that nature!), is the idea that all thing within your home should bring you joy and have a place. If they do not bring you joy or have a place, you thank them for their time with you and donate them or throw them away. Marie Kondo breaks up this cleaning into sub-categories of cleaning, to make things more manageable: clothing, books, papers, miscellaneous, and sentimental items.

I, although a lover of all things hoarding and cleaning (shows, and personally), did not immediately partake in this fad, and here’s why:

My brain, although much like the average brain, cannot clean in the way that she does — all at once, and huge decisions at a time. Although cleaning seems easy enough: “I’ve had this shirt for two decades, doesn’t fit, and I don’t wear it - I throw it away!” my brain sees the shirt differently: “this was my mom’s college shirt, and even though it has holes, I like having this piece of her with me (my mother isn’t dead, I’m just overly-sentimental — my “memories” box(es) are a nightmare).

When I clean, the little bits of trash has to be re-examined at the bottom of the bins because it might be a movie ticket that got smooshed or a graduation envelope that lost it’s card. The movie ticket I’ll keep, the envelope I’d trash. I’m very bad at blindly throwing things away — and for good reason! Just this weekend I was going to donate a bag, and I checked all the pockets real quick, even though I hadn’t used this bag in months, and a necklace I had been looking for had fallen into one of the side pockets! Had I donated that bag without checking, just in case, I would have lost a very important necklace.

Now, cleaning is very important for a happy home. And I am very aware of this. In the past three weeks (yes, it took me three weeks to clean less than 1k square feet of my apartment because I have THAT much stuff, and I’m tired all the time — turtle vs. the hare here, it still got done!) I was able to clear and organize and clean every room in my apartment.

This process, although yes, inspired by Marie Kondo, was done in what I dub the “Poudrier” method (or probably how most slightly crazy people clean). Because, as my mother terrifyingly knows, I do not clean in little bits, I clean in large messes.

Part One, Week One:

The panic. I absolutely hate to see everything out and disorganized and messy. Oh yes, the messy horder woman hates to see the disaster of her own making. Why? Because that is direct evidence of every time I’ve said “maybe I’ll want/need/use that” not becoming what I thought I’d want/need/use it for. And my little creative brain gets a little sad that the creativity didn’t happen. But that’s a discussion for another time - because we’re working on that too over here.

Part Two:

Jump in! My clothing, the part I hate the most because laundry happens more often than me cleaning my shower (yea, I’m resolving to work on that, because EW, that was gross this weekend) came first. I rounded up every article of clothing in my house, with the exception of winter scarves, hats, and gloves, and piled it onto my bed. I then went through each bin, box, bag, and pile of clothing until I had only what I knew I wore often, or would give second try left. The rest (4 trash bags full, not including shoes) were added to the donation corner of the dining room. The remaining clothes were stored, if winter items, hung up, if work items, or folded and put away, if casual wear. Amazing start!

Well, then life got in the way, and week one came and went with no progress further.

Part Three, Week Two:

The kitchen/dining room. Oh, how I dread my kitchen and dining room. And here’s why: they’re a shared space, with absolute minimal storage room. We have two above-fridge-height cabinets, two normal cabinets (where the top shelf is too high), and one row of under-counter cabinets that are ridiculously deep and impractical. We fight this disaster by having an armoire converted to cabinet space, and a couple of shelving units for pantry storage, but ho-hum that’s just messy looking! But we sorted through all of it, getting rid of platers and pieces that we don’t need, organizing the food so it makes sense, and converted our front entry closet (two feet from the kitchen) into a half pantry/half closet kinda thing. It’ll work for now.

Now, that was exhausting and there was other cleaning between all that, like the “guest” bathroom, and some more tidying in my own room, but, as we all could guess, I got tired of dealing with it, so we move on!

Part Four, Five, and Six, in Week Three:

Now, this last bit is 80% fueled by anger and 20% fueled by seeing the finish line. Although I live in a disaster of my own making, that doens’t mean it doesn’t exhaust me and stress me out every second I have this mess out. At the start of week three, I was so fed up with my own mess and the amount of time I’d wasted not getting it done that I decided to just dive in, take smaller breaks, and really get it finished with.

It took me a whole week to:

- do laundry and put it away

- clean out the living room and reorganize our large room-divider-shelf-unit-thing

- organize and sort through our paper pile that I’d been avoiding

- tidy and move the remainder of the kitchen items

- decided, preemptively, what furniture we’d be donating when we move

- organize and catalogue the storage boxes and what’s in them around the house

- take out trash/recycling

- load up the remainder of the donations into the car to be dropped off

- tidy up the last of bits laying around the house

KEEP IN MIND

We are in week four now (?) and I’m. Not. Done.

As terrifying and disappointing as that sounds, I happen to feel leagues better than I did when I started, my house looks so much more clean (although some areas, like storage, you can’t tell from visiting), and I’m actually somewhat looking forward to continuing this cleanse. Now, some of you (thanks for sticking to the end of this post) may be disappointed in my for not doing this all in a week, or even in two weeks! But let me tell you: this was the purge of all purges, and I’d don’t plan on having to get rid of this much stuff again for a very, very long time. This was the purge that wasn’t even supposed to happen until I moved again in December, but I bumped up the timeline because “spring cleaning” is an annual thing, and Marie Kondo was taking over the internet.

But, I know there’s more to be done - like window edges or baseboard dusting, but I’m hoping that now the majority of my life is in relative order, it’ll be easier to maintain the cleanliness for the remainder of my living spaces.

In other news: I repotted and fertilized my plants this weekend, and immediately vacuumed up afterwards (did this inside, on my couch, over my shag carpet - because apparently I really hate being rational). I’m becoming obsessed with plants and I may actually write about that next!

Happy cleaning!

September of 2018 was the last time I wrote any form of a blog post, with the exception of my exasperatedly long instagram captions. Six months of radio silence on a page that I was hoping would become regular practice at dumping my thoughts onto a page.

Well, fear not (as I have done all of the worrying for you), I have decided that I will write something, regardless of what it is, and I will try and actually publish it. Because what you can’t see with a digitally written blog post is the dozens of half sentences, partial paragraphs, and bullet lists of stutter starts to another post, another expression of some emotion I was reacting to, or the opinion I half-formed in regards to something going on in the world (probably political).

So here’s the deal I’m proposing: I promise to write something at least once a week, if and only if you promise to react with education, not anger, if I get a fact wrong or misunderstand a political statement, or don’t do “enough” research on a topic. And that’s not even to say that every post will even be something that heated — the next post will probably be about my Harry Potter marathon I’m hosting this weekend for my birthday. But it’s a reassurance to me to know that those that are interested in reading whatever I spew onto a page might be willing to also join me in education of topics, interests, or even just a fun fact I learned in my daily news email.

To write, in any form, is a personal thing. I am learning to be a more open, and personal, person. This is not an invitation to pry, or a request to be bombarded by “insight” beyond respectful commentary, but this is simply my efforts to share experiences and opinions from the views of a person that is not yourself.

That is what I love about blogs — they are the heart of someone other than your own, and that makes them infinitely special, no mater how mundane they are. The internet had done us a great service by connecting so many minds and hearts, and we do it a great disservice by writing it off as a waste of time, a drain on brain power, or a distraction from responsibilities. Most of the people I follow, “like,” or support are people who create or inspire in some way (unless we’re talking about Twitter — that’s its own cesspool of rebels). Some of my greatest friends have been made via the exploring I did online in search of new knowledge or interests.

So I’ll stop rambling. And I’ll let you think for a moment about how the internet has improved your connection to others, and also how absolutely excited you are that I’m posting again! (Mostly kidding, but also thank’s for reading this ramble).

All the best, as always.

As some of you are aware, I have achieved my singular most important life goal – and at the age of 23, what an accomplishment! I have traveled to Ireland. If you’ve been reading my blog, or if you’ve known me at all in real life, you may have the slight inkling that I have an obsession and deep wanderlust for the majesty that is Ireland. Between the exposure to all that is beautiful in the film P.S I Love You (landscape and men included) in my early teens, and the yearlong research project into the art styles and history of monastic life in my senior year of college, I am thoroughly and irrevocably obsessed with that country.

Last month (because it’s somehow half-way through September already), my family and I traveled abroad for the first time together. It was quite the experience. It had been quite some time since we had all traveled on a plane together, and I’m not quite sure how they managed it when we were kids. My father is much more familiar with flying, and I’ve done my fair share in the past few years. My mother and brother, less so. There’s a funny story involving my brother, TSA, and a giant bottle of contact solution, but we’ll leave that be, as I think we’ve over-told it in our real lives, and heaven forbid I spread his mistake online as well (no matter how funny it was, but not at the time).

One of the wise pieces of advice I gave to my family was “sleep on the plane, to confuse your body into being wide awake when we land,” because my father had inadvertently planned our flight to be overnight, which is great, that landed around 5:30AM Dublin time. My thought was “heck yea! lets go explore some stuff!” but my family’s thought was “oh no, where can we take a nap at 5AM?” because, oh dear reader, we could not get into our AirB&B until around noon. So, what do you do in a foreign city for almost 6 hours without wifi to guide you? The answer, for us at least, was to sit in a café for about an hour and use their free wifi to create a plan. So, we created a plan.

See, we were going to drop off bags and walk around Christ Church Cathedral, but plans never go, well, as planned. And we got lost-ish, asked multiple people where things were and realized they knew almost less than we did, and then decided to sit at the bag-drop tourist location until they opened at 8:30. My mom had to muscle her way into the lobby because some woman who arrived 5 minutes before they opened tried to cut in front of the rest of the people that were gathered around their front door area. So much for Irish hospitality! Joking, only joking. Other than the one rude woman, who was probably a tourist herself, every tour guide, and direction-giver, was as nice as could be.

Margret, from our Kilkenny B&B, was in a league of her own when it came to hospitality. She was more than understanding about our confusion when it came to the room arrangements, as we had booked two rooms, with one bed each. She explained that a double room was a full bed, and a twin room was a two bed room – a common misunderstanding when Americans were booking with her apparently. And because we had arrived before all her other guests, she allowed us to switch rooms and it was no hassle at all. She also served us Irish coffee before tucking in for the night, and served the best breakfast that I had during the whole trip – and Irish Breakfast with tomatoes, eggs, sausage, the whole nine. Recommendations, advice, there was nothing Margret wasn’t prepared for, maps included.

A guarantee during any of our family vacations or trips is tours, usually history oriented, and always interesting. Ireland was no different by any means. We toured castles, churches, the Ring of Kerry, and the Cliffs of Moher, as well as the towns and shops along the way. Each place was beautiful, full of stories, and perfectly old in every way. Part of what I love so much about being abroad, beyond the US, is that there is history that reaches beyond the founding of our country and further. Churches stand almost a thousand years old, castles from wars our fore-father’s grandfather’s were a part of, and practices that have stayed the same and thrived for generations. Yes, we have some of this in America, and we’ve created ourselves on the history of those countries we come from, but nothing beats a 900 year old church on a hillside, overlooking an entire valley to the mountains.

Speaking of phenomenal views, some of the best views we had were at the top of the Guinness Storehouse in the Galaxy Bar, the Ring of Kerry (no specifics, I’m obsessed with countryside and national  parks, so I loved it all), and the Cliffs of Moher in all of their stunning, breathtaking beauty. One of my little goals in life is to have one of those large prints above my couch or desk, and someone asks “oh, that’s a great photo, where’d you buy it?” and I get to say “thanks, I took that!” There is something so special, so powerful, in being able capture a moment that you experienced so well that others are able to share part of its splendor. It’s one of the reasons I love taking pictures; I love to share them.

Anywho, moving on now to the silly details and things I can remember off the top of my head, as I don’t have the patience to go through all the photos right now, but would like to tell you more about our trip. One of the great joys was watching the live music being played on the streets of Galway every evening. There was a band, who’s name I cannot remember, but they had such good energy and an awesome mix of instruments and voice styles; I bought one of their CDs, which is currently in my car and played through at least once a week. Oh! The Book of Kells: amazing, very secure, and incredibly detailed (Trinity Library, I want to get married there. That is all.)

Coming home from a trip is always something that I hate to do, but also always necessary. Luckily, the weeks, and months, up-to the trip and following my return home, have been nothing but go go go (which is partially why this post is so late and also why it may seem a bit half-hazard or disorganized, my apologies). I’ve had time to remember and chat about all the good, without feeling like I’m missing out on too much because I have so much going on in my normal life. And, we all know, this won’t be the last trip I take to that majestic green island. But, until then, please ask me questions and ask for photos, because I can’t not talk about how wonderful and beautiful this trip was.

 So, until next time,

 <3 M

Well, what do we have here – another post? Related to traveling?? But, Marissa, you haven’t gone anywhere! FALSE. I have now moved twice since my last post, and (almost) completely vacated my parent’s house since our last chat. And here, in this post, we’re going to talk about that process and the general feeling towards such events.

  To start with: my last post left off with anticipation of talking about the exploration of the Peace Palace, windmills, Thanksgiving, and packing to come home from Den Haag. Due to my lack of “retention of things that are actually important” skill, these brief recollections will be kept to a bare minimum based genuinely on the fact that I have a small amount of memory left dedicated to them.

  The Peace Palace was a gorgeous structure that housed gifts from dozens of nations to encourage the bond between humanity as the home of international court proceedings. I signed up for an official walking tour, and though I wanted desperately to remember more of the awesome facts I was learning, I was greatly distracted by the group of gentlemen who thought it would be amusing to fart and giggle and chitchat during almost the entire tour. By no fault of my own, the memory of them talking and everyone else in the tour giving them dirty looks almost overwhelms the memory of the incredible stained glass windows in one of the court rooms. How disappointing.

            Thanksgiving at the house was a production and a half; converting the office space into a dining space, the kitchen into a buffet space, and keeping the kids happily entertained in the living room is all individually immense tasks. Doing them all together? Madness. BUT, dear reader, it was accomplished, and the evening was a success. There were the usual staples of mashed potatoes, full cooked turkey, veggies, and even my favorite: canned cranberry sauce. Now, how on Earth did these American dishes make their way to a dinner table in the Netherlands, you might ask? Expat stores: where goodness and the unhealthy meet in an overpriced “convince” store. This is where you would find Reeces, American cereals, our normal labels for soup, Mac-n-cheese (which, yes, I did buy in bulk and spent far too much money on), and also some of the common or popular English brands, which I was somewhat familiar with due to YouTubers and their videos. Long story short: there was lots of food, wine, and children at our Thanksgiving Day dinner, and it was lovely. And I got to do it all over again when I got home, because my mother was nice enough to host a Mini-Giving Day just for me so that I could enjoy all the delicious pieces of the holiday, made by the proper people.

            As for the windmills, that plan changed, and unfortunately I did not see any windmills on my grand adventure. I did, however, get a little lost in a very large national park after standing at the top of the viewing tower and watching storm clouds roll over the fields beyond the tree-line. That was gorgeous, so of course, no picture I have does it justice (and now that I think about it, I still haven’t sorted through the photos on my computer from the trip, and that should probably be addressed at some point). I will tell you, however, that their late fall days, or at least the one I decided to go out in, was very windy and quite cold – like the kind where you don’t share selfies from that trip because you look like you’ve just walked through an ice tundra and your nose is red and your eyes look like you’ve been crying for days? Yeah, we’ll stick to scenery photos for that trip, and obviously I was there because someone had to take the photos…right?

            Last, and actually least, the packing for the trip was actually not too bad, because in the course of the 89 days that I was in the Netherlands, I managed to ruin about 1/3 of my laundry in the wash, which was then tossed and only slightly replaced. This left room for the souvenirs I purchased, along with sending some of the more fragile or extraneous pieces home with my friend when they visited. Getting to the airport from the Haag was a bit of a mess on my part, and I almost missed my train due to my inability to get large luggage across a small section of a city. But the flight home was fantastic because I moved my seat to be in the middle of an empty section in the back of the plane, and I genuinely slept for the majority of the flight: “oh my god, she’s awake!” was the response (in jest) from the flight attendant when I thanked them for leaving the snack on the tray next to mine so that I had something to eat when I woke up. Upon arriving back from the trip, I had my mother take an “I’m home” obnoxious photo in the middle of the reception area, and then we drove home, which is where my memory honestly ends and I have no idea what happened after arriving back home – other than doing job applications and unpacking.

              We now arrive to the beginning of the last half of catching up on where I’ve been and what I’ve done in the last EIGHT MONTHS since my last post. As a brief summary, I can say that I worked at Pier 1 again during the time that I was not at my current job (we’ll get there). When I wasn’t working at Pier 1, I was filling out and sending in job applications, going to a couple of interviews, and hanging out with my boyfriend (and like, maybe sometime my cousin, who’s also one of my best friends because, honestly, I don’t have too many people that I want to hang out with in my home town, and everyone else lives far away). That time was spent trying not to freeze to death in the cold – I hate the cold, and trying to research apartments and travel routes and financing for all these new jobs I was applying for. I hated it.

              For all of my still-in-college friends, please do your best to update your resume with your career center before you graduate, and create different formats that correspond with the potential different types of jobs you may be applying to: my Art History geared resume is different from my English-based resume, which is entirely different from my “look, I’ve held jobs the whole time I was in college” resume. This sounds super obvious when I say it out loud, but I hated having to interact with the offices at school, so I avoided it and it bit me HARD in the ass after graduation. Oh, same goes for your cover letters (never submit a resume without a cover letter unless you want to probably be ignored – I didn’t get a position at a couple of places I really wanted because I didn’t submit a cover letter, because they said it was optional. Damn.). End Rant.

              So, brining you up to speed, I got a job in a mini-city area, moved out to the area, and I am now a full-fledged adult (kinda). The moving process was less than ideal with two week spent on someone’s couch before I subleased an apartment for three months, and now I’m actually moved into an apartment that’s under my name and that I do NOT have to vacate any time soon. Within the process of moving around so much, even if it’s within a 15 mile radius of each place, you’d think I’d manage to clear things out and live that almost-minimalist lifestyle, right? Very, very wrong – I managed to accumulate more things, because I anticipated moving into this current apartment and wanted to make sure that I wasn’t missing anything (comfort, storage, decoration). This leads to me mini-hording and complaining far too much about having to move and carry all the crap I bought into this new apartment. However, dear reader, my new apartment looks amazing already, and I haven’t even finished unpacking everything.

              Speaking of unpacking – I vacated my parents house, almost completely, so all of that stuff is now with me in the new place, and LET ME TELL YOU: I own far too many books, and will be getting rid of NONE of them. My personal library is growing and I am thrilled! Granted, a good 40% of my storage space in this new apartment is now being utilized by books, and not so much by other things, but I’ve grown up collecting books, so I don’t have too many other things that need to be stored in that space anyway. Also, more book!

              Notes on moving: always measure doorways before you buy the furniture, nothing matches and that’s okay (it actually really isn’t, but you can’t afford brand new matching things, and your neighbors stuff that they gifted to you is lovely and you’re incredibly grateful anyway), please pack things in coordinating boxes because opening a can of tuna with a Swiss Army Knife is not safe and you know you have a can-opener somewhere.

              Other things that I want to note during this major catch-up session: two of my best friends, and many other friends, graduated college this year. My grandmother celebrated a birthday milestone, and we had an amazing party to honor a woman who deserves so much more than we could ever give her. Matthew and I celebrated our 6 month anniversary (even though it’s almost a year now, but I still want to mention it). Mother’s and Father’s Day were lovely, and Matt earned brownie points by being there in place of my brother, who was very busy working. I worked at a boutique and started honing my graphic design skills with some ad work (and honing my shopping skills by buying some cute stuff). Christmas, New Years, and all the other holidays were, as always, wonderful. And finally, I am already over this heat and summer time – bring me fall leaves and autumn colors, and hot chocolate with Bailey’s!

              In terms of the next travel and adventures, I’ll be going to Deep Creek for a weekend for the boyfriend’s family reunion, and then to Massachusetts for my own family reunion. And, dear reader, I will be flying out to Ireland for a week for a family vacation in August (I’m not freaking out, not at all (totally freaking out)).

Until next time,

  <3 M.

           To start with: I have changed my writing location. Previously, all of my blogs were written from the comfort and warmth of my bed, where I could unabashedly take my time lopping words into paragraphs to update the people back home. Today, on the eighteenth of November, in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seventeen, I have chosen to write from within the aromatic and hazy haven of Yogurt Barn. Nothing short of my personal favorite location within the city, this little yogurt shop/café has been the subject of some of my absolute cutest and most “aesthetic” photos I’ve taken so far. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like it doesn’t deserve to be appreciated, but I know many of you are thinking: “come on Marissa, you couldn’t find a better place to religiously spend your money?” The answer is no, I couldn’t—I pick favorites and I hold onto them tight for fear of, well, who knows actually.

             Anyway, you guys probably want to get to the part where I tell you what I’ve been up to since my last post three and a half weeks ago! I am so sorry for being gone so long but when you hear what I’ve been up to, maybe you can forgive me? First thing to note, now that I’m finally telling you about the things I’ve been up to, is that I’m not trying too hard to go in chronological order because, honestly, when I get home I’ll just be spouting information and stories, rather than walking you through my itinerary.

           Okay, lets jump in: I got a new tattoo and a haircut within the same two-week window and I am loving this pseudo-reinvention of myself while being abroad. The tattoo is a beautiful daisy and accompanying sprig of leaves on my inner right arm. The haircut is a straight bob with an undercut (where they shave the underside of your hair, while leaving the top layers like normal). I’ll admit: I feel kind of like a badass with this look, which I need for a bit of moral pep during the last few weeks before heading home. The tattoo parlor I went to is the oldest within the city and the gentlemen there were very nice and were able to set up an appointment within the same week that I went in for a consultation. The cost was the price of expertise and materials and a beautiful tattoo, so I’d say it was worth it.

           {Here’s my two cents, for all those that don’t quite understand or agree with the choice to get tattoos: my tattoos are mementos, reminders. My favorite part of this city is the constant display and arrangement of flowers that add color and life to city. Yes, there are colorful people and colorful buildings, but the connection with nature will never go underappreciated within my own mind. I have photos of these flowers and the scenes that made me smile but the mentality of having living things, or a tattoo of a living thing, on my body makes me much happier because I am a part of those things that live and grow and die and return after their death. Also: my body is mine and I am the only one who has a say in what happens to it. The end.}

           Moving on! My haircut was quite the adventure because I got it done for free during student exam/lessons for Toni&Guy salon, which is actually right across the square from my beloved Yogurt Barn. The whole experience took about two hours, in which the teacher gave quite the sass-attack to some of the students, and I realized the girl cutting my hair was really good, but so anxious about creating an irreversible mistake on my hair. I reassured her that hair grows and honestly, just do what you’re comfortable with—and that kind of bit me back in the long run because, to be honest dear reader, I was not entirely pleased with my haircut when I walked about of the salon. They gave me a center part and the undercut was a triangle, rather than a flat shave like I wanted, but fear not! I have grown to love it, and I can part it however I want, obviously. My wise and clearly-much-smarter-than-I friend, Kelly, called me out and told me to stop being a wuss and just tell people what I want when I go into a service industry. She’s totally right. I am a wuss. I don’t like to inconvenience people or to cause unnecessary stress if I don’t have to: it’s much easier to stay quiet and remember that, in this case, hair grows.

           Also, fun fact, The Netherlands isn’t as huge into Halloween as America is (we tend to be excessive about everything) but our neighborhood is full of expats and so we attended the cutest little coordinated trick-or-treat festivities all day and collected a non-chocolate centered candy haul after running around after a little blue dinosaur (Emilio’s costume), and I was busy being an obnoxious adult who cared too much about Halloween as I dressed up like Harry Potter.

           On to the next adventure! For three blissful days, my friend from home came to visit and we tore up Amsterdam and had the most fun I’ve had in years. A three hour walking tour lead by a naturally sociable guide led to an amusing and educational tour of the inner city of Amsterdam, including the Red Light District and some of the canals­­—and a café/bar with a cat! (my friend and I love cats, so this was a potential highlight on the “unexpected” list). After our tour we toured the Van Gogh Museum and I fell in love with an artist that I had already adored from afar back in my Art History classes at St. Mary’s. Along with the wonderful artwork, we also discovered that audio tours within museums are completely worth the extra charge if you want to feel more immersed within the works, or if you’re like us, and have someone who’s not entirely sure they’re interested in the artworks that they’re about to spend over an hour looking at. We used audio tours for all of the following museums we went to, including the Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House, Rembrandt Studio, and Escher in the Palace (we went to a lot of museums, and thank god my friend actually enjoyed some of it, because they’re not really an art person like I am). While they visited, we stayed at an AirBnB and I can confirm that this is my preferred method of staying anywhere now. The comfort of a home with the amenities of a hotel all in one—I’ve started investigating long term stays for my trip to Ireland, but more on that later! Last couple of adventures in Amsterdam included a trip to the Zoo (mainly to see the Red Pandas), a great dinner out at a place called Haesje Claes, and the some time spent wandering around The Hague after two days of running ourselves up a wall to get all our planned activities done. A wonderful weekend with some great photos to commemorate the trip will be surely discussed when I return.

           The following weekend, the family and I traveled to Zaandam and went to the clog factory there, which is situated in the cutest little town that has been preserved from it’s factory days into picturesque quaint charm, surrounded by windmills and colored homes, and small shops. Although it rained for most of the time we were there, the atmosphere of the town was something I had been craving during my trip abroad, and something I plan to seek out again before I leave. I did not buy myself a pair of clogs—my mother’s rational voice of “when will you ever actually wear these” was constantly running through my head—but, I did buy a miniature pair that are more like keychain or display style because I loved the level of detail in the carving. The whole town was situated on a series of small canals and beyond the section where the “clog town” sat, lay fields and the actual world beyond. Only turning around to head home did we once again return to the city-scape and the more stereotypical Netherlands style homes.

           On to the final notes, which may come as a relief after reading two pages of single spaced story telling. I visited one of the oldest churchs in The Hague and it was absolutely stunning, as to be expected. I will never cease to seek out these beautiful creations that are testaments to the amazing works that can be created by man to worship amazing works done by God/Jesus. Honestly, I should be making an effort to explore more religious temples and grounds, but I’m not quite that comfortable yet with the invasion of other religions I don’t understand or know enough about. If you were curious, the church I visited is called “St. James the Church in The Hague,” and it was amazing to see how even within this church the details were naturally oriented, with vines and trees in the tile work and the general beauty of the rest of the art within.

             So, what’s next? This weekend I am touring the Peace Palace, and tomorrow, Sunday, I will be venturing out to some town to take photos of windmills—I haven’t quite planned that far ahead yet and therefor I can’t actually name anywhere yet. Next weekend, we have taken on the momentous task of hosting Thanksgiving (even though, in full European fashion, I am already skipping forward to Christmas), and then the final weekend I am here, I will be packing, prepping, and pretending I’m not about to be going home. That’s right folks, this Monday marks the two-week countdown for when I return home! The boring part of this means that I start working (hopefully) no later than December eleventh, but this also means I have so much fun to share very very soon with everyone and I cannot wait to tell you guys all about it!

 <3 M

Traveling alone in a foreign city is something that I’m now going to encourage every young person I know to experience. The inability to creep into pre-set habits, default to a known path, or “wander securely” is something that I have come to love about being abroad. I have one actual “home base” so to speak that I can default to travel to and I know for sure how to get home—Den Haag Centraal (a major train station) is a stop for almost every single tram, train, or bus that travels within or through Den Haag, lucky me.

           Being a woman and traveling (walking or riding public transportation) involves a level of self-awareness that I’m still getting used to. As someone who does not generally enjoying being the center of attention or a blip on anyone’s radar, walking around and being minimally invasive is the usual goal. However, I’ve learned over many years of just literally existing, that as a woman, you’re not automatically granted the space or right of way that men are granted. So, you’re allowed to be polite, but you must be assertive.

           Dodging someone’s bike is a good idea. Walking overtly out of the way of a group of men blocking the sidewalk is timid. Don’t be timid—if you’re on the correct side of the sidewalk then they can move; if they don’t, then feel no obligation to say excuse me when one of them bumps into you. I’ve adapted a version of “resting bitch face” (it’s a real thing, look it up if you’re not used to the phrase) that I feel is a mix between “I’m walking here” and “just taking a stroll.” I’m not out to demolish someone’s path or wreak havoc, but I’m also not going to walk around someone who has two functional legs and decides that I’m the one on the wrong side of the sidewalk.

           It’s always a bit of a personal challenge for me to walk around and get from Point A to Point B because I don’t like looking like a tourist; I avoid looking at Google Maps and I try not to look like I’m unsure about a directional decision. I make eye contact and kind-of smile at people who look directly at me (I’m not rude, that’s just not how I was raised) but I’m also wary of just about everyone because I wasn’t raised yesterday. The walk from my house to the station is generally a simple one, and very open and in public view. The walks to a couple of shops I’ve visited or locations I’ve explored have utilized the side streets and allies that hide between buildings and at the ends of sidewalks, and with these I am more cautious, but I have yet to have genuine reason for concern.

           Paying attention to my stride, my amount of eye-contact, my breathing, and even the volume at which I have my music in my headphones is sometimes so overwhelming that I almost forget to actually pay attention to where I’m going. I just don’t want to attract attention, but I also don’t want to miss someone who may be paying too much attention to me. Ya know? Maybe this is just me, and I really over-think my interactions with people. But for now, this is what works and I can sometime just listen to music and really not care about anything going on around me — those are the best kinds of traveling.

 ***Look forward to a jam-packed entry for next week — my friend is visiting for the weekend and we’re going to Amsterdam to adventure!

 <3 M

*settle in for a rather long post, due to my lack of posting in two weeks

 After being here for three weeks and three days, I can officially say that I’m familiar with the routine of the family just in time to add the new baby! But this familiarity will be very helpful once Rachel is with the new baby and I am predominantly in charge of making sure Emilio is kept to a normal schedule and is still given full attention and care. Emilio’s day starts around 6:30am, which makes breakfast sometime before 8:00am, and then we have choices of what to do before lunch around noon, which include playgroups, (kid-friendly) museums, parks, or running an errand. Lunch is followed by a nap that everyone takes the time for, unless there are other housebound things to accomplish. After nap is another variety of the previous listed activities, followed by dinner, bath, and bedtime. Within every day is a variation of this schedule and lots of time to play with toys, go for walks, and ride the fun buses and trains/trams around The Hague. This combination of spontaneity and well planned fun (because Rachel kicks butt with Google Calendar) makes getting out of bed so very early a little bit easier, with the help of tea at almost every meal.

~

Some of the adventures we’ve been involved in are the Kinderboekenmuseum, the Haagse Markt, Schiveningen beach and pier, and some rather fun and friendly playgroups. It’s always a fun challenge to find something both interesting for us, the adults, and also for a (almost) two and a half year old. The Kinderboekenmuseum is specifically designed to be an entertaining and interactive museum that celebrates and brings to life the children’s stories that Dutch children have grown up with, and I greatly enjoy the concept. The Haagse Markt was an amazing place to see a collection of flowers, food, and clothes in mass quantities that didn’t involve box stores or having to leave the beautiful Dutch weather (we’ve had fall for a couple weeks now, its lovely). The Schiveningen beach and The Pier have proven to be an upscale and much cleaner version of Ocean City, Maryland. I couldn’t count the number of cafés or restaurants on two hands, and The Pier itself had pop-up style food stands, a kids playground area (think McDonalds, but with trampoline floors and obstacle courses), and a 90% waterfront restaurant at the end—right next to the Ferris Wheel over the water. Needless to say, when you live in a city that’s based on public transportation, there’s no real shortage of places you can explore in any given morning or afternoon.

~

One of the activities that we were able to take part in within Dutch culture was the celebration and procession for Prinsjesday (Prince’s Day). This is the third Tuesday of September each year and marks the beginning of Parliament’s year. The current monarch processes to the Binnenhof (world’s oldest house of Parliament still in use) and addresses the Senate and Representatives in the Hall of Knights. The procession involves various military groups on horseback, two different military bands, and the glass carriage that carries said monarch to and from the Binnenhof. The rehearsal for this event is at Schiveningen Beach, and we were lucky enough to watch from the sand as the horses processed and they practiced, and then also from The Pier where we watched them use orange and green smoke while practicing marching the horses in large groups. The day of the actual event, we were lucky enough to be standing at the front of the fence, but we made the silly mistake of being on the wrong side of the building (they still processed to and from this side of the building) because the Glass Carriage cannot fit through the archway on our side, rather it goes through the other archway across the lake. However, we still had a wonderful time watching all the horses and listening to some of the band play.

~

The Binnenhof is available to be toured, and on my way back from a museum one morning, I did happen to walk through the courtyard that the procession started in. I have officially put it on my list, and I look forward to getting an internal view to the gothic architecture that has been so well maintained. Some of the museums I have been fortunate enough to visit have been the Mauritshuis and Escher in the Palace. The Mauritshuis is home to the Dutch Golden Age of painting and houses some of Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Fabritius’ most famous works. If you don’t quite recognize those names, try looking up “Girl with the Pearl Earing,” and “The Anatomy Lesson.” It was incredible to see these paintings in person and I truly value my Art History degree when viewing works of art that we had only previously seen on a projector or on printer paper.

 One of the things that I greatly enjoyed while at the Mauritshuis was the touring school children that were Dutch, but their tour and lessons within the museum were in English. The multilingual-ness of other countries will never cease to impress me or make me jealous (believe me, I have tried and tried again to learn another language). Museums are always a fun amalgamation of cultural visitors due to the general “international hub” reputation of The Hague, but also due to the general tourist pull that a museum houses. While touring the Escher, which was devoted to the artist, but also housing the exhibition of a preserved Dutch Palace that used to be home to Queen Emma, I was able to interact with a woman from New York, gentlemen from Scotland, overhear people speaking French, and also the local Dutch visitors. Being an American that can only speak English, it is always nice to go to a museum and look and share a visual and special experience, rather than one based in language. However, all of the plaques for both the museums I visited were in Dutch and English—how cool!

~

While in the Netherlands, I have seen consistent efforts of recycling and fresh food and flowers and biking everywhere and the general effort of a country to maintain cleanliness, even in areas that are considered to be “less acceptable.”  I hope to at least bring home the fresh food and recycling mindset back home—but we’ll have to hope for the best and who knows what other adventures I’ll learn from as I continue the next two month and four days of Netherlandian adventure. (and one of my friends may be coming to visit me and I am thrilled about this idea!)

 <3 M

I arrived to the Netherlands on Thursday, September 7th.The first week of Netherlandian fun was full of over-caffeination to combat jetlag and lots of learning how to pronounce the Dutch “soft g” for 90% of the words I seem to be required to pronounce to navigate the transportation system around our house. I have visited cute yogurt shops that have better style than Home Magazine, taken pictures of dozens of various flowers, and slowly expanded my palate to be 1/10th of the size of the toddler sharing a table with me.

~

Rachel and Paul, the wonderful cousins who welcomed me into their new home, are very appreciative of my presence and constantly try to feed me love and offer information and advice to fuel my ability to better enjoy my visit. They are lovely. Their constant support of each other and the way they interact with their son is very reassuring of their parenting and person skills – in a not weird way? It’s almost 11pm and that’s about 3 hours past my bedtime, so I’m struggling with words right now. Basically, I just want to say that they’re awesome and they deserve to know that I appreciate them as people, parents, hosts, and family.

~

Photography-wise, I am very irritated that I do not have my camera charger but I should be able to take photos “for real” by the end of September…in like 20 days. I’m mad about it, but we’ll move on. I accidently started a pattern of taking pictures of guys wearing a shade of blue in a café setting? It’s kind of fun and I’m enjoying something to look for while I’m people watching. One place that I’m already planning to return to is Delft, where a magical Ikea trip occurred, because it’s a college town and touristy a bit, so their streets and stores are cute and kitschy and I’m in love.

~

Ikea: a place of wonder and magic and wow, I need to go more often. I bought a bag of washi tape for less than 2 euro (cant find the symbol on my keyboard, sorry), and also bought a bolt of fabric to pin to my wall like a tapestry. A large majority of the furniture in the house is from Ikea and I love the simplistic look—however, the notorious necessity to build the pieces is true and I’m occasionally listening to the struggle of Paul’s efforts, and victories, as I’m reading books to Emilio.

~

Things to know about Emilio that are quintessential to the understanding of his person: blueberries and yogurt are the best, so is meat, and so is food. Hands are meant to be held, regardless of if you don’t have a hand to share. Trains have wheels, and sometimes go in the wrong direction. These quirks are being documents occasionally as a reminder to myself, once home, of the silly little things that make this boy such a joy to watch.

~

Plans to travel will be made after I’ve established more comfort with the transport system, and after the family and I have established a more stable schedule and clarified responsibilities. For now, I help where I can and do my best to make their day to day a little easier—but, fear not, I’ll get further out into the world soon.

<3 M

This post is hopefully the motivation to actually start working on the checklist for the trip that I’ll be leaving for in 25 DAYS. Right now, all I’ve done is gather a Pinterest board of places to go, things to see, and how to “pack smart” for long trips—so, I’ve done nothing. Okay, that’s a lie. I have notified my bank, and I’ve looked into international phone plans (text only!), and I’ve started collecting the addresses of people I want to send postcards to.

~

Overall, I mainly just spend time thinking about how I’ll make my little corner of The Hague “mine,” what kinds of photos I’ll be able to take (and whether or not I should buy a polaroid camera), and various little things like: how would I act if I didn’t know how to say something, and I wasn’t able to use my phone? how do you order a hot chocolate in Dutch? I bet [the boy I’m watching] is wildly more cultured than I am—good for him, he’s going to be such a good person as he grows up!

I want to go to the Anne Frank House, the Van Gough Museum, and check out all the wacky Christmas stuff that will be rolling in right before I leave, but everything in between that is entirely in the wind. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens!

Anyway, there wasn’t much to this update, other than to say that I don’t truly have an update for you guys. If you have any suggestions about travel or nifty things you’ve heard about, feel free to let me know!

Until next time (probably in the airport as I wait for my flight),

<3 M

I’ve created this blog so that I might actually keep a log of the developments that are involved in going abroad or traveling—whether or not this is actually achieved will be entirely up to me and I’m not quite sure that I’ll always remember to post, but I will do my best!

 ~

First and foremost: last week my cousin officially booked my plane ticket for the journey to the Netherlands and the fact that it is actually set-in-stone booked is exciting. I don’t think it’s quite hit me yet, but I am without a doubt excited to be going abroad for a moderately long time. I realize how incredibly lucky I am to be doing this, and there’s no way that I would waste this kind of chance by not trying to take full advantage of everything being abroad has to offer.

 What am I doing? I’ll be in the Netherlands for 89 days, starting in September, to help my cousin with a new move, new baby, and current adorable toddler. I am very excited to be their nanny and I look forward to the experience of living abroad with my cousin’s family. I am also immeasurably thankful that they’ve thought of me for this experience and I will forever be grateful.

 So, about this blog: I’ll be hoping to update it maybe once or twice a week with any traveling plans, changes, photos, lessons, or struggles I’ve experienced. I’m doing this for my benefit (I have a horrible memory and want something to look back on), for my family’s benefit (because I will not remember everything when I come home – see aforementioned memory issues), and also because I’ve always wanted to try my hand at blogging and this seemed like a reasonable time to start. I hope you guys enjoy!

 ~

Also, “hello” to future Marissa, because I’m sure I’ll return to this at a later date to see what I was going through in my early twenties before I ever figured out what the hell I’m doing with my adult life.

 <3 M