Resolutions for self betterment

Hello! I'm alive!

After another brief period of being generally unwell, I am finally getting back to being my good old self. I have officially been graduated for over a year, and recently was able to watch the members of the Class of 2016 graduate from my alma mater, and place of employment. It was wonderful to watch them walk across the stage while simultaneously trying to get a decent photograph of them and uploading posts to social media (for my job, of course).  

In one year, I will be walking across that same stage once again with my Master's diploma waiting for me. It's wild that I'll be moving onward and upward from my cozy little life in small town America in just a year, but I know that these two years of post grad living will have taught me so much about the real world, that I'll be an even greater candidate for an upper level job in a big city, potentially abroad. 

It is such an exciting time in my life, and I am trying to take in every moment as best as I can, though I've realized that I haven't been doing my best at being my best. Does that make sense? I've been so comfortable and maybe even complacent, the past few weeks that I haven't really been moving forward, but rather staying in the same place. After being sick again and watching at least five hours of Netflix in a single day last week, I decided I needed to make some changes and quit wasting my time. 

Here are a handful of small improvements I want to make a point of implementing in my daily life to help me grow and be the best I can be:

• Work out each day - even if it's just 15 minutes of yoga before bed 
• Aim to do 1 hour of grad school work a day (at least)
• Take my vitamins every day - I've been having some medical issues blah blah blah so a good, proactive thing to do would be to make a point of taking my daily vitamins daily, instead of maybe twice a week, when I remember 
• Take some time each week to plan for the future - my real real life will be starting in about a year, so the discernment and job search process begins, yet again!

What I've Learned One Year Post-Grad

It has been a little bit over a year since I have graduated from undergrad... In that year, I have gone through a lot of change and a lot of growth. I have laughed, I have loved, I have been challenged, I started graduate school and working in an office and at a newspaper... I have learned more than I ever believed I would in a year and I'm certain that I am better because of it.

Though I could write an entire novel on the different life experiences I have gained from one year, I have cut it down to just 20 tidbits:

1. Seeing friends and making plans require a lot of effort
2. Paying rent hurts, but having a place of my own (that I pay for myself) is one of the best feelings in the world
3. Having great coworkers makes going to work a lot easier
4. I love baking
5. Having good friends is the biggest blessing 
6. Not dating anyone is far better than dating the wrong person
7. Spotify premium (at the student rate) may be a necessity 
8. Having a good landlord is truly a blessing 
9. Having annoying neighbors is just something that happens and there's not much you can do 
10. Going out every weekend is overrated and expensive 
11. I like cats! (I've never had a pet before this year)
12. Budgeting is hard
13. Grad school is not any easier than undergrad for the most part
14. Paying off your credit card every month is hard
15. Having a washer and dryer in my apartment is the biggest luxury ever
16. I do quite well on my own 
17. Going to the grocery store can be turned into a weekend plan that you look forward to 
18. "Making dinner" doesn't happen every night 
19. You must make time for the things you actually enjoy doing
20. Driving 40+ minutes to do something fun is normal 

I daresay I have learned more about the working world, humanity and myself in one year of post graduate living, than in four years of undergrad! This year has definitely been one to shape me and make me even better than I was 365 days ago. 

Surviving the snowpocalypse

If you're located anywhere near the East coast of the United States, you heard about Winter Storm Jonas... which finally brought winter to my area in Maryland after an unusually warm December and January.

Anyways, we were told all about the impending blizzard all throughout last week, so we had time to prep for being snowed in to our little apartment for a few days. It was my roommate and I's first winter snow storm on our own and off a college campus, so we made sure we did everything we could to be safe, comfortable, and prepared for anything that could come our way. 

My roommate and I had plenty of time to run the grocery store to grab everything we needed to keep us fed for the next few days and longer, if need be. We made sure to stock up on gallons of water, bread, fruits, vegetables and baking ingredients to keep us going during the weekend.

Being cooped up inside all weekend made it easy to just snack throughout each day, so I made sure I had healthy and delicious snacks on hand, like vegetables, pita chips and hummus. There was also a lot of cookie eating, since we baked peanut butter cookies, but life is all about balance. 

Snow started falling on Friday evening and we knew it was going to stick around so we hunkered down. 

I had absolutely no plans for the weekend, so I did not set an alarm and couldn't wait to sleep in. When we woke up on Saturday morning, my little car was completely covered in snow! It continued to snow all day, so I focused on my editing work for our local newspaper and chilled, though it was hard to not get a little stir crazy. 

That evening, my roommate and I made interesting smoothies, cooked an amazing dinner (seen below), and then drank gin and tonics while we watched Tristan and Isolde. It was a snow day well spent.

On Sunday, we woke to find that it had stopped snowing, but besides that, not much had changed at all. My car was still covered in snow and the plow had not touched the roads by our apartment. I'm really not used to how Maryland handles snow, being from upstate New York. Instead of having designated plowing machines, like in my hometown, our little Maryland town has trucks with plows attached to the front. They are also quite slow to dealing with plowing the roads. It's definitely a cultural difference between the two areas. 

We heard a lot more action outside our apartment, so we decided to take a walk through town. Though the sidewalks weren't really cleared, we hiked to Main street and checked out how it was coping with all the snow. It was a nice adventure and it felt great to get out of the apartment.

Here are some suggestions for surviving the next blizzard:

1. Stay updated with a weather app
2. Own a shovel
3. Get to the grocery store and stock up on necessities including food, water and batteries
4. Find a new hobby and dive right in
5. Cancel all your plans just in case it snows for a while
6. Get snowed in with a friend!
7. Combat boredom with books, movies, homework, baking, games, whatever
8. Make sure you have candles, flashlights and blankets in case the power goes out
9. Charge all your electronics while you have power 
10. Use your time to be productive
11. Do an at-home workout if you're inside for a while
12. Cook something really elaborate while you have the time
13. Play outside!
14. Make sure your car has enough gas in it for when you can finally drive
15. Have warm gloves and snow gear for when you have to shovel out your car

My roommate and I had a great weekend in the apartment and we still have one more day off since the university we work at is closed for a snow day!

How did you survive Jonas?

Launching a University Snapchat Account: The Research

When I took a graduate assistant position at my university's office of communication, I knew that I would be working a lot with social media, as well as writing content for the website, taking photos and helping with various other projects... I never really thought that I would be the main social media person for my whole university!

Though my university is small (about 2,000 students), running all the social media accounts and keeping them updated on a day to day basis keeps me really busy! I never realized how much work it was to find, think up, create and post content that appeals to a wide audience, as well as keep up with my other work responsibilities. It has been a great learning experience. I regularly post on the university's official facebook, twitter and instagram accounts, and then we also post somewhat regularly on Tumblr, Flickr, and Pinterest.

When I began working over the summer, I thought it would be a good idea for my university to get a Snapchat account, since about 77% of college age students use Snapchat every day... which makes it a great tool for a university! It could appeal to both current students and prospective students, and help get the word out about events on campus as well as general campus life.

I began researching how other universities used their accounts. University of Michigan is usually a great place to start... I regard them as university social media gurus... especially since they have a whole social media team. 

Post-grad, real life, impromptu travel: Requesting time off

If you have kept up with my blog or know me at all, you would realize that I quite like to go on adventures. One of the best things that I got out of my college experience was the opportunity to study abroad (twice!), which allowed me to challenge myself, find my independence and access who I truly am! I also came out of studying abroad with new friends, one of which is crazy enough to go on a whirlwind adventure with me to Paris and London! See the background of our insanity here.

Vanessa and I went to the same college, but we did not meet until we both studied abroad in London together during the spring of our sophomore year.

Post-Grad Life: Month 3

Real life hit me quick at the end of August. As soon as I returned to Maryland after a quick trip home, post-grad life really started to happen... I was thrown back into work at my office and I also started my MBA classes and had tons of work to do for my editing job with a local newspaper. Needless to say... this week has been quite hectic and I am exhausted. What a busy week to end a busy month!

So here is a quick update on my life, post-graduation:

Work: 

• Now that undergraduate students are back on campus, I am back to doing normal social media posts and covering events for my university. It is actually kind of nice to have people around!

The best parts about visiting your hometown

After working all summer and living in my college town, I was finally able to take a week off and go back to my hometown in upstate New York. I had not been home in close to three months, which is a long gap of time, compared to how things were during my undergraduate career, where I would go home for every semester break. 

It was nice and refreshing to be home, especially because of the lack of humidity and the overall feeling you get when you are reunited with something you miss. 

Here are some of the greatest things about visiting your hometown after a long time away: 

• Quality time with friends and family 
• You already know where everything is, so your car basically drives itself

22 things that make your 22nd birthday different from your 12th

Although I don't remember exactly what I did on my 12th birthday, 10 years ago, I'm quite sure that there was singing, running around, and cake involved. I just celebrated my 22nd birthday with a trip home, before my grad school classes start, and spent it running errands in my hometown, chilling on the couch, and having dinner with Mom and Dad... and it was a great day!

Isn't it crazy, what a difference 10 years can make though? I found that long chats with friends, free coffee, quality time with family, and a bonus birthday dinner are all I need to have a special day... and I am so thankful for that.

Anyways, here are 22 things that make your 22nd birthday different from your 12th: 

1. You will be 40x more excited for your birthday if you know you will be able to sleep in
2. Your birthday is no longer an excuse to "get out of all responsibilities," though you may still be able to slack a little bit
3. You probably still have to work, unless your birthday lands on a weekend or a holiday, or you just happen to get incredibly lucky or are gutsy enough to ask for the day off

Baked Frittata with Pesto

As you may very well know, last week was pesto week in Angela's kitchen. I made my own pesto and continued to use it up throughout the week. Below are some photos of a pesto frittata that I found in this post. 

6 Tips on facing your fears (from recent, firsthand experience)

I can honestly say that in my first month and a half of living in the "real world," I have faced two of my biggest fears head-on... and not by choice, mind you. No, I am not scared of living six hours away from home or starting a new job... The two fears that I have unwillingly faced recently have been:

• Driving in an unknown place, by myself
• Answering the phone without knowing who is on the other end 

Daytrip to Annapolis, Maryland (a poor college-grad's vacation)

This is my very first post-graduate summer vacation. Summers no longer mean automatic vacation... which means that poor peasant mba students work through the season as if it were any other. It is hard to stay positive when you are inside for most of the daylight hours, and you do not have an exciting summer beach vacation planned to look forward to. It feels as if this summer is just slipping away as I spend my days in the office, and I have not even gotten the slightest bit bronze. 

A very domestic Sunday

I woke up this morning and I wanted to be both lazy and productive at the same time... so after sleeping in for a long while, I decided to tackle my day and get some ordinary, real-person things done like do my laundry, clean my apartment, go grocery shopping, cook a nice meal, pack some of my lunch for tomorrow and figure out my schedule for the week. It was a very domestic Sunday, one of the first of its kind, and it really made me feel like an adult. 

Post grad life: month 1

Going from graduation, to traveling through Europe for two weeks, spending five days at home and then moving and setting up my first apartment was quite a transition. I am so happy to say that I have survived my first month in the "real world." It took me a while to actually set up my apartment the way that I think it should be, and also figure out my routine, but now I think I have it down for the most part.

The Good Old Days Begin Today

Dear current undergraduates/young people: 

I recently found out that a good friend of mine who just graduated with me was in a car accident. Apparently he was driving back from a day of work at his dream job as a director at a summer camp that teaches kids about outdoor adventures, when he swerved to hit a deer and ended up in a ditch. Although he had hit his head, he walked away from the car without a scratch on his body, but later blacked out and woke up without any memory of the last three years. The last memories that he has are from February 2012, of our freshman year.

Making my new home my own

Although I totally enjoyed myself while I was on my wonderful European adventure with my parents, there was always a lurking anxiety when I thought of returning to the USA. I knew that I had a total of five days to return to my hometown, unpack, do laundry, organize, repack, say goodbye to friends and family, and move to my new apartment in Maryland. There was just so much to do in such a short period of time. 

100 Km under in Krakow, Poland

We had our first actual warm day while in Krakow, Poland! It was a gorgeous city, especially on a gorgeous, sunny day. 

Warsaw, Poland

Today, according to my FitBit Flex, I walked 8 miles along the sidewalks of Warsaw and I was lucky to be able to cover nearly everything that I had wanted to see in the city. I had such a wonderful day, but now I am exhausted...but before I turn in, here is a little bit about Warsaw and what I saw there:

With fresh bouquets of flowers for sale on every corner, how can you not love this place?

This morning, my tour group went on a bus tour through the city, and then we had the afternoon to explore on our own. We stopped in a famous park with a monument to Chopin, the famous composer. Apparently the rest of the park is gorgeous and a great place to relaz, but we didn't get a chance to explore it further.  

We spent a lot of time in Old Town Square, and we saw the statue of the mermaid, which, according to folklore, helped found the city. 

I did not realize that Marie Curie was born in Warsaw, so I was surprised when we walked by her house and museum, which was decorated with her accomplishments, as can be seen above. She is so highly looked up to in the science community. 

My family and I love pierogis, so we stopped at a restaurant which had a huge selection of them. We ended up eating spinach and cheese pierogis and then blueberry pierogis for lunch. They were delicious! And the restaurant that we were at had the menu translated adorably into English, complete with a pierogi poem. 

The Memorial to the Warsaw Uprising, above, is definitely something to see on a trip to Warsaw. It is very powerful and the figures are larger than life. 

We also visited the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and watched the changing of the guard, which happens every hour on the hour. 

For the rest of our day, we just explored the city on foot and we happened upon a nice open air market, complete with delicious bread and crafts! 

A definite highlight of my time in Warsaw was my stop in A. Blikle, which was Charles de Gaulle's favorite bakery and coffee shop. They are known for their rose donuts, seen above. The donuts were sooooo good. 

And the dark chocolate mocha tasted even better than it looks! What a fantastic stop. 

I would definitly put Warsaw on my list of places to visit again. It had the perfect mix of old and new, and it is full of history and hope.

Poznań, my first taste of Poland

On our bus trip from Berlin to Warsaw, Poland, we stopped for a short while in a little town called Poznan. Although there were many tourists in the town, it was mostly because several bus tours stop there on the way to Warsaw. 

The Old Town Square was adorable and there were several different groups of schoolchildren and tourists visiting. At noon, everyone was gathered underneath the town hall building to watch the clock strike 12. Two little wooden rams come out of the clock tower and butt heads 12 times. The children would count in Polish along with the clock chimes and it was super adorable. 

Since it was our first time in Poland, we found ourselves a little Polish diner to have lunch in. We had spinach pierogis, traditional vegetable soup and strawberry crepes for dessert.  

The town was full of fountains and statues, as well as little quiet streets. It was a lot different from the busyness of Berlin and Frankfurt, and it was honestly kind of nice to get away from tourist-central. 

Polish is even harder for me to understand than German is! Hopefully we can get by for the next few days. 

While we were exploring, I found some propaganda from the Capital... I have no idea what the poster says, but President Snow is on it and I thought it was really cool. 

I will probably never get to Poznan again, but the people that we met there were sweet and it was a quiet little town where we enjoyed a nice afternoon and break from the bus. 

Just an hour in Weimar, Germany

Since we are on a bus tour of Eastern Europe, there are some days when we are on the road for long periods of time. Like today, for example, when we drove from Frankfurt, all the way to Berlin. I guess I had not realized just how far the cities are from each other. We passed through a lot of green fields and some small towns. 

The highlight of the trip was definitely the hour we spent in Weimar, which is a small but very famous city in Germany. 

It is Geothe's hometown, as well as a center for music and culture. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller are pictured below:

Although we only had an hour for lunching and touring this wonderful city, we were able to see a lot and I took a lot of photos (mostly of buildings). Unfortunately, I know very little about the sights that are in my photos. 

It is the perfect German town, with cobblestone streets, a gorgous river, little cafes and many bratwurst stands. 

There were cute little buildings around every corner as well as SO many bikes. 

All I know is that I could live in this house. 

Stay tuned for my next post on Berlin!

Taking in Toronto, Canada

My first stop on this post-grad adventure lays just a three hour drive away from my hometown in New York. Tomorrow, we will flying out of Toronto to head to Frankfurt, Germany, so we decided to add a few days in Toronto to our trip. I have not visited the city since I was little, so it was great to get to know it again. 

Since it is summer, naturally, I packed summery clothes for our trip... Although I did bring a cardigan, a light jacket, a light sweater, and a rain jacket with me (I still consider this "packing light"), these were not enough to repel the classic Canadian cold... especially the winds of the streets of Toronto. We stopped by the Eaton Centre, pictured above, to see if I could find a heavier sweater and perhaps a scarf. 

Although we did not find anything affordable there, it was nice to window shop. I also really loved the art installation of Canadian Geese.

Later on, we visited Loblaws, a huge grocery store chain, which had a clothing store called Joe Fresh. There I found both a warm, comfy sweatshirt and a scarf for great prices!

We have found some really great breakfasty places on our short stay in Toronto. Pictured above is a glorious mixed berry and goat cheese waffle that I had at the Pickle Barrel, on Yonge Street, just before we went to see the play, Once. Although it was huge, I ate the whole thing, as well as all of the fruit that came with it. I recommend stopping by, and I also recommend seeing a play while in the city, since it is full of great theatres. It reminded me a lot of London. 

Just this afternoon, we went to Figs for lunch (http://www.figsbreakfastlunch.com/) and I had a delicious Greek omelet. I think I have turned into Ron Swanson with all the breakfast foods I have had in these few short days. 

(photo courtesy of https://cammimola.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/tumblr_ng9zpxqwan1qz5q5oo2_500.jpg)

Another stop that we made was to the Aga Khan Museum, (http://www.agakhanmuseum.org) which houses art and artifacts from the Middle East. It opened relatively recently, and they are currently doing the landscaping. 

One of our last stops in Toronto was the St. Lawrence Market, pictured below! At the market, you can find local foods such as meat, fish, bread, legumes by the pound, ethnic foods (like pierogis) and lots of olives and Mediterranean bars. There was so much to see. If I lived in Toronto, I would definitely frequent this market, though the prices are a little higher than regular grocery stores. 

That is about it for my stay in Toronto... but I have really enjoyed the feel of the city. It has a lot of different little areas, which I would have loved to explore more, and it was almost like a taste of Europe in North America! I really cannot wait to come back!

Next stop, Frankfurt!

Do you know of any other places that are worth visiting in Frankfurt?