Not Pictured

[0] ...

2007-07-02T12:52:00.000-04:00

Missing and Forwarding...

to the tune of Fergilicious

The smell of your skin lingers on me now

You're probably on your flight back to your home town

I will miss hopping the clearly marked subway lines for which I still consult maps... but I look forward to driving along the stretch of highways and unmarked country roads…

I will miss stumbling upon randomly sprinkled soul food, African-French, Haitian-Greek, kosher-option only-in-New-York’s... but I look forward to real queso, tacos and breakfast burritos in their authentic access and excess...

The path that I'm walking

I must go alone

I must take the baby steps until I'm full grown

Fairytales don't always have a happy ending, do they?

And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay

I will miss flaunting my New Yorker ability to weave in and out of all those damn midtown tourists... but I look forward to walking on large sidewalks downtown as a true Austin-ite...

I will miss playing ‘Not-It!’ at school… but I look forward to being the ‘Go-To’ at work…

Yes you can hold my hand if you want to

'Cause I want to hold yours too

We'll be playmates and lovers and share our secret worlds

I will miss hearing various forms of the f*bomb and vernacular combined so expertly and seamlessly in a Harlem youth...but I look forward to my students' Southern drawl saying "please," "yes ma'am" and "miss"....

I will miss being assigned a journal article that challenges my every assumption... but I look forward to indulging in reading that I choose based on my inner whims...

But its time for me to go home

It’s getting late, dark outside

I need to be with myself instead of calamity

Peace, Serenity

I will miss being able to IM someone in the building at 12:30am to order takeout, grab pizza and beer, or borrow an egg... but I look forward to living in more than one room and buying meat to cook in a kitchen that is part of that more-than-one-room existence...

I will miss being in a blue state.... but I look forward to being supersaturated in burnt orange…

I hope you know, I hope you know

That this has nothing to with you

It's personal, Myself and I

We've got some straightenin' out to do

And I’m gonna miss you like a child misses his blanket
But I gotta get a move on with my life

I will miss the affair I had with New York... but I look forward to falling in love with Austin...

It’s time to be a big girl now

And big girls don't cry...

[1] A Long, Last Look...

2007-07-01T00:18:00.000-04:00

NOT PICTURED: all those thoughts

[2] One last night in the City....

2007-07-01T00:15:00.000-04:00

To live it up...

and dance it out...

NOT PICTURED: all those 'Lasts'....

[3] D is for...

2007-06-29T12:51:00.001-04:00

DONE.

NOT PICTURED: 2-for-1 Happy Hour Avenue A Pub Crawl that celebrated it all.

[4] It's so nice to have a couch...

2007-06-29T12:49:00.001-04:00

Beer, friends, and television....

NOT PICTURED: my last paper

[5] Hott Date

2007-06-29T12:46:00.001-04:00

And a great game....

NOT PICTURED: the stories behind the letters...

[6] Empty

2007-06-29T12:45:00.001-04:00

NOT PICTURED: the iced coffee from Cafe Fresh thats keeping me going.

[7] All Scrubbed Out...

2007-06-29T12:37:00.001-04:00

...as we finish out the semester.

NOT PICTURED: all those boxes Lynn was able to stuff, shut and tape. Also, the stolen toilet paper.

[8] Dinner Party

2007-06-25T12:49:00.000-04:00

I will miss the conversations held around that handy fold-up table.

NOT PICTURED: those yummy enchiladas.

[9] Lifestyles

2007-06-23T23:59:00.000-04:00

NOT PICTURED: how the cell phone ended up in so many different hands.

[10] Dinner and drinks

2007-06-23T23:55:00.001-04:00

NOT PICTURED: that bathroom at Land where they have a really great bathroom.

[11] Defining Moments

2007-06-23T23:47:00.000-04:00

"When Managers Must Choose Between Right and Right"

Thomas Sobol, Nel Noddings, and Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr. and the three guys pictured have made me contemplate many a salient issue...

NOT PICTURED: the ethical school.
(non-capital letters intentional.)

[12] Where did it all come from?

2007-06-19T16:47:00.000-04:00

NOT PICTURED: cleanliness, orderliness, sane-ness...

[13] Dark off

2007-06-19T16:45:00.000-04:00

NOT PICTURED: impromptu drinks at, yet again, dave&busters.

[14] Sunday in the Park

2007-06-19T16:43:00.001-04:00

Boggle, reading, eating, talking... five hours of being in the middle of the city but not hearing traffic.

NOT PICTURED: when I took the wrong train home. How long have I lived here?

[15] Meandering

2007-06-19T16:41:00.000-04:00

Tasti-D-Lite is the ice-cream equivalent to Starbucks. You see them everywhere unless you really want one. Buying one helps pass the time when you're wandering around the city.

NOT PICTURED: all those take-out menus I seem to have collected over the past few weeks.

[16] Off the Island

2007-06-19T16:40:00.001-04:00

This is the view of NYC when you go to Jersey.
Why would you go to Jersey?
Yeah... I know...

NOT PICTURED: obviously Jersey.

[17] Union Square

2007-06-15T10:56:00.001-04:00

It's one of my favorites because:
1) The variety
2) The shopping
3) The centrality to other cool, nyc things
4) It's not Midtown
5) see #4 for added emphasis

NOT PICTURED: the walking around, the bar, and the antics that happens when you meet up at Union Square...

[18] Craig's List

2007-06-15T10:52:00.001-04:00

Do not go to the Financial District alone, at night, to meet a stranger. Even if you're planning on potentially living with that stranger.
Still.
Don't go alone. Not the first time.

Take someone smaller than you. She'll protect you?

NOT PICTURED: the solarium, gym, and laundry room that made it one sweet deal.

[19] Looking around

2007-06-15T10:48:00.001-04:00

I know I'm not supposed to, but sometimes I just can't help it.

NOT PICTURED: All that I should be doing instead of looking around...

[20] Labyrinth

2007-06-11T21:12:00.000-04:00

This is just one of many hallways you think could lead to Narnia... or, you know, your next class.

NOT PICTURED: the winding staircases, the surprising official offices and research centers, and also all the learning and changing the world going on...

[21] Lazy Sundays

2007-06-11T10:12:00.001-04:00

NOT PICTURED: the rest of the day... because it slips away so easily...

[22] Antics

2007-06-10T19:59:00.001-04:00

Playing with the 23rd street NRW subway art

The importance of using protection. In this case, when eating at the Big Apple Barbeque fest, use a wetnap.

NOT PICTURED: 5am sunrise when we got back to my place.

[23] Her name is Stella

2007-06-08T23:50:00.001-04:00

And I have grown to love her dearly.

NOT PICTURED: Girltalk.

[24] Red Lobster Day!

2007-06-08T14:28:00.000-04:00

Because sometimes you want to:
a) order by picture (it's like color by number, only tasty.)
b) eat something fried, buttered and/or salted
c) get some damn good cheese buscuits.

NOT PICTURED: the revolving Red Lobster.

[25] Class picture day

2007-06-08T14:20:00.001-04:00

She sent us our class pictures. I wonder if she knew that we went to class in order to get to the Thursday Happy Hour where a real discussion could be fostered....

ORLA 4010: Smiles, Danger, Rockstar & Hott Pants.

NOT PICTURED: Our professor, Dr. C. Riehl.

[26] Suprises

2007-06-08T14:14:00.000-04:00

If you walk along Central Park without a map, you'll discover something about who you're walking with... and, if adequately persuaded, about yourself.

NOT PICTURED: all that other stuff.

[27] Live & Die by the Swipe

2007-06-08T14:12:00.000-04:00

The back door to TC.

NOT PICTURED: the labyrinth behind that door.

[28] Que te llevas...

2007-06-04T13:07:00.000-04:00

There are no full-length mirrors in my dormroom. Good thing I have Filipino ingenuity.

NOT PICTURED: the band-aid he bought me because the shoes I chose to wear gave me a slight blister.

[29] Earnings...

2007-06-04T13:04:00.001-04:00

In order to really party right, you have to earn it. I spent Saturday afternoon in the computer labs so I could spend Saturday night at the bar.

NOT PICTURED: What happened at the bar.

[30] The Power in Accessorizing

2007-06-04T13:00:00.001-04:00

I may have misspelled that. I'm not sure.

But I am sure that to pick the right earrings, the right bracelets, the right scarf makes a difference.

And that difference might make you brave.

NOT PICTURED: standing in line on 57th and 6th for 'the city's best chicken and rice' and then eating said chicken and rice with Rosalyne and Min, wondering about gender differences. Also, Columbus Circle.

[31] T-Rex

2007-06-04T12:58:00.001-04:00

American Museum of Natural History playdate with Melissa and, well several large animals, some extinct, some not.

NOT PICTURED: Yummy curry night at Jin's.

[32] What is that noise?

2007-05-30T21:12:00.001-04:00

That noise is my toilet running every time I flush. Therefore, I have to wait until the tank fills and then pull on the filler float to make the noise stop.

I'm sure there's a way to fix this somehow, but I don't plan on learning it.

NOT PICTURED: The toilet's ballcock, because--hey, this is a situation when I can use that word in earnest.

We'll really start at 33

2007-05-29T21:31:00.001-04:00

Because I booked my flight, and that's how many days I officially have left.

NOT PICTURED: The Realness of doing it...because I don't think that has arrived yet.

Memorial Day in NYC

2007-05-29T21:27:00.000-04:00

NOT PICTURED: All 4.95 miles walked. Though, if you'd like, you can picture it here and here.

Bumbleine & Diamond Louise

2007-05-26T19:58:00.001-04:00

Two hearts, two dancers, two singers, two drinkers,
two sets of memories of what happened, what didn't happen, what we said, what we did, and what we didn't do.
Two desks, One Boss.
Two years, One Plant.
Two souls, One Dinosaur.

NOT PICTURED: That guy whose memory keeps haunting me around even though, I swear, she said he was a stranger and it was a safe bet to go ahead with my idea...

Love Letters

2007-05-26T19:56:00.001-04:00

Real mail.

NOT PICTURED: mass email update sent.

Paalam @ The Park

2007-05-23T22:54:00.000-04:00

A great send-off to the best Irish Pirate/Belgium Filipino/Dean of Students/Sobol-Fanatic that I know...

NOT PICTURED: the dance lesson and all other body-friendly antics...

Sheer Bliss

2007-05-18T14:56:00.001-04:00

It must be the shirt.

NOT PICTURED: The offer.

Variations on a Cane

2007-05-14T00:49:00.000-04:00

The Cane Doubles as A Flute.

Conversation #1:
Cousin: Should we bring this? 'This' alludes to bag with large cane/flute and smaller flute and papers
Uncle: Yes, it's for Lola (grandmother) for Mother's Day
C: Okay.
U: Oh! But only the big one. I want the small flute around here. Because sometimes it gets boring here, and I'd like to have it around.

Conversation #2:
Auntie Jane: What is that?
Joycelyn: What do you think it is?
AJ: Is it a flute? Or a cane?
J: YES!!

Conversation #3:
Cousin: Look at all the music you can play!
Joycelyn: ooooh. Hey Jude! You can play Hey Jude! Who doesn't want that?
(At one point, Cousin plays a song and Joycelyn sings. The songs they are respectively performing are not the same, but no one notices or says anything.)

Conversation #4:
Cousin: You can bring that on the plane and when you get bored, you have something to do!
Lola: What will I do?--play it?
C: Yes, or poke someone with it and then say, "Play this for me."

Conversation #4 (As a cousin plays the cane/flute.)
Uncle: Wow. That's nice.
Lola: Yes. You must practice. That's nice.
U: You've got it! Wow. You're really good.
L: You know, she used to play the saxophone.
U: Ay, yeah. That's why.
(This is funny because it's in another language, and we're looking at her intently and very, very honestly impressed as she continues to play.)

Conversation #5
Cousin: It's a flute AND a cane.
Joycelyn: It's a flane!
C: It's a clute!

Conversation #6
Uncle: You know, it's made in Massachusetts! Can you believe it!?
Joycelyn: Wow.
U: I know. The couple selling it, they were really good at playing it. They were really good. They make it themselves. I wish you could have seen them.

NOT PICTURED: Its usage as an actual cane.

Back Seat

2007-05-14T00:46:00.000-04:00

Back of a minivan where a seat should be:

J: "Can I sit on this?"

Cousin: "No, it's fresh meat."

NOT PICTURED: The piggery where it came from.

People Watching

2007-05-13T11:16:00.000-04:00

One of the best games in NYC, a prime activity at Union Square...

NOT PICTURED: The two dinners my cousin, Jariel (who is pictured) ate that night.

Brooklyn Bars

2007-05-13T11:14:00.000-04:00

The couch says "Cheese foot."

NOT PICTURED: Disclosures with cousins.

Absolute Freedom

2007-05-10T10:49:00.000-04:00

When you have no homework, the world is so much bigger.
Namely, I see all the places where I should drink.

NOT PICTURED: homework. Because I don't have any!! ['suck it' gesture here]

Last Day of Semester

2007-05-08T22:15:00.000-04:00

The room has slowly fallen apart...

But the pages have also come together.

You win some, you lose some.

NOT PICTURED: 8,885 words in my soul.

Express Trains

2007-05-08T22:11:00.000-04:00

If you're going past 86th, you should take the Express 2/3 from 116th. It just makes sense.

It's luck of the draw. You never know when the Express will meet you.

But if you're with friends, it doesn't matter.

NOT PICTURED: Nithin's Goodbye Party shinanigans & toast.

Cocinando

2007-05-06T19:37:00.000-04:00

The irony of the common kitchen is that it is the place where she is most aware of being alone. She gets so engrossed in her cooking. She obsesses about it, revisiting that Jane article(or was it Lucky? a forwarded email?)--something that said that every girl has a recipe perfected. Every good woman has the ‘meal that reels in a good man'. Suddenly, the veggie burger or the mushroom spaghetti or premade wantons (she doesn't buy meet) become not only the present meal but also the future security.

She used to believe that cooking a meal and eating alone signaled maturity, self-security and content. She still believes those things. However, she also eats a whole meal in fifteen minutes flat.

NOT PICTURED: Final group meeting of Community Connections

Not 'What?', But 'Where?'

2007-05-05T20:46:00.000-04:00

The question isn't really about the activity of the day...

...just where we'll engage in it.

Today's studying/writing/researching:

1100-1300: New Residence, Room 404N
1400-1745: Social Work Library
2045-??: Russell Hall Library, Room 203

NOT PICTURED: Horchata y heart-to-hearts with Jin

Beauty from Pain

2007-05-05T00:04:00.000-04:00

First the Pain: editing drafts

Then the Beauty: fine-tuned definition and form

First the Pain: threading

Then the Beauty: fine-tuned definition and form

NOT PICTURED: Cinco de Mayo pseudo-frat party on East Side with a Rockstar...

Thursday Happy Hours

2007-05-03T23:26:00.000-04:00

Last one of the semester: Boat Basin Cafe

While we'd like to think it's a time to unwind and forget the hell we've been through in terms of papers, analyses, synthesis and never-ending research... we still end up talking about them.

NOT PICTURED: When Nick sang 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' theme song with Miya doing back-up.

Piles Everywhere

2007-05-02T22:37:00.000-04:00

NOT PICTURED: the pile of laundry that forces me to curl up at the end of my bed; the pile of research I have to weave into my analysis; the pile of hole-punched-holes near the trash that I so carefully step around instead of sweeping them up... et cetera...

Opportunity Costs

2007-05-01T23:17:00.000-04:00

"Opportunity cost: the value of what is given up or sacrificed represents the cost of an alternative. ...By using resources in one way, we are giving up the ability to use them in another way, so a cost has been incurred... In some cases we may even find that the pursuit of an activity 'cost us a friendship'. "

from: Levin & McEwan, Cost Effective Analysis, 2nd Edition

NOT PICTURED: the stack of resumes, mission statement copies and other materials that I have collected in pursuit of a Real Job in this Real World

Selling the Self

2007-05-01T13:04:00.000-04:00

There was a time when it was difficult to talk about myself. I would agonize. I would make a list. I would role-play the entire interview.

Seven. I've had seven interview for four different organizations over the past three months. This was me going to my last one.

Like the other seven, I'm not scared to say I aced this particular one. They all fall in love with me sooner or later, I suppose. Maybe it's the well-written resume (mad props to my image consultant/personal cheerleader/bf4l). Maybe it's the way I laugh and make cheeky jokes. Maybe it's that I'm qualified with 3 years of supervisory experience, one soon-to-be graduate degree from a top-tier institution, and have a working knowledge of great icebreakers....

Or maybe it's because I'm willing to role-play.

NOT PICTURED: the fact that I'm wearing flipflops from my dormroom all the way to 22nd and Broadway before changing into heels.