so i just took "the T" back to BU by myself from Allston? (that is MOST likely mispelled). I was out with the beloved Brian Robert Taberski, the bestest friend a gal pal could have and Mark, the best NEW friend a gal could have. i am proud to say i knew where to get off the T, which may seem small to those of you who have mastered a life that is ruled by public transportation. in my case though, after driving for 12 years and owning your own vehicle for 8 of those years, relying upon a perfect stranger to drive you home is, well, how can i say, freaking scary?!?!
anyway. prior to my night of margaritas, i found myself wandering with my new friend becky, through the streets of boston to get to whole foods market. we were so proud of ourselves...leaving our little compound, otherwise known as "Warren Towers". it was absolutely fabulous to be able to say that we could find our way around...because in the midst of everything, i am still scared out of my mind, desperately missing my dearest family and friends in the two cities i refer to as home. so being able to find a natural foods store was quite the accomplishment, considering that is seems to be that everyone in boston says "two lights and a left", even if it is completely false.
so i'm advancing into the ranks of being a real girl now. learning to get around without the trusty little blue, maggy-mobile. carrying a map with me at ALL times, in the instance that somehow i become so incoherent as to what is what, i will always have some way to lead me back to my res hall.
so it's exciting. small and simple victories help to make life in a new city so much more beautiful and amazing. it's starting off to be a fabulous journey...
sweetdreams!!
e.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
keys in the bathroom
i do not ever think i will get accustomed to bringing my keys with me to the bathroom. it's just not normal. it's especially awful when it's 6am and i'm half awake, stumbling to the bathroom to shower.
really...i'm certain to either get locked out of my room at some point or somehow lose the keys in the bathroom.
my brain is exhausted from talking about crisis situations in freshmen residence halls, keys in the bathroom is, unfortunately, as deep as i am able to get tonight.
:-)
really...i'm certain to either get locked out of my room at some point or somehow lose the keys in the bathroom.
my brain is exhausted from talking about crisis situations in freshmen residence halls, keys in the bathroom is, unfortunately, as deep as i am able to get tonight.
:-)
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Life is calling
The next few weeks will leave me little time to do anything. Breathing, eating, sleeping, unpacking, seeing sunshine? It's crazy to be back in the Residence Halls. BUT, as my dear friend said to me before I left Buffalo, "it's all about the package deal...free food and housing in Boston...you can't look at it like 'i'm back in the residence hall (eye roll)'." and he's right.
I have the opportunity to put that MS in College Student Personnel to good use, as a Resident Assistant in Warren Towers (Tower B) at Boston University. I have an amazing view of the city and a small view of the Charles River and a great ear full of the T, as it scoots along on the track, street level, below my window. I will have 42 freshmen/sophomore residents on my floor, boys and girls, and all of them in the age range of 18-20. It's going to be quite the adventure, but it's still a valuable experience. Even though i am going to feel like i am going to feel like i am going crazy for the next few weeks.
Training starts early each day and runs late into the night. But I think...I hope...that I have much to offer these students who will be my floor mates. I think back to my first RA at Canisius and she was amazing. She was in her mid twenties, like me in my late twenties, and we all adored her. I'm not asking to be adored, but she helped me to look at my college experience a lot differently. And I hope that I can do that for these students, if even in a very simple, small way. Even if it's only one student.
So the next week and a half will be devoted to training and trying to squeeze in sleep where I can. But it's all part of the journey...all part of the experience of growing and stretching. Before I left Buffalo, my friend and idol, Emmy, said to me: "Elizabeth, I guess it's the things that scare us the most, are the challenges we are supposed to be moving towards, it's how we know we're growing. It's good to be scared, it keeps us from getting TOO comfortable." And she's right. she is SO right.
So here i am in my cozy, single room with my XL twin bed. But it's all helping to make me a more fully alive person and in the end, isn't that what it's all about? Being alive? Taking every single possible thing that is around us? Exhausting ourselves with an eagerness for life because we will get all the sleep we need once we are passed on to the next life. So why not push a little harder and suck a little more life out of the air and experiences around us?
If nothing else, this experience is teaching me to not ever let age be a restrictive barrier. Most people rolled their eyes when I said that I'd be a 28 year old living in the residence hall, with people close to 10 years younger than me. And that's okay. It's their feelings, their opinions. But there could be worse things. And honestly, it wasn't such a horrible thing giving up my job. I was ready for this. I could feel it in my heart. And I feel so at peace with this new educational opportunity. Because my AGE; that shouldn't be the reason that i DON'T do this, school and residence life work. I look at my grammy who will be 100 in October and i want to live as long and as fully as she. And this is how...put your heart and soul into all you do, even when it isn't always fun or always easy. But in the end, I want to be able to say, at the end of my life, "I used everything you gave me GOD, I have nothing left!!"
So cheers to the start of that journey and all the quirks and bumps and joy and laughter that are bound to come with it. Cheers to the challenge of moving from my fabulous apartment to my tiny tiny res hall room. Cheers to a life without car insurance, a chapter of my life without a desk job and the biggest cheers of all to all the glorious unknown that still lies ahead of me.
I look back and try to remember who I was at 18 and it's almost impossible to see that girl. I am so different than her. I am eager to see who I am after 8 months of this experience. I am certain I am going to come out all the better for it. Just in case, I keep a stash of bubbles next to my laptop for the moments that seem overwhelmingly stressful. Because who isn't happy when they see bubbles????
So if ever you find yourself in a horrible day, pop in to your local drugstore and pick up a small 5oz bottle of bubbles. I can almost promise that they will make you smile (after you roll your eyes for feeling to childish).
Cheers to BUBBLES!!!
I have the opportunity to put that MS in College Student Personnel to good use, as a Resident Assistant in Warren Towers (Tower B) at Boston University. I have an amazing view of the city and a small view of the Charles River and a great ear full of the T, as it scoots along on the track, street level, below my window. I will have 42 freshmen/sophomore residents on my floor, boys and girls, and all of them in the age range of 18-20. It's going to be quite the adventure, but it's still a valuable experience. Even though i am going to feel like i am going to feel like i am going crazy for the next few weeks.
Training starts early each day and runs late into the night. But I think...I hope...that I have much to offer these students who will be my floor mates. I think back to my first RA at Canisius and she was amazing. She was in her mid twenties, like me in my late twenties, and we all adored her. I'm not asking to be adored, but she helped me to look at my college experience a lot differently. And I hope that I can do that for these students, if even in a very simple, small way. Even if it's only one student.
So the next week and a half will be devoted to training and trying to squeeze in sleep where I can. But it's all part of the journey...all part of the experience of growing and stretching. Before I left Buffalo, my friend and idol, Emmy, said to me: "Elizabeth, I guess it's the things that scare us the most, are the challenges we are supposed to be moving towards, it's how we know we're growing. It's good to be scared, it keeps us from getting TOO comfortable." And she's right. she is SO right.
So here i am in my cozy, single room with my XL twin bed. But it's all helping to make me a more fully alive person and in the end, isn't that what it's all about? Being alive? Taking every single possible thing that is around us? Exhausting ourselves with an eagerness for life because we will get all the sleep we need once we are passed on to the next life. So why not push a little harder and suck a little more life out of the air and experiences around us?
If nothing else, this experience is teaching me to not ever let age be a restrictive barrier. Most people rolled their eyes when I said that I'd be a 28 year old living in the residence hall, with people close to 10 years younger than me. And that's okay. It's their feelings, their opinions. But there could be worse things. And honestly, it wasn't such a horrible thing giving up my job. I was ready for this. I could feel it in my heart. And I feel so at peace with this new educational opportunity. Because my AGE; that shouldn't be the reason that i DON'T do this, school and residence life work. I look at my grammy who will be 100 in October and i want to live as long and as fully as she. And this is how...put your heart and soul into all you do, even when it isn't always fun or always easy. But in the end, I want to be able to say, at the end of my life, "I used everything you gave me GOD, I have nothing left!!"
So cheers to the start of that journey and all the quirks and bumps and joy and laughter that are bound to come with it. Cheers to the challenge of moving from my fabulous apartment to my tiny tiny res hall room. Cheers to a life without car insurance, a chapter of my life without a desk job and the biggest cheers of all to all the glorious unknown that still lies ahead of me.
I look back and try to remember who I was at 18 and it's almost impossible to see that girl. I am so different than her. I am eager to see who I am after 8 months of this experience. I am certain I am going to come out all the better for it. Just in case, I keep a stash of bubbles next to my laptop for the moments that seem overwhelmingly stressful. Because who isn't happy when they see bubbles????
So if ever you find yourself in a horrible day, pop in to your local drugstore and pick up a small 5oz bottle of bubbles. I can almost promise that they will make you smile (after you roll your eyes for feeling to childish).
Cheers to BUBBLES!!!
Friday, August 15, 2008
the kalfas' have left buffalo :-(
my mother, father and i arrived in boston tonight. it was quite the adventure, stories for another day. maggy, the little blue car, has been donated to the city mission of buffalo and my apartment keys have been surrendered. my 10 years in buffalo are over. it's so humbling to look back on the girl i was 10 years ago and see how much i've grown since move in day at canisius college in august 1998.
it is a sad day. i already miss buffalo. :-( thankfully classes begin in a few weeks and i'll have plenty of distraction!
my life as a tribe fan in red sox land begins tonight...the kalfas kids have official left buffalo and a new chapter begins.
it is a sad day. i already miss buffalo. :-( thankfully classes begin in a few weeks and i'll have plenty of distraction!
my life as a tribe fan in red sox land begins tonight...the kalfas kids have official left buffalo and a new chapter begins.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
slow to post
i am terrible! this past week was a blur with packing up my buffalo apartment to bring everything back to ohio. we're heading back out to buffalo to tidy up last minute details with the sale of maggy and then friday morning, don, roro and elizabeth are heading off to boston! my father and i are packing up my furniture in storage today and tomorrow and i have the ever so fun task of sorting my possessions for goodwill and amvets.
purging is good for the soul :-)
so i'm off to sort. i'll be back in touch with updates of the past week. the highlight was the radiohead concert that my brother and i went to at blossom music center last monday. it was fabulous! a nice respite before the madness of packing up the 15' truck that i drove from buffalo to cleveland. i'm mighty proud too. between moving my old couch into my neighbor's apartment down the hall...maneuvering the tight corners all the way and now driving a big old truck...i'd like to say that i'm a real grown up now. who is moving back into the residence halls to be a RA in a few days.
anyway! i'll be back on track once i sort through the cardboard boxes that represent 10 years of life in buffalo ny!!
happy tuesday! :-)
purging is good for the soul :-)
so i'm off to sort. i'll be back in touch with updates of the past week. the highlight was the radiohead concert that my brother and i went to at blossom music center last monday. it was fabulous! a nice respite before the madness of packing up the 15' truck that i drove from buffalo to cleveland. i'm mighty proud too. between moving my old couch into my neighbor's apartment down the hall...maneuvering the tight corners all the way and now driving a big old truck...i'd like to say that i'm a real grown up now. who is moving back into the residence halls to be a RA in a few days.
anyway! i'll be back on track once i sort through the cardboard boxes that represent 10 years of life in buffalo ny!!
happy tuesday! :-)
Monday, August 4, 2008
maggy's last trip to cleveland
i've had my little blue 1999 escort since 2000, my junior year of college at Canisius. and yesterday, as i was driving back to my parents' house, i realized, this was her last trip...maggy's last drive. yes, i named her maggy. in honor of my high school "magnificat". and our colors were blue, hence the connection to maggy.
next week, when i move my furniture back to ohio, i'll be driving a 10' Budget rental truck. and Maggy will be on her way to either an auto auction or beginning her life with a new owner.
it's so sad, how this little blue car can tug at my heart so much...but she's been there for me through so many life experiences. especially during the time in my life where i was practically living out of her after my first real job out of grad school came crashing down around me.
it's scary too. not having the same freedom you have with owning your own vehicle. relying on public transportation that operates on a schedule that might be different than your own. but it's exciting. the possibility of meeting people you might never have met otherwise, on the train, bus or subway. it's going to allow me to get a fair amount of reading done, prevent me from elevated blood pressure due to road rage and endless lines of traffic.
so it's bittersweet. giving up this little car that is just that...a car. something material and truly impersonal and lacking any emotional value. but at the same time, the memories i have because of the places this little car helped me to get to, the conversations that have been had inside this little 4 door coup, the snow storms that have been driven through between buffalo and cleveland. it's like giving up a part of myself...this little car.
but all good things come to an end someday, and maggy and i have had a good run together.
next week, when i move my furniture back to ohio, i'll be driving a 10' Budget rental truck. and Maggy will be on her way to either an auto auction or beginning her life with a new owner.
it's so sad, how this little blue car can tug at my heart so much...but she's been there for me through so many life experiences. especially during the time in my life where i was practically living out of her after my first real job out of grad school came crashing down around me.
it's scary too. not having the same freedom you have with owning your own vehicle. relying on public transportation that operates on a schedule that might be different than your own. but it's exciting. the possibility of meeting people you might never have met otherwise, on the train, bus or subway. it's going to allow me to get a fair amount of reading done, prevent me from elevated blood pressure due to road rage and endless lines of traffic.
so it's bittersweet. giving up this little car that is just that...a car. something material and truly impersonal and lacking any emotional value. but at the same time, the memories i have because of the places this little car helped me to get to, the conversations that have been had inside this little 4 door coup, the snow storms that have been driven through between buffalo and cleveland. it's like giving up a part of myself...this little car.
but all good things come to an end someday, and maggy and i have had a good run together.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
closing up my buffalo life
i created this blog because i realized that after living in one city for 10 years, a city where i grew up from 18 to 28...i am leaving a mass of people behind who i really would rather keep by my side. but alas, the ache in my bones is telling me that there are other adventures i have yet to encounter before setting roots down and boston is where this adventure seems to be starting.
so i'm hoping this will be a chance to keep the people i love dearly, close to me, even if only through words and photographs on a screen. i'll still be writing letters and cards, but this will help to keep me connected on a more daily basis.
buffalo has been such a wonderful city to me...i am going to miss it so dearly here. but to those of you who i leave behind, here in buffalo, know that i will always regard you as family and buffalo will always be a home to me. home is where your heart is and a huge piece of my heart will ALWAYS be here with the people and places that helped me to discover this next step of my path.
so onward i venture, keeping my cleveland ohio and buffalo new york lives close to my heart, as i begin life in a city where i hear it is not wise to cheer for any baseball team other than the red sox...
but this gal cheers for the cleveland indians, aka "the tribe", as it is her hometown team.
hence the title of my blog...
it should be an interesting adventure!
stay tuned :-)
so i'm hoping this will be a chance to keep the people i love dearly, close to me, even if only through words and photographs on a screen. i'll still be writing letters and cards, but this will help to keep me connected on a more daily basis.
buffalo has been such a wonderful city to me...i am going to miss it so dearly here. but to those of you who i leave behind, here in buffalo, know that i will always regard you as family and buffalo will always be a home to me. home is where your heart is and a huge piece of my heart will ALWAYS be here with the people and places that helped me to discover this next step of my path.
so onward i venture, keeping my cleveland ohio and buffalo new york lives close to my heart, as i begin life in a city where i hear it is not wise to cheer for any baseball team other than the red sox...
but this gal cheers for the cleveland indians, aka "the tribe", as it is her hometown team.
hence the title of my blog...
it should be an interesting adventure!
stay tuned :-)
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