Bye, Bye This Semester Pie

In the movie Waitress, actress Keri Russell of the 90s’ TV show Felicity plays a young southern waitress trapped in loveless marriage with her abusive husband. As part of her job at Joe’s Pie Diner, Russell’s character Jenna bakes pies. Lots of them.

Consider, for example, the following:

I Hate My Husband Pie… You take bittersweet chocolate and don’t sweeten it. You make it into a pudding and drown it in caramel.

Earl Murders Me Because I’m Having An Affair Pie… You smash blackberries and raspberries into a chocolate crust.

I Can’t Have No Affair Because It’s Wrong And I Don’t Want Earl To Kill Me Pie… Vanilla custard with banana. Hold the banana. 

Pregnant Miserable Self Pitying Loser Pie… Lumpy oatmeal with fruitcake mashed in. Flambé of course.

Driving Without Specific Directions

Do you ever have those moments when you wish you could simply freeze time and just stay in the same spot forever?

Whether we consciously think about this or not, we all have those instances when we yearn for something to continue just as it is, to prolong the future and live in the exact present for eternity.

April Foodie Penpals

1. I’m alive.
2. I promise.
3. Junior year has been busy.
4. Really busy.
5. So busy that any free time I have is spent watching episodes of the Good Wife, obsessing over Penn Badgley in Girl Gossip, hot yoga and looking at too many pointless Georgetown-related tumblrs.
6. And it is about to get worse.
7. Finals have arrived.
8. One sit-down exam, three papers, 25 pages, and 10 days separate me from summer.
9. Unless you count the extra week spent working at school, then it is 18 days.
10. It cannot come soon enough.

Foodie Penpals

Clearly I have been in a blogging rut.

It is not so much that I have nothing to write about it; in fact I have plenty of stories about late night Gossip Girl-watching sessions to visits to U-Street to free Sprinkles Cupcakes (actually all stories from just one night!). Unfortunately, however, since coming back from spring break I have been swamped with more time sensitive and, arguably, more important priorities (i.e. homework) that has kept me from posting. And while I did promise once again to make a conscious effort to blog, things like my thesis proposal, papers about Kant and newspaper production have kept me a little preoccupied.

Recognizing a need for some motivation and commitment to lure me back into the blogosphere, I stumbled upon the Foodie Penpals program. The brainchild of Lindsay Livingston at The Lean Green Bean, the project aims to connect food bloggers and readers beyond the World Wide Web through the exchange of food-filled care packages.

Just What the Doctor Ordered

If you know me, then you know that I hate doing nothing. Although I might complain about my long to-do list with classes, meetings and homework, I would rather have lots to do than nothing to keep me occupied. I have an unhealthy obsession with checking for the blinking red light on my blackberry and keeping my Ical updated with everything from my workouts to nights out on the town; busy could be my middle name.

A Vacation Long Overdue

Of late, it seems that any break on the academic calendar could not come soon enough. Last winter, I had five papers and one sit-down exam standing between me and winter break, and this past week I had a to-do with countless things tasks and lots of added stresses making me extremely anxious for a vacation.

So Long Since Last We Met

“It’s been so long since last we met…”

While some readers might not get the reference in the opening sentence, I thought that the Georgetown’s Fight Song fit well in these circumstances. Yes, readers, it has been a very long time since last we met.

In my last post, nearly a month and a half ago, I wrote about my gelatin-wrecked vegetarian diet and my resolution to start anew. Since that time much has happened.

Like the fall semester, the spring term has been equally, if not more, busy. Once again taking a full courseload, I am also working my job at school, commuting to an internship and juggling various extracurricular activities. In light of this, I have come to the realization that 24 hours in a day are just not enough. WIth so much on plate, my resolution for weekly blogging became like the decadent dessert calling my name on the counter. Unfortunately, with so much else weighing me down, giving in to the temptation of blogging would have only put me behind on the things I actually needed to do.

Resolving Again

Only 16 days into the new year and already I have failed.

Earlier this month I resolved to renew my blogging habits and write at least two to three posts a week. Yet, for those of you who might have noticed, this past week was without a single post. I will try, however, to rationalize my blogging absence.

Finding Home on the Hilltop

Just three weeks ago I was longing for the end of finals and my return to the 401. Now, after nearly a month in Rhode Island, I am ready to make my return to the Hilltop and begin the spring semester of my junior year. As much as I enjoy spending time with my family and friends in R.I., Georgetown has become just as much as a home for me.

Although I keep procrastinating the packing necessary for my “homecoming,” I am very excited to get back to campus and see my second family. This past semester particularly I established such strong friendships, and  I love my friends as if they were blood. But while my family in RI is happy that I am comfortable and in love with Georgetown, there is slight resentment anytime I reference the Hilltop as “home.” Even after only one semester, I was getting in trouble from my mom for dropping the “h” word when talking about Georgetown. After one such lecture, I wrote a reflective piece about finding my place at the university, later published as a viewpoint for the Georgetown HOYA. While I wrote the piece after my first semester, it still rings true, if not even more so.

La Carne Non Più: Meat No More

This is one of my favorite stories to share, so please forgive me if you are someone who is hearing it for the bagillionth time.

As many of you know, last spring semester I studied away from the Georgetown Hilltop and relocated to the hillside of Fiesole in Florence, Italy. During those four months abroad, I commuted from my homestay to attend classes at Georgetown’s Tuscan villa, Villa Le Balze. As a homestay, I lived with another female student from the program in the home of a local family. My host mother was the sweetest, tiniest woman, and, as could be expected, she was an incredible cook. Every meal at Flavia’s table reminded me of those Sunday mornings as a child spent with my Italian great grandmothers.