70s today.

junk mail and sunshine

the collection thus far

could it be? spring flowers?

wednesday in hershey world

pic and part 1

bowling in versailles, ohio.

PART 1 of the ROAD TRIP

Road trips. I’m a fan of them.

I like the bump and sway caused by cracks and divots in the road. Occasional clicking of the blinker. A Constant, low roar of tires on pavement drowning out the radio. The radio forever plagued with static—a natural side effect of covering a lot of miles, constantly driving in and out of range of obscure stations.

This particular road trip was from Greenville, Ohio to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

In the back was our bag of fuel, something to the tune of peanut butter, jelly, bread, cookies and juice boxes. In the front, the driver and passenger. Miles of road could go by where the only words spoken were those sung along to familiar songs found on the radio. There was also the casual, “Do you have to go to the bathroom?” …AKA… “I have to go to the bathroom.”

I always like to figure out the tone of the car ride before too many miles go by. Some people like to chat chat chat their way to Chattanooga, others prefer a comfortable silence while snoozing is yet another choice. Asking a single “What if” question is how I tend to gauge what to expect. The chatters will take the question and turn it into a philosophical, soul-searching conversation, the silents respond with an indifferent “I dunno” and/or a shrug, and the snoozers are out before the question is even spoken.

I really don’t mind any of the various types and have myself dabbled in the practice of each of them. The thing is, you’ve gotta know what your dealing with—otherwise you chat up a silent and annoy the crap out of them, you ignore a chatter and scare them, or you wake a snoozer and—well, never wake a snoozer.

“Hey Lindsey. If you could live in any state, which would it be?”

With a tinge of obvious stress (she's not a big fan of these kinds of questions), “I don’t like to think about that. I don’t know.”

“Okay, you just have to live there a year?”

“Stop.”

“A month?”

“Stop!”

I laughed. I turned up the radio a notch, sat back and enjoyed the blur of farm fields and trees in a comfortable silence. The occasional cow or funny sign would spark a conversation here and there. It was a good car ride.

tiny town, pennsylvania

note size of cat.

bedford, pennsylvania

acorn spaceship

kecksburg, pennsylvania

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/16860

*this was only one of today's many exciting stops... stories to come soon.

bridge again

ohio's longest covered bridge

and so begins "a picture a day"

today in berlin, ohio.

birthdays and barns

line dancing. have you ever tried it?

two weeks in a row now a group of us have gone to the farm museum in coopersville (or cooperstown, i can't quite remember). and yes, i said farm museum--complete with tractors, quilts, fake cows, and pie graphs about corn.

our group excluded, the average age of those who attend is probably around the upper 60s. they've been delighted to have such young'ins around. we've become known amidst the group--the college girls. we're the ones who are a bit more aerobic with our movements, aka we move our hips.

so line dancing. that's what it was until we showed up. the first night, it took a while to pick up on how it's all supposed to work, turning it in to more of "blob" dancing. but by the second week, these girls were old pros. we might not have shiny belt buckles, boots, or hats--but we do have enthusiasm.

. . . .

my buddy lindsey just had her birthday this past weekend. i tell ya, this kid is pretty cool, and it was a blast celebrating yet another year of life completed. i like celebrating the birthdays of other people. so much fun.

. . . .

the internship--not too much going on there, still a lot of the same stuff... writing, writing and more writing.

i'll tell you what... i am ready for spring break. a week of no classes, no work? yes please! hopefully it will still be warm like it has been for two weeks now. i think it's time to bring out the bike, and, maybe, the unicycle.

. . . .

question of the day:

you are eating m&ms one at a time. you get down to the last three. two are blue, and one is yellow. what color do you eat next?

i have a theory about this...

why no post in a while?

i know, it's been forever since i last posted. why is that?

sorry, i've been busy wearing flip-flops and t-shirts, turning my face to the sun, and walking particularly slow. every single day of march so has been warm and sunny, and a glance at the forecast reveals the mercury will keep rising and the skies will continue to stay clear of clouds.

march came and the weather turned a corner--could it be, could winter be over? most shake their head--no, it cannot be. it is but march, and a typical winter brings snow through april sometimes.

i like to hope, though. not that i dread winter; i'm just ready to spend more time outside.

well the sun is only up for so many hours a day--why couldn't i have updated at night? well, i must confess that netflix instant play is to blame for that. more specifically, the bbc robin hood tv series. i shan't begin to go into it though. just know it is my favorite tv show ever (that's right--i used bold print) and i wish to drop out of college and become a common outlaw in robin's band of merry men. i have the sudden urge to learn archery as well. the middle school pe unit wasn't enough. middle school, or high school... i can't remember.

anyway, with only one season left of robin hood to go through, you will likely see a lot more of me on the blog again. and if this early spring turns out to be but a dormant winter, you can surely expect more updates.

february

a new semester, first publications, and a nephew--february was a fairly filled month. funny how that works out, what with it having the fewest days of all the months.

ray andrew galatioto, my nephew, was born today. actually, he was born in japan on february 27 (which was feb 26 here), so we kind of get to celebrate his birthday again tomorrow. he's the first of the next generation in my family, the start of another branch on the family tree. i can't wait to begin fulfilling the new role of aunt.

the march issue of grand rapids magazine went out this week, and it was the first issue my work showed up in. i have heard mixed stories about people's "first publishing" experiences. a week ago my supervisor had actually came to my desk and handed me the issue--she could tell I was fairly excited. my first publishing experience was definitely memorable. seeing my name in glossy print (a few times in this issue) made that spot right below my sternum well up with a kind of thrill. at the same time though, i experienced something i've heard in nearly every other "first publishing" story. looking at my articles, all i could think of was, "i want to do it again, and i want to do it better."

i like the periodical publishing industry--a lot. time to step it up.

writer's block

An honest pen is hard to come by. A block often wedges itself between mind and pen. It catches the raw and revealing insight mustered from the core of our being. Until I find a way through it, I am incapable of writing.

No, I am not at a loss for words. Moreover, a million words are wrestling in my conscience at any given moment. I think it’s more a matter of my words being lost—lost, or perhaps cowering in some obscure corner of my thoughts. Clearly, it’s a case of page fright. My reputation—my very identity—is being held up at ballpoint. No words want to be forged under such pressure.

Yet it is a writing exercise like this that reminds me there is no reason to be pun-shy—where there is a quill, there is a way.

Huzzah! I’ve found the gap in the block. It is time to write.

[live] animal sighting

When the coyote trotted up, all I could manage was a wide-eyed stare. It heard her. “Lindsey. Lindsey. Lindsey, look!” My roommate, who had jokingly howled not but ten minutes earlier, was still in the tent while I melted some snow for hot chocolate. I must have startled it as much as it me—he darted back the way he came. Part of me had wanted to lure him over for a game of fetch; another part of me wanted to run screaming into the tent for cover. Though the coyote was gone, I resorted to the latter, but with more a squeal of delight in the wild I just witnessed.

dinner time

After 8 o’clock, dinner options dwindle. The pot roast requires too much time, ratatouille takes too much work, and ordering yet another pizza costs too much money. Peanut butter and jelly is a quick fix; however, why have for dinner what was for breakfast and lunch? Most give up by now. Indecision will undoubtedly lead to starvation. That’s when the desperate raiding of the fridge happens; if it can be microwaved in a minute or less, it’s dinner.

bowling

Rolling thunder, spontaneous crashing, a heavy fog of smoke... and have you ever noticed that it is impossible to feel like you are in any other decade but the 80s when you go bowling? It's not just because of the unimaginably old and colored carpet with stars on it or the dinosaurs of televisions hanging above each lane--there are still the cliched bowling leagues where the people still have mullets, the shirts are still tucked in to whitewashed jeans, and the alcohol flows between frames.

there is no such thing as a modern bowling alley. and that's part of what makes the bowling experience so great.

This week I went bowling for the first time since the summer before freshman year of college. Long time. Very long time. My first two games sucked horribly, and to be honest, I wasn't the happiest camper. I'm not a big fan of not being good at something (competitive much?), and I'm definitely not a fan of having a first-generation color TV tell me I'm not good at something. I think color TV might be stretching it... is there such thing as a blue-and-white TV?

The third game made up for my frustrating scores of 63 and 54... I bowled 5 strikes in a row. My competitive tendencies want to brag. But I will leave it at that.

The lane next to us was occupied by a couple of parents who brought four children to bowl. Have you ever watched children bowl? Generally speaking, there are three techniques children employ when bowling.

#1) The Demolisher: This is the kid who, despite the disproportion between the mass of child and that of the bowling ball, manages to run full speed and launch the ball in the direction of the pins--the child remains fixated on the ball (however slow it may be travelling), and awaits the glorious moment of impact the the child thrives on.

#2) The Hit and Run-er: This is the kid that approaches timidly, drops the ball at their feet (with hardly any forward momentum) and then runs away to hide behind mommy, not even interested in the end result. For them, the fun is in carrying a heavy object and then releasing it--who cares about knocking pins over.

#3) The Second-Thinker: Upon releasing the bowling ball, the child regrets the decision and chases the ball down the lane, learning the painful lesson of traction-less bowling lanes. This is usually a brief phase, and the kid will generally resort to one of the first two techniques mentioned after learning the startling lesson of traction (or lack thereof).

Adults approach bowling much differently. I will only go into one type, though. This is the type that believes there is still some shred of control over the bowling ball after release and display such belief through leaning left, kicking their leg out right, turning the head, crouching down, waving the hands... yes, somehow leaning to the left will make the ball go left.

It's rather ridiculous, yet a lot of people (including myself) do this. Absurd, really. I control the release with a specific target in mind, dislike the path the ball is taking, and then flail my body about as if I can somehow control it and change the course.

on the list

I went to open the door. It was locked. I waited for the lady standing on the other side of the door to open it.

She opened the door and looked at me, waiting for me to identify myself.

"I'm with Grand Rapids Magazine."

She looked down at her clipboard. Looked up. "And your name?"

"Cristina Stavro."

She looked down at her clipboard and then smiled as she highlighted my name, "Welcome Ms. Stavro." And with that, she led me through a second set of locked doors where I found myself in the company of three cameramen from local TV stations (and their respective anchorwomen), a reporter and photographer from Grand Rapids Press, and a handful of other people pulling together this Press Junket.

A large sign reading "Welcome Media!" stood next to a table where I was asked to pick up my badge. It was my Front of the House Press Pass, and my name was on it.

Matt Giraud, a singer who placed fifth on American Idol last season, was performing a concert later that night but was holding a Press Junket at 2:30 first. He's somewhat of a local guy (from Kalamazoo--hour away).

To be honest, I know nothing about American Idol... I've even stopped watching those first episodes you watch just to see the sucky people. What season are they on anyway... tenth? Twelfth? Anyway, never heard of this guy, but I still felt like this was a big deal.

And it was.

So he performed two songs for just the press, and then we all had time to sit with Matt and interview him.

I was pretty nervous for the interview. The three TV stations and the GR Press went before me, so I got to watch and listen in on what their interviews were like.

Something that caught my attention was the technology present at this junket. There were photographers and camera guys using their ipods to record snippets of the performance and interviews... snippets that would go on TV. There were the usual large video cameras, but I just couldn't get over this one guy using his ipod for one of the stations.

The interview went well, and this Matt guy was really nice, so that made it a bit easier.

I loved being on that list. It was sweet. And it was even cooler to have a badge and be able to say, "I'm so and so with blah blah blah." Cool stuff.

http://www.fox17online.com/news/

go here, scroll down to the video of the guy on the piano (its really big). watch it. i was right next to them when they were interviewing, and the shots of him playing for the piano in the jacket was his performance for us.

i personally thought they would edit out that lipstick part... but i guess they didn't.

small request

ever have the need to feel really small?

feeling surrounded in a really big hug, craning your neck at the foot of a mountain, experiencing the vertigo at the edge of a cliff, standing in a crowd of people you don't know in a place you've never been...

they are humbling moments, and i don't think they happen enough.

adventures outside the cubicle

the phone rang. it was the first time ever. i let it ring again. "operator" appeared on the phone screen. i picked it up mid third ring.

"this is cristina."

according to the voice on the other end, i had an audria on the line for me.

that's when it hit me. what do i say to that? what do i say to the operator? Do I say, "okay," or, "patch her through," or, "that's nice."

so I said "ya."

my phone rang a second time that day. this time i responded to the operator with a simple, "thank you."

I'm a seasoned pro at the telephone at work now. I've made plenty of outgoing phonecalls.

* * *

The same day of my first incoming calls, I made 4 ventures: 2 to the water cooler and 2 to the vending machine.

The water cooler was no problem--i had my cup, filled it up, walked back to my desk, and downed it.

Vending machine. That was a whole other beast. I was very self conscious about getting some good ol' fashioned candy out of the vending machine. I felt it would age me--oh look at her, she's just a young intern, her and her vending machine m&ms.

once the courage was mustered up, i quietly walked the 20 or so paces to the vending machine.

the dollar went in. then it was spit out. i jumped at how noisy the rejection was. i tried again. failed again. try. fail. the sound of the repeated fails at the vending machine was attracting to much attention so i hastily grabbed the dollar and shamefully walked back to my desk.

20 minutes later, the same exact thing happened.

interesting interim

back in GR and it's been a delight.

I had the house to myself when I got back, but couldn't handle being here alone at night--so I drove to Ohio and spent a couple of days with the roomie. I went skiing for the first time in forever, and it was AWESOME. I'm kind of in love with it. For those in California, skiing in the midwest may be a strange concept. After all, it is fairly flat out here, is it not? Well you know those stone quarries or refineries or whatever some of those things are that you can see off the freeways sometimes? Imagine those covered in snow, lined with a few ski lifts, and peppered with a couple hundred people. Not having grown up skiing in mountains like Mammoth or Mountain High, I don't really care. I rather enjoy the midwestern slopes.

I got the hang of it pretty fast... I ate it in the first 10 feet of my first run but skied successfully (not necessarily gracefully) the rest of the time. Apparently I stick my butt out when I ski, but it's something I can work on. Lindsey is little miss ski bunny. And her brother does tricks. They are my ski heroes.

. . .

The reason I say "interesting interim" is because I have found myself in somewhat of a different class than I thought I would be in. Children's literature--never had a desire to write it or pursue a career in, but I'll be studying it for the next three weeks. It should be interesting, and if anything improve writing skills.

. . .

The new year is upon us. 2010. I attended the Grand Rapids New Year's Eve bash downtown--concerts, food, contests, and our very own New York-esque ball drop. That final countdown--it's always interesting. There's all this hype leading up to midnight, but for me, the final minutes always seem to be the most depressing ones. I can never manage to focus on the positive stuff in those last moments of the year--and when midnight hits, I wince at the beginning of something I wasn't prepared to start.

There's no moment between the years, no time that lacks an ascribed year value. 2009 stops the moment 2010 begins, yet I don't feel any different. That's the worst part--everyone, including me, looks forward to starting something new (hence resolutions that last an average of 5 days). The new year means a new beginning, except at the moment just past midnight, everything feels exactly the same as two minutes before. Nothing changes except those last two digits when I write the date.

2009 was good to me, don't get me wrong. And I know someday New Years will be a lot more meaningful to me... just not yet. I hope yours weren't as anticlimactic as mine, and I hope you are looking forward to a fresh new year. Do something with it... I know I plan to.

habitat habits

funny how habits can persist despite location.

i went to throw a napkin away, so i walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboard beneath the sink to toss it in the trash can. nope, not there. i looked, feeling very perplexed and thinking to myself, who moved it? i found the trash can in the corner across the kitchen, still wondering why i had this feeling like it wasn't in its usual place. well, that would be because at my house in michigan, we believe in the dutch trash storage place beneath the sink.

even the operation of the microwave got me--why isn't it resuming when I close the door? ah, again, different. tap water? different. but it's been hilarious playing with my puppies and seeing the ol' sights of bellflower.

and how about those CBS commercials/PSAs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkuI4oU250s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4jbmAJ44Po

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fun9s4lsPI8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjLsQ4r5mbc&feature=related

don't think that's what i want for christmas (or want to give for christmas).

christmas will be here and gone before you know it--i hope all is well with all.

speakerphone.

exams are done, and even better, the semester is done. finally. it was a long and tedious semester. with no homework assignments hanging over my head, it's time to restart my mind and enjoy the little bit of nothingness ahead of me.

i'm at the airport now. i always have a hard time leaving GR, even if it's just for 10 days like the trip i am headed on now. nonetheless, i love airports. more so than that, i love people in airports. for example, the lady flight attendant sitting 30 yards away for me. She finds it socially acceptable to check her messages and make phone calls on speaker phone. is it that hard to hold a phone to your ear? "to hear your messages, press 1." well, "to have your face punched in, keep using speakerphone." it just doesn't make any sense. seriously--speakerphone; for the past 30 minutes--and for the past 20, it's just been her checking flights through an automated system. i'm not exaggerating.

at the grand rapids airport, it doesn't take long at all to get through security... especially when you have a flight at a B gate, as i did today. i was the only one around as i went through security. the guy helping at the xray pulled out my guitar (that i'm bringing it home for my mother) and began to play it. he then told me about his gig last night. he's 76 years old. true story.

one more... there's this guy who's sitting across from me. he's reading--pretty normal. but instead of his eye's moving to scan the text, he moves his entire head back and forth. you know when a cartoon character eats corn like a typewriter? ya, like that, only it's a human reading. i can almost hear the "ding" before he heads back to the beginning of the next line. and by the looks of it, he's a fast reader.

i'd like to give a little shout-out to someone who represents 1/3rd of my readership. roomie--there is a lady wearing a bedazzled space boot. no joke. you should try that.

Catching On

I see that people are catching on. In honor of that, I will let y'all in on the studying adventures as of late.

Last night, Lindsey and I went to a coffee shop in GR called Wired. With lots of studying/cramming to do, Wired had what we needed: food and caffeine, available 24-hours a day. We ended up staying there until 2AM... and to let you in on the experience, here are a series of text messages that I received from Lindsey (who was sitting 10 feet away, supposedly studying) describing the other people in the coffee shop at such an absurd hour:

"I think those three women are wiccans... the black clothes and hats and being up freakishly late. Mostly i think it's the hats."

"And why in the world is this couple awake? My theory... he wanted to get freaky and she said 'no! lets go do something.' That's how it always happens."

"The guy by the window had to get some fresh air. The mold from his mom's basement is really affecting his respiratory system."

"And the lone man in the middle of the shop... he is attempting to complete an assignment for an online class. He hopes that if he can get a better job, he can start wearing some age-appropriate shoes."

For the record, Lindsey--who is very sensitive to caffeine--was on her second caffeinated drink of the day. And of course, I had to do my best to keep my chuckles to myself. Needless to say, studying was accomplished to a certain extent and the exams we were studying for are done and over with.

No Cups.

One of the reasons i stopped posting was the overwhelming feeling that I had nothing to talk about--i got sick of writing about what was going on. It didn't feel like anything too exciting was happening, therefore there wasn't anything to exciting to write about.

But this new internship that I've been a part of for a few weeks now--this is an exciting experience. I've been thrown in to the cubicle culture. As an intern at Grand Rapids Magazine, I go in twice a week. Cubicles and business dress are the newest things for me. It might just be me, but I think the cubicle walls are extraordinarily high. I have no idea who my neighbors are. I know they have voices... voices and fingers, cause i hear their fingers typing away--in fact, I made a game out of trying to guess male or female based on what the typing sounded like. I still haven't seen my neighbors, so i can't say how accurate I am. Other than voices and fingers, my neighbors have no other known characteristics; maybe they have faces? Bodies?
And it's so quiet on the main floor that I'm afraid to move let alone sniffle or cough. This mentality made my having hiccups last tuesday rather stressful.
I tend to stay in my cubicle--but in my second week, I made the trek to the water cooler. What a proud moment as I turned the corner and had the cooler in sight--though it was rather anticlimactic because nobody was standing around the cooler chatting up some company gossip. Even more disappointing was the realization that there were no cups; back to the cubicle. As pointless as the trip was, it was still a thrill. Next time I'll bring a cup with me.

it's baaaaack.

if you are reading this, you have probably figured out the hint that i am getting back on blogger.

i don't know why i decided to take such a long break from it. part of it was the fact that i wanted to actually write stuff down rather than type it out. another part of it was that i was just plain old lazy.

either way, i apologize for those of you who actually read my stuff. i've missed it a bit, and hopefully i can get back in the swing of things pretty quickly. let us begin with a little post.

blizzard conditions outside right now. all this snow is great--i made my first snow man, though it was more of a snow woman, what with the snow bosoms and all. classes are finally done for me, and i am preparing for exam week. actually, in all honesty, i am taking a few days off--exam preparation will start on saturday or sunday.
living off-campus is great. all grown-up, doing chores, paying bills, fixing stuff... that's life right now. i'm in one of those spots again where i can't help but grin when i realize where i am. for that, i am thankful.
a little more leisure will be mixed in to that once interim rolls around. ice skating and sledding are top on my list of fun stuff to do that i've never really done or haven't done so in a while.

i hope all is well with everyone.

the bike's big day out

though i risk being cliche, i feel it is acceptable to start this way:

one old 1974 schwinn twinn deluxe tandem bicycle in need of repair, found on craigslist: $100
two bolts, two washers: $3
a day of cleaning and spiffing up: 4 hours
seat clamp, brake assembly, pedal synchronization, and full tune-up: $50
the bike's first big ride to reed's lake: absolutely priceless

this past friday, May 1, my schwinn twinn deluxe tandem bicycle, built in 1974, came home from the bike shop, ready to ride. a few short trips around the dorm with a few of my friends showed just how awesome this bike was going to be. but saturday was the big day--we were all going to ride our bikes around reed's lake and to jersey junction ice cream, and my roomie and i were going to ride in style on the tandem.

i tell ya, the moment we get this bike going, the fun begins. getting the bike going takes a bit of time and communication--that was a big reason that once we started, we really didn't like to stop... so we would slow down and risk falling over in order to not stop. the potholes (which, some of you may know) are numerous this time of year... those weren't too kind on our ride. this bike is great, though. with me in the front seat and my roommate in the back, it was non-stop laughter all the way. ya, we may have needed a quarter-mile warning for when we would need to stop in order to be able to brake in time, but that just added to the fun. we had a hard time keeping up with the other road bikes, but one of our friends, andrew, stayed back and enjoyed the scenic ride with us. it was a BEAUTIFUL day... perfect for a bike ride... perfect for a tandem bike ride.
we started to feel like pros on this bike (who is yet to be named), so we dared to change gears (yes! this thing has multiple gears!). that's where trouble kicked in. i reached in front of me to try changing to a lower gear... that's when a series of loud noises, me laughing and screaming, my roommate screaming and laughing and then... "stop!" andrew was telling us to stop... so we started braking, and then a minute later finally came to a stop. we looked down, and there lay the bike chain, dangling from the gear. a link had snapped, and our chain was broken!!!
our first big ride, and we're going to have to walk the bike? no way! so we sat there and checked out the damage. it was nothing we could fix. my cycling-friend carolyn came back to where we were to see what was up. so the four of us sat there, tinkering with the chain. luckily we still had the link, it just was impossible to connect... until...
a silver honda cr-v pulled up next to us to see what was up. turns out, he lived right down the street and was this cycling guy... he had tools that could fix it! so he ran home to get his stuff, came back, and put our chain back together!!!
it was amazing. so after a little break, we hopped on the blue tandem once again to finish up the ride to jersey junction.
the ride went smoothly (figuratively speaking... remember, potholes) and we got a lot of fun looks and smiles... especially because my roomie realized there was no need for her hands to be on the handle bars... hence she could do many things while we biked along--put a sweatshirt on, wave to people, eat ice cream, take pictures, fly, sing... yes, many possiblities as the back rider of a tandem.

so, yes... good times on the bike... and i'm looking forward to many more... many many more.

dorm banquet and fiesta

yo
check out the new pics!!! just click on the pics/link to the left and it should take you to the new gallery.
these are pics from our dorm banquet and a little fiesta we had the next day (some friends and i made burritos).
i hope all is well!