fall days

I love fall so much!  It is my favorite, favorite, favorite season.  Everything perfect happens in fall:  It's a new school year, fall rowing season is so much fun (Head of the Charles), Halloween, Thanksgiving, and New England is beautiful in the fall.  Actually, even Pittsburgh wasn't too bad in the fall.  But Boston's really something else in October.  

Oh right, then there's fall clothes. Revamping my wardrobe for back to school is possibly my favorite activity ever.  There's going to be more and more polyvore sets preparing for this (yes, I know it's not July yet) Anyway, a lot of stuff here is from crewcuts or gapkids because 1) I'm mini sized and 2) sometimes shopping in the kids department drives the price down.  

tulle skirt, boatneck shirt, pink glasses: crewcuts. 

jacket: gap kids

Superga sneakers- DYING for a pair of these

I think the scarfs and the tights are from topshop, the messenger bag is from Columbia Sportswear and the hand cream is L'occitane.  Which I use to keep my hands from cracking and bleeding.  Coxswain problems.  Also, this is a special edition that benefits a charity that prevents illnesses that cause blindness in poor countries.  

More fall sets to come (prepare yourselves!!!!)

Harry Parker

Harry Parker, is pretty much the Joe Paterno of crew.
Regardless of Penn State Scandals, Joe Paterno was pretty much the MAN.
I'm from Pennsylvania, so I kind of know this stuff.

Well, Harry Parker is pretty much the Joe Paterno of crew. He was the Harvard mens heavyweight coach, and basically he made them rock. Basically, he's a really, really big deal.  Rowing would definitely not be the sport it is today without this guy.
He passed away on the 25th.  So this is just a quick post to say Rest in Peace, Mr. Harry Parker.

http://www.boston.com/sports/outdoors/2013/06/25/harvard-harry-parker-dean-american-crew-coaches-dies/ynUnm6SY8mLrjRIszNZ6lO/story.html
post from Boston.com about Harry Parker- it's a good one.  

WHO'S In Charge Here?

WHO'S In Charge Here? by emmier featuring v neck tops

So, this charming little set here is my assortment of coxing gear for summer.  Coxing gear for summer is basically the same as coxing gear any other time, minus the  zillion layers, plus sunscreen.  I know this is summer,  but I HATE wearing shorts.  The older I get the less I like them.  Maybe because my legs looked normal when I was ten, but now I still have ten year old legs on a 20 year old body- well... ten year old legs on a fourteen year old body with an eight year old brain.  Haha, just kidding.  But sometimes.  SO even though it's summer, I'm wearing sweatpants or leggings whenever I can get away with it which is fairly often, because I cox early in the morning or in the evening. I think a capri length sweatpant or leggings satisfies summer weather requirements, while also not being shorts.  These ones are from areopostale.

A bunch of pens or permanent markers are a neccesity.  I say a bunch, because believe me, you will lose all of them by the end of the season.  Other must-haves are a sox hat, sports tape, and bandaids.  I also carry a neosporin spray with me.  Basically, a first aid kit.  My adjustable wrench is basically my prized possession.  Weird?  No- it's normal, I'm a coxswain.   Sunglasses are definitely needed for summer coxing.  I need a better pair!  Sometimes I get a major glare in mine and can't see where I'm going for a few seconds.  Obviously, a light t-shirt is the best for a warmer day, and a fleecey shirt to keep warm.  (Don't judge.  It's cold on the water in the morning.)  Flip flops, so I can get away with it.  

Also, this notebook is pretty perfect for a coxswain, especially one with an attitude and a sense of humor.  My underarmour string bag to shove everything in, and of course, a cox box (duh).  

This is for practice.  Packing for regattas is different and, for me at least, way more involved.  

Consider this my back to school must haves list.  

What?  School supplies? 

What do you guys think I do with my time?  Homework??

ttyl

-E 

Lazy Days of Summer??

4 am: wake up, eat something, anything that will give me energy for practice, throw bag together, leave for practice

5:15- 7:15 am: coxing for team #1. Manage to not embarrass myself missing the dock today.  YAY!

7:45 am- Dunkin Donuts coffee run

8:00 am- get home, feed dog, read for 15 min

8:15 am- fall asleep on the couch

11:00 am- alarm goes off, get up.

11:15  am- power lunch.  By which I mean, power through 2 egg sandwiches.  Today we do not watch our diet.  Today is about getting energy levels UP.  back to low cal. tomorrow.

11:30am: check email

12:15 pm: walk over to meet the boys at school

12:30- 5:00pm: babysitting
5:00 pm: get in the car, drive across the city for practice
6:15-8:15pm: coxing for team #2  
9:00pm get home, shower, change, take dog out, light dinner, collapse

On the bright side, my schedule for tomorrow is...
NOTHING!!!!!  not even one little measly hour of coxing.  
I am going to sleep.  And read.  And maybe do yoga, but no promises.  

Letters to Katie

Hi guys,

If you can't find me lately, there's a reason.
I'll still try to update, which should be fairly easy, since it's the middle of summer and all, but if posting slows way down during the school year.
Here's why:
I've got a tumblr.
Wait- relax.  It's not what it sounds like.
http://thedearkatiediary.tumblr.com

It's a good cause.
Please check it out when you have time.

I'm Not a Wallflower, I'm a Cultural Anthropologist

Alternative Title: Blending
Alternative Title: What I Learned in High School

So, I've been in college about two years now.  Give or take a few semesters here and there (hey, I told you I had a rocky start)and you know how everyone always says college is such a great learning experience? 
It's true. 
But not really in the ways you might think.  I've learned a lot more about myself than I have about any academic subject.  One thing I've picked up on about myself is that, almost subconsciously, I take on traits of the people around me.  Ok, not all traits of the people around me.  My basic personality stays the same, but I do tend to pick up style of dressing, eating habits, mannerisms... those sorts of things.  And I know it sounds far fetched but, I really don't realize I'm doing it.  When I first realized I was doing it, it drove me INSANE.  I was so mad at myself.  Why couldn't I just find some way of talking or dressing that was totally me?  Being a naturally shy person, I think my instinct is to just blend.  In fact, I've become so good at blending that I don't realize I'm doing it.  Believe me, grade school taught me to blend the hard way.  Nowadays when I realize I'm wearing the exact same thing as five other girls in my class, or words just came out of my mouth that sounded like my sisters, I chalk it up to cultural anthropology.  I'm practicing participant observation.  
Whether I'm blending in with the other students, or blending in with a wall in the background, I know I'm different. I just don't want to be noticed.  Not now, anyway.  Believe me, you'll know when I want to be noticed.   

A good way to not be noticed is to borrow oversized beige clothes from your mom

25 Things I Like

Alternative Title: 25 Reasons I Don't Have a Boyfriend

I would like to forward this post to everyone in my family, and everyone who's ever asked me why I don't have a boyfriend, even though most of these groups are the same people.  

1:Folksy girl bands i.e: Meg and Dia
2: Southern California boy rock groups.  IE, Jack's Mannequin, Phantom Planet, basically anything that ended up on the OC
3: Not dressing up
4: Not dealing with my hair which is far too curly to even look at most days
5: Not talking to people. 
6: I like big books and I cannot lie
7: I also like yoga
8: Pre-mega fame Zooey Deschanel
9: Actually, pretty much any era Zooey Deschanel
10: Subsisting on sporadic handfuls of candy throughout the day. 24/7
11: making loopy little sketches with my colored pencils
12: Talking to my dog.  
13: Crew.  You might think this obsession with a sport would get me a boyfriend, but obviously you have no idea how crew works.  It requires all my time to cox, and basically I love crew more than I could ever love a boy, anyway.  
14:Broadway
15: Wearing mom jeans. Or man jeans.  Basically, they must be huge. 
16: Random movies that no one has ever heard of.  I make my mother watch them and she pretty much hates me for it.
17: Talking in a fake Scottish accent.  
18: Basically being Princess Merida from Brave
19: Being snarkcastic.  Work that one out for yourself
20: Not going out.  I do not like large groups of people, especially if I don't know anybody!  I like to go to parties only if I know every single person there.
21: drinking excessive amounts of coffee
22: wearing my pajamas all day
23: Singing really terribly with my headphones in and dancing really terribly with my eyes closed at the same time.  Also, thinking I am dancing and singing amazingly when I am not
24: Avoiding my sisters
25: Sleep

For additional information, please refer to this article, http://hellogiggles.com/avoiding-awkward-situations-branding-yourself

Greatest Movie Ever

So, confession.  I have a lot of trouble watching movies.  The three second attention span, really kills me.  I get so bored during most movies.  So if I like a movie, I consider that a sign that it's a great movie. It's a rainy moody night here in Boston, and this is the perfect movie for it. 

If you have Netflix, you need to watch this movie ASAP.  It is perfection. Don't be put off by the beginning, it all becomes clear.  Also, please brace yourself if you're a cat lover.
Basically, it's about this girl (Zooey Deschanel. Yes, I know, she's adorable but personally I like edgy indie Zooey the best) who is an actress.  Her Mom and Dad were both famous authors.  A book agent offers her a lot of money to find some love letters that her mom and dad wrote.  So, she packs up, leaves New York, and goes to Michigan.  That's when the movie starts.  I'll try not to give too much away, but she meets two people who have moved in with her dad as roommates, one of them being Will Ferrell.  She finds out a lot about her parents in the process, and though it might sound like much of a plot, I promise, this movie is FANTASTIC.  And  Zooey is amazing.  Yes.  Obviously, we're on first name terms.

Also, it has possibly the greatest soundtrack ever.  Except for maybe Once.

And that, folks, is how an indie movie is DONE.

-E

ps: If you're a RENT fan, Anthony Rapp (Mark) shows up briefly in one scene and it's written/directed by his brother!

BFFs

So Emily is visiting me this week!   Emily is my  oldest and bestest friend.  We've been all over Boston so far!  This is us on the T on our way back home after lunch.  Ignore how totally washed out and weird  my hair line looks here.  #gingerproblems. 

 I do not photograph well, in other words.

we stopped at a pub, after my mid-term on Wednesday to absorb the Boston experience and get dinner. And by dinner, I mean fries.  I don't really like greasy food that much.  That's not to say that I'm super healthy, that's just to say that I prefer sweet treats.  so mostly I went for the hang-out.  

Again on the T.  It was raining like crazy all day today.  I'm wearing the bright green socks and wellies, and E is wearing my duck boots.  I'm glad I have so much rain gear, thanks to crew, or I would never be able to survive Boston weather.  

In other news, I am dying for an Iphone.   I used E's Iphone to take all these pictures and I am dying-dying! for an iPhone. I took so many pictures, just while we were on the T.   Maybe she can just stay in Boston forever and I can use her iPhone for pictures whenever the need arises.  I could settle for that.

TTYL,

-Emme

Home= Boston

So I had to go to Pittsburgh this weekend to get a few things in order.  Mostly, throwing out old junk that has been in my room since middle school.
Last summer, going to Pittsburgh after 6 months in Boston felt fantastic.  Like I could just relax and let loose.

I did not feel that way at ALL this time, and I was only home for two days.  I could not stop crying and fighting with my parents all weekend until I got back to Boston and unlocked the front door.

And rough of a weekend as that was, I'm home now.  I guess what my brain was trying to tell me is that Boston is home now, and there's no where else I'd rather be. (Or even want to be).
Boston= Home.
Home= Boston.
It's as simple as that.
Also,  I feel like this quote, from Pinterest sums up how I feel about moving to Boston.

ps.  I'm totally staying in Boston after college, if you couldn't tell. 

ttyl

-Emme