Hemingway

Farewell to Arms is possibly my favorite book ever.  Ever.  I'm not exactly sure why, because, in true Hemingway fashion, the story is both plotless and depressing.  Still, I love it.  
I think it's just the words.  
How Hemingway gets every little possible impact out of every little possible word he uses, which, usually aren't a lot.  To be honest, I would have to say I read Hemingway more for the cadence of his stories than their actual plotlines. 
Oh.
Excuse me. 
My nerd is showing.  
The easiest way to summarize this is as follows
Life is rough. 
In my mind, Hemingway comes the closest of any author to approximating this without overdoing it.  

End. 
I'm a nerd. 
ttyl

-Emme

Top Knot, Topsiders

So in other news, let's talk about clothes. 

I always get this raging paranoia that I'm going to get penalized, or something because the NCAA prohibits blogging about sports. 

I'm pretty sure they don't mean mentioning your practice offhand or anything, but I'm still paranoid. 

I talk about crew, but the way I do it, I'm pretty sure the NCAA doesn't give a flying rats behind about.  

I like to talk a lot about style though, just to make it clear that this is most definitely not a sports/rowing blog. 

It's just a blog by a girl who happens to be a coxswain.  

If you've seen my twitter, that's more sports related than this. 

No, really. 

Anyway, team dinner tonight.

I've actually changed out of my yoga pants. 

Please, alert the press.

you have no idea how hard it is to take your own photo with a laptop.  Never mind looking decent in it!  as you can tell I gave up on that pursuit

Outfit details

T-shirt: Jcrew, perfect fit.  I really like to get these tees or two sizes up, because they're literally the most comfy thing in the world.  

skinny jeans: Here's to all my other coxswains out there.  The brand for these jeans is Cherokee, they're from Target- children's section.  

Not juniors. 

Kids. 

At least i bought them from the girl's section, for once. 

They're insanely comfortable, and if you buy them a size up (this seems to be the theme of my post) they fit like straight-leg jeans instead of jeggings.  I have one in the right size and one a size too big, so I alternate depending on the rest of the outfit. 

Sperry Topsiders- I cannot talk enough about how much I love these shoes.  I got them last summer at Nordstrom's, and they literally melded to my feet.  It's like walking on a cloud.  

Sunglasses: Literally bought these last weekend at CVS.  Normally I only wear aviators, but I'm really liking these and their faux- Ray Ban-ness. 

Better picture of the sunglasses and topknot... sort of.

I know, I know, my skin is throwing a hissy fit. 

ah, such is the nature of finals.  

ttyl

-Emme

Desperate Measures

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  Desperate measures call for vanilla oreos

Finance Final tomorrow.  Hopefully, I'll survive.

Coxswain Recovery System

Today was BRUTAL.  Not workout-wise (although, for my girls it was) I had a good practice, steering and otherwise.  We went upstream which, is the most fun a person can have on the Charles, fyi.  Making the tight turns around Weeks and Eliot are such a thrill.
But the weather?
Forget about it!

It was cold.  And rainy.  Not normal rain, just misty sheets of rain.  And windy.

And did I mention it was cold?  

Yours truly has a terrible cold tolerance.  (And not a very good tolerance for heat either.   In my perfect world it would be 60-75 degrees and sunny all day everyday).  So naturally, I go to crew, cox, and am overjoyed to be coxing upstream, walk the 20 min back, go to breakfast, shower, go to class, I finished class around 2:00, got back to my room, and nearly died.  It was clearly time for some drastic measures.  So, without further ado, I present to you the coxswain recovery system!  It's a scientific method.  

So, even though I've been off the water since 8:30 this morning, I'm still chilly and tired.  The first thing I do when I go back to my room, after a brief clean up, is blow off some stress.  I'm pretty sure yoga should be required for all coxswains- no wait, all people. Ever.  I am carrying around a lot of tension, and yoga is one of the ways I get some of it out.  Plus, hey, a little exercise never hurt anybody.  

a baseball tee  and leggings are my go to done-with-class-for-the-day look, and considering the rain outside, my mum's old duck boots from 1970 are definitely the best choice.  They're way more worn out then the one's in the Polyvore set, and hence by New England Logic, better.  

The fleece lined  bean flannel is possibly the single greatest item I own.  It is from llbean, but it's not made for women, so you have to buy XXS.  They'll still be too big though which is fine because you can wear more layers underneath it.  Let me tell you, this is the single warmest cosiest piece of clothing ever.  I literally wore it as a jacket this morning and didn't get cold.  It's also, paradoxically, not to hot to lounge in inside if you're wearing a tee underneath and solves the what-if-my-t-shirt-doesn't-go-to-the-top-of-my-leggings-dilemma.  

Tea at a time like this, is an absolute neccesity.  I like Numi Jasmine Green which is amazing and available at any grocery store.  Even my sister who doesn't like Green tea says that it tastes really good.  it doesn't taste grassy like a lot of green tea because a lot of the taste comes from the jasmine.  Believe me.  This stuff is GOOD. 

Carmex and Aveeno- I have really dry skin.  My face can get so chapped from coxing that it literally feels like my mouth might fall off.  I use carmex because it's the most heavy-duty stuff I can find, but really, I'll use any lip balm.  Aveeno is my favorite moisturizer for body because I think the oatmeal-y scent is really calming, and likewise with yoga, I really need to calm down after practice!  Especially today.  Could the river have been more congested?  Ok, actually a lot of the congestion was from my team, but still guys, come on! 

L'occitane- my friend got me this hand cream for Christmas and I cary it around with me, because, once again, I don't want my skin to fall off.  Seriously.  Cold + windburn= no. Also it's fancy as heck, so I feel really posh. 

and, last but certainly not least 

The Other Boleyn Girl- Which I am currently reading for the billionth time.  Because 1: I'm a history major and 2: this is totally applicable to my life, anyway.  

anyway, if you need me...

April Showers

Rough

I've been having a rough couple of months, lately.  I lost one of my closest friends to suicide.  I've been having trouble getting myself to focus on schoolwork and crew, since I wasn't able to make it home for the funeral, I feel like I haven't properly mourned or acknowledged her death.
To me, things feel strange and numb and not entirely real.

Combined with the events of Monday in Boston, which have really hit home and shaken up a lot of people, I'm not feeling so good.
Not because I'm shaken up by the events, but rather the opposite.
I'm not shaken up at all.
It seems normal to me.
As if death has become so common, that I'm not even going to get upset.  I've been dealing with a lot of loss lately, I guess.
My grandparents all died within a few years of each other except for my grandmother who's fairly ill as it is.  I lost my childhood dog a few years ago, and now, I've unexpectedly lost one of my best friends.
On top of which, I've become so used to bombings and school shootings in the news that this news seems like nothing new at all.
So yes, I've been having a rough semester.
I'll be happy when it's over and I'll be able to grieve.  
4 more weeks.

-E 

Dear Boston

Dear Boston,
I love you.
That is all.

-Emme