So I've pretty much destroyed my back, probably from exercise. Yesterday, after trying to rest it, my back just gave up. At work I could hardly move around. Then I got home and it got worse. Saw a doctor who gave me prescription Aleve (same active ingredient), but that didn't work. This morning I went back and got more meds and an x-ray (I get the results back tomorrow). My coworker Sabrina has been wonderful -- her dad's a pain doctor (rated #1 in NYC!), and he got me these great local anesthetic patches. She dropped them off for me today as I didn't go into work, but I plan to go back tomorrow. Boris has been helpful too. He's helped me every step of the way -- pulling me up when I couldn't stand, helping me pick up things, etc. He's been awesome.
The first doctor I went to last night, I waited 2 hours and was seen for 5 min and left with an ineffective prescription. The second one, I got a more thorough exam, better meds, and an x-ray. She was quite helpful, but again being first when it opened up, I waited for over an hour. Moral of the story? Don't get hurt in Brooklyn.
I'm in the process of planning a dinner party with my friend Roxanne. She's really into it, and she's getting me pretty excited about it. It's fun! We're inviting 16 others over, and hoping for around a 15 person party (including the two of us). So all's relatively well, outside of my (now improving probably due to the massive meds) back.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Office Life
I left work early today because Dad was in town. We went to the Jewish Museum and talked. Meanwhile, my coworker Sabrina (who has been there since the beginning with me), suffered with our two other co-workers. Here is an email she sent me after work:
Max is driving me crazzy!!! He is drinking a pink coolatta and being himself....ahhhhh. I realize that I only find him amusing when you are here. When you are gone, he is simply annoying.
He keeps saying out loud what he is doing...... now he is dancing...and is asking me if I have seen Indian dancing in movies.
Now he is explaining how NYC has multiple area codes to Olivia.
Max: Supervisor at eastchester dot org
Max: that is no fun we spelled the name of the city wrong.
Max: Are my teeth all red?
Me: Yes (they aren't)
Max 2 minutes later: Are my teeth all red?
Me: Yes (they still aren't) and your mouth is all red too (it is not)
Max 3 minutes later: I can't believe my teeth are all red.
Max 2 minutes later: Olivia, are my teeth all red?
Olivia: No
Max angrily: Sabrina, why did you lie to me?
I just laugh.
Max: They ended their day at 3.
Max: That is funny. I am laughing.
Max: Colavida. There is a guy named Colavida.
Max: I have that. I have that. I have that. I have that. I have that.
Max: Will you help me find the town of Glenville. Wouldn't you like to go there with me Sabrina?
Olivia: You don't want to go to Glenville except there is a great restaurant there: The Water Edge lighthouse.
Max: Is there actually water there?
Olivia: Yes.
Max: What type of food do they serve?
Olivia: uh, ah, um....I'm not really sure
Max: Of the two pages I was originally assigned I am done.
Olivia: really.
Max: Yes, except now I have to do another one because of Josh. (He made me give him your sheet because he said he had to do it).
Max keeps playing with his little toy and looks bemused.
I laugh.
Max: What are you laughing at?
I can no longer see him. He is on top of Olivia.
Max: Which subway did you take to Coney Island?
Olivia: the Q
I am laughing
Max: Why are you laughing Sabrina? You need to take things more seriously.
Max 2 minutes later: Wow we all took trains to Coney Island.
Max to me: Why are you laughing? You be quiet.
Max to me: I don't appreciate your backsass
Max: Sabrina, do you want to live in the city of Co-hoes?
Josh corrects him and says that it is not pronounced in that manner.
Max: Why is it not pronounced Co-hoes?
Josh: Please try to elevate your discourse Max.
Max: I am so funny.
Max: No I am not.
Max: Why do you keep laughing Sabrina.
Me: I am bringing joy to the office Max.
Max: I like to question your joy. I wonder about your joy.
Max: Did you totally karate chop your list?
Max: Did you spend like years doing your handwriting.
Max: di da di dir dir dir dir dir dir dir
Max: Oh Sabrina, Sabrina, Sabrina, Sabrina.
Max is now staring at me. He won't stop. I am getting a little freaked out.
Max: The City of New Roch-elle.
Max: You're so vain.
Max: New Rock. There are people I know that go to that high school and they call it New Rock.
Max: What a good looking fella the Mayor is. Look at his photo.
Max to Olivia: How far away are you from Rye? How far away are you from New Rock? Are you near the Hudson?
Max: Would you go to playland a lot Olivia?
Olivia: yeah.
Max is coming towards me. He goes to the pencil sharpener. He sharpens his pencil and pretends to throw it at me and says: now I can throw it at you like a lazer.
Max: blade, lazer, blazer
Max: Bet you think this song is about you.
Max: Daniel J. Deliah
Max: This is such a bad website. There is nothing on it.
Max: it is just so bad.
Max turns to Olivia: The town of Princetown, hahahaha
Max: We must find Steve Motis.
Me: Max, if you could be a bird what bird would you be?
Max: an eagle because it has big wings and it has white hair.
Max: he looks like JFK.
Me: Max, if you could be any drink what drink would you be?
Max: a mojito, everyone loves mojitos.
Max: The City of Troy.
Max: Ok, this has to be wrong. I don't like it. I don't approve.
Max: I hear you laughing Sabrina and I don't like it.
Max: Oh Sabrina, Sabrina, Sabrina, Sabrina. That is your name.
Max while raising his hands in the air: Raise the roof, raise the roof, raise the roof. I am done.
Max: Apparently I am very popular. I got a lot of emails today. A lot. So much that I had to kill people to get them to stop sending me email.
Max: Apparently we need magenta toner.
Max: Did I just get more mail from more people.
Max sticks a pencil in his ear.
Max: It is time to shut down.
Max grabs his book and gives me a weird smirk. Now he is prentending he has a beard.
Max: Did Josh turn off his computer?
He touches your stuff.
Me: Yes, don't touch his stuff.
Max calls me and tells me to come over. I tell him I can't and he says fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine.
With that I am out of here.
Sabrina
Max is driving me crazzy!!! He is drinking a pink coolatta and being himself....ahhhhh. I realize that I only find him amusing when you are here. When you are gone, he is simply annoying.
He keeps saying out loud what he is doing...... now he is dancing...and is asking me if I have seen Indian dancing in movies.
Now he is explaining how NYC has multiple area codes to Olivia.
Max: Supervisor at eastchester dot org
Max: that is no fun we spelled the name of the city wrong.
Max: Are my teeth all red?
Me: Yes (they aren't)
Max 2 minutes later: Are my teeth all red?
Me: Yes (they still aren't) and your mouth is all red too (it is not)
Max 3 minutes later: I can't believe my teeth are all red.
Max 2 minutes later: Olivia, are my teeth all red?
Olivia: No
Max angrily: Sabrina, why did you lie to me?
I just laugh.
Max: They ended their day at 3.
Max: That is funny. I am laughing.
Max: Colavida. There is a guy named Colavida.
Max: I have that. I have that. I have that. I have that. I have that.
Max: Will you help me find the town of Glenville. Wouldn't you like to go there with me Sabrina?
Olivia: You don't want to go to Glenville except there is a great restaurant there: The Water Edge lighthouse.
Max: Is there actually water there?
Olivia: Yes.
Max: What type of food do they serve?
Olivia: uh, ah, um....I'm not really sure
Max: Of the two pages I was originally assigned I am done.
Olivia: really.
Max: Yes, except now I have to do another one because of Josh. (He made me give him your sheet because he said he had to do it).
Max keeps playing with his little toy and looks bemused.
I laugh.
Max: What are you laughing at?
I can no longer see him. He is on top of Olivia.
Max: Which subway did you take to Coney Island?
Olivia: the Q
I am laughing
Max: Why are you laughing Sabrina? You need to take things more seriously.
Max 2 minutes later: Wow we all took trains to Coney Island.
Max to me: Why are you laughing? You be quiet.
Max to me: I don't appreciate your backsass
Max: Sabrina, do you want to live in the city of Co-hoes?
Josh corrects him and says that it is not pronounced in that manner.
Max: Why is it not pronounced Co-hoes?
Josh: Please try to elevate your discourse Max.
Max: I am so funny.
Max: No I am not.
Max: Why do you keep laughing Sabrina.
Me: I am bringing joy to the office Max.
Max: I like to question your joy. I wonder about your joy.
Max: Did you totally karate chop your list?
Max: Did you spend like years doing your handwriting.
Max: di da di dir dir dir dir dir dir dir
Max: Oh Sabrina, Sabrina, Sabrina, Sabrina.
Max is now staring at me. He won't stop. I am getting a little freaked out.
Max: The City of New Roch-elle.
Max: You're so vain.
Max: New Rock. There are people I know that go to that high school and they call it New Rock.
Max: What a good looking fella the Mayor is. Look at his photo.
Max to Olivia: How far away are you from Rye? How far away are you from New Rock? Are you near the Hudson?
Max: Would you go to playland a lot Olivia?
Olivia: yeah.
Max is coming towards me. He goes to the pencil sharpener. He sharpens his pencil and pretends to throw it at me and says: now I can throw it at you like a lazer.
Max: blade, lazer, blazer
Max: Bet you think this song is about you.
Max: Daniel J. Deliah
Max: This is such a bad website. There is nothing on it.
Max: it is just so bad.
Max turns to Olivia: The town of Princetown, hahahaha
Max: We must find Steve Motis.
Me: Max, if you could be a bird what bird would you be?
Max: an eagle because it has big wings and it has white hair.
Max: he looks like JFK.
Me: Max, if you could be any drink what drink would you be?
Max: a mojito, everyone loves mojitos.
Max: The City of Troy.
Max: Ok, this has to be wrong. I don't like it. I don't approve.
Max: I hear you laughing Sabrina and I don't like it.
Max: Oh Sabrina, Sabrina, Sabrina, Sabrina. That is your name.
Max while raising his hands in the air: Raise the roof, raise the roof, raise the roof. I am done.
Max: Apparently I am very popular. I got a lot of emails today. A lot. So much that I had to kill people to get them to stop sending me email.
Max: Apparently we need magenta toner.
Max: Did I just get more mail from more people.
Max sticks a pencil in his ear.
Max: It is time to shut down.
Max grabs his book and gives me a weird smirk. Now he is prentending he has a beard.
Max: Did Josh turn off his computer?
He touches your stuff.
Me: Yes, don't touch his stuff.
Max calls me and tells me to come over. I tell him I can't and he says fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine.
With that I am out of here.
Sabrina
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Longer post coming eventually
A quick update:
Another coworker joined in. She seems nice, but so far she's provided very little entertainment/personality. Hope she opens up soon.
Going to the mermaid parade today. May or may not see a few people around (including but not limited to brother Ben, who is visiting).
Hung out with frat bro Andrew the other day. It was fun.
Very little is going on. Still thinking about quitting. Aunt Ruth is checking out options for me working at her museum. I don't know if it'd be more interesting or not, but she says there are ~10 interns. Significantly more than the 3 others at the League.
Expect a bigger update soon enough.
Another coworker joined in. She seems nice, but so far she's provided very little entertainment/personality. Hope she opens up soon.
Going to the mermaid parade today. May or may not see a few people around (including but not limited to brother Ben, who is visiting).
Hung out with frat bro Andrew the other day. It was fun.
Very little is going on. Still thinking about quitting. Aunt Ruth is checking out options for me working at her museum. I don't know if it'd be more interesting or not, but she says there are ~10 interns. Significantly more than the 3 others at the League.
Expect a bigger update soon enough.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Okay, time for an update.
Okay, I've been alerted to the fact that I've pretty much abandoned this blog and I should update. Things I've been doing as of recent:
1) Enjoying my job more. A new intern started on Thursday, and though he's an annoying dick, he makes life interesting. He does dumb, obnoxious things such as watches me do work instead of doing his own, making me do mine and his (he's supposed to be taking over half of my large project of calling hundreds of municipalities and getting info on whom the Dems and Repubs have nominated for various positions). Anyway, he makes it interesting because my coworker Sabrina and I have a fun give-and-take relationship -- lots of poking fun at one another, a bit of mild flirtation, and generally getting along while pretending we hate each other. It's hard to understand, but it's fun.
Also on work, I've been doing more interesting things after I asked for them. I'm calling Senators supporting bills, more blogging, going to press conferences (I'm probably on some local TV channel because I was standing behind the city council Speaker as she supported the Mayor's environmental plan holding a huge sign for our organization).
2) Been hanging out with Boris some, and he's got a lot to share. He may rarely be at home, but when we hang out, he just shares his perspective on the world which is wildly different than mine, especially given his immigration and war-torn past. He has become a bit like you, Mom. He asks me about alcohol consumption too much and forces me to clean, but it's better than Max (college roommate), who never cleaned and left his beer lying everywhere.
3) Went over to Aunt Annie's place in Westport, CT, where I hung out with her and my cousins Jason and Alex. I've never been that close to that part of the family. She's almost finished with her Ph.D dissertation on child development re:tragedy. She called her work "healing." Take as you will. Jason and Alex are doing well. Jason's still strong in his opinions and knows a lot about computers. Talking to him about internet privacy makes me realize I should delete this blog and destroy my computer, because the NSA probably has me, you, and everyone else bugged. Alex is glass-blowing and plans to find a college that has a place where he can better hone his artistic skill. He's made some really sweet stuff. Annie forced me to promise I'll come back soon, and I plan to. Easy train from Boston during the school year to a really sweet house with a nice Aunt.
4) The working out is going well. I see my posture is improving, and though I see that I'm not actually getting significantly bigger, I feel bigger, stronger, and more energetic. Nevertheless, I'm still not sleeping. My back hurt last night when I went to sleep and hurt in the morning. I'm on ibuprofen pretty much round the clock now. Sabrina, the co-worker, her dad's a pain doctor, and she told me I could call him if I wanted. It's not nearly painful enough. I texted the trainer, and he said that it's my bone shifting due to my core muscles strengthening. I hope that's true. We'll see. I'm eating 5 meals per day, per his instructions. That's fun, but harder than one would imagine. It means I bring a milkshake to work, eat a big breakfast and lunch, a mid-size dinner, and then a shake after dinner.
5) Matt, Dan, Garrett, and Aja have yet to show their faces in the city. I just IMed Garrett asking if they were coming and he replied "perhaps, Matt wants to come, but I am still unsure about scheduling for my work so I havent been able to say which weekend we should go." So we'll see if they follow through.
6) After-work activities: not many yet. Been to a couple internbars (see: internbar.com for more details -- a few times a week, interns working in the city are advised to all go to the same bar, meet, and get discounts on drinks), Harrison's comedy show (it was good), and little odds and ends. Hung out with frat bro Andrew last week and will again Thurs.
So things are more or less stable in NYC. I'm looking for more after-work activities, but I'm finding more slowly but surely.
1) Enjoying my job more. A new intern started on Thursday, and though he's an annoying dick, he makes life interesting. He does dumb, obnoxious things such as watches me do work instead of doing his own, making me do mine and his (he's supposed to be taking over half of my large project of calling hundreds of municipalities and getting info on whom the Dems and Repubs have nominated for various positions). Anyway, he makes it interesting because my coworker Sabrina and I have a fun give-and-take relationship -- lots of poking fun at one another, a bit of mild flirtation, and generally getting along while pretending we hate each other. It's hard to understand, but it's fun.
Also on work, I've been doing more interesting things after I asked for them. I'm calling Senators supporting bills, more blogging, going to press conferences (I'm probably on some local TV channel because I was standing behind the city council Speaker as she supported the Mayor's environmental plan holding a huge sign for our organization).
2) Been hanging out with Boris some, and he's got a lot to share. He may rarely be at home, but when we hang out, he just shares his perspective on the world which is wildly different than mine, especially given his immigration and war-torn past. He has become a bit like you, Mom. He asks me about alcohol consumption too much and forces me to clean, but it's better than Max (college roommate), who never cleaned and left his beer lying everywhere.
3) Went over to Aunt Annie's place in Westport, CT, where I hung out with her and my cousins Jason and Alex. I've never been that close to that part of the family. She's almost finished with her Ph.D dissertation on child development re:tragedy. She called her work "healing." Take as you will. Jason and Alex are doing well. Jason's still strong in his opinions and knows a lot about computers. Talking to him about internet privacy makes me realize I should delete this blog and destroy my computer, because the NSA probably has me, you, and everyone else bugged. Alex is glass-blowing and plans to find a college that has a place where he can better hone his artistic skill. He's made some really sweet stuff. Annie forced me to promise I'll come back soon, and I plan to. Easy train from Boston during the school year to a really sweet house with a nice Aunt.
4) The working out is going well. I see my posture is improving, and though I see that I'm not actually getting significantly bigger, I feel bigger, stronger, and more energetic. Nevertheless, I'm still not sleeping. My back hurt last night when I went to sleep and hurt in the morning. I'm on ibuprofen pretty much round the clock now. Sabrina, the co-worker, her dad's a pain doctor, and she told me I could call him if I wanted. It's not nearly painful enough. I texted the trainer, and he said that it's my bone shifting due to my core muscles strengthening. I hope that's true. We'll see. I'm eating 5 meals per day, per his instructions. That's fun, but harder than one would imagine. It means I bring a milkshake to work, eat a big breakfast and lunch, a mid-size dinner, and then a shake after dinner.
5) Matt, Dan, Garrett, and Aja have yet to show their faces in the city. I just IMed Garrett asking if they were coming and he replied "perhaps, Matt wants to come, but I am still unsure about scheduling for my work so I havent been able to say which weekend we should go." So we'll see if they follow through.
6) After-work activities: not many yet. Been to a couple internbars (see: internbar.com for more details -- a few times a week, interns working in the city are advised to all go to the same bar, meet, and get discounts on drinks), Harrison's comedy show (it was good), and little odds and ends. Hung out with frat bro Andrew last week and will again Thurs.
So things are more or less stable in NYC. I'm looking for more after-work activities, but I'm finding more slowly but surely.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Shiznit and giggles
I've just received word (see the comments on the post below) that Lea will be visiting me. This is good news.
Boris and I have been hanging out (Boris and I are chillin' in the apt now with Colleen, Boris' gf). Times are good. Tonight I'm going out with a co-worker and her friend and going to a bar that a lot of interns are supposed to be going to. (There is a facebook group called internbar that lists a different bar for interns to go each night. There are over 1000 members of the group.)
That's all for now. Back to hanging out.
Boris and I have been hanging out (Boris and I are chillin' in the apt now with Colleen, Boris' gf). Times are good. Tonight I'm going out with a co-worker and her friend and going to a bar that a lot of interns are supposed to be going to. (There is a facebook group called internbar that lists a different bar for interns to go each night. There are over 1000 members of the group.)
That's all for now. Back to hanging out.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Summer Activities
So I've realized that this summer may not end up being my most social summer, so I've been looking around for other activities. Here are a few I've found:
1) Working out. I've committed myself to becoming a gym rat. I wake up pretty early these days (though that is becoming less and less true every day, fortunately), so I can go before work. I've also, as of yesterday, decided to get a personal trainer a couple times a week to really figure out what the hell I'm doing in there and how to properly bulk up. He told me I should be working out every day. Two days are "light" days, where all I will do is core exercises. Sounds intense, but I have the free time and I have the desire. My first meeting with him is at 6pm today. He also told me I'm going to need to eat a lot more, so that may be an activity in and of itself.
I started writing this post in the morning and then realized I had to go to work. I just worked out with the guy -- his name's Jason -- and it was a pretty good workout. I just came back and ate ~90g protein (according to the nutrition labels). Not the hardest workout I've ever had, but it was pretty good. I work out again tomorrow morning at 7:15 am. Gonna be a good day.
2) Meetup.com. Meetup is a great place to find like-minded people: someone at Washington Sq. Park recommended it to me. I've signed up for a few groups, and the first meeting is today (though unfortunately right at 6:45, when my training session ends, so I'm going to have to cancel or be late). I've signed up for 4 or 5 groups, which I listed in my first post. So go back and re-read, (as frat bro Daniel Mandel calls wonderful people like you) faithful reader.
3) Seeing relatives. I enjoyed my time with Josh and Cristina the other night. I'm seeing Gladys tomorrow night. I want to see Noah, Leila, Ruth, and Herb some more -- well, Ruth at all. I hope she's doing well (to my non-family members, my aunt Ruth had an emergency surgery about a week ago, and she seems to be recovering well).
4) Getting to know Boris. He's a really cool guy, and he's very introspective. He's got a great work ethic, which I want to be able to model, and I want to figure out how he approaches issues analytically because he seems to do so very well. I think he has a lot to teach me. Hopefully I can figure out something I can teach back.
That's all for now. Hope more than just Mom is reading this. If not, hi Ma. Or rather, bye for now, Ma.
1) Working out. I've committed myself to becoming a gym rat. I wake up pretty early these days (though that is becoming less and less true every day, fortunately), so I can go before work. I've also, as of yesterday, decided to get a personal trainer a couple times a week to really figure out what the hell I'm doing in there and how to properly bulk up. He told me I should be working out every day. Two days are "light" days, where all I will do is core exercises. Sounds intense, but I have the free time and I have the desire. My first meeting with him is at 6pm today. He also told me I'm going to need to eat a lot more, so that may be an activity in and of itself.
I started writing this post in the morning and then realized I had to go to work. I just worked out with the guy -- his name's Jason -- and it was a pretty good workout. I just came back and ate ~90g protein (according to the nutrition labels). Not the hardest workout I've ever had, but it was pretty good. I work out again tomorrow morning at 7:15 am. Gonna be a good day.
2) Meetup.com. Meetup is a great place to find like-minded people: someone at Washington Sq. Park recommended it to me. I've signed up for a few groups, and the first meeting is today (though unfortunately right at 6:45, when my training session ends, so I'm going to have to cancel or be late). I've signed up for 4 or 5 groups, which I listed in my first post. So go back and re-read, (as frat bro Daniel Mandel calls wonderful people like you) faithful reader.
3) Seeing relatives. I enjoyed my time with Josh and Cristina the other night. I'm seeing Gladys tomorrow night. I want to see Noah, Leila, Ruth, and Herb some more -- well, Ruth at all. I hope she's doing well (to my non-family members, my aunt Ruth had an emergency surgery about a week ago, and she seems to be recovering well).
4) Getting to know Boris. He's a really cool guy, and he's very introspective. He's got a great work ethic, which I want to be able to model, and I want to figure out how he approaches issues analytically because he seems to do so very well. I think he has a lot to teach me. Hopefully I can figure out something I can teach back.
That's all for now. Hope more than just Mom is reading this. If not, hi Ma. Or rather, bye for now, Ma.
Monday, June 4, 2007
A bit more on work: what I've been doing
Nothing groundbreaking. A bit of blogging -- see my posts at http://www.nylcv.org/staff/josh_abram -- and a bit of filming http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fwJo73SZRQ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kowieAPp1Lc -- though clearly not wonderful filming nor ground-breaking blogging. To see some of my other posts you'd have to sign up for the nylcv mailing list at nylcv.org (and do feel free to do so, but not obligated). Other than that, it's data entry and regular interning stuff. Sending faxes, researching, answering phones, getting the mail, etc. It's a regular interning job. I've been assured that soon I'll be interviewing politicians (I've set up the groundwork for that today by asking the county parties to tell us whom they've nominated for the rather small 2007 elections so we can interview them to see whether or not to endorse them). Kind of confusing. A bit of a rundown on the NYLCV:
There are two separate facets of the LCV.
1) The Ed Fund is a tax deductible organization that by and large does not lobby. It informs voters on the environmental issues in a non-partisan, non-biased sort of way.
2) The LCV itself is a lobbying group. Donations to it are not tax deductible. We endorse candidates, tell our members to vote for them, and support their campaigns with ads, etc.
The LCV is non-partisan and cares solely about environmental issues. We have endorsed both Dem candidates (Eliot Spitzer for one) and Repubs (Mike Bloomberg). So what we do is we send requests to county party leaders asking whom they have nominated for the 2007 election. Then we ask those candidates to fill out a form explaining their positions on the environment. We may interview them (not sure there yet). I believe my job will be to write a recommendation to the board, advising them whom to endorse and whom to not endorse. Then the board votes, and the NYLCV will officially support that candidate.
The NYLCV is not related to the LCV, at least not officially. We work on the same mission and we share info and such. We're friendly, but not related. There's no oversight. We're both independent.
That's all for now, Boris is coming soon!
There are two separate facets of the LCV.
1) The Ed Fund is a tax deductible organization that by and large does not lobby. It informs voters on the environmental issues in a non-partisan, non-biased sort of way.
2) The LCV itself is a lobbying group. Donations to it are not tax deductible. We endorse candidates, tell our members to vote for them, and support their campaigns with ads, etc.
The LCV is non-partisan and cares solely about environmental issues. We have endorsed both Dem candidates (Eliot Spitzer for one) and Repubs (Mike Bloomberg). So what we do is we send requests to county party leaders asking whom they have nominated for the 2007 election. Then we ask those candidates to fill out a form explaining their positions on the environment. We may interview them (not sure there yet). I believe my job will be to write a recommendation to the board, advising them whom to endorse and whom to not endorse. Then the board votes, and the NYLCV will officially support that candidate.
The NYLCV is not related to the LCV, at least not officially. We work on the same mission and we share info and such. We're friendly, but not related. There's no oversight. We're both independent.
That's all for now, Boris is coming soon!
Almost a week in
It's been nearly a week that I've been here. I've yet to start truly making friends, but I think I'm on the path towards that.
Given that I could in theory post 5 or so days worth of material, I'll try to keep this in some sort of logical order.
Rooming
I've moved into Brooklyn Heights, and the apartment is ridiculously good looking. A wonderful view of the city. It's really too nice for two (one?) college student to have. Boris has yet to move in; it seems he keeps being to busy to get his stuff here. Poor kid. I texted him asking if he wanted help, but he assured me he has it under control, but that seems to be a recurring theme.
I got a bunch of silverware from a couple in the apt today. They apparently got a set of silverware as a wedding present and wanted to get rid of the old silverware. I jumped at the opportunity. The wonders of free stuff.
Work
Work's okay. The people around me are nice, but there's no real community or highly welcoming atmosphere. Nothing's off-putting, but it's quiet and there's no real socializing, at least not yet. My sole other fellow intern, Sabrina, is a rising senior at BC. She's nice, but it doesn't seem she's interested in being friends outside of work. Fair enough. At least I have someone to talk to while I'm there, even if the conversations aren't highly stimulating. Maybe I'll put a little more effort into them. I feel like I could improve a lot of things, but I don't want to step on anyone's toes just yet. I talked to my boss about the Obama thing, and he nicely advised that I stay in NYC because Obama is always coming into NY and I could probably meet him there if I really wanted to. I read a transcript of the debate today on nytimes.com and there was a shout out to the (national) League of Conservation Voters (to which the NYLCV is loosely and informally affiliated) by one of the lesser known candidates (Richardson? Dodd? I can't remember!). Check it out.
Social life
Pretty much non-existant so far. I met up with Roxanne over the weekend and met one of her friends, both of whom will visit me tomorrow. Tonight I went to meetup.com and signed up for a bunch of groups that I'd be interested in (psychology, NLP, debate, math) that might interest me. They all seem to meet in Manhattan, and I'd certainly be fine with treking over there to make some friends, even if they're a few years (perhaps even a decade?) older than I am. I'm not one to be picky right now.
I was supposed to go to an NLP workshop this Thursday with Mia, but she has yet to respond to me. I may or may not sign up anyway. The NLP meetup group meets during my dinner with Gladys. I might call and ask to reschedule, but I'm not sure about that. Advice, family?
I've also started messaging H students in the area asking to meet up with them. I know a few Brooklyn-ites who arrive in a few days. Maybe I'll meet up with them soon. People seem to be out for most of the summer (my old cross-the-hall mate is leaving for Italy on the 16th; Brett for Spain around the same time -- seems I'm not the only one living away from home this summer).
Matt (not Richmond, but from H) called me to ask if he could visit. I enthusiastically invited him for any weekend in June (figuring it'd be easier than planning around July stuff, and wanting friends sooner rather than later). I also talked to Aja and may convince her to come here instead of going to Cali to visit one of her friends there -- the idea of seeing both Matt, Garrett (perhaps? not sure there) and I seemed appealing to her, I think.
Michael IMed me today. Seems like he's enjoying summer in Cali -- emerging from his shell. Good for him. Ironically, I'm retreating into my own. But I still am able to emerge. I've taken to starting conversation on the subway with great success in the non-rush hours. Rush hour, everyone (including me) is too stressed to want convo.
Odds and ends:
Haven't done the hot compress yet, Mom. Is it necessary? I'm feeling lazy. Will it just go away on its own? That'd be nice. And is a hospital visit necessary?
Still not sleeping that well. This morning I got up super early for breakfast and went to the gym (it's nice!) at 8ish. I was almost late to work -- the subway took a long time to get to the station (I showed up 20 min before work thinking it'd be a 10 minute trip as Shari had told me, but I got to the office, out of breath, at 10:00:55 or so).
The Duane Reed pharmacy was unable to fill one of my perscriptions so I was sent to another one to pick up 1/3 of my amount, with the stipulation that they'd get the pills for me and I could come back later for them.
Given that I could in theory post 5 or so days worth of material, I'll try to keep this in some sort of logical order.
Rooming
I've moved into Brooklyn Heights, and the apartment is ridiculously good looking. A wonderful view of the city. It's really too nice for two (one?) college student to have. Boris has yet to move in; it seems he keeps being to busy to get his stuff here. Poor kid. I texted him asking if he wanted help, but he assured me he has it under control, but that seems to be a recurring theme.
I got a bunch of silverware from a couple in the apt today. They apparently got a set of silverware as a wedding present and wanted to get rid of the old silverware. I jumped at the opportunity. The wonders of free stuff.
Work
Work's okay. The people around me are nice, but there's no real community or highly welcoming atmosphere. Nothing's off-putting, but it's quiet and there's no real socializing, at least not yet. My sole other fellow intern, Sabrina, is a rising senior at BC. She's nice, but it doesn't seem she's interested in being friends outside of work. Fair enough. At least I have someone to talk to while I'm there, even if the conversations aren't highly stimulating. Maybe I'll put a little more effort into them. I feel like I could improve a lot of things, but I don't want to step on anyone's toes just yet. I talked to my boss about the Obama thing, and he nicely advised that I stay in NYC because Obama is always coming into NY and I could probably meet him there if I really wanted to. I read a transcript of the debate today on nytimes.com and there was a shout out to the (national) League of Conservation Voters (to which the NYLCV is loosely and informally affiliated) by one of the lesser known candidates (Richardson? Dodd? I can't remember!). Check it out.
Social life
Pretty much non-existant so far. I met up with Roxanne over the weekend and met one of her friends, both of whom will visit me tomorrow. Tonight I went to meetup.com and signed up for a bunch of groups that I'd be interested in (psychology, NLP, debate, math) that might interest me. They all seem to meet in Manhattan, and I'd certainly be fine with treking over there to make some friends, even if they're a few years (perhaps even a decade?) older than I am. I'm not one to be picky right now.
I was supposed to go to an NLP workshop this Thursday with Mia, but she has yet to respond to me. I may or may not sign up anyway. The NLP meetup group meets during my dinner with Gladys. I might call and ask to reschedule, but I'm not sure about that. Advice, family?
I've also started messaging H students in the area asking to meet up with them. I know a few Brooklyn-ites who arrive in a few days. Maybe I'll meet up with them soon. People seem to be out for most of the summer (my old cross-the-hall mate is leaving for Italy on the 16th; Brett for Spain around the same time -- seems I'm not the only one living away from home this summer).
Matt (not Richmond, but from H) called me to ask if he could visit. I enthusiastically invited him for any weekend in June (figuring it'd be easier than planning around July stuff, and wanting friends sooner rather than later). I also talked to Aja and may convince her to come here instead of going to Cali to visit one of her friends there -- the idea of seeing both Matt, Garrett (perhaps? not sure there) and I seemed appealing to her, I think.
Michael IMed me today. Seems like he's enjoying summer in Cali -- emerging from his shell. Good for him. Ironically, I'm retreating into my own. But I still am able to emerge. I've taken to starting conversation on the subway with great success in the non-rush hours. Rush hour, everyone (including me) is too stressed to want convo.
Odds and ends:
Haven't done the hot compress yet, Mom. Is it necessary? I'm feeling lazy. Will it just go away on its own? That'd be nice. And is a hospital visit necessary?
Still not sleeping that well. This morning I got up super early for breakfast and went to the gym (it's nice!) at 8ish. I was almost late to work -- the subway took a long time to get to the station (I showed up 20 min before work thinking it'd be a 10 minute trip as Shari had told me, but I got to the office, out of breath, at 10:00:55 or so).
The Duane Reed pharmacy was unable to fill one of my perscriptions so I was sent to another one to pick up 1/3 of my amount, with the stipulation that they'd get the pills for me and I could come back later for them.
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