new blog!

hey- i started a new blog, mostly targeted at current goucher students, to connect people to baltimore city. you can check it out at www.charmcityconfidential.blogspot.com. please let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas.

charming city

i can't believe it is already the sixth of july! this summer is flying by. our fourth of july was rainy but turned out to be a quirky adventure. there were a few fireworks shows going on simultaneously, which was a bit off-putting, but we had a good time. last weekend i went to harrisburg, pa to bid goodbye to my good friend maura before she heads off to south africa for a few months. work is going well-- i really like working in admissions-- and i am always happy to spend time with my friends in the area.

i went out to coffee with some of my roommates this evening and they balked at the thought that they'll be leaving in less than a month. the whole point of the summer was to take advantage of not having work in the evenings and being able to explore, but by the time we all come home from work and manage to cook dinner in the common kitchen shared by about 50 people, we're all pooped.

living on campus over the summer is really quite strange. the campus is eerily quiet in many respects but absolutely abuzz in others-- such as construction. they are gutting and totally revamping a lot of the dorms, getting rid of asbestos-y carpets and putting in networked sprinklers. the bunny population seems to be out of control in the summer, and fireflies are in great abundance. working in the administrative building has opened up many new channels of previously unknown (to me) information-- people, corners, paperwork. there are always faces i've never seen, despite the small size of the school. i've heard it can get lonely over the summer here, but it always seems like there's too much to do and so many people to see. i'm not sure i'll accomplish all that i want to this summer.

i think i'm going to look back on this summer and think about how enjoyable it was to work during the day and hang out with a bunch of close friends every night. i thoroughly enjoy my weekends in hampden, spending time with my friends who have now entered the real world of work and apartments.

other things that make up this summer: going out for coffee on saturday mornings, going to the waverly farmer's market, coloring my giant map of baltimore neighborhoods, impromptu thunderstorms, grilling veggie burgers, waving down the soft city ice cream truck, trading cardigans with my roommates, walking to the grocery store, taking the light rail, marveling at the charm of rowhouses, talking about denmark.

june #1

summer life in baltimore has been, so far, really wonderful. i am so fortunate to have the opportunity to stay here over the summer. a lot of my friends and acquaintances are here, and it has been awesome to see so many familiar faces in the area. i really enjoy hanging out in their houses and getting to know baltimore much more intimately. we've been going to farmer's markets, festivals (honfest in hampden was this weekend), grocery stores (cooking and shopping for groceries is still exciting), random events (like last night's charm city roller girls "roller derby knockout"), and the occasional bar or restaurant.

my living situation is working out swimmingly. i am on campus in a very sizable suite with three good friends of mine. it's too bad we're only living here for the summer! i like our arrangement a lot. the only downside is being stuck in the suburbs. that, and feeling overwhelmed and weirded out by living, working, and going to school in the same space for years at a time... work is going well-- nothing too earth-shaking, but it's kind of fun to have coffee and swap cardigans with my suitemates at 8 am every day. office jobs certainly demonstrate how much work is put into running the small details of every organization.

in short, i am very content here despite the inescapable humidity. i am thrilled to be in baltimore at this exciting time in the city's history and am feeling more and more like this is what i want to call home.

whirlwind of senior week and beyond

since the conclusion of the spring semester a few weeks ago, my life has been surprisingly busy. while no longer in class, the days have been filled with work, moving, and random other obligations. that, and exploring the neighborhood of hampden in baltimore city, a charming and historic area of town where many of my friends have recently moved.

one of the highlights of the past weeks was going to a small gallery in the fells point neighborhood to check out a style writing exhibit curated by adam stab. i’d run into the work of stab, an aerosol artist, at the painted screens workshop in early may. we had a nice chat at the beautifully composed exhibit, discussing the politics and cultural value of graffiti in baltimore. i would like to get more involved in that movement.

commencement was slightly overwhelming for me, and i’d imagine more than that for the graduates. keynote speaker matthew modine was pretty good and all went as smooth as possible. i’m pretty sure i got the worst sunburns of my life that morning. goucher will not be the same without the class of 2008 on campus this fall.

over memorial day weekend i went back up to massachusetts very briefly. it was a very nice visit to central mass but i hope to stay a little longer next time i’m up there in order to see more old friends. i took a greyhound back to baltimore in order to attend a global health conference in washington dc on tuesday. it was the 35th annual conference of the global health council, an international foundation led by (goucher parent and father of my cousin’s ex-girlfriend) nils daulaire. my friend and classmate laura and i shared a ten-minute presentation on our experiences in south africa at a peace tiles workshop. it was intimidating and humbling but ultimately, a really inspirational experience. those people are doing amazing things for the world right now!

i forgot to mention that i was homeless for a few days, between graduation and the middle of this week. my gracious friend tatiana let me store my mountains of crap in her living room during this time; i stayed at the friends’ place in hampden. on wednesday i moved into a suite in a new residence hall on campus with tatiana, laura and a friend named jaime. the place is huge and very nice. we’re still settling in, but we’ve had a good time so far cooking together, doing dishes, watching movies and making coffee so we can function at all of our various odd office jobs. speaking of which, i started a new job at goucher’s career development office last week. it’s going really well so far, largely because those women are extremely friendly and accommodating.

i think this summer will be really fun. not as exotic nor as relaxing as some, which is just fine with me. i like all of my jobs at this point and think it’s still pretty exciting to play house both here on campus and in hampden. cooking isn’t my forte, though, so we’ll see how well that goes…

half way through college!

i am pleased to report that, as of yesterday afternoon, i am officially half-way through college! i finished my last exam and felt a combination of relief, exhilaration, and confusion over the fact that i will be living at goucher until december, so there's not a clear end to my year...

i'll post more when summer life kicks off... for now, it consists of working, running errands, cleaning out my dorm room, going to an orioles game, camping, doing some community service, etc.

painted screens

this weekend has been spent almost entirely at the american visionary art museum (avam), one of the most unique and moving museums i've ever been to. you must go to it if you ever are in baltimore!! i have been volunteering at the rowhouse rembrandts workshop weekend, a partnership between the painted screen society of baltimore, the maryland traditions program, and avam. elaine eff, the former city folklorist and the foremost scholar on the vernacular tradition of painting one's window screens with kitschy designs, organized the entire event. it was a great opportunity to meet some of these amazing folk artists and see them in action before this once-common art form dies out.

our tasks ranged from pouring gallons of latex paint into deli containers to bartending to stacking chairs to filing out auction paperwork. today we got a chance to listen to some lectures on local history as well as to paint our own baltimore screens! it was very rewarding to paint our own after reading and hearing about them for so long.

to learn more about painted screens, check out the society's webpage: http://www.paintedscreens.org/

below are some photos from today's happenings- none from the lively polka dance/auction/screen painting family reunion yesterday...

eccentric baltimore

as the semester is winding down, events in baltimore seem to be picking up. this weekend is the maryland film festival as well as the kinetic sculpture race; next weekend is the "rowhouse rembrandts" painted screens workshop... there is almost too much to do! i love the creative renaissance baltimore is going through right now. it is exciting to witness it!

the kinetic sculpture race, sponsored by the american visionary art museum, took place all over town today. some friends and i went to east baltimore's patterson park to watch the creative works of art in action...we stood by the sand pit (part of the obstacle course) and had just as much fun people-watching as we did watching the actual race. it seems as though every eccentric and/or artsy person in the city was present. our favorite character, however, was this random shirtless and tatooed man on top of a storage unit who kept shouting somewhat slurred words of encouragement to the sculpture "pilots" as they went through.

here are some photos of the day:







only four more days of classes and a few more papers to go!!