Dad! Please acquire the best of the Exponents...

December 24, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Dad! Please acquire the best of the Exponents album while you're in New Zealand, titled "Sex and Agriculture." I think it will be a great addition to your collection.

Happy Christmas Eve to all! I miss you all terribly, and as promised, am wearing hair shirts and self-flagellating on the hour. Greg's family have seamlessly integrated me into their festivities, i.e. sleeping in and chipping ice off of the roof. Good times in Worcester.

I have, for the first time in recollection, g...

December 18, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I have, for the first time in recollection, gone out without a good winter jacket on and caught a cold. Staying at home alone, feverish and incoherent, seemed like a lonely prospect the week before Christmas, so I drove up to Greg's house, where they are treating me very well. I always come here and feel like I'm eight, sleeping in a single bed in a wood panelled room (very much like mom's basement) with New England Patriot flags on the wall and a veritable library of Dr. Suess books. Well, not my childhood room, but Fred Savage's room from The Princess Bride. Hopefully this likeness (along with mainling tea and chicken noodle soup) will hasten my recovery. Send chocolate.

We had our first snow accumulation yesterday,...

December 14, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

We had our first snow accumulation yesterday, leaving Providence paralyzed. Inclement weather brings out the dominant flavors of a city, and I'm afraid that this city has just exposed itself as unprepared, complaining, and entirely uncivilized in their treatment of the public streets and sidewalks.

Anna is visiting from San Fransisco for New Years

December 12, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Anna is visiting from San Fransisco for New Years. Mom is also sending me the remnants of Sadie's old patchwork quilt to renovate, so I'll have lots of quality time quilting in front of a fire over Christmas. The season is quickly thundering along!

My work schedule today is as such:
Volunteer with staff at food bank, 9-12
Goodbye lunch party for work study, 12-1
VISTA gift exchange, 3-4:30
Campus Compact holiday party at RISD, 4:30-6
And then a fancy holiday party at my roommate's work from 6-8.
Whew! So much socializing is delightfully diverting, but so exhausting. I've eaten an extra hand full of almonds to keep my fires burning.

Seraph, your travels look remarkable! Nothing...

December 06, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Seraph, your travels look remarkable! Nothing to report from Providence, although I woke up early to make macaroni and cheese from scratch for the office holiday party. With long workshops, holiday parties and graduate school paperwork filling up the week, things have been a bit frantic. I'm hoping to relax this weekend, go to a show at my favorite hipster arts organization, and have a big Boston dinner with Greg's extended family. While they will never be able to replace you, I have decided to stay here for Christmas. Instead, I'm replacing you with a stack of movies!

Work has been very exciting lately, as I cont...

November 16, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Work has been very exciting lately, as I continue to plan for a week training for all the state Campus Compact VISTA leaders and VISTA project supervisors in January. However, I've had also had some important community building moments with Rhode Island Campus Compact, particularly around the Photobooth application on their office's Macbook.

I've also had some great but challenging new breakthroughs with my graduate search.

Next week I'm off to Meadville PA with Danica, Andy, and Ben to visit Dorothy. It will be tons of driving, but I'm excited to see some long-lost family members!

I finally took the big test and feel like a n...

October 30, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I finally took the big test and feel like a new person. Seven weeks of tension was released, and as Adam always said (in a remarkable accent) while thrusting his palm against our foreheads as kids, "you are healed!" I am born again, and free of the shackles of standardized examinations.

Thank you all so much for your well-wishing and care packages, cards and phone calls. On the day of the test, I felt like I had already learned everything I needed to know about life; that one must be a hoarder of love.

I just took another practice test to warm mys...

October 26, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I just took another practice test to warm myself up for the big day on Monday. My verbal score decreased by forty points, and my math score is nearly the same as it was seven weeks ago. Dear god.

When I returned from an amazing time with Nor...

October 26, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

When I returned from an amazing time with Northern New England Campus Compact VISTAs in Maine, I had received two huge boxes in the mail. One, from mom, exploded with cracker jacks, popcorn, toothpaste, and organic granola, among many, many other small perfectly exalted necessities. The other, from Seraph, overflowed with beautiful clothing (remind me to encourage one of my children to be an apparel designer), Jasmine tea buds, local honey, my favorite magazines, and a new cookbook! I don't know if someone snapped a picture of me and I appeared emaciated, or if someone calculated out my budget and decided that cutting out organic bath salts was out of the question, but I feel completely pampered on the eve of the GREs. Thank you!

I'm headed up to Maine for a retreat with the...

October 22, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I'm headed up to Maine for a retreat with the Northern Campus Compact VISTAs. I'll be facilitating a workshop on community organizing and learning circles, two of may favorite subjects to train on. It will also be a perfect time to visit Maine. I haven't traveled up there since Seraph and I were on our road trip twelve years ago!

Yesterday I received an unusual envelope in t...

October 18, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Yesterday I received an unusual envelope in the mail, tri-folded with different handwriting for the return address, from the hippest coffee shop in my neighborhood. It was almost as is someone had sent a stamped, addressed envelope to the coffee shop within another envelope. Enclosed was a gift certificate to said coffee shop. Upon closer examination of the mysterious envelope I discerned Seraph Cortez's handwriting, and remembered that I had mentioned that the most difficult thing about being momentarily impoverished was the lack of frivolous coffee drinking at hip coffee shops like White Electric, where the tattoos, tight jeans, and coffee tie together the West Side strong social scene. And, of course, Seraph heeded my silly plea, because she loves me.

But wait! That was not the only gesture of complete attentive love and devotion that the family showed their prodigal daughter yesterday! Mom sent me an amazing box of frivolous favorites- hand-milled soaps, lemon verbena lotions, sachets of lavender, and, of course, chocolate. It was the perfect end to a night that I otherwise would have spent studying for the GREs. Thank you!

If you've ever wondered what other Smithies d...

October 11, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

If you've ever wondered what other Smithies do to change the world once they've graduated, check out my friend Alexis, fighting the good fight in solidarity with the people of El Salvador! By the way, she's Anna's room mate in San Francisco.

All is well in Providence. I just finished the first in a series of workshops I'm facilitating about framing Campus Compact VISTA work as a community organizer. Good fun.

I signed up for Netflicks today, and my old r...

October 05, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I signed up for Netflicks today, and my old room mate Janet has taken control of my cue with helpful hints. She currently has these must-watch movies on my cue: the worst witch, mystery train, bon voyage, henry fool, home movie, fierce creatures, breakfast on Pluto, 24 hour party people, the puffy chair, kontroll, i am england, and Dracula: pages from a virgin's diary. I have heard of zero of these movies, but as she is a professional film snob, I must trust her judgment. It feels a bit like living with her again, when I'd come home and sit down in the middle of an obscure Korean independent film, and end up falling in love with it.

Seraph, I love hearing your anniversary count-down!

I was so inspired by Sam, Emma, and Adam's wi...

October 01, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I was so inspired by Sam, Emma, and Adam's witch jars that I decided to make my own. This weekend I bought a pork tail (witch jar label: Hungarian Wolverine Tongue) and a bag of dried sardines (witch jar label: Peruvian Shark Fetuses). In addition, I canned Fallen Angel Feathers, Veritaserum (if you've read Harry Potter, it forces the recipient to tell the truth), and Love's Labors Lost (reconstituted). The Hungarian Wolverine Tongue is in the freezer at the moment, because I'm not sure how to preserve it. But it should keep until I figure it out. I'll see if I can post a picture of my beautiful, evile project soon.

Ah, I'm trying to relearn math concepts so fa...

September 26, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Ah, I'm trying to relearn math concepts so far in my depths of my middle school memories that I feel like I'm re-living Roosevelt Middle School, hanging out with Sam and Bud and watching Jurassic Park in home room. It is absolutely ridiculous that my professional career depends upon how much I was paying attention in seventh grade. Anna and I have an emergency math session over the phone tonight.

Oh, making witches jars sounds like endless f...

September 23, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Oh, making witches jars sounds like endless fun! I'll have to try a few of my own (I have dibs on the VISTA corps' Halloween party). On Saturday, some of the Rhode Island VISTA crew came over to watch a movie, a respite from the day long study marathon my study buddy and I had undertaken. Tomorrow, after a training, she and I are driving up to a graduate school fair in Boston to check out the wares. Good fun!

I'm loving my volunteer gig at New Urban Arts, cleaning and organizing in preparation for their fall season. It's wildly satisfying to, after a long day of typing and organizing national initiatives, use my hands to organize real, concrete a space. Handling liminal space all day can drag you down.

I got to meet Lohring's best friend from chil...

September 14, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I got to meet Lohring's best friend from childhood, David, this weekend. It was an absolutely magical experience, and made me realize (though I don't know why this continues to stupefy me) that people really are the same in wonderful ways when they are six and sixty. I guess it's just between sixteen and twenty six that they (I) forget, and have to slowly relearn that time is relative.

Folks are fixing our leaky roof this afternoo...

September 07, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Folks are fixing our leaky roof this afternoon, causing noxious fumes to filter into our office. My supervisor has already left, and my brain has become oddly heavy. While it could be Friday, this lurking nausea could be roof fumes. With all of the new vocabulary I'm cramming into my head these days, I need to be delicate with myself, so I'm going to go home early. I hope the emails I sent this morning weren't incoherent...

Back in Providence and setting up a rigid GRE...

September 04, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Back in Providence and setting up a rigid GRE study schedule for the next two months. I have to relearn geometry, and can only remember those beautiful spirals, golden rectangles, and the billiard game from Donald Duck in Mathmagicland.

Providence seems to be a wealth of old family friends from Meadville! I'm excited to meet all of these new old friends, and am angling for tea dates. I'm imagining having lots of intimate chats with Judi Dench, which may not exactly be what I'll get.

I'm returning to Providence this afternoon, w...

August 31, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I'm returning to Providence this afternoon, with a detour to the Mall of America, the only place, apart from the airport, that the hotel runs a shuttle to. It would have been nice to see some of Minneapolis, but we were in workshops all day, and I facilitated Campus Compact VISTA leader workshops in the evening. The Campus Compact VISTA leaders were brilliant and accomodating.

It will be nice to get back into my own dusty house and wrinkled potatoes. After five days, the shiny surfaces and buffet-style meals can be too much of a good thing.

The first morning living in the Bloomington P...

August 28, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

The first morning living in the Bloomington Park Plaza hotel is quite nice. My window overlooks flat expanses of asphalt and the rolling hills of the mall of america. All of the VISTA leaders are great, though, and while I'm a little tired of the enthusiastic facilitators- "this week will transform the rest of your life!"- it's nice to have someone restock my shampoo every day.

In preparation for VISTA leader training, I'v...

August 24, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

In preparation for VISTA leader training, I've created a series of pencil and paper games for VISTA leaders to do while we learn about how to be transformational leaders. One of my favorites is a game called "categories," in which you have to write down something in a specific category that begins with a certain letter. My categories are books your VISTAs could read, movies that are good, civic engagement vocab, and something you'd rather be doing. My example row, using the letter "R," includes Rules for Radicals, Ratatouille, and Reading a magazine.

Despite Janet's unenthusiastic review of Rocket Science, a film that she jadedly categorizes as "quirky suburban teen comedy," I'm hoping to see it this weekend. It's about a boy with a stutter who joins a debate team for a girl. How could that not be delightful?

Mom left for Gibraltar from Providence this ...

August 21, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Mom left for Gibraltar from Providence this morning. We ate at many wonderful restaurants along the way, watched the Borne Ultimatum in the Providence Place mall, and got to sit on a beach in Jamestown. I have a new watch and lots of toilet paper.

Next week I'll be going to Minneapolis for VISTA leader training, which should be incredibly fun. Not the training, of course, but spending time with other Campus Compact VISTA leaders. We have a fledgling listserv and have frantically shared documents back and forth. I want to put them all online and then build a Campus Compact VISTA recruitment machine that rivals the Teach for America website. We, alas, do not have a recruitment budget, but that's neither here nor there. We have the web and each other.

Alina, Sara Spettel-Aliyar's wife, had Pracil...

August 20, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Alina, Sara Spettel-Aliyar's wife, had Pracilla, a perfectly healthy and beautiful baby to keep their two dogs company. Congratulations!

Mom is in town, and as we are want to do, we ...

August 16, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Mom is in town, and as we are want to do, we have eaten for most of her visit. Our first night, we ate roasted wild boar with figs and polenta, exquisitely grilled vegitables, and a perfectly baked fig tart with vanilla ice cream. Last night, because I was still full from Al Forno's, we went to Loui Fuller's down the street and split a seafood salad with grilled grapefruit, a vegitable tart, and a pear tart with ginger ice cream. I didn't take pictures of any of our amazing meals, but I should have. Tonight we're eating in with the harvets of my neighborhood farmer's market.

And, despite mom's shock that I can live on $12,000 a year, it's what many people must do, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have plenty of socks.

A quiet Providence weekend draws to a close

August 13, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

A quiet Providence weekend draws to a close. Everyone in Rhode Island seems to be celebrating Victory Day, which I think is silly, so I'm at work. I've started to selectively re-read some of the old Harry Potter books that I haven't picked up in years, and it's fun to find how all of the peices, names, and little details wrap themselves together in the end. I never liked the second book enough to re-read it, but that's when Harry hides in the wardrobe in that Dark Arts shop and Peeves breaks the matching wardrobe. It's neato.

With mom coming to Providence as an ambassado...

August 09, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

With mom coming to Providence as an ambassador for the whole family, I've decided to give her a grand tour of Rhode Island (which is not very difficult in a state so petite). I will still have to go to work, so I've organized weekdays into neighborhood quadrents, so I can direct her to an area of town and let her get lost until I find her again at 4pm. It is, of course, an opportunity for me to go the restaurants I keep hearing about (Cuban Revolution and Kitchen) and the ones I want to visit again (Loui Fuller's and Taqueria Pacifica). Cultural tours will have to include the RISD and Brown art museums, the Cliff Walk in Newport, and a day on Block Island. My roommate is curious to see how much mom will actually assent to doing in the short week that she is here, and I'm curious to see on what day mom starts likening the visit to her death march with Rick Steves.

I just finished my first day at national Camp...

July 31, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I just finished my first day at national Campus Compact! I'm still nervous about the transition, but am also very excited about the possibility of making real changes that help support Campus Compact VISTAs across the country.

Providence is great, and I can walk to work until it gets too cold, when I can take the bus. It's the same size as Eugene, and has the same feel. I also spend my free time cooking, which seems to swallow up lots of time, in the best possible way! This is my new kitchen, with a gas stove and the cooking supplies of a baker's daughter.

I'm so sorry that I've been out of touch of l...

July 23, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I'm so sorry that I've been out of touch of late! I'm in the midst of Pre-Service Orientation with Michigan, Massachusetts and Rhode Island Campus Compact- quite the national precident! I'm very sorry for missing your birthday, Adam. I do hope that all of this east coast business will translate into the perfect job, house, and life next door to you very soon.

Today is my last day in the Center for Commun...

July 16, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Today is my last day in the Center for Community Engagement at Williams College. I arrived at work and found that Human Resources had already removed me from the network, leaving my email and intranet locked. With my supervisor being gone for the last week and absent on my last day of work, I can't imagine a more clear message from all sides of the institution to leave. No secret surprise party. Oh well.

However, I had a great time in Providence this weekend, moving the bulk of my things into my new apartment, with my new room mate. I'm so glad Mason came to help, not only for his truck and stamina in carrying heavy boxes up three flights of stairs, but to confirm how wonderful Vanessa is. I'm really excited to move, and am sure this will be a great space to live in.

This week, Mason and I are going on a canoeing, hiking, camping extravaganza for three days- a much needed break from my computer!

Jenny, I'm so glad you've found a new, friendlier employer! What nice news.

My rainy Monday mix: 1

July 09, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

My rainy Monday mix:
1. Whole Wide World, Wreckless Eric
2. Martha My Dear, The Beatles
3. Queen Bitch, David Bowie
4. Fire it Up, Modest Mouse
5. Automatic Stop, The Strokes
6. Lust for Life, Iggy Pop
7. I wanna be Sedated, The Ramones
8. Should I Stay or Should I go, The Clash
9. Beast of Burden, The Rolling Stones
10. Piano Man, Ghostland Observatory
11. See You on the Moon!, Greatlake Swimmers
12. Be the One, Little Barrie
13. Brand New Colony, The Postal Service
14. Deborah, Beck

This weekend I saw an exhibit at the Williams College Museum of Art about Gerald and Sara Murphy, who seemed to be bff with the who's who in twentieth century arts and letters. I mean, who gets their children's art judged by Picasso? Who is turned into characters for Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night? These people, as it turns out. It just goes to show how being rich at the right time and place can really get you friends and influence people.

While nothing exciting has happened in Willia...

July 05, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

While nothing exciting has happened in Williamstown, my good friend Mauricio's wife, Maria Jose, just had a baby! His name in Thomas, and he is sure to love their cobblestone street in Durham, England. It feels like a small victory for life and goodness. I hope little Thomas grows up to have an English-Uruguayan accent!

The weekends bookending the Fourth of July ...

July 02, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

The weekends bookending the Fourth of July in Williamstown are ridiculous, and I generally try to stay off Spring Street to avoid the Williamstown Theatre Festival crowds. This weekend, I sewed, finished an 800-page novel called Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel and painted two of my favorite chairs cranberry.

Last week, on a hot afternoon, a few of my friends and I went to Images and watched Mansfield Park- the benefit of having a room mate who works at a little theatre is the private showings. We ate earl grey ice cream and had a very old New England time.

This picture is of Josh, Yayoe's son, at the best possible job in the world- taking water samples of beautiful Hawaii beaches, using a surfboard.

While I was in Portland, I had the chance to ...

June 26, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

While I was in Portland, I had the chance to see Seraph, Robbie, and Isa's beautiful new home, and took a few pictures of it. Here's the front view.

All is well in Williamstown, and I'm wrapping everything up to move to Providence at the end of July to start work at the national Campus Compact office. You are all welcome to visit!

This weekend has been absolutely beautiful, a...

May 13, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

This weekend has been absolutely beautiful, and I moved half of our living room furniture to our enclosed porch yesterday. Eating breakfast on the porch this morning felt like a summer vacation without the packing. I also had the good fortune of coming into a pair of English riding boots, courtesy of the Women's Exchange down the street, which I am breaking in today. Consignment shopping on a May weekend is my kind of heaven.

I hope that everyone had a perfect Mother's Day!

Congratulations, Robbie! Some of the most pow...

May 11, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Congratulations, Robbie! Some of the most powerful political movers and shakers of our time began in the PTA. I hope we get first dibs on school gossip! Today is the last day of classes for students, and I've already started to say goodbye to many of them. Sigh. One chapter ends, another begins.

This weekend was particularly beautiful, and ...

May 07, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

This weekend was particularly beautiful, and I got to plant my beans and spinach in the ground. Williamstown is at its best in May and June, which is too bad for all of the students who are buried in the library with finals. I am incrementally preparing to leave the college and community, and am almost excited by the prospect, though not by the idea of moving in August. Mom has hinted that she may help me move, which would be fun. I hope that all of you are well- I am so excited to come home for my birthday!

I have just learned the amazing skill of edit...

April 30, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I have just learned the amazing skill of editing wikis. I haven't learned a new skill in ages (well, since I learned how to use imovie a year or so ago). My skin feels raw and my eyes are still sensitive to the light from being immersed in nerd language. I think I'm going to get my whole office to start using a wiki to organize our office's information, and I'm beefing up a very new Campus Compact wiki. My style is not Wikipedia-perfect, but there's something satisfying about contributing to a community where putting information out there is more important than having it be perfect. If information is a collective work in progress, it makes so much sense to be bold!

I recently found a gray hair

April 24, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I recently found a gray hair. Actually, I found many gray hairs in my head, and pulled this one out for further observation and reflection. I am curious if 25 is when this sort of thing starts to happen, or if I have just been pretending to be older than I really am for so long that it's caught up with me. I've become older than I really am.

Last week I drove to Providence, Rhode Island, where I was offered, and took, the national Campus Compact VISTA Leader position. Moving to Providence will be a bit of a shock, but I'm very excited by the possibilities the position affords. And, much to the relief of mom, it's only a one-year position, so I'll be in grad school and on my way home soon.

I've been quite busy with work, but able to appreciate the rapid shift toward spring this weekend. I actually slept with the windows open last night, quite the change from last week's sleet and rain. Tonight is also my favorite community event all season, the Northern Berkshire Neighbors Community Recognition Awards, where everyone who is nominated wins. I always get roped into going and shaking the mayor's hand, and he always seems uncomfortable smiling that much. And I love standing next to people that are being recognized for mowing their lawns really well.

Here is the Easter meal we had, which is now...

April 11, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Here is the Easter meal we had, which is now only scraps of salmon Kulebakha leftovers and way too many deviled eggs!

While it snowed on Easter, the house was warm...

April 10, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

While it snowed on Easter, the house was warmed by the smokey heat of frying perogies and blinys and cooking kulebakha, and the warmth of friends. I did call Seraph in desperation on Saturday, having somehow ruined all of my beet-dyed eggs. She had many helpful suggestions, among them to find the beauty in imperfection. So here is one of them- Dorothy should recognize the lovely plate from this Christmas! However, the good food and company made me miss home all the more. I can't wait to visit in early June!

It is nearly warm in Western Massachusetts, a...

April 03, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

It is nearly warm in Western Massachusetts, and I started seedlings for vegetables this weekend. Work is swinging along, and I had a great time at the Idealist Conference last weekend. My friends and I are planning a three day Easter feast, with the final day featuring Russian delights!

Adam: the earring returns? I can't believe I ...

March 15, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Adam: the earring returns? I can't believe I missed that post! Hurrah! The college's operations strategic mister mister wears a totally bad ass earring, too. And, for the record, I think Mischa is just fine.

This picture is just a reminder to folks to s...

March 13, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

This picture is just a reminder to folks to start preparing their costumes. The wrong style cigar or bow tie could sour the moment. I, obviously, am still working on the perfect Richie (this look is from where Margot gets off the bus and says, "stand up straight and let me get a look at you." Nico is playing in the background.

The job search plugs along. I had a phone interview this afternoon and the position in Rhode Island looks very promising. I have a feeling that being a queer feminist puts me out of the running for positions at Catholic colleges, though they are refreshingly social-justice oriented. If anyone finds any higher ed civic engagement positions laying about, waiting to be filled, give me a holler. I have requested that my friend embezzle money to bring me with him to a women's cooperative farming project in Africa this summer, but we'll see how successful he is.

The Royal Tenenbaum Party is not yet blog-wor...

February 28, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

The Royal Tenenbaum Party is not yet blog-worthy, as I haven't gotten full buy-in from the cast and crew, nor set a date for said event. But I had such a lovely 25th birthday with Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land that I thought another film-themed party would be a nice way to venture into my late mid-twenties. No final decisions have been made, and going to Cuba by myself is still a possibility.

I haven't left work earlier than nine at nigh...

February 23, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I haven't left work earlier than nine at night all week- the Paresky Center is like a casino of student energy. I've come to realize that if the place you spend most of your time eating is home, the quilt might be a little too on the nose for me.

I have moved into my new Office! Or rather, t...

February 16, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I have moved into my new Office! Or rather, the new Center for Community Engagement. The Paresky student center appears to have everything anyone could ever want, if one was a college student looking for leisure and leadership development. Hopefully, things will calm down next week, but it has been a very, very busy day in Paresky. Many dozen of my cookies were eaten, and almost every student stopped in front of my flip chart to wonder aloud, "What on earth is Community Engagement?" But we have to be up with the times- "service" is so last century.

Did you know that the production of a single ...

February 08, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Did you know that the production of a single gold ring generates, on average, 20 tons of waste? Don't buy your honey gold on Valentines day! I recommend Oxfam and Heifer International.

In celebration of Valentine's Day, my room mate Janet and I are organizing a Williamstown Hugging Brigade, and we're giving out free hugs on Spring Street and Main Street all afternoon, despite winter snow warnings. As the Paresky Center project manager said to me (as he was checking in one more time to make sure I was happy and doing well in my new office), "what's more romantic than hugging in the snow?" I couldn't agree more.

Thinking and wishing and hoping for a Bob rec...

January 23, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Thinking and wishing and hoping for a Bob recovery!

All is well in nearly-snowy Williamstown! I l...

January 19, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

All is well in nearly-snowy Williamstown! I lost my winter mittens and am borrowing Janet's, which I like a little too much. I'm plowing through a thousand things at work to spend the rest of the day in Northampton, though I do have a meeting there. At least it's in my favorite coffee shop. Hope all is well with all of you!

We were opening up the windows to our enclose...

January 08, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

We were opening up the windows to our enclosed porch this weekend because it was so warm in the house. This picture (of Janet in an awesome Cat and Girl T-shirt, www.catandgirl.com) from our apartment is just to show how creepily lovely the weather is here!

I had a wonderful time at home, and now home...

January 04, 2007 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

I had a wonderful time at home, and now home has come to New England! Instead of our usual biting January, it continues to rain and occasionally pretend to be June, or at least winter on the west coast. After a bout with a cold that was long enough to be the flu, I am getting back into the swing of work and Williamstown living. Most notably, I went to a great party at Nick Baker's house to celebrate the birthdays of David Bowie, Elvis Presley, and Stephen Hawking. Lauren even brought fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches!