When life gives you lemons, do funny things with them

Like Barney Stinson, when I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

For years, people have asked me how I manage to be so awesome. It's all about knowing how to cheer yourself up when someone messes up your day, you do something foolish, you feel let down, or there's just a general feeling of malaise about you. Maybe today is just not your day.

That is unacceptable in grad school. You've got stuff to do. People to meet, networks to build, papers to write, and trees to kill with all that printing. Everyday is your day.

But sometimes, the day needs a little convincing that is in, in fact, YOUR day. After all, you aren't the only grad student, it's got to be YOUR DAY to hundreds of thousands of other people. Here are some tricks to turning your day around:

I find general malaise and misery is cured best by videos. Check out:

Funny things:
Any of the screaming goats videos, such as:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rrts7p2FKa4

Whose Line Is It Anyway? scenes from a hat and other compilations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-J1j4lgb0E

Cute things:
The Corgi Flop never fails: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glii-kazad8

Cuteness Overload videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCNdSc8_qF4

Cute Overload website (pictures and videos): www.cuteoverload.com

Inspirational things:
This amazing person: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448

Dolphins creating tricks: http://www.castanet.net/news/Offbeat/75547/Dolphins-create-trick

Sometimes, though, one or ten particular things really throw you off, and those can be very distracting.

If someone has wronged you:
If you're in a forgiving mood, remember that everyone is fighting their own battle and you were probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You can't know everything about the person and hir circumstances and give zie the benefit of the doubt. At the very least, you can move on from the incident or have a cool head to find a peaceful resolution.

Not in a forgiving mood? It's still probably not a good idea to continue and/or pick a fight because one person did something and you can't control yourself. I find in these situations that I just need time to cool down and then I can go from there. So, I need distractions until I'm not mad anymore. I generally try:

Watching any (good) Abridged Series

Imgur
Starting a conversation with a friend from home (or, at the least, someone outside your grad-school circle).

But NOT Facebook or anything that may allow me to ruminate on the conflict or source of sadness/anger.

Just find distractions that won't make you more angry.

But, I once knew a guy who let off steam by imagining how he would commit heinous crimes. So, really, it's up to you.

And then, there's homesickness. How do I deal with homesickness? Well, mostly I curl up on the couch, hug my dog, and wallow in misery for a little while before going back to my life, but I also do things that remind me of home. I talk to old friends, read books/watch movies in the same kind of setting, etc. Often I'll talk to a friend from back in Arizona about how much everything sucks out here in Binghamton. And, even though it doesn't actually suck, it just helps to have a commiserating-buddy.

Stay cheerful,

Jessica

P.S. Yay shameless plugs for lots of different people! And, sorry there were no pictures of Zoe. Here's one to make up for it:

What do you mean, "Did I get into the trash, again?" 

I Will Give My Best Effort Not to Be So Late Again, But No Promises

Weeeeeee're back!

Sorry for the long hiatus, but this is supposed to be an upbeat, sarcastically happy-ish blog and that was not happening during finals crunch time. And then I was lazy over the remaining few weeks. Sorry.

"Quick" Recap:

November was awesome. It was great testing my personal character with people asking me over and over if I was going home for Thanksgiving when, for the first time in my life, I would be spending it without family. I can confidently say I am a strong individual who can repress those negative emotions like champ. I think this is a principal skill of all grad students.

Luckily, I knew someone who was also not able to spend Thanksgiving with her family who graciously invited me to dinner with complete strangers from the anthropology and psychology departments. And you know what? It was a blast. Dinner was fantastic, the conversation was great, there were cats in boxes and a happy dog eager to play. Thank you, everyone. If you, for some reason, read this, you know who you are, and you hopefully love comma splices as much as I do. :)

The only reason I left early was because I was still training Zoe to be out of her crate while I was gone and we were pushing the time limit.

I destroyed the house while you were gone. Then I took a nap. You mad?

Then came December! With December came deadlines. Turns out the first semester of grad school wasn't so bad until it was almost over. I don't think it ended badly, but I'm still missing one grade, so we'll see.

December started off with a bang as we celebrated Ora M. Baker's 117th birthday party. There were bagpipes, a drunk Santa, and a tombstone, make of that what you will. It's anthropology, we do weird stuff. 

I'd like to give a shout out to my neighbors, who will probably never read this, for taking care of Zoe for the 18 days I was gone. You are amazing and the main reason I'll probably renew my lease here. Please don't leave. 

I was told as an undergraduate that grad students don't really get breaks, because they are working on school projects or school stuff over the weeks off. They have a much smaller window of time to go home or relax and celebrate whatever holiday they choose. Apparently, this applies much less to terminal Master's students. No thesis, no dissertation, nada. I guess crushing debt when I graduate isn't so bad if I get to go home earlier and save money on plane tickets, right? RIGHT?

But seriously, going back to Arizona--where the sun shines all day, it's less cold, and the food is free--was exactly what I needed. I got to join in for the first time the event of Festivus. There was a great dinner which we ate during the Airing of the Grievances, which I found fascinating. It's rare you meet a group of people who can openly do such a thing without ruining their friendship (completely) and I'm glad most of my Arizona friends are like this. It started out funny but certainly was not for the faint of heart by the end. Luckily, I was gone half a year so the grievances against me weren't too bad, if fully justified. >.>

The following events included feats of strength and throwing a microwave until it was in pieces. So, in Binghamton I went to a birthday party for Ora M. Baker and in Phoenix I threw a microwave. Different brands of crazy, but crazy fun all the same.

An afternoon and night of hanging out and gaming with two of my closest friends, which culminated in us being destroyed by a Lovecraftian monster then going home was fantastic. A trip up to Flagstaff so my parents' dog could be unimpressed by snow but love to play with the other dogs was great. Hanging out with a few Ju-jitsu peeps for the New Year was also great. The whole trip was great. I loved being home with my family and most of my AZ friends and to all those I wasn't able to see--next time! Probably.

I apologize if you've read this far and thought, "Gosh that's a lot of text!" to that I say, "I have a lot to catch up on and share!" to which you should say, "Give me pictures of puppies!!" to which I would say, "Certainly!" Because, let's face it, that's why you're really here.

Peanut butter?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OHMYGODPEANUTBUTTER!!!!

Does this footrest make my butt look fat?

This is not the owl you're looking for. Move along. 

For those who don't know Sam, he is a former foster dog my parents rescued last summer, when Zoe and I were still in Arizona. We know he's part Aussie Shepherd, we think he's also part Newfoundland. But really, he's 100% Adorable. Hilariously, even though he was much smaller than Zoe when we first got him, he would chase her and boss her around. Sam went through a little Puppy Boot Camp while I was home that hopefully got him started on the right track to being a little more better behaved. Both Sam and Zoe are future therapy dogs, although I think we'll see pictures of Zoe in her official vest and patch first. 

And now it's January. I'm back in Binghamton--so if anyone wants to come over to play with Zoe, let me know!--and gearing up to make some money at the library! Yay money! Boo three week pay delay! There is snow up here and Zoe loves it, so maybe the next blog will include fun pictures of Zoe playing in the snow. I guess you'll just have to read it. 

Finally-ish, my New Year's Resolutions (because I have a blog and can do this) include making myself a better person by:

Learning to forgive

Learning to be patient

Being thoughtfully compassionate

Incorporating new communication styles and adapting to the styles of others

Nixing the laziness (except when I have time for it)

Feel free to share your New Year's Resolutions in the comments because most of Facebook doesn't care, but I do. :)

Stay happy,

Jessica

P.S.

I did not know where to put this, so I'm putting it here. DISCLAIMER: Sad things to follow.

Another reason I put off making this post is because I wasn't sure if I should touch on some of the tragedies of 2012. This thing is about living life on the funny side, but I have decided it would be remiss to ignore these things altogether. So, let me just say my hopes and prayers go out to all those who have been directly touched by one of the many tragic things that happened in 2012.

HALLOWEEN!!!

My Labrador Re-terror/Australian Scary mix

Halloween is my favorite holiday for a variety of morbid reasons, namely that everyone who finds skeletons creepy the rest of the year suddenly realizes how cool they are. Binghamton did not let me down! Those of you who came to my Halloween party last year, rest assured it was not outdone this year and that event still holds a special place in my heart, no matter how many weird looks my neighbors gave me the next day.

Halloween in Binghamton is rainy thanks to Hurricane/Tropical Storm/Superstorm Sandy. We were extremely lucky the storm turned and we avoided severe weather. Zoe and I did stay in a hotel room just in case, pictures are below.

"What do you mean I don't get the whole bed???"

"Shh! I'm watching the weather channel!"

"You were serious about the bed thing, weren't you?"

I would like to take this moment to say I hope all those adversely affected by the storm who are still alive continue to be that way despite flooding and damage. I hope all those who lost something or someone (animals included) they valued and/or could hardly bear to live without find the support they need to get through this tough time. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. If you have spare change, feel free to get on Santa's nice list early and send it through one of the numerous donation centers that have been floating around facebook/the internet. If you don't, feel free to write Donald Trump and tell him exactly how to use that 5 million dollars (productively).





Thanks for indulging in my serious paragraph in what is supposed to be a fun blog. Here's what we did for Halloween:

A couple friends and I went to the Boo at the Zoo, which was creepier/more startling than I expected. I did not hit anyone out of reflex, possibly because I was holding fry bread at the time. In spite of concern for the animals regarding the loud noise, we had a pretty good time! We combated growing creep-out factors by asking everyone if they were Sasha, who told us she would be going but then never did, so that was kinda awkward. The only costumed worker we didn't ask was a burly lumberjack-killer dude, since it was pretty clear he was not, in fact, Sasha.

Just to be clear, the one on the left is not Sasha.

No pictures! Too dark! There were dancing people in skeleton outfits but most of them were all sorts of wrong. A whole foot where the sternum would be, sacrum on backwards, broken femurs, those guys were a mess! 


Zoe and I went to a Halloween gathering at the dog park! She didn't have a costume but she did get to play around and have some nice, free treats out of it. The dog park here is great because it's a community project and maintained by the community, so there is a real sense of friendship and camaraderie. In Tempe, the dog parks are maintained by the city, so people aren't really invested in them and there aren't a lot of events like we have here. I guess Greater Binghamton isn't so bad, after all.  

Finally, some friends hosted a pumpkin carving party at their apartment which was tons of fun. I got a little pumpkin normally meant for pie and tried to carve 3.14 in (so it would be pumpkin pi!) but the four broke a bit so it was 3.19 (pumpkin pi?). On the other side I carved ZOE, since I would be giving the pumpkin to Zoe when I got home . . .

. . . and she apparently loves pumpkin!

Well, it's November now and it's supposed to start snowing soon (sigh). I'm off to look into driving lessons so I'm not this crazy desert girl in snow driving like I'm from Arizona or something.

Stay happy!

P.S.

"I told you I wanted to be Esmeralda, but you never listen."

Fall Fun

Hey Phoenix, Arizona! THIS is what fall looks like! It's just like in the movies!

Sorry for the late update!

Updates:
Have not taken up meditation, have taken up Chinese! Nihao!
We did have a second study session that was mildly more productive than the first and ended in a delicious dinner at Cortese. NOTE: Cortese now sucks. Don't eat there.

October has been a fun-filled month! The quick version:
Hiking:
We had a few hikes. One involved more people than normal, was extra spooky, and we pretended we were in a horror movie.

Leah killed me with a stick.

 Of course, any hike with Zoe involves sticks.

*

Sometimes she gets a little over-enthusiastic.  *

 And finally, my desert-dwelling ways led me astray one morning when I checked the weather, saw it might be rainy, advised Mandy to bring an umbrella and/or raincoat, then did none of those things myself. Mandy kindly let me use her poncho (aka, pee-colored, semi-transparent, trash-bag-with-a-hood-and-sleeves). Thanks Mandy!

 

Maybe people won't notice me if the waterfall is in the picture . . .  *

In the middle of that was apple picking! I could do that for money and be perfectly happy. We got to pick apples and raspberries and spent much less money than expected, leaving us free to spend it on stuff in the neat little shop they had.

Finally, my mom came up for a visit and we had a wonderful time. Sunday we went up to the beautiful Buttermilk Falls, a place that can only be improved by decreasing the amount of steps you have to climb to get to the really good stuff. We also took my dog to Aqua Terra and let her off the leash and I have NO pictures or video! What good am I?
Anyway, Zoe had a blast at Aqua Terra. For those who live 2000 miles or so from Bing, or who have less distance-related reasons for never going, it's basically a little lake with a trail around it. There's probably more but I've only been twice and that's all I have seen. Remember, Zoe is a swimming dog now, so she went off and played in the lake, fetching sticks, and when she was on land, she bounded around the forest sniffing everything and stepping in all the mud she could find. We gave her a good combing and bath afterwards but she was the happiest dog on Earth for a good hour at the park.

Also, I got a car!! Thanks all go to my parents who helped me research vehicles, find a deal and ultimately not get totally screwed over. Thanks to my dad who did most of the talking, and scolded Toyota when they screwed up, and thanks to my mom who came out to Binghamton and helped me out with pick up and new driving. I have the best parents ever. :)

Here's a funny story. I have a one bedroom apartment all to myself, I go to grad school in the best program for my interests and this point in my career, I go to state parks, and I have a 2013 Corolla lease. Why is that funny? NO ONE DOES THAT. No grad student does that! I laugh because I get to pay for all the monthly stuff plus rent and living expenses with two part time jobs and if you can't handle that with a laugh you can't handle it at all. Having the car will make life much easier and I'll save on the cost of therapy after I finish grad school, so it all really evens out in the end. 

Here's the token picture of Zoe doing something cute, no shortage of these:

Yes, that is me sleeping on the couch with Zoe's paws all over my face, why?

On a less humorous and more surviving-grad-school-with-sanity-intact:
When I first came to Binghamton University, I was far from home and had no connections. Now, thanks to the efforts of others and myself to go out and do things and forge those vital social relationships, I'm just far from home. Going hiking on an almost weekly basis and attending events like apple picking with my newest friends has been an important part of enjoying graduate school, despite the efforts certain professors (we know who you are). This blog is about finding the funny side of life despite the stress, and my friends have made that ten quadrillion times easier. So here's a shout-out to all of my grad school friends, you know who you are!

Stay cheerful my friends.

P.S. * This picture was not taken by me or with my camera. Credit goes to Mandy Roome. Thanks Mandy!

Seriously. Cortese. Avoid it.

"Study" Sessions and Silly Puppies

I am going to take up meditation. I read all this stuff (read: a couple sources, but one was the current Dalai Lama so he counts for, what, fourteen sources, actually?) about how it helps manage stress and thought, "Hey, relieving stress sounds nice. I can't rely on Lady Gaga song parodies for that all the time!" So yeah, update on my ability to concentrate on my breathing for "long" periods of time to come next post.

Some Wednesday ago, I organized the first study session for our 501: History of Anthropology course and we had a pretty good turnout of five people. Way to be dedicated, five peeps. Anyway, we didn't really study, we talked about silly stuff and laughed for an hour, which was awesome. We now have some phrases that will always be funny and never get old, such as "It was the tiniest puff of smoke"  and "I want to change that," regarding the world but applicable to anything else we want to change.

 Next study session on Sunday? Maybe with half studying and half laughter? Stay tuned!

Oh, and Zoe is a swimming dog now! We went to a BBQ at my advisor's farm (because I go to THAT kind of school, the fantastic kind) and she got over her fear of water by accidentally jumping into the deep end. She's ok, and she got her toy, but she realized that water won't hurt her and now she's a happy little swimmer:

Hopefully the link works, it looks a little weird now.

I keep telling people that having Zoe up here with me makes my life harder, but more enjoyable. Without her, I would be able to just spend all day on campus and not be stressed out by the bus, but then there would be an empty place in my life and I would be sad. It's definitely a trade-off having my dog here but she makes me happy and she's kind of a surrogate pup for everyone who had to leave their dog behind. She's mine and as a responsible pet owner, I choose to accommodate her and she rewards me by continuing to be adorable, playful, and funny.

"What?"

That's all for now! Stay happy.

P.S. My parents' dog is also a nearly endless source of hilarity. You wish your dogs were as cool as ours. Oh, who am I kidding, they're all cool.

P.P.S If I send this to you by email and you want to make sure I don't forget you (because it could happen, even if I still like you), click "Subscribe by email" at the bottom! 

Bad Lip Reading Makes My Week

I was planning to make this a weekly if not less-frequently-updated blog but I like going with the funny stuff instead of a regular schedule.

And boy, I haven't laughed like this in a while!

BLR (Bad Lip Reading) spoofs various movies and speeches by voicing over the characters/speaker with what it looks like they're saying. I love it when people do things like this anonymously because it's really like they're just doing it for fun and not for recognition. Thanks anonymous hilarity.

Edward and Bella is their latest video and it's fantastic. Just watch it. I've watched it three times and it still gets me.

The second humorous thing that keeps popping up this week is all the stuff the grad mailing list suggests for us to do! You know, instead of reading. Binghamton is apparently never boring with music, and shows, and bars, and people going places and doing things and making connections but, I'm so sorry, I have 100 or so pages to read by Tuesday and some Korean drama to catch up on (Faith, anybody?).

Stay happy!

(Dude, you slapped a fish.) 

Hell's Kitchen and Anthropology!

I thought about doing a big THIS IS MY FIRST POST IT IS SO IMPORTANT first post but then I decided I wouldn't be able to settle on anything important and this is supposed to be more lighthearted than soul-inspiring or whatever.

On this Wednesday night, the next hour will be full of Hell's Kitchen/MasterChef and reading for my 501: History of Anthropology course. And wondering why Dana from Hell's Kitchen can't open her eyes all the way (seriously, watch her during the interviews). And why is she always yelling?


Oh, and if you don't get the "humerus" joke then you should fix that, because it's an oldie but a goodie (one could even say it was rather humorous).

Perhaps the biggest inspiration for laughter so far in this wild ride to grad school has been my dog, Zoe. She is a 15 month old labrador retriever/aussie shepherd. She's been there for me when I'm homesick, let's me hug her and asks me incessantly to pet and play with her,

"No leaving until you play with me."

"Must . . . catch . . . ball . . . zzz."

which I do, until she's all tuckered out and sleepy.

Here's to all those grad students out there who need a little laughter in their lives.

Stay happy.