hey, wud up?

G R I M E S: I don't want to have to compromise my morals in order to make a living

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:32:13 -0400

G R I M E S: I don't want to have to compromise my morals in order to make a living :

i dont want my words to be taken out of context

i dont want to be infantilized because i refuse to be sexualized

i dont want to be molested at shows or on the street by people who perceive me as an object that exists for their personal satisfaction

i dont want to live in a world where…

I am super poor right now, but after this week I think I should have some spending money for drinks and gas. :) Do you have a car to meet halfway in Quincy-ish area? If not, I make it into Boston every couple of weeks anyway.

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:45:58 -0400

Wow, I completely missed this. I only check tumblr on my phone and am sort of an idiot when it comes to figuring out apps.

I realize that you have now moved to NY to work for Tumblr (congrats!!), so this creepy meetup is likely out of the question. But, if you’re looking for new friends and new places to check out in NY, my friend’ Lindsay’s cousin owns a bar in Greenpoint called Greenpoint Heights. Lindsay works there too, and she is pretty awesome. She is the one you remind me of. Her bar has the best Mac and cheese I’ve ever had, and their pulled pork tacos are so freakin’ good.

That’s all I know about NY cuz it scares the shit out of me. Have fun and good luck!

Oh, and if it is any consolation, I was drunk on a weeknight (wine, man) when I wrote that question. Good excuse for me missing the response?

I just looked at so many things on Tumblr that made me smile. Normal people posting normal things...

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 00:22:26 -0500

I just looked at so many things on Tumblr that made me smile. Normal people posting normal things like cats and things about their jobs and pictures of people doing normal things.

I worry sometimes that my life is too normal. That I’m too young for my life to be this normal and average. I’m twenty-five, own a house with my boyfriend of 7+ years that I don’t hate, and pull up pictures of my cats to show everyone whenever I have the opportunity.

I have an 8-5 job that I commute to, and staying out past 11 is a “late night” for me. I bake more than any non-professional baker should bake and I watch more Intervention and Dance Moms than any responsible adult should watch. I spend a lot of time alone. Sometimes I worry about these things. I think that I should be out drinking till 1 and making poor decisions, but I am SO GLAD I am not.

Look, I’ve had those times. But these times? Better. Tonight I drank beer with co-workers and played Jenga and talked about cats and dogs. We discussed debt and loans and gas mileage and I didn’t hate it. In fact, it was great.

Being 25 and employed and fiscally responsible and childless and fucking boring is great.

I would venture to say that this is my favorite age.

The only thing that would make it better? My best friends living in my neighborhood.

#waiting #train (Taken with Instagram at Porter Square)

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 22:43:56 -0400

#waiting #train (Taken with Instagram at Porter Square)

Me and Jesse just put an offer in in a house. My bank account is telling me to save as much money as...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 20:35:00 -0400

Me and Jesse just put an offer in in a house. My bank account is telling me to save as much money as humanly possible over the next few months. My brain is telling me to increase the amount of money I spend on wine because the alcohol will absolutely be necessary to kill the anxiety that this whole process is inducing. But it is exciting! And scary. Really fucking scary.

I have been trying really hard not to hate most things. Every day, I come home from work, and I have...

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:24:00 -0500

I have been trying really hard not to hate most things.

Every day, I come home from work, and I have something to complain about. It isn’t always work related. Sometimes it is about the guy sitting next to me on the train who is having a very loud, very gesticulated work-related conversation. Sometimes it is about something I read on the interwebs.

Today, it is about something I read on the interwebs.

The gist of this article was that Zooey Deschanel is adorable, and being adorable is irritating because it isn’t age-appropriate. Polka dots aren’t age-appropriate. Tights and converse aren’t womanly. Jewelry (not from Etsy) is womanly. Dates that don’t involve walks and ice cream, but rather wine and date-like things (although she didn’t specify what those date-like things are) are adult. God forbid you like kittens. I just don’t get it. This woman was basically saying that females have to change after leaving college. You have to “grow up”, not just emotionally but also in how you present yourself to the world. This I get, to an extent. But she goes beyond that. She suggests that you not only have to present yourself like an adult, but you should rid your life of any interests that could be labeled as child-like. No kittens. No ice cream. No walks. No Converse. No music with ukeleles.

No ukeleles?

Why should anyone have to change who they are to become more “adult”? Personally, I think I have done a damn good job of adapting myself to the adult, professional world without having to sacrifice the things that I use to define myself. I have a Masters in chemistry from a pretty good school, and I achieved that in less time than it takes most people. My advisor suggested that my thesis was about 2/3 of what a Ph. D. thesis would have been. I work for a company in Cambridge, using my degree. I’m currently vying for a promotion that would give me a lot of responsibility over a very exciting project, something most people with masters in chemistry don’t really get to do. I am respected by my co-workers and my boss, and my boss’s boss. I make enough money to pay for my rent, my bills, my car, and everything else I want to do. I have a high-yield savings account with more than six moths rent, I contribute to a 401k, I have health insurance, I donate to charities. I am saving for a new car. I also buy dresses, tights, and leggings at Target. I wear silly t-shirts and band t-shirts and science t-shirts, and I wear them to work with jeans, cardigans, and Converse. I don’t straighten my hair or wear more makeup than mascara and eyeliner or wear jewelry, unless it’s my lime green watch or the handful of artsy-type necklaces that I got from Etsy or Forever21. My apartment is covered in pictures that I took, and nothing really matches, and my curtains are made from silly fabric that I bought at Ikea. Most of our furniture is from Ikea or are hand-me-downs. I like music with ukeleles and strong, adorable female singers and cellos and folksy twang. I like understated movies and movies by Wes Anderson and hate most romantic comedies and action movies that are popular and “adult”. Sometimes I like an animated movie. I like walks and ice cream. I really like ice cream. I generally don’t like bars, unless they have a cool vibe or a good band and aren’t playing house music and aren’t crawling with guys who gel their hair and talk with fake Jersey accents. I like having conversations and spending Friday nights playing games. And I’m not going to apologize for any of these things. The day I have to show up for work in generic Express clothes is the day I look for a new job. There are men out there who understand that being a “woman” isn’t something you can define by pantsuits and fine wine. I found one of them. We both sleep with our childhood stuffed animals and we picked out our curtain fabric together. And when he read the article, he was equally infuriated. Why do you have to be boring to be considered “adult”? he asked. And why do you have to change who you are impress men?? I know many men that would take Zooey Deschanel in an instant, if given the chance.

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-25)

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 07:25:27 -0500

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-25):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-18)

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:30:32 -0500

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-18):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-11)

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:45:16 -0500

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-11):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-4)

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:00:48 -0500

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-4):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-11-27)

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:37:36 -0500

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-11-27):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-11-20)

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:57:07 -0500

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-11-20):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

Katie West: Today at work

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:22:13 -0500

Katie West: Today at work:

therealkatiewest:

Today I was talking with one of my fellow teachers at work and she was talking to me because she wanted to help me network with whatever it was I wanted to do. I told her that what I did wasn’t really the most appropriate thing to bring into a school of business. She didn’t understand so I showed…

I get this a lot. I am a chemist by trade, and one of the few that I’ve met that has a creative side. What you do for money and what you do for pleasure shouldn’t always be the same thing.

I struggle with this too. But then I think, why shouldn’t I love a bunch of different things? Why can’t I love baking and photography and chemistry and knitting, and choose only one to be my career? Who cares if it doesn’t fit. And who cares if I don’t fit the persona that goes along with any of them?

I think Katie is wonderful. And I am sick of people who judge others in this stupid unthinking way, who just assume that everyone is the way they “seem.” I’m sick of black and white.

Things That Have Pissed Me Off This Week: 1) Loud Talkers. You know, the ones who sound like...

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:56:46 -0500

Things That Have Pissed Me Off This Week:

1) Loud Talkers. You know, the ones who sound like they’re purposely talking loud so everyone can hear their conversation. I don’t care that your kid likes the chocolate frosted cinnamon buns even though you think they’re revolting.

2) People who lack self-awareness. This includes people who blog about not knowing what to blog about, people who report on Facebook that it is “Only Four Days!” until they get a new iPhone, people who post pictures of their new haircut as if people care, people who think that everyone cares about what they have to say, people who…

3) Ah, fuck. People. Just people.

—-

I thought about crawling under my desk today to see if people could still find me. I resent my boss for going on vacation, because while he’s enjoying the countryside of Ireland, I’m getting sick and handling things that my pay scale shouldn’t allow me to handle. I’m bitter about a lot of things, and would rather spend my days making pot roasts and baking cookies.

It’s time to get away. It has only been three months since our road trip, and I am already itching for the open road. Or something. Anything.

The impending holidays are already bumming me out.

I’m tired. I’m worn. I’m bored. I’m not challenged. Or I’m challenged too much, I can’t decide. Maybe I’m not challenged in the right way.

Oh, first world problems. Wah, I have a job. Wah, I am busy. Wah, technology is annoying. Wah, let me whine to my blog.

What I need to do is stfu and start taking some pictures and losing myself in my darkroom. I need to stop whining and just spend the $1800 for two tickets to Germany. I need to buck up and do what is asked of me so I get a promotion come March. I need to remember that our generation is not entitled to things, like challenges. Sometimes, you have to work a repetitive job, even if that job does require a Masters degree in chemistry. Sometimes things aren’t fun. Sometimes things are hard. Sometimes you get sick. Sometimes your boss goes on vacation and leaves you in charge. Sometimes you have to do things that you aren’t comfortable with. Growth, and what not.

Eh. Doesn’t change the fact that I am a Cynical Cynthia today.

It’s days like today that make me really love my job. I don’t know what I’m...

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:06:39 -0400

It’s days like today that make me really love my job.

I don’t know what I’m going to do when our company dissipates. I’m trying to picture a scenario in my head that even comes close to the work environment I have right now. I’m failing.

I’m using my degree. That’s first and foremost. I got a degree in something I love, and, luckily, it pays. I spend my days running reactions at a lab bench, wearing a lab coat, solving problems, and contributing to a project that could eventually be a cure for rheumatoid arthritis or cancer or heart disease.

I work with people I like. They have senses of humor. They understand sarcasm. And while we are not all 100% compatible in real life, we get along damn well in the lab. We joke about Bieber. We have “hypothetical question of the day”. We talk about workplace inappropriate things at lunch, and in the lab while we are getting shit done.

I have the Best Boss. He is a boss that can make things Happen. People listen when he speaks because he is smart and almost always right about what we should be doing or what direction our project should be heading. On top of that, he trusts me. He gives me a general direction to go, but lets me make my own decisions on what to make. And when I challenge him, he listens, whether I am right or not. He also understands that work is not the Ultimate Thing.

Today, for example, and the reason for this post, my boss declared that at 3, all work for the day must be complete because we were going on a field trip. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going. He wouldn’t tell me why. At 2:50 he was at my lab bench telling me that I better be done in 5 minutes.

My boss. The guy who is supposed to keep me working.

We left. Ten minutes later, we were at a bar in Cambridge. They were filming a documentary that had something to do with the Boston music scene. He knew I liked music, and especially the Boston scene, so he made sure he brought me along. We watched Jesse Dee play a couple of really awesome songs. We were filmed, since we were right up front. We drank a couple of beers. Then he made sure I got to Porter for my normal train. My boss.

I’m really, really going to miss this job when it’s gone.

"Here’s a TOTALLY GNARBALLS story to cheer you up: We’re all going to die and the universe is..."

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:44:34 -0400

“

Here’s a TOTALLY GNARBALLS story to cheer you up:

We’re all going to die and the universe is expanding. Seriously. Everyone will one day be dead. On to the next one, on on to the next one. Which is cool. Because you are tiny and basically microscopic existing on a big hunk of minerals that is just chillin on a space-wave through time. So when you don’t get that job or that girl breaks up with you or when Steve Carrell doesn’t get an Emmy, well, at the end of the day, no big deal, right? You’re still breathing and eating space and stars.

”

- - lieslieslies

I want Alan to write a TV show that gets canceled after the first season because it was never watched by the mainstream general public despite the overwhelmingly positive underground critical reviews.
(via whydoihaveablog)
For Jess!

Sushi. (Taken with instagram)

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 07:18:19 -0400

Sushi. (Taken with instagram)

Best house in Cambridge. Halloween is an everyday holiday,...

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:49:04 -0400

Best house in Cambridge. Halloween is an everyday holiday, obviously

The light is changing, finally. Not just getting darker earlier. The gloam. The sunrises and...

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:31:54 -0400

The light is changing, finally.

Not just getting darker earlier. The gloam. The sunrises and sunsets. Fall has the best light.

And the leaves are finally changing. Two days of rain and, boom! it’s fall.

I pretend like I dread winter. I don’t. It is colder, yes, but infinitely more interesting to look at than summer.

I’m ready for the cold. Bring it on.

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-10-9)

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 01:14:41 -0400

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-10-9):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz