Monday, February 2, 2009

the more you hurry, the further you fall from perfection

Mau-ry! Mau-ry! Mau-ry!





I am baaaack per the unrelenting demands imposed on me by friends and family missing my memoirs. Ok, not really, more-so  as a therapeutic mechanism for me to treat my seeming inability to be mindful in a world always in a hurry to get things done.

My return to the blogosphere comes at a time when, after speaking with my trusted cohorts, I realized I was unhappy, stressed out, and disconnected from the environment, myself, my friends, schoolwork, and life in general. We live in a culture that encourages (imposes) ambition, to the degree that (especially) those of us who are intrinsically motivated zealots (conformists), are too easily pulled into becoming burdened by the very things that interest us, and thus prematurely grayed, wrinkled, and hypertensive. Is it really possible to indulge my curiosity and still maintain time and energy to drink a glass of wine in the bubble bath without feeling guilty? The answer is NO. Not when there are derivatives and alkanes and protists to be learned. 

That said, with the counsel and careful ear of some of my most trusted peers, I have decided to withdraw from my organic chemistry course in exchange for being more thorough in everything else, as well as a little more self indulgent. In case you're not up to speed, I'm presently in San Diego, living in my own dreamy apartment in North Park. As my livelihood, I'm the head coach of the Master's Women Program at ZLAC Rowing Club- an endeavor in need(ed) of lots of love and labor, but now blossoming quite nicely. Furthermore, I'm the manager and rigger of the rowing club, which lends itself to a flexible yet predictable schedule  of me up at 1am browsing shell parts. Outside of the boathouse, I'm pursuing prerequisites for medical school and studying for the MCAT. I'm hoping to apply to howtobeadoctor school this year, but it's somewhat ambiguous as to whether my withdrawal from o-chem will delay me another year. (Be that as it may, I will remain happy coaching, reading leisurely, studying French, and doing yoga). A la carte, I'm volunteering at a health clinic, training for the Rock and Roll Marathon (where I hope to go sub-3:40 and qualify for Boston), working on a revision for my second rejection from Hepatology, cooking and arranging produce as an art form, making lists, and trying to start a book club, along with a health focused philanthropic foundation. 

Of note, I recently purchased health insurance which although I consider to be the biggest scam known to man, is still somewhat of a psychological relief. 

Things with the family are good. My dad is presently in Europe competing in the Monte Carlo Rallye.  Speaking of which, my most notable xmas gift came from dad- a pair of fire retardant shoes for when we rally the Jaguar together this summer!  Pretty cool eh? I will be driving and he will be navigating.... more to come later.

As seen below, I spent the first days of my 24th year in Seoul. Since then, I've ran two marathons,  gained 8 pounds, danced around a pole in Vegas with my (*cough*, olympian) friends, spent two (separate) weeks in New York (where I attended a live taping of a who-yo-babydaddy Maury Pauvich show and the Thanksgiving Special of Conan Obrien, ate a late night hot dog in central park, ran along the Hudson, went to a slew of museums (including the bodies exhibit), left early from a painful off-broadway show, volunteered at a GLAAD art auction (where I made friends with gay porno producers and speedo designers,) drank beer, ate NY pizza, and talked a lot of IR with Wiss and Laine), moved into my own apartment, took a semester of calculus in four weeks (hateful), dropped my first course in school EVER, and accumulated less dust than normal on my acoustic Hohner. I guess I'm about at zero, though I hope my most recent decision to abort cis and trans will put me back in the positive quadrant of life.

Stay tuned... I've already got a quickly expanding repository of funny shit that happens to me on the city bus. Last week I made friends with an MTVthree rapper named Decimal (because "I'm to the point").

4 comments:

nonfinis said...

OMG Olivia, I miss your inspirational rants and experiences! And I am incredibly jealous of you getting to see Conan O'Brien whom I have loved for his self-deprecating humor for the last ten years. Well wishes all around!

Anonymous said...

Hi Baby,
Love to read your posts!
Mama

Allie Rose said...

I am VERY excited to stay tuned into your blog. I hope you keep the entries coming!

Allan Stellar said...

I love that second paragraph!Great job!