Adventures on the T.

Let me start by saying I have been completely inactive today. We're talking approx. 7 hours on the couch watching bad TV.

Moving right along...

Great story for you guys. I mean, the point of this blog IS to post great stories to make you laugh or think or, I don't know, distract you from work.

Saturday I get myself all dolled up for the Make-A-Wish Gala (huge success, by the way) and hope on the T. When I get on the T there is no one else that gets on but a mildly attractive male with somewhat bad boy tendencies (be still my immature heart). He sits directly across from me. I exchange a few flirtatious glances and then nervously read the ads on the wall as I am known by ex boyfriends as the "shifty eye girl." It's a bizarre thing, I know. I just have a hard time making eye contact for long periods of time without blushing.

We get to the Harvard T stop and the doors open. Two elderly Chinese women get on and sit DIRECTLY. BESIDE. ME. There is an entire train to choose from but they are literally on top of me. I think nothing of this because I have weird experiences constantly with perfect strangers. The woman next to me pulls out a tupperware container and out of the corner of my eye I try to identify what she's about to eat. It sort of looks like grapefruit but I don't want to get caught staring so I look off into space. A split second later I look directly at bad boy sitting across from me and realize he is staring at the woman next to me with his mouth wide open in that appalled, "what the hell?" way. I turn to my left, look down, and watch- horrified- as she cracks hard boiled egg after hard boiled egg open and then throws the shells down on the floor ontop of my foot and nice nylons. My eyes move from egg to foot and back up to the guy who is now staring directly at me, laughing silently, shoulders shaking. I immediately burst into laughter and bite my bottom lip as hard as possible. I can't even bare to look at him now because there is no way we'll make it the rest of the ride without appearing rude. And, since I do not speak Chinese (and I'm assuming this dude doesn't either), there's no way to politely ask this woman to stop dumping the shells on my foot as I need to work a black tie event at the Intercontinental Hotel in approximately 30 minutes.

I finally land at my stop, exit the T and laugh til I cry, walking in the rain down Atlantic Avenue.

What. Is. My. Life?

Have you ever wondered why when in any given moment, your brain is literally minutes, hours, days or years ahead of you, giving you that cartoon character feeling where you wind up so fast to run that your feet have left and your body is still in place? Because I wonder about that every day. I'll be the first person to tell you to live in the moment, love the very second you're in and stop and smell the roses. But maybe it's easier to do that when there is nothing in the forseeable future. Maybe the reason we can just be happy in a moment is because we don't have any foresight into what the next moment may be. And when we finally DO, it changes everything.

I remember being at my old job and going home everyday to spend hours applying for new positions. I was so intent on moving on and moving out that the past year of my life before I moved to Boston was a pathetic little blur. I have almost no fond memories or pangs of nostalgia for that year at all except for the fact that I did love my coworkers and still miss them.

Now I am at my new job and I'm happy. I love what I do, I believe in it, and I've made great new friends. I have a fun apartment with awesome roommates in a great area of town. There is no forecasting. I'm living in the moment because there isn't any other moment that I want right now. I want what I have... or maybe I have what I want.

Of course, I still daydream about that chocolate shop at the foot of the Swiss Alps... but it seems more likely that that will come after the student loans have been paid off.

Then of course there is the issue of love- I've been in love... twice actually... maybe even three times. All very different types of love with very different types of people. And before I was in love with those various people, life was OK. I didn't have that "over the moon" feeling and a smile literally plastered to my face (ok, maybe I had the smile, but it wasn't coming from the same depths as the "love" smile), but life was good. I didn't know what I was missing-- I just knew that being single rocked, spending time with friends was the best, and all would happen in good time. Then, like a bat out of hell, love sideswipes you and turns you into this mush pot that picks wildflowers off the side of the road during lunch break. And all of a sudden you've reached this incredible high that you didn't know was possible and it's scary because what goes up must come down as the law of physics goes.

Bam. You're down. And now you're back to the place you were before except now you KNOW what love is like and now life is not quite the same. So you swear off relationships and you spend years reconstructing your heart and learning how to be the sassy, independent diva that you are... and that's when it happens again. Why? Because nature draws people into you when you are at your best. It makes sense...it's just annoying. Just when you finally think you're back to normal and happy, the complication finds its way back into your life. And you resist and fight and want desperately to keep it out but you eventually let your guard down again... and then it happens- the raging disappointment. The feeling that there is suddenly compromise or pain in someway... there is worry and missed calls and constant glancing into the future. Is this it? Where are we going? Should one of us move? Ughhhh.....

So again, things come down as they tend to and you are back at square one... though usually the second heartbreak is easier than the first. Maybe not easier, per se, you just now know how to deal with it and move on without the tears and excessive eating.

But see that's where it gets tricky- because now you've learned on multiple occasions that just because something is good at the start does not mean it always will be and it's a total double edged sword- you either keep your defenses so strong that you don't let anything in OR you let them down completely for a shot at that punch drunk feeling again... but you are reluctant to let yourself have that feeling because you know what it has the potential to do to you.

This is essentially a ramble. But I've been thinking about all of these things lately... and wondering if happiness comes from being 100% satisfied with life in its current state, in all its simplicity without complication? If happiness is the plateau where you know things aren't likely to go down at any moment (unless you get hit by a car or something) and it doesn't have the potential to go up, it just sort of is what it is and you have a routine and you're calm?

Hmmm.... No idea.

Sometimes I lie.

Has anyone ever lied to a complete stranger for no reason and the whole time the lie is leaving your mouth thought, "What?!" Well, I have... it all started back in college when I was bumped to first class on my way back from working in a Costa Rican orphanage for Jan Plan. I was excited to sit in the lap of luxury but was much more at home in steerage. I end up trying to convince the flight attendant that there has been a mistake but she laughs and says, "Why don't you just sit down and relax?" So I do. In my sweat pants and ponytail, having not showered for approx. 48 hours, knapsack full of sand, books, and banana chips I embarked on my journey home. Sitting next to me was a large, suit wearing gentleman who had already removed his shoes (swell). He had a lovely gold Rolex and fancy leather briefcase at his feet. I smiled and pulled out a book.

"Visting?"

Startled. "Yes, well, I have a friend named Fernando that I stayed with but I was here doing some fieldwork at a Costa Rican orphanage."

A nice "aren't you cute trying to build a resume" smile. "That's lovely... I was here on vacation."

"OH? What do you do, sir?"

"I'm the CEO of a computer software company but I try to spend as much time as possible on my yacht."

Eeee.... really, though, I want to be back with the rats in steerage right now.

"Wow, that's crazy..." I muster. "So, you've traveled a lot?"

"Oh yes, all of Europe, Asia, the US, etc... it's a great life. So are you in school? What do you study?"

Well, sir, I go to Colby College where I study Spanish and Latin American Studies because I enjoy languages, culture, and all things beautiful. I plan on graduating and single handedly saving all the children by teaching them the alphabet and fun songs that I heard on Kids Rock and perhaps showing them how to make ice cream.

"Oh, actually, I'm finishing up at Colby with a degree in International Relations and I have already been accepted to law school at Harvard where I plan to study human rights law and one day work for the UN. I've already landed a great internship with UNESCO this summer."

Lie, lie, lie.

"Young lady, good for you! Your parents must be proud!"

Ya, I bet.

What possessed me to lie that day? I guess I felt intimidated. I ended up recalling this event to my cultural anthropology class one day a few weeks later and they got a real charge out of that. I'm sure my professor thought it was fascinating.

Sure enough, Saturday night, the lying continued. I'm out at a bar and the man next to me starts talking to me. Turns out he's a doctor from Harvard, finishing up his residency. What do I say to him?

"Wow, that's so funny, I am planning on going to med school to become a pediatrician. I just wanted to work a bit first to save some money and study."

"You know, you have to take the MCATs and work very hard. It's a lot of sacrifice."

"Yes, of course I know. I always sacrifice for the children. What of it?"

Hmmm..................and the saga continues. The hard part is keeping these stories in check if and when you see the person again. AWKWARD. Suerte with that one, Mariah.

Betty Crocker- Making Wishes Come True!

Hi all,

Betty Crocker made a generous donation to Make-A-Wish and now it's up to you to vote to see what chapter has a wish granted! Please click on the link below, register, and vote for Massachusetts as many times as you can!

XOXO
Mariah


http://www.bettycrocker.com/stirringupwishes/Default.aspx

Speed Dating.

Last Thursday, I did it- I went speed dating. Correction: WE went speed dating (me, Melissa, and her friend). We signed up as a joke... I mean, why NOT go on 18 four-minute dates on a Thursday night?

When we got to the bar, we immediately worked on dressing ourselves in liquid courage. I, of course, was more thrilled that we were about to create some wild tales for ourselves to tell at a later date than to find the man of my dreams, but that's the inner writer/comedian in me. Always better to have a story!

We all sat down at different tables and as the whistle was blown, each guy and girl immediately inundated one another with generic questions like, "What do you do?" And "What is your favorite sport?" YAAAAWN. Some characters were more interesting than others... I found that I was able to put each guy into one of three categories:

1) I'm a bit wanderlust/new to town/kind of interesting and quirky and haven't really had TIME to meet people,

2) I am desperately trying to find a wife,

OR

3) I'm pretty drunk, I'm not quite sure how I got here, and hopefully I'll meet a girl with low enough standards here to take me home.


Yes. It was a real treat.

1.5 hours and four glasses of wine later, I entered my scores on my scorecard and met up with the girls. We took a minor detour ('nough said about that) and after a quick trip to the Chinese restaurant on the corner of my street, I snuggled myself under my covers with my laptop and 8 crab rangoons and entered my votes. OOOOOO......

The next day, the matches came up. All the guys I picked picked me. All the guys Melissa picked also picked her. And I'm pretty sure the same holds true for Cat. You get where I'm going with the caliber of men at this point...........everyone is picking everyone. It's glorious.

So now the emailing has begun and I'm sure that nothing very serious will come of any of this but man oh man it was a good time....for your entertainment, I will recount one conversation with Dave (I have changed his name for his privacy):

Dave: *drunkenly trips over his own foot and sits down at my table, eyes directly fixed on my chest* "I'm Dave." *Takes a swig of beer*

Me: "Dave, how nice to meet you. Tell me about what you do."

Dave: *slurring words* "Noooo, no. I hate those types of questions. Ask me something different, be WILD!"

Me: "Umm, alright then, shrimp or lobster?"

Dave: "Shrimp, there's not enough MEAT in lobster. That was dumb, ask me another one."

Me: "I'm sorry, Dave, all you've done since you sat down is insult me. But let me think, domestic or international?"

Dave:"International. Ask me another one."

Me: *I'm sorry, is this an interview?* "Ok, most embarrassing moment."

Dave: "One time, I was wearing black jeans and giving a presentation and my fly was down so my white underpants were showing." *Laughs, swigs beer*

Me: "Wow, that IS embarrassing." *Ewww, black jeans AND tighty whities? No thanks.* Whistle blows.

And that, friends, is why you TOO should try speed dating.


OHHH and side note, on Saturday night at the Prudential Center Food Court (with Tara and Michelle, mind you), a teenager with a mohawk asked me for a mirror and after I STUPIDLY told him I didn't have he said, "Oh really? Because I can see myself in your pants."

Nice. Love my life.
And the fact that the pickup line was TOTALLY lost on my little Tbone.

:)

Mariah and Melissa do Quebec.

In light of recent events, I decided two weeks ago that I was going to take myself to Quebec City for Carnaval for Valentine's Day. I have wanted to go since I was little and it seemed like an appropriate time to hit the road and have some fun! The plan ORIGINALLY was to just go by myself and hostel hop but when I told my friend Melissa, she decided to tag along... And so began our wild weekend adventure!

To be sure we didn't forget anything, we compiled a list of the random, funny events that occured throughout this unforgettable trip and we'd like to share them with you!!!


Friday 2/13-
We arrive at my house in Maine after a long week at work. There we find the entire girls' ice hockey team at SHS having a wild slumber party. We are immediately drawn back into the drama of high school as these 15 year old girls pour their hearts out about love and friends and Valentine's Day.... Melissa and I offer advice, I teach them all the illegal shoulder move and eye pecks from RAD self-defense class, and then we decide- OH GOD. We are not in high school anymore. Praise the lord... After a plethora of candy and cupcakes we hit the sack.

Saturday 2/14-
Up we go! 7 am... time to rock and roll and get this road trip, well, on the road. We scramble to get everything together, pop in the car and hit DDs for a little caffeination. And by a little I mean that Melissa and I are the last people on the planet that need any extra stimulation by virtue of caffeine and so we could hardly sit still. Off we rode through the gorgeous backways of Maine, admiring mountains and snow and the lack of people to be found. We also managed to sing for 6 hours straight- this is what happens when you put two a cappella chicks in a car together. It was fabulous.
When we got to the border we were ecstatic... especially because the Border Patrol Agent was a super attractive French-Canadian man who I almost asked to tag along. But I kept it in check and we forged on through Canada.
We get to our hotel and luckily we have a room- we are convinced at this point that there will not be one after our many attempts at trying to find rooms and hostels throughout the whole last week. But there is room in the inn, thank God, so we drop our bags and drive to the Ferry.
FREEZE- we get out of the car, cannot figure out where to pay, no one speaks English. Shame on me for quitting French after 2 years. We finally find the parking attendant and then as we are walking across the slippery ice, Melissa turns around, yells "ten cuidado" and PROMPTLY falls flat on her ass. A fabulous moment. More for a bystander than her, I'm sure....
We get on the ferry and wonder why everyone is dressed in snow pants- are they ALL going skiing? Oh no, later we will learn that it's just FREEZING out and the benches are MADE of ice. Oh OK. We are convinced the boat is moving for a good ten minutes until we realize nothing in the horizon has moved and the ice chunks and water are simply wizzing by the boat. Nice.

When we get to Quebec City, we cannot believe how gorgeous everything looks. It's like a winter wonderland and is totally breathtaking. We follow the packs of people hoping they will lead us to Carnaval, but we end up getting a little sidetracked by some adorable shops and a candy store- obvs. We finally make our way to the top of the hill by the Chateau Frontenac and feel as though we might actually be in the right place at this point. Then, all of a sudden, we notice Les Glissades- the WILD ICE LUGE.

Well, clearly we have to ride.
We buy our tickets, make some friends with a French-speaking couple behind us and the four of us plummet this enormous icy run on a toboggan. I have never screamed so loud. It was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As we make our way further into the city, we notice an outdoor bar where the bar, tables and benches are all carved out of ICE!!!!!!!! We order up some beer and get warm by a fire while this insane jig music plays. Suddenly, two guys from France come over to chat. They do their best to speak English as I throw out 1-2 French words every few minutes hoping to contribute to the efforts. The guys say, "Where are your boyfriends on Valentine's Day?"
My response?

"Oh, no no, we're here together."
The guys say "Ohh, together?"
I nod, Melissa shakes her head. They look confused.
I do a doubletake and realize why everyone is confused.
"OH nooo, I mean, not together together, just here without boys."
"Mmmhmmm..."

Then (in sequential order of what I THOUGHT was being asked):
"Where is your American Mama?"
"My American Mama?"
"No, Babaar."
"OHHHHH, Babaar, yes I love that elephant, I know him."

Men look confused.

Melissa shakes her head and replies, "Well, we didn't like the last one so anyone will be better!"

I turn to Melissa- "Are we talking about guys now? I'm confused."
"Obama, Mariah. They're asking about Obama."

Mortified.
The guys leave. We finish our beers and forge on to the next adventure-- THE ICE CASTLE! Literally, a castle made of ice. We wait in line and eventually walk into this gorgeous construction which is filled inside with sculptures and a mini replica of Quebec City from back in the day. We snap a few photos and then move on to find some food.

Of course we've forgotten at this point that it's Valentine's Day and everyone in the world is out to dinner. Sooooo instead of the fancy dinner and wine we had promised ourselves, we wind up at a pub with a pitcher of beer and nachos. A two hour heart to heart ensues and as we are about to leave, the bartender breaks a glass which shatters in our glasses and on our plates. Annnnd a new pitcher of beer appears. OH BROTHER. Clearly we have to sit and finish :)

As we are finishing, two guys from Texas approach us and the first things out of their mouths is "Oh thank GOD, Americans."
GRUMBLE. NOOOOO.
We politely ask them how their trip has been and they answer with the following statements- "it's cold!" "I hate French!" "This Carnaval is kind of weird and lame" and "Aren't the people here just so cute?" We knew things were extra shady when we started talking about the election and as Melissa and I gushed about Obama they rolled their eyes and said "Ummm, we're from Texas. You know."
AWESOME. How to shake these Debbie Downers?????
We go over to the window to watch the parade, which we thing is tremendously cool. The boys, of course, do not. "Those floats are kind of dumb." Sweet. Then they start talking about a freezing cold outdoor bar across the street which they "hated" (shocker, right?) and so we decided to tell them that's where we were headed (in hopes of losing them).
They followed.
And so did the complaints. Finally, Melissa and I looked at them and said, "Oh hey, bathroom break." And then we tucked and rolled. SO DONE WITH WHINY, IMMATURE CHILDREN. Suck it up! You are here for Carnaval!!!!!!
We head down the road and find a wild outdoor dance party at the Ice Castle. People are jumping around in their snowpants with mugs of beer and lights are flashing all over the place. We dance and dance and make friends (especially Melissa who had a drunk man grab her hand, smile and then almost fall on his face).

At the end of the night, we followed a group of fun-looking twenty-somethings but realized as we hit the bottom of the hill they were going to a hotel. BLAH. Up the hill we went again.
Suddenly, some girl comes flying out in front of us screaming in French, throwing her hands around wildly. We shake our heads and say we don't speak French and she starts babbling in English about how we need to go to the disco across the street. So we do, because why not??? The music inside is so loud our hearts are pounding in our ears and I am totally back in Argentina in my mind. The strobes light flash and we dance dance dance... also? Guys in Quebec are the opposite of skeezy on the dance floor. SOOO REFRESHING. After a final round of "Oh hot damn, this is my jam" we realize it's 1 am and we need to find the ferry. So we traipse through the streets of Quebec laughing and singing until we do.

People on the ferry are not looking so good- never put drunks on a boat. We sit outside and pretend we're on the Titanic as tired, sarcastic Mariah becames ever more witty and comical. When we get off the ferry and back to the hotel, we hop into our comfy beds and watch TLC- duh.

Sunday 2/15-
Sadly, time to go. After a bit of a debaucle at the gas station (too bad I can't read French and have no idea what to do), we get on the road and drive back towards home. On the way we get pulled over. No, I didn't get pulled over after running four red lights by accident that weekend (literally), I get pulled over going the speed limit on a back road in Jackman.
License and registration? Expired. Crap. Luckily, he let's me off and we make our way home with more singing (voices now totes raspy).

We get home to Maine, have dinner with my rents, and chat with Tara and her little friends for a bit, attempting to guide them through high school drama, again thanking God we are no longer in involved. Then we drive back to Massachusetts.

AHHHH, an incredible time. Best Valentine's Day, hands down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

XOXO Loves.

Random Memory

It's been a day... hell, it's been a week. But suddenly I am thinking back to a night this summer that was really wonderful. I was sitting inside with my sisters- I think Kristen was leaving for NY or school or SOMETHING the next day.... and we were just laughing and talking and packing. And all of a sudden I had this really strong desire to run out into the pouring rain... I have this strong desire whenever it rains mostly because I love how pouring rain sort of covers you like a blanket and makes it hard to see and all you can do is close your eyes and feel it run down your face.

So I ran outside barefoot and started spinning in circles and cartwheeling through the grass... I was laughing and laughing and throwing my head back to look at the stars. When I finally went back in the house I was deliriously happy. Kristen and Tara just sort of stared at me like I was nuts, then without a sound we all went running out the door together. We spun around in barefeet in the middle of the street, leapt ballerina style (a bit failed at that point) and started running and singing at the top of our lungs. I don't think the three of us had laughed that hard for that long in a good, long time. When we came inside we wrapped ourselves in towels and threw ourselves on our mom and dad's bed. They thought we were insane. We are insane. But you know what? That was a good day and it just brought a huge smile to my face.