this is for you, cupcake.

Ms. Cupcake - you should go to San Fransisco. They already have your cafe ready for you. I saw this and thought of you.

did you know that san fransisco is cool?

These are pictures I took in San Fransisco. From the top, San Fransisco bought up tons of unused cable cars from around the world - from brookly circa 1947 (pictured above), to Milan circa 1906 (that's the exit sign up there). I think that's awesome.

Also, we went to pier 39 and drove by the Wharf. On the left is a sign from a Russian Nesting Dolls Store (called Babushka's, predictably). anyway, they apparently did not want me to touch anything. On the right is a pirate. just hanging out. i think he might be french. just a hunch.

allow myself to clarify... myself

Ok. based on the number of frantic phone calls and emails from concerned family members and the wife, I think I need to clarify my last post a little. not that anyone else cares, but - you know - on the off chance.

So, when i said "i no longer want to be a psychologist" i should have written "i no longer want to attend a clinical psychology program and be a clinical psychologist". instead, i'm going to get a degree in School Psychology, after which i will be able to, and may in fact, get my liscense and have a private psych practice, but let's not count our chickens, eh?

Ok, so the only thing left to decide (not thinking about taking the GREs, applying, interviewing at, and actually getting into any program) is whether I want a Ph.D. or an Ed.D. I'm not entirely clear on the difference, as they take the same amount of time and you're eligible for the same jobs/salaries/liscensing options. oh well.

yes. deep breath. thank you.

i think i left Something in san fransisco

I know that I have been remiss in my postage, but there have been things afoot in claire-land.

One of those things was that I got sent (most expenses paid) to a conference in San Fransisco! very exciting. All I had to do was attend a few paper presentations and stand in front of the poster I made and talk to people who asked me questions. all in all, not a bad way to earn a round trip airplane ticket and four nights at the Marriott.

I also got to hang out with my old co-worker Lina (who i replaced at my job) which was very exciting. In doing this, I had a personal/professional epiphany. i. do not. want. to be. a psychologist. hoooooboy that's scary.

yes. the time has come, my friends, for claire to start to grow up. the first step in this "growing up" is, i think, to take spanish. that makes sense, right? the second step will involve the GRE, but let's not count our chickens before they hatch, shall we? the question is - who will take spanish with me?! it'll be fun! it'll be like freshman year of college!

Oh, and I have pictures from my adventures in San Fransisco - they will be posted posthaste, fear not.

ummm... when are you going to die?

Why yes, those ARE yoga pants under my soccer shorts. Why do you ask?

Castle Greyskull FC has made the switch to an outdoor (weirdo turf) field! We had our first game yesterday (click here for full rundown). We had some new additions in the form of awesomely tall and talented guys, and a pretty great carrie cheek (who is neither tall, nor a guy, but sure is talented). And we also played in 10 degree weather, yes it did snow in the middle of the game. Thanks to our loyal fan, Andy, who came and sat all by his lonesome in the stands and froze. He tried to cheer, but his voice box froze. A for effort, dude.

True to form, we lost our first game (this is so that we can lull the rest of the league into a false sense of security and then come back from the brink to nearly clinch the title. BUT BUT BUT we did NOT lose this game 11-1 as we did last season. no. this was a more respectable 4-0. i would have liked there to be at least one goal for us, but as i ran around in circles in the back corner, i can't really complain.

viva hacienda greyskull!!

Obie's dream of horses

Albatross, Obediah. Obediah, Albatross.
Albatross is a recent addition to the Golden/Mohan household. Here you see Obediah and Albatross making each others' acquaintance. They were fast friends.

Always the equestrian, that Obie.

how many balls can YOU hold?

because there's no such thing as too much footie

Here are some of the photos from mom, as promised...

The pre-game "we're all winners in our hearts" talk.

This is how it all began. I tapped the ball to Anna, and the rest is history.

After the routing of Footlocker, we make nice and shake hands, and then laugh at them behind their backs.

proof of life

All we're missing is them holding up a newspaper. Anyway, the boys are safely (if coldly) in Bucharest. I (or sheena) will probably be updating the nonexistant public on their adventures. I mean, they're the only ones who read this thing, right?

The family descends and Greyskull comes into our own.

My family came to celebrate my birthday (I like to use the entire month, just keep the presents coming!) this weekend. And Oh what a weekend!

On Friday night we had a bowling adventure in Sunset Park (pictures TK, Sheena has them on her camera). It had a rocky start, but Peter (bartender extraordinaire) made sure we had enough buckets of Rocks, and all was well. When we finally got our lanes Sheena revealed that she belongs to a bowling league and she doesn't actually work, but instead bowls all day. Chris demonstrated how to make sure the lanes are adequately oiled (by sliding down them on your back), and a good time was had by all.

Saturday I took the family on a Brooklyn adventure to end all adventures. We first headed down to Coney Island (see picture above). Now, am I the only person who knows that Coney is another word for Rabbit? and why do i know this??? It was a beautiful day and it was nice to see the ocean without a sea of hipsters surrounding me (the only other time i've been to coney island was for siren festival).

After the beach we decided to find the house in which my grandmother and great aunt grew up. I think it's in Boro Park? Flatbush? Midway? but i really have no idea. Right next to Brooklyn College. Anyone know where that is? Anyway, the house is still there:

Yesterday we had our semi-final and championship soccer games - man were we the come-from-behind-kids! We played the top-ranked team in our semi-final round and took them by surprise by winning! 5-3!! take THAT big dude!!

And then we fulfilled our destiny by playing the evil PPSH team. You may remember our prophecy that, after losing to the 11-1 our first game, we would end up playing the urine-colored team in the championships... well, we did. After our astonishing victory over the Footlocker team we were pretty pumped. We started off strong, scoring right at the beginning and keeping them away from our goal. First half ended and, amazingly, we were in the lead. oh what a day! then, we began to live the Mighty Ducks. Our strongest player, Owen, rolled his ankle and was out of the game. We shook it off and tried to keep on it, but alas could not hold them at bay. We ended with a loss in reality, but it was a moral victory. the final score was 3-1. much different from the 11-1 loss in January. And we kept them on their toes the whole game.

There was some amazing playing going on - Will and Mike double teamed to score a beautiful goal, Owen (as always) was magnificent, and there were some great defensive plays by Insha, Sheena, and myself (if i may be immodest). Also, Marty was a wall - saving us from many a would-be goal, and Tera and Anna scared the bejesus out of the big dudes. I'm sure Sheena will have more to say about this, and I'm supposed to be getting some pictures from my mom once she gets back to LA. Thanks to Sevil and Colin for organizing an awesome indoor league!

Spring has, in fact, sprung.

I think that most people know this, but I'm a sucker for Pale Male. I made my family tramp through central park year before last to show them the nest (ali was unimpressed, but my dad started sending me every article he could find during the nest/co-op scandal last year). Anyway, you will all be happy to know that Pale Male and Lola (his mate du jour) are back on the upper west side. Spring is here, people, even Pale Male says so.

huzzah!!
picture borrowed from NYTimes.com, taken by Chang Lee.

jumping jehosephat i love my job

So, part of my job is to be the Social Director for the department. I'm not very good at it. A few weeks ago I had motivated enough to plan for a Behavioral Medicine Bowling Adventure (after the suggestions of my boss, Richard). This was exciting. I love bowling (as you may have guessed), and a bowling night with the coworkers promised to be interesting, to say the least.

Anyway, today while we were eating birthday cake Richard started talking about how much he loved The Big Lebowski and wouldn't it be great if we could watch it before bowling? we then proceeded to scream at those who have not seen it and act out our favorite scenes for them. (have i mentioned that i want to be Richard's friend?).

So now, in addition to a bowling night, we are having a screening of The Big Lebowski, just our lab, in a big classroom with a projection screen. we get to skive off work, we're going to have pizza, and then we get to go bowling. it's going to be awesome. i love my job.

How I Got Grownup Furniture OR First Day of the Second Quarter of my Century OR One Foot in the Grave

ok. so, before i begin. take a look at this logo. (it's a furniture company). on a scale of one to fascist...


Anyway, in honor of this auspicious day (it IS a wedensday, after all), I am finally buying (with my parents' help) a real-live, grown-up bed frame. Here's a picture of it. Just subtract the painfully ugly comforter, add three cats, and you'll have it! You can't really tell from this picture, but there's a very nice scalloping on the footboard. It's all hand-made, solid birch, hand-stained fanciness. i'm the fanciest girl in the world. I'm picking it up from my new friend Michael (thank you craigslist) today at 8. if anyone wants to help me transport it, that would be awesome.

Now, i didn't want to tell Michael this, but if you go to the manufacturer's website (of the crazy fascist condor eagle thing), you'll notice the disgustingly high prices of all of their furniture. I like art deco as much as the next girl, but come ON! luckily, Michael isn't a shmuck, didn't spend that much on his bed, and I ended up getting a steal. hooray!! now i just have to save up my money to populate my bedroom with more awesome art deco furniture. Tia, any suggestions??

GGGGOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!! again.

Castle Grey Skull FC won our playoff game!!! We had a great bout against Bleu Cheese (who are awesome and if we could play against them every time I would be very happy - this is directed at the stupid purple team who should just not show up because they're jerky jerks and i'll kick them in the head).

Anyway, thanks to everyone for coming out to support us. It was infinitely more fun to play with a cheering section than without. Come out and see us get crushed at the semi-finals next week. Our game starts at 12:45 (click here for standings and schedule), and if by some crazy miracle of miracles we beat Footlocker (which won't happen, don't worry), the Championship final will be at 1:30.

Also my parents and sister will be there, probably bored out of their minds, so you should come and keep them company.

you, too, can be philanthropic!

My sister is running in a Relay for Life in Middlebury, and I thought some of you might want to donate money to go to cancer research.

here is the link, and i'll paste ali's letter below.
_____________________________
Two years ago, my friend Annie lost her mom to breast cancer. It's a tragedy that will stay with her for the rest of her life, and one that no one should have to go through. In an effort to ensure that no one else loses a loved one to this disease, my friends and I are participating in Relay for Life at Middlebury College.

Relay is an overnight event that unites our community in a common effort to support the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving mission to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. The Society works every day to prevent cancer and save lives by supporting groundbreaking research, affecting public policies that protect us from cancer, and educating people on how to prevent or detect cancer early. The Society helps people in our community who have cancer through its many programs and services. Together, we can help the American Cancer Society accelerate the progress toward a cancer-free future.

I hope you’ll be able to join us for this year’s event. Please click on the link below for more information, including details on the inspirational Survivors’ Lap and the moving Luminaria Ceremony. If you can’t join us, will you please visit the site and make a donation to support our efforts? Either way, you will make a real difference in the lives of people facing cancer – and in the lives of the people who love them. Thank you!
Also, please forward this email to anyone you think would be interested in this cause!
Thanks so much!!
Love,
Ali

Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Relay For Life of Middlebury College

this is from my boss.

who also has a sign on his office door that says, "shoot first, ask questions later" with a picture of cheney as elmer fudd.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12092.htm

pretty good article about interesting questions the press was not asking after the shooting incident.