state of the cha cha.

to elaborate on the previous post, i am now:

:: highly educated ::

...or so they say. in may, i graduated from columbia university, where i spent four years researching the optimal ratio of sleep to caffeine. concurrently, i earned an enormously practical degree in art history--i now know how the muslim principle of tawhid relates to decorative islamic mosaic, why you can flip a urinal on its side and call it art, and that classic greek columns are either male or female, among other useful tidbits. i also devoted some time to attending themed frat parties, stalking fellow columbia student and ridiculously good looking celeb james franco in the library, and gallivanting around manhattan--but only after i had finished studying, mom and dad!

in all seriousness, though--i'm tremendously grateful for my college experience. i had the opportunity to attend a world class institution, learn from professors who literally wrote the books on their subjects, and be surrounded by brilliant, diverse, and enchanting individuals. everyone "finds" themselves in college--i did, but only after first losing myself a little too. manhattan has a way of making one feel simultaneously isolated and smothered, and i found that i had to fight (sometimes even against myself) to find peace and just be me. the beauty of the struggle, though, was that after working so hard to pull myself out of the little ditches i sometimes dug myself into, i came out of it all happier than ever before, knowing what i believed, what i wanted, and what i didn't want. that's learning, folks!

:: a bureaucrat ::

i now work for a living, which is simultaneously exhilarating, terrifying, humbling, and gratifying. something tells me that it's sort of inappropriate to discuss work on a personal blog, so i won't say much about it, other than that i do development and fundraising for an amazing museum that rhymes with shmishmonian.

:: new DC resident ::

okay, saying i live in DC is sort of like when people say they live in LA, but they actually live in the valley...which infuriates me, so i'll be more precise: i live in arlington, va, but my commute into the city is exactly seven minutes...so it almost counts. in spite of what my earlier post might have suggested, DC is a really lovely, beautiful city, and i've enjoyed getting to know the area.

arlington amuses me...coming from LA and NYC, i feel like i now live in the sticks, but people have informed me that this is a pretty standard suburb. i remain unconvinced. i live across the street from a neighborhood park, everyone i know lives within a mile radius of me, and the most happening part of town is a one block-long stretch of restaurants. cute.

:: single, kind of bilingual, and not-so-ready to mingle ::

i know you all loved him. i did too. but we needed to move on, possibly for forever, but definitely for now. five years was a long time, especially for someone as young as i was, and i'll carry those years with me always.

since then, i've gone on some dates, spent time with some guys...but i think i need to master the art of being on my own for the first time before entertaining the thought of anything...anyone...significant. but who knows? i always need someone to play 3D monopoly with... :)

___

i've now lived here almost three months,

and i've had a pretty fabulous time so far.

stay tuned for more of my life and times!