Meet me at the Met

Last night I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a friend. I had been there before, but that was before I went to Europe and discovered how much I absolutely love art.

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The coolest part about going to a museum is that it takes me back to so many places. I see a rendition of a sculpture and all of the sudden, I'm back in Rome, seeing the original (i.e., from Roman times). I see a fabulous Carravaggio, and I'm transported to three different museums where I saw others. I walk in a room that is full of landscapes and can hear my friend Amanda saying "Let's see, landscape, landscape, landscape" and move on. (She's more of a portrait girl.) Or I look at incredibly textured clothes in portraits and I'm Paris with Lizzy, looking at the incredible work in the Louvre.

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My favorite thing about art is how it can impress you so. No textbook or computer screen can replicate what I feel when I walk into a room with a painting or sculpture or photo that jumps off the wall, grabs me, and leaves a lasting impression.

Getting Your Priorities Straight

One of my colleagues at work put the cartoon below in a presentation. It spoke to me...

The Coolest Etch a Sketch Ever

I broke down and bought a Kindle, and it came in the mail this week. (Long subway rides without books = madness. Big books toted everywhere = soreness. New, light Kindles everywhere = happiness!)

I didn't realize how neato the e-ink is. I'm fully convinced it was created by someone who loved Etch a Sketches when they were kids. Part of me wants to shake it up and down and see if anything moves!

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Now that I've had a little more time with the Kindle, I'm realizing that my world has been completely turned upside down. For any that know me, you'll know that I L.O.V.E. books. And that I can get ... absorbed in them. My whole plan to combat the potential for huge spending was to limit my book buying, try to read the newspaper more regularly, and supplement with books from the library.

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Until I found out that there are a ton of books you can get for free. Yikes. I have books on demand, an easy collection of free reading, and a to-do list a mile long. Well, maybe this is the time in my life to develop discipline. If I can manage having an entire library of books at my disposal all the time, I think I can do anything!

Happy First Day of School!

I've decided that the people who REALLY deserve the milk and cookies on Day 1 are the teachers and school leaders (and the people that support teachers and school leaders).

I've never seen school preparations before (the most preparation I had was picking out my cool new backpack!) and boy, is it a sprint for that first day to start. So far all is well. Except I really do want those milk and cookies. Hm...

Anyway, happy first day of school!

Two Years in 6.5 minutes

I thought I'd post my slideshow I discussed earlier. In my push to try to fit as much in a normal amount of time, I made it go a lil too fast (I ended up replaying, pausing, and giving audio commentary) without a comprehensive view of my year. But hey, some days we celebrate things in my world that aren't perfect. I just thought you might enjoy.

xoxo!

You know you've been with family when

• You have the Little Einsteins theme song running through your head.
• You want to go play on the swings instead of work.
• You keep thinking of random jokes that only people who have known you for many, many years would understand.
• Life is just brighter, happier, funner, better.

I love family time. I totally owe you pictures. But I have to go work like a good girl.

Later!

If life had a soundtrack...

What songs would be on yours?

Every two years my family gets together (I fly to Allison's house in 2 1/2 weeks! SO excited!), and one of our newer traditions has been to put together slideshows that document the last two years. Well, I’ve got to say that the last two years have been FULL of adventure, so I felt like any proper slideshow would have a good playlist of at least two songs to go along with it.

So I’ve spent parts of today working on my list, and it turned into a fun lil activity. I thought I’d post youtube videos because they have some fun glimpses of cities.

I’d love to get comments on this one:

-- Do you have any suggestions for me?
-- Which of these are your favorites?
-- What about you? Is there a song that captures you?

Where to start?

I've become a delinquent blogger. I think the hardest part is pulling out of the downward spiral - one where months of stories wait to be told, and the magnitude of life is too overwhelming to put into words. So then I wait. And more stories pile up.

But most days are full of quiet conversations that should be captured in blogs. Just the little things. Like a few weeks ago when I was on the Staten Island ferry with some friends, and I sat down next to this adorable four year old little boy. He had two Hot Wheels, and for whatever reason, I was as captivated as he was. And then he started pulling out more Hot Wheels from his pockets -- I think I counted something like 10. I don't know how he could walk with his lil pockets so full!

What else? Did I tell you I've discovered I have a LOVELY roof deck? I'm loving life right on the water. Dinners, breakfasts, random sunset chats with dear friends, quiet escapes, and late night fire works watching all seem so much more fun with a roof deck. And yes, as I seem to be in confession mode, I even have unshared photos of many such events. I'm just lazy (or stuck in said spiral to the extent that stories with pictures sound even more overwhelming).

I guess this is where I restart and don't even try to catch you up to speed. I'm loving life in NYC, especially in my little world that exists mostly in my apartment, my office, my church, and the adventures in between. I still feel like a newbie in New York some days -- more because the pace is really a challenge to keep up with. For one who plunges into life with her whole heart and soul, there really is a lot to consume me. I guess it's yet one more reason that the battle to blog has been a losing one.

But we'll just keep working on this. I'll get pictures posted sometime. And will keep working on a summer worthy of stories, even if too many go unshared!

A different kind of portfolio

A fun shout out! My organization (Achievement First) just got featured in Forbes! (See the link here.) I thought I'd write a brief blurb about it, but it's turned a little long, and I'm afraid you might miss out on the link if I don't post it up front. Enjoy the link, and if you want, the commentary to follow.

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Many of you know that I got a master's degree in Finance and Economics. When I entered the program, I was dead set on an investing career, and it wasn't too far of a stretch to see me as a Wall Street girl.

These days, I'm a 5-10 minute walk from Wall Street (my train passes through every day on my morning commute), but I never stop there -- I keep going. And going. Out to the middle of Brooklyn, where I can assure you, there are few bankers in fancy suits.

But I have to say, I absolutely love it out there. A while back I had an epiphany that there are some really special pockets of the nonprofit sector that are looking to do the exact same thing that financial institutions are -- they're just looking for a social return, not a financial one. My goal is to help prove the validity of those pockets and to show the others how to replicate what we're doing. In other words, I'm looking to replicate the strategic/analytical approach used in the financial world to help schools be top notch.

These days I like to say I'm still in portfolio management; I just have a different kind of portfolio. So fun to hear Forbes tell the world the exact same thing.

PS -- There are some fun videos on AF's vimeo site. Click here and enjoy!

Home Sweet Home

For a work event, I had to pull a picture that describes a personal victory this last year. Given all of my housing adventures in 2009, we're celebrating how lovely it is to have my apartment. I thought I'd post the picture.