tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70365914413020884972024-03-12T23:23:22.714-07:00Living here, dreaming of thereMalloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.comBlogger195125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-11853880643180000272016-11-18T11:45:00.000-08:002016-11-18T11:46:27.667-08:00Well that was embarrassing...My life has been all kinds of things but classy, graceful and refined don't appear to be theme. I'm a bit spazzy and I get through the bulk of my life by laughing at ridiculous things that happen to me or more than likely, situations that I get myself into. Here are a few of my favorites that came to mind:<br />
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<b>"Settle down"</b><br />
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My friend Ashlee and I were once asked to "settle down" at a Josh Groban concert because we were dancing too crazy. True story. It kills me every time I think about it. Leave it to Ash and I to pull out the body rolls while Joshy is belting out "Machine". Few things please me more than dancing ridiculously...especially if it doesn't fit the music. haha </div>
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<b>"Dear Oprah,"</b><br />
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My friend Kori and I did extensive research trying to contact Oprah. For the longest time, we have wanted to have our own travel show. It wouldn't be a travel show where you go from fancy hotel to fancy hotel. It would involve us crashing at crazy hostels, taking dance classes, talking to strangers, etc. Needless to say, it's really challenging to get ahold of Oprah. Who would have thought?! haha We genuinely believed she would be on board and would support our show. Hilarious. Also...I still kind of believe in this plan.</div>
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<b>"Dear David Archuletta,"</b><br />
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When my sister Kenzie and I drove around together, we'd take turns choosing the music. There was a phase when "Crush" and "Little Too Not Over You" by David Archuletta were making frequent appearances on our playlists. I had her convinced at one point that he had written the song, "My Kind of Perfect" about me. She was really irritated when I would point at the speakers after each line and say, "You see? Doesn't it sound just like me?" haha Obviously he did not write that song about me but speaking of contacting celebs, I <i>did </i>reach out to him at one point to thank him because his music helped me through some rough times. haha<br />
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<b>"Let me explain why my hand is on your boyfriend's leg..."</b></div>
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We recently had a YSA activity with members from all over New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, etc. I was getting ready for sacrament meeting and put my coat on the seat to my left. A gentleman and his girlfriend (I assume) came down the row with the guy sitting by my coat and the girl, next to him. His girlfriend left for a few minutes to get a drink or something and he turned to introduce himself and asked me basic questions about what I do for a living. We had a brief chat about working with survivors of trauma. </div>
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At one point in the conversation, I saw a little ball of spit slowly but surely, float out of my mouth, as if in slow motion, heading toward the guy. Yes, it flew <i><b>over</b></i> the chair between us and landed on his leg. So embarrassed, I said, "I'm so sorry for spitting on you" and reached over to wipe the spit off his leg. Of course, <i><b>this</b></i> is the very moment that his girlfriend comes back to sit by him...when my hand is rubbing down his leg. Excellent. "Don't worry miss, what looks flirtatious is actually the exact opposite of that." Eek. <br />
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We'll stop there for today. Happy Friday!</div>
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Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-76759668971289460352016-11-18T06:20:00.001-08:002016-11-18T11:32:45.456-08:00My Vampire Crush, Weird Pick-up Lines and Carrying Around an Egg...<br />
The latest and greatest in NYC...<br />
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<li>The change in temperature is my favorite. Right before it gets too chilly. It's when I get to pull out all my crazy patterned and colored tights, bulky scarves, funky coats, leather boots, hot chocolate and soup!</li>
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<li>My sister Kim is a ruby jewel in every way. She knows how much I love soup and I'm now the proud owner of a recipe book that has only soup recipes because of her. It's the best! I pretty much live off of liquid food during the Fall. Is that normal?</li>
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<li>Soo....I finished Grad School and am now an <i>employed</i> Social Worker! I was very berry nervous about not being able to find something right out of school but I scored a really great job within a week of graduating. It felt like God was making it rain...blessings. Too far?</li>
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<li>I work in a school counseling students who have experience being bullied, abused, in unhealthy relationships, etc. It took a while to finally get me in a school. But after having to switch my school recently, I'm finally getting settled and it feels like Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup for the soul. </li>
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<li>My office is comprised of: A desk I built while wearing a pencil skirt and tights (I don't know why I'm so proud of building a desk with my legs having a restricted range of motion but I really, really am), a fancy little wall collage, a string of colored balls draped across the archway in my office ($2 thrift store success!), a $3 mini-Christmas tree from Target and a gargantuan arm chair that I bought online. It's still a work in progress but I'm hoping the vibe is one that feels welcoming and comfortable.</li>
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<li>The gentleman that delivered my arm chair yesterday had a very interesting flirtation tactic. The armchair was delivered to my office so we had time to briefly chit chat about what I do. Before leaving he said, "Maybe I could take you to dinner some time...to talk about my anger issues." Oh buddy. So many thoughts in response to this. </li>
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<li>If you <i>actually</i> want to talk about your anger issues, I charge for that stuff. haha </li>
<li>If you're trying to get a date of me, anger issues aren't going to be the turn on I'm looking for. In fact, I don't think they're a turn on for anyone...except, I guess, for whoever ended up with the Hulk.</li>
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<li>I'm going to be running a <b>half marathon</b> in January! The last time I ran a half marathon was in 2010 so it's been many moons. In fact, here's a little flashback to my first (and up until now, only) half marathon. It was the Halloween half marathon in Provo. I thought I was hilarious and dressed up like a hobo--keeping things inappropriate since 2010! Jokes on me though because looking back, I mostly look like I fell down a lot of stairs and bruised my face. haha </li>
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My whole family is meeting up the weekend of the race and it will be great to see everyone. Kim, Cody, Aubry and I will be running a half marathon. Their littles will be running a mile--which is crazy impressive to me. I have vivid memories of huffing and puffing my way through the 1.5 mile "Fun Run" in Junior High. It felt impossibly hard so I'm pretty sure I walked most of it. #fatjoke haha Therefore, the fact that my nieces and nephews (all 8 years old or younger) will be running a mile, has all of my respect.<br />
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<li>Halloween weekend brought one of my favorite guests - my dear friend Diana. She was only here for ~36 hours but we danced our buns off to <b>Rooney</b> and loved every second of it. </li>
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We obviously stayed after the concert for a bit to talk to Robert Schwartzman. (The band had dressed up as vampires so the remaining make up is from that.) He's such a cool guy. After our brief conversation, I turned to Diana and said, "I think that's the most eye contact I've had from a guy in a long time." haha I didn't realize how rare of a quality that was until a <i>lead singer from a band</i> did it. Oh mamma. Stories about men to come later...</div>
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<li>I didn't dress up this Halloween. I eventually want to do a group costume of the Jamaican Bobsled Team from Cool Runnings. How rad would that be?! The <i>real</i> story behind this idea is that I saw that movie on my flight home from Dubai and kept thinking, "Man, their clothes are amazing!" The patterns and colors blow my mind in the very best way. While I wear some pretty random stuff, I think I could only pull of their ensembles as a Halloween costume. Lemme know if you want in on this. Obviously I dibs being Sanka so carry around an egg. haha<br />
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Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-1786224288556194772016-06-26T08:03:00.000-07:002016-06-26T08:20:36.841-07:00Chiang Mai Night Market and Thai Cooking Class<div style="text-align: center;">
Friday evening I decided to hit up the night market in Chiang Mai. I didn't have plans for the evening and thought, "tonight is as good a night as any to get my shopping on" so that's exactly what I did. </div>
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I love markets. Wandering from booth to booth seeing what quirky and unique products are being sold. Some things being sold are practical, some are super creative but entirely unnecessary. I love bartering for a good price and just the environment is beautiful in its own chaotic way.</div>
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There are lots of funky lights sold at different booths. I think if I came here as a teenager that I would have wanted ALL of them. haha I literally used to hang a strand of Christmas tree lights around the perimeter of my ceiling. I'm sure these would have only contributed to the vibe that used to rub me the right way.</div>
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Cool lamps made from coconuts. </div>
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These weird cat and dog purses just made me laugh. I like to envision the people who buy the products at each of the booths. What does the owner of such a bag use it for? Are they actually cat and dog lovers or do they just find the bags funny? I have so many questions for the purchasers of these products!</div>
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Painted fans. I've noticed since my elephant ride extravaganza, my eyes are attracted to souvenirs that involve elephants. haha I don't know what I would bring home--maybe a cool painting. I've tried to bring home a painting from every country I've lived/traveled. We'll see if I can eventually find a good one here.</div>
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Purses galore! Again, teenage Mallory would have been in heaven! I had an extensive collection of purses--one from Hawaii was in the shape of a hut. haha They have some cool ones here that are decorated with really bright thread in intricate patterns. </div>
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Here's a little glimpse of the market. It goes really far back in these canopies. They also had several stations where you could go to a "foot spa" which really meant sticking your feet into a tank with hundreds of tiny fish that nibbled on your feet. Maybe eating dead skin?? I don't know. Part of me wanted to give it a go, another part of me was certain I'd be the git giggling the through the whole experience because I'm very ticklish.</div>
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REALLY cute kids shoes. 150 baht = $4.50</div>
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These busted me up because they reminded me of Steve Carell's character from "Dinner for Shmucks"-- who makes little scenes with dead mice. haha Again, I wonder who buys these? Where do they put them in their house? Above the toilet? In a kids room? What are these for exactly?!</div>
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It was a really fun experience meandering through the market. I didn't end up buying anything because there was nothing I really needed. It was still a fun way to pass the evening and I loved soaking it all in.</div>
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When I got home from the market, I decided I wanted to go to a cooking class the next day. The two British ladies from the Elephant Camp had recommended "The Best Thai Cookery School". Humble name choice, eh? It's 850 baht for a whole morning of cooking. Essentially it adds up to $25 which included them picking me up from my hotel, taking me to the market to shop for fresh ingredients, cooking the dishes myself, providing me a recipe book of the dishes we made and dropping me back off at my hotel afterwards. It felt like a steal to me.</div>
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The market was a lot of fun. I hadn't been shopping for food or ingredients yet and it felt like a whole new world to delve into. Our chef for the day showed us three types of curry paste - red curry, green curry and panang curry. While you can buy it already made, he would be teaching us how to make it from scratch today. Eek!</div>
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As a side note, Thailand has some of the most peculiar produce! It seems like it should grow under water or on another planet. Seriously, what is this?! It's so pretty and bizarre at the same time!</div>
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Part of my concern throughout this market experience is whether or not I'll be able to find these products back home in New York City. I had to go to THREE different grocery stores just to find ingredients for birthday cake I made for my roommate. What are the odds the stores will have ingredients I need for Thai dishes??</div>
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Again with the crazy produce. I need to try these before I leave. I just have no idea how to eat them. I will have to learn, I suppose.</div>
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I did pick up a few ingredients to bring home. It's hard not knowing which spices and seasonings will be hardest to find but I picked out the ones I'd need for Panang Curry. </div>
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After shopping for ingredients at the market, we drove out of the city for about an hour. The buildings became less frequent and the scenery out the window became more and more dense with everything lush and green.</div>
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We ended up at this big house of sorts, where each of us had a gas stove, cutting board, apron and recipe book awaiting us. It was fun. It felt so official having my own station where I could cook. </div>
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He taught us how to make sticky rice with Mango. He had some really interesting pots he used to steam the rice. Apparently it's very important that it's steamed and not boiled.</div>
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While the rice was steaming, he gave us ingredients to Chicken Coconut Milk Soup. I've tried this dish on other occasions and love it so I was excited to get the inside scoop. It was fairly straight forward and didn't require many ingredients.</div>
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I had a <i> really </i> difficult time containing myself during the consumption portions of today. This soup was phenom. Literally every time I took a bite I had to fight everything in me that wanted to make "Mmm" sounds out loud. The flavors were rich. I kept thinking, "If I can find these ingredients in New York, I'm packing this soup to work every. single. day."</div>
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When the sticky rice was done being steamed, we got to consume the crap out of that with fresh mango. I was a little skeptical at the idea of having rice as a part of a dessert, but it was bomb. I don't know who came up with all of these recipes but I would like to hug him/her for bringing such delicious calories to the world. haha</div>
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Next, we got started on our curry dishes. We each got to pick which type of curry we wanted to make. While I lived in Virginia, the people I nannied for would often order from a Thai restaurant close by. They introduced me to Panang Curry which was genuinely sometimes the best part of my day while living in Virginia. #fatjoke. So naturally, I asked if I could learn to make Panang Curry for our lesson. </div>
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The curry needed to simmer for 10 minutes so while that was happening, I went to town on my side dish--I chose fried vegetables. The cute Swiss couple to my right spoke french to each other throughout the lesson and he offered to take a few pictures while I was vegetable chopping.</div>
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The curry was finally finished and we had to set it aside while we mad Pad Thai.</div>
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I've had Pad Thai a couple of times in Thailand so far. It's pretty cheap to buy on the street and is a super common Thai dish. We had to make the sauce and dice some of the ingredients. It didn't feel too complicated.</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"> The tricky part was after the noodles had cooked, we were supposed to push them to the side, pour the egg around most of the pan, put the cooked noodles in the middle of the egg and fold the sides of the egg over the noodles. He called it a Pad Thai Omelet. <i>His</i> looked really pretty. Mine was busting out of the omelet, like a woman in a corset eating Krispy Kreme donuts.</span></div>
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The fried vegetables came together quite nicely. Man, I love veggies. Why does produce seem to be more delicious in every other country but mine? </div>
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With all of our dishes complete, we got to move everything over to the table and eat. There wasn't a lot of talking while we all sat eating at the table. It reminded me of what a few Italians used to say on my mission: If people aren't talking at dinner, it must mean the food is good." That adage proved to be true today. ALL of it was delicious. I kept wondering, "Are there people in the world that make meals this delicious every day? If so, <i>how</i> I do become one of those people?" I reflected on my signature dishes of Tomato Basil Soup or Taco Soup and felt more than a wee bit embarrassed about my go-to meals. But after this class, I'm feeling inspired. I need to seriously up my game in the kitchen when the possibilities look like this:</div>
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We had extra time after class to walk around the property. Look how amazing this place is:</div>
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I meandered around the gardens thinking about how romantic it felt. I seriously think I would even kiss Gumby's face if he walked with me through here. Haha </div>
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Unfortunately we all had to pack up and head back to our hotels. I read a book on the trip with my stomach completely and entirely satisfied.</div>
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When I got back into town, I got a foot massage from the dear lady across the street from my hotel. I stopped to talk with her yesterday and she's one of the nicest people I've met here so far. Her English is very limited and my Thai is...well...not existent, but we still manage to chat and make each other laugh. </div>
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She served me ginger tea after the massage. I don't normally like ginger nor do I really appreciate tea, but this stuff was so good! I was asking how to make it and where to buy ingredients. She knew I was going to the airport that evening and since I wouldn't have time to buy ingredients from the market, she sold me a few bags of her own collection and said she'd go to the market later in the week to replenish. She was such a kind lady. She hugged me when I left and called me her friend. Is it weird that small moments like that mean the world to me? I know I probably won't see her again and our conversations consisted of a lot of gestures but I looked forward to seeing her when I passed by her parlor while in Chiang Mai. I have a soft spot for kind people.</div>
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She gave me her card and told me to come back next time I'm in Thailand. If I do come back to Thailand, you bet I'll try to come back to this very spot.</div>
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I checked out of my hotel and got a cab to the airport. I was oddly sentimental about leaving my hotel and Chiang Mai. The people at my hotel had been so kind and helpful. They called taxis for me, gave me advice about where to go, made phone calls for me in Thai to clarify details on my excursions, etc. I felt very taken care of by them.</div>
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So that's it! I headed to the airport, bought a ticket back to Bangkok and made it back to my hotel in Bangkok around 10:30pm. I get so sleepy here at night. It makes me laugh when people ask where I'm going to party in the evenings here. My hotel. By myself. Because sleeping is important to me. haha I regret nothing!</div>
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Today was a really good day. I was sad to leave Chiang Mai but so pleased with how much I was able to do there. It was my introduction to Thailand and holds some huge, fun, sweet, valuable memories for me. HOW do I even top the last few days here? I genuinely don't know if it's possible. </div>
Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-9813754248990954372016-06-24T04:13:00.001-07:002016-06-24T06:59:40.293-07:00Flight of the Gibbon: Zip lining, Repelling, Hiking and Basket Weaving<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Last night before I went to bed, I decided to bite the bullet and sign up for zip lining today. I ran down to the front office of the place I'm staying, they made a call and said to be ready in the morning at 6:30am. I got picked up from my hotel, driven about an hour outside of Chiang Mai where I met with my group.</div>
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They strapped us into their safety gear and introduced us to the staff members who would be helping us through the course. I wish I had pictures of them! Balloon, John and Scott drove with us up to the first platform where they went over safety instructions and zip lined with us all day. They were nuts! It was so much fun. They whooped and hollered when they went down before us, they would shake the zip line to make us bounce on our way down, etc. They so much fun and seemed to adore their job.</div>
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The course through the rainforest was unbelievable. They would hook us onto the zip line, have us run off the platform, and we slide all the way across the wire where a staff member caught us on another platform high up in a tree. This repeated throughout the day with occasional rope bridges or repelling platforms mixed in.</div>
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This video was filmed by Scott. He went first down the zip line and filmed me making it onto the platform. They caught us when we got to the platform so we didn't ramrod ourselves into the tree. haha We got going so fast and even after hours of zip lining, it still made me yell.</div>
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I was the only solo rider, but there were two girls from Nevada who were visiting Thailand on summer break and two people from Hong Kong. It was just the five of us that had Balloon, Scott and John to ourselves. It was the perfect size. </div>
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Balloon was a HUGE tease. When we walked across the rope bridge he would shake it or chase us across. They also told us about the insects and snakes that we might see throughout the day and would occasionally make hissing sounds just to freak us out. haha</div>
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We probably zip lined between 30 platforms. Some were longer and faster than others but they always seemed to have a way to spice each of them up. On several of them, they would hook us to the wire, ask us to walk of the edge and they'd swing us back and forth before they let us go. </div>
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For the most part, I did okay. I get pretty freaked out about heights. So the few times I let myself look straight down off the platform, I'd have to step back and take a few breaths before jumping. They're very high in the air and most of them get you going pretty fast.</div>
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Balloon went ahead of me on this one. They called this one "Superman". On this particular zip line, they strapped you in from behind so you had to jump face first off the platform. It was hands down the most terrifying one for me. It took me a while to get myself to jump. Once you can get yourself off the platform, it's completely exhilarating.</div>
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We were going for a couple of hours but it never got old to me. It was so hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I was zip lining through the rainforest!! It's too many fun things in one sentence. It was absolutely beautiful.</div>
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On a couple of platforms, they would have you repel down to a platform below. It did a number on my fear of heights because you spend the entire day falling in one way or another. It's not a typical day in the life of a social worker but I loved every second.</div>
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It was super hot and sweaty but it didn't rain until we were on our last platform and had to repel to the bottom. We really lucked out with the weather! Once we were done zip lining, they had us pile into a van to drive us back to the main office for lunch. Since it was raining, it was slippery and muddy. The driver of our van had to make three attempts to drive up the muddy hill. He'd get the front two wheels onto the road on top of the hill, but the bottom two...so we'd slide back down and he'd rev the engine to make another attempt. It was kind of scary but there was loads of applause when we finally got out.</div>
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Our whole group was blown away by how delicious lunch was. They had an incredible coconut soup, a mushroom dish, chicken, salad and fresh fruit. It was amaze balls. While we were eating and laughing about how insane our day had been, an employee approached us to see if we'd like to walk through a village and see a nearby waterfall. Uh...obviously.</div>
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They took us to this 100 year old village tucked away in the rainforest. We got to see the different uses of tea leaves. They sold little pillows stuffed with tea leaves, some tiny enough that they recommend putting them in your shoes when they small bad. haha They showed us a cinnamon tree and let us each chew on some pieces of it. It was really good. One of the girls in our group said, "It tastes like hot tamales." haha </div>
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We met one of the women in the village that weaves baskets from dried bamboo leaves. To make a small basket, like the one pictured on the left, it takes a whole day--to cut the leaves in small pieces and weave it into a basket. </div>
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They gave us each a handful of bamboo leaves and let us attempt to weave the beginnings of a basket. </div>
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I can see how it would take a long time. Mine was getting out of control and I was only weaving it for 2 minutes. haha</div>
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From there we went on a 10 minute hike through the rainforest, winding our way up to the waterfall.</div>
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I kept thinking throughout the walk how incredible all of the sounds were. The birds, the insects, the stream, the sound of rain as it landed on the leaves above us, etc. There is something really calming about that environment. I thought about all of the mindfulness CD's that have babbling brooks in the back ground. It made sense to me that we'd want to recreate the feeling of being in such a beautiful environment. I certainly didn't want to leave.</div>
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Our hike up to the waterfall had some fairly steep staircases. I loved being outside and hiking through so much green. I kept wondering if the staff members loved hiking it everyday or if it ever gets old.</div>
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I made it back to Chiang Mai around 3:00pm. I got a body scrub--essentially they rub your whole body down with a salt mixture. I loved it but I'm sure I would have appreciated it more if I wasn't sun burned on my back from yesterday with the elephants. haha It's now trickling rain outside. I'll probably head to the night market and will hopefully come home to get a normal night's rest. I only slept four hours last night. I don't know if it was because of jet lag or my excitement to spend the day zip lining but I probably <i>should</i> get some sleep. haha It's hard to do when everyday feels so exciting. </div>
<br />Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-48056157404140252412016-06-23T06:53:00.003-07:002016-06-24T04:23:14.178-07:00I hate to point out the elephant in the room but...<div style="text-align: center;">
At the very top of my Thailand bucket list was riding an elephant. I've been nerdily excited about this and it's literally the only thing that I planned in advance. haha I read about different Elephant Camps and this one was highly recommended by a friend. As an additional plus, I had been reading up on how to know if the elephant camp you're going to treats the animals well, and this place actually rescues the elephants and brings them here. Super cool, right?</div>
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So they picked me up at my hotel at 8:00am and we slowly wound our way through Chiang Mai picking up other passengers. </div>
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After about an hour drive outside of Chiang Mai, our driver parked the van and we walked down some curvy stairs on our way to the Elephant Camp. It's a really beautiful area.</div>
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The driver introduced us to the newest member of the camp. This little baby elephant is two months old. Apparently his mom and dad found each other in the Elephant Camp and he's the only elephant that wasn't rescued. He was sleeping when we arrived so we were hoping he would wake up while we were there so we could see the little guy.</div>
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They had us change out of our clothes and provided a one-size-fits-all shirt and top for us all to wear. The elephants work with one guide all day, everyday, so they hear his commands (spoken in Thai) and are very obedient and loyal to them. We then were instructed on the basic commands we would need to know when riding the elephants. She made sure to emphasize that we would need to yell the commands and say them at least four times. Truth be told, I forgot most of them shortly after we were taught so I was thankful for my companion on the ground who <i>actually</i> kept my pretty elephant going where she needed to.</div>
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They started us off slowly by having us feed sugar cane to a few elephants. As you can see, I was feeling a bit skittish. haha Something about those long, wet trunks made me a little nervous being so close. </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"> Thankfully I found their trunks less nerve racking throughout the day but there were squeals and "I can't believe this is my life" giggles throughout the morning.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvXWNYxJpaHHph0g0pbkUinsj1Hg3eIK2nLYQMfJLBfbArrDt_UfQNjb0pucsTgt-qXPbMqicW7Op3-9-oMx-cSB6dDBZ7lQ9hyCaLgM0FbAgWdPONKmHt474TR-9HZkpoJuxTRtuQtvh/s1600/IMG_9694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvXWNYxJpaHHph0g0pbkUinsj1Hg3eIK2nLYQMfJLBfbArrDt_UfQNjb0pucsTgt-qXPbMqicW7Op3-9-oMx-cSB6dDBZ7lQ9hyCaLgM0FbAgWdPONKmHt474TR-9HZkpoJuxTRtuQtvh/s1600/IMG_9694.JPG" /></a></div>
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It was the craziest experience being so close to these animals. They're HUGE, their skin is super dry and they have really coarse hair. Even though I was with them most of the day, it was impossible to shake how amazing it was to be so close to them.</div>
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I was assigned to ride Mae Kue. I was the only one in the group that was riding an elephant alone. The rest of the group members came with a friend or spouse so they both rode on the same elephants back.</div>
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Seriously, I couldn't stop laughing. How am I petting an elephant right now like no big deal?!</div>
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The honeymooners in our group. This duo from England was so much fun. They came to Thailand for two weeks on their honeymoon. How do you not support a marriage starting off on such epic ground?!</div>
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They walk the elephant up against a wall where you essentially walk the plank onto their backs. You have to sit high up on their necks and bend your knees over your ears so it will be more comfortable for them. I assumed I'd be riding further back on their backs like you do with horses but I was <i>right</i> up in her business. </div>
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We spent the morning riding around camp. Mae Kue was really hungry. We went partially up the mountain so she could eat up. She scared the whits out of me almost trudging into a pond to cool off. I wasn't quite prepared for that at this point in the game.</div>
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The guide that works with Mae Kue everyday is named Eae Lei. (I'm sure I'm spelling that wrong). He is small enough to fit in the gap between her trunk and her front legs. I know that because he would sometimes get in there and push against her if she was going the wrong way. haha </div>
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I tried to take a few videos while I was on her shoulders. Mostly I love this video because Eae Lei is acting crazy below me and it kept me laughing all day. Using hang gestures and big expressions, we were able to have some fun chats. I even caught him singing a few times. haha He was really fun company to be a package deal with Mae Lei. I scored big time. </div>
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We eventually took a little break and ate some lunch. The camp provided this amazing coconut curry with chicken and noodles. It's not something I would have ordered but it was amazing. It was nice to get out of the sun for a little bit AND as a bonus....</div>
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The baby elephant was awake!!</div>
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I seriously could not handle the cuteness of this little buddy. He is so tiny--especially compared to Mae Kue. His tiny little trunk was killing me. </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"> He sniffed around outside the fence and took some grass from out hands. Again, I couldn't stop giggling at how unreal my life felt in this moment. HOW am I hanging out with a teensie baby elephant? How?!</span><br />
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Mae Kue was hanging out inside so I went to say "hello" to her before we went for a ride in the afternoon. Being on top of her all morning, I forget how massive she is until I'm standing next to her. Eae Lei says she's 35 years old. Apparently elephants can live is long as humans can. The oldest elephant they had in the camp is 66 years old. The youngest, being the cute newborn tyke at 2 months.</div>
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We eventually got back on our elephants and trekked around the mountains for a little bit. </div>
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This was our view of the camp from up in the mountains. It really is a beautiful and secluded area.</div>
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Our whole group rounded up. We really did have a fun group. It was fun exchanging glances and laughing at some of the funny elephants other people were riding. We had some crazy elephants in the group. A couple splashed water, dirt or mud all over themselves--which, of course, got their riders completely soaked/dirty.</div>
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These ladies were behind me for part of our trek. Their elephant randomly decided to rub her face against the mountain and throw some dirt on them. Haha I thought it was hilarious so I stopped Mae Lei so I could get some video for them. My elephant was pretty well behaved. She did eventually splash water on her back/me on her back but it actually felt nice. </div>
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We were roasting so I'm sure the elephants were dying of heat as well. We went to a watering hole to rinse the beauties off and cool them down.</div>
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She was so funny in this big watering hole. Some of the elephants lied down on their sides completely--practically fully submerged. My little lady wasn't interested in lying down on her side. I dumped a lot of water on her and rubbed her down. Gosh she's such a pretty animal.</div>
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When all is said and done, sometimes if you want things done right, you have to do it yourself. haha You get it, girl.</div>
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After washing the beauties off, we walked back to camp and Miss Mae Kue apparently needed a little back scratch on our way back into camp. <br />
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Mae Kue laid down, I <i>thought</i> so I could hop off. She was actually doing a few little tricks before we had to say goodbye.</div>
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This was my guide Eae Lei. He was next to us throughout the whole day and took all of the photos and video that you see here. It was amazing to see how well she listened to him and responded to his voice. It was a lovely thing to see the bond they have. I'm really jealous that he gets to hang out with her for a living. </div>
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This whole day was unbelievable. It was everything I could have hoped for and more. I know it's a pretty stereotypical thing to do in Thailand but it's been on my bucket list for a very long time and brought me more joy than I can say. </div>
Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-37802383861013834952016-06-22T06:31:00.001-07:002016-06-22T13:11:19.383-07:00Chiang Mai - My First $6 Massage, Doi Suthep Temple, Local Food<div style="text-align: center;">
I made it to Chiang Mai! The hour flight passed quickly, I took a cab to my hotel and immediately set out to get to know the area. I had been reading my Thailand tour book on the flight and mentally folded down a few corners of things I wanted to do today.</div>
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I meandered through the streets until I found the massage place recommended by Lonely Planet. It only employs masseuses that are blind. I felt a little odd about it but it was close to my hotel, the book recommended it, so I thought I'd give it a gander.</div>
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The whole experience felt a little different from the get go. I had to change into green scrubs and lay on a bed with bedding that said:</div>
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Errr??? haha It totally made me laugh and I had to sneak a picture before I left. I was on the middle bed in a room sandwiched between two other gentlemen getting massages. One was playing Youtube videos on his phone the whole time. He was blasting Thai music and his masseuse occasionally sang out loud to it. So much about this massage experience was unique to me. I'm used to overly tranquil environments with no talking and the smell of lavender flooding the room. That was not what happened here. haha</div>
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What I have learned about Thai massages is either I have a low tolerance for pain or thai masseuses don't play. haha There was one point when he had me on my side and was putting his body weight into my inner thigh via his knee. I was literally wincing through parts of the massage and during the inner thigh extravaganza, I breathed out in pain and said, "ow". haha Yeah, the masseuse rubbing down the youtube DJ next to me laughed and asked if I was okay. Occasionally throughout the massage, the masseuse working on the person next to me would ask, "Madam, are you okay?". haha Yeah, that's not embarrassing or anything...</div>
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All in all it was an amazing $6 massage. But man oh man it did not tickle.</div>
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For lunch, I ducked into the "See you soon" cafe down the street, ordered myself a mango smoothie and panang chicken curry. I didn't even know what time it was for my body or what meal I should be eating but oh well! The smoothie tasted unreal. It's the type of place I would probably frequent if I lived here. Wooden tables, funky decor, a fun vibe.</div>
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Afterwards I grabbed my trusty guidebook/map and found my way to the nearest Wat (temple). It was immaculate. The detailing on the outside was gorgeous. They ask that you cover your shoulders and knees as well as remove your shoes before entering the temple. It was a cool experience to go through the process of showing respect for a place that is sacred to a lot of people. It helped set the tone for the type of experience I had inside.</div>
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The detail put into this building were unbelievable. They asked that the women sit like "mermaids" if they want to sit for a while. Yes, they use the word "mermaid". They just want you to kneel down and sit on your feet. Naturally I went and sat for a few moments. There was a very reverent, peaceful vibe inside. It was nice to sit there in a quiet for a little bit and soak everything in.<br />
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It is roasty toasty here so I'm all kinds of sweatilicious. Be warned. I've just had to embrace that I'm not going to look like I'm going to prom in these photos and that's going to have to be okay. haha<br />
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I kept hearing tinkering above my head in different tones. It turns out all along the roof, they have little bells hanging that ring softly when breezes pass. It was kind of cool.</div>
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Really?! Really?</div>
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There were a couple of times today that I passed signs with funny english translations. I've started collecting them. This particular one wasn't a strange translation as much as it was happy to see. </div>
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I came back to the hotel and cleaned up to get ready for a trip up the mountain to the Doi Suthep Temple. The taxi driver was an adorable man that was really friendly and spoke English pretty well. I wish I could bottle up his laugh. I realize that sounds very Ursula of me, but he had the most peculiar chuckle. He's a really quiet man and his laugh was a quiet, quick laugh that was over soon after it started. It was kind of fun to make him laugh just to be able to hear it. </div>
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The "taxi" itself was pretty laughable. Lots of people drive little red pickup trucks with enclosed bodies. It's the size of truck that my dad had when I was little and would sometimes let us ride in the back. But he says he fits up to FOURTEEN adults back there at a time. I don't know how. I rode in the passenger seat with him in the rikety truck. As soon as I hopped in and reached for the seatbelt he said, "No have". haha Sounded promising. Also the A/C in the car only works if you're going downhill, apparently. I watched him throughout the 45 minute drive up the mountain continuously wiping sweat off his forehead. At least it wasn't just me.</div>
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I have been feeling pretty guilty about not being able to communicate with the people here in their language. I try english, my next instinct is to try italian but I usually resort to gesturing and things work out. All the same, I wish when I traveled to different countries that I could always speak their language to them. </div>
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The taxi driver pulled over half way through our drive up the mountain to show me one of his favorite Watts. It's beautiful. Green. You can actually hear birds chirping. It was like hearing sounds that I haven't heard in the longest time. The main things I hear in Harlem are police sirens and</div>
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sporadic screams from a man that wanders around our neighborhood late at night.</div>
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After about a 45 minute drive up this mountain, we made it. I just had to climb these 306 steps first. :) My siblings and I used to watch this movie "Surf Ninjas" when I was a kid. In one scene, a character gets pushed down what seemed like a never-ending set of ancient stairs. It was humorous, as a child, as they would keep going back to the character rolling down the stairs as other story lines had progressed. Anyway, point being, I felt like that's what I was climbing. It's hard to see behind me but they keep on going and going.</div>
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This is what awaited me at the top. We, again, had to take our shoes off and I hurried through as my cab driver was waiting at the bottom to take me home.</div>
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AAaannnddd their advice on our way back down the infinite stairs. I had several friends tell me I need to try the fruit and the fruit smoothies. I tried to kill a little time by wandering around the shops for a bit and then headed home with my cab driver.<br />
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We stopped half way down the mountain so I could catch the view of Chiang Mai. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-azdgeoWwizRfXVbhDJG9ILe9rYUMjQQ8C7Lg8nFK79jKFxB5bZGKavtVgPafR-rwSbAV1r4hZu2HnzMMtDpoCv6jgpoWHwx1XSvQLfmfrTnvzisLUGk7HyeteJAZ0Xc7cVr1HJVfWkR7/s1600/IMG_9677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-azdgeoWwizRfXVbhDJG9ILe9rYUMjQQ8C7Lg8nFK79jKFxB5bZGKavtVgPafR-rwSbAV1r4hZu2HnzMMtDpoCv6jgpoWHwx1XSvQLfmfrTnvzisLUGk7HyeteJAZ0Xc7cVr1HJVfWkR7/s320/IMG_9677.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Also, I collect pictures of grafitti in New York, it only makes sense that I do the same thing here in Thailand. :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVL7vzHRG_gdacuy9NnJS4juwLC-68Kb7g9nraFWeNjwuAH1y64zIvzVk3WuoAy2P2_-951kGKJCMbMr1_3C_Md-iwQ9PpI-2hOOlLowRDWZLElYmct6IRUGC2AmhYZd3KPrFOILsMcyM/s1600/IMG_9678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVL7vzHRG_gdacuy9NnJS4juwLC-68Kb7g9nraFWeNjwuAH1y64zIvzVk3WuoAy2P2_-951kGKJCMbMr1_3C_Md-iwQ9PpI-2hOOlLowRDWZLElYmct6IRUGC2AmhYZd3KPrFOILsMcyM/s320/IMG_9678.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Aaannddd to cap off the evening, after coming home from the mountain, I grabbed some Pad Thai, sticky rice and strawberry smoothie for, not joking, 2 dollars. Yeah, the thrifty soul in me is very happy about this. I wasn't super hungry when I bought it since my body thinks it's breakfast time, but I wanted to have a few bites to try the local food while I'm here. It was delightful.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYkKFA2UAicxY-UuKXAzR-dvLUUctB-_HSZEiEu0RGDrjy4SSqnwrVeAvji95EQSTqI_Av6oq6265OuE3G_T1HPIGasUr-R_wZHR_be5rjqGs5U-I8_v0aevmpGUJjafvBCFgwqX8xiFo/s1600/IMG_9680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYkKFA2UAicxY-UuKXAzR-dvLUUctB-_HSZEiEu0RGDrjy4SSqnwrVeAvji95EQSTqI_Av6oq6265OuE3G_T1HPIGasUr-R_wZHR_be5rjqGs5U-I8_v0aevmpGUJjafvBCFgwqX8xiFo/s320/IMG_9680.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I'm exhausted. I don't know how much of this blog is even going to make sense when I've caught myself nodding off on two separate occasions while writing this ruby jewel. </div>
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I've got to go to bed now. I have a date tomorrow with an elephant and I want to look my best. :) Til tomorrow,</div>
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Mallo</div>
Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-49185196400192160942016-06-22T05:55:00.000-07:002016-06-22T06:54:51.087-07:00Arriving in Thailand and initial observations...<div class="p1">
I made it to Thailand! It's been quite the ordeal so far. </div>
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I was supposed to leave JFK on Monday at 4:50pm but my flight didn't end up leaving until 6:30pm. The staff members at the gate told me that if I missed my connection in Beijing, they'd put me in a hotel for the night and fly me out the next day. I was kind of excited about that option. The airplane was sweet. It was Air China and a double layer airplane. I don't know if I've ever flown on one of those before. My flight was spent drifting in and out of sleep. I read my book for a wee bit and I <i>think</i> I watched a movie but the fact that I can't name it for you displays my level of consciousness during the film. Oop, I lied. I remember. I saw 10 Cloverfield Lane. It was terrifying. </div>
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Beijing was a scramble. Even though our flight was SUPER late getting in. It was supposed to leave at 7:30pm but we didn't end up leaving until 11:30pm. While in the Beijing airport I met a fellow traveler named Tess. She just finished her first year of med school in Philly and is going to be spending a month of her summer off in Thailand. Genius, right? She seemed really cool. She raved about Philly and recommended I come spend the weekend there sometime. I think I will. </div>
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This particular flight was a breeze. I don't know how long the actual flight lasted but the two seats next to me were empty…so you bet your bottom dollar I sprawled out and had my first horizontal sleep this trip--which was sock rocking. We got in around 2am. I finally got hooked up to wifi, found an e-mail from the hotel saying they would have a staff member stay at the front desk to let me check in late that night, I collected my bag, hopped in a cab and after a mess of finding the hotel (I discovered that while our languages are very different, our sound effects for "crap, I don't know where I am" are the same), I arrived at 4:00am. A really sweet guy behind the counter checked me in, answered all of my questions and showed me to my room. </div>
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I was hoping to catch a 9:00am flight to Chiang Mai which meant I would really only have a couple of hours to sleep….which my body decided not to do. I tossed and turned in the dark and when the sun started rising at 6:00am, I realized sleep was a lost cause. I ended up hopping out of bed at 7:00am, showering off, putting on some makeup, my bicycle shirt, packing a lighter bag to bring to the airport and left the larger one to be babysat at the hotel. How cool that they do that, right?!</div>
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I stepped out onto the streets of Bangkok feeling like I stuck out like a sore thumb. The pastiness and blonde hair is one thing, but the extra cargo is also a giveaway that I don't belong. The streets were interesting to take in. Late at night in the cab, the buildings all looked cream-colored, but I could see now that they were a wide array of bright colors. An occasional marked cab drove by with lots of scooter cabbies. I would totally be down for taking one to the airport if I didn't have a larger bag in tow. </div>
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Since flagging a cab down was not happening as quickly as I liked, I stopped by a gas station, bought a granola bar (25 baht ~ less than $1) and a bottled water and asked a cab driver filling up with gas if he would take me to the airport. </div>
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This airport was much closer than the one I was at last night and the ride was much more enjoyable now that it was light outside and I could see where I am. The wires strung between poles outside are like a clogged hair brush--there are so many tangled wires! I don't know why it fascinates me so much. I keep wondering what they all go to and why they have so many when we have only a couple strung from pole to pole back home.</div>
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Showing up at the airport without a ticket was humorous. I had to ask for directions a few times to figure out where to buy a flight. It cost 1600 baht (or like 45 dollars). Isn't it crazy that I normally spend 30 dollars to take the bus from NYC to DC and now I'm spending roughly the same amount to FLY to Northern Thailand? #Thailandforthewin</div>
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I'm really excited about hanging out in Chiang Mai for a few days. Currently on the docket during my time there:</div>
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**Elephant Camp--this is the only thing I reserved ahead of time. There will be feeding, riding and swimming with an elephant. I know it's a stereotypical thing to do in Thailand but I regret nothing. It's been a bucket list item to ride an elephant and merely watching the promotional video online made me tear up. I'm kind of thankful I'm going by myself so if I'm grinning like an idiot and crying with joy throughout my ride, I'll at least not have witnesses that I'll have to see again. haha</div>
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**There's an option to zip line through the jungle. Why wouldn't I do that?!? As long as it's not too expensive and doesn't take all day, that is EXACTLY what I'm going to do. I remember setting a New Years Resolution when I was in high school to be more brave. I was really self-conscious about not cliff jumping at Lake Powell from very high and I wanted to be less of a pansy. Hopefully high school Mallory would be pleased with coming to Thailand by herself and zip lining through the jungle like it ain't no thang.</div>
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**I'm planning to get my first (of possibly many) massages. I had heard they are the equivalent of $3 for an hour massage. Are we joking?! Do they need social workers here? Because I will move.</div>
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**Apparently I also need to rent a bicycle and take a wee tour around town. I'm hoping to do that today (hence wearing my thrift shop bicycle shirt that I'm oddly proud of). </div>
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I'm tired. My body has no idea what time it is or what meal it's craving. I don't have a return ticket back to Bangkok and only have one scheduled activity in Chiang Mai so far. Maybe it's strange but there's something so liberating about being on this trip by myself. Traveling at odd hours, delays in flights, getting into my hotel at 4am, buying a ticket to a different city on a whim, etc. It's been random and crazy but it's fun for me to reconnect with this part of myself that can be spontaneous. I've missed the traveling version of Mallory. It's been very stressful and crazy in New York the last few years. I'm really excited to have 9 days of a language I cannot understand for the life of me, converting bahts to dollars, getting rained on and having frizzy hair, experiencing a new culture, dealing with the exhaustion because I'm oh-so-happy to be here.</div>
Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-32446744644034718452016-02-10T21:53:00.002-08:002016-04-04T07:39:03.044-07:00What I learned from my toys. When I was a little kid, we had a closet downstairs full of toys, dress up clothes, board games, etc. It was pretty amazing. We're talking Ask Zandar, Forbidden Bridge, Dream Phone, some real jewels! We also had this little red barn with a white roof. When you opened the barn door, it made this mumbled mooing sound that always made us laugh. The inside housed a toy horse, pig, cow, sheep, etc. In the white roof, a cubby opened to display the rafters of the barn, where a sticker of hay was placed . It also came with a separate silo! When you pulled off the lid to the silo, it stored a fence that could be set up to keep the animals wrangled together. It felt like a pretty swanky deal.<br />
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I have random memories of my mother telling people that one of the ways we were good kids is because we didn't trash our toys. I didn't really understand how this made us good kids or was out of the ordinary in any way but I remember hearing her say this. She'd mention that we didn't lose the pieces to games and we put our toys away. It was so interesting to me that she found it notable that we took good care of the toys that we had.<br />
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Flash forward like...15 years to when I was living in Logan, UT....<br />
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My dear friend Kori and I went to a thrift store one day because we were bored. As we meandered through the store trying on funky glasses and weird hats, we came across this same toy farm! I opened the barn door, laughing with Kori about how we had this toy growing up. It was funny to me that I knew how many of the cool features were missing from the barn being sold at the thrift store. The weird, gargled, mooing sound when you opened the barn door didn't work anymore. Some of the animals were missing and the silo was nowhere to be found. haha Anyone buying this thrift store barn would have no idea that they were missing out on a silo stuffed with fence pieces to use as a pen for the animals. On top of that, the barn looked old and worn. I heard my mothers voice in my head about how we had always been good at taking care of toys. For the first time I was able to make a connection at how different the toys look when they are vs. aren't being taken care of. <br />
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I've thought about this moment a lot over the years. The concept I came away with was, "If you want something to last, you treat it differently." It's been meaningful for me to apply this concept to relationships. <br />
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I'm not married, but might be one day. I've looked back on my dating relationships and this barn principle comes to mind. I don't want to treat anyone in a way that would make them feel like I didn't value them, with all of their unique quirks, and want our relationship to last. It can be easy to become negligent or complacent in a relationship over time. The excitement of a new toy eventually wears off and it could get left outside in the rain, doing damage to some of the toys features. Likewise, so can negligence and carelessness keep you from looking after and caring for the things that matter most and that make the relationship unique (the silo and mooing door, if you will). <br />
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I've recently been thinking of the flipside of this scenario: how I don't want to be in any relationships where I'm going to end up feeling like a thrift store barn version of myself--feeling worn and treated with carelessness. It's not sustainable and it won't last. Relationships, whether romantic or friendships, will only endure when handled with the intention of them lasting a very long time. And not just lasting, but years down the road, having the way you cared for them be partially what kept them looking and functioning like their best selves. I hope to better appreciate people for all of their unique qualities and features. And I hope we can care about ourselves enough to not be around people who don't take care of you and yours. Perhaps treat people in a way that you're not the last person that gets to see what they have to offer.<br />
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That's my thought for the day. Whatever it might mean to you, if you want something to last, you have to take care of it.Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-4986494793266362702015-09-16T21:09:00.001-07:002015-09-17T03:11:01.186-07:00Hold my hand and sing me a song...Remember that one time I completely abandoned my blog for like 6 months? So...that was cool. I'm back now. Here's what you missed:<br />
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<li>I have officially moved to Harlem. I was really stressed about the moving process, but it ended up working out quite nicely. A dear friend of mine helped me bring a load of clothes and books on the subway, and then I took the rest of it in an Uber. I had like 3 boxes, one dresser and a few garbage bags of stuff.. The whole move cost me $43. It felt like a financial win. </li>
<li>Over spring break, I purchased a dresser from an antique store for $25 and repainted it. It resides in my room and makes my heart happy every time I walk into my bedroom. I enjoyed fixing it up so much that this summer I decided to start additional projects. Thus far I have painted a nightstand, TV stand, dresser, trunk and a mirror. It's strange to me that I've stumbled upon this little hobby in my late twenties. It feels so random but I'm ever so grateful for finding something that calms me down after a hard day, gives me a creative outlet and only has to please me. </li>
<li>I've been in the market for new glasses frames. I feel a change in the wind in that department. I tried on some funky patterned and colored ones. The sales associates often times tell me I'm too white to wear the ones I'm trying on. Haha I want to tell them a joke about how hard it is being white but I don't feel like that would go over well. Haha At a different store, the manager gave me his card and ended up sending me creep balls texts about what he actually thought about me while I was in the store. Some things need to be kept to yourself. Just because you think perv thoughts, doesn't mean we want to hear about it. In summary, so far my favorite frames are red. </li>
<li>Back to unwanted male attention. Recently when I get followed, I tell them my name is Penelope and then provide an incorrect phone number. It turns out telling fellas on the street that you have a boyfriend doesn't necessarily deter them. So now I just lie about who I am and crap like that. I figure it's the closest I can get right now to being Sydney Bristow. </li>
<li>I made Tim Riggins brownies today and ate three of them. That's a fat joke. It's also a promotion for how delish those brownies are.</li>
<li>In order to pass medical clearance for my new internship, I had to get a few vaccines. I went today and brought a dear friend with me for moral support due to my excessive levels of pansy-ness. I asked if he would hold my hand and sing One Direction songs to me. He did hold my hand but hates One Direction...So instead he would sing phrases that he felt described the band members, "sometimes I can't bend my knees because my pants are too tight". I loved it. </li>
<li>I bought a really cute couch over the summer. It's darling. We're currently in the works of redecorating our apartment. As soon as the living room is complete, we intend to have a housewarming party. I've been watching a lot of Friends lately and now can't stop thinking about how badly I want a tight group of friends in my life here in New York. There will be preliminary casting for my own personal Ross, Joey and Chandler during upcoming parties. I can't wait. Haha </li>
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Now my eyelids feel like they weigh 80 pounds so I'm going to go unconscious now. Until next time,</div>
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Mal</div>
Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-8818967705281227022015-02-27T13:30:00.001-08:002017-10-28T07:03:15.092-07:00Breaking down a break up<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Let’s talk about break ups.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is nothing flattering about a break up. Best case scenario, if you weren’t head over
heels for the person, a break up can be managed with a wee bit of frozen dairy,
a chick flick (although, I’ve been known to use an Adam Sandler film and that
worked just fine), and maybe a few sappy love songs. Within a weekend and a few nights with your
friends, your heart should be on its way to being mended.<o:p></o:p></div>
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However, what blows is when you really love the person. Those break ups are even hard for Ben and
Jerry to cure. It doesn’t help that, as
I previously mentioned, there’s nothing flattering about this process.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Crying. Tears,
running makeup, runny nose, and no one has an attractive cry face. Then there are the crying sounds, eyes get
blood shot, my face gets splotchy. Just
my oh my, as if I don’t already feel terrible, let’s have my face explode with
fluids, colors and noises. That sounds
fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Humpty Dumpty. Never
has that nursery rhyme ever made sense. Am
I right? But alas, in a break up, you
relate to that sad, little nursery rhyme character. Something about your state of being feels
shattered and unfixable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The fetal position.
You know the only time that being in the fetal position doesn’t sound
pathetic? Correct, when you’re actually
a fetus. An ultrasound pointing out your
cute little profile and button nose, that’s adorable. Yes, in that scenario, bring on the fetal
position! It’s not hot as a full-grown
adult, finding comfort being curled in a ball during your morning shower or in
your bed listening to nothing but Sam Smith.
As a side note, I’m obsessed with his music lately. That man understands love and heartache…which
makes it really awkward to enjoy his tunes both in the best and worst phases of
relationships. Thanks Sam.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Speaking of music, I totally get Tom Hansen from 500 Days of
Summer. After his breakup with his
girlfriend, there’s a brief scene where he hears a song in the elevator that he
used to listen to with her and out of nowhere he yells, “I hate this
song!” haha It’s both hilarious and so
so sad. But yes, I had a similar moment
on the subway. A subway musician was
singing and playing the song “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You”. I felt like the grumpy version of Will
Ferrell from Elf. I just wanted to yell,
“No it’s not!” and make the music stop playing as soon as possible. Haha Again,
hilarious and pathetic at the same time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Then there’s the isolation phase. Yes, everyone wants to run to your rescue and
help you. As I mentioned, that’s useful
in a breakup that’s not so bad. In one
that really hurts, I, personally, don’t want to be smothered with well wishes
and told how great I am. Nope, kindness
makes me emotional and hurting over a break up is all the room I have for
emotion right now. (To help illustrate
my point, one time in France, I had cut my arm on something and it was bleeding
a little bit. A stranger noticed and
went out of his way to find a cotton ball to clean up my arm. I thought it was so sweet that I got all teary
and nearly cried. Yep, from being gifted
a cotton ball. Imagine the results of
people saying nice crap to me when I’m hyped up on Sam Smith and dodging subway
singers.) While I’m sure it’s hard as a
spectator, there is something oddly satisfying about the isolation phase. In some senses, I don’t want everyone to
cheer me up and tell me I’ll find someone new.
I just want to be able to mourn the loss of someone important to me. It is, in fact, sad. So I want to give myself permission to be sad
about it for a bit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The next phase is, you guessed it, also not flattering. I find it usually involves some sort of
embarrassing and/or unhealthy behavior.
I’m sure some people drink mass quantities of alcohol. Because as much fun as the phase was when you
felt the hurt, in this phase, you don’t really want to feel anything at all. Since alcohol is not in the cards for me, one
of the ways it can present itself is by shopping. I’ve also been known to binge date after a
break up. Yep, creating some ridiculous profile, go out on mass amounts of dates, be amused if they are excited about
you, then go home and block their number because you really aren’t
available to care for them anyway.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Slowly but surely, you’ll recognize that this isn’t working
for you. As much fun as it was relating
to a broken egg, there’s got to be a way to collect your pieces and try to put
yourself together again. Stand up in the
shower, put some make up on, work out, call a friend, make plans for something
you’re excited about, etc. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With any luck, you’ll be able to remember the happy times in
the relationship, the unique qualities that person had that you appreciated,
inside jokes, making each other bust up laughing, kind words that were spoken
to one another, big ol’ bear hugs, and those damn good kisses. Yes, while you have successfully made it
through a lot of pain, you were also lucky to feel a lot of beauty. As much as that song blows sometimes, it really
was sweet being loved by you. And as
wonderful as that felt for a time, imagine being able to feel that again someday
and being able to keep it. Now that is something
to get out of bed for. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-34228036479727207092015-02-25T18:23:00.001-08:002015-02-26T04:14:32.670-08:00Plump, chubby, meaty thoughts...Yesterday at my field placement I had a client mention previous social workers that had worked with him. He mentioned the one before me who was chinese and spoke fondly of his relationship with her. The woman before her, he said, "Was a bigger girl, like you." His comment caught me off guard a little bit. You see, while I'm well aware that I'm not a stick figure, I suppose I didn't necessarily see myself as a bigger girl. It has lead me to a series of thoughts that I thought might be meaningful to write down. And perhaps, just perhaps, they might be of some use to someone else.<br />
<br />
Part of the reason why he and I view my size differently is because he's probably comparing my size to previous social workers--in which case, I could quite possibly be larger than them. I, however, compare my size to previous me. You see, only a few years ago, I used to be a hefty version of my current self. I was going over the weight difference in my head and I hadn't realized until this week that I'm 50 pounds lighter than I was 5 years ago. Fifty sounded like a big number. I suppose it's weird to think about because I don't necessarily feel like I look drastically different. I enjoy going shopping more and I'm more comfortable with my body but I don't feel like I look like a completely different human being or anything.<br />
<br />
Every now and then I reflect back on what it felt like to be that size. Random memories are very vivid for me. For some reason, I can picture very clearly the walk from our high school out to the seminary building. It wasn't a far walk on the sidewalk, up a few stairs and you enter through a pair of glass doors. While there's nothing particularly noteworthy about these doors, I remember very clearly how much I hated walking up to them on my way to seminary. I just didn't like my reflection and having to walk up to these doors and be reminded of what I looked like was awful. I made an effort to avoid all reflective surfaces. It made me angry and frustrated to see what I looked like.<br />
<br />
People compliment my hair every now and then. It's always nice to receive compliments and feel like there's something lovely about you. What people maybe don't know is I have, perhaps an odd attachment to my hair. I remember being in high school, being a bigger girl and feeling like the only thing that was pretty or unique about me was my hair. So as silly as it may sound, it feels like my hair got me through some hard times. haha My hair didn't have a size or a weight, it was just my hair. It made me feel special at a time when I didn't think there was anything else special about me.<br />
<br />
Dating was an interesting concept for me. I understood that in order to date, you had to be beautiful. And beauty, from my understanding, was to be itsy bitsy in size and have a beautiful, acne-free face. I grew up feeling like I just didn't fit that description. I went through phases when I was really working on my character--I tried to study and develop Christ-like attributes or I set goals to notice and get to know the quieter people in class, etc. I remember feeling frustrated at times, like no matter who I became, no one would see it or care if I wasn't attractive. <br />
<br />
I moved to Paris for a study abroad when I was 20 years old. It was the first time I got followed and asked for my number. There were guys that thought I was beautiful and wanted to get to know me. I found it so odd and intriguing. Didn't they know I was tubbers? They weren't supposed to pay attention to me. This was breaking all of the rules that I understood. Looking back on those pictures, it's almost the biggest I've ever been, but I didn't feel unwanted or painfully unattractive. In fact, I felt pretty in Paris. It was a very new thing for me and I was scared to go back to Utah and not feel that way anymore.<br />
<br />
Paris made me think that maybe the definition I had understood of beauty growing up wasn't true. Maybe it really didn't matter if I was as tiny as the Olsen twins. Maybe I didn't have to fit a certain mold to have value. Maybe the right person would notice me and find me worthwhile regardless of my size. <br />
<br />
I have an aunt that pointed out something pretty interesting to me. She told me that she looks back on her wedding picture and laughs because she remembers feeling fat that day. She said what was funny is she's never been that size since. She laughed about how if only we could stop being so hard on ourselves in the present moment. Who knows where we'll be in the future, looking back on this phase of our lives thinking, "you weren't doing so bad, you know?"<br />
<br />
Through a series of events with different key people in my life, I slowly shifted my mentality from caring what other people thought about me to caring what I thought about me. And perhaps more importantly, striving to have an accurate view of who am I and what matters. Clearly in junior high and high school I didn't have an accurate view of my worth or value. I was so certain that being attractive was what would get me friends and a boyfriend and give some sort of meaning to my life. It sounds pretty ridiculous right now. Over time, I learned that I wanted to strive to have a good relationship with God. I wanted to talk to Him about how I'm doing, things I'm working on, struggles I'm having, etc. I cared what He thought about me. And that's the only opinion that I wanted to matter. I knew that His love for me didn't change if my waistline did. He loved me regardless of how many friends I have, what my grades are, if I made the dance team or if I do well in the next piano competition. I wanted Him to be proud of me and for Him to love me. I was tired of not feeling good enough for other people--whether or not it was true. I wanted to get to a place where I no longer needed other people to think I was awesome or attractive or hilarious. I just needed to know that God was happy with who I am and I wanted to be in a place where I was happy being me. That's it.<br />
<br />
So to my client who thinks that I'm a bigger girl, in some respects, you're right. I'm not tiny. I've definitely got some hips, thighs and boobs. But you know what? I'm okay with that. What's important to me is that I make an effort to eat healthy, exercise and take care of myself. I feel good. And I feel pretty just the way I am. I'm finally okay with where I'm at and how I look. Are there girls that are prettier and tinier than me? Sure. There always will be. But I don't see myself in comparison with them anymore. It's never been helpful to compare things like that anyways. What matters to me is that I can compare my current self to an earlier version of myself and see improvement--whether it be with weight, scripture study, organization, budgeting, time management, etc. Do I still feel a need to continue to eat healthier? Absolutely. Do I think I can do better at exercising? You betcha. But today, in this moment, I can be grateful that I've been worse off and the progress feels rewarding. Today I'm going to appreciate how far I've come rather than be overwhelmed by how far I have to go. <br />
<br />
I suppose my takeaway for those who are reading would be that we could all be a little less hard on ourselves. Take a minute to look at your life and see what you've learned and how you've grown. You'll always want to do better and that's a good thing. But don't beat yourselves up and discredit all of the good that you've accomplished. You've come a long way. Be proud of that.<br />
<br />
Alrighty then. Pep talk over.Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-47352072272817305832015-01-29T18:25:00.000-08:002016-04-04T07:47:39.172-07:00First semester at NYU, The kind soul that holds my hair back, Hunting for the first time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Oh my sakes. It's 2015. I haven't written since October. And naturally, much has occurred since then. So let me tell you where things are at:</div>
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I've successfully completely my first semester of grad school at NYU. And it is still crazy to me writing sentences indicating that I am receiving academic instruction from NYU. It feels like a dream and also completely preposterous at the same time. But somehow it's real. I <i>really</i> love my program. My favorite class last semester was my "Human Behavior" course. My professor was outstanding (and therefore I'm taking Human Behavior 2 from him this semester). haha We focused a lot on looking at how our experiences from childhood manifest themselves in behavior as we grow up. My mind was constantly reeling in class as I looked at my upbringing and how so many facets of my life have formed me into this person that interacts and reacts to people and life in the way that I do. It's fascinating. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9JwDr8EK6mGxzFHbci4JyWUUg3eDFy9t7VOuSfJRdKpRuPyFwWa8g-UW1rOFHf2A-damj25B1K_-HAqg8_TGhdL9VMZfQdCgDKlCCXIEFAKvLZ9Uaea0sVd7vOQOfn673XeRnBm9FWxu/s1600/Hip+hop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo9JwDr8EK6mGxzFHbci4JyWUUg3eDFy9t7VOuSfJRdKpRuPyFwWa8g-UW1rOFHf2A-damj25B1K_-HAqg8_TGhdL9VMZfQdCgDKlCCXIEFAKvLZ9Uaea0sVd7vOQOfn673XeRnBm9FWxu/s1600/Hip+hop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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(This photo was from when I went to Hip Hop Nutcracker at Christmas time. Aaaannnddd yeah, it was as fun as it sounds.)</div>
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One of my favorite examples that he gave is one from his personal practice. He has a client he is working with that's 7 years old. This little boy does have some severe behavioral issues, enough that at the age of 7, he's been kicked out of several schools. Kicking, biting, throwing things, yelling, tantrums, etc. Let's call this little boy Johnny. So Johnny goes to see my professor for therapy and they work together to find out where some of these behavioral issues are coming from. It turns out Johnny's mom and dad fight a lot. Johnny has seen his mom physically abuse his father as well. Sometimes Johnny's dad doesn't come home. </div>
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My professor explained when a child sees this type of dysfunction in his parents, it's too horrifying of a thought to think that these stabilizing forces in his life are a mess. It's easier to think something is wrong with you, the child. That's much easier to digest than the thought that the people responsible for raising you, teaching you and keeping you safe aren't highly functioning. The part I loved about this is my professor invited Johnny, his little sister, and their parents to a session. Each member of the family was asked to make a lego tower, with each lego representing one year of their life. So Johnny's tower was 7 legos tall, his little sisters tower was 5 legos tall, and his parents had multiple towers of legos. My professor explained that Johnny is only 7 legos. He's little. He's a kid. He shouldn't be responsible for the problems and issues of his parents that have multiple towers of legos. He's a kid. His job is to be a kid and play. The people with the big towers have a lot of years and therefore need to handle their bigger issues. </div>
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This example really resonated with me. I loved the imagery. I think in our own ways we can take on stress from people that have more "legos" than we do. And that's not our job. Our job is to deal with our own issues and carry the responsibility of the number of "legos" that we have, no more and no less. Anyway, perhaps this is a random thing to share but it really helped me.</div>
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I was fortunate enough to travel home for Christmas this year. Unfortunately, the trip was very short. I didn't get to see all of the people that I wanted to meet up with, but thankfully I got to squeeze in a few quick visits. It's such a mix of emotions traveling home. For many years I felt frustrated in Utah and like I didn't belong. I so looked forward to traveling abroad or getting out. One of the elders in my mission once told me that I didn't seem like I was from Utah...and I took it as a compliment. haha But I do love Utah and there are a lot of wonderful people there. And it's a strange experience for me to come back to Utah and somehow feel right at home. A place where I used to feel so out of place now brings such a feeling of peace. I love being surrounded by the mountains. I love how when they're dusted with snow, I could be outside for hours and never grow tired of looking over at them. I love that I have memories in the strangest of places back in Utah. The movie theater where my group of girlfriends and I finally got up the courage to ask a group of boys to hang out with us--and they later became our dear friends. The spot behind Albertsons, that normally doesn't hold any significance, except it's where Ashlee parked her car for the parade one year and we watched the whole thing with snacks and AC. It was brilliant. And Kneaders, just because their french toast is the best thing that ever happened to human taste buds. haha</div>
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Something remarkable happens when I meet up with each of my friends. They are from all different parts of my life. High school, my Paris Study abroad, my mission to Italy, my time spent in Uganda, or even just from being assigned as a visiting teacher back in the AF singles ward. Regardless of how I know them, this lovely rush of emotion fills me when I hug my friends after a long time. Man, how I love them. I love being on adventures and living in New York City. But my heart is so happy to be home and in the company of people that know me, understand me and love me. We've been friends for years and have seen each other through a lot of situations. I so admire the people I've seen them become and my heart is so happy for the joy they have found as they've become wives, mothers, finished school, advanced in their careers, and grown as remarkable women. I'm really the luckiest. My friends mean the world to me. I feel like the most fortunate person on the planet whenever I'm back in their company. </div>
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My brother Cody and Sister-in-law Aubry were very gracious to host us in their home. It must be awfully chaotic having extra bodies in your home but as Raf said, "Aubry is like Mary Poppins." and she really is. The woman can work a 12 hour night shift Christmas Eve, still manage to photograph the excitement of Christmas morning, make a trifle for my dad, bake dinner, look fabulous and go to family parties without sleep. She's quite remarkable. I love being around her.<br />
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My brother Cody is also fun to be around. He has one of my favorite laughs in the world. He's a lot of fun. Cody and Aub also introduced us to a new version of the card game "Golf". Let's just say we played a pretty good amount of Golf while we were there. Thanks Code and Aub for letting us all shack up with you for Christmas. You were too good to us and it was so fun being with your family.<br />
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Now their three children are three of the sweetest, most adorable tiny people I've ever known. Sadie has a cute little scratchy voice that told me she was going to be watching out the window on Christmas Eve. "I'm going to look for a wed light." How come? "To see if Wudolph is real!" Mya's response was, "If you see it, wake me up." haha I love them. I loved playing with them and watching their eyes light up on Christmas morning. Little Hayze has the cutest little run and melts your heart if he even glances your way. They're such good kids. I can only hope that my children one day will be as sweet.<br />
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This trip was quite epic because it was the first time I agreed to go to hunting. My dad and brothers are hard core hunters. Growing up, we had an entire freezer that was pretty much dedicated to the meat from their kills. And there was an extra garage nearby containing a shrine of their heads and antlers. This year, I got to go along for the ride. I'll be honest, part of the reason I was turned off to it all these years was because I pictured them wandering around all day, trudging in waist-deep snow looking for animals. But nay, that is not how it worked. We were all layered up, chewing on jerky (how appropriate), and looking out the windows of Cody's truck with binoculars for elk. I didn't realize that it wasn't as freezing or unplanned as I had originally imagined. We drove around, stopping to look through the scope for several hours. Of course because my brother had a cow elk tag, we saw lots of bull elk instead. Isn't that how it goes?! They are such cool creatures. It was pretty amazing to be in the mountains. Cody shot an elk at 540 yards. It was really impressive. The hike over to it was a bit hard in the deep snow but it was good cardio. :) <br />
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As we got closer to the elk, it was incredible to see what an incredible animal she was. It was pretty cool to see almost a reverence that we all had for this animal. She was beautiful. Even as they were skinning it, I was in awe at how strong she was and how incredible it is how all of our bodies are put together. I'm grateful my brother let me tag along for the experience. I'm sure it's more fun with only guys, but it was really fun to see him in his element and how talented he is. Later when we came back to New York, Raf and I were watching "The Walking Dead" and the characters in an episode wouldn't shoot a zombie that was 100 yards away. Raf laughed and said, "Man, Cody makes these guys look like chumps. He shot an elk that was 560 yards away." haha And it's true. My brother does make those characters look silly. He's got hunting skills. He really does.<br />
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It was a really fun break. My parents and kid sister were also in Utah for the break. I love them very much. They do an awful lot for me. It's always fun to get the family together as it seems sparse these days. I adored the family time, catching up with friends, seeing their newborn babies, and not having any homework to do. :) Now it's back into the grind. Classes have started and I'm back at my internship. It's going to be another great semester. I can already tell that these classes are going to push me but I'm really excited about it. I think it will be good for me to continue to learn about myself as I delve more into this program. As always, I will try to be good at keeping you up to date with the happenings here in NYC. But, if I'm not on top of my posts, just know I love you and you'll hear from me soon. Love from New York,<br />
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Mal<br />
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Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-84976292216534032622014-10-19T19:18:00.001-07:002014-10-20T01:51:40.978-07:00Roommates, Square Dancing, Musicals and fourth dates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Time has been passing quickly here in NYC. I'm six weeks into school and my internship and had one of my midterms this week. I figured it was about time to update you on a few little deets and tails. </div>
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My internship has been pretty great. I've established a relationship with some great seniors and it's so fun looking forward to our interaction everyday. I have one client in particular that I'm very excited about. He was initially described to me as the client that would be the most difficult, but I like him. I think he's funny. His hair is several inches long and he parts it and swoops it to one side. He comes across as kind of grumpy but he always ends up making me laugh. He can't read or write but he tells pretty good stories. I've been talking to him about the possibility of me writing up some of his stories so he can have a book of it. His dad used to write poetry and I thought maybe it would make him feel good to have a book of his writing, like his dad. We'll see.</div>
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There's a little Italian lady that I adore. She has memory problems and frequently repeats herself in things she tells me. I was gone on Monday and Tuesday due to Columbus Day and Fall Break. I really didn't anticipate many people noticing, and especially not the sweet Italian lady with memory problems. But she did. She put her hands on each of my cheeks and asked me where I had been. She told me that she asked her husband if he knew where I was, if I'd mentioned I wouldn't be there for a few days. So sweet. Something as simple as someone noticing your absence is awfully thoughtful to me.</div>
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I have two roommates: Macrae (who is in my phone as "Barbar Binks"...I dunno. Hardly anyone is listed under their real name. haha) and Justin (who I call J-town or J-diggity). Macrae and I share a room and sleep on a bunk bed. While it's slightly embarrassing as a 27 year old lass to be back on a bunk bed, it's also been really fun. Macrae and I met 7 years ago in Paris where we were assigned to be roommates. Roommates were assigned alphabetically and since we are both M names, we landed in a beautiful home in Le Vesinet together. She was incredible then, and that hasn't changed in the 7 years since then. When I got sick a couple of weeks ago, we laid down the futon and had a Psych marathon and ate ice cream. We fall asleep on our bunk beds talking about our latest dates and how unreal it seems that we live in NYC together and GET to fall asleep talking about our dating lives in the city. She even finds fun free things to do in the city. </div>
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One night, she had heard there was free square dancing in Bryant Park. Naturally we showed up, got free hats, and laughed our faces off dancing with 800+ other people. They had a live band, there was an announcer who would teach you the dance and shout out the steps over the bands music. It was hilarious and so much fun...and free, which my pocket book appreciates.</div>
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J-town is pretty funny. He asked me to go shopping with him once. We hit up H&M and he let me pick out clothes for him to try on. It was fun. He asks Macrae and I to help him pick out his clothes for work, and every now and then we climb out on the roof (from his window) and chat while eating a bit of shake shack. It's my first time living with a boy. It's been a pretty funny experience. It's been fun though.<br />
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My dear friend Diana came into town and we got to see Pig Pen Theatre Co perform a musical that they had written and performed in. It was so creative, funny and sweet. I'm in awe that these seven men are about my age, each play musical instruments, sing, write plays and act in them. Overachieve much?? It seems absurd that so much talent can reside in seven charming men. But I'm not complaining. Not at all. It was so fun to have Diana in town. She is one of my bestest friends from DC and I love that she's not too far away that we can't see each other every couple of months.<br />
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Macrae is incredible. She submitted tickets to the lottery (which essentially puts you in a drawing to win broadway tickets for 20 bucks). She won and we went to On The Town, in the third row. It was so well done. It's so fun to get wrapped up in the music and dancing. I was raised in a family that loves musicals and it's nice to have a friend to go do these things with. It was such a wonderful evening.<br />
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If you follow anything about my activities in New York over the last two years, you might have noticed the occasional trip to Levain Bakery. When Macrae first moved here, she hadn't tried their cookies from heaven yet, so I figured it would be as good a welcome as any. We each bought a cookie (or two) and went to a nearby park to people watch and talk about our disbelief that we live in NYC together after 7 years have passed since we spent much time together. It's so random and I love it.<br />
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It just so happened that the weekend where Diana came up, wasn't very spaced out from the weekend that I was going down to DC. The reason for this is because Diana and Laura had planned for me to join them for a movie premier and they bought a ticket for me months ago. I had gotten pretty sick before the trip and nearly didn't go. I went to the doctor on campus and after prescribing me medication and saying that I really needed to rest, she asked, "What are you doing this weekend?". </div>
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"Umm...I'm supposed to be going to DC."</div>
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She just looked at me in silence, sighed and then said, "Please rest." haha</div>
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The weekend passed all too quickly. I got in late Friday night, we went to the movie Saturday and hung out a little bit, then I left Sunday after church. Diana asked me what I would like to do in the time we had after the movie. Well...I have some runs in some of my colored tights. Perhaps a trip to Target is due. I'm a big fan of colored tights and have a preferred brand by now. We meandered through Target and when we got to the wall of tights, I just stood there for a minute. haha It's odd that such an odd location could be a happy place for me. I decided on a really dark green and then we jokingly tried on these pajama onesies....and then had to buy them. What choice did we have?!</div>
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I'm doing well. Things have been really busy and I've especially been a bit of a stress case around midterms, but I'm doing well. I'm really fortunate to have some really good friends in my life that are a wonderful support and company as I figure out this fun, crazy phase of life. I have some pretty hilarious date stories. Perhaps for a later blog. My current favorite, however, is a gentleman that has taken me out four times now. He's pretty wonderful. My roommate and I were talking the other night about how cute the third date rule is. You know, don't kiss until the third date. Well this guy is so darling. We just had our fourth date, and it ended in nothing but a couple of kisses on the forehead. Nothing more. Oh my heart, how I loved that. As a girl who's felt a bit run down and rushed in the dating scene at times, there's nothing more wonderful to me than a guy who will take it slow. The simplicity of it means the world to me. Perhaps as time passes, I might talk more about this one, but for now, I think that's plenty. I don't want to get ahead of myself or overshare. I'm happy here. I hope you're happy where you guys are too. Love you from NYC, <br />
MalsMalloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-61359882945993573542014-09-10T21:34:00.002-07:002014-09-10T21:34:41.352-07:00Field Placement, Boxers and Shaking itToday has been a really rewarding day. I was on campus from 9:00am-8:30pm. Yep, I was in class or in the library or taking a quick break in Washington Square Park before going back to the first two. It's been a crazy day but so satisfying.<br />
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I love my classes. It's the most wonderful thing to be truly interested and enjoy every single class that I'm in. Normally, in undergrad work, there are some required courses that you just have to muscle through. But I really don't think I'm going to have to muscle through any of my classes. The lectures are interesting and I'm not constantly watching the clock counting down when I can leave. It's precisely the confirmation I needed that I'm studying the right thing, in the right place with people who enjoy the things that I do. It's lovely.<br />
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I've had two days of field work so far. It's a pretty large Senior Center out in Brooklyn. I take the subway there three days a week--the commute is about 45 minutes. When I got off the subway for the first time, I felt like I got off in a different country. The community is highly populated with Orthodox Jews. The signs to the stores are written in Hebrew, all of the little boys walking to school have shaved heads except for two long ringlets hanging in front of each ear, etc. It was strange being a minority in a completely different way than I'm used to in Manhattan.<br />
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This week, my supervisor just wanted me to mix and mingle with the seniors. It's been really chill and a lot of fun to meet so many active, bright, positive and hilarious people. I have been amazed by how many people come out every single day to this place. A couple hundred elderly folk come early in the morning (some even get there before we open at 8:30) and stay all day. The center is huge--complete with a gym, karaoke room, pool table room, card game room and a massive room with a big dance floor. Yes, every day at 1:00pm they have a huge dance where all of the seniors break it down. It's hilarious and adorable all at the same time. The chinese seniors get <i>way </i>into karaoke and I can hear them in my office when they're singing upstairs. I can't even be mad about it because it's so funny.<br />
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It's quite an interesting mix of people as well. As I had mentioned, many of the seniors are from China who come everyday. There's a smaller group, but a solid group of about 20 that are Italian. Other than that, they're mostly born and raised in the area. The dynamics between the groups is quite fascinating to watch. Many of the Italians have expressed frustration that back when they came to this country they had to learn english and it really bothers them that so many people live here (and come to the center) and don't speak english. But more than that, it clearly stops them from getting to know each other when they can't verbally communicate.<br />
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A couple of my favorite moments so far:<br />
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<ul>
<li>The little old gentlemen are so classy. I was noticing yesterday that every single one of them comes wearing slacks, a button up shirt and nice shoes. Not one was wearing jeans or a t-shirt of any sort. Such classy blokes. The ladies, likewise, usually have a skirt and are dolled out with necklaces and earrings. </li>
<li>One of the gentlemen is born and raised in Brooklyn. He was telling me all about his boxing years when he was young. He said, "People talk about Rocky. Rocky who?" He almost instinctively pulls his arms up in a defensive boxing position as he reminisces about the good ol' days. My favorite detail is when his eyes lit up and he asked, "You wanna know what they used to call me? ....Punchy." I died laughing. What a nickname.</li>
<li>An Italian lady and I are have cute little friendship so far. She's adorable and always gestures for me to come sit next to her when she sees me--she often makes her husband move. haha She <i>raves</i> about her husband. It's so fun to hear. It didn't take me long into our first conversation to recognize that she would repeat details to me-things she must talk about often, but didn't remember telling me. I chatted with her, trying to understand the severity of her memory problems. She looked at me and went off on how amazing her husband is. "I don't remember things all the time. My husband is so good to me. He tells me not worry about it. If I forget something, he said to ask him and he'll tell me." Adorable. I can imagine that days and years of hearing the same thing over and over again must get old, but he's so patient with her and always acts like it's the first time. I'm obsessed with them.</li>
<li>From what I've noticed, only in the dancing portion of the day do they all intermingle. The Italian men will go ask the cute little Chinese women to dance. I love watching their cute little wobbly bodies partner dance like they're young and spry. There's something so beautiful and sweet to me about their resilience. Surely they've all had hard times and deep sorrows, but they look at you through their weathered faces and still have beautiful and warm smiles. Their dancing is no different. They're still upbeat and happy. A lot of times you'll even see two italian women or two chinese women dancing with each other due to lack of male partners. It makes me so happy.</li>
<li>One of the Italians was a founder of an Italian newspaper out here. When he found out I speak Italian, he told me he would bring me a copy of the newspaper. Sure enough, Tuesday morning, he walked up to me with a newspaper and said I could keep it. Small little gestures like that are so sweet to me. It was so thoughtful and not required...which is what made it so darling.</li>
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I'm really happy. Life's not perfect. I'm certainly stressed about school and all that I have to do this year, but I'm very thankful for the people I've met so far. I'm learning a lot and feel so blessed to be here and continue my education in a field that, come to find out, I truly love. It's so nice to have moments like this. I figured I should probably write it down while it lasts. Love you. I'll write soon. Mal</div>
Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-84211628820044705362014-08-29T21:13:00.000-07:002014-09-07T19:11:39.974-07:00First week in NYC, Rainbow Room, the happiest grafitti<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The party I wrote about in my last post was in the Rainbow Room. I didn't know what it was before, but apparently it's a really big deal. It's a fancy restaurant on the very top floor of Rockefeller Plaza. It has some of the most breathtaking views of the city. It's been recently renovated and we were under strict instructions to not take any pictures while there. The room is not open to the public until October and they don't want the new design leaked. haha Especially because the event that we were attending was supposedly taking place in December when the rooms new look would already be revealed. Normally instructions to not take pictures don't phase me and I just do it anyway (but stealthily) but since someone had pulled strings to get us into the party, I didn't want to make him look bad if I got caught. Therefore, the only photo I can provide you with from the evening was on our way out after the party. But stayed tuned New Years Eve because...I'll be in the audience of the show and you can get a glimpse of the room then. :)</div>
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I love where I live. I love meandering through Times Square. Every now and then I'll make sure to walk home through it just because I know that one day I won't live in New York anymore and I want to remember it as my walk home. It's incredible.</div>
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Maybe it's the part of me that has an obsession with Europe, but I am always captivated by street art. In Italy, the street graffiti isn't really viewed as vandalism. At least from my understanding, they didn't seem to have the same purpose as ours does here in the states. They were poems for their girlfriends, grand gestures of their love, the designs and pictures were very beautiful and creative. So I passed this gem in Little Italy and had to stare at it for a while. I love it. <br />
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Back when I lived in Virginia, after a particular week when I was struggling with some things going on in my life at the time, I took an impromptu trip to NYC and decided on the bus that I would take pictures of everything that made me happy. It was amazing to see all of the little things in my life that made me smile or laugh throughout the day. So a few days ago, I was reminded of that when occasional things would make me do a double-take or backtrack a few steps to photograph quirky details to my day that I wanted to look back on and laugh. Stuff like this:<br />
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Soo...I have recently discovered my fear of birds. I didn't realize it until I moved to Uganda back in 2012 but it quickly became apparently that chickens freaked me out. haha So embarrassing. Another story for another time. So when I was walking through Washington Square Park and saw this man (and a few tourists) drenched in birds...I started feeling a bit of anxiety. How this gentleman and the two tourists standing by him could handle this quantity of birds in their space is beyond me. <br />
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One of the things that I love about New York City (and I hope never gets old) is you never know what kind of street performs you're stumble upon. There are caricature artists, people who spray paint elaborate landscape views of the city on paper, people spray paint themselves metallic...that just stand there and ask for tips, and there are acrobatic/break dancing shows. The latter is what is pictured below. This gentleman is some version of Captain Jack Sparrow was playing the drums while a friend got the audience jazzed about him running and jumping over a row of 6 people. I've seen several groups around the city do it but I still find it amusing. This city is full of so many fun, talented and entertaining people. Sometimes you've just got to stop and watch. So I do.<br />
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The food in New York City is an absolute travesty for any diet or health regime that you might think you're on. Eataly is one of my favorite places. It has imported Italian food that I haven't seen since walking around the Italian market on P-days back on my mission. In fact, I met up with a mission friend in Eataly and it was hilarious how we kept making noises when we saw food we hadn't seen in years. You can't not make audible sounds at even the memory of what this food tastes like. Italy just seems to get everything right...at least in the food department. I found my favorite juice called "Ace" that I haven't had since Italy, and my word, I almost spent the 6 dollars to taste it again. haha But alas, I went around the corner and found this instead:<br />
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It's the Nutella bar. Yes, if you're going to go to a bar, make it one where mass amounts of Nutella is involved. This place cracked me up from the moment I entered because it is lined from ceiling to floor with jars of Nutella. My favorite part, however, was there was a Beauty and the Beast style ladder that rolled along the library of hazelnut goodness incase you needed one of the vats up high. They make crepes and also put nutella in several types of pastries. It's absurd...in the best way possible.<br />
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Oh, this weird, creepy Hulk baby is also a Little Italy find. The huge ones amaze me because I don't understand how artists keep proportion on that scale. I mean, this one is several stories high. Maybe it's the part of me that wishes I wishes I still had Art class in the Louvre every Wednesday, but I love to stop and stare at these every now and then. Even the stand point of how they keep it proportional is fascinating to me. It's quite an odd concept to paint but...it effectively makes me stop in my tracks nonetheless.<br />
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One of my walk homes made me laugh when I saw this bloke:</div>
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Yes, they have a "naked cowboy" (so just a guy with a guitar in his whitey tighties) who is well known in the Times Square area. This "Naked Baby", however, was new to me. He's frequently there. Creepy mask, grown man diaper, a loud rattle to get everyone's attention and Nacho Libre boots. I don't really understand how and when this person decided this was what he wanted to do for a living but...just wow. haha<br />
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Today I went out to Brooklyn with a friend. We grabbed some pizza at a well-known place called Grimaldi's. We walked out to the Pier in perfect timing to watch the sun set on this beautiful city that I now get to call home. There are moments all the time that I look around and try to take in where I live. But tonight, in particular, hit me pretty hard. It is so gorgeous. I feel so lucky to live here. It's a super crazy place to live and it's not everyone's cup of tea. But I love it here. It's my new home and very happy about that.<br />
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<br />Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-22061936733017732812014-08-28T20:51:00.002-07:002014-09-07T19:12:50.553-07:00Celeb Sightings, Romantic Pen, Man-baby<br />
So guess who lives in New York City?! Bah!...it's me. It's so crazy and I keep thinking that this isn't real and I'll wake up somewhere else one day and realize this was just a vacation or a dream. But thus far...I keep waking up here.<br />
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Saying goodbye to the family was naturally a cry-fest. haha It was so wonderful living with family after being far away from them for a while. I miss hearing the little feet of my nephews running down the hall to come play with Auntie Mallo...but that would be weird if I had that expectation of my roommates eh? I just feel really blessed for all of the love and support I've received from friends and family. It's meant a lot to me. That's all.<br />
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About 5 days before I was supposed to be on a flight, I got super sick. It was worse than I'd been in a long time and it was lasting a longer than usual as well. After I came to grips with the fact that I needed to deal with it (meaning...my sister was insistent that I go to Urgent Care and that she was coming with me. haha), I had some awkwardland tests done that took several days to process. I had to change my flight because I was too sick to travel and found out when I got to Virginia that I have Salmonella. Gross right? It was not ideal. But I'm glad the tests were conclusive and that it was treatable. What an adventure that was.<br />
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Sooo...my uncle is outrageously kind and drove me all the way to New York City from Virginia. We packed up his car and chatted the whole way up. Traffic was a doozy and the trip took roughly 6 hours. We had a party to go to that night so I had to do some quick unloading into my apartment. My uncle had to stay in the car because there wasn't any parking available close to my apartment and policemen kept making him move the car. So as I carried boxes into my apartment (some embarrassingly heavy) while my uncle occasionally did a lap around the block in his car to not get in trouble with the coppers. All the while, as I'm waddling with huge boxes down the sidewalk, sweating in a really unattractive way and hauling them into my apartment, some girls standing outside a bar had been watching me for a while and one said, "You need a man." haha Nice. On my next trip, I had a really heavy box and a worker in the Sprint store next door to my apartment came out and offered to help. I initially said, "No, thank you." and wanted to do it by myself and didn't want to get him in trouble for leaving work to help me. But when I had to unlock the door, hold it open with my food and lift this gigantic box in the door and repeat the process for a second door, I realized I was being a bit silly. I allowed him to help me carry it up the stairs. It always makes me so happy when people are genuinely kind and selfless. <br />
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My uncle's brother has pretty killer cool connections in the city and got us tickets to a pre-taping of a New Years Eve broadcast. Yes, it will air on New Years Eve but was filmed in August. Kind of hilarious. It was a Michael Feinstein variety show with several celebs. It was fun to be all dolled up and in such a formal setting. My favorite was Darren Criss came and sang a few songs (you know, from Glee.) He was fantastic live and so adorable. Afterwards my uncle's brother was chatting with him like they were old friends and introduced us. I nerdily wanted a picture so badly but totally pansied out. My knees were shaking and I'm just not as suave as I'd like to be in those scenarios. He told me he liked my glasses and that was memory enough for me. :)<br />
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After the party we were hungry and went to dinner at midnight (yep, because it's New York City and everything's still open). After that we finished moving into my apartment around 1:30 or 2:00am. I was so tired and deliriously happy. My apartment is like 2 blocks from Times Square. It definitely has it's NYC quirks, but overall, I'm so happy. It's so fun to be right in the middle of everything and even when I come home at night I feel completely safe (which is saying something because Africa left me pretty paranoid and freaked out...specifically when it's dark.) haha Everything is all lit up at night time and people are all over the streets so I never feel unsafe in the area where I live.<br />
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Random incidents that have made me laugh recently:<br />
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<li>The people in Times Square that dress up. I've seen Woody, Elmo, Hello Kitty, Statue of Liberty, Chewbacca, Cookie Monster, a man wearing nothing but a diaper and a mask of a baby face, and then some girls walking around wearing nothing but paint on their mammaries. That's real. It's quite the scene.</li>
<li>I passed an elderly man on the street with a green beard.</li>
<li>On my way to run errands, I passed a man who was carrying something heavy on a trolly. He called after me saying I had dropped something out of my backpack...it was a pen. And it wasn't mine. I let him know it wasn't my pen and he said, "Well I had to do something to get your attention."...and then gave me the pen. I giggled awkwardly, said thanks and walked away. Apparently if you're interested in a lady, you should offer her office supplies. Just FYI.</li>
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Of course there is more going on but I will stop here for now. I'm happy. My rooomates are cool, my apartment location is fantastic, the food is delicious, there's so much to do....I'm happy to be here. Anxious to start school, but happy and thankful. I hope you're doing well wherever you are that's reading this.</div>
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Mal</div>
<br />Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-9756795139301068452014-07-14T21:36:00.003-07:002014-08-26T21:18:09.397-07:00Why would anyone want to live in New York City anyway?Before leaving Virginia, there was a little goodbye party for me. A few friends and acquaintances from the ward came by the house to chat one last time. One of the girls brought up a conversation she had recently with her friends where they all agreed how awful it sounds to live in New York City. She listed off a slew of reasons why New York City sounded like a hectic, crowded mess. Then she paused and said, "We asked ourselves why anyone would want to live there. So I figured I would ask you...since you're going." haha Oh goody. <br />
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I see both sides of the story. 18 year-old me really hated New York. I saw what this girl in my ward saw. It was hot, humid, dirty, crowded, etc. But there's something exciting about it to me now. I love that it is such a melting pot, and you can overhear several languages in the duration of a day. I love stumbling upon a musician in a subway stop or central park. I love the delicious, hole-in-the-wall restaurants and cafes that are not a part of a chain...and only exist in that particular city. I love riding the subway. How bizarre is that? I love being able to sit down next to a stranger during my travels. I love that on the subway, I can read a book or people watch whereas, in a car it's more of sitting in traffic and worrying about a fellow driver crashing into me in inclement weather. I love the broadways, the fashion, and the fast pace. The history, monuments and museums. I love that there's not a cookie cutter of who belongs there. From the fancy gents in the Financial District to the "suffering for their art" musicians and artists. You don't have to fit any certain mold, which I appreciate.<br />
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While I spent the majority of the summer being a stress case about living in New York, I get more and more excited every day. But I still have my concerns. Let me welcome you into a combo of practical and irrations fears I have of living in NYC:<br />
<ul>
<li>New York is an expensive little land. Going into mass amounts of debt stresses me a fair bit. On this occasion and many others, I have wished that I was friends with Oprah. Surely she'd give me an opportunity to work for some money for school right? haha Embarrassing little train of thought.</li>
<li>I'm a bit afraid that in my field work assignments, that I'll run into situations that will be way over my head. I have always loved when people ask me for advice and stuff, but I'm sure there are some crazy circumstances that would have me stumped and probably red faced because I don't relate. That will be fun and I will probably blog about it. Stay tuned. haha</li>
<li>I feel like my dating opportunities are going to be a whole new world. One of my big fears here, is my chances of being Michael Scoffielded (having a huge crush on a gentleman who actually likes men) go way up. I haven't had to deal with that type of heart break yet but...I feel like this is where it would happen to me. haha</li>
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I'm going to be fine and I'm actually super stoked. But I figured I would record some of these random fears of mine to look back on when I'm actually there and experiencing everything first hand. For one of my next posts, I can update you on dating stories. Because...if you've been reading this blog for very long, I have some doozies to add to the list. Love from Colorado,</div>
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Mal</div>
Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-90546488205888771612014-07-12T21:59:00.002-07:002014-07-12T21:59:46.796-07:00Scattered thoughts and deeds of the day.Thoughts and deeds of the day:<br />
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<li>I miss Joseph Johannes. He's a brilliant man from Ethiopic that we worked with on my mission. He was this adorable guy that felt like the Ethiopian/Italian version of a dad or grandpa. For some reason the memory of this odd snack he used to make us when we were at his house came to mind. Saltine crackers with little slices of banana. He would always get a big grin on his face and (re)explain that it's delicious because of the salty and sweet combination. I love that man. And I love that snack because it reminds me of him.</li>
<li>I painted my nails today. I never paint my nails. And wouldn't you know that I smeared them. It was worth a shot and they were cute for a minute...so I'm going to go ahead and say it was worth it. haha</li>
<li>My brother-in-law gave me a jersey of France's lacrosse team. He gave it to me because it was too small for him, and while it's too big for me, I don't mind. It's a wonderful pajama shirt that has "France" written on it. How silly that sporting anything with that country's name makes me happy.</li>
<li>I've been listening to "Boom Clap" by Charli a fair bit. I don't know what it is about that song. Perhaps because it's peppy and care free. Or maybe because I first heard it in the trailer to a hilarious yet effective sob-fest of a film "A Fault In Our Stars". Unknown. But sometimes my music doesn't have to be deep or ground breaking. </li>
<li>I sure am white. Shouldn't I be darker than this in the middle of the summer? </li>
<li>A trip to the grocery store had me coming home a proud owner of Biotin. Does it really make hair grow faster and healthy? Time will tell. But the prospect of trying something new (even if it's a silly vitamin for my hair) is something that I'm nerdily looking forward to tracking.</li>
<li>I watched a wee bit of "So You Think You Can Dance" tonight. At times I find it disturbing how incredibly flexible not only the women, but the men are on that show. I remember being in Junior High and being determined to do the splits. I gave myself like a month deadline, stretched after school and was so excited when I got close. haha Perhaps some day I'll recommit to that hilarious goal. But maybe I should babystep my way there...like learning how to paint my nails like an adult. haha</li>
<li>Between a great conversation with my boss at the Italian restaurant where I work and some really cool customers, I had a surge of excitement for this fall in NYC. My life plans came up in conversation and it was fun to watch other people light up with excitement. I'm grateful that my life has been exciting (in my opinion) and will continue to be exciting (again, in my opinion haha) with some upcoming adventures on the horizon. I hope I always see my life as something exciting, something to smile about and be proud of.</li>
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Not a bad day.Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-24124464658990050922014-07-10T23:43:00.003-07:002014-08-30T01:05:33.493-07:00Parable of the Life Vests<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Sometimes my life makes more sense to me when I break things down and look at it from different perspectives. Hence why you'll see random Mallory-made parables on here every now and then. I don't know when it all started but they help me. I figured I would share them in case they do anything for you. Today's comes with some some nice 'n cheesy google images. Be excited. :)</div>
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I noticed a pattern in my life that kind of bothered me. It seemed I've gone through phases where my relationship with God isn't as consistent as I would like it to be. And for some reason, it's not until it feels like everything comes crashing down that I realize how desperately I need to get on my knees and have a deep, meaningful, heart-to-heart with the big guy. I've been thinking a lot about why that's been something that I've done (and I'm assuming other people do it too, perhaps on varying levels). Here's what I've come up with.</div>
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I wonder if we view our relationship with God (at times) as similar to the one we have with a life vest on an airplane.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6Gsa6gxHzO4HNiFIEtWAAqqBWHoQA4gBqQ9YMEeXH41OwSRnwNSDOg1qo5coaKTwWE4FxS7F8KPOoPu4q5zdkSVwUcunLHo8bckoOQQma27LIi9hQUMvDxDhPdRxVA7-UV2lyxyhcNtE/s1600/life+vest+airplane.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6Gsa6gxHzO4HNiFIEtWAAqqBWHoQA4gBqQ9YMEeXH41OwSRnwNSDOg1qo5coaKTwWE4FxS7F8KPOoPu4q5zdkSVwUcunLHo8bckoOQQma27LIi9hQUMvDxDhPdRxVA7-UV2lyxyhcNtE/s1600/life+vest+airplane.jpeg" /></a></div>
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You know, you get on the flight and everything's fine. You watch you movie, eat your free pretzels, and think that life is good. No one pays their life vest any mind until lights are flashing, people are screaming and your in the middle of a panic attack because everything's going down--literally. THEN everyone frantically grasps for their life vests because it is literally the <i>only</i> thing that can save them. </div>
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However, I think the way it ought to be is if we had a relationship with God, like the one we have with a life vest while river rafting.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aLhzRLXbOMkBtAhRHlpGWsjt_vtN5_v81SW-DxsWIGKfPGjS3d_O9R_t2CS_vcyzuUvwl41emoJXOEsbqF1NOw1RZx3-9mt9A-bj_ZhtvSaaFiU2RcLXgfez4dCMKA3R_YoG-kRD0ZE6/s1600/life+vest+river+rafting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aLhzRLXbOMkBtAhRHlpGWsjt_vtN5_v81SW-DxsWIGKfPGjS3d_O9R_t2CS_vcyzuUvwl41emoJXOEsbqF1NOw1RZx3-9mt9A-bj_ZhtvSaaFiU2RcLXgfez4dCMKA3R_YoG-kRD0ZE6/s1600/life+vest+river+rafting.jpg" height="148" width="320" /></a></div>
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Regardless of whether the waters are calm or rough, you keep your life vest on. In this past time, wearing a life vest is viewed as having value all the time. It doesn't matter if you get to a calm part, people aren't taking their life vests on and off. You're more aware of your reliance on them. They're strapped on every moment you're on the water.</div>
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I just want to be the type of person that has a wonderful relationship with God, because I put honest, sincere effort into our relationship whether the waters in my life are calm or rough. I don't need to ignore the value in relying on Him until I'm in a tough spot. But rather, I need to continually work to see the value of consistent, sincere prayer and reflection daily. It will keep me afloat and...as happy as those people in the cheesy picture above. :) That's all.</div>
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Mal</div>
Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-14136791775326167372014-07-08T22:44:00.002-07:002014-07-08T22:44:39.358-07:00Moving, working with Italians, discovering a happy placeThe Elders showed up at my house and challenged me to write in my journal. I feel like blogging is a compromise. I'm behind, as usual, and there is much to update.<br />
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Soo...in case you didn't know, I moved out of Virginia. It was time. I had worked for an Endocrinologist out there for a year and some change, met some friends that are so dear to me, got to live 15 minutes away from our nation's capital, and had an incredible aunt and uncle close by. It was a lot of great things and a very effective learning experience for me. I'm glad that I went and am glad that I was able to recognize when it was time to go.<br />
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For the last couple of months I've been living with my sister Kim, her husband and their two children. Of the five kids in our family, I feel like they've lived away from the rest of the family the most. It's been so nice to spend time with my nephews, work out with my sister and enjoy some family time. They are so nice to let me stay and have been such a breath of fresh air. It's been great for me to regroup.<br />
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I'm working two jobs right now. During the day I work for an Orthodontist in my sisters ward. I am their receptionist...until they hire someone else. haha Essentially I was a quick fix until someone more permanent could be found. I'm okay with that though. He pays me well, is a great boss, and it turns out employment is a pretty satisfying thing...among others.<br />
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My second job is at a mom and pop Italian restaurant/cafe. The owner is from Sicily. Kim and I went one day to get pastries and after speaking with him in Italian for a bit, he offered me a job. It was awesome. I've been able to get some waitressing experience, which has been fun. And not only the owner, but his niece and nephew (who work in the kitchen) are also Italian. So I've been able to practice my mission language. It's pretty absurd how happy it makes me to speak it.<br />
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Before leaving Virginia, I had received a few acceptance letters from different grad schools. If you don't know me, I really struggle making decisions. It's a problem. Simple things like: what kind of ice cream should I get, which movie do I want to see, what should I wear today. It's awkward. I always manage just fine, but I'm just indecisive sometimes. So alas, trying to decide which university I want to go into mass amounts of debt with, was nearly making me breathe into a paper bag. After a lot of thought and...very effectively putting off the decision, I finally buckled down and wrote an acceptance letter to NYU. It felt right and the more time passes, the more I continue to feel good about it.<br />
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Now the idea of moving to New York. I have such a funny history with that city. The first time I went, I was 18 years old and was on a church history tour with a bunch of kids from my high school. I hated it. It was June, hot, muggy and I didn't get what the big deal was about the city. But after living in France and Italy, city life has grown on me. Certain phases in Virginia were a struggle for me. I made some poor dating decisions, was stressed about family stuff, and wasn't obsessed with where I was living. When I had a rough week at work, was missing dear friends, etc I would buy a $40 round trip bus ticket to New York. Sometimes it was just a day trip, other times I would sleep over at my friend Jana's house. We'd go see "Once", wander through Central Park, grab a bite at Shake Shack, etc. After one particular week, I was on the bus, trying to clear my head and I decided, "Today in New York, I'm going to take pictures of things that make me happy." I spent the day taking pics of a man in Little Italy dressed up as a cannoli, cool street grafiti, Central Park musicians, a funny bumper sticker that I saw on a telephone pole, etc. <br />
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There was a pattern that I hadn't noticed. My ol' friend "hindsight" is good at helping me see crap that like. I came to realize that New York was my happy place. When things felt like a mess, I went to my happy place. Who knew that a city that I thought was yucky and dirty at the age of 18 would one day become my escape? I'm certain that if it weren't for these situations that lead me to New York, there's absolutely no way I would have discovered that I love it or that I would have applied to any schools there. It's funny how life works out huh? The situations that were stressing me out or hurting my heart at the time, lead me to a place where I felt at home, happy, and like I could breathe. It was wonderful. One day I thought, "Mallory, why don't you live in your happy place?". So that's exactly what I intend to do.Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-54293820468696019562013-11-11T15:59:00.001-08:002013-11-12T01:42:16.870-08:00Expectations vs. Reality, NYC and dating ridiculousness...Life has been a whirlwind. I have lived in Virginia for over a year now. I can't believe it. It's gone so fast and has been nothing like I was expecting. haha I think frequently of the film "500 Days of Summer". Particularly of the part where the film goes into a split screen comparing JGL's expectations going into an evening with someone he used to date, and the reality of what <i>actually</i> happened. It amuses me comparing the two versions of my life--expectations and reality. My life has not been the Rachel McAdams film that I had expected, but has brought a fair amount of hilarity, amazing people, challenging experiences (aka opportunities for growth haha) and lots of learning. <br />
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I thought I was going to go back to Africa this summer for work. I was sooo excited about the idea of leaving my mediocre place of work and get to do something 100% fulfilling again with people I had given part of my heart to. Well....it fell through, which was really sad, but allowed for a brilliant thing to happen. I called my sister and said, "Kim, Africa fell through. I won't have a boring summer. Wanna go to NYC with me?" If you don't know my sister, you should. She's wonderful in every way. She agreed to join me in NYC and planning commenced on what was to be the most amazing sisters trip that ever did happen. The first of many, we've decided. </div>
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We went to a museum which was originally really not our cup of tea. Just lots of weird art that we were having a hard time appreciating...until we stumbled upon this beauty:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LtW-wjSDDY9JzHTJLZWQzWgtZ2wCn4paw-jI9KLoQxul89ExQ_oA-PASMuKpcj1l6Q4Qe9Y4G1Ow6dU9tJWkinoqiNXqspGnvzYKp91ZsBwjl8i5jmFaFok1aE5u1ZYiFODnAJIU9wbo/s1600/DSC00049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LtW-wjSDDY9JzHTJLZWQzWgtZ2wCn4paw-jI9KLoQxul89ExQ_oA-PASMuKpcj1l6Q4Qe9Y4G1Ow6dU9tJWkinoqiNXqspGnvzYKp91ZsBwjl8i5jmFaFok1aE5u1ZYiFODnAJIU9wbo/s320/DSC00049.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It quite literally took my breath away. We just stood in front of it for a while in awe. Van Gogh, you quirky genius. I love that you took a piece of paper and created something that took my breath away and made me very happy. It was a beautiful moment. Just <i>happening upon</i> "Starry Night". Absurd and beautiful all at the same time.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUyuBhqf_jGVE_n20rxsM-8q12PAhihG3FgRY380gXIL6XrQ4UQHwgFk1rOasTZ1bMHQkBvS6exPRuKuZd24kHc6KI4XT30wREPM6jvu91PEVqJ-bF-f5yOaCqfdK507IjefgfkVzOwmG/s1600/DSC00040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUyuBhqf_jGVE_n20rxsM-8q12PAhihG3FgRY380gXIL6XrQ4UQHwgFk1rOasTZ1bMHQkBvS6exPRuKuZd24kHc6KI4XT30wREPM6jvu91PEVqJ-bF-f5yOaCqfdK507IjefgfkVzOwmG/s320/DSC00040.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We went to a broadway called "Lucky Guy" for the simple fact that Tom Hanks was the lead. He is hilarious to me. It was so cool to see him in real life. The broadway was not my favorite of the ones that we saw, but seeing Tom Hanks was super cool. Kim and I waited afterwards to catch a glimpse of him. And that's exactly what we got. But it was perfect.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYneMX-ojD3JSVKuDcpNNhOuR1qAkbJLocpOq7UZHtEhbz88WI01FnEEkDf0Bvaa9xgSdIAAXlP9Lgu40Vo1sqaoTrgJPrVBEBJeSJ_9j4YbjOKHBvL8q5r_Zn-NhgWVzeCQhdzxH_86X1/s1600/DSC00055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYneMX-ojD3JSVKuDcpNNhOuR1qAkbJLocpOq7UZHtEhbz88WI01FnEEkDf0Bvaa9xgSdIAAXlP9Lgu40Vo1sqaoTrgJPrVBEBJeSJ_9j4YbjOKHBvL8q5r_Zn-NhgWVzeCQhdzxH_86X1/s320/DSC00055.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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As a side note, while we were waiting for ol' Tom to come out of the theater, Kim and I got to witness something equally exciting as it was hilarious. There was a cop that was fiercely attractive and yet I was also scared of him. haha I know. I've never experienced it before. He made a great cop. As a crook, I would get scared out of my mind at the sight of this gent coming in my general direction. He was ripped, had distinguished eyebrows that gave him a stern look and a walk that commanded attention. Yet despite being intimidating he was also fiercely attractive. I cannot explain further because I have never before experienced something of the sort. </div>
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Kim and I were standing amongst a huge crowd, flooding the sidewalks, waiting for Tom Hanks to come out of the theater. They had us all fenced off, leaving the streets clear, and policemen on horseback were constantly shooing passersby out of the street. The fiercely attractive cop was pacing the area where Kim and I were scrunched...and fenced in. Kim said she saw the cop talking to others, looking in our general direction, talking about a pick pocket. They stayed close to where we were standing but tried to act causal. Kim and I were nervously excited, grabbed our purses a little tighter but were watching the cops and the door of the theater at the same time...not sure which plot line in our lives was more exciting. After Tom left, there was a bit of a scurry as the cops arrested someone (who had been standing near us in the crowd). Kim and I were a bit ridiculous as we nonchalantly walked up and down the sidewalk, trying to overhear what the guy was guilty of. It turns out we didn't really need to be worried about our purses at all. The guy had been rubbing up against women in the crowd. haha Yes. Gross. And real. Apparently our ruby jewels were what were actually in danger. Terrifyingly handsome cop saving us from a pervert on the loose? Check. haha </div>
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We accomplished so many lovely things on this trip. We went for a jog through Central Park, played in FAO Schwartz, laughed our way through the NBC store, drooled our way through Little Italy (because of both the italians and culinary successes in that part of town), visited Ground Zero, went to the top of the Empire State Building, did sealings in the temple, meandered Grand Central Station, quoted "Arthur" daily, and had nothing but delicious food...everyday. She's pretty much my favorite travel companion to date. We love each other to bits, never run out of things to talk about, laugh all day and love living every moment of our time together from early morning to late at night. We saw Cinderella, Peter and the Star Catcher, Lucky and...Once. Oh my...can we just talk about Once for a second?</div>
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We got to the theater a little late, but we snuck in and sat down in the middle of the cast having a bit of a jam session. The cast has probably ten people, all singing and playing their own instruments. Violin, mandolin, guitar, accordion, etc. Perhaps it's because it taps into a genre of music that I love, but I was swept away from the beginning. It opens with the main character singing a song all by himself on his guitar. The song is called "Leave" and holy crap bag...this musical had a hold of me from that song forward. The music was gorgeous. The cast was perfect. And I felt such a connection with the main character and the phase of his life the leading lass gets him out of. I'm so thankful for music and the capacity it has to inspire. This broadway was one of the highlights of my trip. I'm so glad I got to experience it with my sis.</div>
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It was hard to say goodbye. My sister and I didn't dislike each other but nor were we super tight growing up. I love that we get tighter every year. She's one of my best friends. I love our long talks, her constant support, numerous laughs, she's one of my biggest fans and I'm definitely one of hers. I hate that I took for granted the years that we lived under the same roof. But love that in spite of the distance, we're very close. I love her and am glad we were able to share this trip together. It was perfect in every possible way.</div>
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Since New York, I moved with one of the doctors that I work with, to an office in Fairfax. It's not my dream job or what I hope to be doing for the rest of my life. But I have a job, I'm financially independent, and my boss loves me. Counting my blessings.</div>
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<u><b>Dating</b></u></div>
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As far as dating goes, my dear has this last year been a learning experience. I have learned that I attract a rare breed. And unfortunately, for some reason, I date them. haha I would love to compile all of my dating stories one day. I have some pretty ridiculous stories. Perhaps I can share them with my kids one day in a book entitled "Gentlemen that made it clear that your father was the one for me". haha </div>
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I dated a guy for a couple of months that is not a member of the church. (I attract those a lot for some reason.) He was really handsome and adored me. I go to church every sunday with a bunch of guys in ties that just want to be my friend. So having someone that recognized me as a catch, got my attention, and I felt like I could give him a shot. He, however, worked part time--in a grocery store, took 7 years to finish his associates degree, and two months into our relationship told me that he had lied about his age. haha Yeah, real. Sometimes I think I'm getting punk'd. I'm not. It's just my life. I sat by him in the car, in disbelief and said, "So...you lied to me about who you were so that I would go out with you? Right? You know who else does that? Sexual predators." haha He didn't think it was as funny as I did. But I needed to help him understand that people don't do that and it's not okay. Needless to say, I feel like I shouldn't be dating a man whose drivers license knows more about him than I do. We broke up, and he continues to happily stock the produce at the neighborhood grocery store. Good times.</div>
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My other favorite is the times when I've had a few dark chocolate skinned gents envision our children together (again, real...unfortunately) and how they'll have <i>blond curly hair</i>. Cough...I hate to point out the punnett square in the room, but that doesn't make any sense. We recessive folk don't stand a chance if we don't marry other pasty blonds. But thank you for amusing me and creeping me out by envisioning the children that you and I will not be having together. haha </div>
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As much as I have wanted to be the girl that gives guys the benefit of the doubt and give guys chances...I feel like I need to be very careful with this. I realize now that it's good to keep an open mind, but don't waste his or my time if there's nothing there or in "waiting" to see if feelings will develop. For some reason I've been allowing guys to take me out that have very different goals, contrasting views on religion (which is just non-negotiable to me), contrasting work ethic and greatly differing personalities. Things I have learned:</div>
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<li>If I don't want to be seen in public with him, that's a pretty good sign I'm not interested in him. I should want to be able to say, "I'm with <i>that </i>guy." If I don't feel that way, it's probably because I'm allowing someone that I view as a friend to date me. And we should therefore just remain friends.</li>
<li>Relationships take work, yes. But I should be happy. In hindsight, all of the relationships that I've been in have been exhausting. I've been tired, stressed out and not happy...probably because I'm forcing myself to stay in a relationship that the guys wants...and am ignoring the fact that I don't want it. You should be happy. </li>
<li>There is wisdom in going out on planned dates. </li>
<li>Your patriarchal blessing is your friend. I remember when I got my patriarchal blessing (I was 21), I was kind of disappointed that it didn't give me my future husbands name, where I would meet him and when. haha I was really disappointed because I thought it was really vague and that he could be anyone. Alas, in hindsight, if I had paid attention to my patriarchal blessing and the type of man God has promised me I'll marry, I wouldn't have dated any of the men from the past year. They clearly weren't the right one. It turns out, there is wisdom in having faith in Gods plan.</li>
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So here we are, a year in to my life here in Virginia. It's been nothing that I had expected. But I'm thankful for what I have right now. Thankful for the mistakes that I have learned from and will not be repeating, and thankful for plans for the future. I'm applying to grad schools in Social Work and Public Health. I'm excited to further my education and to have a goal to work towards. I don't like being stagnant. I'm thankful for "Once" in helping me to understand that I can be "unstuck". Til next post,</div>
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Mal</div>
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Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-39112453658408614472013-07-14T16:07:00.001-07:002013-07-15T17:45:54.184-07:00Arizona, the Family Littles, Things I hear...It's been a long time since I've blogged. Surprise, surprise. <br />
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Things have been kinda crazy here. I have lots of things to update you on. <br />
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My brother Adam graduated from Thunderbird with his Masters in International Business. I'm very proud of him. He's worked very hard and has a great job in Kansas with his darling little family. Congrats poopsiekins. <br />
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My handsome nephew Hayze was born. I am so glad it worked out that I got to stop by and see him for a little bit. He's teeny tiny and completely perfect. I was already in love with him from the texts that I had received when he was born but finally being able to hold him was the best. I'm obsessed with him. The cutest, most perfect little baby.</div>
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Aannnddd it didn't hurt that spending time with my new nephew also meant that I got to see my brother, lovely sister-in-law and these two ladies who make me laugh all the time. It's out of control how cute they are. I adore them.</div>
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Kimmy and her two gents were able to come to Adams big day as well. Again, how is it possible that my siblings make the cutest kids alive?! It's one of the hardest parts about living so far away...having to only see pictures of these tiny people that I adore and not be able to play with them. </div>
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Tate and my gorgeous big sis Kimmy. Adore. Both of them. Everyday. All the time.<br />
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Look at the cheeks on that boy. They want me to kiss them...all the time.</div>
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Speaking of cheeks, it was fun to see and play with my little niece Abby. She is a doll.</div>
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So back to Virginia. I'm still working at the hospital and teaching Sunday School. I've been doing a lot of praying to decide where I need to be right now and what the right thing is for me to do. It's been frustrating at times but I think personal revelation is the coolest thing. How cool is it that God can tell each of us personally what we should be doing with our lives right now. It's been a great experience for me and I'm thankful that I can make these decisions by myself and know what's right. </div>
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Favorite quotes lately:</div>
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My co-worker said to me the other day after overhearing me singing to a song on the radio, "Wow, Mallory I'm impressed. I didn't think you were the type to know these songs. I thought you just knew...like church songs." haha Yep, because they know I'm religious, they think I know nothing but hymns apparently. haha Nice.</div>
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My co-worker thinks it's cool that everyone in the office is from a different country. </div>
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Dr. D from Czech Republic</div>
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Dr. A from Venezuela</div>
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Rosa from El Salvador</div>
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Trisha from Vietnam</div>
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Then...me.</div>
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Rosa has told several patients as they're checking out, "We're an international office." As she proceeds to tell where everyone in the office is from, she finishes with, "And Mallory is Native American." haha I think it's hysterical. Apparently because I was born here (native??) she thinks that is what defines a "Native American". I can't bring myself to correct her because I think it's funny.</div>
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Today after church I was at Munch N' Mingle (yep, that's a real thing. Be jealous.) and while I was in a conversation with a couple of people, I heard in a conversation next to me a gentleman saying, "It's like when Mallory Hansen walks into the room..that curly hair takes my breath away." I'm pretty sure he was kinda teasing me/trying to get my attention but...either way, I didn't hate it. haha </div>
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Things are good. I have a vaca to New York that needs to be blogged about because it rocked my socks. But for now, I'm pleased to have updated this ol' thing in any way. Hope all is well with you readers. Love from Virginia,</div>
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Mals</div>
Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-68822100464633523132013-05-09T19:09:00.003-07:002013-05-09T19:32:43.076-07:00Suspenders, More Creeper Stories, My Next Big Plans...I'm pretty much the worst at blogging consistently lately. My apologies. Though from my track record, I make no promises that it won't happen on occasion. <br />
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Lots of goodies have been going down. First off, my big news from last post....kind of irrelevant now. haha I had received a job offer to go back to Uganda this summer and continue work with women in the Namatala slum. I was sooo excited to go back and live in that beautiful country with those lovely people again. I left there 9 months ago certain that I'd probably never see any of them again and I hated that feeling. So naturally the possibility to go back made me extremely happy and felt like a wonderful opportunity. And my job has been pretty rough so I was also really looking forward to a wonderful out. Well...the job opportunity fell through. The business apparently didn't have the finances to pay for my flight so it's a no go. Soo....that was the exciting news! haha One of the life lessons that I feel like I repeatedly learn is that regardless of what you want, God always has you where He wants you. While I'm sad that I don't get to go back and work there this summer, if God wanted me to be there, it would have worked out. So He must have somewhere else that He wants me. Yep.<br />
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I ventured into the big city a few weeks ago and hit up my favorite little panini shop. (One of the few times that I throw my gluten intolerance to the wolves...and it's totally worth it. haha) On my last occasion in the panini shop, I decided to read the scriptures on my phone and prepare for my upcoming sunday school lesson. Spiritual enlightenment accompanies anything that involves pesto right?<br />
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Speaking of Sunday School, I kind of love my calling. My first two lessons...Websters definition of "Fail". haha The first time, I had read, studied, and prepped discussion points for 5 pages of the manual about the restoration of the priesthood. Well..sacrament meeting went over with several peeps taking a brazilian years on their story-monies so I had 15 minutes for my lesson. haha Which, lets be honest, sacrament meeting goes over sometimes. It's okay. It happens. I was just all kinds of awkward and stressed about how to sum up the restoration of the priesthood in 15 minutes. Not my best, really. Not my best. Lesson learned though--have a short and long version prepared. Or better yet, prepare and follow the spirit. Boink. Sometimes the obvious life lessons take me a little longer. haha But my other Sunday School lessons have gone much better. Discussion feels natural, people willingly participate, it feels good. It's been fun the last few times but dear me I've had some classes that were doozies. <br />
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It couldn't be more apparent that I wasn't meant to live in a big city. My twelve point turns into parking slots are hardly my proudest moments. Not joking. Also, it's one of my new goals to regain the skill of parallel parking. You pretty much can't go anywhere fun without having to decide between parallel parking and a $20 parking garage. I literally don't think I have parallel parked since my drivers test. Embarrassing, folks. Embar.<br />
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I watched 500 days of Summer the other day. One of my favorite movies. There are so many funny parts in the film. My friend Sarah says that relationships like that don't really exist. (This was probably mentioned after I told her I really want to go on a date to IKEA. haha Yep, that's real.) She then proceeded to inform me that she thinks I'm Summer. Hmm...I will only accept that comment if she's implying that at some point in my life I get a darling, crinkly-eyed Joseph Gordon Leavitt all to myself. Wouldn't ever complain about that.<br />
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I made a musical discovery a while back that was nothing but pleasing. A friend took me to a local music place where Pig Pen Theatre Company played. Seven gentlemen about my age played a variety of instruments and harmonized in such a way that they kind of made it difficult for you to not fall for them. I honestly sat staring at them asking myself how and why the Orlando Bloom look alike in the band was making suspenders look hot. I dunno. Must be those dang voices. Jerks. They covered "Hey ya" by Outkast which...I didn't hate. Here ya go:<br />
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I'll tell you a creeper story because...those are always fun. When I was in the middle of decorating my room, I would go to Home Goods a lot to look for cheap bedspreads. Then, there's a Starbucks next door so I'd sometimes stop and grab a little hot chocolate for the drive home. I had learned from a few little experiences that I needed to walk straight in, get my hot chocolate, and walk straight out. I had been beckoned by some guys there on occasion so I learned to mind my own business and walk quickly. <br />
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Well this one evening after looking in Home Goods, I stopped by Starbucks and was approached by a guy. He told me that he had seen me at Starbucks several times. He told me that whenever he sees me (my eyes, my hair...blah blah gag me), he "gets a feeling". My head tipped to the side in curiosity and also fear that he might say something entirely unclassy. My suspicion was confirmed. He proceeded to say, "I get a feeling. And when I go home...I take care of it." Ummm...are we serious? Is that for reals? I literally looked at him, said, "That's gross.", blinked a couple of times and proceeded to inform him, "You don't deserve that experience with me in person...OR in your mind." haha<br />
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I called my mom on the drive home and told her the story. She told me that I wasn't allowed to go outside at night anymore and that I shouldn't ever be alone. haha I love her. But despite what she suggested, I'm not going to have my home teacher accompany me when I want to leave the house. I just get trouble from the occasional foreign creeper. But I'm sure that happens to many-a-lass wherever there are high dosages of foreign creepsters. It's not like I'm Princess Kate and need a constant escort. haha The very next day I got a package in the mail that had a hot chocolate maker inside. Yes, my sweet, darling mother sent me a hot chocolate maker so I won't go to Starbucks anymore. I doubt I could be any more obsessed with my mom. She's so cute.<br />
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And in closing, part of the reason I've been a busy mess lately is because I'm taking a GRE prep course. Yes, I'm preparing for grad school. The current plan is to either go into Counseling (either School Counseling or Marriage and Family Therapy) or....International Development. In any case, I'm excited that I have something to work toward and something to help me progress. I had been feeling like I was in a rut there for a while and it's felt good (and tiring) having a big goal in my future that will get me closer to a better future. So...not going back to Africa this summer, but I am going to grad school. Different news that I had planned on announcing, but news nonetheless. :) Loves! MalMalloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-79612164012068533052013-04-11T20:43:00.000-07:002013-04-11T21:08:55.452-07:00Cute Couples, Baltimore, Home DecorWell dear me, it has been many moons since I last wrote. I hope that my last post wasn't depressykins. That was definitely not the point. I think a lesson that I'm continually learning in my life is that the challenges that undoubtedly come in life are always unexpected. You don't always know what you're going to struggle with and you won't always have a perfect solution that will resolve everything right away. But you can learn, be grateful and grow closer to God in any situation where you find yourself. <br />
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Here is an attempt to do some sort of updating in regards to life on the east coast....here we go!<br />
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I work for a pair of Endocrinologists. It's nothing super swanky but there are details that I love. For instance, just because I work in the hospital, I have frequent interactions with a variety of elderly people. My favorites are the cute little couples that come in for their appointments together. I love asking them how long they've been married. Some still genuinely smile at each other and laugh together. It's cute. They make Nicholas Sparks look like silly. haha One of my favorite little couples got out to the waiting room after their appointment and each helped the other put their coats back on, the husband handed his wife her scarf and thanked each other for the small but thoughtful gestures. Darling. I love that after all these years, they still look for opportunities to help each other and both genuinely (and audibly) appreciate it. So so cute.<br />
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I have a friend out here named Sarah. We originally met 5 years ago when I went on my study abroad to Paris. I knew of her and we both liked each other back then...but didn't really hang out that much at the time. Quite literally 5 years of radio silence later, we happened to run into each other out here and have been playing nonstop ever since. She's been a life saver and is nothing but a good time. Hence my selfish sadness upon learning that she scored a killer cool job in Uruguay and will be moving there this summer. I'm so happy for her and she completely deserves it...but I'm selfishly ticked that my life won't have her geographically in it anymore. So we've created a bucket list of things to do before she goes. One of which, was visiting Baltimore:<br />
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I obviously have nothing but good feelings for all things Italian. So it didn't take me long to google the nearest "Little Italy" to my zip code and get myself there. I loved Baltimore. Granted I spent just one Saturday afternoon in the area but that one afternoon did not disappoint! We just did silly things. <br />
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Grabbed some hot chocolate, walked through a book store, I purchased a Ryan Gosling coloring book for one of my best friends (why would I not invest in such a clearly genius purchase?! haha Seriously one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen.), walked around the harbor, and wandered around in search of Little Italy. We walked around for an almost embarrassing amount of time, had to ask several people, the PTSD part of me (thanks to some choice incidents in Uganda haha) was nervous in some areas where we were walking, but we finally spotted an Italian flag and had made it!<br />
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It's a cute, quaint little area with restaurants, darling housing, gelato and pastries. Yes, it's a happy little land. In fact, I've heard that in the summer time they have outdoor movies on Fridays and watch Italian films projected on one of the buildings. You guessed it, that too is on my bucket list. Yep. It's happening.<br />
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In other news, I've been in the process of decorating my room for a while now. I've been wanting to make a picture collage on my wall with different sized, shape and color frames...with shutters mixed in. I dunno, in my mind throwing shutters in there is a subtle way of expressing my love of Italy. My aunt had the brilliant idea to go to a thrift store to buy frames. So I actually had a date that wanted to accompany me to one of these thrift stores. I embarrassingly acquired mass amounts of frames and shamelessly arranged them on the ground deciding which were my favorites. Here is the loot:<br />
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After the paint job:</div>
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I've been slowly acquiring shutters and was soo exciting to finally give them a fresh coat of paint.</div>
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I'm still not quite finished...but here's what I have so far:</div>
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After years of watching home decorating shows, it's been fun to finally have a space of my own to decorate. It's coming together slowly but surely. There's something awfully satisfying about taking a room that was originally a sickly version of white and add color and life to it.<br />
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In other news my roommate found out that I am shamefully uneducated in Julie Andrews films. She found out that I haven't seen "Marry Poppins" or "Sound of Music" and now I quite literally have random people approach me in church or send me texts exclaiming their curiosity (and secret disappointment) that I haven't seen some of the classics. Apparently, even her coworkers now know that she has a roommate that has never seen the Sound of Music. My apologies. I need to be a better human being clearly.<br />
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There's more to say but I'll save it for another day. I have potentially big news coming up but I want to wait until it's official before I spill it. Give me a week and I'll get back with you. Lots of love from Virginia. Til next post!Malloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7036591441302088497.post-58556729501176558872013-02-19T20:18:00.003-08:002013-11-11T20:33:51.889-08:00Reflective trip to the grocery storeI learned some great lessons tonight. There's something very nice and satisfying about taking time to ponder. I had never understood it's value before. But I really see it now. It's good to look back at different lengths of time in my life and try to make sense of it, try to draw conclusions, try to learn. Tonight was really great for me in that regard.<br />
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I was in the grocery store, meandering the aisles, trying to pick up the necessary ingredients for this weeks menu of delicious dishes. It's been a roller coaster of 5 months on the east coast. I've been very blessed. I've been a wee bit stressed. While reflecting on the time spent in the area, I'm in the produce section, squeezing the cucumbers, trying to make sure they're just right for my cucumber salad that I have planned to eat tomorrow at lunch. <br />
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I've learned so much in the last half year. I feel like I've been broken down, I feel like I've been built up. I moved out here with a fearless sense of adventure. Right off the plane from Africa, nothing seemed more exciting than picking up and moving to the other side of the country, not knowing what awaited me. I was sure I'd move out here and find a fantastically swanky job, have a fun city social life, be able to afford the wardrobe of my dreams, and have a fun, sassy, single life in a big city. It makes me laugh now because I realize that all of those things take time. And that's okay.<br />
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The truth is, I was really surprised by how difficult living in my own country could be. I naively had had the thought (and I can almost quote it), "I've lived in France, Italy and Uganda, how hard could the east coast be?" Well, only a couple of weeks ago had I put together why it's been difficult. I could never put my finger on it. But I figured it out. In all of the other places I went, I went with a group--we came from the same culture, we went with the same purpose, we experienced the same culture shock, language barriers, struggles, etc. We knew what we were supposed to do there, we knew when we'd be returning home. We had someone else that was going through the exact same thing we were going through. Well moving out here by myself...it's been hard because it's felt very lonely. I don't have a companion (like in the mission) where when they're struggling, we strengthen each other, we go out, we work hard and know what our purpose is. I don't have a study abroad roommate who is experiencing the same culture shock, but we study, listen to music from home and go out to explore together. It's not even like being in Africa--with a group of girls who all felt as unfamiliar with the language and living circumstances, but were sure of their desire to serve and make the lives of those around them better. It's not that I'm dependent upon other people. I feel rather independent, in fact. It's more the idea that I'm the only stranger, the only one that's not settled, for whom this place is not normal everyday life. It's strange going through that alone. Arriving here by myself, unsure of exactly what I'm supposed to do and having no idea when I'll be going home. Somehow I'm supposed to figure out why I'm here on the east coast and what I'm supposed to be doing...all by myself. haha<br />
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By this time, I'm in the section of the grocery store that sells those facial wipes--you know, for those of us that aren't classy enough to wash our faces in the sink before bed. One of my companions in La Spezia bought them as well and we'd wash our faces while we talked across the room in our beds before falling asleep. I decide on the apricot scent and remind myself that it's my one splurge for groceries.<br />
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I keep trying to pinpoint why living here would be <i>that</i> different. Well...I miss my life. Everything about my life has changed...and it's been hard to figure out how to adjust. I miss having tons of friends around me. Christmas break filled me with joy because I loved having friends scheduled every day of the week to visit and catch up with. We laugh our faces off, we adore each other, we share a past, we'll always be friends. I miss them. I don't have those here--at least not near as strong of friendships as I have at home...yet. <br />
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Missing my family is a given. <br />
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I miss the feeling of home. It's really awkward not knowing where I am. I need a GPS to get anywhere more than 4 miles away from my home. But I'm working on it, trying to explore, things will get better.<br />
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The new job and housing arrangement is obviously an adjustment. Naturally starting a new job adds stress and one needs to figure out how to do everything and become comfortable with that adjustment. I think that's fairly normal and to be expected. But it just contributes to the lack of familiarity in the my present life. But it will get better.<br />
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By this time, I've checked out at the register, scanned my recently acquired VIC card, which saved me approximately $7--making my apricot facial scrub splurge less of a blow to my wallet, and am now driving home. I park in front of the house and the once watery eyes have now spilled over and a few crying noises begin. Oh great. haha Inside I feel the fight between telling myself to knock it off and allowing myself 15 seconds to be upset. I give myself 15 seconds. That's plenty. I then pull myself together and open my scriptures on my phone. I had last been reading in 1 Nephi 4 in Italian. I came across these verses which were just what the doctor ordered. The ever famous verse 6 but followed by the first 4 words of verse 7.<br />
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"And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. <b>Nevertheless, I went forth</b>"<br />
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Oh Mal, you know that you're supposed to be here. Stop fretting about why. You're not the first nor the last to be unsure of the path ahead. Just go forward. Have faith. Keep moving. If you felt good about it and the Spirit led you to be here, than keep moving and go forward. In time the purpose will be clear, but until then, take heart in the fact that people have faced greater unknowns. See the good. Choose to be happy and love each day you are given.<br />
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Mmm...okay. Carried my groceries inside, made some gluten free muffins, and prepare for bed. Definitely need to thank God, as always, for the comfort given in scriptures. I'm thankful that I know that everything will be okay, even if my current pathway isn't clearly marked before me. I'm very berry blessed. I do love my life and am thankful to be here. Til next post, MalsMalloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02502159452272570733noreply@blogger.com5