I'm on tumblr now too!

Because I'm a real woman of the 21st century, I've joined Tumblr! Well okay, the real reason is that Lauren Russo has one and I was jealous. But still. Check it out sometime. It will eventually be cool. I hope.

http://carlyromeo.tumblr.com

Autumn = Changes

I have many things to work on this month, otherwise known as the last month before I'm 25. Here are the things I hope to achieve:

- develop the ability to start a blog and continue updating it. That goes for this one* and Thaibreaker.
*actually, I'm going to transfer over to tumblr. More on that soon!
- find a place to live in nyc and move there on a semi-permanent basis
- get my finances in order, for real.
- start an exercise regimen I actually enjoy and stick to.
- make some good art (etsy postcards are a good start but not quite good enough)
- develop a plan for the next three years
- world domination
- if not the above, at least get one friend from richmond to move to nyc
- become organized or not as bossy or a good flosser

WISH ME LUCK!!
xo

virginia trip plan!

well needless to say, I'm getting extremely excited about my upcoming trip to virginia!! I'll be flying down (in an airplane for the first time in a loooong time) the day after tomorrow and staying until next Monday! Here are some of the excellent adventures I plan to have:

RICHMOND

Spending time with all my Richmond friends, hanging out at Plan 9, getting breakfast at Can Can and every other meal at either Sticky Rice or Ipanema, enjoying the steamy southern summer weather, playing in the river, and of course at least one visit to Racine for cheese fries and a chocotini made by edward norton!

CVILLE

Not only do I get to see my besties Jen and Nora, but hopefully they will bring me shopping (please?). And we shall not forget the obligatory trip to Eppie's to marvel at my Pasta Font and a visit to the donut guy at the Cville Farmer's Market!!

SAFARI PARK

Enough said. Me + Britt + Zack.

ROANOKE

Mom. Meg. Steph (up from NC!). Pop's. The Shadowbox. Yes please!

Five Reasons Why I love NYC

1. The Brooklyn Free Store -- No hours or money exchanged, just sharing and recycling in a radical, amazing way.
   
2. Butter Lane Cupcakes -- Bakery run by punks, with dozens of frosting flavors to mix and match with chocolate, vanilla, or banana cake.
3. Pete's Candy Store QUIZZOFF -- Last week our team ("Ghost Friend") got third place! We won a free sandwich!
4. Subway Station Mosaics -- Especially ones featuring underwater creatures wearing goggles.
5. Gothamist.com -- NYC news of the most snarky, hilarious sort
   

Coming back south!!

Hi all,

Because my amazing nanny family has given me a paid week's vaycay, I'm coming back to VA for a couple days!

I'm flying into Richmond at 11a on Thursday, Aug 26 and flying back from there at 1pm on Monday, Aug 30. That's like 4 days of visiting!!!! Let me know what you're up to those days and I'll hammer out an itinerary!

SO pumped
c

a couple things I'm really into right now

FIRST, my upcoming Thai restaurant blog:

Woo hoo!! Click here to check it out.

Also, this:



LOVE.

View from the office on a hazy day -- dtown Manhattan on the left, the East River throughout, the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg Bridges, and of course the Empire State Building way back in the hazy heat

Hello, World

As my sister so gently reminded me, I need NEED NEED to update my blog. I also want to do a bit of a redesign, since, you know, gray is awfully gray. In the way of life updates, I just started working at my dream job, with Soapbox, Inc, which among other things puts on the Feminist Boot Camp that I attended in 2008. This year they did one session in the summer, called it Feminist Summer Camp, and it's been absolutely blowin' up online. Below are a couple of my favorite stories/mentions to give you an idea. If you want to get in on the action, there's a session of boot camp coming up in January--you can crash at my place to save cash! Go here for deets. Also, we book feminist/progressive speakers for colleges and similar, so talk to me about that if you need it!

Photos coming up soon.

Story on Salon.com about FSC!
Ms. Blog created a FSC-inspired quiz about Feminism in NYC!
Radio piece on FSC! Featuring yours truly.
A girl named Sara blogged about her experience this year!
AND of course, Phem.org (started by the one and only Brook, who is amazing) blogged about another camper's experience!

passing notes

Dear Guy on the subway conspicuously reading the New York Times on your iPad,

Congratulations on your glorified oversized Kindle/iPod combo. I'm pretty sure the protective casing emblazoned with a big Apple Logo cost more than I spent on food this week. Bravo.

Love (not really),
me.

-----

Dear Guy who gave me a free chocolate-covered strawberry on Sunday night,

That was very awesome of you; I had a terrible weekend and the free food (chocolate!) really helped turn my mood around. Also, what is your last name? Let's be facebook friends.

Love (platonically),
me.

-----

Dear PeachFrog,

I am so excited about my new dress (see below) for T's graduation--it's perfect!! I am a little more excited that I bought it for $25 when this site sells it for $184. SCORE!!!!

Love (a lot!!!),
me.

new dress by Alice & Olivia:

finally, brooklyn!!!

Dear Everyone,

The time has come for a life update! My end-of-January until now has been busybusybusy, full of movement, relocation, and lots of reading and riding on trains. This week I'll finally be settling into a quasi-normal schedule (fingers crossed) and here's the current deal:

1. I live in Brooklyn! I struck up a deal with a really cool lady (also from the South) who is letting me stay in her spare room in exchange for taking her adorable 11-year-old to school on the subway each morning. He's on spring break right now so I've yet to actually do this, but my hopes are high based on what a cool, nice family they are.

2. I'm interning at Planned Parenthood! I work in the PPFA HQ, and it's a blast. The people who work here are really cool and of course, nothing is more exciting (and, at times, riling) than Pro-Choice activism!

3. I'm also nannying for a really nice family in the East Village. Their baby is only 13 weeks old (awwww!) and so extremely, excruciatingly adorable.

4. In May/June, I'll be transitioning into a new and exciting project: working with Amy Richards and other feminist folk and helping them keep things organized. And I'll get to hang out with all the little feministy J-Term and summer camp-ers! Which I think will really be a blast. I'm looking forward to it SO MUCH!

5. T is turning in his thesis on Wednesday and then will start jobhunting for a gig in NYC! We're hoping to move to a real apt together in June/July. Then: housewarming party!!!!

I think that's mostly it! I'm absolutely and totally in love with NYC, and while I'd love to offer my bed/floor to visitors, right now that's not how things are--but if you are in town PLEASE let me know! I have the same RVA number as before.

I miss you all so much and I hope to see you very soon
c

ps. Here's a video from a concert I went to on Friday. It was amazing. I'm in love.

stay classy, NJ

"All black people" asked to leave Wal-Mart in Washington Township, NJ.

Wow.

Things I Love Right Now

1. The Arts Council of Princeton - My new Thursday morning volunteer gig earns me $10 a week towards membership or class fees at this awesome art center here in Princeton! And best of all, they have a wet darkroom with extremely flexible hours for--get this--$10/month! WHAT!?!?!?!? So fantastic.

2. Soapbox, Inc - The women in charge of this are inspiring, generous, and just generally awesome.

3. PPFA - My internship is going really well, and I love the office environment. And it doesn't hurt that I get to say good morning to the Empire State Building three times a week!

4. The Whole Earth Center Grocery Store - The best vegan cookies I've ever eaten, vegetarian deli (falafel and hummus sandwiches are to die for), and other healthy, natural treats! Like a tiny version of Ellwood Thompson's!

new postcards coming up - Leading Ladies

I've been struck with a tiny bit of inspiration, and hence a new wave of postcards. These all feature first lines of songs by super awesome women. Check out the entire selection at my shop: http://sendmorepostcards.etsy.com. But meanwhile, two samples:

and

Suggestions for new Princeton courses

WARD 201: The Wonderful World of Tights - Though fortunately not plagued with the now-ubiquitous leggings-as-pants phenomenon, the female faction of the Princeton student body has yet to discover tights. It's winter. Why are your legs bare!?!

COOK 104: Cooking Safety - Judging from the multitude of signs in each community kitchen explaining that one should not place metal in a microwave or reheat cold pizza in the box (really?), Princeton students could afford (ha) to learn a thing or two about how to conduct oneself in a kitchen.

POLI 302: Conservative Victimization Tactics - featuring a case study of the infamous Anscombe Society and guest lectures by the editors of The Tory and members of CR, this class can be used to convince right-leaning students that they are, in fact, in the minority...and should learn to whine about it.

Identity Richmond

My little sis just tipped me off to a preview for what looks like an enlightening and pride-inducing doc about our very own RVA. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZE_tk7HMX4

Hilarious.

Also, currently obsessed with:

Florence & the Machine

Photo(s) of the Day - February 11, 2010

Being snowed in at Princeton is just like being snowed in anywhere else, except here they have school-wide snow sculpture contests. But people still loaf around in bed all day, have crazy hair, and traipse around at night taking pictures. Today's faves:

squirrel sculpture



fancypants building

extremely. crazy. hair.


T is sad that his hair is no longer crazy

so here I am in New Jersey...

...and I never thought I'd be so happy living in one single room. It's just unbelievable.

That's pretty much it right now.

xo

today's wins and losses

My first (and last!) lazy Saturday in Raleigh.

Wins:
- Made it to the gym early enough this morning to get a spot in the toning class
- Rented This Is It (that's right, the Michael Jackson movie) from the redbox
- Found the mall (with help from Jen)
- Did laundry
- Cooked dinner
- Bought a box of girl scout cookies from a brownie named Carley
- Took a super long bath

Losses:
- Got lost going to the mall
- Spent a leeeetle too much at the mall
- Was at the mall
- Went to Wal Mart

changes changes changes

so just as I was getting settled into Raleigh (I signed up for the local Y and everything!), plans have again changed and my temporary gig here will be over at the end of this week. Chalk it up to the inscrutable future of Health Care Reform (in whatever form it eventually takes), but my organizing was no longer needed and so I'm running north [for now (even though "now" might mean saturday or a week from then...)].

also on the docket are jobs I'm applying to as far and wide as oregon (OREGON!?) and other knick-knacky ideas I'm piecing together (peace corps? full-time etsian? imposter princeton student?). I promise to update this more with photos and words and things, and be a real good blogger as soon as I have more info to share!

<3

BLOG FOR CHOICE DAY!

If there's anything in the world that my life has been about lately, it's about choice. I recently accepted a position with Planned Parenthood Health Systems in Raleigh, NC, where I've been living for five days so far. Most people I talked this choice over with thought that it was an easy decision (and I spoke to people both in favor of and against taking the job). But it was actually made much more difficult by their input because not only did I had to weigh leaving my dear friends in Richmond, postponing plans to move in with the love of my life, accepting a job in a field I'm passionate about, moving states, deferring an internship in NYC, and the option of living with my crazy (but lovable) best friend here in NC, I also had to consider what my loved ones would think of me and the path I chose.

I feel like the older I get, the more crossroads I face that have no clear best answer--and these are the types of crossroads that make up "real life". Not the easy ones (chocolate or vanilla? duh!) but the ones that require careful reflection, the balancing of innumerable opposing forces, and the acceptance/sacrifice of different opportunities.

And I am pro-choice because women should be trusted to make these decisions for themselves. We know that they involve crossing certain paths off of our life's journey--but the ones we do travel will still to lead us in exciting directions. Yes, some decisions are hard, some are painful, some are joyous, and some are leaps of faith. But they are all ours to make, as women, as individuals.

To everyone who trusts women and protects choice, thank you...especially the late Dr. George Tiller.

RED ROOM ... RALEIGH?

Hello All,

It's been much much too long since I last updated and I'm very very veryyyyy sorry about it. Fortunately I now have some good news to relate (and to explain an upcoming absence/change of venue)!

I am moving in the very near future (Sunday) to Raleigh, NC to work temporarily for Planned Parenthood Health Systems in their effort to pass health care reform that improves women's healthcare and maintains their right to safe abortions. After I'm done there (living in the shadow of one illustrious miss shaw, who I love and adore beyond words), I'll be heading up North (NJ/NYC) for a related internship at Planned Parenthood Federation of America (and for a temporary stint as a fake Princeton student. Shh). EEK! What that means is, a ton of packing, paring down, partying, and parting ways. I will keep everyone posted as best I can but until I'm settled in a new place. Until then...

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo