Let it NOT snow

I was seven years old when I first came to New York and back then I lovedddd snow. I loved to play in it, jump in it and run in it. I would stick my tongue out and try to “eat” snow. I would smile at my mom as she watched my fascination with the snow, something I had never seen before. Back in the Dominican Republic, when my mother would come back from the U.S. full of presents, I would always ask her about winter and I would tell her how much I wanted to see it, so I know it made her happy when I went crazy when it snowed.

Those are great memories! Now that I am 27 years old, snow is NOT cute. I was born in a tropical climate, so this crap is unnatural to me, and the older I get, the more I hate winter.

Yeah it’s nice when it first comes down, but give it just ONE day and its disgusting and dirty.  You can't walk half a block without fearing your own safety.  So the only good things about snow are snow days. And snow days give you a free pass to be a total bum. No one will judge you! It’s a snow day, everyone else is being lazy too.

We are all:

Sleeping late
Staying in your pajamas
Eating bad food
Watching too much TV
And more sleeping

Any other day, this would be unacceptable, so please DO NOT SNOW anymore, we all know I do not need any more free passes to be unproductive.

Snow you have made your appearance, now its time for you to go back to Vermont or something.  Thank you very much, see you next year :)

How do you measure your life???

While most people measure their lives by milestones such as birthdays, weddings, births or even death. I happen to measure my life in semesters...

I quantify my personal growth (or lack thereof) by what is done in an academic year. This is because for the past 10 years (gasp!!!) I have not been able to get away from NYU. My entire full-time working career has been working here. I transitioned from being a full-time college student to working full-time. At that moment, I did not realize that this decision would change my whole outlook on life. Back then, I was 20 years old, all I thought I was getting was a job that paid well (for someone that lived at home), had great benefits and most importantly free tuition.

But, I think the greatest benefit of working with college kids is the fact that after a year, the annoying ones will move on and then you will get new students, which will be less complicated than the last (hopefully).

So for those of you who are reading this out of your boring cubicle and do not understand this phenomenon, let me give you an example of why you are not cooler than me…

Day in and day out, you have to deal with those annoying co-workers and clients, it is not like next quarter they will be gone. Yeah, you might switch jobs every couple of years or might even get promoted, but the same type of bipolar co-worker will still be there in six months, he/she might even become your boss one day. They unfortunately get their work done and are not crazy enough to be fired, so you are stuck with them. And your life pretty much sucks!!

I, on the other hand get to meet new students every semester, I have the chance to get to know these kids, hear about where they are coming from and how they plan to change the world once they graduate. It's exciting to be a part of that. I would love to be in my old age and read in the newspaper (if we still have newspapers, but don't get me started on that now) that one of our students discovered a new life changing drug or ran for office (and hopefully will not have an affair with a young staffer). I hope that these future accomplishments will make all of the battles and red tape we face in higher education worth it.

For me working with eighteen year olds keeps me young at heart, even though sometimes I may not understand why they find it necessary to hyperventilate at every single bump in the road. I DO hope that in the end we are teaching them skills to prepare them for the "real world".

And most importantly that we are teaching them the coping skills to deal with that annoying bipolar worker in the cubicle next to them...

All Fuzzy Inside

A couple of months ago during a staff meeting, we went around the room and did an ice breaker. The question was what is your favorite holiday? My colleagues answered mostly that their favorite holidays were Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.

Then it was my turn and I like a total dork I said Valentine's Day :) Are you rolling your eyes yet?

No? Well keep reading...

I love the whole concept of love, being in love, passion, closeness, butterflies, intimacy, I am all over it. It makes me all fuzzy inside.

Yeah, I am that person, the hopeless romantic. You know at least someone like me or maybe I am the person you already know! The person that cries at weddings, moving speeches, toasts, you utter anything remotely heartfelt near me and I am reaching for the Kleenex.

Maybe it’s because I was born a Cancer or the fact that my mom babied me too much. But I just love all that corny stuff. A lot of people do, they just decide to hide it. What's the point of being a hopeless romantic when you can't genuinely express your sappiness? It kind of defeats the purpose.

I am a Hollywood writers dream! I am the person they are trying to reach with all those sappy love stories, the tear-jerkers, the moments that make girls go awwwwww. I am the sucker that keeps these people rich. They see people like me coming from a mile away.

Just to give you an idea of my absolute cheesiness. Here is a truncated list of Hollywood moments that have made me cry. Some are obvious, others not so much:

The Notebook
The Way We Were
Up
Carlito's Way
My Girl
Beaches
I Am Sam
Penny and Desmond (LOST)

My list is too long to list completely, so as to not embarrass myself any further, I will just stop here, but you get the point.

Now, this is just Hollywood stuff. In real life, I know that men like Noah (The Notebook) do not exist. I don't believe in Prince Charming, but I do believe in Prince Kinda Cute, who might not match all the time, but always puts you first, calls when he says he will, is not trying to sleep with your friends and stands up for you. I don't ask for much, just be funny, smart and have a job. No wait, please have a career. Yes, there is a difference. Is that too much to ask???

While there will be some of you that hate Valentine's Day and think that this is an artificial holiday made to sell cards and chocolate. You know what?  You are absolutely right!

But I don't care!!

Send me the flowers, give me the chocolate, the presents and the card. I will EAT IT UP!

For those of you that are lucky to have a significant others that do the sweet little things for you all the time, well good for you! But some of us are just not that lucky. Valentine's Day makes people sweeter, more romantic, the holiday and the pressure gives people a little push to buy that special someone something thoughtful. So in my book, it’s a win-win for all involved, no matter what the motivation. At the end of the night you might even get laid.

I'm just saying...

Most importantly, I am a sucker for the card. Men, let me give you a little bit of advice, when you get your girl/wife or that special someone a nice gift, DO NOT forget the card!! This is the most important part of the whole gift giving experience. Whatever you write here is what she will remember. She might not use that camera next year, but those words will stay with her forever and when you mess up, this is what she will think about when she decides to forgive you, not that cheap camera.

But enough about relationships! I believe in the love that exists in people. And no matter how situations in your past might make you jaded, at the end of the day the power of love is amazing. Not just romantic love, but also the love we have for ourselves, our neighbors and the communities we live in. So for all you cynics out there, Valentines Day is also about friendships and the connections we make with people. So smile and give your friend a hug, it might make you feel good too.

To all my family and friends and for those that read this blog (that I may not know yet), I hope you have a fabulous Valentine's Day!!

Now that you feel all good inside, go buy me some chocolate :)