from my father, i think

joy walked into my broken-in apartment last week and exclaimed, "this is a sarah apartment now." unsure of what constitutes something being "sarah," i asked her. she responded rather quickly with, "there are just piles of stuff everywhere. and not necessarily in any sort of order. just piles."
i'm not sure what sort of wisdom i can pull out of that statement, and i would be remiss to think that there is an epiphany hidden in that. but i do know that it is completely correct -- i am a woman of piles. Looking around my apartment now, i can count roughly seven or so different piles around the perimeter of my apartment. and here's the problem: i don't want to buy any more STUPID plastic storage containers. (i think this is partly from being scarred from childhood in having to consistently purge and fit things into "one plastic box." i loathed the plastic box.) once something goes in a storage container i will never take it out of there again and will have to buy a replacement for an item that i already own. case in point: handbags.
i have lots of bags - i'm pretty positive that i don't need to buy any more bags for a while, but when i was in greenville i put them in a box in my closet. i couldn't see them, therefore i would get sick of the one i would carry for a couple of months and buy a new one. would i look in the box to see if i had a suitable replacement for the bag i was sick of? nooooo. instead, i would just assume that i didn't already have one that was XYZ -- why? because the bags were hidden from my plain sight.
when things are in piles right in front of my face, i don't need to buy anything else. yes, it might seem claustrophobic to some, and it might seem without rhyme or reason (now why would there be a pile containing a flashlight, a box of checks, a still broken laptop, AND a paula abdul tape? it's the pile of misfit items, of course) -- but this lets me know i have all i need. consider it a practice in frugality.
also, i think it might be genetic: i have only dared go into steve-o's office a few times, and that man has more piles of strategically placed paper than i have ever seen. i think some have been there since 1995.
now that seems logical to me.

another reason...

...to love baltimore:
the club we went to on saturday night played Whitney's, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody." joy, being the amazing friend she is, came up to me and some schmuck at the bar and said, "i don't care if you're getting a free drink, we're dancing right now."
we danced and sang to Whitney, i explord a new neighborhood that is excellent for weekends, i got nicknamed, and i only spent $20.
a great success.

when i grow up

i have jobs, and this makes me very very happy. most importantly, i managed to pull together this baltimore scheme without having to work in retail. this, for me, is a big deal.
the biggest job i have is with ASTT: Advocates for Survivors of Toture and Trauma. they are doing amazing counseling and social services for those who came to the U.S. to seek asylum from war torn countries and trauma situations (think Darfur and Guatemala, for example.) i'll be the development assistant, which helps my boss molly do the day to day stuff with funder relations, fundraising, newsletter, event planning, advocating, etc. this is exactly what i want to do when i grow up. well, my boss' job is what i want to be when i grow up. but i'll get there.
check out the great work that they do: www.astt.org
i'm also doing a small project internship with Unity Productions Foundation, a media company that makes movies about Muslims and Islam to help facilitate interfaith and interethnic dialogue, hoping to increase understanding of Islam in America and gain peace through the media. a totally necessary organization in this political climate. i'm writing a report to a funder about how we spent their money to finish the film Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think.
check out their website too, it's really interesting work they're doing: www.upf.tv

i heart working in organizations doing good.

this and that for now

finally moved in (almost) to my little apartment. sometimes it's so stereotypical city apartment i can't deal with it: the stove is from 1950, my "back door" goes to the roof and then to the fire escape with really steep stairs that joy hates, there is ALWAYS a siren going off, and i'm not sure if the overhead light works. it's lovely. and it's mine.
i also successfully went to ikea today, the grocery store, and worked for fluor for 2 1/2 hours. i feel very good about these accomplishments.
signed up for the GRE again, too. october 30...let's hope i can not suck it up big time on the quantitative again.
oh, and you all should watch this clip from the daily show that andy sent me that is brilliant:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailyshow.com%2Fwatch%2Fthu-october-1-2009%2Ftea-partiers-advise-g20-protesters&h=d16c530a4064f2ebe800e6b256bb32e8