Below are the 8 most recent journal entries recorded in Maria's LiveJournal:

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
10:25 am	My Ticket Out When I came to New York for the very first time, the last week of August 2001, when I was all of 18 and one week old, I came on a roundtrip ticket.  Until recently, I'd forgotten that.  You see, I buried that ticket under the second week of September and a false belief that if I didn't get scared and didn't leave New York, I could help win a war.  It kinda drifted to the bottom of my bag, and I got so caught up in Astrophysics and boys and cheerleading that suddenly, under the stars and papers and pompoms, I couldn't see it anymore.  Then I stumbled onto a successful career in finance and I forgot it existed, so I unthinkingly shoved it further down to make room for social acceptance, ambition, and "living the dream."  But I still have it.  It's dirty, dog-eared and worn, but it's mine.  Issued by my heart, it's made of courage, grit, and unflappable optimism.  It's my one way ticket to anywhere, and it's time I cashed it in. So is it a a really dumb decision to quit a stable job in finance when the country's entering a recession and world markets seem to be crashing around my head?  Yes.  Am I crazy to buy a beat-up car, a tank of gas, and a sub-zero sleeping bag and set off across America?  Yes.  But it was thinking with my head that got me into this mess in the first place. It's time to get out of here.  It's time to find the place I'll call home. I'll be spending the next two months searching for employment that can clothe, feed, shelter, and healthcare me while I wrap up life here. So if you know of anyone hiring for anything, anywhere that's not a big city, would you please let me know?  I'm smart, willing to work hard, and I learn fast.   Farms, orchards, ranches, and fishing boats preferred.  A place where I can see the Milky Way at night required. Failing both of those, in mid January I will give my two weeks notice, so I can break my leases by Feb 1, and head on out of town.  I know some diner somewhere needs a waitress.  (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 21st, 2006
1:28 pm	Fast for a World Harvest Today is the day I'm fasting for a World Harvest. As Thanksgiving approaches and I look forward to being a glutton, I want to remember "my brothers and sisters, some of them little children, who don't have enough to eat and may die tomorrow." I'm sending the money I'm not spending on food to help. I'm using the hunger pangs as a reminder that God gave us to each other to care for, and to say a prayer that He will be with those in need. I'd love it if you would join me in either prayer, thought or deed. http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatyoucando/act_now/fast (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 31st, 2006
12:14 pm	A Resolved Dilemma or Vigilante Justice, Take Two I was in the NY Times! Read the article here: http://www.uexpress.com/onethics/ For your convenience, I've pasted the text below: On Ethics by Randy Cohen "I found a video camera on the subway. I could not get to lost and found that day, and the manufacturer had no record of the owner. When my mother lost a camera, the finder located her by viewing the pictures. Trying to do the same, I saw that this camera was used to look up women's skirts on the subway. I was shocked! The police said that they couldn't do anything. I don't want to return it to the owner. Should I erase the footage and donate it to a school? -- M.H., New York ---- If you find something likely to harm other people, you should not simply return it. ("Excuse me, sir, did you drop this compact nuclear device?") This camera, used to violate the privacy of women on the subway -- certainly creepy, probably criminal -- falls into that category. It would be another matter had the camera been used to shoot something erotic and shocking and consensual: You may not thwart what is voluntary and benign. But this up-skirt epic intrudes on the unwary. If the authorities decline to act, as they did, you may seek alternatives. Here's one approach: Announce your discovery on Craigslist or similar lost-and-found sites: "Found: One video camera used to shoot up women's skirts. Will return to owner, whom I will photograph, posting his picture on this site and on lampposts throughout the city." Then, when the camera's owner fails to step forward (and he won't show up, of course, out of embarrassment), give it to a school. Not all such public shaming is appropriate. The pillory and stocks are a feature of Colonial Williamsburg, not a modern courtroom. But here there is rough justice in such alternative sentencing. (Readers can direct their questions and comments by e-mail to ethicist@nytimes.com. This column originates in The New York Times Magazine.)" (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 15th, 2006
9:15 am	A fairy tale This is my New York. ( The Sixth Borough ) (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 13th, 2006
12:30 pm	You wouldn't believe me if I told you I just got off the phone with Poison Control. I needed reconfirmation of something they had told me a few years ago, but since this time, it was MY body, I wasn't taking any chances. (Actually, I haven't called them in over a year, which is a record since hitting puberty. Good thing I still have the number memorized. 1-800-222-1222, if you need it.) Previous to calling Poison Control, I was in the bathroom gagging, spitting, and washing my own mouth out with soap. I voluntarily put liquid soap (the worst kind) into my own mouth not once, but three fricking times! I gargled the nasty stuff. It produced a staggering amount of bubbles, which, under different circumstances, I would have been giddily excited about. But, circumstances being what they were, I didn't want bubbles, I wanted the soap to get rid of the nasty, black, chunky/stringy, bitter monstrosity that had just taken over my mouth. So before my brilliant wash out my own mouth idea, I was spitting and trying to rinse the black guck from my mouth, while coughing up more and more of it. This followed my Olympic-style sprint to the restroom from my office. What happened to set off this catastrophic turn of events in an otherwise boring Thursday? I was sucking on my pen. Apparently, I can suck hard enough to pull the ink out of the little ink tube, into the pen itself, and out of the cap at the bottom. May I take a moment to reflect on the positively repugnant taste of ink? How the extreme yuck of liquid soap pales in comparison, such that I didn't even think twice about slathering it on my tongue and gargling with it (an action that ensures the taste sticks around well after rinsing). The one saving grace today came from my inspiration to pack a traditional peanut-butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. A good friend at SCONY once gave me the tip that a spoonful of peanut butter takes away the taste of soap better than anything. Unfortunately, it doesn't work so well on ink. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 26th, 2006
11:19 am	Ladies and Gentlemen: This week Bon Jovi has topped the country charts. You are heretofore advised to beware of flying pigs. Thank you. (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 2nd, 2006
11:04 am	The folks are B&J are genuises. (Naturally, they went to Penn State.) http://store.benjerry.com/pintlock.html (Comment on this)
Monday, January 9th, 2006
1:28 pm	Boo! Okay, I made it onto Live Journal at last. Please bear with me while I figure it all out. -Maria (2 Comments |Comment on this)