breakthesky.net

Moved (Or the Next Chapter of My Online Identity)

Manda — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 01:23:50 +0000

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m not going to be blogging at breakthesky.net anymore. I’ve decided to cull and combine my online accounts (for lack of better phrasing) for one cohesive online identity.

I could get into the reasons that sparked my decision behind this but it’s the same old story: lack of time, changing interests, etc. It’s not a unique story, nor a particularly interesting one. But here’s where to find me, if you want to stay in touch (and I hope you do, because I definitely do!)

Blog: amandaosborn.com
Twitter: aosborn08
Facbeook: aosborn
Tumblr: meitiankaixin (this is the same)

I’ll be following the people I currently follow on my old Twitter account (eternitycrash) with my new one. Just a head’s up to my current twerps! :D

Steve Jobs

Manda — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:46:19 +0000

It’s crazy to think that a man who revolutionized the way we use technology on a daily basis is now gone.

I do all my personal computing on my MacBook. I listen to music on my iPod every day during my commute to class and work. I was attached to the hip at my iPhone (which now is a wonderfully functional iTouch).

It’s not just me that’s been affected by Jobs and his legacy, either. One can only look at the success of Apple, its many flagship stores, and the abundance of Apple products in our daily lives. One of my professors connects his iPad to a projector to show us videos. The computers in the journalism wing at my school are all iMacs. When I networked with LivingSocial at a career fair, I signed up for their newsletter on an iPad. 99% of the people I know own at least one Apple product.

Obviously Apple will continue to be groundbreaking and innovative in the future, but it’s weird to think that Steve Jobs is gone.

Clifford and Miss Frizzle

Manda — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 01:10:45 +0000

One of my roommates and I went to the National Book Festival two weekends ago. It was a lot of fun, and even though we didn’t get any books signed or meet any authors, we did meet literary figures. Like Clifford and Miss Frizzle.

Not to mention go on the Magic School Bus. It was AWESOME.

Just a Minute (September 2011)

Manda — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 23:43:22 +0000

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Happy… that I am able to blog again! I’ve spent the better part of September unable to access my blog’s admin panel. Long story short, I’ve been working with support to get the issue fixed, so hopefully things are good now.

Writing… various research papers and case analysis for my classes. Midterm season is coming up in just a few weeks so it’s definitely time to kick it into high gear.

Scouring… the web for the hottest deals from Groupon, LivingSocial, etc. Last weekend, I used a $15 off coupon I claimed for free at a really awesome restaurant for dinner with the boyfriend. Then, my friend shared her Groupon for a delicious Italian restaurant. It’s safe to say I’ve got couponing on the brain!

Bookmarking… zillions of recipes so that I won’t ever run out of meal ideas. Next on my cooking list are vodka penne pasta, cheesecake stuffed strawberries, and buckeye brownies. Yum!

Searching… for my misplaced external hard drive and camera cord and charger. I’m really, really hoping that they aren’t lost forever.

Black Pants, I Has Them

Manda — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 03:26:00 +0000

I work in a career advising office and I’m an intern at a prominent non-profit organization. So how is it, exactly, that I’ve managed to live this life without owning a pair of black pants?

I realized this problem when I was getting dressed for work last week. There was a cold snap at the end of the week, which meant I had to trade in my pencil skirt for a pair of pants. While I do have “dress pants” (khakis and a pair of dark brown pinstripes), I don’t have plain, regular black pants. Like, seriously? I’m trained to give conduct a workshop that has a component which talks about appropriate clothing for work and I didn’t have a pair of black pants?

Thank God the business clothing section at H&M is all I can say. I hit it up yesterday and I now have a nice pair of black pants and a fitted black blazer to boot. All I need are a pair of work-appropriate heels (I’m the queen of flats when it comes to work, but I think heels give more of a professional look) and I will actually look the part of my professional roles!

(The fact that I’ve managed to create an entire entry about my lack of black pants shows you just how exciting my life has been lately. Not that I’m not enjoying life at the moment, per se; it’s just that there hasn’t been many eventful things worth sharing on this blog.)

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Manda — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:07:05 +0000

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone! Enjoy a moon cake and light a lantern to celebrate this wonderful day.

This is one of my favorite Chinese holidays because I have some fantastic childhood memories associated with this festival. I remember standing on the back porch and my mom would light candle-lit lanterns. My brother and I got to snap brand-new glow sticks and wave them around in the air as we ran around the porch. Then, once we were exhausted from running around waving our lit glow sticks, we would go inside the house and eat moon cakes. My mom and brother would eat normal moon cakes, but my mom would always get me the kind without egg yolk because I dislike plain egg yolks. Those were happy, happy days. :)

Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Floods, and Now a Terrorist Threat

Manda — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:30:35 +0000

First there was an earthquake. Then there was Hurricane Irene. Now there is massive flooding from Tropical Storm Lee. And now, in light of the 10th anniversary of September 11 this Sunday, there is a terror threat.

I guess there’s nothing like starting the academic year off with lots of dramatic events…

Ironing is Not My Forte

Manda — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 18:36:16 +0000

My new apartment has a 2-in-1 washer/dryer. It dries clothes straight after washing, which is great but not great because that means my clothes are extremely wrinkly after the whole cycle. I’ve never felt the need to iron my casual clothes until I started using this machine!

However, while ironing my monstrous pile of laundry this afternoon, I discovered that ironing is not a talent I possess:

It hurts :( I’ll have to learn how to iron without burning myself though, because wrinkly clothes have never been chic!

Dinner With the Family

Manda — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 14:13:49 +0000

I grew up in a house where every member of my family would gather around the dinner table every night for a hot meal and eat together. My mother would suffer no excuses when it came to eating dinner as a family; it was a constant in her household. The only exceptions I can recall is that if one of us were not at home during dinnertime (frowned upon) or if one of us were sick (excusable).

I think a lot of her insistence on eating dinner together as a family is because it was a part of the day where everyone would gather ’round and eat, talk, and bond. It was her time to catch up with her children and for my brother and I to argue about something stupid. As my mom always cooked dinner, eating dinner together also had something to do with politeness and manners. She cooked the meal; it would have been the height of rudeness if one of us had taken a plate of home-cooked food and eaten it on our lonesome in our bedroom or something.

Now that I’m on my own and have a packed schedule, I find that I’m often eating dinner on my own, and usually on the go. I’ll grab a burrito at Chipotle and eat it once I get home from my internship. I’ll eat a bagel sandwich from Einstein’s Bagels during my afternoon shift at work. I’ll eat a bowl of Special K in the morning before I take off for the day. I’ll cook dinner for myself and eat it in front of the TV, saving leftovers for the next day. My schedule often allows me to get dinners with friends, but we almost always go out to eat.

I love the food and conversation I have with my friends when we go out to eat, but I miss the dinners at my house. I can’t imagine what it’s like to grow up in a house where family dinners didn’t exist. It’s not even the home-cooked factor (although I miss that dearly!), it’s the fact that I can’t understand how families don’t, or can’t, or won’t, come together for dinner. It makes me sad, because I have some great memories of dinners at my house when I was growing up!

Question of the Week: Does your family have family dinners where you all eat together? Or is dinner an individual occasion?

Work Week’s Got Me Beat

Manda — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 22:03:25 +0000

When the earliest I can get home on any given day of the working week is 5p.m. (on a Friday!), it is very telling just how all-consuming my class/work/internship schedule is. Needless to say, I’m beat from this week. It’s almost 6p.m. on a Friday evening and I’m sitting on my couch in my PJ’s watching reruns of NCIS like an old lady. Not gonna lie, it’s kind of nice that I have absolutely nothing planned for tonight but to relax and unwind. Oh, and maybe tackle some of my readings…

I know I’ve talked about how busy I am on this blog before and it might seem like I’m complaining but I’m not, honestly. My schedule is something I chose and I’m happy with all the things that I’m doing. I just think it’s kind of scary how fast I went from being a freshman with a handful of classes and a schedule that was wide open in terms of free time to a totally jam-packed schedule where I’m juggling sixteen things at once. How did I grow up so fast? Where did the time go? Am I really expected to be an Adult in the Real World come graduation next year?!

(Oh, and in news I meant to post earlier but I completely forgot to and now it’s kind of late and outdated: I survived both the DC earthquake and Hurricane Irene last week without incident, minus the 24 hours or so I lost power due to Irene. My area was incredibly lucky as others were not as fortunate with either, or both, of the natural disasters.)