Bees!

I now present to you a tale of murder and mystery...

For the first time in years, I joined my dad at the bees. We had an important mission- to assassinate the old queen bees, and replace them with new, fresh queens. As a beekeeper, you have to replace the old queen every 2 to 3 years, because she stops laying as many eggs and your beehive will shrink in size. 

Last week, Dad got the two new queens in the mail. Yes, when you order bees, they package them in little boxes covered in screen, and send them to you via the United States Postal Service. As soon as he could, he introduced the new queen bees to the hives. Normally, the beekeeper must squish the old queen. Then, the bees release the new queen from her little screen box by chewing through a candy "door." She emerges and takes over the hive. 

Finding the queen is sometimes a needle in a haystack situation. When you order a queen through the mail, she'll have a brightly colored dot painted on her and is usually easier to find among the 10s of thousands of bees in the hive. But sometimes, the bees replace the store-bought queen themselves, and then the beekeeper has to find a big, fat, natural bee colored like all the rest. You might look through every inch of your beehive and never see her. And the more you take apart a beehive, the angrier the bees get. 

Well, dad was able to find and "assassinate" the old queen in my hive and replace her successfully, but he couldn't find the old queen in his hive. What could he do? He couldn't leave the new queen in her little screen box. There was no other choice. He put the new, young queen in there anyways, figuring that a battle between the old queen and new queen would ensue. The bees would eat through the candy door, and the new queen would emerge to take on the old lady in charge. He hoped for the best. 

This week, when we opened the hives, we saw the results of the battle: The new queen didn't have a fighting chance. She and her worker bees were murdered in their little box before they had a chance to find the old queen for a fair fight! That poor little virgin queen had her candy door opened all right- but she didn't even make it one step out into the hive. She was cornered and attacked! We found the little body with its bright yellow dot dead as a doornail. The unmarked queen will have to reign on one year longer. We didn't find her this week either. Regardless, both hives are very healthy and we're sure to have a huge spring honey harvest this year. 

Yes, this is my life. I swear I'll make it living in a city.

Plodding along

My mom predicted that it would be one week before I was bored of being home. Well, I'm not quite there yet- thanks in part to a few silly events that marked the last week.

First and foremost, since it's on my mind- my sister and I finally went and saw Star Trek. We were waiting for each other to get home from school to see it and went on a sister date this afternoon. I have a few comments: the movie was fun and campy, but you can only really appreciate it if you're a true "Trekkie." Kate and I had gigantic grins painted across our face for the good first hour of the flick. "Oh gosh, it's Kirk's Dad! It's gonna be Dr. McCoy, watch!" We were just plain giddy, brought back with warp speed to our nerdy childhood. Secondly (This is directed at you, fellow peers of Nessacus Regional Middle School) Spock is still the hot one in the film, and I've turned out socially normal. So there.

Mom, Kate and I went on a shopping spree to the outlets yesterday. If you are reading this, and appreciate the great institution known as "Banana Republic," get in your car and find your nearest outlet NOW. The entire store was 40% off, including clearance. It was teacher-clothes heaven. I did have a hard time discerning between "want" and "need." In the end, it turned out that I needed everything that fit me ;-)

Otherwise, beyond the beautiful weather, the pilates videos, the runs, and the constant studying- life has been pretty quiet. No, I'm not bored yet. But give me a few more days. I'll get there!

Peace and Love- and enjoy the graduation pictures below!

The End of the Line

It was a beautiful, sunny weekend. The families arrived in droves, the food and drinks flowed freely. Everyone dressed to the nines, and cameras flashed on proud families. Was graduation great? In many ways, yes. But in many ways...

It was horrible. 

So, let's start with the good. The family arrived on Friday night, past the dinnertime rush. I met everyone at the never-fail Knights Inn, where we decided to rally for a drink or two at Tulley's. The restaurant was still hopping at 9:30 pm with hungry grads and their families. Service was slow, but company was great. I was so happy to see Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa. It was after drinks with the family that I started having the sense that things were really over: Stacey and I headed for what we hoped would be a glorious and raucous night at Chuck's. In actuality, it was the most bizarre bar night I've ever witnessed. Washed up moms followed their daughters to the bar, the people I wanted to see weren't there, and there was a general sense of doom about the place. I actually couldn't wait to get home- the experience just seemed somewhat morose. I knew, right then, that it was over. Chuck's would never, ever be the same ever again. 

Saturday was HOT. Sticky and humid, it was a great day for a cute dress but a terrible day for a cap and gown. The Newhouse ceremony was at noon in the Dome, and Stacey, Stephanie and my PR friend Sara found seats by my side. Long, aggravating speeches dragged on. A pompous journalist went on a soapbox about atrocities in Vietnam, and the new Dean made a speech about- of all things- the career services office. The whole thing was uninspiring and the cherry on top was when I crossed the stage to the announcement of 'Tori Horse-Stein." 

Luckily, post grad festivities were much better. Instead of trying to find a place to go for lunch and dinner, my family booked it immediately after the ceremony back to the Knight's Inn. There, beers, whisky sours, wine and tons of food awaited the partying family. The Canandaigua clan joined the fun, and Justin came along looking handsome in his new duds. 

That night, the party raged on in the Carrier Dome for the Dinner Dance. This had to be the best choice the family made all weekend. The Dome looked spectacular, and families ate a delicious dinner and danced to a full orchestra. Everything sounded amazing and I even found the perfect orange dress for the occasion. The end of the night, however, brought that same impending feeling of doom. The party was really over- the guests trickled away from the dance floor and Justin and I headed back to his apartment for one last peaceful night in each other's company. 

Sunday really was the end. Joe Biden's speech to the huge graduating class encouraged us to go out and change the world. I was excited as he mentioned by name Teach For America- it somehow felt like he was talking to me! I felt like I had made the right choice. The ceremony on Sunday was actually much nicer than the Saturday one. This one had beautiful vocalists and inspiring speeches. I really enjoyed everything I heard. Shortly after the ceremony, the family packed up and went home- only mom stayed to help me pack. 

Post-graduation, Syracuse felt like a zombie town. None of my friends had left yet, but everyone was just drifting around, emotionless. Drained emotionally and physically from the weekend, it was with a sigh of relief that I pulled out of 329 Comstock's parking lot. It was really, really over. Even ABC News said as much, in a piece that I was lucky enough to get a bit in: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?

id=7553303

I am so lucky to have an incredible, supportive family. I'm blessed to have found such sweet and true friends: and dare I say, yes, my future bridesmaids! I count graduation weekend as a joyful one, but also a tremendously sad moment. Am I really ready for this incredible task that I'm diving into? It seems unfair that I have to leave my friends, my boyfriend, and my joyful and carefree life behind so soon. But at the same time- I'm ready. And I wish only the best for all of them as we head out on separate paths. 

Peace and Love. 

Wrapping up

This has been a week of conclusions. 

Last week I missed writing my post. Perhaps it was because I felt like my senior year was going out with a fizzle. Everything seems to lack the luster and sparkle it used to have. Perhaps it's my natural reaction to saying goodbye: to simply turn off interest so as to avoid uncomfortable emotions. 

For example, this past weekend was the spring APO initiations. It was the last APO ceremony that I will ever witness. But not being on eboard this semester and not taking a little caused me to feel distant from the whole process. It was fun as always to dress up, and eat good food and be with good friends, but my heart just wasn't in it. Perhaps an entire semester of "he said, she said" fraternity drama has also simply left me tired. There's been lots of "lasts" in APO: last elections, last parties, last trip to the bars. Senior Sendoff was a nice ceremony where brothers toasted the Seniors and we all enjoyed a tasty picnic. We had our nostalgic moments, doodling on the grungy bar walls and snapping pictures with each other. APO has been wonderful and full of memories. But without a doubt, after this weekend, I can say that I'm ready to move on.

Classes also finished with a whimper. I didn't have any tough tests, and smartly paced my final papers so that I wouldn't be overwhelmed this last week. With a click of "send," everything was emailed in and I realized that my undergraduate degree is finished.  Now, without missing a beat, I've started plodding away at my Teach For America course work due this summer. There are FBI background checks to complete, resumes to edit, certifications tests to take and vaccinations to arrange before I can legally step into a public school. But I'm in an odd transition period where, stuck at school for at least another week, I can't get enthusiastic about TFA work just yet.

The nice thing about having a lot of free time is the social freedom I've had in the last few weeks. My friend Stephanie and I just went and got our toenails painted orange. I went on a glorious shopping spree to Target, where I found a blue seersucker suit and just the right bikinis for the summer. Justin and I took a drive north to a quaint old drive-in movie to catch a double feature. But frankly, I don't know what to do with myself. No one ever told me just how BAD daytime television really is. 

As if an angel heard me calling for an end to my boredom, I did get a entertaining phone call this week. Through sheer good luck, and since I'm apparently an "articulate interview," ABC world news has selected me as a "poster child" for the class of 2009 feature they're doing this weekend. The crew is going to follow me around campus, filming me picking up cap and gown, packing my boxes and shopping on Marshall st before doing an interview with me about why I've decided to do Teach For America. The whole idea is very exciting and a really fun way to end my time here at Cuse! 

Full graduation report next week. 

Peace and Love. 

More Falls...More Fomals

Unfortunately, the rain has started to fall in Syracuse. But that can't put a damper on memories of this jam-packed and excellent weekend!

All week long, Justin told me to keep Friday morning and early afternoon free. I wondered what on earth he was planning at such an odd time slot. At 11 am, he picked me up and started driving. When we got on I-81, I knew this wasn't an ordinary adventure in Syracuse! We exited in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere, and I still hadn't a clue where we were going. We seemed to be driving through farm fields and country roads when all of a sudden I saw a sign that said "Pratt's Falls State Park." Justin had secretly packed a picnic and taken me to a lunch in the woods! The falls were formed by retreating glaciers, and were the site of Onondaga County's first mill operation in 1796. It was beautiful and warm, and we munched sandwiches and freezer pops until it was time to head back to campus for afternoon classes. 

Later on Friday night, we'd head out into the rural countryside again, but this time I picked the destination. My friend Andrew is a student at Colgate and is a member of their elite accapella singing group "The Colgate 13." The group is nationally acclaimed and has sung at the Superbowl and the White House, and all over the country on tour. Every year I managed to miss his concert, but this year I decided to make the trip. After all, there won't be any more chances to hear him sing as we will both be graduating in May! Colgate has always astounded me: in my opinon, its a little more country club than college, totally elegant and elite. After the show, we went back to a beautiful huge house owned by the singing group and used exclusively to house visiting parents. There, we enjoyed cocktails and another impromptu concert as we mingled and caught up on stories. It was great to see him!

Saturday dawned sunny, much to my delight. I hate being in a dress in the rain, and I had another formal to attend! This was the spring version of the ESF December Soiree, and everyone I know and love had plans to go. While I'm not technically an ESF student, I am in clubs where I've met many of them. It's a great event to bond the two schools and this spring it was held downtown at the OnCenter. Open bar, gourmet dinner and a night of dancing were all included, and we took advantage of all three! Ironically, it was the APO kids (mostly SU students) that were the last ones on the dance floor. My left calf is still killing me from "Cotton-eye'd Joe," and I earned the title of "Master of the Line Dance." Shocking. As the pictures show, everyone looked beautiful!

Finally, Sunday I went downtown for a moving and beautiful event. Syracuse University's chapter of Habitat For Humanity sponsored its first complete house this year, and Sunday was the "House Dedication." The family receiving the house was on hand, along with city officials, Habitat workers, campus leaders, students, professors and friends. Many moving speeches were made and the family was presented the ceremonial bible. Prayers and blessings were given in the hopes that the house would be a place of love, joy and hope. A particularly moving moment for me was when the mother and homeowner spoke about her 8 year old son, a young man with autism. She talked about how hard it was to keep everything together and support her boy without a home. My cousin is autistic, and my family understands the challenges of the condition. Looking at those challenges through the lens of poverty was particularly profound. I wish the best for that mother and her family. 

The week ahead promises mayhem...in the form of MayFest... pictures and stories to come next week!

Peace and Love. 

A Hillbilly Easter

Shana Fisher is one of my best friends at Syracuse University. She was my roommate in Spain, my friend in APO, my guide through the Teach For America interview process. And aside from an unwavering dedication to social justice, a sometimes sick sense of humor, and a mutual respect for each other's good looks, she and I could not be more opposite. 

Shana grew up in a huge Jewish family on the middle of Staten Island. Her high school memories are about Jewish Youth Group, the illegal immigrants that mow the Staten Island lawns, and her highschool's metal detectors. Before I went abroad, I was lucky enough to taste a little Staten Island life: Kosher delis, delicious pizza, the city skylines. I was amazed at how different her childhood was than mine. I declared that she MUST visit my home in the Berkshires, meet my family, see my highschool. And this Easter weekend, we finally did just that!

Shana will be moving to the Mississippi Delta next year as a member of Teach For America. My dad and I decided that it was time that she get a little hillbilly education. We called up my good friend and fellow Hinsdale native Mark, packed our pickup truck with a variety of fire arms, and did what any good country family would do: drove to the firing range to give the city girl her first experience with a gun. 

The weather was grey and drizzly but spirits were bright. We did everything of course with the utmost of care and safety. My dad is an excellent teacher and we all tried our hand at a variety of weapons. We fired pistols, shotguns, rifles, and Shana's favorite: the black powder. The day whizzed by and with a panicked look at our watches, we realized that we were going to miss Good Friday mass. We packed up quickly and got there just in the nick of time. 

Shana was a trooper and made it through the entire Easter Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday masses. It was great to have her there and introduce her to family friends. 

We also did a lot of Easter celebrating, including the annual Hornstein Easter Egg extravaganza. Shana made joyful happy eggs, and as the pictures show we had Harry Potters and Homer Simpsons, eyeballs and happy faces, and even a Jesus egg. (Dad's handiwork, of course.) Shana also got her first ever Easter basket! Peeps and bubble gum, DVD's and chocolate rabbits: the Easter bunny really knew how to treat us this year. 

The weekend went by way too fast. Before we knew it, we were back on the road to Syracuse. I'm shaking my head realizing I only have a few more days of class. Let's put life on rewind!

Peace and Love. 

AE Pi Spring Formal

THEN and NOW

I love it when life comes full circle. Spring of my Sophomore year, my wonderful friend Justin Liang needed a date to his spring fraternity formal. I was the lucky nominee, and after much ado, had a dress picked out and camera batteries charged, ready for a night of craziness in Toronto. As it turned out, Justin had a terrible flu that week, and spent only 15 minutes at the actual dance. The poor kid had such a fever he couldn't see straight, and went to bed before the music even started, leaving me stag at a dance in Canada where I knew no one. Lucky for me, the AE Pi brothers were friendly and sympathetic, and all made sure I had a good time. One of the nicest guys there was a kid named Brian Rodin. I met him that night at dinner, I knew him only as the wine connoseur, and I took a few great pictures with him. Little did I know that he'd be one of my best college friends!

The next year, Brian went to Spain with me and was fully responsible for making sure my 21st birthday was a blast. We spent countless afternoons together visiting museums, sipping sangria, and discussing deep philisophical topics from relationships to religion. To our surprise and delight, we realized that we had signed a lease in the same apartment building for the following year, and now would be neighbors! 

The frienship continued through this year, and our doors were always open to each other for dinner exchanges, episodes of Entourage, or just a good old-fashioned venting session. It's been a crazy and stressful year in many ways for both of us. Brian came out of the closet to his close friends in the fall, and I was happy to be a supporting friend through the process. Likewise, when I was terribly sick with mono over Christmas break, I heard from him almost every day, wondering how I was doing. It's not every day you find a friend like that. 

Fast forward to the A E Pi spring Formal this year. Brian needed a date, and I was the first he asked! I couldn't be more excited. I met my great friend in Canada two years ago at this dance, and now I would be his date. Again, I got the dress picked out and the camera batteries charged, only to be faced with another full circle: Brian knocked on my door, with a terribly sad look on his face. "I have mono," he sighed. Another sick date. I wondered if I had given it to him. I didn't even think that we would make it to Canada. I assured him that I'd rather him get better than go to another AE Pi formal stag again! He assured me that he was going to make the best of it and we were going to have a great time. 

Sure enough, we made it to Niagara Falls and enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner. Brian of course took it easy and actually stayed awake the whole night! We looked wonderful and were so happy to be there with all our friends. Even though we didn't tear up the dance floor, the night zoomed by with lots of pictures, great conversation and friendly faces. Enjoy the link to the photo album from the night below!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2273703&id=5515657&l=36bd70ed05

Peace and Love!