Carrie's Thoughts on Life: an insider's perspective

These past few days were filled with speaking to friends, parents, and roommates about some big decisions. Not huge decisions, but important ones involving the “What now?” question. Last night, a friend shared something she had heard at a recent talk: she said there is a generational shift among women today from the “modern” woman to the “post-modern” woman. “Modern” women take things as they come, knowing that life is a process while “post-modern” women have a much harder time accepting the uncertainties of life. We want to know the end before we finish the beginning. We want to know, Will this relationship work out? Will I be successful in this job? Where should I live? Where should I go to school?

Sounds crazy, but it’s true. There are many things in life that the uncertainty of strikes fear deep into my heart. The strangest part is that I disagree entirely with the principle of this outlook. I don’t think it’s a good thing to know how things are going to turn out. If I knew how middle school would turn out, do you think I would do it? Probably not. But I’m glad I went through it now because I learned a lot during that time. And really, it isn’t like I adhere to the Harry Burns philosophy of book reading: “When I buy a new book, I read the last page first. That way, in case I die before I finish, I know how it ends.” So why then, do I expect to know how things will end up in my life before I read its first page?

I have to remind myself that while life is short, there is ample time (God willing) to figure things out. We don’t have one shot, right? Well, one shot at life, but not one shot at the things it has to offer.

So having said that, here are a few of life’s offerings that I want to make sure I don’t miss. They are only the first to have leaped from my mind to this page and do not represent anything well thought out, but I don’t think things like this should always be products of self-searching and deep reflection.

1. Finish grad school, but enjoy it while it lasts. A Master’s Degree is considerably shorter than a Bachelor’s, so you can’t get burned out, right? WRONG. It’s intense, but it devotes much more time to your actual interests. I’m enjoying my program, and am only beginning to see the opportunities it offers.

2. Begin reading all 6 short listed novels for the Man Booker Prize each year. This one isn’t exactly feasible right now (see this semester’s reading list depicted below), but once the grad school readings cease, I hope to have more time for pleasure reading.


3. Make a career of a profession I find captivating. I think it’s hard to remember that we work to live and not the other way around. This doesn’t mean that we have to hate what we do for a living. Sure we work to put food on the table, but I’m determined to enjoy myself in every aspect of life.

4. Have a thriving vegetable garden. I guess flowers can grow there two, but I want to grow my own produce. The problem: have to learn how to garden. My mom’s a wonderful and very talented gardener and has turned each home we have lived in into an oasis. Here’s her current masterpiece:


5. Leave the country at least once a year. I think it’s important to be pushed outside of our comfort zones on a regular basis. It helps us grow as people and constantly reminds us of things we take for granted.

Because it’s good to think about these things and because I suspect I have readers out there (even if only a hand full), let me know a few of your “not to be missed” items. It will reassure me that you’re out there and will satisfy my own curiosity!

A few pictures from my time here

At the Hillsbrough Vineyards

AD and LG behind the lens

I love vineyards!

A beautiful sunset in the middle of the city.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the fearless, the magnificent AD!

The Onslaught of Fall

The temperature has dropped, the leaves have begun to change from deep green to all shades of gold and fire red, and we are undoubtedly knee deep into fall. Fall is unquestionably my favorite season with only one exception: like clockwork, I get sick. Like groundhogs mark the end of winter, my health marks the beginning of fall. In Texas, I was confronted with a mere cold that faded away within a few days, but if last year is the model for colder climates, I will be doing epic battle against this cold for weeks.


Last year was my first “real” fall. I was in Toulouse, France and sometime in early November it began to rain and didn’t stop. I caught the “gripe,” and it was as bad as it sounds. This year’s my health witnessed a slow descent into scratchy throat, watery eyes, and sinus woes. My teeth even ache, if you can believe it. And so currently, I’m feeling a bit like death personified.

All this is compounded by our current house temperature. Having to turn on the gas for heat is an entirely new concept for me. Growing up, we just flipped a switch and presto! Instant heat. Not so here. Our landlord’s son has to come to the house and turn it on for us. That means our house fluctuates between the low 50s at night to the low 60s during the day. I suppose it could be worse, at least it’s warmer inside than out, where it is currently 45 and raining. It pains me to even think of it.

According to my roommates, my room is the coldest in the house, which makes it an arctic wonderland at night. I’ve adapted to my new sleeping environment with plannel (plaid flannel) pajama pants, a long sleeve thermal shirt over my tee shirt, wool socks, and a total of five blankets over my usual sheets. Only when I am buried under all these layers am I truly warm. The problem is, I feel a bit suffocated.

A small price to pay for warmth.

My kind of an Adventure

I think it high time I reassess my life’s trajectory. Friday night, as I was sitting in my room doing absolutely nothing worth writing about, I received a phone call from LG and AD inviting me on their latest adventure: an expedition into Virginia wine country. Who am I to say no to such an offer?

Saturday morning, armed with our cameras and fashion forward sunglasses, we drove about an hour north through the picturesque Virginia countryside (red barns, silos, and rolling hills included) to Purcellville, VA where we began our wine tastings at Breaux Vineyards.

We arrived just after 11:00, which perhaps under normal circumstances is a little early to break out the bottle. Fortunately for us, these were no normal circumstances. Breaux Vineyards is among the more well known wineries in the area, and perhaps rightfully so. It was the perfect picture of a georgic setting (yes, I did just use “georgic” in a sentence…stop rolling your eyes, it’s a good descriptor), with rustic beams, stone walls, and picnickers snacking and enjoying their wine under the large branches of shade trees.

After leaving Breaux, we moved down the street to a restaurant located in the middle of a farm. It was a beautiful day and we unanimously decided a small table outside and in direct sunlight was preferable to experiencing our beautiful surroundings from the inside looking out. Eating a farm fresh lunch only confirmed my not-so-secret ambitions of one day growing my own vegetables.

We then slowly made out way to Hillsbouroug Vineyards. This was definitely my favorite of the two, partly because we got to frolic amongst the vines and partly because I preferred their wines to the other.

It goes without saying that it didn’t take us long to adopt this day trip as a tradition. In fact, we’ve hatched an ingenious plan involving all of us quitting our jobs/school, purchasing some land, starting a vineyard, and then having a movie made after our adventures. It will be called Under the Virginian Sun. I’ll begin drafting our film proposal this week, and I expect filming to begin soon after.

Pictures courtesy of AD and her mad-photography skills.