It's Officially Summer.

How do I know, you ask? Well.....

Yes, it's June 21st - the summer solstice. But that's not how I know.

Yes, it's my parent's anniversary (HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD! Thanks for getting married so you could then have me and I could then have the kick-ass life I've had). (My parent's anniversary, of course, doesn't really mean it's summer to anyone but me (and maybe them), but it's one of the ways I mark the start of summer.) But that's not how I know.

Yes, we haven't turned the heat on in over a week now, but that's now how I know. (And that's a true story - we had a freak day last week where the temp dropped over 30 degrees in a few hours and our windows had been open all day...creating a veritable ice box of an apartment, so we turned on the heat that night. Nothing like running the heat in June.)

I know it's summer because I went to a Jimmy Buffett concert last night.

Now, I own Jimmy's greatest hits album, and I enjoy his music, but I wouldn't call myself a Parrothead or anything. My friend Dave had an extra ticket and invited me to go, and I thought: Hey, why not?

WHAT A CONCERT. Seriously, unless Jimmy Buffett's voice grates on your soul and makes you vomit persistently for more than 6 hours, you really ought to do this at least once in your life. You don't have to be a fan to have fun. The whole concert is about fun! Jimmy played in his bare feet the whole concert. They put out beach balls in the seats before we got there to encourage the playful tossing of them amongst the stands. And if you just stand still, for just a second, and look around mid-song...you realize you're standing in the middle of literally THOUSANDS of happy people. You just can't be in a bad mood. And it is one hell of a way to kick off the summer, let me tell you. I feel summer in my bones now, even if it still gets into the 40s at night up here.

One of the coolest things Jimmy did all night was a a tribute to Johnny Carson. It was just the sweetest thing I've seen anyone do in a long time, and it gave me goosebumps. And then he had the band play "Why Don't We Get Drunk" (apparently one of Johnny's favorites even though it could never be played on the show) and had the crowd sing it. He didn't sing a word. Which was pretty cool.

There were also a surprising number of cover songs that Jimmy did. He covered Dave Matthews, James Taylor, Van Morrison, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and Jack Johnson. what's cool about the last one is he is promoting someone who's still somewhat under the radar...someone who does Jimmy Buffett covers at his own concerts. I just think that's the pinnacle of modesty - there are many bands who do covers at concerts these days (in fact, most of them do at least one), but most of them cover someone "bigger" than them, or someone from a different musical generation. Jimmy Buffett just does covers of good music - screw it if it's someone less well-known or half his age.

In any case, I may be a converted Parrothead. Well...let's not take this too far. I'm not sure I'd be willing to wear a real coconut bra (as I saw on several women yesterday at the concert) or camp out all day and drink for 8 hours before the concert (yes, I'm getting old, I just can't handle that much drinking any more, I'd fall asleep at the concert). But I definitely didn't know all the songs he sang last night, and I enjoyed them all.

So, moral of the story?

It's summer. Go out and do something fun.

And happy anniversary to my parents.

My new celebrity best friend.

First things first: my friend Art is spending his summer in Korea while completing an internship for law school there. His blog is pretty darn cool. Go check it out and get some culture. He seems to post regularly, so even when I don't, he can provide you with entertainment.

OK. I went to a child life conference this weekend in Nashville.

First thought to share: conferences suck. I mean, I definitely went to a few sessions where I came out fired up to go back to work and make stuff happen, and I learned a bit and networked a bit; but in the end, conferences are just work in a different setting. So I worked all weekend, and didn't get paid for it...in fact I paid to go. If this makes sense to anyone, let me know.

Next: well, it wouldn't be a story about me if the Krashworth persona didn't kick in, eh? Let me explain a bit about what I do, and then what I did.

I am a child life specialist. My whole job is to hang out with kids and families in hospitals or medical settings and reduce their stress. Sometimes this is accomplished through play, other times it's explaining things in kid-friendly terms (stitches is just a fancy doctor word for string), sometimes it's just listening or getting a cup of coffee. In any case, it's a great profession that's been around for more than 40 years now, but is only lately becoming more and more recognized. When the profession was originally started, we were known as the "playladies" (and often are still referred to as such, which I think is just fine with me...I don't mind people knowing that I get paid to play all day). Somewhere in the late 70's/early 80's there were a core group of people who got together, formed the Association for the Care of Children in Hospitals (ACCH) and named us as a group to be child life specialists. These people also did credible, published research, and wrote all the books I just spent two years in grad school studying. Because that was only 20 years ago, many of these child life "celebrities," if you will, are still around. One of them was my advisor until last year. Another child life celebrity has been my professor this past year. So you see how it is. I roll with the big guns. =)

Now, you may think I'm joking. I mean, every profession has its celebrities, right? But how big can these people be? Well...I'd liken them to Bill Gates - Gates took the computer world and made it accessible to everyone (no more needing to know specific commands and such, or spend money on a Mac), thus revolutionizing computers forever. Brought computers from one age to the next. (My computer geek friends will read this and be angry with me, as they are all anti-MS folk who love the life of Linux, but you have to face facts: Gates is a HUGE guy in the history of computers). These celebrities about which I speak - they revolutionized child life, and although it's not widely known now, it's getting bigger every day. I'd be willing to wager there's child life in every major children's hospital around the US, I know that it's an international profession, and we're now making strides in alternative settings like community hospitals and emergency rooms and outpatient clinics. Give it one more generation, and I see this as something everyone knows about.

In any case, I've been studying all of these books and articles by these child life celebrities again for the past month in preparation for my certification exam (which I took at the beginning of the conference). After the exam, there were a few conference sessions, a reception, and then Wheelock (where I went to grad school) had a private networking reception for alumni. Keep in mind one of the reasons I chose Wheelock is because it has been a crucial element of the development of child life as a clinically respected position, and it has educated most of the celebrities of which I spoke earlier.

So, for all the money I paid to Wheelock (or, more rightly, all the money Uncle Sam paid to Wheelock that I will now have to enter indentured servitude to repay Uncle Sam) you'd think the reception would be pretty swank, eh? HA! A few cookies, a few brownies, some soda. Not even cocktails - c'mon folks: it's FRIDAY NIGHT! In any case, I hung out with my classmates and chatted for a while, and then realized that I ought to make some new friends while at this conference, just because...well, I don't know, I guess because I should. I paid money to go, I should get more than the update on my classmates, with whom I try to keep in touch on a regular basis. So my friend Jen and I head over to a table with two women, one elderly, and one middle-aged, and a man at it (yes, there are men in child life. My advisor and my professor - aforementioned "celebs" are both men). As we sit down, the middle-aged woman looks at me and says, "Have we met? I feel like I've met you." I immediately go into my spiel about how I have one of those faces, that I get that all the time....I have the girl-next-door face so I look like someone everyone has either met or knows; but that I'm sure we hadn't met. So she smiles and reaches across the table, reads my nametag, and says, "Well, it's nice to meet you Kristy." I shake her hand and say, "Thanks, and what is your name?" (She had no nametag, in my defense.)

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Laura...[long pause]...Gaynard."

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I wish I had a picture of my face. This woman wrote the one book I had focused on for the past three weeks in my studies, she is one of the child life celebrities of which I spoke. She was at the conference to recieve the lifetime achievement award the next day. OY.

What's even better than this is I couldn't let go of her hand. I just kept holding on to it across the table as I apologized for not realizing...at which point she gracefully pointed out that I had indeed never met her and how would I know? (Of course, I had seen her picture earlier that day, but clearly I'm a dolt and didn't pay attention at the time.) In any case, we laughed over the whole affair, and I got to know her, her mother Betty (the elderly woman), and her brother Skip (the man). I then proceeded to introduce her to all of my classmates as "my best friend - we go WAY back - Laura" and we all had a good laugh. Turns out, just like my advisor and my professor, she's really nice, and she even tried to recruit me to come work in her program at Salt Lake City Hospital. I turned down her kind offer, but I did get a chance to see her throughout the rest of the conference, and we chatted here and there.

So in the end, I made a fairly significant connection at the conference after all. I just had to fumble my way through to get to it. =)

How the other half lives.

Two Sundays ago I went to Martha's Vineyard.

AND Nantucket.

In the same day.

"How did you do this, oh masterful one?" You ask me. And to this I say to you: I have kickass friends.

Continuing to prove my point that I have the best friends on the planet, hands-down, my friend Steve, who got his pilot's licence in February, took me out on a lovely Massachusetts spring day in fine fashion to both the Vineyard and Nantucket. I've never been to either place, and I have to say that it felt pretty swanky to be visiting both in the same day. It's also pretty darn cool to watch Steve fly - there's so much that goes into it, and he's just fantastic at it. A few thoughts to share:

The airport on the Vineyard looks almost exactly like the airport on "Wings," at least on the outside. Steve and I had an argument while there about whether "Wings" was set on Nantucket or the Vineyard. I claim Nantucket, he claims Vineyard. Anyone with thoughts on this or the time to look this up (the girls I nanny for could wake up at any moment), feel free to comment. We only stayed at the airport at the Vineyard and had a nice soda while watching the planes come and go, enjoying the sun, and having lovely conversation.

We actually got to walk around Nantucket - took a cab downtown and browsed. It was late Sunday afternoon by then so a lot of the stores were closed, and we didn't bother going in places like "Cashmere City" since we figured we couldn't afford the wares, but it's a quaint little fun town. Steve had an ice cream and my lactose-intolerant/lactaid-forgetting self had a delicious cookie. Steve said he couldn't see staying there more than a day, I could see it as a quiet vacation destination for a week or so. Just reading books, laying out in the sun, sailing. Good stuff. Reminds me of the kind of place my parents would love to go, as it's kind of like where they vacation every year (and I used to vacation with them when I was in school) up in Maine, just more upscale. Anyway, in our walk we stumbled across the Club Car, which I took a picture of. I distinctly remember the skeevier brother on "Wings" (the one who dated girl after girl) discussing the Club Car as a good place to pick up women. This furthers my argument that it was set on Nantucket. In any case, it's kind of cool that they actually took local culture and worked it into the show.

There are people who do this kind of day-long excursion every weekend. There's even a sand landing strip on the Vineyard that ends right on a beach, so you park your plane, get out, and put your towel down and lay out. Crazy. I just can't even imagine. But for a day, I got a glimpse. It was loads of fun, but I have to say it wouldn't have been half as fun had I not had great company.

So, to sum up: Thanks Steve. You rule.

Oh, and go visit the Vineyard and Nantucket if you can. They're pretty fun.

FREE* Exciting Offer!

*Offer not really free or exciting. Void where prohibited. Offer not valid on days that end in a y.

Almost two years ago, when I moved to Boston, I went to a bank (that shall remain unnamed) advertising “FREE* Checking!” They had both free student checking, and free* regular checking. After being introduced to the ageism of “student checking only covers people 25 and under” (because apparently after you’re 25 you’re too old to be a student anymore), I opted for the free* regular checking.

So I sit down with the woman to open the account, money in my hand. After all the usual rigamarole (social security number, date of birth, etc) she says, “OK, that’ll be $18.75 for your checks.” In my head I think, OK, checks cost money. That’s understandable. We continue. A few minutes later she says, “There will be a $12 annual fee for your ATM/check card.” Now I’m a little confused. This is not sounding like free checking. So I say to her, “Ummm…I thought I was getting the free checking.” “Of course you are!” she said. I then pointed out to her that $18.75 + $12 = NOT free. She then let me know that I didn’t have to get the ATM/check card or the checks.

Me: HOW DO I GET MONEY OUT OF MY ACCOUNT WHEN THE BANK IS CLOSED THEN?????

Her: {blank stare for 2 minutes}

Her: Uhhhh….well, there’s that little star next to the "Free*" to let you know there are some conditions to the checking account.

Me: So basically it’s not free checking, but because you put the star there you can lie.

Her: {blank stare, no answer}

Yeah, that’s what I thought. But at this point, I’m so far into it, and the bank is so convenient to where I live, that I’m just going to pay the fees and keep going. As I’m walking out, already signed up for accounts with this bank, I notice something on the materials they gave printed in teeny tiny print:

It costs me $0.50 every time I use the check card as a debit card. If I don’t run it as a credit card, it’ll cost me.

NOTHING about this account is free.

Yesterday, I set up an account with Bank of America. I have Free Checking (note no star). It actually costs $5.95 a year if you don’t have direct deposit, but they tell you that up front. Before you start into getting the account. And I wanted direct deposit anyway, so that’s all good. But guess what? My check card is FREE. I can use it as a debit card FOR FREE. My first set of checks (real checks, not starter checks) is FREE. No stars. I have free checking. Sweet.

Plus, they’re giving me a $50 Visa gift card for opening an account with them. AND I got a free pocket-sized Red Sox schedule on the way out the door (my wallet is naked without one during the season, and I haven’t been able to find any).

So, basically, this post is a completely unsolicited testimonial for Bank of America. Go bank there. They’re all over the place, so when you travel they’ll probably be wherever you go, too (no fees for using other ATMs), and they don’t lie. I’ve banked with them for a whole 24 hours now and I have absolutely ZERO complaints. Usually I don’t support large corporations if I can avoid it; but this is just great service, and I love to support great service.

And now I’m off* to deposit more money into my free checking account.

*Deposit will occur after I take a shower and run a few other errands.

Summer of Krash

That's right. You read that right. This summer is MY summer. I have decided it, and thus it will be so.

How is it the summer of Krash, you ask? Lemme 'splain....

I'm into the full swing of "real life," if you can call it that. I woke up the other day and just realized it. See...when I was growing up, the plan I had for myself went as follows: high school, college, meet someone nice to marry in college, get a job by the end of college, graduate from college and move into house with new husband, have job and start popping out kids whenever we feel it's appropriate.

HA!

Not so much did it work out that way. Not that I'm dissappointed...quite the contrary: I've led a really charmed life. I did the first two on the list: high school, college. I met a few nice boys in college but none of the marrying sort at the time. Post-college I sort of had the not-sure-what-to-do-with-my-life era when I went and worked at DisneyWorld. And, for all that I used to complain about it, it was really fun. I had a great time, and it's always a fantastic conversation topic for parties and interviews. But at that point, there was no plan except to figure out the plan. And then I discovered child life and thought, "Hey, this is what I want to do! This should be the plan!" And so I worked in child life long enough to get a feel for it and made the plan, which turned out to be grad school. So I go to grad school in Boston, and the plan is now grad school and then find a job at the end of grad school. I also had a marrying man worked into the plan when I started grad school, but he is no longer in the plan. And I followed the plan well enough: here I am, just out of school, and I have a child life job.

So now what?

There's no more of the thought process of, "OK, get through this stage, and then there's something else to do, to progress the plan." I'm 28 (almost), and I'm finally partially at the original plan's destination (sans man, house, popping out kids).

Now, before I go ANY FURTHER, let me get a few things straight:

1. I'm glad to be (almost) 28. I'm excited about the prospect of leaving behind the years of insecurity and doubt and confusion that were my early to mid 20's. So I'm not complaining abou that.

2. I can't say it enough: I'm glad my life took the course it did. I've learned so much I wouldn't have learned, and met so many amazing people I wouldn't have met....I look back on the original plan and say, "Puh-SHAW!" That would not have been as satisfying as the life I've had; which is, I'm certain, why my life has gone down the path it has.

So here I am. 28, got a job, and no real "next step" plans like figuring stuff out or going to grad school or finding a job. This is it: the real world. Real life. WOW.

And I woke up the other day, and that all sort of hit me. Now that I'm in the real life, and I'm not worried about planning the next step, per se....I thought, what do I want from life? Because there's no reason I shouldn't have what I want out of life. [Sidebar: My parents did for me one of the most amazing things I've ever seen anyone do: they instilled in me the belief that I can have anything I want, I just have to be willing to work for it. And it becomes a balance: if you don't want to work for it enough (because some things require a lot of crappy work to get), then you don't really want it all that much either. It's such a great attitude, and it's gotten me tons of things I wouldn't have thought I could have had or done otherwise. Thanks, mom and dad. I owe you everything for that. ;) ] And I decided that what I want for my life, at this point, is the rest of the plan: I want the house and the man and the kids. I also want to feel better, look better, and just be the best me I can be.

So, some of these things are a bit easier to achieve than others. For example, I have more control over being the best me I can be than I do over making someone fall in love with me. But being the best me I can be will probably increase my chances on the love thing. So I'm starting with getting in shape. Consistently this time. Nothing overwhelming, just at the gym, three days a week, for 30 minutes. I can do that. I can eat healthier and do more fun things. So there's that. I'm doing that.

As far as the love thing goes...well...I have some thoughts. First of all, I'm big on the kids. I want kids. I want 3 or 4, even though Liz tells me I'm only allowed to have 2 (because it's bad for the earth - overpopulation and stuff; although she did acquiesce and say I could have Emily's 2 kids since she doesn't want any, and Emily said I could have her 2 kids, so in the end I guess nobody should object to my wanting 4, huh?). This is sort of where the "I can have what I want I just have to be willing to work for it" comes into play more. I'm 28, and I'd like to date someone for a while before getting married. And ideally I'd like to be married a bit before I start having kids. So start doing the math....and I'd like to be done having kids by my late-mid 30's (I don't know, 36? 37? whatever...)and in order to get what I want, I need to be ready and open for love.

Now, until about a year ago, I sort of turned my nose up at internet dating services. OK, I'll admit it, I *totally* turned my nose up at it. But over the past year, I've met so many people who are really in love, and they met through match.com, or eharmony, or yahoo personals....and I have to say I'm a little wary of the whole internet matching thing...because, REALLY anyone can make a profile that sounds however they want. It doesn't have to really be them. But, I mean, anyone can do that in a bar, too. They could lie and say they're a cop when they're really a bartender. (Note: neither is better or worse, just examples to illustrate a point.) In the end, if I want to wait around and just "meet" someone, it's going to be hard. I don't go out very much, and when I do it's with my friends, and when I go out with my friends I want to see my friends, since I don't see them enough as it is. So meeting people is not something that's likely to happen. Internet dating just adds more opportunity. I'm still open to meeting people in other ways, I'm just working harder to get to my goal.

But I'm still iffy on the whole thing. I haven't paid any fees, just put my profile out there. And I'm being really picky, probably over-picky, but this is where I'm at with working hard enough to get this. I'm getting in the pool, very very slowly, dipping my toe in and taking it out, then maybe getting my feet wet, and seeing how the water feels. I'll let you know how it goes. (And I invite any testimonials or horror stories on the topic you feel like sharing from your own experience or your friends' experiences.)

In the meantime, all of this is to say, it's the summer of Krash! I'm reaching out, grabbing life by the horns, and taking it as far as I possibly can. Lots of fun, lots of going out (with both friends and dates), and being the best me I can be. Now that I'm in the "real world," I'm going for the brass ring, baby. I want it all - so look out.

=)