Marta's Bulletin

Funny Things

2009-09-01T11:21:00.003-04:00

A yearbook is a funny thing. Maybe funny isn't the right word. Most of the pages don't matter. Someone hands you the thing, and you aren't to read a single hand-written word. Everything you are holding in your hands belongs to the memory of the ownder, and it is strictly unshareable. You make your mark. If it's just a classmate you're acquainted with, something along the lines of "I loved being in (class) with you! Good luck next year at (school) !" will do. They are empty messages, thoughtlessly written to get through the stack, but you want countless amounts of such messages in there anyways. Sometimes, they'll branch out and insert "I'll never forget the time (teacher) yelled at us for (unacceptable behavior) ! Good times!"

Either way, it is the seeming novels that matter. Pages written in a tiny script in at least half an hour. They are the most honest messages friends ever need to tell each other. Such honest, though, only comes written as a parting messag. Such honesty never witnesses more than two pairs of eyes, the writer and the friend. There are millions, undoubtedly, of such messages scrawled through misty eyes, and no onebut one person will ever read them. They are the greatest secrets of our lifetime, and we keep them stacked in the basement only to be pored over by curious children years later. They do not bother reading the most valuable messages. Those honest words are safe because they are long and irrelavent. Not sad to them, not funny. Your kids weren't there, your kids don't remember. Maybe soon, given another couple years, you won't either.

But I'm not there yet, I've still got time to cherish memories only my eyes will register.

And before it's too late, I want to thank those that took the time to etch letters onto my pages (and with them, memories in my mind) - they may only make sense to one person, but that does not make them insignificant.

Thank Our #1 Fan

2009-08-23T16:11:00.000-04:00

This post is dedicated to our "#1 fan" (not my words) who requested that we update our bulletins. So here.

Actually, as much thanks as I have for our biggest fan, I want this post to be for all of the people I've met, talked to, crossed paths with, befriended, loved, and got to know in the past four years. Most of those people have impacted me, and I don't want to sound cheesy, but too late.

In exactly one week, I'll be moving into my dorm at NYU. As much as I want the next seven days to fly by, I realize that next Sunday, I'll think "Wow, that week went by fast." And so will every other week, and somehow my next four years will go by just as quickly. I don't think it's a good thing to be in conscious realization of the fast movement of time, because instead of living up the present moments, I'll be dwelling on the fact that it's going to be over in the next.

It's a habit I'm going to try to kick. My problem being that I worry too much about too much. I've got to settle on existing in the moment that is "now," let it come, and not be obsessed with the fact that it'll pass as soon as it came.

I don't know how much sense this is making to anyone, but writing it down might help me.

Anyways, I'm also determined to make the next 4 years the best of my life. I don't know where I'll be in 2013, what I will have planned for myself. Right now, though, I'm certain that I still have time to live more or less carefree (versus the popular 9-5 lifestyle that usually follows college). AND THAT'S WHAT I'M GONNA DO.

Okay, that's all. I'll try to update more often.

A Year in Review

2009-05-25T20:23:00.004-04:00

Today, I told a friend:

"at the beginning of the year, we had this huge mound we knew we'd have to tackle, and we were kind of... nonchalant about it. we knew it'd happen, but we just lived life, you know? and we applied to schools, and it was grueling (i can't believe we applied this year... wow) and we wanted it to be over. and then we waited, and senioritis hit. we finally got into schools, and now it's over. everything that we've been looking towards at senior sunrise is now coming to a close."

And that's really all I have to say on the matter because as much as I'm looking forward to the coming fall, I am in awe at how quickly it all unraveled.

April 9, 2009

2009-04-09T12:24:00.001-04:00

I have a problem with clichés.

Because when using one is actually fitting, you lose all seriousness and it's a very sad moment.

Envelope Glue!

2009-04-06T20:51:00.001-04:00

Between my two and a half hour nap, breakfast at three in the afternoon, and eating Girl Scout Cookies and ice cream, I feel utterly unproductive today. But I'm okay with that.

And yesterday, I decided on where I'm going to college. NYU 2013! Yup, yup.

I just licked my deposit envelope closed. I have never before been more comfortable with the taste of envelope glue.

In the land of sarcasm and AWESOMEness.

2009-03-16T21:36:00.007-04:00

The College Process:

1. Work hard since kindergarten. (This can be compared to climbing a mountain in the Himalayas.)

2. Be involved. (Help out the environment on the way, throw the trash in your backpack, push some rocks to the side to make the path better for people taking the hike behind you. But make sure people know YOU'RE the one who did it.)

3. Research schools. (Yeah, I don't really know how to fit this into my awesome metaphor.)

4. Applications, Essays. (Right about now, you're thinking about turning back, but in your 12 years of education, you've learned that if you're already halfway there, you might as well keep going to the end.)

5. Waiting on replies. (You're pretty much at the top, but there's no oxygen up there, so you're suffocating and it's very sad.)

6. Remember that financial aid is important. (Again with the lack of an awesome metaphorical comparison.)

7. Then, BAM! You get in! (And this is like getting back down where there's more room, there's people to talk to, and YOU CAN BREATHE GODDAMMIT!)

A little lobbying here and there...

2009-03-05T16:41:00.007-05:00

Tuesday night, lying in bed, I thought to myself, 'It'd be funny if I didn't set my alarm.' Well, I did set it, and to the appropriate time, too: 4:40AM. I just didn't turn it on. My dad woke me up at 5AM, and I rushed to get ready in fifteen minutes.

At 5:20 in the morning on Wednesday, I was to report to the administration building of school district. From there, a group of fifteen students, myself included, my AP Government teacher, the superintendent, and a local reporter, would take a school bus up to Albany and lobby against unfunded mandates that schools in New York must follow. Our district has no problem following these, and is one of the most compliant and effective. Yet, many of these mandates do not pertain to us, or are unnecessary, yet cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A vital detail: We did not take a four hour bus ride to ask for more money.

Set with specific examples, we were to meet with three of our representatives: Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick, NYS Senator John Flanagan, and NYS Senator Suzi Oppenheimer.

When we reached our state capitol, we took a tour of the building (extravagant and expensive), and then made our way to Assemblyman Fitzpatrick's office. I think he forgot that he was talking to people who will all be able to vote in the next election. Continuously dropping the metaphor that sounded like he pulled it out of a local gazette of, "taking off the rose colored glasses and putting on clear ones," we were told again and again that the state had no money to give us. We weren't asking for money. He also told us that there was not even another place would could take money from. We weren't asking for money. We were also told that if we were to get what we wanted, someone else would complain. That doesn't really matter because this is your job, but he did not really want to understand what we wanted, which was not money from him. Finally, he said that none of what we wanted could get done because he was now in the minority (he can be considered one of the most, if not the most, conservative assemblyman in Albany right now). Overall, we were treated like we were middle schoolers who did not understand politics (all of us are seniors in high school studying AP Gov), and we were told that our goals were impossible.

Maybe we weren't clear on what we wanted, as Assemblyman Fitzpatrick seemed to have no idea what we were lobbying for. Yet, during our last meeting, our main speaker was told that she was one of the best speakers they had heard, being clear, concise, and offering proof and evidence.

That day, one man lost at least fifteen votes in next year's election.

Senator Flanagan was next on our itinerary, and he rushed out of a meeting to hear us out. While he told us that he doesn't dance around anything, we heard about his children and children along with some of their notable endeavours, how much he loves our town (he is from the next town over), and asked us about our tour. He told us he agreed with all we were saying, and he was doing his best to do exactly what we wanted. He was a bit rushed and tight on time (though he obviously did have enough of it to tell us a little about his personal life...), but we did get our point across, and we learned that what Assemblyman Fitzpatrick told us was impossible, was actually... not.

We were then called to call his assistant when we finished with Senator Oppenheimer, and he would take us to the Senate, which is off bounds to the public. And then we'd take a picture, and everyone would receive a copy. How... political of him. Either way, we had much more of a pleasure talking to him than our first experience which left us feeling downtrodden.

After a short lunch, we learned that Senator Oppenheimer was unable to make the meeting, but we met with two of her representatives, who, even though they had only worked under the Senator for at most, two weeks, knew all of her stances. Those stances were very promising for us. The two women seeing us took diligent notes on all we had to say, all the numbers and statistics we offered them, and our solutions to the issue (they were the only ones to write all of this down).

The day improved as it went on, and we left with on a good note. But no matter how the day ended, we will not forget our meeting with Assemblyman Fitzpatrick (as you can probably tell, by the fact that I bring him up many a time).

And overall, this was a very good experience, seeing the functions of the government and how it actually goes through it's motions. As it always is, I learned more from this one day than any length of time in a classroom. And while politics is certainly not something I would like to go into, i have a better understand of how it all actually works, what the people are really like, and a more substantial opinion on the whole matter.

February 10, 2009

2009-02-10T17:07:00.000-05:00

I recently read about Bill Gates and his AWESOME plan to teach people a lesson about malaria.

Well, good. I bet the people at the TED2009 Conference were worried that the mosquitoes Bill Gates released during the discussion had the disease. They were probably all scrambling to get out of the room in fear. What a waste of keeping mosquitoes trapped in a jar.

It actually sounds like a very Michael Scott (of the Office) thing to do. Or maybe even Dwight Schrute, who on a recent episode set the office on fire to teach his co-workers about fire safety. He nearly killed a guy who suffered from a heart attack.

What an idiot (that refers to... yeah, draw your own conclusions).

Read the full story here.

January 21, 2009

2009-01-21T17:01:00.005-05:00

Never before has time moved this quickly for me. But maybe a few updates on my life before all I hear is the sound of it moving past me?

I, like many others, was moved by yesterday's Inauguration. It's a bizarre feeling to know that there was a major shift of power just last night, and yet, we're all here. Every four years or so such a shift happens, yet, America succeeds in a peaceful transition each time, something unheard of in some other countries, and even in our own only a few hundred years ago. It's also momentous time for my generation, because this is really the first time we are witnessing such an event with our memory completely useable. At ten, I didn't really think much of presidential elections. But I wish President Obama the best of luck!

Since the new year, I've started a... project I guess in which I take one photograph a day. You can see my progress here. Unfortunately, I went over my upload limit for the month, so I can't update that until February. But I have indeed so far taken 21 pictures. I consider it a success. (The picture below is the one from today. If I can't post it on Flickr at the moment, I'll put it here.)

But I feel good about this year. In tone with Obama's inauguration, it's definitely going to be a year of change. I'll be moving on to an independant existance, along with thousands of other high school seniors. But I'm excited.

There's a Killers show in Madison Square Garden this Sunday. I'll be there. I'll also be at the Bishop Allen show on April 5. Concerts give me things to look forward to, and somehow, time goes by faster when I've got a show schedule. Before I know it, it'll be Sunday. And then April 5 (and maybe some other dates in between?).

And everything seems to be a final hurrah before I leave the people I grew up with.

December 1, 2008

2008-12-01T17:00:00.001-05:00

As far as awkward days go, today is up there.

Archery is first on the list. I mean, when you're shooting arrows at a target in gym class, you kind of pretend to be Robin Hood and you kind of imagine the target to be... people and things you dislike (isn't this a proven way to relieve stress and take out your anger?). "Oh! I got his nipple!" Now that I think about it, that's a pretty awkward thing to say.

Then in seminar I got to deliver the line "no food, no razors" to several classes. Peer support was delivering boxes for students to collect toiletries for needy families... but "no food and no razors. Food goes to the food drive, and razors are just a bad idea."

I won't talk about how I was told to "shut up for once," but just imagine it being awkward.

And at lunch... I was asked by a male whether I go to a gynecologist. Out of nowhere. Not that there is a place that the question should come from... but I just told him that our conversation ended right there.

In AP Gov, we got to discuss our morals by being asked questions like "If you dented someone's car in the middle of the night, what would you do?" Some of our morals are crumbling. But what can you do?

Finally, I attempted to hop the fence back to school after track about fifteen times and couldn't. I have friends that make me laugh, and when I laugh, I lose all control of my muscles.

I like how I omitted the most awkward and embarrassing and innappropriate parts of my day.

But I'm the one who gets to pick what to write... so HA.

Sometimes, I wonder about our society.

2008-11-28T16:58:00.002-05:00

I found some interesting things to share today.

First of all, I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and they didn't go to sleep feeling too sick.

And second, I hope no one killed anyone trying to rush to get into a store to buy STUFF. I'm kind of ashamed for us this time of year, especially today. To be trampled to death by shoppers at six in the morning is... I don't even have a word for it. And what must the world around us think when they hear of stories such as these? That we're terribly materialistic? But really, to kill someone in a rush to buy shit you don't need is embarrassing. (The story of the Wal-mart worker's death is here.)

On a more happy-holiday-spirit note, a zoo in Illinois is selling ornaments made from reindeer... droppings, I guess (I'll just use the word the article used). They're actually kind of pretty if you don't think about where they comes from.

And one more interesting thing. This isn't funny, or at least it wasn't in 1942. Now it just seems so pathetic you kind of have to laugh. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was cancelled that year and the balloons were melted back to rubber to help out with the war. For the 650 pounds of rubber, the Red Cross War Fund of Greater New York got a check for $12. There's a list of "10 Things That Have Deflated the Macy's Parade" here on mental_floss.

Okay, whatever. That's all. Have a nice Thanksgiving weekend and don't kill anyone. Please. Please. Please. And get over going out to shop and spending hundreds (thousands, maybe?). JUST GET OVER IT.

October 20, 2008

2008-10-20T16:57:00.001-04:00

It's been nearly a month since I've last updated this page. And it's been kind of slow here in general... I'm terribly sorry. College applications are taking over my life. Hazel's, too. I just tell myself it'll all be over soon. And then I think about all the things I have to look forward to.

Friday, I'm going to the Killers concert at the Hammerstein. Then, in less than a month, I have to remind you that I'm seeing Conor Oberst. November 8th and 9th. Thanksiving towards the end of that month. I'll try to plow through December (I'm getting my early admission decision then...), but we have two weeks off for Christmas and New Year's. Woohoo!

Oh, and my birthday is November 6.

But until I send my application for early decision, I can't let it all take over me. I will have that done this week.

healthy for the heart.

2008-09-21T16:56:00.001-04:00

People have been saying that dark chocolate is good for the heart (the actual organ, not the metaphorical one, though, I think it's good for both). Now, there's scientific proof: Chocolate Helps Heart Stay Healthy. Just an excuse to eat more of it. I personally recommend Lindt dark chocolate (70% is the way to go). You can find that stuff almost anywhere, and it is so amazingly good. So much better than the milk chocolate... for lack of a better word... shit. =)

September 21, 2008

2008-09-21T16:55:00.002-04:00

This morning, I was wondering about the social connections of teenagers today. Every day, adolescents spend hours on their computers, and amid doing other things (like homework, watching videos on YouTube, googling Hugh Laurie, listening to music on iTunes, and... wow I can think of hundreds of more things), they chat with their friends. Is instant messaging (and the Internet in general) hurting the social skills of today's youth? And what about cell phones? They aren't really used for talking anymore, but text messaging. Has the information generation become anti-social?

I think not. Fifty years ago, kids were pushed out of the house and told not to return until dinner time. Now? If I don't call home to say that I'll be home twenty minutes late from school, I get yelled at. Of course I think this is a little ridiculous being as I stay after every single day. So I either have to give my exact location every step I take, or just stay home. For my parents, me staying home is easier; they know the farthest I'll go is from the computer to the bathroom, maybe make my way to the fridge and curl up in front of the tv. But if I'm going to my friends house, who knows where else I might go?

So if going out is no longer totally supported by parents, how else can I spend time with my friends? iChat. And if I'm not at the computer, I can update my friends with my news and whereabouts quickly with a text. Maybe ask ten people at once if they're free Friday night. And no awkward conversations when all you want to say is "I have work tomorrow at 4." Maybe the conversations are awkard because with this technology, we no longer have the skills to make conversation interesting. I believe this, too, is untrue. I can always find something to talk about with my friends.

I just believe that times have changed, and my generation has just had to adapt to it. We haven't grown farther apart, but are attempting to come closer together.

September 15, 2008

2008-09-15T16:54:00.000-04:00

My last year in public school started just two weeks ago. I'm not sure if it's passing me by quickly, or drudging on slowly. There isn't time enough for me to stop and think about it. There isn't time enough for me to enjoy the last year I will have with my friends. Right now, the one night that sticks out in my mind is the one we played Pictionary and it took the teams ten minutes (not an exaggeration, it definitely wasn't shorter) to get the word 'meet.'

I hope I'll have many more ten minute times I'll remember without needing pictures to recall before it's all over.

seniors oh nine.

2008-09-03T16:53:00.002-04:00

Is it enough to say that the finite-ness of time has finally hit me?

(Hazel's on the left, I'm on the right.)

some cute-ism.

2008-09-01T16:52:00.001-04:00

I woke up yesterday morning to the sound of Chef Oskar (above, duh) tiptoeing around me. The cutest-almost-three-year-old was probably sent down to wake me up. I opened my eyes and he was walking back and forth in front of me, unsure of what to do. I smiled, and the first words out of his mouth where:

"Where is the ball?"

After he found it, I got up and went to my backpack. My clothes weren't actually in the bag, but strewn across the floor. Oskar quite plainly told me that someone had to clean up.

[note: my cutest-almost-three-year-old-nephew is actually tri-lingual. Polish with his dad (my brother), German with his mom, and English with his babysitter. All the talking he does to me is in Polish. The things he says in Polish are much cuter than the English translation.]

if you can read, read the instructions.

2008-08-27T16:51:00.000-04:00

My friend, Julianne, poured the little packet of mix into her cup and added water.

"Wow."

She pours half the glass into the sink, and adds more water.

"Does anyone want some of this?"

I say that I'll take some. She fills my glass up halfway, and I add water.

"Holy crap. That's still sweet."

Message on the wrapper: "Makes 2 quarts! ... Add 2 quarts (8 cups) of cold water, stir to dissolve."

i love my job.

2008-08-26T16:51:00.001-04:00

I drove up to my workplace (a bowling alley. yay.) at 1030 in the morning, and saw no cars in the parking lot. I tried each door all around the building. All closed. I got slightly hopeful. Maybe for whatever reason that I didn't care for, the place was closed today, and I wouldn't have to deal with some of the very... annoying people that pass through there. I called the place from my cell phone, looking slightly dumb standing in an empty parking lot, and byt the sixth ring, was pretty sure the place was closed for the day. I excitedly started rushing back to the car. And then I hear, "Thank you for calling Commack Vet Lanes, Dina speaking, how may I help you?" "It's me. Marta." "Oh, hi, Marta!" Her voice was a little to excited consdering this was work we were talking about. "I have a party at 11, but all the doors are closed." "Hold on, I'll be right there once I finish in the back. I'll meet you at the front."

Turns out that I didn't even know that the place opens at 11. I love my job and care for it very much. Obviously.

the typical summer day i missed in poland.

2008-08-25T16:50:00.001-04:00

Having woken up a little past 10, I'm pretty sure I'm back to my good old eastern time. I was actually planning on not changing out of my pajamas for the whole day, but I was pulled out to go birthday gift shopping. I love not shopping! Trudging pointlessly from store to store gets me into a mood that could be mistaken for PMS. But I've been trying to keep myself under control. I think I did a pretty good job today. And shopping was successful, at least for the gift gettee. Oh, and I got to utilize my driving skills for the first time in six weeks. Felt good.

paying for cultural differences.

2008-08-04T16:49:00.001-04:00

Some things in life should be free. Really, some things are not to be paid for. Like the right to be able to pee in a bathroom and try on a pair of shoes. But no. In Poland, many times, people are forced to pay for these simple things. Converting the price to dollars, to use the bathroom prices have varied from 75 cents to a dollar. It may not seem like much, but when you really have to pee, every penny counts.

And you know those one-use socks that lie around every corner of a shoe store in the US? Some shoe stores in Poland offer one sock for 75 cents. So you try on a shoe for 75 cents and ask for another sock to try on the other shoe. "That will be another 1.50 zloty, or you can just use that sock on your other foot."

You even have to pay for those stupid plastic grocery bags at some stores. The price for one plastic bag is 50 cents, which is 50 cents more than you'd pay anywhere else. It's a good idea, it may force some people to reuse their bags. Or, you won't ever go back there ever again. As is the case with my family, who drives the extra mile to go to a store with free grocery bags because by the time we realize we forgot the bags at home, no one feels like going back to get them. Nice try, but this is totally impractical.

the wait.

2008-06-30T16:48:00.001-04:00

I was in the car with my mom today, and I started talking about something that came up a few days ago. All I could say was "I can't believe it." She stared at the road in front of her, and I thought I'd try expanding. "I," I started," I... can't believe it." Really, there wasn't anything else I could say. I really couldn't believe it.

I'm going to see Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes, though this is going to be a solo tour) November 8th and 9th. I found out he was playing in New York City the day the dates were posted, and the tickets went on sale the next day. I'm there in 4 months.

His are the songs I love for the lyrics that tell the most beautiful stories. I don't know how I am going to cope with the four month wait. I made a mixtape for the car recently, and after I bought tickets to the shows, whenever one of his songs played, I didn't know what to do with myself. I was actually going to meet the mind behind the melodies. I am still in shock. And I'll probably stay in shock until... I don't know. I don't see myself believing it even at the show.

Really, that's all I wanted to say. My disbelief. It all just happened so fast. One night I learned of the shows and the next day tickets went on sale. And I got them. And now, we wait.

June 22, 2008

2008-06-22T16:47:00.001-04:00

There are times I want to dance and scream my favorite songs on the top of my lungs, feel the beat reverberating in my entire body. I'd make an idiot out of myself in those moments. But they only come in times when I don't have anyone to dance with. Sometimes I feel like going out and asking someone to dance with m

Then there are people who when you start to make a fool of yourself, others staring with narrowed eyes, whisper, "You look like an idiot."

You look like an idiot.

Isn't that it? The point. Isn't that the point? That I don't care. I am rarely carefree, and the moment comes along, and you tell me I look like an idiot? In this precise moment, I don't care. I simply don't. Yet, I give in. "Okay, I'll stop."

Okay, I'll stop.

The person I'm looking for is someone who let's me be that person that doesn't care what others think. It's just for a brief moment that I open myself up and I wish I could be that person more. I don't open up, period. I don't like to talk about my feelings. I don't like to talk about my thoughts. Not the ones that really matter in life, anyways. Everything I do say (and post) in public is crazily vague or something less important than something that makes me cry. Crying is too much of a weakness to me. Naked. I feel naked.

Naked.

All I can hope for is to find someone who will hold me when I can't hold it in any longer. And I'm grateful for the friends who let me crack open for a brief moment.

Dance with me. In bright lights where everyone can see. And let's scream on the top of our lungs.

not really much of an introduction.

2008-06-09T16:44:00.000-04:00

The problem with people is they can't see that everyone is having a hard time. We don't listen, we don't care, we don't bother. Why? Because our problems are obviously worse than anyone else's. And I'm not being sarcastic. As cliche as this may sound, it's all relative. For someone who was spoon-fed their life, the slight dent in the silverware might be a problem. While others don't even have a spoon to dent. So what's that dent to them? But we can't judge others' problems.

I read a postsecret recently: "Be kind - for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

As annoyed as you might be at someone complaining about their grain of sand of a situation, they might not have known worse. Are they to ignore what is wrong? No, the essence of human life is feeling. Feeling things like love, hate, anger, happiness, worry, fear, sadness, and a whole range in between. We have this range of emotion not so we can escape the monotony of a constant happiness. What is it to be happy when you have known nothing else?

There are people with bigger and smaller problems. But to that one person, their one problem is bigger than anything anyone could ever imagine. And you don't know what they're going through. You only know you. So it's best we get to know someone, be kind to them, and help them out, no matter the state of their spoon.

On a sidenote, today, the 26th of May, I purchased nail polish the closest I could ever get to my favorite color (TEAL!). Since the website's color swatch is does not do the color justice, all I can say is that it looks like this. And metallic. Wonderful, isn't it? No one makes teal colored nail polish. Turned Up Turquoise is the closest they get.