Tuesday, March 27, 2012

SBOH '12!!!!

Everyone get ready. Next week starts my spring break and I'm headed to the only place I know where I can drink all day, party all night, and do stupid stuff....OHIO!!! Just kidding (well at least about the the vast amounts of drinking and partying stuff). I will be in Ohio next week and I couldn't be more excited. I fly into Columbus the 2nd and will be there until the 4th with Gregory. On the 5th we're heading up to the city that I love, CLEVELAND for the Tribe home opener and will be there for a couple days. So if you want to hang out during that time, holler at your girl!

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Love,
Becky

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

What I've Realized From Anthony Bourdain

I've never particularly been a fan of Anthony Bourdain or his show No Reservations. Actually I've never watched his show until tonight (and after that I'm still not really a fan).

Anyways, it was another lonely, boring night in Livingston led me to Netflix. Since I've come to Livingston I've known Anthony filmed an episode here. I've seen his autograph in Pinky's while grabbing lunch. So on this boring night I finally decided to check his Livingston episode out. While scanning seasons to find the that particular episode I came across one he filmed in Cleveland. Longing for any glimpse
of my hometown I miss so dearly, I had to watch. Seeing/reading/hearing anything positive about Cleveland from an outsider always makes my heart smile. But that's not the point of my post, so I must move on. I could talk Cleveland all day.


After watching the Cleveland episode I moved on to the Livingston one which couldn't have been a more accurate illustration of where I currently reside. The beautiful scenery. Trout fishing. Dining on wild game. And of course the Murray Bar (one of my favorite establishments in town).

Watching this two episodes in succession really made think about something I've never thought about before. To someone who hasn't lived in both these place they would seem totally opposite, but living in Cleveland and Livingston has made me realize they are not as different as most people may think.

Yes the landscape is quite different. Livingston has mountains, miles upon miles of open field, and big sky. Cleveland has skyscrapers, concrete, and gray clouds, but now I see the parallels of both. And in my eyes both places are beautiful.

Cleveland's mountains are old steel mills and empty factories mixed with more modern buildings like Key Tower. Its fields are concrete parking lots, streets, and sidewalks. Its big sky is covered by gray clouds a majority of the time.


Just in the same Livingston's skyscrapers are the mountains, its concrete is prairie grass, and its gray clouds take the form of 40 mile and hour winds.

Both places are products of big industry and have suffered from that industry dying. In Cleveland it was the steel industry and in Livingston is was the railroads. The exodus of both these industries have lead to many negative aspects such as environmental pollution, emigration, and increased rates of poverty. But through all
the hardships people in both Cleveland and Livingston have remained resilient and this resiliency has spurred creativity, innovation, and new sources of economic revenue.

The people in both Cleveland and Livingston are those of a proud type not to be mistaken with pretentious or boastful. They are the real deal. What you see is what you get. No one is pretending to be someone they are not. This is something I value greatly in people I choose to associate with and I've had no problem finding it within a majority of the people I've met it both places.

I want to thank Anthony Bourdain for profiling both these places that I love on his show. Without him I would have never been able to realize just how similar these two different places I've lived in are. His show served as inspiration late tonight. And
while it nears midnight out here I've come to realize when inspiration strikes you must harness it as fast as you can because it can leave your quickly. I harness my inspiration in this blog and until I find a better outlet to do this, blogging will have to suffice.

As I mentioned I wrote this post late, so don't judge any extra spelling or grammer mistakes...I'm tired. Goodnight.

I <3 CLE & I <3 LIV

Love,
Becky

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Everyone deserves an emo rant once in a while....

So I know I haven't blogged in awhile and I apologize. Here are my 3 excuses...

#1 I've been busy.
#2 I just haven't felt like it.
#3 My Internet only likes to work when it feels like it.

Anyways a good amount has gone on the past month or so. Here's a quick recap.

#1. My boyfriend Greg came out to visit. Yes I have a boyfriend now. We had so much fun going to Chico Hot Springs, Yellowstone, and Missoula. It was the best week since I've been here. It was nice to have a real friend around to explore Montana with. Here are a couple pics...


(Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone)



(Boiling River, Yellowstone)



(Ten Spoon Winery, Missoula)


This guy is pretty awesome and he's even coming back in a couple weeks to visit again so I guess he really likes me!!!!

#2. Last weekend I went to Missoula with my friend Lindsay to catch this film called Cafeteria Man at the Big Sky Documentary Fest. The film is about Tony Geraci, a chef/nutritionist/business man/food activist that totally transformed Baltimore Public School's food. It was a great film and totally inspired me once again to do this kind of work in Cleveland eventually, but what was even greater was the fact that Tony was there! Lindsay and I were lucky enough to spend almost the entire day picking his brain with all things Farm to School. It's awesome because now I have a contact with one of the most influential Farm to School people in the country! Here's a pic of me, Tony, and Lindsay at a party that night.



#3. My friend Jim gave me his user name and password for his NBA League Pass account so now I'm able to watch basketball (as long as my Internet decides to work that day)!!! Who Hoo!!! Jim is my hero because I was going through serious basketball with drawl. Oh yeah and that reminds me, my kick ass boyfriend got me my first Cavs jersey for Valentine's Day. He rocks!



#4. My favorite student in one of my classes moved away. His name was Layne and he was definitely a "special" student. He was absolutely obsessed with bald eagles. His last day broke my heart. I'm going to miss that little guy. What I've learned from my short time teaching is that some kids touch your heart in a special way and Layne did that to me. I will never be able to look at a bald eagle again and not think of him :(


(The bald eagle finger puppet I got for Layne)


Okay so now that you're all updated on some of the important things I've been up to, it's time for my emo rant....

So basically I've come to the realization that Montana isn't the place for me. There's lots of things I love about it here don't get me wrong, but Montana just isn't "me". At first I thought I was just feeling the winter blues, but I don't think that's the case anymore. I've tried so hard to fit into the Montana lifestyle, but it's not me. I'm a city girl at heart. I miss dressing in a skirt and high heels and not getting made fun of for it. I miss my professional sports. I miss eating a nice restaurants. I miss DIVERSITY for goodness sake!

With all that being said, it's obvious I'm not staying in Montana. Although I have the opportunity to stay and do my AmeriCorps thing for another year, I just can't do it again and be completely happy. Yes I do love what I do and I know I'm making a positive difference for kids, however I'd just rather do it in a more urban environment. Not to mention living another year in poverty...no thanks. I think if I stayed another year I'd go completely crazy.

Sorry Montana, it was fun for awhile, but the honeymoon period has worn off and this relationship is over. It's not you, it's me.

That's for putting up that...

Good news is I will be back in Ohio the first week of April!!!! I'm so excited. I'll be in Columbus with Greg part of the time. Then we'll be up in Cleveland for the Tribe home opener and to see my family. Finally we're going to Indy to watch the Pacers/Thunder! I absolutely can't wait. Thinking about it is what keeps me going some days here when I'm absolutely bored out of my mind.

Well that's all for now, my poor fingers need a break. I promise it won't be so long until I do this again.

Love,
Becky