
November 13. I’m glad to be a woman with a modern, career-oriented lifestyle. The pictured quote from Marina Abramovic pretty much sums up how I feel. I think the word “feminist” has come to have a negative connotation. Can’t I just be a strong and independent human being? What should my successes and failures have to do with being a woman?

November 14. The “Thrift Shop” song by Macklemore. Now I don’t have to live in shame anymore (Just kidding, I have no shame)! Thrift shopping is fun and it helps the community, not to mention that is satisfies my need to own cool things without paying full price.

November 15. I am reluctantly thankful for the Intercounty Connector. I have the same love-hate relationship with this road as most PG-MC commuters. The idiotically low speed limit and disproportionately high toll work together to quickly get me to work and separate me from my paycheck. Others may choose to rip their hair out on the Beltway for free, but I like to have a chance of making it to my 8:30 am job before noon. Intercounty Connector- Raping your EZ-Pass since 2011.

November 18. Yes, the people are snooty and the traffic patterns are monumentally asinine (see what I did there), but I am happy to live near a cultural capital with so many incredible museums and fun events. The town I grew up in has less than 5 traffic lights, so you can imagine my excitement.

November 19. I’m thankful for all of the time I have ever spent at the beach. I worked in Ocean City, Maryland for five years and it seems like such a lifetime ago since graduating and getting an office job. Here is a picture of my friend Nicole and I in the Assawoman Bay, digging for clams and getting dodged by passing boats. The cooler is tethered to a surfboard, in case you were wondering. This was in 2009 but I remember almost getting run over by the “Judith M” tourism boat like it happened this morning.

November 22. Via Ferrata. I am the speck in the pink raincoat in the middle of the bridge of death. Unfortunately this Via Ferrata has changed hands and become super expensive, but I’ll never forget the way our group challenged ourselves to climb that course and how we all succeeded and celebrated together. Via Ferrata means “iron way,” and this course is literally a series of rungs and rope bridges winding around a mountain in Nelson Rocks, WV. How come every time I do something terrifying, I am in West Virginia?

November 30. Today I am glad that I got to spend some time with my grandmother, Betty. We hit all of the hot spots around town: Denny’s, Hobby Lobby and the mall. Here’s a picture of Betty chillin with my grandfather in the 70’s. Rent is due tomorrow and I spent all my money on Hobbit-themed breakfasts for us at Denny’s, but that’s the life of an OG.