Holly Grande: Short and Sweet

Since moving back home, New Year’s Eve hasn’t had the same appeal as it did in college. The party invitations sound fun, but they’re from near strangers whom I haven’t spoken to since high school. At the same time, my friends from college who fill the memories of “remember that time!” and “did you see that?” grow stranger all the time. We text salutations and congratulations when Facebook updates remind us that we used to be bestest friends, but it’s getting harder.

Our lives are oversaturated with communication, but it gets harder and harder to just talk. The memories will always be there, but the miles between us relegate them to the back of our minds as jobs and families and new friends need the space.

With those melancholy thoughts, my new year was bittersweet. I spent it with my family, whom I am so lucky to have. We watched movies and drank champagne, but even the happy, fizzy buzz from my wineglass couldn’t turn my thoughts from the simple fact that I am 24 years old, and instead of being out with my friends, who all seemed to have awesome jobs and boyfriends and apartments, I was sitting at home—where I still live.

I felt like a Taylor Swift song, all what-ifs and never-beens and hometown sad stories. Woe unto me, the women-childe unemploy’ed, for the kingdom of my parent’s basement shall be mine now and forever. Amen.

It took a week to snap out of it.

The fact of the matter is this: I am still young and awesome and I have my whole life ahead of me. Sure, I am still living in my childhood bedroom, but so what? Plenty of people are, and it’s a smart economic decision: I do the shopping, cooking and cleaning and I save about $800 a month. I shouldn’t be ashamed to admit that I come home to a family that cares about me and lives in a 20 minute radius to my work and university.

That’s another thing to be proud of: Not only am I an MBA candidate, I am an MBA candidate paying her own way through school by teaching dance, tutoring kids and working for the Alumni Office. That’s pretty kickass, if I may use language I can’t use in front of the kids. I get to do something I love while I earn my Masters so I can do even more things I love.

I may not be where I expected to be in my five-year plan, but the place I am in is pretty awesome. I have a supportive family, part-time work I enjoy and the belief that I am going to get somewhere, even if it takes a little longer than I expected.

Posted by Holly at 9:58 PM 0 comments  

Labels: career, communication, family

At some point between my high school graduation and my first day of college, my grandmother discovered e-mail.

Okay, that is not a completely accurate statement. My dad worked in IT for years, and so my grandparents have had a computer and internet access since AOL used to send diskettes in the mail. In fact, my first e-mail account was tied to my grandmother's AOL account, and one of the highlights of our Sunday family dinners was the 45 minutes I got to log on to the teen chat rooms.

But my grandmother didn't start e-mailing me regularly until I started college and moved hundreds of miles away. With so many classes and so much to do, e-mail became the way we chatted.

Grandma's e-mails are usually short and sweet, with lots of blinking graphics and lowercase letters. I love getting them, even the chain e-mails. My grandma updates me on family gossip news, what's going on in her life and her work teaching Mahjong at the community center.

The best e-mails, though, are the chain letters. Sometimes political, often politically incorrect, my grandmother has become the queen of forwarded messages. She usually includes a little note, but sometimes the block of e-mail addresses including everyone from my mom to my second cousin, once removed is all the message I need.

These days, e-mail is so much easier than writing a letter or making a phone call, and I think we take for granted the people in our lives. I may not always read the chain e-mails my grandmother forwards to me, but seeing her e-mail address in my inbox always makes me smile (and pick up the phone to say hi.)

Posted by Holly at 9:57 AM 0 comments  

Labels: communication, family

Today, the last episode of Reading Rainbow aired. Honestly, I had no idea, and wouldn't have known at all if blogger Sadie hadn't written about the show at Jezebel--I didn't even know that the show was still on air. Now that I've found out, I'm a little sad.

Reading Rainbow was a huge part of my childhood. I was already an avid reader as a kid, and I loved it when the kids reviewed books that *I* had already read (I was kinda brat, too). I used to tell my mom that I wanted to go on Reading Rainbow so that I could present my favorite book.

LeVar was amazingly cool, too. He was like a cool uncle who would take you to Broadway shows or the Renaissance Faire or on a trip to a museum. I remember wanting to visit all those places. In fact, as an adult, my mental list of places to go and see is made up of many of the places that LeVar visited--and I am fortunate to have had the chance to cross them off my list, too.

I think Sadie did a really good job talking about why we liked it so much. Along with Bill Nye, The Electric Company and Blues Clues, I think Reading Rainbow is up there with some of the most influential and memorable kids shows from our childhoods. I am sure there will be new shows that our kids will always remember, but Reading Rainbow was something special.

But you don't have to take my word for it...



Did you watch Reading Rainbow as a kid? What were your other favorite shows?

Posted by Holly at 10:23 PM 1 comments  

Labels: books, family

I don't think Little brother reads my blog, but if he does: Quick, Little bro! Go here.

Little brother is turning twelve this year. I've thought he was twelve for, like, the last two years, but, nope, he's finally in sixth grade this year and on December 3, we'll be celebrating his 12th birthday.

Little bro has hit a few milestones this year, too. He has more responsibilities, like taking care of monster puppy and doing more chores. Even our relationship is changing--he talks to me like a teenager now, and less like a little kid. We talk, really talk, about movies and World of Warcraft and how his friend built a really cool world on Little Big Planet. He'll even call me out of the blue to tell me, "Soooooo Holly, I saw you reached level 60 on Persea--good job!"

(But he's not too old to hint that I should pay for next months subscription to WoW since it would clearly benefit us both. That's his character, a Night Elf Hunter, to the right.)

It's weird--I remember when I was 12 and my mom had just given birth to little bro. My friends and I were fighting that year, bell bottoms were back in style and Mariah Carey was our siren hero. I also got my first kiss that year on our sixth grade trip--a boy named Chris. Someone tattled to the chaperons, so we were the reason that boys and girls couldn't sit together on the bus ride home.

(It was just a peck!)

Even though things aren't exactly like they were when I was twelve, I think there are a lot of similarities. As the official Cool Older Sister (TM), I'm giving him the boys' equivalent of Our Bodies, Ourselves for his birthday. That, and $20 to spend (I'm not sure which he'll like more, hah!).

Part of me is dreading the inevitable embarrassment I know he is going to feel when I give him the book, but at the same time I am really excited and proud that my little brother is almost a teenager--he's a real person. It'll be neat to see him grow up, and I hope he knows he can come to me for anything.

Posted by Holly at 8:43 AM 3 comments  

Labels: family

I hope you all had a very happy New Year. I kept mine pretty low-key this year. I was invited to a couple of parties, but by the time I got home, I was so tired I decided to order in and watch a couple of movies.

I saw The Fall, which is by the same director behind one of my favorite visually stunning flicks The Cell. It has Lee Pace in it, and he is very good--and very different from his role as the charming pie maker who can wake the dead.

This morning I slept in and enjoyed waking after the sun rise. I organized my desktop, cleaned my room, and set up my to-do list for the weekend. It's nice to have some time off. I took a vacation over Christmas, but I spent it at my parents. As wonderful as it is to see my family, they are very tiring!

We went up to my dad's cabin for the holiday. My dad is a contractor, and he has been working on this cabin as a pet project for the past three years or so. It is just about done, and so my parents decided to host Christmas at the cabin in the middle of the woods. It was very neat! No snow, but the weather was gorgeous. Little Brother set up a swing in the backyard, and he and the Monster Puppy had a blast getting lost in the woods (although he was a little disappointed he couldn't play World of Warcraft because there was no Internet).

I think the big plan is for my parents to retire up there, but that won't be for many, many years. In the mean time, they said I can go up there whenever I want. Sweet!

I was very happy to return to work this week. We have a few big projects ahead of us, and I am excited to get started on them. Come January 10, I will have been with Edelman for two months, and I hope to stick around for many more.

2009 looks like it will be a good year for me, and I hope yours are, too!

Posted by Holly at 6:44 PM 2 comments  

Labels: career, family

I have tweeted about the naughty things Monster Puppy has done (she is currently sleeping on my feet), but she doesn't come close to Marley. Check out the trailer.



I can't wait for this movie to come out. The book by John Grogan is an amazing read, especially if you have had a naughty dog of your own. Marley's antics reminded me of Monster Puppy, who has devoured slippers, socks, hair bands, and a pair of pearl earrings that I never got back. No dog toys have been a match for her, and she particularly likes the onces with tiny squeakers that she can march around the house with in her mouth. My parents finished basement is missing a large expanse of rug where she found a single lose yarn and pulled it. But I love my naughty puppy. She still things she is a lap dog, all 90 pounds of her.

I was absolutely bawling by the time I finished Grogan's memoir. Marley & Me tops my list of movies to see this year.

Do you have a naughty dog of your own?

Posted by Holly at 2:53 PM 5 comments  

Labels: books, family, movies

After the car debacle yesterday, Sistergirl and I took Schmendrick to our mechanic and she drove me to her apartment in Atlanta. I am staying with her for the rest of the week in Atlanta, sleeping on her couch. I feel like I'm in college again.

Last night, I drove to training at the theatre. I was surprised by how old the staff was. There was one high school age kid, but he was there with his mom, who will also be selling merchandise. The rest of the staff are, well, adults. I think I am one of the youngest there. Most of the folks are professionals, and aspiring actors, who are working to fill up time.

I am definitely excited to start. I have had no income coming in for months, and it is killing me: Gas prices alone have drained most of what was left in my bank account. Poor Schmendrick will eat up the rest.

A former professor told me once that when you leave school, your job is to find a job. I completely agree, but what he failed to impress upon me was just how difficult it is. Firms don't want to hire you unless you can prove your worth (often in an unpaid internship). I am learning that first-hand.

The stint with Wicked is only four weeks, to tide me over while I interview, interview and interview some more. I have an interview coming up on Thursday, and I am looking forward to it. We'll see how it goes.

Dan Schawbel at the Personal Branding Blog has a great entry today on putting in your dues for the experience and networking that will land you your dream job. He has some great advice, and I definitely recommend you check this entry out.

Posted by Holly at 12:23 PM 1 comments  

Labels: career, family, Schmendrick

As I promised on Twitter, here is my account of the adventure sistergirl and I had last night.

I left for Atlanta at around 5 o' clock, planning to pick up my sister at tech and get to Little Five a little after 6. Now, Atlanta isn't the hardest city to drive in, but it certainly isn't one of the easiest. First, we don't have shoulders; second, people don't signal when they want to changed lanes or turn; and, third, even our roads have NO IDEA where they are going. These points all factor in to the first part of our adventure.

I get off at the exit for Tech, which is really two exits squished together (Exit 252: You know what I am talking about). It is a very difficult exit. I stay to the left, putting my signal on and waiting for the adjoining road to clear to I can cross the street and get to Tech. Unfortunately, my turn signal (and the approaching SUV on the adjoining road) must not have been clear enough for the driver behind me, because she decides that I am not making that turn, and therefore she must pass me on the RIGHT to make that turn herself.

Fortunately, after the SUV passed, no other cars were coming, and an accident was avoided, but if I thought this was to be the least of my car troubles, I was sadly mistaken.

I turned up my radio, having lowered it when I reached the very difficult exit, and continue to rock out to MmmBop. I navigated Schmendrick (that's my car's name) through the Tech campus without too much trouble (and avoided racking up points for Death Race). Finally, I pulled up in front of studio and wait for my sister. We are on our way to Hanson-y goodness.

"Hey, Holly...you're car is smoking."

"...what?"

Clouds of white steam billowed from the trunk of my car. We were minutes (Minutes!) away from Little Five Points and our vaguely feminine yet dashingly handsome destination. But I was not worried: I have seen this before. Like MacGueyver, I cranked up the heat, rolled down the windows, put on my hazards and slowed the vehicle to 35 miles per hour. The five minute drive may have taken us fifteen, but there was NO way I was missing my boys.

We got to the playhouse and managed to get the last parking spot behind the theatre. It was partially taken by a pile of rugs (seriously), and it may not have been a legitimate space at this point, but it had a number and, with my $6, I claimed it mine.

Sistergirl and I took a peek at the line outside the playhouse, and seeing it wasn't too bad, I popped the hood to take a look at the car. It looked like I had run low on coolant, and I prayed that was the only issue.

"You know what," I said, "We can deal with this later. The car is too hot to do anything, and I am not missing this show."

The sistergirl agreed, and we jumped in line.

The concert was a blast. Everybody Else and The Veronicas opened, and they were great too, but, man, when Hanson walked out on stage... They put on a fantastic live show. Those boys are talented.

The concert finally ended at midnight, and sistergirl and I headed back to the car to see what we can do. Now, alone, each of us can do our thing, and we are quite good at figuring things out. But together? We are two parts of the three stooges.

I don't know what was wrong with us, but first neither of us can pop the cap to the container for the coolant. Once we solve that, I tell her to grab the flashlight and take a look to see if the tank is leaking.

The flashlight power cord won't unwind. We stand there, in heels and makeup, trying to get this stupid flashlight to unwind. Finally, I say screw it and use the light from the streetlamp. The tank looks fine.

(Meanwhile, another automotive drama is unfurling in the van next to us as a group of five borderline sketchy boys try to figure out how to get the boot off the wheel of the van. Finally, someone who worked at the lot grabbed the key and freed their vehicle.)

We decide that I will drop my sister off and take the car 50 minutes north so my dad can take a look. I crank up the heat, roll down the windows and take off at an astounding 50 mph.

I do have to say, that drive was the most relaxing highway drive I have ever had. (Aside from the nervous glances at the left side of my hood).

The fifty minute drive took me an hour and a half, but I made it home safely and crawled into bed at 2 in the morning.

I am not sure what we're going to do with my car now. I start work at my part-time tonight, and I'll need to drive into Atlanta. Worst-case-scenario, my sister will have to come pick me up and I will live on her couch for the week until my car is fixed.

I guess we'll see.

What is your weirdest car catastrophe?

Posted by Holly at 10:59 AM 1 comments  

Labels: family, Schmendrick

I am sure I don't need to tell you just how important it is to vote, but just in case, here are a few links I have come across.

Register to vote here at RocktheVote.

Find out of you are registered to vote, your polling location, local state rules and other information here. (Disclaimer: Site is affiliated with the Obama Campaign.)

Find your poll or registration location here.

Check your voter registration status and register here (Thanks Lis! Site affiliated with MoveOn.org).

Learn more about the candidates and their take on key issues here, or at their official websites.

Barack Obama
John McCain
Cynthia McKinney
Bob Barr

Go vote. :)

Posted by Holly at 12:58 PM 0 comments  

Labels: career, communication, family, friends

Littlebrother came home and, upon seeing my dog in her fancy Halloween costume, decided he wanted to dress up after all.



He even drew on a little peach fuzz beard. Too cute.

Posted by Holly at 6:28 PM 0 comments  

Labels: family, halloween

Excellent! Twitter is back up.

I want to show off my 95 lb monster puppy, Brio. She's all dressed up in her costume for Halloween this year. My mom liked to tease me while I was still in college; she'd say, "We need to dress Brio up and send her on the plane with you. We'll tell people she's your Grandma, like in Scooby Doo!"

Posted by Holly at 4:34 PM 2 comments  

Labels: family, halloween

What is up with Twitter? I want to tweet! :)

Finished up some research for Who's In Fashion TV. I'm working on a couple of blog posts, or at least a guide for the new interns. I have a massive folder of fantastic local and national finds. Someone joked that 97% of the U.S. population sells jewelry online and, well, that may be an overstatement, but I am amazed by how much talent is out there. My favorite find is still Chimera Fancies, who is gearing up for a Halloween sale later this month.

I have been working from home this week. With gas prices so high, I am spending about $50 a week on my poor little Saturn. My wallet is hurting, and my social life is nil.

Fortunately, this Saturday is Museum Day, so I will be taking Littlebrother to the Center for Puppetry Arts for the Jim Henson exhibit. He doesn't know where we're going yet, and I hope he'll have some appreciatation for the genius behind Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street and the Dark Crystal, among others. Littlebrother likes to act like he is too cool for everything, but just a few years ago he loved Elmo's World.

I figure at least he'll admit to thinking the scary, adult puppets are kinda cool. It's too bad none of the tween and teen shows are running this week at the theatre, or I'd take him to one of those. Maybe we will have to prequel the outing with some Labyrinth, or perhaps a couple of the tamer clips from Avenue Q to hype him up that puppets are cool.

And speaking of Fraggle Rock, did anyone catch the new Robot Chicken last Sunday? Loved it. Man, I grew up with Fraggle Rock, and the boys behind the Adult Swim series must have some love for the Jim Henson Creature Shop classic. My favorite Muppet ever, though, is still Grover (and Super Grover). Yay! :)

I'll take for granted that you all watched some sort of Muppet series when you were a kid. Who was your favorite Muppet?

Posted by Holly at 4:07 PM 0 comments  

Labels: career, family

The sistergirl and I have started looking for our own place. Realistically, we won’t need to find a house or condo until next summer, but we’ve started the process.

Currently, sistergirl lives in her college dorm with her best friend, and I live in my parents’ basement. I love my parents, and I am grateful for their generosity (Free food AND rent free? YES). However, the walls of my basement abode are slowly closing in.

Here’s an example. I like to wake up for work at 8 a.m. so I can leave at 9 and get to the office at 10. Littlebrother wakes up at 6:30 a.m. so he can be at the bus stop at 7:10 a.m. What does this mean for me? I wake up at 6:35 a.m. when littlebrother clamors down the stairs with the dog and starts making himself breakfast. At 7:08, the dog comes downstairs to visit me and steal the high heel I mistakenly left on the carpet instead of putting it in the closet. What follows is a five minute chase scene worthy of Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.

And so, the sistergirl and I have started looking at our own place.

It’s really interesting to see all the listings on craigslist. A lot of them have fantastic prices…and little disclaimers that state: “As is! Seller non-disclosure!” Not exactly what we’re looking for. When I lived in Boston, the apartment hunt was very easy. In fact, it went something like this:

Cassy: Holly, do you need a place to stay next year?
Holly: Yes, as a matter of fact I do!
Cassy: Great! Jen is moving out, so we need a roommate.
Holly: I can BE that roommate! Yay!
Cassy: Yay!

The Atlanta hunt is a little more complicated. There are a huge amount of questions to be answered—do we want an apartment, a condo, townhome or house? Do we want to rent or buy and pay off the mortgage like rent? Do we want to bring in other young professionals? How far away from the city to we want to be? Do we want a community, neighborhood or homeowners association?

My mind is spinning after only a week of looking for information, let alone looking for an actual place.

I think, as we get closer to May, the sistergirl and I will have to hire a realtor in order to navigate the market. We are fortunate enough to have my dad, a contractor who is very familiar with the housing market, but I think our best option will be to go through a company.

Despite and frustration and confusion, I’m excited to look for my own place. I think a lot of the fun is typing search terms into craigslist and seeing what comes up. I’ll be sad to leave my parents and my basement abode, but hey, I still have at least six more months of free rent, food and cable. Yum!

Did you recently search for an apartment or home? What was your experience like? I’d love to hear some inside tips.

Posted by Holly at 12:05 PM 0 comments  

Labels: family, home search

I have an interview tomorrow, and I am researching the company a little more before I go in. It is a consulting firm, and I can definitely see myself there--I am looking forward to going in and asking the staff questions about the company. I am confident that it will go well.

In other news, I have been catching up on my blog list. Over 400 entries this time! Once I catch up, I am going to go study my Spanish book a little more. I am learning Spanish, and I am quite proud of myself. I am still only in the first unit, but I have come quite far.

I went shopping yesterday. I love shopping; it is so relaxing. I went to the mall and picked out a few more clothes for the family cruise I am going on in a few weeks. I have been having a blast putting together outfits--I feel like a five-year-old playing dress up with her dolls, but at the same time, I think Stacey and Clinton would be proud.

I updated my summer book list, too. I already knocked two books off the list, and my copy of the Absolute Sandman, Volume 2 should be arriving soon. Yay!

Posted by Holly at 8:11 PM 0 comments  

Labels: career, family, summer book list

Wow! Between graduation, goodbyes and driving more than 1,000 miles across the country, I have been extremely busy. Unfortunately, that means that I have had to put my blog, facebook and twitter on the back-burner, leaving you all in the dark and neglecting my blog feed. Can you believe I have over 1,000 entries to catch up on? What are you people writing about? :)

Graduation was bittersweet. I am so proud of myself and my friends for completing four years, but now I am starting over in Atlanta, applying for jobs and internships. My friends are scattered around the country, and while we have facebook and instant messaging to help ups keep in touch, it is strange not being able to make friends with the kids my weekends revolved around for the past for years.

My friend Cassy instant messaged me the other day, and I automatically started to type in a question about getting together this weekend. With my dog as my witness, I sheepishly hit the backspace key and asked her about her own job hunt instead.

I am looking forward to a new career. I began my job search weeks ago, and I have had several interviews, already. I think they went well, and I hope to hear back from my interviewers soon.

Meanwhile, I am also adjusting to living with my parents again. I have moved into the basement, and my dad likes to refer to me as his parasite daughter, stealing a term I used in a Japanese Economy paper last semester. Of course, I know he really enjoys having me here, and he has already taken advantage of my "cheap labor" by putting me to work this weekend for his construction business. My arms kill from painting walls and carrying lumber, and I'm going back next weekend!

I enjoy it, though. It's very cool to be a part of building something bigger, and to watch it come together in front of you. I think there is a metaphor for life or public relations somewhere in there, too.

This entry has gotten long! I am off to finish up a cover letter before beginning a Spanish lesson. Oh! I am learning Spanish this summer. It's one of my summer goals. :)

Posted by Holly at 9:16 PM 0 comments  

Labels: career, college, family

This site absolutely cracks me up. My mom is actually quite good with computers, and her grammar is impeccable, but every once and a while I get an email from her in the vein of these. I love it.

Moms win at life. :)

Posted by Holly at 3:25 PM 0 comments  

Labels: cute websites, family