Brookes May

Thing I love Wednesday:

Brookes May — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:28:01 +0000

This article about being a vegetarian in the Midwest (specifically Kansas City).

Meatless in the Midwest: A Tale of Survival

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/11/dining/a-vegetarians-struggle-for-sustenance-in-the-midwest.html?pagewanted=1&_r=4&src=rechp

This quote just about sums it up:

“As a result, many heartland vegetarians say that eating, that most essential activity, can be a constant struggle. Longtime members of the club recall the days when doctors and family members alike warned that forgoing meat would result in serious malnutrition. This was not hyperbole to those who, lacking other options, subsisted on pizza.”

Thing I like Tuesday:

Brookes May — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:13:15 +0000

This song -

bMay gets a job

Brookes May — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:49:25 +0000

What does it feel like to get your first full-time, supah fancy, corporate dream job after a year of searching and nearly starving to death as an intern for.ev.er?

IT FEELS AWESOME

lil bit like this…

Charlie Sheen Internship

Brookes May — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 04:47:57 +0000

The findings and key learnings in this video come from reading a plethora of Old Spice related articles during my internship at Weber Shandwick Chicago. Check some of them out below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/business/media/17viral.html?src=busln

http://mashable.com/2011/03/16/old-spice-imitators/

http://www.forbes.com/2011/03/11/old-spice-snoopy-m-and-m-most-loved-spokescharacters.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/1737010/thank-you-economy-gary-vaynerchuk-old-spice-man

The pictures come from real life.

#TIGERBLOOD FO EVAH

A magical truth

Brookes May — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:16:11 +0000

This post is inspired by the latest movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, which I’m not qualified to review because I love Harry too much. The plot holes and character development insufficiencies fly right over my head because, mention a scene from any one of the books, and I can likely quote you a line. My brain and wealth of background knowledge fill in the holes. I’m just there to watch my beloved Harry grimace, hunch his shoulders and twirl his wand closer to the final chapter… which is heart-wrenchingly near. So if you’re looking for a review, look here, but if you’re looking for something more sappy and substantial, you’ve come to the right place.

I was always a reader. When my teacher in second grade made me cry or middle school got too full of mean girls I would come home and lose myself in a book and for a few hours, life was alright. Because no matter what’s going on in your life at the moment, a book can wipe it all away. There’s no room to agonize over that boy’s last cryptic text message when Mrs. Weasley has just lost her son, or Hermoine and Ron are falling in love. I’ve always cherished Harry Potter for this reason but I think, lately, I’ve come to realize that Harry’s story does more than help us escape, it helps us discover.

“Of house elves and children’s tales, of love, loyalty, and innocence, Voldemort knows and understands nothing. Nothing. That they all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the reach of any magic, is a truth he has never grasped.” – Albus Dumbledore, HP7

Harry (spoiler alert) defeats Voldemort because he has the power to love. No great and terrible secret weapons or astounding wizarding powers save him, it’s the simple (is it simple?) act of loving that saves him. Through his love for his dead parents, for his best friends, for loyal house elves, for Hedwig, for Sirius, for muggles, for Buckbeak, and for Ginny he learns that love conquers death because it endures beyond this life. It lasts forever… and it can make all the difference.

For a damaged girl from a binuclear family who swore early on that people are unreliable and it’s safer to look inward for support, it’s an important message.

Thank you, Harry.

Cows – One girl’s moral dilemma

Brookes May — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 22:49:36 +0000

When I was a junior in high school, my father forcefully loaded my two brothers and me into an RV for a cross-country jaunt into the wild west. In retrospect, he was obviously hankering for some forced family bonding after he and my mother began speaking to each other only via very expensive lawyers. But at the time, I was convinced it was simply a concentrated effort to ruin my image (most of my friends were jetting to Mexico for a week of blissfully consequence free underage drinking). Yet despite my avid protestations and his obvious lack of regard for my position on the social ladder, the four of us piled into the rickety RV, which I later christened “Phil,” and took off on our great adventure to Los Angeles and back.

The trip traversed more than 3,200 miles of bumpy desert highway. We had just over 7 days to make the journey, which put us covering roughly 500 miles per day. Combine that with needing to stop at every single dinosaur related attraction for my brother Brian (you’d be surprised how many there are) and we were on a tight schedule. We were only able to rest in LA (our long awaited destination) for like 22 hours. Why am I telling you all this? Because those 22 hours changed my life in a very unexpected way. In those 22 hours, my male family members and I ate at In-N-Out Burger. Twice.

A short 2 years later in my fall semester at American University, I made the decision to become a full-fledged vegetarian. I have been almost unwaveringly devoted to this decision since December of 2006. It’s true that twice I have been hungover enough to eat some Sweet and Sour Chicken and I do pick around the ham pieces in my Mammaw’s butter beans but I have legitimately not eaten red meat since committing to what I believe is a much more ethical and responsible way of consuming. But I have always sworn that if I were near an In-N-Out I would throw my beliefs to the wind and eat a freakin’ hamburger.

I’m sure you can see where this is going. They have In-N-Out Burgers in Vegas.

and I ate one. (technically half – didn’t want to get sick)

Judge me if you must. Sometimes you have to put a promise to yourself above above a promise to cows.

It was everything I remember it being from that fateful RV trip… and so much more.

In Chicago, there are no rules

Brookes May — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:42:39 +0000

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I’ve been going through a period of transition (moving across the country, seeking employment, living with new people, making new friends in a strange new city… you know) and the thought of boiling those experiences and feelings down into a blog post was daunting.

Mostly, I’m in awe of my new city. I’m still in that stage where I compare just about everything to DC. It helps me gain perspective and form opinions about this strange new place based on past norms and experiences. The gist of what I’ve come up with is actually quite simple. Compared to DC… Chicago HAS NO RULES.

Allow me to explain.

There is an overall air of formality and politically correctness that pervades life in the District. It’s visible in the layout of the streets, the endless traffic circles, the vast expanses of marble plazas designed for the tread of tired tourists, the stately grandeur of Embassies and government buildings, and the continual flashing of police cruiser lights in a city trapped in an indefinite ‘crime emergency.’ You can feel it in the starched suits of government workers, the exhausted faces of commuting Hill interns, the countdown clocks in spotlessly clean metro stations, the evening emptiness of a city whose employees live outside the Beltway.

But Chicago…

Montrose Harbor just down the street from my apartment.

Is literally bursting with life. People smile at you on the street. Dunkin’ Donuts employees learn your name and inquire about your day. You can DRINK YOUR COFFEE ON THE L TRAIN. There are skyscrapers. “Downtown” has people after 5pm AND it smells like chocolate (there’s a factory nearby). The subway system is above ground! I get to stare out the window at my new city and NOT feel like a mole person. Chicagoans get representation in Congress. Bars stay open until 4 and 5 am and drinks cost less than $10. People actually pay attention to the city’s sports teams.

Wrigley Field from the cargo doors that were open one day as we walked by.

CABS TAKE CREDIT CARDS and I can get almost anywhere for $13. There is incredible shopping IN the city. The L train goes to both airports. I can always tell which way is East because of the lake. Oh yea, there’s a lake. Starving artists don’t actually starve here (it’s cheap enough to survive). I can walk for hours and not get sweaty because I have yet to see a hill. There is THEATER. It’s a city of comedians (everyone does improv). Liquor is sold just about everywhere (grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies). I can take the train to Missouri.

I could probably go on all day like this but hopefully you get the point. I loved DC. It’s a fantastic city and a terrific place to go to school. I wouldn’t trade my time there for anything… but Chicago? It’s wondrous.

It’s home.

I grad-gee-ated

Brookes May — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:41:50 +0000

While scrolling through previous posts on this blog, I discovered that the vast majority of them discuss topics related to either Harry Potter or President Obama… my apologies readers. I hope these topics don’t bore you too much. I blog when I feel the subliminal urge to pass along my inner genius and my apparent focus on these topics leads me to the obvious conclusions that President Obama must be magic, or that Harry Potter is real. Either way, I’m cool with it.

On that note… LOOK WHAT I GOT FROM THE WHITE HOUSE!

On a whim I sent an extra graduation announcement to the White House back in May. The whole White House correspondence center is quite a mystery and there is hardly any “official” information online. I was worried that my mere graduation from American University would pale in comparison to Bat Mitzvahs, 100th birthday parties, and 70th wedding anniversaries, as these are the acceptable events listed on numerous non-white house online sources. But I guess since, “Soon I will stand at the helm of our country as (I) steer its course,” they decided to send me this form letter.

Congratulations me! Why thank you Mr. President!

I gotta get a frame.

First Impressions

Brookes May — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 06:27:38 +0000

We made it!!! After bursting into tears upon rounding a corner and catching my first glimpse of the magnificent Hogwarts Castle high on a distant craggy cliff, I goose pimpled my way through the gates into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The scarlet steam engine stands sentinel at the entrance, snow covered shops line the crooked lane of Hogsmeade, and frothy mustached butterbeer drinkers exclaim excitedly over their ear wax flavored Bertie Bott’s.

The only possible way to describe it is… magical.

I keep expecting to see a Hungarian Horntail claw its way up one of the crooked chimneys. For someone who’s loved Harry for more than half her life, it’s like coming home.

A Magical Friday

Brookes May — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 20:16:21 +0000

the Harry Potter blanket on my bed at home

I’m leaving for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in just a few short hours. Things I’m most excited for: trying Butterbeer, breakfast at The Three Broomsticks, Hogwarts Castle (how are they going to do the enchanted ceiling?), celebrating Tuck’s birthday, THE WAND THAT CHOOSES ME (that’s right.), and Zonko’s Joke Shop, among plenty of other things!

I’ll be blogging this weekend and uploading pictures to Facebook all weekend so keep in touch!