why i want to have kids...

and a husband with an amazing sense of humor.

from jewelry to water...

i make earrings. its my creative outlet. i've gotten pretty good at it. i actually attempted to start my own business on the side two summers ago (i made business cards and everything), but cornell got in the way.

i also like the concepts of corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurship. the fact that business can help to make a difference in the world without sacrificing profit is just yummy, and i believe social entrepreneurship when done right is a tangible and incredible solution for many of the world's problems that big companies and governments just don't address.

could this possibly be the bridging of two of my passions?

a riddle.

what do you call someone who is in danger of failing a pass/fail class but is quite possibly pulling off the highest gpa of their college career?


a doofus...aka sydney rachel malawer.

god what ive been missing...

today amidst my 10 hours spent in the cad lab (thats the "computer aided design" lab...its a fancy term for a computer lab with cooler (and more expensive) programs on it) i took a 2 hour break because i realized fuck it...i deserve one...so i went back to my apartment and enjoyed my 2 hour break and realized something...

this was the first time in probably the entire semester that i was able to enjoy true, guilt-free me time.

the first time that i wasnt secluded to my room because my roommates were in the common area...the first time that i wasnt worried about the work i have and therefore feeling guilty for not doing it...the first time that i wasnt apprehensive about being alone for fear of what my mind would dwell on now that it has some free time to dwell on something besides the eames house...or how old people interact with their physical space in continuing care retirement communities...or how having "sex for fun" is an adaptation for monogamy in humans...or how in ancient greece heracles was really a smelly filthy ass who publically rocked out with his cock out...

and you know what? it felt good. real fuckin good.

best commercial ever.

i have seen this commercial countless times in my college career...it reappears once a year and this year is no exception...


and every time its just as hilarious as the first time.

in the words of the cornell breast cancer alliance campaign...

save second base.

click the link whenever youre bored. it would mean a lot to me, my best friend, my roommate and to every other person to whom this hits close to home.

whoa.

i think i may have just taken my last prelim of my undergraduate college career.


thank the fuckin lord.

oy vey

i have a prelim (thats cornells fancy obnoxious word for test) tomorrow in human bonding (awesome class but the prelims suck my left nut) and you know what ive been doing for the last hour?...

looking up aiesec traineeships in latin america, looking at jobs on idealist.org and thru the ergonomics website, and farting around on nomadlife.

god obviously did not gift me with the ability to focus on mundane tasks nor the ability to contently dwell in the present.

im screwed. and not in the good interpersonal infatuation-diminishing attachment-promoting way that i am learning oh so much about.

wish me luck.

Hi Sydney,

We've received your application. Please make sure you pay the application fee; unpaid applications will not be processed. You'll receive another email once admissions decisions have been made. Good luck!

Cheers,

The StartingBloc Team

i did it. i put myself out there and reached for something i REALLY want and made myself vulnerable. let's see how this pans out.

oh and these are the reasons why i am ok with staying in school for another semester:

DEA 430(4300) Furniture as a Social Art: The focus is on how innovation in furniture design is inspired. Three sources of inspiration explored are: aesthetic interpretation; material and manufacturing technologies; and users needs. The interplay among these three sources of inspiration will be examined with emphasis on the last, users needs. Assignments involve both analyzing furniture products currently on the market and designing and constructing a furniture piece for a special population inclusive of young children, older adults, and people of any age living with a congenital or hereditary condition, injury, or disease.

DEA 470(4700) Applied Ergonomic Methods: Covers physical and cognitive ergonomics methods and techniques and their application to the design of modern work environments. Emphasizes understanding key concepts. Covers conceptual frameworks for ergonomic analysis, systems methods and processes, a repertoire of ergonomics methods and techniques for the analysis of work activities and work systems.

DEA 645(6450) Dancing Mind/Thinking Heart: Creative Problem-Solving Theory and Practice: Focuses on thinking processes and techniques that support creative problem solving. Examines theories of creative behavior and critical thinking. The course is highly participatory and experiential by design. Weekly discussions include hands-on applications of theories on short problems tailored to the backgrounds of the students. The primary goal is to demonstrate perceptual, emotional, intellectual, cultural, and environmental blocks to creative thinking and expand the student s repertoire of creative problem solving strategies for use in day-to-day professional practice. Case studies of creative individuals and organizations from a variety of fields are presented.

NBA 573(5730) Seminar in Sustainable Development: Involves readings and discussion of issues in environmental management and features four significant outside speakers on the subject of environmental management.

booyah.

three rules to life...

last saturday at the eye-opening StartingBloc CareerAccelerator, i met this guy named freeman. freeman is a fast talking, highly sarcastic and witty startingbloc fellow who works for this cutting-edge non profit called new leaders for new schools which works to put qualified and innovative principals in schools that really need their creative reform. in the panel he was in he described to us 3 rules to life (actually, he only could remember 2 on the spot, but i emailed him later to get the third :)) and over the past week i feel like ive repeated these rules to multiple people, so obviously they are relevant and worthy of sharing...so here they are:

rule 1: either follow your love or follow your dream. if you follow your love youll find your dream and if you follow your dream youll find your love.

rule 2: write provocative emails. you never know what could come of them. it is rather simple to deduce the CEO of a company's email by looking at how the other email addresses that are available to the public are structured. for example, if the emails seem to be first initial last name (ie pat jones=pjones@company.com), google the company, find the ceo's name, and just apply the formula.

rule 3: find a partner for your venture or mission in life. by having a second person there from the beginning, you have a team, and the sum of that interaction has been demonstrated to be greater than the sole capabilities and potential of either individual acting alone. [thats a direct quote from my response email]

hope you find this as useful as i did...especially rule 2 :)

got social innovation?

At the Institute for Social Innovation

At the Institute, candidates learn industry best practices around corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, and sustainability. Corporate innovators, social entrepreneurs, and academics discuss cutting edge strategies around implementing social and environmental change through enterprise.

this is so yummy.

already convinced? apply now.