Famous ladies.

I've been in NYC a little over a week; it's great. My summer course entails a lot of long days (and a lot of sitting), but it's definitely worth it in terms of what I'm learning and the people I'm meeting along the way.

Speaking of who I'm meeting, I had my first celebrity sighting yesterday. The most famous people I'd previously encountered were MJ and Randy from The Real World, so it was a pretty big deal when I stood in line at Subway (the sandwich place, not the train) next to Sherri Saum (!) from In Treatment (!). She's tall and pretty in person. It was hard to like Bess as a character, but Saum did good work with her.

Another famous lady: my former classmate, Becky Krier, gave the commencement address at our high school this spring. You can read her speech here. It's very wonderful and very wise, which is an accurate description of Becky herself. I'm lucky to have known her the past eight years. She'll do (many more) great things.

TV time.

So, time to address those finales I mentioned last week. I watched them a while ago, but I still have something to say about all three, so here we are.

The Hills: Goodbye, Lauren Conrad; hello, Kristin Cavallari? I didn't mind Kristin back on Laguna Beach, her confidence was rather appealing, no matter how bitchy she got. I have a feeling she'll do whatever the producers ask of her in terms of starting drama; she can't possibly care too much about the likes of Audrina and Stephanie, plus they're paying her a shit ton of money. As for Lauren, I'll miss her. She proved herself a class act all the way to the end; she looked great and kept her shit together even at Heidi's wedding. Not only did she manage to grow up on national television, but she also managed not to lose herself in the process. I just really like her. Best line of the night goes to Kelly Cutrone though, with her "be smart, and be brave, tell the truth, and don't take any shit" advice to Lauren. So true.

In Treatment: I love you, April. And Mia, and Walter, and Gina and Paul. I'll miss you all so much. My favorite stories are the ones where the protagonist learns they're the only person holding themselves back, and then unleashes their newly discovered awesomeness on the world. I think the cast of In Treatment is on their way to doing just that. Alison Pill as April particularly wrecked me, time and again. I had the biggest smile on my face (and tears in my eyes) for the final ten minutes of her last episode. April might have put off therapy, but she more importantly decided to live. Great show.

The Office: Pam is pregnant. That's really all I remember at this point. That and that the episode was the usual mixture of sweet, sad, tender, touching and funny that The Office does so well. These people are old friends by now, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy spending time with them. Whenever the series does end, Michael and Holly need to end up together. Can we all agree on that?

Coming soon . . .

. . . a whole lot of things. I'm in Folsom, California right now for the National Rowing Championships. I'll be here until Saturday, then home, then New York City; it's a busy time. Once crew is over, I plan to post on the finales of In Treatment, The Hills and The Office (in short: I liked all three of them).

So, some TV, with maybe a little music thrown in for good measure (I'm having trouble deciding how I feel about Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield"). Who knows? I'll be back next week, as soon as I've landed and settled in Maine. For now, here's the brilliant Jacob Clifton revealing the meaning of life according to Gossip Girl:

"The entire point of becoming a human being is entering and maintaining a state where you are strong enough to do without the lies altogether."

He gets me every time.