Uncomfortable Conversations with Grandma

November 28, 2015 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Dating, Humor, life lessons, Life In Your 20's

Before this past Thanksgiving, I had never been asked pointblank by my grandmother to defend my lack of romantic partner. Certainly my aunt has inquired if I was seeing anyone and my cousins have asked if I date, but the conversation is brief and surface-level. This past Thursday that all came to a halting stop.

After dinner, I decided to join the adult table because that's where the desserts sat. (Yes, for my 24th year of life I was assigned to sit at the kids' table, which I hereby reclaim as the millennial table.)

CAPS LOCK ON, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

July 14, 2015 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Humor, Life In Your 20's

If you have a Smartphone, then you know your phone has a nasty habit of remembering what you've texted in the past. It's always auto-suggesting how to spell a word, and no, I don't "ducking" hate her. But beside "impetget" spelling memory (that would be, "imperfect"), it also automatically capitalizes certain words if you ever - even once - spelled them in all caps. (Y U DO THAT?!)

Over the last month, I've cataloged some of the words my phone believes deserve all caps. Here they are:

I Haven't Lived Abroad, But I Will

June 01, 2015 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Life In Your 20's

When you're getting your PhD, people constantly ask, "So, what do you want to do with that?" They usually mean where would I like to work. I struggle to answer, because before I even got into grad school, I decided I would live abroad after grad school, which is not the typical next step after you've spent four-plus years slaving over a data set.

(When I say "live abroad," I generally specify that I will apply to the Peace Corps or some nonprofit in the public health sector. I don't plan to Apparate into Portugal and find work as a taxi driver; I do want to use my degree.)

A Bucket List For My Time In Tanzania

February 07, 2015 by astoldoverbrunch in Guest Post, Life In Your 20's, life lessons

By Lauren Frigm* *Lauren is a guest blogger. She graduated from James Madison University in 2013 and leaves tomorrow for Tanzania as a Peace Corps Volunteer. You can follow her journey on her blog, Lauren Takes Tanzania. If you are interested in guest blogging for ATOB, please email us at AsToldOverBrunch@gmail.com.

Starting tomorrow, February 8, I’ll be fulfilling a dream of mine by departing for 27 months to Tanzania as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I will be living and working in a rural village, helping local farmers to reach goals of sustainable agriculture. If all goes well, this will help the community become more food secure and have more complete nutrition.

I have gotten a lot of mixed reactions from friends, family, and strangers when I tell them all this. A lot of people think I’m crazy for wanting to live in a rural Tanzanian village for that long. Some people offer total admiration/jealousy (this is the most appreciated response; THANK YOU, I am a noble person). Others try to talk me out of it because they think I’m going to get Ebola (don’t even get me started about why this is the most ignorant response of them all). But the most common response is a lot of questions.