I'm visiting my parents right now, and it's been a while since I've been here. Not sure how long, maybe since Christmas, or maybe sometime after that, but it's nice to be home sometimes. My mom spoils me. Seriously, there has been fat kid food galore. Ice cream, cannolis, carbohydrates in every form...yup, it's probably a good thing I don't live here anymore, or I'd weigh 500 pounds. Still, there are some nice things about being at home:
1. Old friends. I spent the evening watching the Academy Awards and playing cards with some people I have been close with since the dawn of time or, more realistically, second grade.
2. Tom Hanks' very brief announcement of the best picture winner. Seriously, the guy didn't even say who was up for it. I heard "Blah blah Ingrid Bergman/Humphrey Bogart winner is Hurt Locker." I swear the director lady hadn't even made it off the stage yet. Still, I was happy, because then I could go home and eat more of the fat kid food that is sitting here with my name on it.
3. Pomegranate Lemonade. Not only is pomegranate lemonade delicious, but for some reason, whenever I come home, it is warmer here and the snow stops. So it was warm enough to drink the lemonade and pretend it was summer. Always a bonus.
4. California Dreams reunion shows. Ok, so it wasn't a full show, but check out Jimmy Fallon's show site to see the CD cast all together again, singing the theme song while Sly shows off his incredible abs. Mind you, it's been a zillion years since the show was on, so they have all gotten old, but it's definitely worth checking out if you've got some time and you ever liked the show.
And now I'm sleepy...
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Funemployment
Ok, so it has been quite some time since I have posted. I could make a list of excuses, but that would require effort, and to tell you the truth, right now I can't remember what was so important that I had no time to do anything for my blog.
So instead, I will give you a brief update.
Things I love:
So instead, I will give you a brief update.
Things I love:
- Being unemployed - sounds bad, but is actually tons of fun, plus I now have time to figure out what to do with my life (and also to blog).
- The Percy Jackson books - Rick Riordan is a genius and will be so rich. And after reading his books, I have to say he deserves it all.
- Crumbs Bakery - best cupcakes ever. I have been there 2 days in a row. Yes, I'm a fat kid.
- iCarly - OK, so I'm not exactly in the target age range here but that show is hysterical. And Carly's studio was practically decorated by Jellio with all of my favorite things.
- Cold weather - Luckily, it is March, which means it is almost spring. This means it is almost summer. Ok, so that is kind of a leap, but really, can we get rid of all this snow, please? No more.
- Asthma - Pardon me, NYC, but I'd like to be able to breathe this week without the help of a little machine at the dr's office. K thx.
- John Mayer - I don't know what he said to who, but I don't care. Didn't we all already know he was a douche?
- Who is going to be on Dancing with the Stars - I probably don't know who any of them are anyway.
- The Backstreet Boys are having a cruise. Don't believe it either? Here is the "proof." I'm not sure how I feel about this...on one hand, I am still secretly in love with Nick Carter, but on the other hand, why?!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
In Love...
I am borderline obsessed with used bookstores. Not only are they much cheaper than, say, a few chains that start with the letter B, but they also have lots of fabulous finds you might not be able to get elsewhere. I always end up with incredible things at a relatively low price.
Yesterday, I stopped by Mercer Street Books and Records. They had sooooooooooo much great stuff...here's what I picked up.
The BFG - This is one of my favorite childhood stories. We read it out loud in our fourth grade class, which was the year I decided I was going to be a writer. I have great memories of that class, and Roald Dahl is simply amazing. His creativity and wackiness really impresses me.
The Witches - Another classic by Roald Dahl. I'm currently in a phase where I am reliving my childhood through rereading books I loved then, in case you couldn't tell.
Tristan y Iseult - I love mythology and classic tragedies in general, and the fact that James Franco played Tristan in the movie doesn't hurt :)
The Secret Memoirs of Lord Byron - This is the jewel among my purchases. It was written by Byron himself, and edited by Christopher Nicole. The condition of the book wasn't too great, but I can't wait to read about Byron's secret affairs and find out if this is true.
Yesterday, I stopped by Mercer Street Books and Records. They had sooooooooooo much great stuff...here's what I picked up.
The BFG - This is one of my favorite childhood stories. We read it out loud in our fourth grade class, which was the year I decided I was going to be a writer. I have great memories of that class, and Roald Dahl is simply amazing. His creativity and wackiness really impresses me.
The Witches - Another classic by Roald Dahl. I'm currently in a phase where I am reliving my childhood through rereading books I loved then, in case you couldn't tell.
Tristan y Iseult - I love mythology and classic tragedies in general, and the fact that James Franco played Tristan in the movie doesn't hurt :)
The Secret Memoirs of Lord Byron - This is the jewel among my purchases. It was written by Byron himself, and edited by Christopher Nicole. The condition of the book wasn't too great, but I can't wait to read about Byron's secret affairs and find out if this is true.
Monday, August 3, 2009
August? Already?
I for one cannot believe it is August already. It seems like just a few short weeks ago the snow was still falling, and now summer is almost OVER :(
Since August is my favorite month of the year (summer vacation + my birthday = fabulousness), I fully intend to update this blog WAAAAAAY more often this month. For real.
To ring in my favorite month, I took my little sister to see (500) Days of Summer. Now, as it turns out, this movie is not about summer at all. It's about Summer, a woman who works as an assistant at a greeting card company, and her relationship with Tom, a greeting card writer who dreams of being an architect. The story is told in a series of vignettes from the days of their relationship, starting with their breakup, and moving on to their childhoods, eventual relationship, and their inevitable reunions in a shuffled but not confusing account of love.
I have always really enjoyed watching both Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and they were fabulous in this movie. The actors and actresses who played the minor characters were perfectly selected for their roles, and the filmography was extraordinary. Overall, I felt that the movie was probably the best one I've seen so far this summer (yes, I went to see Harry Potter and all I can say is "ugh").
And I can't wait for Whip It.
Since August is my favorite month of the year (summer vacation + my birthday = fabulousness), I fully intend to update this blog WAAAAAAY more often this month. For real.
To ring in my favorite month, I took my little sister to see (500) Days of Summer. Now, as it turns out, this movie is not about summer at all. It's about Summer, a woman who works as an assistant at a greeting card company, and her relationship with Tom, a greeting card writer who dreams of being an architect. The story is told in a series of vignettes from the days of their relationship, starting with their breakup, and moving on to their childhoods, eventual relationship, and their inevitable reunions in a shuffled but not confusing account of love.
I have always really enjoyed watching both Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and they were fabulous in this movie. The actors and actresses who played the minor characters were perfectly selected for their roles, and the filmography was extraordinary. Overall, I felt that the movie was probably the best one I've seen so far this summer (yes, I went to see Harry Potter and all I can say is "ugh").
And I can't wait for Whip It.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Visitors, Moving and Such
This blog is supposed to be about things I love, in case you couldn't tell by the title :) But let me fill you in on one thing I don't love so much: packing. I'm moving this weekend (don't worry, I'll still be in the city, just changing boroughs) and have barely made a dent in the packing I'm doing. Luckily I have until...2PM tomorrow. Yeah, ok, I'm screwed. Well, I tried. Sort of.
Something I like much more than packing? Visits from lovely friends. It's Restaurant Week in NYC, and my fabulous friend "Jo-B" is here. She's actually visiting another friend of hers, but I'm super thrilled to be doing dinner with her tonight. Then, hopefully, a trip to see "The Ugly Truth," starring Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl. It looks incredible! I'll let you know if I like it.
And last, but not least, book of the week: My Sergei, by Ekaterina Gordeeva. This is an old favorite. I first read it when it was originally published, as my grandmother was a figure skater who knew the couple. According to her, the book she had was personally given to her by Ekaterina, but she also can't remember how many popsicles she's eaten in a day, so I mean, I'm not necessarily going to take her word for it. Still, this NY Times bestseller is one of the most touching and heartfelt memoirs I've read in quite a while.
Have a great weekend!
Something I like much more than packing? Visits from lovely friends. It's Restaurant Week in NYC, and my fabulous friend "Jo-B" is here. She's actually visiting another friend of hers, but I'm super thrilled to be doing dinner with her tonight. Then, hopefully, a trip to see "The Ugly Truth," starring Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl. It looks incredible! I'll let you know if I like it.
And last, but not least, book of the week: My Sergei, by Ekaterina Gordeeva. This is an old favorite. I first read it when it was originally published, as my grandmother was a figure skater who knew the couple. According to her, the book she had was personally given to her by Ekaterina, but she also can't remember how many popsicles she's eaten in a day, so I mean, I'm not necessarily going to take her word for it. Still, this NY Times bestseller is one of the most touching and heartfelt memoirs I've read in quite a while.
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Solar Eclipse
Today is the day of the solar eclipse, which happens to coincide with the new moon. Now I'll admit, this didn't really mean much to me yesterday, until my boss explained that for those who believe in feng shui, this is the perfect opportunity to improve your success. I don't really get the why, exactly, so I'll let Master Pun Yin explain it to you. But it's a great time to thank the universe, God, whoever/whatever you believe in for all the wonderful things you have received, and then make requests for the future.
It's really important that this doesn't become a wish list of things you want. Pun Yin suggests that you should offer the universe something in return for your requests that are fulfilled, and to make sure that you don't promise anything that you can't or won't follow through on. One thing we can all agree on is that no matter who or what you believe in, we can't take such blessings for granted.
This is supposed to work best if you're not eating meat today, so it's the perfect time to try out that vegetarian diet you've been considering.
I know this is little different from anything else I've posted, and I'll be honest, I'm a little skeptical. But I like the sentiment that Pun Yin makes at the end of her post. Today is a day to think nice, speak kindly and be respectful of others. And if we work together to do these three things today, maybe we can bring about positive changes to the universe ourselves.
It's really important that this doesn't become a wish list of things you want. Pun Yin suggests that you should offer the universe something in return for your requests that are fulfilled, and to make sure that you don't promise anything that you can't or won't follow through on. One thing we can all agree on is that no matter who or what you believe in, we can't take such blessings for granted.
This is supposed to work best if you're not eating meat today, so it's the perfect time to try out that vegetarian diet you've been considering.
I know this is little different from anything else I've posted, and I'll be honest, I'm a little skeptical. But I like the sentiment that Pun Yin makes at the end of her post. Today is a day to think nice, speak kindly and be respectful of others. And if we work together to do these three things today, maybe we can bring about positive changes to the universe ourselves.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Lost In Austen
I've spent the last 5 days in Maine, doing nothing but reading, sleeping, eating, and looking for moose (I saw a baby mooseling, by the way, very exciting). Now, you should know that as I live not far from The Strand, I have a stack of books about as tall as I am that I got for 48 cents and have not gotten around to reading. So I brought about 15 books with me, and finished about half.
Two of the books that were most interesting to me were Pride and Prescience and The Jane Austen Book Club. They were incredibly different, and I was drawn to aspects of both.
I loved the characters in The Jane Austen Book Club. One of the things I found most amusing and enjoyable was the fact that it was written in first person, as though one of the members of the book club was telling the story, although the person mentions every member of the club by first name, seldom revealing who is speaking. Only through a story is the narrator given up, and even then you are left wondering if that's really who narrated the entire novel. It's a very curious thing.
I was pretty unhappy with the ending though. It was definitely an Austen ending, that's for sure, but there's no need to refer to that same point in the course of the book. Any Janeite would pick it up for his or herself. This brings me to my other disappointment. I won't give specifics in case you want to read the book, or even watch the movie, but I was extremely bothered by the way the Sylvia/Daniel and Allegra/Corinne relationships were wrapped up. I felt that it was unrealistic and degrading to the members of the club who were involved in these relationships. Also, there were a few storylines that I felt never fully developed, and felt like hooks thrown in to grab the reader, yet never amounted to anything. It was rather disappointing. However, I loved the change in Prudie's spirits toward the end, and Jocelyn was a mystery I rather enjoyed unraveling. Overall, it was good, but not great. My favorite part was actually after the novel ended, where the author quoted other famed writers' opinions of Jane. Look up Mark Twain's if you get a chance...it's quite deep :)
Carrie Bebris' take on what happened after the Darcy's wedding in Pride and Prejudice was a total beach read, in a good way. It was light, witty, and very quick. Even though it was a mystery, it wasn't supremely out of the realm of my imagination that Elizabeth Bennet (now Darcy) would be curious enough to find herself in the midst of this chaos. I was a little baffled by the sci-fi/fantasy twist it took though. Very un-Jane, but it amused me nonetheless, and I definitely understood how that made it suitable for Tor, and it wasn't as noticeable during my read-through as much as after. Still I can't really recall a Jane Austen novel with supernatural elements. But I'd definitely read the rest of the series.
And I made it through a whole post without referencing vampires :)
Two of the books that were most interesting to me were Pride and Prescience and The Jane Austen Book Club. They were incredibly different, and I was drawn to aspects of both.
I loved the characters in The Jane Austen Book Club. One of the things I found most amusing and enjoyable was the fact that it was written in first person, as though one of the members of the book club was telling the story, although the person mentions every member of the club by first name, seldom revealing who is speaking. Only through a story is the narrator given up, and even then you are left wondering if that's really who narrated the entire novel. It's a very curious thing.
I was pretty unhappy with the ending though. It was definitely an Austen ending, that's for sure, but there's no need to refer to that same point in the course of the book. Any Janeite would pick it up for his or herself. This brings me to my other disappointment. I won't give specifics in case you want to read the book, or even watch the movie, but I was extremely bothered by the way the Sylvia/Daniel and Allegra/Corinne relationships were wrapped up. I felt that it was unrealistic and degrading to the members of the club who were involved in these relationships. Also, there were a few storylines that I felt never fully developed, and felt like hooks thrown in to grab the reader, yet never amounted to anything. It was rather disappointing. However, I loved the change in Prudie's spirits toward the end, and Jocelyn was a mystery I rather enjoyed unraveling. Overall, it was good, but not great. My favorite part was actually after the novel ended, where the author quoted other famed writers' opinions of Jane. Look up Mark Twain's if you get a chance...it's quite deep :)
Carrie Bebris' take on what happened after the Darcy's wedding in Pride and Prejudice was a total beach read, in a good way. It was light, witty, and very quick. Even though it was a mystery, it wasn't supremely out of the realm of my imagination that Elizabeth Bennet (now Darcy) would be curious enough to find herself in the midst of this chaos. I was a little baffled by the sci-fi/fantasy twist it took though. Very un-Jane, but it amused me nonetheless, and I definitely understood how that made it suitable for Tor, and it wasn't as noticeable during my read-through as much as after. Still I can't really recall a Jane Austen novel with supernatural elements. But I'd definitely read the rest of the series.
And I made it through a whole post without referencing vampires :)
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