ta-ta for now...

as many know, i'm on twitter, and as such, i find myself updating this blog less and less. i invite everyone to join and follow me at http://www.twitter.com/kimlw, and in addition, i will be starting a new, more professionally-focused blog that will supplement a book that i am in the process of working on. 

i'll post the link here when it's set up & ready to go! :)

blog concert series!

if you've watched "ellen" at all lately, you know that she's been showcasing unknown talents via her "bathroom concert series." welp, i came across this gal covering one of my favorite hanson (cough) songs, "georgia," and thought i'd give her some love. she's not in a bathroom, but dang, is she good!

dear real world, i hate you.

since being thrust into the proverbial "real world" after college graduation, i've learned several things- chief among them that no one (in the professional world, anyway) cares about you and that you sure ain't the "unique snowflake" college made you feel like. but for god sakes, interviewers, would it kill you to send one lousy e-mail to tell me that i didn't get the job?!

i can handle rejection, trust me. at this point, my most-oft heard phrase "someone with more experience" has become the air i breathe. okay, i'm being a little dramatic. but really, when i send you an e-mail to follow up about the status of a position that i spent my time, money, and possibly gas to interview for, the least you can do is give me a quick "sorry, but we went with someone else." it's common courtesy, people. even worse is when you respond with a "we're still making up our minds" and then....nothing. i can't count how many times i've had to stalk linkedin to find out who actually got the position after a month of silence from the employer!

basically, in the words of one stephanie tanner, "HOW RUDE." so let's get it together, folks. just keep a girl posted.  you'll only bruise my ego for a minute or two.

idol, i'll never let go.

no matter what happens in my life, there are some things that i can always count on. one of these things is american idol. 

seriously, i don't even care- I LOVE THIS SHOW. i can remember having a freakout on my living room floor in anticipation of kelly clarkson's crowning during the first season. i used to put idol performances from the likes of corey clark and josh gracin (anyone? anyone?) on the mix cds i made in high school because they made me laugh. and i took true pride in my taylor hicks "soul patrol" impression. now, with the advent of social media, i'm completely addicted to "live-tweeting" idol. no big.

 i am a bit surprised that it became the phenomenon that it did. but when it comes down to it, it's a talent competition. and everyone loves talent competitions! also, everyone (secretly) loves simon cowell. what's with the constant backlash, y'all?anyways, this season is proving to be one of the best yet, and here are my favorites:

allison- for a 16 year-old, girl can SANG.

anoop- known affectionately as "anoop-dogg."

jorge- i think it would be fantastic if the american idol was puerto-rican.

matt- elliott yamin v 2.0? perhaps.

give me your puppy, miley.

SERIOUSLY.

whoa-whoa

taylor hanson? james iha? bun e. carlos from cheap trick? adam schlesinger from fountains of wayne? which one of these is not like the other? well, i don't know, and i really don't care, but i want more of it, dammit. let's face it- they had me at taylor hanson, but this "tinted windows" supergroup (and their first single "kind of a girl") is like a giant crunchy genius power-pop nugget that i can't help but bite right into. i'm so thrilled that they're getting overwhelmingly positive reactions thus far, too. just watch!!



yum.

careers for thought: 8 things i'd also love to do.

my unfortunate period of unemployment (i mean, um, my transition period to full-time employment!) has left me with some time to think about other possible career paths. and since one of my most-often asked interview questions is "what is your dream job?" (which, in my opinion, is an inherently stupid question- what am i supposed to say, "this one!!"? come on now!), i've come up with some good- if not far-fetched- answers to respond with. a girl can dream, right?!

1. traveling chef/tv host/food critic

okay, so i'm lacking the culinary skills, but we can overlook that. seriously, can you imagine anything cooler than getting to travel to fabulous places and pig out all day?! because really, i can't. at all. ever.

2. fbi detective

for goodness sakes, i found my birthparents through intensive google searches, and my ability to track things and people down is pretty scary. i could totally hang with the folks at the behavorial analysis unit.

3. sober living house manager

i think the celebrity rehab spin-off "sober house" prooobably sugar-coats it, and most of these house managers are recovering addicts themselves, but i'd actually really like to work with substance abusers post-rehab, though it could potentially get really depressing. yikes!

4. matchmaker

playing cupid could be a total blast (not to mention rewarding if you're successful!), but it would be even more fun to alert the jerks that they're, well, jerks. right??

5. lawyer

i was a total mock trial ace in the heydays of middle and high school- always the prosecuting attorney, though. someone did make an objection once because i was "badgering the witness," but whatever, i wanted answers!

6. fashion buyer

i'd get paid to shop. 'nuff said.

7. set designer

how cool would it be to dream up the decor for a fictional character's apartment, or a favorite local coffeeshop? pretty damn cool, i say.

8. wedding planner

dealing with psycho bridezillas could get stressful, yes, but organizing the music, the table linens, the menu...oh my!

this is a total list-in-progress, so if anyone has any ideas for other awesome jobs, give me a shout.

i was once where you at, punk.

omg! since my last post, it seems like all hell has broken loose: the smithsonian wants to display aretha franklin's ridiculous hat, rihanna and chris breezy are in the midst of "domestic disturbia '09" (thanks ohnotheydidnt), and i've been interviewing like a madwoman...kinda...and despite my recent rant about social media, i've been completely sucked into twitter and there's no going back. come on, you have to admit that seeing a "tweet" from shaq (yes, the basketball player) that says "Ok i admit it i ate performance enhancing frosted flakes 2 yrs ago, lol" is just a beautiful thing.

fortunately, despite all of the madness, i've had time to come upon two novel lil' sites that i'd like to share with all of you.

1. fmylife.com: true to its domain name, this site houses tons and tons of submitted blurbs from folks who had experiences that just made them throw up their hands and say, well, you know.

2. sorry-mom.com: a treasure trove of "oops" one-night stand and "wtf was i thinking?!" boyfriend profiles, complete with photos edited to protect the identities of the not-so-innocent.

and the best superbowl spot goes to...

hulu, hands-down! i want to shake this copywriter's hand.



and pepsi's "i'm good" has to be runner-up.



overall, an improvement on last year's ads, but still kinda underwhelming.

in other news, everyone needs to see "slumdog millionaire." totally lives up to the hype.

oh, the perils of social networking!

silly me. for a moment, i thought terms like "the digital space" and "developing your personal brand" were only used by pretentious emersonites during DOTM (diarrhea of the mouth) attacks in class. but as i've gotten deeper and deeper into the job hunt, i'm slowly realizing that social media is the wave of the future, man. and i might just not be able to live- or succeed in my career- without fully embracing it. but can i keep up?!

you see, i've always considered myself to be at least semi-hip and interested in the next big thing. myspace? i was there (though now, you couldn't pay me to update my profile more than once every 6 months.) facebook? sure. back in the days of livejournal, i was the queen of updates and comments, i assure you!

but now, i'm supposed to be blogging and tweeting and linked in and digging and well-versed in "web 2.0", and it's really becoming all too much to handle. i mean, whatever happened to a good ol' fashioned poke on facebook? isn't that helping to expand my network, too?

sure, i'm signed up for most of those previously-mentioned sites (i have to at least make an effort!) but someone just might need to save me before i drown in the sea of social media.

the japanese are singing tora, tora, tora...

i truly wish obama all the best upon his inauguration, but i came across this clip today of maryland senator lisa gladden and just have to say....REALLY?!! good god, people.

like a hitman, like a dancer

THINGS I LOVE RIGHT NOW:

1. wonderful spells

though i had the good fortune to catch these guys live a couple times in boston and fell in love, i just rediscovered them on the heels of their brand new EP, "the haunted garage," and i'm so thrilled that i did. a bunch of music and art students by day and straight-outta-the-60's rockers by night and dreamy to boot? yes please. watch "bad news blues," and you'll see what i mean.


2. i was told there'd be cake

my dear friend jen sent me this collection of essays by sloane crosley for christmas, and i think it was probably the perfect time in my life to read this. griping about first-job woes, apartment foibles, and collecting ponies (?), it's laugh-out-loud funny and the best book i've read in a long time. it also made me feel better to find out that ms. crosley is 30- older than i had imagined- because at least i still have, like, 8 years to amass a collection of my own funny anecdotes. anyways, read it!

3. the real world: brooklyn

who was i kidding? after about a 3-year hiatus from watching this trainwreck, i finally got reeled back in with last year's hollywood cast, and still can't look away. dolphin trainer? check. iraq war vet? check. mormon who swears he ain't gay? check. kind-hearted transsexual? check. roided-up gym rat? check. to be honest, i was expecting a lot worse, but this show is like television crack, and i'll be getting my fix every week, thank you.

go away, joe jonas!

happy 2009, all! as is tradition, christine and i came up with a predictive word for the new year- and we figured, since 2008 was a pretty all-around rotten year, we decided that this would be the year of "splendor," and it basically has to be, by default.

since new year's eve was baaasically blizzard conditions, emily came over and we drank a couple- make that many- glasses of wine and had a grand ol' time (the title of this post was aptly taken from my last words of '08, cursing the metrosexual toolbag himself while he danced around on "dick clark's rockin' eve.") ANYWAYS, i made a list of 100 things to do in '09- not necessarily goals, mind you, as i may have done them before, but that seemed more plausible than setting unrealistic expectations, y'know?! it was way harder to come up with them than i thought, for sure. these include:

-GET A FULL-TIME JOB
-take a cruise
-document every month with photos
-send out christmas cards
-play pub trivia
-compliment a stranger
-complete the crossword every day for a month
-improve my handwriting
-yelp about 10 places i've been
-get a passport
-floss every day
-sell something on ebay
-read 50 new books
-see 50 new movies
-develop my "personal brand" (at least until i get aforementioned job)
-drink an egg cream
-do volunteer work
-eat at a restaurant featured on the food network

thoughts? suggestions?! your own personal goals?

i leave you with this winning outfit from miss she's-just-being-miley (and her sketchball, fame-whore boyfriend justin gaston). tbh, i kind of love this look....minus those HIDEOUS tights. yikes!