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!