noisy at the circus

ta-ta for now...

2009-04-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-04-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-03-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-03-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-03-03T14:12:00.001-08:00

SERIOUSLY.

whoa-whoa

2009-02-25T16:24:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-02-19T11:29:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-02-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-03T06:20:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-01-26T15:17:00.001-08:00

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...

2009-01-19T16:30:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-08T16:35:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-01-04T15:15:00.000-08:00

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!

defriending: the ultimate betrayal

2008-12-27T11:32:00.000-08:00

i would really like to address a phenomenon that, after some discussion with friends, is apparently just as disturbing and offensive to others as it is to me.

it starts as a classic college routine: you attend a friend's party/shindig/get together or meet someone that you have a nice lil' chat with on the first day of classes, and one of you adds the other as a friend on facebook. unfortunately, for whatever reason, your friendship never develops beyond that point. fine, whatever, at least you can still stalk each other on facebook, you think! no biggie. until one day when you a) decide to see what so-and-so is up to or b) you see that they wrote on a friend's wall and try to click and see their profile, and facebook brutally rebuffs you by denying you access to their profile.

could it be? could you really have been "defriended"?! i mean, sure, you never talked to them since that initial exchange, and didn't really have any intention of doing so in the future, but c'mon, what kind of person literally goes through their list of facebook friends and specifically removes an innocent person with malicious intent like that?? it's pure evil, i say. and i vow never to delete anyone, no matter how annoying their frequent status updates are. it's just plain cruel!

...in other news, christmas was good. you know you're getting old when you get excited about a new coffee pot, carry-on bag, and external hard drive. siiiiigh. i also stuffed my face with la carreta yesterday with kristi, and we decided to see that will smith movie, "seven pounds." please, please see it. you won't understand it 'til the end, but what a fabulous, fabulous film.

all i know is that first, you've got to get mad.

2008-12-16T14:45:00.001-08:00

I HAVE NEVER APPRECIATED ELECTRICITY MORE THAN I DO RIGHT NOW. seriously. on thursday night, this crazy ice storm knocked down trees, power lines, and telephone poles throughout central/northern mass and southern nh. subsequently, we lost power for FOUR DAYS and FIVE NIGHTS. i know, i sound like i'm being dramatic, but you have no idea how much you depend on power until it's gone, man.

fortunately, on friday, i went to see the nutcracker in boston as planned, and ate a delicious meal at the cheesecake factory, but it was all downhill from there. apparently, without my cable tv/internet/flat iron/heat and hot water, i am a huge biotch. in my quest to access the internet, i drove to the local coffeehouse on saturday- seriously, this place never has more than 3 people in it at one time- and it was totally packed. unfortunately, no one could connect to the internet, so it was just a bunch of angry people asking each other "is it working for you?" i drove to the panera parking lot to see if i could swipe wifi there- still a no go. apparently, sending an e-mail was a much more difficult task than i anticipated, and i was fumin'. but as of 6am this morning, i rejoiced to the high heavens because the power finally came back. it was pretty amusing because this storm literally knocked out electricity at over 200,000 houses, so basically all there was to do was christmas shop and commiserate with the other folks that looked like crap and hadn't had a shower in 3 days either. good stuff.

also, help! i'm enjoying hallmark christmas movies way too much.

they go from high school to high class...

2008-12-10T17:31:00.000-08:00

first and foremost, i have to recognize that one of my favorite bands, phantom planet, recently decided to call it quits after 15 years- or, take an "indefinite hiatus," which is obviously never a good sign. though i'm bummed about the break-up, i'm happy that i at least got the opportunity to see them live a few times while they were still alive and kickin'.

speaking of bands, i was reading an article the other day that was naming off some of the worst band names ever- this list included such gems as puddle of mudd, crazy town, dogs die in hot cars, and does it offend you, yeah?...and it got me thinking about making my own personal list of worst (and best) band names as i scrolled through my ipod. so here it goes! oh, and if you have any suggestions of your own, please feel free to add 'em.

WORST:
the all-american rejects
amusement parks on fire
bow wow wow
chumbawumba
crash test dummies
death cab for cutie
foo fighters
forever the sickest kids
goo goo dolls
head like a kite
jimmy eat world
kajagoogoo
limp bizkit
panic at the disco
the pussycat dolls
rage against the machine
the receiving end of sirens
someone still loves you, boris yeltsin
volcano, i'm still excited

BEST:
alice in chains
black sabbath
the brian jonestown massacre
broken social scene
coheed & cambria
collective soul
guided by voices
hallelujah the hills
hot hot heat
kings of leon
marilyn manson
moving units
ok go
queens of the stone age
radiohead
semisonic
smashing pumpkins
talking heads
third eye blind
urge overkill

looks about even, i'd say!

can we talk about how i'm going to see the nutcracker this friday and i'm majorly excited? i know, i'm lame, but i haven't seen it since i was like 8.

when i crack that whip, everybody gon' trip

2008-12-01T16:34:00.000-08:00

anybody watch the michael jackson-esque britney documentary on mtv last night?! i mean, she's kind of a ditz, but i still feel awful for the poor girl. i mean, imagine not even being able to leave your house for 10 years without being surrounded by creepy paparazzi? horrible. (p.s. i've had the chance to listen to the leak of her new album, circus, and aside from "womanizer", both the title track and "mmm papi"-yeah, stupid title and lyrics-are so addictive.)

thanksgiving was fun and low-key...my cousin and her boyfriend came up from florida, and my grandparents from massachusetts, and we watched the parade (RICK ASTLEY, fuck yes, varsity fanclub or whatever their name was, fuck no) and a "hell's kitchen" marathon and ate a ton and walked on the golf path.

after an amazing breakfast at my favorite new hampshire standby, parker's maple barn, i braved black friday- as i do every year because i'm a masochist and i love large, annoying crowds of people- with kristi. btw- what's up with the poor guy in long island at the wal-mart being killed?! people are idiots. anyways, i was saddened by the many empty 3.98 dvd racks at target, but i was NOT about to get up at 4am for the deals, so this was the price i paid. siiiigh. then i ogled the puppies in the pet store and decided that in addition to an american eskimo, i also want a west highland white terrier and or a pekingese. double sigh. we terrorized the poor employees at sportshoe center by laughing crazily and singing "angel" by amanda perez when it came on the radio there, and then ended the evening by feasting on thanksgiving leftovers, drinking wine, and watching "forgetting sarah marshall." just fabulous.

uhhh, since when did starbucks change their gingerbread latte to a gingersnap latte? tastes exactly the same to me, but i'm extremely curious about this switch.

if you're reading this, give me a song to download. i'm in semi-drought mode.

the spirit of a hustler and the swagger of a college kid.

2008-11-24T05:33:00.000-08:00

the "wtf of the week" (and, well, the first one ever for this blog) goes to pete and ashlee wentz, who unfortunately went the way of apple, jermajesty, audio science, pilot inspektor, and tu morrow by naming their son "bronx mowgli." i mean, for some reason or another, i like you guys as a couple, but give the poor kid a fightin' chance! or at least arm him with some comebacks for the barrage of borough and jungle book-related jokes he's sure to get when he starts school. sheesh.

since when was it almost thanksgiving!? i popped in hanson's classic "snowed in" to try and get in the spirit of the holidays a couple days ago while baking some bread, and it just felt so wrong. IT'S TOO EARLY. can we rewind to labor day, please?

i'm also excited because before visiting that warhol exhibit i mentioned in my last entry, i finally got to experience the wonder of the legendary red arrow diner in manchester. it's one of those places that's been all over the food network and such, and i coincidentally ate my patty melt and mac 'n cheese in the seat that the tgi fridays/diners, drive-ins, and dives dude guy fieri sat in when he was there (i know because there was a plaque that said "guy fieri sat here." ha!) but the exhibit was also pretty great. it's just so sad to know that any ol' joe schmoe can now achieve the greatness of warhol by pressing a button on photoshop these days. boooo.

a strange phenomenon began in the past week, which involved me receiving like 4 compliments from women well over age 60 on my outfits and/or hair. i guess i really am becoming a granny?!

umm, anyone remember the little kid from "step by step," brendan? this is him now. oh lordy.

in the alley, it ain't that cheap

2008-11-16T15:02:00.000-08:00

guys, i went to my grandparents' today to celebrate their 72nd anniversary. really, though?! i can't even imagine being 72, let alone being married for that long. but, i mean, while my grandma (who's 92) and grandpa (who's 95 and still driving!) have been experiencing some slight issues of old age as of late, it's so adorable to see how much they love each other after all of these years. awwww.

if i don't get out of new hampshire soon, i really might enter full-fledged townie-dom. though i had a great time with emily on our veritable chain restaurant bar-crawl last weekend, i'm becoming all too familiar with the TGI friday's crowd. yiikes! i also hit up a hockey game- my first in a very long time- to see the local AHL affiliate, the manchester monarchs, which was fantastic, if only for the fact that i got to drink beer while i watched attractive men beat each other up. tomorrow, i'm apparently going to see the warhol exhibit that i've been dying to see forever in manchester, so maybe exploring nh's rich culture (cough) ain't so bad. at least for now. but i interviewed with 3 places last week, so let's get with the program, people! i'm ready for my cubicle...now!

i finally made a long-overdue library trip and picked up the following books. the librarian seemed amused at the selection.

1. eat pray love
2. my jesus year: a rabbi's son wanders the bible belt in search of his own faith
3. yes, you're pregnant, but what about me? (kevin nealon's book)
4. buying in: the secret dialogue between what we buy and who we are

has anyone seen paris hilton's trainwreck of a show, "my new bff"? it's like "rock of love" meets "the search for elle woods" and the girls are dumb as rocks. love it.

i don't need a witness

2008-11-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

so, i recommended this song- "look at me when i rock wichoo" by black kids- a few weeks ago, but i recently saw the video and had a flashback to saturday morning cartoons, which fits the song perfectly since it has such a retro vibe.

and my good friend jeff turned me on to this site the other day, so i thought i would mention it as well: it's called chictopia, and is basically a real-life "lookbook" where people can upload pictures of different outfits they wear. but the genius part is that they also have to list where each item is from. genius! my new obsession.

i'm biting my tongue- hard!- regarding the election, but it's no doubt a historical moment (as well as the official demise of unbiased journalism :) and i honest-to-god hope that obama is the best darn prez we've ever had. however, the one thing that really bothers me to see is that people are suddenly proclaiming that they are "finally proud of their country," as if they weren't before. your president doesn't dictate your patriotism, guys!

i think i got food poisoning from taco bell yesterday...grossss.

tell me somethin' i don't know.

2008-10-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

welp, hot off the presses, my ethnic markets article was published today as the cover story for the local paper's food section....click on the beautiful bratwurst photo to read it if you so care to!

i still haven't figured out what i want to be for halloween, which ain't a good thing...though i decided that juno or jamie lynn spears could be pretty easy to pull off. ah, if only it were 2007 so i could do amy winehouse! while 2008 cracked-out amy v 2.0 could be quite amusing as well. i'm always the worst at coming up with costume ideas; i think it's mostly because halloween sneaks up on me before i even realize it. ideas, anyone?!

last week was quite interview-filled, and i'm confident employment is imminent. i'm pretty sure that's because i've stopped caring about finding a job at this point- at least, i've stopped obsessing over it!

and, just for laughs: the other day at wal-mart, i moseyed over to a tempting sample stand with some delicious-looking waffles, and was about to go for one when the following exchange took place:

old sample lady: "are you a provable 18?"
me: "um, i'm 22 years old."
osl: "well, we worry about food allergies with kids, you know."
me: (ignoring her and biting into the waffle)
osl: "say, you sure don't look 22! you look about 16 years old."
me: (glaring at her and blinking slowly)
osl: "i know you probably don't like hearing that now, but you will one day!"

ugggggh.

fire on the mountain!

2008-10-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

ummmm so let's talk about how seeing hanson again was the greatest thing, ever. just a few points, but pictures and video tell the whole story pretty much.

-hanson fans (a.k.a. fansons for those in the know) are CERTIFIABLY INSANE. at least some of them are. camping out at 11am on friday for an 8pm saturday show? yeah, that's normal!

- the charity walks that hanson hold before each of their shows- the majority of my pictures and one video are from this walk- are such a great idea. basically, you walk a mile barefoot with hanson, and for each walker that registers, they'll donate a dollar to an african charity of your choice (aids research, clean water, shoes for children, etc.) about 350 people showed up to yesterday's walk, so it really adds up on a tour. so great.

-because i didn't want to deal with aforementioned fanson drama, christine and i get in line about five minutes before doors open, get into the venue, and waltz over to the mezzanine area and have basically the best view ever. haaa. BRILLIANCE. i will now make you look at 10 billion ridiculous pictures and two videos.

-oh, and btw, it was so cute because before they played "mmmbop", taylor thanked the fans for being with them for "over ten years" and i realized that "oh my god, i've loved hanson for half of my life." WEIRD. so proud of them.

I DIE.

everybody else, my beloved opening band

OH and we met everybody else, basically amazing.

this elevator's goin' down, and i'm goin' down with it.

2008-10-13T19:44:00.000-07:00

okay, so i gave into my incessant teenybopper urges- thankfully emily had them too- and we went to see "nick and norah's infinite playlist". okay, so michael cera pretty much plays the same exact character in every movie, and kat dennings kind of annoys me to no end, but the movie was pretty adorable and actually better than i thought it would be. surprisingly, though, the funniest character was the perpetually-drunk best friend who spends most of the movie wandering around new york in a stupor. good stuff.

buuut the funniest part of the evening was when we decided to grab a few post-movie drinks at the good ol' TGI fridays bar (don't call me a townie), and as we scan the room, we realize that...hey! there's the souhegan football coach! and the attendance officer! and half the faculty! and like ten kids from our high school class! it was so fabulously random, and so fabulously amherst. but mostly it was just surreal and made me feel ridiculously old, especially after catching up with a few of our classmates and being all, "how has it been four years?" ohh god, i want my youth back.

also, a few personal recommendations:
-watch "the ex list" and "privileged" because they're such cute shows and i don't want them to get canceled.
-download these songs, courtesy of my october '08 playlist thus far:

lady gaga- "just dance" and "beautiful dirty rich"
black kids- "look at me when i rock wichoo"
britney spears- "womanizer"
the little ones- "morning tide"
oasis- "the shock of the lightning"
fall out boy- "i don't care"
ladyhawke- "paris is burning"

-someone find me these brown boots! i've been looking for ones like them forever and upon seeing these on miss degrassi-turned-90210 shenae grimes, to quote rachel zoe, "i die."

and i found out that the hanson show i'm going to on saturday is SOLD OUT. like, i love them dearly, but i'm honestly surprised- hanson is still 1000+ capacity venue-relevant?! hell yes they are, because they're fan-friggin'-tastic. details of the glorious day to follow.

it's automatic, honey

2008-10-06T17:15:00.000-07:00

eek, 'scuse my semi-long absence (a.k.a more than a week). i legit went leaf-peeping in vermont last friday, and i was actually so happy that i've gotten to experience fall in new england for the first time in forever. i ate delicious muffin samples at the king arthur's flour store, even more delicious cheese samples at the cabot store, and then browsed weird antiques- like an old tin sign that said "been drinkin', eh?" with a caricature of this hick dude with four eyes. i legit almost bought it, but resisted due to my better judgement.

and i also went to quechee gorge, which was so pretty, but the highlight was probably getting to watch glassblowers at work in one of the shops there, complete with tie-dye and bandannas in true vermont fashion. i was obsessed with this process, and thank god for youtube, the store has clips online! okay, i don't even care if you think it's boring, IT WAS AMAZING, dammit.

i think i have found my calling. maybe.

"pizza? but i don't have any dough!"

2008-09-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

SO, i'm sitting and sipping a rum & coke as i listlessly page through job listings that look like this: *RECENT COLLEGE GRADZ!!*~MARKETING & EVENT REPRESENTATIVES~LOOK NOW!*
uggggh. aforementioned dream job, call me now, kthnx.

anyways, all things considered, things are pretty awesome. i've begun working on my freelance piece this week- a.k.a i've visited almost every ethnic market and grocery in the area...pretty sweet for being only semi-employed. i'm not going to lie- i did feel a bit awkward as a tiny irish/italian/english gal walking into these asian, greek, russian, german, and indian markets since a lot of them really cater mainly to those nationalities, but was so happy that once i waltzed up to the owners and explained what the heck i was doing there, they were all more than happy to answer my questions. i'm kinda pissed that i didn't buy some baklava today, though- i'll have to make a return trip.

while i love fall (by fall i basically mean apple pie/crisp), i'm seriously in denial about the temperature lowering drastically right now. i did the memory walk around downtown manchester for the alzheimer's foundation last weekend because my mom volunteers for them, and i had to bring out the scarf and a jacket. MAKE IT STOP.

OH, and one of my lifelong dreams (actually, only two-year-long dreams) came true this past weekend, when kat and i decided to go out to this bar and lounge in nashua that we had never been to. when i looked it up, it turned out that former rockstar: supernova contestant and local new hampshire musical darling, josh logan, was performing there that night...watch that video and you'll see why- dude can SING. and he's damn hot, too. now, i've been intentionally trying to see him since he was kicked off the show, since he performs around here every week, but finally the fates aligned and i got to sip my not-so-great midori sour and witness the man's brilliance firsthand. love him.

now i'm not one to get all political, but i can't wait 'til this election is over. NObama, y'all, is all i have to say. clueless without a teleprompter, and waaaay scarier than the alternative, tbh. i'm not a conservative, but just romney needs to get his ass into the 2012 race, stat. or into this race, for that matter.

okay, i just made a list of areas i'm seriously thinking of moving in no particular order because i need a change. thoughts, please?

Las Vegas, NV
West Palm Beach, FL
Atlanta, GA
Baltimore, MD
Charlotte or Raleigh, NC
Philadelphia, PA
Providence, RI
Charleston, SC
Roanoke, VA
Nashville, TN

i ain't done anything wrong

2008-09-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

welp, my grandparents are back in their apartment, our kitchen floor is going to be replaced, and good ol' oreo killed the mouse (her sole accomplishment in all 12 years as our cat...bravo!) plus, i interviewed for 3 jobs in the past week, one of which was literally my dream job- a publicist- and i've just gotta have it. things are looking up and i'm excited to relax a little bit...at least for a day or so.

i was so thrilled today because alissa, one of my longest and dearest friends who recently moved to sunny florida, was in town and we got to catch up today and indulge in coldstone. now, their ice cream is delicious, but the flavor names are still ridiculous: "like it"? "love it"? "gotta have it"? come on now!

oh, anyone been watching the new "90210"? i watched the first two episodes, but it's so god-awful i stopped watching. just give it up, you'll never be as good as the original, guys! and go back to degrassi, darcy. you're more tolerable there. but i love "privileged" and really hope it doesn't get cancelled. SO GOOD.

i'm also one step closer to my lifelong dream of being a food critic. i recently pitched an idea for a freelance piece on local ethnic restaurants and markets to the local paper's weekly food magazine, and next thing i know, i have a multi-part series on my hands! booyah.

give me some songs to download that you love right now. i'm surprisingly NOT in a music drought right now, i'm just in the mood to hear some more great new stuff.

basically we pay bills, then chill

2008-09-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

the following has happened in my household within the past week:

-my dear, dear 90-something grandparents have basically moved in with my family
-we discovered that our dishwasher has been leaking for who knows how long, and the water has made some of our kitchen floor tiles come up...so we have to get a whole new floor. neato!
-an ugly little brown mouse stared me down while i was running on the treadmill and i ran upstairs screaming like a little girl

sure, i love the drama, but seriously, i need to move out of this house! praise the lord, i have an interview in on friday at a historic theatre in brookline i applied to forever ago- turns out that they decided not to hire for the original position after all, but an assistant position opened up, and i was offered an interview. niiiice!

also, after my previous post on new kids on the block, i've been inspired to list my top 5 guilty pleasure songs of summer 2008...despite the fact that i'm not guilty about them.

5. panic at the disco- that green gentleman: i loved them, i hated them, and now i kind of like them again.
4. shwayze and cisco adler- corona and lime: i'll be honest, i basically just like it for cisco's sweet chorus.
3. rihanna- disturbia: the girl bothers me immensely, but i inevitably love most of her songs.
2. pussycat dolls- when i grow up: i could be at a gas station filling up my car, and if this came on, i seriously couldn't help but launch into a full-scale dance routine. more hooks than a tackle box!
1. the jonas brothers- burnin' up: the perfect summer pop song in every way. uhh, except from the little faux-rap from britney's former bodyguard.

oh, and i don't know if y'all have watched the new 90210 or not, but it sucks. royally. i watched the premiere of "privileged" after it last night, and that show is heads and tails above that stupid remake. ugggh.

no thanks, NKOTB

2008-09-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

i have to admit, though i have friends that swear they were obsessed with the new kids when they first hit the block, i pretty much missed the original frenzy that surrounded them- aside from occasionally viewing their cartoon on saturday mornings (i must have been too busy listening to one-hit wonder gems like natural selection's "do anything".) regardless, growing up in the bsb and 'n sync generation, i can relate to the hype. i would mention my hanson obsession, but i respect them more than that, dammit.

anyways, i really thought i'd give them a fair shot when i heard they were attempting a comeback- though my instincts were that it would be a massive failure. errr....okay, so they've been on the today show like three times already. but really, guys? choreographed dancing at your age? besides looking really sad, one of you might break a hip! and the comeback single, "summertime," is pretty atrocious. no one over the age of 20- actually, no one EVER- should utter the words "you had the beauty and the beach on lock." i can understand that some of these 30+ women are trying to reclaim their youth and all, but sometimes it's better to leave well alone and let "step by step" rest in peace where it belongs: in the early 90s.

thumbs down, new kids.

"this is no time for snacking!"

2008-08-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

i'm rocking a nice half-sunburn, half-tan right now, as i fried myself at hampton beach on thursday...lovely. seriously, if you have not witnessed the trashfest that is hampton, it's really worth a visit. you'll be astounded and amazed at the people that actually exist in the world. within about an hour span on the main drag (where "fry-doe" stands, knockoff handbag vendors, and arcade shooting games abound), i saw the following:

- a tan and leathery (their skin, i mean) biker couple...the woman looked like the second coming of iggy pop, and the guy had the best golden-blonde mullet i think i've ever seen in my life. think dog the bounty hunter, but 20x better.

-a super classy gal with a massive snake tattoo wrapping around her midriff and lower back...i think the tramp stamp has officially met its match.

-a guido that made sure everyone knew he was walking with his girlfriend by grabbing her ass every 30 seconds. how endearing!

sideways baseball caps, oversized jerseys, and bad tan lines, oh my! how i love hampton.

also, is anyone else feeling *so* weird about not going back to school right now? i'm pretty creeped out...but still confident that i'm going to find a fantastic gig pretty soon- i refuse to settle!! though after watching "million dollar listing" the other night, i literally went through a 2-hour period of wanting to become a realtor. then i realized it wouldn't be all that great unless i was selling multi-million dollar homes in L.A. and could be a little brat like the dudes on the show. plus, you kiiiinda have to know math....so that's out.

but this moptop? really?! aw hell no.

instead, i've decided that i'm going to start writing my memoir pretty soon. that is going to be a riot. though apparently the key to writing a book is to, well...AVOID writing a book until you find an agent who's interested in what you're going to write about? i'm loving this already.

p.s. a big L-O-L to david duchovny entering sex addiction rehab....whaaaaaat?!

justin bobby was on the hills premiere...briefly.

2008-08-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

gah! as of yesterday, all of my stuff is officially moved out of my apartment, which is both relieving and weird at the same time. that shit was like the loaves and the fishes, i swear- the more that came out, the more that there still was to move. but it's over now, and that's the hard part. that is, until i have to move again- whiiiich will hopefully be very soon.

as expected, the high strung's library show was nothing short of amazing. i'm on the hunt for good pictures from it, as the couple i took didn't do it justice. books were knocked off shelves, children were dancing, and jacob and i contributed to the audience-created song at the end of the set by wielding egg shakers filled with lentil beans. yep. as the lead singer wrote in a blog i just discovered on their myspace,

We finally had our first show ever in New Hampshire... after 8 years on the road... you'd think we played all of them, every city, every state. But it's not true and two nights ago we checked New Hampshire off the ol' list. The place looked mostly like what I thought it would... infinite trees... small towns scattered... small highways... thruways... something like Vermont maybe and a little less dense than say Maine. But the show... something I've given up prediciting... was incredible.

The perfect audience! Kids, teens, adults, older people... like the library was rendered a gallactic meeting room... all ages represented... and we played hard and by the end Chad was on a staircase and I was standing on a chair in the audience and Derek was making cartoon faces and it was just great. THANK YOU to New Hampshire (the Amherst Town Library)...We're gonna go back... met a great photographer... met great people... just not sure when yet. If you get the chance to play up there, I recommend you do it...

hell yes, new hampshire is amazing. i actually feel like i've been appreciating this fabulous state more lately, seeing as i spent a good portion of the last week in downtown nashua. one night at this great hole-in-the-wall sports bar called the garden with kat, where i downed $1 beers, we sat by the bathroom the whole night, and i learned the intricacies (err, simplicity) of shuffleboard. random, but good stuff. then the next evening i had probably the best bbq chicken sandwich of my life at one of my favorite microbreweries, martha's exchange. yum!

is anyone else loving the amazing VMA promos with russell brand and britney spears? bitch looks GOOD. "it's not russell brown, britney..." so funny. i just really wish she was performing so there could be another horrendous one a la last year.

OH, and i totally bought a hanson ticket for their foxboro show in october. no, i'm not kidding, and even better, it'll be my third time seeing them because they're fierce and amazing. i was on the fence about going because i didn't know where i was going to be, but when it was announced that everybody else was opening for them, i was SOLD. erica's going with me. it's going to be the best night of my life, i'm predicting. almost.

"it's like i'm walkin' on sunshine!"

2008-08-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

i just finished baking these (hopefully) delicious"cherry revel bars" and realized that i haven't blogged in a bit. some sort of crazy summer plague briefly wiped me out, but i'm fine now. i've also been obsessively playing with my newly acquired palm centro, because i wasn't about to shell out an extra $40/month for blackberry internet access...screw you, verizon. but either way, god bless the QWERTY keyboard.

anyways, i first need to announce that this critically-acclaimed indie rock band, the high strung, are coming to the AMHERST TOWN LIBRARY on tuesday, and jacob and i have every intention of going, obviously. i mean, a band coming to amherst friggin' new hampshire, of all places. and secondly, i'm in love with whoever thought up the idea of a rock 'n' roll library tour. amazing.

ohh, and my interview went well, but i'm holding out for the promise of the all-important second interview. gahhhh. is it gross that i look forward to mondays for the fresh crop of job listings? yeah, i know. it's disgusting. the secret will come through, though; i have faith.

i think i truly may be becoming addicted to ebay. after a recent trip to victoria's secret, i went crazy over their "ooh la la" fragrance. but of course, instead of buying it, i returned home to see if i could get it for less on ebay. i'm so cheap.

finally, my mom gave me this book to borrow, called many lives, many masters, and i read it in like two hours because i couldn't put it down. SO GOOD. it's a true story about a psychiatrist and his patient, and their discovery that she has 86 past lives. it's insaaaane, and really makes you question the existence of reincarnation. though i totally believed in it before anyways. so of course, i went to do one of those free sample readings on astrology.com (that link should take you to it in case you're interested...) and the results were so legit:

Now, you were probably part of European culture during the Middle Ages, when there was considerable action and adventure, for example in the continual feuding and strife among the many fiefdoms, families, tribes, castles and kingdoms.

Your mystical, intuitive and spiritual sensitivity arises from your past lives, perhaps in early Roman times, or in the Egyptian/late Atlantean period. Then you may have been a seer with expertise in the religious mysteries of the day and in healing through the laying of hands. Your likely interest in group meditation, symbology, holistic health, and astrological timing arises from such past life experiences

Since Neptune is a higher octave of Venus, ruler of the arts, your Neptunian attunement and sensitivity give you abilities related to the arts in virtually any direction, whether as an actor, a dancer, an artist, musician or art critic. Public leadership involving large organizations through speaking to groups and writing is also indicated.

o-m-g.

we can take it to the streets.

2008-08-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

i'm off to boston for an interview tomorrow morning, so i'll keep this short. it's for a marketing and PR position at a soon-to-be-opened luxury hotel, so i'm basically picturing myself in a real-life version of "the suite life of zach and cody." minus, um...me living in the hotel. but a girl can dream, right?

speaking of dreams come true, let's talk about how i got this adorableamazingfabulous vintage betsey johnson dress on ebay yesterday for 36 DOLLARS. i mean, besides the fact that these things usually go for $2-300 by the time the auction ends, the seller accidentally spelled her last name as "johnston" in the title so no one would have even been able to search for it! (i somehow got lucky on a generic search for 'vintage dress'.)

anyways, i ended up being the high bidder, but still hadn't won the auction with my max bid of $55, because the seller had set a reserve price which i didn't dare to try and reach. so, i e-mailed her anyways after the auction, asking out of curiosity what it was. "it was $75...it's a wonderful dress and i hope you think so too!" and then she offers it to me for the high bid of 36 bucks!! like, look at that beautiful garment. siiigh- the secret continues to work its magic! this shit is not even a joke.

so, yeah...on the book front, i just finished summer at tiffany, by this 83 year-old woman named marjorie hart. it's basically about the summer of 1947 when her and her best friend worked as the first female employees at the tiffany store in new york city. it made me nostalgic for a decade i didn't even live in...everybody was so classy and proper. very cute. and i'm in the midst of starbucked, which is awesome if you're a complete "coffee nerd", as zach affectionately calls me. i thought lewis black's whole bit about a starbucks across the street from another starbucks was an exaggeration, but oh, how wrong i was.

"PEACE OUT. FOREVER."

2008-07-29T16:38:00.000-07:00

so....lots going on!

first, no one cares, but i'm really super excited that i finally ate at stephanie's on newbury last week- basically a boston restaurant institution that everyone says you need to go to while you're in the city. it was delicious, and i also got to catch up with my friend emily, which was fabulous as well.

oh, and after i came back from brooklyn last week, gleni and i finally saw the wackness (starring the now scary skinny josh peck of "drake and josh.") it was brilliant, and i will never be able to watch my beloved nickelodeon show in the same light again because of the three awkward sex scenes that involved him. oh josh, why you so scandalous?! speaking of good movies, THE DARK KNIGHT, oh my god. i finally saw it on friday and heath deserves an oscar- and not just because he's dead, folks.

i just returned from new york today, as i had a job interview in the city at an agency that represents celebrities, writers, athletes, etc. for speaking engagements. the interview went well, but i think my biggest predicament right now is deciding whether or not i really want to live in nyc. i like the idea of it in theory, but the reality of living in a $1300 manhattan closet or a half hour outside the city is quiiiite a bit different. i'm thinking that staying in boston for a bit, or even checking out somewhere like providence or philadelphia might suit me better right now. we shall see!

p.s. cisco adler has a new show called "buzzin'," that is really about nothing except him and his bff who's a rapper. and that no one probably appreciates except me. just needed to get the word out.

"keep moving, motherfuckerrr"

2008-07-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

whew, this weekend has been busy, busy, dizzy...in the best sense. on friday, gleni and i headed to new york city via megabus (which, as we came to find out, was not so mega this time around) for the siren music festival at coney island...a.k.a. the end of the world. it was a brilliant, brilliant affair, including one fantastic celebrity sighting manifested by the secret (no joke.) highlight bullet time!

staying in bed-stuy, brooklyn (correction: this actually might be the end of the world) in a sweet apartment with ac...and i fell asleep to the ghetto lullabies of sirens, intense bass out of car windows, and various people shouting. i don't think i'm tough enough to handle the neighborhood of wu-tang members and gangsta rappers.
dinner the first night in fort greene, which is such a cute little neighborhood.
eating nathans' chicken tenders on the street at coney island while sweating profusely in the 95 degree heat
seeing hipsters dressed ridiculously in tight black jeans and bandannas...so, so impractical.
getting to see parts & labor, annuals, and times new viking, who put on really good sets
meeting up with some of gleni's high school friends for most of the day, who also lamented over the intense sun with us in an air-conditioned pizza parlor.
broken social scene, who were one of the headliners, were great. i possibly got a contact high from the obscene amount of weed being ingested around me, these insane drunk girls were dancing crazily and made everyone nearby join in, and we could not stop hysterically laughing at the creepy dude in front of us who was repeatedly stroking his girlfriend's hair/kissing her head/smoking a cigar. sick.
OBVIOUSLY, the best part of the whole night was after BSS ended. we went over to wait for one of gleni's friends who was getting a beer, and i see this kid standing nearby. i say to gleni, "that guy behind you looks like a ghettofied danny tamberelli from pete and pete," half joking, because he was friggin' dressed in a huge baggy mets shirt and cargo shorts, and had long hair in a ponytail and a backwards baseball cap. not cute. and then i realize...wait, that IS him. no one really believed me, of course, until we see these two girls go over to snap a picture with him. hilarious. i almost wish we had gone and bugged him. but the greatest thing is that on the way to new york, i said to gleni "let's see a celebrity while we're here," and pictured it...and the secret worked its friggin' magic. way to go.
finally, our bus ride back to boston was absolutely insane- i was wondering why, even with the AC supposedly on, i was sweating profusely (this was a theme throughout the weekend, if you couldn't tell), and then the bus driver pulls into a rest stop, and tells us we'll have to wait for another bus with working AC. well, long story short, almost two hours go by before the bus comes. at least we made a couple new gal pals during the wait.

also, new project runway?! so damn good. i know blayne is trying to be the new christian, but he's hysterical. and the asian dude that made the creepy-ass hospital garb totally deserved to go!

"but i wanna be a dude, papa!"

2008-07-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

another day, another high school grad party. this past weekend was my cousin cara's party, and the title of this entry comes thanks to one of my uncle's nephews, a small and obnoxious child who threw a tantrum after his dad told him he couldn't wear his shades. i can't stop laughing whenever i think about it. as has been the theme with these parties, the young'ns expose me to all the hip games, and i gave guitar hero a try this time around. i was booed off the stage during "school's out" by alice cooper, but after a few more songs, i made it up to 89% on the kinks' "all day and all of the night." booyaaah!

also, cara and i watched the comic masterpiece "she's the man," which i've seen about a billion times. i should be ashamed of that fact, but you know what? it's a damn good movie. while zach alleges it's "more painful than passing a tin can," i know better. only a quality film can contain such quotes as "does he have your number? 1-800-BEEYOTCH?", "so, uh, you play the beautiful game... bros... brothers... brethren?", "i'm a badass hunky dude!" and "i've got a lifetime-o-knowledge."

naturally, this inspired me to think about some other amazingly cheesy but brilliant features:

1. sister act 2. i have the saint francis high school gospel choir's moving rendition of "joyful joyful" on my ipod. fo' realz.

2. the princess diaries. robert schwartzman and a foot poppin' kiss? hell yes.

3. don't tell mom the babysitter's dead. "the dishes are done, man."

i'm goin' for the jugular on the job search now. i'm searching far and wide for random places and just e-mailing people, because apparently that's what i do best. i'm helping other folks get job interviews through applying "the secret," but it's time to attract my own damn job now!

off to brooklyn this weekend with gleni for siren fest at coney island. after your entry about it, amanda, i'm terribly frightened of it. and i'm staying in a neighborhood where GZA, Busta Rhymes and Talib Kweli live, apparently? yes yes y'all.

my destiny.

2008-07-01T15:24:00.001-07:00

let's add to the many qualities that make me elderly, shall we? oh yes, my love for the game show network and its many quality programs, including the above-pictured word game gems "lingo" and "chain reaction" is a passionate one. so passionate, in fact, that i have made it one of my goals to appear on one of these shows and show those linguistically-challenged bitches what's up. i mean, the whole point of chain reaction is to connect seven words, one letter at a time, through forming common phrases. and one girl, when faced with the word "red" and the letters "C-R-O" (pretty obvious that it's red cross, right?) literally says "...red crow??" oh no she didn't!

last night, i saw jacob for the first time in foreeever, and we went to one of those dinner-and-a-movie places called chunkys, which i had never been to before. we ended up seeing get smart, which i really had no interest in, but it was two dollars off admission and i desperately wanted to chow down on chicken parm in the dark while watching a movie. and so i did, and the movie was actually pretty funny, though nothing too amazing.

ummm i'm seriously getting way too gung ho about this "the secret" stuff, but i swear it's changing my life already. and after bringing it up to jeff, he sent me the below video, which features ross the flamboyant "tonight show" intern talking to "house hunters" host suzanne whang (love her) about this insane secret-related story. i know no one wants to watch it, but i swear it's the best story you'll hear in a while. amazing stuff.

anyone know anything about philadelphia? or providence? i'm trying to think of some smaller cities to consider for the job hunt. gahhhh.

always where i need to be

2008-06-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

lots going on!

first off, i'm pretty psyched and starting to believe that all of that stuff from "the secret" is starting to work. or maybe not. either way, while i'm still desperately searching for a job, i got a paid freelance position writing for the NH Visitors Guide about entertainment venues in the state. yes sir!

i went strawberry picking at this great farm in hollis the other day, and despite staining my new sandals by accidentally stepping on squished berries (smart move, i know), it was such geeky fun. and they have cherry picking in july! hooray.

...and this past saturday, i went to my cousin anna's high school graduation party. good times. as with any of my family get-togethers, it included a kitchen dance party to "superfreak" and "it's raining men" along with my aunts and cousins...complete with putting cake frosting on our noses and holding flowers in our teeth. anna's friends even joined in and proclaimed it "the best graduation party ever!" of course it was...my family don't play. i tried my hand at volleyball for the first time since middle school and surprisingly didn't suck as much as i used to, and also discovered the wonders of "rock band," where i sang to foo fighters' "learn to fly." i'm addicted to this damn game, and need it immediately.

we've been having thunderstorms here for the past two days, and it's absolutely lovely. it's the only time i reeeally enjoy rain.

oh, where did my manners go?

2008-06-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

as i've quickly discovered, the post-college "so what are you going to do now??" often asked by friends and relatives is just as painful and torturous as the post-high school "so where are you going to college?" and each time, i'm reminded how i haven't decided yet. i'm just enjoying my summer, folks, thanks! that, and checking mediabistro religiously along with thousands of other grads. that's what i'm doing now! i just applied to work for disney in california....mmk.

last week, i went to see this free screening of an upcoming movie with rainn wilson from "the office," called "the rocker." baaasically, an 80s metal has-been joins his teenage nephew's band, and hilarity and success ensue. it was decent, but i was glad i didn't pay money for it....although teddy geiger was some nice lil' eye candy (pretty sure he's legal...uhhh.) friday was drinks at an outdoor bar down on the waterfront- like literally, there were no walls. it was kind of odd and meat-markety. whatevs.

anyways, seeing that it is just about summertime, my guilty pleasures are aboundin'. but i mean, i'm never that guilty about them anyways, so it's cool:

1. carrie underwood's new song, "last name." jacob, back me up on this one! i truly hate country music, but this song just wins my heart. the chorus when she's all "oh-no-what-have-donnnne?" genius. it's even better than that gem "before he cheats."

speaking of songs, i'll lump this one in too: "shake it" by metro station. fronted by miley cyrus' brother (yes, really) and oddly enough, the brother of one of her "hannah montana" co-stars, i can't stop singing the fucking song all day and night. it's such bad electro-pop crap, but i've fallen victim to its charms. thanks, mtv hits.

2. trying to practice that kind-of silly stuff in that book the secret. i heard about it on oprah, and basically, it says if you want something, you just have to visualize yourself having it for a few minutes each day, and the universe will find a way to help you get it. kind of squirrelly, but those bitches talking about their miracle stories on the show convinced me!

3. the return of "so you think you can dance" and "last comic standing." so good. i mean, it's shit like this that makes me so, so sad that i got out of dance in college:

SERIOUSLY GUYS!

y'all come back now

2008-06-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

i'm back, i'm back! after an almost two-week vacation with the folks down to savannah, georgia and charleston and hilton head island, south carolina, i have returned with: something resembling an actual tan, a borderline obsession with sweet tea and pralines, and a profound hatred for books on CD. i'm postin' pics on facebook and whatnot.

highlights (and lowlights) included:

- a creepy/probably mentally disturbed gas station attendant in new jersey that blabbed on about pretzel factories for the entire time it took to fill the gas tank. uh, neat?!

- the big chicken filet at hardee's

-a group of young black children blatantly laughing at me in a mall in florence, south carolina...for what reason, i still don't know. probably the fact that i was wearing silver shoes. had to be it.

-savannah:
- this is paula deen country, folks! everything seems to be associated with her- i.e., my family stumbles into "uncle bubba's oyster house" for dinner, and suddenly we realize it's apparently owned by paula's brother. we ate outside and the food was good and all, but there were stray cats running around the deck which was kinda of sad and eventually just creepy.
- taking an old-fashioned trolley tour around the town, and seeing a lot of old houses which were adorable.
-PRALINES.
-a really cool civil war fort, Fort Pulaski, where this nerdy lil' ranger gave us a history lesson and we saw an alligator.
- a billboard near this really tacky beach community that proclaimed "LET'S TALK GOD!"
- suggesting that we eat at this local southern chain called carey hilliard's, and being horribly wrong about assuming that it could be good. this place was a combination of bickford's and roy rogers, and had a whole platter of "barbecue" advertised on the menu. what they meant by "barbecue," i can only guess. meat, i hope?

-hilton head island
-swearing i saw jacob from defunct boy band o-town on the drive there (the plates were florida, people...the 14 year-old inside me screamed for joy)
-the beach
-the beach
-the beach
-the best she-crab soup of my life
-oh, and watching a sweet thunderstorm from the hotel balcony.

-charleston
- the downtown area and even more historic houses, hooray!
- this english pub where you could decorate a dollar bill and put it up on the wall. must have been thousands or somethin'!
-the hotel's outdoor patio bar...strawberry daquiri plz.
-kind of anti-climactic. i liked savannah better.

holy crow, i love this hot weather. heading back to boston on tuesday to uh, bum around, i mean, um...look for a job. i'm applying to bravo and martha stewart living in NYC and anything else that looks remotely interesting. but then there's that whole grad school thing too, which i should hear about in the next week or so. first things first! i'm just gonna drink some sweet tea and let everything work itself out.

why take it fast? i take it slow.

2008-05-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

i graduated on monday, so there's that. congrats to everyone else that has/will soon!

surprisingly, despite having to wait for an hour and a half in the basement of the wang theatre, the ceremony really wasn't bad, and in fact, it was pretty funny courtesy of a hilarious speech by our 30-something year-old valedictorian and the commencement speaker who was the president of mtv. so emerson. i didn't fall, and they pronounced my last name right! guess they listened to my message on the "pronounciation hotline" after all.

i went on my first (and strangest) job interview yesterday at an ad agency in the backwoods of connecticut. oh my god, it was in an office park. oh my god, i felt like i was thrown back into 1992. oh my god, there was a creative department of four people and i would be replacing the one writer they had. oh my god, i wore a nice top and sweater and pinstripe pants and the creative director remarked, "oh, i'm glad you didn't dress up."what the eff?! oh my god, i had to sit through their awful reel of TV ads with him. no. can i get into grad school now?

graduation party this weekend, then off to the south on my birthday next week. hooray!

p.s. david c. or david a. for the win on idol?! i'm calling cook, though archuleta killed it last night.

shut up and let me go!

2008-05-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

welp, i FINALLY finished my VCU application the other day...and all 2o writing assignments later, it feels pretty good. i do sort of wish that i had applied earlier, though, since i'll have about two weeks from when i find out if i got in to find a place in richmond and move down there. ohhh well.

i went out with alissa last night in celebration/sadness of her moving to florida (but hey, i might be down south soon enough, too) and in our grand tradition of drinks and dessert at chain restaurants, we went to longhorn. pomegranate martinis and golden nugget fried cheesecake? yes PLEASE (i know it sounds kind of gross together, but it was glorious.)

on the book front, i just finished how starbucks saved my life, which is coincidentally about a guy who got laid off from his big-wig job at an ad agency in nyc in his early 60s- gee, that makes me really optimistic- and then has nowhere to turn besides a job as a barista at starbucks. he's the only old white guy amongst a bunch of young black kids, and it's a pretty good story. but then, i started reading all of these bad reviews about it (it was a huge ad for starbucks, he just wrote the book so he could make enough money to stop working there, etc.) and it made me start doubting it. hey, he could still be sincere, right? riiiight?? whatever. now, upon the recommendation of my dear boyfriend who happens to have scary-similar taste in books, i've started but enough about me by rolling stone columnist jancee dunn, which is nothing short of hysterical so far.

also, has anyone bothered to check out the real world: hollywood yet? i haven't watched the damn thing since the san diego season, but i really think this one is so fantastic so far for some reason. the 'roided-up guido that already left for rehab? the tacky stripper without a heart of gold? the holier-than-thou male model that plays twisted tricks on his housemates? sign me up.

i'm still in a music drought for the most part, but there has been some light at the end of the tunnel as of late: a bunch of new phantom planet songs ("dropped" and "leave yourself for somebody else"), "showstopper" by the salteens, and um....yeah, actually that's about it. and the mtv hits channel has just been giving me some laughs.

i feel like i should have graduated like, a week ago. i literally can't wait to walk across that stage on monday.

an ode to the bitch at hair cosmopolitan.

2008-05-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

i'm usually pretty even-keeled, and let things slide, but i need to sound off about this one because it happened today and it's fresh in my mind.

i'm so terribly, terribly sorry that my mom and i happened to wander into the store that YOU WORK IN at the pheasant lane mall, and that she interrupted your incredibly difficult task of thinking about which nail polish color to get when you replace your tips next week to politely ask where a certain hairspray was located. "did you look in the paul brown section?" you asked with a disgusted look on your face. well, we didn't SEE the paul brown section, idiot. that's why we're asking you. you groan, get up, and lead us over to the section, point at it, and walk away. thanks a million! i was already hating you, and you managed to make it so much worse.

when my mom finds the hairspray she was looking for, she realizes that they're missing the caps. as she walks by you again, she mentions this fact- again, really politely- and asks if there is anything you can do, because she doesn't want it to spray in the bag or dry out so it's unusable- at $12.50 a bottle, it's not a ridiculous thing to ask about. "i don't know, they just don't have caps. it's NOT going to dry out. it only does that if it's CLOGGED," you shoot back, in the snottiest tone imaginable. um, no. i chime in, "uh, yes it will dry out." "well, i don't know. we don't have caps," and you huff and turn your back to us. nice. "someone's got an attitude problem," my mom remarks to the guy working at the counter. "welcome to my world," he says.

listen, honey, i'm sure you were a hoot at beauty school, and think you're the queen bee of a mall salon in NEW HAMPSHIRE, but i just want you to know that you're an idiot. not to mention, it was totally awesome to sit there laughing at us as we walked out. go fry yourself in another tanning bed, and don't forget to re-bleach that hair. your roots are showing.

...in other news, i went to get my copywriting portfolio reviewed at some swanky lounge event a couple of nights ago, and despite being ridiculously nervous, i enjoyed free heineken, shirley temples, and mini-burgers and met some other aspiring young ad folks while we waited in limbo for three hours for our turn to meet with three creative directors. fortunately, they liked me, they really liked me! and i got some really positive feedback on my stuff. plus a free t-shirt and a stuffed monkey that flies. sweeeet deal.

come on kids, we're on the go now

2008-05-04T11:56:00.000-07:00

to paraphrase a brilliant degrassi quote from a few weeks ago, "who's got two thumbs and is done with school?! this gal!" i must say, my last two presentations were fully anti-climactic, but i'm not complaining. time to frolic in the warm weather (once it ACTUALLY gets here), start my summer reading list, drink lemonade, and generally enjoy life before the real world rears its ugly head at me. holla.

on friday, my roommate erica and i finally got around to making it out to "my so-called 90s night" in allston, and it was the best time i've had in quite a while. well, minus the sketchballs that we let buy us beers and then promptly ditched when they asked us to dance- i know, i know, i'm cold. but "gangsta's paradise," "your woman," "semi-charmed life," and "mmmbop?" my rum-and-coke-addled brain could barely stand the sheer awesomeness of the playlist, and we danced 'til dawn...err, 2am. my favorite part was this dude who noticed me rapping the words to "what's my name?" by snoop dogg, and commented, "you CLEARLY know all of the words to this song," and checked in periodically with me to confirm who sang certain songs. too funny.

speaking of "mmmbop," i need to also take this time to acknowledge that (and i know, i've been saying this since 1997, but it's true) hanson is such a fucking sweet band. i've been hooked on their free itunes podcast called "taking the walk" that chronicles the making of their most recent album. which is interesting in its own right, but good lord, the things i would do to taylor.

also, my coffeemaker broke. bummmmmmer.

s.o.s

2008-04-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

sup, folks.

um...seriously 4 days until school is kaput...exciting, but strangely frightening. and i literally decided a week ago to apply to grad school for the fall at virginia commonwealth university to get my master's in copywriting, and have huge application process to go through before june 2nd. neat! not to mention only about 25 kids get in per year, so my plan b is really like just another plan a. super neat! someone just hire me already. my ads are funny, dammit! or at least they crack me up. ugh.

oh well, at least i will be taking a nice vacation down to georgia and south carolina in about a month, and i might just stay there forever and become a southern belle. sunshine, heat, and chick fil-a every day?! sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.

in other news, i'm also woefully in need of new music. i really hate everything i hear lately, so maybe it's just me. but my april playlist literally includes the jonas brothers....and that jordin sparks/chris brown song....and that madonna/justin timberlake song....and i'm almost debating on putting the new miley cyrus song but i just can't let myself cross that line. i know, i know, the situation is pretty dire. i also love the new real world season and that high school reality show on mtv called "the paper." i think i'm regressing, and that's totallyyyy fine.

anyone heard of this site, juicycampus? just horrible, but i can't get enough. like a real life gossip girl. i'm awful. speaking of gossip (kinda), is it just me or is everyone getting married/engaged/pregnant lately?! i can't handle it.

justin bobby wasn't on the hills premiere.

2008-03-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

a fire alarm woke me up this morning. joy!

in general, life is pretty grand. i'm holding out on applying to jobs for a few more weeks because i'm certainly not planning on starting until about august 1st. givin' myself some time to max and reeeelax before i enter the working world for the rest of my life!

...and right now, i'm in that whole idealistic phase where i think that an ad agency is actually going to hire me as a junior copywriter without portfolio school...which can happen, i suppose. that's what i'm banking on anyway! i can make my own fake ads my damn self, thankyouverymuch. (p.s...shameless plug: my site)

my trip to visit zach in cincinnati was absolutely lovely, though of course i chose to travel just as the blizzard of the century started there. my flight wasn't cancelled or delayed, though, and the snow really didn't deter us from anything we wanted to do. went to kentucky to see black mountain, i stuffed my face with white castle, steak 'n shake, and cincinnati chili (god, i'm in love,) walked around downtown, and i tried sushi for the first time and liked it. basically, i ate my way through the city. uhhh-mazing.

because as i've determined, i'm the only one who watches it, i'm going on record to say that my american idol faves are david archuleta and david cook...surprise, surprise, i've come around to the nu-metal, daughtry-esque dude. i knew it was only a matter of time.

i feel like i've lost touch with so many of y'all. say hello or somethin'!

oh, and my headline was meant to remind me to mention how sad i was that there was no JB appearance on the hills a couple days ago. i might just stop watching the show! no, probably not.

give it to it

2008-03-02T19:08:00.000-08:00

quick update...

-a movie trailer is going to be filmed in my apartment!

-i met my birthdad yesterday!

-i'm going to cincinnati to see zach on friday!

-i love my internship!

-hooray!

take this, all of you, and rock.

2008-01-31T16:20:00.000-08:00

so, i met rob sheffield last night, and it was nothing short of glorious. combine that with a pre-book-signing dinner at zaftig's- an amaaazing jewish deli in coolidge corner, brookline- and you've got one lovely evening.

for those who aren't familiar (or don't know about my obsession with this man), rob is a contributing editor at rolling stone, and appears a bunch on those various vh1 shows. most importantly, he wrote this book, "love is a mixtape," which i've read twice now and cried like a little girl both times. anyways, he read a couple passages from the book, and waxed poetic about the long-lost art of mix tapes, among other things. he's hilarious.

i was bound and determined not to make a fool of myself when i met him (flashback to chuck klosterman last year...ugh), so i simply shook his hand, introduced myself, said that i was a big fan, and love the pop life column he does for rolling stone as well. "thanks, thanks! i'm working on one about rock of love right now," he responded. "oh my god, it's so trashy!" i blurted out. "i know, i know, sooooo trashy, but i love it! the best part is that they set it up as if he's really going to find the love of his life...but i still watch it!" i agreed, thanked him again, and exited gracefully as he said "nice meeting you, kim"...crisis averted!

also, i started my internship at arnold on tuesday in the brand promotions department, and it's absolutely amazing! i keep busy all day, and working at an ad agency is definitely just as cool as it sounds. plus, it's in the prudential center. holler.

yay for the weekend!

living in the white

2008-01-11T12:30:00.000-08:00

i know, i know, i'm slipping already. sue me. 2008 has been dubbed the "year of chance" by some, and the "year of paradox" by others, so take your pick. i'm going to go with chance, due to some very positive recent (and chance!) turns that my personal life has taken since the dawn of the new year...if you're that desperate to know, i'll fill you in privately as it's hardly blogging fodder at this point.

also, i think i've been watching too much hgtv, because it has me way too excited about purchasing my first home and furnishing it....regardless of the fact that i have almost zero funds to make such an idea happen. thus, the granite countertops and two-sided fireplaces will have to wait. ah, well... a girl can dream!

also, i've been kiiiind of toying with the idea of losing my bangs...y/n?!

random thoughts...

ron paul is a crazy old man.

it's pouring out.

you should listen to the new meneguar album.

i want to win the lottery.

life is good.

to the beat, y'all

2007-12-26T18:45:00.000-08:00

this year's christmas preparations have made me realize how much i really do enjoy baking/cooking...when i actually get enough motivation to see it through, AND when i'm in a suitably sized kitchen with a dishwasher and an oven that bakes evenly and doesn't instill in me fears of combustion during the time i'm waiting for my bread/cake/cookies to finish (read: not my apartment kitchen- it's cute, but sadly lacks these features).

i went to town this year with the holiday treats at home- cheese log cookies, spritz cookies, and mud bars that somehow went awry but still tasted pretty darn good. only problem is, i keep eating them and i can't stop. now, i feel like the only way to remedy the situation is, uhh, to eat 'em all. that's fine.

anyways, i'm pretty psyched at some of my gifts, especially the new, not-scratched-and-fucked-up-i-pod, a dock for it, some sweet duds, and also a lil' teapot with a cosy that keeps it warm...goddd, between that and the crossword puzzles, i'm such a granny. i'm not fighting it.

umm...also, my favorite song of the moment is "hot bed" by the whigs, three dudes from georgia who play straight-up 90s indie rock...except, like, it's not the 90s! check it out.

p.s. if this man is the father of JLS' baby i am going to cry....because i'm laughing so hard.

oh heyyyy

2007-12-20T06:01:00.000-08:00

so, since i have a glorious, school-free month to basically do whatever i want, i've decided that this would be a good time to return to the blogging world. i can't make any promises, but, uh, i'll try to stick with it this time, alright?!

if i haven't talked to you in forever, think of this as my little christmas card, minus the tacky sweaters and santa hats.

i've been home in NH since saturday, and am sitting here, snowed in and drinking coffee (with coffeemate vanilla cinnamon creamer that tastes weirdly like spearmint...don't think i'll be trying that again) and watching ellen. oh, and the fireplace is going...seriously, probably in the top five things i miss when i'm in my apartment.

life is pretty much fantastic right now in all ways. okay, i still haven't been able to grasp the concept that i'm graduating from college in may. i mean, seriously? yuppiedom is totally upon me, considering my recent obsession with hgtv's "house hunters" and transition from the junior's department to the INC collection at macy's. pretty disturbing stuff, but i think i'll manage.

basically, boston has been nothing but amazing in the year and a half or so i've been here, and i'm definitely planning on staying for a while after i graduate. since last may, i've been interning at the metro, a daily paper here, writing the arts and entertainment listings and the occasional rock band feature. so that was pretty much brilliant. i scored an internship for next semester at arnold worldwide, an advertising agency, in the brand promotions department, so i'm also thrilled about that.

i jet-setted to vegas for a weekend in october to celebrate jen's 21st birthday and it was filled with much merriment, tackiness, and, uh, plentiful spirits. highlights included seeing cirque du soleil's raunch-tastic "zumanity", gettin' pretty lucky on the slot machines- i'm addicted to deal or no deal- and hittin' up that swanky club LAX, where a large black bouncer egged me on as i rapped along to "n 2gether now" and we just missed seeing criss angel (gaaaaahh), paris hilton, and LC from the hills. curses! there's always next time. so fun though.

oh yeah! there is a wonderful boy in my life, y'all (well, he's been there for quite a while now!). most know the story already, but i'm quite ecstatic 'bout it. so three cheers for that!

other assorted pop culture tidbits that i would like to mention but don't feel like discussing at length right now:
-everyone needs to go see juno 'cause it's GOOD.

-speaking of teen pregnancy...jamie-lynn spears getting knocked up = story of the damn year??! honestly, that family is a trainwreck that just gets better and better to watch as time goes on.

-i don't think anyone besides me is watching clash of the choirs, but i don't care because it's like sister act III and i love it. i mean, michael bolton conducting an uplifting rendition of "ain't no mountain high enough"? come on now.

-cisco adler....i mean, i really don't have anything to say about him but he just needs to be a constant presence in my life.

anything else, folks?? i'm serious about stickin' with this.

"get the pepperoni!"

2006-12-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

whoops, sorry, i kinda almost forgot about this thing. let's bring everyone up to speed:

-my thanksgiving was disastrous. all due to the fact that it was not held by my mom and dad, but instead we all were forced to go to western mass to my cousin's house, where i ate turkey that they cooked on WEDNESDAY (who does that...seriously?) and cold stuffing with sausage in it. plus, i missed the parade because we were traveling. worst!

-upon my return to boston from thanksgiving break, laura and i decorated our fabulous apartment in fabulous holiday style while listening to an amazing christmas mix cd i prepared. we have fake candles on the window sills, an adorable little tree with colored lights and glitzy decorations, and snowflakes hanging on the windows. i want to cry when i look at it.

-i would produce pictures of said decorations, except for the fact that at some undetermined time after the rooney show, my digital camera dropped off of my desk into my trash can without my knowledge and i threw the damn thing away. neat!

-please, no one see that movie "deck the halls". kate, cori & i decided that it might be a cute holiday film...NOPE. it was just awful. way too over the top to be funny, and just...awful. not even matthew broderick or danny devito could save that shit.

-laura & i have been taking advantage of our cable lately and watching legends of the hidden temple pretty much every day. i really never realized how completely creepy kirk fogg is. he can't stop touching the children! ew.

all along the watchtower

2006-11-01T15:29:00.000-08:00

HI. a few things. halloween was basically a bust this year. it all started on saturday, when laura, jenny, and i went to a masquerade at BU (not dressed in costumes, mind you) where phantom planet was playing. the event started at 10, so we got there accordingly. of course, we soon found out that the band was not actually playing until 12. WTF? we walked around the area for like an hour and a half, and while the performance was great, my view was severely obstructed by obnoxious girls in costumes with huge cumbersome wings that nearly knocked my eye out. fuck that. i got a good idea to be a "deal or no deal" model yesterday but i was kind of too lazy to make it happen. there's always next year.

it should be said that these past few days of hearing damage began on friday, when the three of us went to the steel train show at TT the bear's, since jenny knows one of the guys in the band. we played pool with him and it was pretty fun overall.

ummm, basically my roommate laura and i are obsessed with craigslist, but it's ok because it appears the rest of boston is, too. i first need to preface this with the fact that it had been my goal to have someone write a "missed connection" about me (this means that if you see someone cute on the subway, street, wherever, you can go on the site and describe what they looked like and that you thought you shared a "moment" or what have you in order to find them). ANYWAYS, i really wanted one. and i finally got one. except it was with a total fucking creep. so, i got out of marketing early one day and went to catch the T at boylston like usual to go home. as soon as the train pulls up, i lock eyes with this CREEP. i get on the train and sit down, and unfortunately said creep is sitting across from me smirking. no, wait, let me describe this man (whom i initially thought was a transsexual): long, fur-trimmed coat, huge bellbottoms (with the hideous fabric inserts on the bottom), spray-painted silver boots, dangly earrings, and stringy brown hair that was half in a ponytail. anyways, he is fucking smiling at me, and then the stupid train was taken out of service, meaning i needed to switch trains to go like, one stop. he friggin' FOLLOWED me onto the next train and then turned away from me, hunched over and reading some weird foreign book. ew. later that night, i go on to check the missed connections and read this:

"luminesint girl at boylston - m4w - 25. you: beautiful brunet beauty in purple top and jeans. i smiled at you and tryd to catch your eye a few times but im not sure if your interested. id like to get cofee with you sometime and talk. if you remember me please reply." NO sir. but i made up a fake e-mail to determine if it was the dude, and i get the following responses. i'm not making this up.

"my beautius brunet. i have thought of you. if this is
you the details are you where wereing a purple top and
jeans. you had beautiful brunet hare. i wanted to
aproach you but i didnt know if your intrested. id
really like to get cofee sometime."

"i was wereing silver boots and my rabit hare coat. i wanted to
aproach you but i didnt think your interested.
is this you my brunet beauty?"

"were are you my luminesint brunet? i realy want to get cofee with you.
are you intrested. please repond."

"brunet. i will not tell you again. repond."

after this last frightening message, i "reponded" and told him i wasn't his "brunet", even though i am. so creepy.

on a lighter note, i went to see ben lee and rooney the other night at the paradise. it was an amazing show, and i got taylor locke's guitar pick from rooney/also had eye sex with him because i'm a 14 year old girl (he's baaasically my love, as you'll see the majority of the pics are of him, even though i felt awkward snapping pictures since he was standing in front of me and kept glancing over). oh well. i should get paid for this shit.



P.S. Laura heard our neighbor (the hot stoner jake gyllenhaal one) having an orgasm the other night,
no lie...she went down to take out the trash and heard this semi-awkward "guttural moaning", and
stopped on the stairs and heard it once more. we think he was probably alone.
that shit's hot. now we love him even more.

let me get what i want

2006-10-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

i'm getting better at updating more often, sweet!

so...let's see. last sunday i saw michael ian black and michael showalter at the paradise with chris, and it was absolutely hysterical. both of them are so ridiculous, raunchy, and offensive in the best sense. i had a ton of fun. one of the highlights was most certainly when michael showalter played his "guilty pleasure" songs and one of them was "crash" by dave matthews band. his reaction: "yeah!! this song makes me want to get a white baseball cap, turn it backwards, buy a keg, date rape my girlfriend and wear one of those lance armstrong bracelets!" hahaha. sad but true. god i hate dmb. michael ian black is 10x hotter in person than on TV. i love him. that is all.

i went home this weekend and it was great to relax and shop and eat apple crisp. i bought my halloween costume which is like a poor man's cleopatra (see here), and the sales "woman" at the halloween store was most definitely a man. her (his) name was sydney and she was like "oh my god, that costume is perfect, because you have that GREAT cut...with the bangs and everything! you should try it on." so she basically forced me to try it on and then i came out to get my mom's opinion, and she was still lurking. "ohhhh joy!" was her reaction. WHO SAYS THAT? it was pretty amusing.

also, i went out to the common man for dinner and got crab cakes and they were brilliant.

i finally got decent pictures taken at paper this week! the dude from death from above 1979, mstrkrft, was dj-ing, and he pretty much sucked, but it was a really really fun time.

jenny & i! and myself and patrick from northeastern, looking insane.

the city's changed as much as a small city can...

2006-10-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

ok, it's been far too long, blog. but practically everyone is home for the long weekend besides me (i'm going home next weekend instead), so this is the perfect opportunity to write in this lil' thing.

various musings:
-i didn't think i would be too happy about it, but i am actually welcoming fall with open arms. i always associate boston with this season for some reason, and it's absolutely gorgeous here right now. i've still been walking home from school for the past week or so and i love it.

-school's going great (well, besides me probably failing yesterday's stats test..uhhh?). i especially love my marketing class and my copywriting class is really challenging but for some reason the teacher really likes my stuff.

-the nightlife here is so brilliant! last weekend, jenny and i ventured out to allston to the pill at great scott and it was such a cool little rock bar- we saw some random band play, and then after a PBR or so, we danced to the smiths, stevie wonder, and various britpop...i was in heaven!! we also went to PAPER on thursday with two of her roommates and it was the best one yet- the dude from nightmare of you was DJing with Ultragrrrl (i have a book by her on playlists, so i knew she would have good taste). they friggin' played "Freedom" by george michael!! and i'm sure i was the only person in there that knew the words. oh well. we got two more pictures taken, but i haven't seen them yet. hopefully i fared better this time.

-what else? um, we went to a pretty cool jazz festival last saturday too after strolling down newbury street. woo!

-the new degrassi owns my life and everyone needs to watch it...k thanks.

-i made an actual chicken/stuffing dinner thing last night and could not believe i made such a delicious meal.

-laura and i love the woman at dunkin' donuts who knows our order every morning and has our coffees ready before we even get up to the register. holla.

a great fall playlist!

here are four songs that have been getting a lot of rotation from me lately, and they have a "fall" vibe to them (or at least they do to me). and you can download them all! golly gee, it's awesome.

french kicks- so far we are (this one's essential!)
paper moon- string of blinking lights
hot iqs- firecracker
tokyo police club- cheer it on

enjoy!

sam walton was a cheap, miserly motherfucker

2006-09-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

honestly, i love boston so much. i've always been one to say "everything happens for a reason", which i definitely still believe, but regardless of whether this move was destined or not, i feel that it was totally the right decision and the freedom i feel right now is so wonderful. living in an urban environment is something i don't think i can get sick of.

rundown of the past few days because they have been AMAZING, even if they've turned me into a complete hag today.

thursday: thursday night, jenny, laura, and i ventured out to PAPER, a dance party of sorts on lansdowne street.

we were psyched to see protokoll play- this band has been one of my absolute favorites the past year (i highly recommend "moving forward" and "DNR"- listen to them!) and the night ended up being pretty surreal. the other day, i noticed a guy working in the bookstore who looked familiar. low and behold, it's the lead singer! only at emerson, i swear.

anyways, jenny and i went over to him after their set and were chatting, and he invited us to their van to drink some PBRs and such. we ended up just drinking and listening to music with him and a couple of the other band members and it was fabulous.

also, this crazy photographer man was chasing jenny & i around, and took some cobra-like picture which i totally fucked up because i was intoxicated and unsure of how to pose. like honestly, look. i'm such an asshole. SOMEONE CUT MY BANGS AND LIFT MY CHIN UP, please.

anyways, the night was totally worth it for staying out til 2:30 when we both had 10am classes, YEAH!

friday: it was my roomie laura's birthday on saturday, so we held a little fiesta on friday night. basically, this fiesta centered around degrassi, beer, and our obsession with our neighbor. oh, we also sent a myspace message to a kid we saw on MTV's "next".

but seriously, we are completely and totally consumed with our neighbor. we saved his apartment from water damage the other day (his smoke detector was going off because of a water leak when he wasn't home the other day, and we ran to the fire department and saved the day), and left him a note telling him what happened. he came up the stairs and thanked us and we fell in love even though we had encountered him briefly before. this man is in his late 20s, and looks like jake gyllenhaal, no lie. he's got a slurry, stoner voice and we want to fornicate with him, including jenny who doesn't even live here. he is a smoker and props the outside door open with his lighter. SIGH. anyways, in our wasted bliss we decided that a good idea would be to leave him a beer and ANOTHER note that read:

dear sean,
today is my 21st birthday, but this is a present for YOU. please accept this beer as a token of our neighborly love. we enjoy writing you notes, especially when intoxicated. in short, we're wasted.

sincerely,
laura and kim (the girls upstairs)

it was a brilliant affair. except he didn't reply :(

next week, chuck klosterman is coming to the BU barnes and noble...BOOYAH!

oh, and classes are fine and good.

becoming a speck

2006-09-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

MAN!! so, i am currently sitting in my newfound urban digs in boston, and feel like i'm in some cheesy scene on some kind of awful hour long drama. anyways, it took about three full days to get to some degree of settled-ness, but things are finally feeling a lot more like home. our living room walls are still pretty bare, so i should have pictures by next week. the kitchen is friggin' adorable and looks like a 50's diner. i love boston, too. i've started to meet some great people even though classes haven't started yet, which i'm happy about.

now, for a few things:

- my roommate laura, our new friend jenny, and i decided to be sociable and attend this 80's music video lecture that was being held as part of orientation (yeah, this really is the school for me). when we entered, we were greeted by freakishly peppy orientation leaders and a roomful of shiny happy freshmen clapping and dancing to retro songs. we were scared. but the lecture was pretty interesting.

-i absolutely love living in the north end. when we open our windows, i want to run right down the street and eat italian food all day because it smells so delicious. i ate a chocolate covered cannoli the other night and it was amazing. just walking through my neighborhood makes me happy. but the other night i overheard some guy screaming "it was a shock to see her vagina". whaaaaaaaaaat.

-our downstairs neighbor is seriously the most cliche stoner neighbor EVER and i love it so much. he's like 27 and we met him when he stumbled out of his door at about 10 at night when we were coming in from somewhere and was like "uh, heeeey...new neighbors? yeeeah, uh, i 'll be around for like, a little while if you need any help...". alright, dude.

- jenny and i were discussing how while we stood out like sore thumbs at our previous schools for dressing all crazy-like, here we blend in like you wouldn't believe. just walking into emerson's main building, i feel like i've entered the twilight fashion zone. no, seriously, there's a facebook group here called "every week is fashion week at the little building". i've totally started to kick it up a notch.

-speaking of people here, i am baaaasically in lust with every boy i've seen thus far, both at the school and in the city in general. there's hair, and lots of it. absolutely perfect.

- i have to get used to 10 million more creepy men on the street and subway. ick.

- i got to see mary today, and we had a great time getting coffee and walking around!

ummm sidenote, we also get digital cable and i'm really excited that i can watch degrassi.

that is all for now. someone please recommend a good song because my september playlist is looking mighty empty.

iron this on when you get home

2006-08-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

this past weekend was interesting. i had a dance party with my aunts, uncles, and cousins in our kitchen to justin timberlake's "sexyback". no, seriously, that really happened...and i also attempted to teach my uncle to pop-lock, unsuccessfully.

we all went to boston on saturday to shop and wander around. at faneuil hall, we watched this family of street performers from england ride unicycles and do handstands and balancing acts. and later, some other dude juggled knives while hanging upside down from a pole/bar thing. the funniest part was when some random-ass old dude with a ponytail who was walking by came running out, limboed under the pole and jumped up, saying "WOOOO!", and continued on his way. the juggler was just like "uh, stay off drugs, kids". good stuff.

WHY IS VINCENT STILL ON PROJECT RUNWAY, someone tell me please. the man discusses clothing in a sexual context, i.e. "it gets me off/it turns me on" and hurls such insults as "why don't you stick some harry winstons up your nose" (diamonds...nose..um...WHAT?) awful. not to mention, his designs are complete and total shit.

i just got my emerson e-mail address, and consequently switched my facebook over. yay for new beginnings.

also, i've been meaning to post this video, and by now probably everyone and their mother has seen it. but truly, i can't stop watching it! it's WAY better than the million ways dance. check it.

here it goes again

2006-08-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

hello, folks.

i would like to first vent about a topic that has been plaguing me all summer on my commute to and from work. BIKERS. not motorcyclists...the little buggers who ride their bicycles in the friggin' center of the friggin' road while i am trying to drive. there is no shoulder on most of the roads around here, so get your god damn bike off of the roads that are intended for CARS and CARS only. at least bike in a low-traffic area. but don't wave like an asshole for me to drive around you when there is no way i can see if there is a car in the oncoming lane. bah.

ok, now that that is out of the way...i got some nice crazy fuschia/magenta highlights in my hair the other day. i might get some more soon. i enjoy them greatly.

also, most everyone who has talked to me recently knows how angry i am that local boy josh logan got kicked off rock star: supernova (he's from manchester). the man has so much soul it's ridiculous. but he's too good for their stupid asses anyways...i'm obsessed. luckily i can relive his glory, youtube style. his first performance still gives me goosebumps, man. and i love this black crowes song.

i finish work on friday, yeahhh man. no more cubicle!! though i will miss the 25 cent coffee even though it sort of tasted like mud. and the dude that looked like chuck norris (my coworkers and i aptly named him 'chuck norris') and the two-hour lunches and intern outings. but that's about it.

OH, and i finally found a new song i enjoy! i've been redeemed. it's by a grand ol' band from oregon called the village green (name taken from the kinks' album the village green preservation society). i strongly recommend this one...it's insanely catchy.

the village green- when the creepers creep in

i literally almost bought a multicolored, floral print sleeveless jumpsuit at salvation army yesterday. sad thing is, i really am kind of wishing i had bought it still.

you think it's funny, well you're drowning in it too...

2006-08-01T17:15:00.000-07:00

HEY Y'ALL. first of all, i would like to laugh at mel gibson for getting a DUI. according to an article i read, he drunkenly proclaimed himself as the "king of malibu", which is the funniest part of the whole thing. and really, do you think alcohol planted raging anti-semitic thoughts in his head? yeeees, that must be it. what a fool.

anyways, my dear friend jill came to visit this weekend, and we had a completely fantastic time. this included running in the pouring rain through downtown nashua, a trip into boston complete with a pervy/corny street magician, hip hop dancers, and being assigned by the commuter rail conductor to keep an eye on this creepy man who kept switching seats and begging people for money.

we also watched about 260 hours straight of project runway season 2 (ok, no, but we really watched the whole entire season) and it was brilliant. i am eager to see the scandal tomorrow night. it better be angela...what a ho. christine and her sister lauren now come over every single wednesday, and we alternate between "so you think you can dance?" and "rock star: supernova" results, then proceed to eat delicious food and throw things at the tv during project runway. it's a glorious, lazy, evening.

boston is drawing nearer, though it hasn't quite hit me yet. i also keep forgetting that i'm actually going to have to do SCHOOLWORK, which is so terribly inconvenient. god, i just want to eat canolis and frolic on boston common.

i love the new hellogoodbye album and hate the new thunderbirds are now! album. what is going on in the world?! i basically hate all current music lately which is weird. my playlist last month consisted of the song "no excuses" by alice in chains, and constant nirvana. i don't even know. speaking of which, i'll end with the video for "no excuses", which is nothing special but an amazing song.

she's got her own conversation to hold

2006-07-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

shit, this is been almost the best week ever, for various reasons, some of which i am not even at liberty to discuss here.

i just won an aqua slipcover for the couch in my apartment on e-bay, and that made me happy. you know your life has reached it's pinnacle when winning slipcovers in online auctions excites you, truly.

i went to emerson yesterday and got my schedule all set up for next semester. it's pretty great, as i'm out of class by either 1 or 2 every day except thursday. fuck thursday- i'm taking a night class from 6:00-9:45. WHAT? that's torturous. especially since it's OC night. i'll deal. i still can't fathom that i'm living in the north end. that place is unreal, and so quaint i might just vomit every time i walk down my street.

anyone catch the new project runway? of course, no one can ever compare to the magic that was santino and daniel v., but this season is gonna come pretty dang close. my favorites thus far: keith- he won the first challenge, but i even liked him before then. he has a good style sense about him, and seems cool.

jeffrey- um, how did he almost get kicked off? i friggin' adored his multi-layered, deconstructed hobo ensemble. whatever, i love him even if the judges don't.

alison- i like her stuff a lot, very simple and cute...she's actually probably the only female designer i liked.

malan breton- he's so snotty and british and slightly evil, how can you not love him? his outfit sucked though.

i DO NOT LIKE VINCENT. who the hell puts a wicker basket with dangling chains on someone's head and tries to pass it off as a hat? awful. he's so bumbling and stupid.

(HORRID!)

in the vast abyss of bad music that is out there right now, i've managed to discover a gem by the nyc band lolita bras. this is the only tune of theirs i can find out there right now, but it has a great mellow britpop sound. check it out.

lolita bras- her own conversation

also, global facebook groups are ruining my life. that is all.

here's where everything comes together, either that or it all falls apart

2006-07-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

sup, folks?

last night i attempted to do something productive with myself, a.k.a see pirates of the caribbean, but when christine and i arrived at 6:40 for the 7 show (stupid, stupid) we were told that it was sold out not only for 7, but also the 9 show. in three theatres!! who are all of these swashbuckling freaks? i couldn't believe it.

on another completely random topic, i went to portsmouth last weekend. as many know, i am obsessed with this town. truly and completely obsessed. it never fails to put me in a good mood. i really would love to live there someday. hipsters everywhere, a great record store, a great coffee shop (several, actually), AND a wonderful vintage store which i always go to.

this place is called odd showroom, and it's run by a really awesome lady named amity joy who makes a good portion of the stuff in there. i always spend a good chunk of time in there browsing and end up buying some ridiculous pair of shoes or shirt, or dress, or whatever.

ANYWAYS, i was looking up stuff about the store after i went last weekend, and apparently, this woman used to date the late and great singer, elliott smith. i decided to listen to the album i have of his and realized that one of the songs on there is called "amity". crazy! so, i own two shirts that elliott smith's ex-girlfriend made, and that excites me.

speaking of music, i have been almost unhealthily obsessed with the band superchunk. so i'm about 11 years too late, but that's fine. not even just superchunk, though...the whole mid-90's indie movement has piqued my interest recently. if you are feelin' like a little flannel, i would recommend you also check out sebadoh, dinosaur jr., walt mink, and perhaps some older guided by voices.

but for your enjoyment, here's a superchunk video which i found the other day for their song "hyper enough" off of the brilliant album "here's where the strings come in". it's SO 90's and i friggin' love the beginning. YEAH!

p.s. i love the new justin timberlake song, "sexyback" and i don't care who knows it. it's absolutely on fire. that man is so fantastic.

p.p.s. why does the new rock star: supernova suck much more than last season so far? there are only about 3 decent people on the show, and in my opinion the best one is the dude from manchester. represent new hampshire, dude!

we could do with some more poison!

2006-06-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

why do weekends go by so insanely fast? i hate it. i attended the wedding of a ridiculously distant relative, and i might as well have been a wedding crasher because i knew basically no one besides my grandparents, and aunt and uncle. it wasn't all bad though.

buuuut anyways, it got me thinking about things, namely weddings. and things i like and don't like about them. so because i love lists, here's my 2 cents on all things matrimonial.

+open bars: bless the individual who came up with this idea, i tell you! and since it was a wedding (read: lax bartenders) i found myself unnecessarily drunk on a white russian, southern comfort old-fashioned, two glasses of champagne and some wine. however, it was SO awkward being drunk around my family members. even worse than that was that my mother was drunk as well. it was a mess, but in the best sense. it made the wedding that much more bearable though, so kudos to open bars.

-the bride and groom shoving cake in each other's faces: i was so so glad that this bride and groom were tasteful about it and cutely fed each other rather than making a huge gross immature spectacle. at all of the other weddings i've been to, i can barely stand when the cutting of the cake comes because it's so friggin' TACKY when they turn it into a food fight. grow up, please!

+eye-fucking the shit out of random hot guests: at this wedding, i set my sights on this random chain-smoking, semi-chubby dude with a goatee. nothing more came of it than the glorious eye sex (though i secretly hoped for a random bathroom tryst or something...uh whaaat?) but it is undeniably awesome to keep up a mystique and flirt with anonymous people.

+hors d'oeuvres: little lobster sandwiches and stuffed mushrooms? i'm in. i mean, i could even do without the main course...just give me those lil' snacks all night along with some cheese and crackers and i'm set.

-awkward conversations with random relatives and other people: i mean, sometimes it's fine (see my next point), but when the conversations are peppered with awkward silences every 10 seconds and i have no idea how i'm related to this person, i basically want to run away. ugh.

+actually meeting interesting people: there was this older guy (like, my dad's age or older) sitting at our table and we got into like a half-hour long conversation about "so you think you can dance?" and britney spears. this dude was HIP. loved it.

-other random unnecessary tacky shit: case in point, one of the groomsmen performing karaoke to ja rule's "put it on me"...i wanted to vomit. and the bride and groom's first dance was to savage garden's "i knew i loved you before i met you". i mean, i'm sorry, but that shouldn't be any couple's "song". get real, people. ah, i can't wait to plan my wedding.

that's about it. OH, and i'm also randomly obsessed with this song by test icicles. it's one of those listen-to-on-repeat-10-times-a-day things. it sounds basically like the blood brothers or the kinison met bloc party and had a dance party. literally. the shouted chorus just rules. check it ouuuuut. (sidenote, break me off a piece of the first & third boy PLEASE)

TEST ICICLES- CIRCLE, SQUARE, TRIANGLE

yeah!

manipulation gets me through

2006-06-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

in the immortal words of neal carlson, the day IS a drag when you're workin' for the money. my "marketing intelligence" internship is fantastic in terms of my coworkers and the moolah, but the days are SO friggin' long. at least i get every other friday off, and i will have some money for food (and shows) in boston.

it's pretty cliche, but i thought i would compile a lil' vh1-esque "sizzler"/"hot list" of some of my current obsessions in no particular order: (warning: youtube heavy!)

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE: i slacked off and didn't watch beyond the auditions last season, but CRAP, can these kids dance this year! it's totally one of those inspirational shows that just makes me want to leap onstage and go flashdance on the audience's ass. the dancers are really likeable, too; my personal favorites are ben (the flamboyant shagster) allison (the contemporary chick) travis (just AMAZING) and martha..also great. but i seriously am in love with this lil' swing dude, benji. just watch his audition (especially the second part)- this kid is AMAZING.

FNX BEING COMMERCIAL FREE: honestly, if i didn't love fnx radio with all of my heart before, this commercial free til july 4th thing really sends them over the top. yeah, they have frequent snapple plugs and promotions, but NO COMMERCIALS? freakin' awesome.

ICE CREAM SUNDAES: fuck, why not? they're delicious. except when the bitter high school bitches at king kone try to fit way too much into the small sundae cup and there is syrup and whipped cream and ice cream and shit all dripping down the sides. DAYUM!

APARTMENT SHOPPING: sure, it makes me feel unnecessarily old walking into linens and things and scopin' out the dinnerware, but it is kind of satisfying to shop for your OWN place. meaning i can buy an unnecessary "old fashioned soda fountain straw dispenser" for my kitchen table just because i want to.

IT FINALLY BEING SUNNY OUTSIDE: i hate rain in most circumstances, as it adds an unnecessarily depressing element to the day. thus, sunshine makes me happy. and the fact that the torrential monsoons here in NH seem to be over is brilliant.

THE WILLOWZ (and their videos): the willowz rule, man. they've got the 60's vibe down to a t, no posing or posturing necessary, in both their image and sound. i love it! i thought the white stripes videos were innovative, but these kids are definitely on their tail. they recently released a DVD "video collective", and i snagged "cons & tricks"- easily my favorite song of theirs and a CRAZY video, as well as "unveil", which showcases their fantastic retro-ness in all of it's glory. you can check out more on youtube. enjoy!

CONS & TRICKS:

UNVEIL:

on a sidenote, one thing i am not too jazzed about is that love of my life and strokes guitarist nick valensi is married and going to be a father. i was kind of hoping he would just show up at my house one day and i could have his love children. oh well.

...in the epic to discover what has happened to our saturdays

2006-06-07T16:38:00.000-07:00

so, i don't know about anyone else, but i've been severely lacking in the happy summer music department. nothing that has come out too recently has really made me want to lay out in the grass and cloud watch, or just close my eyes and enjoy the sun (lately, on those rare days when it's not raining, of course). that is, nothing except these two brilliant bands, both of whom narrated a good portion of my recent vacation to las vegas and los angeles. it could be that they are both from the l.a. area, but who knows. all i know is that each group's music makes for a perfect summer soundtrack.

Everything about The Little Ones makes me smile, from their album covers to their press photos to their joyful pop tunes. I couldn't get enough of them after listening to some of the mp3s on their site, so i purchased their Sing Song EP and it is well worth it if you are just wanting to enjoy some fabulous songs in terms of both melody and lyrics.

Download my personal favorite, "Lovers Who Uncover".

WHY HASN'T ANYONE HEARD OF GREAT NORTHERN? These guys (and girl) are truly fantastic. Their sound is whimsical, psychedelic, mysterious, and just plain awesome. Better yet, you can download all of their songs from their myspace page. PLEASE listen to "The Middle"- I would be shocked if anyone didn't completely love it.

linear communication

2006-06-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

so, with some coaxing from jacob following the advent of my 20th birthday, i have decided to abandon the "livejournal" world and create one of these oh-so-hip "blog" contraptions. hopefully this will stick, because i just enjoy writing for my own reference and for the the sake of reminiscing about things. but i might use this purely for funny or amusing things. who knows.

and in case you are wondering, my blog title is the name of a great song by head like a kite, which you can get right here.

in the past couple months, there have been a lot of changes underway. i will be starting in the fall as a transfer at emerson college, and i couldn't be more thrilled! my roommate laura & i found a fabulous apartment in the north end of boston (pictures below), and are surrounded by shops, restaurants and bakeries- this will most likely be more of a problem because i baaaasically plan to set up shop at the bakery 24/7.

UMM, i'm starting my position as an "administrative intern" at my dad's company tomorrow. NO idea what i'm doing, which is always fun. i seriously can't wait to begin my 40-hour a week grind in which i will turn into an old woman. i plan to go to work, come home, run on my treadmill, eat my dinner, watch my "programs" (i'm trying to emphasize my senior citizen-ness) and go to bed. maybe i'll do a crossword puzzle somewhere in there.

also, kristi & i are PROBABLY the most awkwardly amazing people ever. she took me out for a birthday dinner the other night, to bugaboo creek STEAKHOUSE, and we both got fish. then we proceeded to jam to a mix of vanessa carlton's "white houses", white canadian rapper snow's "informer", and ryan cabrera's "on the way down" in the car. then we watched "so you think you can dance".

the next night she came over and we watched the national spelling bee. for all TWO HOURS. not kidding, it was wonderful.

i'm thinking about applying to cokemachineglow as a contributor or staff writer, since i love reviewing music. uhhh yeah.

here are some pictures of the apartment, doodz. of course none of this stuff is going to be there when we get there, besides the couch because the girl is nice enough to give it to us, but it's cute as a button. but i already got a brilliant retro red and silver kitchen table.