21.

hello blog,

as you can see from this picture, i'm not dead! (i just can't think of anything to say lately)

here's what has been happening in my world-bubble lately:

a) excessive mumford and sons sing-a-longs

b) working, working, working

c) failing at productivity because of too much text messaging and smiles

d) not cleaning, ever (need to clean!!!!)

e) lots of friends supposed to be visiting this month. stoked for that! hoping i can find the time for maximum fun!

f) getting tattooed by cris cleen on saturday. not sure what it's gonna be yet, but i know it's going to hurt!

g) gonna try my luck at some mint-chocolate chip ice cream real soon

h) finally ate at le grand dakar in clinton hill. it's no bissap baobob, but the spring rolls were awesome and i would go back to try their okra gumbo (even though i don't like okra)

i) my feet have been very itchy, but i think that phase is almost over. bittersweet on getting them coloured in!

j) i love girls nights! even when they happen at shitty places like papacitos! (never again!)

k) my letter press internship is going great! i always have long days, but it's like a sweet hangout party. beers and jokes and music.

l) i dyed my hair. now i just need it cut!

m) mia bought a super cute shower curtain (non plastic!) for our bathroom. now it doesn't look so drab and downtrodden

n) winter is over! so stoked beyond words!

o) currently reading "every man dies alone" (ulysses is on hold until i finish)

p) became familiar with the antics of lady gaga (who would have thought)

q) realized that there are way too many girls putting their business up on the internet. i think it's kind of sad. less is more sometimes.

r) realized that music videos from the nineties are the best...

the end. xoxo

20.

18.

who wants to listen to me talk for 28 minutes?

if you've never read ulysses before, let me read it to you. it's full of mistakes and weird pauses, coughing, page turning, mispronounced words, laughing, and more.

(ulysses - pgs 1-14)

i was told that it is easier to make it through ulysses if you read it out loud... so that's what i'm going to do. i'm going to read ulysses by james joyce out loud, and i am going to record it, and post it. it's not really anything that anybody will want to listen to, but i am excited to take on and finish a project that will take some dedication. i am excited to become a better reader, and possibly a better public speaker too.

17.

. in recent news...

. today was a good day. i like good days. it involved ruining a lot of bagels at work, hang out sessions, lots of laughs, a trip to the bookstore, better weather (minus the ride home. reminded me of sf, but with more dirt), bluetoothing for the first time, tasty thai food, girl dates, and snail mail. wowee, that's a good day.

. the other day dreams came true... except it's a slightly outdated dream... but i still thoroughly enjoyed it...

... i got into college. suny purchase was pretty much the reason i decided to move to nyc, even though i had no idea if i would get in or not - i did. go me! while i'm not sure if i'm going to enroll (i'm not sure of anything anymore...) it feels nice because i have worked very hard to do well in school the past few years, but i wasn't sure it would make up for my prior mistakes. it did. and that feels good either way. happy! this was probably one of the only times in my whole life that i've cried because i was happy.

. i've decided that i need to be more conscious about what i've eating. mostly because it makes me feel like crap and i want be nice to my body, and also because i've formed a permanent food baby. so time to cut down on giant pots of pasta at midnight. or finishing the food off of everybody's plate. or eating it because it's free and available. fruit over snacks and treats. need to cook more. grains and veggies. gonna make some of those recipes i drool over!

. my wednesdays are spent in a big cold room getting inky, dirty fingers. mostly i organize small pieces of metal, but sometimes they let me make things. this scares me, but also makes me feel inspired, even though i have no idea what i am doing...

... it only took me three days, but i finally finished my little handbill project. it's not great, but i'm excited to learn more about letterpress and design and typography. wee!

. i bought two books today from book thug nation: "every man dies alone" by hans fallada and "ulysses" by james joyce. since it's very hard for me to read books for fun while i'm in school, i really need to take advantage of this free time! i know "ulysses" is not going to be an easy read, but i want to give it a try since it's an important work of modern literature... and you know... i like "modernism". plus it's good to challenge yourself. at the bookstore i received two pieces of advice: a) skip around/you don't have to read it in order and b) read it out loud. and i think i will... not because i think it will make it easier to get through (like i was advised) but because i think it will be good for me to do something that i feel silly doing. i'll keep you updated.

. it was so nice sunday afternoon. while winter can be a real bummer sometimes, spring and spring-like days wouldn't be what they are without it. it was so nice that i decided to walk to work for brunch, with just my hoodie, and i was feeling so nice that i even sang out loud to my ipod. (this is a big deal for me. thankfully there were no people around - phew)

"what's my vote? my vote is for keeping it real. walk around

your town with your headphones on, singing out loud"

. there are not enough hours in the day. i want to make ice cream. make crafts for my friends. sew dresses. read books. watch movies. eat food. laugh. dream. ride my bike. go to a museum. dance.

. speaking of ice cream: root beer ice cream? fail! but that's okay, it's all part of the learning process and i'm excited to try it again - and again, and again, until i get it right. so for the record - to make cola ice cream you cannot just add cola. i am going to find a home brew store with root beer extract, which i am not really into because it's most definitely full of crap, but if it works then i am going to try and make my own, which will be rad. and an adventure! i also want to make a boston cream donut ice cream (ripping off ben and jerry's). but avocado and coffee are next on the list.

. i have a tattoo appointment for march 5th. not quite sure what i'm getting, but i know it will be rad. i like how i was so excited to move to nyc so i could get tattooed by rad people, but since i've been here i've only been tattooed by cris cleen, who tattooed me in sf a whole big bunch. nyc pricing = sadness.

. blah blah blah. the end.

16.

"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing

some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands

of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I

mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of

some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch

everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean

if they're running and they don't look where they're

going I have to come out from somewhere and catch

them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher

in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the

only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy."

15.

a) more snow storms for nyc - besides not being able to ride my bike so well, enjoying myself much more this time around - thanks to warm boots and cute knitted hats! (two things i hate wearing!)

b) letterpress owned my life this week. i'm more than happy to sort type for hours - but ask me to "design" something and print it and i might just die. i don't know anything about typography, or lines, or negative space, or life...

these are some proofs that i pulled today... trying to find mistakes, problem solve, and also figure out what the hell i am doing. it all sort of makes me feel like a big turd, but maybe by the time the snow melts i will have my head all wrapped around it. and who knows, maybe when i go back to school i'll take a graphic design course - might be fun/helpful?!

c) tonight i ate more ramen. from minca. hold the bean sprouts = eating the whole bowl = happiness. whole bowl of noodles + pint of beer = dead and exploding insides. going to manhattan bums me out... let's just stay in brooklyn, k?

d) had the cafe au lait donut today from dough. going to eat another one tomorrow. cow :)

e) for the first time in my life i feel like i'm in some bad 20-something rom-com. it's interesting enough, but all i really want to do is ride bikes, drink a beer, sing along real loud, and go on a date to spot dessert bar. is that too much to ask? (no douchbags or lame shoes, please)

f) ten songs for the end of january 2011:

charles manson - look at your game, girl

the thermals - brace and break

port o'brien - tree bones

the national - racing like a pro

coco rosie - candy land

pretty girls make graves - this is our emergency

neutral milk hotel - two-headed boy

saves the day - jodie

cursive - some red handed slight of hand

at the drive in - pattern against user

g) ice cream pt 5: rootbeer!

14.

hola,

recently i had a day off after a long week (horray). while i didn't get any laundry done (oops, funk!) i did manage to cross a few things off my to-do list. ie: i finally made some pennant-garland (?) for the house. once i find some nails i think i will hang it over my 1920s panoramic that is laying on the floor of my bedroom.

i also bought some black thread, which enabled me to start on my "re-style" projects. i wish i had more of an idea of how to sew (etc) properly, but i am still excited because i think at least one dress will turn out cute. hopefully i will finish one soon! yay!

(not the churro)

i bought not one, but two! pastries from "dough" - a chai-cream filled donut and a churro. the churro i had to buy out of necessity... D and i had a (failed) mission to seek out and eat all the world's churros and decide which was the best. well, we only ate about five, and disneyland is leading the pack by a landslide... even after my "dough" churro. alas, who would have thought! the chai filled donut what meh - i think i'll stick to jelly filled or ye old faithful (plain glazed). but seriously, if you're ever in clinton hill (why would you be?!) get yourself a donut from "dough" on the corner of lafayette and franklin. they close at four, so i hope you get up earlier than i do!

i also made dinner last night... roasted the rest of the squash with broccoli and green beans & served it with pasta. i was so disappointed. let's not talk about it...

let's talk about ice cream instead:

today i made dreams a reality when i put my cream cheese/kiwi mixture into the ice cream maker and voila, cream cheese/kiwi ice cream came out! most people think that is a weird combination, but i think you'd be surprised. i'm also a freak, btw. i was really worried when i was cookin' this puppy up last night... didn't know how well the coconut and tofutti c.c. would mesh, or if you would even be able to taste the cream cheese, and it was lumpy as hell, but i am glad to announce that everything has worked out! now i can't stop eating it, eep! i want to start making my friends their favourite flavours (coffee, mint chip, pb&chocolate) but i also really want to make rootbeer, avocado, and other exciting flavours! we'll see what the future holds!

i also want to make peanut butter swirl sugar cookies with a jelly dollop! ... must find baking pan that fits in the oven!

until next time, i'll leave you with a nifty band from the bronx (80s) that my coworker showed me tonight....