Will Work for Sugary Drinks

Yesterday... went to V.Li's church picnic to help with face painting. Everyone had this crazy misconception that I was an "expert" or "pro" because I said I'd done it once before (when I was 14) ha ha. The kids were great, it was really fun actually, makes me remember how much I love painting in general heh.... There was this one boy around three years old who insisted that he wanted a "pink butterfly!!!" (as in the kind that would make his whole face into a butterfly) and said it over and over again but his mom would not let him get it because it's "for girls." Then she tried suggesting other things, and said how about a blue butterfly, but no he wanted pink. Then she asked me to do a "masculine" butterfly, and I said "um...". Then she miraculously convinced her kid to get the Batman symbol across his face instead. I just don't get what the big deal was if this kid wanted a girly pink butterfly, it would've been cute and hilarious anyway....

On to the pics...

This "boy genius" (according to the pastor) was very specific in that he wanted a sword and a heart:

Me and V.Li:

This kid chose a monster pic out of a face-painting book that he wanted:

This is the pastor (Scott), he wanted an electric guitar with lighting bolts coming out of it. I know it's not great but gotta love his growl, especially since there is a rainbow on his other cheek. So I mean, he doesn't look like a pastor at all:

Went to Ocean Park with Jen (aka Princess) on Wednesday. It was much nicer than when I last went like 7 years ago. The grounds and exhibitions and everything are kept immaculately. Also used my new phone to take pics and the pics are pretty bad but oh well.

Moulin Rouge

Parts of this film are excruciatingly unpleasant, imho. I watch this scene just for kicks (have the same version with the Chinese subtitles). Love those musical ensemble pieces.

O Captain My Captain

The cheapest place to buy computer stuff and Converse shoes is Mongkok. So after I bought computer speakers, I looked for Converses. I've been worried about the best shoes ever and thinking that I need a new pair of Converses for everyday walking around. To my dismay, they don't make/sell laceless Converses anymore?! I really don't keep up with this type of thing at all. I went to about 7 stores, and all the hundreds of Converses were lame, I was going to settle for a pair of black leather Jack Purcell ones. Then finally, I saw the ones I knew really belonged to me:

I loovvve Sailor Jerry! (And any tattoo-themed things!)

New Most Eligible Bachelor Has Arrived

Congratulations, Lo Sai, you are now the most eligible bachelor in Hong Kong.

Name: Steve
Job: yes
Education: 2 degrees of the useful variety
Likes: beagles, manga
Dislikes: annoying babies who "act" cute, movies with misleading previews
Asset: good hair
Hobby: ironing
Drunken tendency: steals restaurant decor
Ambition level: once spotted passing out biz cards at Urban Roots hair salon
Notable achievement: placed second at Chinese Dictation Competition
View on global warming: when water levels rise, we'll shoot the H2O into space

Inquiries welcome

I know life is beautiful,

but sometimes this is how I feel.

Tote bags are sexy

[I had no idea today's Earth Day when I wrote this. Funny. I was informed by Google's home page.]

When I was moving out of Evanston, one day it was snowing slush, literally the stuff at 7-eleven in white. I carried a huge stack of old magazines to the recycle bins, which is maybe 100 feet from the backdoor (in jeans and a t-shirt). It was pretty gross, cold, trecherous, and hard to negotiate. The guy who parks in the space right by the bins says to me, "It takes a brave soul to treck all the way over here just for recycling."

A lot of things about Hong Kong have surprised me since arriving here three weeks ago. The biggest thing is environmentalism. I am astonished by how much people and companies here are into the environment. It's really nice. Compared to the U.S., ugh, over there it's all talk no action. Or rather, all Oprah no reaction. I've always been annoyingly environmentally conscientious since I was really young. Like I'd do things that annoy people, such as if someone is brushing their teeth with the faucet running, I'd turn it off. It just grates on my sanity for the water to be running like that. Or in boarding school, Mr. Dowdy (who I secretly detest) would do our room check and ask why I have so many plastic bags stuffed in my closet. "Uh... to be environmentally friendly?" Landfills! They're full. Why elect to throw away when you can recycle/reuse, it just baffles me to no end.

Well, walking down the street here, every woman has one or more tote bag in addition to a handbag. I was feeling very weird on the first few days here when I was the only one with a plastic bag. I really wanted one of those cheap-ass tote bags. I imagined how free I'd be with a cheap-ass tote bag. Stores actually give away those tote bags, and some are really nice. At the supermarket, if you don't need a plastic bag, the checkout lady says Thank you for supporting environmentalism. Today I was at the largest cosmetics chain store here, and the salesgirl was explaining to the customer in front of me in line that you have to pay for a plastic bag on Tuesdays. Wow! There's propaganda galore about the environment. I mean I'm feeling totally advanced. I bet it's like this in Scandinavia, those advanced countries. Tee-hee. I read in someone's blog that you get a ticket in the EU if you don't sort your glass and plastic!

In the 5th grade (I believe... oh loyal readers, please correct me) some people including myself founded The Useless Paper Club. Well, the way it came about... basically one girl in class, Angie, said she was going to recycle this garbage paper she had. She probably wasn't even serious. But then people started passing her paper trash in class, that she collected in a plastic bag, since she said she was going to recycle it. This act spawned the Club. I told my mom about the Club, and she asked whether it's "Useless Paper Club" or "Use Less Paper Club". I said I don't know, since both made sense. But it's really the former name that was our intention. What did our Club do, you ask? Nothing. I think we just wanted to be in a club. Girl26 and I made (wrote, illustrated, stapled) a newsletter/magazine one time, only one copy, all in English, which now I guess just made us sophisticated, but people were like, Why's it in English? Anyhow, it was a really great newsletter!

And hey, if you need a newsletter done for your organization, you have no idea how good I am at that! I can single-handedly write, edit, take pictures for, layout, and publish your professional newsletter! I am a biligual, experienced writer and journalist, high-school newspaper editor, Daily Northwestern copyeditor, photographer with a good eye, highly proficient in many publishing softwares, and know what I'm talking about at the copy place! I can even produce illustrations, which I've been doing since the 5th grade (see above)! HIRE ME FOR YOUR NEWSLETTER!

Doubt thou the stars are fire

My Gondolier Dreams... Dashed!

I have some very unconventional career aspirations. When I was in middle school, I wanted to be a TVB dancer. Like, literally. People thought I was kidding. Then around high school I wanted to be a backup vocalist. I just thought that would be the best job ever. People never take me seriously when I say stuff like that, but I totally mean it. I mean, right now I want to be a professional opera singer, the only problem is, I am technically grown up already.

OK, literally, I'm not even kidding, the best job EVER is a singer in a Cirque du Soleil show. Like, seriously, I can't even imagine a better job. But I thought I'd settle to be a gondolier at the Venetian. I love Las Vegas. The Venetian has always been my favorite hotel on the Strip. (But after I went to Italy for reals, the Venetian is just so whatever now.) Well, Macau is bigger than Vegas now. Their casino revenues beat Vegas last year. That's how insane it is. I found out the Venetian Hotel in Macau is the biggest resort in Asia, and it has three canals. I immediately was like, How can I be a gondolier at the Venetian in Macau???!!!

Last weekend we went to Macau and stayed at the Venetian. The suites were off-the-wall amazing. But anyways, the package included a free gondola ride, so what did I do? I go on the gondola ride and basically had 10 minutes to ask the gondolier everything about being a gondolier at the Venetian (sort of like the classic trapped-in-an-elevator scenario). "Where are you from?" "Where do people audition?" "Do you have a suite here?" "How many days do you work?" "Do you like living here?" She only sang for like 1 minute HA.

So my gondolier dreams have been dashed. First, you have to have been born in Italy. That's the end of that for me. Second, everyone auditions in Vegas. Ar! They are mostly actors in addition to singers. You have to learn how to operate a gondola and I'm just terrible at stuff like that.

Well, Cirque du Soleil's show in Macau is coming soon, so... I want to "run away with Cirque du Soleil," as they say.

The one who had to deal with me.

Updated website

Spent a few days creating a new website, so people will stop being confused and emailing me asking whether I'm gonna be accepting orders any time soon....

Gretchen am Spinnrade... Schubert...

Meine Ruh' ist hin,
Mein Herz ist schwer,
Ich finde sie nimmer
Und nimmermehr.

Mein Busen drängt sich
Nach ihm hin.
Ach, dürft ich fassen
Und halten ihn,

Und küssen ihn,
So wie ich wollt,
An seinen Küssen
Vergehen sollt!

Abysmal adventures in real estate

Wow, looking for an apt in HK sucks. Right now the housing market is insane. What we've been looking at are approx 700 sq ft, 2 bedrooms, somewhat close to Central, for around HK$24,000/mo. WTF. They are nasty. A few are new, but the older ones are either nasty (bathroom, kitchen) or entirely unpleasant in other ways. Even the ones that aren't nasty... it's depressing. I can't live in an apt that will make me depressed just sitting there. Not to mention the size--not even 50% of our crap will fit in these apts. I know I've been spoiled by Chicago/Evanston, but COME ON, for this price, one could rent a freaking three-bedroom apt on Michigan Avenue, and not the 800 sq ft type of 3 bedroom.

Meeting with an agent later today. Not promising at all....

And I LOVE this serviced apartment the company is giving us this month. It's almost an insult how great it is. Great location, brand new, gorgeous design, great service. And that's 874 sq ft, 1 bedroom. I would live here. Too bad it's HK$42,000+/mo. Do you know what I could get for THAT in Chicago? I dunno, maybe a penthouse apt facing Lake Michigan.

Re: my last post! It's made me sick!

I've been eating like crap, I know it, and you can tell just based on my last post.  Starting from yesterday evening I started having a stomachache, nothing major.  Then today it got vicious.  I mean, really bad, me collapsed on the bed, first reading the Bell Jar, then humming the death scenes of famous operas, then saying "ouch ouch ouch ouch," this went on for a few hours.  Then I decided I wanted medical attention and called my dad to take me to the hospital on his way home from work.  In anticipation of his picking me up, I charged my cell phone and went fetal on the couch.  Which, miraculously, cured my pain.  I tried to call him back and tell him I was feeling way better and he didn't need to get me anymore, but his phone was forwarding to the office.  Oh well.  He got here and I said I was feeling way better and I'd rather he take me to get congee.  So that's what we did.  And this is what you get for HK$30 set during afternoon-tea time (ends at 6pm): very large bowl of congee, a quite large fancy drink (such as what we got: mango tapioca drink, pearl coffee/tea yeen yeung), quite large dessert (such as what we got: sesame tong shui, tofu fa... ok I know these are like the worst translations ever).  I couldn't help getting zha leung, even though I know it's probably not good for the stomach.  My dad, having possibly never had set afternoon tea like ppl like me perpetually living in "recent college grad" lifestyle, was impressed with the cheapness.

Unlike most Hong Kong people, I'm not a foodie. People here just never stop talking about food or eating it. Like today in the elevator, I was holding food and a maintenance guy making small talk asked if that was lunch of afternoon tea. Just because people here often eat afternoon tea. As well as midnight snack. In addition to the normal 3 meals. I just don't care much about food. As long as it's keeping me alive and possibly healthy, I'm good. When I'm in the US, I often forget to eat. But the thing about living in HK is there's so much good and cheap food, even I feel relatively obsessed with eating when I am here. I pretty much have the urge to go buy food all the time since I am in TST (where my temporary abode is located). Everything is like 1 block away. I find pure bliss in the oil of roast duck skin melting over my taste buds (saving the fattest piece for last). Or when I go to my mom's office and she has breakfast delivered. Hot milk tea with a wimpy sandwich--untoasted white bread with runny scrambled egg and a piece of ham slapped together. Or congee and fried dough for breakfast. And I make special trips to the supermarket for curry-flavor Calbee chips. Today I went out to a Macau cafe that comes highly recommended to buy a hot milk tea and a Portuguese egg tart (the tart was an impulse buy). There's no bliss like slowly devouring that. And knowing that it only cost HK$20.

Finally done with my final order, the very torturous, terrible, terrifying, tedious, tumultuous, testing, taxing, time-consuming, tumor-inducing, tendon-straining, tension-creating order. I survived. Now it just needs to get there!!!

Now I've been "folded up." I've literally been curled up in bed with an awesome comforter and awesome pillows, no TV on, reading the New York Times Almanac or Time magazine or whatever book. Literally. Then I get tired and go to sleep. Or get up to binge on crackers. Like, "I'm not ready for this sort of thing" (Anna Begins, Counting Crows). Want to be folded up, in denial, away, alone, etc.

Quick entry here just so I'll remember this...

So I had my last voice lesson with my teacher on Wednesday. I just have to say here how much I owe to her. She believed in me and made sure I knew it. When I first started out with her about two years ago, she said it often, how much she believed in me. She said she believed I could do anything, sing any aria (within my range), pronounce any language, learn the technique, be a professional. No one's ever expressed this to me before, and I get weepy just thinking about SOMEONE BELIEVES IN ME. She knew I have a confidence problem. She told me that if I put myself down in my mind, I will fall. She says that just based on the way I sing, she knows all these things about me. (Interesting factoid: research shows that singers who are afraid to go for high notes are also afraid to fly.) She said that I have to believe that this is what God made me for, to sing classical. "This music was written for you, you can sing this better than anyone has ever sung it." Okay, that's an exaggeration, but if I believe that, it will be true, according to her.

I'm transplanted

Just got in to HK today. It's freeeeezing in the business center here in my aforementioned service apartment building. Therefore, I cannot really blog, it's really that cold. They are crazy about the AC in HK. But anyway, I watched Becoming Jane, Elizabeth II, and Lions for Lambs on the plane. They feel a need to constantly feed you in business class, now I feel a little sick, especially since the first thing after getting here was another meal, and now this crazy AC is probably making me sick upon sick upon sick. And I feel homesick for Chicago. Even though I am home now. But home is where the heart is, right?

Still got that crazy order, been making me crazy, I hate this, hate this, hate this arrr.

You know what's funny, after the movers came and packed all my worldly possessions into a truck and drove off, the first thing I felt was if I lost all those things I would be perfectly fine. I have what I need in my 1.5 suitcases, which include my favorite jeans, t-shirts, dresses, and 5 pairs of shoes, and about 5 books to keep me company. The only other thing I really cared about is my car, but that's gone it's OK. But at that moment I just felt like I don't really NEED anything. I bought three books at Barnes and Noble before leaving, just 'cause, they were buy 2 get 3rd free. And it's pretty weird how much I feel like I'll be OK as long as I have a few books. I just remember one of them is the Bell Jar, that my cousin said she liked, and I trust her judgment completely, and I don't even remember what the two others were. So, my point... I dunno it's just a weird feeling. All that stuff. I don't need it. I really don't need any of it.

And I sat in the empty apartment, like seconds before exiting forever, and one window had the blinds up, and outside was like... the most beautiful depressing thing ever, just slate blue sky, a bit of a building, and the enormous old-timey streetlight. It was so beautiful.

Got a fever yesterday. This amidst stretching myself to my absolute limits. And having no insurance, go figure. Not that I ever see a doctor for a fever. I'm just thinking if it turns into something else. But yeah, so packing, getting rid of stuff, origami, stuff, argh, this sucks, being sick, hafta do 100 things, arrr. And what's wrong with people? If you ordered 190 origami butterflies, don't email me and say you only received 190 butterflies not 200. Um, you didn't order 200.

The company will put us up in a serviced apartment for one month. It's here. Seeing as how I don't believe any stalkers are reading my blog, I think it's cool to post that. I'm just so not used to this kind of treatment. It's weird. And good.

I won't give up on the Counting Crows.

I sort of feel like I owe Adam Duritz something for all the hours that his music has kept me company and helped me emote sadness and nostalgia. Their new album comes out tomorrow (technically today, since it's 12:04AM). It's called Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings, because "Saturday night is when you sin and Sunday is when you regret." It might suck but that's okay, there'll be something in there that's good. Wow, it's been SIX years since their previous album Hard Candy. I was listening to Hard Candy when someone ran me off the road. But that's just because I listened to that in the car for about a year. It has my hands-down all-time favorite depressing song, Holiday in Spain. Which, by the way, someday I really will take a holiday in Spain, leave my wings behind me, drink my worries down the drain, fly away to somewhere new.

A girl in my building bought our couch, coffee table, bedroom set (2 side table and dresser), and boxspring for $130. How depressing is that.... I can't believe I'm giving up this apartment. And we've sold the Honda, and the same buyer's mom is thinking about the Mini Cooper. MY car. With stripes. That's my car.

movie pass!

So we got a movie pass again a month ago, and this is what we have rented:

Dexter first season (4 discs): LOVED. I LOVE THIS SERIES.

Hot Fuzz: LOVED, I love this movie. The DVD has an awesome special feature with trivia similar to VH1's old Pop-Up Videos.

Superbad: OK, kind of all over the place.

Knocked Up: OK, a little better than Superbad. I'd be okay with never seeing Seth Rogan's ass ever again.

The Good Shepherd: liked a lot, although I had to watch it twice to understand it (because I'm dumb like that, and I was doing origami at the same time). Matt Damon is so talented. This version of Matt Damon reminds me of the Talented Mr. Ripley, which I absolutely love. This movie is moody, beautiful, emotional, detailed, not manipulative (doesn't tear jerk or use visual shocks). One particularly touching scene involves a guy playing the violin, I love that scene. But overall the movie jumped back and forth between flashback and present day very quickly, and if you aren't paying attention to the very beginning, that's it, u'll have no idea what the whole movie's about. Also, lots of characters speaking in low voices made it even more confusing.

Gone Baby Gone: OK, a bit typical with a little twist at the end. The thing I can't stand about this film is Michelle Monaghan's character's presence. Her character served NO purpose. I love to watch her as an actress (hello, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang rocks my world, and she was great in M:I3), but this character did not make one bit of sense. She doubles as Casey Affleck's business partner and lover (how convenient when the main guy needs a love interest AND a sidekick), is repeatedly put in dangerous situations when she absolutely does not need to be there, goes through a moral dilemma without showing any emotion (show don't tell or go to ----!).

Paris Je T'aime: didn't really like, and the last 1/3 of the disc didn't play, so I didn't get the watch the films with Natalie Portman or Emily Mortimer, whom I like.

Into the Wild: OK, a bit tedious, I actually liked the last 5 or so minutes best... "Happiness only real when shared" is what he scrawls in a book. Agree.

Beowulf: not viewed by me

American Gangster: not viewed by me

I am Legend: objectively, it was OK. A neat little film. The CG and zombies kinda sucked though. Subjectively: I hate it! It sucked! Because it was trying to freak me out! I don't like to be freaked out!! Geez! This movie SUCKS! I am SO glad I didn't go watch it in the theater!

Atonement: rented to view again for me, a first time for my husband.

Sicko: to view again for me, sort of first time for my husband. I find this film shocking. More shocking than Bowling for Columbine, which I also find shocking. It's mere facts that are shocking. I know Moore exaggerates facts by focusing on only one side of things, but still.

3:10 to Yuma: not yet viewed

Roma Bella

Some pics that I like most...

SOOooo...
We are moving to HK at the end of the month, probably flying on 3/31 but do not have plane tickets yet. Tomorrow I'm going to Rome for 5 days, then... unfortunately... coming home to a huge-ass order, which will most definitely spill over into April. How totally fun. TOTALLY. Thanks, people who order double/triple what you initially said. As for getting ready for biz-after-Evanston, I've pretty much decided to close it. The problem right now is having to tell twenty people that sorry I won't be able to take your order that we previously discussed. ARGH they're gonna be PISSED... ok today was a verrrry stressful day.

Oh yeah, we saw "Cloverfield" on Sunday. Interesting... headache-inducing... literally...

what i have

I am coining a new mental condition: Briony Syndrome. For anyone who's read or watched Atonement (although much better understood if one has read the book), it would be what Briony had: excessive dreaminess, having an understanding of events not grounded in reality, overdramatizing, romanticizing, a belief that life imitates art. The afflicted might have had more books than conversations as a child.

Quotations

from A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.... This was my favorite book for a while, read during my first year of college (for fun, where did I find the time)... but it's standing has dropped....

This first quote is one that has always been a favorite of mine. It shows up in the book awkwardly, sort of like the author just wanted to drop that in there, almost suddenly removed from the context of the narrative:

"Your memory is a monster; you forget--it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you--and summons them to your recall with a will of its own. You think you have a memory; but it has you!"

This is one that I was never aware of and just read it somewhere. And yes it's written in all caps in the book, as spoken by the title character:

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU LEARNED IT--IT'S A GIFT. IF YOU CARE ABOUT SOMETHING, YOU HAVE TO PROTECT IT--IF YOU'RE LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND A WAY OF LIFE YOU LOVE, YOU HAVE TO FIND THE COURAGE TO LIVE IT."

During my two years of being roommates with Joanna at boarding school, at times I thought how much better my days would be if she weren't my crazy-ass roommate. But the truth is my days would have been so much less interesting, funny, memorable, informed, dramatic, endearing, and (yes) crazy without her. She was almost completely herself around me--which she NEVER was around other people. I got a very insightful look into what a person is like when their guard is down. How often do you get to see that? Almost never. She let me see every insecurity, every thought, every obsession and crush, every quirk, everything beautiful and fragile and appalling about a person. I knew every piece of gossip about her half of the school (jocks/jockettes, j.crew and abercrombie donners) that I generally only consorted with in class. I knew every detail of every fight she had with friends. One time she came up with an excuse to call a guy she liked, and she had me help come up with topics to talk to him about beforehand, and to be in the room to help her out. Do you see how hilarious this is in retrospect? She would very self-consciously make a speech in French while I watched intently, even though I had no idea what she was saying. I let her cry and bitch about boys, and tell her she is right. We were slobs together. We ate crackers and cheese that her dad sent and stunk up the dorm. She made fun of my singing and praised my art, and I will always respect and love her for caring enough to do that. I let her alone when she was upset and wanted to be alone, and that was only once or twice... which brings me to my point...

She would sit by the window with no lights on and just stare outside at our rural Massachusetts campus with a cup of something in her hand, with some mellow music playing. She would ask to be alone. And that is what I did this afternoon watching the snow fall. How I will miss the apartment buildings across the street, the snow, the tree, the cars there, people out bundled in their winter attire with their dogs, my perfect apartment. How I hate growing up. How I want time to stop for me so I can just be.

This is going to seem really random,

but the ubiquitous song Hey There Delilah really gets to me. When it first started playing on the radio, I would sometimes change the channel just because it's repetitive and kind of boring. But at some point I joined the leagues of girls across the land in feeling my heart break every time I hear this...

Hey there Delilah I've got so much left to say
If every simple song I wrote to you
Would take your breath away
I'd write it all
Even more in love with me you'd fall

...and this...

Hey there Delilah
You be good and don't you miss me
Two more years and you'll be done with school
And I'll be making history like I do
You'll know it's all because of you

...and wishing someone had written this song for me, you know? Doesn't it just make you wanna weep and smile at the same time? I'm just a girl.

Another update...

Watched "Once" on DVD, given as a Christmas present from my brother. The music was very beautiful.

Went to see "No Country for Old Men" today. Still absorbing.

Quick media update...

While in HK, saw "My Blueberry Nights." Don't waste your time. I don't have a problem with slow moodiness. The theme is unoriginal (girl finding herself through travels around the country and meeting new people). It is narrated by the girl (Norah Jones), saying really cliche things. That sums up its badness.

Also rented Hairspray and Fracture while in HK. Both were good. Hairspray had so many people I didn't know were in it. Such as Cyclops (uh, X-Men), who I thought was awesome in it! He can really sing and act and dance. And Allison Janey, Britney Snow, Amanda Bines, and loads of other famous people were in it. Fracture... I like Ryan Gosling.

Read "Eat, Pray, Love" on both plane rides (Read Eat one way, and the rest the other way). The Eat and Love parts were great. She's a great writer. I read about 20 pages into the Pray part and had to skip ahead. The Pray part is also the shortest, makes me think she ran out of things to say in that section and had to add filler, because it was much more boring than the other two parts.

well, i haven't blogged about my trip to hkg over christmas/new year. It was really nice. Very relaxing. Not stressful at all. And long enough so I don't feel rushed. I guess that's all I'm going to say.

My mom drinking a Starbucks, checking her text messages:

Opera in 10 minutes

Old Avril, Fall to Pieces. I can't believe how well she does the bridge (starts around 2:05).
I mean, I didn't know that was humanly possible.

Quick update. I saw Juno on Friday, loved loved loved it. So far, favorite movie of the year is still Waitress. Then followed by Michael Clayton, Juno, and Atonement, in no special order. I still feel conflicted about how much I like Atonement, but I just think it was really well done.

Will be back in HK on the night of the 25th. Am so looking forward to it. Need to rest the synapses in my brain, thoroughly.

Finished "Atonement" the book on Saturday, went to see "Atonement" the film on Sunday. My review is it's the most visually stunning film I've ever seen, and the sound effects/ music really added to the visual too. However, because the story is rather complicated, many many people were discussing the plot and all confused after the film. It's worth just seeing it for the sensory aspects though.

Today faced a work crisis which isn't really a crisis says my level head as it was totally not my fault and rather the direct fault of my customer. Trying not to freak.

Then I couldn't stop beaming because I got a corporate gift from Tiffany & Co.! My contact person sent me a holiday gift!! This is what she sent me, except each square is different (two pieces of each flavor). This made my month. I didn't like caramels until now! Yum, they are sooo good. But that's not the point. I got a corporate gift!

Today was lecture day at my voice lesson. As in, I got lectured. About how I should be doing more to achieve greatness, basically. Makes me go Argh.

There's a theme to my favorite TV ads. I only recently realized. Take a showtune. Add a celebrity. Add elation. They make me oh so very happy. (Funny how the screencaps of the middle and last vids are similar.)

Maris Sharapova, Nike


Claire Danes, Patrick Wilson, Gap


Penelope Fortier, MasterCard

how much i heart my friends

I talked to Vivian last night and she is practically forcing me to read "Atonement," so we can "discuss" it, so I bought it at Barnes & Noble, since all 15 or so copies at the public library are checked out, probably because the movie's coming out in 1 week. I hope to finish it before the movie comes out, since it sucks doing it the other way around. I've never heard her--or anyone--so excited about literature.

Just finished "Kafka on the Shore." OK maybe I'm dumb or lazy to think, but I didn't really get it. Now I can catch up on my Time magazines, woohoo!

"...slung between a neurotic and an iceberg, Amelie retreats into her imagination."

This week

So I had to do origami at a big trade show from Sunday to Wednesday. It's a metal fabrication and welding show. Booo. I hated it because I had to wake up at 7. Had to take two trains to get there. Had to wear a suit (possibly the worst part). 95% of attendance were men, and everyone assumed I was one of those trade-show models instead of a legitimate businesswoman.

Problem was, my recital was Sunday night. I think I did well, like maybe a 8.5 out of 10. The only problem was a high note at the end that was not brilliant, but there were reasons for that--my teacher decided I was gonna do that note only last week so I had never rehearsed it, etc. And also the accompaniment was a bit problematic as he didn't give me room to breathe. But all in all, I think it was good. I just wish my teacher would stop insulting me with the order she chooses to have people sing in--as in, either put me before intermission or have me close the show, k?

Then on Monday night, we had to go see a free screening of the Battlestar Galactica Razor movie, showing 2 weeks before it airs on TV. We really had to see this because we don't get SciFi channel anyway, add that to it being free, and in Evanston, so I had to go even though it meant having no time to take care of any other orders at the time.

Therefore, I've been completely swamped with filling orders yesterday and today, hoping to get them to customers before we leave for California. I am exhausted.

I am swamped and freaked out with all the orders I have to fill... I always doubt how fast I can really fold and assemble and cut, but I know I can pull it out in the end. And really, it's rewarding when you get customers who are probably the best people on the continent (versus, say, if I sold grenades or something), you want to do it well for them.

Normally, I'd be cool with sleeping less and stuff. But I have to work at a trade show for 4 days next week and have to be on a normal sleep schedule in order to wake up for it. Also, I've been juicing everyday and have never felt healthier. Plus, I have a recital on Sunday. I have to HAVE TO do well.

I went to my voice lesson today and my teacher was just about gonna kiss my feet for singing the absolute best I've ever sung, especially after an abysmal rehearsal two weeks ago. It's been so much crazy singer shit I've been doing, like mad visualization, mental rehearsal crap, focusing, singing in front of a mirror, fixing my tongue, fixing my posture, reading books, warming up at home, diva-ing it up in the car, eating breathing this, but I swear the juicing is what did it. (But I hate to say it out loud b/c then it's not gonna work anymore.)

Which is why I'm feeling very guilty right now drinking coffee and eating a pumpkin muffin from Panera. I haven't had coffee in over a week, k? But I realize I shouldn't be drinking it now that I'm trying to sleep earlier and earlier (last night I slept at 2:15). Anyhoo, sorta decided on what's gonna be in my juice: carrot, celery, cucumber, kale, Romaine lettuce, and pear. It tastes awesome as long as you don't put too much kale in.

Last weekend we got a juicer and made juice with celery, cucumber, apples, pears, and carrots.

I was very inspired by Kris Carr, who appeared on Oprah to talk about her documentary and book. She was a 31-year-old model and actress who found out she had stage-4 cancer, as in, incurable. Instead of waiting to die, she decided to look into every kind of way to improve her health, mostly with diet, but she tried every single thing you can do. Her cancer becomes stable and she is doing well. One of the things she did was to make juice from vegetables. It's a small thing, but considering the fact that I usually only ingest coffee during the entire day before dinner, having fresh organic vegetable juice will probably make a difference for me. (Although I wonder why I don't just EAT the stuff, so I think it would make more sense to juice some worse-tasting vegetables that are even healthier, 'cause that's the whole point of drinking it right? It's not supposed to taste this good!)

Funny, I just went to her blog and the top entry is about how gross milk is. V.Li just told me the exact same thing a few days ago! OK no milk for me.

And one day, it hit me...

I'm Tiffany's bitch!

just a few examples

I hate being forced to continue patroning companies that have wronged me in the past.

1. FedEx. They charged a shipment to me instead of the recipient. I called and told them to change the charge to the recipient. The person said there is a $10 service charge for that. I was looking right at the shipment online, where it says the shipment is to be billed to the recipient. She accused me of doing the online thing wrong and said she can transfer me to IT so they can teach me how to use it. Um, I've prepared like 30 FedEx shipments online, every one was billed to recipient or 3rd party and never did it wrong, including this one. And I was staring RIGHT AT IT, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, where it says bill to recipient (followed by the recipient's FedEx number). Of course, these customer service people don't know how the online thing works so she has no idea what I was talking about anyway. This is putting me in a stabbing mood.

2. The Post Office. Even Ned Flanders hates the Post Office. But can't live without it.

3. Landlords. Well, you can't just pack up and move every time they do something assholey.

4. Comcast Cable. Yup, they have a monopoly on cable television in Illinois. Trust me when I say: they've wronged me.

been meaning to introduce to the world...

These are the best shoes ever! I bought them in March of this year and have been in love ever since. I love the short, round toe, the bow that's actually the wrong side of a piece of leather folded intricately, the distressed color, the heel, and comfort. They were on clearance!! Original price US$149. The tag said $75. I was ecstatic they came in my size. Then when the salesman rang them up, they were actually $46! I couldn't believe it, especially after I started wearing them and found them to be pretty much the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. I love these shoes, they are so perfect.

(Max Studio)

Very Victorious cacti

I can only keep cacti alive. I've had these for over two years and love how one of them is currently making a peace sign.

I also have an orchid plant but it hasn't flowered since I bought it four years ago. The leaves are nice.

Spammers, how to get me to read your emails

Dear Spammers and Scammers: You are all morons!!! If you really want someone to read and believe your sob story and millions of funds are legit, you have to write your emails according to proper conventions. Geeeezzzzzz. You give yourselves away too easily.

Why must you make up stupid names like "David John" or "John Davids"? How many people have the last name "John"? Tacking an "s" on the end of a name doesn't automatically make it a last name either. Or sometimes there's something like "Mary Goodness" or "Teresa Sincerity." Argh! Stop using fake last names that are supposed to tug at our Christian heartstrings! It just screams SCAM!

Also, seriously, no one uses the name "Mr.John Smith" or Mrs, Miss, etc in the names that show up in the Inbox. NO ONE DOES THIS except you. It doesn't make your email look more legit or more formal. And there is always a space after a freaking punctuation mark.

OK next thing, subject line. Don't use your fake name as your subject. Do not write "From Mr.John Smith" as the subject. This is redundant information, that's why no one does it! Automatic deletion!

Why one earth do you even bother sending an email that starts "Dear,"? "Dear" followed by comma, that is just not the way you write a letter. If you don't even have time to write my name, why should I believe that you really need me and only me to help transfer your billion dollars? And don't even get me started on "Dear Sir,". If you get me to take a peek into your email just to make sure it's not spam, the "Dear Sir" is a deal breaker in getting me to continue reading. I'm not a Sir. Sorry to disappoint.

Tulum

We got back from Mexico on Tuesday. It was so beyond awesome. I love Tulum. I love Mexican decor and crafts, all the Mexican people we encountered, the food, the beaches, the Mayan ruins, everything.

That Umbrella Song

I've previously blogged about my dislike for that Rihanna singer. I know, she's hecka huge now, but my husband still changes the radio channel when her songs come on, even if it's to the classical channel. That's how influential I am in his musical taste.

However, I am sometimes captivated by her. Sometimes purely by how awesomely bad she sounds. Sometimes by her bangs or hotpants. Sometimes just to ponder how appropriate the song "Shut Up and Drive" would be as a theme song for the short-lived TV series "Drive." As for the song "Umbrella"... I know it's like this summer's anthem, but I can't stand her nasally "ella ella ella eh eh eh", yet it captivates me with its awesomely bad catchiness...

I am in love with this acoustic version by Marie Digby. Anyone who can improve a Rihanna song enough for me to love it is a master.

This version by Mandy Moore is so not good in comparison. Too slow, for one.

Just finished "Prisoner of Trebekistan." It was really GOOD. I highly recommend it to anyone who's even seen "Jeopardy!" (of course, I am a huge fan). It's not what I expected at all. Great writing, funny writing, intricate writing, and it's not just about the game show, it's a poignant, heartfelt, insightful, good-humored memoir. I love this book and this guy. It will change the way you see Jeopardy! and the world.

I started to read "Seat of the Soul" and stopped after the first chapter. It was lame. Just some guy rambling on about what I can only describe as a religion he made up.

7 days 'til Mexico.

Pack rat

Just finished Cloud Atlas. Fun to read with endearing characters, I miss some of them. But overall the book is very tiring and mind-boggling. My mind needs to rest now. Going to check out Prisoner of Trebekistan tomorrow. Currently listening to the opera Manon from YouTube, it's so beautiful it hurts. Hurts, I tells ya. Hurts as much as realizing "Firefly" (the TV show) isn't real.

I am the biggest pack rat. Considering the fact that I've moved 11 times in the past 11 years, if you count each year packing up all my stuff before the summer and moving into a new dorm room in the fall. Yet, I still have "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" from 10th grade. I loved that book. That's why I still have it. It went into the boxes and came back out 10 times. More shockingly, I realized I still have a lipstick I bought in the 6th grade. It survived my cross-continental move before 10th grade, until now. It was during a time when frosted light pink lipstick was THE thing. The only place in HK I could find the "right" shade was the estee lauder counter, so I splurged, after thinking about it for a long time. Of course, it looks ridiculous by today's fashion, especially on non-white skintones. I think I finally threw it out a few weeks ago, or did I?

I have a problem. But I'm getting better. I hardly buy anything nowadays except during our quarterly shopping spree at the outlet mall 50 minutes away. And by "spree"... well, it's an overstatement. Anyway, most of my elective spending is on voice lessons and other singing-related items, such as books, CDs, pitch pipe (I've graduated from the pitch fork), etc. But I digress. I am emotionally less attached to stuff, which I think is a healthier but somehow sad, like I care less now. Bygones are bygones? The memories live in my mind and not in objects? Something like that.

As a side note, my favorite lip gloss right now (because lipstick is so eight years ago) is one that V. Li gave me about 3 years ago that's Urban Decay. Oddly, I was inspired by one of Lindsay Lohan's pre-glaze-eyed red-carpet appearances in which she has dark hair, a fabulous navy dress, and a bright but not garish pink lip. I'm not delusional, I matched it to the lipgloss from V. Li and it looks great on me!

Dean

I've been obsessively following Hurricane Dean on TV and online (lots of maps), because I, my husband, Tim, and Busta just booked a fun-filled trip to Tulum, Mexico, for mid-Sept. I don't want to seem super insensitive, but I really hope there will not be a lot of damage where we are going. They are saying Category 5. They are talking about the paths (below) with certainty. Having lived in Florida for 1.5 years, let me tell you, around northern Florida where I lived during that time, not once was the projected path or hurricane category accurate. So I am just hoping that this one will turn into something much smaller instead of their predicted 5.


As of this post, this is the projected wind damage for the area:



As you can see, Tulum is predicted to be right on the cusp between orange and yellow.

line crime!

This summer has so far been a summer of a very VERY large number of very well-reviewed movies, such as Sicko, Knocked Up, Simpsons Movie, Hairspray, Ratatouille, Rescue Dawn, and some decently reviewed ones, such as Die Hard 4, Harry Potter 5, Spider Man 3, Pirates 3, Ocean's 13 (that's a 3), Transformers. Just thought I'd point that out.

We went to see Bourne 3 today (and Simpsons). This movie is very well-reviewed. I would say that I enjoyed it most this summer. I pretty much like all the Bourne movies. I remember after seeing the second one with Tim, when we came out he said it was pretty lame, and I was like, I thought it was pretty awesome. Heeheehoohoo. That song they play right before the credits start rolling always makes me smile.

However, Bourne 3 committed a line crime in my mind (pretty slick huh) that I am so sick of. It's when there's a high-up person, usually a cop or director of a government agency, yelling orders at the people working for him/her, and he/she says "I need that information yesterday!" or "I want it on my desk fifteen minutes ago!" UGH... not only is it an impossibe demand, which just makes the person sound idiotic and tyrannical (when the character is not), but who on earth actually talks like that in real life? Not that I've ever been around a similar person or situation, but I bet they don't talk like that.

[Other than that, I also hope the line "I threw up in my mouth a little," which has come in vogue in the past few years, will die.]

Bourne was just fun spying and punching and MacGuyver-ing. My experience was further enhanced by the couple sitting behind me. The guy announced out loud every new city Bourne went to, even when it was written on the screen. I wasn't annoyed but rather amused; although I initially thought he was doing it because his companion was illiterate or something, but turns out he is just one big show-off. The woman "woo"ed after every long bit of hands-on combat, but it was funny during this really intense scene (hint, it ends in a bathroom), she would gasp and "oooh!" and "woah," which made me LOL. What was unusual was after that scene, people in the audience audibly went Oh my god. Bourne rocks.

A Few Things

1. This cool article in Time Magazine about icebergs that makes me happy. It's really short, check it out!

2. Hilary Clinton for President!

3. I got a call today, my super crappy audition resulted in a chorus position. [Makes me strongly question the quality of the chorus.] I accepted and am happy. I once swore I would never work for free unless for charity; but there's a reason artists are starving.

4. So far intrigued by Cloud Atlas, 60 pages in.

5. So far undefeated this season against my husband on the tennis court.

6. Can't type, have to either origami or brush teeth. Byes.

7. OK last thing. Steve was here last weekend and this is the message I got after we dropped him off at the airport early: "Guess what, I took an earlier flight to nyc but half way through wehad 'fuel' problems and returned to ohare. Then we had to take a newflight to JFK instead. Now I'm getting in at 2am, much later than theoriginal. Funny how things work out."

One of the best hours of my life: picnicking by the lake with my husband.

Man I love Evanston in the summer and all the naysayers are in denial.

OK now I'm gonna blog about a big pet peeve I have when watching movies! It is when the young and old versions of characters don't look anything alike! This drives me nuts!

1st case in point:

Jack's son from Will & Grace and Tobey Maguire in "Seabiscuit"

I was pretty offended that the casting people thought the audience would accept this pairing as young/old versions. And what age difference are they supposed to play? Tobey Maguire has such a baby face he looks only 5 yrs older, in which case the change in appearance would be way too great.

2nd case in point:
Edison/Andy Lau, Yue Man Lok/ Tony Leung in "Infernal Affairs"

There are some similarities, but I am against the use of different actors for full-grown adults who are supposed to have a mere 10 year age difference. I know, I know, the two younger ones were at least partially used to attract the some screaming girls into the theaters, but still.

3rd case in point:
Wentworth Miller and Anthony Hopkins in "The Human Stain"

Um. People have issues with the casting choice for this movie because this character plays a pale black person, and people think it's impossible to think of Hopkins as black. Well... I think the young/old casting choice is even harder to believe.

4th case in point:

That kid and Christian Bale in "Batman Begins"

They may have cast this kid purely because he's got that traumatized look.

EXAMPLES OF GOOD YOUNG/OLD VERSIONS:

That awesome kid and Audrey in "Amelie"

That kid and Ethan Hawke in "Great Expectations"

That kid and Matt Damon in "The Departed"

EDITED TO ADD: another pairing I think is great is that kid and Collin Farrell in "Alexander."

Gonna lie down and die a little

Short version: I totally bombed an audition and now I feel like crap.

Long version:

I know it's trivial in the "bigger scheme of things," like one simple, not very important audition's not gonna kill me or anyone else. In fact, I should probably say What doesn't kill me will only make me stronger. I shouldn't be super pissed and dwell upon it and replay it in my head 100 times. However, this is a huge deal to me. 1) I normally sing this song very well. I'm pissed that I am such a nervous wreck I can't keep it together for 10 minutes. 2) My teacher said I will do great. It's bad enough to let yourself down, but to let ur teacher down... 3) My nerves are not improving, does not bode well for anything in the future.

So anyway, I'm not over it.

I need to chill

I leed to cheew

Or heart failure is imminent

Got out of bed because officially can't sleep at 5:30AM.

A few days ago I came across the magazine that has my stuff in it in the supermarket. Here are the scans.

I ended up borrowing Cloud Atlas and returned Nausea, as it was unenjoyable.

However, I first read The Complete Professional Audition. Only half of it (the part about singing) is partially relevant for me, because half of it talks about monologues, which I also read through and found interesting.

Currently reading A Soprano on Her Head, which, in short, is about movement in music. I initially thought the writer sounded a bit too aging-hippy, but quickly found it very intersting. The class she teaches musicians is to dance to a piece of music that you have to perform, and the emotions will come out in one's music performance. To not think, just feel. Well, at least it made sense when I read it.

Got back to cross-stitching today after not being able to for about 2 weeks. Is looking good, yay!

Ninja Cat with built-in night vision

THAT IS SO COOL!!!

...is something I find myself saying a lot these days, concerning my high school. The boarding school I went to has undergone massive changes in the past few years, and the newest cool thing is what I received in the mail today:

NMH has a new address as of July 1, 2007!
Northfield Mount Hermon School
One Lamplighter Way
Mount Hermon, MA 01354

HOW COOL IS THAT? "One Lamplighter Way" is sooo much cooler than "206 Main Street." OMG. I am once again jealous of the peeps going there now. They are going to get the greatest arts building ever built by mankind soon, which is what I have been most jealous about recently. It's gonna house visual arts, music, and dance together under one building with state-of-the-art acoustics and floors and exhibit halls and whatnot. Some benefactor donated 10 million or something... what was the number? It was the largest ever.

(Yup, I guess now everyone realizes that the emblem is a "lamplighter".)

reading, singing

I forgot there was a different book I wanted to read, so I ended up checking that one out instead. It is Nausea by Sartre. We'll see how it goes.

And, currently singing "Poor Wandering One" from Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. I need to figure out acting in musical theater.

Just have to tout someone's horn

Why Avril Lavigne was destined to be a star (live acoustic performance of Nobody's Home):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66MFvu4-VaA
Live performance of When You're Gone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8oWY_0dMk8
(love what she does at 3:14.)

So good, so so so good. And so pretty! As V.Li and I (professional unbiased critics) conclude, Avril is the best live performer (ever).

There's just something about watching her sing, an awe that that sound is coming out of this person and that wavy mesmerizing vampire mouth.

Very shaky

Me singing Innocence by Avril Lavigne. Well, I pretty much belt all of the verses (not chorus), which is really hard for me and is why I'm verging on cracking all the time. I think I do the last chorus best. The bridge sucks! This is one of my least favorite bridges of any Avril song (bridges are definitely a staple of Avril songs), but I love the song overall.

EDITED to add: OK I've made this video private again so sorry it can't be viewed anymore.

to read

Just want to say that I finished East of Eden last week, and it was life-changing. It had a most important, touching, and profound message. But I cannot see myself ever reading it through again due to the length, writing style that was somehow harsh, and not-pretty plot. I've decided not to read Cannery Row, because I want to preserve East of Eden purely in my mind and not distort it with another book by the same author (like you know how authors tend to write about the same subjects over and over again).

So, probably gonna read Cloud Atlas, as recommended by my brother, mostly because of its name (heh). I can just see someone looking at the clouds, like maybe from a "Laputa, Castle in the Sky," with quill and parchment, drawing an atlas of clouds.

Pics from weekend

Arr, as expected, I suddenly went from bored to much self-induced busyness. Other than business, now I'm working on a very large cross-stitch project and doing my youtube singing videos. Argh, it would've been better if these ideas weren't put in my head at the same time. I found out about a website that lets you create cross-stitch patterns for free with an image. I just couldn't resist. It's pretty fun seeing how your patterns would turn out. Here's the link.

Oh and today I walked by Gap again and went in to see if the dress I wanted was further reduced, and it was! So I got it.

We didn't follow the arrow HAHAHA...


Florence's graduation reception. Second year in a row we attended someone's graduation from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

How to Kill 2 Hours

I have been very bored in the past few days. Actually, bored out of my mind. I know, I'll be missing this relaxation when I get busy again. But right now I haven't been busy with work, don't have much social life, don't really have any craftsy projects in the works, and (again) lacking in the area of media entertainment...

Anyway. Very bored. Drove to downtown Evanston. Fed an hour into the meter. Found the origami book I wanted but decided I don't want it. Got distracted by Gap's "biggest sale" (or something) on the way to Dunkin' Donuts. Tried on dresses. Revelation! I do not fit Gap's size 0 dresses?! Wanted one of them (size 4) but it was only discounted by $10. Must pass. Looked at watch. Egads! Must feed meter. Walked back to meter to feed another hour. Walked back to Dunkin' Donuts. Used coupon. The owner/manager is mean but is only mean to me. I've only been there a few times but have tried things to see if they make him not mean but doesn't work. Now he hates me more because I use coupons HA! Got my small iced coffee in hazelnut flavor (they were out of chocolate flavor. Or maybe he just says that to me.). Went to Barnes & Noble and browsed. I love Hokusai prints. Checked to see if the magazine that's gonna have my origami stuff in it is out yet (it's not). Oh well.

Then I went home and listed about 10 books on ebay--which is the most boring, tedious, mind-numbing thing ever.

Library Adventures

My voice teacher has been demanding that I listen to and watch loads of opera. So I finally got my butt to the Evanston Public Library yesterday to check out some CDs, since the NU library does not lend out recordings. It never occurred to me that the public library would have things I would want that a university library doesn't have. I am very excited about this. There's an origami book I wanted to get that they have.

Well, the thing about the EPL, it has an AMAZING sculpture in the stairwell:

From far away it looks like a head, but up close it is a complex mobile of tiny metal objects:

This is the artists' website.

Fruity Oaty Bar!

I've been meaning to get a new apron, since my old one is gross even on the inside. I ended up making this one today:

It's from the Fruity Oaty Bar advertisement in Serenity!! It's an iron-on transfer. I got the idea from a post on craftster.org, so not entirely original. I didn't sew the apron, I bought it at an art store, which is why it's an artist apron and not chef's apron. Also had to buy a new color cartridge, since the one in my printer was obviously out of red. And bought the transfer paper. This just goes to show how much more it costs to make stuff than to buy it at Wal-Mart. I haven't had a high success rate with iron-on transfers in the past, so I made sure I followed the instructions and read tutorials, and YES, SUCCESS! I love it.

You can see the ad in the context of the movie here, although the aspect ratio is wrong in the video, which is really annoying, since I love this scene:

Tuesday thoughts

I want to quit. Singing sucks. Except I love it. And hate it. And can't be without it. I don't need to study it. But when I do I learn. Ack.

Oprah announced her new Book Club book today: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. I read this book about 2 years ago, and it was amazing. Well it did win the Pulitzer Prize. Even Oprah said she is slow in adding this book to the Club since she just got around to reading it. However, I really have no feelings left for Middlesex or most other novels for that matter since I read the one book that I most strenuously recommend, called The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, another Pulitzer-Prize winner... unless you are one of my friends who has an aversion to books with over 600 pages (I think Middlesex is also 600 pages). It is my hands-down favorite.

Right now I am reading East of Eden (coincidentally, it's called "the book that brought back Oprah's Book Club" or something). It was recommended by Stephen Hui. And I don't get many book recommendations so I run with what I've got. The thing about it is the writing's not beautiful, in my opinion. And I don't think I want to read anymore family epics for a while. However, it's pretty riveting, and I'm not done yet... it's a 650-pager. I checked out the book from the NU library, and it's a recently-published (doesn't look like it's been checked out before, non-disgusting) collection of Steinbeck books, so I plan to also read Cannery Row before returning it.

And confession time... I have been very bad. Nothing's on TV, absolutely nothing (um well except reruns, fluff and filler). So we have been re-watching Firefly episodes, and I am crazy infatuated with every character. Also, we rented Slither last weekend--I know, I'm so bad. But Nathan Fillion! And Elizabeth Banks (except we call her Steak Dinner--I guess it's pretty impossible to guess why. Guess right and you get a gold star)!

Please go away

Saw these at a store today, countdown to Bush's last day in office:

I love 'em but refuse to let Bush influence what I will waste money on.

Movies, no spoilers

We got a movie pass again. It is a 2-week free trial at Blockbuster that's like an in-store and online combo thing that's just a crazy good deal, which only exists because obviously Blockbuster wants to stop people from using their nemesis Netflix any way they can, which in this case is just give away movie rentals. (For anyone interested, here's the deal. They send you movies and you send them back, and you can have three at a time. But that's not all! Each mailed movie can be returned in-store in exchange for an in-store movie, which does NOT count toward your three-movie maximum. Moreover, they give you one free in-store rental coupon. Of course, per Blockbuster's new-ish policy, no late fees (I'm not gonna go into the catch). All of this free for two weeks. In addition, supposedly you can keep getting the two-week free trial over and over again and no one cares.)

OK I didn't mean for that to be that long. Anyway, here is what we've rented: Children of Men, Night at the Museum, Notes on a Scandal, Wordplay, Deja Vu, Borat, Munich, Blood Diamond, A Scanner Darkly, The Last King of Scotland, Superman Returns, An Inconvenient Truth, Rocky Balboa. The last four of which have yet to be watched, and I've got a thing or two to say about each... which I won't do here... but so far all have been pretty good to great, except Borat, which I found extremely disturbing, excruciating to watch, and by the way, those were all unknowing/innocent people except for Pamela Anderson, so it really sucks for them. I would recommend people not see Borat. Even if you are curious, it's not worth knowing how dispicable it is. Secondly, Deja Vu has a huge plot hole! If you don't think about it TOO hard (because honestly you have to think about it pretty hard to sort out the plot and its hole), it's okay to watch. But my husband, being some mathematic/logic psychotic person, put the plot hole together right away, which makes Deja Vu the dumbest movie of 2006. Otherwise, I enjoyed or appreciated all the others very much, although none of them are for repeated viewing, as they are mostly hard to watch or very serious.

Even amidst our two-week rental extravaganza, we made time to see the very wonderful Waitress, which I must rave about so anyone reading this will be nudged to see it. Sadly, it is only in 116 theaters, but one of those theaters is Century in Evanston--so I'm not sad! I would probably see any film that has Nathan Fillion, and I sorta love Keri Russell after her small role in M:I 3, but it is also critically beloved, with a 89% tomatometer rating on rottentomatoes. It will make you smile in an Amelie kind of way, except it's not at all in utopia.

Goodbye Gilmores

Last night was the Gilmore Girls series finale. It was sad and extremely heartfelt. It ended with Rory getting a job and leaving, which makes total sense that the show would end when Rory graduates and leaves forever. Loralei and Luke were left open-ended. And the last shot was really sad but the absolute perfect ending. It's not exactly appropriate to mourn a TV show, but for Gilmore Girls fans, it is something to be mourned--at least for a short while. I feel like crying just writing this, which is something only its loyal viewers would understand. We will miss the Gilmores, Stars Hollow, it's inhabitants, and the hour we spent once a week in their lives.

Heroes

Tonight's Heroes episode has been my favorite so far. Problem is, I think my husband has a crush on Peter Petrelli (played by Milo Ventimiglia). Of course I am way ahead of him, since I've been crushing on Jess in Gilmore Girls (played by the same) since the turn of the century. Peter Petrelli is almost TOO cool and amazing, it's sickeningly sweet:

Weekend

Fri: Vietnamese dinner in Argyle, episode of Firefly

Sat: Brunch at Sola, Lincoln Park Zoo, dinner in Chinatown

Sun: Tennis

Lincoln Park Zoo (it's free!) has a very cool greenhouse/plant area. This is our second visit, the last time was two years ago right before a huge controversy/scandal when elephants died. Animals in zoos will always be controversial, but plants are equally fun to look at and do not carry controversy. These are da bomb:

And lamas are da bomb. I would want a lama if I ever have acres:

Cool pic of my flowers in Tiffany

from Cecilia in NYC. There's nothing like this in Chicago. Love it.