Sunday, July 5, 2009

news news news

well. it's not all that exciting to most people. but to me--it is.

i'm moving out on my own!!! i found a great place. just a 2 unit building. the landlords seem ultra-cool and live downstairs. i live in the upstairs unit. and it's super cute! there's even a little office area off of the bedroom (which, of course, is perfect for me). i'm very excited. not so much for the cost of living alone in nyc, but excited nonetheless...so here's to a new budget!

i'll be in my same neighborhood of park slope in brooklyn, which is great because i love my neighbhorhood.






also, i am HOOKED on penta water. i can TASTE AND FEEL the difference when i drink it. i don't usually do the whole bottled water thing (it's not very eco-friendly) but when your reusable water cannister runs out of water while you're driving around in the summer--you have to purchase. anyhow--it tastes INCREDIBLE and i FEEL incredible right after the first sip. plus--the weirdest thing--lately, whenever i drink from my tap? my stomach has started cramping up right away...i'm not sure what that means or why--but it freaks me out a little. and when kristina was here--it was happening to her too...anyhow. i haven't seen penta too many places? but i do know you can get it at fairway and whole foods.



another thing i am hooked on. suki products. i use the balancing day moisturizer and the exfoliate foaming cleanser. having come from the cosmetics industry, i can truly say that my skin has never looked or felt so good. i have that young skin glow again. i mean, i am pretty sure i've been aging pretty well anyhow? but it helps to use good products. the ingredients are incredible, natural and organic, and the price--while steep, is nowhere near as steep as say the terrible products of estee lauder or lancome, etc. you can go to www.sukipure.com for more information. it is also sold at whole foods.



Thursday, July 2, 2009

Michael Jackson...RIP

i actually did cry when i heard. i'm not sure if it was a combination of stresses going on in my life or if it was purely for him? but i did.

but i'll take this moment to say the following:

1. i never believed all the allegations. i honestly didn't and still don't. anyone who knows me would say that i'm a pretty jaded person too. naive on some levels, yes--but mostly cynical. i also don't believe kobe raped the britney look-alike. i believe he committed adultery--but not rape. and to use that as an example--the point is...it was nothing but dishonorable people trying to make an easy buck off their kids. people acquitted kobe because he is this great athlete and looks good, acts normal, looks normal, etc. they didn't give the same courtesy to mj because he looked weird, acted weird, etc.

oj was acquitted and, in my eyes, shouldn't have been. phil spector was not. again--an athlete versus a weird looking man. we're such a society based on physical appearances.

it's a shame.

2. he transcended so many levels. from his humanitarian work in life to using his talent with music to speak on social, political, and personal issues. i don't believe there was a malicious bone in his body. and that to me--is something i can't even begin to understand. i'm not the nicest sort. too many barriers and pride and whatever else. like a moth to a flame i suppose...

3. i'm tearing up a little now. it's just wrong. it's been a few days and i feel somewhat bereft and i didn't even know him personally or anything. but i think, you can appreciate greatness when you see it.

i hate when good people....truly good people, with all their flaws, are brought down by greed, malice, and ignorance.

i don't know if there's an afterlife. i never cared so much about it. the only reason why i care? because i don't want people who commit heinous acts to get away with it. i want them to burn. suffer. and receive the worst possible justice. i'm not a forgiving sort i guess. and now...i care for one more added reason. i hope he's at peace and happy wherever he's at.

i hope people can appreciate him the way he ought to be remembered. as a musical genius (even if his music wasn't your cup of tea), as a quiet humanitarian (who didn't flaunt it like angelina jolie), and as an innocent and accepting human being.

rip mj. rip.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

wonderful news!

i'm getting married!!!

yes. that's right. married. me.

haha. just kidding.

but i do have even better news than that. i was offered a promotion today! yay!

so i will still be doing what i do, but basically have added responsibilities. because of this promotion, i will basically be traveling to washington dc every couple of months. i'm excited for the opportunity--just not so much for the traveling. but i will say, one of the best parts of living in the east coast--is the relatively easy distance between large metro areas.

i am definitely going to have to do some sightseeing! i still have yet to make it to tour dc so yay!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

just terrible...

with updating this blog and remembering to write about things i really wanted to write about...but here are some interesting links/sites that i think some of the people i know should read! 2 articles by johann hari (love him!) that merit reading for sure.

how to teach your kids about money:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/RaiseKids/what-kids-need-to-know-about-money.aspx

2012/the mayan grand calendar hype:

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~izapa/M-32.pdf

women bridging gap in science:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/science/03discrim.html?_r=1&hpw

male/female salary inequalities:

http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=1515

a generation without fish:

http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=1516

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

being contradictory by nature...

sucks.

my verbage is cynical and realistic and yet i can't seem to reconcile my feelings to be the same. it insists upon being the wide-eyed, eternally optimistic child.

i'm apparently hellbent on destroying myself and my sanity.

but if i let people destroy that side of me then i lose.

and i hate losing. so i guess i live with my personal frustration.

but the one thing i've always hated are trashy people. this post is not about that however, so....

that aside--one of the things i've always hated are people with no loyalty. i can never quite trust people that are close friends with everyone. even when they know if person a has done something terrible to person b and they are still great friends with person a. i respect it and their decision. but i can't really trust them.

i'm not a very forgiving person perhaps. whatever my faults may be--i am a loyal person. when i've accepted you into my life--you were given my full loyalty. that means i don't hurt you on purpose, i don't talk shit about you to someone else, i don't make you look bad in front of others and i certainly don't go around blabbing about my issues with you to anyone who would listen. least of all, someone you don't like/might be jealous of/whatever the case may be. i just don't do it.

and if i don't treat you so disrespectfully--i expect the same. and maybe that's where i mess up. i expect people to have the same respect and integrity. and it sucks when i'm slapped in the face with the opposite.

there are rules. loyalties. priorities. what choice do you make?

family or friends?
friends or strangers?
strangers or enemies?
significant other or acquaintances?
acquaintances or friends?

oh well.


live and learn.

Monday, June 1, 2009

the past few weeks...

so here are some pictures from the past 10 days! more to come when i have time to put more up!


angelika, me, kristina, and a tiny bit of lady liberty!


pointing at mele's wedding invitation!

and last but not least...fresh from the hands of the fedex guy a few minutes ago...


Sunday, May 31, 2009

luxembourgish invasions

one lao person bombarded with 8 luxembourgish people? what are the odds???

none of which are actual native luxembourgish (1 german, 1 estonian, 2 parisians, 2 marseillians (?), and 2 slovakians.

but it was loads of fun and I'M SO DAMN TIRED.

maybe i'll give a more detailed version of the past few weeks...but suffice to say--there was a lot of walking, drinking, eating, talking, watching, touring, shopping, and other things!

loved every minute of it--but so glad to sleep tonight.

my turn next!

so my plan is to visit france/germany/estonia/2 days in luxembourg. i'll have to plan it abit better/more indepth about where to land/leave from, etc. but it should be great!

i reapplied for a new passport a few weeks ago--my 2 houseguests left today--and my new book arrives tomorrow!

pretty incredible timing. i think it's a sign that i really need to go.

september--europe--here i come!!

it works well monetarily too. whenever you play host to visitors for any extended period of time--your money takes a vacation too--as in--you spend like you're on vacation! so i have definitely been spending!

so i'm going to take the next few weeks to be a little more careful with my money.

anyhow. i'm tired and have to do some extensive cleaning/laundry/etc. today and tomorrow. i'll find the time to post some pictures!

Monday, May 18, 2009

soooo....

worn out. i'm just...worn out.

it's probably a combination of zyrtec, emotional frazzlement, work kicking into high gear, travel, and heat. but whatever combination it's from--it exists.

i need to rest, but work has gotten busier and friends are coming to visit this friday--which, don't get me wrong--i'm completely excited for--but it also means less rest--and all i want is maybe 3 solid days of sleep, recovery, and recuperation. i had the apartment all to myself this past weekend--which was GREAT. but weekends never last long enough. no surprise. it didn't this time either.

sometimes you make these tough life decisions--you know? the ones that tell you, "welcome to adulthood." and for better or for worse...what's done is done. and what's been done cannot be undone...cause you can't go back in the past. you can only move forward. and i'm not the type of person that has liked to dwell on the past much--i like forward. i like movement. i like hope. and i'm fascinated by faith. all these words tell me future. i guess i'm a bit of a stargazer. and that's the side of me that's romantic. that's why i love those sci-fi/futuristic/fantasy movies/epic compositions type stuff. it harkons of things..events...that...

could be. maybe should be. . . hopefully will be.

here's hoping.

~~~
question: what do you do if you've fucked up.

answer: do the following steps IN ORDER IMMEDIATELY.

1. admit, sincerely, that you fucked up, to yourself and to the other person/thing.
2. acknowledge specifically what it is you did wrong.
3. apologize profusely until they accept it.
4. repeat as necessary.

unless you killed someone i can't see how this fails. here's to future happinesses and all that jazz...

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

so lately...

i've just been SO TIRED. like...unbearably. i hate allergy season. the homeopathic sublingual pills i found that were working in the pacific northwest don't work quite as well here in ny. that could possibly be due to the fact that i'm supposed to pop the suckers under my tongue 3 times a day. i'm sorry, but i just can't remember to do that. i remember once a day and that's pretty much it. it has to be easier than that. like the zyrtec. but the zyrtec is really messing with me. i just feel like a terrible walking zombie. it's an awful feeling. terrible really.

go adam lambert! (watching the results show right now).

the musician in me loves the versatility and all-around talent of kris allen.

the disctinctive voice of danny gokey is great to hear (you'd know that voice anywhere, much like hearing peter cetera or sth).

but it's the incredible range, power, purity, and evocative quality of adam lambert's voice that steals my vote...well. if i voted.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

star trek

was absolutely awesome. overall a great movie for what it was supposed to be/do. i loved it. i loved the shoutouts to all the catchphrases from the original series and i loved zachary quinto (sylar from heroes) as spock. chris pine was perfect as capt. james t. kirk as well. overall very well casted and jj abrams did a pretty good job.

my only complaint is--during some of the hand-to-hand combat scenes...well. they lacked any originality--really--anything at all. they stunk. what's the point in having a combat scene with no combat? they could have been and should have been much better choreographed. hell, it may as well have been 2 babies fighting over a toy--and the eventual winner won only because the other baby's mama came to take him home.

that's not good. but other than that--GREAT.

in the end--i'd still go and see it--again. there were a lot of times i was sitting up in my seat (and considering i was in one of those awful front seat rows, that's saying a lot).

next stop:

--terminator: salvation
--up
--transformers:revenge of the fallen
--harry potter and the half blood prince
--there was a preview that i liked as well but i can't remember what it was for besides that it's got jack black and michael cera in it
--and maybe gi joe. maybe. i'm a sucker for action flicks with cheesy humor to break up the violence even though i never liked the cartoon as a kid.