Things I Like #8

Mix tapes (and websites about them)

I love getting music from people I like. It's oddly revealing about who they are and who they think you are. And, five years down the road, it gives you some awesomely bad music to be nostalgic to.

This website records peoples' long-lost mix tape loves: http://www.cassettefrommyex.com/. It has professional writers' entries as well as post secret-style mailed stories.

In homage to Cassette From My Ex, here are the tracks from a wonderful mix CD I once received:

1. Penny Lane--Beatles
2. ABC--Jackson 5
3. That Summer--Garth Brooks
4. Lola--The Kinks
5. Cecilia--Simon & Garfunkle
6. Me & Bobby McGee--Janis Joplin
7. Under My Thumb--Rolling Stones
8. Tupelo Honey-Van Morrison
9. Hey Tonight--CCR
10. Stand By Me--John Lennon version
11. The Boys of Summer--Don Henley
12. Good Vibrations--Beach Boys
13. Colorblind--Counting Crows

I still listen to this CD when I drive around in the summer time.

Things I Like #7

Prints

Specifically wall-paper and fabric prints. My parents abhor wall paper, probably because it was all the rage for decorating during their 1960s childhoods. My mother likes gaudy floral prints for furniture, but my father does not, and therefore we have one floral couch that looks like it should be from some English country house period film amidst a sea of stark modernist lines.

But I like prints: damask/medallion, floral, stripes, animals, plaid, paisley, toile...but it has to be tasteful. I mean, I don't want lime green elephants prancing up and down my walls, but I would like thumb-nail sized whales swimming on my navy-blue pedal pushers. There is a fine line, people!

Here are wall-paper and fabric prints that I like.
































Expect some of these to make an appearance in my future abode.

I like zee Bazeball

A large group of us ladies went to the Mariners game last night. It was a warm, sunny evening, and we ate our hotdogs, drank our beer, and danced to "Louie Louie" like true Americans. We got to participate in several Waves, eat Dippin Dots, and make friends with a family from England, whose adorable young children were trying to figure out the sport of baseball. Unfortunetly, we were not able to provide them with any assistance. We also learned that Major Leaguers have hearts, too: Beltran's favorite movie is Love Actually. Awww. After 2.5 hours, the Mariners won--woo! It was one of the first warm nights we've had, so it was fun to be at a game and run around the city afterward. I can feel summer on its way...

Mmm, Books!

I like this website: http://www.book-by-its-cover.com/

I just spent 45 minutes perusing it instead of reading for Italian. Whoops! Great graphics and off-the-radar book suggestions

OMFG

My trip to NYC consisted of playing pretend all over the city:

1) make-believing I'm hipster in Brooklyn.
2) make-believing I'm cultured in art museums.
3) make-believing I speak Italian to Italian tourists.
4) make-believing I'm Gossip Girl on the Upper East Side.
5) make-believing I'm not a tourist.

Here are some highlights.

Tuesday
I was interviewed while riding the Bolt Bus for a newspaper doing a comparison between the Bolt Bus and Grayhound. So now I've been on TV and in the paper in a span of three days. I think that's the East Coast's way of telling me I should live there. I saw the NYC skyline from a distance and got a little thrill--it's so strange to see a sight as familiar as New York's skyline and realize that it's simultaneously totally unknown. I was dropped off in Midtown and my cousin, C, picked me up for our ride back to Brooklyn. She lives in Sunset Heights, a largely Dominican neighborhood, and we feasted on spicey treats for dinner and drank home-made Sangria while catching up on life.

Wednesday
The walking day around NYC. C took me on a ferry ride to see Lady Liberty, and then we got bagels in a deli off Wall St. Then we tooled around Lower Manhattan and walked across the Brooklyn bridge and back.



After that we did Chinatown/Little Italy, and crossed over to the Village, SoHo, Chelsea, Meatpacking dist., etc., and went to C's restaurant, . We walked for hours, and in one day made it from the tip of Lower Manhattan to Rockefeller Center--exhausting but amazing! Then we went to Sephora to freshen ourselves up with sample makeup and went to this very mod, but surprisingly inexpensive, Thai restaurant for dinner and drinks in Union Square before seeing a movie.

Thursday
C had to work, so I hit the museums. I went to the UES and wandered around until I found a little place for breakfast, and then went to the Met to look at art. I think I could spend a week in the Met, but I limited myself to four hours. The self-imposed time limit made me streamline my visit, and instead of wandering through yet another room full of antique silver from the Edwardian era, I focused on Western art, arms and armor, the rooms decorated in period furniture, and the Egyptian artifacts.



It was an ambitious task, but I managed to get through it all. Some of my favorite art pieces included J.S. Sargent's Madame X, Monet's La Grenouillere, actually, all of the Monet, and all of the Matisse, several Caravaggios, Goya, Ghirlandaio...actually, let's face it, everything is an awe-inspiring canonical work. Then I took a cab to MoMA, which is a super sexy building, architecturally speaking. I didn't realize how claustrophobic the Met is until I went into MoMA. Also, MoMA is better laid out and you can't get lost in it, unlike the Met (I wanted to cry at one point, after circling through two galleries at least 4 times). I can't really compare the Met and MoMA, because they are intended for totally different purposes, but MoMA is pretty hot shiz. At MoMA I got to talk to designer-clad Italiani about Giacomo Balla's The Streetlight, a painting a just wrote a final paper on.



Highlights: Picasso's Les Damoiselles d'Avignon, one of Monet's room-sized Waterlilies, Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel, Oppenheim's Fur Breakfast, Warhol's Marilyn, Johns' America...OMFG. Good stuff. It was raining a little once I got outside, but I couldn't find my stupid subway station, so I had to wander 5th ave for a little while in the rain. It turned into a downpour, and I was very happy to get back to Brooklyn. It was my first day alone in the city and I was very proud of myself for not getting lost on the subway or, really, getting lost in the city at all. New York's layed out so well once you get into Midtown that it's hard to get lost. After my long day of art we had good food and drinks in Brooklyn.

Friday



I went to the Empire State Building; it took 3 hours. I don't want to talk about it.
After that...experience...I met up with C and her friend S in Columbus circle to buy food at Whole Foods for a Central Park lunch!



I spent most of Friday afternoon in Central Park and wandering the Upper West Side, which is where I would live in my dream-life. It's way less quiet and boring than the Upper East Side, but it is still super gorgeous and has awesome buildings. I then booked it to FAO Schwartz and played with all the HUGE stuffed animals, pretended I was Hermoine in the Flourish & Blott's store, and flipped out over all the giant Lego constructions. I felt like I was 5 again.



The best part of Friday was meeting up with my oldest friend, B, in Grand Central. She came all the way from CT to spend the night in NYC with me! What a good friend. We went to dinner with her boyfriend's younger brother and did the tourist thing in Times Square. We got a little tipsy before going to the Toys R Us store, which is on par with FAO Schwartz, and we played for at least an hour. We're horrible when we're together, we act like total children. The Barbie doll section was a big draw for us, as was the Brio section, and the Lego-made NYC skyline.



Then we ran around Times Square some more before heading home, as she had to leave fairly early the next morning. It was so wonderful to see B, one of my favorite people in the whole world!

Saturday
B and I went to breakfast and C went to work. B and I went to the American Girl Doll Store, where I learned that they retired Samantha, my AG doll--WTF! Major failure, Pleasant Company, major failure! Then we went to Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral, which we happened to stumple upon, but was way worth the visit. Gorgeous. Then I dropped B off at Grand Central, which is the most opulent train station I've ever been in, and I went to the NYC library. It's very pretty inside, and I'm so glad I went! Bryant Park is right behind the library, so I went there, and then I took the subway to C's work for free lunch!
Sadly, my days in the city were over, and I had to to to the airport at 4.

Recap
New York blew my mind. I want it, I need it, oh baby, oh baby.

Meeting Betsy Ross

I spent five days of my spring break in Philadelphia, visiting one of my best friends, M. M goes to Villanova, which is located on the Main Line, a stretch of millionaire suburbs dating back to colonial days. There are beautiful stone mansions, quaint little towns with great shops and cafes, and poky little antique stores and big, leafy parks, all within 20 minutes of downtown Philadelphia. During the day M and I did tourist stuff in Philadelphia, and at night we'd meet up with her roommates and friends to go to bars, Final Four basketball viewing parties, and, one night, karaoke (mamma mia). Philadelphia was suprisingly awesome. Philadelphia was never one of those cities I've always wanted to go visit; I went there solely to visit M. However, I became enamored with the city of brotherly love. It has very nice features, and it's not one of those generic American cities. There is a lot of character, and not just through its colonial roots, either. Diversity, cool shopping areas, and gorgeous European-style squares give it a unique vibe.
Rittenhouse square:


My first day in Philly was "Patriot Day". We did a tour of Independence Hall, went to see the Liberty Bell, strolled around Christ Church and saw where the Franklins and Washingtons worshiped, and, best of all, went inside Betsy Ross' house. It's adorable and tiny and totally preserved. AND WE MET BETSY ROSS! On the way home to see the Villanova basketball game, we took suburban rail, and Betsy Ross was on the train, sitting across the aisle from us!!! She was still in period gear (although she took her hat off), and it was quite the uncanny experience.

On the second day we went to the art museum, which has an excellent Modern art collection, to see an exhibit on Cezanne. The exhibit focused on artists who have been influenced by him, so the curator took 60 of Cezanne works and then paired them with pieces from later artists. They brought stuff in from MoMA, the Met, Chicago, the National Gallery, the Musee d'Orsay--it was a phenomenal exhibit. One genious paring was Cezanne's "Madame Cezanne in a Red Armchair" with Picasso's "The Dream" and Matisse's "Lady in Blue". There was so much Matisse!!! M was cracking up because I was having a small fit every few seconds. LOVED IT! I'm not alone in my opinion. The Boston Globe said "There won’t be a show anywhere in the world this year to compete —in ambition, scope, and sheer concentration of masterworks". The London Telegraph said "This is one of the most important shows I've seen in two decades of reviewing for this paper". Wowzers! Way to go, M--great outing!

In other exciting media news: I got on TV because I was posing next to the Rocky statue outside the musuem and a reporter for Fox was doing a story on why tourists love Rocky. So I had my five minutes of fame in Philly (do you like that alliteration?).

We also went to South Street where I had my first cheese steak at Jim's . Even when I was ordering it, I wasn't sure if I wanted to eat it, but it was heaven.

When M was in class one day, I got to stroll around Wayne, the most adorable town ever. . I would so live there! Everyone was so friendly and small-town, but it's only a short drive from downtown--love it!

I also got to spend a lot of time with M's friends and roommates. It was very nice to meet these people after hearing so much about them over the past four years. They were great! One of the best parts about traveling, even within one's own country, is meeting nice, cool people. I'm really pleased with Philadelphia, and it was a great city experience. Thanks to M and co. for making this a wonderful trip!

Springing

Rarely do I experience spontaneous, carefree, warm spring days in Seattle. But today I did. I got up at 8, had a leisurely breakfast, went to Copymart to buy course packets, worked for a few hours, and then napped for the first time in weeks. When I fell asleep it was sunny but not that warm, but upon waking from my slumbers it was at least 60 deg. and gorgeous! So I pulled on a hoodie and walked to Twice Told to browse and play with cats. Going to bookstores is one of my favorite past times, but I hardly ever do it in Seattle. I had no plan to go to bookstoring when I woke up this morning; the plan just unfolded and who am I to say no to such an enjoyable outing?! After Twice Told I walked along Broadway and had fro-yo at CrazyBerry, and then I stopped in at QFC to buy yellow peppers, toilet paper, salmon, toothpaste, pasta, English muffins, and, on a whim, red tulips! Buying flowers is another thing I always want to do, but never actually do. At QFC I ran into Garrett, and then on my way home I saw everyone and their mother walking through campus. Some Bro-Freshmen skateboarding on Upper Mall were dressed in Pooh and Tigger Halloween costumes and made my stroll home more enjoyable (and more surreal). Then I made a delicious dinner, watched TV, and took a shower--and it was still light and sunny outside!! Days like today are why I love Seattle and college.

Seattle Nights

You know it's going to be a good night when you and your pals start at Hot Mama's and end at Maharajah.

The beginning of spring quarter is going quite well, if I do say so myself! Happy hour tonight, happy hour tomorrow night, lots of time at work, pretty awesome classes, and LOTS of denial in regards to the future and the state of the economy! Woohoo!

Tonight was a "welcome back to the west coast" kind of night (more on east coast adventures later), and I'm pretty stoked to be back in my home turf. It's all well and good to plan for the future on the east coast, but my heart will always be in these rainy, small, polite cities of the Pac N-Dub. It's home.

I'm looking forward to a great last term in this wonderful city with even more wonderful friends. Cheers!