30 June 2012

Love for all

Here I am, sitting at my computer at nearly 1 am. I'm avoiding the prospects of sleep because 15 feet above where I am sitting, it is stifling. I also sleep there.

Anyway, I'm in a good mood. So, I'm writing some love letters. Drop a line if you want one.

Love,
J

Are You Listening, World? It's Me, J

I was just looking through my unfinished P84 pictures and I just realized how much fun I had at its inception. I have to say, that was one of my favorite weeks this entire year. It seemed like everything was coming together. 

This is an ode to everything right in this world; to everything right coming together in your life. Looking back, I've realized how much I miss Chelsea and the rest of the world. Gee, I really need to stop being such a homebody.

Love to all,
J

28 June 2012

"Beach" Party

Last week I ventured out to Rockaway Beach via a bus and train. My time at the beach was quite relaxing but oh my lord, I am never taking that bus again.

Here's my proposed solution: a "beach" party at the Highline! It only takes an hour by train to get there and under the beating sun in 94 degree weather, we can pretend it's the beach! Just lay back on the reclined chairs on DVF's sundeck and soak some Vitamin D. It's the perfect situation minus the annoying sand that gets trapped in every crevice of your body, and there's a water feature! And hey, if you really want, be my guest and feel free to jump into the Hudson. With Chelsea Market just below, you can always run inside to cool off from the heat. Oh, and did I mention Artichoke pizza?! YUMMAY!

So... Anyone up for a "beach" party tomorrow?

Cheers,
J

... seriously though.

27 June 2012

If anyone's there...

HELLO, WORLD!
If anyone's reading this at all, please know that I will be blogging fairly frequently this summer.
As it is the summer before college and the very last before my 18th birthday, many have advised me to seize this summer for myself.

So here it is. This summer I will be accomplishing something that I've always wanted: Enjoying life.
Now of course, some may argue that as a child, I've experienced life without a worry in the world. But this is different. This summer, I will be going to museum exhibits that interest me without letting them slip past my fingertips. This summer, I will be enjoying literature for personal fulfillment, not just for summer reading assignments. This summer, I will visit nooks and crannies of the city that I've never witnessed before. This summer, I will adventure throughout New York City like I've never done before.

I've lived in this city for 17 years, 8 months, 9 days and counting. But I have never seized this city, the day, the moment, like I will this summer.
The end of the beginning of my life will go off with a bang. Care to witness it?

Upon the arrival of my new MacBook baby, I've discovered the incredible potential of Evernote. For the past week or so, I've collected a few things that I aspire to do this summer. While I was looking through the notes that I've compiled so far, I realized that I'm creating a notebook with no one to share it with. If a tree falls in a forest but no one hears the impact, did it really fall?


So, friends, here is my list so far:
1. Visit the Keith Haring exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum
2. Visit Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party at the Brooklyn Museum
3. Read Imagine: How Creativity Works
4. Read Freakonomics
5. Read Fifty Shades of Grey
6. Visit Governor's Island
7. Read Women from the Ankle Down
8. GOAL: Finish reading the Sherlock Holmes collection
9. Watch Spiderman featuring qt Andrew Garfield
10. Catch up on my Reading Challenge (GoodReads)
11. Visit the MET's rooftop exhibit by Tomas Saraceno, Cloud City
12. Witness Germany's Euros 2012 win*
13. Attend French Restaurant Week

*They're going to win, and you know it.

Feel free to join me in celebrating Germany's win on Sunday ;)

Cheers,
J

25 June 2012

The Newsroom

I've been waiting for The Newsroom for a while now. However, without cable TV I was hoping to find the season premiere on Hulu or somewhere online. But much to my luck I could not find it Sunday morning.

But HBO has put it up on YouTube so all is well. The best part? It begins at 3:18. Watch it, it's great. Tell me if you agree or not.

What Do You Do

It's summer, and if you don't have a job to go to or a place to volunteer at, then what do you do? Well, you have the world at your fingertips and you can enjoy the world as you seek.

Today's Monday and tomorrow's Tuesday. If I was socially ubiquitous, I'd be out right now watching a movie or eating with my friends. But I'm not. Instead, I intended for this week to be dedicated to finally finishing the Sherlock Holmes collection. Is that dorky?

So here I am stuck at home contemplating whether or not I should find something to do tomorrow. Hm, maybe I'll just occupy Starbucks for the entire day, reading.

18 June 2012

Morp

gah! wasting post #200 to write about... PROM.

Disclaimer: I'd like to mention that I did not go to prom, so this is all speculative, but whatever...

Now that prom has come and gone, it seems as if more people have been asking me why I didn't go more so than people asked me why I wouldn't be going before the event.Well I hope you all had fun. I had fun that day too! Yeah, so it's not like I stayed home and watched tv in bed.

Honestly, I'll admit that a part of me wanted to go for two reasons: dressing up, and just for the sake of going. I suppose that the latter isn't really a legitimate reason, but whatever. But when I thought about it, I wasn't willing to spend $200 on a prom ticket, with the cost of transportation, my dress, shoes, hair and makeup, and possibly afterprom costs as well. Summed up, it would have been more than $600, including the time spent trying on dresses and all that jazz. Oh, and have you seen salons during prom season? So there we have it, time and energy spent on a 4 hour event and I hear the food wasn't even that good.

So what did I do on Saturday? Actually, I graduated from Girl Scouts... kinda. I emceed the Court of Awards event which really symbolized the culmination of a decade's worth of scouting. It was my last year of ten, and I really could not miss it. If you think about it, I've been a Girl Scout for more than half my life, and I just became a lifetime member, so in my entire lifetime I will not have been a scout for 8 years. Doesn't that seem crazy?!

And back to prom.
I will also admit that I did a bit of stalking and skimmed through people's prom pictures. But then again, who doesn't? Everyone looked fabulous, and I wish I could have been there to see all my ladies in their spectacular gowns!

J

13 June 2012

Dear 2012,

Thank you. Thank you for being an amazing class who made this a truly spectacular year. I may not have realized it earlier, but we've accomplished some amazing things this year. From Intel Finalists to sports champions, we've done everything under the rainbow and more. Thank you for being so wonderful.

I apologize. I'm sorry for all the times I've ever been a bitch to any one of you. I'm sorry for every negative feeling I've ever expressed to anyone within these past 4 years. I've learned that its best not to end high school with bad feelings, so this is my official apology.

Don't be a stranger. Now that we're done with school, it'll be increasingly more difficult to see each other. I didn't realize this until after school when I was on the bus. Think of every single movie in which a main character reflects back on their high school experience and regrets not keeping in touch with their amigas. Well you know what? That's not going to be us. Whenever you see someone from high school, stop and say hi. Don't walk past them and pretend you didn't see them or don't know them. Stop and remember all the great things that happened during high school. I promise you, you'll walk away with a smile.

After reading the messages my friends wrote in my signy book thingy, it made me sad when people actually wrote 'Keep in touch.' It made it seem as if we wouldn't keep in touch otherwise. If there's one thing that I want after high school, it's that none of my friendships ever falter. I'll always be here, so there's absolutely no excuse for us to ever get out of touch.

Maybe this is just me getting sentimental, but I think I'll really miss you guys. The impact of the end of high school didn't actually hit me until our 9th period countdown... and by then, it was too late to do anything. But you know what? That's okay because we'll see each other again.

Oh, and I realized that people get out of touch with the blog if I don't make FB posts... so I guess they'll resume.

Lots of love,
J

PS. Don't be a stranger.

08 June 2012

Reactionary

Turn to the person sitting next to you and ask them something: Do they or have they ever owned an Apple product? Bet you $5 their answer is yes unless your neighbor is a devout Amish person who refuses to believe in electricity, of course. This is the 21st century and we are dominated by pop culture and the latest toys now more than ever. With every purchase one makes, there is at least a passing thought of how that purchase will help them keep up with the Joneses. My question is Why?
I've always believed that the 21st century is the one of no trends. Could I ever be more wrong? Turns out that societal culture isn't complete without them. Tell me, why did you buy new iPad 3? Is it really a necessity in your life? What does it offer that compelled you to purchase it? You can apply that question to anything you've ever owned, but the most valuable part of that question is your answer. Personally, I don't own an iPad. In fact, I don't currently own any Apple product, but that's not because I don't want to. However aside from that, every time I consider saving up money or asking my parents for one, I find myself evaluating the prospects of the overly glorified device. Am I really willing to shell over $700 for a device that will just make me seemingly less bored? No. What does it really do for you that makes it such a prized item?

I know for a fact that if I posed these questions to my friends I'd receive an answer regarding the games they play to resolve their boredom or perhaps that it's lighter to carry around than a 5-pound laptop. Bullshit.
Bored? Read a book, become enlightened by the worlds you find in literature as people have done for centuries before our time. Perhaps you'll learn something fascinating or even discover your favorite style of literature.
Is your laptop too heavy to carry around? Suck it up and get a padded backpack. Are you really going to replace one device with a lighter one just to save yourself from slightly strained shoulders?

I know I'm being insanely critical, and don't you dare call me jealous as result. If anything, I just wish society wasn't so captivated by new technologies. I love handwriting letters on fun stationary, but who will write me back with equal effort? I love playing games with my friends that don't involve electronic devices that produce versions of games originally played IRL. Take the popular game Draw Something for example. It's an electronic version of Pictionary, only Pictionary is more fun. Then there's Words with Friends, Zynga's online version of Scrabble in which a single game could last a month. And Scramble with Friends? Boggle. Does this make me a reactionary for wanting to enjoy time with my friends in one room? These days a simple get together is even glorified into a party because, well, why else would you go to your friends house, right?

It is here that I thank my mother for instilling the value of quality time in my childhood. Thanks for all those times you forced me to play Scrabble even though I'd always lose.