The Art of Relationships
on our list of things to do together
the most important item remains
an unwritten glow, bouncing
between our ribs and spines
---------------------------------------------------
We do really have a list of things to do together. It includes:
Go apple picking.
Bake rainbow cookies.
Go to a Weakerthans concert.
See the abandoned City Hall station.
Read e.e. cummings and Ferlinghetti.
Eat Thai noodles for the hundredth time.
Eat creme desserts at the Hungarian bakery.
Eat salmon over coconut rice while touching each other.
Lay together on an uninhabited island in the ocean and the sand.
Watch flying lanterns from a boat and give birth to a baby dragon.
31 January 2011
Numb
We sit with his head in my lap. The wind sends snow careening down from the pines. It speckles his hair like dandruff, or bits of salt scattered to ward off evil spirits. We are the only two people in the park, dark silhouettes against the backdrop of baseball diamond lights. The game was canceled, due to the early and unexpected storm. We waded through snow up to our knees to get here, to sit on this particular hill under this particular tree. We sit with his head in my lap and I stroke his hair and brush out little flakes of white dust. He buries his face into my thighs and I squeeze. My fingernails are three shades of blue as I shake his shoulder and say, We should probably go home. He holds up two fingers; he requests two more minutes of sitting here shivering. I say, Please. I'm thinking about how they'll find us in the morning, stiff and intimate, his head in my lap, begging nakedness and warmth. I'm thinking that I should go, now, alone if he won't come with me. He says, We are learning to feel without our bodies. We sit with his head in my lap and I lick the thickening clumps of snow from his hair and swallow them whole.
30 January 2011
Weekend Roundup!
Spring is in the 32 degree air... at least in the store at the mall.
Todd and I went shopping today with my parents to look for a dress for me to wear to my cousin's wedding in March. (More about this later; I've never been to a wedding before except once when I was a flower girl and I don't even remember that). Anyway, nearly every store had some leftover end of the season sales and most shops boasted new summer-ready short shorts and tank tops, even though February hasn't even hit us yet. It really made me miss the warm weather!
On the plus side, we all ate at Johnny Rockets and I had a delicious oreo shake. On the minus side, I treated everyone to dinner and am now less $60. But at least we had a good time, and I guess that's what matters.
Todd and I went shopping today with my parents to look for a dress for me to wear to my cousin's wedding in March. (More about this later; I've never been to a wedding before except once when I was a flower girl and I don't even remember that). Anyway, nearly every store had some leftover end of the season sales and most shops boasted new summer-ready short shorts and tank tops, even though February hasn't even hit us yet. It really made me miss the warm weather!
On the plus side, we all ate at Johnny Rockets and I had a delicious oreo shake. On the minus side, I treated everyone to dinner and am now less $60. But at least we had a good time, and I guess that's what matters.
 | ||||
| (Before consuming a burger, cheese fries and a shake. No wonder my arms are getting fat haha) |
27 January 2011
GRE Website Review
After weeks of study, I recently took the GRE exam, which is the exam you have to take in order to try and apply to most graduate school programs, for anyone who isn't familiar with it. I'm trying to get my Masters in Creative Writing, and although only one (New York University) of the four (Brooklyn College, The New School, Columbia University) schools I applied to required the GRE, I still had to pay about $115 and take the GRE test.
The other day I came across this GRE prep site, GRE Prep Book, run by 3 UC Berkley graduate students. Like many of the GRE prep sites I frequented while studying for the exam, this website is simple, without much flash or pomp. While that adds to easy navigation and user friendliness, I found that there is a bit of repetition between the side links and the bottom links on the homepage. The site's plain appearance takes away from - for lack of better words - it's potential for seduction. Call me shallow, but a website's appearance is a major factor in whether or not I decide to peruse through it's pages and with the GRE Prep Book website, I don't get that little tingle of excitement that tells me: this is a well-run, well-kept, and more than quasi-official website.
I decided to browse the site anyway, and discovered that the material on the site - and there is a ton of it - is actually really helpful if you're looking for practice questions. There isn't too much instruction on how to answer the questions, but there are a fair amount of questions to answer and a lot of word lists, giving examples of antonyms and synonyms and word pairs. Although I think this would not be helpful to someone looking for lots of instruction, it would have been helpful to someone like me, just looking to do practice questions and go over some vocabulary. It would have been even more helpful if they had pointed out high frequency words and questions most likely to be seen on the GRE exam itself.
Link: http://greprepbook.org
The other day I came across this GRE prep site, GRE Prep Book, run by 3 UC Berkley graduate students. Like many of the GRE prep sites I frequented while studying for the exam, this website is simple, without much flash or pomp. While that adds to easy navigation and user friendliness, I found that there is a bit of repetition between the side links and the bottom links on the homepage. The site's plain appearance takes away from - for lack of better words - it's potential for seduction. Call me shallow, but a website's appearance is a major factor in whether or not I decide to peruse through it's pages and with the GRE Prep Book website, I don't get that little tingle of excitement that tells me: this is a well-run, well-kept, and more than quasi-official website.
I decided to browse the site anyway, and discovered that the material on the site - and there is a ton of it - is actually really helpful if you're looking for practice questions. There isn't too much instruction on how to answer the questions, but there are a fair amount of questions to answer and a lot of word lists, giving examples of antonyms and synonyms and word pairs. Although I think this would not be helpful to someone looking for lots of instruction, it would have been helpful to someone like me, just looking to do practice questions and go over some vocabulary. It would have been even more helpful if they had pointed out high frequency words and questions most likely to be seen on the GRE exam itself.
Link: http://greprepbook.org
26 January 2011
LUSH
I used to hate baths.
And to an extent, I'm still not the biggest fan of them. You sit in water that goes from lukewarm to tepid. You're afraid to read because you might drop your book into the water and then it'll be ruined. Your bathtub drains while you're in it even though you've switched up the stopper...
Or maybe that's just me and my faulty tub.
Anyway, although I'm still not at that point where I want to take baths all the time, they've become much more appealing ever since my best friend introduced me to Lush, where they sell handmade cosmetics, especially bath melts and bath bombs. Both dissolve in the bath water and infuse it with fragrances (which can range from soothing to sensual, depending on your mood and whether or not you're bathing alone) and minerals to make your skin soft and, well, luscious. Thus the name, I guess.
Whether you love or hate baths, you should give these products a try. But even I only buy them when I've got a gift card for the store, because I couldn't imagine spending $6 on a bath bomb or, even more expensive, $25 on some of their creams and lotions. So start hinting at what you want for Christmas early this year.
Here is a video someone posted on Youtube so that you can see how bath bombs work:
And to an extent, I'm still not the biggest fan of them. You sit in water that goes from lukewarm to tepid. You're afraid to read because you might drop your book into the water and then it'll be ruined. Your bathtub drains while you're in it even though you've switched up the stopper...
Or maybe that's just me and my faulty tub.
Anyway, although I'm still not at that point where I want to take baths all the time, they've become much more appealing ever since my best friend introduced me to Lush, where they sell handmade cosmetics, especially bath melts and bath bombs. Both dissolve in the bath water and infuse it with fragrances (which can range from soothing to sensual, depending on your mood and whether or not you're bathing alone) and minerals to make your skin soft and, well, luscious. Thus the name, I guess.
Whether you love or hate baths, you should give these products a try. But even I only buy them when I've got a gift card for the store, because I couldn't imagine spending $6 on a bath bomb or, even more expensive, $25 on some of their creams and lotions. So start hinting at what you want for Christmas early this year.
Here is a video someone posted on Youtube so that you can see how bath bombs work:
25 January 2011
Oscar Nominations
They released the full list of Oscar nominees early this morning. I have a few thoughts on it:
Best Picture: I really hope "The Social Network" wins this. Todd and I recently re-rented the movie, which we originally saw in theaters, but we haven't re-watched it yet. However, it is a smart film that really captures the attention and doesn't let it go. (The real test is whether or not it puts my mom to sleep, but she hasn't seen it yet).
Best Actor: I'm torn between Jesse Eisenberg for "The Social Network" and James Franco in "127 Hours." I think I"m leaning towards the latter. In the movie, James Franco portrays a climber who falls while leaping amongst caves. His arm gets caught under a huge boulder and he ultimately cannot get out, unless he decides to cut off his arm.
Best Actress: I'm hoping for Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine." Although I don't know how I felt about the movie's ending, I did really like her performance. Then again, I like her in most things. And I may be partial to "Blue Valentine" because after Todd and I watched it, we re-declared that we wanted to be together forever, and that always makes me happy. So I think I'm biased.
Best Animated Feature: You know that "Toy Story 3" has probably got this one without question, but I really also enjoyed "How to Train Your Dragon," and I wish that had a chance to beat out the obvious favorite. (Although I do admit that "Toy Story 3" was really good and made me cry).
Those are just a few thoughts for now. I'll have more as the Oscars approach. Keep watch for them on February 27!
Best Picture: I really hope "The Social Network" wins this. Todd and I recently re-rented the movie, which we originally saw in theaters, but we haven't re-watched it yet. However, it is a smart film that really captures the attention and doesn't let it go. (The real test is whether or not it puts my mom to sleep, but she hasn't seen it yet).
Best Actor: I'm torn between Jesse Eisenberg for "The Social Network" and James Franco in "127 Hours." I think I"m leaning towards the latter. In the movie, James Franco portrays a climber who falls while leaping amongst caves. His arm gets caught under a huge boulder and he ultimately cannot get out, unless he decides to cut off his arm.
Best Actress: I'm hoping for Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine." Although I don't know how I felt about the movie's ending, I did really like her performance. Then again, I like her in most things. And I may be partial to "Blue Valentine" because after Todd and I watched it, we re-declared that we wanted to be together forever, and that always makes me happy. So I think I'm biased.
Best Animated Feature: You know that "Toy Story 3" has probably got this one without question, but I really also enjoyed "How to Train Your Dragon," and I wish that had a chance to beat out the obvious favorite. (Although I do admit that "Toy Story 3" was really good and made me cry).
Those are just a few thoughts for now. I'll have more as the Oscars approach. Keep watch for them on February 27!
New 2011 Blog Schedule!
After having to rewind and watch the ball drop twice on New Year's Eve because my dad's camera didn't record the first time, the New Year has kicked off to a great start. This first month has been a pretty constant stream of looking for jobs, doing a bit of writing, seeing friends and mostly just spending time with Todd before he heads back to school next week for the spring semester. It's been really great to see him nearly every day and to get to sleep in his arms. <3
And now that I've gotten time to settle into the new year, I've decided to concoct a new posting method that will ensure more regular posts and more regular commenting on the posts of the people on my blogroll (check them out). So, here's the plan:
Monday Creativity: I'll start off each week with a creative / writing post, maybe tips on writing or news about writing or bits of my own writing, like poems and short short stories.
Entertainment Tuesday: I'll post a short bit about music, movies, books, or video games that I'm into at the moment so that I can share those things with you.
New Age Wednesday: I want to get back into posting about things like color healing and gem healing and tarot cards and palm reading, so Wednesdays are going to be my day for that.
Random Thursday: On Thursdays I'll post about whatever I'm feeling at the moment, whether it's a personal post or a recipe or just a photo post giving you a feel for what's going on in my life.
Weekend Roundup: Just a little bit of news and information about what's been going on throughout the week, either in my personal life or in the world.
If you have any other suggestions about things you'd like to see added to one of these categories or posted on Thursdays, please comment and let me know!
And now that I've gotten time to settle into the new year, I've decided to concoct a new posting method that will ensure more regular posts and more regular commenting on the posts of the people on my blogroll (check them out). So, here's the plan:
Monday Creativity: I'll start off each week with a creative / writing post, maybe tips on writing or news about writing or bits of my own writing, like poems and short short stories.
Entertainment Tuesday: I'll post a short bit about music, movies, books, or video games that I'm into at the moment so that I can share those things with you.
New Age Wednesday: I want to get back into posting about things like color healing and gem healing and tarot cards and palm reading, so Wednesdays are going to be my day for that.
Random Thursday: On Thursdays I'll post about whatever I'm feeling at the moment, whether it's a personal post or a recipe or just a photo post giving you a feel for what's going on in my life.
Weekend Roundup: Just a little bit of news and information about what's been going on throughout the week, either in my personal life or in the world.
If you have any other suggestions about things you'd like to see added to one of these categories or posted on Thursdays, please comment and let me know!
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