Made an On-The-Go playlist today that actually worked really nicely. Also, the two songs called "Ooh La La" in a row was a complete accident. That's just the kind of day it's been.

Hello, sunshine )

Great day. It's beautiful and springy and I'm wearing a dangly necklace and Alex is fucking tired and Joel and Meredith and Emily and Steph are all in a good mood and JT's in a better mood because he's happy about the whole pope thing. And it was just very nice.

That's all. I'm happy. I'm in love. The sky is a great shade of blue. This is why I love spring.
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An open letter to Mr. Benjamin McKenzie )
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This passage from page 101 of F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise struck me last night.
    Then at six they arrived at the Borges' summer place on Long Island, and Amory rushed upstairs to change into a dinner coat. As he put in his studs he realized that he was enjoying life as he would probably never enjoy it again. Everthing was hallowed by the haze of his own youth. He had arrived, abreast of the best in his generation at Princeton. He was in love and his love was returned. Turning on all the lights, he looked at himself in the mirror, trying to find in his own face the qualities that made him see more clearly than the great crowd of people, that made him decide firmly, and able to influence and follow his own will. That was little in his life now that he would have changed....
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You know what I never noticed until tonight? That, when the sky is foggy, lights reflect off of the fog. Like, I’ve noticed it, but tonight I really saw it. When we were passing the New York skyline on the helix out of the Lincoln Tunnel. It was kind of breathtaking. As well as the lightning over Secaucus. I remember now why I used to love thunderstorms.

So I’ve had a busy weekend so far. After school yesterday, Meredith and I went to the gym at the YMCA, which was actually kind of fun. Then I went home for like an hour and went to Bri’s house for her birthday party. We went to the Avon store at the mall and this really bitchy lady there told me that A) I’ll start to wear makeup when I “bloom,” as she did, and also B) I look terrible in ‘fuck me’ magenta lipstick, which is my favorite shade thankyouverymuch. It was still fun getting made up by everyone. Then we went back to Bri’s house and did…stuff and broke a piñata and I fell asleep early in the easy chair and when I woke up again I had missed like a billion fun games and we were watching Bridget Jones 2. And then I fell asleep again and when I woke up next it was 8:30 in the morning and everyone was sleeping so I knit in the dark for a half hour and yes I brought my knitting to Bri’s party but I’m almost out of ugly salmon yarn so SHUT UP.

Anyway.

Today, Mom took me into the city because she was getting a haircut at Devachan and I was going with Abbie, our old friend, and her niece Lauren to see Hairspray. The show was great (despite the dogged efforts of Bruce Vilanch) and it was great seeing them. I also got cool necklaces. Then all of us, including my mom, ate at the Ruby Foo’s in Times Square before we fled the city in fear (it was raining and, well, you know my mom). I am in love with Times Square, by the way.

The whole experience of the past two days was a lot more rushed than it sounds, but it was fun anyway. Tomorrow I’m seeing my aunt Caren at one-ish, then hopefully going to dinner and a movie with Joel, on the off-chance his mother suspends his odd grounding for my sake. Is Sin City out yet? If so, Frank Miller movie on Jay Garrick’s birthday, y’all.

Why is it still raining? This isn’t even fun rain. This is Jeff Buckley rain. Seriously, I immediately put in Grace on the way in, but my mom didn’t like it and I put in Modest Mouse, and it should be Modest Mouse rain, but it’s just not. I’d even prefer Coldplay rain over this. Unbelievable.
Alex says it's a bit too adjectivey and not enough short story-y, but THIS IS SO FUN that I don't care.

Part 1 of THE BEST ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT EVER )

And...scene. Comments? Questions? Ideas? Donations? Expressions of jealous rage?
Tomorrow is Mxy's birthday. Also, it's April Fools Day. I love Mxy but hate April's Fools day. So conflicted.

I'm currently in the process of making a mix for Bri's birthday party and, consequently, her present. After going through my entire 3000+ song library, I dropped 53 songs into the playlist. This is going to take a while.

Other stuff to say...there isn't much. This week is just flying by, and I'm really enjoying myself. Mrs. Longo is assigning a short story (finally) and she says I can write a Superman fic story! I'm so excited. It just has to be a defined plot about protest or some such. Writing a superhero story practically does that for me. I'm so excited that I wrote, like, a paragraph on the bus. My first sentence is Clark Kent was not, by nature, a confrontational guy. Best. Assignment. Ever.

In other nerd news, Veronica Mars and Lost were both new this week for the first time in ever, and they both kicked ass. One had snickerdoodles and Archie references, and one had Crazy!Swoosie Kurtz and Creepy!Ian Somerhalder. Guess which is which.

In other normal news, I took a Chem test today and it turned out that Alex and I had the exact same answers. Which is good for me, I think. I'm excited either way. Then, in my next class, Manette asked me how long I've been going out with "that kid," which is the first time I've gotten that Question. Heh. The best part is that she went to preschool with Joel. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Also, Chris Benson apologized for being a douche about my hair and I admitted to helping Sundeep kill Dev and thereby helping Neigel win Assassin.

Sorry if this entry isn't making any sense.

Um...what else? I'm actually still knitting, on and off. And they said it wouldn't last. I'm going to buy cool yarn soon so I can make a real scarf that doesn't suck. Bri's party is tomorrow, and then I'm going to see Hairspray on Saturday, which I'm very excited about. Today was Mr. Mooney's 40th birthday. That's...good, I guess.

So, that's me. I'm just chilling, so to speak.

Ooh! This sounds fun! Stolen from Cindy's xanga (which is a thing of beauty):

Ask me any three questions and I'll answer truthfully. The more outrageous and embarrassingly personal the better.
This is kind of a present for [livejournal.com profile] getset_go and [livejournal.com profile] jersey_insomnia, in continuing with the current obsession.

The text is extremely tentative, and I'm thinking of adding color to my friend here (as soon as I figure out the most convenient way), but so far, I'm liking how it's turning out.

To the Top of the Pops, yeah )

Feedback would be awesome.
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Stuff's happened. I promised to update.

Friday was the big day. Meredith and I headed into the city with Mom so I could finally get my hair chopped off. Meredith agreed that Devachan is the kind of place they used to take people on Fashion Emergency. That’s why I love it there. She read magazines while I got my hair cut. As promised, I cut quite a bit off. My hair was about a third of the way down my back, give or take a few inches. Now it falls just below my chin. I really like it. It’s exactly what I needed.

Then Mom took Meredith and me around SoHo. We went to Anne Taylor Loft (Mom bought blue pants), H&M (I bought a skirt and two sweaters, Meredith bought a t-shirt, a skirt, sunglasses and a barrette), Urban Outfitters, Anna Sui and a few others places I can’t remember. On the way to lunch, we saw Carl Lagerfeld (I think), who is apparently a very important guy at Chanel. Meredith and my mom both freaked out. Anyway, after some confusion, we went to lunch at this restaurant called Jerry’s, which had very good, but expensive, fries. Then we went to a rock photo gallery and a very strange, very Japanese store that may or may not have been called Robo Monkey. Then we left the city.

On the way home, there was some drama over whether or not I could go to Dan’s house. This is drama I still don’t completely understand, but I believe it has something to do with my mother thinking I’m gaining some sort of "reputation" (beats me) from hanging out with the boys every weekend. There was also some issue involving their right to “guy time”, but seeing as neither Meredith nor my mother have ever hung out with me, Joel, Dan, and Alex they have no way of knowing that when I’m there, it’s still guy time. So I forgive them.

Either way, I ended up going to Dan’s, much to my parents’ chagrin. We worked on Project Punk on and off and also watched X2, which is still among the best superhero movies ever. My hair got a good reception. Alex said it makes me look younger, whatever that means. Also, I found out that Meredith was right about something. But it was a very enjoyable evening.

Then I came home, re-read half of Superman For All Seasons and went to sleep.

Yesterday, Dad and I went out to do basically nothing. We made a trade at the WalMart on 22 and had lunch at Friday’s, during which we discussed the Thompson Twins and Tal Bachmann. We went to Montclair to pick up his car from the dealership, and I watched cheerleading there. Then we picked up JT so I could take him to Saturdays in Motion, which is where I volunteer. Zarine was back, so it was pretty fun.

After that, JT’s dad picked us up and dropped us in Somerville for some fun vintage escapades. JT and I had dinner at a nice Cuban restaurant and then went to the Goodwill. I got a kick-ass polka dotted skirt for five bucks, and JT bought some ironic t-shirts and a preppy red sweater. Then we headed off to Neet Stuff, which is a very cool but very expensive vintage store packed with lots of stuff. We browsed and talked to the owner and his wife. I read Christian propaganda comics, which were hilarious. In one (Angel of Light, it was called) the last page had a step-by-step method for getting into Heaven, and then said: DO YOU ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR PERSONAL LORD AND SAVIOUR? and then had boxes when you could check 'Yes' or 'No'. It was outstanding. Anyway, JT ended up buying some pins, an N*Sync shirt and a plastic Batman lunchbox, and I bought a Radio Shack ad/Superman comic, scans of which are now up at [livejournal.com profile] scans_daily for your viewing pleasure.

So...that brings us up to speed on my weekend. Happy Purim/Easter, you Judeo-Christians.
Huzzah! I have completed the drafting of my English paper!

Just thought you all should know that.

I'll have a real update when something actually happens.
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Fuckin' TGIF.

Mini-picspam: Me at three )

Yes, I know, I'm adorable.
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So. Sunday bloody Sunday. Here we are.

My parents went to LA this weekend – Dad had some business at the TV Land Awards and Mom was originally going out to see her friends, but she ended up getting some job, too. I don’t really know because I’m still in The BR. Grandma and Grandpa came out to stay with me, because it’s not like I can stay all by myself for two nights in a little berg as shady as this one.

Actually, speaking of burglary, I got a good story.

Friday morning, JT and I get to school and head off to our lockers to get ready for the day. We head over for my locker, number 2018, which is easy to spot because there’s no lock on it. Which is strange, because there usually is a lock on it, seeing as it’s a locker. Curious, I open it up. My binders and books are gone. All the crap on the top shelf – my OC book cover, that yellow balloon, a blank notebook, some papers – are still there, but all of my notebooks I keep at the bottom had vanished. I send JT back to the cafeteria and head off to the main office to see if they know anything.

In the office, Mrs. Ogino directs me to Villar’s office. Now, let me say a few words about Villar. Villar is awesome. He used to teach sixth grade social studies at Annin, and even though I never had him, he still managed to get to know me. Now he’s Assistant Principal #1, but still manages to pal around with a good deal of the student body. He will, one day, be the best principal ever.

Anyway, so I go into Villar’s office, and after bantering with him about my Red Ranger shirt, he asks, “What can I do for you?” So I say: “When I went to my locker this morning and my lock and books were gone and you listen to the New Pornographers!” Yes, just like that. I had just noticed that he had Electric Version and Mass Romantic stacked on his desk, and it was so surprising seeing those albums in an administrator’s office that I just had to come out and say something. And so he goes into this five minute thing where he makes sure I also listen to the Shins, Beulah and Belle & Sebastian, and then he tells me about this kick-ass online indie radio station, WOXY. Like I said, Villar is awesome. Anyway, then he sends me on a patented Ridge High Wild Goose Chase to get my affairs in order.

So, on to Assistant Principal Office #2: Mr. Thompson in the 600 wing. I got a new lock from his secretary there, a college-age looking girl who looked kind of sad to be working in a high school. I left intently so I could put my new lock on my locker so I could dump my coat and not worry about that being stolen as well. On the way, I told Alex what happened (Alex: “Maybe Joel took your stuff.”) and, later, Joel (Me: “You sure you didn’t take my stuff?”), the latter of whom accompanied me to room 521, also known as Assistant Principal Office #3: Miss Dusebout. That’s where the lost and found is. Unfortunately, though, my stuff wasn’t lost, per se, so it couldn’t be found. I went back to the cafeteria for study hall and told Villar about the outcome. The rest of my day was pretty uneventful. When I told Neigel my story (after he finished making fun of me) he said, “Shut. Up.” Neigel? Is also awesome.

All in all, that was the most eventful thing to happen to me lately. Yesterday, Meredith and I hung out and went to the park. I started taking my allergy medicine also, so let’s count March 12th as the first day of spring, shall we?

Today, Grandma and Grandpa took me out to breakfast in Bernardsville, and then we went to see Robots. It was cute, and certainly not as bad as I had originally anticipated, so I feel that it was worth my time. It was also in a theatre full of small children, which are my favorite conditions for movie viewing. It’s one of the reasons I saw the SpongeBob movie twice. One of them.

Afterwards, we ate an early dinner at Ridge Pizza, during which I spotted JT and Julie walking down the street. I managed to call them in and they ended up coming back to my house. We hung out for about an hour and a half, and Julie took home most of the Rolling Stones I’ve accumulated over the past year and a half. She loves magazines. After she left, JT and I watched some Sports Night and he finally got the Natalie/Jeremy love. Because they are so cute. During this, I realized that if you were to describe me in terms of fictional characters, I am Seth Cohen plus Jeremy Goodwin. Despite me being a teenage girl. Other than that, it’s uncanny.

So...that brings us up to speed, I think. My folks are coming home soon. I watched Pleasantville last night and decided that it really is my favorite movie ever. I should have a Pleasantville party for everyone. Sound good to you?
Yet another night of tired procrastination. It's starting to become a theme. I've been working on a paper for English about The Great Gatsby, but as usual, I've made it incredibly difficult for myself. I have to talk to my teacher about letting me start the introduction without a quote from the book, which is really an inane requirement. Also, I want to write something about how Gatsby equals jazz, but none of my literary criticism is about that and I basically have to bullshit everything. I mean, I'm a bullshitter extraordinaire, but still. Research papers are not typically enjoyable for me.

My dad took this picture at dawn this morning from his studio in Times Sqaure. For the sake of keeping up appearances, I fiddled around with it a bit in PhotoShop, but the colors and composition are all original. It's kind of breathtaking, actually.

I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps )

I wore a skirt today for the first time since maybe November or early December. It was nice. I was more comfortable than I expected to be. Except when I went outside. Then it sucked. I hate when it's below freezing and we have fire drills. Damn you, Stotler.

Orchestra business galore this week. My audition was today, for second semester seating. I officially hate Gregor Handel. I don't think I'll keep the section leader stool. On the other hand, we're setting up rooms for the Boston trip, and I'm going to be hanging/sleeping in the vicinity of Meredith, Sarah and Kristin Dahly. It is going to be kickass, from what I can tell. Party time, guys. So, in conclusion, Dev's a bitch for freaking out at us for talking a bit in rehearsal, but then she gives JT, Meredith and me multiple free candy bars. Which basically means that Dev is weird. And yet we love her. I think.

What else has been going on? Nothing. I suck at calculator games. Neigel has a lighted, rotating tie rack. There is, apparently, a calculator function that solves quadratic formulas, like, thanks guys for telling us that now and not three years ago. My Spanish teacher is still a raging bitch, but I got to use a homework pass today. I'm seeing Grease tomorrow night, and I'm expecting a train wreck, so I'll probably be impressed in some regard.

Also, I think I'm in love with Harry and the Potters.
If it weren't for my horse, I never would've spent that year in college.

Happy end of break, all.
Tomorrow's the last day of school before February break. It doesn't seem real, though, so I can't really muster up the excitement. We'll see how I feel after a quiz, a test and an in-class essay. *cracks knuckles*

For the first time ever, there is controversy at Ridge over the school paper, The Devil's Advocate. Colleen Andrews wrote an editorial about sexism on the fencing team, which is absolute bullshit, and most of the team is up in arms. Also, some skinny, attention-starved freshman wrote a column detailing how out-of-shape and lazy the student body is, citing gym classes and the cheerleading squad as specific examples. Needless to say, kids are pissed, especially cheerleaders. Which is comical when you ignore the fact that this girl was stupid enough to indirectly insult over a thousand kids. I'm shocked that Mr. Mingle let it get printed.

So, yeah, drama all up in the BR.

Oh, so I want to know something: Why is it that the brunt of the mockery Joel and I endure is from John Clark and Paul Bertollini? They're two of the most visable PDA champions in the school. Like, shut up, you two. (And I just realized that might sound like they mack on each other, which they do not, in fact, do. Sorry for the image.)

Meredith and I spent our entire lunch period today standing in the Nexus talking to Neigel. It was hilarious. We talked about Battle of the Sexes and how Neigel met Sirus on a street once. We talked about how Naveen is fucking crazy. We talked about my Members Only jacket. We talked about how Neigel could pass as a kid. We talked about how Enzo sang "Milkshake" at Meredith off-key. It was fun. There are only so many teachers you can talk to, y'know?

So to amuse basically JT, Jen Ducz and myself, I'm in the process of writing Great Gatsby fanfiction. It's so nerdy, but so fun. I love writing Gatsby's dialogue. And, because this was conceived as a parody, I really want it to end with a Gatsby/Nick kiss, but the fic doesn't want to go in that direction and it's annoying me. Eh, if it doesn't, it doesn't. It's less work for me to write a less corny story. It's still pretty funny, though.

Also... Never mind. I have nothing else to say, and I'm really tired - like, cross-eyed tired. Why is it that I have nothing to say this week? I should get that checked out.
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I am willing to bet that your town doesn't have a snazzy carpet style named after it.

Read 'em and weep, bitch )

Yeah, that's what I thought.

I totally haven't updated in fucking forever, and for that I feel terrible. I've been simultaneously busy and bored for the past few weeks, but I never really felt I had something to say. There's nothing really to tell you about. My hair was straight for the past couple days, but now the curls are back with a vengeance. The FDR trial in history has come and gone. Same with midterms. I still hate my Spanish teacher. I called Alex a cunt. I read The Great Gatsby. I read the first Superman/Batman trade. Julie applied my makeup. I fenced. I sang. I smiled. Lots. Life is good.

Fencing ended today; it was the last practice, anyway. I'm sad to see the season end. It was a great group of kids who got along in a way I never expected it to. So many kids are graduated in the spring that I don't think we'll be able to recapture it. Most of the team - including some guys - kissed a shirt (with lipstick, you know) for Benson because he was such a great captain. I'm not sure whether he liked it or not. It was fun, though. The whole season was fun. Definitely my best ever sports experience.

That's...all I had to say. Golly. Guess I'll have to update again.
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Yeah, I'm officially a huge dork.

This is a soundtrack of sorts I made for F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby - or really, more of a soundtrack to one of Gatsby's infamous parties. It's a combination of authentic 20's jazz (Lionel Belasco, Zoot Sims), imitation 20's jazz (Vince Giordano, off the Ghost World soundtrack), 30's and 40's big band (Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald), imitation big band (Bjork), new stuff that sounds old (Nellie McKay, Jamie Cullum) and the Triplets of Belleville soundtrack, weirdly enough. I'm actually quite pleased with how it came out. Plus, it represents one of the weirder corners of my musical taste.

And so I present to you...

The Party Next Door: A Great Gatsby Soundtrack
Generique D'Ouverture Triplets of Belleville
I Must Have It Vince Giordano's Nighthawks
Venezuela Lionel Belasco
I Get A Kick Out Of You Jamie Cullum
Bach A La Jazz Triplets of Belleville
I Wanna Get Married Nellie McKay
Our Love Is Here To Stay Dinah Washington
Georgia On My Mind Vince Giordano's Nighthawks
It's Oh So Quiet Bjork
Blinuet Zoot Sims
Rue St. Vincent Yves Montand
You're Just My Type Vince Giordano's Nighthawks
Attila Marcel Triplets of Belleville
Clarice Vince Giordano's Nighthawks
Manhattan Avenue Nellie McKay
Dream A Little Dream Ella Fitzgerald
My Funny Valentine Ben Webster

Here's the front cover: Again, huge dork here )

If anyone wants a copy, please let me know. I know jazz isn't everyone's cup of tea - especially old timey stuff like this - so I'll wait to get requests before I start up the factory. Oh, and JT? I already burned you one.

In other news, happy Valentine's day, all. I had a good one.
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Spoilery Smallville ranting )
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Music quiz #59207657 )

Today was pleasantly pleasant, which is exactly the pace I needed on a day like this. Meredith and I went bowling. I love to bowl, despite being unspeakably horrible at it. Like, I don't even mean that in a humble, self-deprecating way. David, Ben, and now Meredith can testify that I am one of the worst bowlers in the tri-state area, at least. Last summer, I bowled a 12, I kid you not. Today I actually got as high as 65, but still. I'm awful. But I love it.

So Meredith and I had a great time just hanging out. The guy that gave us our shoes was an asshole, though, because he looked at me funny for way too long after I told him I wanted my name on the monitor to be Batman. Like, screw you, bowling alley guy. I'm the customer, I'm paying you $26.01 to stink up the place, and I'm feeling some Justice League Unlimited love right now, so I would appreciate you taking the limited effort to tell the computer that my name is Batman. It actually has one less letter than my actual first name, so you should be thanking me. Know that I didn't say any of this, but it was implied in my incredulous but chastising glare, let me tell you.

After that, Meredith went home and my family had dinner, and then I got ice cream from Dairy Queen and got my dad to watch Sports Night with me. It was his first time, so I started with the pilot, and then went right to Eli's Coming, which is, again, the cream of the crop, in my opinion. And wow, too many commas in that sentence. Anyway. I think Dad liked it, which is a miracle because he loves to criticize things I like, and I really thought he would find the repetitive Sorkin dialogue annoying. So I'm happy about that. I'm also happy because Sports Night, still, rocks hardcore.

And then I came right to the computer and reread The Quality Of Mercy for the billionth time, because I am, indeed, a huge. Ass. Nerd. And I'm also a nutty nut girl who's nuts. That was totally a Sports Night quote, by the way.

I forgot to say also that Meredith and I cast The BR, assuming the characters are modelled after The OC. It actually works out surprisingly well. Observe: Meredith, who was wearing a white tee, jeans and a leather wrist cuff today, is clearly Ryan. That makes me, her good friend with a quick tongue and endless comic references, the honorable Seth Cohen. In turn, Joel is Summer, and his skinny, tall best friend Dan is Marissa. JT, finishing off the Ryan-Seth trio with a balance of our interests, is Luke. Which somehow makes Julie Oliver The Crack Addict. We're not casting for Lindsay, Alex or Zach because we agree that Season Two sucks.

Anyhow. I need a BR icon or something.

School, in its normal state, resumes tomorrow, which is sad. The good news is that that sentence is grammatically correct.
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Spent the evening with JT, Sarah and Julie. The situation was actually very calm, as we had a hair-braiding line and read magazines. The trio also wrote poetry, but because I cannot do the same comfortably, I occupied myself with, like, prose.

Here are two very random, very small pieces of fiction that I got down.

a.) There was a time - one day last year - when Jesus was gay. I'm not quite sure where the thought came from, but there it was, sparkling in my mind's eye like so many purple sequins. It would be a rich joke, I guess, were it true. Not very funny, but rich. Jesus was like that.

b.) She didn't have the energy to play another set, though she wasn't sure the audience wanted her, if she had. There was a sense of selfishness in playing a show, in shamelessly promoting yourself while other people choose not to care. She had never been totally comfortable with the idea, but she went through with it anyway. It was the remnant of an ancient, teenage dream - that rock star, that mysterious girl to the side, that schoolwide enigma that no one could really be. She certainly wasn't that, but since she had plastic glasses and a wawa pedal, she could pretend. Who knows? Maybe she was that enigma to somebody, or at least the mold of it. She could settle for that; it was as close as she ever expected to get. And if she could get even there, maybe she could pull out a few more minutes on stage after all. That is, if the audience wanted her.
Ah, inaugural LJ post. I finally gave in and got an LJ account because I'm lazy and don't want to waste time checking 1502684036 different LJs every day.

I don't plan on converting, though. My DeadJournal is my main blog, and has been for over two years now. I may resort to that cheap device of copying posts into here, just for the benefit of my friends and family on LJ, though. Or maybe I just won't tell them about it.

The good news is, I totally rock.
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