|
|
31July | !!!!!!!
31July | ow
I think I have a cavity :(
30July | kind of funny, but mostly disturbing
So last week I joined an Asian dating site. Yes, me. I'm a little sad that I've built myself such a reputation for being anti dating Asian guys, because now I have to go through and explain to everyone I know why I've had a change of perspective. The truth is I'm pretty ashamed that I was ever in the mindset that I wasn't open to dating Asian guys - this past year has taught me a lot about racial identity and equity, and what's offensive and belittling to a racial category, even if it's my own. Sometimes I feel pretty removed from most people in my life because I do think about these things now, and react to them. I can't blame them - they are basing their ideas and opinions on what they know. But I can be upset when they refuse to try to understand what I am saying to them. Anyway that's not the point of this entry. The point is, I joined an Asian dating site, mostly to see what's out there. I found that what's out there are many, many, many white men in their forties actively seeking women on Asian dating sites. What would prompt anyone to join an Asian dating site? Obviously, to find Asian people to date. Um, this is slightly disturbing. More disturbing is the fact that most of the people who have contacted me are white men in their forties. My profile CLEARLY states 1. that I am 23 and 2. I am not interested in meeting white men on this site. And still they keep coming (though I have to concede that my profile did not state #2 until after I received a slew of smiles/cards/profiles/etc from older white men, and since updating my profile, they have lessened). Also, people from all over the world are contacting me, and I can only imagine what their intentions are, seeing that my profile also states that I live in Brooklyn. ACK. The best, though: Sooo anyway... this has been my primary form of entertainment the past few days. And by entertainment, I mean, grossout factor.
30July | you know what i hate?
1. stupid people and
29July | i am
overwhelmed
26July | okay seriously
I need to spend a week on an island without anyone who can't think like a compassionate, open-minded and tolerant human being, who can't place themselves in someone else's position for just one second, who can't understand that not everyone is just like them. Because I really think my head is going to explode very, very soon. So many people just don't think before they talk, don't consider how selfish and thoughtless they're being. Others constantly need to find excuses to justify thoughts and behaviors that may be questionable, instead of just admitting that perhaps they're not perfect, that they have flaws that maybe they ought to work on. Or not - but at least have an awareness of such, instead of continually insisting that it's okay, and excusable, to judge and offend people based on things they don't understand. I'm so hyperaware of it that I'm constantly picking apart my own words, hoping that I'm not hypocritical, and trying to find ways of repairing any transgressions I may have ignorantly made. I feel like that's one step closer than a lot of people, but there's still a lot that I need to learn. Why don't so many others even care? Am I just surrounded by the wrong people for me? What is my role in this? I can't turn a blind eye to it, but it is just so discouraging to constantly butt heads with this. I'm frustrated.
26July | i know!!!
So this morning in the middle of an otherwise innocuous IM chat... Michelle: SHIT
Ack!! It's true! And you know how I know? After lunch, I got this at my work email:
-----Original Message----- http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/26/people.lancebass.ap/index.html Lance is gay!
And this at my personal email!!
On 26 Jul 2006 10:10:30 -0700, [ALICE] wrote: [ALICE] has sent you a news article. I know you needed to hear about this first... Lance Bass of `N Sync reveals he's gay - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060726/ap_en_ot/people_lance_bass_2 ============================================================
Ooh, this just in:
Jason: lance will be on tv tonight
Okay. A few things that I will state quickly for you to process: You know where I'll be at 11:00pm tonight!!
25July | the motel
I saw Michael Kang's film The Motel this evening with my co-worker Sonja, up at the Imaginasian Theater on 59th and 3rd. I'd heard about this film a couple years back, when I picked up a casting flyer at the Asian American Writer's Workshop and passed it along to my younger brother, then a fledgling thespian doing theater in high school. He actually followed through and auditioned in the city, though if you look at the picture above and then photos of my brother on my Flickr page, you can see that he wasn't quite the type they were looking for. Anyway, it was a mostly enjoyable film. A bit muted - though I prefer that to over-assertion in most films. Some of the sexual content was gratuitous, but something resonated in me with every shot of Ernest, the 13-year-old protagonist (pictured above). I knew kids like that, and I daresay I was once sort of like that. I was certainly much more privileged than he is, and hopefully a bit more socially adjusted - though that is actually questionable. What hits me the most now is that while the script and direction is meant to portray Ernest's loneliness, frustration, and sense of helplessness as an adolescent minority who is largely misunderstood by his family, maybe I felt it more because it really rings true to what I realize about myself and my siblings as we were growing up. We weren't just pre-teens going through puberty - we were Chinese pre-teens going through puberty in a mostly white community, without the education or means to defend ourselves from ignorance and blanket racism. I admit that I don't remember much about my actual childhood in terms of racist remarks or anything obvious like that (more I remember being called "fatso" and "Karel the barrel" and all those delightfully intelligent quips), but judging by my reputation by the end of high school, and the fact that neither I nor any of my Asian friends were a part of any grade school (or middle school) romances that did not involve other Asian parties, we were probably judged largely based on our appearances and stereotyped according to our racial identities. I've been much more acutely aware of my Asian-ness lately - not from an identity standpoint necessarily, but from an equity and politically correct standpoint. My posts about yellow fever are only a part of it; more I've just been thinking about what I can do to 1. bring myself closer to my heritage 2. understand the status of not only the Chinese community that I knew, but other Chinese communities, especially those around me and 3. show people that there is still so much to be done in terms of Asian American rights. I can't tell you how many times people just genuinely aren't aware that we're subject to racism. That doesn't mean it's to a lesser degree than other minorities - it means that society has been so conditioned to believe that it's normal that they actually think it's normal. Which is a disturbing fact in itself. I find myself fighting a lot of battles lately, and perhaps making some unintentional enemies along the way. I can understand that - no one likes to be told that they're wrong, or being offensive, or ignorant. But that doesn't mean I have to placate them and not stand up for what I know is right.
24July | poor little cat-baby
So my roommates and I have noticed sad, pathetic mewing sounds coming from our basement lately, ranging from squeeze-toy-like squeaking to forlorn baby cat cries. After some investigation, we found that the mother cat was coming and going through a hole in a grate leading to our basement, but the baby kitties had no way of getting out and just spent the whole day mewing. We were getting pretty concerned that one day they would just die, and then the place would start to stink, so we called the super a couple times to have him come over and investigate. Well today I got back from a run and Lindsay told me that she had gone down to the basement and seen a tiny kitty laying on the basement floor - he must have fallen from the crevice between the basement ceiling and our floorboards where he had been living. Ack! Then the super buzzed and I let him in, and he went down to take care of the kitties. A couple minutes later, he brought one up in a box: (click to enlarge) 
 
 It was so adorable and sad, mewing constantly and trying to walk on his little legs :( Then Lindsay asked the super if he was going to call the SPCA and he said we could call if we wanted to, but we didn't want to take the cat into the apartment and have it mewing all night long. So he said he was going to take it to a cat lady who lived down the street... but I'm pretty sure he took it and put it to death somewhere. :*( Rest in peace, cat-baby.
23July | delicious
So as I am on a "saving money" kick, I have been cooking a lot more lately, and trying to be more creative than peanut butter sandwiches. Recently I've stumbled upon a really delicious and easy recipe that, with a few twists, might even be a contender for Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals, if she was accepting amateur recommendations. Haha. Anyway I thought I would share it with you, since most of my readers are, I think, young 20-somethings who without proper guidance or inspiration might eat ramen every single day. (Much like myself)
Chicken with Couscous Ingredients: Directions:
As a variation, tonight I used asparagus and tofu instead of onion and tomato, and Broccoli and Cheese flavored couscous. Also delicious. Try it! Yum yum :)
21July | bundled
Funny that a couple nights ago Avenue Q was mocking the post-grad search for "purpose" and yet here I am, looking for... well, not purpose. But something that is more than going to work 9-5 every day and watching B-grade reality tv shows every night. I want my life to be fuller and I want to feel like I'm doing something for something. You know? Not that I don't think my job has its own purpose, but it's not necessarily fundamentally what I'm passionate about. Which is fine with me - I've realized that I can't necessarily be passionate about my job, or work for something I'm passionate about. I can't explain it. I still want to be doing something I believe in- just maybe not relying on it for a stable income. Because then it is less about passion and more about my own means. Anyway I'm heading home again this weekend to get my new glasses (oh yay), and hopefully do some writing. Next week I am going to submit an application to volunteer at the New York Asian Women's Center, where I had interviewed for a Caseworker position back in May. I really would have loved to work there, but (and I am about to prove my point above) it wouldn't have paid me enough. Anyway I think it will be good, and eye-opening, and educational. I'm exhausted, yo.
20July | oh yeah
I've been full of kinda crazy thoughts lately - pretty sweeping and emotional, reminding me somewhat of last summer when I started exploring religion and saw the possibility of its real presence in my life... and also bringing me back to senior year in college, when I was blending academia with nuances of love that I had never even thought to dredge up before - crafting a fictional account of possibly my most crippling fear (death of a loved one) - and I'm starting to feel like I need... a new outlet? Some clarity? Guidance? I don't know. Lisa posted a really interesting entry recently. It's sort of abstract to me, but I sort of get an idea of what she's quoting here. A lot's going through my mind and actually distracting me from work the past couple of days. I'm looking forward to some downtime this weekend (no more traveling!) so I can put some of this into some form of writing. Ah. Another project would be nice.
20July | the sad state of things (and other topics)
So, because my eyes are super-sensitive to, well, everything, but most notably protein deposits on contact lenses, I need not one, but two cleaners whilst most normal contact wearers just rinse and soak. So imagine my horror in discovering that the ONLY soft contact lens cleaner in existence is on indefinite backorder with estimated re-shelving date in EARLY FALL. Yeah. So um I bought a bottle off eBay. Great, right? Too bad I got it today and it's EXPIRED. From August 2005. WTF? And what has the world come to, that people are selling contact cleaner on eBay and jacking up the prices to rip off the poor unfortunate souls (<--extra points if you can ID the movie reference) who now not only have bad eyes but empty wallets?! Huh?! Those bottles are going at $20 a pop! ANYWAY. I saw Avenue Q last night with John Taylor :) It was hilarious and clever and raucous and risque and edgy and over the top - I loved it, especially because sometimes I squirmed uncomfortably at the realization that they were satirizing ME, with my romanticism, idealism, and eternal quest to find a PURPOSE in life. I also felt validated that they satirized the ALL TOO FAMILIAR post-grad male tune of "I like you, but I can't have a girlfriend while I try to FIND MYSELF... but let me sleep with this really hot chick with the huge boobs a few days later." UGH! What would have made the show about 35% more enjoyable was if the guy next to me didn't have some sort of heavy breathing problem and every 3 seconds I heard "ssshhhnnnnnnmmmmmttt" in my right ear. You'd think that after a while it would become somewhat rhythmic and I would adapt myself to it, but NOPE! The ENTIRE TIME! I should also mention that before the show, he turned to me and asked, "Have you ever heard of 'Sasha's'?" Except he pronounced it with a flat A like in "can" or "man" and not an arched A like in "car" or "Mars." I told him no, and then John came back from the restroom and the guy leans over and asks John, "Excuse me, have you ever heard of 'Saaaasha's? I've already asked your lady friend here" (HAHHAHHAHHAHA!) and John says, "I'm not from the city, I don't know." That was that. Then the heavy breathing throughout the show. Then AFTER the show we're outside the theater, and Heavy Breathing Guy appears AGAIN! "Excuse me, which way is Times Square?" John starts to say, "Again, I don't live here" but I cut him off: "Um well... we're in Times Square..." So we sent him toward Broadway awkwardly and then ran in the opposite direction. Ack! Now I'm watching So You Think You Can Dance: Results Show. Can you believe Natalie is younger than me? Also, Cat Deeley is so awkward. Martha is so diesel. Okay, I'm out.
18July | ahem
i don't think i need to validate this with any commentary UPDATE: more. ANOTHER UPDATE: I am going to register for it and attend. From now until then I will be preparing several pointed questions for each of the Caucasian males that I meet there with the intention of helping them realize that they are, for lack of a more tactful word, racist. I know I'm not 25, but um... who the fuck cares. Hopefully I can last 8 minutes with each of them without completely blowing steam out of my ears.
17July | ack!
I don't know what's wrong with me, but my stomach hurts like crazy :( Probably too much Asian food this weekend. Stupid Asians. It's the kind of hurty stomach that makes your upper legs hurt too... you know what I'm talking about? I think I might spend the rest of the night curled up in bed in the fetal position. So this month has flown by, and I attribute it to me not spending any weekends in New York City. I went to Boston, home to Jersey, and then to Maryland/DC - this weekend I'll probably have to make another trip home to pick up my new glasses from the eye doctor. And you know what? I don't miss New York at all. I don't know, perhaps I'm jaded, or cheap, or intimidated by this disgusting weather... or maybe I just really miss people who are close to me and who I can be myself around. My mother has been asking me about my grad school plans, and my older brother is finishing grad school next spring. We're both thinking of relocating. Well, I had originally somewhat planned to try to find school in New York, but the cost of living is just bugging the hell out of me. My apartment is all right, but I've definitely seen its limitations - most notably its lack of windows. My neighborhood is halfway dirty - though really beautiful neighborhoods are only blocks away. Michelle recently told me that a one-bedroom apartment in Philly costs $800 a month... I said, "Are you kidding?!" $800 a month would be heavenly if I could live alone. But also I've thought that I would love to live with my brother - and next year might be the best time, before our lives progress much further. Also, Digitas has a Chicago office, so I could try to transfer in case school doesn't work out for the fall. Or I could do both, because we have tuition reimbursement for grad courses. But there are certain things I don't want to leave. As always. I guess now I've got to decide how much those things really mean to me in the long run.
17July | weekendover
I have returned from DC/Maryland! I am very tired even though I slept the whole way back! It's going to be 97 degrees tomorrow, but with the humidity it will feel like 108!! Will post more and add pics soon. Just wanted to brief y'all.
12July | i should probably hide this evidence so you can't convict me of being a TOTAL GEEK
Ack!! Tonight's episode of So You Think You Can Dance was fantastic. I have to say, I'm a little done with Natalie and Musa. We get it, you're hot, and Musa is totally sexy. Yeah yeah. I do like Ryan a little bit more this week, but that's not saying much, since I never really had an opinion on him before. And Heidi, I realized, is almost the spitting image of my boss, which just kind of freaks me out. You know who I love more and more each week, though? Allison and Ivan. They just came out of nowhere, and I swear they have to be hooking up. Last week when Nigel told Allison she was safe, she and Ivan KISSED onstage! Did no one else notice that?! And tonight the judges all noticed that Ivan danced like he was "really in love with Allison." DUH JUDGES. That's because HE IS! They danced to Annie Lennox's "Why," and I commented to Bonnie that they were probably going to go home and hook up to that song too. Why the hell not? Anyway, I know Jueli LURVS Travis, and he was quite nice tonight, though when they flatten his hair they kind of make him look like a huge goober. They also flattened Benji's hair... are they trying to send a message?! Anyway Benji and Donyelle were ridiculous - Benji was totally channeling some Jack McFarland with that outfit and the Broadway dance moves. They would have been my fave, but I'm a total romantic mess from watching Allison and Ivan. Whoa, I've seriously become such a dweeb. Remember just a couple years ago when I refused to watch any reality TV? Yeah, I don't either.
11July | as i take on my CAPS LOCK HARRY persona
So after writing a short but angry email to Glamour magazine tonight (a story for another time, hopefully when it gets PRINTED a couple issues ahead) I was still feeling a bit angry, so I headed over to Angry Asian Man to see what's happening in the yellow world. And look what I found... DreamWorks is going to release a two-hour nugget of commodification! Kung Fu Panda (NOT EVEN KIDDING) will be released summer of 2008. Here is the plot summary, written by a random IMDB user: "A CG-animated comedy about a lazy, irreverent slacker panda, Po (Voiced by Jack Black), who must somehow become a Kung Fu Master in order to save the Valley of Peace from a villainous snow leopard, Tai Lung. Set in the legendary world of ancient China, this is the story of Po, our unlikely hero, who enters the rigid world of Kung Fu and turning it upside down. Po ultimately becomes a Kung Fu hero by learning that if he believes in himself, he can do anything." Several things stand out to me right away. 1. Ancient China is not a legendary world. I'm pretty sure ancient China ACTUALLY existed. and 2. Wait, is Jack Black Chinese? No? Then why the hell is he voicing a Chinese character? Or is this an American panda trapped in legendary ancient China? And if so, can an American panda really become a Kung Fu MASTER?! Then I decided to read the IMDB message boards to see if anyone else felt like this was a disaster waiting to happen. I found some comfort in this statement: "Not to be a grave digger but, what the hell?" But that was immediately cancelled out by completely idiotic statements like this: "Will be many interesting to see the movements of the characters when they fight using the kung fu!" FTW? Forever Thai Warrior? Funny To Watch? Fuck the White (bastardswhoaremakingthisstupidmovie)? I also read that Po the panda "slings noodles in a restaurant" for a living. OKAY. Does EVERYONE in China only work in a restaurant or a laundromat? I'm guessing that even though he is a panda, he assumes a human occupation, since that is generally the case in animated films about animals. Then why couldn't he be a painter? Or a teacher? Or, I don't know, a recruiting coordinator? I'm trying to imagine even sitting through this film when it comes out without my head exploding. There will undoubtedly be tie-in marketing involving toys (that will of course demonstrate very rudimentary "kung fu moves"), clothes, themed fast food kids' meals, a pop song, and easy, uneducated and completely uncreative taglines like "Karate-chopping into theaters June 2008" (because as we all know, KARATE-chopping is the main attack method in KUNG FU) or "Feast on the new 'Po-Po Platter' at McDonald's for a limited time in honor of DreamWorks's KUNG FU PANDA!" It will be unavoidable, and of course I will have to see the movie in the slim hopes that it will prove me direly wrong about all of its flighty ignorant racism. I will probably be disappointed, though, and you can be sure that the summer 2008 incarnation of bellechanson.org will promptly be updated with more of my Asian anger. I know most people might think I'm overreacting and maybe I am a little, but please just refer back to the idiotic statements I quoted above and try to transfer them to something important in your culture. And then imagine that this keeps happening, and that dumb people pass you on the street and go "ching chong yaaooo" (or, if you prefer, "he-yah kitshi-pow! pow!") or try to talk to you and when you ignore them, go "it's all right, I get it, you chinks don't like n****rs." And then ask yourself if I am overreacting.
11July | more annoying people behavior
So when you walk up to an up-only (or down-only) elevator and see someone waiting for it, why would you feel the need to press the button again? Why would someone (meaning: I) be standing around an elevator hub without having already pressed the button? Oh, now I understand. The speed at which the elevator arrives is directly correlated to the number of times the button is pressed. Now I get it.
10July | i have emerged
Sorry! I've been EXTREMELY BUSY the past few days. (Note: that was sarcasm because as most of you know, I despise when people say that to me. PLEASE.) Actually, I went home for the weekend to have my yearly eye exam. By the way, am I the only one who gets my eyes checked yearly? (Besides my almost equally blind brothers?) Because when I told people on Friday that I was going home to see the eye doctor they all seemed very concerned. Anyway, I saw the eye doctor and ordered new contacts and new glasses. I am very excited to get them, because my eyes are getting very tired of my current pair of contacts, and my head seems to be gradually shrinking because my glasses keep falling off my face. Not that that is necessarily bad, as I have always had an abnormally large head. The rest of the weekend consisted of eating, shopping, and going to bed insanely early as I seem to be experiencing some sort of short-term fatigue. It's always nice to go home, but for some reason it felt very stressful this time. Maybe because it followed my weekend in Boston and I really haven't had too much downtime in a while. And this coming weekend I am heading down to DC/Maryland to spend time with my brothers (it's Brian's 20th birthday... omg so old). Incidentally, my parents are coming as well. So it should be an interesting time... hope it's not too hot. Oh, and I joined a gym last week. Well I validated my one-month free pass that I got from new-hire orientation last month, so I've got 30 days to get fit and buff before I need to cancel because I cannot possibly justify paying $90 a month to continue being a member. So I feel the need to cram in as much gym time as possible... which may be the cause of my fatigue. But isn't exercise supposed to make you more energetic? I wonder what's on TV right now?
06July | fed up
Maybe I'm just bitchy and impatient. Or maybe everyone else in the world (well, at least a majority of them) is painfully unaware of their surroundings. Either way, I bring you a list of my grievances against / advice for pedestrians and commuters 1. If you walk slow, stay on the inside edge of the sidewalk so that brisker walkers (or someone in a hurry) can pass you. 2. If you have a wide, arm-swinging gait, please also stay on the inside edge of the sidewalk. Or, put your hands in your pockets lest you smack someone in the stomach or face (you won't believe the arm-swing arcs I've seen) with your hand. 3. If you have a lot of cargo, or a large party, please do not take up the entire width of the sidewalk and then saunter along like everyone behind you has all the time in the world to reach their destination, as they cannot possibly pass you when you've got the periphery flanked. 4. If you hear quick footsteps and heavy breathing behind you, that's a runner. It is much easier for you to pivot your path than it is for them. Please step aside. If you see a runner coming toward you, you really have no excuse other than being completely dumb. If you are pushing a stroller or a cart and see that if you keep moving you will inevitably sandwich the runner between you and another large obstacle, STOP WALKING FOR A SECOND while they pass. It won't kill you, promise. 5. Upon exiting an establishment - store, restaurant, subway stop, etc - please keep moving until you are several paces away from the door before stopping to ponder your next destination, who to call, what to eat, what you are going to do tonight. Chances are, someone is leaving right behind you and would like to get the hell out of the doorway. 6. When stepping onto a subway train - especially if it's crowded - please KEEP MOVING further into the train. Stopping the moment you're in will only ensure that someone on the platform who would also like to get on the train will not be able to resist the urge to PUSH YOU. 7. On the other hand, if you're behind someone who's stepping into a crowded train, please give them a moment to try to step further in before you barrel in right afterward and shove them in and then avoid eye contact with them for the entire ride into the city. This is an especially good idea if you are a short and geeky and have just pushed - well, me. 8. For goodness sake, hold onto the freakin' bars when the train starts moving. No one is above a little stability. If you choose to forego the bars and as a result fall over and kick someone with your huge clunky sneakers, at least have the decency to apologize. 9. Same if you go to grab the bar and you scratch someone's hand with your long, freakish fingernails. 10. Same if you're wearing a HUGE backpack on only one arm (why?! Are we elementary students in the early 90's? Come on) and you keep whapping someone with it because you can't control its weight. 11. There really is no need to grab not only the vertical center pole but also the horizontal overhead bar, but if you do decide that you absolutely need two-point protection, you could at least let go when the doors open so that the person you are blocking from the door with your monkey stance can exit the train. 12. There is definitely no need, and no excuse, to completely wrap yourself, arms and legs, around the entire vertical pole so that NO ONE ELSE can touch a single inch of it. 13. If you are very tall, please grab a section of the bar that is higher up so that people who are shorter don't have to a. stand on their tiptoes to reach b. travel bar-less and hope they don't fall and perpetrate #8 or c. grab onto you instead, since you have so rudely taken away their means of travel protection. 14. Um, please don't smell. Either of extremely potent, headache-inducing perfume, or B.O., or anything that might invade another's personal space. This really applies to everyone in life, not just on the streets or on the subway. 15. If you have an adorable child and are going to feed him/her things like candy, blueberries, or Chinese jello on the train, please don't think people are weird for smiling at said child and wanting to pinch those little cheeks. Whew! I feel better. Did I miss any? Please share.
05July | how to score a free lunch
Today has been a slow day at work - our email server is down for the day - so I headed out to Cosi to get some lunch. I got a Roasted Turkey and Brie sandwich, came all the way back to work to find that the turkey was bad. It smelled bad, tasted bad, and was oddly moist. So I sat and contemplated if I should go all the way back and complain, toss the sandwich and go and get some pizza, or toss the turkey and eat the brie, lettuce, tomato and bread. Hmm... Since today has been slow, I decided to venture back out and fight for the right to eat fresh meat cause. I told the manager that my turkey was bad, she opened the bag confirmed that it was in fact bad, and offered me another sandwich. "Um, can I just get a refund?" I said. "I'll give you a refund and another sandwich," she said. SWEET! She brought me over another sandwich and a fresh piece of turkey to test, with abundant apology. And it was delicious. And that is how I got a free lunch today!
04July | you know what's cute and funny?
When Asian parents use acronyms on IM, like btw and ttyl, or even shortcuts like u. It's even better when they get it wrong like "tty!" Also cute: "Have a good sleep!" Also, how glad am I that it is only a 3-day work week? SO GLAD
04July | happy 4th to me!!
Well, I've been back from Boston for about 24 hours now, and most of that time has been spent in my apartment. I got home around 9:00pm last night and cleaned, then watched some television and part of my also newly purchased (yet also previously viewed) copy of Brokeback Mountain. Today I got up at 11:00am, did my laundry, sweated my brains out in the process, then decided to buckle down and make a new layout. You like?! Boston was ridiculously fun. It's funny because I got back into New York at Port Authority, had to walk from 8th Avenue to 7th Avenue in Times Square and then get on a hot hot subway back to Brooklyn and already I was missing the quiet side streets and bricked sidewalks of Boston. I also came home to a mostly empty apartment and was instantly sad to have left Tatiana... the weekend was so full of comfort and laughter that I really haven't experienced in too long. I realized that as many friends as I might have in New York, they don't compare to Tati or Alice - I'm somewhat reserved all the time I'm here. I don't think anyone I see on a daily basis here knows the person I am when I'm with my two best friends... which frustrates me because for so long I've thought of myself as pretty brazen and courageous. Yet I've been holding back. Anyway, here's a recap of the weekend: Friday night: I arrived in Boston at around 10:30pm and headed out to meet Tati at a bar. Joyful reunion! Then we headed back to her place, ordered Papa John's (mmm GARLIC SAUCE) and watched What Not to Wear and stalked people on Facebook. Then we went to bed... together. MWAHAHA Saturday: We got brunch at a place called "Our House" (T: We could get $4 omelettes at a place called 'Our House.' K: It's at your house? T: Yes. Give me $4 and I'll make you an omelette.) which features $4 omelettes and tater tots. It was delicious, though the tater tots were missing a bit of their tater filling. (T: They're mostly 'tot') Then I got a manicure while Tati got waxed, I watched a transgendered female work a curling iron, and we headed off to the liquor store to buy Arbor Mist for the party we were attending later. Then we rode two trains and a bus to a waterfront suburb of Boston for a barbecue hosted by Tatiana's boyfriend's co-workers where they had bottomless frozen margaritas, BBQ, shrimp cocktail, and a chocolate fondue fountain, among other tasty delights. There we learned that the plural of "shrimp" is actually "shrimp" and not "shrimps." However, if one is referencing a family full of short people, the appropriating phrasing would be: "a family of shrimps." Valuable lesson for all. Later on that night there were fireworks on the river, so Tati and I sat on the seawall, me with a cup of Arbor Mist peach and Tati with two cups of beer and one cup of Arbor Mist cranberry twist, and snuggled in a huge Old Navy fleece. There was a 7-year-old boy sitting next to us who was bending a glow-in-the-dark necklace into different shapes and asking us what they were. Favorite Seawall Boy Quotes Whew! What a night. End Saturday. Sunday: We got delicious bagels for brunch, then headed to Downtown Crossing to do some shopping before heading to Fire & Ice for dinner. Now, I love this place - I go there every time I'm in Boston. Basically you put a whole bunch of ingredients in a bowl and they cook it to order. Except this time, they OVERcooked EVERYTHING and it was generally a bit of an annoyance to watch my meal wilt in the heat of the grill. Well, can't have everything I suppose. Anyway then we headed home, picked up some videos on the way back (HARRY POTTER!!) and sat in Tatiana's living room waiting for her roommate to get a hint, which you read about already. Monday: Having watched Harry Potter until around 3:00am, then laid awake talking (and by talking I mean impersonating Britney Spears's "country" Southern dimwitted persona... just when you thought we couldn't be geekier) until the sun rose, we woke at around 11:00am a bit groggy, yet ready to get bubble tea at Super 88!! and then grab lunch with Tatiana's boyfriend Trevor before *snif* taking me back to the bus station. I got on the bus at 4:00pm and bid my sad farewell to Beantown once again. I can't even begin to summarize all of the hilarious things that happened this weekend. There were definitely several moments where our stomachs ACHED from laughing. Here is what I can remember: K: Did you watch MoonDreamers? (context: 80's kids shows) On Sunday, on our way to the T stop at Downtown Crossing, we saw two Asian women (mother and grandmother, I'm assuming) walking along with a tot (not to be confused with "tater ___") wearing nothing but a diaper and little sandals. Now... I know it was a hot day... but a DIAPER?!?! I watched them cross the street before remembering that I had a camera with me, so we spent the next five minutes chasing them with my viewfinder, thwarted time and again by tall pedestrians and police cars. However, we prevailed! Exhibits A, B, and C At lunch on Monday, there was an item on the menu called Texas Brontosaurus. "Brontosaurus?!" I said. "They have DINOSAURS here?!" "Yes," Trevor said. "You'd think it was impossible but they breed them in captivity here." WHOA!! Okay, this is a ridiculously long entry, I've been sitting in front of my computer for hours, and House is on. I will leave you with this ridiculous video, thanks to Lisa. Ciao!!
03July | special feature: guest blogger!
So I am in Boston now. Tatiana and I are sitting on the floor in her living room, as it is the only room in the apartment with air conditioning, and it's one of those nights where your jeans stick to your ass and legs just from walking around outside. We also may be experiencing some degree of boob sweat but I'm sure you don't want to hear much more about that. Anyway we have been sitting here for nearly 90 minutes, with a newly purchased (yet already viewed... discounts you know) copy of HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE sitting on the table waiting to be lovingly viewed. Except we haven't been viewing it, because her roommate has been playing an uber-geeky Star Wars video game since long before we got home, and doesn't seem to register that fact that there are two barely clad women (hey, it's hot, reference paragraph one) sitting in the room with him, and one of them keeps looking at the DVD and opening it and going, "I HOPE THERE ARE SPECIAL FEATURES ON THIS DVD! I LOVE HARRY POTTER! I LOVE WATCHING HARRY POTTER PREFERABLY BEFORE MIDNIGHT!!" And so we sit. We have been having a fantastic weekend though. I will report in more detail once I get home, but perhaps we will share some highlights. I will let Tatiana type them: Well- we had $4 omelettes. we drank arbor mist by a river. we had oreo klondike bars. and we had really tasty bagels. And I ate lots of shrimpS and even shoved one into Karel's mouth while she was talking about how she doesn't like seafood and wasn't sure of the texture of shrimpS. We did more than eat. We also sat on the T a fair amount. Good thing I kept farting and making it interesting. We spent money on new clothes, all of mine found by Karel. She's good. And nice. And slightly taller than me so that things that don't fit her, fit me! Oh yeah. We spend a good 45 minutes cursing in Chinese with my boyfriend Trevor over IM. And damn, my roommate is SHORT!* And he FINALLY finished his geek video game so off we go to watch HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE I LOVE RON WEASLEY AND CEDRIC DIGGORY! PS. Tatiana back. We also listed all the Harry Potter characters, first and last names, from memory, while making fun of my roommates for being dorks. And then, when we couldn't remember the parent Weasley names (Molly and Arthur, in case you were wondering), we went online to search... and I said 'I can't believe we forgot Cornelius Fudge!' Um yeah. How could we forget him? We remembered Bellatrix L'etrange and Whatsherface Tonks and we couldn't remember FUDGE?! Yeah, we're not dorks. *Like 4'10". You wouldn't believe it unless you saw it. Even then you might not believe it.
|
