I'm Baaaack...

I can't believe its been 5 months since my last blog post. Graduation, senior week, a new job and the excitement of summer and moving on up from Allston. (Oh hey, Spielberg - nice of you to stop by. And for the record, I liked Michael Capuano's speech. It gave me little chills.)

So what else is new? Besides the aforementioned fun-ness... Its September, which apparently means that fall is essentially upon us.

I'm by no means picky with the seasons I love - Fall means colors and cool breezes (check out the Public Gardens - shown above - to truly experience luscious autumnal beauty. But back to the future and what I will hopefully make time to talk about in the coming weeks....

1. Whip It - Ellen Page movie coming out in early October. The movie just looks so cute and rumors are that the soundtrack is amazing. I'll probably not pay to see it but if I had free passes to see any movie in the next two months, this would be it.

2. Concerts - Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gossip, La Roux and Rodrigo y Gabriela. And much more, I'm sure. But in case the "song of the day" from months ago hasn't hinted at - I think Karen O. is the most kickass woman ever. And Beth Ditto ain't too bad either.

3. My Mac. I hear rumors these things are life-changing pieces of technology. I'm open to it. We've been together for almost a week now and although there has been a disc error or two with the "push the CD in the slot until it makes a weird noise" gadget, I like the keys, I like the look and I like how I can run more than one application without the computer freezing/dying. I mean really, look at those keys - they glow in the dark.

And last but not least, I'm excited to go on vacation for the next week. New Orleans then Fort Lauderdale. This promises to be fun, slightly relaxing and definitely hotter than Boston right now. Check out JetBlue for midweek cheap-o prices and use up that personal/sick time.

Word.

Some Things I learned today, and Others I knew already. (Wow, reallly profound eh?)

April is Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month - Go MSPCA!

Freddie is the cutest almost year old-ish kitty my roommates and I adopted from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruety to Animals (MSPCA) in Jamaica Plain this September.


Another perk of Spring being here, besides Red Sox season...

...is that farmer's markets are just around the corner. My favorite being the one in Copley Square, where I get my locally grown, fresh and delicious veggies and fruit in the summertime.


In celebration and anticipation for this, I present this delicious breakfast treat.

plain Cabot nonfat yogurt (from VT) - about 2 cups
frozen unsweetened strawberries - about 1 1/2 cups
Cinnamon Puffin cereal - about 1 cup

I like it best after the strawberries have thawed out a bit and the cereal has softened up. I usually let it sit in my lunchbag for an hour or two before eating so everything is at my desired consistency. Its one of those great "combination foods" that, as a former nutrition major, I loove: Dairy + Fruit + Grains = satisifying AND healthy!

Hipsters are people too...At least some are.

Let me break down Saturday for a moment before getting into a bit about today -

At the first party of the night I went on a mini-rant about how when you walk past Berklee it's often difficult to tell whether the kids are homeless or hipster. I get the whole disaffected youth or whatever counterculture statement they are making but they all kind of look similar to me. My point, however, is that later in the night I ended partying with some of the Berklee crowd and they were actually cool people. And friendly. So while I may continue to mock their fashion choices and occasionally pretentious attitude, there some good ones out there.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hipster - Defined in at least 20 different ways. Mostly by hipsters themselves, or hipster-haters.

On a brighter note - and to put this rainy Monday out of my head - I got a second interview! The position is for part-time Community Nutritionist at Community Servings. Check out their website and their mission at: http://www.servings.org/about/mission.cfm.

Some of their fund raising activities are big-deal Boston events, like Pie in the Sky and LifeSavor. I've got my fingers crossed for this one, especially since it combines nutrition, education, and maybe some cooking.

Top 5 Reasons I Love Garden State

I could easily name more but I'm gonna keep it short and sweet since I'm currently watching it..for like, the 20th time.

1. Zach Braff and Natalie Portman - He's irresistibly awkward and she's so cute and quirky.
2. Soundtrack - Still listenable after many, many repeats.
3. Highly quotable - Way too many to list, but some of my very favorites.
4. NJ - Don't hate the garden state. It's my former home.
5. Bathtub scene - So good.
I could probably go on for days but there is serious room cleaning to be done today. And although, the IFC channel easily sucks me in, I am committing myself to less than 2 hours of tv a day.

I may head over to this later:
http://www.d2eboston.com/events/friday.php
Especially since I missed restaurant week. Saturday and Sunday tickets are only 8 bucks for students and it includes samples and goodies!

Bean cake, boys, and bad days

All in all, not a bad day but it was a rough start.

1. CYCLE kids posters got run over by a gigantic truck after a mean, old, lady gym teacher told me that her students were too rowdy to sign posters ("Poster Signing Incites Riot at Cambridge Middle School"...I think not)


2. Towels at VIM ran out during the first half hour of my shift, whereby I was put in charge of washing, drying, and moving loads of towels in a back room for the next 7 hours. I was also still working at the front desk when not running to the "laundry/employee storage" room.

But hey, if that's the worst that happens then I am glad. I got to sample some homemade apple crumbcake and butter cookies amidst the minor linen calamity so I'm not complaining. The bean brownies were yesterday's excitment - see recipe below

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/amazing-black-bean-brownies-recipe.html

(I added one banana, subtracted the instant coffee since they were for ten year olds and substituted honey for agave nectar). They came out pretty fudgey but could have used a bit more sweetness and I wasn't a huge fan of the flavor added by the banana.

And boys.....that's a whole 'nother conversation. Suffice to say, the alliteration continues :)

Oh, What A Delinquent I've Been!

So much for being consistent with the M.O.Ds and S.O.Ds and writing in general. Even though I am no longer a college student, I still appreciate a good spring break and this has definitely been another fantastic one. I got to hang out with my friends who consider 9 days of nothing to do AMAZING and EXCITING (it got old for me about 2 months ago).

A Brief Summary of my "stay-cation" (not only do we get words like "recession" and "stimulus"):

Monday and Tuesday - Green Mountatin Inn at Stowe in Vermont

Highlights include:

Cross Country AND Downhill Skiing

Ski of microbrewery beer

Older British men

Free beer, cheese, wine, cider, and doughnuts

Super friendly conceirge

French toast with butter at McCarthy's

Outdoor heated pool
3 hour Scrabble

Wednesday and Thursday - Courtyard Marriott on East 40th in NYC

Highlights include:
4 years of friendship with 4 girls (Alliteration = Amazing)

Sarah's job offer from Goldman Sachs
Rum Punch

Sloppy (and I quote here), "Long Island Jew"
Manis and pedis on the cheap

Horses and cute dogs everywhere
Central Park in the sun

Children playing the park
Another British

Interior decor of Serendipity 3
6 Overtimes in the SU vs. UConn game

NYC Pictures to follow soon.

Don't be Mad at Monday

Last spring was my one and only broomball season, unfortunately. But as a former BU student - tear, but not really - it's a shame I didn't discover the game earlier. You generally just make a fool of yourself on the ice but its all in good fun and actually ends up being a good workout. Now, as a mere cheerleader/spectator, I envy my friends in smelly pinnies as they bust their asses all over Walter Brown Arena.

S.O.D. : Colorblind - Counting Crows


Love this song. Most people, including me, know it from Cruel Intentions. The piano and Adam Duritz's voice (how it kind of seems to be wavering and almost breaking) automatically mark this as an emo pick. However, I like it just the same - along with a lot of their other stuff, especially the live version of 'Round Here. Also, I thought the song fit suited the colorless-ness of the snow day.

M.O.D.: Love Song for Bobby Long

Some of my appreciation for this movie might be due to my serious girl-crush on Scarlett Johansson, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. During my Saturday of absolute laziness - mostly due to the Blanchards vodka I imbibed the previous night - I happened upon this fairly random indie flick. It doesn't hurt that I have been thinking about checking out Tulane and rest of New Orleans over the last couple of weeks. But either way, I liked the characters - especially the main guy who wasn't John Travolta - along with the whole story and how the film itself moved.

This upcoming Friday will be the first time in 2 years that I haven't gone on Spring Break to another country. Its a bit of a bummer but at least I can blame the economy (and my decision to graduate early).

Friday on Foot

So what if today is Sunday? Friday was fun and exciting, Saturday was lazy and this afternoon will be spent sitting at work. There's supposed to be up to 8 inches of accumulation tonight?! Seriously...Friday was beautiful, albeit windy as all hell when walking downtown. The first stop was the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (it took almost 4 years for me to finally get my butt over there). The inside - the garden area - is the best part, by far. The sun was out, the lilies were blooming and there was green-ness everywhere.

S.O.D. : Don't Wanna Hurt You - The Sounds

I don't really know what to say about The Sounds except that they're awesome. It's in your face girl pop that begs to be listened to at high volumes. There is a guy singing along on this track and the lyrics are fairly repetitive but I like the beat and overall attitude of the song. It's really just a fun song.

M.O.D. : Party Monster

I'm not a club kid and I don't do any sort of drugs but I watched this before going out on Friday night. As an IFC and Sundance channel addict, I usually catch some random movies when channel flipping. I heard of this awhile ago but didn't put it on any kind of watch list or NetFlix queue - it seemed a bit out there and it definitely was. But Macaulay Culkin puts on a hell of a performance and I couldn't drag myself away until the end.

Update on The Visitor (first M.O.D.): Not really what I expected and not what I was in the mood for Saturday night. I get that the movie's purpose is not to have a clear or feel-good resolution but I wanted to feel more of a connection to the characters. I think the quietness and loneliness of Richard Jenkins character was too much for me.

Tattoo Thursday

So I actually got the tattoo yesterday afternoon but today is my first full day with it (aquaphor-ed up and all). It's going to look amazing in a week or so - thanks to Cathi at Regeneration on Harvard Ave. I'm thinking this will be the last one for at least a year or so. I've spent about 400 bucks and at least four hours of sitting time on these lilies.

S.O.D. : Popper (Shinichi Osawa Distortion Disco Edit) - Christopher and Rachel Just

If you've never heard anything off the Kitsune Maison Compilation CDs - specifically the second one - something is missing in your life. It's upbeat, awesome, shake your booty no matter what kind of music. Walking to and from work (its 45 minutes each way) is made possible by this cd and more specifically this song.

M.O.D. : Say Anything

I was in a retro mood for a bit - my parents would kill me for saying the 80s are retro but I mean they are, for me - and I tried to think of one of the best movies of the time. The plot and all are pretty good, but the best part is definitely John Cusack. Before that scary hotel movie a couple of years ago, he was in my top five (a bit of a nod to High Fidelity). But seriously, if I was a girl in 1989 and this boy stood outside my window, in the rain, holding a radio over his head, I would be done for.


I still haven't watched the Visitor yet, which basically means I'm building up a lot of hype for when I actually get to it. I have a good deal of free time the next two days so it's likely I'll finally check it out.

West End House Wednesday

The title refers to the West End House in Allston - it's a Boys and Girls club where I taught a "cooking" class to kids tonight. We made salad with tomatoes and crackers, so perhaps not cooking in the traditional sense but nonetheless. The kids are great, the place is pretty new, and its only a couple of blocks from my apartment. I'm teaching five more classes and I can't wait!

S.O.D. : Cheated Hearts - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Nothing emo happened (in fact, it was a pretty great day) but this song is one of my favorites by them. I like the screamy stuff just as much - I just wasn't in that kind of mood. I'm not sure if they've faded out of popularity or I haven't been keeping up with my downloads but this is the last cd heard. I missed a chance to see them this summer and I'm still pretty bummed about it. I think it would be a great jump around and dance show.

M.O.D : I Love You, Man

Okay, so I know it hasn't come out yet but I'm so excited for this movie. Freaks and Geeks, where basically everyone from Judd Apatow's movies started out, is one of the most underrated funniest shows ever. And Jason Segal is hilarious. Three words: Forgetting Sarah Marshall. So I guess its two movies of the day. Either way, he and Paul Rudd are definitely a good combo (again, see Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and this will be the first movie I'm seeing since Dark Knight in IMAX.

I'm still trying to refine my concept of blogging in the blogosphere with my fellow bloggers but hey, at least its a start.

Today is Tuesday

So here goes nothing. Due to several things - number one being the amount of time spent on a computer at the new job - I am compelled to blog. Number two - my friends are doing it (so much for the D.A.R.E. program and not succumbing to peer pressure). Other than that, I don't think I lead a particularly exciting life or have overly insightful things to say. But that doesn't mean I'm boring!

S.O.D (song of the day): What She Came For - Franz Ferdinand


I downloaded the new cd and am now slightly obsessed. I never listened to them (besides "take me out", overplayed much?)
I'm a fan of any strut music, the kind of music you can't help shake your ass to whilst walking down the street. Although the last thirty seconds or so go in a different direction, its great. The only possibly unfortunate thing about this cd is the use of "no you girls" in an ipod commercial. I don't hate on making money and getting famous but this just means it will get played out quickly.

M.O.D (movie of the day): The Visitor


I heard about this movie about 7 months ago but still haven't seen it. It arrived from NetFlix (potential life-ruiner and other current obsession) a week ago and I'm determined to watch it before Friday. If it sucks I will be sorely disappointed.

I'm going to work on this affectionately titled "sneakers and sandwiches" (two of my favorite things) as the weeks and the job search progress.