5 songs to listen to Right Now.

1. James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
(this was my brother's song growing up, he was 'sweet baby james')

2. Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream

3. Kings of Leon - Knocked Up

4. Ben Folds and Regina Spektor - You Don't Know Me

5. Counting Crows - Up All Night (Frankie Miller Goes to Hollywood)

Listen and enjoy.

does everybody really love raymond?

Perhaps I'm biased. Perhaps I watched Knocked Up too many times, and took to heart Pete's lament: "Marriage is like that show Everybody Loves Raymond, but its not funny. All the problems are the same, but you know instead of all the funny, pithy dialogue, everybody is really pissed off and tense." I completely agree (though I'm not married), except for the mere fact that I don't think Ray's life is funny...at all. I just think it's really sad.

I know this show went off the air 5 years ago, but it still rears its ugly head in syndication almost every day. I don't watch TV that much, but I feel like every time I get a spare hour or so to turn on the tube, this damn show with its damn laugh track is taking up space on some network. It's worse than Friends (don't even get me started on that show...6 of the stupidest characters on TV).

What really bugs be about Everybody Loves Raymond is Ray himself. He's a stick in the mud who doesn't have the balls to stand up for his wife, and does whatever his mother wants him to do. Ray is slowly turning into his father, a man who is apathetic towards life who seems to resent his wife and sons. Debra and the kids seem to be a nuisance to Ray--an inconvenient mistake that has become the deflated balloon that is his life. And the laugh track...the false crowd recorded and played at moments when characters seemingly just stare at each other. No one is ever happy. Everyone is always annoyed. Is this what married and family life is really like?

If my life was like Ray's I wouldn't be laughing...ever. Maybe it's because I'm young and not married (or even in a serious relationship), but if my marriage and life turn out like Ray Romano's I will be devastated.

Personal Ad

Because I seemingly scare men away like the desert scares the rain (ooo cool Annie Lenox pseudo-reference), and completely without intention, I have decided it's time to change my style. For the last couple of years, my approach has been kind of a lack-of-approach if you will, a non-agressive, apathetic technique. But apparently this is completely undesirable. I once had a guy friend say that I was like "a guy in a girl's body." Mmhmm. I guess it's a pretty good compliment; I'm not high maintenance, and I'm fun to be around. That's great if my guy friends feel like that--it's probably why we're friends. But I've gotten to thinking recently that what if all men see me this way? I've chosen to use the passive path because before this, in high school, I learned that active pursuit was, also, quite undesirable. So what's a girl to do? Internet dating, without question. But because I'm cheap, obviously I'm going to list myself in the personals on craigslist. In the words of the ever-poetic Rihanna: "Come here rude boy!"

What does everyone think of this???
A soon-to-be college grad with a passion for writing, poetry, foreign films, absinthe, and everything Europe (though I only speak English!), but simultaneously interested in extraterrestrials, time travel, speaking Chinese, and black eyeliner. You must be: preferrably a RISD grad, though Mass Art will suffice, sensitive on the inside but tough on the outside (not unlike a toasted marshmallow, which, incidentally, I adore, though I hate camping), blue eyed, impossibly muscular, love children and puppies and the outdoors, know how to fight bears ('cause you never know!), and a cage fighter. If this sounds like you, we should meet for coffee (even though I hate coffee!), and then we'll see. I'm totally easy going despite being a golddigger!!!

xoxo,
me.
p.s. If you are none of these things, email me anyway. I might not be any of these things either. Include pics.

Thoughts???

....I'm not actually planning on doing this. But I mean let's be real here, how the hell else am I supposed to pick up guys? They're all so impossibly unavailable.

Happy Saturday!

Anger in Politics

Is it me, or is everyone as of late super worked up over everything political? And I don't mean worked up in a productive, good way. I mean worked up as in angry, vengeful, awful. Don't get me wrong, every healthy society I think needs a little anger to fill the sails. Without anger and passion, the political system never changes--never gets any better.

But right now, in March 2010 in the United States of America, all I see is hate. In the Boston Globe today, a GOP senator from New Hampshire was quoted saying "Obviously, the damage has been done," regarding the recently passed health bill. Um, damage? It's like he was talking about a hurricane or a terrorist attack. The health bill is going to--DUN DUN DUN--oh no! HELP PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP.

When I watched the House of Representatives the other night, I was flabbergasted (great word, huh?). But seriously, I was. These people were unmovable, unagreeable, and completely stuck in the mud. I couldn't agree with anyone, and no one could agree with each other. No one seemed to be willing to hear what anyone else had to say. Allegedly, a congressman even yelled "baby killer" at his colleague, nearly as offensive as the congressman who yelled "you lie!" at the President (no one would have done that to Bush even though he did lie, but don't even get me started on that tangent). It was at that moment I hated American politics more than ever.

Perhaps my hatred at the political atmosphere of the nation is just territory that goes along with being part of this generation. I have a couple of friends who are politically motivated, but many who simply don't care. I am the most liberal out of all of my friends, but at the same time, no one is very willing to have a good chat and try to see eye to eye. Everyone seems to want a fight. I'm not particularly good at this either, though I hope I am getting better at trying to see the other side of the coin. Everyone should try to at least meet half way. Recently, a senator from Indiana, Democrat Evan Bayh, announced that he would not run for re-election. He used this announcement, the New York Times said, to "lambaste a Senate that he described as frozen by partisan politics and incapable of passing even basic legislation" (from the N.Y. Times, February 16). Is this what politics in America has come to? Even our senators are becoming disenchanted at this hopeless system that cannot achieve anything.

In saying that, this recent passage of the health care bill was important. Not everyone may agree, but at least now we know that Washington can get something done. Allen Boyd, a congressman from Florida, said it best:

"Earlier I heard the gentle lady from Washington State say 'it's the wrong time.' For 22 years in my legislative service as I've been trying to find solutions I've heard 'it's the wrong time'...the other side has brought us no viable alternatives...[so] if not this, then what? If not now, then when?"

I believe he is right. If we cannot do anything now, when will we ever be able to do anything? I wish people would stop being so angry about this, and I wish it wasn't so easy to be apathetic and disenchanted.

If anyone needs proof that Allen Boyd actually said that, it can be found here. You'll have to fast forward to about 2:54.

bla bla blog award

My little funny girl Christine at the Sweet Sea tagged me in an award.

Preppy Mafia? Well, not so much for me, though I do have an appreciation for J.Crew and Lilly Pulitzer, I also think they and the like can be a rip off. But, I transgress.

Some Questions:

1) Who is your style icon?
Well I guess ideally Jackie O. crossed with Chris McCandless. Too vague? Just picture me in hiking boots wearing big sunglasses. Incidentally, I don't own hiking boots.

2) What is your favorite socialite lit book?
I'm going to go ahead a guess that socialite lit is like chick lit and should probably never have been published in the first place.

3) Favorite party theme?
BaBiEz AnD sLuTz

4) Favorite Halloween costume?
Um, when I was eight I was a bag of trash... my mom cut holes in a trashbag for my legs and stuffed it with newspaper, then we smeared brown face paint on my face. I wasn't the most popular kid in the neighborhood that year.

5) Extravagance you can't live without?
dude...everything in our American lives are extravagances.

6) Living person you admire?
oh, def my mother. everyone should admire their mother.

7) Greatest fear?
I'll copy Tina and say being alone.

8) Trait you deplore in yourself?
everyone has things about themselves they don't like. It makes them human.

9) Which talent would you most like to have?
I actually would love to be able to paint. Also, I have always been interested in learning to ride a horse sidesaddle while wearing a corset and a hoop skirt...hey, a girl can dream! Incidentally, I would also like the talent of time travel. And x-ray vision.

10) Greatest achievement?
Well...I'm potty trained.


Anywhoo, I'm going to tag Meg over at Making the Most of Megan, because her blog is funny and honest, and I know she'll do a better job answering the questions than I did.

5 songs to listen to Right Now.

1. jeff buckley- lover, you should have come over

2. ray lamontagne- sarah

3. sufjan stevens- a good man is hard to find

4. cowboy junkies- sweet jane

5. yo la tengo- autumn sweater

Don't ask. Just listen.

Anecdotes of Language Misuse

The other day I got to thinking about foul language, which is something I usually abuse. People from our generation seem to swear just to swear, for no real reason and without real consequence. This is all well and good, but sometimes we can forget that these are strong words. However, before I get too serious, a good f-word every once in awhile can feel pretty great.

In general, swearing, cursing, dropping f-bombs, anything of the like, is a curious social subject. When you're a kid, you learn from your parents that you should never say "stupid" or "idiot" or (in my house) "dummy". We were banned from even sticking out our tongues (this has to be the reason I get along so well with my siblings, isn't it?). So Catholic. As you get older, however, you begin to learn swears (from different sources of course, older brothers if you were lucky enough, sometimes on the school bus by the kids who have to older brothers...I'll let you take a wild guess as to which one I was). But you cannot swear in front of your parents. You have to hide your new found knowledge from all adults or risk serious punishment, like grounding or detention.

In your formative years, most offensive language must be explained. There are words one might hear and repeat without actually knowing the context or usage. Swears you might hear will mean nothing until someone tells you the word is a bad one. My parents did a good job not swearing in front of us. The only time I ever heard my mother use the "f" word was when we locked ourselves out of the house on the way to somewhere important. The first time I heard an adult swear just to swear was my neighbor, this sweet, generous, motherly woman (I was best friends with her daughter). Their family dog, Coco, had escaped and was running around the yard, and I'll never forget Mrs. R. saying, "Ohh that dog is such a jackass!" I was probably about eight, and thrown quite off guard.

There is one embarrassing story of my younger years involving foul language that far exceeds all of the others. When my brother and I were little (probably under 10) my parents took us to a museum. As a souvenir, I bought a little beanbag turtle that my brother and I decided to name Tit-tit. Again, I wish I was kidding. Upon arrival home from the museum, we decided to play in the yard with our new "pet". We tossed the thing up in the air, singing "Tit-tit! Tit-tit!" We had not the slightest clue of the connotation of the word "tit". My dad came outside and reprimanded us, gently informing us that "tit" was not an appropriate name for a stuffed animal, and he then explained what the slang usage meant. My brother and I solemnly swore to change the turtle's name, but when my dad went back inside, we just shrugged to each other. "I like the name Tit-tit," my brother said. We had never heard the word before, and I agreed. I liked the name's certain ring. We didn't see anything wrong with it.

Good Lord, it will be entertaining to have children.

Spring Fever

Well it's that time of the year again, and everyone's been posting about it. Cute shorts, cute sandals, cute dresses, cute cute cute. I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but there's nothing this time of year makes me want to do nothing more than skip town. Get the hell outta dodge, so to speak. I love college, it seriously has been the best four years of my life (and I say that with the most reverence, despite the cliche...and we all know I hate cliche), but March is such a drag. I feel like I'm just waiting for Easter break, waiting for finals, waiting for Cape week (an HC thing) and senior week. I'm trying to savor as much as I can, I don't want to wish anything away.

I guess I'm simply trying to say that I'm sick of the B.S. of classes. If I could do nothing but drink and blog for the rest of the semester, I would be the happiest person ever. Sometimes my friends and I look at each other and say, "It's just impossible how much fun we're having...it's got to stop soon or we're going to just die."

(Incidentally, everyone talks about the freshman 15, but no one ever mentions that there might be a senior 15. I had no weight problems all through college, except for this semester. I refuse to even step on a scale. I'm going to blame being 22 and loving beer. Wonderful. Luckily, a lot of it went to my chest...haha)

BUT what the warm spring-ish sunshine makes me want is the ocean. I crave it this time of year, I need the peace of an empty beach and the cold, salty wind.
I took this picture in March of 2008 on a windy beach on the Vineyard. My sister and I went out there for the day so I could look at houses for that coming summer. Spec-tac-u-lar.


How awesome is this? I don't know why I have such an infatuation with docks.

Incidentally, one of my best friends just jumped on the blog train! Check her out: she's a fishtale! Yay for blogging!
Best quote from her blog thus far:"Maybe the blog world will help curb my slight addiction to Facebook."
Never was there a truer statement.

Rainy Monday, and why boys suck

Today is dreary, dreary, dreary. In Massachusetts, and much of the northeast, its been raining since Saturday. It's times like these when I realize that I could never live in England. Or Ireland. Or Seattle. But to curb the rain blues, I have this song! It reminds me of my pal from high school, CEM, and our summer on the Vineyard two years ago(has it really been two years? FML).



Anyway, my suitemates and I were talking today about boys. Specifically, we were talking about why boys suck. Don't get me wrong, I love boys. They are cute and they smell nice (sometimes), and they're always appreciative of bathroom humor (my favorite kind, simply because it's the great equalizer). BUT most of the time, boys are dicks. To be kind, sometimes they don't even know it. But to be honest, a lot of the time they do know and simply don't care.

For example, after returning home to a girl's room after a party, why would you leave your jacket in her room, and then when she asks if you want it back (via text message because anything other than that would be considered stalking), simply not respond? Because you're a jerk, that's why. Guys routinely think that girls are obsessed with them. Get a clue. We are not! We've gotten that gene beaten out of us by guys who have made us feel stupid since elementary school. You are not that great. She simply doesn't want your jacket hanging around her room. This is just an example, BTW.

But in reality, why is it that girls are always made to feel like needy psychos? Every guy talks about his 'psycho ex-girlfriend'. Why does every guy have a psycho ex-girlfriend? Because he thinks he is so perfect (and was told so by his mommy...so I guess we perpetuate the problem) that he could never do anything wrong or hurtful. Seriously, though, I know guys that are dicks just to be dicks. They will text or call girls first for hookups and then tell all his friends that this same girl is "all over" him. Yes, she is, because YOU WERE FIRST.

We girls are told so many different things. Be gorgeous, but don't be easy. Be available, but not too available. Be willing but not eager. To quote a washed up rapper: "I need a lady in the street but a freak in the sheets." Holy cow that's a lot of pressure. I'm not a poem! I can't appear to be one thing but actually be another.

Guys, I guess I'm just saying that you could be a little nicer. Stop making us feel like sluts. Stop making us not want to have feelings. Stop making us feel like idiots. And never try to make a girl feel like a psycho without first considering your hand in the matter.

And ladies, persevere. Don't shut yourself off. Someday (I hope) there will be someone for all of us, and he won't make us feel like dumbasses. And remember: nobody can take anything from you if you do not give it.

Midweek Musings: Matters of the Heart

"Have you ever seen a human heart? It looks like a fist, wrapped in blood."
-Closer

Today in my biology class (don't worry...it's a class for non-majors...lord knows how poorly I would do otherwise) we were talking about the heart. Because I am prone to a wandering mind, I kept thinking about why in the world we have classified the heart, a hollow, muscular organ used for the constant inflow and outflow of blood, as the house of all things emotional. After all, why blame the poor heart? It works hard enough already, and now we have to go blaming it for feelings that we have concocted in our brains.

Just pondering the heart as an organ brought up a host of thoughts like this, including the quote from the 2004 film Closer, that I had never really thought about before. If the heart is supposed to be the symbol of all things love and connected to most decision making, isn't that kind of the easy way out? We are all taught to "follow our hearts" as opposed to thinking with our heads. But which is better?

Whenever I have a tough decision to make (which, to be honest, isn't that often), it makes most sense to me to think it out, usually through writing. In the end, I usually go with a "gut" instinct, which could probably also be considered following my heart. But where does this heart instinct come from, and how is it so ingrained into the human philosophy? Perhaps there is a mechanism in the way we think that leads us in the right direction, the direction we know will make us happy. It might have something to do with the way we were raised, a specific instinct we have, or a certain moral code we have instilled in our society and therefore ourselves.

But, my question remains, why blame the poor heart? The metaphor of the heart is a nice one: it never ceases working (that is, until it does, and that means baaaad things), it pumps and pumps for the average span of some 70+ years in America, it delivers life to the body, and it is the first sign of life. But an even deeper metaphor is the idea that the heart is a thoughtless organ. The brain cannot control the heart, and it therefore offers us a scapegoat when we cannot control our emotions, despite the fact that emotions stem from the brain. People seem to be afraid of the brain: too much of it can be explained by science. The heart, on the other hand, is mysterious, and always seems to know what to do. Therefore, when we feel a certain pull toward or away of something, we consider that this may be our heart, our steadfast, everworking heart that is guiding us; a shortcut through the messy thinking and analysis done by the brain.


Thoughts?

Change

I have changed the name of my blog, for a couple of reasons. I want to be able to write about many things, and not just things that annoy me. I still want my writing to be, first and foremost, the most important thing about this blog. I still don't want to post about products and material things, but I want to be able to write about happy things as well.

This change of heart has occurred in me this week with the conclusion of my last spring break of college. For my break this year, like the two years previous, I participated in an immersion program with my school. It has always been a wonderful experience, but something this year just clicked.


This is my group. We traveled to Narrows, a little town in the mountains of western Virginia.

I have discovered things about life and myself that I want to hold on to; never want to forget. I learned how to be happy in living simply, in living through the love of your family and community, and in living through faith (whatever faith that may be). I learned how important patience was, that attaining material wealth isn't a good way to live your life. I learned how to slow down, take a deep breath, that you don't have to run around like your life is burning to the ground. Pressure and stress kill your soul. So, before I start to pontificate, this is my advice, a piece of what I'm trying to follow: relax. Life is beautiful. Love your family, love your community, and love yourself. Trust that everything happens for a reason, and everything will work out in the end.

Thus, the List begins. And don't worry, I have still managed to retain my acerbic bite I know everyone loves!