Back at Swarthmore…

It’s so strange being back.  It doesn’t quite feel like it’s a new semester, but rather almost like a new year, like this is my sophmore year already, not freshman.  Oy vey does that mean it’s going to feel like i’m going to college for 8 years?

Still, I guess that’s not so bad because I love it here, I just wish all my friends were back already.  The dorms only just opened yesterday at noon, so a lot of people aren’t getting in until this afternoon or evening, and then classes start tomorrow (yup, on goold ol’ MLK Jr. Day). 

I just wish I could sleep.  I went to bed at 2, woke up at 7 and tried to fall asleep about 3 more times, but it’s to no avail.  I just have to get used to this bed again.

No Country for Old Men

It’s been almost a week since I’ve seen this movie, and I meant to write about it right afterwards, because the Coen Brothers have once again created a masterpiece, but I’ve been so bad with keeping up-to-date with posts.  Then I was going to write about it again after the “Golden Globes”, a.k.a. a glorified press conference this year due to the writers’ strike, but once again I was distracted.  But now I feel it is time to give the movie its due praise.

No Country for Old Men was robbed at the Golden Globes this year.  Sure, Atonement was a good movie, but it was just good, though better than the book.  It brought tears to my eyes at the end, but for a lot of the movie I was a bit restless, and bored even, especially when James McAvoy wasn’t there to serve as eye candy.  It might be because I have read the book, so the plot was not that shocking (even though I had forgotten the big twist at the very end), but I have a feeling that even if I had not read it, it would’ve still had pretty much the same effect on me. 

No Country for Old Men, however, was like the formation of a hurricane, not to be too cheesy with metaphors or anything.  The beginning is a bit slow, the southern twang dialogue is a bit hard to get into and understand at first, but with the first appearance of Anton Chigurh, as played by Javier Bardem (who most definitely deserved his Golden Globe for best supporting actor, and will receive the Oscar for the same category, or else the whole Academy is a joke), the plot picks up, accelerates, and does not let its foot off the gas.  He is one BAMF of a villain, and his weapon of choice is terrifying (the thing he’s holding that looks like a balloon pump is actually a highly pressurized tank that shoots out a rod at a high speed, and then retracts back from what it just shot…a door, a head, etc.).  By the time Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin) is on the run from Chigurh with his stolen drug money,  I was completely hooked and had stopped asking when Tommy Lee Jones was going to show up (the only actor that I had heard of in the movie).  In true Coen Brothers style, there are some douses of dark, sarcastic, and dry humor, and a lot, I mean A LOT of bloodshed. 

I guess the “eye” of this whole hurricane of a movie would involve the death of one of the characters, which the Coen Brothers artfully opt not to show.  It’s hard to say if I really “understand” this movie or not…it might help if I read the book it’s adapted from, by Cormac McCarthy.  My experience with McCarthy has involved only getting through half of The Blood Meridian, which was also extremely bloody and with difficult dialogue and a non-traditional plot structure.  I guess you could classify his style as post-modern, and though I though I was done with him, I’m definitely going to give it another go.  The Blood Meridian, No Country for Old Men, and The Road (which I can’t believe is an Oprah’s Book Club book…middle-aged women reading Cormac McCarthy?  I don’t think so…) will be added to my ever-growing reading list.  I also think it’s about time that I watch Fargo again.

Busy, busy, busy…

Despite my New Year’s resolution to keep up with blogging more, it’s been a few days since I’ve posted.  It’s not that I’ve forgotten, I’ve just been quite busy with working at Swarthmore.

Right now I’m doing research with the education department here and a program called Math Forum, which started at Swarthmore but is now based at Drexel University.  So I’ve been reading articles and putting stuff together, as well as getting trained to be a mentor for their MathMentor program.   So in other words I have been quite busy.

I stopped by Borders yesterday and it was soooo weird and bizarre because there were so many new and unfamiliar people working there.  But it was nice that people still remembered me, including one of our regulars, who even remembered where I was going for college.

I also realized that since the summer I can only drink my coffee and tea black.  I’ve always had tea without milk and sugar, but when I was younger I used to pour mounds of sugar and tons of half/half.  Now my favorite is organic French roast black.

I wish this mug were still in stock.  It was made to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the typeface Helvetica.

These notebooks are pretty nice too, but I’d rather have the mug.

Wardrobe ethics: go green or go home…

So it’s been a few days since the New Year and I’ve been taking on the frustrating, tiresome, and seemingly unending task of cleaning out and streamlining my wardrobe.  Yesterday I cleaned out 4 large bags of clothing to be donated, and yet somehow my closets and drawers are still full.

In thinking about what I want my wardrobe to look like when I’m finished with it, I would like to get rid of everything (except for really high-quality items) that I don’t wear.  And that’s a great deal of it–I’d say I only wear about 10-15% of my wardrobe regularly. 

Even though I’m getting rid of a lot of stuff, I would also like to make some new additions to my wardrobe.  Clothing not only represents your aesthetics, but also about your habits as a consumer.  So for 2008 (and beyond), I’m going to try to buy more clothes that are made without unethical labor practices (i.e. sweatshop free) and more clothes made with organic cotton.  I’m also thinking about buying organic cotton bedding.

It’s so hard to tell what’s sweatshop free and what’s not.  Even if it’s made in the USA, that doesn’t gurantee that it’s made any more fairly than elsewhere in the world.  But good ol’ American Apparel is pretty reliable, and reasonably priced, which I guess is why it’s such a staple among college students.  And even better, they’ve recently included a few organic pieces into their store.

The organic fine jersey tee comes in a girly or unisex fit and a handful of beautiful and rich colors.  I particularly like ultraviolet (as shown above) and galaxy.  It sells for $15.

The organic unisex fine jersey v-neck tee comes only in natural, but I think it has a slimmer fit and longer sleeves than the normal fine jersey v-neck.  It sells for $17.

For denim, everything made by Loomstate is 100% organic cotton.  Since it’s premium denim, their jeans are a bit pricey, and they’re also quite difficult to find.  Levi’s also has an “eco” denim line.  The skinny jeans shown below retail for $68, which isn’t that bad.

And of course, I’ve also been on the hunt for a solid and sturdy canvas bag/tote that isn’t so frumpy looking.  Luckily, after the “I’m not a plastic bag” craze, a lot of designers have been coming out with eco-friendly bags.  I particularly like this one by Beau Soleil that’s made from organic cotton and has lots of small compartments/pockets.  It sells for $44 from shopbop.com.

As for the Frye boots that I’m still coveting, I’m going to go hunting for them at vintage stores in the city on Monday.  I look on wardrobe_remix and it seems as though somehow everyone has managed to buy a pair for ridiculously cheap prices (as low as 25 cents!) at yard sales, thrift stores, etc., so maybe I’ll have some luck tomorrow.

Atonement

 

13-year old Briony Tallis is a budding writer with a dangerous imagination, one that causes her to mix up fantasy and reality, one that causes a lie that destroys the lives of Cecilia, her sister, and Robbie Turner.  Wrecked by guilt, it is only years later that Briony seeks atonement.

I first read the book Atonement, by Ian McEwan, as assigned reading for AP Eng. Lit two years ago.  The book was overall enjoyable and readable, I just didn’t know what it was doing in an AP lit class. 

The book, however, does transpose onto film beautifully.  Saoirse Ronan does a great job of portraying young Briony, as I found myself hating her for her arrogance, her naive but know-it-all attitude.  But Keira Knightley and James McAvoy steal the show–their chemistry together as Cecilia and Robbie is undeniable.  Although the movie is a bit heavy-handed at times, the ending brought me to tears (especially because I had forgotten what would happen).

And whoever was in charge of costumes did a great job–the green dress Knightly wears is absolutely stunning.

Edit:// I just had to include another picture of that dress to do it some justice.  The cut, the color, the drape…absolutely gorgeous.

Unfortunately, it was custom made  and designed for Knightley by the film’s costume designer Jacqueline Durran, so it’s not like you can even buy it in stores anywhere.  Damn I wish I could pull off 1930s clothing like Knightley does.

So this is the New Year…

the proper line to follow that would be “and I don’t feel any different…”, but to say that would be untrue.  Looking back on 2007, it was a first time for a lot of things: I turned 18, I made a nature documentary, I graduated from high school, I got and held down my first real job, I started college, I started learning a new language, I shared a room with someone for more than a month…not to mention a thousand other little things that have happened. 

So what now for 2008? 

• Obviously I want to do well second semester (especially because it’s not pass/fail!)
• Reduce my ecological footprint, recycle more, waste less, buy less, consume less…essentially attempt all-around more gren living
• Try to have a more minimalist approach to life…yes that means I have the monstrous task of sorting out my closet(s) over break to try and pare down my wardrobe
• Be more aware of where my purchases are coming from: i.e. is the clothing and stuff I buy made by small children in sweatshops?  I guess this relates back to the two resolutions above, or at least will help me reach those goals
• Stop buying leather shoes, handbags, belts, etc. (unless it’s vintage/from a thrift store/recycled) 
• Read more books (this is a given every year)
• Write at least 20 blog posts a month
• Write more (creatively) in general.  I’ve been so caught up with school for the past few months that it’s been quite some time since I’ve written a poem, story, anything really.
• Stop eating so much damn dairy at school, it’s been causing me to have constant sinus problems/infections.  Take better care of my body in general.

So that’s pretty much it…I don’t really have specific goals/resolutions in mind, it’s more about trying to streamline my lifestyle.  Yesterday I cleared out two filing cabinets worth of my papers from middle and high school (I saved only some samples of my writing), and it was extremely satisfying to see four paper bags worth of paper waiting to be recycled.  But I have to continue this purging of my stuff before I lose motivation and steam, so today is going to be a day for cleaning and reading (for work).

Frye boots…worth it?

For years (ok the plural makes it sound a bit more dramatic and longer than it actually has been, which is about 3 years) I have been wanting a pair of Frye campus 14L boots.  Even though I’m now in college and should be a bet more frugal with my spending ways, since my parents will be writing out heart-attack-inducing-sized check this week for second semester, I’m in college!  I walk everywhere, it’s winter, and goddamn it I need a pair of sturdy boots.  Even though I’ve been convincing myself that I should stop buying leather shoes, if I buy these, they really will be my last pair. 

So should I do it?  Should I break down and spend the 200-something dollars?  And what color?

Saddle, banana, or dark brown?  I think I prefer saddle…

Reaching the one-year mark…

I started this blog exactly one year ago with really no direction and idea of where it would be headed.  For months it basically remained idle, with an occassional post here and there about a movie or book that I had recently seen.  Not that many posts, not that many readers, not that big a deal. 

But then towards the end of the summer, Swarthmore propositioned me to blog for their admissions office.  I agreed, and well, here we are today.

What can I say except that I’m glad that I accepted.  I know that it always seems incredibly cheesy when people say things like “journaling/blogging helps me to reflect on myself as a person…it helps me to clear my head…it helps me to focus my life”.  Yes, it’s incredibly cheesy, but for the most part it’s true.  Plus, it’s a great way to procrastinate when you don’t want to start that 12-page paper due the next day. 

Upon returning to school in late January, it’ll be a new semester, a new year, and it won’t be pass/fail.  So wish me good luck, because I’ll be needing it…

Settling down…

it’s been a few days since I’ve posted, but there’s not much to update on.  New York was pretty uneventful, except that I’ve never seen a store more packed than the Apple store on Fifth Avenue on Christmas Eve.  Perhaps I’ll post pictures at some point later on during break (since boredom will probably set in soon).

I read Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris, yesterday.  I can’t believe I had waited this long to read any of his books in completion because it was absolutely brilliant.  I envy his career–short memoir-style essays is my favorite medium of writing.  Now I’m just excited to go to the bookstore and buy every other book by him so that I can read them over winter break.

I’ve also been marathoning Arrested Development, which means that I’ve had a pretty enjoyable break so far.  The only depressing thing I’ve watched so far was The Squid and the Whale, which was one of those movies that had characters in it that irked me to no end.  The dad in the movie was just completely repulsive to me, and although the ending was touching, I still don’t think it was quite satisfying enough. 

Tomorrow is going to be errands day…I have yet to go grocery shopping so I’ve been eating bagels for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which, as you can imagine, is getting sort of old.

Back at home…

I just got home from Swat yesterday at around 1:30 in the afternoon. 

I’m leaving for New York this afternoon, I’ll be gone until Christmas.

Then it’s 3.5 weeks of doing absolutely nothing.  Well, not really, since I’m working for the education department at Swarthmore by doing research.

Enjoy the holidays everyone!  Sorry this post is so brief…I’m in a time crunch to go to lunch with my friend before she leaves for Florida/pack before I leave this afternoon.