!!!

The other day while admiring all the different international fashion magazines at Borders, I couldn't help but wonder why there wasn't a Vogue Türkiye. Less than two weeks later my sister forwarded me this link in an email titled DREAMS DO COME TRUE!!! She didn't actually title it that but while I was reading the post those were my exact thoughts. Vogue Türkiye is coming to life March 2010! As soon as I'm finished writing this I'm going to write an email in my horrendous Turkish to my uncle begging him to mail me every issue. I bet you're wondering who the lovely lady in the photo is. It's Ece Sükan, a Turkish model, stylist and now the Editor-In-Chief of Vogue Türkiye. İyi şanslar, Vogue Türkiye!

Tonight I received a very important package, an early birthday gift to myself. I finally bought myself a camera. I can't use it just yet but expect big and bright photos very soon. Well, as soon as I figure out how to use the darn thing.

Waiting for my matte fingernails to dry (Zoya Loredana) while reading the Anthony Bourdain book. God, I love him. If only I had the skills to attempt any of the recipes in this cookbook.

Photo by altamiranyc.

...

This challenge is starting to get difficult. It seems like every time I open my inbox there are at least five different temptations waiting for me. Free shipping on everything! 40% off sale items! Buy one get one free! Hearing about other people's purchases makes me angry. Looking at my favorite blogs makes me angry. Everything makes me angry until I tell myself to cool down and realize I have a closet full of things I've barely experimented with.

I can't wait to look through Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook. My friend Caroline let me borrow it after we bought tickets to see him host a cook-off here in Miami. She says she knows a way to sneak backstage. I have until November to plan exactly what I would do or say if I ever met Anthony Bourdain. But right now I should be studying for an exam.

I hated my feet until...

I feel slightly better about my unsightly soles after seeing photos of Anna Dello Russo's similarly cracked heels. I just can't seem to get them under control.

P.S. The shoes aren't my cup of tea but that toe nail color is amazing! Where can I get that?

Photo by Jak & Jil.

My favorite rings and other things

pointer: thrifted, middle: lucky brand, ring: thrifted. And a hilariously evil looking me.

My nails are My Private Jet by OPI, the best polish ever created. I was lucky enough to find the original formula in a nondescript beauty supply shop my friend Liza took me to. I will never grow tired of how sparkly and perfect it is (this picture does it absolutely no justice at all, I swear).

J.K. Rowling now has a Twitter account. She unsubtly hinted that she's currently writing something. I'm thrilled! I know what you're thinking: Aren't you a little too old to be reading children's stories? No, I'm not. I never will be. I refuse to believe it.

Last night I saw Jennifer's Body. I see what you did there Diablo Cody, very clever. Unfortunately, your future cult classic is being marketed all wrong! Why are the ads leading us to believe this is another horror movie with terrible dialogue, cheesy effects and poor acting? I know why: because Megan Fox is the most attractive girl in Hollywood right now which means she's worth major dollars. Throw in a dash of experimental lesbianism involving M. Fox and all the boys will come a runnin'. Anyway, I wouldn't say Jennifer's Body had tons of substance but it wasn't what I expected it to be. Ultimately, it was a story about a friendship between two teenage girls. We've all had a friendship like this; the best friend you love one minute and hate the next. Although Needy and Jennifer's relationship was a little strange, even before Jen became possessed by a demon, I could still relate to certain behaviors in both characters. Jealousy, insecurity and mistrust. It's all there. Like Needy says, "Hell is a teenage girl." Do I regret not seeing The September Issue instead? Maybe. By the way, the "experimental lesbianism" is not at all what you think it is. See the movie and you'll understand what I mean.

Now what do I do?

I have to finish a short story by next Wednesday. Until yesterday, this was fine. I had a beginning along with a sense of direction and developing characters. The problem began when my professor read the beginning to my story aloud in class and asked: "What do you think will happen next?" The class hypothesized while I stayed silent praying that no one had any guesses as to what could happen next. Unfortunately for me they guessed every direction I had planned on taking and then some. Should I write an ending they've already guessed or write a new story completely? Does it make me completely predictable that they've guessed my thoughts or was the beginning too foreshadowing? Does it even matter.

I've been muse hunting. There is someone I spotted for the first time today, actually. I tried to sneak a better peek but the only way I could casually approach him would be to use the restroom multiple times. This is really difficult.

Musings

Yesterday Glenda and I were talking about how wonderful it would be to be someone's muse. To know that I'd inspired a song, sketch or pair of panties (hey, I'm not picky) would be very complimentary. Then I got to thinking that one probably cannot aim to be a muse. I think that's something that happens unplanned and unknowingly. But what I can do is find my own muse: this is my new project. Hopefully he/she will inspire more than a blog post.

I had a case of the nerves this morning, while I was supposed to be focused on my first exam of the semester. I was in class early but somehow was shorted an answer sheet and a test copy at least 15 minutes into the exam. There were people leaving because they'd finished their tests before I even had one on my desk. I'm not sure why but I panicked, and decided to rush through my exam. I doubt I'll be seeing an A on that one. I guess I can't buy all the new Hard Candy revival polishes I had my eye on. But it does feel good to scratch off one exam from the schedule I taped up on my wall! To assure this doesn't happen to me next week (two economics tests, yikes) I'll be studying 24/7 in the following days. Starting tomorrow.

I cleaned my entire suite's common area today. It's shiny and I love it. Cleaning had never been a big thing for me until I moved out of my parents' home. Never have I appreciated my mother and father (they're both extremely tidy) more that those first few months of suffering in my dorm freshman year. Now I've developed an unhealthy obsession with cleanliness. That's alright though, isn't it?

Also, I'm glad other women found Maureen Dowd's latest article a little depressing. More depressing than being a woman, I mean. She mentioned the "second shift", the pressure to stay youthful and the stress of being a mother. These are all legitimate stresses and certainly nothing to smile about but I hope that as I grow older I'll feel a lot like I do today; optimistic about the future and thankful that I am a woman.

What do you think about before you fall asleep?

Last night I lay awake for three hours (a long time to spend with yourself) thinking about these things:

-The weekend that had passed confirmed that things are about to change, a gut feeling I've had for a while. Some would consider it a negative thing but I'm surprisingly optimistic. Why am I speaking so vaguely? Because I'm still not sure how I should feel.
-Compiling a list of songs for a mix I'm making for my father (more about this later) which is quickly turning into Grizzly Bear's discography. I should limit myself to one song per artist.
-Stress about upcoming exams, like the one I'm taking tomorrow. I have no idea what to expect when being tested on Microsoft Excel but I absolutely need to get an A. I've been watching a few "vintage" jewelry pieces on Ebay under $10 that I need, need, need.
-That there is still a lizard (or lizards, yikes!) on the loose in my bedroom
-Plans, plans, plans

and as always, a reminder to read my horoscope.

I've got a new song by The Gossip on repeat right now. You can listen to it here at NPR.org. I will always love Beth's voice.

Saawariya

I wish I could share the whole film with you (you? who are you?) but here is one of the best scenes from the film Saawariya (2007) I watched last night. It was so beautiful, I'm speechless. The colors, the sets, everything. I want to live inside this film.

I'm glad I thought to find videos of this film on YouTube instead of feeling tense and edgy after looking at a certain ex-boyfriend's Facebook page...

Procrastinator

So I wrote this article in the NYTimes. I know it says it was written by Farhad Manjoo but I assure you it was written by me. How many times have I sat before my computer and vowed to work diligently on some assignment until it was finished and then noticed I'd spent 45 minutes on Facebook? A million. For example, today I spent roughly an hour in a computer lab trying to finish an Excel tutorial (ugh) when I realized I hadn't read my dailies yet. I spent roughly another hour reading blogs, checking my Facebook and responding to emails. How productive. I will be downloading the application mentioned in the article called Leechblock. Hopefully I can restrain myself enough not to open other browsers.

In other news, the very talented artist Esther Kim is the one who painted my profile picture. Her work can be seen here at her personal website. Isn't it all so cute? Thanks to Glenda for pointing me to her website!

Disclaimer: I obviously did not write this article but as I was reading it I realized it could have been written by me. I swear.

Muriel Spark

When I have free time I like to browse through books in the library. Because my university library is organized by Library of Congress standards and not the more familiar Dewey Decimal system, I rarely know what I'll run into. Of course I could look it up but I usually don't know what I'm looking for. A week or two ago, I found the book All the Stories of Muriel Spark. The title interested me (I didn't know what to expect since I'd never heard of Muriel Spark before) and after I read the back cover I knew I'd have to browse through it. Well I didn't get around to it until last night and I think I'm in love. The book is a collection of her short stories and after I had read the first one I knew I'd finish the book quickly.

At work I'm drowning in microfiche. I challenged my coworkers to see if we could finish them all by November 20th and they basically laughed at me. I'm still sticking to the challenge, of course. I doubt I'll finish. Also, it is taking everything in me to not buy a Pumpkin Spice latte every chance I get. I can't believe they are $3.75...

Yesterday

Today I realized how much of an idiot I am. I drove all the way to a thrift store, feeling very fine with the sun shining and my radio blasting Big Green Tractor (which is apparently the biggest song in country music right now but is a little too slow for my taste) when I realized I had left my wallet in my school bag! How could I? Before panicking I realized I had $10.00 in dollar bills stowed away in my handbag. Clearly this shouldn't have been my first concern; I'm almost positive driving without a license is unlawful. Even I can't believe how careless I can be sometimes. I was happy and sad leaving the store. I found a spectacular gray denim skirt for $6.00. I shaved my legs during my shower today (what a task) so I'm planning on wearing it tomorrow. Don't fret, I Febreezed the shit out of it. Sadly, I had to leave behind a gorgeous harlequinesque snake brooch for $8.00. I had too much pride to pay for it with coins I probably could have found in my bag if I had scrounged around long enough. Plus, I use those coins to pay for coffee at work.

In other news, Brooke and I are taking on a challenge that we concocted on our way to Publix. This one will benefit us greatly (in dollars!). We've decided to halt shopping (see rules) for an entire month. Today is September 13th so we can resume on October 13th (recognize that date?) hopefully with our wallets a bit fatter.

Here are the rules:
-No shopping for an entire month. This includes but is not limited to: all clothing items, undergarments, makeup, nail polish (does it seem funny to include this? Well I spent roughly $100.00 on NP this past summer), shoes and jewelry.
-You may purchase any of the things listed above only under special circumstances i.e. a shirt needed for work.
-Certain related necessities like nail polish remover, eyeshadow primer etc. are also allowed
-Brooke requested that Halloween decorations and costumes be excluded and I agreed (maybe against my better judgment) because this Halloween we are going all out
-Birthday or other gift related purchases are allowed
-Someone may buy something for you but this does not include temporarily borrowed money from your bank (nice try suckers!)
-And my favorite rule, you may buy yourself a small gift under $10.00 if you score an A on an exam or a paper

I'm thrilled to see how much my savings yield at the end of this month.

I've been rearranging my room and I have to say, I'm more insane than I thought. The fact that my bed was tangent to my wall was driving me crazy (stupid curved wall) so I shifted my bed until it finally was perfectly perpendicular to my window. This leaves a strange corner next to my bed. I'm planning on hanging big, colorful paper lanterns from the ceiling. Luckily home decor is not included in our saving challenge. Also, tomorrow I'm starting my recycling project. All newspapers I harvest will be turned into origami flowers and placed all over my strange, curved wall. I also taped a few of my photos from last semester next to my dresser. They look good.

I fear for the state of my nails. Instead of painting them after I removed Suvi by Zoya I've decided to let them go for an entire week sans polish. This way the yellowing tips (I'm serious, it looks like I have jaundice) will grow out and away without being marred by more polish. I've brought a million grays from home this week and they are taunting me from across the room. I want to paint my fingers and my toes so badly! But I won't. At least not until this Saturday.