Imports from overseas

This weekend I went on a tour of Europe. I'm not lying to you... it was a figurative tour, but a tour nevertheless. Because I've been trapped inside for three days I did what any sane person would do and watched a ridiculous amount of foreign films. If foreign films aren't your thing this post will also be covering food, and my favorite British dramas.

Amélie

Amélie, an innocent and naive girl in Paris, with her own sense of justice, decides to help those around her and along the way, discovers love.

I nominate Amélie as feelgood movie of the year. I've only seen this movie once, but I think it was enough to know that it is my favorite movie of all time. The plot was just so clever and intricately crafted. It left me in awe, and for once if someone were to ask me what the movie was about I could tell them. Audrey Tautou does a wonderful job of portraying a quirky yet shy woman who by the end of the movie comes to terms with who she is. At some part during the movie she encounters a young man at a photo booth. She's intrigued by him, but says nothing because she's crippled by shyness. He ends up leaving behind a photo album; one of his most valuable possessions. Because Amelie has adapted "do gooder" ways, she feels compelled to return the album. Along the way she drops clues and hints about her identity but the man remains oblivious. The ending's pretty predictable, but I'll save that for you to enjoy. My explanation doesn't do the movie justice AT ALL, but if anyone's interested you can watch it here.

Doctor Who

Doctor Who in all of its entirety is a brilliant series. It's actually unbelievable how intellectual this show gets. If sci-fi's not usually your thing... I can see why you might be hesitant. I was never all too enthused about time traveling, air bending, galaxy splitting and WHAT NOT but I actually took quite a liking to Doctor Who. I think it has a bit of everything, romance, comedy, and of course sci-fi. I'm not saying you should go and netflix all thirty-one seasons but if anything watch this episode. Warning; may cause slight eye watering. "The Doctor" (aka Matt Smith, the man of my dreams) travels back into the post-impressionist time period and meets with Vincent Van Gough. I'm sure it's not wildly accurate... but the episode explores the tormented and tortured individual Van Gough was (yes he was the man who cut off his own ear). Oh and in the midst of everything Van Gough and The Doctor battle off a space bird demon.

Croque Monsieur

Now my cooking skills are nothing to brag about. I think it's successful when I can break an egg without getting the shells in the yolk, or when I'm baking a cake I don't mix the salt with sugar (that was a disaster). "I just froze some grapes. That's as involved as my cooking gets these days" this explains my life so well. Anyways today I decided to get fancy and bake myself a croque monsieur. In other words, it's basically grilled cheese and ham sandwich, BUT BETTER. Though my sandwich looked nothing like the one pictured above... I like to imagine they both tasted equally as satisfying. Recipe

The weekend I had no friends

It's Memorial Day weekend. How lovely... or should I say lonely? Basically everyone and their mother went away to some beach or tropical location for the mini break. Because my family hates leaving the house, I am stuck here in my house. Now normally I wouldn't mind. There's nothing I love better than staying inside browsing the internet, rolling around on my bed, and doing god knows what else. Sometimes I even get crafty and draw or cut up my clothing, but lately I've just been too lazy. So as for my Saturday night, I'm looking forward to a romantic evening with my laptop. There's nothing I love more, and the feeling is obviously mutual. When Tuesday rolls around and everyone shows up to school raving about their w1Ld and cR@zY weekend, the only thing that I'm going to be able to contribute to the conversation is that I learned how to make grilled cheese without burning myself. I just can't be tamed... I did see Pirates of the Caribbean 4 "Stranger Tides" yesterday. I was actually pretty disappointed. As irresistible as Penelope Cruz is with her exotic Spanish accent, the movie just wasn't the same without Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom. Out of the five friends that went, two of them fell asleep during the middle. I think that's pretty telling.

My parents have a bunch of college tours planned out for this summer. Last year we already visited;

• NYU (New York University)
• Columbia
• Stanford
• UC Berkely

This year we're headed to see;

• U of T (University of Toronto)
• UPenn (University of Pennslyvania)
• BU (Boston University)

I'm excited. Though I really want to get into NYU, my parents think that I should broaden the list of schools I want to go to. I like the idea of going to school in a big city. There just seems like there would always be something to do. After a quick subway ride, I end up in an entirely different part of the city. There's always new places to explore and more people to meet.

chat roulette from Casey Neistat on Vimeo.

A brilliant documentary on what is known as "Chat Roulette". I'm ashamed to say that for a brief time I was hooked onto this website. Once you screen through all the scumbag horndogs, you can actually have some pretty decent conversations. The idea of talking to a stranger and then never having to speak with them again seemed interesting. For people like me (people who can't properly manage friendships) this website was perfect.

Indian Summer

And this is what a classy hooker looks like. Just kidding. I tend to do a lot of that in this blog. As you can see I don't take myself very seriously... Note to self; stop referring to yourself as a prostitute/hooker, people will start approaching you with an open wallet and asking for a "happy ending". Like that man on the bus... ANYWAYS, sorry I haven't been as consistent. My life has been extremely dull lately. There's more activity in Antarctica. What's that? No one lives in Antarctica? Exactly. We're having an "Art Exhibition" at school, and two of my photographs are being featured.

Picture A

Picture B
Mostly everyone's already seen this picture. It just looks out of place with the "FLOW" of today's entry. So if anyone's curious you can click the link. That picture though was a pain in the ass to take. I dragged a full length mirror into the forest. Never again.

That's all well and good. I ended up finding a job for this summer, and no disappointingly not at the bakery... I liked that bakery too. It was filled with puns. Entitled "PURE BREAD" all the sandwiches were named after breeds of dogs (pure bred). I don't know, I thought it was clever. Instead of learning the art of pastries I'm going to spend my summer caring for a six year old girl. Now this might surprise you... or not but I actually don't mind kids. I like that they're honest. I worked at a camp this summer as a counselor and this little boy said to me "what's wrong with your face" to that I replied "nothing" his response was "oh" and then he walked away. OKAY THEN, It's fine you don't need to spare my feelings.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (Official Video) from City Slang on Vimeo.

Teenage angst.

Winking is sleezy, but it turns me on

I'm always playing this game with myself. The "let's see how long I can go without starting my homework game". I bet most of you are familiar with it? The rules are as follows; go as long as you can without doing your homework, you score bonus points if you start the assignment the day it's due. I am such a winner. Some days I seriously question how I'm going to survive once I reach college... Other than this English paper that's been looming over my head for weeks, I've been good. It's been a solid weekend. My friends and I went about town last night where we practiced our A+ high quality winking skills. Don't laugh. Winking is an art that can only be perfected through copious amounts of practice and observation. I for one am a winking connoisseur. Yes because the ability to blink one of your eyes in a suggestive manner is certainly something to brag about... Unfortunately I wasn't able to put my skill to the test last night, because I lack both the self confidence and courage. Besides I get heat flashes and my heart starts palpitating at the thought of the conversation that might ensue after the "initial wink". It could range from "hey little girl, get in my pants" or "you are insanely creepy, stop doing that with your face", "are you okay? I thought for a moment you were undergoing a seizure". Those are all conversations I do not wish to have because they are all far too awkward and uncomfortable even for me.

If I'm lucky the next two weeks should go by quickly. Us Americans have a holiday in commemoration of all the people who have lost their lives in war. I think the core meaning of Memorial Day gets lost in translation... because somewhere along the lines Memorial Day translates into "BEACH, THREE DAY WEEKEND, NO SCHOOL LOL, SALES". I'm not here to knock those people, because I am as guilty as charged. I just think a little acknowledgement would be nice. Either that weekend or the following weekend I hope to travel up to New York. I'll most likely see Miwa again, and may possibly even stay with her for a night. WORDS CANNOT EXPLAIN HOW MUCH THIS EXCITES ME, AND NO NOT SEXUALLY. I have no idea what we'll be doing, but it'll probably involve a lot of Pinkberry and Metro tickets.

Also your requests have been answered. Here's another downloadable playlist. You can pretend that I'm an attractive male teenager and that this is a mixed-tape with a collection of songs that remind me of you. These songs all convey hidden meanings that explain my un-dying love. Clearly I watch too many movies... but we can all dream yes? "BROTIP"; Mixed Cd's never go out of style. Make a girl one, you're percentage of rejection will decrease exponentially.

50% Chance of scattered thunderstorms

Okay, so I don't actually believe all this May 21st "Judgement day" nonsense. Though if tomorrow were to be my very last day on this planet, it would only make sense to go out with a bang. Hence the phrase, "live each day as if it was your last". Tomorrow I'm heading into Philadelphia to see Panic at the Disco and Fun preform at Festival Pier. It's apparently going to pour, "50% chance of thunderstorms". Rain or shine the show's going on... I'm thrilled. Personally I'm more of a Fun fan... but there's no denying my undying attraction for PATD frontman Brendon Urie. My reaction to their collaborative single C'mon was a mixture of "OH MY GOD" and I THINK I NEED TO CHANGE PANTS because my bodily functions couldn't handle the extremity of this event. Though I have no idea how I'm going to make it through the end of tomorrow. The concert starts at 5:30, and isn't over until 11:00. If I had a heart monitor my body would probably register a flatline because I'm going have as much energy as a corpse coming home. Redbulls anyone?

I'm here to repair that empty feeling inside your soul with what can only be filled by the heavenly and gravity defying sounds of Bon Iver. If you really want to rack up some easy points on the pretentious scale, you can do all the hipsters a favor by pronouncing his name as such "BOhn E-vair". Don't ask me when that will come in handy. You can download the full album here. Caution; heaven will invade your speakers.

EF - Live The Language - Paris from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

So when can I travel to Paris? HAHA, okay Leah and by what means of communication do you hope to navigate your way around. Alright I admit my French isn't exactly up to par, but I do know how to order food and ask where restrooms are. What more could you ask for? My conversational skills are basic at best. Then again I don't talk much, so perhaps that would work in my favor. My catchphrase throughout my entire schooling years = je ne comprends pas. Yes my vast foreign language skills are extremely impressive. Feel inferior. This summer I may possibly be doing a French exchange student program. The student would be staying with me of course. I would hope that with that experience my French would improve somewhat. I just don't if I could bear the responsibility of corrupting some poor girls mind.

Blog update; About me page is fully functional. Oh yes, I image map like it's my job.

Cordially seeking hypothetical prom date

Dear future prom date,

All I'm asking of you is that you're light on your feet, and have an expansive safe cracking knowledge. It also wouldn't hurt if you bore an uncanny resemblance to Matt Smith. (My obsessions come in waves, the current phase seems to be Doctor Who) I DIGRESS. I need to make a quick and illegal transaction at the bank to help pay off the debt I have accumulated after purchasing my nearly 10K "formal attire". Babysitting's just not gonna cut it. I don't even think babysitting Angelina and Brad Pitt's children would pay for half my dress. SO I've resulted to robbery. I'll be your useless sidekick. I can just stand next to you, while looking bad ass and Asian. There is ALWAYS a token Asian in every action movie. Hope you don't mind if this is the first and last time I ever see you. It keeps the mystery alive, but I hope you know that I am eternally grateful.

Sincerely,
The wannabe bond girl

Okay I kid, I kid. I wouldn't actually break and enter a building, let alone a bank just in order to pay for my designer prom dress. Obviously I would've resorted to selling myself first... Prom's coming up, or if you're school is like mine then it has already passed. Flashback to my Friday night; I fervently stalked every single Facebook album entitled "Prom" and salivated over all the gorgeous dresses. Call me a creeper. It's fine, I'VE LEARNED TO ACCEPT MY ROLE IN SOCIETY. I was like a thirteen year old girl again. My brain exploded with sequins, sparkles, tulle and chiffon. Being the egocentric and self-centered person I am... it got me thinking about what I'd want my prom dress to look like. I've drafted up two looks, both extremely whimsical and way out of my league. Unless between now and my senior year some wealthy benefactor decides to fund my prom expenditures I will most likely be showing up in a burlap sack. Talk about a fashion statement...

THE DRESSES COME WITH VIDEOS, THEY'RE THAT CLASSY. WATCH THEM, AND CRY.

1. Marchesa; Embellished silk-chiffon strapless gown $4,620
2. Jimmy Choo; Lotus crystal-embellished leather sandals $895
3. Billy Bride; Smokey topaz ring $345
4. Lancome; Coquette $29
5. Chloé; Rachel bow-embellished leather clutch $1,135
Total = $7024

1. Lavin; Pleated chiffon gown $5,185
2. Asos; Talullah Tu Crystal Stone Ring $27.70
3. Sasa Larissa Hadjio; Shrimp clutch bag $425
4. Jimmy Choo; Ontario metallic suede multi-strap sandals $775
5. Nars; Dolce Vita $24
Total = $6436.70

It's always raining when we get there

Okay it can just keep raining... that's fine mother nature, it's cool. If I had a line-graph that marked my productivity, this weekend would without a doubt be at the very bottom. While the majority of my class spent last night downing shots of vodka and snorting miscellaneous drugs off each others backs. I spent the evening inside watching Doctor Who re-runs and made a pitiful attempt in relearning the guitar. It's your personal preference, but I've never done drugs or have ever drunken alcohol. The only time I've ever purposely snorted anything up my nose was when I was four. The logic of a four year old... if I can breathe through my mouth and eat through my mouth, and if I can breath my my nose well then HEY EPIPHANY I can eat through my nose too. Then I proceeded to snort apple juice through my nostrils, that went swimmingly. Transitive property, you've failed me.

My sister loves being my personal photographer. Sarcastic emphasis on the "loves". It's a struggle every time I want to get a blog post up. "Hey, so... wanna go take pictures?" "Can't" "But you're not even doing anything..." "I'm watching Justin Bieber, go away" "But I'll give you something" "Fine, but it better not be food" "Deal, let's go". I've reduced myself to BRIBERY. Today was great, mid picture session it started to pour. So here we are, my sister and I huddled under one lone umbrella. The tension was ridiculous. I could actually feel the anger emanating from her body. I did the practical and reasonable thing one would do in this situation... and started to laugh. She hates me.

On Friday I managed to get some successful bargain hunting done. My friends and I went to DSW where I found these shoes for ten dollars. Originally eighty, which then reduced to forty but since they had a red sticker I could take an extra 70% off. To say I was ecstatic would be a severe understatement. Then on Saturday my mother took me to a vintage furniture shop. She's been hankering for a coat hanger for years now... Sadly no coat hangers were to be found, but I did find an extremely obscure looking camera. Two words, obscure and camera... I'M DOWN. Hoho, that reference wasn't obvious or anything. Anyways, I found this camera (a Brownie Hawkeye to be specific) and I nearly had to fight off an elderly man for it. Apparently this camera holds sentimental value for the elderly generation. It's understandable. I suppose it would be equivalent to a little kid buying a gameboy color at a flea market fifty years down the road. That scenarios different because If I fought the little kid I'd win... I'm awful. It's MY HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION, I DO WHAT I WANT. I plan on buying film for it sometime soon. We'll see what kind of pictures it produces. I'm not expecting anything too extravagant, mediocre quality at best, but hey I've learned to lower my standards.

Welcome to the batcave.

Virtual room tour commencing now. As I spend nearly all my free time in here... I thought it duly deserved it's own blog post. I never leave my room apart from eating, showering, and all other personal necessities. It's probably why I get such an enthusiastic or sarcastic response when I come down the steps. "Look who's finally out of the batcave" "WELL LOOK WHO DECIDED TO JOIN US" "Wow, it's been so long since I've seen you, I've forgotten what you look like!" Oh my parents what comedians. Surprisingly, (contrary to my school locker) my room is always kept freakishly neat. I mean I've considered OCD, but then I realized that cleaning my room just serves as another procrastination outlet. You see, I sit down to study or to start on some homework... like the paragon student I am and then I decide that I need to clear off my desk first IN ORDER TO START MY WORK. Somehow that ends up with me cleaning my entire room, and I end up starting my homework at 12:00AM. I suck.

Hopefully by the end of this summer I'll have a lot of more pictures hanging from my walls. Film is just so god damn pricey. You see those black and white pictures? THIRTY DOLLARS. EF. I love my film grain as much as the next guy, but once the price range starts to creep above twenty I'll pass. I really just need a job... You're judging me. The guitar on my bed. You are so judging me. Ha, well I'll have you know that it's purely decorative. I entered a room contest. My reasoning was that the judges would see my picture and go OH MAN, LOOK AT THIS GIRL. HER ROOM REALLY DEMONSTRATES HER WIDESPREAD FIELD OF INTERESTS. SHE'S JUST BRIMMING WITH CREATIVITY. GUITAR, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND SHIT MAN SHE'S EVEN INTO ORIGAMI. WE HAVE A WINNER.
Lol, like that's going to happen. I tried to appeal to the hipsters of Urban Outfitters okay... I guess we'll see how that goes.

My wardrobe though ridiculously overstuffed, is always bursting with color. I really should give some things away... I have no idea why I can't seem to find anything to wear in the mornings. I would say I need more clothes, but that OBVIOUSLY isn't the case. I suppose I'll just add that to my list of problems that goes along with being a teenage girl.

Shameless formspring promotion. Feel free to leave any blog suggestions, or just say hi! I don't bite...

Here comes the feeling you thought you'd forgotten...

I guess you could say that I've been in a bit of a slump lately. I've found myself slipping back into my old habits of moping around and listening to sad Adele songs pertaining to heart ache, lost love, revenge... Yeah you know where this is going. I suppose it's inevitable that sooner or later I'd be writing a post about Shayne. Now before you get your hopes up, this is not some juicy "tell all" or Shayne bashing. I found that 99.9% of the time bitter blogging resulted in anger, hatred, and possibly tears... unless you're Mark Zuckerberg (Social Network anyone?) People address breakups differently. Some people find rebounds, others simply "forget/delete" and move on, and then the people like me don't address the issue at all. I thought that if I kept on ignoring all this pent up sadness, that it would eventually disappear. There are so many things that I wish I could say, but I think Hall & Oats are right "some things are better left unsaid". This sums up my thoughts to a t. Okay, okay this post has officially become too sentimental. I'm talking about my feelings now? WHAT IS THIS. I promise it won't happen again.

And this is what the rest of my night looks like.

If we shadows have offended, think but this; and all is mended that you have but slumbered here while these visions did appear and this weak and idle theme no more yielding but a dream. Gentles--do not reprehend if you pardon, we will mend. And, as I am an honest Puck if we have unearned luck. Now to scape the serpents tongue. We will make amends ere long else the Puck a liar call. So--goodnight unto you all. Give me your hands if we be friends. And Robin shall restore amends.

We're memorizing "Puck's Monologue" for English class. Lovely, because class presentations are my specialty. OKAY, I stutter on purpose. It adds personal flair...

Pirates and record players

Woah, this weekend has been a whirlwind. For starters... I'm finally finished with history class. I took the AP exam yesterday. To save you the awkward small talk, I'll just cut to the chase and tell you that it went pretty okay. I mean minus the fact that I got my Louis' mixed up in my essay. Louis XIV, Louis XVI... YOU'RE ALL THE SAME TO ME. Oh well, at least I'm done. If I have to see another Euro history text book I think I'll light myself on fire. Later that night, after I had revived myself I went over to a friends house and we all watched Pirates of the Caribbean. There's nothing that gets my heart racing like the Pirates theme song. There's no denying that, that is some epic shit. Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt are such talented composers. I'm in awe. I recently found out that a fourth movie is in the making? WHY. Completely unnecessary if you ask me. Johnny Depp's still Jack Sparrow, so I guess I'll be watching it regardless.

I wore this outfit out to dinner tonight. I promise it looks longer standing up... that didn't stop my mother from yelling "YOU LOOK LIKE A FRENCH WHORE" as I was running out to the car. She loves me.

Then today I visited town with a couple of my friends. We went dress shopping, got frozen yogurt, and attempted to find perfect last minute mother's day gifts. This vintage jewelry shop had all these really intricate necklaces, but I couldn't really find anything. Most likely due to the fact that I'm extremely cheap and classify anything over $10's a splurge. I ran into the music store and stumbled upon The Beatles "Abbey Road" album. Instant mother's day present. My Sunday was saved. My mother is the product of the 60's. It's scientifically proven that all flower children love The Beatles... but then again, who doesn't?

I'm in lesbians with you.

I don't even know what I'm doing with myself anymore. A year ago from today I probably never would have imagined that this is what my life was going to look like. Just lately I've been dealing with a lot of emotional and physical stress, which in turn has led me to make some pretty reckless/strange decisions. Misleading title is misleading, because no... this is not where I'm about to segue into how I've gone around kissing girls or how I've awakened my inner homosexuality. Well kind of. Consider this a dedication post to some of my favorite female singers, actresses, and youtubers. I just felt that there was more than enough radiance to spread around (on my blog, and in my pants...).

1. LIGHTS (Valerie Poxleitner)

Can I just be you already... Lights is the perfect female specimen.
She's clearly beautiful, extremely talented, and a genuinely sweet person. I saw Lights in concert last year, and was fortunate enough to meet her as well. 'Pix or it didn't happen' WELL BELIEVE ME, I'D SHOW YOU IF I DIDN'T LOOK LIKE I JUST CAME OUT OF A WINDSTORM and besides the picture's on my facebook which I so stealthily deactivated... Anyways back on topic. I like the fact that Lights has a naturally wonderful voice. I mean it's pretty rare these days for vocalists (male and female alike) to sound above decent let alone ridiculously god like while preforming live sans auto-tune. You can go bask in her effervescence
here and here.

2. Helena Bonham Carter

Oh Helena Bonham Carter... I love her. She's just so eccentric and dark. Something about her just emanates an "I don't give a F" personality, which I admire GREATLY. Helena's the perfect villain. Her roles in Sweeney Todd, Fight Club, and Harry Potter have won my heart.


3. Natalie Tran (CommunityChannel)

My sense of humor owes everything to this woman right here because without the discovery of communitychannel I would still be an extremely frigid bitch. Yes, even more so than I am now. Can you imagine... She is the queen of self depreciation. If you've watched any of her videos I can tell you right now, story of my life. Oh, and don't even get me started on her sexual innuendos. Natalie Tran, you are my hero. Personal favorites of mine; iSpy, Boys at Parties, Stop doing that thing with your face, Valentines Day.
Actually I could honestly re-watch them all. She's a hot Asian with an Australian accent. I mean if that doesn't make you want to click those links then I really don't know what brings you HERE... Because I for one am falling a little behind in the attractive department, and was not blessed with an exotic foreign accent.


OKAY, and back to studying!1 How about those French revolutions. Oh Louis XIV... you slay me. I'm not even going to touch upon Hitler, but let me tell you he was a riot.

I get by with a little help from my friends.

And in this case my friends being substantial sugar sources, namely being delicious Asian biscuits I picked up from the market yesterday. Hey, I need something to help me last throughout the nights. I'm just not going to think about the consequences my body will suffer by Friday if I pull four consecutive all nighters. Nope. I've got this. I will roll into school Friday half dressed, hair un-brushed, makeup smudged, and I will take this test like a champ.

Alright this is the last week I'm going to bitch and moan about this upcoming exam. Actually this is the last post I'll even mention it because frankly it's getting old. For me and most likely you. So enough of that TOM FOOLISHNESS.
A collage of some things I've been lusting over recently. Where else are you going to see a peter pan collar and grilled cheese sandwich in the same picture? Exactly.

So I'll just sit here and salivate over things that I will never have. You know just one of my favorite pastimes.

This song has been done to death but please if your a fan of instrumental (orchestra esque) music give this a listen.

MGMT; KIDS (Orchestra)