Movies and Books

So now that I have finished reading Jane Eyre (I finished it in record time, for me--2 weeks! For 400+ pages!), I have commenced with viewing as many film versions of it as I can get my hands on.

Today, I watched the 1943 Joan Fontaine/Orson Welles version (I think the first version?) at Film Forum. Quite heavy handed and melodramatic, as one might expect from an early adaptation of the book. I mean, the book is quite melodramatic as well! But I LOVED the book. I did not love this adaptation. Joan Fontaine was too pretty and too old to play Jane. And Orson Welles was actually pretty good for a Rochester type. But I don't think the film made it clear why they'd be attracted to each other. But of course it's hard for a plot development such as people slowly falling in love to be portrayed in a film with the same clarity as the book.

Anyway, I'm kind of rambling. I shall now sign off. (I just wanted to post this to show that I haven't totally given up on blogging!)

P.S.-I also go to see Citizen Kane for the first time (it was part of a double feature with Jane Eyre), and enjoyed it more than I expected to. Not as boring as people said it would be (although not mind blowing, either).

It's really fall now

I wore the first tights of the season today. Black tights with a navy skirt. Yes, my students probably all think I'm color blind now, but oh well. I don't have any navy tights (yet).

Happy fall weather! When it's not raining here (as it has been for the last 3 days), it's gorgeous!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Should I ever need to attend a red-carpet event, I have found my dress:

 

Yes, Claire Danes may have beat me to the dress. And yes, I probably couldn't afford it anyway. But those are trivial issues compared to the awesomeness of this dress.  As Jessica of Go Fug Yourself described it, it's "like a groovy mosaic at the bottom of the most amazing swimming pool."

Anna or Jane?

So this week, I checked out two female-centric tomes:

• Anna Karenina from the New York Public Library
• Jane Eyre from the Brooklyn Public Library 

Will I actually read either one? I'm not sure. I don't really know why I picked them out.

Since I probably will not have the stamina to read both of them back-to-back, does anyone have a recommendation about which one I should read first? I'm leaning towards Jane Eyre, since the beautiful (and talented) Michael Fassbender is in the new film about it....

That's why we only work when we need the money

So this semester (my second to last), I am planning to take it easy. I am only taking one class (which is actually a practicum--I'm gonna be teaching in the Community English Program) which meets 8 hours a week, and two workshops, both of which meet 10-6pm for two weekends each. And I'm writing my master's paper (well, once I decide on a topic).

That sounds pretty good, right? Then I just have two more classes in the spring (one of which is supposed to be the devil--one class that gives you the workload of two), and I'll be DONE!

If everything goes as planned (which it never does, does it?), this year will be a breeze.

I kind of wish I could have done this schedule every semester since starting grad school. But then it would take me about 4 years, rather than two. But is that so terrible? New York City is pretty awesome. I'm in no hurry to leave.
 -------

On a totally unrelated note: Ari and I went to see Godard's Band of Outsiders yesterday at Film Forum. It was so good! Apparently (I looked it up) this film is generally considered the most accessible of Godard's films. And it has some great iconic scenes: running through the Louvre, dancing to the jukebox in the cafe (which inspired the dance scene in Pulp Fiction), the "minute of silence" when there actually is a minute without any sound....

Go see it! Or if you've already seen it, tell me how much you liked it!

10 years

Today is the 10th anniversary of September 11th. All over the city there are memorials, exhibits, concerts and films happening. Yet I have to admit, I still don't feel a really strong emotional connection to the events that happened that day. I was living in California as a junior in high school when the Twin Towers fell, with no family in New York.  I felt almost as if it were a tragedy that happened in another country.

Today, reading the essays and tributes of people who lost loved ones, it is impossible for me not to shed tears. However, I am somewhat frustrated by the distance I feel from my other countrymen who were more directly impacted by the events of September 11.

Despite these feelings, tonight I plan to go out tonight and view the Tribute in Light, which is two bright beams of light that will be shining where the Twin Towers used to stand. This will be my own way of remembering our country's loss. 

No more Irene jokes, please

Ah, so many things to post about, and I am too lazy to post about them all. Which is why this blog only really functions (can a blog "function"?) when I'm supremely bored (read: summer break with no Ari around).

Anyway, I will bullet-point some of the highlights from the last couple weeks.

• Anja came to visit! Well, actually, she came to live here. In New York City. But before she moved into her place today, she crashed with me and Ari for a few days (+1 fun extra day due to HURRICANE WEATHER).
  

• Due to HURRICANE WEATHER, we played a fair amount of Bananagrams, Scrabble, Yaniv (Israeli card game), and 500 (card game similar to Gin Rummy). We also enjoyed a very pleasant walk to Cobble Hill Cinemas to go see a good, underrated film, The Guard.
  

• During said film, we sat in front of the Most Annoying Woman You Could Ever Sit in Front of During a Film. Well, OK, she actually could have been worse, I suppose, had she talked though the whole film. Instead, her phone rang literally 5 times (and she took quite a while to turn it off each time). She actually answered the phone the first time and talked to the person on the other end while the movie was playing. She got up and left the theater and came back multiple times.... It is because of people like that that I am a proud film snob! Thank goodness Film Forum's clientele is 90% people over 60, so most of them probably don't even have cell phones.
  

• Ari's birthday party was on Saturday night (the night when the hurricane was supposed to hit). Thankfully because Anja was crashing with us, we had at least one guest. We really didn't expect any more; the subway system was shut down indefinitely, so no one who wasn't within a few blocks could come by. But then THREE of my coworkers came! Hooray! And brought their friends! So we actually had a pretty decent party, ending with Ari playing keyboard and us singing along to "Rock Me Like a Hurricane" by the end of the night.
  

• Ari and I went on a nice lunch date today at the High Line, which has been open all summer, but which I haven't really had a chance to enjoy till today. Ari brought homemade hummus and Mexican salad and chocolate for us to enjoy while looking out at the views of traffic (no really, it's kind of fun looking at traffic when you're above it and somewhat removed from the noise).

OK, so my lazy summary turned into a somewhat longer, detailed post. I must still be somewhat bored.

School starts Sep. 7! Woohoo! That will probably take up some time. It has in the past.

Scrumtrellescent

For those who may be curious about my recent CSA intake: this week was especially good!
Yesterday, we got:

• Bok choy
• Lettuce
• Zucchinis
• Cucumbers
• Radishes
• (White) Carrots
• Corn!
  
• Peaches

This scene looked a lot prettier on my kitchen table (the colors didn't really come through), but I did the uncreative (yet delicious) thing and put all the veggies in an awesome salad (adding a few grocery-bought veggies such as tomatoes and avocado). And I'm saving the corn for dinner tonight.

Leaving for California tomorrow! San Clemente Beach, here I come!!

Chairs stickers: Unveiled!

Because I know you have been waiting with bated breath, I will now unveil the ripped-vinyl coverings I chose for the second chair:

For the seat, a Goethe-Institut sticker from my high school German club days. (Some of you may remember those days.)

And for the back of the backrest, more nostalgia from my undergraduate days--the college radio station from UC Davis. Sadly I was not cool enough to work there, but I had friends that did (and were)!

Fifties'd Out

Today I unwittingly went with a 50's theme. First, for work today I wore a retro scarf in my hair, as I have admired all the cool kids doing:

A couple times the wind blew the scarf ends into my face and it seriously freaked me out both times -- I thought someone behind me was reaching for my face (with silky-soft hands).

Actually, if you want to know, this way of wearing the scarf (with the long parts hanging down in the back) is not exactly on-trend. The style seems to be to wear a shorter scarf, and leave the ends sticking out kind of like a bow, at the front of the head, and not the back (like this girl). Ah well.

Then, I finally used my Groupon for the Film Biz Prop Shop, which is this cool thrift store of props donated from movies that were filmed in the city. I bought a pair of 50's diner chairs. The funny thing is, I can't carry more than one at a time (damn you, Ari, for not being here!), so I had to make two trips (one yesterday, one today) carrying each chair on the subway. I kind of felt like I was doing some kind of performance art, what with carrying my own chair onto the subway and sitting on my own chair while waiting at the subway platform.




The chairs have a few rips in the vinyl, so I have covered one rip with this delightful vintage picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Still deciding what to cover the other rips with.

So I watched Chasing Amy last night (romantic comedy), and rated it three stars on Netflix. Then, "based on my rating," Netflix recommended Silence of the Lambs (violent, disturbing, horror film).

HUH?

SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONNNEEEEEE

It just dawned on me: since Ari's been gone at camp (1 1/2 weeks), I have been eating the archetypal bachelor's diet.

• Sunday night: Takeout Chinese
• Monday morning: Cereal
• Monday afternoon: Leftover takeout Chinese
  
• Monday night: MORE leftover takeout Chinese, followed by cereal for dessert
• Tuesday morning: Cereal
  

Yes, since the weather's been over 90 degrees (and only our bedroom has decent a/c), I have been on something of a cereal kick. (I usually eat oatmeal in the morning, but it just makes me sweat even more than I already am.)

I have also discovered the joys of mixed vegetables + General Tso's bean curd = $9.00 and feeds me for three meals.

Yikes. This is starting to look pretty pathetic. My excuse is, I'm just getting by until I leave for CALIFORNIA on Saturday!

HP7P2 Spoilers! Sort of.

I finally saw the last Harry Potter film yesterday. Despite the film's overblown "IT ALL ENDS" tagline, I have to say that it was kind of a big deal for me that the series was finally ending. And unfortunately, I don't think the final installment was particularly powerful. I felt that the final scenes (Snape's secret love of Harry's mother, the white void that Harry goes to after he dies) were fairly uninspired, and the choice to have all of the same actors play themselves 19 years later was kind of silly (Jenny and I couldn't stop laughing).

Maybe we just weren't into it as much as we should have been. But does this picture look like the picture of someone who wasn't into it?

Happy anniversary to me, and me alone.

Today is Ari and my second anniversary. Hooray! Except...he's out in the countryside somewhere (I don't even know which state, embarrassingly enough) working as a camp counselor for the next two weeks, without even cell phone reception!

So I texted him "happy anniversary," but I don't think he'll get it for another week or so. Nevertheless, in some ways I'm kind of glad not to see him, since I went to the Adirondacks last weekend, which was a GREAT trip, but which also was responsible for giving me 12 mosquito bites. So right now, I'm intermittently scratching myself like a lunatic all over my body (shoulders, legs, neck, ankles), which perhaps is the not the most romantic way to behave on an anniversary.

Bridgehampton

I got to spend last weekend in the Hamptons, courtesy of Ari's aunt, who has a summer house there. We were in Bridgehampton, to be precise. (There's also Southampton, Easthampton, and some others, hence the name "the Hamptons." I never knew that before coming there!)

It was basically a weekend in paradise. No really. The sun was shining with clear blue skies, we found some bikes in the basement and biked to the beach, swam in the pool, cooked dinner together and ate it out on the patio, and then biked some more to Sag Harbor the next day before taking the train home (a 2-hour trip from Brooklyn). The only minor mishaps were my getting knocked down by a monster wave and getting some painful scratches on my back, and then Ari taking a spill on the bike (it was too small for him) and him also getting some pretty nasty scrapes on his elbow and knees. Battle wounds!

The tide came in really high at the beach.

Sag Harbor

I think the best part of the weekend was how quiet it was. And the fact that I probably only looked at my watch twice.

CSA update!

My friend Micki works at a CSA near Columbia, and thanks to her connections, four of us decided to go in on a share of fruit, veggies, and EGGS! (Yes, I actually went up to the farm and met the chickens and confirmed that they were happy and ACTUALLY free range, so I don't have qualms about breaking my veganity for these specific eggs.)

I've been getting the food for about five weeks now, and it's a pretty interesting haul. Although I have to confess that Ari, the cook of the household, gets much more excited about it than me.

For fruit, which has been mighty tasty, we have gotten:

• blueberries (The best)
• strawberries (small and super sweet)
• rhubarb (Ari made rhubarb muffins out of the stalks. The muffins were essentially cinnamon muffins but with rhubarb bits. Very tasty)

For veggies, we have gotten:

• radishes
• 1 whole beet (more to come, I believe)
• carrots (only 3 carrots, actually, once we divided up the share)
• epazote (interesting green; apparently it reduces gas after eating beans)
• LOTS of varieties of lettuce
• rue (which is apparently toxic in large quantities and can give you blisters...we decided not to eat it)
• purslane (kind of tastes sour, but good in small quantities in salad)
• mint
• cilantro
  
• chives
• green onions

Ari loves to make salad dressings from scratch, so when we get a lot of greens, we generally just make a huge salad, which is kind of awesome. I usually feel very healthy afterward!

School's out for SUMMER!

I finished my summer school classes! (One diversity term paper and ESL curriculum DONE.) To celebrate, today Ari and I went to see The Man Who Fell to Earth (the Bowie sci-fi film is playing at the local arthouse theater), and then I ordered a brownie sundae (vegan, of course), and THEN I bought some 4-inch platform shoes at DSW for $30. So I can be a giant.

Perhaps my "summer school is finito" celebration was a bit excessive.

I have a feeling this is a common summer school conundrum.

Aagghh. Writing a paper on a Saturday night does not work if your neighbors decide to throw a patio party and blast reggaeton/rap/banda etc. music until after 1:30am (it's still going). And it's too hot to close a window.

Blerg.

Don't Judge

So today, I asked my students to write about a "turning point" in their lives, and to imagine how their lives could have/would have/might have been different if that turning point had not happened (we're practicing conditional right now).

When I've done this topic in the past, I've noticed that it tends to bring up topics from the students' past that can be painful or depressing (how they had to leave their family behind when they came illegally to the U.S., for example). However, I wasn't really worried about students writing those types of stories today, as I naively assumed that because most of my students are quite rich, they generally must lead privileged, happy lives.

Wrong! One of my Japanese students today wrote a story about how she got kidnapped when she was 5 years old. And how she was held for ransom for three days, until her kidnappers gave her up (and were apparently arrested by the police). What am I supposed to say to that?

I guess it just makes me thankful, in a way, that I have as much time as I do (12 weeks, if the students stay for the whole session) to try to get to know these individuals and where they come from. It's a good wake up call now and then to realize that there is no way I will ever have them figured out (as much as I subconsciously assume so), and that is, ultimately, a good thing, I think. It's a reason I love teaching.

Talkin' Bout My Generation

The cafe at Teachers College always hosts a local music group/singer on Wednesday evenings. Tonight (right now, as I'm posting this) they have a folk pair playing covers on acoustic guitar and harmonica-piano (What is that instrument actually called?).

And they just played "No One Else" by Weezer. YES! So great. I don't think I've ever heard anyone play that live (not even Weezer the one time I saw them). These kids are definitely from my generation.

Czech Yo'self

You know NYC has a lot of summer movie series when it's even offering a series of free Czech movies.

I mean, call me ethnocentric, but how many famous Czech movies are there really?

Sans meubles, mais ici!

I am officially a resident of Brooklyn! Or "the BK," as all the cool kids call it.
Ari and I moved in on Thursday night (a last minute rush decision, as it turned out I'd have to move by myself if I waited until Friday). We loaded up a hired minivan in Harlem at 10:30pm and got everything moved into our 4th-floor walk-up by 1am. Hooray!

We also have essentially no furniture. Thankfully our kitchen has a bar, so we basically just ate our meals standing around that. Until yesterday, that is, when we made a trip out to Ikea and bought some bars stools. ($20 each! What a steal!)

Now our next pressing order of business is getting a microwave. I complained to my coworkers today about our lack of a microwave, and they made fun of me for not being willing to heat everything up on the stove or in the oven. But I do not retract my opinion. The radiation from microwaves may be dangerous, but it's so much faster and easier to use, gosh darn it!

Anyway, this turning into a rambling, pointless post. My main point is: I have moved into my new place. I will post some pics as soon as it looks somewhat decent.

And if you want to send me a microwave as a housewarming gift, I will graciously accept it.

The number of Raggedy Ann and Andy items at the local thrift store is really quite disturbing. (I didn't get a photo, but we found plastic 3D cutouts you could hang on the wall, original paintings, and various items of dishware.)

I just watched Beyonce's performance for the Billboard Music Awards. Pretty awesome show--although did anyone else notice the similarities to the White Stripes' music video for Seven Nation Army? Triangles. Red, white and black color scheme. Elephant skulls!

What can I say? The White Stripes were iconic in a lot of ways. So iconic that perhaps echoes of their style have carried over to Beyonce.

Since it appears the world has not ended yet...let's go shopping!!

I bought my first leopard print item of clothing today. What a milestone! AND...it was Crocs brand. Yes, I bought leopard-print Crocs shoes.

Before you gasp in horror and vow never to speak to me again, please check out the link for the shoes. They are actually cuter than the picture, and the best part is, the "Crocs" branding isn't anywhere noticeable on the shoe!

So yes. That was my the-world's-not-actually-ending-so-I'll-spend-money purchase. Good times.

Thoughts at 12:20am After Spending the Last Hour Scrambling to Sign Up For Summer School Courses

I almost wish the world would end so that I wouldn't have to take summer school.

Meek's Cutoff

Also, I saw this movie over the weekend:



Has anyone else seen it? I would like to know what others think (other than the reviewers on the film podcasts I listen to).

Some catching up

Well, now that the cat is mostly out of the bag, I will allow it to completely escape: I am moving to Brooklyn!

OK, maybe that news wasn't as exciting as I built it up to be. No weddings, no babies. BUT I will be moving into an apartment with Ari in Prospect/Crown Heights on June 4, and I am really excited to have (virtually) my own apartment! That means I will be able to eat ANYTHING I WANT in the kitchen!

OK, I was actually able to eat everything when I lived at home in Monrovia, too. But then, you kind of take that kind of thing for granted at your parents' house.

Also, I have successfully completed my first year of grad school! Only one more year to go! To celebrate, I went to the best thrift store in all 5 boroughs (most thrift stores in the city are picked over and overpriced) and went on a shopping spree: $35 spent on 7 articles of clothing (2 skirts, a sweater, a shirt, 2 scarves, a dress). So satisfying.

And finally, a bit of annoying news: I think my iPod is dying a slow death. It keeps freezing in the middle of my podcasts. I looked up the problem online, and it looks like either the battery or the hard drive is failing. Both of which cannot really be replaced for a reasonable sum of money, so it looks like I may just have to get a new iPod when I get frustrated enough with this one. But we've been through so much together! Actually, not really. I've only had this one for about 4 years. I think iPods should last longer than that.

Also, I really don't have the money to buy a new one at the moment. The next big holiday is Christmas, so perhaps I'll just end up buying a nano or something to tide me over until I bite the BIG bullet and get an iPhone. (SOMEDAY! SOMEDAY I will have money again.)

OK, that was a rambling post. But I'm in high spirits because I have no classes until Thursday (when summer school starts). Hoooooraayyy for free time!

Mmm

Couscous, Trader Joe's hot sauce, and peas (from the freezer). This is the dinner I am eating right now. I need to go grocery shopping.


In other news, I am DONE with my final exams, as of 7pm this evening! Unfortunately, summer school begins on May 19. But until then...DONE.

Happy Mama Day

Unfortunately I do not have any cute pictures of my mom holding me as a baby; all of those remain in photo albums in the family room back in Monrovia.

So this picture, taken with my holga camera about 3 years ago, will have to suffice:



I LOVE YOU MOM!
Wish I were with you today.

No Artificial Colors or Flavors, Guaranteed!

I may be 26 years old, but I am not above guilt-tripping my mom about not sending me candy for Easter.

And look what mine guilt-inducing effort hath brought:

Loose jelly beans!

I'm rich!! With three varieties of jelly beans. The post-Easter pickins are slim when you're vegan. But these sweets will do quite nicely. Thank you Mom!

Typing Icelandic names into your reference list is a real b***h.

If only it were a real language--it'd be so much easier.

An example:

Rögnvaldsson, E. (1990). Íslensk orðhlutafræði: Kennslukver handa nemendum á háskólastigi.[Icelandic morphology: textbook for university students] (4^th ed). Reykjavík: Málvísindastofnun.


Disclaimer: I know it probably looks really cool that I'm citing Icelandic stuff in my term papers...but unfortunately I know a total of zero Icelandic words. This reference was simply cited within another reference I used about grammar rules.

What a mighty good man

So yesterday was kind of a crappy day for me. Last full week of classes, and one of my professors (who meant well, I know) decided to add an extra class to cover extra material. Consequently I had 6 straight hours of syntax yesterday (not my favorite topic), with additional last-minute homework assigned, due in two days.

I then got home to find out that I would have to cancel my plans to go to a wedding, because I have an all-day mandatory orientation for summer school on Saturday.

Ari was lucky enough to speak to me during this discovery, and despite my excessively negative attitude, offered to come over tonight and cook me dinner.

Which he did. He brought all the ingredients over to my apartment, cooked it all by himself while I worked on a term paper, and then served it to me. Mashed potatoes with caramelized onions (a favorite dish of mine that he makes), veggie chorizo, and salad. With dessert afterwards and everything. I didn't take a picture, but I should have.

I tell ya. What a man.

I got school pride!

My second-ever purchase* of a collegiate hoodie: Woo! (Even though it's backwards, since I took with my webcam.) Go TEACHERS COLLEGE!

*My first purchase was my undergraduate: UC DAVIS! GO AGS!!

Another reason why warm weather is great.

Today I went out for my once-weekly jog (hopefully it will pick up after this semester finishes), and I heard what sounded like live jazz music across the street.

As I jogged past, I saw a guy sitting on the curb playing the trumpet. He was seated next to his minivan, which had the door open and was blasting jazz music. The guy was playing along to the music.

I assume he was just practicing in a way that wouldn't annoy the next door neighbors. And I'm glad he did! It added a nice kick to my day.

I hailed my first cab tonight! As in, took a taxi all by myself.

After waiting 45 minutes for the M4 bus in 37-degree rainy weather (at 11:30pm), I decided it was high time I be a true New Yorker and take a cab home.

What a milestone.