Winter Break: Why I was too busy to update my blog

Ok, I admit that it was a little irresponsible of me to neglect my blog for two months. But in my defense, it's a lot harder than it looks. To make up for it, I made this fantastic collage which summarizes my Winter Break experience. It was ultimately defined by The Office (I watched all nine seasons and it was one of the best decisions of my life), a quarter pounder with cheese, zines, sparkling pomegranate juice from Trader Joe's, vanilla and cinnamon black tea from Trader Joe's, and Kanye West. Well actually, there's a lot more to it. 

Here's an excerpt from a zine I made a few weeks ago:

New Habits

01. Obsessive tea-making

02. Saying the words "thang" and "thangz"

03. Texting people useless information at 3 in the morning

04. Accidentally impersonating people from The Office mid-conversation

05. Having dreams about characters from The Office 

06. Mentally assigning characters from The Office to people at work

07. Jamming out to Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" in the car

08. Ducking when the parrot flies around the house 

09. Sleeping between 3 and 6 AM

10. Hoarding and scanning ads I find in old National Geographic magazines dating from 1936-1988 for future collage purposes

New Discoveries

01. A convincing Rookie article that made me like Kanye West a lot more and made me realize that just maybe we could be really good friends

02. The "Highway 61 Revisited" record I never knew I left behind

03. Havarti cheese

04. Giant stash of NatGeo magazines from the 1930s hiding in the garage

05. The joys of zine making

06. Trader Joe's tea

07. BB cream (I finally got around to buying some)

08. Indonesian salsa (it does not taste like something you dip your chips in)

09. My inner ping pong master

10. "German dungeon porn" as a phrase to be acted out in charades

Exciting Things I Did

01. Complete the Midwest Argonaut Vol. 4 with Maddy

02. Watch The Office

03. Make my very first zine

04. Go on a late night McDonald's run

05. Attend another grownup party with charades and Cards Against Humanity

06. Attend a white elephant party

07. Go ice skating*

08. Have lunch with Joel

09. Friend gatherings at the Osmon house

10. Go on a Target run with Rachelle

*At the time I wrote that, I assumed I was going to go ice skating within the next few days. I never actually did go ice skating.

Best Purchases in New York

I ended up doing a lot less shopping in New York than I thought I would, most likely because 1) insufficient funds to splurge, 2) lack of willpower to splurge, and 3) there's a Forever 21 and H&M at home. However, I did make some valuable purchases and discoveries.

1. Magma Sketchbook 

     I had no idea these even existed. I first encountered one at a bookstore at Chelsea Market. They don't have these where I'm from. Probably the world's most convenient series of sketchbooks. They have very useful informational sheets. The one I purchased, the Design & Art Direction sketchbook, has handy information including typography lingo and paper sizes. That makes me so happy. I will be sure to purchase more of these in the future.

2. Photo Journal PJ 128 

     This super cute photo journal includes radical drawings by Christine Berry. It was love at first sight. I bought it at the MoMA gift shop.

3. 'Zine: How I Spent Six Years of My Life in the Underground and Finally... Found Myself... I Think by Pagan Kennedy 

     I stumbled upon this book at the MoMA gift shop. It's an autobiographical bit about a woman that gets bored and decides to invent herself by creating her own homemade magazine (apparently they were all the rage in the '90s). It had a cool looking cover and enticing back description, and I figured this woman was probably just as whacko as I am, therefore I could probably spiritually connect with the book, so I bought it.

4. MetroCard

     I got nervous every time I had to fish around my pockets for this thing. But it was handy, nonetheless. It gets you places. And much to my delight, they work on buses too.

5. Cherry Cheesecake Strudel from the Hungarian Pastry Shop

     That's what the lady at the counter said it was. Unfortunately, my mouth was too busy watering for me to take a picture of it. Basically, it was a big slab of cherry cheesecake wrapped in a pastry blanket. It was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful food items I had ever laid eyes on. I'm so very jealous of all the Columbia campus dwellers that get to live with this thing.

6. Postcards

     I love postcards, especially pretty postcards. None of that cheesy, bad photography postcard stuff. I bought a bunch at the Chelsea Market (not a single ugly postcard was to be seen). It convinced me that New Yorkers have impeccable taste in postcards. 

7. Empire State Building ticket 

     Although I had a relatively rough time getting through security at the Empire State Building (I couldn't understand what the thick foreign-accented guy was saying; apparently tripods are not allowed-- and why aren't they? Especially 6-inch tripods. Are tripods a hip item to beat people to death with nowadays? I'm sure there's good reason for it, but I haven't Googled the answer yet), the night view was amazing. It's good stuff, it really is. 

8. Poland Spring 1.5 Liter water bottle

     It was getting to be a pain in the neck buying water bottles and not being able to refill them, due to the lack of water bottle refillers and fountains. Although these last no longer than a day, it's better than buying 2-3 regular size bottles. 

9. Columbia sweater

     There was slight anxiety that went into buying this sweater, but not enough to not make me buy it. I could only imagine the conversations:

"Cool sweater! Are you going to Columbi--" 

"No." 

"Did your parents go ther--" 

"No." 

"Do you have any association whatsoever with--" 

"No." 

 But hey, doesn't having your school publication earn Gold Medalist status by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association mean something? And so I bought it. And you know what? It's pretty damn comfy-- and I just so happen to look great in Columbia blue (yeah, apparently they get their own shade of blue).

Hip Items

1. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

     I recently embarked on my third reading of Catcher in the Rye. It's such a great piece of work. And strangely enough, after reading Salinger stories I tend to start talking like his characters. 

2. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

     We're reading Pi in my Humanities class. I saw the movie first and really enjoyed it, so I didn't expect less of the book. Martel has quite the talent for imagery. It's a great read so far.

3. The Stranger by Albert Camus

     A friend and I were on our routine coffee run last week and he pulled out a gorgeous copy of The Stranger and insisted that I borrow it. It's a 1946 edition. Very nice to touch.

4. Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger

     I just finished this book last weekend. Very great. My favorite story is the Eskimo one. 

5. Vanilla Candle from Walmart 

     There was a blizzard last week and my power went out multiple times throughout the night. The candle was very helpful. My brother and I sat in front of it and played our guitars together that night. Candles do good for human relations.

6. Morning Star Patchouli incense

     Smells good. 

7. Salinger: A Film by Shane Solerno

     I learned quite a few things about Salinger. Turns out the guy is kinda nutty, but he's a genius, let's be real.

8. Frozen Official Soundtrack

     You know how many times I sang "Let it Go" in the last few days? 

9. Icons: 200 Men and Women Who Made a Difference

     Stumbled upon this in the public library's used book store. I pretty much bought it for the beautiful gigantic pictures of my idols (including Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn).

10. A Medicine for Melancholy by Ray Bradbury

     Found this at my school's library. You can't really turn down a Bradbury book when you see one.

What's in the Bag

1. Look at the Birdie by Kurt Vonnegut
     A book of unpublished short stories by Vonnegut. I haven't gotten very far yet, but the first few stories are great at least. Especially the one about the creepy robot that whispers in your ear.
2. Lined Moleskine
     This is a pretty little Moleskine illustrated by Mattias Adolfsson. If you haven't tried Googling the name, I suggest you do it. Pretty amazing stuff that'll bring out the fangirl in you.
3. Harper's Bazaar (Nov. 2013)
     I've been into fashion collage making lately. I was lucky enough to find this issue of Harper's Bazaar in the free magazine bin outside of the library. There are some glorious things in this issue, among them some cool 50's inspired outfits and a section highlighting daring women in the industry.
4. Smash Book
     Perfect for any sentimental but lazy scrapbooker. It comes with a nice marker and good looking pages. 
5. Beyoncé Official 2014 Calendar
     Knowing my love for Beyoncé, one of my friends got me a calendar of her. Little did she know that most of the pictures are revealing ones. But it's okay.
6. Slicci 0.025 Ink Pen
     Best pen ever. Highly recommended. 
7. Herbal Essences Scrunching Gel
     Did you know that hair gel can make your eyebrows look thicker?
8. Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
     Recommended to me by a friend sometime last year. To be honest, I have yet to crack it open. But I'm excited.