Birthday Recap

November 10th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Hi, I’m a child. A newly 26-year-old child. THIS IS WHAT I DID ON MY BIRTHDAY! It was my first vegan one, you know.

7 a.m.: regular Wednesday morning yoga class. Teacher told me I look like I’m “shrinking,” and made hand motions to note that it was in girth and not in height.
9:30 a.m.: eating my usual oatmeal at the table. Savoring it. Scott asks me if I want my gift, and I warily say yes, even though he was going about it in a way that was making me nervous. Anyway, we’re going to DisneyWorld next weekend. Seriously. I’ve been pining for a ride on Space Mountain for the last few years in a really immature, spoiled, unbecoming way. And now I get to go. Look at what behavior pays off in this world.
10 a.m.: go to the nail salon and get a gray mani-pedi. Looks sick. Feel awesome.
12 p.m.: get in the car to take my favorite drive down 25A to Port Jeff to eat at Tiger Lily Café. Enjoy a sesame tofu wrap. Walk around the town. On my way back, stop in Stony Brook Village to check out a fair trade store. Decide Scott would be upset if I brought a giant wooden bowl into our already overstuffed kitchen and buy nothing.
4 p.m.: walk over to Cinema Arts Centre with my friend Kyle to see the new Almodóvar, The Skin I Live In, for the second time this week. It’s really freaking enjoyable. Kyle needed to see it. It only cost $11 to see it twice because being a CAC member rules.
6:30 p.m.: go to Sapsuckers and get a veggie burger (no bun, no cheese—hello). It’s made with fresh vegetables and hummus; it’s not some prefab patty. Devour it, their fabulous fries, and two iced teas.
7:30 p.m.: Herrell’s Ice Cream for one scoop peanut butter No-Moo and one scoop chocolate No-Moo. At the last minute I tell him to throw some pecans on it. It’s good.

Then we caught up on some HBO shows and I went to bed early. AWESOME!

These are the best things from my Facebook wall:

Tomorrow Is My Birthday

November 8th, 2011 § 2 comments § permalink

I’ll be 26.

During some recent domestic squabble with Scott about cooking, I said something about how in the last few years I’ve had to graduate from college, develop a career, and deal with my parents’ divorce—I hadn’t had a lot of time or space to get into cooking, so I’m sorry if my late blooming in that department somehow makes my new interest less authentic. I tend to place smaller issues on perhaps a grander stage than they’re worth, but this was an epiphany for me: I really have had a lot to deal with in the last four years. It’s only in the last one that I’ve settled into myself.

I feel like I’ve been rewired. It’s thanks to yoga. I’m not perfect and have had my share of meltdowns since starting to practice seriously a little over a year ago, but they don’t linger and I’m able to see and accept them for what they are. I’ve recently started to meditate, which has opened up more for me. I’ve also decided to start eating completely vegan. Though I’ve dabbled for a while and eat mainly whole grains and vegetables anyway, I want to be really committed to it, for health and sustainability.

I’ve let go of all expectations for myself and my life. It’s happening; it’s happening right; I’m approaching it all with love and joy. No effort is wasted. When I’m not obsessed with the results of writing, I can actually write. When I’m not eating shitty food, I’m not obsessing over my body. I’ve never felt better, and I’m excited to carry this forward.

Nuns and Stickers and Shit

November 7th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

I think with everything I write, you can tell that I start out trying to go somewhere, and then end up not having enough time to do my ideas justice. I’m working on it. In related news, Specter published my ramblings on Nine Inch Nails and tweendom in light of reading the Pretty Hate Machine 33 1/3 by Daphne Carr.

Releasing Toxins via Popcorn

October 25th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

“Some people look at it as a chance to escape from life, going to a play, going to a movie,” Shannon says. “It’s escapism. Maybe some people look at it as inspirational. To me, I find relief in it when it’s more extreme than everyday life. It’s kind of like going to a deep tissue massage. It’s cathartic. You’re releasing toxins—psychic, spiritual toxins. Unless you’re the freaking Dalai Lama or something, everybody’s carrying that stuff around. The Dalai Lama’s probably carrying it around.” —Michael Shannon in Flaunt. I saw Take Shelter this past weekend, and it was absolutely brilliant. GO!

Talking to Translators

October 24th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

A week ago, an interview I did with translator Kerri Pierce went up at The Awl. Her translation of Kjersti A. Skomsvold’s The Faster I Walk, the Smaller I Am is out from Dalkey Archive this week. It’s really freaking good, and this woman works in seven languages. This is the second interview with a translator I’ve done for Awl, a site I super-love, and I’m really appreciative of the opportunity. I am a feeble interviewer but hope to improve.

Junot Makes Me Tear Up

October 19th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

“You guys know about vampires? … You know, vampires have no reflections in a mirror? There’s this idea that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror. And what I’ve always thought isn’t that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror. It’s that if you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves. And growing up, I felt like a monster in some ways. I didn’t see myself reflected at all. I was like, “Yo, is something wrong with me? That the whole society seems to think that people like me don’t exist? And part of what inspired me, was this deep desire that before I died, I would make a couple of mirrors. That I would make some mirrors so that kids like me might see themselves reflected back and might not feel so monstrous for it.” —Junot Díaz

Whenever I Get a Moment With the Page, I Feel Victorious

October 19th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

“That’s the thing about writing, the accomplishment is in spending the day with the page, it doesn’t matter if there’s anything on it.” —Stephen Elliott in today’s Daily Rumpus. (P.S. I’ve been very busy lately.)

From left, Roberto Bolaño’s chair; Arthur Rimbaud’s utensils.

October 14th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

“It’s not hero worship,” she said, explaining this sense of affiliation and identification with other artists, living and dead. “It’s not that I have low self-esteem. I feel magnified by these people. I had a very good conversation with Allen Ginsberg about this very thing. He was like me, in his own way. He felt that he walked with Blake and Whitman. They were his people.” —A.O. Scott profiles Patti Smith. Many of her pictures are included, most important among them, of course, the one of Bolaño’s chair.

Allow Me to Gather My Thoughts on Fall TV

October 13th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

My job involves reading a shit-ton about TV–the recaps, the ratings, and probably lots of other stuff that just goes through my grammar-and-style filter and then, graciously, exits my mind forever. Because I don’t watch all of these shows, or most shows at the time when they air, I don’t feel like I actually watch a lot of TV. But this might be a delusion. I’ve found myself with a few brief thoughts on all the shows I watch, so I’m going to write them down just to keep track for myself.

Boardwalk Empire: It’s going well. It’s a good show that I’m not very emotionally invested in, what are you gonna do?
Homeland: I like this one a lot! Claire Danes is balls-out crazed, and I had no clue she had that in her. And the way the second episode ended? Where is this going?!
How to Make It in America: I love Luis Guzmán and am happy they’re using Kid Cudi more this season. Cam is fabulous and Rachel has broken out as a great character, so I’ll keep watching no matter how much of a sadsack Ben is.
Enlightened: As a new-agey person with rage issues, I felt really drawn in despite the uneven, overstuffedness of the pilot. Massive potential, mostly thanks to Laura Dern and the fact that this is uncharted territory, content-wise.
Bored to Death: Zach Galifianakis and Ted Danson make this show. I’m in forever, whatever.
Parenthood: This show makes me bawl. I don’t even know how I ended up watching it in the first place and can’t stop now, though I’m growing dubious of its artistic merits. It’s Friday Night Lights-lite, and seeing as I don’t have FNL anymore I need SOMETHING.
Top Chef: Just Desserts: I watch this because I bake a lot and fast-forward through the dramaz. I was rooting for Carlos (probably because of his loyalty to the undeniable peanut butter and banana combo) and am now upset. Johnny Iuzzini is hot.

Review of Four Books of Poetry by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz

October 12th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Remember when I said I was reading some poetry for a review and was in way over my head? The review’s up at PANK. It was a lot of fun to try to review poetry…

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