From the Meandering Mind of a Bibliophile: July 2009

July 31, 2009

Dear Cory

I didn't grow up in the Philippines,
nor did I have a fully Filipino upbringing,
but I still have enough pride
because of strong and amazing Filipinas such as
my aunt, who is beautiful and strong and who alone supports her five children while living in a foreign country, far away from family;
my librarian mentor, who lived through a revolution, and despite all the hardships she has seen, still has the biggest dreams and a heart of gold;
my cousins, who are too wise beyond their years but have the loudest laughs in the room;
and my mother, who is the most selfless, self-sacrificing, loving person I know;
to know that you,
Corazon Aquino,
who embodies all these strong Filipina women in my life,
who have taught me the importance of
humility,
inner strength,
determination,
and most importantly,
family,
will be missed.
And if there is one thing I know for sure, it is that
I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.

July 30, 2009

you just keep on saying the same thing over and over doesn't mean anything

I haven't listened to an album where all the songs have been instant favorites in a long time. In fact, not since Weezer's Pinkerton.

Discovery's self-titled LP has just been doing it for me lately. Discovery is basically indie wunderkinds Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend, both of which I don't really listen to, but when mixed together, oh boy. It started with Osaka Loop Line. I'm trying to work out a guitar tab for this sucker, but alas, my theory skillz are zero. Luckily, my future roommate/best bud is an insanely awesome music minor.

Now, I can't stop listening to their cover of the Jackson 5's I Want You Back. AHHHHH!!! This is like mixing... oh heck, I don't know. Red vines and Dr. Pepper. Yeah. Alone, they're pretty awesome. But when you mix them together (particularly, when you bite off both ends of the red vine and use it as a straw for the Dr. Pepper), IT'S AWESOME.

Looking at Weezer and Discovery, they're pretty different. It's interesting how tastes go in different directions as time goes on and you get older. Notice I didn't say change-- I still love Weezer with all my heart (although I do have a few bones to pick with Rivers concerning a couple of songs off the Red Album).

thinking of fall already...

I love elbow patches. Next time I go to the fabric store, I'm getting suede-ish brown fabric and sewing them onto my grey gap boyfriend cardigan.

i <3 sofia coppola

i've never been one to lust after designer things. my taste leans more towards practicality, in design and especially price.

but when i saw the new louis vuitton and sofia coppola collaboration, well. let's just say my heart hasn't ached for anything that much in a while.

I love the bags. They look roomy and simple enough for everyday use. I particularly like the red/jasper one. No-frills luxury is something I can get behind... when I'm done repaying my student loans. :)

p.s. i never thought it possible, but my hair is actually poofy right now. my head looks like a shiitake mushroom.

July 29, 2009

one college student, seeking job

I'm gearing up to head back to school. One more month!

Things I am looking forward to:
A haircut
New glasses
Being back in Washington
Taking Japanese (FINALLY)
Finding a second job as a barista in some local coffee shop
Getting a bike (preferably a fixie... with a front brake, of course. A necessity for the wet PNW months.)
Being able to ride above mentioned bike to above-above mentioned job
Old friends
New friends

Maura + Krystle Reunion!

Meet Maura. She and I go way back-- back to my junior year and her sophomore year. She's awesome. It all started with puppet show volunteering at the library.

Maura's the kind of gal who's always there for you. She's picked up my bus/train fare more times than I can remember, listened to my school/college/boy-induced rantings, and is always there for a good laugh.

One of the great things about her is her wicked-sharp sarcasm. She will punch you with her words.

AND SHE'S COMING THIS SUNDAY!!! We haven't seen each other since Summer 2007. Reunion!

nothing says good morning better than coffee and a book... or two.

{milk via le love}

libraries i love, from milk.

from 20x200.

Also, you can also smell like a library, too. No joke.

July 28, 2009

i'm a girl...

...therefore, i love shoes.

i have quite a few.

okay, more than quite a few. at last count, i'm sure i had more than thirty pairs. but since then, i've given quite a few to the thrift store and am determined to reform my immoral shoe ways. "quality over quantity" is my new mantra.

so, i guess it boils down to this: black flats are a staple in my everyday wardrobe. Before my awesome velcro onitsukas, they were my go-to shoes at 7:30 AM. Also, I admit: I've idolized Belle's black flats ever since I can remember.

I've also coveted her library, but that's another story.

In any case, I've had my flats for a good three years, and they've taken a beating. Time to replace!

I've fallen in-love with Repetto, a French brand that appeals to the inner ballerina in all of us. (At least, in me. I don't know about you, but when I was a little girl, I was definitely a ballerina for at least the first five Halloweens of my life.) I'm loving the ankle ties-- so sweet, yet so practical! No more icky flip-flop noises accompanying you wherever you walk. The t-strap also adds a little oomph to an otherwise oh-it's-another-black-patent-flat silhouette of the shoe. However, being handmade, Repettos usually are rather pricey-- these are rather steep for my wallet at 169 Canadian dollars at Gravity Pope. Makes sense: quality shoes, big price. Le sigh.
A more reasonably-priced alternative could be these Ralph Lauren Kristi flats. I like the idea of grey as a new black, and a suede outer rather than the usual patent or matte leather finish. Once again, with the ankle strap-- it's a small, feminine, yet practical addition.
But knowing me, I'll probably just get another pair of chucks. You can never ever go wrong with chucks. And they definitely last at least two years. That's quality!

I just realized I've been singing the glories of ankle ties, t-straps, and grey-as-the-new-black for at least five hundred words.

"Grey as the new black." Wow. Am I doing the right thing being a biology major?

:)

more from pulp gallery

I just really love this photo. You could write a whole story surrounding it.

oh maaaaan

So, Infinite Jest. Junior year. I first saw that hefty tome sitting on a bottom shelf, brand-spankin' new, in my high school library. So fat. So wonderful. I'm like Season 8 Scrubs' Denise when it comes to books.

Then, I forgot about it.

Now, summer before my junior year of college, I remember it and it turns out I'm late. I really am. I've missed out on Infinite Summer.

Or have I? I'm getting a tosillectomy on Monday. Yep. Just scheduled it today. I'm prepared to spend the next two weeks in hazy, pain-killer induced consciousness, losing anywhere from 10 - 15 pounds because I'll be eating nothing but popsicles. And pills. Popsicles and pills.

My doctor was of the nervous, babbling variety. When he saw my last name and asked me how to pronounce it, he said WHAT THIS IS UHMURICAH YA GOTTA PRONOUNCE IT RIGHT, to which I replied (in my head) SHUTUP JUST LOOK AT MY GODDAMN TONSILS.

When I told him I was Filipino, he said OH I READ LOTS OF WORLD HISTORY EH EH THE SPANISH RIGHT? WE PRETTY MUCH SAVED YOU GUYS! EXCEPT WE WERE KIND OF LIKE THE SPANISH, TOO...

To which I replied (in my head) GODDAMN! JUST SHUTUP AND LOOK AT MY FUCKING TONSILS!

When I told him I was studying cellular and molecular biology, he then went on a five-minute rant about how all the material in research journals was completely useless to him. You know. That stuff that I spend all my time reading and just, you know, kind of like... a LOT.

Yeah. He's doing my operation.

RETURNING FROM MY RAMBLE, my point is that I'm going to be bedridden for a while, so in that period, maybe I can start the Infinite Jest.

Ahahahahahahahahaha.

Classics go modern

Ruben Toledo is probably one of the best-recognized illustrators in the fashion industry (think Nordstrom ads). His work in Nina Garcia's books is gorgeous and he's outdone himself again with illustrations for Penguin special editions of well-known classics like Pride and Prejudice and The Scarlet Letter. I'm excited.

July 27, 2009

McSweeney's

I love short stories. I used to read novels before bed, and I still do, but come college, I knew I couldn't go on reading "Anna Karenina" and taking the entire semester to finish it. If reading a novel in bits and pieces is like having a snack (unsatisfying) before going to bed, then short stories are meals, a real second dinner.

I recently started reading McSweeney's-- it's a quarterly publication of short stories and letters and whatnot that make up a motley bunch. But a very vivid, life-rollicking, AHA! kind of motley.

The bell rings. Lunch. You push and shove your way into the cluster of the Girls' Room, and there's no privacy and you try to peer into the tagged-up piece of dull-shine metal that's bolted to the wall where everyone wants a mirror, but there are girls applying mascara and girls with lip-liner and the only air is a fine wet mist of aerosol AquaNet and it's too hard to breathe and you can't see if it's still pinned straight, because that last snatch was like an afterthought and it didn't evven tug all the way off... Hey girl, why you crying? You want me to kick some motherfucker's ass for you, girl? 'Cause I'll do it, bitch, I'm crazy like that. You just show me who, right, I'll do it homegirl. And through your tears you want to throw your arms around the giant mountainous chola and her big-hearted kindness and you want to kiss her Adidas and say Taylor ryans' name and you want to point him out and you want his ass kicked hard, but you stop yourself.

- Saint Chola, by K Kvasahy-Boyle. From "The Better of McSweeney's."

Plus, the covers of the McSweeny's are pretty awesome. I mean come on. What beats a liver on the cover of a book?