Tuesday, August 27, 2013
On Becoming a Coloradan's Wife
Gettin' Hitched.
Just this past weekend, while on a run with a close friend through nearby Cheesman Park (*see photo to the right), we stopped to watch a bride walk down the exact same aisle I'll be headed down in less than five days. On the brink of what we're told (by recent married friends and seasoned couples alike) will be a whirlwind of celebrations (my parents arrives tonight!), all I can think about is the final scene in "Reality Bites," when Ethan Hawke plays the guitar next to Winona Ryder in their new (empty) apartment. Being the preteen that I was during my "Winona" phase, spending Sunday afternoons watching chic flicks and eating giant pickles in my parents backyard, decades from this very moment in which I am now on the brink of matrimonial commitment, I easily recall my immense envy over the possibility of spending the rest of my life with a shaggy guitar player. Now, here I am, taking the plunge with my very own Coloradan guitarist, who is playing Radiohead next to me as I write this blog post, and I feel nothing but pure joy.
(Enjoy, and this blog will return after our wedding and honeymoon, sometime during the week of September 9th!)
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Monday, August 26, 2013
On Giving Gifts
The Perfect Fit.
We've all been there - having picked out the most perfect gift for another person that we desperately want to keep for ourselves. For me, it's my sister's birthday present. Her birthday is today, actually, (don't worry, she doesn't read this blog), and I bought her a beautiful antique silver jewelry box with ornate, intricate crevices and a glass lid that you can peer through to see your jewels. I can't stop drooling over it and I keep wondering if the real reason behind my decision to get it in the first place was because it's the perfect gift for me, but it's also one of those gifts that almost anyone (any female, anyway) would be grateful to receive. So I've enjoyed staring for the last three weeks, wrapped in paper to prevent myself from 'trying it on,' and in less than 72 hours, we'll say our goodbyes, shed an internal tear, and my search for the next perfect gift (for all the October birthdays) shall commence. Enjoy!
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Friday, August 23, 2013
On Taking Lessons
(As an Adult.)
Three rounds of swim lessons (as an adult) and I still quiver at the thought of doing the crawl (ugh!). Dance lessons in high school and I'm fairly certain I'll be greeting guests on the sidelines of my own wedding. Two painting sessions later and both canvases ended up in the trash. But I did learn the benefits of citrus in pea soup in a cooking class once, on my 30th birthday, and it pleases all my (swimming, dancing, artist) guests to no end. Enjoy!
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Thursday, August 22, 2013
On Relationship Building
Up, Down, & Around.
The flowers, texts, and playful compliments initially hook us to explore the possibilities, as we taper the flirtation into a dead-end romance or evolve it into something promising and strong. Reminding ourselves to take one day at a time can feel overwhelming impossible yet simultaneously necessary, enjoying the moments filled with angst and excitement all at the same time while adjusting our guards to adapt to the dynamic at hand. Enjoy!
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Wednesday, August 21, 2013
On Keeping Secrets
An Open Book.
I can't help it, I'm bad at keeping secrets, but so are lots of people and we commiserate over our inability to keep our mouths shut. For those of us "over-sharers" who get into it before the information comes close to being stowed away, we've been known to say too much, to not think before we speak, and - in rare cases - to redeem ourselves with endearing details that the majority of actual-secret-keepers wouldn't dare share. And yet the receivers-of-the-secrets never say stop, and we connect over knowing things not yet privy to the rest of the world, vowing over and over and over again that your secret will be different because this moment rarely happens, as lies are told amidst the passage of information, and (btw) I sure hope those reading this will continue to trust me next time they can't help it. Enjoy!
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Tuesday, August 20, 2013
On Missing Today's Post
Monday, August 19, 2013
On Separations
Doing What's Right.
Sometimes it's easier to stick around long after the sun's gone down and the right thing to do is harder than what actually needs to be done. Solitude looms ahead with threats of infinite loneliness while the actual bite is worse than the sting that follows. Enjoy!
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Friday, August 16, 2013
On My Favorite Quotes
Still Lookin'.
I'm still searching for that next great summer read where I can't wait to rush home to resume my relationship with fictional friends and join them on their journey towards self-actualization.
In 1996, it was with Bernadette 'Benny' Hogan from Maeve Binchy's's Circle of Friends, who cannot believe her luck when handsome Jack Foley falls for her. (I can't remember how it ended but I think we were both in tears.)
A few years after that, it was Michael Cunningham's The Hours, in which three generations of women [were] affected by a Virginia Woolf novel. (Wait, make that four - myself included.)
“We throw our parties; we abandon our families to live alone in Canada; we struggle to write books that do not change the world, despite our gifts and our unstinting efforts, our most extravagant hopes. We live our lives, do whatever we do, and then we sleep. It's as simple and ordinary as that."
― Michael Cunningham, The Hours
In 2003, I was starstruck by Dave Egger's A Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius, and spent my free time at summer camp reading aloud passages to a select few colleagues who sat still long enough to indulge me.
“We feel that to reveal embarrassing or private things, we have given someone something, that, like a primitive person fearing that a photographer will steal his soul, we identify our secrets, our past and their blotches, with our identity, that revealing our habits or losses or deeds somehow makes one less of oneself. ”
― Dave Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
When 2006-ish rolled around, I would walk home from the subway with Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close in my hands, nearly bumping into strangers scowling on the street. About ten minutes after I finished reading the book in Prospect Park (Brooklyn's finest), I ran into the author himself and asked him to clarify the ending. I kid you not, he signed my copy, It was nice running into you in my backyard.
“I like to see people reunited, I like to see people run to each other, I like the kissing and the crying, I like the impatience, the stories that the mouth can't tell fast enough, the ears that aren't big enough, the eyes that can't take in all of the change, I like the hugging, the bringing together, the end of missing someone.”
― Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Most recently, I was addicted to Louis de Berniere's Captain Corelli's Mandolin which, as a close friend and (one of four folks who) recommended this novel, described, is about an "an epic love story" (or ten) that is impossible to put down.
“Love is a kind of dementia with very precise and oft-repeated clinical symptoms. You blush in each other's presence, you both hover in places where you expect the other to pass, you are both a little tongue-tied, you both laugh inexplicably and too long, you become quite nauseatingly girlish, and he becomes quite ridiculously gallant. You have also grown a little stupid.”
― Louis de Bernières, Corelli's Mandolin
What's next? You tell me.
(Enjoy.)
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Thursday, August 15, 2013
On Summer Camp Nostalgia
(Photo Credit: CIT Point, Frost Valley YMCA.)
Each summer starting in June, we all commiserate over the internet facebook walls about how much we miss being at summer camp, remembering vividly (as if it were yesterday) walks home after CQ fires, working the boat house during Waterfront, (secretly) eating candy in our bunk beds, and rekindling summer romances during (Friday or Saturday night) camp dances while (our) campers navigate first kisses with way too much hair gel for the Catskill mountains. We remember, reflect, give a shout out via email, gchat, or text to (camp) friends we haven't seen in years because the bond that was created is, in many ways, incomparable to any since, knowing that no matter how many years pass by, we will do anything and everything for the people we made smores with, went on overnights with, sang cheers and refilled the bread baskets with, gossiped by the coffee bar, wimpered at the infirmary, hiked to Hemlock falls, swam in Biscuit Creek, played capture the flag on Big Tree Field, made up ghost stories at The Castle, shed tears at CIT Point, improvised (rainy day) games at the Old Dining Hall, smoked cigarettes at the BBQ Pit, hung out at Hang Out, played cards in the Solarium, made phones calls at the Admin Office, held hands behind the Admin Office, watched stars on the roof of the (New) Dining Hall (only once!), ate breakfast at Sweet Sues, overloaded on Kit Kats in Kingston, passed The Book of Questions by the basketball courts, faked sick during dodge ball (and maybe during Sports & Games), made candles and dream catchers, face-painted, sung songs, shared secrets, wrote letters, fell in love, fell out of love, made friends, made memories, and changed lives. Enjoy!
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Wednesday, August 14, 2013
My First Day of High School
(Sophomore Year.)
My closest brush with fame was in sophomore year of high school during the first day of homeroom, only I didn't know it yet. I sat next to the new girl - Marika Domincyzk - and was immediately enamored by her bleach blonde hair, perfectly chiseled cheek bones, and Polish accent. We hit it off right away and became "homeroom friends," during which our friendship never flourished outside of the basement classroom but was consistently fulfilling inside. Ten years later, Marika would go on to marry Scott Foley (see photos to the right; better known as Noel Crane from Felicity, her borderline pathetic RA at University of New York who, for whatever unknown reason, stood a chance against his nemesis-ish, Ben Covington {swoon}), during a scandal (that only existed in the memories of Marika's high school classmates) that supposedly broke up Scott's marriage with Jennifer Gardner (an actress three letters greater in fame) even though they wed three years after the divorce. On the rare occasion that her name comes up (on blogs or c-list magazines), I don't hesitate to boast that I knew her once (in homeroom) and also We were practically best friends. Enjoy!
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Tuesday, August 13, 2013
On My Favorite Pen Pal
Snail Mail From Brooklyn.
Before I even moved to Denver, one of my closest friends (who lived less than twenty blocks away at the time) agreed to be my pen pal. And so began years of sporadic snail mail, always in the form of postcard, with funny details from a particular day's exchange or commentary on whatever life-changing experience was happening at that time (breakups, makeups, relocations across the country, and so on) that we would later discuss in person over happy hour or dinner. Two weeks ago, I received the latest addition to my postcard collection, this time with a five-sentence semi-comical yet sentimental reference to (my upcoming) marriage, and a fond reminder that our pen-pal-ship - even with twenty states between - lives on. Enjoy (and write a friend)!
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Monday, August 12, 2013
On (Your) Missed Connection
Almost.
We pass thousands of strangers on the street, in the elevator, standing on line, in the subway, making eye contact only to quickly look away, occasionally exchanging pleasantries like I'm Sorry and God Bless You, even though the latter doesn't happy nearly as often as the actual sneeze. We never completely connect but, rather, brush each other by from one moment to the next, a series of (missed) connections that could have been, and almost were, but aren't. Enjoy!
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Friday, August 9, 2013
On Manic Pixie Girls
The Envy of (Most) All.
We watch The New Girl with indescribable envy, wondering if the same perfectly chopped bangs, cute polka-dotted aprons, and bright red lipstick would attract roommates as ironically appealing as the scruffy bartender guy. (This author writes:) The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is now an indie-film cliché, more a collection of quirks than a person, who exists to be the perfect love interest for the male protagonist. So we try it out - the colorfully-rimmed spectacles and bright tights - seeking the "shy, sad, creative boys and [to] teach them to enjoy life again though ... love and various activities done in the rain" only to find, time and time again, that the Zooey's and the (Garden State's) Natalie's are, in fact, unrealistic replicas of Anthropologie ads crossed with Fictional-Brooklyn-As-Depicted-On-TV, where local dives (like Washington Commons) are named dropped in inaccurate neighborhoods (I'm talking to you, Girls), and real life is a lot less colorful. Enjoy!
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Thursday, August 8, 2013
On Too Many Books
So Little Time.
Despite the fact that my attention span has decreased to solely include 30-minute sitcoms and a face-to-face meal with my iphone in hand (shame on me, and on all of us), I recently questioned the possibility of reading every single novel stacked high upon our bookshelves at home. The list would range from the myriad of classics I ignored as a teen (Catch 22, The Scarlet Letter, and so on) to my roommate's college(major)-inspired collection of philosophical texts (Nietzsche, Plato, Sartre...), with more recent literary bestsellers (Shantaram, Infinite Jest, neither of which can surely be less than one thousand pages each) filling the gaps in between. In the meantime, Breaking Bad (season 2) and House of Cards (all of it) are beckoning. A girl can dream-read, can't she? Enjoy!
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Wednesday, August 7, 2013
On Orange is the New Black
Read (Larry's) "Modern Love Article" Here.
It's been since the era of LOST that I last bulldozed through an entire season of one show in less than [insert an embarrassingly low digit] number of week(s), until this past month. My roommate and I have willingly joined the ranks of Orange is the New Black junkies, thanks to way too many facebook wall conversations that quickly peaked our interest. So if you wanna fill the time between seasons (my co-worker swears season 2 is coming out sooner than we think) with fascinating facts about characters you're still shocked you've come to miss (Miss Claudette! Nicky! Crazy Eyes! and even Pennsatucky - the chick with the teeth [ugh!]), check this out, and also click on the hyperlink above to read Larry's infamous Modern Love article in the New York Times that stirred things up behind closed bars. (And, btw, Piper totally looks like Jared Leto - great call.) Enjoy!
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Tuesday, August 6, 2013
On testing “in good times and in bad”
Saturday, August 3, 2013
(Written by this blogger's "roommate" aka fiance, AR)
[Photo credit: CE & AR on August 3rd, after the hike)
The standard wedding vows dictate a devotion to one another that includes strength and support for each other in times of feast and famine alike. As impending nuptials approach, and as the creation/writing of one’s vows lays more at the forefront of thought, the ups and downs of daily life can sometimes seem an explicit test of one’s dedication to a quality and nurturing life with another.
Saturday August 3 started not unlike countless other Saturdays: Coffee, newspapers, conversation, and a lazy morning led to plans for brunch and a long hike outside Boulder. Simple enough. Pearly whites brushed and disagreeable hair wet and pushed towards social acceptance, we left the apartment for the day, and immediately locked our keys in the trunk of our car. “Here’s to hoping you have your keys,” I said, “because I just locked mine in the trunk.” She didn’t, Strike One. And those keys now safely locked in the trunk were our only means into the car and apartment alike. We were a bit stuck.
There were friendly new neighbors moving into the basement apartment, and one of them – a selfproclaimed semi-pro rock climber – offered to scale the building to kick in the screen of our semiajar bedroom window and climb into the apartment so we could grab the other set of keys that were helpfully on the other side of locked doors. But the risk of a two-story fall to the steeply declining steps below seemed too great a gamble. It’s too bad you aren’t more able to appreciate the security of your living scenario in these types of moments: If we can’t get into our own apartment or car given our uniquely intimate knowledge of weaknesses of our locking mechanisms, surly we’re safe from Colfax robbers and drunks. Try focusing on that positive when you haven’t eaten, it’s half-past noon, and your day that seemed a breeze slips slowly from your grasp.
I asked the friendly new neighbors: “Do you have a wire clothes hanger, by any chance?” Like any early twenties bachelor worth his weight in salt, the answer was obviously “no.” You don’t need to hang dingy old tee shirts and jeans to prevent past tense wear and tear. At least this was a concept I knew well. Strike Two. The lady got on the phone and called a neighbor to see if they were home and had a hanger. They did have a hanger and weren’t home; but because we had helped in times of locked out need, they would race home to help us. Then I realized that if we had been able to get into the other apartment before, why not again? So I broke into the other apartment – with permission – to get a hanger to break into our car. It almost seemed like a Zelda maneuver.
There was a night when I lived in Williamsburgh, Brooklyn – 6-7 years earlier – when I had driven to the grocery store in deep Bushwick to grab something small and barely worth the trip like a gallon of ice cream or something. As I unbuckled my seat belt, opened the door, got out of the car, locked the doors, and closed the door, I somehow managed to drop the keys in the car and lock them on the other side of a ridiculously thin pane of glass, in direct view to me and any other passersby. It was about 10pm, and I was in gym shorts – holding my wallet in my hands – and I had no phone. Stereotypes would tell me that there were any number of passersby on the street capable of getting into my locked car, but as luck would have it, there was a fire truck in the parking lot and I decided to ask them for help in opening my locked car. They did, and this past Saturday, I remembered how they pried open the window, slipped a coat-hanger in the slot, and flipped the power locks within about 10-20 seconds of starting the exercise. Turns out, I’m not quite as good with a hanger as those FDNY folks I met on that night in Bushwick.
(Blog post resumed by Blogger, CE)
The day went downhill from there. Later that afternoon we got caught in a rainstorm of ice water in the middle of a 7 and a half mile hike, still several miles from the parking lot, ill-prepared for numb legs and arms without food or water. We weathered the storm by singing show tunes from Little Shop of Horrors (to prevent Carly's tears) and describing meals that would make the day worthwhile, just to keep sane and hopeful. The night ended with pizza, wings, and the last few episodes of Orange is the New Black, and promise that Sunday would bring a better day.
(Enjoy!)
Monday, August 5, 2013
On (My) Literary Heroes
The Artist.
For the most part, the fan letters I've written, mailed, and occasionally hand-delivered, have all been well received or altogether ignored, without much room for middle ground. And, in the last decade, most have been to favorite authors with the exception of Bill Murray, two years ago, who never wrote back (-I'm still hopeful). Except for two specific encounters (both in New York City) during which I made b-lines for my literary heroes only to have my anticipation squashed with cold shoulders and disinterested glares, as my title pages were signed with careless haste and my unrealistic fantasies about a perfect encounters over Coffee & Cigarettes immediately destroyed. (Enjoy!)
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Friday, August 2, 2013
On the Deliberate
Conscientious Decisions.
For some of us, we can't help but dissect our options so thoroughly that it becomes impossible to not know what's next. Pros and cons, back and forth, over and over and over again, until any choice can no longer be wrong. Future's are predicted with acute thoughtfulness as every outcome overzealously scrutinized, and just making a decision is a journey - and a feat - unto itself. Enjoy!
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Thursday, August 1, 2013
On the End of Summer
Welcome to August!
Dear August,
We spent 334 days waiting for you, anticipating barbeques and picnics and family vacations, and once you arrived, our gardens began to wither and we quickly remembered that we have finally arrived at the beginning of the end of summer. But we will persevere in the face of (beautiful) autumn, with final trips to the beaches and mountains, last minute sunburns, sandwiches in the park, happy hours on terraces, and the last round of celebrations (be them weddings, graduations, or new fall jackets).
Sincerely,
Summer Lovers & Friends
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