Category Archives: Pop Culture

I’m Goofy and I Know It

I saw the most incredible thing while traveling last week:

It’s a dude using a pay phone. A DUDE USING A PAY PHONE. I obviously had to take a picture. What I was unable to capture (to my dismay) were the moments before he picked up the phone, when he read the instructions and then looked for change. HE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. Well, either he didn’t read the instructions well enough or no one was home because he never did speak to someone. Poor guy. I probably should have offered my assistance; he seemed to have trouble counting his change, too. I was not a good citizen at the moment. Plus, I was too busy giggling about it.

I caved and bought a pair of TOMS:

They’re comfy but let me warn you that I had to exchange my original pair for a half size smaller than my usual size. I’m a dumbass for not listening to my friend Monika when she told me to get a half size smaller. I do like them, but… how do I put this delicately… I have to be careful what outfits I pair them with because with the wrong pants or look, I basically look like an Asian refugee or female prisoner. This has to do with their slipper-like look, the fact that I’m Asian, and the fact that I have tiny feet (my TOMS are a size 5). TOMS gives a free pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair bought; Monika joked that I was one of the free pair recipients. Yes. That’s how they look on me. I’m wearing them anyway, dammit.

I finally finished reading Zeitoun. Wow. It’s so quietly powerful. I admit that I’m fiction’s bitch; it was Dave Eggers’s name that made me pick up Zeitoun more than anything else (yes, yes, ironic since he doesn’t really write fiction). I think it’s a really important story, and I would encourage you to read it. I started my next book, which was recommended to me by my friend Jen:

So far, so good. I may actually finish this one by next year…

This is nearly blasphemous, but I haven’t been keeping up with TV much lately. Mad Men is the only show I faithfully watch, but I did miss last night’s episode. It’s so good and Sunday nights are a perfect TV night for me. Plus, it’s Mad Men, people. If I’m only going to keep up with one show, it had best be Mad Men. Other than that, I’ve been marathoning Doctor Who. After Martha’s last episode, I wanted to pause before getting into the Donna episodes and the end of Tennant’s run. I feel like such a Who nerd for wanting to prolong Tennant’s run for as long as I can even though I’ve seen it all already and I’m a fan of Matt Smith’s doctor. Hahahaa, are you reading this? I can’t believe I’m talking about Doctor Who. Anyway, I still wanted something British, but more stiff and romantic, so I watched (for the first time) the BBC’s Pride & Prejudice miniseries:

Ewwww, Colin Firth! Stop being so sexy with that look and your dark curly hair and acting all snotty but then being all wonderful… I take it back, Colin Firth, please let me have your babies and is it okay if I call you Mister Darcy? Nothing will ever beat this adaptation! Disclaimer: I am not a Jane Austen nerd so take my assessment with a grain of salt. I loved it so much that I almost watched it again immediately, but there are other things to enjoy, such as Audrey Hepburn. I’ve never seen Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I know, I know! How lame of me. However, I did start by watching Sabrina and Audrey Hepburn is so pretty and petite and I hate her guts now.

In non-TV entertainment, I was uber elated to hear that the Art Institute will have a Roy Lichtenstein exhibit from May 16 through September 2. I fell in love with Lichtenstein when I saw a huge print of one of his works hanging in my boss’s office years ago. It’s such great Pop Art and I need to make sure I haul my ass downtown to see this one. Who wants to go with me?

Finally, and also in non-TV entertainment, I attended my niece’s dance recital yesterday.

Isn’t she sweet?!

Nah. She’s a goofball, just like her aunt. Alright, gotta go. I’m eating a mango and it needs my undivided attention!

Currently

My department at work is really into engagement. Therefore, we have a book club meeting of sorts tomorrow. Required reading on top of the rest of the crap I have to do is just want I need.

Work has been challenging and there’s no relief in sight. Therefore, I am so glad that I have a weekend getaway planned. Woohoo! I’m going to Toronto to visit one of my favorite people. I will probably be exhausted when I get home Sunday night, which should make work on Monday really interesting, but the change of scenery and face time with a good friend is so completely worth it.

Here I am, looking all confused while wearing my glasses. I wore my glasses yesterday as part of my Professor Melissa costume since I had to give that presentation. What do you guys think? It’s nice to wear glasses instead of contacts once in awhile, especially since I have a pair that I like. I also got my face threaded today. I kind of miss my bushy eyebrows but I don’t miss my Tom Selleck mustache. Threading is awesome and Patty, my threading artiste, is awesome.

Do you like these earrings? So do I! I just got these in the mail from my pal Jen, who handmade them. LOVE LOVE LOVE. There’s nothing listed in her Etsy shop right now, but contact her if you’re interested in seeing more. Yes, really!! I have several pairs of earrings made my Jen and a pretty turquoise necklace, and I love all of it.

April is coming to a close soon. Time passes too quickly. Way too quickly. The good news is that I can see and feel how much I’ve changed in the past week and month and months and especially in the past year. It’s nice to take a step back, evaluate myself, and feel pride in who I am. And I can only get better. I’ve still got more oomph to put into my efforts of getting stuff done and being a better and happier person.

The best way to describe how I feel right now? I kind of feel like Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles, right before this moment:

She had a shitty day that didn’t end so badly and then she started to feel pretty awesome about herself and then Jake Ryan shows up at her sister’s wedding after having looked for her all night and morning. I wonder if my Jake Ryan is looking for me… I LOVE YOU, JAKE RYAN. Pick me up in your cool car. Or, I can pick you up. Despite the title of my blog, I can drive.

Zooey Deschanel is a Charming Alien.

This is not a rant about Zooey Deschanel. It may seem like it is, but it isn’t. The truth is that I’m a little jealous of her. Ew, I can’t believe I admitted that. Anyway, I get the appeal of Zooey Deschanel —- to an extent. She’s cute, adorable, sexy. But she’s also completely quirky and, let’s face it, kind of out there. I can’t help but feel like all the dudes who get all unf about her are hypocrites. Most of you, anyway. I mean, COME ON. She seems so awkward and SHE NEVER STOPS BEING ADORABLE. Let’s not forget that she and Katy Perry and Emily Blunt have nearly the same face (not that there is anything wrong with that). In real life, Zooey would be your everyday cute weirdo. There’s nothing wrong with that. I would love to be an everyday cute weirdo but most of the time I’m a creepy, frowny weirdo.

There’s no doubt that ZD is intelligent and attractive. I want to be friends with her. I would also like to see her in a normal t-shirt and jeans without any makeup on. That’s the thing, though… the overwhelming reason for me to put ZD in the “Like” column of my Likes/Dislikes list is because she’s so her. It’s in what she wears, how she speaks, how she carries herself. Zooey is Zooey and Zooey is (or at least seems to be) 100% confident about her Zooey-ness. She knows what she likes, she’s not afraid to show it, and she has the face/body/brain to pull it off. God, I hope she’s not scamming the world by being “Zooey” instead of Zooey.

Are you still with me?

It’s only been recently that I have started to try and define my style. I used to call my style the “Soccer Mom Who Isn’t A Soccer Mom” look. It was really kind of disgusting and unflattering. I was a jeans and t-shirt and gym shoes kind of girl. My color palette usually consisted of black, grey, black, grey, and more black. Cardigans, cardigans, cardigans. No skirts or dresses unless there was a special reason for it (or it’s laundry day and I’m desperate). Hair down, no makeup, accessorize with simple earrings, a ring, and my watch. Alright… all of that still describes my style, but I’m wearing clothes that are more flattering instead of loose-fitting (showing off my assets, if you will) and opting to wear nicely cut tops instead of a standard t-shirt that says “YOUR FAVORITE BAND SUCKS” on it. YES, this just turned into a post about style!

I kind of adore ZD’s style. It’s girly, bold, sometimes a little too quirky, but like I said: she has the face and body to pull it off. Let’s take the bangs, for example. I HEART HER BANGS. If my hair would cooperate and make it possible for my bangs to look Zooey Deschanel’s, I would have bangs all the time. It’s entirely possible that she has a professional bang stylist, but still. It’s not fair!

I don’t think my style is as feminine and colorful as ZD’s. A co-worker and I were reading Cosmo during lunch today, and there was a “What’s Your Style?” page. We agreed that I mostly fall into the “girly” category with some “edge” but little “glam.” Let’s face it. Glam and I don’t exactly go hand-in-hand, and it’s not like I’m going to show up to work in a sequin skirt unless someone dares me or I lose a bet. I appreciate fashion but I’m mostly conservative. I’m not completely in love with my body and it’s hard to feel confident in something that’s too colorful or doesn’t fit right.

I’ve been incorporating more color into what I wear. I always had color in my closet, along with fabulous shoes and skirts and dresses, but I rarely wore any of them. I may have joked about having pants for each day of the week and rotating them week in and week out, but that was the reality. Why the change? I lost some weight and can actually wear clothes in my “Wear This When You Lose Weight” pile. My new-ish work environment made me want to step up my look and look more professional and put together. And this is pathetic, but I wanna look the way I feel and have my style reflect my personality. It seems so easy for most people, but it’s a challenge for me.

This above photo is very much a Me look. Quit copying me, Zooey. LOLJK. I truly do like this everyday casual look, though. What really slays me about ZD is the makeup:

Between the crazy blue eyes and the eyeliner/mascara? WHAT?!?! Stop it, Zooey. Just stop it. You’re putting my brown eyes to shame and teasing me because I lack any ability to apply eyeliner.

The point of this post is, Zooey Deschanel is attractive but unusual. She’s a charming alien. I think I’m a charming alien, too. I’m quirky. I act like a complete fool sometimes and I am thisclose to being brave enough to reflect who I am in what I dress and what I wear. Bye bye conservative soccer mom who isn’t a mom. No, wait! Come back! I can’t afford a new wardrobe! Dammit.

Happy Hunger Games

There’s a lady who sits near me at work who seems to be on personal phone calls all day. She’s kind of loud, but I’ve learned to tune her out unless I’m in the mood for some entertainment; listening to her like listening to a soap opera. Yesterday, I heard something that piqued my interest:

Did you say ‘Hunger Games?’ Wait, girl, let me rephrase that. Did YOU say ‘Hunger Games?’… Yeah, I saw it at midnight… Listen, it’s gooood, but (sigh) it’s unsettling and… No, no, girl. It’s entertaining and I loved it, but… how can I say this… it’s not a feel-good movie, okay? You won’t walk out of the movie theater feeling good. You might want to watch something else instead.

I’m a fan of the books so this was good to hear. The books can be pretty disturbing and really drained me emotionally. I tore through The Hunger Games and Catching Fire very quickly. I finished Mockingjay in a day but I had to put the book down and walk around between chapters to decompress. I read enough blurbs to know that the movie was faithful to the books–almost to a fault–so I was glad to know that it wasn’t a feel-good film.

I considered going to a midnight showing of The Hunger Games (it was released yesterday), but I needed to be 100% at work so I hit up the first show at my favorite movie theater today. The rest of the audience was mostly made up of young boys with their mothers. I opted to go alone. It was a smart move since I was a bawling mess 10 minutes into the movie and then throughout. This is NOT a date movie, people.

I don’t want to say much besides this: I loved the movie. It really is very faithful to the book. All the elements and feelings that needed to be conveyed or visualized were there. I’m not that nitpicky with adaptations: there is only so much that you can translate to film and even then, only so much that will translate well. In the case of The Hunger Games, I don’t think anyone who hasn’t read the book is missing anything. Gary Ross did such a great job with his direction, and Jennifer Lawrence is quickly becoming one of my favorite people. All the acting was great. I was especially pleased with Woody Harrelson’s portrayal of Haymitch. Nothing felt rushed or expositional. It was a well done movie all around.

I walked around the shopping center for a bit after the movie in an attempt to get it out of my head. Watching the movie took some energy out of me, though. Like the lady at work said, it’s really good, but it’s also unsettling (as it should be). I’m excited about the rest of the films being made, but I might need to bring a box of tissue and a blankie with me by the time Mockingjay is released. Oops. I may have said too much!

May the odds be evah in your favor!

Currently…

…Listening To:

It’s been a Personal Jesus/Strangelove/Just Like Heaven type of week. I guess that’s why I streamed Mixed Emotions by Tanlines nonstop on the days that I forgot my iPod at home this week. Thank you for the first listen, NPR! I am painfully behind on The Nerdist Podcast but try to make it a point to listen on my drive home from work. Hey, I have tickets to see The Nerdist guys next month. I need to make sure I’m caught up on all the inside jokes.

…Watching:

I felt the sudden urge to re-watch Everwood a couple weeks ago. I started with season 3 and am nearly done with the 4th and final season. This show was really kind of out there but still entertaining and touching. I didn’t skip any episodes, which I did during a recent Felicity re-watch. However, I do feel the need to say that the character of Amy Abbott, portrayed by Emily Van Camp, is pretty damn annoying: she’s pushy and selfish and presumptuous!

Reading:

I find that people either love Dave Eggers or hate him. I fall into the former camp. I spotted Zeitoun in a bookstore at O’Hare before a flight I took over a year ago. I didn’t start reading the book until three weeks ago. I shamefully don’t make time to read these days unless I’m headed downtown via the CTA. So even though this book is a quick read, I’m still not done with it. That should be remedied on or before my next appointment downtown, which is in a couple of weeks. In addition to this, I’m trying to stay on top of The Week.

…Awaiting The Release Of:

Guys, I can’t EVEN. I rarely watch movies in the theater anymore. I wanted to see a movie so badly this weekend just so I could practice being a movie theater goer. Yes! Really! I’m trying to figure out if I want  to watch with someone else or if I should go alone. There’s a lot of crying potential so I’m thinking I might go alone.

And this has been an update from i-cant-drive.net. Good night/day/whatever and good luck.

Teaser

It’s no secret that I’m a big teenybopper at heart. Some inflammation of my obsession occurred this summer. I’m gonna blog about it. It’s gonna be embarrassing. I’m going to get giddy. I’m going to blush. It’s gonna be awesome. Teaser photo below.

I took this photo myself so don’t be a jerk—-credit me if you want to post it somewhere else! KTBSPA. (I’m not a loser. I’m just not very cool.)

I Officially Love Kris Allen

Pic from www.krisallenofficial.com

Sorry, Blake Lewis. Sorry, David Cook. I still love you guys, but Kris Allen is my new favorite American Idol contestant. I didn’t watch–no, I refused to watch American Idol the season that Kris was on. It was hard to not know what was happening, though. It was the season of the enigma that is Adam Lambert, that dude with the hat, the girl with the red hair, and Kris’s rendition of Kanye’s “Heartless”.

I probably wouldn’t have heard anything about Kris Allen post-Idol if it weren’t for the fact that I follow @rickey of Rickey.org on Twitter. It was through Rickey’s site that I heard “Live Like We’re Dying,” the first single off Kris Allen’s record. My only issue with the song is that Kris didn’t write it, but it’s a good poppy song with lyrics that make you think, he sounds good in it, and it indicated to me that the rest of the record would be filled with songs that are listenable and meaningful (to him, not necessarily to me, but you know what I mean).

Okay. So the truth is that I liked Kris Allen’s album because it was something I could listen to without really listening to it. It’s benign, has slow and fast stuff, it won’t ruin your day, it won’t rile you up, and you can bop your head and sing along to it if you want to. It’s the epitome of “catchy.” The more I listened to it… the more I listened to it. And then I started to really like it. And then I started to really think about it. Some songs make me smile. Some songs make me sad. Some songs even make my eyes water sometimes, if I’m PMSing or whatever.

Thanks, Kris Allen. You’ve made me feel better on bad days. And for that, you made it on my list of things I love.

Kris Allen Official Site
Follow Kris Allen on Twitter – he’s a fun guy to follow regardless of what you think about his music.

I Hate Shopping

I never really liked shopping to begin with, but I hate it even more these days because I have to get larger sizes and nothing fits me right. My belly is too big. My shoulders are too small. My boobs don’t seem to be in the right place for the way most shirts are made. My butt sticks out too much.

I’m starting to hate how I look and shopping for new clothes just adds salt to the wound. I’ve been working on eating less lately, and it has translated into some weight loss (about four pounds in the last two weeks) and I know I can push myself to start working out more often and more intensely.

It’s the damn shape of my body that’s bugging me. Don’t get me wrong, I like my curves and I appreciate my T and A parts. I just wish more clothes were cut to accommodate my shape. Whenever I find something that fits, I look like a box or a big pear. In other words, NOT SEXY.

Oh, well. I’ll work with what I have. Even with weight loss, I don’t think I’ll ever fit the cookie cutter styles that are in stores today. Maybe I’ll start a new line of womens clothing called Short and Shapely and Asian.

In related news, I’m starting to teach myself to not love food and eating so much, which makes me sad.

I Had A Crush On Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Oh, man. Today is a sad day for me. June 25, 2009: Michael Jackson has died. I have been watching the coverage on CNN. It’s obvious how shocking and huge this news is. I first heard about Michael Jackson being rushed to the ER on Twitter. Got the sad news of his death listening to the radio (94.7 FM in Chicago). May he rest in peace.

Michael Jackson was my first crush. I remember being 4 or 5 years old, and just LOVING him. My family would make fun of me for it. I didn’t like watching the Thriller video because the zombies scared me. We had a Michael Jackson glove.

I still loved Michael Jackson when Bad came out, but I was over my crush. By the time Black & White was released, I didn’t care much about Michael Jackson  – but I all still knew the songs and the dance moves. In my teen years, I learned to really love and appreciate The Jackson Five (particularly I Want You Back) and came to an awareness of the progression of Michael Jackson’s career. By then, it was extremely difficult to reconcile young Michael with older Michael. But he was still an amazing performer.

I don’t think anyone will ever understand Michael Jackson and all of his quirks. And, that’s okay. I don’t feel a need to understand Michael, the man. I realize he was human, I think he was kindhearted, and it’s clear that he was loved not just by his fans, but by his family and others close to him. His sudden death will cause ripples for awhile. The one clear takeaway is that Michael Jackson was a true talent – and no on can deny that.

This is how I will always remember Michael Jackson. Beat It and Billie Jean are two major pieces of my childhood. I hear these songs and I immediately begin to feel the excitement I felt when I was a little girl. I’m not being sentimental. I’m being completely serious. I also remember wondering who Billie Jean was, and being jealous that Michael was singing about another girl.

You can read more about Michael Jackson’s death just about anywhere, but click here for a great reaction and story that I loved reading.

Decorating Your Cube With Hello Kitty: Why?

hk

Out of respect for actual people who have Hello Kitty decorations in their office cubicle, I won’t be taking or posting any pictures. But, seriously. Or – I guess “seriously” is the point. I can’t really take someone seriously if their cube looks like a 5-year-old’s bedroom. I’m sorry. But….SERIOUSLY. A calendar, one small figurine, a note pad – one Hello Kitty product at your desk is fine. But a whole figurine collection is just a wee bit crazy, IMHO.