Bike Riding

When we were young, my dad would take my sister and me out for a bike ride once a week to pick up the Sunday paper. The corner convenience store right outside the neighborhood was the perfect distance away. But we always took the long way. Up, down, and back up again we rode, along the hilly contours ubiquitous and so characteristic of rural Massachusetts. There was a secret shortcut through the back, one that required the utmost bravery to offroad down a steep dirt path riddled with bulky, twisted tree roots. In my memories, each one of these Sunday mornings, the weather was always perfect. The wind through my hair, despite my helmet head, made me feel weightless. It wasn't until much, much, later - long after we stopped these bike rides - that I realized how much I loved them....

A few weekends ago, the three of us went out on a short ride through our subdivision. No longer on our childhood bicycles, my sister and I felt a bit wobbly riding these vintage and just-a-little-too-large-that-they're-a-little-scary bicycles my dad got for a total of $15 (for two bicycles!) from a police auction more than a decade ago. The roads were flat and we rolled slowly along the sidewalks. Good speeds for us to get our "bicycle legs" back.

And the weather was just like I remember.

Hilarity Vol. III

This would be subtitled as "the WTF Edition" mostly featuring Debbie. Your news turned me around! Congratulations on your engagement! You've come a long way. And I lurve you. Again, click on the photos to enlarge.

Classy J

Scribbled on the back of a draft of my college entrance essay - bad student award to me!

(Previous volumes: 1 and 2.)

Hilarity Vol. II

It's funny how Jenny and I became (Jenny: heavily, me: haphazardly) involved in science research. Obviously I now assume it's because we were together when we first got started. This is what Alice's card from yesterday is referring to: lots of corruption going on in 5th hour GBE. Also, I cannot take any credit for this artwork; it was all Jenny.

How come NEJM and Nature haven't embraced this?

Hilarity Vol. I

So I'm cleaning out my room in preparation for the onslaught of studying that will hopefully take place soon. Since I've started, I've discovered that being both extremely sentimental and a mild hoarder is not a good mix. I'm mostly unearthing junk that should have been thrown out years ago. However, some things I've come across are just... gold. Please click on all the photos to enlarge the hilarity.

best part: "Offer not valid when upset or mad at you" from Debbie

Jessie, when can I collect this IOU?

This one is a mess. But how little has changed in 10 years!

My favorite so far:

envelope: go gain some weight

card: the loss of the little intelligence you possess.

High-larious.

Elle Fanning in Marie Claire

Since when was being 13 so elegant? I saw these pictures of Elle Fanning in Marie Claire and aren't they just the right mix of girly and gawky? When I was 13, I was certainly a little more than just a bit awkward with my huge round glasses, bleached khaki pants, and Mickey Mouse sweatshirts. She, however, is simply charming.

 

(Photos from Marie Claire)

The "Have Courage" Bag

For those who do not know, my love affair with Kate Spade began in high school. It was during a school trip to New York City that I made it my singular mission to find a knock-off of the classic Sam bag. I still have my black boxy bag with the gingham red lining and even with its fraying corners and peeling sticker, I still love it and use it (around forgiving company), if for no other reason than its acquired sentimentality.

Since that bag, I've been gifted a real Kate Spade (and much beloved) wallet from some very generous friends which I use everyday. And now that I'm finally a working woman, I've invested in my own purchase (on super sale, of course) and I'm in love with its balance of iconic New York City style and utilitarian functionalities: the gold hardware, the understated feminine bow, the deceptively many and spacious compartments. My favorite detail, however, was a complete surprise. On the zipper is this message:

"Well, that's about it"

I must be hearing the ticking of the biological clock more consciously this week because I'm apparently drawn to the doings of children.... Anyway, Anthony Tommasini recently wrote about his top ten favorite classical composers for the New York Times. It's extensively well researched and it really shows how passionate (and nerdy) the classical music world can be. This article is a reader's response to his list written by an obviously musically oriented 8-year-old:

How cute! I also love how his favorite piece is the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. I must admit to a list of my own of my favorite classical music works. That one's definitely on my list too.

"Litany" by Billy Collins

So impressive and dare I say, ironic? A 3 year old reciting a satiric poem about over-the-top love metaphors found in classical poetry.... But really, he doesn't sound at all comedic. Isn't he just so earnest? Though the humor is all but lost when he sounds so sincere and innocent - as I'd imagine good 3 year olds and good love metaphors are wont to be - don't you almost wish this was just a simple love poem? Happy Valentine's Day.

The Sing-Off

Hello, you lovely people! Are any of you watching The Sing-Off? I must admit, I have a serious thing for a capella. I'm pretty sure this penchant can be exclusively attributed to a couple performances I had the opportunity to experience in high school by the MIT Logarhythms. I guess they proved to be incredibly formative with their humor, energy, dancing, and inspired vocal talents because to this day, I find those who can do these things, like boys of all-male college a capella groups and musical theater types, to be inexplicably attractive. Devastatingly so. And the nerdier, the better. No? So just me? Well anyway, there's a new episode on tonight and you can catch up on previous episodes too. Also, Ben Folds is a judge. He's totally quirky and even a little bit awkward, but I've always been a fan of his lyrics and music.

I was watching the show last year too. Of course this would be my favorite performance: nerdy boys rapping about borderline inappropriate behaviors.

Twenty Four

Twenty four. Twenty four feels so unimaginably old...

When I was ten, I remember thinking sixteen would be the age of mature innocence (if this phrase could indicate to you the complete oxymoron that I predicted of teenage adolescence). When I was sixteen, I thought twenty was old. And when I was twenty I thought surely twenty four would be the year I would turn into a "grown up".

But now I'm twenty four. I'm older than so many people in the world and younger than so many more. I still can't think where I'm going to be in ten years or ten years after that.

It's dark and quiet. I watch the neighborhood Christmas lights flicker outside my window. They shimmer and glow in the still silence, faintly illuminating the street below. The branches of the wild cherry tree in the front yard sway gently and cast comforting shadows against the back wall of my room.

You never know where you're going to be. I know this idea has been run into the ground and then some, but the thing is, you never quite believe things until you realize them for yourself. That's when you listen to the cliches as if you were hearing them for the first time - as if you were the first to ever think them, the first to ever feel them. Then that cliche isn't a cliche. It's just yours. Your truth. The truth.

Twenty four. So many have been twenty four before me and still more after. But this twenty four, let this one be mine.


(Inspired by S from 2006 when she was only 22, photo from weheartit)

Sweet Juniper and Robocop

Oh my goodness, how I love Sweet Juniper. It has such thought-provoking and eloquent analysis on the city of Detroit and family life within the dichotomy of decay and renewal. It's hard for outsiders such as myself, even as a former student in, commuter to, and employee of the city to comment on what I've experienced and learned because all that I love and all that I despise about Detroit is and was never truly mine as I watched, fascinated, from my comfortable vantage point north of 8 Mile.

Meanwhile, this Halloween, Robocop patroled the Detroit streets. His suit was homemade. Can we all just please marvel?

(photos by Sweet Juniper)

Teen Angst

Being back in Ann Arbor has inspired both a hazy nostalgia and a desire to critically examine myself juxtaposed to the girl I was when I first came to know this town. Though often surrounded by dense undergraduate crowds, my daily walk to work through campus in all of its collegiate splendor framed by vibrant foliage, is usually the second best part of my day - the first being lunch (of course).

I kind of couldn't resist this when I came across it. How overly emotional and perfectly angsty is this? I have to admit that I never overwhelmingly felt a great chasm between my expectations and realities ever in my life. This is due in large part to the fact that I intentionally try not to have grandiose expectations. In fact, I tend to have very low expectations so that reality can pleasantly surprise. However, the combination of these two lists pretty much sums up my entire college experience. I wonder what it means that I'm only reflecting on it now?

On another note, doesn't this list remind you so much of this? I loved this particular scene...

(list by (Speak) via Satellite Heart, photo via weheartit)

A Breath of American Air

Hello from Dallas, my layover before Japan! My stay at home was brief but sweet after a truly unforgettable time in Costa Rica with some of my oldest friends. More later, but as I venture onto the next adventure, here is something eloquent and beautiful I found while relaxing along the beach. It's from "En(trance)" by Chris Arthur in The Best American Essays of 2009.

"Memory's version captures a truth about [place], not merely as it appears, but as it was felt, played in, dreamed of, as its lineaments intertwined and pulled on mine, delicately adjusting the sails of childhood to catch the breath of meaning that emanates from things - things that, to an adult's rigging, have only the unbreezy weight of the ordinary about them."

Happy Mother's Day

Just some pretty pictures. And call your mom.

Photos by Alfred Eisenstaedt

Hometown Pride

Well, this is technically the county, but I think I'm going to buy this bag. It's not that often I find my tiny New England, upper Appalachian, artsy mountain town on many maps. This store, Maptotes, is the brainchild of a fashion designer and a cartographer. How could their goods not be perfect? They have international megacities, mainstream Americana, and quaint little towns from all over the world. And they're all environmentally friendly to boot!

This little thing might also be another purchase for a new city-dweller nephew set to arrive this month...

Storytelling at its finest

Every night I'm glued to my TV watching the Olympic coverage. So I know compelling TV... And this little thing just kills me! (Also, her bob with bangs is so French!) If only I could tell stories like this...

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.

Emma on PBS

PBS's Masterpiece Classics (though to me, it will always be Masterpiece Theatre with the Rondeau from Handel's Watermusic playing as the opening theme) is remaking yet another Jane Austen Classic. I'd be lying if I said Emma was my favorite Austen protagonist, but I can't help but grow attached to this bold yet endearingly unconventional Austen heroine. Afterall what is it in people that I love so much if it isn't non-conformity and quirky idiosyncrasies? Plus, BBC and PBS always do such a beautiful job of staying close to the original writing, choosing to make a 4 hour miniseries rather than sacrifice even a morsel of plot.

On top of that, the visual imagery is stunning while the characters are refreshingly subdued. Oh, and because I'm such a member of the literati and not shallow at all, the boys are quite aesthetically pleasing and their British accents aren't too hard on the ears...

You can stream them online commercial free. Run, don't walk!