sundered: January 2009

28 January 2009

10 websites I love

a literary tattoo website
there's often amazing quotes from some of the best books and poems
and since i wish i could cover my body (though probably not permanently) in some of these, it's a bit of a release for me to see other people have the courage to do it.
i think i just have problems choosing favorites, however
i love kurt vonnegut:

i'm not generally one for quirky tattoos, but this harry potter quote is really beautiful
it's "mischief managed" in uv ink
it only glows in black light.

and this is one of the tattoos from the skin project that i'm dying to be a part of
an author is composing her novel in the form of tatoos,
one word of each participant
i've already sent in my application

2. not always right
this is a website every retail employee should frequent so that you know you're not alone
all customers are morons.

(A woman who had gone through my line earlier that day came up to me.)

Customer: “Give me back my g****** keys!”

Me: “Excuse me?”

Customer: “My car keys! Give them back!”

Me: “I wasn’t aware that I had them. Ma’am, are your keys lost? I can get someone to help you find them if you want.”

Customer: “No! I know it was you who took them! I put them up on this little tray– *points to the tray next to the debit machine* “–and when I got home I couldn’t find them anywhere!”

Me: “When…when you got home? Ma’am, did you drive home?”

Customer: “Well, duh! What kind of idiot are you? Do you think I’m poor?” *gives a disgusted look*

Me: “No…how did you get back here, ma’am?”

Customer: “I drove here, of course!”

Me: “With your car keys?”

Customer: “Yes! Now give them back!”

Me: “Ma’am…if I had taken your car keys, would you have been able to drive home and back here?”

Customer: “No! But I know you took them!”

(I then notice the keys shining in her hand.)

Me:: “Open your hand please, ma’am?”

Customer: *upon seeing her keys in her hand* “Oh, you little witch! What did you do, ‘magic’ them back into my hand?! What kind of store lets witches work for them?!”

Me: “Ma’am, I’m not a witch…but you are a complete stereotypical blonde.”

Customer: “Oh, how dare you! I demand to speak to your manager.”

(My manager, who is a Wiccan and has been listening to this exchange for the past few minutes, comes up behind me, playing with her five-pointed star necklace.)

Manager: *in a mystical voice* “Well, hello there, earth-walker. What can I do for you?”

Customer: *sputters curse words and quickly storms out*

3. toxel

a website that steals from other websites to collect lists of anywhere from 10 to 100 amazing objects under a certain category, such as "30 amazing billboards" or "usb food drives" that come in sushi and cupcakes!

4. wear palettes
a website that gives you a color scheme to dress around every day, complete with an example outfit.
following the regime is nearly impossible without a huge closet, but its great for ideas

5. una bella vita
probably my favorite blog on the net, and the inspiration for my "10 things" blogs.
this girl finds everything beautiful on the internet and sorts it into blogs for my viewing pleasure
i adore her taste

6. astronomy photo of the day

i'm an astronomy and physics nerd so things like pulsars and quasars get me all excited.
it's absolutely amazing the things we can get pictures of from earth

7. polanoid
complete with a "photo of the day" it's a website for the dying art of polaroids
dying, because polaroid has announced that they will stop manufacturing the film as of june this year
:(

8. wicked alice
my favorite poetry journal, run by my favorite living poet, and the first journal i was ever published in

9. my polaroid blog

lovely lovely collections of polaroids, odds and ends, and mosaics
(una bella vita find, again)

10. man or mouse?
and hypocritically, this is the one i should be spending the most time reading.

24 January 2009

10 things i want to do more

I've decided that next semester I'm going to take less hours so I have more time to get back to the things I love (and have more money to pay for the books for said classes). Things like:

1. read for pleasure

I can't remember the last time I actually got to finish a book that wasn't assigned. Sure I start a lot, but I've also got way too many on my reading list. I just ordered five chapbooks from dancing girl press, so let's hope I can just get through one small dose of poetry at least.

2. get more involved

There are a lot of causes that I'd like to be a part of, only one being powershift. I'm still thinking about majoring in environmental science; it seems to be the only thing that gets me motivated, in the career field at least.

3. dress victorian

When we watched REPO! Genetic Opera the other day I was absolutely in love with some of the victorian fusion fashion. I mean, it's not my ideal, but its still gorgeous. Even Paris Hilton can be pretty victorian.

We're going backwards in fashion every few years to mimic what we've already done. I have no problem with that, I think it puts a new spin on things. I just wonder how long I'll have to wait until lace gloves come back in style. And I'm terribly jealous of the people who get to have their annual victorian tea party in Germany.

4. model

Less than two years ago, it was all I wanted to do. I even thought I could pull it off until Tyra Banks told me I couldn't model unless I was 5'7" and crushed my heart (along with I'm sure thousands others). But I've been talking to a friend of mine and I'd like to try again. Who knows where it could go.

5. photography

speaking of modeling, I'd like to get back behind the camera as well. Not only do I miss it, but I have a really expensive camera that I never use, and that's eating away at my central guilt nerve. I practically live life finding pictures to take in everything I see and feel (and sometimes things I can't even express in still frame) and I never do. Part of that is because I'm both proud and shy, and that is a lethal combination.

6. poetry

For Christ's sake, I'm a poetry major. But it seems like unless I have a class, and an assignment telling me what to write every two days I can't think of a damn thing. Part of me wants someone to just do that for me now, the other part says I should get some willpower and write my damn self.

New Years Resolution ( same as the last two):
finish and publish a chapbook.

7. dance

I was with a bunch of thespians last night, and surprisingly, I wasn't terrified out of my mind. Well, ok sometimes I was terrified, but mostly I was just having fun. As much fun as a bystander can have. See, I was in band, not theater. I always thought maybe I'd like theater, but I hated all the kids in it, so that didn't seem like a good plan (much to my chagrin, I'm now dating a former thespian). I don't think acting was every really what I wanted to do, but I did love to dance and sing.

And hell, I love learning choreography for music I wouldn't be caught dead listening to on a regular basis. I love everything from formal ballet to tap and jazz. I probably could have hacked musical theater (if it wasn't for the theater).

Either way, Anthony is taking me to Pranah.

8. orchestra

speaking of me being in band, I'm not anymore. The only reason I'm not is that I can't find a decent community band or orchestra around here that doesn't meet on a day I have class, or two hours from my house. And that sucks, because I've been playing for fifteen years, and I don't just want to give it up. I miss my flute, and my bassoon.

And I was real damn good too.

9/10: draw and paint

The sheer amount of energy and materials involved in visual arts is the reason these are two numbers, if not just because they're two different mediums.

I just bought drawing pencils yesterday, with the fancy rubber kneading erasers. I think we've come full circle of everything I lost after high school. That was where I learned that I could actually create something decent with paint and pencils. I won awards, I made the flyers for the main art show. I had a blast.

And now I never do it anymore.

Not that I can take the classes, they're absolutely ridiculous, and the supplies are unnecessarily expensive. I'll have to find my own outlet to create in. Along with everything else I now have to fit into my already overworked schedule.