I’m pretty sure I’m going to stick with my initial choice
2/07/2009
Wednesday Haikus
1/07/2009Soon I will be off
to Chinatown in New York
on an adventure
—
Though Nihongo may
be my first choice, I fear that
the wait-list is doom
—
Oh hot guy who taught
me honey-peanut-butter
joy thanks you’re so cute
Monday for Revelations
22/06/2009
I’m pretty sure I’m a theist. Isn’t that strange, coming from a liberal girl of my generation? I think most of my friends, with the exception of a few, are almost exclusively atheist or at most agnostic.
I’ve been labeling myself as agnostic for a while now, never wanting to make a real commitment to Yes or No.
Well here’s your Yes from me. I don’t think there’s some pimped out Zeus sitting in the clouds playing chess with you & me as the pieces, but I do think that there is some Greater Power in the Universe that is an intricate part of The Universe itself.
Well, there you go.
New Direction
21/06/2009For a while, I’ve been sort of stuck about what to do with my blog here. I mean, I have a LJ for my super personal stuff, so why keep a public blog? Sure, I love writing in general and have things I would rather put in a public forum, but Really Cunning Plan has always been a bit of a mish-mosh, hodge-podge of subjects.
And so now it’s time for it to have a direction.
I want RCP to concentrate on Academics, Film, Stuff I Find Inspiring, and My Spiritual Search. Those three topics are things I think about a lot and would like to have exclusive room to talk about. So they’ll go here.
As for baking, my joie de vie outside of all of this Serious Stuff, well let’s say there’s a new place for that. A place called Sugar Squid, my new sweets & stuff photo blog! Basically I want a photo blog of my life, but concentrating on baking, baked goods, etc. Because, as I’ve pointed out before, I am the pinnacle of health. I’ll also just post pics from my general life there. Who doesn’t like to spy on other people?!
food and eye candy
17/06/2009Today I had the pleasure of eating a most delicious falafel sandwich from Mamoun’s (http://www.mamounsfalafel.com/) (only $2.50 and totally fantastic!) in Father Demo Square. It had the two-fold delights of being a tasty meal and providing me enough people watching opportunity to keep my eyes satisfied.
But, of course, the food is the most important part! I’ve begun a quest to explore the different eating opportunities scattered around the office where I work. So far I’ve only been to Beard Papa’s (…twice) and Mamoun’s (I tend to bring food to work to save my money) but there are a couple of other bakeries and cafes I have my eye on! Expect some foody reviews very soon.
I also have a new oven at home and so baking may also commence shortly. Also expect to hear about the disasters to come forth from my kitchen.
tips and shit
11/06/2009Or “why I sit up straight and other pieces of advice from an office intern.”
If there’s one thing I’ve learned at Smith, it’s how to get the job done and how to get my Professors to like me. Even though it’s the summer and I’m states away from college, I’m putting those tools to use at work day to day. Here are my pieces of advice just four days into the job (though I’ve worked here before!):
- Always work 10% harder than you have you. That is, say you’re making a list of contacts for your boss or whomever. Once you finish, go through it and make sure that everything is formatted so that is as easy to navigate and understand as possible. Basically, put in that extra work so that your employer/whatevs does not need to. Do 110% and you’ll be ace.
- If you work at a desk, stand up once every half hour. Even if it involves standing up, stretching, and sitting back down, that less than >1 minute can help you concentrate and just be healthier.
- Not to be a nag, but sit up straight. It’s something I’ve been trying to work on lately, and I can already see the difference in the pain in my back and general comfort. Plus, you look more professional and damn well sexy.
- Do everything as quickly as efficiently as possible. However, don’t sacrifice speed for quality! You need to find a balance (hence the efficient part.)
- Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification. You’ll do your job better and it makes you look like you actually care.
That’s all I can think of today. I’m going to be a suck up/cool kid sort of hybrid, handing out postcards after the screening of Crude at the Human Rights Watch Film Fest this weekend at Lincoln Center. 110% baby.
I Love Ganesh (and samosas)
10/06/2009
A while ago I posted about five places I would like to visit for the first time (http://reallycunningplan.com/blog/2009/04/top-5-places-i-would-like-to-see-for-the-first-time/). Conspicuously missing (I don’t know, maybe not so conspicuous!) was India, a place I have been wanting to go to since I was very, very little.
Let’s back track to the 1990s, when scrunchies were so damn cool & I was under ten years old. I used to thrive off of hypothetical questions - asking my parents whether they’d rather die in fire or by freezing to death, etc - and one of my favorites was to pick you destination of choice. Both of my parents said India without hesitation as did their friends I asked. God damn liberal, spiritual hippies! My friends and I would of course pick the more logical choice of Narnia (as I still would today), but as no airline seems to have any access to CS Lewis’ imagination, I was left to contend with my parents’ choice.
So why didn’t I put it on my earlier list? Well, frankly, I felt it deserved an entry of its own. I don’t particularly want to go on vacation there and I don’t want some lame “spiritual journey” through India type thing either. In short, I’m not really sure how to approach India.
One thing that has always attracted me to India (besides the food, dear god how I love Indian food!) is the art and aesthetics. Classical Indian art just seems so beautiful to me. And talk about color! What a wonderfully colorful culture. I am not ignoring the poverty or the many, many crises plaguing the country, but appreciate it for the beauty and vibrancy so devoid in much of Western culture.
I recommend you all check out some of the amazing photos of India up on Flickr. It’s almost overwhelming. http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=india
Also, The Darjeeling Limited is one of my favorite movies. Just sayin’.
commuter culture
9/06/2009
It takes me about two hours, door to door, to get to work in the morning (& of course to get back home at night.) Although it’s what one might deem a tad too long, it isn’t all misery and doom and gloom. Even today, an overcast, humid, rainy day that you’d expect in the beginning of the summer seemed somehow proper. That is, it didn’t impede on my ability to people watch on the train platform (it actually gave me a chance to analyze people’s umbrellas and rainboots! There is one girl I saw who I swear had planned her entire outfit months ago just so she could wear this bright pink trenchcoat. Oddly enough, I saw someone else wearing the same coat later that day. Maybe pink trenchcoats are a trend now?) and on the train, the rain only added to the atmosphere I needed to continue my reading of The Magician’s Nephew by CS Lewis.
Yes, that’s right, I’m working my way through The Chronicles of Narnia and it is just lovely. My brain is basically a pile of mush in the morning (I wake up at 6:50 AM, an hour far too early for this nineteen year old) and by the time the day is over, basically all my brain can process is something light and fun. So basically, it’s perfect.
The subway is definitely my least favorite part of the trip, just because I’m so tired on both ends of the journey, but it is excellent for overhearing odd conversations (like the Russian lesbian couple I was next to on the way home today) and spotting interesting people/outfits/etc. Nothing beats walking outside in NYC, though (okay, maybe not in the thunderstorms today!) and I will always chose mes pieds / i miei piedi / my feet to get where I need to go.
And that’s how I roll.
A Better First Day Than Most
8/06/2009Today was my first day working for J.B., a prominent documentary film maker, in his offices at @.radical.media. The building is totally cool in an over the top, modern/industrial kind of way. I dig it though. Plus, I am incredibly lucky to have any paying job whatsoever, and so for J.B. to offer this opportunity is a magnificent gift indeed. I spent the day researching NGOs for Crude (which, despite being listed in the credits, I will only be seeing for the first time tomorrow at a press screening!) O! Tis the glamorous life of film, perusing google and mastering printers.
Best thing for working for someone who gets to vote for things like the Emmys and the Academy Awards? The freebies (mostly thanks to JB’s lovely wife Loren who is basically BFFs with my mom.)
Yeah yeah I know, it’s the mirror image. ANYWAY, that, my friends, is a promotional box for none other than Battlestar Galactica covered in quotes about how frakking awesome the show is. And I quote:
Over the past five years on television, there’s been a rigorous, messy, emotional exploration of important questions facing our country and the world — questions about torture, religious fundamentalism, resistance and genocide. We’re not talking about Frontline or Nightline. This is Battlestar Galactica…
- NPR
SO SAY WE ALL.