Photos from Cafehopping. Post title from Is Your Love Big Enough? by Lianne La Havas.
Showing posts with label city. Show all posts
Showing posts with label city. Show all posts
Made my way to the dance floor, danced til I wasn't drunk anymore
This is quite a cute coffee shop in Singapore called The Reading Room, and I would very much like to go, sit and read. Books, coffee, city, architecture, sounds perfect to me.
Photos from Cafehopping. Post title from Is Your Love Big Enough? by Lianne La Havas.
Photos from Cafehopping. Post title from Is Your Love Big Enough? by Lianne La Havas.
She pulls on this heart like she pulls on the sea
Oooh. Travel photographer, Sivan Askayo, took beautiful images of hanging laundry in different cities in his series, Intimacy under the Wires. It reminds me of staying with my grandmother during the summers growing up; the laundry was always hung out the window to dry. One time my t-shirt fell down onto the apartment below, and it was quite the struggle to get it back.
Barcelona
Barcelona
Florence
Venice
Buenos Aires
Post title from That Moon Song by Gregory Alan Isakov.
I had nothing to lose and I had nothing to prove
Yesterday my friend met up with me during my lunch break to check out the Poetry Foundation's free exhibit, Images of Afghanistan. The exhibit showcased landays, a form of oral folk poetry that is often one of the few forms of expression for women in Afghanistan. The exhibit is over now, but definitely check out the articles on Pulitzercenter.org because these poems should be read.
The exhibit was small and simple but informative. What I really enjoyed was the space, the physical building of the Poetry Foundation. I had applied for an internship there a few years ago to no success so that's a little awkward now. But man, wouldn't it be amazing to work in that space. I will definitely have to come back during my lunch breaks to sit and read some Adrienne Rich in that library. Yep, Chicago has some gems.
Post title from I Wanna Go by Summer Heart.
The exhibit was small and simple but informative. What I really enjoyed was the space, the physical building of the Poetry Foundation. I had applied for an internship there a few years ago to no success so that's a little awkward now. But man, wouldn't it be amazing to work in that space. I will definitely have to come back during my lunch breaks to sit and read some Adrienne Rich in that library. Yep, Chicago has some gems.
Post title from I Wanna Go by Summer Heart.
Can you feel it under your skin?
Can we just talk about this weekend. So much goodness.Friday, I went to The Happy Show at the Chicago Cultural Center. It is free and runs until end of September, so if you are in Chicago, you must must go. I loved the simplicity and truth, and there were interactive elements as well, including riding a bicycle and free gum. Always a plus.
Saturday, my high school friend visited me and somehow scored two free One Direction tickets! We joined preteen girls screaming over five boys who were not all that enthusiastic about their songs and seemed slightly hungover and grumpy. However seeing my friend for a day and dancing was so much fun. It made me slightly jealous of these preteen girls who seem to have no worries in my eyes, but then I remembered they were in middle school and all jealousy vanished.
Sunday, I went to see the Oh Hellos. Let me tell you, the Oh Hellos are great live! Maybe the best I've ever seen. They danced, laughed, jumped, and seemed so genuinely enthusiastic and joyful to play music with each other. I would definitely see them again, and I've been listening to their songs on repeat all day at work. The Lament of Eustace Scrubb was amazing live. Oh man that energy. The post title is from Second Child, Restless Child.
So that was a high. After reading my friends' blogs about their summers in Athens, Greece and cross country biking, I gotta be proud of my little moments of excitement even if they pale in comparison :)
I am weary from the restless heart inside of me
Wednesday night I heard Fun. perform at Taste of Chicago, and they were excellent. It did make me miss my friend who is studying abroad in Greece this summer. We went to their concert last year, and my button got stuck on her sweater while we were dancing up and down in the mosh pit singing along, and we had to stop in the dancing to fix it. It was a funny moment, two girls struggling to untangle their clothes surrounded by enthusiastic jumping people.
However this Wednesday there was no mosh pit or sweat, but rather fresh air and the Chicago skyline, which ain't so bad if you ask me.
On our walk to the bus, I passed one of my favorite Chicago bloggers! We passed each other at an intersection, and I didn't realize why she was familiar until a block down. And then I freaked out. I think I scared my friend with my intensity of happiness and shock. I wish I said something, but oh well.
Anywhoo the girl I passed has the lovely fashion blog Avant Blargh. Do check it out, she is very classy.
Blog title from Hide Away by Ben Rector.
However this Wednesday there was no mosh pit or sweat, but rather fresh air and the Chicago skyline, which ain't so bad if you ask me.
On our walk to the bus, I passed one of my favorite Chicago bloggers! We passed each other at an intersection, and I didn't realize why she was familiar until a block down. And then I freaked out. I think I scared my friend with my intensity of happiness and shock. I wish I said something, but oh well.
Anywhoo the girl I passed has the lovely fashion blog Avant Blargh. Do check it out, she is very classy.
Blog title from Hide Away by Ben Rector.
This mystery only leads to doubt
Today I get the keys to my new apartment! It is so odd that this now empty apartment will contain some of my future and final memories of college.
Enough sentiment. This lovely apartment belongs to a textile designer who lives in Brooklyn. Look at that bookcase.
Post title from Say it To Me Now by Glen Hansard from the movie Once.
Find your smile now
Welp... it has been a week since my last post. I wanted to get in the habit of posting something three times a week, but then life happened. I had a week off after exams before my internship, and it was glorious. That week was filled with boating in Door County, seeing the fam, watching movies, and wandering through farmers markets.
But now the daily grind begins. Today was my first day at my internship, which as we all know never is the best day ever. Meeting new people is scary, not knowing anything is awkward. By the end of the day I was cursing the rain for being relentless and myself for wearing heels. It only gets better from here, right?
Post title from Slow Your Breath Down by Future of Forestry.
But now the daily grind begins. Today was my first day at my internship, which as we all know never is the best day ever. Meeting new people is scary, not knowing anything is awkward. By the end of the day I was cursing the rain for being relentless and myself for wearing heels. It only gets better from here, right?
Post title from Slow Your Breath Down by Future of Forestry.
That edginess has always made me feel alive
"It's that thinking that makes me feel alive. And it makes me notice everything around me. When I become complacent like I was in the United States, you just get used to things so you don't think about them. You think, I'll get a cab. I'll go to the airport. I'll have a patty melt. You don't think about it. Whereas now with me, the anxiety starts early on. And I'm always afraid that somebody's going to throw me a curve ball and ask me a question like, what sign are you? Just ask me a question like that out of nowhere. And I'll appear foolish. So it keeps me on edge. But really, that edginess has always made me feel alive."
- David Sedaris on living in Paris
"Why do you live in Paris? And I say, well, you know, I just sort of wanted to. All the reasons that you give sound really embarrassing, cliche, and ridiculous at this point. I mean, Paris is a stale dream. And it's kind of like falling in love with the most obviously cute boy in the class, or like the star of this-- or like a movie star. It's like being a groupie. And then you try to convince the other 25 women who he slept with the last week, well, you know, I really love him, and I think he loves me, too."
- Kristin Hohenadel on first moving to Paris
"You know, you walk down the street in Los Angeles and you feel low. And that's a terrible example because it's Los Angeles, but you feel kind of dwarfed. And [in Paris], I just think, yes, this is exactly it. This is how life should be, the pace, the scale, the way it looks."
- Kristin Hohenadel on returning to the US after living in Paris
"That's when I realized I wasn't in Kansas anymore. And I liked it. I mean, of course, it was kind of humiliating, because you know, we're supposed to be the intimidating, scary ones. And then all these French bitches in high heels were threatening us. And they were in our faces. And it made me realize that the whole black-white game just doesn't work outside of the United States.
Because white people aren't afraid of you here. And at the same time, they don't hate you, because that sort of goes together. So I'll take it. I'll wait on line. Now I don't dare jump lines. So that opened my eyes."
- Janet Mcdonald on being African American in Paris
"I associated the word American with white guys with flags on their lawns, who didn't particularly like me. And people would call me American. And I'd say I'm not American. I'm black. And these were like black French people. And they're like, you are so American. And I remember these French West Indian friends of mine, this one, in particular, from Martinique was saying, you even walk like an American. I'm like, what do you mean? What does an American walk like? And she said they kick their legs when they walk. They kick their legs forward."
- Janet Mcdonald on being African American in Paris
"Here's something else. There are certain things about French culture, Janet says, that just make life here very pleasant. For one thing, people don't ask you personal questions, where you grew up, where you work, what's your family life, what's your story. You're not constantly explaining yourself. She says she has one friend who she knew for five years before she knew this woman had a grown son. Also, there isn't the same striving, the same ambition to be number one as in the States, especially compared with the corporate law job she used to have, where everybody was expected to put in 60 and 70 and 80 hours a week. Here, that would be seen as very strange. Work just is not that important to most people."
- Ira Glass interviewing Janet Mcdonald
Find the transcript for This American Life on Americans in Paris here. Photography by Trop Rouge.
Everybody will be dancing when we're feeling all right
My friend, Chrissy, visited me from Texas this week! She was passing through Chicago by train on her way to Brooklyn for the summer. She writes a blog too, check it out :)
I tried my best to convince her that Chicago is the best, but the weather and the el did not help my case. However we did find a used bookstore, Bookman's Corner, which sold novels for $1.50! Now I'm armed with Joyce Carol Oates and Toni Morrison for the summer. We also went to Let Them Eat Chaos, a Second City show, and analyzed a couple that seemed to be there on a blind date. She hit up a few other places: the bean, Dollop Coffeeshop, the Art Institute, Molly's Cupcakes, and of course the lovely Northwestern campus.
She left last night for her 24 hour train to NYC. The picture below is how I imagine she sleeps on the train. She's pretty badass.
Post title from Doin' It Right by Daft Punk.
I tried my best to convince her that Chicago is the best, but the weather and the el did not help my case. However we did find a used bookstore, Bookman's Corner, which sold novels for $1.50! Now I'm armed with Joyce Carol Oates and Toni Morrison for the summer. We also went to Let Them Eat Chaos, a Second City show, and analyzed a couple that seemed to be there on a blind date. She hit up a few other places: the bean, Dollop Coffeeshop, the Art Institute, Molly's Cupcakes, and of course the lovely Northwestern campus.
She left last night for her 24 hour train to NYC. The picture below is how I imagine she sleeps on the train. She's pretty badass.
Post title from Doin' It Right by Daft Punk.
Our past is pressing up against us
and if we took just a moment to tune into the sound of our breath
we’d be able to hear our divinity
pulsing up our feet through the concrete streets of our cities
and we would remember
that we be stars brilliant suns that shine at high noon
earth shattering revelations eclipsed on the edge of new moons
but we give up too soon
leave our dreams dead and deferred on the side of a road
and forget that while our bodies may have been property
our souls could never be sold
that’s why we’re the greatest story ever told
| — | Remember by Mayda del Valle |
You and me, we got our own sense of time
My best friend is studying abroad in Athens this summer. I've been keeping a list of the things she needs to bring back for me, like new sandals. We spent four days in Athens when we backpacked through Southern Europe together last August. I miss it a lot. I remember we could see the Acropolis from our hostel balcony. Yeah I know, I got the travel bug again. Whenever I think of moments in my short life of intense happiness or fear, many of them fall under that period of traveling. So I can't help sometimes wishing I was somewhere else sometimes (especially when exams are close).
I stumbled upon some beautiful photos from The Colors of Travel 2012 by The New York Times. Stoooop I want to go to there.
Enjoy your Friday! I'll be sleeping on the Warren Dunes tonight in Michigan, which is the closest thing I have to traveling these days... :)
Post title from Hannah Hunt by Vampire Weekend.
Montpellier, France
Turkey
Penang, Malaysia
Hyderabad, India
It was the moment
I remember one morning getting up at dawn, there was such a sense of possibility.
You know, that feeling? And I remember thinking to myself: So, this is the beginning of happiness. This is where it starts. And of course there will always be more. It never occurred to me it wasn’t the beginning.
It was happiness. It was the moment. Right then.
The Hours
Words to live by
"The really important kind of freedom involves
attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort,
and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them,
over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day."
attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort,
and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them,
over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day."
David Foster Wallace ~ This is Water
You wish sunrise would never fall under
Currently I'm wearing socks I bought this week to avoid doing laundry, my bathroom hasn't been cleaned in two weeks, I'm a few novels behind in my homework, and I'm fairly certain people are having sex in the apartment above me right now. Must get away.
So let's go to Cape Town, South Africa.
Post title from Go Do by Jónsi.
So let's go to Cape Town, South Africa.
Post title from Go Do by Jónsi.
Slowly dear ask would you dance with me
This video. Wow. Just wow.
Roshambo from FreePeople on Vimeo.
Post title from Part One by Band of Horses.Can I get a minute of not being nervous
I love this. One lady put up a wall where folks can write down what they want to accomplish before they die. It started in New Orleans and has been continuing in other cities and countries. I need to find the one in Chicago!
"It was an experiment and I didn’t know what to expect. By the next day, the wall was bursting with handwritten responses and it kept growing: Before I die I want to… sing for millions, hold her one more time, eat a salad with an alien, see my daughter graduate, abandon all insecurities, plant a tree, straddle the International Date Line, get clean, live off the grid, build a school, be someone’s cavalry, be completely myself… People’s responses made me laugh out loud and they made me tear up. They consoled me during my toughest times. I understood my neighbors in new and enlightening ways, and the wall reminded me that I’m not alone as I try to make sense of my life."
"It was an experiment and I didn’t know what to expect. By the next day, the wall was bursting with handwritten responses and it kept growing: Before I die I want to… sing for millions, hold her one more time, eat a salad with an alien, see my daughter graduate, abandon all insecurities, plant a tree, straddle the International Date Line, get clean, live off the grid, build a school, be someone’s cavalry, be completely myself… People’s responses made me laugh out loud and they made me tear up. They consoled me during my toughest times. I understood my neighbors in new and enlightening ways, and the wall reminded me that I’m not alone as I try to make sense of my life."
Berlin
Chicago
Johannesburg
Brooklyn
Post title from Slow Show by The National.
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