Reflections at the end of summer

As I finally have time to reflect back upon this summer, I've realized a number of things.

Number one. I have very little money to my name. And although I've unearthed several clever (I think) ways to go about living the way I do and still enjoy the little things... it's clear that money does have meaning. More meaning than I would like it to have. But I guess that's why humans created this invisible form of self worth? Whether it's clothes or food, or trips here are there... everything can be broken down into george washingtons. We all want it... i'm jostled up to a slick businessman and a panhandler in tattered nikes - they both want it. You scream, i scream... we all scream for ice cream!

Number two. People. There's something ingrained in us people that makes us needs closeness. And I wonder about strangers- who they're close to. Who fills those random knick-knack hours which exist between our errands, work, and social times? Who do we grant that pleasure? We've got odd hours to fill, and fill them we must!

That brings me to Time. Time is so important. Probably even more important than money.

And about other things - I've discovered that those who are happiest spend their times outdoors. It's so sad a majority of our life is spent in a fishbowl.

Being happy? What's that about anyways?

So many unanswered questions and I've already had twenty years on this planet...

Work has taken over my life.

As I sit here munching on my salt and vinegar potato chips. I wonder... is this a sneak preview into my twenties life? It's lookin dismal. But there's still hope!!

Taking control of recklessness!

At the John Jay College Library right now. Libraries are like hair salons - they look, smell, and feel the same wherever you go. There are always the same types of people hanging around... and you come out feeling either more empowered, or more disappointed.

Hopefully, I will come out empowered not disappointed. I am turning a new leaf in my life! Inspiration directly stemming from this economic disaster we're in... and the need to adapt. So, I'm deciding to handle my finances, 200 xs better... any advice?

I'm going abroad next semester, so I need to start saving. I'm going to keep a detail money diary of everything I purchase over the next week and how much I have. I'll also detail the amount of my bills, other fees, etc. Then... the financial diet will have to commence. Keep you posted on this experiment.

Wizardry!

Exhausted from work again, but I've got new-and-improved hopes for a publishing career! Maybe someday I'll be one of those impeccably well-dressed power women, gliding through the revolving doors in my stuart weitzmans. Or maybe not.

Egads! (this is a real word. why does spell check not think so?) I'm now working 7 days a week. Do the math. that means every day!

Monday - Chemistry (to improve my attitude towards chem let's name it something more interesting... In honor of the harry potter premier this summer, we shall call it wizardry! in any case, the concepts in chemistry might as well be wizardry!)

Tuesday - Internship

Wednesday - Wizardry (wizardry wednesdays!)

Thursday - Work at boutique

Friday - internship

Saturday - boutique

Sunday - boutique



I have Wizardry tomorrow allll dayyy longgg. awesome!

Here comes summer!! (part 2)

Spending tons of time on this futon lately.

Someone told me that my previous entry was really depressing. So, I'm determined to lighten things up a bit. Summer wooooooooo!!!

Okay, time to get serious. and less sarcastic.

I've been feeling very confused lately. I have no idea what I want. What I used to deem important, no longer seems so. The future looks hazy. Panic attacks frequent my dreams. Is this the time in my life when I get hit with a reality check?

I went for a run today in beautiful weather. Down by the Hudson, I went into complete runner's zone: a place where I can lose track of everything and just concentrate. I seem to break down the emotions with the physical aspects of jogging. It's so important for me to go with the flow. I hate running in pain, and I'm an easy quitter. If I feel like stopping and contemplating, then I do exactly that. I'm probably a helluva annoying runner, too. I like making obstacles, and I weave in and out of trees, park benches - sometimes I jump onto park benches or over rocks. I'll do form drills or try to run only stepping on the cracks in a pavement. Weird right? Running is more of a mental than physical exercise for me. But I'm afraid it didn't so much clear my head, as give me a shot of endorphins, today. I left just as confused as I felt before.


Going back home to Poughkeepsie this Friday. My sister's SENIOR PROM is this weekend - and of course prom drama needs to be sorted out. Damn teenagers (+ housewives).

Yeahhh Summer 09.

I have to think about some new "stay-positive" techniques.

Here comes summer!

Yep. Feeling kind of glum for several reasons. Summer? I don't have much to look forward to. Sorry if you are expecting a thriller series about my exciting internship and the consequential tribulations of it all. That glamour is long gone...

It's not that I detest my jobs at this moment, though. In fact, I really like where I'm working this summer. Malia is great - friendly people and a bright, cheery office! The uniform is casual and relaxed. My sales gig at the Montmartre boutique is certainly better considering my past experience there. I've especially learned my lesson of bringing comfortable shoes with me EVERYWHERE. As soon as I hit the subway station, I'm in my moccasins without a care for how I look. Who am I trying to impress, anyway? The panhandlers?

Yikes. Now there's a jaded voice unearthing itself from all this mess. Aside from being an intern and a salesperson, I will also be a student... once again! This summer is looking fantastic, already. (That's sarcasm.) I'll be taking Chemistry at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Yeah, don't ask.

Other than working my ass off and studying my ass off (I will certainly be ass-less by the end), I will also be a babysitter to a two-year old. For the summer. I just can't wait for it to begin!!

Sarcasm comrades...

In the words of a current boss, "None of this... ' Summer could be better.' Have a more positive attitude!" I will keep busy and you know what? I read today in Time Magazine (before I got a massive stomachache and had to run out of the book store) that sales jobs are going up.

And I guess that's it for now. Stay tuned for exciting updates!

My last column in the Sun

Today, my last column in the Sun published. The whole experience of being a columnist again is both exciting and yet, perpetually unsatisfying. I never feel as if I'm writing something substantial - maybe a humorous/whimsical comment on a current topic... then on to the next fleeting idea! Everything I write is very light and airy. I feel as if I'm not getting my feet wet enough of my opinions and observations on these subjects.

I took my last exam today (before finals begin). And I swear I bombed it despite having studied until 5 in the morning (not joking either). Tomorrow is the last day of classes... Yeah. Here we go again: the beginning of the end. Why is it for some reason I feel like I learned nothing this semester? Or did anything of meaning? My BIGGEST pet peeve: time wasted on mindless, meaningless, boring gibberish.

LAST WEEK OF CLASSES

I can't believe it! I still have a final presentation (in French!), a lab final, an Econ midterm to get through until the epic Slope day on Friday. Crazy! Aaaand-drum roll please-the performers for slope day will be the Pussycat Dolls. I don't know why everyone is complaining. I personally am excited for the Pussycat Dolls... hot stuff!

Internship for this Summer!!

One of the suits featured on their website

I just found out that I will be interning with Malia Mills this summer!! I'm so excited - Malia Mills is a swimwear company based in New York City. Looking forward to another busy season of work and play :)

Do you take risks?

Spring Formal 2009


I bought this parrot green dress from Zara Paris, more than a year ago! I haven't worn it since. At the time, I thought it looked so Italian and so high-fashion. It's made of floaty chiffon, and there are flowers coming down from the neckline. I loved the dress, but I just never had the guts to wear it. It seemed a bit overwhelming, and a bit outrageous.

So I finally mustered up the nerve to wear it to Spring Formal. Picture above - what do you think? Win or fail? Whatever the case, I loved wearing something different.

Do you like taking risks, whether in fashion or life in general? Or are you more of a classic, tried and true kind of person?

soaking up the sun

Jacob is soaking up the sun


Beautiful weather on the arts quad.... we decided to do lunch here today.

Awesome weather today!! Two thumbs up!

What are your internet procrastinators...

1. www.childhoodflames.blogspot.com

Childhood Flames Blog - Yes, I'm obsessed with the fashion musings of a pre-teen. SHHH. My guilty pleasure....

2. www.nytimes.com

The New York Times is my homepage!

3. www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/single-ish/

Another guilty pleasure - Ryan Dodge who blogs for Glamour's "Single-ish Blog". I think it's my 1-year anniversary since I got hooked.

4. www.facebook.com

Of course, Facebook. But who isn't on this 24/7?

4. www.chrysan-tung.blogspot.com

Chrysalis of course... what a devoted writer...

Any other internet procrastinators? I'm getting bored with mine...

How do you prep for an interview?

Isla Fisher wearing Malia Mills!

I was biting my nails (at a nail salon, too), stressing about an upcoming interview. Lo and behold, I opened a magazine just to see Isla Fisher of Wedding Crashers and Confessions of a Shopaholic, wearing Malia Mills on the cover of Allure. She looked hot! Recall, this is the chick married to Borat.

I'm getting pretty nervous for my interview, which is perhaps the one chance I have at an internship this summer. Looking up questions doesn't really help either. Where do I see myself in 5, 10, 30 years? What are my strengths? Weaknesses? Definitely keeping my calm.

How do you prep for an interview???

Routine... good or bad?

Taking time to enjoy a cup of coffee on a checked picnic blanket in fiiine weather? Priceless.

Though excruciating at first, waking up for my 9am is getting easier and easier. The trick is to get into routine. Earlier today, I started thinking about it. Routine can be comforting and perhaps even soothing. It's nice to know exactly what to expect. My first challenge at college was to establish a routine. Needless to say, I'm still having difficulties with this. When I first arrived at school, I was amazed by how much freedom I suddenly had. I could probably go out every night if I wanted to. If I just felt like ordering food or going for a run, I could. But then you realize it's not like that at all. You need a routine, and the routine becomes suffocating.

It's funny. One time when I was still in grade school, my sister and I decided to go to the neighborhood park. We've probably taken this walk a thousand times before. As we were walking, she suddenly made a comical, overly-exaggerated veer off to the other side of the street. I was both confused... and amused... Later, she told me she felt like something was "controlling her" to keep walking straight down the street. So, she made a ridiculous detour. She wanted the walk to be her own choice, and she wanted to prove she could go any direction that she felt like... even if her destination would be the same.

We get schedules, meetings, chores, tasks, assignments, and soon it's routine that's ruling your life, and life that's constraining your liberty. When did spontaneity become unfashionable? Is life just doomed to be chained to meaningless, mindless, aimless routine? If I am my own person, then why does it feel like I am only what my routine makes me... Maybe life in itself is just a large-scale balancing act between routine... and spontaneity. Are we supposed to only live around these routines? If so, when does real living begin? What gives: is routine good or bad?

Off to stop procrastinating on homework...

News alert | Feature on TeenVogue!

Cornell was featured on TeenVogue for the 25th Annual CDL Fashion show. So dope!

Internship update: I have an interview this week via SKYPE. Let you know how that goes. Applied to Anthropologie and Women's Health, Interview Magazine, and hopefully TimeOut New York and Smithsonian soon. Pheuf!

Hope everyone is having a good week so far...

who doesn't like daisies and daffodils...

My sorority "Little" got me this vase!

One thing I love: fresh flowers!! I picked the daffodil from a patch outside. They're shooting up everywhere. It's amazing how such a small thing will brighten up your day.

interesting demonstrations on the quad

Red plastic mesh bags filled with straw.


Someone rearranging the perfect lines of bags.


From one side...


To the other.

Wonder what these mean? Keep you updated...

Would you prefer an apartment or a dorm room?

Unmade bed... disgrace...

Room is getting a spring cleaning. And makeover? I remember when I tried redoing my room at home... which turned out to be a semi-success. But I love it and all the personal trinkets that make it homey. Having a sense of home and my own personal space is so important to me. I'm wondering what the deal will be like next semester, in Paris! I can either live in a household with a French family (language benefits), in dorm (peer benefits), or with another person in an apartment (homey benefits). I can't decide. What would you do??

spring awakening | what are you excited about for spring?

The buds are finally coming out...

After a freak snowstorm earlier this week, the buds are finally coming out!!!! I'm excited about...
1. Riding my schwinn again... when can I get cruising?
2. sunglasses
3. end of classes (i.e. Slope day)
4. laying out on the arts quad
5. outdoor hookah and dinner parties
6. fresh fruit from the farmer's market
7. flowers!!
8. Swimming at the gorges
9. Holi
10. spring dresses

What are you excited about for spring?

I survived!!!

Once upon a runway
Cornell Model UN Conference
Fibers Exam
Lame-o MGMT exam
Writing articles
Alumni Networking
Internship grazing
and Misc

It may have looked bleak... but it's all coming together!!

No idea no idea how I will survive this week... sob.

rainy rainy day

Enjoying a cup of coffee before I run to work. I've been going to all my classes this week!! Gold star for me. Maybe there's hope after all.

Been perusing new perfumes online. I think I'm going to go for something citrusy and bright. Something to counteract the rainy rainy-ness of spring time in ithaca.

To try:
I love love by Moschino
Light blue by D&G
Capri by Aqua di Parma (super expensive... worth it?)

Wonder what it takes to be a perfume connoisseur. A good nose?

on a scale of one to ten...

My stress level is a six. But this time, I'm keeping it under control! Yep, back at school for another six, seven weeks. A lot will be happening in the next few.

For now, I'm learning a little-but important-life lesson in stress management. First off, does stress actually accomplish anything? Is stress one of those things that's OK in moderation? Or, is it just a waste of time... When it comes to stressing about stress, why stress when you can do something productive with your energy?

This subject gets a bit mind boggling for me. And there is no doubt that the topic of stress becomes a catch-22 in itself. Yoga, deep breathing, visualizing the ocean... I don't think these things ever worked for me. For now, you just have to learn to compartmentalize what you can. And for everything else, there's mastercard? No, silly. There's... hmm... Get back to you on that one.

Just another story that proves vintage dreams do come true...

Spent a lovely day in Rhinebeck with an old friend. The drive up there is so calming--a comforting thicket of forests, old shops, and the hudson river playfully peeking in and out. Collective sigh here. The best time to go is Sunday afternoon, when the farmer's market sets up, and brunch menu is slowly melting into the dinner. You can grab coffee on the go and make it to Vanderbilt Mansion for the sunset. What can get more perfect than that?

As for yesterday, we drove into town for lunch. We chose this brasserie-type restaurant, which looked more like a congress house on the outside. Salad, soup, and mussels. So new england... unbearably quaint!! We left and something out of a dream happened. A vintage collector's dream.

You're strolling down some impossibly cute town sidewalk and suddenly find a hole-in-the-wall thrift store, literally tucked away and out of view. Walking in, nothing looks particularly interesting. Old dress shirts, brand name knock-offs, the usual. THEN, you stop to look over a really cute bag hanging on the wall. Wow, it's classic. It's only $32. It's... FERRAGAMO. As in SALVATORE FERRAGAMO, designer god of shoes and handbags, of which usually cost in the thousands to own.

Needless to say, I floated away on a cloud, hardly realizing if I had actually taken out my credit card or not. The only thing on my mind was the vintage ferragamo... that I now owned.

Yep. Just another urban myth proved to be real. Dreams like this can come true!! Verified by a real, live ordinary person.

getting into routine

Knock knock groggy groggy
Splash of cold water. Freezing!
Eggs and toast for breakfast
Big stretchhhh, cup of tea
Wear are my shoes?
Clunk, can of paint, paint, paint, scrape, scrape
Drips in my hair, splatter, splish splash
On the newspaper, smudge smudge
Big stretchhhh
Paint, paint, kneel kneel
Ouch my knees!
Reach, reach, swipe of paint across the face
Splash of cold water. Freezing!
Lunch, munch, munch
Cup of coffee, some hamentashen
Apricot is my favorite
Check my email, "Oh, the economy!"
Barack and basketball?
Blah, blah
Big stretchhhh, back to work
Paint, paint, cough, cough
Sweat, sweat, kneel kneel
Ouch my back!
Last... few... bits... paint... paint...
Did I just blackout?
Last bits, clean, clean
Garage door, must be time for dinner
Check my email, munch, munch
School work? No, ice-cream sounds better
Chat, chat, online TV
Sis is home
Chat, chat, chat... chat... chat...
Sleepy, very, sleepy
Snuggle with MacBook, chat, chat, chat
Battery, 24%, ...18%, ...11%, 6%...
"You are now on reserve battery."
Time for bed, shut down
Splash of cold water. Freezing!
Brush teeth, brush, brush, mm minty
Snuggle snuggle, think, think...
Think, think, think, think, think....
Think, think...
Snuggle, snuggle, think... think...
Groggy, groggy... snooooooooze....
Snooooooze....
Knock, knock.

Changing my room into a bed and breakfast

So, I am at home in Poughkeepsie for spring break. Woooo... As much as I wish I were far away on a beach, sipping from a coconut, the fact is... I'm not. Nonetheless, I'm keeping busy with my next favorite thing to do: home modeling (second wooo...) Although not quite Extreme Makeover Home Edition, I do plan on making my home-away-from-home more comfortable, design-wise that is. My parents and I are going to eventually re-do the whole house. I think they plan on selling it... we'll see how that goes.

As for my room, it's been cleaned, scrubbed, and emptied of all paper recycling, plastic recycling, and trash. I wish I had a chance to take a "before" picture. But at least I remembered now! Courtesy of my mac laptop, here are some cleaned before pictures:
































































And now how I hope (i.e. dream fantasmically) my room will turn out in the end... I am going for a sort of comfy-Alice in Wonderland, bed and breakfast, cosy feel. A little Midsummer's Night Dream. Perhaps some Paris/Capri/Greece thrown in there, why not...






























































































































Keep you updated on the transformation!

No more black!!

I am determined to come out of my all-black winter wardrobe. I'm excited! And scared. This is a big step for me. I'm a black-clothing addict. Must. quit. (Big breaths in... count to ten slowly.... repeat mantra) Here goes! Yay spring freshness