Book Smorgasbord #1

As an avid reader and a wanna-be blogger, I feel an embarrassing amount of guilt at how much I hate writing book reviews. Anyone who knows me, however, knows that I love talking about the books I read. It doesn't make sense, I know. So I am going to try a new thing where instead of telling myself that I will write a full book review for each book I read (LOL), I am going to just write a few sentences about a few that stand out and smash them all together in a single blog post now and then. Hopefully this is more interesting for anyone reading my blog and more realistic for anyone writing my blog (uh, me). We'll see how it goes.

Round Two

Just over three years ago I posted for the first time to Under Silver Skies. In reading that first blog, I realized I am essentially in the same place (as a blogger) as I was then. In other words, I'm not very good at blogging. 

But I'm going to give it another go, starting with my second attempt at the Day Zero Project. It isn't as trendy among bloggers as it was then, but I love the idea of making 101 goals to accomplish over 1001 days. You can head over to my original 101 in 1001 post to read the rules and get some background on why I am doing this. 

So, here we go again. I'm going to attempt to blog about these goals, both so people who are interested can keep up with what I'm doing and also to have a record I can look back on. I am still nervous and still scared and still a little embarrassed to post my thoughts, dreams, and ideas on the internet. The whole goal of the project is to try new things, though. Or retry new things, as the case may be. I hope you'll stay tuned and let me know what you think, or don't, the nervous side of me would be just fine with that too. 

-A

Transitions

I have not been very consistent with blogging this time around. My first inclination is to say that even though I’m living in a very cool place doing a very cool thing, ‘life is still life’ (my catchphrase, it would seem). Looking back on it, though, there are definitely things I could have blogged about. I could have blogged about the incredible time my friends and I had in Amsterdam - visiting the Van Gogh museum, strolling across canals, hitting a biker (yes, I hit him - he didn’t hit me), visiting the Museum of Prostitution, and the many discussions over a glass (ha!) of wine. I could have blogged about any one of my work placements (mini internships) in various publishing companies - September Publishing, Macmillan, Hachette. I could have blogged about any number of London restaurants, museums, and venues. I could have blogged about London theatre or, lets be real, meeting Kit Harington (still dying). Alas, I didn’t, but here we are.

Modern Art

Several years ago, I was ecstatic to be touring the Palace of Versailles. Despite its connotations of wealth and disparity, it happens to be one of my favourite places on the planet (so far, that is). I remember turning to walk into the Hall of Mirrors and seeing, to my complete dismay, giant anime-style statues filling the Hall. The bubblegum pink and cerulean mocked the gold and silver of the room and the faces of the oversized dolls sneered at the stunning statues around us. Moral of the story, I don’t get modern art.

Museum Musings

Last week, along with a friend, I visited an Imperial War Museum in London. There, WWII fighter planes dangle from the ceiling and a jeep is frozen just before it drives off the second floor. We guessed how many uniform-clad school children running about could be jammed into the single-man bomb shelter, and we squinted at paraphernalia and pamphlets. We laughed at the sassy letters evacuated children wrote to their parents, and we commented on clothing styles, many of which we find on streets today. We walked in silence through the holocaust exhibit, which bars anyone under the age of 14, and watched in rapture as Hitler spoke.

A quote from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone stuck out to me as a child, and to this day it comes to mind when I hear Hitler speak. Harry has just received his wand at Ollivander’s when the wandmaker says, “I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter . . . After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great.”

New Adventure

In a few short weeks I will be jetting off on a thrilling new adventure that will take me back to school at Kingston University in London. 

It has all happened rather quickly and things have fallen into place in ways I cannot explain. I was in a confused, complacent, and somewhat lukewarm place just months ago and now I am headed in an undeniable direction with excitement, anticipation, and most of all, faith. 

I will be working for a MA in Publishing, a field that has not only interested me for a long time but also seems to fit with the experience I have gained over the past few years in the internships and jobs I have worked. Perhaps more importantly, it fits with the skills I have enjoyed developing and the natural inclinations that have become more clear to me over the past few years.  

My dad asked once if I was going to London for school or if I was going to school for London. In all honesty, it is a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation. I am beyond ecstatic to have found a program that, while providing the education and experience I desire, also allows me to travel and experience a new city and culture. 

Where there is excitement, there is also anxiety. In both of these emotions (and so many more) I turn to a phrase that guided me while I was studying abroad in Spain, a Hebrew word that means surrender while simultaneously meaning movement (see more about that here). I hold onto that as I approach these last few weeks before leaving and ask that, if you feel so inclined, you send positive thoughts and prayers my way. 

I hope to keep up this blog with thoughts and adventures of this new chapter and I'd love to have you along with me. Also, I am now officially letting whoever said "never say never" say "I told you so" (Brad, I am looking at you). 

The New Job

I am still working at my previous job, but I am now also working at Starbucks. Not exactly the "new job" that I was thinking of as I wrote down my goals, but it is a new job.

I decided to apply at Starbucks late on a Saturday night, bored, lonely, and ready to try something new. Within 48 hours I had been interviewed and hired, so I suppose it was meant to be. I really do think it was - I have met so many great people, learned a skill I have always wanted to learn, and am doing something that I simply wanted to do without there being a real "purpose".

Although, I do think there was a greater purpose that I was unaware of in the beginning. Like I said, I have met a lot of great people, I have learned a new skill, I have something that occupies my days and gets me out of my apartment. It has also been a bit of a learning experience in that I have fully realized how prideful I am.

Let me explain. I wanted to work at Starbucks (or a coffee shop of some kind). I was excited to start learning about coffee and the process of creating these different beverages. I was looking forward to meeting new people and thrilled to be doing something active each day. Yet, I didn't actually tell many people that I had this new job. When I did tell people, it was always with the explanation that this is something that I chose, something I wanted, and most importantly not something I needed or had to do.

Nola

Well, I went home for the holidays (yes, all of them) and have been so busy with family, friends, and a bit of work that I simply haven't had time to write. That is ridiculous, because I have done quite a few lovely things.

One of which was traveling to New Orleans for a little modeling shoot (no, I was not the intended model, although I did get one or two pictures taken).

The Manhattan

One of my goals is to have the ingredients for Manhattans in the apartment. I should have specified and also noted that I wanted to be able to make them as well. I am by no means claiming to be an expert, but I have experimented a bit, and I think I've got it.

The Nordic Heritage Museum

I have been wanting to visit The Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle for ages. Although I personally have no Nordic heritage, I think their history is fascinating. (I may or may not also be in love with the idea of Vikings...) I dragged my roommate out of bed this morning, fueled her with coffee and a breakfast sandwich from a great little place called Neptune Coffee, and we were on our way.

The museum is located in a beautiful, old brick school building in the middle of the Ballard neighborhood. Naturally, the museum focuses on Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish immigrants, with a focus on those who ended up in Seattle.