Moving, book clumps for sale, and 127 Hours

Moving is not a very fun experience. Sure, the thought of arranging your stuff in a new place is nice but the reality of having 20 boxes filled with books and movies and having to unpack them all isn't that great. It's made me accept the fact that I need to quit keeping books after I've read them. Unless they're old or outstanding, I have giving them up after I read them. This is going to be tough and I already know I won't be giving up certain authors, but some I can certainly part with. At a certain point, I feel like keeping them around is purely so other people can see that I read, which is absolutely absurd because once you've talked to me for more than twenty minutes it is pretty obvious that I'm a dork that feels the need to smell books (oh but some just smell so amazing). I'm thinking about clumping books together, once I'm done with them, and selling them to people. I don't know if I should do this via ebay or craigslist or what. But I think it would be neat to do a sort of surprise! book clumping. Never know what you're going to get. Maybe five books for ten dollars. I don't know. I'll probably put far too much thought into what I send people. I also thought about giving them as Christmas presents but not everyone I know is into reading. I plan on making gifts anyway. I'm broke so this is going to be a crafty Christmas.

On another note, "127 Hours" is so damn good that it took me two weeks to write the darn review for it (which I think was terrible because I couldn't write it without feeling like a pathetic fan-girl). So, anyone reading this should make a very serious effort to see this film. Danny Boyle shows that the more he seems to limit himself, the farther and deeper his talent stretches. It's astounding. And James Franco, if he doesn't get an Oscar nod for this I'll be shocked. His best role to date, in my opinion.

Aron Ralston's story is beyond beflief. I really want to read his autobiography. It'll be my next library visit. Need to finish "Shantaram" first. Have had it for years and am finally reading it. I need to get back to reading. I found that as a Literature major, I quit reading for fun. When you have, maybe 12-15 books to read and analyze, it sort of cut out anything else. Sure, some of those books that I studied are favorites now ("Cane" by Jean Toomer) but after awhile, you don't want to study them anymore. I got a little burned out. So I'm excited to get back to reading for purely pleasure.

Meaning, any book suggestions?

Party Hard!

Do you know what to do when you need a last minute costume to see Creepy Creeps at Tower bar? You prepare to party hard Andrew W.K. style.

Sometimes it's not for the best

Have you ever been told something by someone that made you wish so desperately that you never knew? That they had just carried on with that terrible secret bottled up within them? It's not because you don't want to support them or that you don't love them, but now you have to carry that secret with them and the weight is just too much. You have images that you can't get out of your mind now.

In some ways my life is moving forward. I'm moving to the perfect location and at the end of this semester I will have finally graduated college. But I'm still hopelessly smitten with a man that it's a disaster to feel something for. And I'm constantly reminded of this fact. Thankfully, he has nothing to do with the above secret. Although I find myself wanting to talk with him about it. Why? It doesn't make sense. I find myself finding excuses to stop by his house because I know that if I do, I'll end up sleeping over. Now I'm borrowing something of his for my Halloween costume and am supposed to pick it up from him at work tonight. I don't want to go in there alone. How pathetic is that? I don't know how to talk to him outside of his bedroom. Sounds different than it is.

And why is it that straight men have no real interest in me? Gay men think I'm gorgeous and tell me every single time they see me. Why don't straight men have the same response? Or if they do, why don't they talk to me? Hanging out with my friend and his newest circle of friends (mostly gay men) is the biggest confidence boost. And my friend tells me everything they say about me and it's all positive and so sweet. So where do you meet straight men that are worth your time? I missed that class.

On a different note, San Francisco this weekend to stay with one of my very best friends. We have a Florence and the Machine show to go to and the night after that is a Billy Bragg show, which I am crazy excited for because I haven't seen him in so long. It couldn't be a worse week due to the moving to a new place and not having money for even the BART but the tickets have been bought for a while and we both need this visit.

And now, I sneeze.

I am so excited for Black Swan. Darren Aronofsky is a genius. That man can do anything and I'll be on board.

Banksy's in Springfield

Here's the Simpsons intro that Banksy directed. Amazing.

Negative, Ghost Rider.

Today has been an epic fail on so many levels. First, apartment hunting was a bust. Why is it so difficult to find a one-bedroom in my price range? No one calls back and the one place I adore is $925 and that's just too much. Second, lunch turned out to be a bad choice. Getting veggie friendly rolls at a sushi place, which is usually a favorite place of mine, turned out to kill my stomach. I don't know if it was the driving around afterwards or just the food but I feel like dying. Third, still have no idea what to be for Halloween and even worse, no clue what to do for my Birthday (which is the week before Halloween). And to make the entire day one for the 'woe is me' books, I cannot stop thinking about the only guy I have ever been sexually and intellectually attracted to. A guy who doesn't share the same feelings and is completely unrealistic as dating material. I know all this, but it does nothing to get him out of my head. And I swear to everything that is good in this world, if he posts one more ambiguous Facebook update about some person whom he can't stop thinking about...my mind may explode. Either that or he's in store for a very awkward conversation tomorrow night when I see him.

And, I'm trying to take a nap...well, I will once I get off the computer, but I keep getting text messages and my saddened state forces me to continually see who wants what because what if, just what if, it's the guy (which it would never in a thousand worlds be). Sigh.

So, yes. Woe is me day. Join me, won't you?

Side effects of being sick

I missed my only class this morning (a French class) even though there was a quiz. I felt horrid but not it's not as bad. I missed a lot of things today but am determined tomorrow will go as planned: go to the see a doctor's assistant to demand antibiotics, pick up portfolio materials at Blick, visit the Viva la Revolución art exhibit to get a bit more meat for my street art article, go apartment hunting, and see Case 39 (finally a flick I don't have to review) with some friends. I'm fairly certain I won't get around to apartment hunting though.

There is a perk of being sick though. I always feel creative. I finally started up my Little Prince painting again. I want a series of brightly colored paintings that may or may not show the same scene. It's going to take me forever though at this point. I have a long ways to go on the stars and planet texture.

The aftermath.

The other one is a different color. It's a grayish blue that is a lot lighter than the one in the photo. I'm probably going to do the planet a more vibrant color to contrast with this more brown one. I don't know in which one the Prince or his flower will be. Maybe neither.

My cat, Gandhi, just walked across the canvas so now it's got some unique topography.

On an unrelated, but always needed, note:
Roxy Music - "Do the Strand"

Oh, Beck. Why have you left my dreams?

For maybe a month Beck was always in my dreams. He's left me though and now my dreams are a darker place.

Here's the video for "The Golden Age" from the "Sea Change" album.