OH YEAH I DID THAT

Strega Nonna title sequence from vina s. on Vimeo.

It's true.

Justin: You want to go see Robin Thicke tomorrow?
me: if he's playing fo free.
Justin: yeah, me neither.

(I only know three of his songs, eep)

The Fire Pit

Meekus: vina. I'm sort of a dick. (insert reason why)
me: Meekus. I'm sort of a dick. Because that made me laugh out loud.
Meekus: oh god, we're going to hell.
me: It's all good. We can open up a restaurant there. Call it The Fire Pit. Serve bloody Marys. Play Disco Inferno.
Meekus: I'll use a mini pitchfork for the grill. ^ ^

It's that time of year!

I HATE YOU is how Libby expresses her love.

Libby: I saw that pic of pasta w/nuts you posted on Tumblr. I got Ryan Gosling angry.

Man-eating mignonettes

Kai: (running amok with his imagination) Run! Run! The man-eating clams are coming!!
Oura: Did he say what the clams are marinating in?
me: No, no, he said “man-eating.” He didn't turn into some five year old foodie.

Hinnom

Times New Roman?! Them's fightin' words.

[via text]
Caleb: Shush
me: Nah
Caleb: Yes.
me: No.
Caleb: YES.
me: NO!
Caleb: Fine...JK, YES!!
me: This can't be construed via text but no in all caps Futura, extra bold, pt size infinity.
Caleb: How about YES, all caps, bold, pt size gazillion googolplex inifnity TIMES NEW ROMAN.

Brought to you by the letter C

Cheddar cheese and club crackers, chocolate cake, chili, cornbread, and cider

bashful Lydia!

Cry-Baby!

This ain't no wow no more.

Meekus: It's a good song. I'd get down to this song too :D
me: hahah ok
Meekus: even though, you know, it's about killing someone.

I think I'm falling. I think I'm fall-all-ing.

Stupid Zales diamond commercials and their cute songs.

HE PERMED ME!!

[via text]
Russian Rachel: I'm getting my hair permed today.
me: ......
Russian Rachel: DON'T GIVE ME THAT. IT'S A BODY WAVE. I TOTES WON'T LOOK LIKE SHIRLEY TEMPLE.

Happy T.Hanks Giving!

What I'm listening to on the way to the third Thanksgiving dinner:
- The Black Keys. I forgot the stuffing. Hold on, I'll Run Right Back and get it.
- the upbeat songs from the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. Mighty fine pickin' and a-singin'.
- Basia Bulat. My sunglasses!
- Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. Yo Mike, yo Mike. Who's that girl in the corner right there? Oh, that's Alina.
- Ugly Casanova. Here's to Now.

To my black Friday shoppers out there: you are brave and I hope you were able to get whatever on-sale items you coveted enough to camp for after a full Thanksgiving dinner. That is dedication. I went home and slept. 

This is the extent of my black Friday shopping:

Wait, that's a lie. I bought a five dollar mp3 album on Amazon.

me: mang, I was vetoed on the ragout.
Stephanie: How come? And since when can ppl tell you what to BRING to a thanksgiving dinner? "Oh hell no, indians, no more corn"

We just don't care.

John Legend is good for the cloudy and cold days.
(I had literally just finished typing out that sentence and the sky became all sunny.
I HAVE MAGICAL POWERS.)

Yeah...

This. Is. FLUSHING!!

Russian Rachel: Haha! Am I gross because I don't?

me: Nah, man. I like doing it because I say "This. is. Sparta!!" in my mind when I kick the handle. I've never even seen 300.

Russian Rachel: *like* x100000

Shoot, we may have lost the war but we won that battle.

[during a round of Taboo, boys against girls, my word is "ditto"]
Matt: Ohhhh, you're not going to get that one. You should skip it. I would skip it.
me: (staring at card, not saying anything)
Matt: Come on. You want to skip it? You should skip it.
me: no, I want to try. Ok, I'm ready.
(timer starts)
me: In the movie Ghost, Demi Moore says this to Patrick Swayze.
Mariam: (no hesitation) Ditto.
All the boys: daaaaaamn.

Whisper in my ear, baby

I like the random dude at the end of the song.

Lucky Lemonade Shutters

[email chain about food and blogging]
me: oh, Meekus and I are starting a food blog together. We can't think of a name for it.
Fábio: Lemonade Lists and Lucky Shutter, how about Lucky Lemonades? Dude, that's a lot of blogs you have. Dayum.
me: Hahahahah. I already have a Lucky Lemonade.
Fábio: You've got to be joking! -.-'

We love us some butter, y'all.

me: Sagid, that pumpkin cheesecake was really good!
Sagid: Thanks! It was a Paula Deen recipe. I think it was low-fat; it called for only one stick of butter.

This. This just happened.

Sunday

I would like:
a clean and organized bedroom.
productivity on all my projects.
more hours in the day for creative things but still maintaining a proper food and sleep schedule.
hot coffee and good conversation.
John Legend, Norah Jones, Priscilla Ahn kind of music.
this whipped cream-licking, apron-wearing, stubbly gentleman right here.

Donald Glover, WEIRDO

[via text]
Meekus: Put on Comedy Central!!!! Donglover alert!
me: (aloud to self) I'm just going to assume he means Donald Glover.

"vina missed the bus" texts

[my NY Honors professor's reply to my 7 AM email of shame telling her I missed the bus]

Selena: No sweat. We will miss you. Have a savory breakfast instead!

(she knows me so well.)

Mariam: Does this mean you're coming to Thanksgiving Taboo?!?!

Bates: What are you going to do now?

me: Go to the gym and Thanksgiving potluck. 

Bates: So basically you still win. 

me: yeah man, I'm baller like that. 

Justin: First of all, after all the "ARE YOU GOING ON ARTSBUS IN NOVEMBER?? You'd better go! It's the last one we can all go on together. I don't want to be stuck with crazy people by myself!" And where are you? Not here. Which leaves me to deal with crazies. By myself. 

(two minutes later)

Justin: Bleh. I kinda don't want to go anymore.

me: I overslept and missed the Artsbus for the first time ever.
Boek: Haha! Welcome to my world!

That time I missed the Artsbus

I missed the Artsbus today. This has never happened before and I've gone to at least ten Artsbus trips in the past. This is what happens when you stay awake the night before (which I've done for the past three or four trips with no problem), have a spot of free time, and decide to "rest your eyes" for an hour or so. 

a. You oversleep through all four of your alarms. 

b. You wake up and look at the time in mouth agape shock. 6:15? Surely you jest.

c. You check your phone and have six missed calls and ten text messages asking your whereabouts. 

d. You call people on the bus and tell them what happened. They try to convince you to race them to Maryland and whatever rest stop is scheduled for today. Consider all possible options. 

e. You have to write the email/text of shame to Suzanne, Selena, AND Justin (whose response will surely be "omg, vina." or "mmhmm."

(via text)

Rachel Newdorf: (who is actually on the bus and was going to be my seatmate) Go back to sleep. We can talk later if you want. Although you are probably crazy awake now. 

me: YEAH MAN. 

I was all packed and everything. My clothes were laid out. I knew what I was going to make for breakfast AND which sandwich I was going to get at Amy's Bread in Chelsea Market (roast eggplant/tomato with NY state goat cheese and fresh thyme on baguette). My camera, phone, and ipod are all charged and ready to go. I had a blanket and a pillow ready.

This blows. I'm going back to bed and taking a self-pity nap. 

On the upside, I get to go to the gym, clean the house for the visiting French relatives, and attend tonight's Thanksgiving Taboo potluck. Silver lining, guys. Silver lining. 

Enough zombies. Enough now.

Mariam: I.LOVE.THIS. Do you watch the show?! I love himmmmmm 

me: hahah, not really. I've seen maybe three episodes. 

Mariam: It's one of my favorite shows, but I'm always imagining him doing stuff from Love Actually. It's quite distracting.  

me: iiiii know! Like you just want to offer him some banoffee pie.
Mariam: I'm always yelling at the tv "MAKE THE ZOMBIES LOVE SIGNS, then they won't kill you"

People say we monkey around!

Peter: Dude i want a pet. I want pets. I want a squad of monkeys who will only answer to me to do my bidding.

me: What kind of Wicked Witch of the West shit is that?

Peter: and wreak havoc according to every petty whim that crosses my mind. I want them to sling poop at girls who reject me whether its because no, they dont have any pencils I can borrow or no, they will not dance with me just because i dont have pants on. Everyone will be shitfaced.

me: Damn, Peter Lee. That doesn't sound bitter at all.

Peter: Admit it, vina. You'd love to have a monkey squad. Think of having your id incarnated in 8 hellaciously strong and agile shit-machines.

me: You right, you right. Also, I'm going to train them to sing The Monkees. Hey, hey, we're the Monkees! People say we monkey around!

He probably spells yogurt with an h.

(random email about blog design)
Fábio: I like the water colour (fuck you it's colour!, spell check my ass) mark going on at the top.
me: I will not make fun of you for throwing a U in color since you were actually raised using the u in colour and favourite.
Fábio: I get the same reaction when I see it without the U. It's called the English Language not the American language!
me: I apologize for my people. Oh, excuse me. Apologise.
Fábio: :P
me: :)

Dirty martinis and communal face paint

Best photo of the night and I took it with my phone, awyeah.

  

Tom and Mary!

This is one of those photos where you detag yourself on facebook, womp womp.

 

 

Deborah still uses maps. That is gangster shit right there.

Walk The Moon and Fitz and the Tantrums at 9:30 Club: 

I wandered the streets of Northeast while Ginnie was at the soundcheck (Oh, you special ticketed people, you). I considered going to Nelly's but thought that going to a gay bar by myself at four in the afternoon would be a little sad. The gays would judge! Sat in the Howard University Starbucks and watched some of the Dandies and Quaintrelles folk biking around. I want to wear tweed and ride bicycles! I ate greek yogurt with honey and sipped coffee while my neighbor hummed along to Nsync as she studied behavioral psychology. 

We went to the backbar (I didn't even know that place existed) and watched the drunken bros drink beer. It was the coat check girl's first night on the job, she was oh-so careful about securing the poster in my coat sleeve. Ginnie finally got a proper dirty martini from the upstairs bar (A. dirty martinis smell of salad. B. downstairs bar gave her a bleu cheese stuffed olive, gross). I stood right in front, always nice for the vertically-challenged (we can't all be Thomas Rossmeissls and have the best view of the house wherever we stand). Noelle was as adorable as ever. Walk The Moon did not skip me this time when it came to face-painting time (ok ok ok, I may have turned my back to them at the Richmond show.). Mary and Tom, whom Ginnie met at soundcheck, have gone to some amazing shows this year (Head & the Heart, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down), I was so envious. JP apparently stood near us at the Richmond show. Small world times. The show was livelier than the Richmond show (sorry, Meeks) and there were copious amounts of dancing. I like dancing.

We met with the Warrenton gals at the end of the show (I don't even know where they stood during but, like the considerate asshole that I am, I sent them a photo of my close view of the stage). Deborah drove us back to Mount Pleasant and pointed out pizza places the entire way. We crashed at Christian's since G was tired and slightly tipsy and I am horribly incompetent at driving a manual transmission. Christian and I conversed after Ginnie fell asleep and it was only after he went to bed did I remember that I had on facepaint. Yes, let us have a deep conversation about relationships while I look like some crazed hippie hipster. 

Good times. 

Don't hate us 'cause we're beautiful.

Taken with Justin's phone while we sat on the comfortable couch in Starbucks after Barbie and Matt's wedding. We cruised Grindr next to the faux fireplace across from a handful of Russians. There was probably gossip involved. 

so make your siren's call and sing all you want

I want to hang out in warm-toned bookshops and watch Mumford & Sons play all the songs. Shoot.

Pho King Punny

Aaron: Oh, look! Pho Capital!
me: pho real?
Aaron: Yeah! (30 seconds later) OH ahahahahahahahah!

I enjoy feeding the people.

This was a pretty sweet food combination discovery. Kudos to me.

"I wonder how we would look as hipsters" = "We have those exact outfits."

 
Hipster Meekus. hipster vina. Hipster Justin.

Hipster Pa. Hipster Lorraine. Hipster Aaron.

I blame Russian Rachel for all the hipster fun.

Heaven can wait

and hell's too far to go.

Aaron and Carmel

 

 

Best buds.

Savory oatmeal and raspberry breakfast smoothie

I'm going to tell you about savory oatmeal. No lie, I've had it for breakfast for the better part of five months.  It's healthy, filling, and pretty damn tasty. It also takes less than five minutes to make, bonus! (especially when I have to get ready on hyper speed after morning gym times) Contrary to the previous and lazily-written recipes on Lemonade Lists, my recipe for savory oatmeal is specific. Hey, I have it for breakfast at least four days in a week. I hope you enjoy. Side note, the squeeze of lemon at the end is key. I can not stress this enough. 

- 1/4 cup raw oats
- 1 egg
- handful of raw kale
- 1 plum tomato or about five/six cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- chopped scallions
- dried or fresh oregano (fresh is always best but sometimes I'm lazy or running late to walk outside in my pajamas for fresh herbs)
- wedge of lemon (or lime when you live in an Asian household and do not always have lemons but always always have limes)
- cayenne, cumin, paprika, cracked black pepper, and kosher salt

1. Cook oats in medium bowl in microwave.  I like making mine slightly softer/mushier for a more porridge-like texture.
2. Heat medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, skin side down and sauté for a minute. Throw in the kale, sauté for a minute or so until mostly wilted.
3. Add kale, tomatoes, scallions, and spices to oatmeal and season to taste. Squeeze the lemon wedge over the oatmeal.
4. Wipe skillet clean and place back on heat. Cook egg sunny side up until whites are set. Put egg over oatmeal, sprinkle some kosher salt over yolk.

Note: I occasionally throw in various leftovers like roast pork, sausage, and other vegetables (zucchini and corn are good). Fresh oregano and thyme are my favorite. I think I once tried with sage and roast pumpkin.

Also, I totally chose that book because the purple matched the smoothie.

Raspberry breakfast smoothie
frozen raspberries
almond milk
coconut milk
blender
done.

It's always fun when breakup songs have happy melodies

Plus, Françoise Hardy is so cute.

Yeahhhhh, the pith thing.

Russian Rachel: If I ever get rich enough to have a butler, I'm going to make them peel all the pith off my oranges, take the green things off my strawberries, and sort all of my jelly beans.

Part of that chim chim cher-ree worldddddd (oh, you see what I did there?)

Respectable Disney to downright debaucherous Disney
if you couldn't tell: Ursula, Ariel, Prince Eric, Mary Poppins, and Bert

Once again I am way behind on my  photo uploading.
Bear with me. Hah! I just pictured a bear with me.

I just want a day of rest to cruise the internets, take naps, and watch Law & Order SVU reruns. All I ask.

me: I'm excited, just the last wedding on Saturday, then Fitz and the Tantrums on Sunday, then I have nothing going on until Thanksgiving.
Justin: the 19th is Artsbus.
me: DAMN.

Ghosts (but not really), peach beer, and drunken hillbillies

 

 

We finally used that Groupon for the Haunted Cottage in Harper's Ferry. We left around four and got stuck in Friday rush hour traffic. The sky was overcast and it would drizzle from time to time. Liz made pumpkin butter muffins (I was finding cupcake wrappers in my car for weeks) and I made croissant sandwiches with Pink Lady apples and extra sharp cheddar. We walked around historic Harper's Ferry and took scary night photos. A man with a dog appeared out of nowhere and we all screamed. We arrived to the cottage twenty minutes early and sat in the car eating chickpea salad and drinking delicious peach beer (truly the first beer that I've liked wholly). The Haunted Cottage turned out to be the cottage of suck. The tour guide was very earnest and tried to corral the rowdy and rude family (fake snoring, muttered comments, and obviously drunk). It didn't work so well. The cottage is over a hundred years old and is probably legitimately haunted. It would have been creepy if there weren't alien dolls, Bela Lugosi movie posters, and otherwise kitschy scarytime things. The tour guide's wife wore fake wings and very high gothic boots. It was quite the adventure.

More photos in the Autumn (or what it feels like to Fall) Flickr set

Two hundred degrees, that's why they call me Mr. Fahrenheit!

Dat free shit.

Heartbeat

Ah, this song. I like this song.

Also, check out this awesome video that Thomas Rossmeissl made of Gambino night.

My love for Futura in all caps. It's deep and it's real.

Curses!

Pa: What's your favorite Batman movie?
me: The one that everyone hates.
Pa: ME TOO OMG WHY DO PEOPLE HATE IT POISON IVY IS IN IT SHE'S SEXY! HATERS!

Foodie friendship right here

womp, womp.

[via text as we were leaving The Fillmore]
Danny: I thought I saw you at a concert.
me: whaaaaaat, are you here?
Danny: Childish? I was upstairs on the right side. Either you have tall friends or you're shorter than I thought.

And your code name will be...Doris.

Stephanie: so I sewed this neck cuff to wear when i'm not wearing the veil. The top of my outfit looks like Jamie Lee Curtis' dress in true lies before she rips it up.

photo via Nicole DiPatrizio Eggers

Do ya like

I do like, Donald Glover. I like very much.

Childish Gambino rocked The Fillmore last night. More on that later.

In conclusion, proof that I am not a robot and that I ketchup.

me: I was talking to Rafael about the project...
Marzia: Who's Rafael again?
me: Brazilian dude who sits in front row.
Marzia: He's Brazilian? Like he grew up there?
me: I don't know, I know he speaks it fluently.
Marzia: Man, that's not fair. He has no accent. I say three words and people are like, "oh, where are you from?" Go to hell, peoples.

Ticketmaster, you're so thoughtful.