Same place, different stories

I've been watching Top Model and looking at fashion shoots all day...*cough* er what? I MEAN, I've been writing my essay for world lit...

Anyway, I've been majorly inspired. A bit back, I did a photoshoot. My concept were five women from different time periods who, at some point in their life, past the same place. Their feet touched the same ground, their eyes saw the same trees, and yet their lives could not have been more different. A musician, a businesswoman, a mom, a socialte, and a dancer.







It made me crave to do another photoshoot though...I have one in the workings but there has been no time lately to actually do anything! Still, I'm going to try to find time to write an accompanying story to these photos.

Dickensian, Shakespearean, & Gym Frees

I’m writing this in my glorious, glorious gym free right now. Honestly, a gym free on a fitness day?? That’s like finding out the shirt you’re buying for 30 dollars is really on sale for 10…or something. Maybe I can think of a better metaphor later. In any case, it’s pretty sweet.
SO. CAST LIST???? What the hell. Why do they wait until the end of the day? Because the want to…
a) torture us
b) have us thinking about theater ALL DAY
c) awkwardly go out of our way to pass the theater door ‘just in case’ they posted it early
WHOA I JUST SAW MRS. BECKMORE. Not that this means anything to me because I didn’t have her, but it was still just like whoa! I thought it was someone else when I first looked up…but I can’t place who she looks like… I think someone from Top Chef maybe? (TOP CHEF. My God. I’m not gonna even go there right now. I’m still feeling a little pain from yesterday’s results.)
Anyway, to continue with my list
d) have us be the youngest generation in the world to have strokes
e) all of the above
Mmm…I’m feeling e). I mean, it’s not like this defines my life. I’m not like stressing out of my mind (regardless of the list I just made.) Everything happens for a reason and all that jazz. It’s not like ZOMG be in Brigadoon or die! But at the same time…I am pretty wanting to be in it. I mean, c’mon, there is nothing in ‘Scottish musical’ that does not scream fun & games. So, anyway. Rumor has it that it goes up at 2:51. AKA about 100 kids will storm the theater door. It will be hard to see and awkward for those who don’t get it and for those who do and anywho. Enough about this.
I should probably be doing some catch up chem….or editing childhood memoir…or my Tale of Two Cities thesis which by the way is something I’ve been thinking about. Well no, that’s a lie. I have sadly been neglecting to think about the metaphor paper, but I was thinking how cool it would be to have a whole style of writing named for you! Like, sample conversation:
“I’m thinking of writing a novel, Jill…”
“Cool Bill! Do you think you’re going to write it in Dickensian style? Or maybe pull some Shakespeare?”
“I don’t know, I was thinking maybe Cunninghamian style.”
“Well…that is everyone’s favorite!”
Or you know, whatever. Cunninghamian just does not sound good. And I’m just going to throw it out there, I definitely did not mean to rhyme Jill and Bill. Just the first names that came to mind.
Anyway, I really must go. I must at least pretend to think about homework. Yesterday I was like, “well I have free for the hour and H, too. So I’ll get so much done!” HA. I scoff at yesterday’s Sylvia…so young and naïve. Like I would actually use a study hall to do work. That’s just not done.
“Cuz baby there ain’t no mountatin high enough!” –my iPod on shuffle

"I lost my phone number. Can I have yours?"

MONDAY!
"I lost my phone number. Can I have yours?" The question on both the minds of Becky and myself when we saw the looks of our two waiters at South of the Border, a restaurant we stopped at in Ossining. I had a dentist appointment and took her to see the sights of my home town. When we were driving past my old house, our neighbor was looking out the door and recognized us! I grew up with three of the five kids that she has (Lindsey, Calvin, Wesley, Elliot, and Blair) and so it was quite stunning to see them six years older. They were all so adorable though. Well, as most in the know are aware of, Ossining is home of Sing Sing prison so we took Bex to an exhibit they have in the community center. Kind of scary but kind of cool, too.

SUNDAY!
The day before, Hunter had picked me up and had given me a detailed description that I had asked for of Wicked on the way to Katie's (which continued on for about a half hour even after we got there.) The best part was seeing him pretend to do magic. I mean, I should have known. If the boy can do slutty Harry Potter, he must be pretty awesome at imitating magic!...then we watched some Dreamgirls with closed captioning which (as Katie advertised when she couldn't find the remote to turn it off) was quite useful when we wanted to sing along. Of course, only Katie and I really only used them because he knew all the lyrics already...but it still worked out.

Then was the Oscar party. Sabrina and Bex came to celebrate the event. We had some fun times talking across the room from each other on our separate computers. I loved the Oscars and Hugh Jackman was just adorable. Red Carpet is always enormously fun...(what the fuck were Reese Witherspoon and Jessica Biel thinking??) and I enjoyed commentary by Mr. Jay and Tim Gunn. The two of them slept over and I was (not pleasantly) awakened in the morning by a pillow thrown at my head. HMMMM. GUESS WHO? SABRINA ELIZABETH BLAZE BELL.

Anyway, I'm just running through some key things because I should REALLY be doing homework right now considering I have to be at callbacks at 7 and I just got home from Peervention now. Nervousness about auditioning though.................!
SO. I will post later because I will no doubt be in the mood, but I just really felt the need to document these fine moments.
School sucked. Did anyone else feel it was the longest. day. ever? Yes? Well me to. School after vacation. Never good.

"Do you have any star fish?" "No, we don't have any star fish. We have SEA stars but no star fish."

Yeah, so we're pretty sure that there's a conspiracy going on at the Maritime Aquarium. I mean, honestly are they paid to make sure everyone calls them 'sea stars.' Literally all the employees (except one that they hadn't brainwashed yet) persisted in telling us there were no star fish whatsoever at the aquarium...but wait a moment, there are 'sea stars!' Except we don't want to see the freaking sea stars, we want to see the star fish.
So, Lil, Bex, Sar, Linut and I went to the aquarium. First we met at the Black Bear Saloon where I got a truly delicious bleu cheese bacon burger with sweet potato fries (heaven.) We debated going into 'Taste of Holland'...the store that Sarah, Lily, and I had been kicked out of on another occasion. And when I say "we debated", I mean Lily and Sarah were toying around with the idea of going in (or just pushing me in) and I was saying that I was scared out of my mind and that you could not PAY me to go back there. If you had seen the guy who yelled at us...um, yeah that could have been the last guy we ever saw if he had whipped out his gun and...my God. That man was scary.
Anyway, we didn't end up going in...I think I would had a heart attack. But we did go on to the candy store down the street where Sarah and I got some yummy sour things for only $1.79. Then onto the aquarium where we saw the famous African penguins (cute but disappointed that we couldn't really see them that well.





They were actually in the same containment as Neil the albino alligator.) We opted to miss the seal feeding as you could barely move around the perimeter surrounding it let alone see any of the animals. We took the opportunity to explore the rest of the more emptied aquarium. Lineth and Bex were vs Sarah and Lil to see who could "find this fish" first.

Lineth won, I think?


We hung out at the mesmerizing jelly fish tank, ate shark gummies around the shark tank, and harrassed Charlie the boy at the touch tank who would not on his life call 'sea stars' star fish, the name that every person on the planet outside the Maritime Aquarium employees know them as. Then Sarah and I named all the sharks (with a little help from Lineth.)

^I think that might have been Rex. There was also TJ, Lionel, Marcus, Samuel, Ernie (wise grandfather shark) "Shark" (Lineth's naming of course), Judith (she's the slut), Jaws (nicknamed Squishy), and Phyllis (Judith's twin but not so much of a slut).




Lil takes a nap by the jelly fish tank...


After petting sting rays, we went outside with the goal of seeing the penguins again but we only ended up taking pictures looking like poster children for some good ol' wholesome TV show.





Then we got picked up by Mr. Spitz and went home and after he said "I'mma making RIBS." (Jokes, jokes...) we played the game of Life. Really.

It was amazing. Life is a great game. Lineth who had a freaking 20,000 salary for more than half the game and who if we were to be surveyed would have been the LAST person we would have said would win the game, ended up having the most money. Of course. I came in second, Sarah in third, Bex in fourth, and Lily last. Then we actually had those ribs (my God they were good) and salmon for Becky. Then after reminiscing over old pictures, we got picked up by Mr. Angel and dropped off at Sarah's. Bex and I went home via meine Mutti.
Then Hunter and I finished Brigadoon, gave Katie a really confusing phone call (okay are we having brunch tomorrow or whaaat??), and tried going over lines. I like, love Brigadoon though. The fight scenes are just ridiculously fake. And the ending is so dramatic. It's just like Hunter said when Fiona and Tommy go to each other "Wait, should I change dresses? I should change." "Am I walking too fast??!" If you haven't seen it, just go watch it. My dad pointed out that one of the actor's "Scottish" accents sounded like Mrs. Doubtfire. Which it actually really did.
OKAY. I'm going to bed. I am so off schedule.
"KISSES!"
~Sylv. E. Uh. (Fancy, eh?)

P.S
"WAIT WHAT?" was the general statement when we doubled back to see what we had just passed.

"I Have A Problem..."

"I really have this problem...I love to look at myself in mirrors. Constantly." -Katherine Rinaldi (as quoted by Jackie Saltarelli) Words of the night.

We went to go see Shopaholic (even though I warned them I would be a mess about it and cringing in my seat over all the things they changed) but it wasn't so bad. If you look at it as a separate entity it was fine.

But sweet Jesus, why is Hugh Dancy so damn fine?

And why is she kissing him when I'm not???

Honestly, I just want to hop on him and give him a lap dance or something.

I'm sorry was that too much information?

Well anywho, after some pizza and tiramisu from Stefano's and some discussion on Katherine's little mirror problem among other scandalous things...my mom picked us up and we taxied the girls home around Wilton. Later I watched the rest of Brigadoon because I need to return it even though Hunter wasn't available (as he was "seeing Wicked" or as I expect, sneaking into Fashion Week to see the Project Runway collection) I caught him fortunately and he feels guilty, as he should, so he will be bringing me home two couture dresses.

In other news, I am excited to see African penguins tomorrow at the aquarium and have an accidental "Oh my gosh, I forgot you worked here on weekends!" with Brian (adorable waiter man) at the Black Bear.

Good night!

P.S Here's a thought of the night: Would you rather be a penguin, dolphin, or shark?

Epic Fails & Runway Shows

Well, yesterday’s impromptu photoshoot was an epic epic fail. Having Hunter put on crazy makeup for you and dress you up with random accessories he pulled from his room sounds like a good idea…but for some reason, it didn’t turn out well! And by not turning on well, I mean like, worst thing ever…worse than the see/speak/hear no evil we did at Julze’s house, just bad…but I did manage to steal Hunter’s memory card and upload some of his amazing Fashion Week pictures. It looked SO cool. I am more jealous than I was before. Maybe intimidation after seeing all those fierce girls caused me to be such a terrible model? But whatever, if Katie and I are not invited to another shoot, we’re making our own agency.
Actually, Hunter and I are making an agency in general. Ask for more information if you’re interested. He’ll just become a guest judge when he goes to college, but it will be fantastic. So anyway after washing off the lovely (yeah Hunter, you should be a make up artist instead…you really have a knack for it…mm, yeah just kidding I love you) make up….we watched Brigadoon. Well more I had a little episode with the chair thinking that Katie and Hunter were laughing at me when really they were playing footsie…but anyway. I have to finish watching it still. I was trying to cast the WHS production as it was going but it’s so hard. I don’t see how they’re going to do it—it seems like so many people would be right for each part.
You know reflecting on the photoshoot, I hope all that makeup was okay for Katie on account of the result of her aloe beach encounter (I HOPE YOU’RE READING THIS RIGHT NOW KATIE!) but anywho. We had a conversation that went like this:
Me: “So if you’re pregnant, can I be the godmother?”
**awkward hesitation for about 3 seconds**
Katie: “…Sure.”
**shocked expression at this long pause**
Hunter (summing it up in words): “Did you hear that hesitation? GOODBYE FRIENDSHIP!”
But really it was just a misunderstanding. Anyway, I wouldn’t be writing this senseless, senseless crap right now if I wasn’t bored out of my mind. I don’t even think I was that bored until Katie said that she was. Now it’s all I can think about. I gave her some suggestions via http://www.urban75.org/useless/bored.html. Fantastic site, truly. Some of my favorites:
Try to not think about penguins(Amusement Potential: 1-5 minutes)This is especially hard, because by trying too much, you remember what you were trying to avoid thinking of. If you try too little, you end up thinking about penguins anyway.
Rate passers by(Amusement Potential: 10-15 minutes)Secretly award passers by marks out of ten as you go along, offering (unsaid) expert criticism over their clothing, hairstyle and footwear choices.
Pinch yourself(Amusement Potential: 1-3 minutes)What is pain? Why is it unpleasant? There's nothing physical about it - it's all in your mind. Plus, after pinching yourself for awhile, boredom will seem nice next to being in pain.
Make a low buzzing noise(Amusement Potential: 15-30 minutes)Hours of fun in libraries! Keeping a totally straight face and looking nonchalant, make a low pitch humming/buzzing noise and see who reacts.
Pour water in hand, make sneeze noise, throw water on back of person's neck(Amusement Potential: 5-15 minutes)Always a good gag. For an even bigger reaction out of the person, act like you're not sorry at all for what they think you did. Comment instead on how big that sneeze was or about how there was a lot of mucus in that one.

Anyway, just to show how cool Hunter’s pictures were from the runway, let me show you some of my favorite looks…

To start off, keep this question in mind: are models incapable of taking bad pictures??
LOVE THIS

OMG FRIENDS FANS, does that look like Charlie in the right corner, the paleontologist that Ross dated???
Hunter said she was gorgeous
Final look
And they all come out again
IS THERE ANYONE WHO WOULD NOT BE JEALOUS OF THAT AMAZINGNESS????????????????

Anyway, between eating those great Valentine colored peanut M&M’s, looking through pictures, reading some Meg Cabot, and watching Will & Grace, I am obviously keeping busy…so I’m gonna sign off here for now. See ya later. Hope you’re having as a productive of a day as I am.

“Chocolate always loves you back.” –Dove wrapper quote

It was the spring of hope; it was the winter of despair

So on Tuesday, I was being super jealous of Hunter who WENT TO FREAKING FASHION WEEK. Well, I’m still quite jealous to be honest. He saw the Badgley Mischka show which prompted me to look up the clothes.
Would love to wear this on a boat ride on the Seine. Love the straps and flowy feel. So, will someone buy this for me? Please? Or if not that one, this one?
Besides that collection, I was inspired to take a further look into fashion week with Annie’s super detailed account of her favorites. I would love to go ballroom dancing in this. You would just float across the room in it. And lastly, this is ridiculous and I really want a friend to get married in it. The girl would certainly make an entrance at her wedding and I want to be the bridesmaid in one of Christian Lacroix other dresses.
Anyway, after sorting through many collections, I was inspired to have my own photoshoot, Tale of Two Cities style.

"A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!"

"A rose lay beside her, and if she now and then glanced at the flower, it was with no infraction of her usual preoccupied air."

6 Ebenezers, hunting down asparagus, and...whaa--wait! Where's Fabio??

Sarah left about an hourish ago from our Top Chef influenza that ended in a mildly depressing manner. Fabio: the core of all amusement in this show was eliminated. And to make it worse, Jeff isn't even around to bring his beauty to the screen.

However, everyone cooked quite well and the episode rather "amoooozed my boosh" in the end. Hmm. Long story. Watch back a couple of episodes, you'll understand.

When we picked up Sarah we had to go to the Weston (my mom constantly has been saying since, "what a cute town!") library and Sarah and I looked at the list of Revolutionary War veterans. I spotted 'Ebenezer Squire' and thought it was quite cool until Sarah pointed out there were five others with the same first name. I was also rather found of 'Aticon Hilton' and 'Eliphalet Thorp.' You just don't see names like those anymore. After we left the library empty handed (because of a computer system that was for THIS DAY ONLY rejecting our Wilton card), we went to Caraluzzi's where I gave Sarah the full tour including "this is the produce section..."

Then finally, we headed towards home in the sudden appearance of a winter wonderland. Like I said to my mom and Sar, I had been frolicking just an hour before in the green grass and now there was no hint that Spring was ever coming. "Frolicking?" Was all my mom said to this statement.

Sarah and I watched the Supersize Me bonus features when we got home (we are both big fans of the movie) and then dabbled in some JellyCar on my iPod. We then had a really fun time talking to each other two feet away via computer and the iTouch. By around 8ish dinner was ready which (even though we had recently consumed a bowl of pretzels and ricotta) we were totally ready for.

However, I had told Sarah that we might have a) chicken pot pie or b) roast beef and potatoes and she didn't no which one we had chosen so.....................we went upstairs and......................it....was.....

Dinner choice b: roast beef, asparagus, green beans, and mustard potatoes! It was scrummy.

And I was glad to have the asparagus considering I had been like a mad woman at Stew Leonard's trying to get the free sample that took way more time than advertised to get ready...I had to linger around the stand (which I think annoyed the lady who was making it so she dragged out the process) but it was worth it.

Anyway, Top Chef (accompanied by some freshly baked banana bread) was good and after the two Europeans were left in the final two, Sarah and I had a discussion of America. I brought up how I think America is strange. I mean, suddenly we break away from England, call dibs on this HUMONGOUS country, and then we're a superpower! I mean, it's just crazy. So I was wondering if America didn't exist, what country I would be living in (based on ancestral roots.) For me it was Germany (with a slight uncertainty because my dad might have still been in Ireland.) For Sarah it was trickier. Korea, Japan, Austria...it would have been hard for little baby Sarah to really exist if everyone hadn't been able to meet up in Hawaii! Anyway, it was very interesting to think about.

So I should probably go to bed as I am a) rambling b) not making sense and c) listing things in this obnoxious a, b, c pattern and d) Lineth and I got less sleep last night than we probably should have (and the freaking phone kept waking us up in the morning so we didn't sleep in as well as we might have wanted to...which would have been till like 2 in the afternoon...) so good night! I'll write my fashion post tomorrow.

On a final note on food, Stew Leonard's said it best today: "A balanced day is a cookie in each hand."

Betsy & Charles Go On Their First Date

So, Lineth and I had a ridiculous amount of fun. After picking out a movie (Coraline—big mistake, will expand on this later), we went for a walk in the neighborhood. At some point, we decided that we would make it our goal to take a picture with every road sign…

A little after we had to leave for the movie where I bought us disgustingly expensive popcorn. Ugh. Such a rip off. And the movie was just…I mean it wasn’t terrible, we just were both confused and annoyed. Like, I had always thought the button thing was so cool, but it was just kind of dragged out and ehh. Looking back at it now I think, “Oh it wasn’t that bad…It was good…” but I think I’d feel differently if I were to see it again.

After that we

wandered around

the street

and went

into a store
where we
picked out

outfits

that

Lizzie

McGuire

would buy and

wear.

Then we went into Payless where I tried on ridiculously big purple boots.

Then we had OUR FIRST DATE ZOMG ZOMOGGG SO ROMANTIC!!! Lineth took me out to Hong Kong Tokyo where we debated between sushi and sesame chicken. It was the best date a girl could wish for. And she paid. Well, it only ended up being about 20 dollars—I’m a cheap date, I know—but still. My fortune was a really good one about books and such.

Later we looked over memories, played some guitar, and then THE LIZZIE MCGUIRE MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best. Thing. Ever. We later looked at what everyone in the cast ended up doing and well…not so much after the Lizzie McGuire Movie. I guess they figured nothing could top that piece of work.

So, our date continued onto the morning after (I’m not only cheap, but I’m easy also) and when we woke up we had cereal with a side of Bring It On.

After taking some vacation snap shots with Hooters the Owl and masked photos, we watched a bit of Four Weddings & A Funeral and then I left.

And thus was the saga of Betsy and Charles.