'That time was like never and like always'

What an interesting semester it's been... Wouldn't trade a moment of it for anything.

Haiku for Autumn

A lonely bird sings

the gaunt tree sheds red and gold

on a bare pavement

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2012 is almost over. So here's a thought: If the earth is apparently coming to an end in less than two months, why are we wasting time writing terrible essays about things we don't care about, instead of travelling the world & going for all-you-can-eat-buffets? 

Alright, I know that's ridiculous. I'm just really keen on getting through the next three weeks. Godspeed, everyone. 

Solitude.

'She slept with the door open every night. At one time, when she was more hopeful, she had thought: if Rey were to come back tonight, he would see right away that I was sleeping alone. That had been the logic at first, but now it wouldn't be truthful to say that she expected anything of the sort. It was habit, pure & simple, of the kind whose origin was vaguely recalled but which existed nonetheless, a constant & unchanging fact of life. Her door was open.'

Lost City Radio

by Daniel Alarcón

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I'm done with a major essay. It feels wonderful to read for pleasure again.

Whisk me away

The first week of college was... okay, for the lack of a better adjective. I wouldn't hesitate though, to be anywhere else in the world, in this moment, in a breath. Then again, I always feel this way.

Cicada summers

Tomorrow will be the end of summer as I know it. Holidays are coming to an end! It's crazy. It feels as if the last exam of Y1S2 ended yesterday and I was just getting ready to relax with friends & a stack of good books. The thought of fourteen more weeks of assignments & stress... geez. Apologies, it's just the regular school blues. It's been a good summer though.

Every since seeing the scene in the movie Bridesmaids where Annie is handed a tall glass of pink lemonade by the classy waiter (so good that she had to stop & say, 'God, that's delicious.'), I've been trying to fabricate the summery beverage. God knows we need a drink for weather like this. The base recipe for lemonade is dead simple right? A mixture of water, lemons & sugar that you bung into the fridge to chill & twenty minutes later, voila! Lemonade. It's a bit harder than it looks though: the key to getting the perfect lemonade is to get the right ratio of ingredients to suit your taste. In my case, I like my drink more tart than sweet, the light pink shade that cranberry juice gives, & I love the extra fizz that soda water gives, unnecessary as it might be. Most of the time, the best things in life are the non-essentials.

I've been making this since summer last year, huge quantities at a time to last for as long as a week. It can easily be turned into an alcoholic party drink as well, just add a splash of schnapps or light rum, whatever you have in your fridge really. Garnish with lemon & orange slices, turn on a Beach Boys / Gold Motel album (or anything from this summer playlist), & sink back into relaxation.

Pink Fizzy Lemonade

You can halve, double or triple the recipe as long as you remember the base ratio (mine is 1:1:4). Remember that not everyone likes it as tart; you may have to add more sugar to make it sweeter, or more water to make a less-concentrated drink. Also, if you are serving this quite some time later, add the soda water to the mixture just before serving or all the fizz will be gone by then.

Ingredients

12 medium lemons (enough to make 2 cups of lemon juice)

2 cups of white sugar

8-9 cups of club soda

Cranberry / Raspberry Juice

Orange slices

Ice cubes to serve

1. Squeeze most of the lemons, leaving at least one to be sliced for garnish. Put lemon juice aside.

2. In a large pot, heat up 2 cups of club soda under medium-low heat, adding in the 2 cups of sugar slowly till it has dissolved into a thick sugar mixture.

3. Add the lemon juice, stirring constantly for about 3 - 4 minutes till everything has melded together. Allow to cool for a while

4. Pour the warm mixture into two large pitchers, and add the soda water. Add the appropriate amount of cranberry or raspberry juice to colour the liquid a light pink shade, while constantly stirring with a wooden spoon.

5. Put in the fridge to chill for about an hour. Add ice cubes, and garnish with lemon & orange slices.

Makes approx. two 1.5l pitchers 

Prufrocking

'Let us go then, you and I

When the evening is spread out against the sky

Like a patient etherized upon a table

Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets

The muttering retreats

Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels

And sawdust restaurants with oyster shells;

Streets that follow like a tedious argument of insidious intent

To lead to an overwhelming question...

Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?'

Let us go and make our visit.

...

There will be time, there will be time

To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet

...

For I have known them already, known them all;

Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,

I have measured out my life in coffee spoons;

I know the voices dying with a dying fall,

Beneath the music from a farther room

So how should I presume?

...

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets,

And watch the smoke that rises from the pipes

Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of the windows?

...

And I have seen the moments of my greatness flicker

And I have seen the eternal footman hold my coat, and snicker,

And in short,

I was afraid.

...

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red & brown,

Till human voices wake us, & we drown.'

Excerpts from 'The Lovesong of J.S. Prufrock' 

T.S. Eliot.

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I love that phrase: 'streets that follow like a tedious argument of insidious intent.' I don't know the exact word to describe the way I feel when I read it, except that it is a pleasant and warm sensation that prickles through me. Strange, the things that poetry can do.

Last week, I was dozing off in a linguistics lecture, and the professor used the word insidious in a statement (which I now forget. It was related to phonetics, or sociolinguistics, or something equally sleep-inducing.) and I immediately snapped to attention. It just reminded me of this very special poem & how it made me feel. I began to smile like a complete goof & my course-mate looked at me like I was completely off my rocker. Like I was mad. 

I continued to smile widely to myself though, because it was all strange and funny and lovely to have this secret connection to a certain word that no one else knew about. Well. Perhaps all aspiring writers are a little mad, inside.   

Of music & magic

'... The word conservatory sits soft and warm on my tongue. I love how it's almost always exclusively related to music. When I hear the word, I think of an underground labyrinth; a dimly lit place, with people tucked into cocoons and breathing in thick curls of music.'

I've been skipping meals and sleep and social activity of every kind, writing through the days for a creative writing fiction assignment. It took three days, but it was worth every second. I like the process, the creation of words on a blank page, the breath of satisfaction when your strings of words finally become a story worth telling. It's such a wonderful feeling.

The Dangerous Blues

This was 'winter' break in a few pictures. Wrapped a lot of presents, caught up with dear friends, read a stack of books and cooked A TON! I loved every second of it.

School starts tomorrow and I'm already missing the holidays to death! Stressful times and big decisions lie ahead. The dangerous Monday blues indeed.

Seven semesters more of this, God help me.

Sixties & Seventies

This is what has been playing in my head the entire day. Ughhhh... Don't get me wrong, I love Pete Townshend & Jim Morrison, but it's not exactly a great mix for a throbbing headache. In fact, this is basically what the next month is going to be like. The assignments are piling and there's a particularly vicious 2000 word essay on bilingualism & cognitive function + bibliography (I know!) that I've been avoiding for too long. Not to mention exams in a couple of weeks. Gotta get my game face on!

If there's one thing that triumphs assignments & stress in terms of numbers, it's distractions. More specifically, online telly. Two Broke Girls (Kat Dennings & that bimbo whose name I don't recall) & New Girl (Zooey Deschanel's new show) are hilarious sitcoms that go on the list. And... Tumblr. It's pretty awesome. I've always been behind when it comes to trends, online sites included! Anyway, you can follow me here and look at an endless slew of The Beatles gifs & random quips on why I don't like The Vampire Diaries. You have been forewarned.

Eat

We eat, drink and be merry.


I miss spending a whole day doing nothing in bed, having chocolate fingers & tea for breakfast and reading a near-unhealthy amount of Sylvia Plath (The Bell Jar can be hopelessly depressing on an otherwise idyllic Friday afternoon). Instead, I'm reduced to spending nearly four hours a day on public transport shuttling between home and school, packed in with the rest of the grey faces in the 8am rush hour. Assignments are driving me insane! Sometimes I wish I didn't care much.

But enough of that gloomy chatter! There are still many, many things to be grateful for, like a perfectly-cooked peppercorn omelet or great ramen extravaganzas with friends. Moscato in the early afternoon, beautiful strawberry hearts dipped in sugar at midnight.

Food, oh the simple joy in life!

Life is rock n' roll

A few things!

1. The university life has begun! I can't remember if anyone has told me, but apparently, you can be invisible in college and still survive. Made a few friends, ate lots of lunches, so school hasn't changed much since, well, ever.

2. TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB. Phenomenal. They rocked it, period.

3. BROOKE FRASER. She did not rock it, on the account that she had bronchitis and cancelled the show a mere hour before doors opened. Us, being a five-minute walk away from TAB and pleasantly dining @wendys, were not amused.

4. Finished watching Parks & Recreation last week. It is seriously the most hilarious sitcom I've seen since the Office, and that is not easy to beat. Amy Poehler, and the rest of the cast, is gold! Also watched a lot of As Told by Ginger, and that too, is brilliant.

5. My book depository order arrived on Saturday and I've been too busy reading John Green, Sylvia Plath and Homer to start on any readings. The thought of opening my linguistic texts now, as compared to the poetic genius that is Plath, disgusts me.

And that is all, for now :)

My Neighbour, My Creator

Instead of contemplating the vagaries of starting college tomorrow, I should be at Lollapalooza right now cheering on Wye Oak & their beautifully honest, indie music. Even though we've just returned from taking a Europe backpacking tour, I can't help but think of the hundred possible trips I want to make in the future. The first on the list would be going for massive music fests in the US & UK; Glastonbury, Leeds, Reading, Coachella, Wanderlust, Vans Warped Tour, Summerfest, Pitchfork... days of interesting crowds and music and magic. All a bit risqué, but well, a girl can dream.

For consolation, I AM catching Two Door Cinema Club this week, who are coincidentally one of the few UK headlining bands at Lollapalooza this year. Also, Brooke Fraser is on Friday, and I'm so incredibly excited to watch this gig, you will not believe. At the very least, the thought of these two concerts will get me through my first week at university :/

It's systematic!

Watched this movie today while stuck at home with a massively-painful sore eye. Who can resist John Travolta's 1970s' Thunderbird swagger!

There's orientation tomorrow. Naturally, the spirit is willing but the flesh is oh-so-weak. Laziness doesn't usually cut it in college life but hey, if I've slakced for the past 18 years and survived, I can blaze through these four years right? Right?

Meh.

Some days you feel like jazz.

Stitched Up - Herbie Hancock & John Mayer
Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darin
Dream A Little Dream - Laura Fygi
Hell No - Sondre Lerche & Regina Spektor
Cheek to Cheek - Fred Astaire
Why I Am - Dave Matthews Band
The Very Thought of You - Ella Fitzgerald
Tout Deucement - Feist
Spain - Chick Corea
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - The Brian Setzer Orchestra
Pointless Nostalgic - Jamie Cullum
The Summer Wind - Frank Sinatra
Fly Me to the Moon - Julie London

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Coming home to an armful of university letters, tuition problems and a thousand responsibilities wasn't the greatest feeling. But well, sometimes, all you need are friends, a couple of movies and great music to make you feel better.

Watermelon man, anyone?