Currently Reading (once again)

1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Brilliant. I loved every second of it.

 2. Rant by Chuck Palahniuk

Almost unbearably lewd and hopelessly confusing, even though it's a re-read.

 3. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Another disturbing novel. Although the storyline and ending were disappointing, Eugenides' writing remains true to his signature style. 

 4. A House Somewhere - Various

Tales spanning across the globe.

5. The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera

Riveting.

From eight months ago

With Roses in Her Eyes

Sometimes when it rains, all I do is sprawl out on my bed and put on In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. The grotesque beauty is compelling.

Jeff Mangum is my soulmate, only thirty years late.

Life on the Nickel

Things that have made me very very happy of late

1. Heaps of books: Shakespeare, Whitman, Eugenides, Kundra and Edgar Allan Poe

2. Long lunches at nice restaurants with people I've missed.

3. Live music at interesting places

4. Naps.

5. Eight seasons of Grey's Anatomy and four of 30 rock

6. Jones the Grocer and their multitude of teas

7. She & Him's Christmas album

8. My Tumblr dashboard

9. My Gold Motel Package that traveled across the world thrice in six months. It's no longer summer, but the tunes are still good

10. Exams are over, school is out for six weeks!

In an exceptionally good mood. I can take on the world! Happy thanksgiving and turkey gobbling to everyone!

Experiments with comfort food

Isn't it horrifying how food becomes your one and only comfort when it comes to studying for exams? I can't tell you how many times I've walked to the refrigerator, opened it, closed it, opened it again, taken out leftover ratatouille/apple juice/ a fossilized chocolate biscuit after five minutes of study. It's driving me mad!

And just once, I would like my parents to walk into my room while I'm knee-deep in lecture notes and studying, instead of when I'm watching season two of Grey's Anatomy. Once! Just one more week of this recurring nightmare, and hello holidays and Christmas and all that jazz :)

inspired

'You are a great champion. When you ran, the ground shook, the sky opened and mere mortals parted. Parted the way to victory, where you'll meet me in the winner's circle, where I'll put a blanket of flowers on your back.'

Cale Crane, played by Dakota Fanning

'Dreamer'

The Honest Truth

 

All my time I’ve walked a filed line 
I’ve held a vacant sign upon my eyelids 
All my time O’ Lord I’ve been so blind 
but now I see the light
peek through my door-jamb

This is Neutral Milk Hotel & Arcade Fire & Sylvia Plath & chamber music, rolled into one beatific mess.

Recently on the Vampire Diaries

Excuse me while I cry over the hotness which is Paul Wesley. Hey, at least it's not twilight! Twilight should actually learn a thing or two from the vamp diaries. Like actually casting a good-looking person, just ONE, that has more personality than a wooden pencil.

Officially a vampire diaries convert and not slightly ashamed of it.

Once a hoarder...

My dad has always been a hoarder. It's not uncommon that I'll come home and he would proudly show me a new knick-knack; a stained-glass lamp from one his grateful business customers, or a pair of army boots that he got for half-price at a long forgotten shop. His latest find was a set of beautifully-carved wine crates that used to hold bottles of premium Shiraz wine, picked up from our void deck! I loved them. One of the crates sits just beside my bed, home to a few weathered classics and beat poetry collections. Honestly, I'm just as bad as him.

No one (including my dad and I), however, beats Lisa Congdon. An illustrator and self-professed hoarder from San Francisco, she decided to chronicle her numerous collections last year in a blog. Entitled 'A Collection A Day', it showcased a hefty 365 assortment of vintage trinkets and curios, carefully arranged and documented. Besides the obligatory sets of stamps or matchbooks, odd bits and ends surface into whole collections, like the tiny plastic tabs which keep your loaves of bread fresh. I can only imagine what her house looks like!

The collected works are nonetheless lovely, old-timey and antiquated. One gets the feeling of stepping out of a musty book, or the back of a dusty shelf. You can visit the original blog, or order Lisa's CollectionADay book from bigcartel here.

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.

with a passion

Time, it passes too quick.