Sweat & The City

All SF trips must begin at Dynamo Donut.

Yesterday Tim and I celebrated our 5 month anniversary exploring the Mission district of San Francisco and catching Monty Python’s Spamalot at the Orpheum Theatre. But holy crap, was it HOT. We got stuck in traffic at the Alta Mont just before Livermore on our way there, and once we finally reached the Mission there was a Cesar Chavez festival thing going on, which meant that parking was impossible to find. After 45 minutes of driving in non-stop circles, we found a spot on 20th street and proceeded to walk 4 blocks in beneath the sweltering sun to get our delicious Dynamo Donuts.

Vanilla Bean and Candied Orange Blossom donuts.

By the time we got there, my face felt like it was literally about to melt off. Despite the rare summer heat in the city that day, we had a really great time.

Tim and I went into a couple of the Dog Eared Books locations that are scattered about in the Mission and found some pretty cool things. Well, Tim did anyway. He bought TONS of books, including a copy of Brief Interviews With Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace for me. I got a bit too overwhelmed with the selection and didn’t have my booklist with me. RUGH! I didn’t leave empty handed though. I keep adding onto the pile of books I need to read. There isn’t enough time in the world to read them all. *cries*

There were soooo many beautiful copies of books from the Wizard of Oz series.

My finds. Tim recommended 'Demian' to me since I was frustrated from the lack of books I was holding.

Tim's finds!

And due to the fact that we were stuck in traffic and couldn’t find parking right away, our exploring time got cut short and we also didn’t have enough time to check out Ike’s Place (a sandwich place all my classmates at SFSU could not stop talking about). *sigh* We definitely want to go back again in the nearby future so we can do more exploring and do all the things we originally planned to do.

My atheist boyfriend.

Dia de los muertos Giants gear.

Holly Golightly!

We headed downtown around 6:30ish to make sure we wouldn’t be late to Spamalot and I got to eat my Cheddar Bacon Buck from Buckhorn Grill. It is a cheesy and meaty delight. If it had eggs, I’m sure Ron Swanson would approve. And even though it was dark out by then, I could NOT STOP SWEATING. Seriously San Francisco, I don’t think you were ever this hot when I lived in the Bay.

I've seen a lot of musicals at The Orpheum. This was my first time going without a family member.

I watched Spamalot a few years ago in Las Vegas (even though I hadn’t seen the movie first… I know, that’s weird), and I found it just as funny the second time around. And yes, I watched the movie immediately after watching the musical the first time around (in case you were wondering).

And that was my day.

Huff ‘n Puff

Over the weekend I found out that Pottermore is FINALLY open to the public! I was horrendously forlorn when they were accepting some people to be beta testers and whatnot last year and I never received an early acceptance letter to be part of it, while damn near everyone I followed on Tumblr blogged about how they got their letters to Pottermore and how amazingly spectacular it was. *sigh*

But now, at long last,  I get to experience it! And when you sign up, you’re listed as someone who is “magical.” It’s rather exciting. I was so excited I made a screencap. Now I have proof that shows I am not a Muggle.

In case you’re out of the loop, Pottermore is an online interactive experience that allows you to dive into the world of the Harry Potter series book by book, and it includes new content from J.K. Rowling as you go through each chapter — it gives fans a more in depth look into characters, places, and things like the backstory of Petunia and Vernon Dursley, the meaning behind the name of their house number and neighborhood, etc. But the super big deal is that you can now officially find out what house in Hogwarts you actually belong to. And once you’re sorted you can “duel” other people, and earn house points!

I figured I would either be sorted into Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Every other online quiz devoted to determining what Hogwarts house you belong to that I have taken have placed me in both of those houses. As I took the quiz, I kept thinking to myself, “Not Hufflepuff, not Hufflepuff” kind of like Harry did when he was getting sorted and he kept thinking, “Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.” But you know what? I didn’t have a freakin’ Sorting Hat on my head, so he couldn’t get into my thought process or anything. Plus every time I answered a question on the Sorting Hat quiz, I thought, “Goddamn, that is such a Hufflepuff answer.” I didn’t want to lie and mark answers that I thought would get me into a certain house, so I did what Pottermore told me to do: answer honestly.

When I got sorted into Hufflepuff, I’ll admit I was less than pleased. I literally screamed, “NOOOOOOO!!!” Tim had texted me earlier and said he was sorted into Ravenclaw. So we’re like Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory — and interracial Ravenpuff couple (but Cedric dies! He gets murdered by Voldemort! RUGH!) <– if you think that’s a spoiler, you are soooo behind.

I suppose nothing is wrong with Hufflepuff, but among the HP fandom, it’s basically the “loser” house. I wanted to be in Ravenclaw because they’re all about intelligence, knowledge and wit. I love reading, writing, and arty things so I thought it kind of went with the Ravenclaw aesthetic. Slytherin is all about being cunning, resourceful, and ambitious — those values are nice and all, but everyone in that house is an arse. Gryffindor values courage, nerve, and chivalry (I hate scary movies and am a very anxious person, so no). And Hufflepuff’s all about hard work, loyalty, patience, and fair play. Yeah, these are nice values, but Ravenclaw… RAVENCLAW. Ugh.

After I calmed down a bit, I read the Hufflepuff bit that showed up and it talked about the house and its colors and mascot, the badger, who is a quiet creature but when messed with can be quite ferocious — it can even attack a wolf! And I thought, “Whoa, I’m totes a badger.” Like a badger (not the Honey Badger, a regular badger), I can be all cute and fluffy, but you seriously don’t want to ‘eff with me because, like the Honey Badger, I don’t give a sh!t (refer to this). Just this morning I started a new shift at work. A student I was working with was completely behind in their assignments and was basically b.s.-ing the whole time they were there. They kind of got a bit smart with me and I just said, “You can either smart mouth me or do your work.” They got pretty butthurt about it, but just because I’m a young tutor doesn’t mean you can get away with being a jerk. Not on my watch! After class I overheard them talking smack about me. I said, “Do you want to say that to my face?” Yeah. I can get pretty ballsy when someone pisses me off.

Hufflepuffs are said to be calm and collected, but know when to strike. Perhaps I am in the right house. Plus, I’d like to think that Liz Lemon would totally be in Hufflepuff since their common room is right by the kitchen (night cheese!).

Are you on Pottermore? What house were sorted in, and do you think it suits you well? Also, you can find me on there as PurpleLeviosa18331. <– yes, that’s an invitation to add me on there (if you like, no pressure yo).

3 Things That Make Me Say “Weeeee!”

Okay, so maybe these three things I’m about to talk about don’t necessarily make me say, “Weeee!” out loud, but they do have the capacity to put a smile on my face, literally make me LoL, or just make me happy in general — therefore, they have a certain “weee!” factor.

Instagram:

ANDRIODS FINALLY HAVE INSTAGRAM!!! I don’t know what took them so long. I really don’t. I had been so jealous of iPhone users for the sheer fact that they get to have this uber amazing photo app on their phones that enable them to make their pictures all fanciful, and they could upload them to pretty much any effing social networking site they want to. Ugh! My sister told me the joyous news about a week ago and my mindset has basically been “INSTAGRAM ALL THE THINGS!” Rory has been my main subject so far (naturally).

You can find me under the monicker Chezfancypants. Like… if you want to follow me, or whatever. Yeah.

CommunityChannel:

Tim re-introduced me to CommunityChannel on YouTube last night, run by Natalie Tran. She’s been M.I.A. for awhile, but she started making videos again about a month ago. In case you’re not familiar with her, she’s a silly Aussie girl who talks about little  problems that happen in everyday like, like standing around awkwardly when you and your friend run into someone they know and they engage in conversation without even introducing you, how all the usernames you want are already taken on every damn site on the internet, or how her mother mysteriously covets things she threw away, etc. WATCH IT!

Chandler Dances on Things:

Awhile ago, someone I follow on Tumblr (I think it was Janine, my homie from Germany) reblogged a gif of Chandler Bing dancing on the dinner table of The Last Supper. I clicked the source link and found the site Chandler Dances on Things. This Tumblr consists of Chandler dancing on anything you can possibly imagine: Hogwarts, Equestria, the Death Star, the TARDIS, Pride Rock, the Sham Wow dude, Yemen, and one of my favorites, the bow of the Titanic. And today happens to be the 100th anniversary of the day the Titanic sank. Could that BE anymore coincidental?

Happy Tax Day/100th Anniversary of the Titanic sinking/my nephew Matthew’s 10th birthday, y’all!

B i b l i o p h i l e

When I was in school I was soooo frustrated with the amount of reading I had to do for all of my classes. I studied Creative Writing, so of course I knew what I was getting into. And like all my professors say, you can’t write unless you read. ‘Tis very true. And I liked a lot of the short stories and a handful of books that were assigned to me — I was just frustrated by the fact that I never had time to read the books that I wanted to read. Actually, that’s a lie. All the time I spent on Tumblr, Facebook, and Netflix (and sometimes I did all three at once), I could’ve been reading a book that I wanted to read for funsies. But… um… I didn’t. :/

Now that I’ve graduated and have more free time than I’d actually like to have, I DON’T READ OFTEN. What the hell is up with that? Starting from this month on, I’m challenging myself to read at least one book each week and  write more. I finished reading The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin last week, and am starting The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger again. I started it a couple years ago and didn’t finish it, so I’m attempting it once more. I liked it, but for whatever reason I got distracted and never got around to finishing it. A lot of people have read this in high school; none of the English classes I took in high school had this book on the lesson plan, so I feel extremely deprived.

Other books I was deprived of in high school:

• Brave New World by Aldous Huxly
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• 1984 by George Orwell

Those are the only ones I can think of at the moment, but I know there’s more.

I’ve been told that The Catcher In The Rye is a book you either love or hate because the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is a bit of a prick. One time on Facebook I took a quiz to see what literary character I am and my result was Holden. My sister said it fit because we’re both angsty. I’m glad she didn’t say because we’re both pricks.

Here are some other books I plan on starting/re-starting/re-reading this month:

I got 'An Abundance of Katherines' over the weekend with my 15% off coupon! Tim just picked a random book off the shelf to take a picture with.

• Looking For Alaska by John Green
• An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
• How To Be Good by Nick Hornby (started this earlier this year and got distracted)
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Stardust by Neil Gaiman (was in the middle of this years ago and had to put it away because of school)
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
• Peep Show by Joshua Braff
• Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• Breakfast At Tiffany’s by Truman Capote (my favorite book of all evers)

Enough blogging about reading books. It’s SSR time!

Mirror Mirror

I didn’t have very high hopes for Mirror Mirror when I first heard about the project being made, but upon seeing its trailer I thought it looked like it would be cute. And then I found out Tarsem Singh directed it and I thought HOLY CRAP I MUST SEE THIS IMMEDIATELY. Had I looked further into the making of this film when first announced, I’m sure I would’ve gotten excited a lot sooner. But I don’t really look into these sort of things anymore. *shoulder shrug*

If the name Tarsem Singh doesn’t sound familiar to you, he directed this incredibly gorgeous film called The Fall a few years ago. It is, without a doubt, the most stunning film I have ever seen. EVER. It’s visually orgasmic; so rich in color and the scenery. OHMYGOD the scenery! And Lee Pace, aka Ned the Piemaker from Pushing Daisies is the leading man. AND it’s currently available to stream on Netflix. Um… are you still reading this? GO WATCH THE FALL RIGHT NOW. And then come back and finish reading my little blurb.

So you watched The Fall? Okay, awesome! Back to Mirror Mirror. It’s a fresh take on the Snow White tale as the original one, and reinterpretations of it,  is solely focused on the Queen’s vanity and obsession to be the “fairest of them all,” whereas Mirror Mirror also has the Queen (played by Julia Roberts) hungry for power. The premise in Mirror Mirror is that the Queen is completely broke — she makes the village pay ridiculous taxes in order for her to throw lavish parties and whatnot. And of course, she loathes Snow White (Lily Collins aka Audrey Hepburn Jr.). A baron from a nearby kingdom suggests that him and the Queen should get hitched, but the Queen is repulsed at the thought. When a young, strapping prince (Armie Hammer) comes along she plans to marry him to save her kingdom. Seriously, who wants a baron when you can haz a prince?

Mirror Mirror was saturated in rich colors, much like The Fall, and the beginning of the movie had a fantastic animated bit that sort of reminded me of the story of the Deathly Hallows/Tale of the Three Brothers scene from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1. The characters were fun to watch, Julia Roberts makes for an awesome evil queen, and Lily Collins is Audrey Hepburn reincarnated. Unlike Snow White and the Huntsman, I can see how Lily Collins’ Snow White is > Julia Roberts’ Queen. I mean, Kirsten Stewart over Charlize Theron? PUH-LEEZ.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and this whole fairy tale trend that’s taking over Hollywood with making Snow White a little badass (ex. Mirror Mirror, Once Upon a Time, Snow White and the Huntsman (I guess)) is pretty effing rad.

Snip Snip Bang Bang

Shanice, my long ass bangs, myself at B&N shopping for John Green books.

I can’t ever imagine not having bangs. I had them for a bit as a kid, and then after that I always did the layered look with a part on the side.  And then when I was 18 I tried the side-bang thing a-la Jenny Lewis as I was bored with my hair, and what better way to reinvent yourself than with a new hairdo? When I tried out the full bang ‘do I was like OH MY GOD, WHY HAVEN’T I HAD BANGS ALL MY LIFE?

Now the thought of having an exposed forehead frightens me. But the thing about bangs is that they’re a bitch to upkeep. I mean, having little strands of hair suddenly cover half your face? Have you ever had little hairs cover your eyelids? So. Annoying.

The way my bangs looked on January 28, 2011.

I’ve attempted to cut my bangs a few times and one fiasco led me to solemnly swear to never bring a pair of scissors to my hair ever again. Oh, bangs. Y U SO DIFFICULT? But in January, Jennifer showed me this tutorial on how to trim both side bangs and full bangs. It has changed my life for the better. No more frequent trips to the salon for $10 trims. WOO!!!

I cut my bangs using this method for the third time yesterday. I used a different pair of scissors (a lot smaller than what I normally use) so it didn’t turn out like the last few times I did it, BUT it doesn’t look completely terrible. So, when attempting this USE SCISSORS THAT YOU ARE MOST COMFORTABLE WITH.

Don't mind my flyaways -- I have yet to put product in my hair to tame them for the day. And Rory wanted to show off his new haircut as well (okay, no he didn't. I made him take this picture with me... obviously).

If you’re like me and suck at cutting your own bangs, this tutorial will help you immensely.

The Fault In Our Stars

“My thoughts are stars I can’t fathom into constellations.”

I’ve been itching to read a book, but I have that typical 1st world issue where I have a shelves upon shelves lined with books I have yet to read, yet I don’t feel like reading any of them. I want something new. Something different. And I knew I wanted something John Green because I have been so anxious to get my hands on The Fault In Our Stars or Looking For Alaska. Tim presented me with my very own copy of The Fault In Our Stars on Friday night. Yay! He had his own copy (that I was supposed to borrow), but it was dogeared and passages he liked were underlined, so he gave me a copy of my own to dogear and underline (although I don’t particularly like writing in my books). <3

At 11:30 pm I was immersed in 16-year-old Hazel Grace’s universe, a worldly girl diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She meets Augustus Waters at a Cancer Kids Support Group (which she isn’t fond of going to) whose been NEC for 14 months. It’s the age old boy meets girl formula… I don’t think I have to explain what happens between them, right? John Green’s writing is simple yet poignant. I found myself reading until past 1 am, and when I woke up the next morning I read well into the afternoon and became an emotional wreck. I don’t want to give the plot away, but let’s just say I became emotionally invested in the characters. I had a full on sobfest and was just a heaping mess full of overflowing thoughts. John Green’s way of writing and storytelling just got to me. That talented scribbler got me to ugly cry! Like so:

And of course, since we’re dealing with cancer in this book, I couldn’t help but look at my own life. Here I am, slightly healthy, no sign of any life threatening diseases (that I know of), and what am I doing with myself? Nothing. I work at my old, low paying job as a reading tutor which is something, I suppose. I’m living with my family in my podunk hometown that’s damn near claiming bankruptcy, feeling overly pressured to conform to society by means of getting a well-paying job (and fast!), and I’m not nearly devoted to writing fiction as I was when I was in school. What happened? What am I doing with myself? Where’d my drive go?

I tend to have a love/hate relationship with books that make me think like that and put me in a state of depression. But at the same time feeling that kind of depressed is a good thing. It’s motivating. It makes you want to go out and do something. Being depressed by way of unrequited love is way worse because you can’t do anything about it. Being depressed by way of not being happy with your life is better because at least you know you can do something about it… does that make sense?

The Fault In Our Stars is gut wrenchingly beautiful and inspiring. I’m finding that stories are flowing in my head again (I just need to make sure I buckle down and write). And yes, you will probably get ugly-crying-face too, but it’s completely worth it.

This wasn’t much of a review, but I just feel like this book has left an indelible mark on me and I urge whoever reads this blog to get their hands on a copy and I hope it makes some sort of impact on you as well.