Fashion Week- DKNY - The Editors and Buyers
Joanna Cole, Editor of Marie Claire and Nina Garcia, former fashion editor of Elle
Ordinary People
Wow, I cried about 5 times during that movie. And seriously miss my sister right now :( It makes me sadder to think I won't see her until May. Eesh. What a powerful and beautiful movie. I wanted to give Timothy Hutton a big bear hug. Along with Donald Sutherland who I'm not used to seeing as a lovable, sweet, emotional guy. Mary Tyler Moore did an amazing job although I can't say I wanted to give her a big bear hug.
In other news, I went to a "Dance-a-thon" for the prevention of human sex trafficking. Need to learn more on that subject later. It's not something you hear about every day although I'm sure it's prevalent. Met some very cool, passionate people. I debated whether or not to go since I'd only have about 45 minutes to shower and get ready post gym and usually like to chillax before going out. But I'm glad that I seriously rallied and somehow managed to get ready in lighting speed.
And in other news.. not so happy, got a bill from a doctor's appointment that I went to in April 2008 for nearly $400! I went to an allergist thinking food allergies were causing my stomach to hurt. I was told very clearly that it was completely covered by my insurance. Dude, what the hell! It's annoying enough when this stuff comes to bite you in the ass a few months after a procedure, but nearly a year!!? Jesus freaking Christ! There's always something. Is there anything else in life besides doctors' visits where you ask someone how much something is going to cost, you accept that service at that price and then 10 months later you find out you're responsible for oh.. I don't know.. 300% more than the original price!!?? That's messed up. Some thing's got to change.
A few months ago, I was sitting at an old high school friend's house having a somewhat awkward but nice big reunion. Someone repeatedly complained about how they weren't looking forward to moving costs (moving to their dream job a few states away). I wanted to scream at him and punch him in the face. I quietly brought up something about having to pay out of pocket insurance, etc. and everyone looked dumbfounded - like okay, she's had problems and wasn't jerk enough to bring it up and complain. Okay, yes, a lot of my credit card debt is based on covering expenses while being unemployed or half employed - but freakin aye. I'm guessing about 60% of that is based on random health issues. Everything from getting my gall bladder removed for no good reason (genetic anomaly), paying 18 months COBRA ($440 a month!!), to getting a crown and a few fillings after not having had ex-rays since I didn't have health insurance! Okay, I think I've vented enough. I'm thankful for what I have and am over all generally happy- but jeeze, I'm just sayin- don't assume some one's life is peachy. Everyone has their own issues. Eeesh. Going to bed. And will try and put my pending bill out of my mind. Every thing's negotiable right?
Many Faces Day 1- Part Two
They get their picture taken
They have piercing blue eyes and stunning red lipstick
They are happy
They play delightfully original and hysterically funny characters on TV. Thank you Mark Indelicato from Ugly Betty!
The Many Faces of NYC Fashion Week - Day 1
They wear plaid
They carry pink swag bags
They go about their daily business
They humor the old men going about their daily business
They wear beautiful blues
On a Brighter Note..
Lola the Cat enjoyed the Westminster dog show. I'm so glad my parents were able to capture this.
V-Day
Am I the only one who gets really annoyed when people ask what I'm doing for Valentine's Day? Especially when they know I'm single? What the hell do you think I'm doing? I don't freakin care about the holiday. I only sort of care about it because I'm the only one who likes the lovely chemical flavor of Conversation Hearts- although I'm staying away from them this year. My goals for the weekend are to work out at least twice, complete my self portrait photography assignment, and get some nature- even if it means just walking around Central Park. I sort of want to get out of the city but going home to NJ usually doesn't involve much nature. It really involves sitting on my couch and watching movies. I also want to see "He's Just Not that Into You" or whatever the movie is called.
TED Talk - Elizabeth Gilbert on Genius
http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf
I know it's long, but here's a great way to start your day. Her talk is about the nature of creative genius. Does it come from within us, or as ancient societies thought- is it a divine being that guides us to our creations? She discusses how the notion of creative genius has historically stifled artists and causes them unhealthy pressure- especially if they've already created a master piece. I for one, have to get in a zone when I'm creating whether it's photography, drawing, beading, etc. Am I tapping into my own creativity or tapping into a higher power?
Sunday Walk
Sisters in front of Liquiteria
Perhaps one of my favorite "street portraits." What do you think?
Saturday Brunch
Healthy food
Broken healthy omelet and french cinnamon buns! My mouth is salivating just looking at the picture.
L's favorite plant.
Some of the photogenic and pretty objects in L's beautiful apartment.
Weekend Update
Sorry kids, I've been slacking.
I had a fantastic weekend. It all started with dinner at a old school Italian restaurant on St. Mark's with a good friend. Said dinner included live singing by the owner?, Sinatra, etc. Classic. Despite consuming mass quantities of carbs - fried calamari, pasta a half bottle of red, I managed to wake up the next day sans carb or wine hangover.
Saturday consisted of an entire day of eating. My delightfully sweet and uber cool coworker cooked me and a few coworkers brunch in her fantastic apartment. Her husband is a furniture designer She is an art director- and together they have transformed their Bushwick abode to a pad worthy of Dominos photoshoot. She took the same care in creating us a delicious and healthy meal. I'm tempted once again to give up my central location for more space and light.
As if my weekend wasn't good enough, it got better. Saturday night I managed to score tickets to a sold out concert at the Mercury Lounge. Some guy was standing near the door looking to sell it. The concert featured a guy I went to high school and college with and I've been meaning to see him perform ever since he started playing. So I was surrounded by nice, cool people from both high school and college. Some people I haven't even seen for close to ten years. Good times.
Of course my weekend is never complete until I have visited my spot. No, that's not a euphemism for sex. I walked back up to my hood and convinced a friend to come join me. Upon arriving, I saw another kid from my college standing outside. Mr. Skidmore himself. Or at least that's how I view him. And inside, I ran into someone else I haven't seen for 2 years. More good times. Fast forward an hour later and my friend invited someone I've grown up with but haven't really been speaking to. He brought another friend that I haven't seen in 2 years. Reunion # 5? of the night!! And the topper of the night was when I got into a conversation in French (long story) with one of the friend's friends. We discovered that we both studied in Paris. And went to the same undergrad! She's a year older and I didn't recognize her. Ridiculousness.
Sunday- my good weekend streak continued. I hit up my absolute favorite coffee/ sandwich place Abraco. Had the sandwich I was craving for the whole week. Got some great photos - perfect lighting. And had a very late brunch with a very good and old friend. Croque Madame at Jacques on Price. Delicious. I highly recommend it.
So yeah, what more could I ask for. Great food, great friends - new and old, reunions with people I like, great food, wine, photography, did I mention great food. okay, no boys or sex. But sometimes food and friends trump that.
More Advice
A coworker just gave me some very good advice. That no one is "evil" or inherently bad. You just have to understand where they're coming from. Wow. Duh. Profound. If we could only apply that to foreign policy.
Happy Friday!
So glad it's Friday. I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow. Oh wait, I'm not sleeping in too late. Have lots to do. But am looking forward to my weekend plans. I feel like I accomplished a lot this week. Figured out hot to modify my blog and am sure I can modify it further. Upgraded my computer and stayed calm even though it had to be OPENED. I learned simple lighting techniques and concepts that help me see photos in a whole different way. And I can figure out how to properly light subjects.
Hmmm. Some advice to ponder. Be a player in the game of life, not a spectator. Life is too short to put off what you really want to do. Baby steps. Live every day to the fullest. Here's a picture that I took while I was living my life to the fullest in Florence. I then turned it into a silk screen, and scanned it.
"Why Molly, what did you spend the last 3 hours doing?"
"I just took apart my laptop, installed a new hard drive, and then put it back together again. Phew. Don't want to do THAT again any time soon."
Where There's Triumph, There is Also Failure
Remind me never to try and upgrade my Mac Book hard drive myself.
And while we're on the subject, I need to master the "starving" part of the starving artist. If I did that, I'd have a chance of balancing my photography related expenses with my income.
i.e. just bought a $200 light meter.
$200 new hard drive that's hopefully still working.
and countless other future expenses like having to print my photos for class. Donations accepted.
Triumph!!
After many hours and some help from my coworker, I finally figured out how to slightly modify my blog so the pictures are bigger. So I sort of know HTML now. I'd have to replace all the previous pictures in order to make the others bigger.. but yeah. Next step is trying to figure out how to add a left side bar. One would think it would be easy to find a HTML line.. or I think it's called a CSS - style sheet that would increase the main posts and decrease the side bar. No, not so. Now you know why you always hear about these computer people that are up all night. Cause it takes THAT long! And then you get determined, because if you don't know what you're doing, like me- you're afraid you'll forget everything you achieved.