The Secret Life of a Gleek

It's already been well established that I'm a television junkie and watch shows meant for high schoolers. What can I say, I'm special. I didn't jump on the Glee bandwagon right away. I didn't start watching the show until Christmas time last year. My parents had purchased the 1st half of season one DVDs, I had just wrapped up an internship, and I was BORED. So, I started watching. And kept watching.

I actually think Glee is weird. Really weird. I don't get the whole slushie thing, I think Finn is super awkward.

BUT I love the music. I've always loved musicals (I remember dragging a former boyfriend to see the movie Hairspray opening day, while we were on vacation. He didn't appreciate that!), the cheesier the better. On Broadway, TV, movies, all of it. I have Mama Mia, Wicked and Jersey Boys on my IPod. I grew up listening to Joseph & the Technicolor Dreamcoat and have most of it  memorized. Doesn't surprise me that I have Glee parties for one, and jam to their music on the metro to work. I love the mix of popular songs with Broadway classics, the "theme" episodes, classic songs, and the mashups. Its great.

THIS weeks' episode excites me because it represents the epitome of my childhood, Britney Spears. I'm very much looking forward to singing along  in my living room, reliving my childhood of jamming to "Baby One More Time" on my CD player, blasting "Oops I Did it Again" until it drove my Mom crazy and making up a dance to "Lucky" with my little cousins. Yes, I am a 90's child, of the era of Britney, Christina, Backstreet Boys and NSync. I wouldn't have it any other way :)

Nanny Returns

I chose to use my short time between jobs, when I wasn't driving across the country for a trip to my home state and back, to read. Every Jane Austen book I've read, I loved, but for some reason, I just could not get into Mansfield Park. I still feel bad that I abandoned it a mere 12% in (got to love Kindle's lack of page numbers, instead providing you with the percentage you've completed). I decided to switch genres completely by reading Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus.

Yes, the  movie starring Scarlet Johannson was horrible, but the book? As far as chick-lit goes, I enjoyed it. I read the first book years ago, chose to read it last night on a whim. For some reason the character Nan sticks out to me, because even though she gets involved in these asinine situations with powerful, wealthy people, she still follows her heart in the end. It makes me question if mothers in New York City really treat their children that way, however. I read the book in one sitting, and was definitely engrossed. Sure, it's no Mansfield Park, but it was definitely the type of book I needed right now in my efforts to unwind before ramping things up to start my new job! I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars, when comparing it to other books that are similar in genre. Jane Austen, I'll come back to your book someday, when my brain is further rejuvenated.

What should I read next? 

Paris Love

I. love. Paris. I love the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and crepes. Notre Dame, the Seine River, and the cobblestone streets. The Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, amazing shopping on the Champs-Élysées and the quaint restaurants and coffee shops. Listening to the beautiful language I can't understand. Heck, I even enjoyed the metro. I loved every single thing about Paris. Watching the recent Gossip Girl episodes where the girls traipse through Paris just makes me want to return. So badly!

I was lucky enough to spend a weekend in Paris while I was living in Madrid. I had romanticized the city, imagining walking near the Eiffel Tower with a handsome man, eating macaroons and shopping for diamonds at Cartier and purses at Louis Vuitton. A girl can dream, right? I spent hours planning every single minute detail about my trip, pouring through guide book and making lists of "must-sees." I'm proud to say I crammed in nearly everything into a 36 hour period. I was giddy with excitement the entire time I was there, eating enough crepes to last a lifetime, and in complete awe over the art and architecture. Nothing beats Paris. Even the fact that I went with two girls who refused to eat French food couldn't damper my trip (sadly, the only French food I had was crepes because of these two girls, next time, will be different!) I could have easily spent a month exploring the beautiful city, the short weekend I had was not enough. I still look at my pictures, and imagine myself visiting again in the near future.

 

       

TV Junkie Anonymous

As I have mentioned before, I am a self proclaimed TV junkie. And, as I sit on my couch on a Friday night, sick and watching endless amounts of Gossip Girl in hopes of feeling better tomorrow to go a baseball game and watch my Wolverines kick some Irish butt, I decided to create my "Fall 2010 TV Schedule." It's quite a lengthy schedule, which is sad and embarrassing to put in public. But, to be fair, I DVR most of my shows, so therefore I'm really not watching THAT much. Some shows are my standards, while others, I watched when I lived at home with my parents, and now keep watching. The Amazing Race, I will be watching to I once again witness the woman who had a watermelon explode in her face. (its hilarious and disturbing all at once, I suggest you watch.) 

So now that I've admitted to the world I should enter TV Addicts Anonymous (and watch some really bad television), what will you be watching this fall?

BlackBerry and Coffee go hand in hand

I love my BlackBerry. I love coffee. I've wasted far too much money since my freshman year of college fueling my caffeine addiction and heading to Starbucks. Actually, if I think about how much money I've spent, I'll probably want to faint. That, however, is besides the point.

When I saw that Starbucks created a BlackBerry application, I thought it was genius. I'm also ecstatic that it didn't exist before because I would have spent more money. It annoys me how many reward cards I have in my wallet, to the point where it's busting at the seams, and love that this can just stay on my phone, so I wont lose it.

Blackberry and Coffee - two necessities in my life. I'm glad that they have teamed up to make life easier.

Simplifying Life

I occasionally read this awesome blog, zen habits. They recently made a post titled, "a brief guide to life," and it really inspired me and left me thinking.While I continue to try and move past being an intern, and into a "real job," find a more reasonably priced apartment and roommate, make friends in this new city and all around figure out my life, it can get pretty stressful. I'm always worrying about what will happen next, and this post honestly made me realize that I DO need to just take a step back and breath. I'm grateful for how far I've come in the last year, and I know that my hard work and dedication will eventually pay off. Sometimes, its the simple things that matter most.

Maybe someone else will find this as inspirational as I did.

"less TV, more reading
less shopping, more outdoors
less clutter, more space
less rush, more slowness
less consuming, more creating
less junk, more real food
less busywork, more impact
less driving, more walking
less noise, more solitude
less focus on the future, more on the present
less work, more play
less worry, more smiles
breathe"

*courtesy of zenhabits.net*