And you will go to Mykonos, With a vision of a gentle coast

Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.

Thought of the week: Why must all one writes be universal? Why must we feel this need to be mystical within ourselves, to discover some special spark all our own, to outshine the midnight air in hopes of being discovered for our talents, our thoughts, our hopes, ourselves. There is something epic in being able to influence, to pass along the glitter of one's imagined concoctions and hope for the person next to you to share within your light, to transfer one's energy into the next, to travel on that blanket towards something... and yet my words are flooding me forward.

Robert Pinsky has confirmed my love for the craft of writing. Tonight (in my 3-hours-of-sleep-haze) I decided to go to his lecture on translation, and was just blown completely away- his voice, his emphasis on phrase, his kind nature... I ended up buying his translation of Dante's Inferno (which I hear is absolutely incredible, and I can't wait to find the time to read it eventually). How am I not surprised that I spent more money on another book (while I'm planning on buying a few more- some Dave Eggers, Oscar Wilde, Frank Bidart, and Michael Ryan... mmm).

Let's keep this as simple as I possibly can, and how else to extract oneself than to list?
* Needing to listen to my collection of... Animal Collective, Snow Patrol, We Are Scientists, Silversun Pickups, The Raconteurs, Sondre Lerche, Regina Spektor, The Do, Arctic Monkeys, Grizzly Bear, Noise Addict, Nada Surf, Kate Nash ... and a lot more :)
* Reacquaint myself with: Hey Ocean!, Fleet Foxes, Yo La Tengo, Modest Mouse, Voxtrot...
* I am way more tired than what I thought I was xD
* Coffee Bean List of must-tries: Hot Vanilla, Apple Rooibos Tea Latte, Vanilla Ceylon Tea Latte... and other things!
* The reading list is huuumongousfungus: Books for class on top of a million Nylon magazines on top of Lolita and McSweeny's... ahhhhh
* Project Runway is coming oooon :)

And, as my parting thoughts are running thinner and thinner in my mind, all I can think about is taking things less seriously. A constant goal to achieve- I need time to continue to grow. mmm, the beauties of being young and wild and free!

That solo's really long, But it's a pretty song

Summer Reflections//Bits and Blurbs of Life (Over the course of three days, Saturday-Tuesday 09.22.09)

A midday entry to say the least (and obvious!). As one may know, I am usually a nighttime blogger (I bet this will take precedence when school starts in the form of "hmm, I'll procrastinate a bit...") I also figured that with the coming days (including this one), I will be busy with unpacking things for my mom (moving into the new house... I'm so excited for her), spending the day/night in LA/Irvine Sunday, then coming back to pack my remaining trinkets and squeeze in those last-minute sightings and plans with my dear ones. (Monday note: Both moves went well for what they were! I'm so excited about how pretty the apartment is looking, but am extremely tired due to the lack of sleep. However, I'll sleep in tomorrow- tonight is about those last-minute excursions to see the faces of my lovelies)

Summer-wise, this has been three beautiful months... From working (oh my gosh, the chilluns this year <3) to the sleep-deprived wanderings of my mind, the many heart-fluttering moments to the anticipation of moving into my new apartment (!!!). Turning 21 (gosh, that birthday dinner <3), the late-night talks, the car rides, best friend time at Yogurtworld/tutti frutti, drinking the best taro milk tea of my life twice this week, finding a million fashion blogs (and soon starting my own with my twinny-twin-twin)... Oh gosh, life <3 There is definitely a part of me that wishes I could remain in San Diego this much longer, but at the same time I am so ready to return to Irvine for my e28besties and other lovely friends of my life, living in the new apartment (again, !!!), reading literature I would not necessarily love reading (... okay, maybe not. But who knows when one will find a new favorite!), exposure to poems (ahhh my heart!)... I feel everything slowly creeping on me- this year is heading in an amazing direction. (Tuesday note: Such an amazing direction... Ahh, Reunited and it feels so good <3)

AND NOW, BITS AND BLURBS!
1) May I re-emphasize the extraordinary taro milk tea I had from Tea Station? Best decision of my life.
2) Seeing 500 Days of Summer TWICE was also a great choice :) I am truly obsessed with Zooey (have been since Elf and seeing her in a classic ElleGirl spread), and Joseph Gordon-Levitt has my heart beat twice as quickly. Also saw Paper Heart (gah, glorious Michael Cera... too bad I fell asleep for a bit of it :P) and Ponyo (my ABC's life story in a sense <3)... and at this moment, why are there so many movies I want to see (Adam, New York, I Love You (Oct 16), Where the Wild Things Are (also Oct 16), Extract, The Informant, double-feature Toy Story, The September Issue)... Ahh <3
3) I want this necklace in my life: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30005205
She also sells these gorgeous tulip earrings (tulips are my favorite flower)... EEE <3
4) Getting the writing flowing. I finished the rough-version of a poem today actually (ooooh goodness). The songwriting is coming back as well (listening to Regina Spektor, and her songs are just epic in terms of structure and writing and everything I adore)
5) More musical notes: Besides Regina, I have just received a ton of Voxtrot, Sondre Lerche, Silversun Pickups, AND THE SMITHS (obsessed obsessed obsessed- and yes, I was obsessed before 500 Days of Summer came out)
6) Ben Gibbard and Zooey Deschanel are officially married. I bet this was the cutest wedding ever.
7) Another realization: I am in love with french music. As in, lyrics in French. Carla Bruni is just beautiful. I also have some other song in French and I have no idea who sings it, but it is old and amazing (I want to watch Amelie).
8) Music again: Sour Cherry by The Kills = truly in deep. Best song to drive to at the moment. Now I wish I could burn myself a road trip CD but I cannot (computer is actin' up! I'll do an experiment at some point this week with it).
9) Being in walking distance (like, a mile) of Coffee Bean, Jamba Juice, and Corner Bakery makes life seem pretty delicious :)
10) Still needing to go through a million magazines (all spread on a glass table), along with finishing Lolita? mmm yes :)
11) Asian Week at Souplantation is amazing. Truly, delicious.
12) Note to self: Look up favorite artists to see when new CDs will be released...

And with my sleepy eyes (finally! It seems like a decade since I even began this post), I leave you the following. Goodnight!

The Traveler
Was in your room, haunting,
Staring across your plastered windows
Filled with postcards of all those destinations
You desired, uttering romantic jibberish along the way.

Stretching your mouth to fill the void
That is your body, you took sound and sent
It swimming backwards from her fingertips, further
From the core you craved, an apple without the poison seeds.

She felt the trees shake in their
4x4 frames the moment silent hands
Crumbled about her- Real, alive, breathing
Her mouth echoing you, the room holding her still.

Sound only collapsed when the weight from the framed walls
Fell underneath her, revealing the trodden trail
Of left patterned feet, molds within the dirt
A reflection of when one leaves
An open door.

There's a little bit in the books I read, A little bit in the films I see... A little bit of you in everything

Ahh, welcome back late-night blog-musings <3

I cannot believe that summer officially ends in... a bit more than a week. 11 days if I calculated that exactly. This has honestly been one of the most beautiful and, dare I say it, eventful summers I can remember. Let's be honest- I'm waiting on that summer sun to officially set before I reflect on the past... 3 months (a-what? Seriously?).

There is so much to look forward to in Fall- the rustling of the leaves, cardigan weather, the fireworks of color within nature itself... And yet, I wonder if you will be there. Spring blossomed and shined over late-night coffee car talks, the echo of sentiments via typing/texting/conversation, radio karaoke car rides... Promises made, and hopes of vows to be kept. But then summer came (and has almost left), and you disappeared. Life became busy, and I am one to understand. Yet here I wait, anticipating fall... Will you be there to greet us? There are so many things I want to hear about, and yet I wonder if you even want to listen to the salty sea collide with the grains of sand that have built up since our time apart. I guess all I can hope for is that you will float with the new season, falling back to old times and trying to rekindle a friendship that I still believe will last for years to come.

I'm ready for the season to sweep me off my feet... But for now, let's bask in that sweet summer sun :)

I never thought I would come of age, let alone on a moldy page :)

This morning, I woke up for the millionth time at 7:20. In true procrastinator fashion (a fashion that needs to go out of style... partly because I'm too busy for summer. Summer = lazy Mondays every day), I rolled out of bed to tackle something that has been egging me on for the past... oh, three months: renewing my driver's license.

I stood in line, mentally preparing myself for any repercussions and the excuse to follow. Oh, I was out of town for three weeks. Oh no, I have to take the test again? It'll be okay.... I look up from my book, noticing the difference between myself and the door, my own position in line compared to everyone who decided to sleep that extra five minutes and show up behind me. In front of me was a girl who renewed her license through the mail but has received nothing of significance to ease her mind of the fact that her license was to expire next Monday. Behind me, a man who was in to renew his own license. And there I stood in between, the same reason with the marker of procrastination to bar me from even connecting to the pillars of responsibility.

The line breezed by instantly, my question of changing my address answered, the paperwork filled out, the nerves of possibly being reprimanded buzzing through my veins. My number was called, mediocre questions and small talk ensued, and bing! Done. Except for one small request... Stand over at the camera to take your photo... A-what? I thought the photos only ensued once the picture was too young-looking to be considered even passable! Coming from the mentality of everyone at work looking years older (whereas I, short stature and older age, continue in my rut of looking years younger... a gift I'm sure I will appreciate many years down the line), I decided to accept my fate that a new picture was unavoidable, and simply clad in mascara, I smiled as the click(clickclick) of the camera rang in my ears. I walked off, called my sister and relayed the episode, her laughter easing my confidence.

Then it hit me, as being 21 has given the driver's license a new form of life outside of my wallet... that no one truly looks at the picture. The number at the top is used for identification and registration for all bills of multiple sizes. The address becomes a reminder of a home-base through the constant travels between youth and adulthood (or a change of address, in this case, becomes a reminder of where life has now been placed). The birth-date- a confirmation of one's age (the gateway to legal tasks linking with age when looks become deceiving), the expiration used as a marker for a date when the DMV has missed you and desires to learn where life has taken you. And the name, the placard of identity, used to compare cards and documents and create the link between that big picture that takes up a good third of the card to the importance of what becomes a verbal/visual identity. Ultimately, the picture is a mere glance as the printed words take precedence over every function imaginable (and besides, it rests in one's wallet a majority of the time!)...

And besides, staring at the real, breathing image is ten-times better than any picture imaginable.