Life's Exilir

Coffee. That's right.

There are days when I don't know what I would do without coffee. Today being one of them. I don't think the world would function without coffee. It gets us through late nights and hungover mornings. It creates opportunities for social get-togethers. It warms us on a winter day, or cools us in the hot summer. Besides water (and maybe, wine) we need coffee to survive.

The smell of coffee is one of my most favorite smells in the world. It smells like a crisp, fall morning and feels like a warm sweater, hugging you tight. Even in the midst of summer, the smell of coffee lets me escape the heat for just a moment, as I picture myself relaxing by a cozy fire.

Coffee also reminds me of Saturday mornings as a kid. Every Saturday morning my dad took my sister and I to the dump and then to Dunkin' Donuts. I would get not one, but TWO donuts and chocolate milk (this would explain my chubby belly until 8th grade). I obviously didn't drink coffee yet, but I still remember the smell of my Dad's black coffee and thinking he looked so cool and adult-like. I couldn't wait until the day when I was "grown up enough" to drink coffee.

I had to ease my way into regular coffee consumption. It started when I was in about 7th or 8th grade. First it was the Coffee Coolatta's, then the vanilla lattes at Starbucks, neither of which are real coffee. I remember strutting around with my Starbucks iced vanilla latte, thinking I was so sophisticated, like a celebrity walking with shopping bags and coffee in hand.

And then college started, and I learned the real value of coffee. Survival. This is when I became a real coffee-drinker. Just coffee with a little skim milk. No frills, no sugar.

Since then, I usually have a cup a day, regardless of whether I really need it. There are many days when I feel perfectly awake and alert, but I am convinced that I still need coffee (I think that means I am addicted?...) But it's not just the caffeine jolt that I look forward to everyday, it's the memories and the brief sense of comfort I feel in the first couple of sips.

Seduced by Food

I may have discovered the next best thing for foodies. It's like a great romance movie, only about food. Thanks to my friend Jac who sent me the think to a NPR article that proposes the future of food magazines.

Photographer William Hereford combines written recipes with live video footage, all set to sexy French music. This is different than cooking shows on the Food Network. This concept is much more artful, organic, and sensual. There are no performances from bubbly celebrities. This is solely about showcasing the beauty of the food and the tenderness that goes into cooking good food. So the idea is similar to a food magazine in that it explains the recipe step-by-step with salivating images, but here you actually get to witness the transformation of a meal from simple ingredients on a page to a beautiful, finished product.

As I watched this short clip, I felt as if I were being serenaded by a sexy French man on the streets of Paris with a glass of wine in hand--and that's how a good meal should be: its flavors, smells, and tastes should seduce you into an all-encompassing experience. Eating a good meal isn't just about consuming fuel, it's about feeling the entire experience; feeling the love and care and the story behind the meal.

I do wonder how helpful these videos will actually be when cooking in the kitchen. It doesn't seem very practical to stop and rewind, stop and rewind, every time you need to review something. I could also see myself getting so distracted by the beauty of it all, that I would start fantasizing about my French man and the Eiffel Tower and completely forget what I'm supposed to cook.

Who knows if these virtual food recipes will actually catch on, but I am sold. I'd even try to create my own video food recipes as a future blog project. Too bad I possess zero camera skills and lack that seductive, finesse. I can be a little bit frantic when I'm cooking in the kitchen. I'll just have to find me some sexy French music to mask my clumsiness.

Check out the video on this link and see what you think!

Food In Love

Bookworm

Just finished watching the Swedish movie version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". More like, just finished sleeping through the Swedish movie version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Okay, the movie wasn't that bad, and I'm still feeling very fatigued, but I was not impressed. It dragged on for about 2 and a half hours. The English voiceovers were quite flat and lifeless, so it was difficult to feel any emotion from the characters. In fact, the actors themselves did not do the characters justice, regardless of the sloppy subtitles. For a book that kept me on my toes until the very end, the movie certainly did not.

I've seen several other movies-based-on-books this summer, that did not live up to the book's greatness. My Sister's Keeper and The Lovely Bones being two of them. It is definitely not easy to create a good movie from a book. Readers often create their own visions of what characters and settings look like, and can be quite disappointed when the real life actors don't match up to his or her vision (I was quite disillusioned with the not-so-attractive Blomkvist in tonight's movie). Books can also hold so many intricate details, which can be nearly impossible to fit into a 2 hour movie. One of the faults of this movie is that it tried to squeeze in ALL the details of the book, of which there are MANY, therefore making it unbearably long.

Personally, I would much prefer reading the book to seeing the movie. There is something so much more original, imaginative, and involved in reading the text. But there are quite a few movies-based-on-books that I also love...

-Harry Potter--I mean, come on, who doesn't love the Harry Potter movies?

-Breakfast at Tiffany's--I loved Truman Capote's novella, and the movie version is quite different. But the movie is just so charming; and the clothes and Audrey Hepburn...it's just a recipe for love.

-To Kill a Mockingbird--Classic book, classic movie.

-Twilight--Not that I think these movies are quality movies by any means, but the books are SO poorly written, that it's not hard to make a movie version better than the book. And who doesn't love to drool over Jacob (Taylor Lautner)?

-Eat Pray Love--Well I obviously haven't seen this one yet, since it has yet to come out in theaters. But I am anxiously awaiting its debut. Julia Roberts+Gelato+Italy=High Hopes.

See you at the movies!

Pooped.

Who knew that being jobless and doing nothing could be so exhausting? The events of the past few days have left me completely pooped. My body is thirsting for sleep, exercise, and a healthy, home-cooked meal.

Over the weekend, one of my best friends from home graciously invited about 20 of our high school friends to her Cape house. One would expect it to be a relaxing weekend: nothing to do but hang out and go to the beach with good friends. But the debauchery of our reunion left me feeling more dehydrated and tired than I have since senior week of college. Never have I consumed so many varieties of chips in such a short amount of time (we seriously bought about 20 bags of chips). On top of that it was donuts for breakfast, and hotdogs, burgers, and mac and cheese for dinner. Add in excessive amounts of beer to soak up all that processed food, and you've got yourself one healthful weekend...Things really haven't changed much since high school, except that now we are all actually legal. I think it is safe to say that everyone had a blast and will have many memories to laugh at from this weekend.

Back to reality today, and I still was not able to get into a normal sleeping or eating pattern. No, today it was off to New York for an interview for yet ANOTHER internship (why can't I just get a REAL job interview already?!). So I was up early to take the train into the city, which was delayed and took over 4 hours, only to get back on the train about 3 hours later to take the same train back home. Besides sitting on my in-much-need-of-a-workout-butt for over 8 hours today, my meals had to be consumed on the road (lunch brought from home, and dinner purchased at Pret-a-manger). Although I am quite a fan of Pret's to-go salads, I was really looking forward to a healthful, homemade meal after my weekend of sodium-chemical-toxic overload.

So here I am after 4 days of doing nothing but sitting on trains, lying on a beach, and excessive eating/drinking. I am so wiped out that I couldn't come up with anything else to write about besides complain about how badly I am in need of sleep, good food, and a good sweat. Tomorrow I fully intend to recover from my weekend of doing nothing by doing, well...nothing.

Girl Power!

Having just watched the new movie The Runaways, I am feeling rather inspired. Inspired to dye my hair black, cut it into a choppy mullet, spray paint and rip up my own t-shirts just like Joan Jett (or Kristen Stewart). There is something about that angsty teenage rebel queen that has always seemed so cool to me. Probably because rocker chicks à la Kristen Stewart or Taylor Momsen from Gossip Girl, are so far from anything I will ever be. The closest I've ever become to being a rockstar has been while playing Rockband.

Junior year in college, my friends and I had Rockband in our apartment. It was the world's biggest distraction and reason for procrastination. Somedays I would come home from class and find my roommate sitting alone on the couch, staring at the TV screen, strumming on the guitar like a robot. We spent many Friday nights pumping ourselves up to party by rocking out like gamer nerds. I was always on vocals. Mic in hand, I felt overcome with the confidence of a tough, rock-and-roll chick. There was definitely something empowering in belting "Bad Reputation" until my voice became raspy and hoarse.

What was so empowering and liberating in these brief moments of rockstar-dom was that it was such a change from my everyday self. For anyone that knows me, I am pretty tightly wound, almost always follow the rules, and definitely could not pull off a choppy mullet. So these rocker chicks have always been so cool to me, because their image and persona are something I could never pull of, or are just too afraid to try.

I've always admired women who don't seem to care about societal norms of femininity and masculinity. Women who are willing to break through the mold, whether it be in music, fashion, literature, etc. (Coco Chanel, Jane Austen, Britney Spears...haha just kidding, but not really). Although I don't consider myself a trendsetter or mold-breaker, those few moments manning the mic on Rockband allowed me to feel the sense of power and freedom that female innovators, such as Joan Jett, must have felt. Who knew a video game could be so empowering? Rock on!

Grown Up Little Girl

One of my favorite days of the month is when the new issue of Bon Appetit arrives in the mail. As soon as I spot it, a feeling of eagerness takes over, and I cannot wait to sit down and start combing through all the new recipes and delectable pictures. My Bon Appetit frenzy is similar to the excitement I used to feel as a child when the new American Girl catalogue arrived. I remember snatching the catalogue before my younger sister could get her hands on it, running upstairs, and circling every new outfit and accessory I wanted for my birthday or Christmas. I fantasized about my dolls, their new outfits, and how happy we would all be together. I created little play scenes in my head before my birthday or Christmas even arrived.

My first American Girl doll was Samantha. Santa brought her when I was in kindergarten. I begged and BEGGED for Samantha months before Christmas was even in the picture. I cut out all of the Samantha pictures from the catalogue and stored them in a box under my bed labeled “Samantha Parkington’s Box”; along with pictures of outfits and play scenes I imagined we would have together. (This box is actually still decaying in our attic, probably storing old winter clothes).
Samantha finally arrived, only to be followed by several other American Girl dolls that my sister and I would play with together. While our dolls brought many fun times and cherished memories, I still most vividly remember the utter excitement and anticipation I felt waiting for Samantha’s arrival.
This pure, innocent longing is similar to the anxiousness I feel when imagining Bon Appetit’s new recipes. I study every detail. The ingredients, the process, serving suggestions. I especially love the illustration demos in the back of the magazine. I picture myself chopping the ingredients, putting them together, and what it must smell like. The pictures make my mouth salivate and my stomach grumble with desire. I rip out all the pages of recipes that I hope to try and keep them in a folder that is now falling apart, similar to my “Samantha Parkington’s Box”. I have probably only made a quarter of the recipes that I’ve torn from Bon Appetit, but I hold onto all of them with the hope that some day I will try them all (also similar to how I wished I could own the entire American Girl franchise as a child). My tastes and interests may have matured over the years, but food still makes me bubble with excitement like a 5 year-old girl.

A few of the recipes from the August issue that I hope to make are:
-Grilled Chicken and Plantains, Jamaican-Style
-Grilled Salmon with Quick Blueberry Pan Sauce-Shrimp, Mango, and Avocado Salad with Sweet Chili-Ginger Vinaigrette

And for dessert…
White Chocolate-Cherry Mousse Pie (wish I had a piece of this sitting in front of me RIGHT NOW!)
Chocolate-Dipped Ice Cream Sandwiches

Hopefully I will actually try one of these recipes (rather than storing them in my Bon Appetit folder) and report back soon!

I Dream of Genie. And Many other Weird Things.

My mom and I just got back from seeing the new movie Inception. I’ve been waiting to see this movie for a while, not so much because I was interested in the content, but because I have been a diehard Leonardo DiCaprio fan since Growing Pains. Besides seeing the dramatic commercials, I really had no idea what this movie was about before going in. And I’m not so sure I even know what it is about now. The whole idea of sharing dreams and dreams within a dream (within a dream, within a dream), was very cool and different, but also very hard to keep up with. At times I found that I was trying so hard to keep track of all the dream layers, that I missed whatever was going on at that moment. It was, however, quite entertaining, with its ever changing scenery, intense music, and of course, Leo. Although confusing and mind-boggling at times, I guess that’s what makes a good movie: one that leaves you still thinking about it afterwards. The idea of planting an idea in someone’s head through a dream is truly original and creative, and left me wondering if I’ve ever been subconsciously led to believe something because of a dream?
I always have quite vivid dreams that I remember the next day. Sometimes these dreams are so bizarre that I find myself thinking about them hours later. My most recent weird dream was from sometime last week. I dreamt that my pet dog Mack somehow obtained a gun and was trying to shoot me. My only protection was a paperback book that I used as a shield. Eventually, my mother seized the dog and took his gun. Then my whole family stood together and cried as we watched Mack being taken away to jail for bad animals. (Mack and I have a quite hostile relationship, but I never thought he would try to shoot me if given the chance!)
My mother also has very strange dreams—usually something terrible happens to me or one of my siblings. (She tends to worry about us…a lot). One of her weirdest dreams by war was when she was pregnant with me. She dreamt that I was growing in a garden, rather than in her womb, with Right-to-Life bumper stickers pasted around the fence. Instead of growing into a normal infant, I grew into a full-grown man. She cried and cried that she wanted a baby, not a grown man, for a child. I’m not even going to try to analyze where this one came from…
So maybe the weird dream trend is genetic in my family. Or maybe my mom and I are linked in a shared dream universe à la Inception!! Mwaahh-ha-ha! Who knows, but it is interesting to think about, or at least get a good laugh out of our kooky dreams.
Anyone else have any strange dreams you’d care to share or analyze? Feel free to explore here…