On an aimless, wandering car ride with Marisa somewhere in the hills just north of Los Angeles, we came across this cleared away but as of yet undeveloped hill with an absolutely stunning view out to the city, and even further, just barely, to the ocean.
Does Taffy deserve a new bear next Christmas? Maybe just for cuteness' sake. There's something so adorable about watching her lovingly and playfully tear apart a toy.
It's been howling all morning; I woke up blearily and slowly to the sound of wind beating against the side of the house. Now I'm sitting in the den, watching the trees thrash outside and listening to the wind whistle in the chimney. Every few minutes an especially strong gust comes whooshing up from the canyon, bringing with it a cloud of dust from the neighbor's lovely construction project (read my article about my feelings for my neighbor at Overdue Karma, my friends' brilliant website of wittiness). The trees are bent nearly to the ground, the deck furniture has all been blown over and against the walls, and the cat is sitting cautiously by the window, flinching every time the wind roars.
Yeah, it's kinda scary, but I LOVE THIS WEATHER! I love it because I'm sitting inside where it's warm and I can't feel the wind, and I'm sipping hot chocolate and writing, cozy inside my house.
The Meaning of Life (aka Drool over Michael Palin)
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
Wag the Dog
Edward Scissorhands (spelled Scizzorhands by Elise)
War Games
Holly: The Life & Times of a Genius and Her Sidekick Whiny Lapdog (Elise)
Elise: The Heartbreaking Drama/Comedy of a Heroic Genius Who Has To Put Up With Her Clumsy Arch-Rival Holly
Elise: The New Ricky Bobby Martin . . . The Girl Who Could Only Count to One - but then again, she only needed to, with her good looks - unfortunately it was a typical situation of looks excluding brains.
Elise: A Comedy
Hollyzilla: When Growth Hormones Go Wrong
Elise Conquers Her "Midget-Sized" Elf Esteem
Borat 2: Return to America With Wife (Holly) in Tow.
Elsie the Dyslexic Pigeon
Holly: Male Modle Model of the Year
Zoolander 2: Mugato Takes Wife (Elise)
Fruits and Nuts: The Holly Story
Frankenstein: Elise Rises Again
Holly: Bolivian Lumberjack
Meet Elise: A Day in the Petting Zoo
O Little Town of Bethlehem: Holly the Donkey Saves the Day
Holly and Elmer Go to White Castle (Elise didn't appreciate the genius of that one - Elmer is a combination of Elise and Kumar, duh!)
Holly's Brain: A Brain Surgeon's Comedy
Elise Blackbeard: The Diary of a Pirate's Wife
Deck the Halls: Holly Has a Bit Too Much Eggnog.
Elise Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Afterlife: Holly Watches From Below
Elise's Bosom: A Tragedy
Little Shop of Holly: Feed me, Seymour!
Elise's Web: A Talking Spider Saves a Lovable Talking Pig!
Holly's Bosom: A Tale of Two Molehills
Elise's Bosom: A Tale of Two Titties (rated R) (Elise's note: hey, I'm an A+ porn star)
Holly's Socks: A Deadly Obsession
Elise's Socks: a Deadly Color Combination
Holly's Hallucinations: Elise Isn't Wearing Socks
Charlie Brown Finally Wins . . . to Elise.
Holly the Snowman: Frosty Finally Finds Love
Edit: I just noticed that this is my 100th post since I started this blog back in July. At this rate I'll have a good 300 posts by next July! My goodness.
It was a brilliant Christmas, with excellent gifts on both my mom's part and mine. I got wonderful thigh-high socks and my mom got that new wallet she needed. I got the Rosetta Stone program for Greek, and spent the better part of the afternoon learning Greek. It seems somewhat futile since it'll be ages before I'd be able to go to Greece - and yet it's still tremendously fun. I want learning languages to be part of who I am, and how better to make that come true than learn a language for no particular reason except that it seems fun?
So, I'm quite thrilled about that gift; my mother loved her space-age ant maze, which was a bit random... it's this container filled with blueish goo that ants can tunnel in - the idea is to get an ant colony started and then observe them through the transparent "dirt." There's absolutely no good reason that I got it for her, except that it seemed awesome and interesting, and she'll have enough free time on her hands now that she's quitting teaching to enjoy something as pointless as this.
We went over to Elise's for dinner, where Elise and I spent the evening being goofy and tormenting our parents by playing joke footsie under the table for most of the meal. We're mature like that. I finished my 1000 piece puzzle, which I got at Rite-aid the other day as a Christmas gift to myself; tomorrow I'm going to start tracking Christmas sales, and try and find a low-priced Canon Rebel XT. Time for a camera update, and I'm excited! Oh, and big news - I'm finally writing again! After ages, absolute ages.... well, I did give NaNoWriMo an earnest try, but failed miserably with only about 17,000 words to show for my attempt. I'm not sure whether to say that with sarcasm or not - 17,000 words is more than I've ever put into any other project, and yet it was about 33,000 words short of the 50,000 word goal of NaNoWriMo. A novel is no small beans, I discovered.
What I'm working on now is far short of novel material, but what's important is that I'm being creative again, something I haven't felt in ages with regards to my writing. Even the novel attempt felt stale, and that's why I couldn't bring myself to finish it. So let's hold our breaths for what may eventually turn into something presentable and -hopefully- wonderful!
So, all in all it is a brilliant Christmas. It's wonderful being home, but I'm excited for next year too, wherever I am. I assume I'll be here in sunny, wonderful California, but hey, vediamo - we'll see! Scotland calls...
Today was uneventful, and so I have no photos to show for it, save for this one, which I took while sitting in front of my computer and working on my English project on Ralph Ellison's brilliant novel, Invisible Man - so brilliant, in fact, that I don't even feel particularly displeased at working on the project over break. It's due tomorrow evening, at any rate, and I've finished it for the most part, so it shouldn't bother me after tomorrow anyway.
I mailed a scarf and some photos to Armida today, making a hasty run to the post office at half past twelve to stand in an endless line. I included a packet of California poppies, which I nestled inside the scarf so that they're not immediately visible. The scarf is forest green; I knit it hastily last night, sitting in front of Under the Tuscan Sun, and trying to recall my own Tuscan adventures. I was in Siena four times - on a trip with Ryan and Aleja and Nancy in October, one of the first of many, many day trips in central Italy; with school, for the Thanksgiving trip to Florence; with my mom and Lynnette when they came for Christmas; and finally with Ani and her family when they came to visit me.
I've been elsewhere in Tuscany, but I feel so attached to Siena since I was there so often. At first it was something of a joke, since Ryan made such an effort to plan a day trip there, and then we ended up going with school. I guess he figured it was a waste to pay to go there when we would get a free ride with school just a month later. But I loved it so much, I didn't mind paying. In fact, it was because I loved it so much that I dragged my mom and Lynnette and Ani there later on in the year, simply because I wanted to go back again, to go to Nannini's, the best pasticceria north of Syracuse (and that one only wins because of its spectacular marzipan); to eat in the hidden restaurants that you'll find if you wander for long enough in the winding alleyways; to embrace the crowds in Piazza del Campo, which, after some initial skepticism, I've decided is beautiful enough to merit its reputation as best-preserved and most wonderful piazza in Italy.
In one of the little courtyards of Siena I met a handsome, soft-spoken Canadian who introduced himself and asked me, without skirting around the question at all, for my phone number. We talked for a long time, and I completely lost track of myself in his charm. When Lynnette asked me afterward what we'd talked about, I honestly couldn't remember anything but his face; he was that ridiculously dashing. I didn't see him again, as he went up to Northern Italy to do artwork while I was down in Viterbo, a full-time student. But I don't mind, because what was romantic and wonderful about the whole thing was entirely the moment. There was a violinist playing in the courtyard, and it was dusk. I thought he was Italian at first - he greeted me in Italian, asking if I spoke English. I was with my mom and Lynnette, but they faded away instantly, as did his parents. They all recognized and respected that we were just two teenagers in a foreign country, who had caught each other's eyes and smiled just so, and then of course we had to exchange a few words, and each know who the other was.
The best part was that when he asked me where I lived, I was able to say, "I live here."
I'm sitting on the couch downstairs, with my dog stretched out next to me, curled against my hip. She's dreaming, and every few minutes she'll twitch or breathe harder, or stretch luxuriously in the space allowed her between my side and the end of the couch. I've got my iTunes library on shuffle, which is how I usually listen to it; that makes for an interesting selection of music. It's just now jumped from Joni Mitchell's "California" to "If You Were Gay" from Avenue Q to Queen. Shuffle helps to remind me of the music I've got hidden away in the cobwebby depths of my albums. If I play just one album, then I forget to listen to so much of the rest of my music. So I shuffle my songs, and it's refreshing. Always exciting to wait and see what will come up next.
I'm planning to get myself a new camera for Christmas, between the money I receive for Christmas and that which I have left over from teaching last summer. I'm eyeing the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT SLR, which seems to be a favorite of Flickr users and certainly sounds like a wonderful camera. What I want is something between a sophisticated point-and-shoot, and a full-out manual. I have always loved photography, but I simply haven't got the time to develop photos. Most of what I loved was setting up a shot - figuring out the necessary settings, making the photo really perfect, with the right exposure and focus... But what I love about my little, beat-up Canon PowerShot SD110 is that I can put the photos straight onto my computer, edit them, view them - without the (albeit traditional) hassle of developing. So I'm seeking a compromise and the Rebel appears to be a lovely one. Here's to after-Christmas sales!
Today my mom and I baked a lemon meringue pie and made pie-crust cookies with sprinkles and sugar and cinnamon; we went over to her friend's house for a Solstice party, and had homemade bread and sipped wine all evening. The sun set at around 5:00, the earliest of the year - now the days will start getting longer, and I'm delighted. For all that I love cool, overcast days in the spring, I'm really honestly happy on the days that are sunny. That'll be one sacrifice of going North for college, I suppose. Shorter days, less sun. Oh dear. I suppose I'll think about that next year. On the bright side, that means more excuse for toasty fires to warm my toes in front of. I could live with that.
So I just discovered this project, and it seems awesome. I take an awful lot of photos anyway, so why couldn't I start taking one daily, one that in some small way encompasses what I accomplished that day? I can compound that with my goal of blogging daily or bi-daily, because then I'll have photos to post far more often than I do right now. I'll start with today's, December 20th, because I want to include this Christmas. I suppose I could wait till January 1st, a mere week and a half away.... but somehow I think it would be more charming to start on a day not quite lined up with the year. In a small, unobtrusive way it can take away from all the hype connected with the New Year.
I just snapped this photo in the kitchen. In the Senior Assembly today we were given daisies instead of the traditional candles, because obviously someone out there had the common sense not to trust us with fire in the new theater; when I got home with Elise and Cel in tow, I dropped my daisy on the counter next to my mother's fish tank, and it wasn't till later in the evening that I noticed that it was a rather neat contrast. And then a while later, after taking two Martinelli's bottles out of the fridge and leaving one on the counter, I saw that we'd inadvertently placed it right next to the daisy and the fish tank. It's the bottle that our tenant gave us, with a note taped to it.... everything was so green, and while the picture is cluttered and rather hastily taken, I like it. It's a good start to the next 365 days.
That means that the sky is sunny and the air is sharp and cold, and when I say cold I mean cold. You East Coasters may laugh, because 44 degrees is springtime weather, but my god is it freezing for Southern California! It's dry cold, which means that it sucks up your moisture and makes your lips and cuticles sore, and it seems to find its way around any scarf or through the knit of a sweater or through that gap between gloves and sleeves.
My goodness, is it cold; but that means it's beautiful. The air is sparkling and clear, and you can see the mountains all the way from the valley. When there are clouds they're so sharply contrasted against the sky, it's really stunning. This is ideal Christmas weather in California. It's gorgeous, and, like every other season I spend here, it reminds me why I love living here.
So, Christmas spirit abounds! We've got a brilliantly ornamented tree covered in lights, the mantle is decorated with our beer bottle reindeer and a Christmas santa countdown, not to mention a dozen other Christmas trinkets..... and the Balian mansion down the street is lit up for the holidays! It's definitely Christmas time.
Amazing musical. Amazing! Ani and Jean and I went into downtown LA last night to see Light in the Piazza at the Ahmanson. We bought tickets at the door, which was a huge gamble since it was the night before closing, slimming the chances that there would be tickets left over. But, lo and behold, there were, and we saw a spectacular Broadway musical..... for a mere twenty dollars.
So it was a magnificent success in that we arrived just in time, there were tickets still for sale and they were cheap, our seats were marvelous..... and the musical was incredible. It is half in Italian, and you have to concentrate pretty carefully to get everything that's going on, but that's what makes it wonderful. I understood most of the Italian, so I had an advantage - several of the songs and scenes are completely in Italian, between Fabrizio and his family, and a non-Italian speaker would have to rely on expressions and movements to understand what's going on. But perhaps just because I understood it, I LOVED IT. The mother in the musical, Margaret, spoke a little too softly at times, and Ani disliked the lighting, but those flaws seemed minor because the singing was so phenomenal.
Plus, every scene of the musical had me sighing and reminiscing, and promising myself that I'll go back to Italy as soon as possible. It wasn't all that realistic, but simply because I miss the romance of Italy so much right now, I was willing to believe and be drawn in by Clara's and Fabrizio's whirlwind romance. Oh, dear, I'd better get back to Italy soon, because the more I think about it the more I idealize it, and quite frankly, the reality is better! The dirty streets and the hot, dusty weather, and the whiff of baked goods that permeates the air, and the Italian voices arguing, and the passeggiata with families and elderly singles strolling, and the lingerie shops on every corner, the gelato, the piazzas lined with little restaurants....
So I definitely didn't end up getting the job on Thursday, since my schedule is so screwy, and the proprietor of the cafe needs someone who can work during the day next semester. Recap: I have school. High school. I am not allowed to EVER skip classes, nor would I choose to (not even for a wonderful job with sexy customers). So I resigned myself to the fact that I will never be able to work since Westridge is on a 6-day schedule which lightens my workload and destroys all prospects of a job. But when I showed up for the Italian conversation group on Saturday, the proprietor (we'll call him Bob) not only remembered my name (always a plus in a future boss), but said, "I want you to be able to work here, so why don't you email me your schedule and we'll try to work around it?"
No way! I should mention that I had a dream that basically went EXACTLY LIKE THAT on Thursday night, after coming home bleeding and rejected from the un-job. So obviously I am prophetic, and even more obviously, I am extremely lucky! So I might (fingers crossed very very much!) start on Tuesday, though we've already had a bit of a scheduling bump.... Bob asked me to come in at 2:30, which is exactly 35 minutes before my AP Biology class ends, so I emailed him back politely asking if I could please come in at 3:15 instead. So, vediamo, we'll see, I could actually just maybe have a job! And money to travel. And to buy a new pair of shoes....
But most importantly, LIFE OUTSIDE OF WESTRIDGE! Though I am glad to say that, having been away from Westridge for a year, I have a lot more appreciation for it than I did before leaving for Italy. It's a great school, a bubble admittedly, but a great school. But that doesn't keep me from being very delighted to find little social circles outside it. My Italian group, for instance, is marvelous - all the other members are much older, but they're so parent-like to me! I absolutely adore all of them, because they always ask how my college apps are going and what I did last week and would I like a cookie?
I've got the job! I start tomorrow at 5:00, learning to make the drinks and sandwiches and stuff. I have been way more stressed than I needed to be about getting this job - no one reason in particular, just that I love the cafe, I love the vibe, I need a job and this is a better one than some of the others I've pursued. So, it's kind of a relief to finally have been hired! Now let's see about college...
After a year of living in Italy, I would have thought I'd learned.... but apparently I never realized that a double espresso stays in my system for over 5 hours. So here I am, it's 9:30 and I'm drumming my fingers impatiently and tapping my foot, because it's too early and I'm too wired to go to sleep, but I've finished all my homework and have nothing to do. The ride home from tutoring was endless, because it was all I could do to keep my speed below 35, and try not to race the cars around me. But, coupled with the caffeine rush: an adrenaline rush! I went to 'Hey, That's Amore' to do my homework tonight, the Italian cafe where I meet for my weekly Italian conversation group: not only did the cute (but unavailable) artist remember me, but the new owner of the cafe is marvelously nice... so, on a whim I asked if they are hiring - and he asked me to sit down for an interview! So, vediamo, I may be employed within the week, and have a means for saving up for an exciting, travel-filled summer! Not to mention it's a wonderful place to work, and the people all seem marvelous.... oh, I hope, I hope, I hope I get the job!
And because I just love posting pictures way too much, here are two from Morro Bay, where my mom and I stayed after Thanksgiving. That's Morro Rock in the background of the first photo - it is the center of a now-deceased volcano that was worn away over the millennia, leaving only its rock core. Spiffy, eh?
My gorgeous California, in the hills between the ocean and the Central Valley. My mom and I drove up to Morro Bay on main highways, then took wending, winding roads back through the golden hills, roads that twisted endlessly or stretched out as far as one could see into the hazy golden distance. Something about being in this state that makes me want to be here - I was talking with Ani about this today, and we both agreed that we want to go places, want to travel and explore and see new places, but no matter where we go, we're Californians at heart. We'll always end up back here. I know that's true for me because of the overwhelming sense of coming home I felt as the plane from NY landed at LAX, bringing my sojourn in Italy to a close. But even though I had left Italy, it took months for me to really start to long to go back, because I was so happy to be home in this place. This golden, mountainous, hilly, smoggy place that is full of faults and still perfectly wonderful simply because it's home.
Haha. Faults, get it?...... earthquake joke. We're all geeks and weirdos over here in Cali.
Two big events (other than that I got through the week! and went to LA today! and am going to sleep till about 11:00 tomorrow....) that are significant in the last 24 hours.
First: an art show! Elise and I went to a small art gallery on the opening night of a new show, since it is up here in Altadena close to where we both live. We figured we should get to know the grand old city of Altadena better, and this is one of the first steps we've taken. So we showed up at precisely 7:00, with me having decided to wear my wonderfully high red heels, and proceeded to have an AMAZING TIME! The gallery is a whimsical little grotto with two small rooms that display the art; outside the patio is partially open so that you can look up at the sky, and partially grown over by ageless vines so that you can hardly even see the moon through the weave of branches. Scattered in different corners of the grotto are little love seats, hidden away so that if you sit down to have a drink or talk to someone it feels like you're in your own little world. Well, we met wonderfully interesting and talkative people: one had written a book about Shakespeare and dogs, combining his two passions in life, and another book about Buddhism in Shakespeare's work; one was a witty, gracious ex-hippy whom his Indian friend called "guru," who had grown up a Buddhist and was planning a trip to India next summer (and with whom I would absolutely fall head over heels in love if only he were 30 years younger); a politician who gave us both jovial, tipsy hugs because Elise had her "Let's Hug" pin on; and some very nice young men.
So.... back for more awesome artsiness, anyone?
The next significant event in my life is that the Italian conversation group I go to had a near-death experience! (This would be a HORRIFIC event - I depend on my weekly dosage of Italian to get through each week.) The cafe we have traditionally met at was sold last week, to everyone's total surprise. I myself was horrified at the idea of the cafe, 'Hey, That's Amore', becoming less Italian. Honestly, given a choice between non-Italian and Italian, how could you choose non-italian??? So the Italian conversation group decided that we would have a final meeting at the cafe, decide where we'll meet in the future, and bid goodbye to the place of many laughs. I was two hours late to the meeting, as I'd been rockin' out in downtown LA with Ani.... but I got there in the end, just as most people were leaving. But a couple of us stayed on to chat for a while longer, and they told me the good news: we can continue to meet at the cafe, even if it changes, becomes un-Italian, is ripped and torn away from its previous beloved identity. Good-ish news, anyway. At least the Italian convo group shall continue in its former glory. So I asked, "Who is this new owner, anyway?" Answer, anyone? By sheer coincidence (or maybe not....), it is the terribly sexy artist I met at an art show at the cafe three or four weeks ago, a young man whom I liked very much - but who, unfortunately, is unavailable, and APPARENTLY also the guy who BOUGHT THE CAFE.... small world? Though I suppose the art show he had at the cafe may have been a nicety after he'd already purchased it, a way of making the new place his own (with lovely artwork!). Who knows, maybe he held the art show and decided that he liked the cafe so much he should have it for himself.
I'd love to have a cafe for myself some day. The handsome guru of the Altadena art show was talking about opening up a bar in India one day. Wouldn't that be a dream? Maybe a little coffee shop in Umbria or Tuscania of Italy, a little shop with biscotti and espresso, and cheese and vino.... Or maybe a cafe down in Sicily, a little coffee shop in Agrigento, nestled away in the heart of the city, with marzipan and other tasty pastries. Che bello!...
Thoughts, tidbits on life, on my day, latest book I've read or movie I've seen. Tune in to my rants, photos included! (cameo appearances by a very cute dog named Taffy, and a rather snarly cat named Gray Matter)
