I find when I come home I lose all track of time - a sort of vacuum in the sales tax free state. I had no idea Christmas eve was Christmas eve the day of, but I have to pat myself on the back for spending only one hour shopping for my entire family at one store. the gifts were stellar if I do say so myself - antique jewelry for my sisters and my mom and an antique Kodak pocket camera for Dad
While in the vacuum, I feel cut off from the outside world. you never realize how dependent you are on Hofstra's free subscription of the NYT's until you are without it. All I do when boredom hits inside the vacuum is make lists.
Never - watch Will Smith's I Am Legend at night in the dark by yourself. - get sucked into the same chick flick on HBO all weekend (P.S. I Love You - I HATE YOU FOR MAKING ME CRY!) - forget I do NOT watch football. I'm waiting for the right guy to come along and only then will I feel obligated to watch football for hours on Sunday afternoons. Books to Ready Before Going to Italy : Let's Go Italy 2009 The Ugly American Rick Steve's Best of Europe 2009 1984 (it's been 6 months since I started)
"Top Albums of the Year" (according to Pitchfork) I need to acquire: The Walkmen - You & Me Portishead - Third Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna (if you have never seen them live it's an out-of-body experience)
Top Places to See People from My High School Whilst At Home: Borders Books & Music Church Anywhere on Main Street in Newark
insomnia is lame. apologies for the lack of entries the past few weeks - very lame on my part. the end of the semester kind of spiraled out of control, what with finals and wrapping up last minute meetings to plan next semester. I'll only have a few weeks and the craziness will enfold again (sigh).
I've been home in my sleepy small town and comfortably content for roughly 30 hours. I left behind in NY my cell phone, an unpaid parking ticket, and the strenuous but exciting life I've gotten used to for the past few years.
I was in the room that has been mine since I was born just now and was laying there (what else) thinking. I thought "for over the past 20 years, no matter how much I think I have evolved to be the person I think want to become, I always end up coming back here - and I'm twelve again listening to music and reading late in the night. I'm still imagining the story some stranger might have that is different from my own."
Maybe it's because I never officially moved before (save going to college), but now I feel in limbo of not quite having a place to call my own. My room at home isn't mine - the closet is empty and the library incomplete. The jail cell of a dorm room on LI will never be fully mine - the walls are eggshell and the floors tiled and there is nowhere near the amount of space my turntable deserves. The place I truly want to call mine IS visible on a daily basis - the view of the NY skyline from my window.
I'm in layover. But normally I don't mind a delayed flight.
This weekend I'm going to Baltimore to act as maid and jester for my sister who broke her foot.
It doesn't feel like Christmas - despite the fact my family actually has our decorations up a week beforehand.
Everyone is doing end of the year "Top Albums List"s for 2008. I'm giving my list of sixteen random albums which came out this year and had some sort of impact. All I recommend for your listening pleasure:
In no order
Born Ruffians - Red, Yellow, and Blue Foals - Antidotes Girl Talk - Feed the Animals Hot Chip - Made In the Dark Thao - We Brave Bee Stings and All
Deerhoof - Offend Maggie The Black Keys - Attack and Release Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes Dr. Dog - Fate Santagold - Santagold
Portugal, The Man - Censored Colors Hot Lava - Lavology Islands - Arm's Way Bon Iver - For Emma Land of Talk - Some Are Lakes
this week has been ridiculous. leaves little time for blogging. here are some bullet points.
spent late Tuesday night watching the uncut director's version of Factory Girl on Youtube. (here is part 1)Much better than the original and was actually impressed with Sienna Miller. Originally tried to watch it on surfthechannel but twas much too slow.
thinking about a second minor in art history. this means rethinking the associates degree for HUHC, probably having to take six classes for at least one semester, maybe taking a summer course, and basically driving myself crazy. this is also on top of WRHU, LICM, internships, PREstige and PRSSA, FORM, and trying to maintain a shred of humanity. However, if I don't do it, there is the almost definite possibility of regretting it for the rest of my life. When I imagine myself in the future, it's not the high powered executive. It's a culturally aware, interesting, intelligent person who maintains a satisfied and pleasant life. I look forward to the time when I can reclaim Sundays again - not having to work or do mass amounts of studying, but just read the paper in bed and drink coffee. An art history minor would open doors, leading me along a path I want to take for my career and life. I know it's not practical, I really don't want to be. This is the worst thing to happen right now - causing more worrying for an already constant worrier.
opened this week's edition of The (Hofstra) Chronicle . In the features section is a full page article about Destination Runway by Liana Satenstein - including a quote from myself. Also, I know that the Media Alert I sent was used - all the information I provided about the charity was in it! It was a beautifully written article and seeing it actually boosted my spirits - to see that my work actually paid off was very reassuring. I go back and forth about whether I will help out again next year - but we shall see.
had a glorious food shopping experience yesterday. spent $8 at the Uniondale Supermarket and got lots of yummy protein filled vegetables.
took Jarvis Cocker album from WRHU - thoroughly enjoying it, I must say.
this is the last weekend in the city for me this semester - two friends are having birthdays and I plan to enjoy myself and try to not think of troubles.
Just realized in exactly one month I will be in Venice. GAHHHHHH
First off - look at another great outfit I put together today (vanity at it's worst)
Tonight I went to "Art of Healing, Healing Through Art" held in Adams Playhouse at Hofstra University. At the last minute I volunteered to loan two of my drawings for a gallery they held in the basement. They are two drawings of hands done with charcoal and oil pastel. They didn't quite go with the theme of the event but eh, what can you do.
I have to say first off that the performances this year were amazing. I was surprised to see Jackie Hlavenka of The Chronicle sing Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush" and she was fantastic! (it also was inspiring - here was an example of some one who is ambitious with their career and area of study, yet still utilizes their creative talent)
Another girl, Jade Keena, read an original poem called "Girls" which caused her to pause twice due to the emotion she felt. The poem itself was both meaningful and humorous at times and I really want a copy of it (hint hint).
Members of the Groove, a creative club at Hofstra that serves to bring together all forms of talented performers and artists, also performed various music and dance numbers.
The final performance was "Seasons of Love" by Masquerade, a musical theatre group here at Hofstra University. It was good - though I'm somewhat scarred because of that song. When RENT came out as a movie, my high school chorus, among many others, sang our own personal rendition that was TERRIBLE. It's one of those embarrassing instances where the memory haunts your dreams but you are still proud of the fact you had the balls to do it in the first place.
I wish everyone was as lucky as I. The drive to my house in DE is the perfect length for the perfect solo sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs road trip. The best thing anyone can do when in the need to soul search is put the Ipod in shuffle and sing along with everything. All anyone needs to know is that I sang (on key and everything) the following in full succession without skipping:
Spoon "Someone Something", Her Space Holiday "Sleepy Tigers", Less Than Jake "The Science of Selling Yourself Short", Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Tick", Yo La Tengo "Mr. Tough", Hello Goodbye "Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn", Prince "Little Red Corvette", Jamie Lidell "You Got Me Up".
My name is Reb and now you know all that needs to be known. (thank you last.fm for an accurate playlist)
I plan to write for Buy or Don't Buy about my unacceptable love for Prince.
After the whirlwind of the past few months, it's nice to finally come home for the Thanksgiving holiday and remember what is most important in life: books, music, a sweet turntable buried underneath more books, and pumpkin pie. Whenever I move back to LI for school, I have to leave what's most precious behind: the lovely turntable/stereo/speakers I've acquired (for free) the past few years and my astronomical collection of books.
I also found this beauty in my closet. At the end of my senior year of high school, my friend Liz and I put together "Rock the World" a benefit show with all of our friends' bands to raise money for environmental charities. It was a success - we raised about $1,000. It's now an annual event at our high school and gets larger with every year. It still stands as one of my proudest accomplishments - basically because I brought my passions together with what I was good at.
I got an internship with Rubenstein to work with them on the Tribeca Film Festival. I've been looking forward to it for over a year and it's a step in the right direction. I would rather do public relations work for cultural institutions and events than anything else. One of my biggest fears is as I am evolving into a professional and starting a career, I'll lose the artistic, creative, sub-culture bohemian self. Is it a matter of being corporate 9 to 5 and then in after hours listen to records and long for "the better days" of artistic revolutions and revelations? I've been watching a lot of Andy Warhol specials and documentaries. He understood marketing, branding, and public relations far more than anyone believes.
I opened a letter from my mom that included the insurance card for the car (not so fun).
However, she did send a card with a thoughtful note including leaves from our backyard.
I started crying and hyperventilating slightly.
Odd reaction, no?
As much as I love being in NY, it's unbelievable how homesick I get for my house and my family.
Thanksgiving couldn't have come at a better time.
Tonight I went to Witches' Brew with Pamela. They had a sign saying they were hiring - I was asked such important questions such as "how long can you stand on your hands?" (not long, I'm tall and have little upper body strength) and "how long can you hold your breath underwater?" (i don't swim, i like to float). I wrote my previous experience on a brown paper bag.
Also picked up a copy of New York Twist Magazine. Very excited to read it - there's an interview with Portugal the Man! If anyone has been keeping up with my playlists from WRHU, I play them too often.
(positive note: I was searching for an image of an angry little girl after writing this rant of an entry and I discovered "Angry Little Girls" cartoons by Lela Lee. Good does come out of ranting!)
Jim Cameron of Cameron Communications, Inc. spoke tonight at Hofstra in the Cultural Center theater to a bored, apathetic crowd of PR students. I am embarrassed on how barely anyone answered questions nor gave input. Cameron himself kept commenting about how he "was afraid for the next generation" and how we students "need to know what's going on in America".
Tonight just capped off another cycle of my love/hate relationship with PR. Though I did thank Cameron afterwards for giving his time to us, the information he provided only reinforced what I already learned in Chapter 6 of my media relations textbook. I must say it is not Cameron's fault that I had a headache, it was the end of a long day, and earlier I had an awkward verbal discourse with a fellow PR student.
I don't find PR courses difficult; courses in your major shouldn't be if it is something you are meant to do. It blows my mind how PR majors try to pass by with C's in PR 100. It blows my mind how there are 75 members of Hofstra's Chapter of PRSSA and maybe 20 who are actively involved in committees.
All the basics of PR I learned from my mother: always put on an optimistic air, be aproachable and courteous, watch your grammar, follow up and call back right away, keep that hair out of your eyes.
By holding on to your true sense of self - that inner child that won't go away - is what sets you apart from the masses. Therefore, my true self is a middle child who feels they never get enough attention and constantly worries about what others think; a self-proclaimed creative nerd who would like everyone to be her best friend; who though she looks great in corporate wear rather wear the forbidden ripped band shirt and scraggly hair. I have been genetically molded to be a PR person - always seeking attention, wanting to be in the know, hiding in order to keep up appearances.
I will be really pissed if after going through the painful experience of high school, having to enter another sort of popularity contest.
I might be incredibly delusional to "how the real world works" and I may get backlash for not wanting to join the official club of bubbly clueless pr girls who just want another sorority (there are males in the pr industry after all, let alone in our major).
I am tired of apathy overall, and the nasty competitive nature of the PR major at Hofstra. To give some credit, it may just be a bad year. However, I have to admit that I need reaffirmations that this is where I belong.
I also made a snarky comment to Jim Cameron during the lecture. I am a terrible person.
Before my train back to LI on Friday I was able to duck into the MOMA for a bit. I walked across two exhibitions: Looking at Music and Here is Every: Four Decades of Contemporary Art. Looking At Music looks back at the 1960's and 70's and the connection between music, art, media, and technology. In other words, a reason to show music videos of The Beatles and David Bowie. Here is Every was an exhibition created out of the MOMA''s personal collection (i.e. economy is terrible = art and museums have to suffer for it). A majority of the works were obviously selected due to how groundbreaking it was when it first appeared. In other words...random. There was a video of a deer and a wolf together...chasing one another?... I was interested in one work that consisted of hundreds of framed photographs of body parts - all body parts. It took forever to take this picture since many people could not help but stare.
I also get a kick out of how certain art is created in the intention to provide great meaning - yet is interpreted for practical uses. I speak of the girl using the mirror....for a mirror and the little girl that stood by a wooden sculpture and saw a playground.
I also love/hate my habit of taking Myspace inspired photos. Maybe it's due to a need to expose my narcissism.
i literally woke up from a dream this morning about a buttered chocolate chip muffin. of course i satisfied my dream after French this morning. does this happen to other people?
my sad little LG of two years officially failed me yesterday. it only works when it's charger is plugged in, therefore defeating the purpose of a cellular phone. though I have been planning on buying a blackberry, now is not the time - i need to save for Venice and money has been especially tight this semester. Also, I know nothing about cell phones and need any one's recommendations. I have Verizon Wireless and have been happy with it, therefore the Iphone, Google phone, or Sidekick is not going to work out.
I usually get random friend requests on Facebook. As long as they go to my school and we have similar friends, I honestly see no harm. This morning I was "friended" by this grad student who has a little project called New York Twist Magazine - "dedicated to the lovers of multimedia art" (that's me that's me!) The Myspace itself didn't say too much about the content of the magazine, but evidently issues are available around the area. When I pick up a new phone tomorrow at the Verizon Wireless store in Roosevelt, I'll stop by FYE to pick up a copy.
There is a great article on the front page of the New York Times about how Obama is adapting to his new life as President-elect, from not being able to visit his bartender Zariff to having a date with Michelle at Chicago's Spiaggia accompanied by 30 secret service agents. I can't help but think of the comparisons to Kennedy when I read articles about Obama's life. Idk if it will extend to the extreme voyeurism that most celebrities experience today.
I'm going in for another interview in the city with Joe Carozza of Rogers & Cowan, an alum of Hofstra. It's odd - I looked at a picture of him and I recall seeing him around campus my freshmen year. Professor Frisina said to give him a hug for her - but he may be put off by that first impression, who knows. Hopefully today will go well (i.e. make the train on time and not have to pay for a taxi).
I'm going to try to run into the MOMA for their free Target night in order to see some van Gogh afterwards. can't stay long - I need to get back to LI tonight to work at an event at LICM.
I found The Cribs' Men's Needs (Remixes) at WRHU, which has three different versions of "Men's Needs", which is awful since I will listen to those three versions in succession, constantly over and over again.
(just filled out survey about improvements on the Computer Labs at Hofstra. pat on the back for taking time out to do a good deed)
Frankly, I have been procrastinating everything important this entire semester. The following is the typical cliche rant of all college students. Wahwah I have too much work blah I need to sleep wah I can never catch up meh I would be perfectly happy instead to live in a box and be a starving artist (maybe not so typical).
This is what my desk looks like after TWO days of classes:
It's getting ridiculous. On the bright side, I was asked out on a date (kind of) online. Is this where social media/dating is going? As you can obviously tell from the evidence above, I don't get out much - at least during the week.
Man, I always have great plans to write a ranting and raving entry, but then when I finally get home and get online, the effort is too much. I'll make it up to you, I promise.
Friday morning was my big "wear corporate gear" day. It also made me realize that it's the little things that matter when it comes to my love for New York. Friday morning at the School of Comm.'s internship fair I met these great people from DScribed Strategic Communication and Design . Both young and fun. Just their website alone makes them attention worthy. I drove to Mineola to try to catch the 12:03 train and had a living nightmare about no parking, an unreadable debit card, and three inch heels. I caught a later train, got in around 1:33, hailed my own cab for the first time, walked into Rubenstein Associates, Inc. and razzle dazzled HR rep Megan Wheeler. I felt I did well. Went to Union Square to wait for Sara to get out Edelman Digital . I was looking at beautiful flowers and thinking about their existence in an otherwise gray environment when I heard Daft Punk floating through the air. Two dancers, one of which was evidently a yogi, were performing. Basically they spent about 20 minutes warming up to dance for five minutes, do a creepy spider crawling thing, and jump over eight children.
Went to Strand, bought books. Go figure. Sara and I met Steph and Tiel at Aperture for the gallery opening for Luigi Ghirri's "It's Beautiful Here Isn't It..." ( November 8, 2008– January 29, 2009) to have Julia aid us in drinking surprisingly potent wine. Sara, Steph, and I then took the JMZ to Myrtle Ave for the smokiest loft party I have ever been to. Keep in mind - I am still wearing corporate wear (trust me, I regret it now). Met a cute Jarvis Cocker look alike from Oklahoma. Hopefully he wasn't put off by my placing a business card in his pocket. Passed out on the JMZ to Jamaica around 2 am. Drove the girls home, slept well. Saturday wouldn't stop raining on my parade.
Worked all day today at the LICM's "Friends Around the World" event. Pamela was dancing with Shake It!. Her camera died, so I tried taking pictures with my cell phone. Obviously not stellar.
Have been listening to Hot Chip's "Over & Over".....over and over again.
I’m idealistic, believing in the importance of being cultured. A personality test said I was a "maverick", not abiding by society's dictations. I refuse to be categorized into a generation who doesn't appreciate culture. The purpose of this blog is to prove that to live life challenging yourself to new ideas is a privilege. I must prove to myself that as fast as our world is progressing, new technology can be used to support passion. I'm writing about mine.
This blog features the work I am currently doing for my New Media: Web Design course at Hofstra University. Here you will find class notes, projects, images, etc. that relate to the course.
For me, every day is some sort of misadventure.
life long lover of art, culture, and all creative aspects of culture. Skilled communicator with strong organizational and creative skills seeking to utilize work ethic and enthusiasm within a creative field.
Books to Ready Before Going to Italy :
However, she did send a card with a thoughtful note including leaves from our backyard.
