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Currently.

12/19/2012

Watching: A lot of Doctor Who. Brian and I finally got around to putting this on our list, and I really love it. I don’t think I had any doubts, though, because it combines my love of the United Kingdom with time travel; best thing ever. We’ve been slowly chipping away at the last seven seasons, and Brian hasn’t gotten sick of me pointing out some consistency errors. He must really love me, or he’s just keeping his mouth shut until the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race starts. Which ever you’d like to believe.

Reading: Not much of anything, honestly. I know that’s terrible, but we’ve been caught up in work and Doctor Who. Who has time to read when there are sci-fi fantasy adventure shows to watch, huh? My goal over the holiday break is to finish up the third and fourth books in A Song of Fire and Ice (Game of Thrones) so I can brace myself for the beginning of the new season. I’m at a loss for what to read after that, though. Do you have any suggestions?

Thinking about: How happy I am to have a little time off over the holidays. I’m excited to spend a little extra time with Brian, but I’m mostly thrilled to get to sleep in and watch Netflix. I don’t even care how lazy that makes me sound because it will be so wonderful. I don’t know what it is about dragging a big heavy blanket over to the couch and watching a marathon combo of great movies and terrible television shows, but to me it feels magical.

Loving: That we will (finally) have insurance coverage on January 1st! It’s like we’re semi-successful adults now! Look at me! I can finally get surgery on my (perpetually busted, rugby-injured) ankle! Three full days of office visits, here I come! I’ve been talking to Brian about ankle surgery a lot because, to me, it feels a little like one of those life-long dreams that is finally about to come true. We keep trying to find a date that will work well with our schedules (we’re estimating that I won’t be able to put weight on my ankle for ~3 weeks), and there is no perfect time. We’re going to a wedding in February (as guests!), and we’ll be shooting weddings this summer (which means lots of running around and about 12 straight hours on our feet)… Maybe next winter will be the best time?

Can we suspend our health insurance until then?

Listening to: Kimbra. Partially, I want to be her/her best friend. Partially, I want my hair to look that thick and messy-perfect every day. Mostly, I’m just blown away by her all the time. I meant to find a date in her American tour that we could drive to, but almost everything was 8+ hours from us and not feasible. (Can someone get me a gig as her tour photographer? I’ll do it for free/for food.) Maybe in the next round? Until then, I’ll be listening to “Settle Down” and “Plain Gold Ring” on repeat in my cave office. Please don’t disturb me, ok?

Looking at: Ridiculous photos of Brian (like the one above). He always strikes a great pose when we’re testing the light at wedding receptions, and this might be one of my favorites. Because I enjoy ridiculous photos, I posted that on Facebook and Twitter already today. Sorry, Brian.

Friday (short) Film: Understand Music

12/07/2012

From the description on Vimeo:

Music is a good thing. But what we did not know until we started with the research for this piece: Music is also a pretty damn complex thing. This experimental animation is about the attempt to understand all the parts and bits of it. Have a look. You might agree with our conclusion!

Currently.

11/20/2012

Watching: The Walking Dead. Thank goodness they listened to the fans. If you watched the first couple of seasons of The Walking Dead, you were probably bored out of your skull because each hour-long episode was 50 minutes of absolutely nothing followed by five minutes of something that would make next week’s episode look interesting. It was a vicious cycle. Fortunately, this season has been jam-packed with zombies, and we’re finally starting to see some of the characters break down under the really strenuous circumstances of an apocalypse. Even though it’s pretty graphic, I’ve developed a real love of the special effects make-up. It’s incredible.

Reading: Letters on letters on letters. Snail Mail My Email was reprised for one week only last week, and we sent so many emails! As an organizer, I was in charge of getting letters from the mail email account to the lovely volunteers. It’s such a pleasure to be involved in a project with people who genuinely care about things like writing letters. The world can be a pretty fantastic place sometimes.

If you have some time on your hands, flip through the gallery of letters on the Snail Mail My Email website. Maybe it will inspire you to send some of your own mail. Need a pen pal? I’m available.

Thinking about: Being thankful. I’m so lucky to have found Brian because he is just a perfect counterpart to me. His level-headed attitude grounds me so much, but I think we play off each other nicely. (Or, at least I hope he doesn’t spend his day complaining to his coworkers about me!) He’s everything I could have hoped for in a husband. He’s the kind of person I’m excited to see every day, and that’s a nice feeling.

It’s hard to mention thankfulness without mentioning what a great family I have. Even though I sometimes have conversations with my mom that end with one of us hanging up on the other one, I wouldn’t trade her for the world. Unless, of course, there’s some way she could force me back to Catholic school? I would trade her in an instant if that was possible. I’m thankful that she lets me be my own person, understands that being raised Catholic excludes me from being Catholic, and loves Brian like he’s always been part of our family.

Loving: This three-day work week. There is nothing better than the Thanksgiving holiday because it comes juuuust at the point when I’m ready to punch some people. It will be nice to sequester myself from the outside world for a couple days. Do you ever feel like that?

I’m also looking forward to eating everything on Thanksgiving. Just… everything. There isn’t much I won’t eat (which, I know, doesn’t surprise any of you), but holy cow… Thanksgiving is my favorite. If everyone in the world ate as much good food as I do on Thanksgiving, we’d all be a lot happier all the time. No war! No sadness! Just mashed potatoes as far as the eye can see!

Listening to: Imagine Dragons. I recently discovered them via my lovely friend Fran’s Spotify listening habits, and I have listened to “Cha-Ching” at least ten times today. Yes, I’m one of those people that listens to songs over and over and over again. I love music, and it makes me happy find things interesting enough to make me listen again and again. I think I read somewhere that we really love a song up until the moment that our brains figure out all the different pieces and sounds it contains. Is that an actual fact left over from my days as a musician, or something I completely made up? I’ll let you decide.

Making me happy: Last weekend, I had to drop everything to take Brian a piece of military uniform (his shoes, above) before a concert, and I was driving kind of fast. I needed to get there, ok? I wasn’t completely paying attention, and I was pulled over. The police officer was very nice, and I was very nervous. He asked me where I was headed in such a hurry, and I explained the predicament with Brian’s shoes. He’s in a military band, he’s playing a concert for Veteran’s Day, he’s my husband, here’s my insurance, I’m very sorry, yes, he’s in the military, we switched insurance so I only have that four page print out from the internet, sir, yes, he’s in the military.. And he just told me to slow down! And he thanked Brian for his service! And I DIDN’T GET A TICKET BECAUSE THAT WAS MY LUCKY DAY AND DAMN IT, I SHOULD HAVE MADE A JOKE ABOUT DONUTS.

Happiness is having a police officer pull you over for speeding and ending the interaction with him thanking your husband.

Friday (short) Film: The Sleepover

11/09/2012

 

From the description on Vimeo:

2012 Official Selection of Fantastic Fest, Shriekfest, Knoxville Horror Fest, Vassar FilmFest, and winner of “The Cabin In the Woods”/Lionsgate/Vimeo contest! THE SLEEPOVER is a proof-of-concept for a feature film about a town living “between the sequels” of its infamous masked killer. Please support us and stay in touch by liking us on Facebook (facebook.com/thesleepoverfilm ) or following along on Twitter @DerryMASK

Currently.

11/08/2012

Watching: Lots of sitcoms. Happy Endings, New Girl, Modern Family… Do any of you have suggestions for some new shows I could check out? Preferably something I can get on Netflix or Amazon Prime video. Or, alternatively, a great bootleg site to search through. (Because that’s how we’re all getting our television, right?) I’ve been resisting the urge to watch all of the episodes of Downton Abbey (season 3) until it airs in the US, but I’ve been doing a terrible job. Historical dramas are my weakness.

Speaking of historical dramas! (I say that phrase at least once a day.) Did you see the trailer for Anna Karenina? A sweeping historical drama with Jude Law. I am already excited.

Reading: About Jungian (Myers-Briggs) personality types. Apparently, I am an ESFP, otherwise known as a Performer; think Bill Clinton, Marilyn Monroe, Harry Houdini, Elvis Presley, and Elizabeth Taylor. (Apparently, I am more amazing than my fine arts degree suggests!) Since ESFPs are only 4-10% of the population, it seems like I should be doing something amazing with my life, right? As it turns out, “While very practical, they generally despise routines, instead desiring to ‘go with the flow.’” Damn it, guys, I just found out why I’m terrible at blogging. The built-in “going with the flow-ness” of my personality is squashing all of my potential!

While discussing this realization with Becca, we talked about current awesomeness vs. awesome potential. I told her that current awesomeness means nothing if I still make a salary that can’t pay for health insurance. Quality of health insurance is directly proportional to the amount of money you make, obviously. Remember when Mariah Carey was hospitalized for exhaustion? That is the kind of health insurance I want. I need the option to be hospitalized for exhaustion when, in fact, I’ve just had a little too much champagne. Can any of you provide some tips for getting my ESFP butt off the couch? I need some inspiration for action mode!

Thinking about: Our nation. Most of my political beliefs revolve around the fact that I think we should try to help each other as much as we can. I don’t see any reason to put people down, and I especially don’t understand the fighting over equality. Limiting rights for anyone should never be ok. Needless to say, I’m happy with the outcome of the election. Not just the presidential race, even! Did you hear about Tammy Baldwin, our first openly gay state senator? Also, if there is a political figure I would like to hug more than Elizabeth Warren, I can’t think of them right now. Even if you aren’t as giddy as I am over the outcome of the election this week, I hope that you know there is no excuse for our country to act the way it does. It’s unfortunate that the loudest voices are often the most annoying, but maybe we’re all so sick of politics that we’re going to start getting along?

Loving: The time change. Though my friends with kids say their schedules are still adjusting, I absolutely love it. It makes it really feel like fall/winter is upon us, and I’m so happy about that. Since Brian and I have agreed to leave the thermostat off this winter (just like we did last year), I’m most looking forward to our low, low, low electric bills. Adulthood is great, you guys.

Listening to: Simon & Garfunkel. Maybe I am in my late 50s! Maybe I enjoy being very, very sleepy in the middle of the afternoon! Maybe I need an excuse to listen to over-done folk sounds! Judge me all you want, but I can not get enough of “Wednesday Morning, 3AM” lately. I can hear the soft breathing of the girl that I love / As she lies here beside me asleep with the night / And her hair in a fine mist floats on my pillow / Reflecting the glow of the winter moonlight … Go ahead, judge me.

Making me happy: Brian still finding performance opportunities. It’s hard out there for a musician, and it’s nice that Brian still has occasions to bust out that tux.

 

Lake Tahoe, part 2

11/07/2012

I am, of course, just getting around to sifting through the photos from our trip to Lake Tahoe last month. This is just a small sampling of everything, and the photos definitely do not do it justice. I hope we go back.

Currently.

10/30/2012

Watching: Boardwalk Empire. There’s nothing I love more than historical drama, so I was hooked from the beginning. This show consistently has some of the best writing, and every one of the actors really puts their all into it. It’s such a nice thing to watch when you get sick of seeing promos for The Voice! It doesn’t hurt that I find the entire idea of Prohibition pretty fascinating, and now the show is starting to touch on women’s issues — like health education — during that time period. It’s definitely one of my favorite shows on TV right now.

 

Reading: J.K. Rowling’s new book, Casual Vacancy. I’m not very far along, but I can see why some people are having trouble enjoying it. It’s so strange to read something from her that isn’t supposed to be a children’s story, and I think absolutely every review I’ve read of this book has made some kind of complaint about her departure from children’s literature. The farther along I get in the book, though, the more I realize how hard it is to separate J.K. Rowling from Harry Potter. I’ll try to remember to let you know what I think once I’ve gotten through it.

Thinking about: Politics. I saw a Prius today that was plastered with anti-Obama bumper stickers today, and it just made me angry. None of us need to hate another person that much, right? I don’t know about you, but my family was pretty strong into the “get along with everyone no matter what” camp. It makes me so happy to say that my mom raised me to be nice in every situation, and understanding of the differences in other humans. I get annoyed at sacks of meat just like everyone else, but that doesn’t mean I immediately forget how to be civil.

Loving: The cold weather. I can wear coats again! It’s like I’m not living in the South! (Or I’m pretending that I don’t live in the South.) The cold weather makes me want to cook really heavy meals and snuggle on the couch. Comfort foods all around! Flannel blankets for everyone!

Listening to: The Lumineers. I think my interest in them was reignited when the commercials for Silver Lining Playbook started using “Ho Hey.” I think I would like to learn to play the guitar just so I can play things like that around the house… Alternatively, I could just play the tambourine and leave the guitar to someone else. Who wants to move in, play guitar, and dance around my apartment?

Making me happy: My good friend Becca is back in Kentucky this week to visit family, and we’re heading to our favorite lunch place, Sunrise Bakery, on Friday. It will be nice to see Becca in person (we’ve Skyped, and we chat online every day), and hear all about Texas over a delicious meal. I have been waking up every day thinking, “I get a Sunrise Bakery sandwich on FRIDAY.”

Currently

Currently.

10/22/2012

I know I’ve been terrible at blogging lately, but I really want to be better. I want to share more about what’s going on, but sometimes I feel a little like everything that has happened is either so insignificant that no one will want to read it. (Like, hey! I would rather be sleeping today!) Most of the time, though, I have a hard time gauging how much/how often I should share the things that go on in my life. If I only wanted to write about the humans I encounter that I like to call “sacks of meat,” this blog would have new posts every couple of hours!

In an attempt to hold myself more accountable, I’m taking some inspiration from a blog I’ve read for a long time, Sometimes Sweet. Dani does a series of posts she calls “Currently,” and I think it’s something that could really work here. At least it will give me more content to keep this blog a little more… Fresh? So, here goes!

Watching: American Horror Story: Asylum. Judge me all you want, but Jessica Lange is basically my favorite person. Last season was scary in that home invaders/murders/ghosts/rubber suit way, but this season is promising a lot more psychological horror. The asylum is run by the Catholic church (automatic creepy points), and has a (supposed) former Nazi doctor running experiments on some of the patients. It’s all very weird, but good. Plus, who doesn’t love Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto, Joseph Fiennes, Lily Rabe, and Sarah Paulson?

Reading: Lots of food/cooking blogs. I’ve been in a little bit of a funk cooking-wise lately, but I want to be doing more. Brian and I are pretty terrible about getting stuck in a rut with food because once we find a favorite thing we just make it all the time. I am currently taking suggestions for absolutely any new recipes while also trying to swear off reading I Am A Food Blog too often. (Seriously, I just want to make pork pancakes with bourbon syrup over and over and over again… And I don’t even like pork.)

Thinking about: Where I’d like to go next. I wish we were wealthy enough to travel constantly because I would not take a moment of that for granted. I would only come back to Kentucky to purchase good bourbon that I would use to make syrup for my pork pancakes.

Loving: Our apartment. I think I fell in love with it when we moved in three years ago, and I haven’t looked back. It’s a little pricey, but the huge windows in the living room make up for it. If I could spend my days taking photos of all my friends by those windows, I would do it. Brian and I talk about buying a house all the time, and when that finally happens, I will be really sad to leave our place. We moved in before we got married, and it’s really been the first place that has felt even a little permanent. It’s such a nice feeling.

Listening to: Rosetta Stone. As soon as I got to college, I started to plot out how I could fit in every single Italian class offered at the University. I did it, but I wanted more. So, one year for Christmas, my mom bought me Rosetta Stone, and I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s such an easy way to work on your language skills, and since it’s complete immersion in the language, you’re working completely within a foreign language from the moment you start. When I first got it, there weren’t a ton of speaking and conversation options, but in the past few years they’ve added “Studio Sessions” where you can speak with a native speaker while you play games and expand on the lessons within the program. I really can’t say enough about how much I love it.

Making me happy: Social media shoutouts from Brian. I know it’s silly, but it’s nice that Brian sometimes claims me online. Like he’s not afraid to admit that we’re married! Oh, the joy! It’s our anniversary this week, and I can’t even believe we’ve been married for three years. We’ll be staying in on our anniversary, cooking good food, and dancing to 80s music to remind us of the wedding.

So, what did you think of my first “Currently” post? Keep it going? I’m going to try to make these every Monday or Tuesday, so I will at least have two consistent posts per week now. (And, gosh, that makes me feel like a loser. Just two a week? Ugh. I’m working on it!) You should all do your own “Currently” posts; I’d love to see some links in the comment section.

By the way, Brian started a new full time job with the military today, and that’s a photo from this morning.

Friday (short) Film: A Brief History of John Baldessari

10/19/2012

From the description on Vimeo:

The epic life of a world-class artist, jammed into six minutes.
Narrated by Tom Waits.
Commissioned by LACMA for their first annual “Art + Film Gala” honoring John Baldessari and Clint Eastwood.

directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman (gosupermarche.com/)
edited by Max Joseph (maxjoseph.com/)
written by Gabriel Nussbaum (bankstreetfilms.com)
cinematography by Magdalena Gorka (magdalenagorka.com/)
& Henry Joost
produced by Mandy Yaeger & Erin Wright

Thank you to John Baldessari and his studio. (baldessari.org/)

 

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