Light Up The Sky

Where did the time go today? I'm off to bed, but I was thinking about this amazing video I saw this weekend. This sheriff in Iowa caught this meteor shower on tape, and the way it lit up the whole sky was just spectacular! It was almost as if for a few seconds, night had become day, and then just as quickly it was as if nothing had happened. Watch this before you go to bed, I guarantee you won't regret it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It4cBYN3eP8

Goodnight everyone.

ChChChChChCh-CHERRY BOMB!

It seems like most people tend to keep up with their blogs much more frequently than I do. Most "bloggers" update with new posts at least once a week, if not more! So this weekend, I decided that I need to be more proactive about my own blog. I know I have made this promise in the past, but I figured that most Sundays I don't do much else, besides sit around the house, and so I think that Sundays will now be my blog days. This time, I'm much more confident that I can make it stick, especially after I decided to submit a story to round four of NPR's Three Minute Story Contest. It reinvigorated the short fiction writer in me, and it also reinvigorated the blogger in me. Looks like I'm back again, and hopeful

It's spring in New York, and so far the weather has been relatively spring-like (though there were a couple of 90 degree days last week that made me sweat like no other). It's cooling back down now though, and I am elated at the way the city has been blossoming. A couple weeks ago I saw "The Runaways" with a friend, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. After seeing "Twilight" for free on the internet way back when, I had all but totally written off Kristen Stewart as an actress. But as Joan Jett, Stewart gave a performance that was raw, yet sensitive, and to top it off, she played some kick-ass guitar! I expected her to give a repeat of the monotone, melodramatic Bella Swan, but she completely broke out. Then of course, there was Dakota. I think I'll always have a soft spot for her child star breakout role in "I Am Sam," so in my mind she's still an innocent, but precocious seven year old. But she was an intriguing choice to play Cherie Currie, especially since she's sixteen now, the same age as Currie when she was in The Runaways back then. She emulated Cherie Currie very well in that she was coquettish, but also powerful, almost like something out of a David Bowie dream. I walked out of that movie feeling like I wanted to go break things and then go play some rock 'n' roll. It was awesome.

Last night I dreamt that my fifth grade teacher was unimpressed with the direction my life was taking. Hmm...

Happy Late Birthday John and Sean!

Wow, so it has definitely been fall for a while now. I need to be better about this whole blogging thing. What has happened over the last few months? One person I can't seem to escape these days is this guy who always jumps on the L train

heading to Brooklyn (usually in the afternoon), and he proceeds to sing "A Change is Gonna Come," by Sam Cooke in an attempt to earn some generous donations for his efforts. Even if I don't tend to give anything myself, I can at least appreciate people that try to do more than simply panhandle on public transportation. But this guy somehow inevitably ends up standing directly behind me, and he always sings super loud, and after a long hard morning of working I'm often tempted to scream at him to shut it. But I have yet to totally lose it. We'll see if I get there.

What else? I turned 23 recently, not that that is news. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, which is surprising. Halloween is coming up, and I'm excited, because for once my costume isn't going to be planned at the last minute. I'm going to be Waldo from "Where's Waldo?" I can't wait to find a crowd to get lost in!

Happy birthday John and Sean Lennon. Too bad you can't share it.

I Need Some Soil

The summer here has been heavy with rain. As a result the trees in my backyard have been inching closer and closer to my window. I'm slightly terrified that one day soon they'll just bust through, and my bedroom will be nothing but a large pile of leaves and broken glass. 

I officially quit my bakery job today. I gave my two weeks notice, it went as well as could be expected. In fact, it felt pretty good.

I really need some soil for my little houseplant that watches over my books. It's growing bigger. Today, every summer day camp imaginable was taking public transit. They're always easy to identify, because they all wear shirts that are the same color. I could barely get through the neon and kelley green masses. It was the neon green summer day camp in the morning, and the kelley green summer day camp in the afternoon. I did summer day camp myself for years: my parents were at work, and there was simply no where else to go.

Hopefully there won't be a severe downpour when I try to go do my laundry down the street.

Truckin'

Ah, summer. Even though it has been raining for what feels like a hundred days here in New York, it hasn't stopped Brooklyn's favorite entrepreneurs of the season: ice cream truck drivers.  There's this one guy in my neck of the woods that drives around in his big white truck at all hours of the day and night. It could be 8am, or 10pm, and he'll be out there, going at five miles an hour. Something else I've noticed is that he plays at least three different songs as he passes by. I don't know why I haven't yet taken advantage of such incredible access to ice cream at all times, maybe I'm just a little confused by it.

The other night I had a dream in which I was really flexible, and I ate more pizza in one sitting than I would ever be able to consume in real life.

It's Been a While, I Know

Dear Blog of Mine,

I want you to know that I am deeply sorry. I didn't forget about you, and you do mean a great deal to me. I guess I just let you slip into the back corners of my mind, and I know that might not be the most legitimate excuse, but it is the truth. All I can do is apologize, and hope that in time, you will forgive me. I am back now. I will not leave your side.

Sincerest Regards,

Tia

Wow, that felt good to get off the ole' chest. So, it has been a couple of months since my last post, and many things, strange, mundane and otherwise have happened since. My mom came to visit, and we filled up the days with many things. I now have two fully functional bookcases, having shoved the dilapidated brown one (from Target for a whopping $15) out of my room. These new ones are sturdy, they are black, they are from IKEA. They are called "Billy," because everything from IKEA has a name. I also bought a small plant there, did anyone else know you could buy plants at IKEA? News to me.

While she was here, we also went to the top of the Empire State Building (touristy), checked out artwork from the Middle Ages at the Met (goblets), and saw Cirque du Soleil: Kooza on Randalls Island (breathtaking).

Blog, I have returned.

Reading with Robots

People are always talking about what will happen to books. Will they just become these specialty items that you can only find at garage sales and obscure antique stores, pages all wilted and yellow, and on the verge of disintegration? Will our children's children's children go on school field trips to museums or historical societies, and walk through dimly lit galleries that house all of our favorites as though they were once part of some ancient culture of paper? I could speculate myself, but only time will tell.

Actually, let me speculate for just a moment. I think that even though we are in an age of crazy technology that seems to jump forward every minute, I'm not especially worried about the future of the book. Even with things like the Kindle, that new fangled device that allows you to download hundreds of books, and read them page by page, at your leisure, I'm not worried about it. I saw a woman using a Kindle for the first time ever the other day. It was weird, and then moments later a woman sat down kiddy corner from her and she pulled out her real book. This is what gives me hope. There are far too many of us (myself included) who will always love holding that book in our hands, turning each crisp page. Books have a smell, an intoxicating aroma that a Kindle, or any Kindle equivalent will never ever have.

Although in the end, I suppose, what really matters is that people continue to read.