So I’m loving two songs in particular right now. Viva La Vida, by Coldplay. I’m not really a diehard Coldplay fan…I mean, I only have one of their albums on my iTunes. But for some reason, the other night I found myself clicking the “pre-order” button in the iTunes Store for their new album. Continue reading
“Nothing provokes speculation more than the sight of a woman enjoying herself.”
–Marmee,
I want to be that woman. I think, in rare shining moments, I have been. Can I just say that I love the movie Little Women (I love the book even more), and I watched it last week when I was home alone and very emotional and ended up crying a little and coming away with a ton of profound quotes and a noble sense of worth as an intelligent woman of depth. It’s like Marmee says, “If you feel your value lies only in being merely decorative, I fear that someday you might find yourself believing that’s all you really are. Time erodes all such beauty, but what it cannot diminish is the wonderful workings of your mind.” She may have taken her wisdom from 1 Peter, where Peter writes, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” Such beautiful concepts, but so difficult to apply to one’s life in Los Angeles!
Exactly one year ago I began this blog. Wow. Seems like only yesterday that I opened up my wordpress account, all embarrassed and secretive and not using my first name. I can’t say we’ve come a long way, but I can say I’m glad I started Eeper. It’s been a fun outlet for me when work gets boring, and hopefully a fun distraction for you when work gets boring.
Today I was able to change my “About Me” section a little bit. Remember how I said I wanted to have coffee with one of my favorite authors, Robin Jones Gunn? Well, last Saturday I was able to meet her! This is only a dream come half-true because it was at a book signing so I didn’t get to really sit and pick her brain. But we did chat for about 10 minutes, she said some really sweet things, and gave me a bit of advice about writing. It was kind of like talking to a friend’s mom.
I’m SO excited to read her new books (which she signed for me), Peculiar Treasures and Sisterchicks Go Brit! I’m especially interested in the former because it is the first installment in the new Katie Weldon series, which picks up where Christy and Todd: The College Years left off. I can’t wait to see how all my old “friends” are doing. (Make fun of me all you want…as a teen, I actually talked about these characters in such familiar terms that my mom thought they were real people). If you want some great beach reads for the summer, pick up some of Robin’s books. Here’s a picture of the two of us…and my face isn’t usually that weird potato shape. I hope.
Things I randomly craved in the first 3 hours of my work day:
Caprese (pictured above)
A confection made with chocolate and orange
Melted cheese (preferably on pizza or toasted bread)
Soft pretzel, like Auntie Anne’s or similar
Mushroom and swiss burger
Steamed milk, as in a Starbucks latte or vanilla steamer
I SWEAR I’m not pregnant. Probably just deprived. 
And what’s with all the cheese?
That reminds me: I saw these make your own sushi wraps in a magazine…they look good, and if I had a sweet job at an upscale magazine where I dressed up every day, I would probably bring these in for lunch.
And it sucks.
The grandparental units left for ten days, and at first I was all “freedom!” jumping on my bed eating a bag of microwave popcorn, like silly little Kevin in Home Alone. Continue reading
So, I saw Iron Man last Friday night. When I first heard it came out, I knew nothing about it. Like, I hadn’t even seen a trailer. Then after it came out everyone was raving about it, and then I heard that Robert Downey, Jr. plays Iron Man. And then I wanted to see it.
I have loved Robert Downey Jr. since I was a kid and watched him in sentimental movies like Hearts and Souls and Only You. Then, in high school, I went through a serious Ally McBeal obsession. They were running that show on FX like 800 times a day (fun fact: that same year they filmed an episode for the last season at the ice rink I worked at, and I got to meet Ally McBeal/Calista Flockhart!). Anyway, RDJ played Ally’s love interest during parts of season 4 and season 5, and I just loved him (despite the fact that his character’s name was Larry). His incredible wit, his rough-around-the-edges good looks, and his confident, don’t give a damn attitude are irresistable. In Hollywood, where tanned, blond-streaked (and yes, beautiful) Jude Law and Brad Pitt-types rule the world and the screen; RDJ is a welcome contrast.
We all know he’s been through some rough patches and taken a few wrong turns, but he’s got a couple of projects lined up for us to look forward to and I’m glad he’s back.
“But thank goodness almost every office worker in America has virtually untethered access to the internet. Imagine what would happen to our economy if employers started taking away internet privileges and people were forced to actually work. The entire American economy is balanced precariously on the fact that the average American white collar worker spends only about 20 percent of his or her time actually working.
How did the cubicle kids waste time before the internet? Daydreams? Productivity seminars? Interoffice romances? Midday martinis?”
I will not confirm or deny whether this has been my experience as an American office worker, because this blog is a public site. But. Dutch does have a point.
I actually like to research stuff. Especially places I’m going. If I’m going to a new restaurant that evening, I’ll look up their menu and reviews online and suggest appetizers to friends once we’re there. When I got to Adelaide, in South Australia, I picked up all the free brochures at the airport and familiarized myself with the city while riding to the house we were staying at. Our hostess, Kathy, was telling us how Adelaide had a bunch of art and music festivals and I said, “Well, it is ‘The Festival State’,” thus revealing myself to be a total nerd. Hey, it was on their freaking license plates. When I asked if it would be easy to head up to Waterfall Gully for a hike, she laughed and said I knew more about Adelaide than most of its residents.
Oh, and dictionary.com? That’s like my best friend. I love when I’m reading an article or a book and come across a word I don’t know, relishing the entry and trying to get the pronunciation down perfectly.
I even find myself wanting to research fictional concepts. I’m reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and found myself wishing I could find Apparition vs. Disapparition on Wikipedia to further understand its laws and limitations. Although, considering the popularity of the series, I probably could find it on Wikipedia…I’m just not going to try until I’ve finished the books, for fear of accidentally coming across a spoiler. And did I mention how I kind of have a crush on Harry? I think this crush on, as my friend Jackson put it, “a fictional teenage wizard” further exposes my geek status.
Today I read a very interesting article on Relevant, which you can read here. The author, AJ Jacobs, recently published a book called The Year of Living Biblically which chronicles his 12 months following ALL of the rules in the Old Testament.
Based on the gained insights he shared in the article, the book should be a good, thought-provoking read. He followed everything from the Ten Commandments to laws forbidding him from trimming his beard or wearing mixed fabrics. After reading his piece, I don’t think one could approach the book with the expectation of scholarly, informed ideas about the Old Testament. He apparently did some research on the reasons behind the different laws, although his findings seem shallow. When he discusses five of the “most baffling rules” and gives possible explanations, the explanations are his own speculation and not the result of even cursory study. This kind of bugs, since I have a degree in Biblical Studies and it’s kind of like, Dude, know the basics before you pubish this ish, but whatever.
The book definitely brings up an important question though: which laws or rules from the Old Testament should we follow, and which should we chalk up to culture-specific guidelines or the “old covenant”? Continue reading
Guys, I don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m a nerd. Maybe you’ve started to pick up on that fact by reading my blog. Here are some of the top reasons why I’m a nerd. Feel free to add your own reasons why I’m a nerd or why YOU are a nerd in my comments…
1. I use the word emoticon.
2. I read all the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, even though the writing became progressively worse, just because I loved the characters so much and wanted to see what happened when they went to college. Oh, and did I mention this was when I was 23?
3. I enjoy alphabetizing.
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