I’m Amanda. I’ve got wide eyes, a smart mouth, and a MetroCard. And I’m not afraid to use them.
I saw this on my way to the Hunch office this morning. It summed up exactly how I feel, especially on the day before a writing deadline.
Pitches are easy. Completed pieces are hard.
Beyond the feature I need to write about the Coen Brothers tonight, I know the most worthwhile endeavors aren’t easy.
But battles can be won.
I’ma win this one.
Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful.
It’s hard to look at yourself objectively. I can fire off some things I’d love people to feel about me - that I’m talented and smart and refreshing in some way.
Instead, I’ve opted to copy and paste something my boyfriend said to me when we were just transitioning from friends to people who are dating. He’d kissed me for the first time only days before.
This is how he said he felt about me. (He shared this over IM, which makes it no less special, but much easier to record).
The I-don’t-care-about-Christmas advent calendar has been a great success. I’m still making a list and checking it twice. I should make fun stuff a priority more often.
1. Put up tiny Christmas tree in less than 10 minutes - I used a brooch for the star on top.
2. See Tiny Furniture at IFC Center - Warning to Buffy: There’s a brief, awkward sex scene that’ll make your kids cringe!
3. Celebrate Jim’s birthday
4. Groove to Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas,” the one good Christmas song
5. Write my New Year’s resolutions
6. Eat pastrami croissants at Momofuku Milk Bar - Went over there, and they didn’t have any. Ugh.
7. Make sugared cranberries
I’m hard at work on my I-don’t-care-about-Christmas advent calendar. And you know, getting through the month.
Last weekend, I went to a roller disco, saw Tiny Furniture, made sugared cranberries, and accompanied some friends to my favorite ramen place. I slept late Saturday and Sunday, too.
It’s fun crossing anything off a list, but this advent calendar idea is just what I needed.
And here’s some good stuff for you:
Now I love me some design blogs. They’re pornographic, except the thread counts are higher and the carpets always complement, if not match, the drapes. They always make me feel like my design life isn’t all that exciting compared to theirs. Design blogs might even be a little more staged than porn. But you get my point.
I also read a few blogs about child rearing. I won’t call these mommy blogs, as I think that term is very limiting. The bloggers I read do write about their children, but they also write about other endeavors that didn’t involve a uterus.
One of the bloggers I read is hands-down one of the most adorable people to ever show the Internet how adorable she is. I actually read many blogs like this, and they make me feel so serious and curt and well, unadorable. I can’t get enough of them.
Anyway, both types of blogs are obsessing over Yuletide decor these days. I may be suckered into making newspaper taxidermy, but I can’t bring myself to care about Christmas table runners.
Except I want to make an advent calendar, too. It’s like a to-do list of festivities.
Mind you, I’m not going to include caroling or anything involved a garland. But I’m trying to come up with 25 things to do to celebrate December. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
Tomorrow I’ll be in majestic Connecticut with another set of people who’ve kindly agreed to take me in. I haven’t spent Thanksgiving with my own family for the last seven years. It seems like a long time, but it’s always made sense. Traveling from far away for a one-day binge of carbs and quality time isn’t really ideal. I seldom get a half-day off before, anyway.
I’m very lucky to have picked up some really kind, inspiring friends between moving to NYC and being told this afternoon by a tourist, “I know you’re from here - you’re eating yogurt on the subway!” While I’m waiting for my ride, I’ve decided to bomb some friends’ Facebook walls and such with thanks. I’m channeling Ashton Kutcher and writing an explanation, followed by “You just got thank’d!” Feel free to follow suit.
Grrr.
I didn’t have sufficient time to blog about my crocheted bodysuit modeling tonight, but it’s all because of other good things happening. I got home later than usual, due to a party at Hunch headquarters. I’ve also got some fast approaching deadlines and then a trip to Vermont and Montreal this weekend.
Speaking of action, I’ve got a Nerve feature out today called “The Ten Funniest Action Movie Trailers in Cinema History.” It was really fun to write - I’m no action movie aficionado, so I just watched a bunch of trailers and turned my smartass knob all the way up. Please watch, read, and Like. Or just do the first two.
1. Today I published a blog post on Nerve about how the Harry Potter books have been blamed for the disappearance of wild owls in India. Supposedly, kids want owls as pets, because they’re cute (and carnivorous and good for casting spells). Obliging parents are buying them on the black market or trapping them themselves.
Can you imagine the guilt-tripping going down if this really happens? “When I was a kid in Delhi, no one was catching owls for me. There’s wasn’t some J.K. Rowling with the magic stories. I had to read the Bhagavad Gita…”
Pablo Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
That’s all well and good, but most kids can’t draw for shit.
