Things I Love Thursday: Homecoming Edition

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Friends! After three months of riding in death cabs, getting farted on by pack mules and watching silver miners drink rubbing alcohol, I´m finally headed home. Of course, South America has been fantastic, but as an uptight little Virgo, I love me some routine and cleanliness. I really, really missed...

Cereal
Oh, dudes. The Peruvian breakfast of fried chicken and rice did little for me. And neither did the ¨continental breakfast¨that consisted of a bun and a glass of juice. Girlfriend needs some food, yo! I can´t wait to cross the holy threshold of Cub Foods and stand in the cereal isle, considering that ridiculously wide array of choices. Plain Cheerios? Honey Nut? The multigrain mix? Gosh! I want them ALL!

My Other Clothes
I have been wearing the same three things for the past three months guys. For realz. Skinny jeans, long sleeved black tshirt from Target, pink and black sarong worn as a scarf. Except when it´s hot. Then I mix it up with a black tank top! I don´t know what I´ll do when I open my closet at home and have a choice of more than flip flops vs. sneakers.

Quiet
Dear South American taxi drivers, there is simply no need to honk at gringos every time you see them. Sometimes we LIKE to walk from place to place. If I´m looking for a taxi, I will raise my hand above my head and look at you. You are personally responsible all the noise pollution in tis city. I have a headache and I blame you.

Friends and Family
Half the fun of traveling is meeting new people. It´s lovely to befriend everyone in your hostel and trade stories about Carnival. But it´s even nicer to be surrounded by people who really know you and don´t make fun of your accent.

What do you miss the most when you travel?

Detroit Rock City

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(Enna blogs the hilarious over at Kosher Pork Chops. She is a fellow Midwesterner, a bride to be and one of my favorite people that I´ve never met)

Since Sarah is on the road travelling, I figured I would keep with the travelling theme and write a story about a trip I once took to Detroit.

Now, I want to stop and preface that Detroit is a wonderful old city, and if you live there, I do not mean to offend you. This is just my experience with the city. It can be best summed up this way: You know how when you're younger you eat something, say a type of candy, until you throw up, and then henceforth you cannot stand the smell of that candy? Detroit is that candy for me.

My friend Leah's cousin was getting married in Detroit, and both Leah and my older brother were in the wedding party. I not the kind of girl who just lets a road trip opportunity to pass her by, so I demanded that I be allowed to go with. My mother, thinking there is no possible way we could all get in trouble on a trip that would only last about 48 hours, allowed me to go. We lived on the south side of Chicago at the time, it was only going to be a five hour drive to Detroit at most. We loaded up on junk food, and set out at 5 a.m. for Detroit.

We get to Detroit at just before 10 a.m., and checked into our hotel. We stayed at a budget hotel which will remain nameless for obvious reasons that are about to become apparent. My brother and Leah had to go to the rehearsal luncheon, so I had the hotel room to myself. I decide to do my favorite activity in the whole world: I took a nap. Now, I went to sleep perfectly healthy. What I woke up with was the worst case of the flu I have ever experienced in my whole life. My brother and Leah came back to the hotel to hear me vomiting harder than they had ever heard anyone in their lives. And at the time - they were freshmen in college, so that's saying something.

Leah was very sympathetic, my brother, however, thought that I had somehow gotten drunk in the hotel room while they were not there. And therefore, was reluctant to call my parents. Leah put me back into bed, at which point she discovered that the bed I was sleeping in was covered in dried pee and God knows what else. She promptly demanded that we be moved to a clean new hotel room. The hotel complied, but by that point, it was way too late for me. I was seriously ill.

I went back to sleep in our new hotel room, after Leah literally went all CSI in the room to make 100% certain that it actually WAS clean. My fever was spiking to the point that Leah busted out the phone book to see where the nearest available hospital was. She managed to get my fever down to the point that they felt safe to leave me in the hotel room alone while they went to the wedding. They said they would be stopping by a pharmacy to get me more medication on the way home.

The funny thing about hotels is they like to say they have HBO or Showtime. They advertise that fact on their billboards next to the freeways. The funny thing about THIS hotel was Showtime was ALL they had. It was the only channel on the TV. The only thing Showtime was showing, for two straight days, was Fight Club. I would randomly wake up and see a different part of the movie every time. I was so sick, that when I woke up and started seeing the beginning of the movie AGAIN, I thought I was so sick I was going back in time. It was at this point I decide to call my mother.

My mother told me to alternate hot and cold compressed on my face to clear up my sinuses, and it worked. I felt like a genius! I walked around the hotel room feeling smarter than I ever had in my entire life. She also told to me STOP drinking the water that came out of the hotel tap. Little known fact: Montezuma's Revenge isn't just in Mexico. Any time Americans go to ANY part of the world, even parts in the own country, they shouldn't drink the water. We are used to very different water. You wouldn't think there was a big difference between Detroit's water and Chicago's, but my mother was erring on the side of caution.

Leah and my brother get back to the hotel room, without any medication. They tried to find a 24-hour pharmacy. They apparently drove into the not-so-nice parts of Detroit trying to find one, and were almost carjacked. They decided to scrap the plan, and go back to the hotel, thinking that I could make it until the next morning when we drove back to Chicago. Leah and my brother walked into the room to see me pressing my face up to the TV screaming "I'm smarter than YOU Ed Norton! I can BREATHE!" And decided that perhaps we should leave earlier than originally planned.

We got on the road. My brother realized that we should stop and get me something to eat, something safe on my stomach. So, we pull into the nearest Krispy Kreme to get me a doughnut. While at Krispy Kreme, I feel the need to throw up YET AGAIN.

So, off to the bathroom I went. In the process of emptying my stomach for the fifty-billionth time, my glasses manage to fall off my face and into the toilet. Leah comes into the washroom, looks down, sees why I am crying, and asks me how much my glasses cost. I replied $127. She quickly flushes the toilet, saying that in no way is reaching in the toilet and fishing through vomit is worth $127.

We get on the road, and it takes us a little over eight hours to get home, due to me demanding that we pull over frequently. Now, you're probably thinking this was a terrible trip and what a horrible experience I had to go through. But there's one more victim in this story:
Leah's father.

See, it was his credit card that was used to pay for the hotel room. It was also his credit card that was used to pay for the six hours of long distance phone calls I made to my mother. Needless to say, Leah was reluctant to take me on any more road trips after that.

Ladies I Want to Befriend

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Are you, like me, a little bit in love with Miranda July? Her movie You and Me and Everyone We Know is strange and lovely and haunting and her online project Learning To Love You More is full of fantastic assignments for all who care to take part. Assignments like ¨Climb to the top of a tree and take a picture of the view¨or ¨Make an educational public plaque¨or ¨Write a press release about an everyday event.¨ See!? Don´t you love her?

I love her extra hard because she said this:

"Just because something's uncomfortable doesn't mean it's wrong. And just because you have your doubts about what you're doing, or you don't trust yourself 100 percent, that's normal. There's this illusion that people who do stuff are totally confident, and I've never been. I've been riddled with doubt through the whole thing. You know, with a few flashes of maybe, MAYBE this will be great."

Which ladies of the world do you want to drink tea with?

Web time wasters

Look at this sweet little viking, all ready and pillage and plunder your paper supply! You can download him and his friends Yeti and Frankenstein for free on this awesome website.

What happens when paisley goes bad?

Illustrator Emilie Boudet makes daily journaling absolutely artistic. Her daily sketches are adorable and irrepressibly French. Here's what her February looked like last year.

Things that are not awesome about the movie-going experience: $7 popcorn, lack of cup holders and sharing arm rests. ElbowWars allows you to engage in the tussling of elbows, video game style.

FAO Schwartz has turned my 6 year old fantasy into a reality - make your own muppets!

There's something deliciously spooky and romantic about abandoned spaces isn't there? Every blessed kid at my high school has fond memories of poking about the creepy, condemned high school in our neighboring town to Riverton. So dangerous! So weird! Such a right of passage! But our photos never looked this good. I really like the abandoned theater in Detroit. You can still see the painted castle backdrop!

I'd like to know why there isn't a School of Life in Minneapolis. It's billed as "an emporium of emotions, a bazaar of bibliotherapy, a convenience store of concepts, a trading post of triumphant philosophies" Yes please!

Live moss is kind of gorgeous isn't it - lush and green and tactile? And it would probably make for cool jewelry, eh?

Belief

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Nice work if you can get it: Percussionist

This is one of of our many intriguing interviews with friends of mine who have fascinating, ency-inducing jobs. David and I actually hail from the same tiny, one-stop light town of 2,000. He was one of my dad's students and I was one of his dad's patients. He was a band superstar from fifth grade on and the object of every band girl's desires. Pity that there wasn't any band camp. David no longer play snare drum in the Aitkin High School Band, but lives in New York and travels the world, engaging in all sorts of percussion.

So what's the deal? What do you do?

I'm a professional classical percussionist in New York City who recently fell into his first day job. For the last year my title has been 'Promotion Executive' for Boosey & Hawkes, a music publishing company based in New York, London, and Berlin. It's my job to talk conservative orchestras and opera companies into playing music by the company's roster of living composers. Essentially, I'm a salesman for strange new music.

When I'm wearing my other hat, I'm a professional performer of contemporary solo and small ensemble music. I no longer freelance, but play artistic projects of my choosing. And I have to say, this is quite nice. Primarily I work with a group which I helped to found called the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). Other projects include a bass clarinet/percussion duo called Ensemble Breekbaar, a yet untitled trio consisting of one pianist and two percussionists (if any of your readers have any genius ideas, please have them email me - at the moment we have gigs scheduled but no name), and a collaboration with the JACK string quartet. In all of these situations I play music composed by living (or relatively recently deceased) composers. I haven't played an orchestra gig since I took my day job - part of me misses it, the rest is just fine.

Tell us about an average day in life of your job.

Average day: Get up at 7am, feed the dog and drink a lot of coffee, spend some time with my wife. Get to the office around 9:30 and act like a 'Promotion Executive' until about 4:30 (without a lunch break so I can leave earlier). Jump on the subway down to my practice studio in deep Brooklyn and practice for somewhere between 1 and 2 hours, which is really all I can cram in at this point, then head either home or to a bar. Sleep, repeat next day.

I feel like I should also say that the less average (but not uncommon) day/week involves flying to places like Chicago, DC, London, Paris, Helsinki, etc to play concerts with ICE or one of my other groups. I typically like those days better. Come to think of it, the going to a bar part mentioned above stays the same...

Did you go to school for this? Or get any special training?

I've got degrees in Music Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory, The Yale School of Music, and SUNY Stony Brook. For better or worse, it's about as specialized as you can get.

How did you get into this line of work?

I've wanted to be a profession musician for as long as I can remember. Then, while in college I became interested in contemporary and experimental music. After college I went on for a Masters degree, which is fairly standard practice for a classically trained performer these days, then moved to New York City. From there it turned into the wild, unpredictable ride that living in New York always is, and somehow I find myself here.

Are there any drawbacks to working in music?

Mostly what you would expect: the conflict between doing what you would like to do artistically but doesn't pay enough and doing what the market wants you to do, but will pay much more and sometimes even give you health insurance. The problem, of course, of course is finding a balance between the two where you do just enough of one to support the other, without it taking up all of your time. Also, the older I get, the less ok I am with being broke all the time. Maybe its me...

Also, of course, when I say 'will pay much more' I am not talking about a lot of money. No one makes a fortune in my little niche industry, even by 'selling out'.

What are the highlights?

The music - there is nothing like rehearsing and performing music you love. Also, I like the randomness of the travel. For instance, I'm going to Finland in 2 weeks. It's not a place that I would have planned a trip to if I didn't have a gig to take me there. I've gotten to go to some unexpected places that way.

What suggestions would you give to people interested in becoming a professional musician?

Well, my experience and knowledge is pretty specific - there are so many different ways to go about it. I would say, however, if you're an instrumentalist you must practice as much as you can as early in life as possible. I'm seriously still coasting on the skills I built by practicing 6-9 hours a day for four years in college. That time goes away immediately upon leaving an academic institution. That's probably true with any field.

Any drummers out there dreaming of making it a career? Ask Dave some questions!

Things I Love Thursday: Peruvian Edition

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Can you believe that two and half months in Peru and I still find Bimbo brand bread endlessly amusing? And the taxi drivers´dashboard alters? And the propencity to view rubbing alcohol as a nice mixer? My trip is winding down, but there are still many a Peruvian thing that I have to sing the praises of.

Semana Santa: Now, I am not particularly religious, but I love anything that could pass for an anthropology experiment. And Holy Week is perfect for people watching and peppering any Peruvians I know with a million questions. What´s the deal with all the guys in purple robes with white ropes around their necks? And why are they carrying a glass coffin all full of Jesus? What happens if I buy one of those floral wreaths? Why do we have to go to seven churches on Wednesday? Can I just go to one and then eat some mini donuts? (Answer: yes) And why does everybody go out to the clubs on Saturday night and then show up drunk for mass and the 4 am parade? Fascinating!

Peruvian Kiddos: I´ve spent the last two weeks up in the mountains volunteer teaching at an orphanage and an after-school program. You guys, gringo kids have nothing on these niños. I´ve fallen in love with three of them already and have spent a lot of time thinking about how that Angie Jolie might be on to something. I´m particularly infatuated with a certain 8 year old name (of all things) Jesus. He´s constantly joyful and dirty and frequently pantless.

Ridiculous Fruit: There are few things I love more than paddling through the fruit market, eyeing all the things I´ve never tried. Some thing that look vaguely like a yellow pepper! Prickly pears! Custard apples! Orange Watermelons! Thus far, I have yet to find something that will replace passion fruit in my heart. But I will keep sampling them all!

Peruvian Pride: After traveling through country upon country that is doing its damnest to become western, it´s lovely to see a culture that is so thoroughly unique. ¨Screw you, Vogue! We´re going to wear bowler hats, layered skirts and jelly shoes! And wear that while dancing to Cumbia! Then we might drink some frog juice! Or bury a mumified llama fetus!¨ I can´t really go in for any of the above, but I respect Peru maintaining their identity while the rest of the world wears skinny jeans and listens to Justin Timberlake.

What´s floating your boat this week?

Thoughts on Dreaming Big

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Liz Adventure writes for the chronically awesome ABC Adventures. If you are bored and listless on an overcast Sunday afternoon, Liz is the girl with a plan. I suspect she is the friend we all have who has the guts to actually do the thing the rest of us just talk about doing.

Dream big, babies, dream as big as you can. Then bring yourself back down to earth and try to figure out how to make your dreams a reality, BUT NEVER EVER FORGET TO DREAM BIG.

It is so, so important.

Try not to be jealous of others. I’ll admit it’s hard, especially when you hear about someone who seems to have everything handed to them. I knew a boy whose father owned a multi-million dollar company, and in the summer, his dad sent him on a three week long, all expenses paid trip to Uruguay! Imagine my envy… but I talked myself out of it. Time spent being envious and jealous is time wasted. That very same summer, I ended up going to Ecuador for a month, but I paid my way, and let me tell you, paying your own way is so empowering! It really helped me confirm the fact that I want/NEED to travel and it is something in which I am willing to devote myself and my assets to the greatest possible degree.

But, as I said, try not to be jealous. I know that sometimes it’s tough, but try to waste as little of your time on it as possible. Use it as fuel to get yourself motivated to get out into that big wide world! Because babies, it’s huge, and it’s calling your name.One of the most important steps here is to always be your own advocate.

Figure out how you want to live your life, and get out there and make it happen. In my case, and Sarah’s as well, this means traveling to our hearts’ content, and forever chasing that setting sun. I’ve made myself a list of things I’d like to do/achieve before I die, and I look at it regularly. I go down the list, crossing off the things I’ve done, highlighting the things I’m going to do in the next year, and devising plans in my head about how to make the rest of them realities.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t have the things you want. Prove them wrong and never give up on yourself.No one is going to hand you the life you want on a silver platter. That’s just how things work, but personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way because it’s the journey that you will forever cherish. Know what you want, figure it out and demand it from life. Don’t stop until you’re where you want to be, then figure out what comes next.

Life is one adventure after the next, if that’s how you choose to look at things. Remember this, and life will be so full. Babies, you are doing so well and there is so much good to come.

Hello, Lover!

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Lana, of Goatygoat fame, is another amazing lady who someone managed to escape the dark clutches of our tiny, one stoplight hometown. I have known her since, oh, 1986? Now she is a world-traveling, airstream-dwelling, knitting extraordinaire.

Hello, land of yesandyes! It's me, goatygoat!

I'm all squishy and happy that Sarah Von has asked me to take a couple shifts at the helm while she's away. While I'm extra super jealous of the adventures she's having right now, in a land far, far away, I'm excited to tell you what I know.

And today, what I know is this: all voicemail greetings are not created equal.

I've always wanted my outgoing voicemail greeting to sound like me, to be the perfect example of my buoyant personality in ten seconds or less. Trouble is, if my boss calls me, I really don't want him to hear the opening riff from Purple Rain, or a snippet from Seinfeld. So I've always erred on the conservative side, with "Hi, this is Lana, sorry I've missed you, please leave a message and I'll call you as soon as I'm able", all while trying to sound incredibly gorgeous and interesting.

It gets the job done, of course, but it's terribly boring. Really. I bet my own mother yawned and looked at her watch while listening to my old voicemail message.

Until now, that is. Goatygoat has discovered youmail, which is the best voicemail service ever! And it's free!!

Youmail lets me create a personalized greeting for everyone who has ever given me their phone number. Think about that...I can keep the boring greeting for my boss and other official peeps (bankers, insurance companies, other starchy-suit types), and live in the now with everyone else.

Youmail also incorporates a feature called "ditchmail". This means that the creepy guy who scored my phone number three years ago and still calls in a drunken haze now hears my voice saying "sorry, nutjob, I don't ever want to talk to you again. Goodbye" and then the dialtone when he's disconnected. Ditched! Love it!

Now my husband gets a new pervy message every time he calls me. The game of making him blush while at work just hit the next level, folks.

My parents get some very sweet, heartfelt love.

My BFF, Turkleton, gets my drunken ramblings whenever she calls me and I can't answer. I gather that she finds it hilarious from all the snorting that's going on at the beginnings of her voicemail messages to me.

And the Purple Rain riff? OH, yeah. That's what my friend John hears whenever he calls me.

The telephone has been reinvented, and you heard it first at yesandyes!

Note to Self: Have The Babies

If I was ever going to have The Babies (which I'm pretty sure I am) I am going to copy every last bit of this idea.

Except the part with the name 'Caleb.' I'm going for Henry or Simon. Or Greta or Marin. What about you?

Nice work if you can get it: Editor

This is part of the Yes and Yes work interview series in which I talk to friends of mine about their fantastic, enviable jobs. Erin is one of my favorite internet girl friends and not just because we were both be-sparkled competitive dancers in high school. She's a talented and funny writer and mother to The Cutest Baby Ever. And she's a travel writer! Stop living my dream life, Erin. Seriously.

So what's the deal? What do you do?
I am a custom publishing editor for a travel industry newspaper. When I tell people that, they usually nod and throw in an I'm-trying-to-be-interested-but-don't-know-what-that-means "Oh!" Basically, our sales team contracts with the Travel Bureaus and Convention and Visitors Bureaus in cities and countries around the world, and my team and I work with them to create publications about those destinations that are then distributed to our readers.

Tell us about an average day in editorial world.
Most of the day-to-day excitement of this job comes from interacting with my coworkers (everyone in my office is in their 20s). I do a lot of online research of reputable websites (i.e. official ones, although for non-work-related information I'm a google, wikipedia and imdb JUNKIE). I exchange the occasional email with a correspondent or freelancer, and edit any stories that come in. Sometimes I have a conference call to talk with our clients and hammer out the vision for their publication. I often proofread and edit our publications during the client approval process. On a daily basis, I work with a project manager and a graphic designer. I also help out our newspaper's marketing team (we share an office) by proofreading surveys and coming up with brilliant copy for publisher's letters, conferences, awards shows, and other marketing materials. Apparently, I'm adept at taking up the mantle of a middle-aged man through the written word.

Did you go to school for this? Or get any special training?
Sort of. I got the generic English degree, because reading/writing has been my shtick since I was little. Of course, now I don't illustrate my own stories, mainly because the stories I write for work don't feature pioneer families in multilevel wooden houses riddled with secret passageways like they did when I was 8. As far as special training goes, I've had some stellar on-the-job mentors who clued me in to how newspapers and magazines really work. I've also actually just started taking a couple graduate-level classes through the University of North Carolina, specifically geared toward writing and editing. On a separate note, my personal travel experience helped me get this particular job, although I wouldn't say that traveling is a big part of what I do.

How did you get into this line of work?
It all started in a small apartment (that was probably really nice when it was built in 1974) on an old computer (that ran really fast when it was bought in the year 2000), where a passionate yet skeptical recent college grad (me) searched job websites for anything relating to writing and editing. I found a listing for an entry-level editing position at the local paper, applied, went through a terrifying process of interviews and proofreading tests, and got the job as Celebrations Editor (read: weddings, births and anniversaries, although I had more than one request to post a divorce announcement in the weekly celebrations section). Then, through sheer awesomeness (the sorry state of newspapers had nothing to do with it), I quickly rose in the ranks and serendipitously became involved with the ground-up launch of two magazines on a team of highly experienced, fantastic individuals. Invaluable experience.

Are there any drawbacks to working in writing?
Simply, yes. Although writing is ultimately a creative function, it's hard to convey the creative process to non-writers and non-editors. It's also difficult when I have to write about a subject I don't know much about. But then, that's also the fun of it--getting myself to the point at which I actually do know something. On the editing front, it's difficult to be able to read the same text through several different finely tuned lenses--copy editing, content editing, proofreading--with limited resources. I currently work on a very small team, whereas before I worked with a much larger one with multiple editors. Also on the drawbacks list: Burnout.

What are the highlights?
I've gotten to travel to interesting places for the job I have now (mostly to New Jersey. I know, very exotic). But there's always the possibility of more travel to cool destinations. With writing for publication, I'm always meeting new and interesting people. When I wrote announcements for the local paper, I actually wrote announcements for a fairly famous online entrepreneur as well as an NBA star. Once, the paper's Washington Bureau Chief stopped by to visit me when she was in town because of an admiring email I sent her. Now, it's not uncommon for me to exchange emails or conference calls with someone in London or Paris or South America, not to mention various places around the U.S. And when I first started getting paid to write, I would drive around town wondering how many people that I encountered had read something I had written: a fascinating and empowering but also terrifying thing to do, particularly as a novice writer. Now my stuff is distributed across the country (though to a select group of travel professionals). Seeing my name in print is always a bit of a thrill.

Are there any misconceptions about working at a magazine?
Unfortunately, it's almost never as glamorous as one might think (unless, I assume, you're a writer or an editor for a fashion magazine).

What suggestions would you give to people interested in getting into this?
I'll say what that Bureau Chief (who, incidentally, also started her career writing wedding announcements in a small town) told me: Don't stop writing. Keep doing it, always trying to improve your craft, and you'll go places. Other than perhaps the hope/dream of writing a book one day or writing for a big-time magazine, it takes far more grit than luck to have a successful writing career. Also, carry around a Moleskine notebook. It's imperative to jot down thoughts as you have them, because the more you write down your thoughts, the more thoughts you'll have worth writing down. Plus you'll look cool and feel a little like Hemingway. Oh, and one other thing: Know the rules--thoroughly--before you break them. That way you'll always write with purpose, and can defend your creative choices intelligently

I know there are heaps of wanna be editors out there! Ask Erin some questions!

In Praise of Schmoopy Style

Some things that are impossible:

Eating just one spoonful of Hagen Das coffee-flavored ice cream
Turning off the TV in the middle of The Office
Finding an outfit that is simultaneously fashionable, flattering and comfortable

But wait, dear friends! Though I will never be capable of pushing the power button mid Jim/Dwight squabble, I think there might just be hope for numero three. Really! We can have have our cake and eat it, too!

Or perhaps, more accurately, have our cake and still fit into our clubbing clothes.

I completely support fashion´s current infatuation with ruching. And knit wear. And the balloon hem. Because all of these gorgeous tactics make for lovely clothes! And possibly more importantly, comfortable clothes. Because I am all over being fashionable. But I am also all over eating a one pound burrito for lunch. And I don´t think those two things have to be mutually exclusive!

I´ve dubbed this ruched, ballooned, knit wear fashion Schmoopy Style. Because you might feel a little bit like you´re wearing your sweats, but you still look like a million bucks. The ground rules of Schmoopy Style are

1. At least one piece of your outfit is non-binding, allowing for much cupcake eating, running through streets or rolling down hills.
2. Said outfit could possibly be washed in the washing machine (!)
3. There is little fear of panty lines or bra-band bulges

So! What does Schmoopy Style look like? Let´s see it in action!




Schmoopy Work

Look at that fantastically cosy sweater! Perfect for cuddling on the couch, watching 30 Rock. But if you pair it with a sexy pencil skirt and these leprocaun-worthy shoes you won´t be getting any stern talkings-to about dress code. So go ahead! Help yourself to that birthday cake someone left in the lunch room!

Schmoopy Clubbing
This dress is ridiculously forgiving. If you´ve got a great pair, you could maybe even go braless! And forget about that painful thong you usually have to pull out for club nights. You can go ahead and wear your comfy cotten day-of-the-week panties under this number. And when you´re dining out with your girls before you hit the clubs you needn´t limit yourself to tapas. Order the lasagna, dude.

Schmoopy Weekend

The last thing you want to worry about on a Saturday afternoon is if your muffin top is hanging out of the top of your skinny jeans, or if how you can manage to sit on the grass in your tiny skirt. These harem pants are great for tree climbing, frisbee playing and wrestling your lover to the ground and smothering them with kisses. Now you can´t do that your silk mini dress, can you?

Would you ever consider going the way of Schmoopy Style? Or are you already there?

Best Cover Songs EVER

Molly is one of the best, and funniest, music bloggers in the land. To add insult to injury, the girl hasn't even finished high school! I love her because we both love funk and Britney Spears.

It's always a huge bonus when an artist is a brilliant songwriter. However, sometimes there's just nothing better than a killer cover.

Here's some of my personal favourite covers:

"Blackbird"
Cover by: Crosby, Stills & Nash
Original by: the Beatles
Where to hear it: Live at Woodstock, and on the playlist below
Now Beatles covers are something I'm pretty sensitive about, as I think 99% of them are terrible. But this harmonies are exquisite (what else could you expect from CSN?) and this version is - dare I say it?? - almost better than the original.

"No Sense of Crime"
Cover by: Van Hunt
Original by: Iggy Pop & the Stooges
Where to hear it: On YouTube, on the playlist below and on Van Hunt's ridiculously great album On the Jungle Floor
I've raved about this song before on my own blog. I think it's just gorgeous and brilliant and fascinating, true to the original but adding something new and unique - everything a good cover should be.

"Ain't That Peculiar"
Cover by: George Clinton & his Gangsters of Love
Original by: Marvin Gaye
Where to hear it: On the playlist below and on the rad new George Clinton album (of all covers!)
The original is nice, good vocals, but kind of....plain? Not once George Clinton's through with it! His cover is quirky and unself-conscious and insanely fun - just like the man himself!

"I

Want You (She's So Heavy)"
Cover by: Eddie Hazel
Original by: the Beatles
Where to hear it: On YouTube, on the playlist below and on his amazingly rare solo album Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs
I can't believe I not only found two Beatles covers that I could bear to listen to, but two that I liked enough to put on this list! This song isn't quite as dark as the original (which is what makes the Beatles version so great), but Eddie Hazel can play guitar better than all of the Beatles combined, and the female vocals are a great touch. Produced by (who else?) George Clinton!
(Eddie also does a fantastic cover of the Mamas & Papas song "California Dreamin'", which I've included on the playlist below)

"Erotic City"
Cover by: George Clinton
Original by: Prince
Where to hear it: On the playlist below
It's not as good as the original but it's still a fun, solid cover of one of Prince's best B-sides.

"Ain't No Sunshine"
Cover by: Lyn Collins
Original by: Bill Withers
Where to hear it: On YouTube or on the playlist below
Lyn has probably my favourite female voice and she kills this Bill Withers cover.

"A Case of (Yo)U"
Cover by: Prince
Original by: Joni Mitchell
Where to hear it: On the playlist below and on the Joni Mitchell tribute album
Something you might not know about Prince: he's an enormous Joni Mitchell fan. In fact, he went to go see her show when he was a teenager (before he was famous) and she says she remembers him because there weren't many black teenaged boys that came to her concerts, and he spent the whole concert intently studying the performance. This cover is gorgeous, a fitting tribute to someone who influenced him a lot.

"Gimme Shelter"
Cover by: Ruth Copeland & Funkadelic
Original by: the Rolling Stones
Where to hear it: On YouTube
I'd never seen a picture of Ruth Copeland before researching this post and I'd always thought - from her strong, soulful voice - that she was black. My bad! I think this cover of what I would consider to be the greatest song of all time is absolutely striking. My parents can't stand it, so I guess its an acquired taste.

"Creep"
Cover by: Prince, live at Coachella
Original by: Radiohead
Where to hear it: On the playlist below
I'm not much of a Radiohead fan, but in Prince's hands, I can dig it. Guitar and vocals are insane - and I love the guy screaming "EPIC!!" at the end. Epic, indeed.

"Black Magic Woman"
Cover by: Santana
Original by: Fleetwood Mac
Where to hear it: On the playlist below, on Youtube, on any Santana compilation, probably on one of your local radio stations this very minute
This feels backwards. "Black Magic Woman" is the only song on this list where the cover is more well-known than the original. So, while I included the Santana version on my playlist below, I urge you to check out the (Peter Green) Fleetwood Mac version. It's hard to say which is better because they're pretty similar and pretty different at the same time, but both are great.

What are some of your favourite covers? Are there any songs (or bands) that are simply too sacred to cover?

Why Every Woman Should Learn to Say “Scarf” in French

I think it is universally acknowledged that we're all half in love with Winona of Daddy Likey. She's wicked funny, she's really nice, she's got hair as good as mine and she's written for National Geographic, y'all! I'm lucky enough to count her among my internet girlfriends - we're working on a plan for 2012 to blog our way across Russia on the Transiberian Railroad. Consider yourselves warned!

Pretty much everyone on earth agrees that French women always look effortlessly chic and perfectly pulled together. So what’s their big secret? Good genes? Nope. Magical La Mer skin cream? Well, yeah, that probably helps, but it’s not the big secret. OK, do you really want to know?

Scarves.

Seriously, look closer at any photo of a stunning French woman, and you’ll see she’s wearing her Michigan State sweats and an old t-shirt from the Hanes 3-pack. It’s both empowering and terrifying to realize it, but the only difference between you and a stylish French woman is that she has a gorgeous scarf around her neck.

Scarves and hats are very similar in that they take very little effort—extend arm, grab scarf and/or hat, and put it on— but have the power to upgrade or transform a whole look. No matter your hurry or mood, there’s no excuse to not throw on a pretty scarf

To make things even easier, there is really no such thing as a bad scarf, so the details here are up to you. Wide scarves, skinny scarves, warm scarves, printed scarves, solid scarves, sequined scarves, cheap scarves, expensive scarves—I love and own them all. You could make one designer silk scarf your signature look or could wear a different scarf every day. Either way, you’ll look amazing. Here are a few of my current favorite scarf finds.


Tie any of these gorgeous options, or an old scarf of your own, around your neck nonchalantly, practice saying “Oui, oui!” and just try to walk to the corner store without getting mobbed by street style photographers. They won’t even notice that stain on your Michigan State sweats.

Are you a scarf fanatic? And, more importantly, when you wear them - do people think you're French?

Because we all need to hear it

Really! Look at those lips! That cleverly put together outfit! That sexily mussed hair!

We can all use a good dose of ego stroking from time to time, and it´s a shame to stand around waiting for for someone else to comment on our great bone structure. So let´s put together a marching band of all our own horns and toot them!

Please allow me to raise my french horn to the sky with these five things:

1. Excellent natural hair color. Good job DNA! I´m never sure how to react when people ask me if it´s natural. Really, this is one step away from asking me if the curtains match the rug.
2. My button nose. I spent most of my adolescense hating my nose for making me look like a 9 year old, but now I think it makes me look friendly and trustworthy.
3. My ankles. Not that they are necessarily spectacular, but I really appreciate their total lack of cankleness.
4. My feet. I am lucky enough to possess toes of appropriate length, a high arch and (for now) a total lack of warts and calluses.
5. My hands. Honestly, they are the hands of a 12 year old boy, tiny and thin and totally androgenous, but they look capable and strong. The sort of hands that can pick apples and write short stories and make an award-winning loaf of bread.

What are the top five things about you that are adorable beyond measure?

Thoughts on Happiness

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The Story Behind Your Favorite Song

This song tugs at my heart like few others. And ever a lover of back stories, I found this fascinating.

John, we still miss you.

Nice work if you can get it: Visual Effects Artist for Weta

(This is just one of many interviews with folks who have awesome, envy-inducing jobs. They all also happen to be my friends. When I was living in New Zealand, I attended a house warming party in Island Bay. As I was nibbling on a piece of Whittaker's, I heard a sweet, sweet sound in the distance. Whaaaat? Pray tell, is that an American accent?! It was, and it belonged to Michael. As most expats do, we immediately joined forces to talk about home and discuss funny animal videos. Not only is Michael an aficionado on the best viral videos featuring penguins, he also works for Peter Jackson's production company, Weta. Lord of the Rings, y'all. Jealous yet?)

So what's the deal? What do you do?
I'm a visual effects artist. My official title is 'Technical Director' which is a fancy way of saying I make pretty pictures or 'shots'. A shot is a continuous camera take. A movie can consist of a couple thousand shots a few hundred or thousand of which can have a visual effect in it. These shots are divided amongst us artists, and our job is to add the effect (anything from monsters to buildings to giant turtles) as realistically as possible. Other times we have to remove stuff such as wires, lights or acne. On rare occasions we'll even remove or replace a bad actor like Keanu Reeves.

Obviously these days the majority of this work is done on computers. We use 3D graphics software such as Maya to produce the said turtle and 2D compositing software such as Shake or Nuke to combine it with Keira Knightley or a likewise sex symbol.

Tell us about an average day in life of your job.
Well we get into work around 8 or 9 and review Dailies - which is basically all the previous day's work. At Dailies we'll address notes from the Director, Studio, Producer or sometimes his cousin or niece. We'll make sure all the shots are headed in the right direction and are looking convincingly scary/pretty/sexy and look good together in sequence. Sometimes the work will look so amazing someone will cry. Most of the time it looks like shit.

We'll spend the rest of the day making corrections and progressing our shots to show at the next day's dailies. A couple of times during the week we may have meetings or conference calls with the Director and his at the time girlfriend or other Studio heads and Producers and their relatives.

Did you go to school for this? Or get any special training? How did you get into this line of work?
There really weren't any schools for this kind of stuff when I was studying. I did study Computer Science and did some computer graphics work at University, but it was more on the engineering and research side of things than artistic. I got my break in the industry doing an internship while I was in college and then landing a programming job at ILM (Lucasfilm) who was just starting work on the new Star Wars when I graduated.

Are there any drawbacks to working in film?
The hours are pretty long so you really have to love it. You also need a bit of thick skin because there are quite big egos in the industry.

What are the highlights?
The job can be rewarding because people see your work on the big screen. I remember being in a theater hearing a kid next to me gasp 'whoa' when my shot came up. You get to meet some important and famous people now and then I guess and the parties aren't bad. I used to be a Star Wars geek so getting to work on the prequels was a big deal for me.

What are the misconceptions about working in film?
People think its glamorous and working on a movie is a big party. The reality is very meticulous and tiresome with a lot of grueling hours. It's also very technical. Most people get bored pretty quickly when they find out its not all fun and games making a movie.

What suggestions would you give to people interested in doing this?
I wouldn't suggest going to school to study 3D graphics. Anyone can learn to use a computer and software. A traditional art background is much more useful as well as a broader liberal education. Its more about having a good artistic eye and understanding color, composition, and lighting. Its an art not a trade and you need to have a place to draw from.

Is anyone out there a fledgling film geek? Any queries for Michael?

Becoming a professional traveler

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(Bridey blogs about lovely and intriguing things at The Life of Bridey. She is also my online doppelganger (former event planners! daughters of teachers! vegetarians! owners of great hair!) and a fellow founder of The Secret Society of List Addicts)

Once you get a taste for traveling it gets harder and harder to put away your suitcase and return to regular life. It is much more alluring to turn your back on the rat race and make globetrotting into a full-time job instead!

Here are a few signs that you're becoming a professional traveler:

1. Sometimes you wake up with no idea which country you're in
2. It takes ages to pay for anything with small change because you have so many different types of currency in your wallet
3. When you fill out a form you're not sure what to put under the "address" section
4. All of your possessions fit into one bag
5. You know how to say "thank you", "excuse me" and "help, I'm lost" in at least five different languages
6. You've filled up your passport. Twice.

How do you know when you've been traveling a bit too much?

Thoughts on Swimming

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I'm watching the sky, doing a leisurely back stroke - but I think I'm getting there.

Are you doggy paddling or doing the crawl?

Everyday Acts of Fantastic!

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Amber is one of my favorite New Zealanders that I've never met. And since I lived there for a year and half, and there are only 4 million New Zealanders, it's kind of strange that our paths didn't cross, right? Her blog Code for Something is always full of lovely, interesting, fun things. And I suspect her life is no different.

It’s been a little while since the excitement and glitter of the New Year - when everything was fresh and shiny. As the calendar marches on, it’s often easy to get stuck into a sort of grey mood, but here are some simple actions that will help revitalise you like a good cup of peppermint tea. Let’s just call them little everyday acts of fantastic!

With that, how about trying a different flavour of tea to your normal brew? Investigate exotic sounding delights like hibiscus and lemon, pink grapefruit or perhaps masala chai. Make a week of it, or even better have a tea tasting party with your friends. Coffee lovers do join in too – work your way around a continent of roasts. Taste South America or safari through Africa!

Dragging your feet? Depending on your current climes, opt in for some brazen stripy socks. If you’re in a sunnier locale, paint your toenails a rainbow of colours. Hell, why not do both? Alternately, make like an undercover agent by wearing bright, bold or plain ridiculous underwear! Secretly breaking uniform rules and incorporating a little bit of personality gives me untold joy.

Change your passwords (for your email or forum accounts etc.) to something mythical, delightful or just plain ridiculous. Think of them like itty-bitty magic spells! In my case it is my flat’s video store password, which is used to doubly make sure you’re not going to bring back High School Musical late on someone else’s dollar. Anyway, our password is so hideous we have to whisper it to the attendant in shame – but every time it results in raucous laughter. Mirth!

In a similar vein, make your ring tone jaunty - something you’ll be happy to hear, regardless of who’s calling. Definitely do not consider the embarrassment factor – if it’s embarrassing, think of the joy you’ll bring to your fellow man every time your phone goes off.

A good method that never fails to shake my world up is by giving myself seemingly random photography tasks. Take a nice long walk in your neighbourhood with a camera, while only taking photos of yellow things. Or make it your personal mission to snap a picture of every cat you see. Reframing every day subjects in a new context is as good as a brain massage - it helps you see the beauty in the details!

Last but not least, revisit your goals. Take the time to sit down and go over them, noting which ones you are now ready to take action on. How did you write them up? If they are wavering between inspiration and a tepid to-do list – why not rewrite or revision them? Try making a brilliant collage, or perhaps film a stern but loving video reminder to yourself of what you need to do.

There you go, 7 small but brilliant injections of fantastic. Give them a go! What else do you do to light up your day in tiny easy ways?

Wise words from Mr. Wallace

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There are all different kinds of freedom, and the kind that is most precious you will not hear much talk about in the great outside world of wanting and achieving and displaying. The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day.

That is real freedom. That is being educated, and understanding how to think. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing.

- David Foster Wallace

Nice work if you can get it: Photographer

(This is part of our on-going series of interviews with people who have awesome, envy-inducing jobs. Said people also happen to be my friends. I met Jess at the international student orientation when we were both starting school in Wellington, New Zealand. I immediately decided that she probably didn't want to be my friend because she a) looks like a model b) can wear high heels for entire hours at a time c) looks like a model. But you know what guys? Pretty girls can be awesome friends, too! Blew your mind with that one, didn't I? Jess and I ended up flatting together and spent many a night giggling over cups of earl gray, talking intensely about British literature and wiki-ing obscure countries. She is awesome wrapped in smarts with a generous dollop of hilarious.)

So what's the deal? What do you do?

My main role is doing photography and marketing for an international commercial real estate firm in New Zealand. My role is divided between shooting for our publications and advertising and creating our marketing material. Most of my photography is architectural but it also requires landscapes, products, retail and people.

In my spare time I also shoot freelance. I recently was added to a list of photographers for a corporate magazine and I am beginning to dabble in fashion and portraits.

Tell us about an average day in life of your job.
An average day will always start with coffee. Caffeine is followed by checking the weather, city maps, my emails and deadlines. I like to plan my days around the sun and when it will be in the right position for my shoots. I am usually working from a list of several shoots so I need to make the most of the light.

My job is a hybrid of marketing and photography, this allows me to work closely with my company's marketing coordinator to create and produce our marketing material. I spend most days popping in and out of the office to and from shoots. A large portion of my day is also dedicated to image processing and discussing with colleagues and clients what they are looking for. In my evenings, weekends and 'lunch times' I fit in freelance shoots, which keeps me on my toes.

How did you get into photography?
Initially, I actually had little interest in photography. My older brother was taking a photo class and I wanted to have a course with him before he left school, so I enrolled.

One day my professor informed me that I had won an art contest that she had entered my work in (unbeknownst to me). From there individuals who had seen (and liked) my work, began commissioning me. I then worked for a local studio for a few years. Here I learned lots of the basics and got to have a taste of several aspects of photography.

How do you feel about art school?
I have mixed feelings about art school. I tend to tell people to pursue and study what interests them but I also think that technique can only take someone so far; you either have the talent or you don't.

Also, art school does not always ensure a career (or even a paycheck for that matter) in art. I feel that it can be a large financial commitment with little return. I personally tend to encourage taking art courses at community colleges (or the like) to gain the basics and talent can take you from there.

Are there any drawbacks to working in photography?
Of course. Depending on your genre of photography, the hours can be random and equipment is expensive. There are often Saturday mornings when I would love to sleep in or evenings when I would much rather go out but perfect weather conditions drag me out of bed or away from a beverage to shoot. To keep up with the competition, one must be willing to invest in the newest technology which is rarely in the budget.

What are the highlights?
I have been dangled from helicopters, tip-toed the rooftops of tall buildings, allowed into places I have no business being, met some unforgettable people, seen some of the most amazing scenery and have been paid to do it!

What are the misconceptions about photography?
While photography can be a pricey hobby/occupation you don't have to use the most expensive gear to get a great result. I once met an editor of a photography magazine that shot an entire show worth of images on a cheap toy camera with a broken back. The photos came out with these stunning ethereal rays of light. This affect was created from light that had managed to seep through the cracks in the camera's body: an unexpected yet striking result that would not have occurred if he had used a properly functioning camera. So a bit of creativity and ingenuity can take someone a long way. It is the craftsman not the tool.

Also, photographers, just like singers or IT-ers, have specialties. It is important to learn what your strengths are and to play to them. Whilst, it is tempting to take on any assignment it is wise to learn your limits. This keeps you out of trouble.

What suggestions would you give to people interested in becoming a photographer?
Take some classes, learn about the craft. If possible work for another reputable photographer to learn not only the technical side but also the social etiquette of the occupation. Read to keep up with the any changes or trends etc.

Know that there are so many opportunities in photography; you don't have to just shoot weddings or senior portraits. Every image you see, in magazines, adverts, pamphlets and cereal boxes had to be taken by someone.

Any photography hopefuls out there? Jess is eager to answer your questions!

Are Those Holes in Your Pockets - Or Are You Just Happy About Your Tax Return?

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Ahhh, Spring! When a young lady´s thoughts naturally turn to tax returns! Wait, what? Though not quite as tantalizing as Marc in accounting, tax returns are one of the joys of this time of year. And if you, like me, earn approximately $2, you can count on some serious bank. But since we´re all trying to be grown ups here, how´s a girl to spend that?

Pay off Credit Card Debt
But you knew that already, right? Riiiiight?! It´s not a particularly sexy way to spend your money, but super important and, in the long run, you´ll be really, really glad you did. If the siren song of Visa often overwhelms you, stick those credit cards in a bowl of water in the freezer.

Contribute to your IRA or 401K

Yes, again. Deeply unsexy. Super important. Your 65 year old self will thank you!

Invest in Yourself

You are your biggest asset, yo! Why not take a class or workshop that will make you a little more pinkslip proof? Maybe you can learn how to write grants, use that software that nobody in the office understands or create a basic website. If that doesn´t float your proverbial boat, use a bit of this money to buy supplies for your Etsy shop, buy a laptop to help along your freelance writing or get some wicked headshots to kickstart your acting career.

Green up Your Living Space

Because I love any excuse to feather my nest. And this excuse is pretty damn valid! Low flow shower heads, fluorescent bulbs, water heater blankets, non-toxic cleaners and compost bins all go a long way towards reducing your carbon footprint. And after spending money on all that un-fun stuff, you can probably validate a wee shopping spree at global exchange, a fair trade retailer that helps artisans from developing countries sell their wares at fair prices.

Donate to Your Local Food Shelf

With the downturn in the economy, more and more people are accessing food shelves, and fewer people are donating to them. Help turn that around with a cash donation or even just donating all those canned peaches you´re never going to eat.

Buy Something Fabulous and Frivilous

After all that do-goodery and responsible spending you deserve some tomfoolery! Maybe add a classic piece to your wardrobe that will last forever? Or splash out on a really nice haircut? Or fly to Vegas for the weekend with your girls! Buy yourself something fantastic that will bring you compliments and memories for the months to come.

How are you going to spend your tax return?

Your new plan for tomorrow

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I love this. My better mistakes for tomorrow will be:

1. Eating chili for breakfast
   
2. Attempting to wear turquoise eye-liner during the day
3. Trying banana flowers at the Vietnamese market (they're for eating)
   
4. Staying too late after work, laughing with my favorite colleague
   
5. Taking a different route home

What better mistakes will you make tomorrow?