My Sister, My Friend

Today is my beautiful, talented, and hilarious younger sister’s 24th birthday!
I cannot express just how happy I am to have Maria in my life and, even better, to have a sister I can talk to about anything, who I can call one of my best friends…if not my best friend.

We’ve had our distant moments, but the best part about having a sister friend is that we can argue, knock-down drag-out fight, and pick right back up. It’s hard to find someone you can do that with, and lucky enough for me…she’s my family.

Happy birthday, sis! I love you!

Here’s a collage of some of the photos on my sister’s Instagram (follow her: @mialushis)…

Maria is extremely talented…crochet, painting, baking…her Instagram is a great display of her talents!

Enjoy your day, Mavis.

Recent Reads: Eleanor and Park (Book #9 of 2013)

I’ve been looking forward to reading Eleanor and Park (Book #9 of 52) since I finished Rainbow Rowell’s first novel, Attachments back in 2011. I didn’t know what her second book would be about, just that I knew I’d be reading it. E&P has been out for a while now, released in the UK spring of last year (I die over this beautiful cover, though I do believe the US cover is a tad more accurate). It finally came out in the US at the end of February, and I already had it preordered so it would arrive the day it came out.  

The book takes place over a school year starting in 1986. Eleanor and Park meet on the school bus, and it is Eleanor’s first day. With her wild red hair, bigger physique, and mismatched thrift store clothes, she’s an instant target for ridicule by the “cool” kids. No one will let her sit on the bus…except for Park. He is immediately embarrassed by her, worried of what people will think and say. Park is a Korean Irish punk who reads comics and is often wearing headphones. Though he refuses to talk to Eleanor, and she isn’t very privy to speak with him either, there is an instant and undeniable connection. What unfolds is a story about first, young love, the confusing emotions, and the fear and frenzy that accompanies these new feelings.

The book is written in third-person, alternating from Eleanor’s life to Park’s life with great ease.
This is important, because the two live very different lives.

At first, I didn’t understand why she made it take place in the 1986…why not keep it modern? Even Attachments took place in 1999…I was worried she’s stuck in the past. But there’s something about the past that makes that young love that much purer. No cell phones or Facebook to distract. Bullying happened in your face, not all over the internet for the world to see. I think that’s why I loved Perks of Being a Wallflower (the movie, as well as the book) so much…but I am digressing and I should share that another day.

I didn’t know much about the book going in. I seriously bought it simply because I enjoyed Rainbow Rowell’s first book (and I will probably enjoy the next). I’m glad I was slightly clueless, because it made it that much more enjoyable. I so easily felt the embarrassment, shyness, and heart-skipping beats of young love…she conveys it so well. I really enjoyed this book, it’s a sweet and entertaining read.

If you’re interested, check out this review of the book by John Green, one of my favorite authors EVER. He’s a man you can trust.

The Shortest Weekend (Literally)

Daylight Savings Time definitely has it’s perks. It is going to be so nice to drive home with the sun still shining, longer days, warmer weather ahead. But losing that hour, even though it is just 1 hour, is kinda sucky. Sunday kept slipping through my fingers, and because of the sunshine, it felt earlier than it was. I worked on Saturday, so that was a good chunk of my day, but I had a lovely evening. Maria and I went to dinner (I love sisterly bonding) and then met Brad at a local bar where he was taking photos for a couple of the bands that were playing there. It’s been months since I went to an actual bar. It was fun, but I realized I left with a lot less money than I came…this is why I don’t really like going to bars to drink. I’d rather do a MYO 6 pack or get a bottle of wine and stay in with friends. You don’t have to yell over loud music, you’ll save a ton of money, and you’ll actually get a drink when you want one! It’s also safer…but anyway. I still had a great time!

I’m totally cranky, but work has been sort of busy (stressful, too) but it makes the time go faster.
And, no work this coming weekend! Just gotta keep my chin up. Here’s to a great week for everyone!

(The first photo was taken by Brad with his camera. The others are iPhoners, obviously.)

My Tech Drive

I know I just read Feed, and that that could be why I’ve been thinking an awful lot about my dependence upon the technological devices I own.  But, to be honest, it’s something that has been on my mind since I got my first iPhone back in 2010.

A little backstory…

My first cell phone was a Nokia. My family, all 4 of us, got the same phone and had a family plan and it was part of a Christmas present in the year 2003. It was really exciting! At that point for me, cell phones were basically used to keep in touch with your parents if you needed a ride home from the movies or to see when your friends were going to meet you. Texts were not the norm, but they happened.
After a perfect storm of cell phone usage issues involving every person in my family, my father decided to stop the plan and I went cell-free for my Freshman and Sophomore years of college. Fun fact: My dad still doesn’t use a cell phone, save for a Tracfone that is never on and is only used for emergencies. My mom doesn’t have one at all.

I took it upon myself, once I started working at Blockbuster in 2007, to get a Virgin Mobile phone. It was cheap and basic. I had a small minute plan and a small text plan. It did me fine, but I always seemed to go over in minutes and need to update my month…it got really annoying and I was spending more than saving. That’s when, in the beginning of my senior year of college, I decided to join AT&T and get a real phone. I picked a super cute, white and red Samsung QWERTY keyboard phone that would make it easier to text, which was definitely a popular form of communication in 2008/2009. I got a small minute plan and unlimited texts and I felt pretty cool.
The phone did me well for a while, but my clumsy self dropped it multiple times and it suffered some water damage. I was patient and dealt with it’s fickle ways until it was upgrade time in 2010. At that point, iPhones had been around for about 3 years. I knew 3 people who owned one. My sister, her Apple-obsessed boyfriend, and my friend Dana. I never really thought about getting one, and even debated an Android phone (Brad had one at the time), but I saw the video Apple released about the iPhone 4, with it’s Retina Display and it’s HD video and it’s sleek new design and suddenly…I NEEDED IT. There were no other options…I was getting an iPhone.

I vowed to myself that, despite what I saw with other people, I wouldn’t let myself get too involved with my phone. I was silly. It’s not just that everything I could ever possibly imagine is at my fingertips (I probably buy more things through Amazon Mobile than through the actual website). It’s opened a whole new world to me, a world of social media, of sharing photos on Instagram and tiny videos on Vine and all of my thoughts on Twitter and communicating with people in a whole new way. iPhones, Androids, tablets like iPads and Kindles have done wonders for the world. They are amazing devices, and I believe they do a lot of good.

Cut to now…

When Brad and I first started spending nights together, we would wake up in the morning and talk and cuddle and laugh and slowly wake up and ease into the day. It was fun. Granted, I think a lot of relationships have those amazing moments in the beginning. Do you want to know what happens now? Do you want to know what happens even when I am at home, without Brad? I check my phone. I say “Good morning” or I turn off my alarm and then I immediately check Instagram notifications and make sure I’m up to date on the Twitter world. It’s like I don’t even know how to actually look around at my life, the world, without first checking a tiny device first.
(Let it be known that Brad does this too, I’m not a total jerkface!)

My phone is always on the table, the couch, the chair no matter where I go. If I’m having a good time it’s like “PHOTO OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN, MUST INSTAGRAM AND TWEET IMMEDIATELY.” If I’m bored, I have to play Candy Crush Saga. If I hear a song I like, I have to Soundtrack it and share it. If my coffee or my sandwich looks cool, it has to go on Instagram. If I’m at a store and I see something cool, I have to check Amazon to see if I can find it at a better price.

The sad truth is, sometimes a weekend with Brad ends and I worry I’ve spent more time looking at the iPhone screen than I have at his handsome face. I feel like I’m missing out on life, despite the fact that I feel like putting everything on social media and on my iPhone means I’m living it more. It scares me, it does. I want to be able to step away. I want to be able to unplug, but the thought scares me.

There is no doubt that technology rules the world in so many ways. I’m so thankful for the doors that have opened to me because of it, and those are just a few. Think of all the ways it’s helped the WORLD. Still, I don’t want to be a girl with a phone for a hand. I don’t want to keep having conversations in which I only hear half of what you said and respond with a lot of “hmms” and “yeahs” that don’t correspond.
I DON’T WANT A CHIP IN MY HEAD, YOU CAN’T CONTROL ME.

I know I’m going to try and take more measures to step away from the phone. And the computer, I guess, but trust me, I can walk away from the laptop. It’s leaving the room without my iPhone that’s the hard part. I don’t know if I can do it…if WE can do it. I love how I’ve been able to document my life in teeny tiny ways. But I don’t want to miss my life documenting it. I still want to LIVE.

Recently…

Eating:
Girl Scout Cookies! My favorites are the Peanut Butter Tagalongs. Yum.
Drinking:
Shamrock Shakes, of course! Okay, so I usually just mooch Brad’s. But I will get my own someday soon. So yum.
Reading:
I’m in love with nail blogs.  The Nailsaurus and Chalkboard Nails are two of my favorites right now.
Watching:
Spaced for the second time on Netflix. I love Simon Pegg. And Nick Frost. And Edgar Wright (director). And everyone in the cast. SO FUNNY. Netflix it.
Listening:
Toro Y Moi’s new album Anything in Return is the perfect chill-out album.
Lusting:
A Bodum 8-Cup French Press in a funky color, preferably lime or orange. But really, preferably lime.

Recent Reads: Feed (Book #8 of 2013)

Feed by M.T. Anderson served as book 8/52 this year, and what a strange addition to my list it was.
I hadn’t heard of it until I was perusing the 3.99 and under section of my Kindle. It had some pretty good reviews both on Amazon and Goodreads, so I decided to go ahead and purchase it for 2.99. I’m glad I did!

Our narrator is Titus, a teenage boy who decides to go to spring break on the moon with his friends. Yes, the moon. The story takes place sometime in the future. The reader never finds out just how far ahead in the future. It appears that anything is possible. The most important part of the story is that people have chips in their brains that serve as their computer/internet/cell phones. There is no need for these devices when everything can happen inside the human brain. Things get interesting when Titus and his friends meet Violet, a girl who is alone on the moon, and they go to a nightclub, only to have their feeds hacked by an older man, and all it takes is a simple touch on the shoulder.
This causes them to be hospitalized, their feeds temporarily disconnected.
Okay, I can’t even explain this anymore.

There are so many themes in this book. It messed with my head a lot because I read it on my Kindle, and I had just gotten my iPhone 5. It really drove the point home how involved I am in my technological devices. It just seemed very realistic, and it was frightening. This book isn’t funny. The characters have only really known a life with a chip literally feeding their minds with what they should buy and watch and how they should be. On top of it all, the brain is so dependent on this chip and this feed that it doesn’t know how to survive without it. So, yeah. It’s intense. A great commentary on a possibility in our futures and how involved with consumerism and technology our lives have become and could become. I would definitely recommend this book. It’s not long, but it really gives you something to think about.

For more help in understanding the themes and slang of the book, I referred to this Wikipedia page.

February Photo a Day Challenge Completed

And March is here! I could say I’m surprised, but February is the shortest month after all. I’m welcoming March with open arms. It’s time for spring, time for longer days, time for warmer weather and sunshine and getting rid of the Cabin Fever!
As always, the end of the month brings the end of another Fat Mum Slim month challenge.
Here’s the finished product for February 2013.

1. A fork in my salad on a tasty dinner date with Brad.
2. A cute Dalmatian pattern on a skirt at Target.
3. This stuff elephant, a gift from Brad from a couple of years ago, is something that begins with E.
4. “Him vacated of hope.”
5. Crisp and fresh winter air was something I smelled.
6. Soft candlelight and a glass of wine left me nice and cozy.
7. My name tag at work.
8. The mug I keep at work is something orange.
9. The Twilight movies are a big guilty pleasure of mine. Just bought the final one this weekend. I’m not ashamed.
10. A Sunday afternoon at 3 o’ clock and I’m still in pajama pants. Totally acceptable.
11. Sometimes a beer is the entrance to unwinding after a long, rough day.
12. I ate lunch in the break room at work. Isn’t it lovely (sarcasm)?
13. Walking around the block on my 10 minute break.
14. Love is sharing food and stories with my family and Brad, spending that quality time.
15. A big turkey defrosting in the fridge.
16. Revlon’s Just Bitten Balm Stain is the perfect lip color for me. They aren’t drying and they give a great amount of color.
17. The iPhone is always in my hand, but there’s also a coffee here as well. Brad took this photo for me. :)
18. Waking up earlier than necessary on my day off is something I don’t like.
19. I am enjoying a peaceful walk in the snow.
20. I stood by a bunch of dirty, gross snow.
21. A full beer after a long day.
22. After a hard day of work, putting on a favorite shirt, pretty lip color, and some winged eyeliner to make me smile.
23. A word in Spanish.
24. The whole sky was a cloud that day.
25. I have a mess on my bedside table. Water, lip balm, and lotion are necessities.
26. More books to add to my to-read pile for quiet time.
27. Playing with a cute doggie visitor at work.
28. Clothes hanging upside down on the drying rack.

And there we go! Can’t wait to share this month’s with you! Not too fast, though.