Be You.

Graduation is over and done with.

I'm an alumni! Alumnus? Alumna. Right?

In any case, here's me eating my hard-earned diploma. Expect more pictures once I find a camera cord and get back home after crashing on Katie's floor for a few days.
The ceremony itself was pretty good and I liked the speakers. Only problem? They fucked up and said my name too early-- I had to shake the Dean's hand and walk across the stage in silence while everyone kind of looked at me in bored pity. Sigh.

There was a very touching moment while everyone in my school was filing into the arena-- we walked past all the faculty and some of them were crying and waving and saying hi to their students. Then I heard "Pomp and Circumstance" and had to do a little facial exercise to keep from losing it. The rest of the day went by very smoothly, with a terrific dinner at Gaslight to top it off.

Steven Spielberg was at the Boston Pops last night. John Williams showed up and did a medley of his works and then introduced the 'Berg. It was pretty cool.

In other news, I move into my apartment in New York by June 1st. I suppose this is real life and it's slightly terrifying.

Our House

Bar.

Long-haired guy with American Apparel v-neck and tats stands around.

(We think he's cute but meh kinda dirty)

He comes over and introduces himself and we immediately want to know about the tats all over his arms.

[Long description of three verses on his forearm that don't make any sense.]

[Silence.]

V-neck: "Yea, it was a magnet on my mom's fridge."

Bartender: "Mine would just say, "Poop, chocolate, chicks."

[Laughter at V-neck.]

V-neck: Mm. Yea.

[He wanders away to get another drink.]

SCENE.

**Lesson: DON'T GET STUPID TATTOOS.

Pregraduation

This weekend is graduation. Freaky. It's also my birthday, meaning my entire posse of assembled family members will have no choice but to celebrate my birth and praise my achievements for three whole days.

It's been a really long 4 years since high school:

Until this year's pictures, here are my new (on sale!) graduation shoes. It's almost guaranteed I'll trip in them onstage. At least my aforementioned posse will have something to do--mainly, laugh at me-- during the ceremony.

Meat

I just got back from my most-of-the-day Meet your Meat extravaganza. We visited two local farmers in Central Mass, hung out with some baby animals, and had some delicious grass-fed beef. I only took a few pictures, but I'm planning to get my film developed this week and should have those online soon.

May I state, for the record, that I could NEVER be a farmer. The stench alone...

Vespa

I'm a dweller. When I want something, I dwell on it and wish aloud. Sometimes, I just complain. Vespas have always been the object of this obsession, and the warm weather made me dig around my iPhoto library (a whole 5 seconds) for a reminder of one glorious summer day long past.

I call it: The Day I Rode a Vespa.


There's several scooter rental places in Chicago, but Windy City Vespa is the only one I could find that rents Vespas. Two summers ago* I made my way downtown for THE BEST DAY OF MY ENTIRE LIFE. (jk, it wasn't really.) I ended up riding around the entire north side of the city, checking out every little neighborhood with a huge, shit-eating grin. After that got boring, I made the rash and fatuous decision to try out Lake Shore Drive and hit the Big Time around Michigan Avenue. Looking back, I bet it was hysterical to see me puttering along at 25 mph while other drivers swerved around me and cursed. It, however, was such a beautiful day and a great experience that I can't remember feeling anything more than glee at finally getting a shiny, perfect Vespa all to myself.

The gas ended up costing like $5 for 6 hours of driving around, and I got pretty awesome at turning into corners by the end of the day. I also managed not to get hit by a car and die bleeding on the sidewalk, so that was a plus.

I did another useless search for Vespa rentals in Boston as I do every year-- nothing. Apparently, Herb Chambers Vespa Dealership won't even let serious buyers do a test drive. And I am not, um, a serious buyer.

Jerks!

My ultimate dream is to get an old red one-- nothing too fancy, since I don't have the motorcycle license you need for the fast ones. And I apologize to my friends for the years of my complaining and wishing for a scooter they've endured.


*Speaking of, how fricking long ago is that?? My poor pink Vans are still around but are a weird peach color and have unsightly holes all over. I am so old.

Review

Katie's Review, originally uploaded by fernweh_still.

It's getting close to the end for AdLab, meaning all my teams spent last class critiquing my management style and assessing my strengths as a copy supervisor.
We also got to review them and assign grades.

My AD was having a bad day and wrote her own review for me.



In other news, I went to the Independent Film Festival of Boston on Friday night for 500 Days of Summer. I'd freaked about the chance to see the movie because the preview looked amazing. I'm a HAuge Zooey Deschanel fan, and I didn't want to wait until I could pay $12 to see it in a theater.

Welp, it lived up to expectations. It was a quirky, adorable film with beautiful observations and a soundtrack to die for. I loved the combination of shooting styles and the dialogue. Don't listen to the haters: this is one to see.

Good News

Weekend in Pictures: Success

Saturday night: Wine Riot in the South End.


Tastings, meeting fun people, photo booth. Evidence of which I have yet to see (UPDATE YOUR FLICKR NAO, PHOTOGRAPHER!).

Sunday night: Lily Allen at the House of Blues.


As I said in my live updates from the show, I was an island amidst a large sea of Britney Spears fans (Lily did her extremely well-known cover of "Womanizer" for the encore and the kids went WILLLDD!).

Monday: Boston Marathon.

(My friend brought a freshman along to the festivities.)

More photos right this way.

The Dying Print Media

I'm not saying we shouldn't try to rescue the Boston Globe from going under...

...I am saying, however, that perhaps some things "above the fold" on their site aren't exactly newsworthy.

THESE Guys.

I spent the last two nights with THESE guys:

Guess which one is French.

Before you laugh and move on, consider this: they are both friends of Katie's dad. Also, the blonde one's Dutch. It was extremely entertaining.

We met at the bar next door and, after an initial ESL issue, got along surprisingly well. In sharp contrast to my usual self after a few drinks, I didn't latch onto the French one and demand he speak to me in his native tongue. Restraint! Both the guys taught us dirty phrases and made sure we never went thirsty. Sunday night was a bit more exciting: I dragged everybody over to Central Square for a battle of the bands at the Middle East. There was a hilarious amount of this:

And not enough of quality music playing.

Oh well. At least the Euros had fun.

My Night Last Night

Friendly Fires at Paradise, originally uploaded by fernweh_still.

Lights and Music

Matt and Kim opened for Cut Copy at the House of Blues on Sunday and I went. And I danced. Follow me right this way:

Matt and Kim are always great live, and this time was pretty much the same as usual. There was air kicking, constant smiles, and they played "Daylight," their new single.

A couple of bros wandered around, looking a bit lost and more than a little drunk. Everyone else seemed to be there for a dance party, which worked out perfectly, seeing as Cut Copy brought the party.

No one told me the boys in the band were stone cold foxes... that was a nice surprise.

It was like dancedancedance! takeabreak almostgetsmushed dancedancedancedancedance!

Next week, I'm going to Friendly Fires at Paradise. It's almost too much electro-y goodness to bear in two weeks.

Prohibition

Welcome to Cuchi Cuchi in Central Square, the poor man's Bourne and Hollingsworth.

Like its Londonian counterpart, Cuchi Cuchi is all about the jazz age theme and expensive, old-fashioned cocktails. I went last night, excited to check out the digs. Unlike B&H (which I love dearly), this place was super skitzo, and I had no idea what was going on. Because while Bourne and Hollingsworth is one of the coolest bars I've ever been in, Cuchi Cuchi just couldn't reign in the crazy. Behold:

Cuchi Cuchi's dining room. What you don't see are the mannequins wearing bright pink Marilyn Monroe dresses (decidedly NOT 1920s themed), the glow-in-the-dark plates, and the LED (?) dining table.

Versus the way cooler speakeasy of B&H, which has small tables, old-fashioned posters on the walls, and a gramaphone:


When I went to Bourne and Hollingsworth, I was astonished by the ridiculously small room, the gorgeous bar, and the beautiful people in costume. At Cuchi Cuchi, only the waitresses and bartenders are always dressed up. Bourne and Hollingsworth attracts a way higher percentage of ladies in wiggle dresses and gents in weird fedoras with suspect mustaches.

The people at Cuchi Cuchi:

Mmhmm.

Versus the B&H people:

A bit more authentic. Plus, B&H has monthly secret Prohibition parties around the city. I accidentally wandered into one on my first visit. I was nearly trampled by the conga line and felt extremely out of place without the proper gear.

What is better, I ask? Nothing.

And if you have a second, watch this video about B&H (or find it here).

(photos from Cuchi Cuchi and Bourne and Hollingsworth.)

Snow Day

Today was the first snow day I've had in years. There have been grève days, but that's a whole different beast.

To celebrate my sleeping in and catching up on work, I took a few pictures from my window and Poladroided the shit outta them. Here are the unimpressive results.



Lest someone call me ungrateful, it's important to note: I love snow days, no matter how unwarranted.

Samuel Adams: A True Patriot.

This Saturday was Sam Adams Brewery tour day!


After two short(ish) bus trips and a long struggle down the not-shovelled sidewalks, we got to do a free tasting of the Boston Lager, Winter Ale, and the not-available-in-stores Belgian Red. Delicious.


There were big tubs of stuff.

There were knobs and shiny bits.

And there was beer.

Lots and lots of tasty beer.


My favorite was the Boston Lager. Our tour guide helpfully explained how the new Boston Lager pint glass works while we delicately sipped with the tips of our tongues in order to experience the sweetness of each offering. The Belgian Red was a 10% alcohol content, ham-tasting bastard that I didn't really like. Katie couldn't finish hers, so I made the best of it and gave it another try. See the rest of the pictures here.

Next up: an excuse to tour the Harpoon Brewery in a blog-centered capacity? Sure thing.

BostonTV

Check out my latest post on Bostonist.

Luxe, Style, Stage

(from Moet)

My school just sent out an email from the career services site about summer internships. I almost brushed it off (I need a job! Not an internship!) but one name caught my eye and sucked me in--Christian Dior. The blurb in the email mentioned that the student must be fluent in English (check!) and French (I would choose "extremely competent" rather than the vague and terrifying "fluent", but--check!). I applied.

But what really set me aflutter was the "internships in France" section of the website. There was one related position for me: marketing and POS advertising at Moet & Chandon.

Sigh.

I would looove that internship. It's a proper French stage, meaning full-time/paid/6 months working your ass off for the chance to stay there and get benefits. I finished up applying, clicked away, and then meant to google how I was getting to Jamaica Plain for tonight.
No no no! Not RATP! MBTA! Le sigh!

New Gig

I'm writing small blurbs about various TV shows for Bostonist. Here are my first two ones so far:

Flight of the Conchords
Fringe

My embarrassing geek card is solidly hidden, but I'm sure I'll end up writing about Battlestar Galactica or something else (my submission article was on Legend of the Seeker, eep!) sooner or later.

Breaking News

After 2 cancelled JetBlue flights back to Boston and a 7 hour trip to the airport, I went to bed pretty tired last night. Which explains why I thought I heard the dog barking in the front yard this morning, grabbed my shoes and sweater and, still half asleep, was hilariously on my way out the front door into the snow when my mom caught me and asked, "Uh, wha?"

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, stopped unlocking the screen door, and realized the dog had been inside the whole time.

More on the cancelled flights later.

Tech Head

My life, it is broadended!

I decided to really use my Twitter for good rather than mundane observations about random crap, so I made a skin for my profile and linked my real website so people can hire me directly from the comfort of their own home. Har.

Here is a Twitter cloud of my stream which I discovered somewhere on a website I cannot recall:
Yep, that looks about right. Who knew I say fuck so much? Hmmr.

Then tonight, I realized I can change my icons to be prettier. Look!

On the left, there's a Canon dSLR to replace my Flickr Uploadr icon (I should point out I am in love with my Nikon D40, but no one had a Nikon icon so I settled for this one). Then, I have a couple of icons that will remain the same (Poladroid, iPhoto, Photobooth, and iMovie, respectively). Theeen check out the cool thing I did with iWork: I put all three of the ugly and space-eating icons (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) into one dock. I can right click on the folder (which I replaced to be a pretty folder rather than a tall box that came with the original download) and open up the programs from the dock. One of the best replacements is next, for Font Book. I never understood the cold, weird Font Book icon that was and this one is much more attractive.

I'm working on finding some icons for my stacks. I have two on my dock: my "Artwork" and my "Professional" folders (the second one holds my resumes, cover letters, and portfolios).

This is just so vair exciting! I've downloaded a lot of great apps over the past week and I'll do a big post soon. My flight back to Boston got cancelled today, so hopefully I'll get out tomorrow and can reenter society.