We've Moved

If you've been wondering why you haven't seen much going on on this blog after I vowed to blog more, it's not because I've abandoned my resolutions. It's because I've started a new & better venture, bringing you the same wit, sass and style of Spoils of Style is the new site Spoils of Style.

Check it out.

Resolution Check-in Time

So we're almost at the end of January and when the new year started I passed this sign on the way home that said "may your troubles last as long as your resolutions." Although I realize most people don't keep their resolutions, I'm trying very hard to keep mine, or at least some of them. Here's a mock up of my new years resolution successes thus far:

Put my BlackBerry in the Backseat When I'm Driving.
Verdict: Failing miserably, I never usually text while driving but I found myself doing it this past week. I'm usually guilty of talking on my phone while driving, but this was a new level of bad driving etiquette for me.

Get my American Driver's License.

Verdict: Got it! I didn't let this one go unnoticed, I made sure I got my license as soon as the new year set in.

Learn the Virtue of Patience.

Verdict: I'm still trying. This is a work in progress, but I'm doing better.

Stop Living Vicariously through Pop Culture.

Verdict: Ha! I'm looking at this one right now and wondering if I had a few glasses of wine when I wrote this post because pop culture is fun. Sure I need to get out more, but between Gossip Girl and Vampire Diaries, my real life romantic dry spell doesn't seem so terrible.

Spend More Time at Museums & Art Galleries.

Verdict: I've been out once or twice since the new year started but I definitely need to up my culture quotient some more. Maybe I should make a point of it to blog about interesting places/food/people and the like.

Reconnect With Myself, My Goals, My Desires, and My Plan.

Verdict: This takes a lot of quality me time, not the time spent sitting in front of the TV or the computer. Working on my grad school application might help me do this.

When Does Life Really Start

Considering my life after college, I can't help but feel cheated and not like those law school graduates that can't find jobs and are suing their alma maters for what their calling a ponzi scheme. Which, mind you is ridiculous, you decided to go into post-graduate studies, and it's not your school's fault you can't get a job, it's the economy's. Get your act together. What I mean to say is, for all the promise of the real world and life starting after you leave college, the truth of the matter is - I feel like I'm still waiting on my life to start. Although I hate the cliche line waiting for my life to start, I feel like I had more of a life when I was in college.

I suppose what I really mean is I enjoyed my life more. I had a discussion with a friend about life somewhat sucking after college, and being that I've moved away from all of my friends, with the exception of my family I have a very minimal level of human interaction (especially since my profession has been relegated to working from home thanks to the internet). This whole situation makes me wonder what my life is going to be like for my 20s, I finished college at 20 and now what, most people talk about their crazy twenties and how they really lived in their early adult years but my twenties started when I left college, and they don't seem to be getting better.

I'm looking for an opportunity to work in a social environment, and all this lack of interaction is like a social experiment gone wrong. I suddenly understand what sociologist babble on about when they're talking about human beings being social creatures. All this me time has me reconsidering whether or not I'd really be happy being single and childless for the rest of my life. I love myself, yet I can't imagine how stir-crazy I'll become if I'm relegated to spending the rest of my life in the digital age's equivalent of solitary confinement.

A Day in My Life My Life in a Day: Charade

So I must think I live in an Audrey Hepburn movie or something because I'm obsessed with trying to live out moments from my favorite films in everyday life. Two days ago I decided I'd be coming to NY for a couple days, and yesterday I decided my sister was going to come along for the ride. Thus far we've pigged out on lasagna and chicken marsala at Carmine's, a haunt I love in NYC (although now that one's in the Penn Quarter of DC I've got to go more often). After stuffing our faces with food and sitting around and allowing the meal to settle in our bellies (i.e. let the itis set in) we found a way to muscle our way over to the NYPL, only to find the cutest old telephone booths known to man. I don't know what it is about the New York Public Library but I'm utterly obsessed and this time I decided to have a little fun with my baby sister (she's 14 and taller than me mind you). In the film Charade, Audrey gets cornered in a telephone booth, which is probably the reason why I'm so taken with the ones over here. We each took it upon ourselves to sit, stand, and make goofy faces in the telephone booth while the other caught it on camera. I'm starting to think I need more of these random moments of crazy in my life, the last few months have been way too dull.

One day I'm going to stand in front of the Arc de Triumph and let a few dozen balloons fly like she did in Funny Face. Only then will my life be complete.

Rant: Homosexuality & the World That Doesn't Want to Understand

I don't quite get the anti-gay debate. It's not that I don't understand that some people are just plain terrified of homosexuality, but what I don't understand is why the hell it matters to them. As a woman, I'd prefer not to be in a relationship with a man, or God forbid, married to a man who would rather be penetrating or penetrated by another man. I think the conservative side of society should stop trying to push homosexuality back into the proverbial closet and accept it.

People talk about whether or not it's a choice or a natural thing, my thoughts are that each case is different, it's both. Then again nobody ever goes around asking straight people why they choose to be straight. I once dated a guy that said gays were evil because they couldn't reproduce and that was the whole point of us being here on this earth. Needless to say, our relationship ended very quickly after that argument. I couldn't deal with the hypocrisy of it all because I threw it right back in his face when I said, I don't want to reproduce so by your logic I am just as evil as they are. I think on some level many priest have pitted religion against homosexuality for the simple reason that some of them are jealous of those that have chosen to live their life regardless of what society has to say. I sometimes wonder what the ratio of A-sexual to homosexual priests really is, they've chosen not to procreate and are valued for it, so why should a man or woman who chooses to save the world from eating itself alive in overpopulation by loving someone of the same sex be any different.

Love is love, God is love. I've almost completely abandoned the idea of organized religion, and no religion can convince me that homosexuality is an act against God.

That's all she wrote... For now

Resolutions: Ones I'll Keep... Ones I Won't

Almost every year I make a bunch of resolutions that by two months into the new year I've either forgotten or broken beyond repair. In mindless adolescence I made the ridiculous resolution to find a boyfriend, promised myself I wouldn't let the highschool 'love of my life' back into my life, and all sorts of ludicrous relationship resolutions that have bluntly and painfully not panned out the way I thought they would. This year my resolutions are a bit more basic, a list of practical goals that I can meet with a little self control and a bit of determination.

Ten Resolutions I'll Keep:

Find a Job I'll Love.

This means pounding the pavement and getting out from behind my computer screen, a concept that has become more difficult since I've been in cyber land for the last eight months.

Appreciate the Area that I Live in More.

I spent 95% percent of my day behind a computer screen in one room of the house. I watch TV at the same time that I'm using my computer and I barely go anywhere, this needs to stop. I'm not the kind of person that enjoys the hermit life.

Start Writing My Book.

Between finding inspirations (this means reading and experiencing more) and actually putting pen to moleskine, I need to start writing my first novel.

Stop Shopping for Things I Don't Need.

A staple on almost every woman's list, nevertheless I don't have the money to throw around and buy, buy, buy so the debit/credit card is under suspension.

Put my BlackBerry in the Backseat When I'm Driving.

I drive a car with a manual transmission, holding my BlackBerry while changing gears is a no no. Even with bluetooth in the car I've found it hard to cut the crackberry habit for however long my trip is, this will stop.

Get my American Driver's License.

I have my Canadian one, but it's about time I traded the darn thing in and sat through that three hour video they make you watch. This should be the first thing I get done come Monday.

Learn the Virtue of Patience.

I've found that my patience has been running thin, whether I need to take up Yoga or a kickboxing class, I've got to find another outlet for my anger.

Stop Living Vicariously through Pop Culture.

I watch way too much TV and Movies, and I read too many books, it's become this thing where I live in them or through them, rather than finding my own path.

Spend More Time at Museums & Art Galleries.

I love these places, they're awe inspiring and I need to rekindle my love affair.

Reconnect With Myself, My Goals, My Desires, and My Plan.

Pretty self explanatory, but I need to develop a way to hold onto these things in the face of whatever adversity comes my way.

Three I Won't:

Be less pessimistic about love.

Three words: Just Not Me.

Lay off the sugary sweet stuff and lose 15 pounds.

Or else I find a job and move out this isn't going to happen any time soon, it'll be a found my independence resolution in a little while.

Stop repeating my romantic history.

I've fallen in love twice in my life, the two guys are more alike than I'd like to admit and neither are practical. However, I can't seem to break the cycle, I'm into the star crossed lover thing.

Out with 2010 in with 2011.

In the words of my all-time favorite Jezebel post - 'Fuck You 2010'

That's All She Wrote... For Now

Blowing Out the Candles

I'm ashamed that the last time I posted was so long ago. With less than a month until my 21st birthday I'm sitting around wondering what the hell happened in the last year. First off, my relationships sucked, my career goals have thrown me into some nearly crushing emotional turmoil, and my family has become an even bigger part of my life than they already were.

BONUS: I'm now a published author, well sort of, my chapter on Canadian Healthcare was finally published in Universal Healthcare Problems in the United States of America (you can buy your copy on Amazon.com). I'm almost 21, so what the heck does that mean? In the last year I've made more dating mistakes than I did in my entire four years of college and gone ahead and transported my life from one country to the next. The last month and a half has been a crazy whirlwind experience, especially working for POSHGLAM.com and next week I'll be heading to Toronto for LG Fashion Week.

Where this all become some sort of pseudo-picturesque life? I don't know. I'm more tired than I've ever been, which may have something to do with the fact that I've been taking day trips back and forth between NY and DC. But I've never been so insanely happy, my dreams are coming true in ways I'd never expected so soon. Now what, in a few days I'll be blowing out my candles again, is that all there is? I need my Masters so NYU better get ready for me.

That's all she wrote... For now

No Interview Could Be Worse

Being stood up for a date is one thing, being stood up for an interview you've waited for the chance to have for ages is totally different. For those of you that don't know, Lucky Magazine is my favorite magazine, well it was we'll see what becomes of it now that the esteemed founder Kim France is no longer Editor-in-Chief (moment of silence please). I was scheduled to have an interview with the online department, I arrived promptly at least 15 minutes before, although I'd been meandering in Times Square for a while before that promising myself I wouldn't be late. My appointment was set for 3:00pm and let's just say the increments on the clock increased moving from 2:45 to 4:08 before my interviewer found her way back into the building. I supposed I wouldn't have left a fashion show at NY Fashion Week to interview lowly little me either but nevertheless felt a little awkward being stood up for an interview of all things when I'd never been stood up for a date.

Nevertheless, I still dream of working at Conde Nast, I'm sure I botched that interview because by the time she arrived I was beyond exhausted and didn't even find it in myself to ask the right interview questions, nor have I sent a thank you note (although I usually always do). I'm currently using the security sticker as a bookmark and wondering how many of these things I'll have to collect before I earn myself a spot on the masthead of one of those illustrious magazines.

Did I mention I saw Anna Wintour. It took me over an hour of standing (not sitting) in front of the security desk before I caught a full up close view of the queen of fashion herself exiting the lobby. I thought the first time I would see her was going to be different somehow, instead there I stood as if I had cement shoes on in awe of the petite woman who stood there with her sharp bob cut, sunglasses in tow, and cell phone of a brand or make I could not recognize. I felt too stale (waking up before 6:00am will do that to you), too young, too unprepared and most of all too scared to approach her and so I didn't.

Score:
Conde Nast Security Stickers: 1
Conde Nast Job Offers: 0

I ♥ Ziplining

I'm a ziplining fool, well kinda, sorta, maybe. Being cooped up in a house 80% of the time these days has turned me into an adrenaline seeker. Minus the big hickey looking bruise on my left breast I think I met the love of my life yesterday, The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring. When I was little I climbed trees and developed an affinity for tying my skipping ropes in my grandparents mango trees to swing from them only to fall from them and end up with bruises (too much watching Tarzan & Jane maybe?). My father would curse "you're a girl, your skin cyan get batta bruise like this" (translation a girl's skin should be flawless) too bad I loved playing football (soccer) without shin pads too. Besides the point, I enjoyed myself immensely, anyone wanna go bass jumping or sky diving with me?

Staple or Sew

What you are about to read may seem shocking, you may empathize or think I'm stark raving mad, but this is all in good fun.

I exited Union Station on my way to my interview today, and while i felt the lining of my favorite purple pencil skirt riding up I scuffled along looking for a corner to hide so that I could pull the aforementioned lining down. Just my luck there was no such corner in sight, instead the only thing I found was the sound of the slit rip and all I could feel was a more than uncomfortable backside breeze. I scanned the area for a bench and dialed my version of 911 to my favorite Aunt's cellphone. As I sat down waiting for my guardian angel (who thankfully works strides away from the scene of the crime) I had to laugh to keep from crying. There's a reason I forced myself to leave 2 hours ahead of time, not because I'm psychic and could see my skirt ripping while walking down 1st street before it happened, if I had I would have worn pants.

I had the oddest eureka moment, let me explain: There's always that person on Project Runway you think is just too crazy, even for the show. Well today I finally understood Jason & the stapler. For those of you that don't watch Project Runway this is a guy who took a kimono, put it on his model backwards, stapled it together and called it fashion-forward. In an act of terminal desperation I asked my aunt to bring me a stapler & a sewing kit, thank God my guardian angel's mother was a seamstress. Suffice it to say I never used the stapler and she stitched my skirt back to perfection in 5 minutes, with a few tacks on the lining so I wouldn't have to face disaster two times in one day.

(image courtesy of Rahxy on deviantart.com)

That's all she wrote... For Now

Pop Art from Paradise

I went to Jamaica, came back & turned every shot of every flower I saw into pop art. Idle, aren't I?






Clearly PhotoShop & I are now officially best friends.

That's all she wrote... For Now

Ticket Stub

I was in a rush to catch my train and get to JFK yesterday, not that it mattered since my flight was delayed about an hour and a half anyway. While I was walking down the stairs entering the subway, this guy was walking up, we'll call him A. Usually when a guy tries to stop me I act like a deer (or doe) in headlights. A asks if I have a minute, I tell him "no, I don't have a minute, I have a flight to catch." For some reason me saying I had no time gave him cause to request two minutes, by this time I know I'm flirting (just a little bit) I ask him all too sweetly "if I don't have a minute, where would I get two," he antes up to three minutes and opts to follow me back down the stairs. It's a classic cat and mouse game, except I should hate this because I'm definitely not mousy. He asks for my number and instead of pulling out a smartphone or a rinky-dinky old phone he pulls out an AMC ticket stub, I'm a movie addict so it registers to me automatically. Instead of giving him the run around about not giving out my number the modesty of that action won me over, ain't I a sucker?

That's all she wrote... For Now

Riddle Me This

Riddle me this: If you're going to break up with someone isn't it common decency to at least let the other person know?

My friend just experienced what I can only describe as the most cowardly break-up I've ever seen. Can you imagine lapping up the sun and sand on vacation only to realize your boyfriend is now your ex after he proceeded to delete you from BBM and Facebook. It seems a bit childish, but without a sign deleting someone from your digital life, ignoring their calls and text messages means it's over, so why couldn't you just say that? Granted, text message break-ups suck but at least you've actually said something.

(image courtesy of wallride13 on DeviantArt.com)

She Used to Be My Mini Me...

Growing up my sister and I have had our moments, between the sibling rivalry and the intense sisterly affection we’ve found ourselves stuck with each other for life. She was born when I was seven years old and as I danced in the hospital chanting “I’m going to be a big sister” I had no idea how drastically my world was about to change. I've been the guardian of her best interests since day one, starting with preventing my mother from naming her Chloe. Can you imagine one sister named Chanelle and another Chloe, like a set of French fashion design houses? My mom might have thought it poetic, but I stood firm in my resolve. I named her Channon, sticking to my mothers plan that we'd both have the same initials. We are now and forever CTS1 & CTS2.

I blame her for stealing my childhood, and she’s taken responsibility for that with a shocking level of pride and amusement. Fate dealt me the final blow when she turned 13 and measured in at an inch taller than me. It was then I became the little sis, even though she teases me that I’m now halfway to 40.

When I finally got my license and a full time job I saved up time working extra hours so that I could take days off to spend with her. We went on sister bonding trips: shopping on Queen St. in downtown Toronto, exploring the Toronto Zoo and hiking at Crawford Lake (an almost near death experience *ahem*).

Now we live in a new place, and we’re making new memories starting with shopping sprees in Georgetown to burn off the calories from the Georgetown Cupcakes we ate for breakfast earlier that morning.

We have a mantra we live by when it comes to our ‘I love you’s that goes something like: “I love you; I love you more; you couldn’t possibly; I love you before God even invented the earth; times one million googooplex; times infinity, ha!” (kudos to my calculus knowledge). She calls me the most embarrassing nickname – Chanelly Babelly McSmelly from New Dehli and despite that we’ve never been closer than we are now. For the record, I love her more!

That’s all she wrote... For Now

Viva España!

I woke up this morning and I wondered if yesterday’s World Cup final was all a dream, as I’m sure a few members of the Spain and the Dutch national teams did as well. It took 1 red card, 14 yellow cards and 116 minutes, but Iniesta finally scored the winning goal that propelled Spain to the title of 2010 FIFA World Cup Champions.

I love soccer (futbol or football), and the World Cup is probably my favourite sporting event, but there are a few things that irked my nerves in yesterday’s game. Let’s start with the rhythm, when a soccer game has rhythm it is a beautiful thing, artistic even, but up until overtime rhythm was practically nonexistent. As for the foul play, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many yellow cards pulled out in a final, the referees went overboard, granted that De Jong should have gotten a red in the first half for kicking Alonso in the chest. Every time I saw the ref reach for a card my heart sunk to my stomach, praying that it wouldn’t be directed at Spain. The nil-all tie that went on for 115 minutes of the game had me biting my nails and at some parts almost nodding off to sleep but the first and only goal scored that had me shouting “España, España, España” for everyone within a mile to hear made up for it as the sound of the vuvuzelas filled South Africa’s Soccer City.

I got up bright and early to prepare my Spanish themed lunch and dinner complete with empanadas, paella and sangria. I painted my fingernails in “Can You Tapas This” from the OPI Spanish Collection, and sat in front of the television watching and waiting for that one beautiful goal that would seal the 2010 World Cup.

I can’t even begin to fathom what I would have done if they’d lost.

What did you think?

Do you know what Iniesta's shirt said?

Do you believe in the psychic powers of Paul the Octopus?

Today I:

Walked on a labrynth. Ate a Strawberry Lava Fudge cupcake from Georgetown Cupcakes. Met a guy with the most beautiful green eyes. Was tempted to steal someone's Vespa. Wrote in the Georgetown Waterfront Park Journal. Bought a vintage jacket, 2 completely opposite style dresses & a pale gray skirt. Ate yummy sushi.

Today I appreciated my blessings & all of the challenges I've been faced with.

Today I spent some quality me time.

Today I rekindled my love affair with myself.

Today was a good day, no it was great.

That's all she wrote... For Now

The Age of Power

Ever feel like things are slipping away but you can't seem to understand why? Welcome to my world. You know the basics; I just finished undergrad, I turned twenty 7 months ago and now I'm stuck in limbo trying to move to NYC but not exactly sure when that's going to happen.

I've been dwelling on my quarter life crisis, and it's not as if I really have anything to be in a 'crisis' about. My world is changing and it happens to people every day. I finally got my copy of Communion by bell hooks today and twenty pages in I've realized something: this feeling of powerlessness that I've been dealing with is socialized (SUPRISE: like everything else tied to my 'femininity,' it's not inherent). hooks explains in the first chapter of the book that with age for a lot of women comes a sense of losing power, until they reach mid-life, that's when they start to get it back. I'm not sure why this resonates so well with me, it's not as if I had any intention of giving up my freedom, my freedom just somehow got attached to my adolescence. I'm only twenty years old, but I feel as if somewhere between my dream of wanting to be Editor-in-Chief and the part where I enter the real world and am actually supposed to make my dream happen, I was complicit in the giving up of my power; my brazen, hold no punches attitude. I think to myself, "I've got to get it back" (sounds eerily like one of those middle age women pining for their youth), but the truth is when I read this blog I realize it's still there, I just feel like it's not. So in the words of the late, great princess of R&B, Aaliyah - "age ain't nothing but a number."

That's all she wrote... For Now

Egos & Eros

We all have our egos, and somewhere deep down we'd like to believe that in addition to our own worlds someone else's world revolves around us too. Friendships go awry when we take our egos and our selfishness to higher levels than our secret thoughts. For the egomaniac friends, those of us who keep our self-adoration secret are supposed to keep up to date on what's happening in their lives, every minute detail. When we don't we're considered bad friends, being charged with failure on the friendship front can sometimes sting us. It's that failure that proves that the little egomaniac inside that we thought we had hidden well enough is showing its rather ugly head. Here's the reality check though, or else they've got the stalker mentality that has been fed by twitter and facebook, or you're a celebrity, no one is following your every move, and no one checks your status updates religiously to figure out every detail of your life. At the hands of this revelation the size of your ego should shrink back to a size that is easy to mask.

That's all she wrote... For Now

Sentimentality

(image courtesy of ghopper99 from deviantart.com)

I'm a sentimental person and if I didn't know it before moving after living in Canada for almost ten years of my life showed me that loud and clear. I saved the label from the wine bottle my Aunt got me for my 19th birthday. I would have saved the bottle but I had to cut a few things when I was trying to fit every detail of my 20 years of existence into a limited set of boxes. I've kept a million and one memory boxes with God knows how many ticket stubs, notes and photo booth strips and sorting through them was no joke. I wonder how much of my life has been wasted on my sentimentality, I've kept the new years resolutions my friends and I made on the leftover wrapping paper I had lying around in my first year of high school, reading those reminds me of how pathetic my adolescent life was. I was resolute to be happy and tell the man I 'loved' how I really felt, while my friends resolutions read something to the effect of "have a boyfriend." At least I can say that I've changed now, I know what makes me happy beyond the company of another person and I'm determined to achieve my goals, goals that are worthwhile. As for right now as I stew at home I'm determined to make the most of my freelance work, do a little more soul searching and find myself a job as an Editorial Assistant.

That's all she wrote...For Now

Let It Be

(image courtesy of sixstring on deviantart.com)

Now that my friends and I have all either graduated or are on the brink of graduation the topic of conversation has shifted from school to 'life.' Since I moved to the US my friends in Canada that have been checking up on me have all managed to ask me about the 'American Guys.' I figured that after knowing me fairly well all these people would remember that I'd rather sit home and read a book than go out trolling for men, not to mention the fact that since I'm rather opposed to gender ideals in society the likelihood of any man accepting me for me with all my so-called 'crazy feminist beliefs' is rather slim.

I believe my friends have a bet going behind my back (not so secret) exactly how long it'll take me to get married. While some believe I'm going to get married before any of them others take me at my word and believe me when I say that marriage just isn't for me. At least not the union that society calls marriage. My friends always tell me my problem is that I won't let a man be a man, but the real question is "why do these men feel the need to be what society tells them men are?" and "why can't men let me be the woman that I am?"

That's all she wrote... For Now