Looking forward to spring

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Winter lethargy is starting to make me go insane.  If I had more money I would come up with a wicked sweet invention that would enable me to powerwalk on the treadmill or an elliptical (yeah, I'm a girl and these are the machines at the gym that I enjoy using, so hush) while still being able to do homework.  Not that when I had a gym membership that I was wasting my time on these machines though.  After all, Law & Order SVU isn't going to watch itself, you know.

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Olivia and Elliot are skeptical that I can do readings for school and enjoy their programming at the same time, despite my insistence that I can

I'm decidedly looking forward to spring.  No more black tights with every skirt, maybe my lily white shins will make an appearance.  Let's look at some super duper cute spring looks that I've been ogling from Le Bomb Shop.  Granted, a lot of these skirts a a bit shorter than I'm really comfortable wearing seeing as how they're sized for juniors.

Bettie Page Clothing also has some super cute looks for spring.  I'm particularly in love with this dress that can't decide whether it's a 20s style or a wiggle dress.

I feel like an old lady for liking printed trousers, but these are too great to pass up.

Let's all think real hard for spring to come early so that I can start riding my bike so I'll be able to fit into these cute styles.

Working at a library is totally cooler, but doesn't have the same ring to it as "car wash"

How was everyone's holidays?  Mine were pretty awesome. Christmas was fairly quiet: hung out with the family, ate lots of lasagna, caught up with friends, and then drank wine out of a straw at Chuckie Cheese.  Classy Morin is on the case, clearly.

I raged probably a little more than I should have and ended up having to write off most of New Years Day.  I was clearly so excited about the fact that I had New Years Day off from work that it is only natural that I should completely obliterate any chance to use it wisely (brunch, hair of the dog, naps, and Tarantino movies would have been so much more awesome if I didn't feel like crap through most of them).

So now school is back in session.....*crickets*

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School would clearly be 120% more awesome if Alice Cooper went school supply shopping with me and taught all my classes. (Think "milly-wah-KAY" Wayne's World lesson style)

My in-person class is "Resources in the Humanities", which I am currently waiting to go to, and currently have no idea what the class is about, even after doing the readings to prepare for the first meeting.  The online one is "Public Library Service".  Conveniently, I have managed to wrangle myself a pretty sweet internship at a public library.  I've been acquainted with the library director and her husband for several years.  She is a very nice and accommodating lady, and it didn't take much sweet talking at all for both of us to be pretty jazzed about this one day a week learning sparkly dazzle adventure.  

I got to do real girl librarian stuff today, like pulling books from the shelf that were requested for holds either at that library or for inter-library loan.  This sounds horribly boring, but it really wasn't, I promise.  It also gave me a good chance to get to know where everything was in the library, especially since I am much more familiar with the Library of Congress system than Dewey Decimal.  I did read a book and do a report on Dewey for a class though, and that em-effer was was a bit of a freaking loon.

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So cray, y'all.

But I learned how to scan them in and print out the slips and how to package them for wherever they're going.  But as I'm sure that it's pretty obvious, I'm very jazzed about the whole thing, and it definitely feels nice to actually do some real work instead writing a thousand theoretical papers about library work.

More updates soon.  I apparently only have the desire to blog when I'm in school because I'm trying to still be on the computer and act like I'm working on stuff that I should, while not actually being productive at all.  If I have a tab open that is related to school work, then I'm totally working, right?

Eye candy, Christmas movies, and other things

Just got sucked into one of those Time Life music collections from the '50s and '60s infomercial, so let's look at some amazing styling of pop stars from that era.  Because it makes me happy to do so.

Connie Francis [source]

Patsy Cline [source]

Ricky Nelson [source]

Bobby Darin [source]

Rosemary Clooney [source]

Let's just stare deep into his eyes for a moment...[source]

Ok, enough of that, but please continue on your own should you so desire.  I'm hoping to have a pretty good Christmas.  It's going to be a smaller affair this year, with my cousin unable to come at all, and my sister and the kids not coming until the day after.  

It's funny, I've been thinking, most Christmas movies that I like aren't actually about Christmas.  Like White Christmas, it's about show business and doing something "for an old pal in the army".

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It's a Wonderful Life is a lifelong story of a man, his ups and downs.

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So for this 60s themed cocktail holiday party that I'll be attending with my friend H next week I need to figure out what to do with the hair situation.

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I'm thinking something like this, I already have the bettie bangs, so mostly I have to figure out how to tease the living shit out of my hair, or get a rat or something.

with this dress..

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It's gonna be freaking awesome

White power is trying to ruin my Christmas cheer

So the past few years I've been railing against the Christmas season rather violently.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Christmas eve and Christmas day, because that's the time that I get to spend with my family, in a little bubble away from school and work.  I just get to hang out with people I care about, while eating my weight in lasagna.  Sounds good, right? It's totally awesome.

Well, the biggest problem has been that of consumerism.  I can't tell if it has backed down a little bit from the past few years, or if I've just been trying to be a happier person in general, so it's been bothering me less.  I'm certainly not any less poor, so it's not like I was sad because I couldn't afford to buy things.  Couldn't afford things then, still can't afford things now.  Anyway, I've been feeling not quite so mad.  But I've been wanting to keep up the feeling of not being a big shiny spazz-monster.  So, being the literal girl that I am, I googled "trying to enjoy Christmas".  I had been looking for maybe some touchy feely psychobabble that could help me keep positive morale.  Instead I found an article that at first seemed to have some really sound advice on not overspending in the holiday, and it echoed my irritation that Christmas seems to be backing it's way toward Halloween.
...then it got all white power-y.
Halfway down this seemingly sound article (I read it on my phone using the reader function, so that big sidebar with books they sell about how great Hitler is wasn't there) it just slipped in little details about in addition to buying from small businesses instead of big box stores, you should also "buy goods from whites and not from non-whites" and a few other random racist comments.  Is this how the modern white power movement goes about its business?  Instead of being overtly racist all the time and talking about it directly, they slip it into an article about how to save money and be happier around Christmas?  Because I'm pretty sure that I can enjoy Christmas just fine while loving my friends of all colors, religions, sexual identities, and gender identities.

White people, sometimes you suck real hard.

Ermagerd WTF Downton Abbey

So first of all, if you haven't seen all of the show, there will probably be some spoilers in here.  You were warned.

So let's talk about how amazing Julian Fellows is.  I picked up on Downton Abbey after watching Gosford Park on the Netflixes.  I am convinced that this man exists solely to make Dame Maggie Smith the snarkiest woman on the planet.

I learned recently that she assisted Julian Fellows in writing some of her more amusing one-liners for the show. So good. And she delivers them in the way that only she can, with that sort of posh British nasally indignation.

But really, ehrmagherd... let's talk about the styling.  I was never a big fan of Edwardian styling until I started watching this show.  There really wasn't makeup at the time of course, that didn't come into fashion until a little bit later, but the clothes and the hair are fantastic.  Then in the third season as they move into the '20s, I  think I flipped a little because I am somehow even more obsessed.
Roll camera.

My some of my favorite hair and clothing looks, from seasons one and two (Edwardian and WWI eras respectively)

Let's look at dem mens.

Let's look into the 20s! So many good hairstyles.  These girls are finger waved and marcelled to within an inch of their lives.  To look that perfect all the time, you clearly need a title and a lady's maid, and hours upon hours to spend only changing clothes and doing hair everyday.

Clearly this sort of thing makes me very happy.

I used to do wicked shitty eyeliner

So surprisingly enough, I have not always been the devil may care vixen that you see before you today, I was  once crippled by self doubt and and bad eyeliner.  I can makeup and you can too!

So I'm sure there are some wicked awesome photos of me somewhere at my parents house from the middle school and early high school when I was trying to sort out my look.  Especially in high school, that shit was terrible.  Most of the time it was just sort of blah (I still haven't gotten over my obsession with brown eyeshadow) but sometimes I would take it from boring to completely outlandish. Think: black lipstick....no other makeup.  I was pretty cool, I know.  I think I was starting to get into metal and goth at the time and I didn't know how to effectively listen to Bauhaus without having black shit smeared all around my mouth.  I can only assume that it was applied really poorly, thinking back on it.

This is what I thought I looked like

This is likely pretty close to what I actually looked like

Fortunately after a little bit of this, I think my mother decided that she would try to nip this little shop of horrors in the bud and she took me to the makeup counter to get fixed up and have the makeup ladies give me the what for.  Things went along better for a while.  I finished high school and college without further embarrassment, at least in that regard, and for the most part I tried to keep the blade runner-esqe goth club makeup relegated only to actually going to the goth club.  

Then I discovered the innerwebs.  Yeahh girl.  I love my mother very much, but she has never been the one that I would go to for makeup tips, mostly because I think I've only ever seen her wear any twice in my life.  Enter youtubes and Ashley at Lisa Freemont Street.  Now I can actually do a winged liner without looking like the progression that Jenna Marbles does in this video. Ch'yeah. 

Also around this time I discovered Laura Mercier's Secret Camouflage.  It's pretty much the greatest.  I tried those light reflecting concealer pens and I always kept getting the reverse raccoon look, like little ants were setting up spotlights underneath my eyes. Bad look, bros.  It  was discouraged by that for a while and stopped trying the under eye concealing altogether for a bit.  When I don't sleep well enough though, I tend to turn into the greasy guinea that I am though, and it looks like I have two black eyes if I don't do something about it.  Now with proper concealment my face can lie to you about how much sleep I've had, which is pretty cool. Magic.

Pin-up Peep Show, and other things that I am excited for

So on Sunday, tomorrow that is, there is this pretty sweet event going on down at the Troc, Celeste Giuliano's Pin-up Peep Show.  There's going to be a pin-up contest and some burlesque performances, and some "red hot" jazz band.  So it should be pretty sweet.

So, naturally being a girl, in my attempts to avoid doing homework, and now, even as a treat to myself after I've finished my homework for the week, I've been obsessing over what to wear.  So I'm pretty sure that I have narrowed down to this dress:

Mostly is just the question of shoes and accessories.  I have some pretty sweet Bettie bangs currently, so I'm thinking some sort of cute updo, victory rolls? lots of rolls? Lots of hair flowers?  See how much crap I can jam onto my head without tipping over? Sounds awesome.  

So, things that I am also sort of excited for. School is ending for the term December 8th.  I can almost taste it.  I am not entirely sure how I am going to tough it out through two more quarters and then have to wait all damn summer to take one course by itself in the fall.  I am, however, being a little proactive in my quest to not drive myself insane and be a little bit marketable once I am eligible to a real girl librarian.  A friend of mine was nice enough to take me up on my offer of an internship.  It's definitely going to be more work for them than it is for me, I can only assume.  But she has graciously allowed me to come in and learn all about how to be a librarian one day a week (it would be more but I can't squeeze any more time into my already cramped schedule).  So in addition to working with her and learning what a library director of a smaller public library does, especially as they are coming up to a time where they might be moving to a new space, she is having me work with some of the other librarians in the place so I can learn how to work the circulation desk, work in the children's section, teen section, cataloging, all sorts of stuff.  So I feel pretty lucky to have the chance.  I'm going to wear a thousand cardigans, it's going to be pretty great.

I always do feel a little weird that I am excited about my future career based on the dress code.  First of all, there really isn't one.  I cannot tell you how much I don't want to wear a hat to work every day anymore.  I hate they way it mooshes down my hair, I hate the way it slides all over my head unless I bobby pin it into place (I mean really, who has to bobby pin a ballcap?), and I really hate the way it sort of, along with the rest of the uniform, serves to dehumanize the wearer, making them into some mindless customer service robot.  I don't mind helping customers, but I look forward to being looked at as a professional.  As someone whose assistance that people will value, rather than just bark their order at me when I say hello.

For the record, "grande nonfat latte" is not an acceptable answer to "Hello, how are you?".  Other unacceptable responses to that greeting are, "yeah", "uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I wannnnnnnnnnnnnt....", or complete silence.  I know you heard me talking to you, you just clearly don't have the social maturity to talk to another human.

So in addition to the lack of hats, I am looking forward to not wearing ugly clog type Danskos, and instead trading them in  for my normal selection of slightly more chic footwear.  I cannot wait to wear a million dresses and cardigans.  I want to wear cute sweaters every day.  Did I mention that I love cardigans real bad? 

Sweater pr0nnnnnnn.  Yeah girl.

So other things I am excited for. Eating more pomegranates:

It is totally pomegranate season and I have been stuffing them in my face like my life is depending on it.  The photo above was taken right before I decimated that pomegranate like I was making love to it.  I've been having to brush my teeth extra hard so they aren't stained pink all the time.  And truthfully, I'm pretty excited for the actual day of Christmas, but I am wicked not excited for everything that leads up to it.  That whole month (or two) that leads up to Christmas really takes the wind out of my sales sails.  If I hear about another pre-black friday deal, I might puke.  More on that in future posts though, I'm sure.

I guess that's all for now. 

Later kids.