Living Seoul

Yes:

Mad Libs while waiting in line for tickets to see Broken Social Scene. “Pay a visit to your favorite stripe store and buy some striped new things that will cause men to stripe in the street.”

They sold 50 tickets to Broken Social Scene for people without wristbands or badges. Me, my sister and her friend were numbers 50, 51 & 52 in line. All three of us got in. We were the LAST ones!

Liking of The Besnard Lakes. Marvelous!

Seeing Emily Haines sing “Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl” with Broken Social Scene at Stubbs. Being in the third row.

Listening to a band play an impromptu show in the middle of the street from a parking garage above.

Finding an awesome “Reeperbahn” sign on the road and awkwardly taking it home in my purse.

Seeing my fab co-worker perform with his band “Son de Rey”.

Meeting a random guy from 101X who climbed into my friend’s apt on Red River though the street level balcony. He drank with us and then confessed that he had no idea where he was, who we were or what he was doing.

Eating a Buffalo Burger at Casino el Camino. Delicious!

Seeing Kristin Stewart, Richard Linklater and the guy from Sum 41 at the Driskill all within an hour.

Successful flask action.

Not driving.

Spending time with some of my favorite people from out of town.

Seeing Austin try to be a “big city”…cute.

No:

Drive By Truckers. Ugh, DNW.

Hostile concert people in the crowd at Broken Social Scene.

Walking from Stubbs to 18th & Lavaca before we could get a cab. AHHHH!

Too cold on Saturday. Then stood in line for over an hour as someone’s +1 at Perez Hilton party. That had to end. kthxbye! hahaha

Overall traffic, lines and exclusivity. But that’s SXSW and the city that logistically fails to accommodate. Oh well.

Yes

Sandra Bullock in Marchesa

I don’t normally like her movies or her style, but she looked beautiful! Everything was so polished. Her earrings were simple. I loved that she didn’t overaccessorize. The gown is sleek. Her makeup is classic. Hair is so SHINY! Mad she won the Oscar, but it’s good she showed up looking like she knew she would win.

Cameron Diaz in Oscar de la Renta

I just like the dress. It’s pretty. Not trying to take over the world. Don’t really care for Cameron…I guess her hair looks nice. I thought her earrings looked like plugs from afar. Overall, great job!

No

Mariah Carey in Valentino

I know it’s not cheap because it’s haute couture, but it still looks cheap-ish to me. I’ve never liked dresses with big garish jeweled pieces on them. Plus she had on so much jewelry on top of that…big earrings, bracelets, rings. It’s too much. The color looks like it should be on an old woman. The cut, especially at the bottom, bothers me. Cute shoes though.

Carey Mulligan in Prada

It’s not that I abhor her gown. I actually do not. And great shoes. I give Carey the “no” mostly because I think she has so much potential to be fabulous. I don’t like that she’s ripping off Mia Farrow’s hair cut. I think she looked better in “An Education” with longer, dark hair. The beading and cut of the dress, plus the bold hair just makes it too much. Cant’ get behind the overall look.

Too bad

Jennifer Lopez and Amanda Seyfried in Armani

Their dresses are both okay. Very much similar. JLo seems to have chosen a fussier version of Amanda’s dress. They both look like they’re made from those expandable garbage bags.

I started wearing makeup when I was about 13..it’s disturbing to think of the amount of money I’ve spent on beauty products over the past 10 years. However, I don’t regret any of it. To me, it’s always been fun to play with make up, hair, my nails, etc. My make up style has changed over the years, but I’ve definitely developed favorite products that I don’t stray from. I will share…

Urban Decay Primer Potion $18.00 – I’ve tried a few different eye primers, but none compete with Urban Decay.  It makes almost any eyeshadow go on more evenly, the color is more vivid and the application lasts much longer. No creasing either! I went on for years thinking my eyeshadow didn’t stand out enough. I have deep set eyes, so it’s sometimes hard to see eyeshadow on them. This fixed my problem.

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara ~$5.00 – This is no secret. Best mascara ever. I’ve had a few others in my life time, but this has been a staple since high school. Recommended in “Blackest Black”. And it’s cheap!

Stila Smudge Pot $20.00 – I lined my eyes with pencil until about half way through college. Then I started using gel eyeliner–the kind you paint on with a little brush. It makes your eye makeup look more defined and exact. I started out with Smashbox Cream Eyeliner. It got kinda clumpy after awhile. It wasn’t as precise as I thought it should be. I tried Stila Smudge Pot (black) and haven’t turned back. It’s still difficult for me to get two perfectly matched lines across my eyes, but I prefer it over anything else. Winged eyeliner is essential–my favorite eye makeup. The only thing I don’t love about the Smudge Pot is that the product seems to dry really fast. It almost hardens and sets, so it makes it challenging to go back and fix mistakes. On the positive side, this stuff stays on! I’ve gone to bed with it on after a long night out and it’s still perfectly drawn on the next morning.

NARS Orgasm Blush $26.00 – I didn’t wear blush for a long time because I worried I’d look like a clown since my skin is so light. However, I’d always heard/read this is the best blush for all skin tones. Now I wear it every day; it’s hard to mess up. I apply most of it right on the apples of my cheeks. It makes my face feel balanced and glowy.

MAC Lip Conditioner $14.50 – I thought the lady in the MAC store was just trying to get me to buy another product, but it’s actually been the best lip product I’ve used! I’m VERY picky about lip products. Carmex is great–I have a tube of Carmex Strawberry that I apply at work, but it goes on too thin and slips off quickly. I also have a little pot of “Balmania” (gift from a friend) that coats very well, but I usually wear it to bed because it’s too thick. Also, it leaves no sheen. MAC’s product goes on lightly, but stays on! And it adds some shine. If you choose to wear lipstick over it (the reason I bought it) it keeps the lipstick in place and gives you moisture underneath. I find many lipsticks to be drying and they cause my lips to crack. This helps to fix that problem.

Smashbox Lip Gloss Fire ~$15.00 – I stole this tiny gloss from my sister a couple years ago, hahaha. It’s sheer, but gives a dark enough tint. I like to wear with over red lip liner when I don’t feel like wearing red lipstick (my favorite look). Unfortunately while researching the color, it seems to not be sold directly by Smashbox anymore. I’m almost out.

Chance Chanel $115.00/3.4oz - My first perfume…very well may be my only perfume. I started wearing it when I was about 17. I wore Marc Jacobs’ signature fragrance for a year (2009) but I realized it was a mistake and have gone back to Chance. I think it mixes well with my own scent. I can always smell it on my clothes at the end of the day. The reason I stopped wearing it for a year was because I thought it was too common.* I’d always hear of other people wearing it which makes it less appealing. But I get enough compliments on it and enjoy it enough myself to stick with it.

*Picked up pizzas from the cute guy at the pizza shop and he asks what my perfume is because it smells quite nice. Flattered (lame), I tell him it’s Chance by Chanel. He says he thinks that’s what his girlfriend wears. “BOO to you!” But it’s still a lovely scent!

Ponds Cold Cream ~$5.00 – I started using this recently at the suggestion of my sister’s very sophisticated and beauty-savvy friend. I’d never found a cheap make up remover that I liked. I used mineral oil or Vaseline for a while, but the oil was messy/greasy and the Vaseline was sometimes too thick for quick removal. Cold Cream (contains mineral oil) is super-emollient, a good consistency for quick removal, doesn’t irritate the eyes at all and leaves the sensitive skin around the eyes very hydrated. Women have been using variations of it for almost 2000 years. I usually trust a classic product.

Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer SPF 15 ~$11.00 – I didn’t wear moisturizer until a couple months ago. Growing up I had normal-oily combination skin. I was terrified of moisturizer. Since my teen years my skin has become more regulated and actually dries out in certain places. After too many days of flaky skin this winter season I decided I’d try moisturizer. Cetaphil is a trusted brand for skin care (and affordable). The moisturizer hasn’t caused any pimples to sprout. I wear it overnight. It makes my skin feel so smooth when I wake up. I don’t know why I was so scared for all those years.

Essie Nail Polish Really Red $8.00 – I love red nail polish (and lipstick). Essie is my favorite brand of polish and this is their BEST color. Goes on smooth and lasts long. What more could I ask for? Perfect nail polish in both formula and shade.

***Credit to Megan B. for discussion/feedback/ideas. Thank you! : )

If you were not aware…it’s Children’s Authors & Illustrators Week. (Each morning at work my friend and I tell each other what quirky holiday it is, what day in history, famous people’s birthdays, etc. This web site is my main resource.) Today we talked about the books we loved from our childhood.

My favorite “series” books were definitely The Berenstain Bears and Little Critter. The two series are pretty similar, both involved families of animals that wear human clothes and talk. The family consists of a mom, dad, brother and sister. And there’s probably a grandma in the picture, too. There’s always a problem/situation and solution/lesson and everyone is happy. Kinda like an animal/children’s book version of Full House. These crazy animals…the cover illustrations make me LOL.

As a really, really little kid I loved Eric Carle books. The Very Hungry Caterpillar was obviously awesome and inspired at least one class project in kindergarten. The illustrations were beautiful; I’d love to have some Eric Carle artwork at home.

I liked the Madeline books…though really I cared much more for the style of illustration and setting of the book. The stories were just okay. Apparently a common misconception about the series is that the girls are at an orphanage. How sad, they’re really just at boarding school.

Strega Nona was so important! My Dad used to love to read it to us since it took place in Italy. I think by the time I was seven I had most of it memorized. I even brought it to school to “share” with the class. For some reason we used to discuss to shortcomings of Big Anthony a lot. I think my parents were probably just trying to reinforce his failure and dopiness, haha.

“Bubble, bubble pasta pot. Boil me some pasta nice and hot. I’m hungry and it’s time to sup. Boil me enough pasta to fill me up.” -Strega Nona

Miss Nelson Is Missing was a favorite. I loved the pictures of Viola Swamp. She was 100% more interesting than Miss Nelson. I always feared a substitute as horrible as Swamp.

I don’t know if it was just me, but I LOVED illustrations of food as a kid. My sister and I used to try to imagine what everything would be made out of if the world consisted of food. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs was surely a winner because of all this. I specifically remember pictures of pancakes being airlifted or something. It would have been ridiculous to go to the town of Chewandswallow. I never saw the movie they made–I just don’t think it could live up to what I want it to be. Apparently they made a sequel to the book called Pickles To Pittsburgh. I’m skeptical.

I don’t like poetry at all but as a kid I loved the Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein books of poems…New Kid On The Block, Something BIG Has Been Here, Where The Sidewalk Ends, A Light In The Attic, Falling Up. Geez, the new kid was so scary and mean looking.

This was one of my absolute favorite poems. As a six-year-old I thought it was hilarious.

“I Wonder Why Dad Is So Thoroughly Mad”

I wonder why Dad is so thoroughly mad,
I can’t understand it at all,
unless it’s the bee still afloat in his tea
or his underwear, pinned to the wall.

Perhaps it’s the dye on his favorite tie,
or the mousetrap that snapped in his shoe,
or the pipefull of gum that he found with his thumb,
or the toilet, sealed tightly with glue.

It can’t be the bread crumbled up in his bed,
or the slugs someone left in the hall,
I wonder why Dad is so thoroughly mad,
I can’t understand it at all.

Oh, and for longer books I loved Roald Dahl (Matilda, The BFG) and Louis Sachar (Sideways Stories From Wayside School).

Those are my selections.

Today I took a nap before going to the gym, then during my sleep I dreamed that I went to the gym. I got there wearing flip flops, a very loose nightgown and my robe. I didn’t think there was anything strange about it when I first got there. Then I noticed that the machines were all moved around. I went to my normal spot but it was the wrong machine. I noticed someone I knew…I suddenly got embarrassed because of who they were…someone I had been very close to. I got on the machine and started running and realized I was wearing a robe and was about to trip on it. I took it off and worried my nightgown would leave me exposed and unsupported. It was so AWKWARD. I don’t remember the rest. Maybe I’m having some unresolved awkward feelings in my life right now. Or maybe I just feel subconsciously self-conscious at the gym. I love weird dreams.

Though it was weeks ago when I first saw it, it’s still been on my mind…Air’s music video for “Sing Sang Sung” off their new album Love 2. I like to watch it every few days. There are always new things I notice. The video reminds me of pinball mixed with Super Mario mixed with some kind of hallucination. My favorite parts are:

• mouth that eats the ball and pops it out
• tapping shoe
• cake with dripping frosting and cherries
• beautiful floating diamonds
• singing profiles
• mass of eyeballs

I can feel this music video as I watch it. It’s not often that a truly enjoy animations, but this is definitely one of my favorites. (Blah, I can’t find any videos that will embed, but go watch it on YouTube. Worth it!)

Since the beginning of the year I’ve been watching the TV series Six Feet Under at the recommendation of a co-worker who let me borrow the first two seasons. I was quickly absorbed by the first season and have continued on with the second. It’s no Mad Men but it’s engaging and has kept my interest so far. The setting and even some of the plots aren’t what really hook me. I love the characters. My favorite, by far, is the matriarch, Ruth. Her spurts of emotion are hilarious. There’s some part of her personality I can identify with. When I first saw her I thought she was totally boring. She’s so plain and modest looking. But then I realized how beautiful she is. I want long hair when I’m older. (I’ll have long , GRAY hair.) My other thought about the show is Michael C. Hall’s character, David Fisher. I’d first seen Michael  C. Hall as Dexter. After comparing the two character, I actually prefer him as a gay undertaker. Hmmm…

This past week I watched Me and You and Everyone We Know. The main character was too much of a cliché but was still cute enough to make me smile. I thought she could have been any quirky indie type character that Zooey Deschanel would play in a movie, but I think this came out before Zooey became the star of every indie type rom com. My favorite part of the movie was the “poop back and forth” story line.

It’s not a life-changing movie, but I found it well worth my time and strange enough to keep my interest. Miranda July wrote, directed and acted (main character) in it. And one quick fact from Wikipedia:

*Roger Ebert cited the film as the 5th best film of the decade.

I got a subscption to the New Yorker for Christmas. I’d often buy a copy when I needed something to read in the airport. The articles always impressed me and I love what they decide to write about. It seems like every time I get an issue there are stories relating to subjects I’ve just talked about with other people. I want to rip them out and send them to friends. The downside is that the writing really intimidates me. I could only wish to ever write that well. And it’s weekly! And the cartoons make me laugh. Though every time I think about New Yorker cartoons I remember the Seinfeld where Elaine desperately tries to get one published and no one really even knows why any of them are funny.

My fav cartoon from the most recent issue. LOL at the lady's rotten face.

Other things on my radar:

-The new Magnetics Fields album “Realism”.

-Jim Cramer (Dad is requesting that I read his book “Real Money” as preparation for my future investing.)

-Movies about ballet—I have a fascination with ballerinas. I think in another life where I have longer legs and less boobs I’d definitely be a ballerina.

This is the most I’ve ever enjoyed lunch. Rather, going out to lunch with my co-workers. It allows me to try new restaurants while escaping the confines of my cube. Almost every day the conversation between Nickie (friend/co-worker) and I turns to food. We can schedule places to eat lunch based on our weekly cravings. It’s also helpful that we spend the day researching construction in Texas, which means it’s not uncommon for us to find out about new restaurants opening in Austin.

Last week we went to the new “Cajun Pizza Place” at McNeil & 183. What seems to set it apart from any other pizza joint in a strip mall is that many of their pizzas come with shrimp, jalapeños and/or Cajun seasoning. Steaming out of the oven it was delicious. Our pizza was “Andy’s Favorite” with shrimp, hamburger, pepperoni, onion and jalapeño. However, the next day the leftovers were kinda raunchy. It probably didn’t help that I ate it for breakfast. I’d go back, but sparingly.

Today I tried “Mighty Fine Burgers“. Eh. There wasn’t really anything wrong with it, but nothing really stood out either. I had the junior cheeseburger. The meat seemed really fresh; there were lots of fresh vegetables on it too. I liked that. The burger alone came to $4.30-something. I thought it seemed a little overpriced. I mean, it’s probably better than a Whataburger (love them) but it wasn’t any better than P. Terry’s. And a P. Terry’s junior cheeeeezeburger is less than $4.30-whatever. Right??? I didn’t get any fries because I heard they’re bland-o.

Another thing about Mighty Fine…but not related to the food…they have an extremely weird mirror situation going on. We sat next to this huge mirror. It was next the to the entrance to the restrooms. But it was a two-way mirror. I could vaguely make out the shape of a sink through the glass. My co-worker went in and told us he could have looked through the glass at us while he was peeing. Why? Why would you design a restaurant like this? At least the men are facing away from the dining area when they’re at the urinals in there, but GROSS! I want to know what the point is. The mirror is also a little upsetting because if you’re a woman in a short skirt sitting or standing too close to that perv mirror someone could totally see things. Maybe tomorrow at work I’ll try to look up which architect designs the Mighty Fines and give him/her a call about these awkward mirrors.

Friday we’re headed to the NEW Torchy’s Tacos location in NW Austin. For months Nickie and I had been wondering why there wasn’t a Torchy’s location up north. I think we actually squealed when our boss told us the new one was opening close to the office. I’m know I’m going to have a taco stomachache on Friday afternoon. Yum.