dance tonight...

i love this song and video.  it's so simple, yet so fun.  plus, the video's got natalie portman.  and i like how the mailman invites himself in and asks for a cup of tea after he delivers the mandolin:

brilliant!

why so serious?

i leave for new york in less than 3 weeks!  and i realize that the next 3 years will be very different from the past 4.  this is it for me.  this is my time to prove myself.  yes, it's scary--i've said that before--but i'm looking forward to it.  in contrast to what i feel now, my outlook at duke was very different.  i suppose i would describe it as "casual."  i was more focused on other things than my classes, which on one hand is good but on the other hand you generally go to a university like duke to be a student first.  of course, i don't regret how i set my priorities at duke.  but now, things are different.  time to get serious.

currently listening to ray lamontagne.

and here...we...GO...

just watched the dark knight.  it was good--a fast 2.5 hours--and intense!  but it was also quite dark, and ultimately, i left depressed.  heath ledger truly disappears into his role with frightening results.  posthumous oscar nomination indeed.  the plot and character development for the joker were brilliant, as well.  on the other hand, i felt that christian bale overdid the batman voice.  it just sounded to me like he was forcing it too much, more so than in the previous film.  and that batpod...nice new toy i suppose, but it sure is ugly.  speaking of new toys...

the macbook air:

unfortunately, it's my father's, with whom negotiations to trade with me proved futile.

nuts.

if i were a television character...

i suppose i would be monk:

he's so delightfully OCD.  but i've been thinking...OCD should be reordered to be CDO so that the letters are in alphabetical order...like they should be.

creativity is overrated...

"creativity is the art of hiding your source."

--coco chanel

"the mediocre artist borrows, the great artist steals."

--pablo picasso

well, coco chanel and pablo picasso certainly were great artists, although i don't consider fashion an art as it's something that is ultimately discarded.  obviously, these quotes are a bit of overstatement, but they get the point across.  genuine innovation is not easy.  nobody alive today invented sleeves, for instance. we all have 2 arms, we need 2 sleeves.  as far as i'm concerned, i design with both form and function in mind.  we'll see what happens from there.

also, i am learning arabic...or how to write it, at least.  it's such a beautiful script...except not when i write it...not yet.  something many of you may not know about me is that i love islamic art.  in one of my art classes back in high school, i had a muslim classmate from whom i learned that muslims are not allowed to draw humans in any form because they believe that only God can create humans.  as a result, islamic art developed using primarily geometric shapes and patterns.  many of these are very beautiful and intricate, and i've been experimenting with incorporating some of these elements into some of my designs.  i hope homeland security doesn't get the wrong idea, as i have been on some arabic websites as of late.  please don't arrest me.

ONE MONTH UNTIL NEW YORK!

man, they don't make 'em like this anymore...

my summer has slowed down now and is the reason for my now weekly posts.  i apologize. landscaping has finally begun on the house.  we have BIG plans for both the front and back yards. and since i sadly have no job or other obligations this summer, i've been tasked with overseeing the work and making sure the workers do their job properly, which i suppose is an unfortunately necessary but terribly boring precaution, primarily because i can't leave the house.  to pass the time more enjoyably, i've been reading several books--some good, some regrettable.  perhaps i'll post my thoughts on some of the good ones later.  in an interesting side note, i apparently look like i'm 12 according one of the workers.

anyway.

to make matters worse, i even won't have a car for the next few weeks because my mother got into a accident the other day. thankfully, it was a minor one, but while her car is being fixed, she's driving my father's car and he's driving my car.  sigh...i was planning on getting a haircut and making it out to the contemporary arts museum some time this week, too.

even though the damage to the body appears minor, the fact is that the engine fan that sits directly behind the grill was damaged enough to cause it to stop working.  the result of which was that while my father was driving it to the shop, it overheated, causing me to have to pick him up.  while we were waiting for the tow truck to arrive, i walked into a curious home accessories store nearby called modern worth, and  i must say i was pleasantly surprised.  my favorite item was probably these bar soaps from portugal.  now you may be thinking, what's so special about soap?  as a germaphobe and self-proclaimed connoisseur of hygienic products,  a lot of things.

for one, these bars are more than twice as large as your standard dove or ivory springs bar. bigger soap, bigger cleaning power; it's a fact--everybody knows.  ever try to take a proper shower when your bar soap's become smaller than the size of your thumb?  exactly!  recipe for disaster, let me tell you.  these soaps are advertised to last at least 3 times as long as your ordinary bar, and they're milled seven times so they won't crack or split, which is very important for a soap bar.

also, the soaps come in 16 fragrances and are packaged in these rather ornamental wrapping papers that, for the more creatively inclined, could be put towards other uses.  you can check them out for yourself here.  apparently, they made it onto oprah's list of favorite things. truthfully, i never thought much about oprah.  i suppose most people would say she has good taste.

i have good taste, too.

independence day...

my family spent at least 8 hours a day this past three day weekend decorating the house--or rather, shopping for things to decorate the house with.  it was more tiring that i would have anticipated.  yet, not a single room is complete.  finding the right furniture and accessories takes time!  especially for a family with such specific tastes as mine.  as hard as it may be to believe, my parents are just as picky as i am.  some of you have asked for some pictures of the house.  i'll post them when we're finished!

in other news, it's interesting how gas prices influence behavior these days.  i used to jump in my car and go wherever i wanted to.  now, i find myself planning my errands more carefully so as to use the least amount of gas possible.  crazy?  nowadays, not so much.  how the times have changed.  i'm SO glad i won't need a car in new york.  speaking of new york, FIT has given me $6,500.00 in financial aid (out-of-state tuition is $5,121.00) but no housing yet.  i called residential life today and was told that even though i applied late, they were "very confident" they could accommodate me by the end of july. end of july?!  perhaps it's time to start looking for apartments...and planes tickets, too.  i register for classes on august 11.  oh, dear...

oh, one more thing: don't send any more e-mails to my duke account.  you can check my facebook profile for my current addresses.