. . . Pre Paper Writing "Quick" Blog . . .

Hello.
So, I should be writing a paper right now, but I'm getting this out of the way.

My bathroom light has been broken for the past two weeks, so I haven't been able to take any pictures for my blog (yes, thats my excuse).

This is a old picture.

Life has been hectic, and I'm debating whether or not to desert NYC again this weekend.

I found a new meditation today besides my free yoga classes. I sat in Washington Sq. Park for over 2 hours this afternoon, it was warm and sunny today. It has this awesome fountain that has steps in the inside, so you can sit and put your feet in the water. I sat there trying to do work, but ended up talking to some guy about life and college and he told me to "Always purse my dreams, whatever they are". Good advice I'd have to say. He told me about the "love affair" he has with Washington Sq., unfortunately for me I found this park quite late in the year, and these warm sunny days most likely won't last long, so my love affair will have to wait until next year...for now its only lust...

Wearing- Free People orange long-sleeve shirt (Daffeys $16 (?)), sweater vest (Sal. Army $4), necklace (Sal. Army $5)...
Oh and I just got these shoes --->

(Philly $29.99)

&

I really want these shoes:

Unfortunately these "Jeffrey Campbell 99 Zip Wedges" are not in my price range.

*Cough*Cough* Holidays are around the corner =]

Well I'm off to write my paper. Wish me luck.

Hello My Name Is: Procrastination

OSCAR WILDE

Listening to: The sounds of the city . . .

I was reading my homework and came across this idea-
"the worst slave-owners were those who were kind to their slaves, and so prevented the horror of the system being realized by those who suffer from it...", he goes on to say that "the people who do most harm are the people who try to do most good".

Its kind of scary, but it made me think.

Stressed out About my Future [arent we all?!]

I’ll really try to not make this a history lesson, and I’m sorry if it becomes one, it may not be interesting to all, but I found it REALLY amazing.

I decided I had to write a blog, I literally just got out of my "Cities in a Global Imaginary" class and am slightly depressed.  We were discussing our readings for this week, which discussed the travel over time from modernism to post-modernism. Last class I felt like I knew which one was the better one, now I’m stumped.

Modernism- designing for the good of all and thinking about the bigger picture rather then personal or individual satisfaction. Some thing that came out of modernism is public housing. A modernist architect and city planner named Robert Moses, who built the BQE, thought it would be best to make an expressway going through NYC to help get people from work back to their homes on Long Island (“b/c that’s were everyone must live”). That was totally shot down of course. Modernism was the old idea that cities were for work and only work. In the modernist idea a city is made of a living area, a working area, a shopping area, and a eating area, these places are separate and do not mix. Some critiques of the modernist movement- it created single use spaces, didn’t allow for diversity, it was boring, and that different modernists ideas around what was best for the whole, weren’t actually really best for the whole.

Post Modernism (or PoMo)- designing for individual pleasure, rather then thinking about how things will work together in the end. Also it started the design of multi-use spaces, like most cities today (you can find people living above a clothing store, next to a supermarket and down the street form where they work) and was said to allow for diversity. 

Earlier this week I was just sure that PoMo was the better way to go, until today.

We discussed some of its critiques of PoMo today; it’s too much for the individual, different groups of people become lost its design. Also it totally changed our consumption habits, because things were now being created for pleasure. Places like the “Baltimore Harbor” or “South Street Seaport” were solely designed to make shopping a recreation. Entertainment districts were the new things in cities; they brought in a shit load of money! And they changed how we consume. 

This led to an even scarier thing! It changed they way we perceive class. Class went from being “working class”, a thing that people got from their jobs to only about money, how you spend it and what you own. This shows the new post modern idea that the things we buy actually say something about us, rather then the modern idea that we buy things because we need them, that our sweater is actually keeping us warm rather then giving us a “class” because its either a no-name brand or a Ralph Lauren.

What’s even sadder about this is that since the new city is based around consumption, there are entire groups of people that become invisible, people without money. Advertisements are not trying to get them to buy things, they are not being marketed too, and it enforces this new idea of class.

That’s when I broke down. I literally was brought to tears in class, and after writing this I plan to call my mom and cry. HOW CAN I CARE SO MUCH ABOUT FASHION AND CARE ABOUT MAKING CITIES A BETTER PLACE?! They are two hugely contradicting things! I spent so much of my life wanting to become a fashion designer, and caring about what I wear (even if it was bought for $3 in a thrift store) and now for the past couple of years I started caring about people, cities and equality, for God’s sake I was thinking of double majoring in Urban Studies and Fashion design….This just cant be!

Hello My Name Is: Utterly Lost In The World!

Dorm Room Wars- Part 1 -Listening to: Blueprint 3

Dorm life is not that bad! I was just trying to think of a grasping title. Its actually been alright lately, but I'll write more about that later.

Talk around NYC lately- Birthdays, oh my gosh, you wouldn't believe how many Libra's there are...I guess it kind of makes sense since Valentines day is about 8 months prior. It was my suitemates 18th birthday this past Sunday, also my mothers, grandmothers, brothers, 2 other classmates and not to mention I'm sure a bunch of my friends on Facebooks birthdays. Well, Happy Birthday (especially my family members)!

So, for the past week and a half my dorm has been working out some regular dorm problems: visitors, not visitors, washing dishes, cleaning in general, homework etc. And now that much of it has been worked out I noticed how proud my mother would be of me, I have truly become a master planner, and am truly my mothers daughter (daddy I love you too!). I planned a dorm meeting last week, which went pretty successful, we worked out and typed up some guidelines (cough*cough rules) as well as made a cleaning schedule. Then this week, while talking to my dad on the phone I typed up a "Visitor Guide" for my roommate, "C", so I would be able to go back to having one roommate rather than a adopted second roommate, C's boyfriend. Not to mention, yesterday, when it was my day to clean the dorm, after I finished I typed a list up of "How To Clean The Dorm", with a thorough outline of where, what, and how to clean. As I said, my mother would be proud---- The three typed "guidelines" are printed, somewhat color coded and taped to the door and cabinets and the cleaning schedule is written on our calendar.  I actually laughed a little while taping the lists up, because I know I have given my mom such a hard time for her list making and typing of everything, but what can I say. Happy Birthday Mom!

As for my dorm room, I have had actually privacy so far this week and its been amazing, although I wish I would be a little more productive with my time...I will work on it!

Funny dorm room story- The funniest thing happened last night, I know I have mention my roommate and her panda bears before, well last night guess what came in the mail!?

Yep, that humongous brand new panda bear, thank-you C's boyfriend. The medium one seemed big before yesterday, the new ones head is maybe a little more then 3 feet in diameter! They all live together in a box under her bed, because they are much to big to fit on the bed with her.

Well I really can't complain.

Fashion (this picture is actually from tis weekend)... Wearing- light blue sweater with pearl and sequined collar  ( $6 Sal, Army), black t-shirt (free- garbage dove for it last week, YES its washed), legging jeans ($20 Forever21), black platform heels ($30 Barefeetshoes), and jewelry of course.

"Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door."
-CoCo Chanel

Analyze that.    [find a door instead]

Hello My Name Is: Ms. Organization! (Jocelyn)

Free Yoga & Dumpster Diving

This blog is really about yesterday... I would of written then but, life gets busy.

Talk Around NYC- Well Wednesdays are when it seems like all the New Yorkers around me put their trash out, so as the day goes on, you see more and more people walking around with really random things. I know that these New Yorkers aren't actually talking to me, but I'm sure they are talking somewhere about all of the crazy free stuff they found in the garbage.

My Day-  Started off average...THEN...I was walking down 12th St. and ran into my aunt, just think of that, in the middle of Manhattan and running into someone you know. I'm serious, it wasn't planned or anything! Being from Philly I was use to the feeling, but I haven't felt it in quite some time and it was AmazinG! And even better, running into family (rather then some random other person you know) means free lunch! Yay! Well, I would actually be lying to say that the free lunch was better than just seeing her, but it was definitely a bonus.

Class was nice, we did peer reviews of our papers...and I have to say that I still haven't looked over what my classmate has written (I guess maybe I'm a little nervous, not really of her bashing it, but that I was to hard on hers).

The day gets better...

7 PM- I went to a basketball game that my roommate was playing in. We won!

8:30- The game was over and I convinced my roommate (suite-mate actually) and two of our friends (guys) to go to FREE yoga with me! My first time at yoga, and let me tell you! My body was killing me this morning, but it was sensational, the yoga that is.

9- The four of us just made it to "Yoga for the People" 9 O'clock class, awkwardly found spots for our mats and started the grueling stretches. After the hour long class, i truthfully felt so at peace. Also I felt taller and focused (on what I don't know). --- I am warning family and friends now: If you visit me I am dragging you to free yoga, there's no excuse you can come up with that will work!

10:20- Walking relaxed and tall down 3rd Ave. and we all go get frozen yogurt (FROYO!) ---- Warning #2- If you come and visit me, we are getting Froyo! Mmmmmm

10:50- Just as we get back in the dorm "C" comes in and tells us we have to go back outside now, because there's amazing garbage bags full of clothing outside of the thrift store on our block.

11- 12:30- Free Clothes! Haha, most of it was nothing, but today I actually wore a pair of pants that I found and washed last night (I'll picture later I'm sure...)

When we finally got back to the dorm for good, and I took a shower, I seriously couldn't stop smiling! All alone in the shower, I felt like I couldn't smile big enough, so I ended up smiling with my mouth open, just to try to smile bigger. I laughed to myself, and listened to my new friends sitting in our little kitchen.... This was what I have been waiting for my entire life.

Last week after my melt down my week actually got a lot better. I called my mom later in the week (Thursday I think) and I was telling her about my dream. It was about my boyfriend, which made sense because he was coming to visit on Friday and I was soooooo excited. But in my dream I was mad at him. Anyways the dream isn't really what was important, it was more how I felt in the dream. I felt really overwhelmed, stressed, but in a positive way.
Its really hard to explain because when you think of those words, stressed and overwhelmed, they are pretty opposite from anything positive. But I was happy stressed, I was overwhelmed with how happy I was....If that makes any sense.

Well, I think I've been waiting to feel that way for a long long long time.

I'm writing to much, sorry.

Wearing- (I was going to sleep) My boyfriends t-shirt (priceless!), my grandmothers pajama pants (also priceless), slippers (from Guatemala, ?$? ), and bracelets of course =]

--- Overwhelmed with happiness, its possible??? ---

Hello My Name Is: Placid (thanks yoga)

Pissed Right Now. Listening To- Nothing...

Hello
The Talk Around NYC- Well at least in my neighborhood, it was that Clinique was giving free makeover, hairstyles, and pictures taken by profesional photographers. Sounded like fun so I went and stood in line for about a half an hour, got some free samples, found out that it was all to enter a Teen Vogue contest, did it anyway, and don't really like the pictures they took, but all in all it was alright.

Life-So, I'm pissed. I thought I was going to have a great day today...but truthfully I felt something in my stomach, that felt like it was telling me this day really wasn't going to be so great. I woke up regular time, and instead of class we had a simple tour of the library. Finished there and walked to Union Square to see how long the line was for the makeover, wasn't too bad and I didnt have much else to do so I did that. Then I walked to Kmart, wiped off the lipgloss the makeup artist put on me (too much for daytime) and returned these plastic containers that I bought yesterday and were broken! While at Kmart I bought my roommate a shelf so she could stop living out of a cardboard box (I asked her and she said she wanted it and would pay me back if I got it, so it wasnt sheer niceness). Walked back to the dorm with the shelf in a box that weighed a ton. I guess around here was were my day started to turn. My plan was to come right back to the dorm and work on things I hadnt finished yet, its now 9pm and I havent started yet.

I guess I'm just feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with people telling me their overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with things not working out how I want them to. Overwhelmed with wasting time.... I don't even know.

Ok, things were still going okay, I cleaned, ate, put up pictures on my wall. Then, I'm sitting at my desk and I look down at my extension cord and my lamps plug just flares (like a electrical shock) and then stops, and I try to turn it on and of corse its broken. Oh and my mail finally comes and the text book I've been waiting for and paid $50 for came and WASN'T a text book. It was some "Access Card", that I can do absolutely nothing with. It really sucks though, because the guy who sold it to me made it seem like it really was a textbook, so I wrote him a sobby email, hopefully it will work. Thats not all, "C" got home at 8:30 and told me she is actually going to make a shelf instead of buying one, so my pain was in vain after all.

A neighbor in my dorm, asked me what I did to anger the Gods today, I really dont know. But I'm sorry!

I think I'm on overload right now, which is ashame because I even went home this weekend...

I promise I wont have many posts complaining about my life, but I needed this one.

Fashion-

F**K....You have to be kidding me, as I'm just sitting here writing my blog my [new] mirror just fell off of my door and broke!!!!!!!!!! I'm not even lying right now.

Wearing: shirt w/ a lion on it (thrift store, originally Saks- $15), leggings ($10), black boots (same as before).......to angry to do this right now.

Hello My Name Is: F.M.L.! (Jocelyn)

Rain, Listening To: Kid Cudi "A Kid Named Kudi"

Cloudy in NYC today, you'd be surprised how even in a city like this, with so many people, it still gets pretty quiet on cold rainy days. I finished class at 11:20ish and walked back to my dorm, and am enjoying a little piece of mind at the moment: only person here.

Roommate story- My roommate, who I will refer to as "C", is from Cali. She is really sweet, as well as smart, determined, clean, on-top of her work, you know all of the good roommate qualities =] I'm very lucky! But, of course, everyones a little quirky---> her and her boyfriend have these panda stuffed animals, I almost feel as though i should capitalize panda because they are basically their children. And her boyfriend visits everyday, because he is also attending college in "the big city", and they talk to these pandas like they are babies. So cute & hilarious! I dont think I can say much more on this topic, besides, imagine these too, literally speaking in baby voices to these panda stuffed animals, 24/7, (I think I'm starting to speak like them a little) hahahha! I love C!

Fashion- Again had trouble getting dressed presentably today, although I did sleep amazingly compared to prior nights (thank-you room divider!) Wearing: cashmere sweater (grandmother hand-me-down =] ), jeans (less than $20, from somewhere), black boots (they aren't actually as shiny as they look. eternity fashion $cheap), little black bag ( $5 Sal Arm), & jewelry.

Pictures of my new ROOM DIVIDER (...I know I'm too excited about this...)-

Yay!

Thought- Urban environments (cities) seem to come up with characteristics either of fear, danger or excitement. The idea of cities being dangerous places started all the way back when cities started growing and being the main hubs of so much of what America is... it's the fear of the new. There was this rise of large masses of people moving out of small towns to huge cities. There were deaths happening that weren't just from old age, rather they were people getting hit by trains, trolley-cars, and people dying in tenement housing. So early on cities were "tagged" with this idea of danger and peril. People became over stimulated with this danger, it was in their everyday lives and they read it in the news... Then they watched it in film, now we see it in everything: movies, music, everyday, news, advertising and tv. People seem to have been so overstimulated by these emotions that they've become normal. What do you think?

Hello My Name Is: Freshmen (Jocelyn)