Ode to some good love songs

so this little write up is to discuss in small part something I have come to realize this past week. It all started when I loaded the music onto my new Itouch (aniv present from Christopher!!!). you see I put it on shuffle and realized now that it had like 8,000 times more space on it then my nano, and because I had not yet checked the "only put on music I check" option my iPod was now filled with all of this great music that I had not listened to for lack of digital space. well in this suffle I can across the song "Such Great Heights" by Postal Service, and realized I had not REALLY listened to it since Chris and I got together, and how now it resinated with me in a whole new way. Well I chalked it up to our relationship and that was that....
............until a few weeks later when I listened to "Passenger Seat" (When you feel embarrassed then i'll be your pride /When you need directions then i'll be the guide) I also had this reaction. This was again the case listening to Ben Gibbard live for NPR....the conclusion:

Ben Gibbard writes the perfect love songs. well perfect for me. I have always loved his very literal writing style and have always connected with them, but it is evident to me that being in love with all its smoushy, cheesy, sickening side effects, his music celebrates that the most and I wanted to take a little time and some blog space to celebrate some of his best love songs:

I'll be the grapes fermented,
Bottled and served with the table set in my finest suit
Like a perfect gentlemen
I'll be the fire escape that's bolted to the ancient brick
Where you will sit and contemplate your day

I'll be the waterwings that save you if you start drowning
In an open tab when your judgment's on the brink
I'll be the phonograph that plays your favorite
Albums back as you're lying there drifting off to sleep...
I'll be the platform shoes and undo what heredity's done to you...
You won't have to strain to look into my eyes
I'll be your winter coat buttoned and zipped straight to the throat
With the collar up so you won't catch a cold

I want to take you far from the cynics in this town
And kiss you on the mouth
We'll cut our bodies free from the tethers of this scene,
Start a brand new colony
Where everything will change,
We'll give ourselves new names (identities erased)
The sun will heat the grounds
Under our bare feet in this brand new colony
Everything will change, oOo oOo...
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"I Will Follow You Into The Dark"

Love of mine some day you will die
But I'll be close behind
I'll follow you into the dark

No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white
Just our hands clasped so tight
Waiting for the hint of a spark
If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the NOs on their vacancy signs

If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark

In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule
I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black
And I held my tongue as she told me
"Son fear is the heart of love"
So I never went back

If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the NOs on their vacancy signs

If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark

You and me have seen everything to see
From Bangkok to Calgary
And the soles of your shoes are all worn down
The time for sleep is now
It's nothing to cry about
'cause we'll hold each other soon
In the blackest of rooms

If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the No's on their vacancy signs

If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
Then I'll follow you into the dark
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The glove compartment is inaccurately named
And everybody knows it.
So i'm proposing a swift orderly change.

Cause behind its door there's nothing to keep my fingers warm
And all i find are souvenirs from better times
Before the gleam of your taillights fading east
To find yourself a better life.

I was searching for some legal document
As the rain beat down on the hood
When i stumbled upon pictures i tried to forget
And that's how this idea was drilled into my head

Cause it's too important
To stay the way it's been

There's no blame for how our love did slowly fade
And now that it's gone it's like it wasn't there at all
And here i rest where disappointment and regret collide
Lying awake at night

There's no blame for how our love did slowly fade
And now that it's gone it's like it wasn't there at all
And here i rest where disappointment and regret collide
Lying awake at night (up all night)
When i'm lying awake at night.

concert I cannot seem to download....sad face

ode to shopping

Hey everyone,
I realize today that I am again posting a polyvore set, but please understand that it is like legos to me….I just want to play!!

Not much is new with me….well ok that’s a lie. I moved. I am now living with my aunt in order to save some money…fun fun. Already I am knee deep in ecstasy over the hot water.

Ok so the set….this is my ode to thebowler bag. It is hella cute and I found it today when I was dream shopping in my “post-two-hours-of tax-meltdown-15- minute rest period”. LOVE IT!!! I should add I love the whole thing. It is a perfect out on the town all day outfit, ie strolling around the city or shopping at a plaza similar to the one I work at currently….oh right I got a job too….woot.

Other then that I am busy and tired….finals in a month…ahh

ode to Bowler by Alexandra114 featuring J Crew

Items in this set:
J Crew coat, $325
J Crew jacket, $88
GAP jeans, $70
GAP sweater, $40
Frye boots, $498

ten second break from Law

So Chris helping me move the other day, stumbling onto my writing journals from college has inspired me to dust off one of my interactive poems.
Brief history: inspired one day by all of those myspace questionnaires that were floating around, I wrote one day (I think around jr. year) a questionnaire that could be used to write a poem. The concept for me was that the list itself is the poem and that it forces the reader to interact with it, creating something unique to each reader, making it both personal to the reader and myself (ie, I dictate your poem but it is subject to the interpretation of the person reading). Here is one of my poems as well as my response to it (below. An interesting note is that in addition to every person reading the poem differently, it is different with every day too:

Super list poem
List two books you’ve read in the last month
List two singers by last name
List an article you read in the paper (can be an illusion to the subject)
Name a Johnny Depp film
Name a Cillian Murphy film
Name a foreign film
The last place you had an alcoholic beverage
What is your favorite word
Your favorite color, book, film today
A song title (as in the song that just got stuck in your head as soon as you read this line)
What is your favorite curse word and why
Add punctuation, prepositions and conjunctions

Cases and Materials on Patent Law and Johnny the Homicidal maniac
Ma Ross
Communism isn’t a bad enough word for Republicans anymore
The Man Who Cries, at the Edge of Love
Spain, the bar across the street
Disgruntled and Blue,
With Breakfast on Pluto and a Mission to Mars
Hang me up to dry, fuck,
because versatility is key.

Hurray!! That was Fun!!!

food stuffs

Ok I got bored working on Patent law so…for your viewing gastronomic pleasure….here are a few pictures of my latest culinary adventures. I’ve been taken pictures of these things do to both shameless selfish pride as well as a way to remember I made them and to add then to “the book”. If I had been prepared to put this online I would have added a picture of the book, which is titled “food porn” and has a suggestive picture of a large pair or lips eating a shrimp...it is me after all

From the top:
1. this is roast chicken which I stuffed with two limes. Chris loved it, and especially liked how I spiced the skin, which because I am M F ing awesome was crispy as a chip
2. This is a warm potato, soy bean, arugula salad with balsamic vinaigrette..nom
3. This is steak pasta salad with spinach. A Giada recipe, in this serving with whole wheat pasta, and the steak is rubbed with herb de province, garlic, and the dressing is a mustard vinaigrette similar to the kind my dad makes. Marilou and I made this one and it was very very good..though I may justrub herb de province on all my steak now cause DAMN
4. this is my ambitious sushi dinner. The picture is poor but your looking at salmon, veggie, and sweet potato tempura sushi rolls, cha su bow, tempura (green beans were ok, onion and sweet potato life changing) edemmame, wine…yeah it was awesome and for considerably less an investment by all my guests then a night out for the same spread
5. chicken again….apparently I liked it because I accidentally put it on here twice and am not tech savvy enough to figure out where its line of code ends and the next begins to erase it.
6. this was a blackbean corn dip I made in my mini le creuset dish that I loved and made up the recipe for the purpose of using it. (it was black beans, tough of cheese on top, red pepper flakes, corn…etc) and home made tortilla chip. not too bad though I feel it needs a little more umph

fall has fallen

I am knee deep in fall ladies and gentlemen, and I love it.
The leaves are changing, the temperature is pleasant, the fashions I love are in full swing. Alexandra has 20+ happiness points.
These are the things that make me really happy:
1. it’s boots time. this is good for many reasons, primarily I am obsessed with boots. They are one of the few things that never ever ever go out of style (though there are particular boots that come and go). They keep my legs warm, they are comfortable, they look sharp and most importantly they make me look hot!!
2. Apples: so far your humble author has already bought a half a peck of orchard fresh apples with which she has made a slamming pie and hot apple cider. This was just to start humble reader, I also plan on a puff pastry apple tart, baked apple, and apple salad, with walnut, blue cheese and awesome. Plus they taste good on their own
3. As I probably eluded to above, I am a cooking fiend. Now that I can turn on my oven without cooking myself in my apartment that is similar in size to an actual oven, I am cooking like I just learned how. So far on my roster of culinary feats is a whole Asian themed dinner (in which I made the sushi and tempura), steak au poivre, apple pie, jam…to name a few. Thursday my new adventure is a roast chicken (I have made this before but it is soooo tasty) deciding now it it will have a classic seasoning, or if I will make my lemon chicken with balsamic onions.
4. I can have people over without them choking in the heat. My sushi dinner was quite good. We have wine, salmon, veggie and sweet potato tempura sushi, tempura (pepper, green bean (not my favorite) onion (awesome) and sweet potato) edemmame (peanuts) and cha sue bow (sp)thanks to chris. It was FABULOUS

In other notes: I am heading to Philadelphia in three days, not only to see if it really is always sunny but to visit my friend Kate. I haven’t seen her in some time and I am very excited. On the itinerary: have a real phillie cheese, see some museums and go out and have fun.

In other news, this Monday Chris and I are celebrating our one year anniversary…gasp. I am thrilled! He is the one. and I am thrilled! Now I’m not sentimental; ask anyone. I am cynical, and angry, and at times rude to those who ramble about love like it had the same effects of LSD because I believe such sentiments are unlikely to do anything but disappoint (see romantic comedies are ruining the world, at the bottom of the page). And I was not proved wrong. I have met someone who compliments me in every way, makes me feel good when I’m sad, hurts me when we fight, will fight anyone else for me and who I have full and total faith in.. He knows how to make me smile, he knows how to make me laugh and when we are together I am free to be more myself then I ever thought I could. So eat it romantic comedies, real love is more beautiful and more worth celebrating

RD of article I felt like writting

Romantic Comedies are Ruining the World:
By Alexandra
Cinema enlightens us. Like great works of literature, music and national geographic before us, they allow us to experience aspects of life we would normally be unable to experience. But there is a dark side. And that dark side is the romantic comedy. Giving us unrealistic portrayals of love and life, making us see the merit in personalities that are detestable and leading to rejects of love through misinformation of its true forms, they are tearing apart the beauty of modern romance.
Love is as important an aspect of the human experience as easting, sleeping and paying taxes. It is one of the traits of man we feel makes us unique. But let us look at the typical romantic comedy and its attempt to depict this evolution. To Romantic comedies the evolution of love follows a story arch that suggests more pain and humiliation then any human should be meant to endure. Take they typical story arch:
Boy meets girl, boy and girl are happy together, some unfortunate event tares the apart (premising scheme revealed, etc) boy then goes to an extreme length to get her back subjecting himself to humiliation and pain. (ex: 10 things I hate about you, say anything (phil Collins)
The message is clear, if you want someone to love you and you are a women, they have to endure a gauntlet on some kind to deserve this affection. And if you are a man, you don’t have a chance of attaining love unless you are willing to take on such a trial. In what is a rehashed fairytale princess premise, we fulfill a girls childhood fantasy of being rescued from a tower, years after her maturity when such a puerile desire should have been outgrown. Rather then furnish any idea of merit in attaining your desires at your own hand, we are asking the modern women to bypass her own initiative and reward their potential mates for their affection with a slew of near impossible obstacles. Why punish someone for liking you? why is worthiness in need of proof? And is this an accurate test? Such behavior discourages the affection our cinematic counterparts would want us to believe it furnishes, the result detrimental.
In addition to these unrealistic hurdles, romantic comedies also want us to “fall in love” with people that are repugnant. Take an example to this point. See any romantic comedy staring Meg Ryan and you will see this female character: flightily, unreliable, prone to outbursts of mania, jealous, irrational. And all of these traits are meant to be viewed as charming, when in fact the real world counterpart is just annoying. I venture to say that no truly desirable women has ever been presented in film in any other capacity then the girl you leave at the alter for Meg Ryan despite that fact that she is dependable, nice, and financially secure. In this cinematic move to demonstrate that you need excitement and that breading and other seemingly innocuous traits don’t really matter, two things are accomplished. One is that truly desirable traits are downplayed as boring, setting up the assumption that in real life they are worthless as well despite the fact that they lay the groundwork for successful interpersonal relationships. And second, in some instances they seem to wage war on the desirability of head strong grounded women, who tend to be left behind for their more flightly co-stars.
And lastly, the romantic comedy seems to present love as an enigmatic force that changes lives, is worth fighting for, worth dying for etc etc. however, there are minimal depictions of relationships that are simply satisfying. In fact these relationships seem to be an example of distaste in the romantic comedy, the kind of relationship to be avoided. End message, you are not supposed to relax in relationships. Calm = not fun =bad.
So why the open hatred. Because I feel women of the world are suffering from the images that these films present. The so called “chick flick” is actually portraying an interest contrary to the one that should be in our consciousness. And it manifests itself regularly. Women who want the fairy tale are focusing too hard on making a Dawson’s creek life for themselves, and are of the mind that the scenario presented in most romantic comedies is what they should want, or worse, expect. Movies are were we turn to experience what we don’t know, or live a life that is not ours. We look to the movies for guidance, and these films should respond by making real love in film accessible to the youth of the world so they don’t spend years of their life laboring over a false pretense or worse, in relationships dealing with relationships that fit the requirements of a ficticious ideal.

Bypass these failures and check out these films instead:
Metaphoric portrayal of the nuance of interpersonal relations see Secretary
For a film about the power of love overcoming pain see Cherry (it is nauseatingly cute but well worth it’s candy coating)
For a film about your first love see Welcome to the Dollhouse (your first loves reality in all its pimpled dork srunchie wearing glory)
For a film that depicts finding love in unlikely places see Reality Bites (just don’t look hard at the wardrobe …it was the 90’s)
For a film that shows love that is good despite its flaws Eternal Sunshine f the Spotless Mind
For a film that follows the common RC plot line and is still successful Garden State.