Edge of Glory

Day 30 – A photograph of yourself today + three good things that have happened in the past 30+ days.

1. Finished topical (currently stuck on prospectus though)

2. Teaching summer school (failing at making aesthetics appealing)

3. Started eating/moving better, but still need to cut back on things like excessive sodium and driving the car.

Garden

Day 29 – Something you could never get tired of doing.

Planning projects for the house, getting started on them...that's the part I could never get tired of doing. The part that I need to work on is continuing the project, not half-assing it, not abandoning it, and moving along to other projects. I did plant these things today, except for the tomato, cucumber, and bell peppers, but that's because they need their own special bed, which Mordo is helping me figure out. I hope my plants like me.

Friday, Friday, Friday

Fun fun fun fun looking forward to the weekend!

My grandma bought me this shirt/blouse thing from Zara last week. It has pink stars on it, which is good, but it's dry clean only, which is dangerous. I paired them with my Doc Martens, and jazzed it up with some "Diva in Training" Glee for Sephora by OPI nail polish.

This weekend has so far involved finally getting to painting the dining room and starting to think about a (container, though this looks nice!) vegetable garden. My top priorities might be: cilantro, chives, rosemary, mint, strawberries, and cucumbers. If it's not too much, I'd like to add cherry tomatoes, arugula, radishes, and asparagus. We strolled through Gethsemane today, and Mordecai got some ideas from the awesome Troy regarding a "rain garden" to help with drainage issues that I don't understand nor really care about but probably should, and a patio that where my container vegetable/strawberry garden will reside during the summer. Mordecai took notes on potential patio patterning, centipede leg-looking plants, and plants with red leaves.

Day 28 – Your favorite movie.

Jose to tora to sakana tachi

Pictures

Day 27 – A picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then?

Here's a picture of me last year. Is that my mom's shirt? I was in Japan last May, a fact I can barely believe. Since last year, I've become much more domesticated. I also feel like I've aged a lot, or I can see the effects of aging more clearly.

I've fallen behind on my posts because I don't feel like posting a picture of myself in recent days. I started teaching the four-week "intensive" summer session, and it's pretty tiring. It's not as bad as everyone made it out to be though, at least so far. The material is stuff I've done before, which helps a lot. I like my students (only 13!) and I get the sense that they don't dislike me. So instead of a gpomyself, I present these others photos from day off today.

I went to Ulta today with a 20% off coupon to get pink nail polish by Essie. "Princess Pink" seems to have gone extinct, which is a tragedy, as it was my wedding pick and seemed easy to apply. I chose "Lovie Dovie," the Pepto Bismol color on my index finger. It was my mom's suggestion. I just tried it on more extensively, and Mordecai said it looks like a stripper's nail polish. It requires more care in application so I will try again tomorrow.

While I cooked dinner, Mitsu lied on her back and showed me her teeth. "You use peanut butter in your dinner and I get none in mine? I glare at you. Look at my teefs."

I realize this is not the most flattering picture, but that's PBJ pancakes (peanut butter pancakes, blackberry "syrup" [=heated preserves + water + lemon zest]), an egg, and some ham. This meal was inspired by Sunny Anderson's "Let the Sun Shine In" episode on her show, "Cooking for Real." I saw it for the second time this morning and decided today was the day for some PBJ pancakes, Sunny-style. I recommends them if you like peanut butter, and you can make whatever berry syrup you like! I wonder if almond butter would work with pancakes...? Is that too yuppie/Lincoln Park mom-like?

Mo Town

Day 26 – A photo of somewhere you’ve been to.

Detroit, MI

"PURSE!"

Day 25 – What’s in your purse?

 

Buddy Biscuits from Petco ($4.99 with member's card!)

Kuromi Sigg water bottle

Keys

Carmex & Kiss My Face chapstick

MAC lipstick in Siss & Shiseido red lipstick

Pencil case

Earphones

Wallet

Hydra-Stick pour bébé
Aveeno lotion

Popcorn seasoning in white cheddar (for the movies; saw Thor last night and Bridesmaids today!)

Mirror

Cold-eeze

Behind

Day 24 – A photo of something that means a lot to you.

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN! Specifically, old Japanese people reppin' the CHI in the HAMA.

Factoids

Day 23 – 15 facts about you.

1. I was born in Chicago. 

2. I like to paint my nails and I wish I could repaint them all the time like Eva Chen does.

3. I am starting to like chevre in my salads, but so far only with argula, strawberries, raspberry vinaigrette and walnuts.
4. I've been listening to Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" album and like a few tracks. This is because of Glee, naturally.
5. I have tons of gray hairs and a growing collection of aging spots.
6. I'm working on a prospectus for my dissertation. The title so far is "Knowledge of Selves" and is about what it means to know or understand others and oneself. I don't know what it means to know or understand anyone but I like my topic.
7. I wanted an Akita but didn't think I could handle one. My second choice was the Shiba. (Mordo's first choice was a shelter dog--shhhh don't tell Mitsu. Actually, I tell her all the time.)
8. In the past year, I think I've cut down on soda and some fast food. I did not think this would ever be possible.
9. You can hear me play the piano from the alley. I think Clementi (YouTube link) will keep the summer-hoodlums at bay.
10. I will be teaching this summer. It's a four-week session; it meets for three hours, four times a week. We will begin with Plato's "Apology."
11. I study philosophy for essentially the following reasons, in this order: Chrucky, Schrift, Pacholec, Ted Cohen, Tony.
12. I am as my name indicates: blessed. With lots of good people and stuff.
13. I am torn when the Tigers and Sox play each other.
14. I don't drink much anymore, I am in bed by 1AM even on weekends, and I manage to experience mornings on a regular basis, even on Sundays. I also thought this would never be possible.
15. My summer wanty list includes: this Lands End Canvas dress, these boat shoes in platinum gold, these Birkenstocks, and these Ray-Bans. Is it gonna be another one of them hot summers, Busta?

Signs and wonders

Day 22 – A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.

I am not one to write open letters, but I read Cormac McCarthy's "No Country For Old Men" again this past week and reading Ed Tom Bell's thoughts, especially towards the end, pained me. So did the exchange between Ed Tom and Llewelyn Moss's father. The book provides more details, important details that I had forgotten since I last read it, details that clarified many things that I did not even realize were things to be clarified when I last read it.

On a lighter note, I told my mom I was rereading the book and had seen the movie again (she's a fan), and she suggested we both get some Anton Chigurh hair. I see where I get my crazies from.

Weekend

Day 20 – The meaning behind your blog name.

'Keipop' was coined back in college to express what is popular with Kei. 'Nation' was a common suffix we used to add to words for emphasis, like 'homework nation,' as in 'I'm in homework nation,' or something like that. I think that was high school vocabulary that survived into college. My blog is the land of all things popular and mainstream with me. 

Day 21 – A photo of something that makes you happy.

Well, obviously Mitsu makes me happy, so I will post something else in addition. 

My home. There are 2 cherry trees in the back. Maybe it's more like 1.5; the other one is like, half alive, or clearly missing a big branch. I like the plastic grocery bag that is caught in, or decorating, the tree at the very top. I am very grateful for this home and try to treat it right, but I'm so messy and lazy. When I clean, Mitsu looks worried. I think she's used to the clutter that accumulates; she certainly likes her toys all over the floor. I think she's also concerned that the vacuum cleaner will come out. She gets angry at it when it's on, and then sniffs it when it's all over.

Her nose drips when she's in the car, sniffing out the window. She tries to get a handle on the nose juices by spraying it outside, but the wind usually pushes it back on my face.

Yesterday

Day 19 – Another picture of yourself.

This is another Nodame/Rachel Berry-esque dress I was wearing yesterday. We went to Bistro Margot with our GROUPON and watched "No Country For Old Men" last night. Carla Jean Moss is amazing.

Day Eighteen

Day 18 – Something you crave a lot.
 

This was taken when I ate with Joe's mom at the McDonald's in the loop. I ran into her randomly one day two years ago.

More than anything, I crave McDonald's (preferably large) fries (preferably with a Filet-O-Fish). Runners up include Golden Nugget's Guadalajara Skillet, Culver's butterburger basket, French macaroons, and Thai food (preferably Naomi's mom's). But none of these things beat McDonald's fries, stateside or in Japan, as something to just grab, go, and be entirely satiated by. In fact, I tried to get some today in between buses, but I knew my Halsted bus was coming and the line was too long. I've still got the $1.10 loose though, so maybe tomorrow will be my lucky day!

Day 17 – A photo of you and your family.

I won't subject my parents to the Interwebs, though there are probably traces of them here and there anyway. I like these photos, which I'll post instead. These are the characters I see and deal with everyday, myself included.

Day Sixteen

Day 16 – Your celebrity crush.

Can you see my heart fluttering?

On a maybe-related note, I remember in eighth grade when Ms. Crushshon said that she was in love with Sydney Carton of A Tale of Two Cities. I'll never forget how seriously I took her words and feelings, and how it did not matter that Carton was a fictional character. It was admirable; I remember wanting to feel that way for something or someone, with such strong conviction, the kind that dumbfounds a naive thirteen year old kid.

Day Fifteen

Day 15: Something you don't leave the house without.

I don't leave home without my keys, phone, wallet, lip stuff, my super chic eczema meds, and thoughts of Mitsu. Is she winking? Or partially falling asleep?

Oblivious

Speaking of the Meat Stew, we bathed her for the first time this weekend. Generally, she is a pretty clean dog. She doesn't smell doggy and she licks herself clean frequently, I guess not unlike a cat, which I've read is a common trait among Shibas. But I wanted her to get used to bathing, or at least treat it as not a big deal as you are apparently supposed to do with everything. On Saturday morning, we took her to Soggy Paws, where they provide everything except labor. She didn't seem to mind the water or the shampooing--I imagine she secretly enjoyed the massaging, but she didn't want to let it be known. But after we rinsed and towel-dried, we blow-dried her fur, which scared two poop nuggets out of her! Poor thing. I think we'll be DIYing washes in the backyard during the summer so she can air dry, and if she must be bathed in the winter, peanut butter may help, but we may get special presents regardless if we attempt to blow dry.

Help?

Help! I feel funny.

Day Fourteen

Day 14 – A TV show you’re currently addicted to.

Glee! I was definitely more addicted to (and obsessed with) the first season than the second, but I'm still addicted to it, especially to Rachel Berry and her outfits. 

I'm also starting an addiction to Giada de Laurentiis and her TV shows on the Food Network and The Cooking Channel. I'm not sure I'd ever want to meet or hang out with her (you see, I'd hang out with Paula Deen in a heartbeat; and I'd hope she'd kiss me like she does some of her guests on her show), but I do admire her sense of joy for food and life, even if there's a little too much enthusiasm that often manifests itself rather obnoxiously through her horse teeth or excessive cleavage. I saw a couple of episodes of the weekend getaway show, and she was wearing these gigantic earrings. I thought, I want to wear some gigantic earrings! See--I'm hooked. I need to find some gigantic earrings.

Day Thirteen

Day 13 – Your favorite musician and why?

Mariah Carey, because she wrote and provided hit after hit throughout my childhood, adolescence, and into my adulthood; because she's got a way with words ("dem babies" were finally born today); because she has a strong sense of self (even if it's crazy--aren't we all crazy? oh we're not? oops); because she appreciates us lambs; because she's got the greatest voice ever in the history of pop music.