Midwest Meets Manhattan

I’m going to the beach on Friday and I need good books to read. Tell me what you’re reading.

If you are viewing this and not commenting, I am disappointed. I don’t care who you are or if I know you. I want to know what you’re reading.

And I don’t care if it’s a beach read – thanks for bringing that up, Roy. Any book. Anything. I am dying for new literature.

I’ve been home for approximately 48 hours, and it still feels weird. It feels like everything is in slow motion – it’s just so quiet here! I’m in my parents’ big new house all by myself right now, and I don’t know what to do with all of the extra space. Sometimes I just walk around the house. I mean, the living room is, I think, as big as my entire apartment this summer. My bedroom here is three times the size of my bedroom in NYC. No, seriously. When you see my room here, you’ll be amazed at how I lived in such a tiny place this summer.

But that’s New York, I guess. And I miss it more than anything.

I mean, it’s good to be home and see everyone and just be able to relax a little, but I still desperately miss the traffic and the public transit and 24-hour everything and knowing that there is always something going on. I had forgotten that Edmond shuts down at like 9:00.

Another funny story: I went to Walmart on Saturday to pick up some break-n-bake cookies and parmesan cheese for dinner at Rebekah’s, and I wore what I would normally wear in an evening in NYC, a cool, casual outfit. I wore dark skinnies, black pumps, layered tanks with a flowy vest, and a locket. Not that big of a deal, right? Well, I forgot that in Oklahoma people wear sweats to Walmart. It was the most awkward moment. I hate to sound pretentious or snobby or anything like that, but it seriously felt like everyone was looking at me. I mean, I felt like I looked pretty good, but every day this summer has been about looking good. And I got rid of all of my junky casual clothes before I left, which I’m still ok with.

It’s just kind of weird.

Since we had a meeting today and I had the afternoon in the city and my ends were looking rather choppy and gross, I decided to get a haircut.

Having done so, I deem it The Blaircut, in honor of the look I’m going for. I never ever in a million years thought I’d be aspiring to the look of Gossip Girl, but then again, I never ever in a million years thought I’d be spending the summer in New York, either.

It’s actually the Zooeycut, since I wanted to get a cut like Zooey Deschanel. And believe me, it looks GREAT. Well, you don’t have to believe me, because I’m about to show you. Let me tell you what I did today.

I went to my meeting at Random House with the Digital Publishing Group to hear David Karp, the 23-year-old founder of the Tumblr blogging platform, speak about Tumblr and basically social media in general. Two things: 1) He was absolutely fascinating, and 2) He was absolutely very cute. And lucky me, I got to sit across from him and work the video camera the whole time, so I had plenty of gratuitous opportunity to look. 🙂

That aside.

I went to Forever 21 and bought some jewelry with my store credit (did you know they only give credit for returns? I found that out this summer, surprise!) when I intended to buy sunglasses (Because I accidentally left mine in my mom’s hotel room the night before they left, and they are now in OK). But I found no sunglasses I liked, so I bought two bracelets, a ring, and a headband. I plan to buy more rings. I like wearing them.

Then I walked into the nearest Duane Reade (like Walgreens) and stood in front of the fashion magazines, flipping through them for pictures of Zooey. Since (500) Days of Summer just came out and she is also very beautiful and fashionable, I knew I’d be able to find a review and some glamour shots. I went through Elle and Glamour before I finally found it in InStyle – which also has my faaaave Katherine Heigl on the cover. So not only did I get a fantastic picture of Zooey, I got a great new magazine to read on the train tomorrow! I love fashion mags. Judge me all you want. I love them.

Then I pulled out my handy iPhone and drew up the HopStop app (soooo the handiest thing I’ve found while here) and walked my way six blocks to Astor Place Hair Style. Hairstylist. Hairstyles. I’m not sure how it ends.

But I walked down into what felt like the dungeon, since it’s a basement salon, and I realized that this is where I am getting my hair cut every time after I move back here. It’s on the Lower East Side, so it’s cheap and you get a haircut by someone who is trained for years. The man who cut my hair looked like a Hispanic Richard Gere and said he’d lived here cutting hair for 25 years. His name was Jose, and he was very nice. If you’re in the market for a good haircut, I’d recommend him, definitely. I found the place on Yelp, and apparently a TON of people love going there – they take walk-ins, have a ton of stylists working there, and it’s a really friendly atmosphere. They were playing oldies the whole time I was in there, which was even more fun.

So I went in and said, “I want to look like her.”

Unfortunately, I can’t find the image from InStyle online anywhere, so I can show you this. But I’m guessing you all pretty much know who she is, and you can get a better idea of what I asked for if you watch the trailer for the movie, a few posts down.

Anyway, I knew it wouldn’t be exact because, duh, her hair is a lot longer than mine.

But, ta da!

And to give you a better idea of how the bangs fall and how it looks with a headband (sorry for the bad lighting):

My favorite part? This calls for big eye makeup all the time. And you know I love my eyeliner and mascara.

Obviously, I don’t look like I’m on the red carpet because I haven’t teased my hair and I don’t have a headband in right now, but when I do, I’m going to look just like her. My hair will, anyway.

So, what do you think?

I absolutely love it.

Sometimes I feel like this is my life. Especially around the time big papers roll around and I am just…blerg. But fortunately I chose NOT to take 12 hours this summer, and to instead enjoy being an adult and living in New York.

You know how some people wish they could stay children or teenagers forever? Honestly, I’m one of those people who functions more smoothly as an adult. I’m happier. I like the structure that adulthood brings. I like knowing I have certain things to pay for and that makes me budget my money and I like that.

I thoroughly enjoy being an adult.

In other news, my almost-sister Jessica Scott is in New York for a few days, and we got together for a few hours tonight and ate a wonderful Crumbs gourmet cupcake and just walked around. It was very fun, and I’m always reminded of how much I miss her. I haven’t actually seen her since last July, since she graduated from Pepperdine two years ago (wow) and lives in Austin, TX, these days.

I have a picture of us on the Staten Island ferry, but it’s late and I’m about to go to bed and I just don’t feel like doing all the hoopla tonight. Tomorrow, perhaps.

PS I put pictures up on Facebook that aren’t all on here, like art and stuff, so if you want to see those go check it out there. And leave comments!

Also known as, who the heck are Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and why aren’t they writing more fantastic movies??

I’m going to review without spoilers, since this was a limited release and it doesn’t come out nationwide until August 7th. Sorry, Midwest. Life just kind of stinks for you, as far as movies go. Fun fact: The fact that New York gets limited-release movies is one more reason I’m coming back here after graduation. Not to rub any of that in. I’m just really excited.

It’s kind of like I get to see it premiere twice now, since I’m sure I’ll go see it with people when it comes out on August 7. I better, anyway – if you’re going to be around, we’re going to see it.

Basically, the premise of this movie is that Tom Hanson (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is the guy who has always believed in destiny and The One, and who believes his life won’t be complete until he finds Her. Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) is the girl who doesn’t believe in fate and thinks things just happen as they happen.

“This is a story of Boy Meets Girl. The boy, Tom Hanson of New Jersey, grew up believing that he’d never truly be happy until the day he met The One. This belief stemmed from early exposure to sad British pop music and a total misreading of the movie The Graduate.

The girl, Summer Finn of Michigan, did not share this belief. Since the disintegration of her parents’ marriage, she’d only loved two things. The first was her long, dark hair. The second was how easily she could cut it off and feel nothing.

Tom meets Summer on January 8th. He knows almost immediately she is who he’s been searching for. This is a story of Boy Meets Girl, but you should know up front, this is not a Love Story.”

–The Story of Boy Meets Girl, Mychael Danna & Rob Simonsen

Tom meets Summer when she begins work as a personal assistant in his office, where he has spent the last three or four years writing greeting cards after he got his degree in architecture. After a crazy night of All You Can Karaoke at a local bar, they decide to be friends. Tom has already fallen, and hard, but Summer says she doesn’t want a boyfriend, that she doesn’t want to be “somebody’s girlfriend.”

The rest of the movie is kind of like a record that jumps back and forth between the stages of their relationship. I can honestly say that this is the only movie I have ever seen that has had me laughing hysterically, then practically brought me to tears within seconds – and you know a lot of movies make that claim. Gordon-Levitt has really made a comeback from the Canceled Sitcom Wasteland, and he really, really shines in this movie.

Honestly, it was a little bit like his character in 10 Things I Hate About You, post-college. Now that I think about it, I can actually see that. But at the same time, that doesn’t bother me at all because he did such a superb job acting in this movie (yes, superb).

I think one thing I really liked about this movie is that Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel are the only two really recognizable people in this film. The only other person I recognized vaguely was Clark Gregg, who plays Tom’s boss (one of those “I think I’ve seen that guy before…but…I’m not sure?” kind of roles).

And want to know how good the soundtrack is? Both Barnes & Noble and Best Buy were out of it already. Good old iTunes, never lets me down. I think I will still buy it in person, though.

1. A Story of Boy Meets Girl – Mychael Danna and Rob Simonsen
2. Us – Regina Spektor
3. There is a Light That Never Goes Out – The Smiths
4. Bad Kids – Black Lips
5. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want – The Smiths
6. There Goes the Fear – Doves
7. You Make My Dreams – Hall and Oates
8. Sweet Disposition – The Temper Trap
9. Quelqu’un M’a Dit – Carla Bruni
10. Mushaboom – Feist
11. Hero – Regina Spektor
12. Bookends – Simon and Garfunkel
13. Vagabond – Wolfmother
14. She’s Got You High – Mumm-Ra
15. Here Comes Your Man – Meaghan Smith
16. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want – She and Him

Official judgment? This is the best movie I have seen this year. It definitely goes in my top five.

If you have the opportunity to watch this, do it. Just know that it will make you laugh and it will definitely make you cry.

I pulled this little tidbit from the Oklahoma State Fair Facebook page.

Did you say Hot Beef Sundaes??? That’s right, a new item from the Sweet Shop served in a sundae cup, with a toasted piece of bread on the bottom, topped with hot roast beef, a scoop of mashed potatoes, all smothered in gravy and topped with a cherry tomato.

And then I proceeded to throw up a little bit in my mouth.

Do you think they are being sarcastic when they are excited?

WILL PEOPLE ACTUALLY BUY THIS? WILL YOU EAT THIS??

I will pay you $5 to eat an entire thing of this in front of me and let me videotape it as evidence. Nasty.

UPDATE

Will has claimed this. Perhaps we can get a line of people to do this. I don’t know if I can give $5 to everyone, but it would be entertaining, no?

Here’s what you have to look forward to:

What do you think that little tub is? Barbecue sauce? Grease, to be used as a dressing?

A lot of my hits the past few days have been about some article that ran about Mug N Plus, the coffee shop I wrote about a few days ago.

So I feel the need to update and say that I did, indeed, go and pay the $2 I owed for the coffee, in case anyone was concerned. And have been back several times, including today, for their delicious house roast.

PS I have TONS of pictures to upload from the past few weeks – I’m going to spend the evening posting blogs, doing laundry, and writing postcards to incoming freshmen. Exciting Friday night, yeah? I might even work on my manuscript some. I really need to get back to that.

“I saw the film again a couple of nights ago at the premiere and…my God, my lips are like the lips of a horse, kind of distending independently away from my face and trying to encompass the lower half of hers.” D. Radcliffe, on his kissing scene.
ahahahahahahhahaha.

Also, HP comes out SO SOON. I hope you are as excited as I am. I’m taking full advantage of NYC and going to see it in IMAX. Not midnight, because I have to work the next day and these days I can’t function on three hours of sleep, but…IMAX on Friday. I need to buy my ticket now, I think.

I chose this picture because I laugh every time I see it when I’m out. Dearest Ronald looks so intense here, but all I remember from the book is him being, well, this bumbling, not very good Quidditch player. I mean, he tries real hard, but…never quite makes it.

And all of these posters show Ron like, well, what I think he probably saw in the Mirror of Erised in their first year. Which is not where Ron ended up. Kind of.