Tag Archives: jess goes off topic again

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

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Imagine that, in this scenario, Carmen Sandiego is me. Because, well, she is. I mean, I am. We are the same person.

Okay, maybe I haven’t been quite as around the world as this stylish 80s icon, but I have been traveling pretty extensively these past few months.

I have to pause because that sentence isn’t something I thought I’d ever write. If you’d have told me a year ago that I’d be making multiple international trips, I would have laughed in your face. And then I probably would have had a panic attack just thinking about being on a plane for that long.

A fortune I got a week before my first trip. How did it know?!

A fortune I got a week before my first trip. How did it know?!

I’ve been afraid of flying for a long time. It didn’t bother me when I was little, but by my teen years I developed a pretty fierce phobia. I’d dwell on any impending flight for weeks, be physically sick the day of, and basically be panicky throughout the entire flight. My heart would race. My breath would shorten. My hands would shake, tingle, go numb. I’d feel like I was out of my body. I talked my way out of all non-essential flights, and some essential ones, too.

But when I started my new job last February, I knew I’d have to travel occasionally. It made me pause before I accepted the position. I thought, can I do this? And then I thought, can I pass this up? The “no” was stronger with the second question than the first, so I went with it.

Now that I’m on the other side of three opportunities to visit different countries, I realize how crazy I would have been to pass it up. How much I would have regretted it later. My fear of flying stems largely from a lack of control – I don’t have any power over what happens once I step on that plane – but the same can be said for every moment of my life. Maybe an airplane is just a really big, really loud, really high symbol of the lack of control we have over everything.

I’m not completely over my fear of flying. I still get the racing heart and the shakies, and turbulence still sucks, but I’ve made 6 flights across oceans – Pacific and Atlantic – and have dealt with that fear. I’m sure I’ll still get the racing heart and the shakies, but hey, at least I get to see the world in the process, right?

At any rate, I took some pretty awesome pictures (because of the scenery, not because of my skill) that I want to share with you all! I’ve taken two trips to France, which is the country of my heart I swear, and just got back from Seoul, which was amazing and so special since Mister Jess is Korean and our little Bug is half. It was so incredible to be there and see the heritage that is so inextricably part of him.

First, Korea!

One of the fantastic neighborhoods in Seoul we visited. For shopping purposes, of course.

One of the fantastic neighborhoods in Seoul we visited. For shopping purposes, of course.

Down we go...

Down we go…

Delicious tofu from a street vendor. SO. Good.

Delicious tofu from a street vendor. SO. Good.

Samwon Garden, an amazingly delicious Korean BBQ restaurant. We ate a lot.

Samwon Garden, an amazingly delicious Korean BBQ restaurant. We ate a lot.

These small plates, called banchan, came with every meal we had.

These small plates, called banchan, came with every meal we had.

More Korean BBQ. Seriously, we ate a lot.

More Korean BBQ. Seriously, we ate a lot.

You guessed it...more food. Shaved ice with mango and with strawberries. Incredible.

You guessed it…more food. Shaved ice with mango and with strawberries. Incredible.

The duty free floor in Lotte Department store (there is also a Lotte Hotel, a Lotte amusement park, etc. Lotte everything). This. Place. Was. Packed. I lasted less than 5 minutes.

The duty free floor in Lotte Department store (there is also a Lotte Hotel, a Lotte amusement park, etc. Lotte everything). This. Place. Was. Packed. I lasted less than 5 minutes.

Snail masks. Korean beauty is pretty incredible, if not a little...exotic. It was amazing to see all of the local brands. So much innovation coming out of this small country!

Snail masks. Korean beauty is pretty incredible, if not a little…exotic. It was amazing to see all of the local brands. So much innovation coming out of this small country!

Oops. Too much shopping. Next time I'll need to see more of the actual, you know, sights.

Oops. Too much shopping. Next time I’ll need to see more of the actual, you know, sights.

 

And now, Paris. Sigh. I wish I could rewind to being 20 so I could have lived here for a year. Truly the most magical city.

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The view from my hotel in St-Germain-Des-Pres. It was my favorite neighborhood. So quintessentially Parisian!

The pastries? Insane.

The pastries? Insane.

The famous Cafe de Flore.

The famous Cafe de Flore.

All the buildings were beautiful like this!

All the buildings were beautiful like this!

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"We are all Charlie."

“We are all Charlie.”

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A lovely winter day.

A lovely winter day near the Eiffel Tower.

Thar she blows! It was bigger than I thought it'd be (twss?).

Thar she blows! It was bigger than I thought it’d be (twss?).

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The Musee d’Orsay. Just spectacular.

The Musee d'Orsay. Just spectacular.

 

Hello!

Hello!

Just trying to blend in as one of those impossibly chic Parisian women (it didn't work).

Just trying to blend in as one of those impossibly chic Parisian women (it didn’t work).

Love locks on the Ponts des Arts.

Love locks on the Ponts des Arts.

Le Marais, my other favorite neighborhood. Such a beautiful place - cobblestone walkways, alleys filled with people, sidewalk cafes...and the shopping is AMAZING.

Le Marais, my other favorite neighborhood. Such a beautiful place – cobblestone walkways, alleys filled with people, sidewalk cafes…and the shopping is AMAZING.

There was lots of graffiti in the city as well, in certain areas.

There was lots of graffiti in the city as well, in certain areas.

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Sigh.

Sigh.

 

But at the end of the day (or 12, as was the case with my February France trip), there’s no place like home.

 

 

What is your favorite place to visit? Been anywhere fun lately? Talk to me in the comments! 

 

I’M SO EXCITED…AGAIN

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YOU GUYS. I’m excited again. Or still? Probably still. A few months ago, I wrote a post about the things I I was obsessing over at the moment, and welp. I have new things. Things I want to talk about. Share. KANYE CAPSLOCK ABOUT.

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My hope is always that when I discover something new – a song, a book, a person (I know that sounds creepy, but just go with it) – and I tell my friends or Mister Jess about it, they’ll be sucked in with me and then we can talk about it ad nauseam. Sometimes they are. Sometimes they just stare at me. But that doesn’t stop me then, and it won’t stop me now. At the very least, people, you’ll know what I’m texting about with a slightly deranged smile on my face. At the very MOST, you will walk away from this post with some new things to like.

So? Let’s do this.

1. Montevallo. This album, by Sam Hunt, is one I’ve been obsessively listening to since it came out a few months ago. Now, about me: I love music. Like, any kind of music basically. If it speaks to me, I’m all in regardless of genre. I’m typically not super into contemporary country artists, but there’s something about this album and his voice and his lyrics that made me immediately obsessed.

Plus, this dude is like 6’4″. That’s tall. He looks like a hipster but he’s not. He sings songs about pick-up trucks and something called “summer feet.” It intrigues me.

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2. Beyoncé. She’s on the list forever. Her new music – “7/11”, “Flawless Remix”, “Feeling Myself” (she is featured on this Nicki Minaj track) – and her style and her fierceness and just her everything. Let’s hang out, B.

She's just laughing at a joke I told, nbd.

She’s just laughing at a joke I told, nbd.

3. Bar Method. My friend dragged me to a class the other day and I fully expected to hate it, because I’ve heard all about it and, to be honest, it sounded like my own personal hell. But while it was SUPER hard, and while I let out audible noises when the instructor would call out “20 more reps!” (are you KIDDING me, lady?), and while my body had the consistency of an overcooked noodle when class was over, I felt surprisingly awesome afterward. Really, really awesome. And then I went and had a kale salad because WHO AM I? I’m the girl who’s going to another class today, that’s who.

4. This quote: “And I said to my body. Softly. ‘I want to be your friend.’ It took a long breath. And replied, ‘I have been waiting my whole life for this.’” – Nayyirah Waheed

5. And this one:

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Things are hard sometimes. And when they’re hard, that means they’re teaching you something. The older I get, the more I prefer to look at challenges this way; it makes getting through it a helluva lot easier.

6. Life’s random delights. The other day I was standing on the corner of Market Street, waiting to cross. I looked over and saw this:

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For those of you who don’t know, these are lyrics to “Ignition (Remix)”, aka one of my favorite songs ever and a song that Mister Jess and I dance around the house to often. It was so random and unexpected and just…great. It put a smile on my face for no reason, except that I love that song and clearly someone else out there does too, enough that they pasted the lyrics to it on a light pole on Market Street.

7. My kid. Granted, I’ve always been obsessed with him, but he’s turning into such a human being and it’s getting even more fun to watch him grow up. It gets better every day, I’m telling you. I gobble up morsels of information about him as he reveals himself to me: that he loves Taylor Swift songs and when Daddy makes weird animal noises while he eats. That if a kid falls on the playground, he is the first person there to make sure he or she is okay. He is so sweet and full of goodness that my heart aches with it. Aches, I tell you.

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8. Humans of New York. This website represents the best, the most mundane, the hidden and most intimate of humanity. Brandon Stanton, who runs HONY, helps us remember that at the end of the day, we’re all just trying to make our way through the world, and that we all have baggage we’re carrying while we do it. And he’s doing some really incredible things right now. Really incredible.

So there you have it. My current obsessions. And while I am silly about my ardent love tendency to geek out, I also think being emphatic (to the point of evangelical) about things is important. It reminds us that even when the world feels kind of shitty and terrible, there are small joys to find every day.

What are you currently obsessed with or loving? Anything on my list? Anything NOT on my list? Let’s talk about it in the comments! 

 

I’M SO EXCITED, I’M SO EXCITED, I’M SO…

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EXCIIIIIIIIIIIIIITED.

Here is something you should know about me (how many times have I said this? I should make a post about me and this phrase): I get really excited about things. I’m either really excited about something, or it doesn’t interest me at all. I have no middle ground. And you’ll know when I’m excited because it goes something like this:

Person: (mentions something that I am into)

Me: OH MY GOD OH MY GOD (proceeds to talk about it for fifteen minutes while person eyes all available exits)

Or, alternately, via email or text:

Person: (mentions something that I am into)

Me: OH MY GOD OH MY GOD (proceeds to talk about it for 70 texts/30 paragraphs)

I force everyone I know into reading a book I love (most recently, Making Faces by Amy Harmon) or a show I’m obsessed with (The Fall. Oh my god, I am serious, this show is the. Best. EVER.) I bug them until I know they have started it. I demand regular updates. I want to have in-depth discussions about plot points and characters. I abuse caps lock more than Kanye West. When I latch on to something, I worry over it and obsess and think about it and, if I’m being honest, neglect everything else until my obsession runs its course. I know no other way of living. It’s intense, but it’s how I do.

Lately, my excitement cup has been runnething over. The other day, I was so amped up about so many different things that I was exhausted by midday. I wish I was joking. Sometimes, the only way to relieve myself of all of this excitement is to share it with people. And that, my people, is what I am doing today.

Right now.

Top things I am excited about.

It’s happening.

Buckle up.

Enjoy the ride.

1. The Disneyland Half Marathon. Now I know I said in my last post that running is boring, and I stand by that because, despite your amazing tips, I still want to fling myself off the treadmill every time I’m on it. However! This is not just running. This is FOUR DAYS WITH TWO OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE! It’s Disneyland! It’s carbo-loading! I love carbs and Disneyland and favorite people! My excitement for this is off. The. Charts. Cannot. Handle.

2. Beyonce and Jay-Z’s concert. You guys. I am attending this very special show tonight and it’s unlikely that I will leave AT&T Park the same person. Mister Jess scored us 6th row tickets, which means that Queen Bey and I will likely be sharing the same air particles. I spent the entire day at work yesterday asking all of my co-workers if A) they were attending (answer: yes) and B) if they were emotionally and mentally prepared for this spectacle (answer: no). ME NEITHER.

3. Mark Ruffalo. Generally as a human being, I find him delightful. However, he had a most adorable kinda-run in with Paul Rudd at Comic Con that I still can’t watch without literally clawing at my face because I can’t deal with how adorable it is. You can watch the video at Popsugar.

I mean. Come on.

Gif credit: Popsugar

Gif credit: Popsugar

4.  Soccer. Yep. Still obsessed.  Mister Jess and I went to see Real Madrid (my favorite team) play Inter Milan. Despite the fact that they lost (womp), my favorite player wasn’t there (EXTRA WOMP, #14), and it was miserably hot trying to get into the stadium (can’t even talk about it), it was amazing seeing a professional game in person. The love affair STILL isn’t over, futbol.

That's a beaut.

That’s a beaut.

5. Baseball. We are an Oakland Athletics family. Actually, first and foremost we are a Cubs family, but the A’s are near and dear to our hearts, too. This year they are gunning for the World Series, and by god, they just might do it. The excitement in our home is PALPABLE, people. Expect to hear our screams of joy if when they win.

Also, baseball stadium food is delicious, which is the only reason I attend Giants games (I don’t say this to other locals, for fear of being shouted at/smacked). The view’s not too shabby, either.

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6. The Fall. Seriously. Please watch it. Netflix. Do it. It’s amazing. Do it.

What are you currently excited about? Tell me so that maybe I can become obsessed with it, too. Clearly I don’t have enough on my list. 

I Like Good Books and I Cannot Lie

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“She had always wanted words, she loved them; grew up on them. Words gave her clarity, brought reason, shape.” 

The above quote is from The English Patient, but I’m convinced Michael Ondaatje wrote it about me.

This is, perhaps, the most important thing you should know about me: I love words. I always have. As soon as I grasped language and  reading, as soon as I understood the enchantment of books, I was lost to them. I read voraciously as soon as I was able: Dr. Seuss books (all of which Bug now has in his room. Vintage!), Shel Silverstein, Lois Lowry and C.S. Lewis and the list goes on and on and on. I loved diving into different worlds. How cool was it that one minute I was me, a super-cool kid with kickin’ style, and then the next I was a girl in search of dragons? That is the absolute magic of  books: that through the power of words and imagination, you can be whoever you want to be.

To this day, you’re more likely to find me with my nose in a book (or a Kindle, despite my fervent belief that it takes away from the purity of reading. Where’s the book smell?!) than glued to the television. Being in a library or book store borders on a religious experience for me. Growing up, I spent many a weekend curled up in the corner of either. Ain’t no party like a library party, ’cause a library party won’t STOP.

You’re probably starting to understand just how cool I am. But that’s what being surrounded by books does to me. I’m taken in by the smell of bound paper, by row after row after row of books, all of them teeming with their own lives, with unique worlds that are just waiting to be discovered.

All the books hanging out at the famous City Lights Bookstore. This place is magic.

All the books hanging out at the famous City Lights Bookstore. This place is magic.

THE SHELVES ARE ALIIIIIVE, WITH THE SOUND OF WOOOORLDS (I tried).

THE SHELVES ARE ALIIIIIVE, WITH THE SOUND OF WOOOORLDS (I tried).

The community bulletin board, where people shout out their favorite poets. I loved this one.

The community bulletin board, where people shout out their favorite poets. I loved this one.

The past couple of weeks, I’ve been caught up in the voracious kind of reading that I used to do pre-Bug. The kind where I’m sneaking off during my lunch break and hiding in bathrooms just so I can get through a few more pages. The kind where I’m staying up late just to finish this page – well, the chapter’s almost over, can’t stop, won’t stop – oh, this is an odd-numbered page and I hate odd numbers, gotta keep going – wait, how is it MIDNIGHT? That kind of reading. The swept-up-into-a-world kind of reading. The BEST kind of reading.

Meri, Brooke, Bec and I have been texting constantly on this subject lately. And the bonus to all of this reading? It inspires my writing. It gets me daydreaming while I’m running, which is an awesome distraction on those brutal hills (there, now this isn’t completely off topic).

I might not be naughty by nature, but I’m a sharer by nature, so for all of you fellow bookworms, these are the books I gobbled up recently. Note: I have book boyfriends in each of these.

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

This is the second book in the series – the first is Daughter of Smoke & Bone. Let me tell you: this is one of the most gorgeously written, inspired and creatively told series I’ve ever read. The world Laini Taylor built, the sheer magic of it, is just beyond. I’m not usually into fantasy, but this is the stuff right here. It transcends genre preferences due to sheer perfection.

Book boyfriend: Akiva

Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor

The third and final book in the Smoke & Bone series. My heart! Seriously, READ THIS SERIES. And then let’s talk about it.

Book boyfriend: Akiva (again and forever)

We Were Liars by e. lockhart

This was a recommendation from Brooke. I blazed through this one in a few hours. It reads effortlessly and is super brilliantly written. I can’t say too much about it without giving things away, but read it. Read it. Read it.

Book boyfriend: Gat

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

This is the first in a three-part series and, again, sort of in the fantasy realm. Also again, a very engrossing and beautifully written start to the series. The second book, called The Dream Thieves (book boyfriend: Ronan), is also top-notch.

Book boyfriend: Gansey

Lola & The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (a re-read)

It’s set in San Francisco, so I had no choice but to like it. The reasons for loving this book were A) Cricket Bell (book boyfriend) and B) Lola’s dads, whom Stephanie Perkins wrote as beautifully well-rounded people rather than a rubber-band ball of stereotypes.

There were some fluffy romance novels mixed in there, too, but these have been the ones to stick with me recently.

And now I’m left yearning for more words to gobble.

So! Recommendations for what to read next (I promise I read books that aren’t young adult, too)? Have you read any of these books and want to discuss? My part of the discussion will probably involves ALL CAPS. Let’s talk in the comments!