To the beat of my own drummer

According to my sister, this is how I dance:

Can't say I disagree with her.

THE STEPS

graciously provided for anyone up to the challenge 

(of looking challenged)

Video for No One

I'm trying to do all my procrastinatory activities before my summer classes start up, pretending I can "get them out of my system" and hit the ground diligent. Make-believe is fun.

Clips from the past two years of my iMovie life, set to "Song for No One" by Miike Snow.
(Yeah, I'm sooo trindie.)

For my fellow "deeks" (dumb geeks): This was made on iMovie'09 using clips from my flip video and built-in laptop camera. 

This Is Just To Say

I am eating

your chips

that were in

the green bag

and which

you bought probably

to eat

after school

Forgive me

though not hungover

I need

some good grease

Sorry, Caroline.

Fun with Family: A Touchy Topic

Happy December, Blog!

Oh gosh. I feel like I have some ‘splaining to do because I’ve been away for a bit of a while. But, as someone once said, “excuses are like [mom won't let me type this part]: everyone’s got one and they all stink.”

So ta-dah. No excuses here. I lazy. I so lazy, verbs not typed. (“typed” is  a passive past participle. Did I have to specify that I meant action verbs? Damn you, grammar nerdzis….)

So, let’s catch-up. A lot has happened since last post. Several days, one holiday (two if you count Eid), and at least two family gatherings. Most notably, I’ve become a game inventor.

The idea came to me on Thanksgiving day, post meal. My family and I were all crowded into our family room, which was awkward, because normal post-feast protocol is that the grown-ups (my parents, my great uncle and his girlfriend, my dad’s cousin and his wife) go into the living room and do whatever it is middle aged people do (drink? sleep? break dance?) and we kids (my three siblings and three second-cousins) hang out in the family room, where we watch silly television and laugh at how Caroline and Brian fall asleep after two minutes. (Whew, run-on sentence. How do you like me now, nerds?)

Back to this year. Something in my dad’s brain must have short-circuited because he led the adults into the family room to (literally) rub elbows with we childrenfolk. Both my brother and I subtly and politely tried to alert him of his faux pas, Excuse me, old man, are you lost? but he brushed off our hints, mumbling something about letting old people lie.

Regardless of their additional company, Caroline and Brian quickly fell into their ritual stupors. With football as the only source of TV “entertainment,” I soon shifted my focus from the television to the most interesting spectacle in the room: my sleeping sister. What a monumental shift that turned out to be. One glance at Caroline, and I found myself eyes-to-nostrils with an opportunity to unleash my creative genius.

I’m no artist.  I want to show you what I saw, but my passion and desire to share my gift with the world are the only things (note lack of artistic training) that guided my hand as I attempted to recreate the blank canvas that lay before me.

Don't be scared. It's just a drawing. 

I called my vision "CGGenga" (pronounced C-G-Jenga) as an homage to both my subject and the classic family game "Jenga."

My siblings and I started the first round, taking turns touching Caroline's nostril. If someone woke her up, all players would exclaim "Jenga!" and the offending toucher would be declared the loser of that round.

         

After the popularity of the preliminary rounds, cousins Olivia and Matt soon joined in on the fun, and my Great Uncle's 80-something-year-old girlfriend, Elaine, thought the game was a laugh riot. (Ah, Elaine. I knew I liked her.)

Unfortunately, Caroline didn't "get" the brilliance we had created, and deemed the game "disrespectful." Because of her pivotal role in the game, her disapproval has put any future rounds on hold. I've offered her a 20% cut of the profits, but she remains obstinate.

I'll get her one day, though.

Right now she is a sturdy tower, but I have the patience and strategy to win her over. I am Joshua, and she is my Jericho. Brick by brick, I shall work on her resistance, dreaming of the day when her walls shall come tumbling down, and my army and I shall exclaim triumphantly, "Jenga!"

Little Darling, Big Sister

                                              

Happy Birthday, Caroline.

These Foolish Things (Remind Me of Lou)

A few months before she left for college, Lydia (aka "LouLa," "Lou," and "the twin with girl parts") decided to downsize and move from "the wing" into Caroline's room. (sidenote: I love calling Lydia's former area "the wing" because it makes her sound like a freak child we keep locked up and never acknowledge, when in reality that's only occasionally the case.) Soon Caroline will come back home to go to law school, but where will she stay? 

Flash forward to this weekend. Mom has taken on the task of cleaning out the part of the house formerly known as "Lydia's Wing" in the advent of Caroline's return to Boston after two years in New Orleans. I've decided to use this blog as an opportunity to document some of the items Lydia had been keeping in her quasi-museum.  

Item #1 : A bevy of disposable cameras. I'm scared to get them developed. (By scared, of course, I mean too lazy.)

Item #2 : Beehive wig. Originally for one of her plays, It has come in handy in my own life more times than I'd like to admit. 

Item #3 : A metal detector. Kids all have their phases. I had to have a tamagotchi, Lydia just had to have...a metal detector.

Lydia has always been a chameleon; when she was little she'd switch her outfit at least three times a day. In a way this is still the case. Over the years her look has ranged from preppie to pork-pie hat. These three doodads my mom dug up will always be intrinsic artifacts of her unwavering self of self, testaments that she's still the same vivacious auburn-haired girl, just moving from one costume change to another.  

Giving in to sisteer pressure

Caroline, my older sister, sent me a simple one-line email a while back *encouraging* me to update my blog. After reading her message, I promptly opened a new window, checked out the latest in celebrity gossip, and decided what snack I would next make. A week or so later, I am here, heeding her request.

 But here's the inevitable conundrum: how does one "update" when there is little to which one has been "up to"? This is not to say the rest of the world has not been turning, and I send my insignificant albeit sincere condolences to the fans and loved ones of Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and Billy Mays.

 The biggest change at home has been the departure of Lydianne, my now francaise souer. Triste. Additionally, as you (my one reader, Caroline) might already know, I am supposed to be taking 2 classes this summer at BU in order to receive the ever-elusive college diploma I have dreamed about these past few months. Unfortunately, one of these classes (Acting: Comedy) might be cancelled because its roster currently consists of two students, me and a boy (or so I've assumed) named Youseff. One more student and we're good to go. However, if no one new signs up, the class shall self destruct. I will remain one credit short and still not know anyone named Youseff. I'm trying to find the "comedy" in that scenario. But I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 Also, Mo is engaged!!! Crazy, yes? Crazier still is that it is not to me. But yes yes my darling Mo is going to be married and even more importantly, I am going to be a bridesmaid! One of my biggest honors to date, and I can't wait to cry and make an innappropriate toast. Just kidding. Or am I? We'll just have to wait till April to find out. Also, dear sisters, as the first bridesmaid I promise to put my gown in the basement dress-up box when the ceremony is over. I'm a sucker for family traditions.

 Finally, as this post is pretty obviously directed to one person, I hope she knows I love her and can't wait to see her next weekend.