Inspiration Board with a muxtape on the side

My plans to hang out with Diana this past Wednesday were foiled. So that meant no photoshop for me. I'm going to have to wait 'till the 12th now and with no camera to play around with I turned to GIMP to fill up my time. What a headache, I have no idea how to use anything so I've just been clicking buttons and copying and pasting pictures and this is what I got. While I was doing this, I started listening to some music and thought that maybe one of the features of this blog could be a weekly or bi-weekly Inspiration Board/Muxtape mix-up. The "theme" of this was supposed to be a lazy summer afternoon/night deal. I'm not really sure I accomplished that with this picture but I think I faired better on the music side. Any passers by have opinions/thoughts on this idea?

Lazy Summer Nights

TiLT #1

*BtVS- I am an avid addict of any type of story telling format (books, tv shows, manga, anime etc). My new main squeeze is Buffy and I've been marathoning episodes for a while. Today I finished watching the 2nd season. 5 seasons to go!

*my sisters radio- Veronica has this Hello Kitty radio that my grandma bought for her a year or two ago. The radio's new home is in our kitchen and I love blaring it whenever I have to clean up.

*my new sunglasses- I didn't end up getting the willy wonka sunglasses (lack of funds) but I did find these snazzy pair of sunglasses in a dollar store. I lurve them. They're brown, 50's styled and wonderful.

*Twitter- Oh man, I signed up for a twitter account this week and I'm addicted. Today I downloaded a "desktop" app for it called Twhirl which just added to the awesomisity (yes I made that word up) of Twitter.

*This picture- I love Marilyn Monroe in general and this is one of my favorite pictures of her.

Weekly Resolutions

|*|

*clean my room

*get photoshop from Diana -- couldn't, didn't end up going to her house
*get 30$
* find camera charger
*return beads and start a cross-stitch
* make at least 3 blog posts throughout the week
*cut hedges
*get willy-wonka glasses? --no (no money)
*apply for jobs (cross your fingers for me!)
*finish organizing my files on mom's computer
* bring mom's (soon to be mine!) bike to the bike shop--find out what I need to do to get it fixed

SYTYCD Top 4

Ugghh it's 2am why aren't I in bed yet? I'll go to sleep after posting this.

Anyways I thought I should post my reactions to who got chosen for the Top 4. I'm okay with everyone except Courtney. She's a wonderful dancer but I personally prefer Chelsie.
Here's how I want the Top 4 to place next week in the finale.

1. Katee
2. Joshua
3. Twitch
4. Courtney

I'd prefer either 1 or 2 winning and I could also see 3 and 4 switching places too. But then again Courtney got the most votes this week (overall in the girls category at least) so maybe she'll end up winning?

I've heard some rumors of a Hairspray sequel (do not want), does anyone know if that was the movie that Adam was talking about?

p.s. I promise things won't stay as mundane as they are now. All I've been doing lately is chores, watching BtVS and reading. Once I start cross stitching, and being able to post WIWT (What I Wore Today) entries, things should pick up.

Dumb It Down

You've been shedding too much light Lu

(Dumb it down)

You make'em wanna do right Lu

(Dumb it down)

They're getting self-esteem Lu

(Dumb it down)

These girls are trying to be queens Lu

(Dumb it down)

They're trying to graduate from school Lu

(Dumb it down)

They're starting to think that smart is cool Lu

(Dumb it down)

They're trying to get up out the hood Lu

(Dumb it down)

I'll tell you what you should do

(Dumb it down)

Dumb It Down

LUPE FIASCO - DUMB IT DOWN
Uploaded by JNUELZ

RAGE --> SYTYCD

I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT WILL GOT SENT HOME!

WTF?!?

I'm going to go watch Dr. Horrible again and some Buffy to cheer myself up.

p.s. At least I have a strong feeling that Will will continue on with dance, it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up with Alvin Ailey. And at the very least he got a ton of exposure with the show. I also want to know where Will got his "The Cool Ingredients" t-shirt that he was wearing today (...Check your ingredients, before you overdose from the cool.)

Hypocrisy?

I had a very..... startling and upsetting thing happen to me this morning on my way to summer school.

I was walking along York to SJAM and this guy starts talking to me;

Random Guy: I wish it was 1950 so you would be considered the nigger that you are instead of me, nigger.
Me:.................................................................................... >_> (wtf?)
Random other guy getting into his car: I'm sorry that you had to deal with that. It's ridiculous.
Racist guy formerly known as the random guy: *somethingsomething* (I was too far away at this point to hear everything) shut the fuck up! *something something*
Random other guy: Yeah whatever keep living that good life you have**, you faggot!
Me: T_T

That was first time in my entire life I've ever been talked to like that. Every other form of racism that I've dealt with has either been patronizing-passive aggressive (a certain someone being surprised I could read) or has occurred behind my back so I'm not aware of it.

After I calmed down I started replaying the whole "conversation" in my head. Why did that guy find it so revolting to see me being called a nigger, but find it appropriate to the situation to call that racist guy a fagget? Nothing in our three way pseudo conversation was anything said to lead either of us to assume that racist guy was homosexual. But nice-random-guy threw the word fagget out there as an insult?

Hmmm...... it's frustrating for me because "gay" has become the favorite new adjective (alongside others like "sick" and "emo") to be re-branded. So now instead of meaning either happy or homosexual, "gay" is an insult or meant to describe something or someone that is stupid.

It seems we as a society have moved on from targeting black people (at least in the open with no "repercussions") to gay people. Not to say that black people aren't being targeted because regardless of what a lot of people think or say, racism (sexism etc.) is alive and kicking. 50+ years from now we'll have moved on to some other group of people that are different from what is perceived as the norm.

Also I'm guessing that some people who know me are wondering why I didn't cuss that ignorant fool out. Well at the time I was just left utterly speechless. But looking back on it now, even if I did react I still don't think I would have said anything. I don't know if that person is drunk or high or has a weapon on their person. Too many people have dedicated their entire lives and poured their sweat and blood to give me the opportunities I have, for me to be wasting my time on an ignorant fuck, who wouldn't have been "enlightened" regardless of any witty come backs I would have thrown his way. I don't have time for that bullshit.

**=this was obviously a sarcastic remark since this guy looked like a strung out bum.

A PostSecret that I happen to share

STYLE INSPIRATION v.1

-------------various pictures that inspire me and make me question how I define my own style (sources: Style Sightings , LOOKBOOK & The Face Hunter)

Odd People and their Odd Ways

weird weird weird by monamonamona on flickr

Have you ever used something public (bus, library etc.) and seen something crazy and/or something that has secured or shaken your belief in humanity? I've seen all three but right now at Central Library there's a man beside me with some weird fetish with lambs. And he keeps "shaking" oddly in his seat from time to time. Riiighhhhttt >_>

ETA: O_O Never mind the man is fully watching cowboy (I think) porn (it's more like a repeated image) and really should just go in the bathroom and "relieve" himself so I don't feel so uncomfortable.

ETA: I just got impatient and ratted on the guy to the librarian. Hopefully my raised voice carried over and he'll chicken out and stop cyber-sex chatting

T_T

Wide Eyes Shut............apathy at its best

We are by nohablo on flickr

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Hmmm.. good way to start off an entry, I know. But that's the shortest and most articulate way that I can show you my perticular feelings towards apathy. Teenage apathy to be specific. I just finished having a conversation with my friend Diana while reading through some Adbuster magazines at Central and it was relieving to see someone besides myself left agape at how "out of it" my peers are. A lot of teens seem to only see one or more of the following things:

1. validating themselves or their egos through objects or through "opinions" of others (or through their school marks)

2. School (studying for exams, finishing one of a 100 things)

3. Social Events

4. The new episode of ANTM or Girlicious

5. Latest gossip in school

..............................

>_> It does not help that most of my peers come from homes with parents that are exactly the same. Except they confuse "information" with "knowledge" and "knowledge" with "wisdom" and think that once High School is over so is all the so called pettiness that goes with it. So you know, they can continue to act like their sons and daughters. But it's not the same because obviously people don't act like this or that outside of High School. I really really think this is just another thing that people delude themselves about. Honestly, people have this idea in their minds that High School is this distorted caricature of this patented hell designed for us special teenagers. But it's not. It's what life is like concentrated because atleast IMHO you don't get a chance like that again to see so many different types of people thrown into one place and trying to interact/ignore eachother.

I'd like to have a conversation with a person I don't know about something other than SYTYCD (which I love by the way.) I'd like to not feel the need to resort to using either television or superficial means to connect to people. I'd also love for people to stop telling teenagers, this is how I expect you to act, (hate yourself, drink constantly, not being aware of anything besides your own backyard.) and this is how you're going to act. And I'm going to make excuses for you every step of the way, because you're my baby and I most protect you at all costs. It's so damaging in so many ways. We're all walking around with our eyes wide shut into walls we can't see, bashing our heads again again and again.

I just want to talk to people who are conscious of what's going on around them, but it seems like a lot to ask of a lot of people...

psst, I apologize for abusing run on sentences like there's no tomorrow.

BOO! I'm back

Photo Credit: Volar @ Flickr
whoops. After coming back from Egypt, school and friendship drama swallowed me whole and so I had a bit of an internet death. Summer is here now and I'll keep up weekly posts now about whatever I'm getting up to. And if I decide to not be a lazy bum about it, I might write up a post on my adventures in Egypt.

EGYPT!!!

AHH! Only about 2 days left 'till I leave on my trip to Egypt! I'm bursting with glee (is that even a word?) right now. There's still a heap of stuff I need to do though. =/

I have to pack, buy stuff, make lists of everything I'm bringing etc. I was supposed to finish packing yesterday and of course I haven't even started yet, so my mom's going to kick my ass when I get home, oh well.

And today I should finish a couple of things off my 101 list because I need to get addresses together for the 22 (!!!!) postcards I need to send out while I'm in Egypt.

Because I'm so lucky I also have a mild cold =/ It's not that bad but I have a very annoying runny nose but it should be gone by wednesday (which is the day I leave).

Oh and I got my friend Diana to do a list of 101 things in 1001 days so I finished one thing off my list now. Hopefully I can get everything I need to get done before I leave (schoolwork =[ )

-Valentina

101 things to do in 1001 days

The passage of Time by ToniVC on Flickr

For some reason or another I'm a list person. I write lists on scrapes of paper, on my cell phone, on the back of my hand etc. etc. I just feel more comfortable when I have things I need to get done organized and written down somewhere. Ironically it's rare for me to actually get everything done on whichever list so this whole experiment is a way for me to kill the procrastinator in me.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.
Source: triplux

Start Date: February 23, 2008
End Date: November 14, 2010
Time left= 850 days (as of July 17th, 2008)

Number of Items Completed: 12/101

BSome common goal setting tipsB

-Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.
Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.
-Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.
-Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.
-Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.


1. Clean my room and keep it that way [0/2]
2. Re-decorate my room in colors and hues of purple
3. Watch movies that I've wanted to watch for ages (make one primary list of all these movies) [0/2]
4. Same with books [0/2]
5. Organize all the junk in my room
6. Stop procrastinating
7. Eat healthier
8. Start doing yoga
9. Learn to sew (from Grandma?)
10. Get a job
11. Take photography classes
12. Start writing in my blog more (July 2008)
13. Start a journal and write in it every 3 days (June 2008)
14. Send a postcard to Post Secret
15. Try 5 new foods [0/5]
16. Learn to cook
17. Cook family dinners for a week [0/7]
18. Take better care of my hair
19. Take better care of myself
20. Go out with my friends more
21. Have a fake camping sleep over
22. Travel to 3 cities I've never visited before [0/3]
23. Go thrift shopping in Toronto
24. Go to Guv one day (June 25th, 2008 BURN THE BOOKS!)
25. Start working on cross stitching project for Grade 12 (Classics)
26. Smile at 6 strangers [4/6]
27. Buy make-up brushes
28. Learn actual makeup techniques
29. Leave comments on the blogs I read [2/14]
30. Return my library books ON TIME!!!
31. Pay off ALL my library fines
32. Start taking Japanese lessons again
33. Do the 24 hour famine
34. Drink at least two bottles of water a day (for two weeks to form a habit) [0/14]
35. Go hiking with friends twice this summer [0/2]
36. Have a baking party
37. Go on a road/train trip
38. Volunteer at 3 different places [0/3]
39. Get 2-3 magazine subscriptions
40. Spend 15 minutes every night stretching [0/14]
41. Watch every episode of 'Sex and the City" in one weekend with Veronica and my mom (July 2008)
42. Send a care package to a friend for no reason
43. Make a dress from a pattern
44. Enter a writing contest
45. Buy myself a sewing machine and a serger [0/2]
46. Read the whole Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Series
47. Buy myself a D-SLR
48. Fix up my mom's bike
49. Get up at 6am every morning [7/14]
50. Make an entertaining phone answering-machine message
51. Go to the Vfest one summer
52. Get a facial
53. Go snow tobogganing
54. Learn to count to ten in 5 languages [0/5] (Not counting French or Japanese)
55. Start my own savings account
56. Save half of all paychecks
57. Get 4 different colors in my hair (not counting blue) [0/4]
58. Start taking piano lessons again
59. Start volunteering in Journalism orianted places
60. Make every recipe in a single cookbook
61. Learn some sort of web programming
62. Learn how to use photoshop (2nd semester of g. 10)
63. Copy all my contact info from my cell to an actual phone book
64. Get all the addresses I need for egypt
65. See the Sex and the City movie (Didn't like it)
66. Eat only raw foods for one week.
67. Leave flowers on a strangers doorstep
68. Start keeping track of every penny I spend
69. Read one of Candace Bushnell's books
70. Start bringing lunch to school [0/14]
71. Inspire at least one other person to start a 101 in 1001 list [Diana Feb 27th 2008]
72. Stop drinking soda for 50 days [0/14]
73. Take a sign language class
74. Make a post when I do 10 of these things (0/10)
75. Write an article for the school newspaper
76. Start writing again
77. Backup my info on my computer on a separate hard drive or on cds
78. Get a tattoo
79. Get another piercing
80. Get a manicure
81. Figure out which University I want to go to (Ryerson or Carleton or Western, March 2008)
82. Learn more about the History of Fashion
83. Go on the bungee jump like ride at Canada's Wonderland
84. Go skinny dipping
85. Have a picnic in a park (Had one with Rachael)
86. Get my family to do Earth Hour (March 31st 2008)
87. No television for a week
88. Get a pen pal
89. Start and finish the iCiNG Transformation Challenge (Life got in the way)
90. Start a new 101 in 1001 list
91. Go play bingo with friends
92. Do something nice for my parents
93. See Roisin Murphy Live!!! (probably won't happen since she doesn't come to North America, but I can dream)
94. Go horse back riding
95. Get a massage
96. Re-learn how to do CPR
97. Have my fortune told
98. Deal with the EC problem (March 2008)
99. Pay back all money (Egypt and Classics) to Mom
100. Learn to play DDR better
101. Host 3 themed parties [0/3]

Purple Perfection Inspiration

These pictures makes me so happy in such an indescribable way (The picture is from StyleClicker June 1st 2007). Everything about this is perfect. I'm going to base my room around this outfit, when I paint my room in the spring I'm doing everything in shades of purple. I can't wait! When I'm done I'm going to have a wall (maybe I'll call it my inspiration wall? I'm not sure yet name wise) and have my friends come in and doodle to their hearts content. I'm also trying to find a giant clock for one of the walls of my room but I haven't been able to find any affordable ones yet.

I don't *hate* how my room is right now but I've outgrown it and I'm itching for a change. It's orange and maroon right now with black desks.

I blame you Helena! Now all I can think about is clubbing and I really don't want to go anywhere in Hamilton. My school is having something on March 19th (the day after I come back from Egypt) and I'm looking forward to it but it's nowhere near what Guvernment is like. That place looks aaammmaazziiing. Guv is having an all ages thing on March 13th but I won't be here so I'll have to wait 'till the end of school to go. Hopefully they'll have another Blackout event. *crosses fingers*

-Valentina

PS: Diana is a hottie with a body and a cutie with a booty. Be jealous.

Valentina

That's me pulling a very attractive face

Hi, for whatever reason you're reading this right now. So welcome to my "me" blog which won't really have any certain focus. I'll talk about clothes and my personal style. I'll gush about anime or manga that I'm into at the moment and as it says in my bio, anything else that comes to mind.

Right now I feel like talking about self esteem, boys and dating. So as any usual teenager would do, I was snooping through my mom's jewelery and found this beautiful amethyst pendant and what I think is a diamond ring. I took to wearing her amethyst pendant to school but after finding out from her that yes, it was real, I stopped wearing it so I wouldn't lose it. But that ring that I found has been on my hand constantly for the last 3-4 months. I'm left handed and when I started wearing it, the ring felt weird on my middle finger so I started wearing it on my ring finger of my left hand. Well I've never been one of those girls whose always dreamed of a perfect wedding and Barbies bore me so the whole engaged thing never entered my mind. But after going to some relatives houses over the holidays I kept getting sarcastic comments about who was I seeing, and when was I getting married etc. etc. I usually just said oh I'm just seeing myself right now at the time without really thinking about it, because I haven't been in a rush to get a boyfriend either. A couple weeks later I was reading an article written by the amazing Gala Darling on and was completely fascinated. What she was saying made complete sense. Why is everyone in such a rush to go find a special someone when they don't even love themselves first? It just seems like you're asking for trouble. I've learned from years of having no self-esteem that you'll look everywhere and anywhere for approval, and that you usually need several positive comments to feel comfortable doing something. And even then you only feel like you got those comments because whoever gave them to you felt like they had to.

I'm very lucky to have an amazing mother who doesn't doubt herself and isn't afraid to speak her mind and it seems like its finally rubbing off on me. If you go to my school and have known me for more than 1-2 years you'd be able to tell by how I dress. I sadly at the time don't have much of a social life and school is the place where I have an audience to express myself in front of the most often. So I've experimented a lot and my style (which I didn't ever really have until September) has gone through a huge change. Me having little to no self confidence in middle school, (despite having been told I have an admirable figure) usually hid in ridiculously large and baggy clothing. In middle school, especially grade 8, I would trek to school in converse (which are about to die =[ ) track pants and a huge ass sweater/hoodie. I would tie my hair up and maybe where eyeshadow. Even though I wasn't miserable 24/7 I looked like crap most days and I didn't care that I looked this way.

Then grade 9 began. A part of the problem with me wearing clothing that didn't fit me was that my mom is a huge worry wart and didn't want me, quote on quote "exposing my developing body" (it wasn't me that she didn't trust, it was the WORLD *enter dramatic music here*). So if she saw something she thought I might like she'd get me a size L or XL. Even though I'm usually a M. I didn't care in middle school and I would just shrug, say thank you and wear whatever she got me if I liked it. Buut then I started to want to wear clothing that fit me in gr.9 and brought my mom's comfort level up with my incessant nagging. If you're wondering about my dad's opinion on this, well I'm still my daddy's little girl and he doesn't notice that I have breasts yet so he doesn't really object to what I wear. I also started experimenting with makeup a lot more.

I started getting interested in DIY fashion in gr.9 too but me being a procrastinator to the max, I haven't actually made anything....yet! And then sometime in August I found Gala Darlings blog (I cannot for the life of me remember how I stumbled across her blog) and the rest was history. From there I started visiting sites like Hel Looks, Face Hunter and Sartorialist. I got extremely interested in fashion, street fashion to be precise and in September when school started I went to the ground running. I guess my style right now is how my friend Tala would say (she was talking about my personality in general) is supposedly full of contradictions that just aren't when combined by me. I love colors and I am OBSESSED with stockings and would have a lot more if I had the funds to sustain my addiction. I like doing what other teens consider weird and I'd much rather get strange looks then blend into the crowd. I like to play around with my hair a lot too, and in the past couple of months have formed the habit of dissecting other peoples outfits. I'm not very cultured so I guess I'd say my inspiration is life and I usually run my outfits past my other halves (Veronica and Olivia, my beautiful sisters whom I love dearly.)

And umm holy crap what a tangent but anyways I've decided that yes I'm dating myself and that I'm taken until further notice.

-Valentina