blo͞om

HOLY SMOKES IT WAS AWESOME!

I just returned from bloom, an incredible dance party! My friend, Jason, and his girlfriend, Jen, ferried me an hour away, to a renovated abandoned building for this epic venture.

There were four rooms / two floors with individual sets of DJs! I spent a good deal of time running around, trying to experience them all.

I met a few of Jason’s friends at the venue. First was Steve, a super friendly fella who I saw a few more times roaming from room to room. We talked for a little bit. Then there was this RED HAIRED LADY (Madison). She had the coolest Alice in Wonderland tattoos all over, (and she liked the zebras on my dress)!

Jason had a knack befriending interesting people. Sometimes he would just dance with a random guy, and a song later, they would exchange numbers. Their dance was like a primal gesture that signaled friendship! I was super impressed! His gift was also how he got us invites to after parties.

The highlight of evening came from a lady dancing with a flow wand. I’d never seen a flow wand before, so I was enthralled. Her ethereal look, combined with the levitating stick, made her look suuuper pretty. She spotted me half-way across the dancefloor, grabbed my hand, and gave me a bracelet with shiny beads, stars, and the words: “always believe”!!!!! She then touched my head, and said something drowned out by the music. I imagined it was something like, “I like your hair” or “welcome to the secret society of awesome people”.

Bloom was such an good time. I hope we go on more of those fun expeditions.

For now, I’m off to bed.

‘Cause it’s 0 to 60 in 3.5

I just can’t stop listening to the Rihanna song, after hearing it  in a movie I saw this weekend: Wreck-It Ralph.

Wreck-It Ralph was all sorts of awesome. It tickled me with hours of delectable video game references and the blast-from-the-past cameos. I was dying from the Browser and Sonic cameos.

My favorite character has to be Calhoun. How can anyone not love her, with that sassy voice of Sue Sylvester? She’s just one dynamite gal.

I’m also in love with Skrillex “Bug Hunt” track. It’s *exactly* my type of music.

Other notable awesomeness were the detail of the animation. I read an article about the subtlies of King Candy’s walk animation, about how his feet twirl like wheels, and how his hands “shift gears”. Amazing!

Wreck-It Ralph was a really good time. I think I’ll enjoy it more as time goes on, when it becomes “old but cool.”

This, our town of Halloween

There was a chill in the air, this past All Hallows’ Eve when my friends and I boarded the commuter rail to Salem. Yes, the witch-trail Salem, also the party town Salem for hoards of ghouls and gals that flooded the streets in festive attire.

We inhaled the music and the scene.

After a brisk walk, we stumbled onto a carnival, beckoned by the electric lights of the Ferris Wheel.
With a few magical tickets, we climbed into a mechanical menace. While my friends laughed heartily, I gripped the safety bar in-front of me for dear life. I didn’t know why I decided to ride that ride. Roller coasters terrified me. Momentarily bewitched by the ambiance, I lost reason, and suffered the next eternity screaming at every momentary acceleration. It was fun, but TERRIFYING.

The rest of the night flew by super fast. We stopped by a quaint hotdog vendor and gawked at the vast variety of edible awesomeness. We greeted a man who wore a Sleep No More mask.  We saw awesome fireworks in the distance, awkwardly inapropos for Halloween, but nevertheless festive.

The ride home was filled with loud and people hilariously singing and making general ruckus. It was definitely a lot of fun. Definitely not as spooky as I’d imagined, but still awesome was this  Salem, our town of Halloween.

Return to Ravnica

Sound the trumpets!

The megalopolis is back!

One one fine weekend in September, a friend and I hiked far into uncharted lands for Magic’s Return to Ravnica pre-release event. We each pledged a guild. I applied for the Azorius Senate, beholder of justice and law. He joined the ranks of Rakdos, bringer of pain.

We played epic games nonstop till the late evening. Even though I didn’t fare as well as he did, I was able to summon my Utvara Hellkite in a couple of matches. It always brought me a smile watching my opponent quiver in its wake.

The pre-release was exceptionally fun. I saw a few of the people I’d met at Friday Night Magic, and was surprised by a long-ago friend attending as a referee. Magic events just keep on getting better.

MBTA Command Center

I discovered a few months ago that our local subway offers tours of its command center!
Super exciting!

Wandering among large buildings in the early mornings, I stood at the front door of the serious-business office, staffed by officials in subway uniforms. I was impressed by the variety of people that showed up and acquainted myself with the hodgepodge tourists.

“C’mon in.”
A lady, donning a sunflowery dress and a lanyard-badge, signaled for us for follow her.

One by one, we trailed behind her and sardined ourselves in an elevator.

The elevator opened up to a gleaming hallway, not unlike any esteemed hotel.
The lady gripped the handlebars of a large wooden door, and with the sweeping extension of her arm, turned the knobs and revealed a large conference room, overseeing the the entire command operations on the floor below.

It was incredibly movie-esque: the wide of cameras, the light-up display boards, and the radio hum seeping through the conference room’s glass walls.

The lady began to explain some of the intricacies of being a subway command center operator.
She excitedly articulated what I thought was the coolest tidbit: the “East to West” phenomenon.
“East to West” was the guarantee that the very last subway trains of the night made all of their possible connections! The amount of planning for it to happen was incredible!

The tour was enlightening. I learned a lot about the subway.
Now, I’ll view them in a interesting light on my everday ride.

Cape Cod

I’ve never been to Cape Cod.

So when my friends semi-spontaneously decided to head there for the weekend, I was super excited! We left late Friday and arrived at my friend’s awesome estate. I called it an estate because it was super big, looked out into the sea, and surrounded by lovely hydrangeas and lush greenery.

First night at Cape Cod was spent pressing our feet into ocean sand under the dark of night and wordcrafting in a cozy game of Scrabble.

Next morning was greeted with a vast array of different kinds of cereal!
Squee!
It was such a rare opportunity to be able to mix the different cereals in a bowl.
The day just became amazing.

Up next: candy shop!
We walked around the quaint little town of Chatham and filled our sweet tooth at the Candy Manor. I sampled some super delicious/famous fudge of chocolate-raspberry-goodness and filled a bag with salt water taffies.

Hmm hmmm.

Upon return to the estate, hot from the walk, we ran into the cool, clear waters.
Splat splat!
To my surprise, the floor of the watery shore was mud, not sand.
I wiggled my toes in the muddy shallows and felt the brushing of swimming minnows that flocked around me. Large crabs also scurried every which way, sometimes startling me.

After a heartily-long time in the water, and after a very pleasant dinner with my friend’s family, my friends and I headed to Sundae School for an amazing treat.
I got a delicious scoop of raspberry oreo ice cream that could rival my longterm favorites.

A beautiful electrical storm came over the cape that night. As rain downpoured outside and lightning lit up the sea, we all huddled on a wee-bit-too-small couch and watched Gravity Falls, a very endearing cartoon.

I got back today.

The trip to Cape Cod was amazing! I wish we could go on more of these epic adventures. Many thanks to my friend for putting up with our antics and providing his lovely home. Perhaps we shall return there someday!

Kitty

Run away! Run away!

That’s what my roomie’s kitty, Twist, would usually do at the sound of the slightest of footsteps. It’s a very timid kitty, most likely to be found hiding under my roomie’s bed.

Last night, however, Twist dared to venture out. It slowly walked up to me, tilted its head, extended its neck, and closed its eyes. It wanted to be petted! By me!

I felt so honored!

I hope to become good friends with this adorably soft feline.

^______^

Of Fireworks and Boogieman

Fireworks is quite the elicitor of polarized feelings.

On one hand, bright explosions against the night sky is super fun to watch. On the other, I’m easily spooked, and am deeply unsettled by loud noises.

My 4th of July evening was spent grappling with these feelings.

I call it “small animal instinct,” the urge to jump at every BOOM!
It’s not the loudness, but the suddenness that is startling. A well-timed holler would send me flying out of my seat.

My devious friends always played with my jumpy nature.

On night, in my sleepy haze, I stumbled to the bathroom and left the door to my room open.
Upon my return, I sensed something was amiss.
I glanced around. All was dark. All was quiet.
Not certain of the nature of the foul play, I trendily tiptoed to my bed.
Moments before I climbed under the covers, a hand reached out and grabbed my ankle!

I screamed and bolted into the hallway, arms flailing and heart racing, while laughter emanated from under my bed.

I sometimes wish I wasn’t quite so jumpy. It would definitely make fireworks more enjoyable. However, I would miss out on all those funny life stories and experiences. While terrifying in the moment, they provide many chuckles when reminiscing, and I do love the funnies.

Down by the Sea

I savored the tang of ozone and electricity in the salty air as my heels dug into the sand, still cool from the storm moments before.

It was good to be away from the city, to be in a seaside paradise, if only for a weekend.

The sun was setting. It’s beams peered through the dark clouds and lightning that peppered the skyline.

I tossed off my flip-flops and ran towards the sea.
Shells pebbled the landscape and pricked my too-tender city feet.
No matter.

I began my dance with the yellow-footed snowy egrets.

Waddling behind these birds up and down the shoreline, I was careful to only place my feet on their tracks.

At the end of the foxtrot, a beautiful conch shell crossed my path.
Its spirals and hue marked it for a fairytale treasure, such as a mermaid’s horn.

With a gentle tug, I lifted it to press it to my ear, to listen to the whispers of an underwater kingdom.

AHHH! HOLY SMOKES IT WAS ALIVE! IT’S EYESPOTS WERE LOOKING AT ME! IT’S FOOT WAS WIGGLING! I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST SAND BUT IT WAS DEFINITELY NOT SAND!

NATURE, YOU SCARY!

Rocky Horror Picture Show

*spoiler and indecency warning*

“You gotta put a V on your forehead!”

My friend said this to me days before our highly anticipated trip to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show. A beloved local theater was closing, and with it was the end of a long era of Rocky Horror live.

We decided to catch the third to last showing and decked out in full makeup and risqué attire.

Outside the theater, the lines stretched for miles. People definitely went all out for the sold-out show.

After everyone got seated, audience members were selected for a crude affair. Three Rocky Horror virgins held Twinkle bars near their crotch while three others tried to eat them as fast as possible.

It was quite hilarious.

Then began the show.

Let there be lips!

The audience injected lines into the movie, danced to the Time Warp, and threw miscellaneous items at an unfortunate soul in row 5.

Overall, Rocky Horror was a lot of fun…though perhaps not quite my cup of tea…