January 30th- Jon Hamm Day

I've officially dubbed this Saturday to be Jon Hamm Day. Jon plays the ultra suave Don Draper on the AMC original series Mad Men and is hosting SNL for the second time tonight. As you may already know, I just adore this man. Today has just been a day for ignoring homework and watching repeats of Mad Men's season 2 and just soaking in his handsome self.



Doesn't he look like a doll here? Ken would be so jealous.



He is also reprising his role as Liz Lemon's love interest in February on 30 Rock. Mark your calendars!



What I wouldn't give to be on the East Coast right now...

Love to you all,
Heather

Just Dream About/ How I Will Let Go

All of these stills are from An Education, which will be released on DVD in March. I listen to the soundtrack whenever I feel like I want to place myself into the past which is just nearly every other day of my life. Some of the composed pieces are excellent to write along to. I get teary-eyed often while listening. It happens a lot with me and composed music.



I've been having a multitude of strange dreams lately.

Monday- I was in a house with a big window attached and staring out the window into the window of the house directly across from it. In the opposite window a boy who looked very much like my brother who joined the Navy was standing there. I waved to him and he waved back. That was the dream. Somehow, it feels like he reached me in the dream, as a way of saying everything was okay with him. I felt very positive waking up.

Tuesday- I was running in a parking lot of a Target wearing a navy blue ballgown and heels. And laughing. I never laugh in my dreams so this was odd.

Wednesday (today)- To make up for all those happy dreams, I had my requisite sad one. In this dream, Conan O'Brien was going to host SNL (haha, that won't happen) and I was excited to watch it, but kept traveling between my old home state and California. Eventually I wound up in CA and was sitting on a bed in a room I had never been in with a beautiful man I had never met. We kissed for a little bit and I started to cry in the dream because he was just about amazing and in a weird way that I'm sure is not weird to others, I liked having his weight on me. Just doing nothing else, just having his weight on me. Woke up feeling like I wanted to cry.

Writing that last dream wasn't easy. In communications, we call it Social Penetration Theory in which you are like an onion and each layer you peel off reveals more about yourself to someone else. And though it was a very PG-13 dream, I still felt antsy about peeling that sort of layer about myself off...just 'cause it's me.



When people ask me about soulmates and such, I usually reply with some sort of flippant remark that ends with most people laughing. Deep down though, deep down, I do have moments where I sincerely doubt that I could ever meet the guy of my dreams. The idea of remaining in a long-term relationship with one other person does scare me. Who could put up with me for that long? I wonder if somewhere out there, there is a man thinking the exact same thing to himself.



I guess I'll find out one day.



On another, less introspective, note I have dropped my Creative Writing class. The one with the teacher who yelled at me. I feel much better now with that out of the way. It gives me more time to focus on my other projects for my other classes.

I'm rereading Franny and Zooey too. It's just impeccable. Don't you love reading a book where the protagonist and you are on the same level? Mmm, I sure do!

Love to you all,
Heather

Experience is My Teacher

College is making me stupid. It feels like a fact.

I'll backtrack. This week has been exceptionally busy and dreary, even for me. Until Saturday, it rained everyday. The rain created little shallow pools outside of my window, outside in the streets, everywhere. There were tornado warnings. In Southern California. How strange is that?



Classes started on Wednesday. Of the five I'm enrolled in (that's right, five classes in my last semester of college. that was a genius idea, right?), I meet with three on a regular basis.

Marketing is too soon to tell. The teacher wasn't there and they dismissed us early due to the rain.

Advertising is going to blow my mind. I already love it, the teacher is fantastic.

Creative Writing...uh oh.

Why did I write that to a class that I would naturally adore? I think it largely has to do with my professor whom I shared this lovely exchange on Wednesday with:

Me: *yawns* (Note: It was noon on a Wednesday and raining heavily outside in the gray sky.)
Prof: Excuse me (in my direction), did you have a big lunch today?
My brain: Is that some sort of fat remark? Why that....
Me: Oh no. No.
Prof: Really? Because I think I'm at a 7 out of 10 at how interesting one can be. And you're yawning.
Me: It...it has nothing to do with you. I just yawn a lot in class.

I did not exaggerate any of that either. It really did happen.
For the record, I do yawn. Often. I can't help it. I could be doing the most profoundly interesting thing on Earth and I would still yawn. I could be orbiting Jupiter and somehow, a yawn would escape from my lips. It's nothing personal. It's just how I am.

Meanwhile, there was a girl directly across from me who was falling asleep and he did not say a damn thing to her. Great.

I have that class tomorrow. Joy. Haven't finished the assignment yet either. Basically I have to use Maslow's Pyramid of the 5 Universal Needs to analyze why I like certain movies, TV shows, music, etc. Also known as the assignment where I feel incredibly unoriginal and as exciting as a Saltine cracker.

I don't like to analyze myself. I already know myself pretty well and I know what things in life I'm inclined to go towards. Sometimes I'll get surprised by something new which is great, but doesn't happen all that often.

Does college introduce new things to me? Occasionally, but that occasion grows less and less with me.



School aside, last week I worked at the Corporate Leaders Breakfast on Thursday morning which I enjoyed as usual. It's an opportunity to wear my suit and red high heels which automatically make me feel good, no matter what. I worked the name badge table, as usual, and was able to administer badges with some light flirting with the male RSVP list. Light because it's 7am and on that day, it was raining again.

Finally responding to some internship offers. I didn't really have the time to do it last week because of classes and work and getting my independent study form signed and approved. I like both of the offers very much and hopefully one or the other works out.

Freedom came on a rainy Friday.



I went out to celebrate my roomie's birthday. We saw a movie and went to a nice restaurant afterward. The champagne was excellent. I don't get a chance to drink it much for some reason.

Did my eyeballs accidentally roam over to two separate men on dates with their wives/girlfriends? No... The latter of the two was alarmingly attractive. He looked just like Viggo Mortensen. He knew how to hold eye contact well. We kept that up even as I walked out.

I have ADD with men. There's no cure.

Tomorrow starts a new week. The last of January already...

Love to you all,
Heather

City Girl

When I was in grade school, I was afraid of the dark. I slept with a neon phone glowing light pink in my room to avoid being swallowed into the pitch blackness and built a fort of stuffed snowmen and other assorted plushies to 'guard' me from any potential monsters under the bed or in the closet. My imagination was ridiculous. Combining Child's Play movies plus Pepsi after Pepsi right before I went to bed left me terrified that someone was going to bust out into my room welding a knife or chainsaw and hack me up to bits. I was more scared of a possible killer doll than an actual person. A rational child, I was not.

How did I stay sane and manage to eventually fall asleep?

Living in the city, my friends. Living in the city.

I took comfort in hearing the buses wheeze down the street. The sound of Ludacris rapping in a sonic boom pitch from a pimped-out ride.

In a way, by knowing that somewhere, someone and lots of someones actually, were awake and busy, I was able to not feel afraid about going to sleep and actually do it.



I LOVE SKYSCRAPERS! They are so tall and majestic and the construction work on them is usually very detailed and strong. When I'm surrounded by all that height, I feel very much at home, particularly when I'm in a building that has a spectacular window view.



So with that in mind, I found some photos of girls in the city. I would have put up many more photos but I'm not in my room right now where the bulk of the pictures are so I quickly Googled some other good shots.













This one is by the fabulous Peter Lindbergh, a post on him later...

Love to you all,
Heather

Queen Christina

Favorite dress of the Golden Globes evening? The radiant Christina Hendricks wearing a gown designed by Christian Siriano, the winner of Project Runway's Season Four.

Wow! She's truly a goddess in this ultra-flattering, peach dress.







Love to you all,
Heather

Give Me Your Heart and I Promise to Keep it Safe

Things seem to be getting worse before they get better.

Worldwide, as you all know, the country of Haiti suffered a tremendous earthquake on Tuesday. This would gravely affect the lives of anyone no matter where it happened, but Haiti is a third-world country. The quake caused several UN buildings to collapse including the headquarters in Port-au-Prince. They do not have the resources or finances that other countries are privileged to have so recovery for them must be as fast as possible. President Obama has already pledged to have money donated to the country and the first lady Michelle is also encouraging those to donate towards the relief effort.

Even though I myself don't have much money, I feel very much the need to give what I can. I get my paycheck tomorrow so I'm setting aside some money towards those in need. It is during times of crisis that we should not forget one another and by giving, even just a small amount, we really do help and create a difference in the lives of others.

At my job, the big topic of conversation is not Haiti but rather the NBC/Jay Leno/Conan O'Brien debacle. One of the women I work with has a son who is a staff writer for Conan and says that the news does not look good for the show at all. The network is threatening to bar him from being aired because Conan refused to take the 12:05 slot.

I adore Conan O'Brien and was fortunate enough to attend a taping of his show last summer. Little did I know it could potentially be the last time I get a chance to do so. Conan has refused to take the slot so that Jay Leno can get his old spot back and I fully stand by Conan's decision. NBC has made a complete mess out of The Tonight Show and as everyone in my office agrees, no one is going to be the winner here.



On the home front, my brother Earl is leaving home to join the Navy on Tuesday. He will go through basic training in Illinois and then move to Pensacola, Florida to work there for four years on the computer systems.

I'm very proud of him and excited for all that he will see and do, but I get antsy. He is my kid brother after all, the boy I spent my childhood goofing off with and teenage years spontaneously blowing up into fits of adolescent angst at. He's growing up, as is the rest of my family.

I'm still on the outs on how I feel about growing up.

Meanwhile, I'll be lucky if I have a chance to breathe this semester. It's my last one in college and this means...
* classes in marketing, advertising, and creative writing
* departmental honors in which I'm writing a big paper about social networking (I will try to stay as un-biased against Facebook as possible. That will be harder with Twitter.) which I get to present in our school's annual Festival of Scholars in April
* independent study program where I'll get to continue writing my fashion column for the school newspaper, but will explore the world of column writing in general
* work at both jobs, in my school's marketing department and as a writing tutor
* the 3 clubs I'm a member of

Winded yet? I am. Yet at the same time, people have come to expect constant business from me so on many levels, this is hardly surprising and nothing new.

Not on the list, but still very important are also:
* Blogging and Tumblring, my online loves
* Spending as much time as possible with my friends. Which won't be much time, but I'll find a way to make it work out.
* Jobs: The Search Continues
* Uh, if possible, try to avoid male distractions. They are somewhat to blame for that C+ in one of my classes last semester. 'Try' is the operative word here; I have ADD around guys and like a new one practically every week.
* Watch new seasons of Project Runway and Glee.



Life.

It's nonstop. Chaotic. Turns and twists and heartbreak and loneliness and joy and aging and birth and new destinations and old places all wrapped up in a big venti Starbucks cup.

Things might be bad and sometimes return to that bad place. Luckily, we remember just when we might have forgotten just how much we mean to one another and how very much just our presence makes such a difference to others. People say this all of the time and it remains a solid truth throughout the ages.

Everyone's got a good heart. I just know it.

Love to you all,
Heather

PS: A big, big thank you to Dibbly Fresh and Fashion Pearls of Wisdom for the awards!

Suit Up!

I'm posting this video because in addition to its obvious hilarity...

1) It will get you on the How I Met Your Mother bandwagon, in my opinion, instantly.

2) It's a song that pays homage and respect to my favorite male ensemble piece (sans the white dress shirt, but you guys already know about that).

3) Over the top! Madcap! Wild and crazy guy! I do love Neil Patrick Harris. This is my cue to mention that oh yeah, by the way, I did meet him at the airport once and he has autographed a book I owned that incidentally, also happened to be the same book I'm listed in the credits in that sat pretty on the NY Times bestselling list. 2009 was a pretty crazy year, I can say that much for certain.

I hope you enjoy the video!

Love to you all,
Heather

Insert Eye Related Pun Here

Alexis Bledel, you deserve a song about your eyes.



Reason #1
1) From a distance, in everything from professional photo shoots to TV appearances to old Gilmore Girls reruns, you cannot deny just how stunning they are. Like the perfect shade of ocean blue. Natural and gorgeous.



2) When I think of stars with great eyes, my thoughts tend to drift in the direction of Elizabeth Taylor (she of the violet hue), David Bowie (one blue and the other green) and Bette Davis (you really can't compose a list without her). Davis got a song for her peepers, entitled "Bette Davis Eyes" sung by the wonderful Kim Carnes.

By the way, Leighton Meester covered that song recently. Save your ears the 3 minutes and something seconds. Some songs just should not be covered.

I really can't think of any stars in my generation with remarkable eyes. Alexis could definitely get a song written about her and it would be a hit. Guaranteed.

If you had it performed by mopey guys with lots of product in their hair and lyrics composed of lines such as "craving the swollen splinter/I too fell into her clutches of silken winter" then it would be the hipster anthem of the decade. Just saying.



3) If Robert Rodriguez decides that in an entirely black and white film with minimal splashes of color, that your eyes get to be one of the few shades to grace the darkened room, then I'd say your eyes have it. Most definitely.



Love to you all,
Heather

It's Raining Awards!

Woo-hoo, number 2! This time it is from the ever so charming, English Rose. Thank you darling!

Write 7 things about yourself and tag 7 others to receive the award.

7 More Tidbits About Me...
1) I have the most beat-up, dropped, scraped-up Blackberry in all the world. Once it used to be a very pretty phone, but time and experiences and traveling halfway across the United States made it a little more world-weary. It's been through life, this little guy. And still has excellent reception.

2) I love soda, especially Cherry Coke, Sprite, Mountain Dew, and Vault. Whatever happened to Slice? That was one helluva delicious orange soda!

3) You know when you're like, 8 and playing MASH with your friends and you have to fill up a list of 5 guys who want to marry and you totally can't do it because you didn't start thinking guys were attractive until 6th grade because puberty hit you really, really late and by now, that entire list would be filled about 80 times over with various celebrities and high school crushes? Bart Simpson was my go-to guy back then. What a badass.

4) When I was younger, I loved Disney Channel programming. I never missed an episode of Lizzie McGuire or Even Stevens and had a big fat crush on the guy in Phil of the Future. The stars on those shows had charisma. The other night, I turned on Disney Channel and I was horrified at the new shows now on. I really cannot get into any of that. Those kids just don't look right. A little bit too perfectly pulled together.

5) You know that romantic moment in movies where it's raining at night and the guy that you're still hung up on runs by screaming your name in the rain? That's happened to me. It was the furthest thing from romantic I can think of, but because my roomie was with me, she was a witness to the fact that...

6)...weird, absurdly strange, inconceivable things CONSTANTLY happen to me on a near-daily basis. Sometimes my friends and even my own parents think I'm making it up, but I'm not. My life is seriously stranger than fiction. Case in point: yesterday I lost a bra strap. Not even kidding. It was a detachable strap that somehow fell off and out of my shirt. So now somewhere on my school campus lies a part of my bra.
And that, my friends, is only the beginning of the oddities of my life.

7) I love to laugh and make jokes and have other people laugh. Laughter is so much fun! Especially the kind that gets your cheek muscles to strain and you start to cry because it hurts so much but in a fantastic, good way.

Lucky 7 to get tagged are:
★ Syd Vicious Lives ★
The Girl in Grey
MY GLITTERING CREATION
La vie...J'aime
Intrinsically Florrie
Fantastical Fashion
cupcake♥trash

And once again, I'm very sorry if my links don't go through. I may need to get a crash course in how to do it properly.

Love to you all,
Heather

Happy Hour on the Hour

Lucille: Get me a vodka rocks.
Michael: Mom, it’s breakfast.
Lucille: And a piece of toast.
-Arrested Development

The story of how The Vodka Asylum's name came to be was based on the fact that I think both of the words are quite beautiful. I usually keep a shortlist of my favorite words handy on me. Currently, that list also includes "babylon", "vermilion", "pillow", and "ambidextrous."

Eventually though, I will get around to telling you some of the stories of my adventures with the sauce. For now though, I'm focusing on the morning after. 'Cause there's got to be a morning after.

Courtesy of sofagarden.com, check out your new bed buddies.



Martini glass, olive, vodka bottle. Breakfast of champions.



Cigar pillows. The site does not advertise a match or a lighter pillow so there's no pressure to smoke, right?



Everyone's got their own preference in poison and Sofa Garden provides a wide selection of red wines.



And white ones.



Ahh, let us not forget the cork bolster, the pillow staple every person craves. Of the bunch, I find it might be the hardest to sell at $80.

Love to you all,
Heather

I Am Feeling Good Up There/Just Keep the Diamonds in My Hair

This is my first entry of 2010 and I wanted it to be special. I wasn't sure at all what to write about and in some strange way, felt skittish approaching my blog.

So I'll write about the best thing about today. I awoke to 70 degree weather with the sun shining down on my face in my bedroom. True, it was 11am and I had gone to bed at 5:30am and I accidentally forgot to pull my contacts out and my eyes looked all bloodshot and gross, but that blue sky and sun more than made up for it.

It is 2010 and I have been living in California since 2008. And I'm telling you, most days I feel like I'm still dreaming. I pinch myself sometimes. I can't believe that I got to go to my dream school, meet my wonderful and gorgeous best friends, have the world's greatest roommates, and in my usual tradition, continue to be the workaholic I always was with two jobs on campus and loads of extracurricular activities.

I can honestly say that right now, I feel completely content with my life and very, very happy.

So, as I do whenever it is lovely and warm outside, I went for a walk.

Love the palm trees waving in the breeze, greeting me.
Not loving the huge black bees that decided to chase me out into the street.



Whenever it is very sunny and light outside, I listen to two artists that I always associate with summertime and spring break. Katy Rose is one of them. You might remember her from the "Overdrive" song featured in the film Mean Girls.

Not surprisingly, "Overdrive" gets its play with me as does another song, "Lemon" which is more somber, but still quite good.



Moby gets a great deal of play too, particularly "Porcelain", a song I always associate with running through the grass and beams of sunlight pouring down on your head. "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters is also haunting as well.



Sometimes I wonder what my life might have been like if I grew up in California. I think about the West Coast alter ego of myself and how she might have been much more laid back and carefree.

Since living here, I've seen a noticeable change within myself. My family has remarked that it is a much more grown-up version of me. Back at home, I used to be quite a different person. I was very concerned with being on time to a freakish degree (an hour or so early to work, everyday). My sense of style was beginning to slowly piece itself together, but was far from complete. I was a very unhappy, bitter person. I saw everyone around me moving forward in their lives and even though I was furiously working to get to that point, it wasn't yet my turn to move forward.

I think back then, and sometimes still now, my biggest fear was being trapped in the same place, doing the same things surrounded by the same people for an indefinite number of years. I wish I could explain just why I constantly feel the need to move away, why my heart yearns for elsewhere. When I was younger and felt like I was drowning from pressure and school-related stress, I used to shut my eyes and imagine just running at the speed of light to an airport, a bus, a neverending highway. Escape. Maybe that's why I run in the majority of the dreams I have.

Then I'd just open my eyes and face all of my issues head-on, feeling better.

Recently, this fear of being trapped in the same place has risen and fallen to varying degrees due to my impending graduation. For the time being, I've decided to push all of that underneath a rug and step on it to smash it down.

I just want to spend as much of my time with my friends as humanly possible. I'm having a hard time imagining my life without them in it next year. The only cure is to make as many beautiful, glorious memories as can be made.



For now, I look forward to tomorrow with its 71 degree temperature.

Love to you all,
Heather