Distinguishing: Cold or Flu?

This has probably happened to you: you've gotten sick, assessed your symptoms and diagnosed yourself as either having the cold or the flu.

I always thought that if the invading microbe enters from my nose, that I'll get a cold, but if it enters via my throat, then it's the flu. Apparently I was way off, and now that I think of it - that doesn't quite make sense.

So, I found this chart in the nurse's office at City College and I thought I should share it with you.

Enjoy your future self-diagnosis the right way.

The Top 4 Ladies That Rock My World

4. Lady Gaga. We all know her and feel a certain way towards her fashion risks. She can sing, no doubt about that, and her songs can cover topics ranging from frivolous dancing to love as a disease. She's also super bold to step into the game (out of nowhere), demand to be called "Lady" and we all believed her. Fave songs: The Fame, Beautiful Dirty Rich, I like it Rough, Teeth and Fever.

3. Peaches. The woman with the dirtiest lyrics you’ll ever hear! She refuses to be held back by gender norms and crosses the line between male and female again and again. Her electronic beats are hot and trancelike and her voice compliments them without any restraint. You want to feel badass? Dirty? Sexual? Peaches is where you go. Fave songs: Downtown, Rockshow, Operate, Boys Wanna Be Her, Tent In Your Pants.

2.Shingai Shoniwa. The lead singer in the band Noisettes. She’s a ball of energy on stage and on track. Her voice is very distinguishable, with its soothing tones and screechy high points. I adore the way she rocks her natural hair and dances on stage barefoot. Fave Songs: Don’t Give up, Nothing To Dread, Speedhorn, Every Now and Then, Never Forget You.

1. Karen O. She’s the front woman in the band The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, without her I’m sure their songs would not have that super kick that they do. Her vocals range from cat yowls to throaty screams. She is an absolute rocker. The songs can be downers or uppers, pick your drug, you’ll be happy either way! Fave songs: Man, Pin, Y Control, Gold Lion, Cheated Hearts, HoneyBear, Heads Will Roll.

We shouldn’t forget that Friendships are Relationships

Finding a new friend is like dating. You talk to the person, there’s a connection, then the two of you decide to hang out together and if you like each other enough, then daily phone calls are made. That’s the beginning.

How about the end? Can the end of friendships be nasty and heart-breaking as personal relationships are? I’ll like to answer that with a YES.
I recall last year when my ex (who was very upset that I left him for my current boyfriend) decided to tell all of our mutual friends about how nasty I am…well, how nasty I could be. I honesty didn’t mind losing most of them, but one of the friendships lost really shook me. IT REALLY SHOOK ME.
You know that feeling in your stomach, that empty hollowness like someone scooped it right out, leaving you defenseless and feeling a bit silly? Well, that’s how I felt. I was devastated. OMG, he broke up with me, was my exact thought. I was dumped - by a friend, but dumped nonetheless. Break-ups are so harsh on our egos.

So what do you do after the pain subsides? You get back into the game and make more friends!

I remember how my friendship with my best friend Torian began. We met through a mutual friend. There was a connection between us from the start. We began talking through AIM, then the phone, until one day he popped the question, “Let’s hang out.” I have to admit, that I was nervous at first and it took me an entire week until I agreed.
Then we went out, had fun, and by the end of the day I was sure that we would like to see more of each other. Till this day we are friends.

So the point of this entry is: Lose a friend, make another. Friendships are just like relationships, except you don’t have to be monogamous.

Corporate Cannibal

Zombie Movie Review: DEAD SNOW

Oh I am so excited to tell you about this movie! If you're into the zombie genre like me, then you'll LOVE it. It's a mix of comedy and gore, which are rarely mixed together, and it's a bit theatrical. The language is Norwegian with subtitles, but you don't even notice that because the dialogue isn't really important.



The plot of the story goes: A bunch of college students go to a cabin in some snowy mountains for their spring break. The students find out the land they're on was once occupied by the German Nazi's during the war, the Nazis were driven out and believed to have frozen to death. We find this is not true, because they are now ZOMBIES!!!!

The category of these Zombies are: runners (which make escape much more difficult), thinkers (stupid is always easier), weapon usage (knives and such) and they have a leader (General Herzog).



Great highlights of this movie are:
- guy getting ripped in two
- snowmobile vs zombie scenarios are carried out
- machine gun Attached to the snowmobile
- Chainsaw vs zombie scenarios
- how to's of re-orienting yourself after being buried in snow by an avalanche
- funny guy-throws-molotov-only-to-set-own-cabin on fire scene
- guy cuts off arm fearing spread of infection, then duct-tapes the wound

It's a fantastical movie. Absolute thumbs-up. I honestly wanted to re-watch it, after watching it.

Iceland Volcano = New Roomates?

If you've been keeping up with current events, you probably noticed the huge erupting volcano in Iceland.


So, how is this vocano affecting my daily life? Well, my boyfriend lives with a roomate who is a 30 yr-old Czech guy, a cool dude. Lately, we've had two more people living with us at the moment. They're the roomate's best friend since childhood with a girlfriend.
Apparently the ash from the volcano has caused airlines to shut down all aero-transporation over Europe. Damn wind blew it there and our new roomates are stranded in New York for the time being.

Why is this "ash" so dangerous for planes? I found a nifty little diagram to explain it all:

For now, it's been a little awkward around our new roomates. Things such as going to the bathroom and stopping short because someone is in there... That's pretty much it, but its still unpleasant holding it in. Until the ash goes away they can't get back to Czechoslovakia.

I really hope that Kalta volcano next to the erupting Eyjafjallajokull Volcano doesn't get agitated. Or this new addition will be permanent.

What's there to ENJOY

Today I went to see a play with my classmates. It was called Enjoy by the Japanese playwright Toshiki Okada. Apparently it was only in Japanese until a lovely American-Japanese woman Aya Ogawa translated.



So, I read the play for my class. It was pretty fucking ridiculous in text form. It was like talking like this..but - not really like that cus that would be weird right? But you know if you think about it - like we all - like you know, talk like this.

Yeah...it was a pain to read. Though, in performance mode it sounds absolutely normal! It's showing at the 59E59 Theater; which is pretty hype that their building happens to be number 59 on 59th street in Manhattan.

The play was alright. Definitely different I must admit. The props and background were barely there and it was mostly about the actors and actresses onstage. The play is focused on a band of co-workers that work in a manga cafe in the urban area of Shinjuku, Japan. It really discusses the generation gap and how they're not so different from each other. There's also a growing problem in Japan where college graduates are stuck with unskilled part-time jobs. Also how society views age, for example : if you've hit thirty and haven't made anything out of your career then you're a loser. A mindset, which I must admit sets us all up because this can happen to anyone.

La La La Nutella!

Close your eyes and breathe in deeply, imagine the aroma of hazelnut and chocolate invading your nostrils and swirling like magic in your brain.

That's the experience of eating Nutella:

Think of it as peanut butter, but instead of peanuts they use hazelnuts. Then some chocolate thrown in.

I think, about a year ago, this stuff was pretty sparse in grocery stores. Then all of a sudden it popped up out of no where! Now, most supermarkets and pharmacies sell it. I think it might have been FoodNetwork. I remember the first time I found out about this stuff, it was from Giada reminiscing about her childhood in Italy eating warm nutella covered pieces of bread.


I love Nutella. It's so wonderful.
I love my nutella&banana sandwiches. It's super great on Crepes and Pankcakes too.
So tired of peanut butter! It's Nutella time.

Such a Sweet Skirt

So I bought this skirt from UrbanOutfitters, it was on sale and looked nice.



Its your typical high waisted skirt with the addition of ruffles and what not. I must tell you how much I adore this skirt. It hugs my curves but doesn't show off my lil tummy fat too much.

I wore it with a plain white button-up shirt tucked in and a pair of black ballet flats. The result was elegant, sexy and lovely. And accessories helped it too.
&

I guess what I'm raving about is the simple addition of style this skirt brings.
I really can't wait to wear it with black tank tops and grey v-necked t-shirts this summer.
Skirt is available at Modcloth too.

French Toast!

I've made French Toast wrong before. I did terrible things to the bread where it just tasted like FriedEgg&Bread, Blah!

Watch this guy make French Toast and you will become a pro!

Book Review: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Let me categorize it for you: fiction --> speculative fiction --> Dystopian future

The book begins from the narrator Snowman. He's the only human around and not living the best life in this new post-apocalyptic world: he's usually hungry, paranoid of infection, lives in a tree and wears a bedsheet. We find he lives near a band of creatures called "the crakers" since they were made by Crake. Snowman tells us his story, when he used to be Jimmy and the world was fine...well, not really fine.
Through Jimmy's story we're plunged into a world where scientific corporations have alot of control. Like OrganInc, they created "pigoons", a pig that grows human organs. Healthwyzer, whom after curing all diseases starts to create them so they'll still be in business.
Jimmy becomes friends with Crake, who has that serial killer charisma with absolute scientific ingeniousness.
Oh yes, I should explain who Oryx is as well. She is this hot asian chick they both fall deeply in love with and she comes with a troubling past.

The book is told through two timelines:Jimmy's moving to the apocalyptic event where he becomes Snowman and Snowman progressing after the event.
Jimmy ------>Event/Snowman ------>future

Its a very interesting book because you can see that all these things are possible and futuristic books are just plain cool to read.

Mmm Mmm... extinction?

I'm not weird if I think the Filet-O-Fish Sandwich from Mcdonald's is absolutely delicious, am I?

I bought one today and I'll admit, I Love IT. It's exactly how they describe it "flaky fish, tangy tartar sauce and lightly steamed bun,"; believe me, it's totally getting me off.

The recent tragedy of eating this is the over fishing of the "hoki" fish they use. It's this blue silvery scaled fish that lives in New Zealand and Australia. The poor lil fish population has come under great stress since I began loving the filet-o-fish sandwich.

Might I add, that although Burger King's fries are better than McDonald's, their fish sandwich is no rival.

Book Review: Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

Chuck Palahniuk, if you're not familiar with him, is the author of Fight Club. It was a book then made into the movie we are all so familiar with featuring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt.

Invisible Monsters does not deviate from Palahniuk's original style of writing, you know, the kind where the narrator is talking and analyzing and shooting out snazzy little quotes (be they inspirational or depressingly truthful).

" She's a fashion model who has everything: a boyfriend, a career, a loyal best friend. But when a sudden freeway "accident" leaves her disfigured and incapable of speech, she goes from being the beautiful center of attention to being an invisible monster, so hideous that no one will acknowledge she exists. Enter Brandy Alexander, Queen Supreme, one operation away from becoming a real woman, who will teach her that reinventing yourself means erasing you past and making up something better. And that salvation hides in the last places you'll ever want to look."

That's the Publisher's summary.

Here's some snazzy quotes I love:

• "No matter how much you think you love somebody, you'll step back when the pool of their blood edges up too close." (pg 15)
  
• "Beauty is power the same way money is power the same way a gun is power." (pg 14)
  
• "Any smart woman knows a beautiful man is her best fashion accesory" (pg24)
  
• "The most boring thing in the entire world is nudity" (pg112)
  
• "When you go out with a drunk, you'll notice how a drunk fills your glassso he can empty his own. (pg193)

Read the book, it's ...lovely. There's no movie of it yet, but books are always better anyway.