my friends are cooler than yours

i give this day a blergh

by ameena on April 7, 2013 · 6 comments

in random musings

// earlier today i totally came up with this wicked awesome idea, or rather i decided to commit to a wicked awesome idea i have been kicking around in my head for quite a while, and sent my bffls an email telling them all about my latest scheme and those bitches totally ignored me! all day i excitedly hit refresh refresh refresh until gmail was finally all like, “maybe you should find new friends?” and sure, i could call them but what do you think this is? 2003?!

// this is my birthday month. personally i am the most surprised of us all that it is taken seven days for me to mention this. but here’s the truth of it: i spent all of my twenty-third birthday pathetically crying in to my pillow like a big baby for no reason in particular except that i had somehow managed to convince myself i was going to die alone (which is a feeling i have only maybe had three times prior to my twenty-third birthday and have yet to experience since) and now the thought of turning twenty-four which is one step closer to twenty-five is doing really weird things to my head. and like, i don’t even know guys, because i always thought i was the kind of person who believes age is just a number and 30 is the new 21 and yada yada but age isn’t just a number and what the fuck am i doing with my life, ya know? and listen, i know im being really dramatic right now but it’s my birthday month and i’ll cry if i want to.

// today the rain and i had this moment where i was just like FUCK THIS SHIT I WANT BEACH. i was driving in to the heart of the storm shaking my fists at the heavens above and even my two favorite driving-in-the-rain games couldn’t dissuade my anger. (my favorite rain games being: 1. drive like i’m bill paxton in twister and 2. get stupid happy over the momentary silence that occurs when driving under an overpass) rain, it’s time to shut it down. bring that seattle sun back pls.

// when i moved to seattle i kind of did it all secret agent like and told NO ONE and now i have the “wait i thought you lived in orlando, since when do you live in seattle?” conversation at least once a day. i really don’t mind too much because it allows me to make jokes about how “i really get around” except i’m pretty sure everyone knows i don’t. but i do. geographically speaking.

// i am having this really big issue in my life wherein i don’t really have anyone to talk to about the things i want to talk about. like, lately i kind of run around my work place aggressively asking everyone if they watch mad men and/or game of thrones and it is really bumming me out that none of them do. except then i found one person who really likes game of thrones and i was like LET’S DISCUSS and he was just kind of like, “it’s really cool.” PALMS TO THE FACE PEOPLE. don’t get me wrong, i know i have the internet to talk to about these things, but sometimes i need 3D conversations about my two dimensional television friends, ya know?

hey, this was a weird and really complain-y post. i’ll try and put the kabosh on moody rain blogging. it’s entirely unbecoming.

today i…

by ameena on April 6, 2013 · 3 comments

in a day in the life, random musings

…wore leggings as pants to work. just like i do every day. because work is awesome. no really, go ahead and ask me the last time i wore “real” pants in public. spoiler alert: I HAVE NO IDEA.

…spiced up my leggings uniform with some kick-ass LEG WARMERS, SON.

…was asked if i was a dancer because i rocked those leggings SO HARD.

…also was asked if i was an instructor because “you totally look like you could be one.”

…GOT A PET. His name is Benjamin Linus and he is an adorable little Marimo and I am in love.

…realized that while Benjamin Linus is an awesome name for my pet, I probably should have named him Arnold after Ginny’s Pygmy Puff in Harry Potter. OPPORTUNITY LOST.

…laughed and laughed (and laughed) while reading Lindy West’s recap of Jurassic Park 3D. “I have basically no lowercase feelings about Jurassic Park.” Me too, Lindy. ME. TOO.

…read Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

…played the latest Great Gatsby trailer on loop just so I could listen to the soundtrack.

…weighed the pros and cons of bidding on Demi Lovato’s clothes (for charity!) but hey also I’m broke!

…wished desperately that I was back in Salt Lake with Libbie and Olivia drunk cooking and playing Cards Against Humanity.

…experienced my craziest Seattle rain storm yet (which only reminded me of the even crazier Orlando rain).

…bought THE BIGGEST BAG OF MARSHMALLOW MATEYS KNOWN TO MANKIND because I am an adult dammit.

…smiled because days like today are my favorite.

This post is proof that either a) Nicole and I should never be left unattended under any circumstances ever, or b) Nicole and I should only be left unattended forever and ever until the end of time because the result is either pure madness or a whole other level of genius.

(My vote is for the latter, obvs)

After spending our weekend conquering glaciers and half marathons in the Alaskan wilderness, Nicole and I were feeling pretty unstoppable, or as I like to call it: “Walking Around Downtown Anchorage Like We Owned the Goddamn Place.” At one point we were walking back to our hotel in the pouring rain when we got to talking about how much we love running as an excuse to travel to awesome places and how crazy it is that in less than a year we have completed half marathons in at least three different states. Half-jokingly I was just like, “You know what would be really crazy? If we ran a half marathon in ALL FIFTY STATES.” And Nicole was all, “WE COULDN’T. COULD WE?” We kept going back and forth about this for a while trying to figure out how serious the other person was about this, but once we realized we had just completed a half marathon in one of the more obscure states (sorry Alaska, but it’s true), we knew we were already committed.

But the crazy didn’t stop there.

As we got more in to our scheming one of us was suddenly like, “JUST THROWING THIS OUT THERE BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SEVEN CONTINENTS?!?!” And then the other was all,  ”!!!!!!!!!!!!” But like, you can’t be flying all over the world to be running half marathons – especially if your names are Nicole and Ameena and you have been bitten so hard by the running bug that all you want is to give your money to all running everything and you have also been left completely unattended in the Alaskan wilderness for the past 36 hours and are feeling more smug than you’ve ever felt in your entire life – so then we were like WHAT ABOUT A FULL MARATHON ON ALL SEVEN CONTINENTS???

And that was the moment everything changed forever.

So for the second time that weekend we fell back in to the Google hole and began searching for the coolest marathons we could find. We sat in our hotel lobby yelling things at each other like “WHAT ABOUT EGYPT???” or “OH MY GOD WE COULD RUN ON THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA!” and “SALT FLATS!” and “MOUNT EVEREST!” and “ANTARTICA!” Several hours and two shiny, new google documents later we emerged with a solid plan to run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents in Seven Years.

Like I said, this is either madness or brilliance. Obviously I am on team BEST! IDEA! EVER!

Nicole officially kicked things off when she completed the New York City Marathon this past November (like a fucking boss might I add) and I will be running my first marathon on September 22, 2013 when we both fly to Australia to complete our very first international race.

You guys, this is really happening! Please say you’ll join us?

Oh and if you happen to be in the area on raceday, I’ll be the asshat running the streets of Sydney quoting Finding Nemo non-stop and avoiding flight 815 to Los Angeles at all costs. Sorry in advance Australia. Sorry I’m not sorry.

This week was a fun one, here are some of my reasons to smile:

The Movies

I can’t even begin to describe how happy this picture makes me. Source here.

I’ve seen Horrible Bosses more times than I can count, and I still laugh hysterically with each viewing. This week Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day all confirmed they are returning for part two and now my life is a little more complete. No word yet on Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey, or Jennifer Aniston yet. FINGERS CROSSED THOUGH.

Kick-Ass 2 trailer! Also, it took me way too long to realize that was Jim Carrey.

The TV

As mentioned previously, two weekends ago was the Emerald City Comicon. This week I found the best cosplay of the weekend. Archer fans will definitely appreciate this.

I had been seeing the “What if Game of Thrones was a 1995 sitcom” video floating around the internet throughout the week, but my interest was never peaked enough to actually click and watch. Once I saw the millionth post about it, however, I finally succumbed and it is totally worthy of all the hype. Ps. SIXTEEN DAYS.

Jacob Clifton of Television Without Pity writes some of my favorite Pretty Little Liars recaps. They’re full of the perfect amount of snark, but more than that he is just so good at discussing the deeper themes and literary references of the show (bet you didn’t know it had those, huh?).

Speaking of themes, Mad Men is the BEST at theme execution and this little featurette teases some of the possible themes of season six. Also, if you think I already talk about Mad Men too much, I feel like I should warn you it is only going to get worse come April. Sorry I’m not sorry. TWENTY-THREE DAYS!

The Photography

This list of the most perfectly timed photos, ever is completely captivating.

In 1988, the LA Times imagined what life would look like in 2013. Er, they were maybe a bit off. Just a bit, though.

The Mouse

We all know I love a good old fashioned Mickey Mouse cartoon. That CG stuff they show on the Disney Channel these days, though? It really makes me sad. But no fear! This week Disney announced that they are going to be making some new Mickey Mouse cartoons in the style of the 20s and 30s and oh my fish I am so happy!

Oh, and you can totally watch the first cartoon Croissant de Triomphe now!

The Politics

Earlier today Maryland become the 18th state to ban capital punishment. Eff yeah Maryland!

In case you ignored my wishes, and never listened to the This American Life episode about Harper High School, MSNBC did a little feature to get you all caught up. Also, I don’t think I knew what Ira Glass looked like prior to watching this. It kind of blew my mind.

The Life

running in seattle

This week I found a new running path and it is kind of my favorite.

One of my dearest friends just found out he was accepted to the AFI Cinematography Program and I am the most excited for him! This guy is legitimately so talented and I just know you’re going to be seeing a whole lot more of him in the future. Congrats, Sean!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! Don’t get too crazy celebrating with the Irish.

five thoughts on a sunday

by ameena on February 10, 2013 · 3 comments

in random musings

// Lately I have been consumed with a need so intense it just won’t be right until it is fulfilled. I need to play The Sims, you guys. Like, I needed it yesterday. I haven’t gotten my hands on a copy just yet, but I fear as soon I do I will be done for. I won’t even have to tell you once I have loaded it on my computer, you’ll just know because I will disappear from all of the internet. And life. I wanna build cute sim houses and have cute sim babies and get a cute sim job. The dream.

// Going to a music festival has always been really high on my unofficial life list. This has always been weird to me on account of  I get really uncomfortable in large crowds of people and and I’m the worst at camping. But, I love music and I love live music even more and there is just something about camping with a bunch of strangers while listening to live music for four straight days that appeals to me. None of this makes a whole lot of sense, but whatever – enigma wrapped in a rhyme or something. This overly long preamble was let you know that I am finally attending my first music festival! I got my Sasquatch! Festival ticket the other day and I am so effing excited. And also terrified. Say you’ll join me in my tent?

// I became irrationally upset today when I learned that the west coast is on a three hour tape delay for the Grammy Awards tonight. Like, I don’t even like the Grammys that much. I just hate the irrationality of something being filmed on the west coast and broadcast LIVE to only the east coast. Also, I totally watched E!’s red carpet coverage and was all geared up to watch the Grammys at five only to learn they wouldn’t be on for another three hours. Talk about defeating. And now! NOW. What am I supposed to do for three hours???  Twitter, Tumblr, and all other social media are basically off limits because SPOILERS. God, I could really use The Sims right about now.

// I’m really grateful for my friends these days. First there are the ones who have been deliberately helping me get through this stupid post graduate hell and then there are the ones who have been helping me without even realizing it. Oh and no matter what group they fall in to, they all faithfully put up with all of my melodramatic bullshit. I chose a pretty stellar group (psssst. this totally includes you!)

// I thought for a really long time that maybe I liked Community but then just when I started to suspect that maybe I didn’t the internet united strong in favor of Community so I went along with it out of fear for the mob and now I am stuck watching Community and always thinking I am going to like but left kind of disappointed? Please still be my friend.

 

This week has been a real treat. Here is a recap in photos:

The Kitchen Sink

We came so close to conquering the thing, but alas turns out the soup formerly known as eight scoops of ice cream isn’t all that easy to eat. Did I mention there was an entire can of whipped cream on top? It has been 24 hours and I am still recovering. On the plus side, our lovely waiter gave us an 8 on a scale of 1 to how-everyone-else-did. I’ll take it.

Downtown Disney Adventures

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

If you only ever see one Disney parade in your life, you should make sure it’s the
Boo To You Halloween Parade. Even if it is just for the Haunted Mansion part. Seriously.

Epcot Food and Wine Festival


Now, if you will turn your attention to the sky above Poland you will notice how positively gross it looks. Turns out it is always raining in The Sunshine State. What is that about? Fortunately this time it started raining near Japan and if I had to pick a favorite place to be stranded it would most certainly be the shops of Japan. They’re the best.

Also, I should mention that I am madly in love. He’s a shiny new dslr and he’s permanently attached to my side. For better or worse.

Post image for the see ya later sads

I’ve never been particularly wonderful at the art of goodbyes. Whenever I feel a goodbye coming my way, my heart starts racing and I begin talking quickly about how we’ll keep in touch and thanks to the wonders of technology it will be like thousands of miles aren’t separating us and this isn’t really much of a goodbye as it is more of a see you later.

The past couple of weeks have been full of an awful lot of see ya laters. As I prepare to move over 2,300 miles away from the only place I have ever called home, I have learned just how weird it is to be the one doing the leaving. In fact, it is the most surreal experience. During my going away party this past weekend, I spent most of my time thinking how strange it was to listen to my friends talk about their plans for next weekend knowing I wouldn’t be here to join in on the fun. Okay, so maybe I really spent most of the night scheming the best way to hide out in the bathroom so I wouldn’t have to say goodbye to anyone, but I DID spend a lot of time thinking how weird it is that life here in the SLC was going to continue on without me. And I mean that in the least self-centered way possible. What? You mean I’m not the center of your universe?!

It was also weird to catch myself wondering who I really would keep in touch with and who I would be hugging for the last time. But mostly I tried to push that aside, because isn’t that just the saddest thought?

Now don’t get me wrong knowing that I am about to embark on a dream come true really does wonders to help with the see ya later sads. Even though I can’t help but feel a little sad to be leaving this home of mine for an indefinite amount of time, my sadness pales in comparison to the giddiness I feel for the opportunities awaiting me.

But more on that tomorrow.

For now I would just like to say, “See ya later Salt Lake City!”

 {image source }

I had grand plans of live-blogging my thoughts on the Olympic Opening Ceremonies for you, but then I got to the end of the Ceremonies and realized that my notes pretty much consisted of: “What the fuck is going on?!” and “Oh my god! OH MY GOD! J.K. Rowling!” and also “Thank God for Meredith Viera and Matt Lauer’s explanations” and “Can we just go back to the Industrial revolution?” and a lot of “Where’s One Direction?” but mostly “WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!”

Then my friend’s mom sent this text: “I thought I understood the Brits. They’re my kinsmen. But it turns out I understand the Chinese more.”

And I think that’s all there is to say about that. 

image taken from  Lebron James’ instagram feed
(of course it was)