Vacancy.com! Un-vacancize my stomach! Please!

This is so embarrassing.

But, I am addicted to Hgtv. Show's like My First Place and Secrets From a Stylist are like what a Disney show is to a teeny bopper (being a grown college woman and all, I can derisively call prepubescent people, "teeny boppers".). I go online to look at apartments, gasping at the astronomical prices in some of the big cities or reading the fine prints to see if pets are allowed. Are they in a safe neighborhood? Do they have a big kitchen? Is that speck on the floor a gaping hole? I try to imagine where my bed could be, what color I would paint the walls, and wrestle with wallpaper vs wall paint. It's quite sad.

But! I was browsing through scholarships when I found this: Vacancy.com is looking for someone that can write a blog post about an apartment of my dreams on their listing. Wait...so I can get paid to write about the thing I do? Considering I am surviving on my 15 dollars worth of food to hold me for two weeks (oh alright, 15.11, if you want to get picky), this is quite a dream come true.

So! With renewed hope, I began to look at their listings in the beautiful city of Athens, GA! Athens is home to the University of Georgia, where I attend and love (Go Dawgs!). And it just so happens that my friends and I plan on living off campus next year, so why not take a peek at the real estate properties of Athens?

http://www.vacancy.com/georgia/athens-apartments/farmers-exchange-lofts

Farmers. It's not even THE Farmers. It's just Farmers. Because everybody in Athens naturally knows about Farmers. It's situated in downtown and its beautiful, old structure makes it one of Athens' most famous buildings. When I first came to this fine institution, I thought it was a pharmacist's office, for some reason or other. Then, I actually got to talk to someone that lived here and she said she absolutely loved it, because of its location. In real estate, it is all about location, location, location, and this place definitely fits that bill. It's less than 10 minutes walk to the campus and it's smack dab in the middle of downtown Athens! For those of you unaware, downtown Athens is like, the coolest, hippest thing since, like, ever. Shyeah. Its concert venues, restaurants, stores, and bars all combine to provide the perfect college atmosphere. Even if you don't drink or can't afford to enjoy the concerts, the atmosphere is inviting. Of course, I can't afford to live here, but this is a dream abode post after all, and Farmers would definitely fit that bill of dreamy, perfect world living. It has a full kitchen, brick walls, and a 24 hour call maintenance. Since it is a loft, it would be open and inviting, a perfect spot to have friends over! Maybe I will just take a quick peek at the building one of these days...Not convinced that this is the epitome of fine college living? Maybe these pictures will convince you, all courtesy of Vacancy.com.

This kitchen is a far cry from the dorm kitchen I have to share with 50 others

In which the Blogger rambles about nothing in particular.

Hi.

I haven't really updated this blog, despite my ALL CAPPED resolution to do so on Dec. 31, 2009.

What am I doing lately?

Just chilling in the house, reading sensationalist novels, all high brow novels chucked to the side (Chucked is a very fun and British thing to say. I like it.).

Right now, I am reading Live and Let Die, 2nd book of the 007 series. Before that, I read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Not very deep and philosophical, but I'm thinking I should read all my guilty pleasures now and read age defining novels next month, when I go into...COLLEGE!

That is basically what gets me going this summer.

Of course I realize it won't be all fun and games, quite a lot of caffeine and stress, but I am excited.

It's new and it's all mine.

UGA didn't HAVE to accept me but they did and I'm paying this year with my own money and scholarships and grants. I can't believe I did it. I am so grateful and happy and excited and apprehensive and just...gah....YAY!

I guess this is it for now. I had some ideas for the blog, but... I forgot. BOO.

California Gurls by Katy Perry is a very catchy song. It's been in my head all day.

Gosh darn summer pop hits!

And this one scene where she kills the gummi bears is memorable and breathtaking.

Out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwE-SLnLkqY

Sometime later, I'll post pictures of my travel with my family. There is a rainbow involved!

May de Sousa

I'm a very cautious person.

When I use photos, I give credit.

BUT! Flickr's The Commons is the answer to my-don't-wanna-credit-the-link-because-that's-one-more-work-self.

When I was looking through, I did what any girl would do.

I looked through the vintage black and white photos, putting colors into each face and sky.

Then I came across this picture:

Me being careful yet again

The term "heavily hooded eyes" just popped into my head like freshly popped fake butter flavor popcorn. Her eyes are so soft and dreamy. Just her pale, creamy skin and the white lace and pearls all just made me stop and stare at the screen for awhile. She was just. so. beautiful. I fully realized what the Victorian novelists so raved about for the first time. I feel like she would have that lilting, girly, Cinderella voice while holding a leather bound book. The comments below Flickr said she was an actress. But that wasn't enough.

So being smitten, I immediately googled.

This link was the first one, courtesy of the NY Times.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9506E5DA123BE633A2575BC1A96E9C946396D6CF

Ok, so this says she performed, to great success, in Europe.

Ok, so did she have any kids, any clandestine affairs with dukes? WHAT?

So back to Google.

Another NY Times article.

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A03EFDE1631E233A25757C2A9629C946997D6CF

It says she...disappeared??!!

She wasn't on the ship home, but it turned out she accepted a last minute offer to appear in a Berlin play. Whew!

Still not enough!

But other sites were pretty much the same thing, she acted, she died sometime later.

I gave up and went to bed, making up my little story for her.

....

Few weeks later, I resumed my hunt.

After clicking on next page on Google, this site, the mother of all May de Sousa related sites:

http://www.stagebeauty.net/th-frames.html

They had her entire biography!

This shows that you SHOULD go to the next page on Google, because the first three links are not all there is to life (well, internet, but pretty much interchangeable).

A little summary:

She was born in Chicago, and her beautiful face and her beautiful voice (ah hah!) captivated her audience, leading her to dazzle in Europe soon.

But then, bad marriages caused her to eventually go to Shanghai, where she was imprisoned by the Japanese because of WWII. She was left a widow. The last part is not the happy part I envisioned. It is real life. It made me aghast and even though I never knew her and she is in no way related to me, I ached for her. Not because she was beautiful, but because she is a human being.

"Making her way to her native Chicago she took a room in a cheap hotel and was forced to take a job as a scrubwoman in the public schools to make ends meet. Her years of internment had taken their toll on her health however, and soon she was forced to quit working because she was too weak to continue. Without means to support herself, her condition worsened through malnutrition and she died, penniless and alone, a charity case in the county hospital on 8th August, 1948. It was a tragic end. Once the toast of Europe and America, whose voice had thrilled royalty and the nobility as well as countless masses, she died alone and unloved, unable even to feed herself. Her body lay unclaimed in the morgue and was interred in a paupers grave."

Reproduced courtesy of Don Gillan (Copyright), www.stagebeauty.net

After reading this, I no longer felt like playing detective.

I felt so bad for this woman, this woman who jolted me, who fully made me appreciate the idea of Victorian beauty. Yes, women wore corsets, they were heavily downtrodden, but you cannot deny that charm of Victorian life.

Before her, all the Jane Austen, Charles Dickens novels, although great, were stale because I could not visualize the people. She gave flesh to centuries old literature.

The term beauty, in this blonde, tan, anorexic world, was changed for me.

I never knew her.

She might have been the most horrible, manipulating shrew ever.

Call me dumb, but I would like to think that she was a beautiful woman, inside and outside.

The royal audiences of her play are dead, her voice forgotten.

Time goes on without her, no one really cares about my post about some dead actress.

But when I sit in my room at night, typing this, I can hear her beautiful high pitched voice filling an elaborate auditorium. Her audiences, bespectacled and bejeweled, sit in the dark. It is only her on the stage, all light and eyes are upon her.

The woman who changed my perception, who gave life to dusty old books, deserves nothing less.

Thank you Ms. de Sousa.

Mama's Day Craft

Ok, when I first made these paper hearts, I didn't do it for my Mama.
In fact, I had quite forgotten of such a day.
I was bored, browsing on the web, looking for something to do, lost in the comfort of my own house, etc, etc.
Then, I came across this site: Eat Drink Chic.
AMAZING! Beautiful pictures, clever ideas, inspirational, and best of all, free printable crafts!
She had made these paper heart invitations for her "engagement party" (the quotes are intentional to provide an aura of duplicity).
Of course, I am in no position to make engagement cards, but I wanted to make some hearts. This page told me all I needed to know about origami hearts and I got to working right away. Then, my brilliant mind realized that mother's day was 2 days away, and so I turned into an one woman paper heart factory.
These hearts of mine are not just hearts.
They are a...Card/Banner thingy!

Anyways, less talking, more showing.

Attempt at a pretty shot.

Not so bad.

Eh.

That tiny one made me cry.

After about 2.5 hours of intensive folding, I made these banners.

These pictures are horrific, but hopefully you can get an idea of what I did.

They're prettier in real life. I promise!

All these papers are recycled from my high school days.

I had this teacher who would print our homework assignments on brightly colored papers and instead of throwing then away, I made it much, much better (Precal homework? Oh yeah, this is much better). Unfortunately, she is getting fired because of the budget cuts. This is too sad, as she is one of the best math teachers I've ever had. Anyways, I guess this is also an homage to her. Thanks Mrs. K! And sorry about sleeping in your class.

And People Say I'm Unobservant

You're Slipping

You're going to slip someday my dear.
You're going to fall off of that place.

Meanwhile, while you're up there,
You look almost invincible.

That pinnacle you're sitting on doesn't fit you.
You're so distant, so cold, so intimidating.

Come down, dear.

Clouds, clouds, come down to play,
Won't you keep me company?

...

Goodbye.

Writing

Words are selfish.





From Flickr's Common

Changes

Ok, so it's been quite a while since my last blog attempt.
And I suppose the big news is: I GOT INTO A COLLEGE! AND A DECENT ONE AT THAT!!! YAY!
I got into University of Georgia which is close to my house (which my parents love) and it's free (which I love).
And there was the New Year, a New Decade, and only 2 more years till the apocalypse.
And now, there is the matter of money. The Big Green Thing That Makes the World Go Around. Even though my tuition is free (Thank you purchasers of lotteries!), I still need about 10000 dollars for room and board.
SO!
My big thing is getting some money.
If anyone who is reading this just happens to have a bundle of 10000 dollars lying around in this wonderful economic climate, let me know. I can be contacted through this blog.
And there are other things which I must share, but I have to go and study for Econ and Stat (Ahhh...Senioritis, you're making my life hard...)