Can you OVER caffinate?

Ok, so I'm slowly growing more and more convinced that this school is trying to kill me. Really, they should know by now that I lack the willpower to deny myself free cookies ALL DAY. I've been here like, 4 hours and I'm pretty sure I've stolen like 10 cookies. and to top it all off, they have free coffee too?! All week?! Madness! I've already had a full throttle and am now on my second coffee in less than an hour and I think my hands are shaking just a wee bit. Evidently I handle alcohol a LOT better than I handle caffiene. I have simply come to hate this entire week. Seriously, as far as weeks go, this one is fast approaching the worst one yet. I still have no power, I'm staying in a hotel with my whole family (6 other people) and today is the first I've been able to do in over a week to work on my TEN PAGE PAPER due tomorrow. I hate winter. I hate winter, and I hate ice, and I hate cold, and I miss my dog because he's staying with my neighbors who have a generator (::cough::bastards::cough::) and I just wanna go home and sleep in my bed and not have to wear a winter coat when I do it.

Also, my hands are shaking just enough for me to keep missing keys and throwing typos up here like crazy. I've done many an edit just now. Oy. Well, good luck with finals everybody! for those of you without power, I hope you get it soon, and for those of you with power....
Let's not go there...
(::cough::bastards::cough::)
Have a good week everyone, and I wish you all the best on your exams!

Awful

Ugh. I finished my short story and I'm pretty sure I hate it, but I have no energy to do another right now. I don't think I have enough space for all the backstory I need for my character...

oh whatever, if nothing else, you guys will have plenty of constructive criticism for me, lol.

Feeling a bit silly...

I can't think of what to write for the moment, so instead I've decided to devise a silly song which no longer makes sense... oh well.

Oh baby, baby Have you seen Andy tonight?
Is he in the bathroom ? Is he smokin' up outside? (Oh!)

Oh baby, baby Does he take a piece of lime
For the drink that Imma buy him Do you know just what he likes? (Oh!)

Oh Oh Tell me have you seen him
'Cause I'm so Oh
I can't get him off of my brain

I just want to go
to the party he gon' go
Can somebody take me home
Haha hehe haha ho

Love me hate me
Say what you want about me
But all of the boys and all of the girls are beggin' to,
If U Seek Andy

Love me hate me
But can't you see what I see
All of the boys and all of the girls are beggin' to,
if U seek Andy (Love me, hate me)

La la la lala la la la
La la la lala la la la

Andy told me that he's gonna meet me up
I don't know where or when and now they're closing up the club (Oh!)
I've seen him once or twice before he knows my face
But it's hard to see with all the people standing in the way (Oh!)

Oh oh Tell me have you seen him
'Cause I'm so Oh
I can't get him off of my brain
I just want to go to the party he's gonna go
Can somebody take me home

Haha hehe haha ho

Love me hate me
Say what you want about me
But all of the boys and all of the girls are beggin' to,
if U seek Andy

Love me hate me
But can't you see what I see
All of the boys and all of the girls are beggin' to,
if U seek Andy

Oh Say what you want about me
Oh But can't you see what I see
Oh Say what you want about me

So tell me if you've seen him
(let me know what he was wearing and what he was like)
Cause I've been waiting here forever
(let me know where he was going I don't mind)

Oh baby baby If You Seek Andy tonight Oh
Oh baby baby We'll do whatever you like Oh
baby baby baby
Oh baby baby baby

La la la lala la la la
La la la lala la la la
La la la lala la la la
La la la lala la la la

Love me hate me
Say what you want about me (Say what ya want about me!)
But all of the boys and all of the girls are beggin' to,
if U seek Andy.

Love me hate me
But can't you seek what I see
All of the boys and all of the girls are begging to ,
if U seek Andy.

Love me hate me
Say what you want about me (yeah)
Yeah Love me hate me
But can't you see what I see
All of the boys and all of the girls are beggin' to,
if U seek Andy
Oh (love me hate me)
Say what you want about me
Oh But can't you see what I see
(love me hate me)
Oh Say what you want about me
All of the boys and all of the girls are beggin' to,
if U seek Andy

My Bandwagon Moment

Well, I've seen it on almost everyone else's blog, so I may as wel hop on the bandwagon and join in. Because seriously, I've got way too much shit to do for the semester to end yet.

Also I'm putting it all off.

Also, everything is basically due within the same three day period.

Also one of them needs to be ten pages of drivel about slang.

Pardon my french, but I feel as if I'm totally fucked for this end of semester. I just wanna crawl into a hole and nap until grades come out and I find that I've miraculously passed everything with flying colors. Right now I've got 35 hours at work to finish, 3 papers to write, one final to take, a short story to invent, and a headache that refuses to accept the three eviction notices I've swallowed (Advil). This happens to me every year. I get tired, I put everything off as long as I possibly can, and then I get wicked frustrated and pissy for a good week or two before the end of the semester. And to top it all off, I have yet to start any Christmas shopping and I've got quite and extensive list. Allow me to reitterate my earlier sentiment. I'm pretty sure I'm totally fucked.

That or just pessimistic, because on the whole, things usually work out fine. Let's just hope I can keep this semester's hot streak going for two more weeks. That's all I need and then I'm done. Best of luck to all of you who I know have like, 10 times more to do than me. I don't know hw you crazy sons of bitches do it, but I'm a little... no I 'm really jealous. I'd kill for multi-taskability right now. Tunnel vision sucks. Have a nice night. Good luck, and may God help us all....

P.S.- I've officially run out of ways to put off this damn Shakespeare paper, I hope you're happy. Because as of now, I blame YOU.

My Visit to Dictionopolis

When I was a kid, I used to like to read everything. From cereal boxes, to funny pages, to street signs, everything was literature to me. But as I got a bit older the reading bug started to leave. I was dissatisfied with Dr. Seuss and ready to say goodbye to “Goodnight Moon”. I had grown out of past stories, but couldn’t find any others. Then, as if by miracle one Christmas, my older cousin Brad gave me a gift that I will cherish forever, if only in spirit. He gave me my first real chapter book: “The Phantom Tollbooth.” I, like Milo, the protagonist, had begun to get bored with life and learning. I had entered the doldrums and without realizing it, “The Phantom Tollbooth” was able to guide me out.
I read it the first time to appease my cousin and my parents, not knowing the treasure that I was simply skimming, a word I now look upon with disdain. I don’t believe I exaggerate when I say that reading that book changed my life. It introduced me to a whole new world and showed me that there are many to see and to find. It was the first intimate experience I had with the written word that truly excited me, and I knew than that we would have a powerful relationship. We have since had many a rendezvous, meeting in worlds far from my own, and worlds perhaps just down the street. I have been able to navigate the streets of London Below with Richard Mayhew in Neil Gaiman’s “Neverwhere” and experienced disgusting, vulgar, drunken sex with Tucker Max in his collected personal essays entitled “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell” which I often pray is fiction. In “Good Omens” I was able to ride with the four bikers of the apocalypse and see the son of Satan raised as a white bread suburbanite. Literature, whether real or imagined, serious or satirical, has always been a very important part of my identity. Books have helped me come to terms with who I am and introduced me to characters that I hope will remain a part of my soul. I believe that any character we connect to in a story lives on through us, even just a little bit. So I know that each and every character that I’ve ever loved, hated, admired, or abhorred are all sitting inside of me and if I’m ever lonely or bored, or simply finding myself once again in the doldrums, Milo and I can take a little drive through the Kingdom of Wisdom with Tock, the watchdog that ticks, and everything will be ok.

NaNoWriMo!

Ok, so I would just you all to be the first (and possibly only) to know that this month I plan to attempt my first nanowrimo! and for those of you who haven't the foggiest as to what that is, it's a writing contest. The challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel from november 1-30. I've joined late, and I have no idea what to write about, but this is my first one, so wish me luck and lemme know if you think of a plot! lol Click here for more info about the contest.

press release

New Style for New England: Fashion World Welcomes New Name
Boston, MA - Friday November 15, 2008 New designer Andrew D'Agostino is releasing a brand new line to kick off his own design career and the fashion community has high hopes for this new upstart. New Hampshire native Andrew D'Agostino will be putting on a show to announce his entrance into the hall of elite designers with high fashion styles that will knock your pitifully uninteresting socks off and replace them with high fashion hosiery cradled in luxury footwear. D’Agostino’s designs range from simple elegance to sensational extravagance and everywhere in between. The show is open to the public, but space is limited, so claim your seat now. This is an event you won’t want to miss.

Recent college graduates will be in for a treat as well! Andrew will be selecting former students of any industry and they will each receive a custom look from his brand new line. Men and women of any age can qualify, but must be no more than a year out of college and interviewing for a job in your field.

For more details on rules and entry requirements or just information on Andrew’s brilliant upcoming show, visit Andrew’s design blog at http://www.dagostinodesigns.blogspot.com/ today!

Slight retraction/correction

Ok, so I've noticed in a few comments on my "what I wanna be" blog reference what I said about my parents not being supportive and seriously, I wish I had addressed it sooner. I worded that really poorly, and inadvertently made my fantastic parents sound really awful. If I could pick my parents, I wouldn't be able to choose anyone better than who I have, and I failed to effectively convey that and honestly, I've simply been too lazy to correct it, but I know, even if they don't read this blog (which is likely, they aren't quite net-savvy) that I'd be doing my parents a disservice if I left this uncorrected. My parents have been supportive of just about every direction I've wanted to go in my life. My mom simply told me some of the stigmas attached to men in the fashion industry and let me choose for myself whether or not it was right for me (clearly neither of us foresaw what my personality would be back then). So I'm putting this out there now, later than I should have. When I said "less than supportive" it was true, but only slightly, so hopefully I've conveyed that a little better with this little edit, because seriously, I kinda felt like a tool leaving it the way I did. Hope that cleared things up a bit for ya! :)

My Fantasy Product

First I'd like to apologize for the absolute lack of fun and/or wit in my title. I'm a little ashamed.

And now onto my long toiled after product idea. Seriously, took me forever to think of something, I'm only putting this because I'm out of time, scout's honor.

I'm going to launch a line of designs by designer Andrea D'Agostino (and no, it's not a girl's name, that's the Italian version of Andrew.) He's an up and coming designer starting a new business and trying to make a name for himself by not only releasing a new line of both ready to wear and avant garde pieces, but donating several of them to recent college graduates on job hunts. Gotta look good for those interviews, after all! If I could draw I'd include sketches, but as it stands, odds are I'll either do without or have a friend do them, unless I really need them, but I guess we'll see, now won't we? Now I just need to find a sponsor to donate some materials for these lovely new interview pieces. Wish me Luck! lol

BTW everyone...

Happy October! :-)

Me and my nostalgic future...

What do I wanna be when I grow up? Hmmmm, let me think…. I have wanted to be so many different things, especially throughout high school, it might be easier to tell you what I DIDN’T wanna be, but I’ll do my best I suppose.

My earliest memory f career aspiration came in Kindergarten. My brother and I were in a fashion show my school was putting on and when asked what I wanted to be I told them I’d like to be a salesmen like my Dad. At the time, and in fact, almost as long as I can remember, he was in textile sales and I had a HUGE case of hero worship for my dad. He was, is, and as far as I can tell always will be one of the best people I’ve ever known, but I digress.

After K I wised up and decided sales was a bit… well it just wasn’t very ME. So, realizing I had plenty of time to decide I never gave it anymore thought for quite some time. Then 7th grade rolled around and the question popped up again as an assignment. Still wanting to potentially work with my Dad, I chose fashion design. I had the silly idea that I could use the fabrics he sold in my designs. (Which would have been awful, he sold Polartec Fleece, not always too pretty.)

That aspiration, however, was short lived as my parents were less than supportive. They didn’t doubt me or my abilities, just worried, as parents often will, about what others may think of me. I never pursued any work in pursuit of fashion after that. I often regret that decision because, as you may have guessed, I still have an incredible passion for fashion. I’m not just saying that to be cute and rhymey, I mean it. Have you ever stared at a runway show on your computer screen and gasped, replaying it over and over and never ceasing to be amazed? If fashion was air, I’d breathe deeply of it for hours on end. But again, I digress. (Can’t help it, I’m feeling nostalgic now.)

In high school I really started on the crazy career-path plan. I jumped from path to path, all totally out of the blue and in no way to connected to each other. I started wanting to be a lawyer, I was a big fan of The Practice and had the notion that maybe, just maybe, life would really be that exciting in a courtroom. That phase was short lived and I moved instead to Archeology. I decided shortly thereafter that digging in the desert was just not my dream and dropped it after wasting a semester in high school with “anthropology” classes that proved to be little more than crafting classes. Then I decided that Botany could be a fascinating field as I’ve always had a love of plants. I wanted to know how they operated, how they grow, but there’s only so much you can ask a tulip, and once again I lost interest.

Now the question has returned in full force, having not seen it since high school. “And just what do you plan on doing with your forty thousand dollar degree, Andy?” I have yet to answer the question and every month I get closer to not having any time left to decide. Teaching is definitely a no go, but I’ve always wondered at how I would be in marketing or public relation, and sometimes my mind even wanders back to fashion, tempting me to leave my last year of college behind me a start all over somewhere new and risk everything for a dream that seems ever more unlikely. I’m not entirely sure what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be a part of the fashion world, I don’t care how; I just know I would relish the opportunity to be a part of it, if only for a moment. I have to admit, I’m pretty sure that Peter Pan kid had it made with the whole, “kid forever” deal he’s got going on. Lucky bastard.

"Drinkies"

Lisa Rae Winant

Imaged used by permission of the Artist

12x16 oil on panel

That damn wrap. Richard didn’t even know people wore those anymore, it just seemed so…. 20’s. Here she was, this lovely young lady, her intentions for Richard quite clear and he couldn’t take his eyes off of it. He sipped his drink, nodding politely at whatever it was she had said, the cool liquid biting down his throat. He had started a staring contest with it. Cold, dead, probably fake eyes staring back at him from the woman’s shoulder. She probably thought he was only interested in her rack, which would have been true if not for the cheap fox fur wrap draped eerily across her shoulders. She was, after all, dreadfully boring.

He tried to ignore it, taking stock of the rest of her, trying to find out if it was even worth it, despite the tragedy around her neck. He even went as far as to try and listen to what she was saying. No luck, she was still just slightly more interesting than the floorboards they were standing on, prattling on about some girl named Tiffany and how she cheated on John. He knew neither Tiffany nor John and had long since suspected this girl to be simply dumb. She was doing a wonderful job of proving him right, so far her only redeeming quality.

He took another sip, the harmonious tang of several liquors bringing him closer and closer to hopefully not caring about that scarf or whatever. He looked at his glass sadly, realizing it was almost empty, no chance this drink would do, which was a shame. There was no way to ignore it sober. He finished off his drink and finally blinked, conceding defeat to his artificial foe before making up some lame excuse about finding his friends or something, any excuse to get away from it. He politely exchanged numbers with her, inwardly hoping she’d never call and smiled as he walked away.

“Goodnight you two.” He said, waving as he left. "I hope you both have a lovely evening.”

Chew on this, ladies and gents.

My blog will likely not follow the traditional vein (assuming there is one). I don’t plan on covering world hunger, my own political opinions, animal dating (though I did thoroughly enjoy that one) or some other sort of popular, earth-shattering problem. Nope, instead my blog will detail a social topic that affects us all, something often undervalued, the impact of which is constantly underestimated.

I’m blogging about fashion. From the first guy to cover his junk with a leaf, to Karl Lagerfeld’s new line of 24k gold fur, fashion has influenced life and society all over the world. Starting as merely a function for survival, clothing has evolved faster than any other species, changing and growing, practically by the day and it plays a role in the life of EVERYONE. (Yes, even you, Goth kid). I believe the queen mother of chic, Coco Chanel, put it best when she said “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” Link and yes, there is a whole webpage full of Coco Chanel quotes. The woman was brilliant after all.

People rarely give fashion the credit it deserves, writing it off as simply another overpaid, overpriced industry, promoting excess and all sorts of mayhem. Those people are only partially correct. Fashion thrives in excess, but what doesn’t these days? You need to eat to survive, but you don’t need to eat filet mignon. If you’re gonna go overboard on one thing, why not make it something that will last? By definition, anything beyond necessity is excess. You don’t need a big house, just one that will cover you when it rains, and it doesn’t need to warm up to 60 degrees in winter, but it sure is nice. Life today is all about excess. Don’t let anyone tell you different. And let’s be honest, we all love a little mayhem, it makes life more interesting.

Most people who don’t consider themselves “trendy” like to pretend that fashion doesn’t touch them. They are immune to it and living perfectly happy without it, but riddle me this all you supposed non-conformists: did you make that shirt you’re wearing? Because unless you make all your own clothes (and usually even if you do) then fashion is touching your life at this very moment. Fashion is a rare art form, incorporating almost every sense: the fresh smell of new cotton, the rustle of a crisp button-down, the dazzling arrays of color, and of course the smooth sheen of silk. Fashion is a living, growing entity in and of itself, changing the face of the world constantly and marking each country, each region, even each clique with its own unique brand, and we should all be lucky enough to realize its importance.

Oy, braindead...

Ok, so I need to find something I'm passionate about for this lovely little homework blog... Politics bore me, global conflicts irk me, and the misfortune of others depress me (I swear I'm not as self involved as that made me sound) so naturally I tend to steer clear of those things for the most part. I haven't the slightlest idea what to blog about. The only things I can think of to blog about are shallow to a marvelous extent. That or just plain geeky. Maybe I can blog about the X-men, I'm sure that'll go far. Or I could just continue this pretty little rant and blog about writer's block! Gee golly, all the fun I'll have :-/ Oy.

Whatev'. Update later I guess... maybe having a blog aint so bad, at least I get to vent. Wish me luck!

Edit: F being shallow, let's not dodge the subject, I AM shallow, but the good kind. I'm the kind of shallow that will tell a girl she loooks like a pilgrim when she wears shoes that buckle. I'm the kind of shallow that will (and has) tell my own mother she needs to change because her floofy jacket makes her look like a pirate. I'm the kind of shallow that isn't afraid to tell a woman that the glasses she likes make her look like she has a unibrow and I work tirelessly, little by little to improve the world and the way it looks. I should be commended for my impressive vapidity (whether or not that is a word is irrelevant) not scared of reproach. My name is Andy and I am shallow, hear me...... critique!
(just as long as it's teacher approved. After all, I still want a good grade.)

::cue eyeroll::

For lack of a better greeting.

Hey there upper east siders, Grammar Girl here.

I swear, you'll get that joke if you got back from break early, we're in class now so I really haven't had much time to think of anything else to say. I'll get back to you later with some more interesting crap. Scout's honor.

XOXO
jk, I swear I'm done with the GG jokes...
for now anyway.