The Force For Fun: 'Jim vs. Vader'

Two of my favorite companies, Pringles and Star Wars have put together "The Force For Fun" promotion which resulted in over a thousand fan made ideas to be crowdsourced on Tongal.com. Now, after months of hard work, there is only seven final videos competing for the grand prize of $25,000 and to be chosen as Pringles national advertisement! As I mentioned before, I was chosen to be a The Force For Fun Influencer so I'll be bringing you behind the scenes footage and the chance to win your own Star Wars and Pringles swag!

This week I'm bringing you the first of seven commercials:
Here is the video by Erick Beck and Justin Johnson called "Jim Vs. Vader"!

 

Some awesome facts about the minds behind the video: "Justin’s very first video he directed as a child was a recreation of the battle of Hoth in the snow with his toys. And then, one of the first props Erik ever built was an AT-AT walker out of a shoebox and a soda cup. It had a working escape hatch; he was 8 years old."

                                                  Here is a Behind the Scenes Video with Erick and Justin!

Make sure you go to www.YouTube.com/Pringles to check out the seven The Force For Fun videos!

Now enter below to win Star Wars and Pringles swag! 
Earn points by Liking the Pringles Facebook page and tweet using #TheForceForFun!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

read more

Lost in Manhattan: Is It Cheating If You Have A Sleepover With An Ex?

"Just because he's staying with his ex girlfriend and her family for a week doesn't mean he's gonna fuck her, right?"

 -Parker

        Last night I was up late killing time on Tumblr, like one does at one in the morning, when I got a Facebook chat from Parker. After asking if I was still awake, she sent a a series of hysterical messages about The Tardis and how she thinks he's cheating on her. I couldn't understand the gibberish of mistypes and spelling erros so I told her I'd go up to her apartment if she wanted. She begged me to, with the promise of sharing her Strawberry Vodka. 

I had never been inside Parker's apartment before. It was twice the size of mine (which really isn't a big feat) and if possible, even messier. The walls were covered in Doctor Who framed prints, Supernatural posters, and a portrait of Albert Einstein. We climbed over her bed (which was covered in clothes, text books, and a Mac Book) to go out on her fire escape. She had obviously been crying and was drinking Smirnoff out of a Boba Fett mug.

"So what's going on?"

"I think he's cheating on me."

Now I could recall the conversation in a well written recap, or I could just copy down the rant that I reordered on my iPhone. And seeing as how I was up until 4am on a fire escape, here's a shortened version of Parker's low down:

"We're both broke, you know? We don't have a lot of money or else we'd spend it seeing each other. We've been saving up for San Diego so we can share a hotel room and everything. But get this! He casually tells me today that he's going to spend the next WEEK in California! He says he has a meeting with some people from Marvel about a possible job opportunity. I say that's great but how is he affording everything? He said his dad lent him some money for a plane ticket and he's staying with some friends in LA. But then I get confused. Marvel comics offices are in New York, not LA so why would he have a job offer there? And then hours later I ask who he's staying with and it turns out, his ex girlfriend and her family! Now I know they dated for like, forever before her family moved to the US but it doesn't make sense! His meeting is only ONE DAY and yet he's staying a whole week. He could easily fly out to New York or take a bus or something and stay with me for the rest of the trip! But I know how his dad bought him the plane ticket and everything and it just sucks. He doesn't even think its weird that he's staying with his ex girlfriend's family. I just don't know. I see him tweeting at her sometimes and he doesn't with me because he's trying to keep our relationship a secret so people don't harass me even more than they do now. But, how fucked up is this? It's fucked up right?" 

I've been in long distance relationships before, a few shorter ones and one that turned into an actual relationship. All of whom I've met off of Twitter. Parker and The Tardis met through Tumblr (if you recall) and have been dating since August but have not actually met. Here's the thing, obviously this situation isn't right for Parker at all. It isn't right that she's in a relationship with a guy who is staying with his ex girlfriend for a week when she hasn't even met her in person yet. But that's the thing: is it a real relationship because they haven't met?

She doesn't have any "real" rights as a girlfriend because they haven't crossed that boundary of actually touching each other yet. It doesn't seem fair and people in LDR would probably argue with me that love is love no matter and all that other bullshit. Then again, a relationship is a relationship and if he loves her, which he tells her he does, wouldn't he care about how she feels? And isn't his Marvel interview in LA and not New York kind of shady?

These days long distance relationships between people who have met on the Internet is shockingly common. You search the "LDR" tag on Tumblr and you've met with hundreds of stories about love affairs reaching around the world. A guy in Australia connected with his "true love" in Maryland, USA. Everyone from lovesick teenagers to business adults are making connections in a way that has never been done before this generation.

Last month Durex announced their "Fundawear", a series of underwear that can be stimulated over the Internet. Your significant other can get to second base, operating sensors over a bra of your man's under roos. Couples like Parker and The Tardis can please each other without having to meet, ever. When I mentioned this to her, Parker said the Fundawear isn't available yet but she would buy a set in a heartbeat. That is, if they were still together by the time it came out.

I didn't have much advice for her, except that if she trusts him then it shouldn't be too big of a problem. So instead we shared a black and mild on her fire escape, watching taxis speed down Broadway at 2 in the morning and hoped for the best. 

P.S. -Let's also take a moment to fawn over the amazing artwork Chris Flocco did of the girls! Without seeing actual pictures of them (to keep their identities anonymous), Chris was able to perfectly capture them all. I especially adore the Rebel Alliance shirt/sweater combo. Even though 'Parker' has different tattoos in real life, she loves the ones her character has. Thanks again so much Chris!

Previously on Lost in Manhattan:

1.) Gelato & an Idea

2.) Dirty Underwear and The Tardis

3.) Enter Olivia
4.) SnapChating Your Way to Internet Fame (or Just To Secure a Date)

read more

Pringles® & Star Wars™ Brings You "The Force For Fun"!

I am so excited about Pringles and Star Wars teaming up to bring you the "The Force For Fun" contest! I have been selected as one of ten bloggers to be a Force For Fun Influencer to bring you exclusive behind the scenes content of the contest, interviews with the filmmakers and Lucasfilm representatives as well as Star Wars and Pringles swag for YOU guys! This means that in the upcoming weeks you'll have chances to watch the contest finalists and voice which video entries you like best to win out of this world prizes. Read more about the contest below and check out all the videos at  www.YouTube.com/Pringles

SOURCE Kellogg Company

One video will win $25,000 and a chance to be featured as Pringles national advertisement

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., May 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Until now, the will of the Force has sought to bring balance to the universe, and with Pringles® in the picture, the Force has a new mission – to deliver snackable fun. As part of thePringles® and Star Wars™ "The Force For Fun" promotion, more than a thousand fan-generated video ideas were crowdsourced through Tongal.com and narrowed down to seven final videos competing for a grand prize of $25,000and the chance to be featured as a Pringles® national advertisement.[1]

The filmmakers behind the seven videos are David Brashear, Erik Beck and Justin Johnson, Ryan O'Rourke andJohn Griese, Colin Duffy and Matt Sklar, Jared Hedges and Dave Cain, Brooke Dooley, Jordan Allen and Luke Rocheleau, and Steven Houser. Each spot was required to merge the iconic Pringles snack brand with the Star Warsuniverse and characters. The 30- and 60-second videos are available online now at www.YouTube.com/Pringles. The winning video will be selected by representatives from Lucasfilm and Pringles.

"Pringles and Star Wars fans are clearly passionate about the same interests – fun times, tasty snacks, and galaxies far, far away," said Teresa Lindsey-Houston, Pringles Marketing Director. "We can't wait to see our fans' reaction to the winning 'The Force For Fun' video, which will be unveiled in June!"

Adding some pop to the snacking masses, Pringles and Star Wars appointed 10 die-hard fans to spread the word about the seven videos on their blogs and social channels where they will highlight exclusive behind-the-scenes content, interviews with the filmmakers and Lucasfilm representatives, as well as reader sweepstakes[2] featuringPringles product and Star Wars swag. Participating bloggers will be featured at www.YouTube.com/Pringles.    

Visit www.YouTube.com/Pringles and www.Facebook.com/Pringles pages to check out the videos, watch interviews with the filmmakers and Lucasfilm representatives and join the conversation using #TheForceForFun. Stay tuned to Pringles YouTube and Facebook pages for the announcement of the winning video at the end of June.

Suggested Tweets:

• Click to Tweet: 7 filmmakers vie for a chance to have their #TheForceForFun video featured as a national @Pringles commercial
• Click to Tweet: Visit Youtube.com/Pringles to watch videos set in a galaxy far, far away and join the conversation using #TheForceForFun

About Kellogg Company 

At Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), we are driven to enrich and delight the world through foods and brands that matter. With 2012 sales of $14.2 billion, Kellogg is the world's leading cereal company; second largest producer of cookies, crackers and savory snacks; and a leading North American frozen foods company. Every day, our well-loved brands nourish families so they can flourish and thrive. These brands include Kellogg's®, Keebler®, Special K®, Pringles®,Frosted Flakes®, Pop-Tarts®, Corn Flakes®, Rice Krispies®, Kashi®, Cheez-It®, Eggo®, Coco Pops®, Mini-Wheats®, and many more. Because we believe in the power of breakfast, we focus our philanthropic efforts global hunger relief through our Breakfasts for Better Days™ initiative, providing 1 billion servings of cereal and snacks -  more than half of which are breakfast - to children and families in need by the end of 2016. To learn more about our responsible business leadership, foods that delight and how we strive to make a difference in our communities around the world, visit www.kelloggcompany.com.

About TONGAL

Tongal is a social content development platform that helps global businesses connect with global creativity. Tongal's unique Content Evolution process opens the creative door to loyal customers, fans, even employees -- creating immediate, relevant content by tapping their (frequently, great) ideas, then pushing the very best of these forward to the talented folks who can translate the vision into living color. http://www.tongal.com.

About Lucasfilm Ltd. 

Lucasfilm Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is a global leader in film, television and digital entertainment production. In addition to its motion-picture and television production, the company's activities include visual effects and audio post-production, cutting-edge digital animation, interactive entertainment software, and the management of the global merchandising activities for its entertainment properties including the legendary STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES franchises. Lucasfilm Ltd. is headquartered in northern California.

Lucasfilm, the Lucasfilm logo, STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © 2013 Lucasfilm Ltd.  All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

[1] For official "The Force for Fun" video contest rules, please visit http://tongal.com/TheForceforFun/rules.

[2] http://pringlestheforceforfunprogram.com

Source: ©2012 PR Newswire.

read more

Lost in Manhattan: SnapChatting Your Way to Internet Fame (Or Just To Secure A Date)

"He called me Daisy! This has got to mean that he loves me."- Meg

During her last semester at Columbia last Spring, my friend Meg fell in love with her "Military & History" seminar professor, whom we'll call simply call "The Professor". He is a 29 year old native New Yorker with a slight beard that wears tweed jackets and often made 'Indiana Jones' references during class. Meg wound up spending a significant amount of time in his office to talk about papers and became obsessed with him. One day in April 2012, they ran into each other at the Intrepid (aka she stalked his Twitter page & saw he was going that day) where they had a lovely afternoon together. He even paid for her dinner and walked her back to her apartment. 

For weeks they exchanged casual emails on topics such as their favorite history books and movies. She tried to coax him out for another outing but he reasonably refused. However, one night they agreed to grab a quick meal at a food truck and ended up walking in Riverside Park well into the night where an inevitable kiss occured. After that their days were full of sneaking glances during class, arguing over the ethics of their relationship, and going out for late night dinners away from campus. However, The Professor was always in fear of getting caught and finally ended it their relationship right before finals. 

This caused broken hearted Meg to fail his final exam horribly (out of sadness and a bit of resentment I gather). This prompted him to beg her to secretly retake the exam so that he didn't have to fail her for the class. She agreed, but only if he would give her a recommendation for a job position at the college she was applying for. Out of desperation he agreed but seemed disheartened when she did get the job.

Meg's intention was that as coworkers, her and The Professor would be viewed as equals and they could restart their relationship. However, he viewed the situation as even worse since he helped her get the job. Now, after nearly a year of working at Columbia as a secretary, Meg and The Professor have yet to get to "banging". They've had a few casual work lunches but their interactions don't stray far from emailing and SnapChatting. 

SnapChat is an app where (according to Wikipedia) "users can take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to a controlled list of recipients. Users set a time limit for how long recipients can view their photos, up to 10 seconds, after which it will be deleted from the recipient's device and the company's servers." In other words, this is meant for people to send naked pictures & naughty videos to each other without fear of them being sent to everyone on Facebook. When I pointed this out to Meg she, rather disappointedly, said that no nudes were exchanged "yet". Mostly their chats are of random things they both see, and the occasional funny faces.

They SnapChat more than actual talking due to the secrecy of the app which appeals to The Professor's paranoid nature. However, last week Meg tried taking their relationship to the next level. She sent him a video of a taxi cab with an advertisement for the new "The Great Gatsby" movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio with the caption "Our fave! See it w/ me?" In return he sent a video of the same movie poster taken somewhere in the city with the caption "Sure thing, Daisy."

In turn it led to much enthusiasm on Meg's part, swooning over the fact that The Professor called her Daisy, a reference to the woman Gatsby loves in the story. (These were apparently the two characters Meg and The Professor used to refer to each other as during their affair.) Meg is ignoring the fact that they don't have a set day for the date (as the movie doesn't come out until May 10th, nor did he respond to her texts for the next few days). Meg is too good for him, and I suggested that she go after someone who doesn't have a beard but she can be very stubborn.  In turn I suggested that she start sending nudes to figure out if he's gay or not. Maybe he has a tiny penis and doesn't want to show it, which would probably explain everything.

According to their Wikipedia page, SnapChat is mostly used for children to send pictures to their parents of their whereabouts (yeah right). When searched online, there is a Internet phenomena called "SnapChat Sluts" that started as hashtag on Twitter turned Tumblr, the latter of which has been deleted since this article was published on Gawker. However, there is a new website called Wastechester where is seems girls voluntarily send nudes to a specific SnapChat user. Forbes even posted an article about the app yesterday about the sexting fears.

Welcome to dating in 2013: all you have to do is SnapChat your way into someone's pants (or even just a date).

Previously on "Lost in Manhattan":
1.) Gelato & an Idea
2.) Dirty Underwear & the Tardis
3.) Enter Olivia

read more

Hot Topic & Her Universe Join Forces for Star Wars Day

Her Universe is one of my favorite companies, and I'm so excited about this announcement made earlier today about their products being sold at Hot Topic!

NEW YORK, NY - May 1st, 2013 - Star Wars fans already know that the Force is everywhere but on May 4th the stars align for those who live and breathe every moment of the Star Wars saga. This day is a special opportunity to celebrate all things in that "galaxy far, far away" and, of course, to say, "May the 4th Be With You!" For the second year in a row, Her Universe™, the leading sci-fi merchandise line for fangirls, is teaming up with Hot Topic to offer new exclusive Star Wars dresses and fashion tops created by actress and entrepreneur Ashley Eckstein, voice of Ahsoka Tano fromStar Wars: The Clone Wars.

On May 4th, the popular Star Wars By Her Universe line will debut six new fashion pieces exclusively on Hottopic.com. The first 500 customers who purchase a Star Wars by Her Universe item online at Hottopic.com beginning at 1am PST on May 4th will receive a FREE Star Wars by Her Universe cinch sack. In addition, all day on May 4th Hottopic.com and Starwars.com (the official Star Wars website), and their social media sites, will celebrate this special fan holiday with fan-themed content and giveaways. 

"I am thrilled to be working with Hot Topic again to celebrate May the 4th Be With You," said Ashley Eckstein. "I am also excited to debut a new design with one of our favorite guest designers, Denise Vasquez. Denise brought her unique 'Day of the Dead' inspired style to a new design featuring Boba Fett."

With the growing audience of female Star Wars fans, Hot Topic and Her Universe have a number of new tops and, for the first time, Star Wars by Her Universe dresses to offer them. The new Hot Topic apparel line features popular villains Boba Fett and Darth Vader as well as fan favorite Rebels Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.

In celebration of "May the 4th Be with You," Her Universe will also be offering 20% off of all currentStar Wars apparel on www.HerUniverse.com on May 4th (Hot Topic product only available on Hottopic.com). In addition, while visiting the Her Universe website, fans can also view the past and present honoree's for "fangirl of the day" - part of a very special year-long campaign, the "Year of the Fangirl," which spotlights and recognizes fangirls of all ages showing their diversity, dreams and interests. Anyone can nominate a fangirl to be highlighted on the site. Go to www.HerUniverse.com for more information.

Source: Her Universe

read more

Actor Robert Downey, Jr. & Marvel Celebrate “Iron Man 3” with NYSE Opening Bell®

Actor Robert Downey, Jr., along with executives from Marvel Entertainment, LLC, visited the New York Stock Exchange this morning (April 30) and rang The Opening Bell® to highlight the U.S. release of Marvel’s highly anticipated film, “Iron Man 3,” on May 3.

Marvel's Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at this enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? 

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, Marvel’s Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce & Shane Black and is based on Marvel's iconic Super Hero Iron Man, who first appeared on the pages of "Tales of Suspense" (#39) in 1963 and had his solo comic book debut with "The Invincible Iron Man" (#1) in May of 1968. Marvel's Iron Man 3 is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures and DMG Entertainment. Marvel Studios' President Kevin Feige is producing and Jon Favreau, Louis D'Esposito, Charles Newirth, Victoria Alonso, Stephen Broussard, Alan Fine, Stan Lee and Dan Mintz are executive producers. The film releases May 3, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Source: Marvel

read more

Lost in Manhattan: Enter Olivia

Meg asked her former college roommate, Olivia, if she would be interested in my blogging project. I would have asked her myself but I am admittedly scared of Olivia because she is strikingly gorgeous, a Republican, and petite. Towering over most females I encounter at 5’7’’ since the age of 12, I have always found women shorter than me to be scary. Short women are closer to the ground and thus have the higher ground (no pun intended) and could push me over if they so pleased. Anyway, Olivia was 5’4’’ with long dyed black hair and had agreed to meet with me.

She invited me over on a Monday early afternoon to her place in Murray Hill. I grabbed my voice recorder & notebook as any good journalist would do and took the subway down there. Olivia lived on the 17^th floor in a one-bedroom apartment with the most spectacular view of the Chrysler Building. I was dripping with New York real estate envy.

The place smelled of cookies and cigarette smoke. Olivia was dressed in a green maxi dress with her long hair in a high ponytail. When I sat down she offered a plate of cookies, something she apparently baked on days when she was feeling “domestic”. I realized this was the first time I had encountered Olivia in the light of day as well as the first time she wasn't intoxicated.

Over delicious (organic) sugar cookies and glasses of soymilk, Olivia offered up some of her background: She was from Boston and had majored in Art History at Columbia where she roomed with Meg their sophomore year. In the summer before her junior year Olivia was working at Hooters over on 56^th and 8^th avenue, which is where she first met a man we'll call “Doc Holiday”. He was a surgeon from Atlanta who often traveled for specific operations in Manhattan.

Holiday was married to a woman ten years his elder, which made her about 55, as far as Olivia could guess. This wife was from old family money and had affairs with male models in their twenties, which left Holiday to as many women as he pleased. Over a late night of boneless wings and cheesy fries, Holiday fell for Olivia’s charm but mostly for how “perky” her butt looked in the orange shorts.  They soon began going out every time he was in town, but he loathed how they only interacted in hotel rooms.

In short, Holiday bought Olivia her Murray Hill one bedroom apartment to live in as long as she a.) kept it clean and b.) cleared her schedule when he was in town. I mentioned my comparison of her to Julia Roberts in ‘Pretty Woman’ and she laughed. She said Holiday wasn’t exactly prince charming, but he gave her a place to live and that was enough.

Olivia explained in a matter of fact and aloof air that she also has other wealthy boyfriends in town that “help her out” though she doesn’t consider herself to be a hooker. She has never had sex directly for money, but has made sure to surround herself with men who would take care of her. She would also never do porn because her “dad would most likely see it”.

I then asked if she knew other girls who had lifestyles like hers. Olivia said she had met other girls who accompanied Holiday’s friends to dinner parties, but she didn’t know if they were hookers or just lucky like her. When asked what she did with her free time she, with a wave of her hand, showed off the extensive art pieces that adorned her apartment. Olivia loved art, and invested her money wisely in buying and selling pieces she could afford.

“Would you open up an art gallery?”

“Not really. I’d actually like to open up a bakery some day.”

Olivia then asked me why I wanted to write about other people. I gave a long-winded explanation on how I wanted to write about life in New York City and what this certain group of people thought about the world but I didn’t want to write about just myself because I was tired of me and blah blah blah.

“So you’re like Harriet the Spy, but not trying to hide your spying.”

“Well, uh- I guess.”

“That’s cool, I liked that movie as a kid.”

“So you don’t mind if I use you for my project?”

“Go for it, Spygirl.”

And with that I’ve convinced 3 acquaintances into letting me write about their intricate and utmost personal lives for the Internet to see. Maybe this is what Ryan Seacrest felt like when he started the Kardashian show. However, I guess Parker would actually be the one most likely to have a sex tape…

Previously on "Lost in Manhattan":
1.) Gelato & an Idea
2.) Dirty Underwear & the Tardis

read more

Lost in Manhattan: The Year I Was 22

There is a lot of stigma about 22 year old females in pop culture. Charlotte in “Sex and the City” yelled at her business successor: “You’re 22, what do you know about life!” Norah Jones sings the tune “She's 22” about the tramp who stole her boyfriend. In ‘You’ve Got Mail” Meg Ryan hashes out against “those stupid 22-year-old girls with no last name!”  Females in their 22^nd year are apparently notorious for stealing boyfriends & husbands, being perky, and ruining lives. I can promise you I was none of those things in the last year.

 However, I can tell you what I did do the year I was 22. I started off in my last semester at college where I was taking 21 credits (seven classes) in order to graduate on time. A professor told me that I wasn’t competent enough pass all seven classes on time and I, through a burst of tears, yelled back at him that I most certainly could. And I did.

It was the year I quit job after job because I refused to be treated with less than common fucking courtesy. (Just because a boss buys you beer to drink in the office or have ping pong competitions does not necessarily mean its good place to work). It was the year I had panic attacks at my bookstore job, reducing me to crying in the bathroom before every shift. It was the year I worked at The New York Public Library on 5^th ave.

It was the year I moved not only to New York City in my own studio apartment, but a studio on the Upper West Side (my dream home for as long as I can remember.) It was the year I met Karen Allen (Marion in 'Indiana Jones')- twice. The year I met Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan , and Peter Jackson  of 'Lord of the Rings'. The year I met Gerard Butler, Ryan Gosling, Damien Echols, Tom Wolfe, Robert Redford, and others. The year I sat with Frank Oz who gave me a huge bear hug after our interview. The year Alan Menken sang me Disney songs that never made final cut. The year I got really drunk with some 'Games of Thrones' cast members. The year I was in the same room as Robert Downey Jr and he winked at me.

It was the year I got not one, but two tattoos on the same day: a matching LOTR one with my best friend and another of a paper airplane from “Paperman”.  It was the year I adopted a little black cat from a garbage can the weekend before a hurricane. And then adopted a huge black cat from Craigslist that likes to eat sticks of butter and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The year I got a job where I wound up being zero degrees away from Keven Bacon.

This was also the year I dressed up as femme Captain America and a drunk sorority girl took a picture with me then tagged me as Super Woman on Facebook. The year I got a papercut on my eye the morning after Thanksgiving and had to go to the emergency room. The year I got quad skates and resolved to be a Derby Girl. (That didn't happen.) The year I resolved to shake hands with Nick Fury. (I did. Cool dude, that Samuel L. Jackson) The year Liam Neeson said to me "I'm not a human being, I'm a badass."

When I was 22 I learned to not work in a place you hate going to. That barely making rent makes me a lot happier compared to having a big paycheck and being stuck with people I can’t stand. I learned that it’s okay to cut people out of your life that you don’t trust, or actually like. The year I found the best friends a girl could ask for. The year I stared getting requests from companies asking to work with me, instead of the other way around. 

Although, I'm glad I'm not 22 anymore, if only for the sole reason that Taylor Swift apparently has some song out about being 22 and that makes me want to vomit. Also, being 23 has a lot in store for me. If last year was a transitional year, this upcoming one will be the big game changer. I hearby resolve, on April 25th 2013, that by the time I turn 24 I will have two major life goals done. I won't tell you about them now-you'll just have to stick around to see what they are =)

I do have a small bit of advice for other 22 year olds out there: 1.) women will hate you because you're younger than they are. 2.) men that are mean to you are just pissed off that you won't fuck them.

and-> 3.) The only person who is a qualified expert on being you, is you.

As always, thanks for being around guys.

read more

Lost in Manhattan: Dirty Underwear & The Tardis

I wasn’t 100% convinced about the blogging project. I didn’t want something else that I would eventually find boring and abandon yet again. However, I bounced the idea off an almost friend of mine that I met in my building this past february February.

Parker ¹ and I had met in the elevator: both of us holding bags of laundry and neither making eye contact. Except, nothing can stop a girl when she feels the need to fangirl out. In this incident, it was over my signed Captain America bag I had been wearing.  After the exasperated exchange of “where did you this bag!” (Etsy) “Did he really touch that bag?” (Yes) we warily tested the waters of social interaction that geeks sometimes find hard to do.

We bonded over the Marvel movies and the men who star in them while washing our dirty underwear in the basement laundry room.  Parker and I are of the same breed, though our sections of fangirling varied slightly: she was obsessed with 'Doctor Who', 'Sherlock', & 'Supernatural' and yaoi ²drawings of her favorite characters. I didn’t watch those shows but we agreed on the important things such as one fucks Han Solo, marries Malcolm Reynolds, and Kills Mr. Darcy.

Since then, sometimes we’ll text each other to see if the other wanted to do laundry together.  We also follow each other on Tumblr, but I didn’t know a lot about Parker. That is, until I brought up my blog project idea over laundry yesterday. She was immediately drawn to my idea because, much like most of our generation, we all were desperately curious as to what each other were up to. Parker liked reading blogs because a.) She was a self-confessed snoop and b.) She liked talking with other people who were in a LDR.

I didn’t know this, but apparently Parker was in the most modern of all romances: she was in a long distance relationship with someone she had met off of Tumblr.  Now this is something I wanted to write about because I loved hearing about couples that met off the Internet.

I probed her for more details and the jest of it was this:  Last August Parker started talking frequently with a mop top boy from the Great White North (Canada). They shared a rather obsessive (my wording) love of Doctor Who, and quickly fell "in love" but have yet to actually meet each other. However, they had plans to cosplay together at San Diego Comic Con this July.

It was hard wrapping my mind around the fact that they were maintaining a relationship that didn’t include any physical touch. In response to this, Parker admitted to spending the majority of her time on Skype that occasionally included “cam and phone sex”.  She also argued that due to her thesis and multiple jobs, she didn’t have much energy or the funds for a live in boyfriend. This situation gave her the emotional support she needed without having to spend too much time away from her computer.

I asked her if I could use her for my project and she agreed, but with some hesitation. I wouldn’t use their real names (of course), due to the fact that she has to keep her relationship a secret. Her boyfriend was “kind of Tumblr famous” for his 10^th Doctor cosplay.  She didn’t want anymore hate mail than she already receives from girls who are suspicious of their online flirting. 

“I shall call him The Tardis,” I promised. And it was so.







Check out the previous entry in the "Lost in Manhattan" series: Gelato & an Idea

---

1 All names have been changed to protect the identity of the people involved. Under no circumstances will I reveal their personal information, including Twitter handles and photos of mentioned individuals.^↩

---

2 Yaoi, also known as Boys’ Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male androphillic sexual relationships, usually created by female authors.^↩

read more

My Interview in the 'Philippine Star'!

Last month I was interviewed by the lovely Luis Katigbak for my experiences as a "geek girl" as well as a filipina. My mother's family is from the Philippines where as my dad's is from Norway. I liked to explain it as a "viking ninja" as well as really Asian and really White. The interviews was initially for the Filippino edition of Esquire magazine, but it was eventually cut. Instead Katigbak was kind of enough to publish it in another outlet he works for!

Thus, last Friday the interview was posted in the 'Philippine Star', one of the top 3 most popular newspapers in the Philippines!

One of my Twitter followers, Ardo in the Philippines  sent me this picture of the actually interview!

However, you can check out the full interview online here.

Thanks again Luis for spotlighting me! My pinoy family is incredible proud =)

read more