Retro Hairstyles

From Marilyn Monroe to Katy Perry, the hairstyles of the 40's and 50's have withstood the test of time. Retro hairstyles add a touch of class, elegance, and sexiness, while at the same time being so old that they're avant garde! I've been dying to try out some retro styles to go along with a couple of retro themed outfits I have! If you're really interested in retro hair styles for yourself, YouTube is brimming over with video tutorials of many different retro hairstyles! Still, I have no idea how women used to keep these hairstyles up day after day!

Hello Kitty Double Wall Ceramic Travel Mug + Cookie

Sanrio has been having a huge jump in sales these past few months due to my stocking up on Hello Kitty products! I recently added to my collection of kawaii items with this Hello Kitty Double Wall Ceramic Travel Mug form Zulily.

I fell in love with it as soon as I saw! There was actually another set of two mugs with Hello Kitty's face on the front, but I liked this one because it had Hello Kitty's whole body, and she's carrying a lunchbox (she takes her lunch just like me!)! I bought it for about $14, not including shipping, but I think the retail price was around $30 or $40. The mug seems very large when you are just looking at it, but because of the double wall thickness, it holds about as much as a normal travel mug. It is very heavy and well made, although I would have preferred it better if it were plastic instead of ceramic, mainly because of the weight, and the fact that if I drop it on anything other than carpet, it is probably going to chip, crack, or break. I like how the top is made like those disposable tops you get from places like Starbucks, but is made of flexible, soft plastic that actually makes a slight suction-like seal on the ceramic, thereby holding in the heat! 

I used it at work the day after I got it, and it worked very well, although how a travel mug could not work very well, outside of leaking, is beyond me! However, because the travel mug is heavy and made of ceramic, I wouldn't recommend it for people who are constantly on the go.I use it only when I'm at work, and for the majority of the time I'm at my desk anyway, so it really isn't a problem for me.

Then, over the weekend, I got an extra Hello Kitty surprise when I saw this Hello Kitty cookie at the grocery store!

Thick Walls Make Good Neighbors

Obviously, I don't have good neighbors, or thick walls for that matter!

Actually, my neighbors aren't really bad, but their noise level could do with some adjusting, and I'm probably one of the few young people out there who don't like loud music, especially when it's not my own. Over the summer they played their music excessively loud, literally, all day long from about 8AM to after midnight (I think it was mostly the guy who lives there with his girlfriend)! A lot of times, there music is so loud that I can hear it distinctly through two rooms, a hallway, and two sets of walls into our living room, and last night their music was actually making objects on our kitchen counter vibrate! With their music being that loud in my apartment, I can't imagine what it actually sounds like in theirs. I mean, I don't know how they are not completely deaf by now!

The biggest problem with all of this is that their living room wall is also our bedroom wall (I wonder what brilliant architect came up with that layout), and their sound system is right behind the bed! There have been times during the week when I couldn't sleep for hours because of their music, and I don't even bother going to bed before 2AM on Friday nights (luckily, I don't have to get up early). Sometimes banging on the wall works, and sometimes it doesn't, but outside of this their is nothing else I can do since my mom won't let me ask them to turn the music down. Oh well, I have always been kept awake by other people's noise: it's either hearing my neighbors arguing and breaking stuff all night, or sharing a bedroom wall with people who have loud, crazy sex for hours on end, or people playing loud music until the wee hours of the night. Guess that's one of the hazards of apartment living!  

Leopard Print Nails

The great thing about working full-time, other than having something to do during the day, and making money, is that I can go back to doing crazy things with my nails. Since crazy nails are generally a "no, no" in interviews, I had to stick with either clear, or neutral/light colored polish.


For my first day of work a couple of weeks ago, I decided to wear a leopard print tank under a tan blazer, to add a little "umph" to my business casual outfit. To match the tank, I used the Leopard Print Funky Nails. As you can see, my nail applique skills have greatly improved since I first reviewed Funky Nails. It seems that applying nail applique is a lot like applying false lashes and nails; you get better with practice! As you can see, the applique is better fitted to my nails, and doesn't hang over the tips of my nails. I figured out that you have to trim the part over the nail tips with a file, but going in an up-and-down motion parallel to your nails, not side-to-side like you would normally file your nails. This way you can trim the excess of easily without messing up the rest of the nail applique once it has been applied, which was a big issue that I had when I first used Funky Nails.  

Fortune Cookie Wisdom

You must look into people, as well as at them.

About a week or so ago, I went to Sang Kee Noodle House with my mom and a friend, and at the end of the meal we got our fortune cookies and left. The fact that Sang Kee even has fortune cookies is amazing, considering that I only know of one other Chinese restaurant in Philadelphia that gives our fortune cookies (this city is weird and I don't even try to understand it)! Still, you have to get your fortune cookies from a big bowl on your way out, since they don't give them to you when they bring you your check like most of the Chinese restaurants I know of elsewhere.

Anyway, back to the relevant discussion. When I opened my fortune cookie, I found the message above. I was surprised since fortune cookies usually have stupid phrases like "You will go on a trip", or something like that. This one was actually very true and inspiring. Throughout my life I've learned that you can't just go by looks, you have to get to know the person within.

Why Can't It Be Like The First Week?

This post has absolutely nothing to do with the Graham Colton Band, it's actually about my first week at work! It all just feels so surreal, like I'm still waiting to wake up and realize that this is all just a dream! Remember how I was always going on about how awful Career Services at my university was, well I can't say anything bad about them now since that's where I got hired! I'm actually working with the two graduate and postdoctoral advising teams, though, not the undergraduate advisors. As the assistant for the two graduate/postdoctoral teams, I not only manage their appointment calendars, I also manage and coordinate all of the events, and do some of the web development! Between the two teams, there are at least three workshops, panels, orientations, or career fairs (which have over 100 employers!) every week each semester, so you can imagine how busy things can get! Actually, it was the event planning that really made me apply for the position in the first place. From my other jobs, I know a lot of people really hate event planning, and get all stressed out and frustrated over it, but I think it's really fun and exciting! Besides, I work better under pressure!

I also like that everyone in the office is pretty chill, but still professional, and there is a good mix of age groups (obviously some older people, but also people in their 20s), and now I get to do real employee stuff like go to meetings (I actually have three each week to "throw ideas around", which is probably going to get tiresome after a point, but for now it's super exciting) and have my own desk!

This is actually a picture of my desk, and no, that isn't my stuff on it. The person who worked there before was nice enough to leave a lot of very detailed manuals and instructions on almost every procedure and situation you can think of, which is what all that paper is! But why is the desk so important that I had to take a picture of it? Well, when I was working my first part-time job last Fall, my supervisor (I really think she had some issues, but I'm not going to go into that) got mad at me for leaving a note with a phone message on one of the desks I was working at, and said, "Don't get comfortable in one spot because you really don't have a place here." I thought this was extremely rude and uncalled for, especially since she yelled all this in the office for everyone to hear how she was telling me off! Anyway, now that I have my own "spot", every time I leave something on my desk, it's my way of saying, "Right back at cha, now what!" to my old supervisor (I found out recently that she either quit, or was fired from that job anyway)! Well, enough gloating for one day; enjoy the long weekend everyone!