Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Resuming Blogger Mode

Pause.


          Resume.


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I do that often. My parents use to say I have a three minute attention span for any extra-curricular activities in which, they enrolled me. Now, thanks to a pesky, but lovable friend, I will quickly summarize all that has transpired since I last wrote on my sad, sad perspective on life (my life in particular) and not without pictures! 


I finally replaced my decrepit LG flip phone with a pearly white Samsung Galaxy SII...fancy huh? Not really...It is the T-Mobile version, so not only do I have to restart it from time to time but also, the battery life does not compare with the Apple equivalent. Still, I love my new phone. I will have an affair with the iPhone later down the road, but for now, I am ecstatic about my Galaxy SII. 


So now on to my photo diary thanks to my acquisition of a device that is capable of operating Instagram: 

For the month of July I was under a make-up ban, but this Wet n' Wild lipstick in Purty Persimmon was 40% off! Hard to pass off a summery orange lipstick for $1.19!!!

To save up for the ZARA sale, I was under a clothing ban too...but just look at this VS bra! It was on sale, but not enough to say it was a steal. Still too pretty to resist though!

My X-Mini portable speaker! Dance Partayyyyy anywhere anytime!!!

I saw this at a Duane Reade near my job today. It's nice that they have testers.
My skin tone can be anywhere from NC 30 to NW 42, so either light/medium or medium seem to blend in well. Even on my hand though, the coverage is pretty light. Worth a try for $9.79. 

Lunch Review: Multi-grain Mushroom Soup and Bread from Flavors


For lunch today, I went to Flavors, a fancy deli that is probably part of some big food corporation and boasts on its "healthy, fresh, natural" ingredients. I just needed a cheap, hearty cup of soup and Au Bon Pain's options were so sub-par that I ventured into the deli for health-conscious-but-too-lazy-and-rich-to-make-their-own-lunch customers. Surprisingly, their small soup wasn't that much more expensive than other places in the Financial District, and it came with bread. The soup had corn, onions, bits of rice, but not much, carrots, and mushrooms of course. I didn't see how it was multi-grain, but all those vegetables made up for it. I really liked the soup. It was neither too salty nor too watery, which are characteristic of soups at any chain restaurant. The size was just right for me and I normally eat at least half a pound of food from the local Chinese buffet place. The multi-grain bread was nothing special; it was moderately soft and reminded my of cafeteria bread: not your public elementary school cafeteria bread, but more like your private liberal arts college cafeteria bread. 


In conclusion, this lunch was beyond satisfactory. For under $4.00, this is a meal that I would buy again. The only problem is the customer service. This is the second time I received attitude from the cashier. The first time, the cashier gave me the wrong amount of change. This time, another cashier snapped at me when I asked her if there was extra charge for the bread. No one informed me that the bread came with the soup. This is my first time buying soup at your restaurant. Why the nastiness? I understand people have bad days. But it seems that the cashiers at Flavors on Broad Street just give me an attitude when I correct them or make an inquiry. That will be the one and only reason for not entering Flavors unless I'm craving for some good soup. 


Hope you're all having a wonderful summer!


-WahYizzle

Monday, May 21, 2012

It's Already Been A Year?

     Yesterday, my friends graduated from Hamilton College and are joining me in the "real world." While some of them are certain where they will be for the next stage of their career, some are still trying to figure out what they want to do after graduation. While I advised them to just enjoy their senior year and that everything will fall into place once the time comes, I felt like I was really just trying to reassure myself. 

     The same time last year, I was in their position, unsure of the future, but at the same time, I just wanted to enjoy the summer because that is what one usually does after the school year ends. Except this time, after August, I didn't go back to school; I came back home to New York City and tried to find work. Despite not securing a job right after graduation, I was still somewhat hopeful that it won't take long for me to find something I like. After all, I graduated with excellent grades, from a liberal arts school that was known for their good writers. However, it took me almost a year to find something that paid me, and it was just enough for me to pay for my own personal expenses. I definitely would not be able to live on my own on this salary. Not willing to settle for this, I agreed to only do part-time because I didn't want to commit to something that was not going to challenge me and satisfy my needs. I also thought better time would be spent interning at a senator's office where it would be similar to the kind of community work that I want to do. 

     But life never works out the way you want it to, does it? Or at least through my eyes, from the experiences I've had. I'm not an ingrate, but I am a cynic. That's why I'm a student of literary criticisms: I bitch about how Murakami Haruki portrays his female characters as emotional wells from which the male character finds salvation, and really in his works, women are really more like fantastical, exotic (read erotic as well) creatures than human. Anyway, I end up hating my internship more than my job. But I'm afraid my job is only satisfying because there's really no other place where I feel like my work is appreciated and paid for. I'm also afraid to like this job too much because it's all about business and making money, quite the opposite from the community organizer and cultural critic that I had in mind. 

     All I can do now is expand my experiences, volunteer for organizations I actually care about and keep applying to jobs. Still, either I don't know how to sell my skills or there are people with much more to offer than how my resume and cover letter represent me, because I don't hear back from anyone. If I get an interview, I would at least know that I am seen as a desirable candidate. I keep thinking that my time will come and everything is happening or not happening for a reason, but I'm reading Candide right now and Voltaire's ridicule on Optimism, a belief that the Christian God is the all-powerful god and hence, this world that He created is the best of all possible worlds, does not help. I'm not done with the novella yet, so maybe I have yet to fully understand Voltaire's philosophy on life and all the cruelties and injustices that it offers. I'm sure it's a good one as he never did commit suicide despite contemplating it.

     I'm sorry to write such a dark post to start the week, but it explains for the lack of posting from Leetle Beetle and me. Both of us have just been unmotivated because there's just nothing much to look forward to, for now. So this is what I do to cheer myself up a bit when I'm feeling hopeless and helpless: I listen to pop music. I don't listen to the indie music that I usually listen to because the quickest way to uplift one's spirits is to listen to cheap synthetic tunes with not-so-complicated, not-so-poetic lyrics. That's just me and I don't consider pop music my guilty pleasure because a lot of work is put into the production of such music, and I do think they can last (I still listen to Kelly Clarkson or Spice Girls sometimes). It's just the commercialism and unnecessary money spent on it that bother me, among other things. So here's Nicki Minaj's "Starships" because we're all meant to fly:



-WahYizzle

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Who said you can't have fun when you're a responsible adult?

Ever since I grew up and got a real job (and moved to the middle of no where...) I haven't been partying it up as much as I used to (at least ONCE a month! *sarcasm*.)  But I definitely lived it up this weekend when the lovely WahYizzle came to visit me at my lonely hut in the middle of the woods. Not only were we able to go shopping at Target we also attended a prestigious formal held by the brothers of Phi Iota Alpha. Without further ado here are some wonderful portraits. 
WahYizzle and My sexy self.

Our delicious Dinner!! We both had salmon but I stole half
a piece of the pecan crusted chicken since I'm a fatty. :)
Obviously I devoured every bite!
To top off an amazing meal we had adorable quiche-shaped cheesecake for dessert!!! Unfortunately they were devoured SO quickly that my camera was unable to take a picture of the delicious goodness. My apologies.

Afterwards, there were rumors of a fantastic after party that involves a whole night of dancing and revelries which had our names written ALL over it. We've decided to make a quick run home to change shoes so our feet can enjoy the night was well. Little did we know, my nemesis sleep is lurking just beyond the corner. Right when I got home I was seduced by my mattress and instantly I was asleep. The end.

I hope you enjoyed the crazy (boring) adventures of a responsible adult.

<3 Nibs n Ink

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Webcomic Wednesday!


Welcome to the middle of the week!!!! On this lovely (but a bit chilly) Wednesday I would like to introduce two now Webcomics that I recently found but absolutely adore!

First up is Chaos Life by A. Stiffler:

Courtesy of chaoslife.findchaos.com

This is a comic I find myself cackling to while I'm bored in my half of a cubicle. The art is fantastic and there are CAT(S). It is a fascinating story about a woman and her wife and just their funny thoughts and life. Please check CL out!!! You won't regret it!

Next up is Extra Ordinary by Li Chen


Courtesy of exocomics.com
This adorable comic is about a girl named Li and her bf, Jordan and her adorable cat (as seen in the comic above). This comic has and awesome pencil shading, realistic by cartoony style that I LOVE!!! Please also check this comic out!!

Let me know what you think in the comments!

<3 Nibs n Ink

Monday, April 16, 2012

Music Mondays - Marie Digby

Happy Monday!!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Today I would like to introduce one of the best new (to me) artist I have come to love: Marie Digby!!! Like the best of us, She is from New York City and born TODAY so Drop by @MarieDigby on Twitter to send her your wishes!! For all you ppl living under a rock and away from You tube here is a gorgeous picture of her in a regular hat since I can't find a cute animal hat pic. :(

Courtesy of mykiru.ph
I discovered her on Pandora.com when her song Miss Invisible came on. That's when I fell in LOVE with her voice. Obviously my next step is to look at ALL her stuff on Youtube. Her covers are REALLY good. But her Original music is EVEN better. Here is an adorable video of her in Say it Again.


Other than her numerous musical talents (piano playing, guitar playing, beautiful voice) she also has a wonderful personality that makes her SOO easy to love. She loves sushi, halloween, snakes, Edward scissor hands and Resses Pieces... That's EVERYTHING I love. XD Other than liking Green more than blue she is definitely someone you should keep a look out for!

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIE!!!! You are STUNNING! I can't wait for anything you make!!

Let me know what you think of Marie in the comments! 

<3 Nibs n Ink

Friday, April 13, 2012

Free Hugs Friday!

Hi everyone,


I don't have time to do a full post, but as I promised y'all a hug, here's a virtual hug from Alpaca Clouds: 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ZtvQXfI6rN4/TLyPqkenLYI/AAAAAAAAAXM/SsfhLRYXwEA/s1600/hug.jpg
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2c0unab4M1qdg24yo1_500.jpg
http://pull.imgfave.netdna-cdn.com/image_cache/133382695073818.jpg
Okay last one:

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1pc6m21ok1r3e62yo1_500.gif
Hope y'all have a great weekend! I might come back during the weekend with a fashion-related post. Keep on the look out! 


-WahYizzle

Monday, April 9, 2012

We Return With Music Mondays So That You Can Start Your Week Right!

As if all of you cannot live without an Alpaca Clouds posting...Anyway, let's get straight to the music. You can read more about my life later in the post if you are bored enough to do so. 


I've always gone through phases. I was a wannabe Goth/Punk in high school. In the end, I realized I was just conforming to a cultural subgroup, a clique with its unforgiving rules nonetheless. So, now that I've grown up a little bit more (not height-wise unfortunately), I would like to say I'm just comfortable in my own skin. Of course, my taste in clothes and music are still influenced by what I was and use to like as a teenager and even earlier; I'm known as the hipster among my friends, and I just shrug it off because I can see why they would call me that. Still, I have a better idea of who I am and less stubborn about what has to be.


That is the kind of contextualization within which I introduce the Dum Dum Girls to you. They are my current band crush, which started exactly 15 minutes ago. They look exactly like what I wanted to be in high school. Actually, I still dress like that when my mood requires it. I don't think I'm pale enough for that kind of make-up though. Like many bands nowadays, they have a late 80s flavor, and what made me listen to their music was Dee Dee's (the lead singer) short rendition of The Cure's "Lovesong" on Youtube. Now that I think about it, most hipsters are just 80s-90s teenagers, who might or might not have grown up a little bit. 


Anyway, I love Dee Dee's voice and their music definitely augments whatever mood I'm feeling at the moment. Probably dreamy, nostalgic, and chill. It's funny I'm in that mood because I do have work today. 


Speaking of work, I should probably update you on what has been happening and the reason (*cough* excuse *cough*) for our hiatus. Basically, we all just got swamped with work. Nibs n Ink, as you know, moved to Central New York for her totally enviable job, leaving Leetle Beetle and I devastated and scrambling to find something to fill that hole in our lives. I have been job searching for a while now, and I finally got a job offer; however, I had already agreed to do an internship (that would have been the perfect job if they were hiring), so now I'm working part-time. While I'm grateful that they allowed me to do this, they are giving me more worry than peace of mind. Let's just say there are still some things not spelled out regarding the terms of this position. I've been working for a week, and hopefully, I will get an answer today. 


Now, it's bad enough that it's a Monday, so I will end the post on a happier note. It was my birthday two weeks ago and my lovely friends, against all odds, went clubbing with me. And speaking of odds, who would've known a club that plays AMAZING dance music exists in Williamsburg? I had a blast. We didn't take any pictures because we all forgot to bring cameras and were probably too excited to document the night. But, I do have some enticing pictures of the food I made the week after, still house-sitting while my parents were abroad.

It was the best guacamole I ever made. This was the second time, so I expect improve even more! Also, I had Honey Jack Daniels and Lemonade with it, which was the perfect touch to a meal after-work.


Okay, I didn't make this, but this was tiramisu that Leetle Beetle made for my birthday. I had to finish the whole thing. It was 10 pounds I don't regret gaining because it was THAT good.

Cake would never be right without tea. I had Earl Grey. 

I hope you have a great week. If not, we will definitely be back to give you a virtual hug on Friday and celebrate that it's the weekend!

-WahYizzle

Monday, March 12, 2012

Music Mondays: Marina and the Diamonds

Happy Monday guys!

Today I would like to introduce one of my favorite artists: Marina and the Diamonds!
Don't you love cuddly artists! Especially if they have animal hats!
Image courtesy of Idolator.com
Marina is a Welsh singer-songwriter who I believe to have a strongly unique voice. Her music is a mixture of pop, punk, and rock (they described it as indie pop, new wave... but who really knows what that means?) I first discovered her when I accidentally click on an ad in grooveshark. It was a Victoria's secret ad where they filled my playlist with 'sensual' music that will probably make me buy their lingerie (they succeeded). The first song was "Rootless by Mariana and the Diamonds and I absolutely fell in love with her voice. There is something soothingly odd about her pitch that just caught me and never released me. Here is "Are you satisfied" for your enjoyment.


 Another song I adore by her is "Hermit the Frog." So far she only has one album (Family Jewels) out. BUT her NEW album Electra Heart is coming out in April!!! I'm so excited and you should be excited too!! Please check her out and let me know what you think! Other artist that I will probably do a Music monday for is Katie Melua. Both have music and voices that are hauntingly beautiful.

Enjoy!

<3 Nibs n Ink

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

STOP KONY

Don't know who Joeseph Kony is? Watch this video and find out.


Here are a few more links on other aspects of this topic:
 
http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18890947431/we-got-trouble

http://justiceinconflict.org/2012/03/07/taking-kony-2012-down-a-notch/

What do you think about this?
 
<3 Nibs n Ink


Monday, February 27, 2012

Where ARE you from, really?

After failing my road test on my birthday 1.5 years ago I've decided that it is time I tried again now that I've moved to an area where tree sex is a fad. 
Observe the tree sex.
Image courtesy of dosomething.org
After calling a local driving school I scheduled my 5-hr video class and my first lesson for Saturday (the one that passed already). The 5 hr video was standard (aka BORING). Now the lesson was when things got CRAZY. 

My instructor picked me up promptly at 4:15pm. She was already in the passenger seat so I took the drivers seat feeling super nervous. I am not trying to feed to the belief that Asians (especially females) can't drive, but I know my own abilities and I know that my anxiety of driving hinders my abilities to drive logically and well. I told her so and said that I've only drove for 12 hrs of my life. 
Image courtesy of drivinganxiety.net
My instructor seemed nice enough. She is a middle-aged, caucasian woman who is very blunt. Shakily I started driving following her directions. While trying to focus on driving (not crashing) she progressed to tell me about her day. Every mistake I made she would comment on how everyone she taught that day did the same thing and how they didn't listen to her when she tried to teach them. I apologized because I know that I basically suck at driving (which is why I'm paying her to teach me) and am sincerely sorry for hurting her neck from braking too hard. She retorted with "You don't mean that so stop apologizing and just listen to me. I teach a lot of foreigners and they all say the same thing and never listen to me." 

After telling me to turn right she then asked me "So, where are you from?" I answered as I normally would with "Brooklyn." Normally, I would not be offended when asked this question but it was her response to it that irked me. "No I mean where are you from, really?" I responded steadily with Brooklyn. She looked at me and said "So you were born in Chi-." "I was born in Brooklyn, my parents were from China though." 

I know I may have a very 'Fobby' face, but they usually get that I was born here when I say Brooklyn and would just ask where my parents were from. Am I too sensitive towards small talk? Did she really mean nothing from this? Am I feeding too much to the Chinese stereotype? This is the thought that has been racking my brain since Saturday. Where is the line that divides thinking too much and letting people get away with being racist? I feel like I should be offended but I also can't help feeling like I am just getting angry about something she didn't even mean. (BTW when I told her I worked for a pharmaceutical company she responded with I figured that much.) 

What I can't figure out is why I didn't say anything to her. But then what could I have said? I've always had trouble with confrontation especially if it is concerning myself. I think it is her passive racism that brought me back to a time in my childhood where I was basically helpless in defending myself against such acts. Have I grown soft and learn to accept the racism? 

What are your thoughts? Should I switch instructors or should I man up and confront her?

Until next time! 

<3 Nibs n Ink

Music Mondays: Don Omar

Weeeeepa!! I am getting my reggaeton/salsa on (salsaton? I might have just made that up.  I am a visionary), people.  


My gawgeous sistah, @CraftyBelka, got engaged a little over a week ago and I am HBIC a.k.a Maid of Honor, so I've been doing lots of preliminary planning (but only the kind I enjoy), like online dress shopping and mentally creating DJ lists of songs I want to hear at the wedding.  


Currently on my list and on repeat in Grooveshark is "Hasta Que Salga El Sol" ("Until the Sun Comes Up") by Don Omar.   
Sadly there's no video yet, but this shall suffice.  Don Omar's a pretty cool bro.  I have a ton of his music on my iPod and he's done collaborations with some pretty famous Latin artists like Aventura, and most recently Lucenzo for "Danza Kuduro" which became ridiculously popular. 


This song is fun, it's happy, and it's exactly what I need when working in a window-less, oxygen-less, box of death.  


Have a listen and let us know what you think! 
-Beetle, xx 

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Project 10 Pan

Happy weekend everyone!


I know it's not a custom to post on a weekend at Alpaca Clouds, but seeing how I've been M.I.A. this whole week, I thought it wouldn't hurt to post on this lovely Saturday afternoon, or as Sheldon Cooper would call it "pre-evening."


So not only am I posting quite late, I am also jumping onto this whole New Year's resolution wagon late as well. I mean, I did write it up somewhere (meaning, I have a list in my head, which isn't hard to remember because there's only two things: 1. Get employed and 2. Move out). But I'm late in the sense that I'm announcing it to the blogosphere almost 2 months later New Year's. Leetle Beetle was the only one who did post about her New Year's resolutions at an appropriate time at AC. Just today, as I was looking at my vanity and playing around with my make-up, I decided to take on Project 10 Pan. This project was started by some beauty guru(s) who have accumulated an ungodly amount of make-up and thought it was about time to dedicate a few months to using them up until they've "hit pan." Although you can only hit pan on eye shadows, blush, powder, etc., this project is useful for those who want to use up skincare products and hair-care products. I watched one video where the youtuber recommended for book collectors too!


Continue reading if you want to see my list!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Food TALK

As much fun as reading 30 pages of standard operating procedures on how to use a glorified dishwasher sounds, I find myself trying to find many ways of keeping my hands busy while at work. Whether it is fiddling with my pen or sipping some tea, my hands can't seem to find peace while I'm sitting at work reading long procedures on how to do the most mediocre thing. 
Image courtesy of Dirtybutton.com!
One of the quickest solution I found was eating finger foods. I've eaten tangerines, clementines, granola bars, cereals, cheese with crackers, cheese without crackers, crackers without cheese and an assorted (absurd amount) of candy. As unhealthy as this sounds I always find myself hungry in the work place. I think that the healthiest (cheapest) of my choices is cereal. Which makes my grocery shopping very fun and exciting since I get to try out many new cereals. For example Cheerios came out with a new Dulce De Leche flavor.. and YES it is as good as it sounds!!
Yum!
Image courtesy of foodbeast.com! 
AND Honey nut chex!!!!!! 
Image courtesy of Totallyfreebies.com
As you can imagine... I've prob gained 10 lbs since I moved.. and it's barely been a month! 

On another note I've found a replica for a delicious cereal my dear Leetle Beetle shared with me one rainy high school day. It was a crunchy chocolaty cookie-like outer shell with a melty chocolate inside. I shared some with my younger sister and she fell head over heels in love with it. My sister then asked me to ask LB what it was and where she can get some.  Turns out LB's awesome grandmother got it for her in some random Jewish place in Brighton. But lo' and behold I've found it in the form of Kellogs Krave!!!
Image courtesy of Kellogs.com!
Turns out my sister has already tried it and did NOT tell me about it (that jerk/DW). 
Anyways what is your favorite cereal?? 

Thanks for reading!
<3 Nibs n Ink


Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Help Us Win the Naked Palettes!

So... you can't really help us do this, but maybe if you send out good vibes to the universe and the lovely Megan of The Frugalista Diaries, she'll give us these two Naked palettes from Urban Decay!   

I've only recently started getting into make-up thanks to Wah Yizzle (I know, late bloomer.  Are you shocked?) and learned that people use multiple brushes for your eyes!  Who woulda thunk it?  I'm getting pretty obsessed with this stuff and when I heard about Urban Decay's Naked Palettes, I had to get my hands on them .... until I found out how much they cost.  Sadly Mama hasn't won the lotto yet.

Now, if we do win them, the question is who will get them?  Perhaps we'll duel over them with a fair game of Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock.  I feel that's the only way.  

img courtesy of www.thefrugalistadiaries.blogspot.com
Check out the give away here and follow her blog too!  (She's a badass and can find ridiculously affordable clothes like none other.)  

Wish us luck!

-Beetle, xx.

Experience Required Part II

The future is a topic that has been on my mind since I was old enough to know what it is. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be an ophthalmologist when I grow up. Now that I am actually grown up (nice old age of 22,) I've noticed many more options out there. I went into college for a bachelors degree for Biomedical engineering and pre-med. After two years and organic chemistry, I've realized that going to med. school seems bleak. I've decided to look for a job within BME instead. I graduated, like most of my peers, in May 2011 (except for leetle beetle who got out a semester before us...smart/broke-ass). I started job-searching in the beginning of my last semester of my college life. However I was not getting any on-site interviews. 
Thanks Seanrock @Photobucket.

Also my trip to Hong Kong RIGHT after I graduated didn't help. (My parents wanted me to go in hopes of my finding a job there... yeah right and leave New York? I don't think so.) But I was still applying to positions in America EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. If I had to make a list of all the jobs I applied to, I think it might be around 3 digits. For everyone of you who had job searched before or is job searching still, you know that it ain't easy. I even have the wrinkles to prove it. 


Before Job Hunting- NO Wrinkles! (I'm on the left BTW)
Look how young I look.. and then BAM:
LOOK at ALL that under-eye baggage!
Believe it or not, I'm not trying to complain, but trying to show you that all hard work will get rewarded. It's been Half a year But I've landed a offer from my DREAM company. :) The only fall-back is the fact that it is in Albany. But you know what? Better in Albany than Utah. (Yes I applied to Utah jobs and Michigan jobs and Georgia jobs and Florida jobs.. it's and endless list... sorry.) 

So for all the people who are still searching for the light at the end of the tunnel where the workplace is not a personal hell, it IS possible. Just be persistent and know what you want. Just keep trying no matter what!!

Please let me know where was the most random or weird place you applied to! My weirdest place is applying to be a painter for a Hospital In NYC. XD 

Until next time~ <3 Nibs N Ink


Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Wednesday Webcomics

In the spirit of things I love, I thought I'd write a little sut'm sut'm about two favorite webcomics.  I honestly cannot start my day without reading these two web comics and I've been with these characters since the very beginning, to the point that I think they're real people. (which is terrible.) It doesn't help that the authors have made Twitter accounts for them either.  So I blame you, Jeph Jacques & Danielle Corsetto. 

Up first is none other than Questionable Content (aka QC.  This got very confusing when I started working and found out that QC also stands for Quality Control) by Jeph Jacques.  QC follows the life of Marten, a socially-awkward 20-something guy who is constantly surrounded by a group of crazy girls and a horny anthro-PC named Pint-size.  

img courtesy of www.questionablecontent.net
 My other morning necessity is Danielle Corsetto's Girls With Slingshots, which follows Hazel, a loud-mouthed, kind of drunken but hilarious writer.  She says whatever first comes to mind, drowns her sorrows in alcohol, and is pretty violently insulting.  Is it terrible that I think she reminds me of myself sometimes? 

img courtesy of www.girlswithslingshots.com
Check them out and let us know what you think!  Do you have any favorite webcomics?

(P.S.  sorry for the weird image sizes.  It was either too small or readable, but too huge for the blog.  Zoom in to read the text or, better yet, go on the websites & read them all!) 

-Beetle, xx.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Valentine's Day! Let's get sexual.

As someone who has never had an actual Valentine on Valentine's Day (gal pals & family aside.  YES YOU ARE THE LOVES OF MY LIFE), I honestly don't feel any different on this day than any other day.  I've definitely had teenage angst-y Valentine's where I wore Claire's jewelry and black clothes, wallowing about how emo my life is and how no one will ever love me. 


....so glad last year's over.  (Just kidding.  Kind of.  No, really.)  


These days Valentine's Day for me is just another day to celebrate the people and things that I absolutely adore and make me laugh.  Last night, my fabulous sister, @CraftyBelka, and I took our mom out for a Galentine's Day dinner a la Parks & Rec.  We bought her flowers, treated her to a delicious meal at an adorable restaurant called Penelope, and topped it off with strawberries & nutella.  
img courtesy of newyork.cityvoter.com
It was a night full of food, chocolate, hugs, and love.  Who could ask for a better way to bring in this Day o' Lovin? 


As for today, I'm surrounding myself with all things that put a smile on my face.  (Mainly to distract myself from the hell cave.)  A peak into what's on my list today -- 


1.  Jenna Marbles' Face:  For those bitter souls out there who don't want to even think about significant others (I've been there.  I'm mostly there about 80% of the time), I give you Jenna Marbles' famous "Face."  This video is genius and I've even gone so far as to perfect my own face.  I must say, I'm pretty good at it.


2.  Krav Maga:  Tuesdays are krav days.  I can't tell you all how much krav maga has changed my life.  Whenever I get overwhelmed or worried, I go to krav and it all goes away.  (Mainly because I'm too focused on how much pain I'm in.)  It's the BEST stress reliever, teaches you how to defend yourself, and just be more confident as a woman overall.  My instructors recently made it onto the Anderson Cooper Show and kicked serious ass!  I'm so proud to train with them.  




3. The Brooklyn Brainery:  Words cannot describe my love for this place.  The Brainery is changing the way education happens in this city one funky food/karaoke class at a time.  But seriously, this little organization gives ridiculously affordable classes on anything, ranging from economics to beekeeping to whiskey.  It's all taught by community members (I even taught Spanish there!) and they're quite possibly the nicest group of people I've ever met.  




4.  Michel Telo "Ai Se Eu Te Pego":  Wouldn't be a list of things I love without my current musical obsession.  Most recently on repeat on my iPod is this little Portuguese ditty.  Although I do speak Spanish, I haven't the faintest clue what he's singing about, but it sounds happy, so I'm gonna go with it.


What are you loving today?  How are you spending Valentine's Day? 


-Beetle, xx.      

Monday, February 13, 2012

Music Mondays: Whitney Houston & The Grammy's

Today, Alpaca Clouds is dedicating Music Mondays to Whitney Houston. When I heard the news, I was in a state of disbelief. I'm not a devoted fan, but I have respect for that woman and I have good memories listening to her songs on 106.7 Lite FM in my father's car when we would drive out of state for a respite from the city. I thought why can't singers like her stay in the business instead of *cough* MDNA *cough*. While some people may know how to persevere in the business and continue to roll out "hit songs," Whitney Houston had an amazing voice. She was a beautiful singer rather than just an entertainer. 

                                      


There is no doubt that she made some wrong decisions in her life, but it made me mad that that was the first thing most people think of when they heard about her death. "It must have been drugs," they say. Why can't people just wait for the coroner's report, which just said that there was no foul play? 


And while we are mourning a singer who has been through an abusive and drug-laced relationship, Chris Brown is performing at the Grammy's. I should not even have to explain why it is fooked up that he performed at the Grammy's, with Rihanna in the line-up as well, and just 3 years after he committed a crime for which he did not even serve jail time. 


Why don't I give him a second chance? Because in order for me to believe you're sorry, you have to stay apologetic, even when people bring it up again. It's a crime you have committed; don't expect people to forget it, even though we might give you props for doing "Look At Me Now." (of which the best part was really Busta Rhymes's rap, not yours!) If you need more convincing, read this Hello Giggles article or look at this list of disturbing tweets and posts


Chris Brown is the reason why I did not watch the Grammy's and missed Adele performing live. But I finally saw a clip of her performance this morning, and you know what? Adele makes everything better.


What's your opinion of the Chris Brown controversy?  And did you spend your weekend in a 90s haze listening to replays of "I Will Always Love You"? 


-WahYizzle

Friday, February 10, 2012

Friday Frenzy: Laughter is the Best Medicine

This week has been crazy busy for us at Alpaca Clouds.  I worked two jobs to make some extra cash moneyz for my future cardboard box of an apartment and it exhausted the HELL out of me.  NibsnInk moved to a new place (& will probably be posting about her moving madness soon).  WahYizzle got to go with her, which made me jealous, because they had fun girly moving times and I slowly suffocated in the windowless hell cave where I work.  Drama queen? Yes.  But I'm sleep deprived and entitled. 

So today I decided to post a ton of ridiculous videos because when I stress out, nothing feels better than laughing to the point of tears.  (and shopping.)  Sit back, stop doing work, and enjoy! 

First stop:  Kristen Bell's Sloth Meltdown.  If you haven't seen this, you haven't lived.  Make sure you're sitting down: 


The lovely BHB tweeted this video and I laugh EVERY time I see it.  Best 9 seconds ever.  (Yes, I realize there's a "that's what she said" in there somewhere.)  


Prepping for some down time this weekend with Theo Katzman: 


And lastly, whenever I feel depressed or discouraged about the challenges I face, I think of Jessica.  This girl is a badass and she knows what's good about life!  All of us should really wake up like this every morning:  


Happy Friday, all!
  
-Beetle, xx. 

Thursday, February 9, 2012

I GOT MAH HURR DUN a.k.a. Turning Over a New Leaf

While I am not unsatisfied with my hair as Leetle Beetle can get, I do not remember a time when I was ever happy with a new haircut. I've always felt that a fresh cut is awkward and unflattering on me. Lo and behold, I'm eating my words today. I absolutely love my new haircut. Just for fun (and probably vanity), here's a visual history of my recent do's:


The Side Bangs of Early College Years
The Punked Up Senior Year
Trying to Grow Out the Side and Ease into Mainstream Society

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Update: Tiramisu Recipe 2.0

As promised, I did tweak the tiramisu recipe to my liking and here it is for your delicious cake-eating pleasure! 


Ingredients:


Mascarpone cheese (1 container, ~227 grams)
Egg whites (2)
Egg yolk (1)
Sugar, brown or regular (4-5 TBsp) 
Lady fingers (1 container) 
Strong coffee (3 tsp coffee : 1 cup) or espresso (1 cup of either)
Kahlua (2 TBsp)
Hot cocoa mix (to sprinkle on top)


Directions:


With electric mixer, beat mascarpone cheese, egg yolk, and sugar in one bowl.  In another bowl, beat egg whites until you have peaks once you lift the mixer out.  Pour beaten egg whites into mascarpone/yolk/sugar mixture and beat the whole thing for a while, until you have a light, smooth, even consistency.  


In third bowl, mix in coffee & kahlua.  Dip lady fingers in Kahlua/coffee mixture one by one and place in a tupperware (or other container of your choice), making one layer.  Then spread one layer of mascarpone mixture over lady fingers.  Do this as many times as your little heart desires.  


I usually do 2 layers.  (So, ladyfingers, cheese, ladyfingers, cheese.)  Then sprinkle with cocoa powder and stick into fridge overnight or, if you make it in the morning, until dinner time.


Ta da!  Easy, quick, and delicious.
- Beetle, xx.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Dinner Parties: Oh god. There's more.

Aside from being able to walk around with no pants on, one of the things I am most looking forward to when I have a place of my own is dinner parties.  I don't know who came up with this idea, but that guy deserves a nobel prize.  Or at least a life time supply of chocolate.  


Dinner parties are so great.  They're an excuse to get a ton of your friends together for no reason at all, dress up, and eat enough food to feed a small country.  (Or in the case of my Jewish self, enough to feed the Western Hemisphere.)  


Last weekend I went up to Boston for no other reason, but to have a dinner party.  My friend RE, who used to be a bartender, is known for throwing amazing parties (I spend basically every Halloween there drinking delicious beverages and playing drunken limbo).  He decided to have a Holiday After Party and get everyone together for a soiree after the Chrismakwanzakkuh season ended.  


Everyone dressed up (the boys even wore ties!), brought something to eat, and stuffed their faces.  And really, who can argue with a night like that? 


This was just the beginning.
RE's pride & joy.  
We called them the Blue Shirt Brigade.
My tiramisu!
Recipe has been tweaked & was a huge hit.
By the end of the night, we ate so much we could barely move and ended up watching Robin Hood: Men in Tights along with a slew of other random movies.  Food coma, friends, and Mel Brooks.  You can't really argue with that. 


Do you have any fun dinner party stories?  Tell us in the comments!  

Monday, February 6, 2012

Music Mondays: Ben l'Oncle Soul

A man in a bow tie makes me weak in the knees.  That being said, if Ben l'Oncle Soul picked me up in a dirty pick-up truck a la "Elle Me Dit" for our wedding, I would probably marry him.  And by probably, I mean definitely.  (That video actually reminds me way too much of Paolo Nutini's "Candy," but I digress.) 


Ben l'Oncle Soul is an amazing soul/motown singer from France who has the most kick ass back up singers/dancers/superheroes ever.  I first heard about them when one of my friends sent me his video for "Petite Seour" and as someone who went through an extreme '50s phase in high school, I was sold. 




Seriously, guys.  Look at that bow tie and tell me you don't love him.  He does such an incredible job of bringing that '50s sound to today's generation without making it boring.  


In addition to his own original music, he also does covers of modern songs that sound nothing like the original songs.  And I have to say, for the most part, I like his versions better.  At the top of my list are the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" and Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Other side."  (I honestly hate the original versions of both of those songs but can't stop listening to Ben's.) 




The highlight of my 2011 summer was him performing at Central Park's Summer Stage for free.  (One of the many reasons I love living in New York..) He performed "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" better than anyone I've ever heard.  There's no good video from that day, but here's a clip of him killing it in France.     


Listen & let us know what you think!


-Beetle, xx.