July 2008
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Never thought we'd get to this point but ...
My mom thinks my yet-to-be-written memoir will sell well in China.
June 2008
2 tags
Me: The Improper Bostonian called Patrick my boyfriend.
Kennedy: Are you going to make them rescind it?
Me: "This week in The Improper, Lena Chen would like to state for the record that Patrick Hamm is her lover, not her boyfriend."
“It was so quiet around here … and then you came back.”
– Kennedy, tonight upon my return from Osnabrück
“How are my homies up in Moscow?”
– Patrick to his Russian friend
WatchPatrick waxes nostalgic on the way things used to be in his hometown. Now, business is moving in. BOO INDUSTRY. (via Vimeo)
“Our births are just the gateway to our deaths. That’s why a baby screams...”
– Jim Crace’s Being Dead
Living in Europe
I’m off to Amsterdam today with Patrick, his sister and brother, and the dogs. Very excited to finally venture out of Germany (I’ve yet to do that since arriving to Europe).
I realized yesterday that by the summer’s end, I will have spent three months of 2008 on this continent. I’d never even set foot here until I went to Switzerland in January for a group ski trip so...
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WatchI start to freak out at the 2-minute mark. This may be because of the speed we are going. This may be the techno Patrick is playing. (via Vimeo)
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Kennedy (online): I love you.
Me (to Patrick): How do you spell "I love you" in German?
Patrick: What's the context?
Me: Kennedy wrote, "I love you." I want to write it back in German.
Patrick: You can only use "Ich liebe dich" if you mean you're in love.
Me: What if I want to say "I love you" to a friend?
Patrick: We don't do that.
“When you hang out in bars, the drama of love isn’t the women you find but...”
– Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum
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Who's in Beantown?
Can someone — ANYONE — locate a copy of this week’s Sex and Love issue of The Improper Bostonian and scan the True Love Revolution article for me? I was interviewed for it, and there’s unfortunately no web edition.
2 tags
“That precious time before lovemaking is ill served by the pseudo-clinical term...”
– Ian McEwan’s Enduring Love, which I finished yesterday
Teen site helps girls find which stereotype they... →
jackieheartsb:
Need help fitting in at school, kids? How about choosing a fun stereotype!
Here are some choices:
Cracker
Douchebag
Dyke
Feminist
Geek
Ghetto
Indie
Prude
Scenester
and many, many more!
On a less sarcastic note, this is ridiculous.
thewordunheard:
This is undeniably horrible, obviously, but I do find it kind of hilarious that one of the options is the...
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“You’re basically holding a sign that says “E-list and Desperate.”
– Patrick, on the final minute of my 15 minutes of fame
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Me: 我很喜歡你
Patrick: 真的?
It’s just occurred to me that the word “blogging” is an anagram of “boggling”. This must be somehow important, but I can’t determine why.
The Juliana Theory, “August in...
WatchZoom zoom in Osnabrück. Shoutout to my blockmates at the 5-minute mark (via Vimeo)
If you don't hear from me for a while, it's...
Patrick: There's an Internet encryption system at my house and I can revoke your access at any second.
Me: You wouldn't dare. I'll withhold sex.
Patrick: Well, I guess we'll just see who lasts longer then: me without sex or you without Internet.
Me: Noooooooooo. Is there a safe word for the Internet?
Books Books
Done (with commentary): A Confederacy of Dunces
Patrick got this for me. I don’t think I would’ve otherwise bought it myself. The backstory is interesting though: The author John Kennedy Toole committed suicide, and his mother found the manuscript which she took to a publisher who — against all odds — found himself liking it. It follows the adventures of a bumbling pig of...
lenachen wrote:
Summer anthem: Katy Perry’s...
“I hate my liiife. It’s now or never. Why must I live forever? I just want...”
– Kennedy’s take on “It’s My Life”, because even depressed people can enjoy Bon Jovi (you know, to the extent that they can enjoy anything, really)
Kennedy (after watching a video of herself): Does my voice actually sound like that? It has no inflection. I sound like I hate everyone and am never happy.
Me: But you DO hate everyone and you AREN'T ever happy.
Kennedy: Oh. That's right.
“Discussing capitalism with my brother. Heated debate. Will call later.”
– Patrick, brushing me off.
WatchI get my navel re-pierced in Heidelberg on a whim. Kennedy films before she gets her nipple pierced herself. Don’t watch if you’re queasy! (via Vimeo)
“I personally think your little sister should considering going to Yale as it...”
– Patrick, only half-joking
New Piercings
Kennedy and I just got pierced, kind of on a whim. She got her right nipple done (yay, now we match!) and I got my navel re-pierced. I previously had it done last summer but I took out the barbell in the fall. Been missing my shiny bauble though — and now it’s returned. Awesome.
Now I absolutely cannot get anything else (no tattoos, no piercings) until the end of 2009. These things...
Summer anthem: Katy Perry’s “I Kissed...
“Love is watching someone die.”
– Death Cab for Cutie It’s a line off the song “What Sarah Said”. To me, it means standing by while someone you love falls apart. It doesn’t mean saving them; it means just being there.
Finally.
I told the truth about everything.
“The first time I heard that the word for “blue” was slang for...”
– my friend
Dresden Dolls
What I learned from a weekend in Dresden, Germany:
1. Shit is old. “Shit” includes: the Zwinger, a former party palace for royals (see below); the Frauenkirche, the now restored church; the Semperoper, opera house; and other random Baroque things.
2. Not all rivers in Germany are brown. Some are merely brownish. Like the Elbe. Also, the view off Brühlsche Terraße aka Bruhl’s...
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“You read this blog just to bitch about her? Fuck, this is the reason the rest of...”
– commenter on my blog in response to detractors HAHAHA. This is amazing.
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Frankfurt
Left Dresden at 7am this morning and got to Frankfurt Airport a good 40 minutes before Patrick (the Guy) and Hamlet (the Dog) came out of their gate. Drove to my hotel, had sex, ordered room service, had sex again, downed a glass of wine at the bar downstairs, met up with my friend Chrystal, and got dropped off in downtown Frankfurt with her. Will see him again Friday morning when Kennedy and I...