October 2009
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Fridge Cleaning
Currently, I have to get rid of the following before it goes bad:
Leftover pot roast from last night’s dinner
Two heads of lettuce from the Copley Square farmer’s market
Half a can of corn
Two acorn squashes (um … still not really sure why Patrick bought these)
A honeydew melon (or this …)
The household dynamics are a little weird at our place. Patrick goes grocery...
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Uhhh ... Halloween?!
So in the midst of midterms, I somehow forgot that this Saturday is the biggest party night of the year. Or so it’s being made out to be. Has Halloween always been such a big deal or is it only a big deal now because most of my friends (unlike me) have graduated and have grown-up plans for the holiday?
Hm. In any case, I currently have no costume, no dogsitter, no pre-game plan, no...
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True Love Revolution's Contradictory Claim To...
True Love Revolution’s co-president, Rachel Wagley, responded to my op-ed in The Harvard Crimson with an entry on the club’s blog today. To expand on some of my original arguments, I address her points in the following post. (I recommend reading the original op-ed and her response for context.)
In her response to my op-ed, Wagley claims that I misconstrue TLR’s beliefs about...
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The Harvard Crimson: "The Abstinence Mystique" →
My op-ed in tomorrow’s edition of The Harvard Crimson discusses how the campus organization, True Love Revolution, lacks a consistent mission and misapplies feminism in defending abstinence and the “traditional family”.
I had a lot of fun writing this piece, in part because it was an opportunity to debunk a common misinterpretation of Ariel Levy’s Female Chauvinist Pigs as...
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How Feminism Misses The Point When It Comes To...
I posted the following in response to a reader comment on my previous entry about whether Jessica Valenti is hypocritical for getting married:
Nicole, I think you bring up an interesting point here, which was precisely what I was trying to get at when I explained why I didn’t see Valenti as a hypocrite:
“Does this mean I was influenced by society? Yes, of course - if I didn’t...
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Jessica Valenti, Weddings, & Social Expectations →
Feministing editor Jessica Valenti has just publicly responded to critics of her wedding. In today’s post, she gives her take on media coverage of her nuptials and the appallingly cruel backlash and accusations of hypocrisy.
Though I admit that I was surprised to learn she decided to get married, I can’t fault her for wanting to take part in an institution and ritual so ingrained in...
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juli b: "sweet dreams"
Covered the opening of Hotel Chocolat this week. A couple weekends back, Patrick, Jason, and I split a one-pound chocolate slab made by the luxury chocolatier. I’ll never eat convenience store brands again. (Except for Dove, which is exceptional!)
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The Official Lena Chen Homepage →
I just updated the design of my writing website so that it’s closer to “professional” than it is to “preteen”. Every time I have to fiddle with the coding (?), I’m reminded of how badly I need to learn CSS.
I’m pleased that as a writer, I have an excuse for a vanity site. And an excuse for commissioning a graphic representation of myself (well, from my...
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How Novice Chefs Can Prepare Foolproof Dinners
More notes from the kitchen of Lena Chen:
I chose the dishes for my Mexican feast purposely, since many failed culinary experiments have taught me that I have limited expertise and experience. Thus, instead of overly ambitious goals, such as soufflé-baking, I can make the most of my skills by employing these strategies:
Step away the knife. I absolutely hate chopping, skinning, and any...
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"Sex Ed: For The Love Of Lube" →
The Harvard Voice has just come out with the first installment of an educational series on sex products. I’ll be co-writing this all fall with my friend Christine, who writes the sex column, Talk Nerdy To Me, at MIT. Check out our article, in which we review insane amounts of lube, from drugstore standbys like Astroglide and KY-Jelly to exotic varieties suitable for vegans.
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It probably would've been awkward if I mentioned...
An Early Morning Phone Call:
Me: Hello? ... Um, hi?
Woman: Hi! I'm calling from [redacted breast cancer charity].
Me: You're calling from where?
Woman: Oh, I'm sorry. Are your mom and dad not awake yet?
Me: Uhhh ... no.
Woman: Don't worry. I'll just call back later then!
Me: ... Okay.
I don't know how I feel about having my voice mistaken for that of a child.
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“Two things must be remembered about the Nobel Peace Prize. The first is that...”
– George Friedman, “Nobel Geopolitics” from STRATFOR’s Geopolitical Intelligence Report
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So I'm going to be a Jewish American Princess for...
Me: maybe we should get matching halloween costumes?? Patrick refuses to :( and i can't find anything that will fit hamlet because of his awkwardly shaped head.
Adina: I could go as u!!! And u go as me!!
Me: DONE. you are a sex blogger. i am a jap.
Adina: U wear a star of david and some tiffanys or something. if this falls thru we can be slutty fairies or pirates or whatever people do.
Me: im blogging this.
[PIease excuse our frantic exclamation marks and poor spelling. This conversation happened over an iPhone and a BlackBerry.]
Frazzled
There are not enough hours in the day for my life. Between researching for my thesis, not failing physics, and freelancing, there’s barely time left for me to eat, sleep, and cuddle with the dog/roommate. (I’ve been an okay girlfriend but a really neglectful doggy mama lately.)
Today, I found myself in Widener wearing a tank top paired with a scarf, balancing three books and a coat on...
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Feminism Diluted
Patrick: What exactly is your definition of the "patriarchy" anyway?
Me: A vague, disembodied entity with an interest in keeping chicks down?
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Contribute Toward The Next Great Women's...
As someone who’s rather skeptical of how charitable donations are spent, I’ve only ever given money to a few organizations, including the ACLU and GLSEN. I’m adding another group to my list this week, and I hope some of you will consider it a worthy cause as well.
The Women, Action, & the Media Conference, also known as WAM! (exclamation mark officially included), is...
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I leave for Chicago in ten hours.
I have yet to pack or write down instructions for Kennedy who will be dog-sitting or complete a problem set due tomorrow.
UMMM ….
This will be my first trip to the Midwest. Patrick’s running the marathon on Sunday morning. I plan on sleeping in.
(I did, however, update the official Lena Chen homepage between classes today.)
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“Sex columns vary widely and don’t always include feminist motivations;...”
– Alex DiBranco, The Nation: “The Student Sex Column Movement”
Little Known Fact
I used to subtly undermine The Crimson by giving them “X” as the initial of my non-existent middle name. They’ve referred to me as Lena X. Chen at least a handful of times, though I’ve never used it in a byline when writing for them.
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"Are you going to blog about me?"
In Sex and the Ivy’s heyday (2006-7?), I rarely ever went out or hooked up with a guy who didn’t ask, “Are you going to blog about me?” Those who didn’t bother to ask were people with whom I had very specific arrangements (i.e. regular friends-with-benefits, which in my case, almost always refers to an actual friend, believe it or not) or people who I just...
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$15 For $30 Gift Certificate At OM Restaurant &... →
Possibly the only legitimate lounge in Harvard Square, OM manages to serve artfully presented, Asian-inspired cuisine alongside its alcoholic offerings. The yummy cocktails (better than the food, in my opinion) are too overpriced for a standard night out, but today’s deal from Living Social puts OM a little more in reach of a college budget. Given a $30 gift certificate for half-off, which...
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juli b | luxed up. →
My write-up of the Boston-area nail salon MiniLuxe, whose über-sanitary practices has made me a LOT more paranoid about mani/pedi hygiene at your typical salon.
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Adventures In Dating A 29-Year-Old
Things I have eaten today:
1. Half a bagel with cream cheese and tomatoes
2. Five mini chocolate chip cookies
3. Two finger-sized desserts from a massive pastry tray
4. A sliver of ice cream cake
This is because in lieu of a real brunch, Patrick and I attended his godson’s birthday party. He turned one.
Also, we were the only couple there without a baby. I knew we should’ve...
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