It feels like the end of an era - I'm switching blogs! Check out my new one, here. Update your bookmarks! I'm also keeping a separate theater one, which you can get to from my personal blog, Saturday Matinee.

enjoy. comments, suggestions, gripes welcome.

on today's menu:

jamba juice with an immune boost
zicam three times
an emergen-C packet
theraflu in a piping hot hug mug

I really hope I don't get sick.

I decided to have dinner tonight with three professors after all tonight. Being the commitmentphobe that I am, I told my professor that I was on the fence til about an hour before we left. My brain was feeling fuzzy with a bit of a fever anyways, but I ended up sucking it up and just went. It ended up going pretty well - I didn't understand all the science that they were talking about, but I asked a few questions that sparked long discussions so I learned a lot. The best part was an expensive bottle of red wine and a really great seared ahi tuna.

It's still fairly nerve wracking. ;) I'm definitely glad it's over, but it's good to try to do something that is easy to weasle out of. It'll be easier next time since it won't be my first time.

J the other grad student in the lab, he likes to tease me by saying that I'm the favorite in the lab. haha. I really wish J came with me to the dinner. I could have used a student buffer.

The end of a busy week is finally here. Work will get easier once I get used to learning these new techniques.

school mass emails

from my inbox:

"One more thing, there will be pizza provided with the sex ed talk tomorrow.
What could be better?"

think that's a rhetorical question? ^^ ah i have to say, mass emails from med school are often very entertaining.

i found myself standing in line at trader joe's with a case of chocolate, a bottle of gewürztraminer, coffee, and a box of altoids. am i really such a walking stereotype??

watched light in the piazza in the midst of friends. it's odd - i can't put my finger on know what it is about this musical, but i always get swept up in the humble yet epic-like love story.

work finally picked up today - i'm SO relieved. i definitely function better when things are crazy busy, compared to being completely bored. i'm running my own western! my first one. i managed to avoid doing one in college b/c I had an amazing genius lab partner; for the first time in my life, i was in a lab partnership where I didn't have to do all the work. in one project, he decided to run the western, and I did the easier ELISA assay. currently, i believe he is a superstar surgeon at ucsf. thanks k. ^^

I had dinner with two friends tonight. it's interesting how friends can sometimes be a mirror into my own life, making me see things that I never would have seen on my own in what's going on in my heart that I wasn't aware of. I am so lucky.

unconscious fears
pentup tears
the core of your true self
the fear of 5 minutes with myself in silence
afraid of what i will see and what will ensue

grace makes more sense now

dinner at a fusion sushi restaurant where the happy hour special ran all night, and desserts at the retro and homey rick's dessert diner, which was very cute and so out of place in a place like sacramento. ;) check out their extensive menu. i had their caramel napoleon. yum. the best part was spending time with a close group of friends that we hadn't seen in a long time, drinking appletinis and eating off of each other's plates at the dessert diner.

i ran across a really interesting article in the LA times, thanks to a link on one of my favorite websites, thewinger. USC is opening a new center specific for "dance medicine", which I think is a fascinating idea. It's designed to target populations of dancers of all expertise, ice skaters, and cheerleaders. this population encompasses two of my favorite hobbies, dance and ice skating! Not cheerleading, I'm afraid ;), unless it's cheerleading members of my lab for their experiments to work.

i've been thinking a lot about my future and which specialty i should accomplish as a doctor. I'm currently watching my med school classmates go through the residency match hell right now, and it's disappointing when people end up with their 10th choice, or don't match at all, leaving them for the dreaded scramble. it really makes me think about picking a good residency in which I'll do what I love, as well as avoid living in places like the Appalachian mountains or Detroit. My ultimate dream would be to somehow work with dancers - I don't think I could survive being surrounded by orthopaedic surgeons for the duration of residency, but maybe something else? I know it's hard to do anything else and not feel like a pawn of the orthopods, but if it meant that I could work with dancers, it might be worth it.

for some reason, the past few days i've been running across multiple stories of injured dancers lately. they struggle through a tough time in such a short span of their professional career, where time is really of the essence, and often the resources are scarce. these stories really inspire me to do something to change and to help the system. a few stories here - a funny one here, and three dancers on thewinger.

the article also mentions how they made doctors don leotards and try a dance class. hilarious. i would pay money to see some of my classmates (fred? hehe) and some of my medical school professors do this.

"Pfeffer's passion for dance medicine grew from his experience as a junior member of the cardiothoracic team involved in famed choreographer George Balanchine's heart surgery nearly three decades ago.

"I held George Balanchine's heart in my hand," he said. "My job was to hold his heart very, very still while the main surgeon did the bypass surgery."

Afterward, Pfeffer and Balanchine talked in the intensive care unit.

"One night, he was comparing doctors and dancers and how they express their knowledge in different ways," Pfeffer recalled. "He said, 'Never minimize the intelligence of a dancer who uses his or her body to teach us such great things.' I remember thinking, 'One day, I'm going to take care of dancers.'

Sounds "corny," he mused, "but there are some things in life that play out that way. "


article here

i often wonder, do i ultimately want to be a dance doctor so i could get free dance tickets? that would be a nice perk.

connection

making a connection with a stranger that moved me with his words. a shared pain gives me hope of humanity in this ignorant world.

the internet is a funny thing. it can reveal people's most intimate thoughts, and reveal so much of your soul that even some of your friends don't even know. on the flip side, you can feel like you know someone simply by reading their blog. an unexpected result of a selective exhibitionism.

maybe you can tell a lot about a person by what they choose to reveal to the world?

a shortbus encounter and a little bit of marriage

my last theater event was today - for the next few days, at least. ;) probably going to head out to SF to check out the SF ballet again soon tho, their program 5 is ending this week. i've always wanted to see fancy free.


ABT's Fancy Free with angel corella, jose manuel carreno, and ethan stiefel.

today, i went to see the play, twelve angry men on tour, with george wendt from cheers fame. it was a really good play, but so unrealistic! if people are fighting so hard to defend their stance, they would never change their mind. anyways, brought back bad memories of my nightmare jury room experience. the acting in the play was superb. i'm falling quickly in love with the genre of plays, which is a fairly new genre of theater for me.

the best part was meeting alan mandell, whom I recognized as the ex-mayor of New York in Shortbus. i passed by the stage door and saw him there, looking around for his sister. he was so glad to know that I was a shortbus fan and took time to talk to me. he said the most disappointing part about the movie was that the director wouldn't let him be in the orgy scenes. ^^ he said that jay was very very sweet and everyone was really fun to work with. he was asking me if i bought the dvd and saw the outtakes - apparently a few of his scenes got cut, and I think he was wondering what was in the outtakes.

i also caved and bought the Company revival CD as I was driving home from the Josh Bell concert. I blame the postconcert traffic, which forced me right by a place to buy CD's. oh and perfect timing, this CD got reviewed by the SF chronicle today. this song is sung by the thrilling raul esparza.



"Marry me a little,
Love me just enough.
Cry, but not too often,
Play, but not too rough.

Make a few demands
I'm able to fulfill.
Want me more than others,
Not exclusively.
That's the way it ought to be.
I'm ready!
I'm ready now!

Marry me a little,
Body, heart, and soul.
Passionate as hell
But always in control."


raul esparza - he's so cute!

p.s. thanks to jenniferehle.blogspot.com for a link to my blog. i'm a bit embarrassed b/c i didn't even see COU and had the hardest time finding tickets.

joshua bell and vivaldi's four seasons




i got another chance to see the amazing joshua bell. i saw him last year in a recital setting. this time, he was with the legendary academy st. martin in the fields, where he led them in vivaldi's four seasons.

for quite a while, i've been trying to put my finger on the musical style of joshua bell. i know that he's very musical, but in a much more unexpected way. for me, the ultimate musician in terms of musicality is yo yo ma - a cellist whose heartwrenching musicality is always so moving. he's always a joy to listen to. but josh bell is so different - definitely musical, but not so much in an emotional way, but in a more of a clean, fresh, new way that engages your brain. yo yo ma can move you to tears, but joshua bell makes you sit up and lean forward. Bell makes you hear a very trite passage (like the entire four seasons) in a very new way. I've heard the four seasons millions of times in my life, and tonight, i heard new submelodies i've never heard before, or another way of playing a passage by placing subtle accents in a unique way. bell's talent truly lies not only in his clean fresh style, but also in studying the piece of music before him and presenting it well to the audience.

josh bell was "conducting" and playing the violin solo both at the same time, conducting mostly through his body movements. this multitasking is more tenuous and difficult; in addition to the monstrous intricacies of the solo violin part, this really requires that a group listen and follow well. there was a moment in the summer movement when josh bell wasn't so clear on one of the passages and i felt the whole ensemble falling apart for a scary few seconds. but the harpischord and the bass really came in well by compensating and then keeping the beat together. i was really impressed with the professionalism of the academy of st. martin in the fields. their sound also sounds like one unit, not a group of separate entities.

i can't help feeling that their performance here is a rehearsal for their performance tomorrow in SF. oh well. i hope he comes back again next year.

just got back from my trip to NY! what a whirlwind, i had such a fabulous time. there's so much to blog about, but due to my late night, will keep it short to one topic: celebrity sightings! my first one was at the night we went to see Spring Awakening on Monday. We were waiting in line to enter the theater, when a tall orange giant cut in front of us to enter the theater - it was david hasselhoff! proof here.

second sighting was at the stage door for coast of utopia, which we passed by on our way out of the met opera. there, we saw ethan hawke and billy crudup. ethan hawke is... odd. not very socially comfortable, but perhaps it was unfair since he just got out of a show. he was nice enough to take picture with us tho and explain (sort of) his character (i didn't see the show teehee). we chatted with billy crudup right after meeting ethan, and we had a really funny interesting chat with him. he was so much more sociable than ethan hawke- very kind and very funny. it wasn't long tho, since his mom was there. ^^

this morning, i was going to end my trip in NY with a nice brunch with ricotta pancakes at sarabeth's with jen and jay, when alec baldwin and his brother, stephen baldwin, walks in. alec looks exactly the same as in my favorite show, 30 rock! he was wearing a suit too, just like the show. he had puffy eyes tho, and looked like he had just gotten up. his brother stephen is much shorter, and had a backwards baseball cap and raybans on - it took me a while to recognize him. i was looking forward to seeing 30 rock tonight, so i could say that i saw him this morning and now he's on tv. but unfortunately it's not playing tonight for some reason.

it's so funny how I always see celebrities now whenever i go to NY.

which broadway shows do these lines come from? (jen, you're not allowed to answer!)

1. "You look like David Hasselhoff"
2. "{beep} Mark Cohen - Alexi Darling - Labor Day weekend- In East Hampton- On the beach- Just saw Alec Baldwin- Told him you say hi- Just kidding"

my week is almost over!! i've been working like a madwoman so that I wouldn't feel as guilty about my vacation starting on Friday. I'm SO ready to par-tay! After giving four talks and lots of scientific failures, just ready to forget about it for a few days.

it's so bad, I'm feeling a little bit of Jersey Boys withdrawal. Going to check out the broadway cast next week, along with my usual marathon of broadway (i know you're excited, sarah. get pumped. and be prepared.). It's going to be weird to compare the two casts.

i got my hair cut today. i thought my bangs were a bit long while she was cutting them, b/c i hate cutting them myself (they always look funky) so I asked to have them shorter, and now they look too short! almost dumb and dumber short. ALMOST. hopefully they'll grow by friday. ;) it'll teach me not to open my mouth next time. i admit i know very little about hair.

my classmates are buzzing with anticipation for match day. i can't imagine being in the middle of that right now - i mean, being LOCKED into a spot and a location for the next few years of my life. oh wait, that's me now. ;)

coffee ice cream in my freezer. yum.

ack, just killed a lot of time on youtube and myspace. youtube really is amazing. just discovered an SF Ballet corps member who has his own youtube account! I love rehearsal footage.

i'm also amazed by how much time i can spend on myspace, and I'm also shocked by the amount of times that my friends update their account. i probably log on for a few days, and then won't log in for another two to three months. my profile pic has stayed the same forever.

wow this entry has no point.

according to tv guide, patti lupone is going to appear on ugly betty, as marc's mother! that's going to be really fun to watch.



jason mraz singing, "the beauty in ugly (ugly betty anthem)"



a sunny saturday. grateful for the free day to spend at home, cleaning house and doing my taxes.

ok, i thought i was bad: this makes me feel a mixture of relief (that i'm not the craziest one out there) as well as a sense of envy (that i wish i could reach this sort of achievement). check out these guys - i dream that i could strive to achieve their greatness! (as well as the depth of their pockets and the time that they have to pursue these dreams)

i've counted, and i've been to a measly five shows since the new year (white christmas, lang lang, san francisco ballet program 2, jersey boys, and sf ballet in sleeping beauty). however, it's been two shows in the past week. ;) maybe three by the end of this weekend. hehe

how many shows have you seen since the new year?


edited to add: funny how i'm not the only one to feel self conscious about my theater habits! also, my buddy while waiting in line at Jersey Boys, is not only rushing this weekend and next weekend, but also bought full price tickets in april.

good theater is, truly, food for my soul - the stuff that stirs my heart. there is no substitute for high quality theater.

possible snow showers tomorrow~ that would be amazing. much better than the dreary cold rain we've been getting. maybe i'll wear my hat tomorrow.

in my biased pro-broadway opinion, dreamgirls is the most overlooked movie of 2007. i do understand that a lot of people are going to hate this movie, or not appreciate it. however, my thoughts mirrors dan's exactly. "Dreamgirls was not perfect. Lots of weird editing, the lip syncing didn't match the songs sometimes, some of the songs were cheesy. But then, there were moments when I literally became short of breath. The way Beyonce' would stare out of the screen, or Jennifer Hudson would give the slightest roll of her eyes--perfect. Brilliant performances, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx and everyone all around. You forgive the film's flaws. I wish all movies were this big."

last night, how could you not vote for any of the dreamgirls songs, as the best song of the year? their performance at the oscars was breathtaking. for once, it was satisfying to see beyonce sing backup! muhaha. having said that, her solo in "Listen" was probably the best i've *ever* seen her sing.

happy monday, everyone. having a hard time getting out of my chair to prepare to go to work.

i gave my last talk yesterday~! it's such a relief, i notified my lab that i'm now going into retirement and will not give a talk for a year. thanks to bt for coming!! you really made my day.

in order to celebrate, i decided to treat myself to a trip to the city. it's so nice i have weekends free to do this. it's crazy, but decided to rush for the jersey boys show in SF. i saw it once already, but it was in previews and wanted to see it really up close. ah. i've been pretty good about keeping my obsessions with broadway lately, but i feel the obsession coming on again. i stood in the crazy rush line - i updated my ipod and was prepared to read for a few hours, but met this fun girl who was just as obsessed with broadway as i was. :) talking to her about it also reminded me of how exciting broadway is. during the show, it was fun when one of the four main characters smiled and winked at me while singing to me. hehe. I guess that's what happens when you're in the front row. I met him briefly afterwards, who thanked me for allowing him to flirt with me. so cute. ok i'm gushing again.

i also got to meet up with friend whom i haven't seen in a while. she is my idea of superwoman. she's a supersmart ucsf opthalmology resident, we got to catch up on our personal lives. dating is not always easy, but i really admire how she stands up to what she knows she needs, and is honest about her feelings as well. a perfect balance of head and heart. she is my heroine. it was fun sharing jersey boys with her as well - we watched wicked together last year.

i found this very entertaining.

» Quiz Results

Which Grey's Anatomy Character Are You? created by Austin_Bookheimer Your Results: Meredith You're smart and hard working, but whether it's dating drama or family stress, you don't have an easy life. In fact, sometimes it seems like you can't choose a good guy, no matter how hard you try. But, like Meredith, you don't give up. You're determined that no matter what else is going on in your life, you'll focus on your school work and most of the time you do. Give yourself credit for how far you've come, and when it comes to love, look for a guy who'll give you the attention and respect you deserve.

is the absence of repulsion, attraction?

my new year

it was over 80 degrees in socal yesterday. my legs saw sunshine for the first time since fall, and my mom reacted to its whiteness. teehee.

spending some time at home. it's been a good down time, before the two talks i'll be giving this week. the second talk is an hour long, but comes with free pizza and beer. hopefully it'll keep everyone happy.

lent starts this week. i've never observed it before, but for some reason, i feel like my year has definitely been off to a rocky start, and need to refocus myself on my priorities. and as my friend says, we're allowed to make new year's resolutions on chinese new year's. ^^ truth be told, i was inspired by a featured series of articles in time out new york magazine, which i am receiving in my mail weekly now, in which at the beginning of the new year, six new yorkers gave up a convenience or a behavior. This article inspired me to do the same, mostly because I spend too much time and money in this activity. I am going to concurrently read a book to help me focus at least this one part of my life, on my priorities.

i really hope i don't sound preachy or legalistic, because i am the last person to think i'm going to be good at this, but maybe i'll encourage someone else to make a commitment to better themselves in some small way.


"I am the LORD your God... Open your mouth wide and I will fill it." -Psalm 81:10

but how can God fill our mouths, if our mouths are already full?

happy valentine's day, everyone. hope it's a sweet one.



from dreamgirls. my current song of the moment.

i know it's a busy day at work when i don't get to surf my usual websites, like cuteoverload, off the rack, and thesuperificial. today was the good kind of busy tho - productive.

random fact of the day: carson kressley's favorite word is cashmere. that word's definitely on my top ten. ^^

random read of the day: anthony bourdain's post on his opinions on the food network. I don't always agree with his conclusions, but i think his observations are spot on, not to mention hilarious. his last sentence, with the matchup between mikey and sandra lee, made me laugh out loud. my obsessive tv addiction is anthony bourdain's no reservations, airing on the travel channel, which btw, is airing in less than an hour. (i think the food networkbanned him for his inappropriateness)

currently listening to: norah jones' not too late. a perfect antidote for a rainy day.

reminder for the day: be thankful

received a postcard from a sunny place today. it brightened up my day in the midst of a gray nonsunny day.

drama queen

what a week. for some reason, it's really been pouring these days. without talking about specifics, amongst my friends and family, it seems like people are fragile and struggling constantly, even in the moments when you think others (and even yourself) are ok. and in the moments when you think you are struggling alone and are isolated, by sharing with one other person, you realize that your problems are not so uncommon and people understand struggle and relate so intimately to brokenness and imperfection and weakness. those traits really are universal.

my prayers go out to the women in my life who are struggling. there are such conflicting messages to be strong and independent and to put up a front, when inside we are broken and hurt and so mad that we're not as strong as we thought.

on a completely separate note, the week started out well. i had an hour long talk, which i've never given before, and was really surprised at the positive response. in front of an intimidating crowd, i got a lot of questions and positive feedback. immediately after my talk, a professor sat me down and we talked about my project for 10 minutes. it was a really good experience. i still hate giving talks tho. ^^

a late day at work. somebody kill me now. i had to repeat two hours worth of work because i accidentally doubled the amount of magnesium chloride for my PCR reaction. (i always think that i'm smarter than i really am, and do all the math in my head.)

my first of my four presentations in one month starts tomorrow. will be in a much better mood after tomorrow. maybe i'll treat myself to a haircut.

danny henney love

in response to the love that daniel henney is getting, another picture for everyone's viewing pleasure:



sarah shot some candids of him. he looks so normal. she may get to meet his parents this weekend for the wrap party. lucky girl.

nalasitting



i'm babysitting my friend's cat this weekend. she's very cute, but also very high maintenance. this morning, she was following me so closely that i tripped on her. twice. not to mention the early morning meowing, although her food was out. i don't know what she wanted. i wish i spoke cat.



"I hate flash, and I can preempt it"

i like how her paws are neatly tucked under her. very ladylike. i didn't think i used to like cats, but now i'm appreciating their (relative) independence.

weekend

how come the past few days seem like an extended weekend? i saw friends every day, which is such a treat since a lot of my med school classmates are interviewing, on away rotations, or working hard (ok, only one is working hard...)

taking the day off tomorrow to interview potential MD/PhD-ers. it'll be a nice break, things in lab have been the equivalent of running into a wall. over and over again. it'll be nice to take a break.

watching julie taymor's "The Magic Flute" put on by the Met. it's a visually stunning spectacle, with julie taymor's famous puppets. I'm so impressed with the quality of the Met opera singers. Vocal standouts in this show are Matthew Polenzani as Tamino and Erika Miklósa as the Queen of the Night. she just sang the famous Queen of the Night aria - her precision, speed, and ease of performance is truly amazing. it's hard to make such a trite piece of music, fresh and exciting. wow. Nathan Gunn is currently stealing the show tho; he is a great performer, as Papageno.

danny henney



ok, i'm officially jealous - my sister filmed a few scenes with korean actor/sensation Daniel Henney, in the new movie as shown here. she plays his adopted sister here in the US. i told her i'm first in line to attend the movie premiere - she says he's the nicest, down to earth guy.

check out the youtube video featuring a short commercial with gwyneth paltrow and daniel henney.



with gorgeous jun jee hyun

black nail polish nation

wow i missed this article in the nytimes. crazy. i admit it, i went out and bought opi's "lincoln park after dark" and i love it.

"The black nail polish that is selling so well today is hardly the dark enamel worn by the freaky girl at the back of your English lit class. Unlike the Goth look, which resembles fingers dipped in soot, the new black is shinier, richer and deeper, with undertones of purple, silver or red.

The new blacks appear to be growing in popularity with young professional women who are daring enough to wear it to work, and it is the epitome of chic for night events.

“It used to be tall thin girls wearing black nail polish. Today I see women in the Beverly Hills bookstore with it on.”"

J, did you get yours in the mail? Do others have it? Post your thoughts here!

love



cute new stamps just released, available at your local post office.

work has been tough lately - i've been working on this one thing since early december. in theory, it should be really easy, but i'm getting odd results. been feeling a bit beaten down in the last two weeks, just repeating experiments with no hope and working harder than usual. so i treated myself today by coming home early, and spending a few precious hours at home before i trek off again tonight to a friend's birthday party. i sort of wish i could spend a quiet night at home, for once. it's strange how rare nights at home are. it felt extravagant to be able to air out my house watching oprah, and peeling myself an orange, which, according the news, will be more expensive and rarer in stores thanks to the frozen orange groves in central california.

tomorrow, so much good tv! really looking forward to scrubs, with their much anticipated musical show, guest starring stephanie d'abruzzo of avenue q and i love you because fame. i sat front row at avenue q with puppets kate monster or lucy the slut stuck to her hand, so it'll be weird to see her on tv without kate or lucy t. slut. also on: the office (is dwight really going to quit? really?), and ugly betty (I agree with dan who says, "I eat this show like it is chocolate pudding. It's absolutely ridiculous, which is brilliant. America Ferrera is genius. Vanessa Williams is terrible, but in a fun way, like she gets the joke, so that's acceptable.")

oh yeah. and grey's anatomy. i keep on forgetting that show is on as well, because on top of the deluge of other shows that are on, by that time, someone has called me and I'm usually on the phone by that time. eh, i'm more in love with the other shows these days.

"We’re as close as
the vena cava and the aorta,
We go together
like diverticulitis and a barium enema."

i can't wait til tomorrow night.

Limited Edition




so i've never really been swept up on the limited edition craze, until really this year. i blame all the beauty websites that i recently gotten addicted to. the chanel nail polish, noir ceramic (and its matte cousin, black satin), is the biggest limited edition item this year. Due to the celebrity exposure, this $18 bottle has been selling for over $350 on ebay earlier this season, and sarah michelle gellar has been stealing these items at a party, and testers at all chanel counters are being stolen as well, like at the counter at south coast plaza that we went to over christmas break. More hype on other websites here and #14 here hasn't helped either.

At any rate, my sis and I started hunting for this nail polish in Irvine, Pasadena, L.A., and San Diego. We didn't see it anywhere, but up in nor cal, after one failed attempt at nordstrom where they told me that they were getting no more shipments in and thus were not taking any names for a wait list, I went to one more Macy's and they had three bottles left! I promptly picked up two of them. If Jen doesn't want my second bottle, does anybody want it? :)

Another item that hasn't been as limited, but still in high demand and sold out on the website and on the nordstrom website, is MAC's Lightscapade, another favorite of beauty bloggers as well (#20 favorite item of the year, here). I went to the MAC counter where of course, there was no tester, but the worker there managed to dig up one last Lightscapade left in the corner of the drawer. I didn't get to try it since there was no tester, but she assured me it was beautiful, as well as the recommendations that I've read everywhere online. I'm sure I can return it or sell it on ebay if I don't like it. (I highly doubt I won't like it)

To be honest, if these items weren't limited edition, I'm just wondering how much would I have really wanted them? The Lightscapade is beautiful and something I can wear everyday, but the Noir Ceramic is a bit out there, altho very cute on short nails (long nails make you look more like Elvira). I almost decided not to even go looking for it, because I *had* to justify it somehow to myself. So I told myself I'd buy it if it helps me not to bite my nails, a bad habit I've had for a long time. As beauty addict said, having a limited edition item that's so hard to get a hold of is thrilling, and makes me feel slightly mischievous.

I'm glad I was able to find it. :) For those of you who want the look of Noir Ceramic without having to go searching for it, or without dishing out $50+ on ebay, check out OPI's Black Onyx (similar to Chanel's Black Satin), Shu Uemura's ME 083, or Lippman's Hit Me With Your Best Shot.

ok so i am officially in love with the purse that was featured on ugly betty last week. oh so cute.

made me think about fashion - i am admittedly, an adoring fan. in spite of my limited budget and scientific surroundings (ha), I still love to play around with clothes and accessories. i experienced a different take on fashion when i went with my sister to an anticipated exhibit at the LACMA. i initially thought it would be a bunch of pretty clothes on display, but it was so much more than i expected. to my naive eyes, it was such a new take to look at fashion as an art, rather than for marketability, or a similar concept, wearability. a lot of the pieces on display, i would never wear, as some examples below illustrate, but it was so fascinating to see designers who step aside from the goal of moneymaking, to elevate their fashion to another level of artistry, and ultimate creativity. some examples of fashion as art:


Dolce and Gabbana, Autumn 2003-04

what makes a shirt, a shirt? can one shirt be, actually, four shirts? creating four different silhouettes and thus, four different shirts, with one shirt.


Martin Margiela

creating a very different top by taking a regular button down shirt and rotating it.


Issey Miyake, 1990

playing with form - the wearer's body is necessary for the form of the dress, in addition to the dress taking on a form of its own.

In all, the idea of fashion as art was so fascinating. But the heart of it is, my favorite dresses were the ones that were the prettiest to wear, an idea that's not so cerebral or cool. But I cannot deny my heart... :) My favorites were dresses by John Galliano and Jean Paul Gaultier. The Yohji Yamamoto below is lovely as well.


Jean Paul Gaultier


Yohji Yamamoto