LISTS

I kept a list over the summer of all the things that make me happy. I made this list whenever I was bored on the subway. It has not been updated for almost 2 months since I don't ride the subway that much in Philly.

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY
Interracial couples
Sicilian pizza
costumes
scary movies
animals in costume
men in drag, dinosaurs
American history
Dr. Zizmore subway ads
Witchcraft and wizardry
red fruits
thunder storms
daisies
elaborate nailpolish
reliable public transportation
ugly tattoos
fennel toothpaste
Central Park
90s nickelodeon shows
star wars
recurring dreams
the smell of brewing coffee
tea parties
dance parties
glow sticks
TV on DVD
perfume
mythical creatures
paranormal activities
baking
sleepovers
illegal smores
spooning
filmmaking
people watching
making lists
drawing state outlines
planning trips
traveling
live music
warm weather
Christmas snow
Chanukah dinners
rollercoasters
applying make up
polaroids
comedic books
non-awkward silences
car rides
leather boots
oil painting
art
sewing skirts/ragdolls
rings
medical oddities
barbecue potato chips
chai lattes
whoopie Goldberg
the upper west side of manhattan
thrift
stores
subway mosaics
plaid
pretty underwear
tassels/fringe
iced tea
yard sales
college
mysteries
purses
one hit wonders
adult cartoons
mason jars
raspberry jam
diners
gum
sleeping naked
bubble baths
knitting
horseback riding
spicy tuna rolls
bible names
drunk history
disposable cameras
cynicism
pocket watches
chivalry
chocolate
dramatic haircuts
rats/mice
mosaics
pink cotton candy
bike rides
urban legends
veggie burgers
the ocean
big beds
mani/pedis
Greek mythology
carrots and hummus
sangria
Malik/Randy parties
pregaming with friendzz
naming inanimate objects
approval matrixes
colorfully packaged/designer condoms
ouija boards
way farers
leopard print
100% cotton
high school reunions
primordial dwarves
impressions
chills/massages

It has been too long!

I never really realized just how busy this school year could get. I've been doing so many social and academic things that I barely have time to sleep, let alone keep up with my blog. And I have so much on my mind right now, I wish I could remember all of it/feel comfortable enough to write everything down here. I love keeping diaries, but I haven't written in mine in over a year. I guess the diary i've been keeping can be found in my group Facebook friends between my NYC friends and my Temple friends. Some of the conversations are so funny, I desperately want to publish them in a book. Anyway, this is a formal apology blog/diary/blog-ary. I am sorry I haven't written in you in over a month and half. But it's not out of laziness, I swear! I'm going to try and keep up from now on.

For instance, I guess the most recent thing that has happened/is happening in my life is:
1) last weekend, I volunteered at the 18th annual Philadelphia Film Festival with Corrie, Caitlin, Alex (and Hunter).
2) Due to my immense workload, the only people I've been able to hang out with are my roommates and we recently made homemade face masks (egg whites, lemon juice, flour) that are meant to dry out oily skin and tighten pores. It was very fun.

3) Caroline came for a visit from Pratt! It was so great having her over. I love her to death and we had so many extra bonding moments (i.e. peeing behind an abandoned house in North Philly and laughing till our stomachs hurt)
.
4) Discovering a new TV show with Matt called 'Flapjack'. It is for children, but it's hilarious. Imagine old Nickelodeon humor circa Ren & Stimpy/Rocko's Modern Life/Spongebob in the beginning.
5) Tonight is the first Halloween party of the year!!!
6) My mom is visiting this weekend! (This is a picture of her at Halloween circa 2004)


xoxo

TEMPLE!

"You know why Keiran is a better Jew than you Maya? Cause she's at Temple all the time!"
-Michael Spitalnik

Oh my, this year is starting of smashingly. I love my old friends, I love my new friends, I love the friends that are yet to be made. I love Temple Towers, despite my weird room situation right now. I love my neighbors and my schedule etc.

Day 1=

SO MUCH FUN. My suite-mates and I drank wine and told each other about ourselves. Then I went over to 1300 and pregamed w/ the beloved TU gang + Danny, Malcolm and Mike and went to Ron's house. It was nice seeing Ron and the beer and Jungle Juice was delicious and cheap, but otherwise the party was very eh. Then Caitlin, Danny, and I walked back to 1300, which is when I gracefully slipped in front of AXP and skinned my knee. We then bumped into Josh and some friends of his and one of them (an Asian no less!) gave me a Hello Kitty band aid. It seriously wasn't a drunk fall, it rained ALL DAY and my shoes had flat bottoms. But seeing Josh was great and the Hello Kitty band aid was hilarious. We then dropped Danny off and I proceeded to sneak Caitlin into Temple Towers cause I didn't have my guest card yet. We partied in Justin's room, he has 4 mini fridges full of beer, and danced and played with Beth, Lindsay, Matt F., Matt St. Lawrence, some kid named Frank or Fred, Wyatt, Carmen etc. It was beautiful. I missed everyone so much. A great start to a great year.

Day 2=
Waking up early and heading to the Italian market, which is like a ghetto farmer's market! We got fresh mozzarella and made Caprese salads. Then we walked to South street and met up with mah best homies. (PS My roommates really liked you guys!) Then I bought some text books and became really poor in the process and hung out at Matt's apartment w/ Mark, Dan, and some other girls. Then LisaMarie made the most delicious pasta, which we ate at our floor meeting, and THEN I walked around campus with the gang to ogle the freshmen. Afterwards Wyatt stumbled into our room and we discussed music, big feet, Across the Universe, and nose rings. I think some of my roomies have a crush on him.

Day 3=
CLASS STARTS!

Some pictures of my apartment:

I <3 NY

I love NYC, I really do. There is just so much to keep you busy and you can have the most amazing and spontaneous days. Today was just a wonderful day from the start because I woke up to discover that my dad had made PANCAKES! I also discovered, that my dad enjoys listening to Evanescence while he cooks them ("My Christ, my tourniquet! Return to me salvation!").

After pancakes, I met up with Caroline at the Hells Kitchen flea market where I bought a leopard print purse for $5! I'm currently obsessed with it. Then we went to the Cupcake Cafe and drank our weight in iced coffee (which, I believe has made me incredibly ill due to the immense caffeine load).

Then Caroline and I walked across town and had out breastiesss measured at Victoria's Secret by a pushy lady who told me I was a 32C and I was all "Pshhff, GIRL PLEASE!" But for fun, Caro and I tried on the sluttiest stuff there we could find, which was surprisingly limited. Then we walked way far downtown to go thrifting, which is just impossibly expensive in NYC. We went to various shops to find boots, but nothing was cheaper than $45, which frankly ruins the concept of thrifting.

We walked even further and saw a hottiiieee! RANDY LEWIS, i.e. Mercedes' dad outside of Cheap Shots (a bar around the corner from his apartment). What a babe. He was so funny though, he never recognizes us. We also ended up seeing another friend's mom when we went to Cafe Yaffa (which gave us free condoms). We also witnessed a bus filled with Indian people waving Indian flags and listening to Indian music. Perhaps it is Indian pride day?

It was just one of those days where you fall in love with your friends and with the city and with the people in it. It would have been perfect minus the caffeine coma and intense heat.

ABC's of ME

I actually secretly like these things but I don't like posting results in Facebook and then tagging people in them.

ABC's of ME

A - Age: 19

B - Bed size: Twin. I USED to have a full, but then my mom swapped my room with my brother without telling me. Now I have a twin, motherfucker.

C - Chore you hate: Clearing the dishwasher. I don't know why but I really HATE going back and forth with all the silverware.

D - Dog's name: I grew up with 3 dogs, the last of which died approx. 2 weeks ago. Their names were Foster, Barlee, & Puce.

E - Essential start your day item: A bathroom? Or a shower/tub at least.

F - Favorite color: RIGHT NOW, red-orange or lilac.

G - Gold or Silver: GHETTO gold.

H - Height: 4'11 SHORTY!

I - Instruments you play: Tambourine, mini-harmonica, blades of grass, maybe a little guitar. (Instruments I WANT to know how to play: keytar, ukele, drumz).

J - Job title: Intern at MovieHatch (A website designed to help people enter the competitive film industry through an annual screenplay/film pitching competition).
• Managed social networking sites
• Typed up transcripts
• Filmed/set up film equipment
• Edited original film footage

K - Kid(s): Baby goats.

L - Living arrangements: A combination of Maplewood, NJ treehouse/tiny NYC Washington Heights apartment/Temple Towers!

M - Mom's name: Laura McCann-Ramsey (current name), Laura McCann (name during 1st marriage), Laura Lynn Kornbluh (maiden name), Laura Alexis (stage name).

N - Nicknames: KiKi, Keer

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: When I was 3 years old, a dog bit my face rather severely. I still have the scars.

P - Pet Peeve(s): My brother teasing me about my love of ketchup, secrets among close friends, borrowing without asking, TV static.

Q - Quote from a movie: "It's so hot! Milk was a bad choice!"

R - Right or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: Quinn Ayer McCann (age 16)

T -What time do you get up?: Between 9-12 naturally

U- Underwear: bikini style, none of that frilly shit.

V - Vegetable you dislike: Not a big fan of eggplant.

W - Ways you run late: I overestimate the efficiency of public transportation.

Y - Yummy food you make: chocolate chip cookies, lasagne.

Z- Zodiac Sign: Aries

Live Free or DYE hard

Today has been so lovely! It was a day of creation. Well, first of all, last night my mom, Quinn, and I went to see Julie & Julia. It was SO adorable, I loved everything about it. My brother likes to think of himself as the chef of the family, so he was particularly inspired by the story of Julia Child and decided to cook dinner tonight. It was delicious! Stuffed mushroom caps, a chicken/shallot/artichoke dish, and chocolate souffle. As for me, this morning I woke up super early to go yard sale shopping with my mom. Unfortunately, the selections were not great and people in NJ like to overcharge for their garbage. But I ended up buying 4 really nice Chinese style glasses for the apartment this year. They are red/gold/black and pretty. (You can see my lovely turquoise manicure in the picture as well.)

Then I was reading this blog about fashion and I just became really inspired to sew....SO I took some old fabric and an old tank top and made a collaborative design that resulted in a lovely little dress! It was rather difficult to complete due to my cats, who loved to lay down on top of the fabric or bat at the needle and thread. They are such assholes. I pleated the black fabric (I believe it is a type of silk) to give a voluminous effect. I'm still a bit of a novice with the sewing machine, so my stitches are a little askew. But as long as you don't look too closely, it looks kind of like one of those $50 URBN RENEWALS except FO' FREE! I still hope to sew one more skirt and hem a few dresses before the summer is over.

To end the day, I bleached my roots with some touch up hair dye that is took FOREVER and smelled really bad. I now have tri-color hair: brown, blonde, and red. But I don't mind. The ultra faded blue is now gone and my roots are copper as opposed to brunette. It's cool for now. I'm getting a haircut on Tuesday. Nothing too drastic...yet. Just a trim and some chunky bangs, since mine have grown out beyond the normal bang length. In December, I plan to get a haircut in a bob-style. I had a similar cut about 2 years ago.

It was a lovely lazy day of living free and DYING (my hair) hard.

ZOMBIES!

Zombies are terrifying. There is just something about the concept of dead people coming back to life that is particularly disturbing. Especially if these people can run really fast and have the desire to eat you alive. I have found that I spend an awful lot of my time contemplating zombies and possible zombie attacks at times when I really shouldn't. For instance, the first time I took the SATs I completely screwed up on one of the math sections because I spent a good chunk of my time daydreaming about zombies running through the classroom I was in and attacking my fellow test takers. In fact, whenever I am in a particularly unpleasant situation I find myself hoping that there will be a zombie attack and then I try to figure out what my best plan for survival would be. And that's the great thing about zombie daydreams, you get to really think about all the stuff you wouldn't normally think about because of how disturbing or weird it is. But by thinking about it, you learn a lot about yourself. You start to ask questions, such as:
1) If a zombie were to enter the room right now, would you fight it or hide from it?
2) If the zombie was a family member or friend, what would you do?
3) If multiple zombies were to enter a room at once, how would you escape?
4) Where would you hide out if there was a zombie attack?
5) Would you attempt to help other people if they were being attacked?
6) How would you even begin killing a zombie?


Zombies are just a very interesting subject matter. And from all the zombie movies I have ever seen, I have developed some answers to these questions that normally plague me at inopportune moments.
1) If a SINGLE zombie were to enter the room and I didn't have a weapon on me, I would most likely hide. However, if I had a knife or a gun you better believe I would kick that zombie's ass. Granted there are 2 kinds of zombies, the slow kinds and the fast kinds. The slow ones are easier to deal with because they are kind of stupid and you have the advantage of speed. But the fast ones are generally more aggressive and they can definitely be a problem.
2) If a zombie was a family member or a friend, I would be genuinely sad. I know they would no longer be the same person they once were, but I don't think I would be able to kill them. I would probably try to lock them in a closet or push them down a hill or get someone else to kill them for me.
3) If multiple zombies were to enter a room at once like in a big rush, I would most likely escape through a window or air vent. Escape would be of the utmost importance as opposed to hiding, because once you're hidden you are actually at a disadvantage if you ever want to escape.
4) If there was a massive zombie attack within an entire town or community, I would most likely barricade myself in a building (preferably a grocery store or ammunition shop) and then hide out on the roof. The roof provides one with good viewing capabilities.
5) I would definitely try to help people if they were being attacked. It is better to be in a group than by yourself, and that's just the person I (like to think I) am.
6) To a kill a zombie you must remove the head or destroy the brain.

And zombie movies are particularly hilarious, even when they aren't supposed to be. Some of my favorite zombie movies are:
-Dawn of the Dead
-Day of the Dead
-28 Days Later
-Resident Evil
-Shaun of the Dead
-Land of the Dead
-Planet Terror
-Night of the Living Dead

Basically, I really like zombie movies and survival situations and I'm SUPER bored at work.