Normcore and Other Ridiculous Words

For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past year, or just those of you who have lives and don't troll the internet, Oxford has just announced a list of words that they are adding to the English Dictionary. While I love that the word of the year is vape (what a silly word, especially when used as an adjective--aka a "Vape Space" for those cruising Chapel Street), I'm a little surprised that normcore didn't take the top spot!

Normcore is a fashion movement that has swept 2014, and is defined as: ordinary, unfashionable clothing worn as a deliberate statement. I'm not sure how just wearing normal, plain clothes became fashionable, but those who could care less about being on trend should rejoice.

Now that I am officially thirty, it seems like the perfect time to embrace this trend. I have cast aside my normal footwear of choice the Converse Chuck Taylors and am now sporting the Nike Internationalist. Comfortable, functional, and stylishly unstylish.

Is Anyone Else Addicted to Serial?

You may have heard of Serial, the podcast by Sarah Koenig, created by the people from This American Life. It re-examines, one weekly episode at a time, a seemingly open and shut murder case from 1999. I'd seen a blurb about it on one of the many websites I waste my life on, but didn't really give it a listen until the production was about six episodes in. From there, I was hooked. It's buzzing around right now, as many have found themselves hooked. I would say, "if you're into podcasts, check it out," but I think it'd be better to say, "if you're not into podcasts, check it out," because that's pretty much me.

Aside from this latest foray into podcast territory, I haven't done a ton of exploration into the medium. A few years ago, I got pretty dedicated to WTF hosted by Marc Maron; a podcast with two distinct descriptions, one short/intended, and one long/unintended. The short write up on this one is that an aged stand up comedian of minor celebrity (Maron) talks to fellow show-business folk in his garage each week for an impromtu interview. The long story/unintended consequence is that a recovering alcoholic who has burned just about every bridge he ever had in show business starts a low-budget podcast in his garage and goes from talking with friends/fellow stand up comedians about life, to talking with major celebrities each week, to reviving his name/career, to becoming a required stop on the promotional circuit (Rivers Cuomo, Anna Kendrick, Claire Daines, etc.). Presently, Maron continues his podcast alongside his other ventures, including a TV show on IFC. If you want to check this one out, you can probably fast forward the first 9 minutes, which is basically just the host ranting...unless you're into that sort of thing. After the passing of Robin Williams, he re-posted his episode featuring Williams...I highly recommend that, or the Louis CK episode, or his keynote address from the Montreal Comedy Festival a few years back.

Ode To: Office Tchotchkes

I've had a bunch of jobs, a bunch of desks, with a bunch of stuff on all of them. Most of it is work-related miscellany; files splayed, papers strewn, a calculator collecting dust, the odd ruler. But, if you dig a little deeper into the desk junk, you begin to see something more personal take shape. This image has been crafted carefully out of junk, mostly found, that I have collected over the years of jobs and desks and stuffs; it is like a museum of my work existence.

Currently where it all happens.

Everyone has your run-of-the-mill framed photo of a loved one, perhaps a college degree, or a service award pinned up right above that funny Dilbert comic you cut out six years ago. Here, I'm talking about the truly random; the things that someone walking into your office might spot and ask, "Why do you even have that?" I'm going to go out on a limb, here, and say that, while my collection might contain some more unique items, I'm not alone in possessing all this junk. Here's an overview of the exhibits:

Fire Safety Sign

This hung in a building I used to work in. The building dated back to the early 80s and, in case you couldn't tell by its zaniness in the face of imminent danger, so does the sign. The building has since been torn down. I built that nifty frame out of cut up cardboard, and the whole piece has followed me to three jobs now.

Oh safety, you so silly.

Star Wars Stuff

What guy's office is complete is out some reference to the Star Wars Universe? I have two. The first is the original Rancor action figure, purchased by my father following the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983 (before I was even born). If he'd kept it in the package, it'd probably be worth something today, but he didn't. He let his then-4 year old son open it up and play with it, followed by his second  son (me) once I was old enough to break objects. Then, it sat on display in our home office for 20 years, until I finally scooped it up and put it on my credenza so that I can snottily correct co-workers who come in and refer to it as "monster."  My second bit of Star Wars apparel is this Han Solo knick knack that a friend found and gave me. I don't even know what it is. It feels like a beer coozy, but is too small. It has an odd rubber thing on the back that may or may not be a suction cup that sticks to absolutely nothing. This thing sits on my window sill; Han pointing his blaster at me.

Of course, Han shot first.

Tiny Dog

I found this tiny dog on a stone wall one day when I was out for a walk. I liked it. I adopted it. For a while, I thought I'd start a photo project where I'd take it places and photograph it. That hasn't happened. I'm realizing now that I haven't given it a name, so, I shall name it: Dobbins.

Lil Dobbins: best dog I ever had.

Beer Can Pen Pail

An un-topped can that I stole from Union Craft Brewery in Baltimore, MD. Great beer, if you get a chance to hit up the brewery, I recommend spending several hours at the bar sucking these Duckpin Pale Ales down. I used it as a water cup for a while, until it started jagging my lip up on that metal edge. Now it holds two pens and a highlighter I've never used.

Various Photos of Strangers

I worked in a university library for a long, long time. Handling books every day, you tend to find some interesting stuff falling out from between the pages. I used to have much more of these photos, but I've shed some with each annual desk cleaning. I'm not sure why I've clung to these specific photos, they are each interesting to me in different ways.

1. College bro/nerd with football. You can see on the top that someone loved this lovable hunk enough to tape this up somewhere. Good for him.

college bro circa ???

2. 80s Wedding: I WILL NEVER THROW THIS AWAY THIS IS GOLD.

Sweet Madonna gloves.

3. Marathon Man: I couldn't get a decent close up of this photo. The look on the guy's face is hysterical. I've never been able to place the location, but it smacks of somewhere up on Prospect Hill. Judging by the cars and the guy's 'stache, it's late 70s/early 80s.

4. Sleepy Gal Pals. So many questions about these two. Who took this photo? Why did they keep this one? Was it a long night of partying, or a lengthy session of debating the merits of Foucault? Where are they now? Are they still friends? Dare I say, lovers?

There is a bit more, sure, but I don't want to keep you here all day poring over my junk. What kinds of crap do you have laying around your workspace?

Saugerties, NY

While I love living in New Haven, sometimes you just need to get away from it all. There's the obvious choices: NYC, Boston, Providence, but I lately I've even been feeling sick of these places. I wanted to see and experience something new and shake up my fall doldrums. Whenever I'm bored at work and looking to escape I like to look at Jetsetter to see all of the wonderful places in the world that I should be visiting. So it is thanks to Jetsetter for giving me the idea to head to upstate New York for a little weekend getaway to Saugerties, NY. Some times all you need is 24 hours of beautiful fall foliage, wine, good food, and beautiful landscapes to refresh you after a long work week.

Here is a glimpse into our weekend and the fun things that we did.
 
Wine Tasting at Benmarl Winery (one of the oldest wineries in the US):

 

We stayed at Diamond Mills Hotel in Saugerties, where every room has a balcony overlooking this beautiful waterfall:

 

Took a short hike to the Saugerties Lighthouse, which also doubles as a small Bed and Breakfast with only two rooms. How cool would it be to stay there?

Had an amazing dinner at Miss Lucy's in the evening and a tasty breakfast at Love Bites in the morning:

Overall it was a great trip and I only wish that we had a few more days to spend exploring the area!

Sweater Weather

I have a sweater obsession that after reviewing my winter clothes recently, I now realize has gotten out of control. I am obsessed with the Jcrew Tippi Sweater, which is basically a simple sweater with a crew neck. And I love it. There, I said it.

It started out innocently enough with just the basic colors (completely a necessity!), navy and sandstone and has since evolved into I own every color and wear one to work every day. I have tried to mix in other types of sweaters: turtlenecks, cardigans, your classic cable knit, and nothing else compares. Am I the only person who finds turtlenecks to be the worst piece of clothing ever created? They are so constraining!

I urge everyone to start stocking up on this crew neck classic now. Perfect for layering throughout the next few months and generally looking like a put together style maven (at least in my own head).