Smart girls and bad boys...

Yesterday as I was making a colourful salad for dinner, I heard the sounds of The Simpsons in the background. It was the one where Lisa falls for Nelson - a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Having just finished reading 'Sloppy Firsts' for the first time, inevitably I was reminded of Jessica Darling and Marcus Flutie (swoon!)...and Rory and Jess...and countless other similar pairings. 

So why do smart girls fall for mysterious rebel poet guys? Is it an attraction toward unconventional genius and unique ways of thinking? A quiet, orderly person's yearning for chaos and unpredictability? The coming together of people who don't otherwise easily fit in? Am I thinking too much about this???

This will remain one of the unanswerable questions in life. Mysterious and inexplicable for all time. 

If someone has an answer, feel free to share ;-)

Apple Season

This song doesn't exactly fit the whole apple season theme but it feels cozy and appropriate on this cool morning. The only clue I have that summer is over is cooler mornings and nights. Days are still hot and sunny and summery. Will I ever stop talking about the weather here? Hopefully. Yes, hopefully so...

One of the best things about this season is the produce - like delicious crisp apples! And consequently, apple pie! I recently heard about a little town called Julian and now I really want to go there and check out all the apples. My spirit will ever remain cutting edgingly adventurous. Ahem.

So yes, it may not be windy or grey or cold and the leaves may not be changing colour, but it still feels like the time to bake has come. And by bake I do not mean take the Trader Joe's almond croissants out of the box to defrost and pop them in the oven...and then feel surrounded by the smell of pastry heaven, where pastries fly around languidly and you can catch one and take a bite and then catch another one and obviously none of them have any calories.

Now it's Wednesday so I should go and do some kind of vacation-y thing before school starts on Monday. Pencil sharpening is not on my list as of yet.

Cheerio!

E.T. phone home!

I have a new favourite movie. As I grow older and wiser, inevitably my taste grows ever more refined and impeccably sophisticated. 

Hence - E.T. Haha, watching this movie is like being wrapped up in the softest of blankets while your imagination soars and dances. Really, can anyone be too old for this movie? Impossible. There's nothing better than childlike wonder and loyalty.

In other news, I've been spending loads of time at the beach and it is just unbelievably gorgeous and relaxing and inspiring. Can't get over it. Sometimes I read a YA book when I'm there. Yep, life is nice. Too bad I go back to school next week. Oh well, hopefully the smell of freshly sharpened pencils will also inspire (rather than terrify).

Another twist in the road...

I can't even count how many times my life plans have changed in the past year. It makes me think that I can't really plan big things like that in the first place - everything unfolds in its own way and I have to not be scared to go with the flow. Be calm and composed like a fluffy ninja cat. Thankfully, the latest change is quite a lovely one and not something I would ever complain about. In fact, it's something I've been dreaming of for quite a while.

In February 2010 I visited San Diego, California for the very first time and fell completely in love with the paradise around me. My parents always say I am like a lizard or plant because I live on sunshine. The sun is my primary battery (chocolate being the secondary one). California is the land of sunshine and it made me feel deliriously happy, I could not stop smiling. Ever since that time I dreamed of actually living in that paradise, but never thought that it was actually possible.

So here I was, already thinking of what to pack for England and, to be honest, dreading the cold and the rain. And then my student visa was rejected because of a silly technicality. My whole plan for the year and for my education just dissolved after reading one little e-mail.

Finally, the results of the turmoil character-building excitement: I am now living in California! And I will take the exact same MA degree at the University of Nottingham, but through distance education. At the end of this month, I will start a certificate program at UCSD so that I will be certified to teach English here in California. And my boyfriend will come to visit around Christmastime. Ahhh. The relief. The joy. Embracing what's happening even though it's not exactly how you initially planned it at all.

My ninja cat instincts are still intact and the ocean beckons to provide soothing relaxation and hours of beachside reading. It feels like everything is just as it should be, whew!!