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Lady Gaga + Elton: By now you (hopefully) know about my obsession with Lady Gaga and Speechless, but I have loved My Song by Elton John ever since Ewan McGregor serenaded Nicole Kidman this song in Moulin Rouge (Sadly, I am pretty sure when I first saw the movie in 7th grade, I thought the song was an original to the movie. My parents made fun of me for this inaccurate assumption, and shamed me into crediting Elton for his work. I did listen to the original and learned to love it as well). Plus, you can't forget Tiny Dancer (when the entire bus sings Tiny Dancer in Almost Famous - top 10 movie moment of all time?), Candle in the Wind, Bennie and the Jets and even his contributions to The Lion King soundtrack. Amazing! SO. When Lady Gaga and Elton kicked off the Grammy's this evening with a Speechless-Your Song MEDLEY, I knew that I would not be channel-surfing tonight. And I have been diligently avoiding homework and glued to my TV ever since.

We are barely a half an hour into the awards but my girl Taylor has already snagged her third Grammy of the night, Beyonce has channeled her inner-Alanis AND Stephen Colbert took a jab at the Jonas Brothers and the new iPad (all while looking his usual dapper-self...seriously, he is my older-man-crush: politically-informed, hilarious and aging well = Mrs. Colbert is a lucky, lucky woman).

Pink performing now! More tomorrow on favorite Grammy moments and fashions.

Lifetime-Movie-Of-The-Week

Sometime yesterday the temperatures dropped. The freezing rain we had experienced for the last week (and until yesterday, that we had had the nerve to be ungrateful for) turned into snow, and I could not feel my ears by the time I got home from class this morning. This change in weather officially means I will be entering into a state of quasi-hibernation until mid-March.

What is quasi-hibernation?

Glad you asked. Basically, I will stop leaving my apartment for non-essentials. For instance, today I am still attending all classes, but have chosen to forgo much-needed grocery shopping. I have approximately one box of Kraft mac & cheese left - however, without milk or butter, it will take some real creativity to turn these noodles and cheese powder into the delicious Scooby-doo-shaped characters that I love. Yet, thanks to the sub-zero winds blowing through Champaign today, this is a culinary endeavor I am 100% willing to risk. However, aside from forcing college students to eat stale pretzels and 3-months old Halloween candy in order to survive, the weather also poses another important obstacle: what to do while trapped inside until a). Spring arrives or b). we give up and move back to Southern Spain.

I would like to suggest watching Lifetime's The Pregnancy Pact as a viable and highly entertaining way to waste away two hours. First of all, I am not normally a Lifetime movie junkie, but I am separated by only a degree of separation from a slew of avid fans (my younger sister, a host of cousins...even my 34-yr old male Turkish cousin-in-law (I am dead serious about that one. Kerim is addicted)). So although I had never actively sat down and watched such television classics as My Mom's New Boyfriend or My Stepson, My Lover, I had caught various scenes throughout the years. These, however, did nothing to prepare me for the amazing melodrama of The Pregnancy Pact. Based on real events, this movie is centered on a small town in Massachusetts that experiences 3 times the national average of teen pregnancies one fateful year. It eventually becomes uncovered that a clique of 15-and 16-year girls made a pact to get pregnant. Throw in these facts: one of the pregnant girl's mothers is the president of the anti-contraceptives-in-schools-committee (for family-values reasons), a blogger covering the event experienced a teen pregnancy herself and none of the upstanding baseball player boyfriends know about the pact...you might actually forget that you would rather be partaking of $6 pitchers at Kam's than sitting on your couch and watching TV.

If The Pregnancy Pact doesn't fully satisfy your interest in teen pregnancy, you can also check out MTV's Teen Mom. It is a reality show that follows 4 very different teens that got pregnant at age 16. Catelynn and Tyler are the sweet, endearing and undeniably white-trash couple that gave baby Carly up for adoption. Farrah is the spoiled ex-cheerleader attempting to raise baby Sophia and hit the dating scene. Maci wants to make things work with her loser boyfriend Ryan; she is the best mom (to baby Bentley) but clueless about her failing relationship. Amber (mom to Leah and sometimes-girlfriend to future Biggest Loser contestant Gary) is just annoying. Not the highest quality television, but quite frankly, you've got nothing better to do until campus thaws out. Tune in, the re-runs play all the time. Season 1 finale coming up soon!

Your last option: TLC's I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant. How can you possibly not know you were pregnant for 9 months? I have seen about 8 episodes of this show, and I am still not sure either. It is confusing, horrifying, awkward...and addictive. Check it out.

What do you watch when snow, wind and bitter cold keeps you couch-bound??

The Ultimate Break-up Playlist

So a friend of a friend got dumped recently and it started a debate about what constitutes a good break-up playlist. Someone tried to claim that it includes the slow, mopey songs that allow you to lie in bed with the shades drawn, while eating raw cookie dough and looking at pictures of the 'happier' times when you were still part of a couple.

I disagree.

The ultimate break-up playlist includes a combo of angry and empowering songs. These songs will ideally get you out of bed and be so aggressive/uplifting that you spend an extra 20 minutes on the elliptical (this, in turn, leads to a fitter Spring-Break physique, allowing you to attract the attention of a toned local. You can plaster pictures of you and Enrique all over Facebook come March. Fitting revenge on the ex that dumped you, yes?).

So, here it is: The Ultimate Break-up Playlist

1). So What-Pink

• Memorable line: "And you're a tool...so, so what? I am a rock star."

2). Gives You Hell-The All-American Rejects

• Memorable line: "You can take back your memories, they're no good to me."

3). Love Drunk-Boys Like Girls

• Memorable line: "Love you forever, forever is over."

4). You Oughtta Know-Alanis Morrisette

• Memorable line: "It's not fair to deny me of the cross I bear that you gave to me."
  

5). Don't Rain On My Parade-Lea Michele (Glee Version)

• Memorable line: "Don't tell me not to fly, I've simply got to" OR "Who told you you're allowed to rain on my parade?"

6). Before He Cheats-Carrie Underwood

• Memorable line: "Cause the next time that he cheats, oh you know it won't be on me"

7). Smile-Lily Allen

• Memorable line: "At worst, I feel bad for awhile, but then I just smile, I go ahead and smile."

8). Don't Stop Me Now- Queen

• Memorable line: "Don't stop me now, I'm having such a good time."

9). I Don't Wanna Be In Love-Good Charlotte

• Memorable line: "We break up, it's something that we do now...it's okay, let it go."

10). Defying Gravity-Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenowith

• Memorable line: "And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free."

11). 7 Things-Miley Cyrus

• Side note: This song is written by a Disney star (about a Jonas brother), so it all magically works out in the last 30 seconds. You have to turn it off in the last 30 seconds when they get back together. There are no 7 things you like about your loser ex: remember this.
  

12). Kiss off-Violent Femmes

• Memorable line: "Well darling this is it., you can all just kiss off into the air."

13). Speechless-Lady Gaga (this is the cool-down song for the end of your single-empowered-workout. And yes, I simply had to slip Lady Gaga in here somewhere).

• Memorable line: "So baby raise a glass to mend all the broken hearts."
  

Well there it is! Whether you have been merely defriended on Facebook by a former flame or flat-out dumped for someone else, this is at least a jumping point. Although Take A Bow (Rihanna), So Close (Jon McLaughlin) or White Horse (Taylor Swift) are great options for a cryfest, my playlist will melt off the cookie-dough-pounds and earn you the admiration of new, more deserving members of the opposite sex.

And please, please: during the fragile post-break-up period avoid songs like You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift) and My Life Would Suck Without U (Kelly Clarkson) like the plague. You need to move on and listening to these songs on repeat is not the way to do it.

Syllabus Week

Well, I have officially completed my LAST first week of classes: 'Syllabus Week.' To those of you underclassman or high-schoolers out there, you can learn a lot about how your semester is going to pan out by your very first day(s) of class. In my infinite wisdom as a last semester senior, I have compiled a list of telltale signs that a class just isn't worth it and that you should DROP IT (And, no, I have never dropped even one class. I ignored the signs. Learn from my mistakes).

Syllabus week indicators that you need to drop a class:

1). It's at 8am (mornings are my enemy and always will be).
2). The professor assigns homework before the first day (this professor will be likely to assign research papers over Spring Break, tests on Unofficial St. Patrick's Day (for my Illini-readers), and 'fun' mandatory extras like movie or play viewings. Do you want to spend your Spring Break lying on a beach, sipping a margarita and reading my blog? Or do you want to write 10 pages on the love-hate relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights? Just drop the class).
3). The professor plans to take attendance in lecture. This is some sort of oxymoron.
4). You are even mildly attracted to your lab partner (my roommate assures me: you will run into him at the Delta Tau Delta house, you will act upon your mild attraction and you will feel awkward while sharing a microscope for the next 3 1/2 months).
5). It's more than a 15-minute walk away (unless you are reading this from California: too cold, too wet, too windy).
6). The professor insists on 'jumping into the material' on the first day. It is called Syllabus Week for a reason. She is supposed to hand you the syllabus, give a 15-minute explanation of class rules/expectations and then let students return to their unmade beds. Any professor that does not respect this unspoken rule will absolutely assign that research paper over Spring Break. Do you want your beach-margarita or not?
7). A more fun alternative exists (and will still allow you to graduate). I currently know people taking everything from hip hop to natural disasters to canoe-ing. Why take Mechanical Engineering 411 (Vicious Flow and Heat Transfer) when Flower-arranging is a viable option?

If you have attended your first week and managed to avoid these 7 negative indicators, your semester is off to a good start! Now you just need to find a way to sneakily check your facebook, textsfromlastnight, and YouTube not only in your big lecture halls, but also those small discussion sections. Happy websurfing!

Bad Romance

If you have not yet watched the music video for Lady Gaga's Bad Romance, you are a cultural anomaly. I tried to think of a softer way to phrase it, but quite frankly, at the time of this posting, there have been over 85 million views of this video on YouTube alone. The cultural-anomaly-thing is just plain fact. So rather than waste time getting offended over my tactless or harsh phrasing, clear the next 5:08 seconds of your schedule and watch it: Bad Romance. (If you've already seen it, 2nd, 3rd or 37th viewings are encouraged).

Alright, watched it? Now that you are clued back into popular culture you probably either absolutely LOVE or absolutely HATE this video. I cannot imagine anyone having a lukewarm or moderate reaction to it - it's simply too unique. In fact, I am writing this post in response to someone telling me today "I hate that video. It's just too weird" (not because I think that the Bad-Romance-video is cutting edge stuff this mid-January-day. I am aware that this song has been really popular for months, just fyi).

For those of you that hate it, or think the video is weird, I do understand. As someone who pretty much worships this video, even I will not attempt to delve into certain elements (for instance: why the shaved cat? The buggy-Anime-style eyes? The claw-hands dance motions in the beginning?). YET, even if you can't love this video, you have to at least respect Lady Gaga for doing something innovative, artistic and with a strong girlpower message. Why girlpower? The Bad Romance video starts with society trying to mold her into a commodity to be purchased by a man - yet, as soon as he buys her, Lady Gaga destroys him with some sort of flame-thrower. AND, best of all, she manages to do this while wearing lingerie and 5-inch heels. Girlpower at its best. (By the way, did anymore else get an Austin-Powers-fembot-vibe from the very last scene? Also great.)

I saw part of the Lady Gaga-Oprah interview recently and Oprah asked about that completely WILD kermit-the-frog-outfit. Lady Gaga said it was meant as a statement about her feelings on wearing fur, which made me hate that outfit SO much less. Although seeing Kermit's dead eyes will always be a little bit creepy, and having his dead eyes watch you from a poncho is even creepier, at least Lady Gaga has a cause and is supporting it. So to all you Lady-Gaga-haters out there, I say this: even if you think her outfits (or videos) are weird, you have to respect Lady Gaga. There seems to be a point to everything she does, even if what she does is wear a dead muppet pinned to her head.

Also check out: Speechless. I'm OBSESSED. (Is this a break-up song? I can't decide).

Golden Globes' Glam

I am like a kid on Christmas morning.

No, not because I am heading back to Champaign today. Although I WILL be seeing my roommates, my apartment and Kam's (my favorite dive bar) for the first time in a whole month, I am also faced with the disturbing knowledge that at this time tomorrow I will be in CLASS. Somehow, I have managed to schedule a 9:30 am class my very last semester at Illinois. My first class before 10am since FIRST semester freshman year. Worrisome, indeed. More on that in the coming weeks (particularly since this professor has already assigned HOMEWORK. Ugh.).

Anywho. Why Christmas morning? It is the morning after the Golden Globes. I did not actually WATCH them last night, but I had three separate people texting me updates throughout the evening. (The texts I received were as varied as "I don't know anything about half the movies and shows that are up for awards" to "Sad. [Michael C. Hall] is wearing a scarf or something on his head. Chemo I'm assuming" to "Glee cast won best comedy series. Whole cast looking jubilant").

So, once I knew that Glee and Avatar had won (rightfully), and Michael C. Hall had won for Dexter (also rightfully, but even more poignant after the poor guy announced his current-cancer-treatment)...my most important order of business would naturally be to wake up this morning and check out the best- and worst- celebrity dressed lists. However...where to begin? People.com would have the most orderly set-up in which to simply VIEW dresses. But, Perez would have the best snarky comments about the celebrities I hated, and their unsuccessful attempts to be cutting edge, sexy or newsworthy. Eonline would come eventually, but last (I've only added them to my list of celebrity gossip sites in the last few months. They have to earn their way up from the bottom of my web-serfing totem pole).

If you are not enjoying your last day of Christmas break (or respecting Martin Luther King Jr.'s contribution to U.S. Civil Rights by cruising celebrity gossip sites) here is a condensed hit list of my favorite people and dresses:

Lea Michele (I'm obsessed with anything Glee, so I would love her in a paper bag, but she pulls off the over-the-top princess dress)
Sandra Bullock (Props for color selection)
Kate Winslet (Sexy and simply, and I just plain love her)
Vera Farmiga (Classic. Could her eyes be bluer?)
Marion Cotillard (Great color, great shoes. Lacey-what underneath though?)
Maggie Gyllenhaal: (Love the dress, but Maggie needs to be slightly less pale?)

And family controversy:
My first reaction was love, but my mom and sister disagree: Chloe Sevigny (not only do I give her points for simple DARING, but I as a Big Love fan, I also love that the dress (as, admittedly anything Chloe Sevigny wears) so totally contrasts with Nikki's character).

Enjoy! Happy MLK Monday!

Public Transportation: The (Dreaded) "L"

I fully acknowledge that I should be embarrassed to admit this (I am), but one of my bigger accomplishments thus far this week is becoming, not comfortable with Chicago's "L", but instead, ever-so-slightly less intimidated by it. I successfully rode both the Red and Brown lines by myself and actually feel proud about this. This is embarrassing for several reasons:

1). I am 21 years old. I have been making trips into the city sans adults since I was 14. That's 7 years. And I am only just NOW mastering Chicago's main public transit?
2). I am completely comfortable with EVERY other mode of transportation the city has to offer (foot, taxi, car, bus...even the architectural tour boat).
3). While abroad, I managed not only the Tube in London without breaking a sweat, but also the metros in Rome, Paris, Madrid and Prague: non-English-speaking countries.

As I said, sad.

I think it was an odd set of circumstances that prevented me from jumping in and getting comfortable riding the "L" 5 years ago (I happened to miss the exact trips on which my friends were familiarizing themselves with it, instead of opting for our usual decision to walk?). Also, I think, a lot of our destinations (particularly back during high school) did not always have an easy and direct "L" route. Whatever the reason though, I missed out on getting comfortable with Chicago's metro and since Spain in particular, I have stubbornly managed to hold onto the idea that if a metro was not in Czech or Parisian, I would not understand it. This past week though, I have been downtown a LOT and unwilling sacrifice my hard-earned coat-check tips on cabs. (Side note: in case you were wondering how coat-check tips can be hard earned: try layering four winter coats on one hanger, multiply that one hanger times 50 and rotate the coats over space heaters every 15-20 minutes. Heavy and exhausting. I don't have the arm strength for those kind of physical demands and thus, can't afford to waste the $1-$3 customers reward me for my efforts).

ANYWAYS. I knew I had to dive in and finally (finally, finally, finally...I know) overcome my irrational fear of the "L" and just use it. I did Monday night and...success! For the total cost of $5.50, I traveled to Lincoln Park and then back downtown on Tuesday morning. It was only when seated next to some hipster 12-year old traveling SOLO (how did he know which color line to take without his mom to guide him?) that I realized I will need to continue riding the "L" until I am as comfortable with this form of public transportation as the preteens I will be traveling with.

FIRST POST EVER!

So. Someone recommended to me that I start a blog for my job search, so that employers have current writing samples readily available. I am HOPING to have a job by May, so at the moment, this is only intended as a semester-long endeavor. As such, it's the "Victory Lap" blog, where I chronicle the excitement and the challenges of being a last semester college senior. Here goes...

EXACTLY one year from tomorrow, I left for a four-month study abroad experience in Granada, Spain. After months (actually years) of impatiently waiting for second-semester junior year to come, so that I could finally LIVE abroad (and travel, travel, travel!), I was a MESS of anxiety one year ago tonight. It was finally hitting me that not only did I have to pack for four months in a measly TWO suitcases (with my shoe collection, no small task)--but I also faced separation from my family and my best friend by an ocean and a 7-hour time difference until MAY (luckily, besides my best friend, the majority of my other close friends would be abroad with me, either in Spain, Paris or Rome). It felt surreal the morning of January 13th, leaving for the airport and knowing that when I came back to the U.S., not only would the 2-ft of snow have melted, but I would also have traveled to a handful of new COUNTRIES (and even a new continent, thanks to my weekend trip to Morocco) and met amazing new friends. It is a bit sad, one year later, that instead of boarding a plane for four months of fabulous adventures, tomorrow I will babysit for four kids for five hours and then hurry to a 2:00 dental appointment. YET, in spite of the depressing lack of European destinations penciled into my planner, I'm also getting excited about that changes that the next four months will (hopefully!) bring. No, I won't travel to a new continent, but hopefully once I land a job, I can start planning out my next big trip (my friend Caroline and I are thinking Peru and hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. The only real issue with this is that Caroline has NEVER hiked before, and my one experience (last Spring in the Spanish Alpujarras) was a bit of a struggle/disaster. So potential goal for Spring 2010: strengthen relevent hiking muscles? Find outdoorsy friend to teach us secret Peruvian mountain-climbing techniques?). SO. Instead of being bummed that I am not moving into Hostel Atenas for orientation tomorrow night, I am going to look up pictures of famous Inca ruins and get excited about the future...

(And outdoorsy friend...if you exist out there: start researching cheap hiking boots and anti-snake venom for me!)