The Spontaneity Challenge

I went to the Immigration Rights March on May 1st in Union Square.  Here’s some footage my friend Rebecca and I took!  Enjoy:)

- Bea

Hey, my name’s Bea and I’ve been riding the fail whale for the last few weeks.  Sorry for not posting:/  College is kind of a time suck and this blog is a little bit intimidating.  But I guess that’s what makes it awesome.  I’m actually changing my own life by pushing myself to do this every week.  Looks like I’ve gotta push myself a little harder though.

So today I decided to participate in the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Day of Silence.  I had never heard of it before, but I caught wind of it on Facebook and I supported the cause, so I thought I would give it a try.  I have been giving myself all kinds of challenges this year (including this blog) and I thought it would be quite a test of my willpower to see if I could get through the day without speaking.  I’m not very familiar with the rules of the day, so I still allowed myself to laugh and text people or write them messages.  I broke once intentionally, because I had to give an oral presentation in one of my classes, and twice unintentionally but caught myself almost immediately both times.

It was such an interesting experience.

It took a lot of people a while before they realized what I was doing, which made me think about how typical it is for me to not say anything.  I’ve always considered myself a good listener, but I’ve never really considered myself an introvert.  Apparently, my friends are pretty used to me just laughing and nodding in response to their conversation though.  Maybe my personality could use a little work…

It was far easier to communicate with my friends than other people I encountered throughout the day.  I think that must imply that people I know well are just on the same brain wave as me, or maybe that I know how to get ideas across to them in the clearest way for them to understand.  None of them were really trying to throw me off, but a few criticized the effectiveness of the day.  A few were very respectful.  Apparently it’s a very popular thing to do in high school.  I can see how that would reduce the significance of the action.

Something else I noticed was that I think people find you more pleasant when you don’t speak.  I think that maybe they fill in your silence with what they would like to hear or something clever they might have expected you to say.  You’re better than you actually are because of what they’re assuming about you.

Today was also definitely an exercise in expression, which was perfect because I’m an actress and using my body and facial expressions to their utmost expressive potential is something I could always use practice in.  I actually didn’t use my hands a whole lot.  I used my eyes, different tones of laughter, and variations of shrugs.  I was actually pretty surprised that people were able to guess most of what I was trying to imply, but there were definitely times where I started panicking because there was something that I needed to convey quickly.  I definitely felt sympathetic to those who actually can’t physically speak or communicate in other ways.  I also definitely felt the deep metaphorical connection to those the day honors: the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students and their allies who get silenced through discrimination, hate crimes, and harassment.

The day isn’t over yet.  I’ve still got about four hours.  But I’m gaining so much already out of this, I’ve got no desire to stop.  I definitely advise you to try it out next year, or any day just for the challenge of not speaking.  It’s well worth the sacrifice, and god knows I really appreciate the use of my voice now.

- Bea

Posting this one a little late.  I apologize.  I was actually in Connecticut all last week and was unable to get internet access the entire time (which means a whole week of facebook detox!).  Anyway, without further ado: last week’s spontaneous action!

cue the 20th century fox fanfare

(sometimes you need a little flourish.)  Okay so after staying up til an ungodly hour Thursday night making collages, my friends Abi and Rebecca and I finally turned in for the night.  We all woke up around the same time the next day: about 2:00pm.  Of course we wanted breakfast food in the middle of the afternoon so we decided to try to make pancakes.  We got a little ambitious and didn’t let the absence of Bisquik deter us.  We also used tub butter made with yogurt and forgot to put salt or sugar in until after we made the first couple pancakes.  We had a bunch of fresh fruit in the fridge (say that 10 times fast) so we decided to add them to our homemade pancake batter.  The chunks of strawberries promptly acted as a shield for the batter from the griddle making it impossible to cook the pancakes all the way through.  We kept attempting to experiment with the mixture, adding vanilla extract and Splenda at one point, but no matter what we did they still ended up with a strange rubbery consistency and no flavor whatsoever.  Our final effort to make the pancakes edible was to drown them in copious amounts of local maple syrup.  Unfortunately, that just made it feel like we were eating rubber disks dripping with syrup.  By the time 3:00 rolled around, Rebecca and Abi were enjoying omelets and I was made content with a bagel and cream cheese.  We had admitted defeat and lay the bowl of pancake batter to rest in the sink, the chaotic kitchen standing in disarray as a testament to all we had done to salvage our breakfast that morning.  It was a battlefield, and I could almost hear taps playing in the distance as we walked away from the carnage…

But we had fun, and I learned how not to make pancakes.

- Bea

This weekend I helped my mom and her fiance move into their new apartment in Old Town Pasadena. In between packing/unpacking boxes on Saturday I took my (soon to be) step brother for frozen yogurt. Coming from suburbia, where everything worth walking to is about five miles away, I was amazed at how much there was that was only a block or two away. 

Ray and I went to 21 Choices which was packed. I had never been but I heard it was worth the wait, so we got into line. Ray got Reese’s frozen yogurt with Reese’s peanut butter cups chopped up inside. He says it was very good. I got the Honey Vanilla froyo with fresh pineapple, which was utterly delicious…something I would definitely recommend. 

We walked back to the apartment and unpacked a few more boxes. Ray had to go back to his mom’s house so Luke, my mom’s fiance, took him back. 

On Sunday my mom and I woke up around 9, got some breakfast and did some shopping at Target. After we did some chores we went to Barney’s for lunch, which is just a few doors down from 21 choices. I got the fish and chips and it was good. Nothing spectacular, but still good. 

I decided I wanted to go to the Norton Simon museum. I had never been and I heard they had one of my favorite Van Gogh paintings, The Mulberry Tree. It’s not a huge museum, but they had amazing pieces. Next to it they had a Paul Signac piece, Saint Tropez II that was very different but also very, very similar to my favorite Van Gogh. I can’t find a picture of it online anywhere, which is sad. They also didn’t have a print in the museum shop. I’ll have to go back next weekend and snap a picture of it. I’m not normally a Signac fan (usually because I feel his mostly-light-bluish color palate reminds me of early 90s home decor) but I really loved this painting. 

Later that night we went to Gold Class Cinemas to see Alice in Wonderland. I didn’t think the movie was all that great, though not as bad as I was expecting. Those chairs are extra comfy by the way, I fought the urge not to curl up and fall asleep (they offer you pillows and blankets as well.) We didn’t eat anything at the movie but they also have an extensive menu. There are little call buttons where you can ask for anything during the movie. It’s a little expensive and fancy for my taste, but I won’t lie…it was very nice. 

I had a really fun weekend in Pasadena and I think I might be going back next weekend and do some more wandering around Old Town. 

-Elle

All photos found on google images.

These past two weeks have been extremely hectic, midterms and pretty big events within the family have dominated my time. So while I haven’t been as spontaneous or productive as my east coast counterpart I hope to make up for it by Wednesday. So stay tuned while I attempt to catch up. Meanwhile I think Bea is doing fantastic enough for both of us. 

-Elle

So last week was the first week of my spring break.  I hung out with my roommate, Olivia, a lot outside in the warm weather that finally descended upon New York after all the rain.  We lazed around, did a little homework, went shopping, ate out, and watched movies together.  She left for Canada in the middle of the week, though, leaving me to my own devices.  I was determined to get homework done now that I didn’t have any distractions.  I forgot that my own mind was my biggest distraction.

Michael, a good friend of mine from back home, goes to school in the city.  A mutual friend of ours, Matt, came to visit him and I decided to join them in Central Park the day after my roommate abandoned me.  It was the warmest day of the week and we climbed up on big rocks we weren’t supposed to, sunbathed, chatted, and listened to some improvisational jazz drifting over the windy paths in the park, littered with people walking their dogs and pushing their children in strollers.  Amongst the chit chat about friends from California, movies we’d seen lately, and plans for the summer, Michael brought up a television show he had been watching on Hulu with his friends.  This show is called “Kings.”  It is based on the story of King David as documented in the Old Testament in the Bible, although I did not know that at the time.  It was brought up casually and then set aside for more interesting conversation, completely forgotten by the end of the day when I finally parted with Michael and Matt, leaving them to go see Hair (lucky bastards).

For some reason, “Kings” returned to my mind as I was idly checking my email the next day, and, on a whim, I decided to look it up on Hulu.  After watching the Pilot episode, I was hooked.  The acting was superb, the cinematography was colorful and clear, the storyline an intriguing modern take on an ancient tale, and, to a lone college student stuck in her dorm during spring break, an appealing way to pass the time.  By the next day (yesterday), I had finished watching the entire season, only to learn that the show had been cancelled and would not be returning for another season.

Now this might seem like a lame spontaneous action, but I actually gained a lot from it personally.  I was raised a Catholic, have gone to Catholic school all my life, and went to church every Sunday with my family.  I had my spiritual crisis in seventh or eighth grade when I realized I had been following my parents, teachers, priests, and God blindly and that religion was something I had to discover myself before I could commit to it among a community of believers.  I never wavered from my faith, only took a different approach to it.  I wanted to know what it was that Catholics really believed, or what they were supposed to believe, and each time I learned something, I asked myself if those beliefs were in accordance with my values and my understanding.  I am still in that stage of learning, and I’m not sure that I’ll ever move on from it, because Christian spirituality goes far beyond human understanding.

Anyway, I’m writing about this because this week finds me in the middle of Lent, a season of the Liturgical calendar, during which Catholics recognize forty days of fasting.  They don’t fast literally every day.  Rather, it’s a time of purification, sacrifice, and meditation in preparation for Easter.  I have not been quite the practicing Catholic in New York as I had been in the past.  My school does not hold Masses, as I am accustomed to, and I don’t really have any Catholic friends here, so God has not really been on my mind very much lately.  This Lent I’ve been trying to change that, reading a book on Christian spirituality, six pages every day so that I’ll finish it by Easter.  I’m also taking a class about the “Sacred” in art in late Antiquity and Medieval Europe, which has required me to study the Bible quite a lot.  However, none of these quite provided the kick I needed as much as watching “Kings.”  Watching movies gets me emotional, and this season of “Kings” was like watching a miniseries, an extended film, because of how well-made it was.  Though it did not quite inspire me, or answer all of my doubts about my faith, it did spark an interest in me, something my class and my book had failed at doing.  So now I am pursuing my spirituality with renewed fervor, all because I decided to waste some time on Hulu.

- Bea

follow-up to “cutting it close…and wet”: my drag queen parrot

- Bea

So this week has been RIDICULOUS for me.  I’ve gotten hardly any sleep, worked relentlessly (in academic terms), and gotten some emotionally strenuous news from home.  All I wanted to do on my first day of spring break (today) was sleep in and sit in my bed and watch movies.  So I did.  For the most part.  I got up at 10 to noon, got dressed, and ate lunch.  Then my roommate Olivia and I bundled up and trudged through the pouring rain and vicious wind to go grocery shopping in town.  Then we trudged back to campus and she napped while I watched the Rotten Tomatoes show on Hulu (I’m addicted).  I called my mom.  I stretched.  I started coloring a picture of a parrot trying to make him look like a drag queen.  Olivia, now awake, was clicking through Facebook pictures.  We were restless and bored.  So I looked out the window at the rain now pouring more heavily than ever, and over the roaring wind I suggested to Olivia that we go outside and swing on the swingset just outside of our dorm.

Luckily, she’s just as crazy as I am (if not more…) and we immediately started pulling on rain boots and coats.  As we approached the glass door out of our building, we saw, through the trails of water drops, tree branches being whipped around and trash hurtling down the paths.  It was close to 8:00pm and pretty dark out.  We pushed the door open as the wind tried to push it back closed and made our way to the swingset.  If it had seemed like a bad idea up until then, all of those doubts evaporated as soon as I had sat down and gained some height on the swing.  I felt absolutely liberated.  Sitting in a room all day can really mess you up.  As the wind pushed my swing to the side and raindrops pelted my cheeks I screamed at the top of my lungs into the cloudy black sky.  Dripping wet and fiercely pumping our legs, Olivia and I watched the last students that hadn’t left yet pack their trunks and drive away under an opaque sky, the clouds made brilliant by flashes of lightning.  No one seemed to be particularly surprised that we were swinging in this weather.  You get used to crazy around my school; I’m sure they’d seen weirder.

As I swung (swinged? swang?) I felt my boots slowly slipping off of my feet, and sure enough they slid right off into the muddy grass below me.  I continued, barefoot, for a good 15 - 20 minutes, but a violent sneeze convinced Olivia that we should maybe retire into the warmth of our room before I caught hypothermia.  My feet numb, I stepped through the mud and splashed across the pavement until we reached our building where we hung up our coats and gloves and documented our soaked appearances.  I know I waited till the last minute this week, but at least it was truly spontaneous, and I did get it in before the week was officially over.  My god it felt good to get out of this room and experience the kind of weather that never touches sunny southern California.  And I learned that swinging is the cure to cabin fever, hands down.

- Bea

I never drive on PCH. Despite living in California, and fifteen minutes from the beach, I live my life on the 5. So, I woke up today, with nothing to do, and this challenge looming over my head and decided to do just that, cruise down PCH.

About ten minutes into my drive, I dropped my soda all over my feet. Let’s just say I wasn’t happy at that point. All I had in my car was a blanket so I tried to mop it up with that.

But I got my first glimpses of the ocean, and my sour mood was turned. Why don’t I go down there more often? I feel like I’m wasting the time I have. There is so much to see and do in my area.

I started to drive North, going through Laguna Beach. The original plan was to find a parking spot (ahahah) and walk around, maybe try out some restaurants or go shopping, but as soon as I found a place I might be able to park, it started raining heavily.  I was wearing a tank top and flip flops (me being the dolt that I am), so I opted to keep driving north.

I got up to Corona Del Mar, and while it was still pretty cold (…for me…), it wasn’t raining so I decided to park the car and walk around. I actually had a lot of fun! I went in to this amazing antique shop (they didn’t allow photos and I can’t for the life of me remember the name, woops) that had some gorgeous pieces of furniture. I’ll definitely have to go back there one day when I have a bit more money. The woman working there was really sweet and answered all of my dumb questions about where some of the pieces came from. After that I got some Golden Spoon and walked around the streets. I have a busted headlight, so when it started to rain again (and got darker) I decided I should probably head home.

I was upset that my trip was cut short, but the views were breathtaking, and I’m really glad I took advantage of something so close to me.

A couple weeks ago, I bought tickets for a friend and myself to go see Rogue Wave at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City on March 3rd.  Whenever I find some excuse to go into the city, I like to spend as much time there as possible.  Especially with this challenge looming over my head, I thought “where else could there be more possibilities than the big apple?”  So my good friend Kelsey and I took the train in early in the afternoon and decided to let the cigarette smoke-ridden New York wind blow us where it would.

I suggested we try Central Park - there’s always something random happening within its borders.  So we rode the 4 train to 59th Street and promptly ended up in Bloomingdales searching for an exit.  Seriously, that place is a labyrinth.  We finally escaped from its clenches and immediately got sucked in by the consumer fantasy land outside.  This included The Container Store where we thought we would spontaneously step inside of an empty open elevator that was situated pretty inconspicuously.  Unfortunately, it merely took us to the second floor where we could find various labels for boxes.  I know.  Exciting, right?  So then we decided to try our luck at Dylan’s Candy Bar, which only succeeded in heightening my sugar cravings (I gave up all food with unnatural sugar for Lent, and my sweet tooth is my achilles heel).

By this time, we needed to get downtown in order to make the concert (so much for Central Park).  We took the 6 train down to Spring Street and walked to the Bowery Ballroom.  On our way there, we saw some people our age holding tickets, so we stopped them and asked if they knew where they were going (it was our first time at the Bowery).  They showed us where it was and made some small talk about the sketchiness of the area.  They seemed pretty chill so we followed them to some bubble tea place nearby and Kelsey and I tried to order dinner.  We were only allowed to order snacks because of some complicated seating issue.  Our choices consisted of squid balls, fried chicken, rice cakes, and tempura.  Kelsey and I decided that trying squid balls had to count as spontaneous, so we both ordered a batch.  She also got the chicken, and I got rice cakes, being the devoted vegetarian that I am.  We waited like 15 minutes for our snacks, listening to Asian ballads from the 80s and talking to our new friends.  When we finally got our food, we both tried the squid balls first.  They are actually not that bad - very salty and chewy, but totally edible.  I couldn’t stomach the rice cakes, however, and Kelsey’s chicken was ridic spicy.

8:00 rolls around and the Bowery opens their doors, at which point we’re informed that the first opening band doesn’t go on until 9 and Rogue Wave goes on at 11.  JBM opened with very few but very moving songs, followed closely by Avi Buffalo.  Kelsey and I managed to talk to both of them afterwards.  JBM was really shy but totally nice and Avi Buffalo was pretty friendly.  They’re from Long Beach, CA so we chatted about SoCal a little, and I bought their EP and got it decorated and signed by the pianist.  Then Rogue Wave went on and they. were. a. mazing.  Highlights included a guest appearance by Ira Elliot of Nada Surf playing a snare drum and one of the guitarists playing with a violin bow.  The last song of the encore was “Permalight”, the title song of their new album.  Zach Rogue, lead singer, invited audience members to come onstage and dance, but they stopped letting people on right when i got to the stage.  Here’s a video of it that I found on youtube.  I was literally right in front of the stage looking up at Zach Rogue.  Kelsey and I decided to stay after and meet him.  Which I did.  And I shook his hand.  And held a conversation with him.  And I’m in love now. And THAT is what I’m counting as my spontaneous action of the week, because it was THE climax of my spontaneous day in the city.  And I would say it was pretty successful.  My attempts to be spontaneous earned me a fun shopping day, new friends, and personal acquaintances with band members.  And now I can say I have tried squid balls…that’s an accomplishment, right?

- Bea