Blackbird Fly

Blue and Gold

2010-03-06T12:25:00.000-08:00

Bonjour!

Who am I embodying this time? Why Marie from The Stranger of course!

I threw on the beret to bring out the French-ness, and the blue dress in celebration of her love of swimming and water. I believe she was also written as wearing blue in several instances in the story. The pea coat? Well, she is an Parisian girl after all!

beret: my brother, pea coat: boutique in Leavenworth (sorry, the name slips my mind), dress: urban outfitters, necklace: handmade by a friend, earrings: hospital gift shop

Last week I had the immense pleasure of getting to go to the Olympics, just north of home, in Vancouver. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, for sure. My family and I got to see Women's Aerials, Ski Cross, Ice Dancing and the Closing Ceremonies--oh, and the memories are going to last an eternity! We were in Robson Square when Canada beat the US in the men's hockey finals--the celebrations afterward were one of the highlights for me. People were literally running around screaming and waving Canadian flags. My brother and I had gone inside a store to buy cream puffs and a man ran inside and yelled "hockey supremacy!" at us, gave us a high five, and then took off--it was so neat, even not being Canadian.

Oh, I so want to go to Sochi now! Or even London--you see, the culture of the Olympics is really what got to me. All the people from around the world, the entire city geared up and excited--like a two week long party!

I hope that someday I'll have the chance to go again.

"I had the whole sky in my eyes and it was blue and gold." -The Stranger by Albert Camus

Bold Young Woman

2010-02-16T16:20:00.000-08:00

So I set my goal of making my outfits 'literary themed' from now on, and I plan to keep it. This outfit was inspired by Senator Esteban Trueba's granddaughter Alba, from The House of Spirits.

Wanna pull off an Alba? Grab a blazer (she's a senator's granddaughter after all) and an ethnic dress (The House of Spirits is set in an early 20th century unspecified Latin American country), show off her rebellious streak with slashed leggings and keep it aristocratic Latin American with some red shoes.

my very own Barrabás, showing off the Alba dress

Liking music is an expensive hobby! I just spent way too much stocking up on CDs for the drive up to Vancouver, where I'll be attending the Olympics with the rest of my family next weekend. I'm quite looking forward to breaking in some new music, but, of course, the Olympics are what really have my attention.

Additionally, the line-up for the Sasquatch music festival this year is completely incredible! I'm drooling over Vampire Weekend, the Hold Steady, Miike Snow, Massive Attack, the xx, Freelance Whales, Fruit Bats, MGMT, Band of Horses, Passion Pit and tons and tons and tons more. Now I just have to convince my parents to let me spend $170 on tickets, drive four hours to the venue and camp out all three days in a tent...

Well, I'll keep you posted on how THAT goes, haha.

+dress: tj maxx, jacket: thrifted, leggings: homemade, shoes: gift

"By that time Alba was a bold young woman, much acustomed to adversity, so she went alone."
-the house of spirits isabel allende

You Should Cross the Ocean

2010-02-13T21:40:00.000-08:00

This guy makes me want to learn Italian.
His photography is utterly breathtaking and makes me want to jump on a ship right away and cross the ocean to visit the beautiful country of Italy that he so-perfectly captures in all of his photographs. Even their titles are beautiful: "A tutti gli innamorati...," "Verso la diga." I only wish I could properly say them!

I only know him as Beppe610. Check him out here. I'm slowly rotating through his photographs as backgrounds right now!

"She says that it would be wise for you to take a trip, that you should cross the ocean."
-the house of spirits isabel allende

Silence

2010-01-18T16:55:00.000-08:00

I was going through my collection of old newspapers...and I found this.

I remember that earthquake. I was in second grade and we were studying dinosaurs that year, although when the earthquake hit I was coloring in a picture for some other project. I didn't know what it was at first until my teacher started screaming under the tables!

We all ducked and covered, holding the legs of the tables like we'd be instructed to during earthquake drills, and I remember looking out the window and seeing the branches of the willow tree in our playground swinging back and forth and the power lines across the street swaying.

And I thought that a meteor had hit earth and the dinosaurs were going to come back to life. I had an active imagination.

But for all of my terror, for all the drama and huge fonts on newspaper front-pages...it didn't mean anything. One dead. One. And a couple of bricks fell off some old buildings in Pioneer Square.It's not fair for me to complain about grades, or grumpy parents. I am so grateful for what I have, and Haiti, you are never far from my thoughts.

Test "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10

all pictures (minus mine of the newspaper) from national geographic

"Clara was ten years old when she decided that speaking was pointless and locked herself in silence."
-the house of spirits isabel allende

It Won't Happen Tonight

2010-01-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

I am set up for failure.

Now don't get me wrong--I'm no pessimist. In fact, the opposite: I hope far more than is healthy. I dream while awake, I imagine what could be--I am in love with the world and its possibilities, but endlessly disappointed in reality.

I stole that block of text from my favorite website on the internet, Bear, because I thought it fit so perfectly. I am in love with the whole damn world, and it's ruining me.

But that's it, I think--dreams make the reality better. It's the optimism that keeps it from overwhelming you.

Because really, when you get down to it, don't they blur a little? Aren't they one and the same? I don't know who that girl in those pictures is, yet I know her so well...

I'm not sure.

My hopes for this year (let's see them happen...please)

-To keep up with exercising, by which I mean three times a week. Dance, skiing, the gym--for keeping this goal, I have a very special reward for myself...

-To write a short story and get it published.

-To keep in touch

-To spend more time studying

-To spend more time appreciating what I have

-To be outdoors more

-To take more pictures

-To listen more

-To exceed Flickr's photo uploads monthly

-To remain a mystery, to open up

-Happiness. Always.

Maybe it's my fever, but I feel ever so slightly detached right now. And it's not so unpleasant. With the large amounts of stress on me daily, it's nice to break away and be that optimist, where everything goes the way I would like in my daydreams.

It may not be tonight, but it may be tomorrow. And what better reason to keep going?

I may be set up for failure, but how I love the world.

How I love the possibilities...

Outfit deets: dress-H&M, band jacket-H&M, floral leggings-Urban Outfitters, gold earrings-thrifted

"It won't happen tonight, will it Hazel-rah?"
-watership down richard adams

One Cloud Feels Lonely

2010-01-03T17:18:00.000-08:00

According to this article, going to bed early helps prevent depression and suicidal thoughts. Not doing to well on my "protection," then, I guess--I went to bed at 4:30am the other night. Too bad school's beginning again, I'm going to miss the night. I love being the last awake, and the stillness of the house as everyone else is asleep.

During the school week I usually only get 5 hours of sleep, compared to the recommended nine for teenagers. Yikes. And I love sleep as much as the next teenager--however, with such a huge workload and all sorts of stress on top of that, I don't see a whole lot of sleep in the coming months...

I only discovered this today, but I've listened to it four times. It totally reminds me of those seconds before closing your eyes and drifting away into a dream...

Ah, and dreams.

Dreams, dreams, dreams...
I'll need a separate post entirely for those.

"They say 'one cloud feels lonely': and indeed it is true that the appearance of a single cloud often means that the sky will soon be overcast."
-watership down richard adams

Hardly a Full Day

2010-01-01T23:57:00.000-08:00

When? When? 2010!

Can you even BELIEVE it? A whole brand new year. Mind blowing. It always takes me completely by surprise. I mean, I can remember 2000--I was 7 years old...and I'll be 27 at the next...

Life, y'know? It's incomprehensible.

"Hardly a full day had elapsed since Holly had come crawling in a delirium to the foot of Watership Down."
-watership down richard adams

Into the Woods

2009-12-28T21:42:00.000-08:00

I have a thing for the woods: its allure, its darkness, its secrecy, its magic. My childhood is a blur of memories from various camping trips, of steam between the trees in the early morning, of hikes through nettles and ferns. It still attracts me--this summer I went on a backpacking trip up on Mt. Ranier and I love that feeling of being a few days out and knowing you're so far from civilization...the animal instinctual feeling that one reverts to in the wilderness is my high.

I remember the first backpacking trip I ever went on was the summer between 6th and 7th grade. It was only a day in, and on some lake up in the Cascades. That night, setting up the tent, breathing in the smoke of the campfire along with the clean mountain air, drinking water filtered directly from the lake we'd made our home from the night--I felt so independent. The sky was spectacular and clear and we counted satellites and memorized the stars.

Its funny that the time of year I most want to run away into the woods is in the winter, when the trees are naked and the air is bitterly cold. It doesn't deter the dream, however. Wouldn't it be wonderful to live like a deer, free to wander the forests forever?

I am in an interesting mood, as the year draws to a close. I want to escape more than ever right now.

outfit deets: dress from Target, jeans from American Eagle, cardigan is thrifted

"Into the Woods."
-watership down richard adams

Little Heart

2009-12-25T11:52:00.000-08:00

"It'll warm his little heart for once."
-watership down richard adams

Every Human Has Seen

2009-12-21T11:47:00.001-08:00

The holidays are practically upon us, and I haven't even started wrapping! Although what I love even more than wrapping presents or decorating the tree is making cards. I always make them handmade and it's so much fun, personalizing them for each of my friends. I strongly recommend it!

Red top: Hollister. Vest: thrifted. Capris: Gap. Socks: bought at a convention is PA. Scarf: mom's closet. Earrings: mom's jewelry box.

Alright, now I'm no history buff but with all this business over the "Aribet macht frei" sign stolen (and now recovered) from Auschwitz has really stirred me up. Actually, all historical-type thefts do. I mean, how incredibly selfish is it to take something that belongs to everyone--especially, in the case of the Auschwitz sign, take something that represents a people's history. Yeah, yeah, I understand the profit matter and I know that there will always be people who look beyond the social value but hearing the sign got cut into three pieces really makes me cringe. That's a sign I want my children to see and to understand the significance of. It's a sign I someday hope to see, too--it's something every human should, I believe.

Kick back and relax. No school for two weeks!

The whole issue of the National Museum of Iraq makes me feel the same way--but maybe that's because I sort of have a thing for Ancient Mesopotamia. I'll have to do a "I love Nineveh" post one of these days...

I love the pattern of this chair. It was my great-grandmother's.

Lastly, about my outfits...
I'm trying to keep in touch with the fact that this blog really revolves around my life at 17, and the literature I'm reading. From now on I'm making my outfits inspired by the novel I'm reading at the time. Today's outfit and photo shoot are inspired by the colors on the cover of my next novel, Watership Down.

Does this scream "rabbit" to you? :)
Happy holidays, everyone!

"They have two natural gaits--the gentle, lolloping forward movement of the warren on a summer evening and the lightning dash for cover that every human has seen at some time or other."
-watership down richard adams

With Her Hands

2009-12-14T16:39:00.000-08:00

We got a dusting of snow last night--wasn't enough to close school but was more than enough to send my little pickup truck fishtailing down the road. I arrived to English late, missing Chinese completely...

Art by me, quote from Jeff's View: On Science and Scientists by G. Schatz, Elsevier Science, copyright 2005

By that logic, all I need is for you to hold my hand to rid me of this winter chill...

Also, updated my music section with my current obsession:

"Her face was inundated with an angry colour and she looked as if she would attack someone with her hands."
-dubliners james joyce

Peaks of Glory

2009-12-08T16:41:00.000-08:00

Picture from wearemeadowlarks

How could any self-respecting blogger with a title derived from a Beatles song not take a moment today to nod towards John Lennon today?

Okay, so maybe I should have posted 'Imagine' but this one really touches me every time I hear it.

All we are saying is give peace a chance.
-John Lennon

John: Sorry girls, he's married.

Today is the 29th anniversary of his assassination. He would have been 69 years old today. Although I'm a "Paul" girl, I have this genius to thank for 'Imagine,' 'I Am the Walrus,' 'Revolution,' 'I'm Only Sleeping...' Oh, and so many more!

Love always, John!

"No sound of strife disturb his sleep!
Calmly he rests: no human pain
Or high ambition spurs him now
The peaks of glory to attain."
-dubliners James Joyce

the friends

2009-12-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

Never Fear

2009-12-07T16:07:00.000-08:00

Tolo was incredible. The dance was in a hallway and there wasn't a huge turn out, but I had a lot of fun despite this. Plus it snowed! Nothing stuck, but it just made the winter dance that much more magical.

Candid laugh during tolo photos.

I'm torn two ways about winter. In one sense, I just wish people could hibernate and I could wake up when the world comes alive again. On the other hand, I love (however morbidly) watching the world ice over, seeing my breath in the air, snuggling close, the smell of spices and trees.

"-O, he'll pay you. Never fear, he said."
dubliners James Joyce

Saturnine

2009-12-04T15:59:00.000-08:00

Happy December!

It is so so so very cold outside! They've predicted snow for next week, and I'm absolutely thrilled. If there's one thing about winter that I love, its those exciting mornings waking up to white outside--and no school announcements on the TV too, of course.

Girl, now don't you go getting lost. Dress: thrifted, jeans: American Eagle, boots: thrifted.

There are some exciting transformations going on here at home. My musician brother is getting our uninhabited living room as a studio/bedroom which leaves his old room empty. Dad's agreed I can have it--and my plan for my *second* room? To make a library/study, of course! I'm so excited to get started. I have some ideas in mind...I wanna make it look like this or this or this!

I dream these dreams.

I've become quite infatuated with the word "saturnine" after reading it in Dubliners today. What a neat word, right in there with my other favorite -ine words: serpentine, elephantine, corvine, ursine, canine, feline, falconine*....

Okay, and for those of you who haven't quite caught on yet: Saturnine refers to one whose ruling planet is Saturn (mine, alas, is Mars...too bad we don't have such a cool word to describe us!) I adore this concept so much. I'm feeling so into astrology today, and even though the rational part of me is disgusted (its all made up) the romantic in me is enthralled (how thrilling!)

*of or pertaining to serpents, elephants, crows, bears, dogs, cats, falcons...

Walk this way, walk this way...

I'm also going to make a friends "post" and start filling it up. I'll be sure to put a link (raccoon-ish in look) over to the right for y'all. I just find it to be so much cleaner than a list of links, and be sure to take a look! There's SO MANY wonderful blogs out there that inspire me endlessly.

Do I look unhappy? Maybe a tad. These pictures were shot in the pouring rain.

Before I leave you, I just wanted to leave a hint as how I'm spending tomorrow evening...

;-)

"A midæval doctor would have called him saturnine."
-dubliners James Joyce

Wait Any Longer

2009-11-27T14:21:00.000-08:00

silly little waiting games. Dress: thrifted, tights: forever 21

Look! I finally got the music and book links up! It took forever...but now Blackbird Fly can really get up on her feet. All I need is to make my friends link, and we'll be good to go.

So first of all--the music. I've posted "Into the Mirror" by Minus the Bear because it is currently my obsession and I absolutely love how haunting it is. The line "you get what you pay for" gives me chills. You can click on the music link picture to get to the most, and then hit play on the little widget. Let me know what you think of it!

But girl, in case you haven't heard

As for books...In case you haven't caught on yet, I am doing something sort of special with both my blog and one of my 17-goals. I've vowed to ONLY read classic literature this year, which I'm quite excited about--I hope to be somewhat "fluent" by the time I reach adulthood next November. The titles of the posts all tie into a quote from the book I'm currently reading, and if you click on the book link over there, and then click on the book title or author, you'll be able to see all the posts I created while reading that novel. I've got The Little Prince wrapped up, and now I'm reading Dubliners.

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and now it's the frighteningly quick stretch towards Christmas. Time flies, huh? I love this time of year, however. I could do without the cold, though...It's currently 48 degrees here, which isn't bad, but I'm freezing. It's downhill from here, too.

Shoes: Report, stolen from my mother's closet

I'm excited--Christmas trees are up next, I assume! As always, I'll keep you posted.

Life after death

"Mrs Mercer stood up to go: she was sorry she couldn't wait any longer, but it was after eight o'clock and she did not like to be out late, as the night air was bad for her."
-dubliners by James Joyce

Here's My Secret

2009-11-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

I can't get enough of these colors!

I had to prove who I was the other day. The requirements? A red shirt, an empty glass, a tv remote.

Sorry for the informal photo.

"'Goodbye' said the fox. 'Here's my secret. It's quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."
-the little prince Antoine de Saint Exupery

Neither Lost Nor Dying

2009-11-16T15:58:00.000-08:00

It's raining that kind of rain that feels light and cool, the kind that hangs in mist between the trees and dampens the sun so it feels deceptively like dusk all day long.

My mood feels a little like the weather right now.

I wish I were a bird sometimes.

I have 100 words to memorize by Friday for Spanish, otherwise I would be working on getting my music and book posts up, as well as a friends post (if this doesn't make a whole lot of sense, just hang in there). I'm quite excited, though, as those will really mark the "launch" of my blog.

November smells like pine trees to me.

It's saddens me to know that the "height" of fall is over. The leaves are off the trees, the mornings are colder, the days darker. It is lonely, this stretch of time before the holidays, don't you think? But I don't feel lost: I have Winter Ball to go to, friends to see, concerts to attend, things to do!

The view across the street a couple weeks ago.

I don't doubt that if it weren't for keeping busy, I would stay home every day and watch this misty rain, with a book in my lap and maybe a cup of tea in hand.

I think this kind of gold is the most valuable, don't you?

"Yet this little fellow seemed to be neither lost nor dying of exhaustion, hunger or thirst; nor did he seem to be scared to death."
-the little prince Antoine de Saint Exupery

Grown-Ups Never Understand

2009-11-12T16:35:00.000-08:00

Today, at 9:30am, I turned 17 years old.

17. Seventeen. I have only one year left of being a minor--then, adulthood. I can barely wrap my head around 17, much less being a grown-up. I'm growing up, but I don't want to! I feel like I've barely experienced anything.

I need to get out there: I've gotta do crazy things. I need to live.

What is this blog exactly? An adventure, I'd like to think. This is the time of my life, and I want to rememeber every second.

Care to join me?

Hello. I am Blackbird Fly.

"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it's
exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over
again."
-the little prince Antoine de Saint Exupery

the music

2009-11-10T15:38:00.001-08:00

re-post

1.3.10

12.14.09

the books

2009-11-10T15:37:00.000-08:00

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Dubliners by James Joyce
Watership Down by Richard Adams

Blackbird Fly

2009-08-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

Coming November, 2009