Cocktail hour isn't complete without the balloons.

It's been a year. Even though I never met you, I miss you very much.
Watch over everyone in Cali and beyond, okay?

Love,
Ate Angelica

Because mistletoe can also be a garnish

I'm still crazy about you. I know I shouldn't be.

I Promised Happy, I Deliver Happy: What I'm Thankful For (On a Large Platter, of Course)

I promised a happier next post. Here you have it.

What I'm Thankful For:
Mom's stuffing. Dad's Christmas tree lighting ability. Little cousins. Lots and lots of little cousins. Black Friday sweater deals. Blankets. Yaya. Twenty-pound turkey. Leftovers of twenty-pound turkey. Even more leftovers of twenty-pound turkey. Stuffing leftovers. I reiterate, stuffing leftovers (yes, Mom's stuffing is THAT good). Keyboards that make clicking noises when being typed on. Blue-ink pens. Tea & honey. LUSH's Christmas Products. Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice. The guy from AP Micro who asked me to edit his paper. The teacher who assigned him that paper (go Friebs!). Intentional sentence fragments. Tap shoes. Tap footage. The mentor who introduced me to YouTube tap footage. That same person, who made me realize that I really don't want to put tap dancing aside when I go to college. Online Degrassi episodes. Fingerless gloves. Carolers. The feeling that, while your fingers are numb, everything else isn't.

Happy Holidays, blogfolk.

Empty Plate?

Sorry about not providing you with fresh appetizers like I promised.

Writers' block. Chefs on strike. Kitchen's clean.

Kitchen's not supposed to be clean.
It's supposed to be a delicious mess.




RANT:
I do more writing than I want to
and not as much as I need to
writing for the sake of writing
because damnit,
college essays demand exigence
rather than tickling for it.
itching for it.

It's like how most of us stop reading for pleasure after Freshman Honors English because literature is force-fed rather than savored.

And damnit,
I want to be tickled and itched again.
I want to savor again.



ENLIGHTENMENT:
And this is why I like hors d'œuvres so much.
They're little bites of insight, ingenuity, flavor
not platefuls
not gallons
just...bites.

And bites never make you sick of tasting.

I promise, the subsequent post will be happier. I love the holidays, and everything but the academic is working out rather swimmingly right now.

Small Talk: Bend it (verse) like Bécquer

This is where the cocktail chatter gets both erudite and desperate. I get a little more candid after the second Shirley Temple. Forgive my longwindedness, and pardon my grenadine breath.

They say Bécquer is the last of the Spanish romanticist poets. His life's cited in my textbook as breve y dolorosa - short and painful. The typical "sucks-to-be-that-guy" stigma. Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer was, in essence, the 19th century emo kid of Spanish literature.

I'm a huge fan.

No digáis que, agotado su tesoro,
de asuntos falta, enmudeció la lira;
podrá no haber poetas; pero siempre
habrá poesía. - Rima IV

*Don't say that the treasure is gone.
Don't say that the harp stopped playing.
There won't always be poets; but there always
will be poetry.

Mientras haya unos ojos que reflejen
los ojos que los miran,
mientras responda el labio suspirando
al labio que suspira,
mientras sentirse puedan en un beso
dos almas confundidas,
mientras exista una mujer hermosa,
¡habrá poesía!

While there are still eyes to reflect back
at eyes looking back at them,
while there's still a sighing lip for each lip that sighs,
while, in a kiss, two souls feel confounded into one entity,
and while there still exists a beautiful woman,
there will be poetry!

*Note: Translations are rough; the Rosetta Stone wasn't sculpted to be skipped across a pond.

This is the stuff of a girl gone optimistic. This is the stuff of a girl internally pleading,
I can be that for you. I can be your corresponding set of eyes, lips, poetry, and your
et
cetera.

And then I remember that it's all hyperbole.
That it doesn't really work like that.
And then I feel silly and teenaged and whiny and
blah
blah
blah
because catharsis is meant for real sob stories,
and when push comes to shove, I've got it pretty good.

Bécquer was orphaned at age 9; his wife cheated on him, and he'd escape it all through traveling.

I'm lucky.

I'm loved.
Loved enough.
Loved like Plato dished it.
Loved like The Cosby Show dished it.
Loved like the kind of love that deserves more poetry than it's got.
Loved like
you used to be annoying in sixth grade but now you give the greatest hugs in the entire world
Loved like
i can walk into your house without knocking, and you know where we keep the chocolate
Loved like
damn, i'm in a family so big we've got our own mascot
Loved like
you know more about me than i do, and i hope i can be as good of a mom as you are because of it
Loved like
you make the best paella in town, dad
Loved like
abba on the car ride home and everything's coming up roses and padiddle and i dig your rhetoric in a big way and your visual rhetoric in an even bigger way because you are hot and do i really remind you of juno and awesome possum cherry blossom and handshakes and high-fives and concentration 64 no repeats or hesitations i will start by naming
Love
and that is you
and never forget
that you are loved like you are love
like you love
and i love
you and i
are loved
like we are
and always will be
poetry.

Feast on Song. It's Real Fresh.

It's been another month; I'm so sorry! School, life, college, college, dancing, and more college have been getting in the way. That said, I can probably speak for everyone in saying that we're all entitled to a bit of zen every once in a while. Or maybe you need a jolt. Or, hipster-ly put, maybe you just need something surreal. For like three minutes and something seconds.

Music does that for me.

They're all different flavors, just like you. Bon Apetit.

Feel like you're looking out of a car window when it's raining;

Feel like you're stargazing;

Feel otherworldly, Part 1;
Feel otherworldly, Part 2;
Feel otherworldly, Part 3;

Feel electric;

Feel like you want grab his hand and take him to the local street fair, and everything's glowing;

Feel like even though he won't take you up on that offer, I'd be cool if we were like this;

Feel awkward, and laugh about it;

Feel the chaos, then just sit back and chill;

Feel like you want to go on a adventure, with Carpe Diem as your tour guide;

Feel like you're with your best friend, partner in crime;

Feel the music so hard you're singing into your comb.


Yeah. What ^ they said.

Past-Month-And-A-Half-Of-My-Life Special, Course Two: TEDtalks

TEDtalks is the greatest website on the internet - a binge on brilliance, if you will.
Get inebriated* - drink's on me.

Johanna Blakely: Lessons from Fashion's Free Culture
Crazy interesting. A must-watch for shoppers, couture connoisseurs, and budding designers. Blakely's talk explores the fashion industry's lack of copyright protection, delving into topics such as copyright law, the driving forces behind innovation, and the distinctions between art forms that are and aren't utilitarian.

Edith Widder: Glowing Life in an Underwater World
We live in a beautiful world. That said, most of us aren't able to experience the full of it, as the average person cannot plunge thousands of feet into the ocean. Luckily, Edith Widder has caught some such wonders on film for us. The creatures she features are ridiculous.

Magnus Larsson: Turning Dunes into Architecture
This is probably my favorite TEDtalk, along with Miru Kim's talk on self-portraiture and abandoned buildings. Larsson discusses a brilliant yet counterintuitive idea: using the desert itself to prevent desertification.


*Which is to say, get erudite. When it comes to all things literal, please: drink responsibly. Juice is my personal favorite.

Past-Month-And-A-Half-Of-My-Life Special, Course One: Awesome College Courses

I'm an incoming senior in high school. Collegiate madness is inevitable. I've just about rounded out my list and am getting started on applications. Amidst my search are the courses below, mind-blowing offerings from some mind-blowing institutions.

Property, Boston University
Aaron Garrett, CAS (Philosophy), and Wendy Gordon, LAW
Could you own the ocean? If you alter a song written by someone else, when (if ever) should it become your property? If you let land lie fallow when others are needy, do they have a right to use it? Should a harmless crossing of a property boundary be considered wrongful? These are some of the sorts of questions and problems involved in thinking about property, one of the most pervasive, important, contested, and slippery concepts in our world. This course will approach the concept of property from three main perspectives: the history of ideas about it, philosophical disputes about it, and current legal issues involving it

EXP-0004-F: Religion and the Graphic Novel, Tufts University
A. David Lewis
Is Superman based more on Moses or on Jesus? Can reading a comic book be a religious ritual? This course will consider the influence of religion outside of the churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques – particularly in popular culture, and especially in comic books and graphic novels. We will explore such questions as why the divide between religious and secular society is as messy and enmeshed as the space between words and images in a comic and, why, according to several cultural scholars, Americans have a surprisingly limited "religious literacy" in even detecting references, allusions, and inspirations from faith in popular culture and art. Our work will be grounded in several award-winning graphic novels the study of which will enhance students' sensitivity and skills to deepen their third-party appreciation of both religion's and the medium's active engagement.

SPAN-339 Religion/Politics/Ethics in Spain, Georgetown University

Zarate, Marla

From the coexistence of the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religions in the Middle Ages, to the subsequent radical defense of Catholicism, to the contemporary trend toward secularization, the history of Spain is fraught with tensions among religion, politics, and ethics. Is freedom of thought possible in societies where religion permeates public life? Should the state suppress religious influence? Does this imply loss of moral values? These questions continue to create conflict among nations and cultures today. In this course, we will approach those issues through analysis and discussion of texts by the greatest Spanish thinkers.

The Figure of The Badass In Literature and Film, Cornell University
Juffer, Jane
The Road Warrior. Rambo. Ellen Ripley. Coriolanus. All walk alone. All stand up for what’s right. All are Badasses. But what exactly makes a “Badass,” and what does it mean to be one? This course will examine our conception of the Badass through many mediums: we will engage with literary texts, critical essays, and films. Through these works, we will seek to better understand what exactly the Badass is, and how he or she intersects with issues of gender, race, technology, sexuality, and cinematic representation. Writing and revising will form an integral part of this course, allowing you to develop and work through your own analyses. Texts may include Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, Old English poetry, Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling, The 6th Day, Mad Max, and Aliens.

Graffiti and Murals, UIUC
From Bronx walls to the Berlin Wall, from ancient palatial decorations to spray-can art, murals and graffiti have been revolutionary political tools, objects of aesthetic contemplation, and vehicles for identity formation. Primarily a lecture course that examines ancient and early modern cases from different cultures, as well as focusing on modern examples from Latin America and the USA.

...College is delicious.

Appetizer(s) = Multi-Course Meal, On the House

My gravest apologies.
I'm not as vigilant as my contemporaries when it comes to this whole blogging thing.
Life and college apps and LOLLAPALOOZA got in the way.
I hope I can provide enough goods to compensate.

That is, a platter full of toothpick stunning.

On the house.
I owe you guys.

Let's call it the Past-Month-And-A-Half-Of-My-Life Special.

Appetizer: Bill "Bojangles" Robinson

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. It's dance recital weekend. Funnily enough, the power went out today in the middle of today's recital! Gracious my!

Well, anyways, I'll be brief in saying that below is an awesome clip of Bojangles doing his infamous stairstep dance (the whole one - the one he did with Shirley Temple is abridged). Bon Apetit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5CC6BZJxa0

Appetizer: Two TED Talks

Whenever I have a particular craving for the mind-blowing, I turn to TED talks. These "talks" are lectures given on everything from technology to music to photography to environmental sustainability. While varied, all of the "talks" contain one common thread - utter genius.

I'm done. I'll let the talks, well, talk for themselves. Below are a few of my favorites. Go feast; and, rest assured, I will come back with more.

Fearless Portraiture -

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/miru_kim_s_underground_art.html

Space Conscious Computing -

http://www.ted.com/talks/john_underkoffler_drive_3d_data_with_a_gesture.html

Appetizer: El Principito

Think about this like a decadent truffle for your mind.

Personal Summer Challenge: Read literary work in Spanish. First on the list? El Principito.

I don't know. There's something about reading texts in a second language that's somehow more satisfying than reading in English. That "something" was a something I couldn't quite put my finger these past two school years, through Bodas de Sangre and "La Mu~neca (does anyone know how to type this properly) Menor."

However, through some form of graced epiphany, I think I've found out what that "something" was. It's the same stuff of Dali's art that keeps us thinking, the same stuff that makes truffle oil exquisite, the same stuff of pond water under a microscope - the appeal to imagination.

I'll be frank in saying that I'm probably not the most fluent Spanish student around; and that's exactly why I love Spanish literary work so much. What gets lost in translation, I can search in a handy-dandy dictionary. Beyond this are the juicy multi-entendres, the idiomatic expressions, the connotations that make us wonder whether "ojos como piscinas" means the eyes are deep like pools or turquoise like pools or chlorine-shot or any sort of combination of the three.

All this in mind, I challenge you - read something in a second language. At first, like truffles, the challenge might smell funny, even bitter and difficult - but it's that touch of flavor, the kind that identify as salty, sour, or sweet - that makes you crave for more. The kind that makes you a connoseiur. Bon Apetit.

Appetizer: Mother-Son Photography

I've been doing a lot of Photoshop lately, ever since my cousin and her baby son have been in town. The parent-child connection is something that can't be feigned.

From what I've been told, a picture paints 1000 words. That is all.

Small Talk: A List of That for which I am Thankful

To ye bloggers - sorry for not being consistent with the postage. It's been busy, and I've been lazy (a dandy combination).

Today's post refers back to a homily I heard at mass this past Sunday. The priest, emphasizing that prayer is not only a means to wish but a means to tahnk, told us to periodically write down a list of things we're grateful for. Specifically, he told us to write a list of seventeen things we're grateful for. Funny enough, each of my wishlists was of seventeen; a creepy coincidence if I do say so myself.

List of That for which I am Thankful (in, again, no particular order)

1. An Amazing, Supportive, and Charismatic Family

2. Tap Shoes

3. Drugstore-brand Eyeliner

4. A Network of Diverse, Caring Friends

5. A Healthy, Vivid Memory

6. Hundreds of Family Photographs to Augment #5

7. The Smell of Jungle Conditioner by Lush

8. The Scratched-Out, Messy Scrawl in my Poetry Notebooks

9. The Ability of a Hard Drive to Store #6, And Lots of It

10. The Taste of Peach Pleasure Jamba Juice, No Bananas, Substitute Lime Sherbert

11. My Mother's Singing Voice

12. My Father's Jorts and Lovably Dorky Demeanor (these two things go hand in hand)

13. Yaya's Adobo and Kare-Kare
14. The 33 on April's ACT Exam

15. Photoshop's Ability to Make Memories Surreal

16. Pens with Good Ink Flow

17. Everyone who Follows This Blog

Thanks, guys. Bon Appetit.

Appetizer: "Dr." Jimmy Slyde

For those of you who don't already know, I tap dance. Along with writing, it's probably my foremost passion.

That being said, today's serving of awesome is a video clip of tap legend "Dr." Jimmy Slyde. An insightful man as well as a great dancer, Dr. Slyde, in this clip, gives a piece of advice that I have lived, do live, and will live by for many a year to come: "...and still you must swing."

The link is below. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pXLln_n6ik

Small Talk: Ze Wishlist

Two days ago was my birthday (and the first official day of summer, don't ya know!). I'm seventeen. Crazy stuff.

Anyhoo, my apologies for not posting; between adorable cousins, pancit, lumpia shanghai (egg rolls), and tap rehearsal, I didn't really get a chance to plug in and type up.

To compensate, today's Small Talk post is two wishlists - le tangible and le intangible (seventeen things each, for good measure).

Le Tangible, in no particular order

1. Lollapalooza Tickets

2. Anything from Lush

3. DVD Compilations of tap dancing footage

4. SillyBands (vice...and, as of yesterday, check! Thanks, Ate Genie!)

5. New Camera Lenses (also check! Thanks, Dad!)

6. Gift certificates to places that sell CDs (CD > iTunes. Every day.)

7. Plane tickets to New Jersey, California, Texas, or the Philippines (I've got family in lots of places)

8. A George Foreman Grill

9. Up in The Air on DVD

10. Gift Certificates to Barnes and Noble

11. Tons of '80s Movies on DVD (haven't seen Sixteen Candles, Dirty Dancing, The Breakfast Club, the list goes on and on)

12. Tons of Horror Movies on DVD (I'm seventeen now. Hey hey.)

13. My License (Gotta get those hours...)

14. An Old-School Typewriter

15. Pencils and Pens (You haven't the slightest idea how obsessed I am with writing utensils.)

16. A Wholesale Order of LifeStraws to send to Third-World Countries

17. Lots and Lots of People to Hug

Le Intangible

1. A Summer of Great Conversation

2. College Acceptances (crosses fingers, bites nails)

3. A Great Nationals with Steppin' Out Dance Company

4. The Willpower to finish a screenplay I've been working on
5. Good health for my family and friends
6. People to meet
7. Sleep
8. The Ability to catch up with people whom I haven't seen in a while
9. A Good Schedule for Next Year's Classes
10. With regards to the above, being in Friebel's Honors Seminar in Writing Class
11. Gay Marriage in More States
12. Tort Reform in our Healthcare Bill
13. Blessings
14. The Energy to stay as Busy as I am now
15. Places to Explore
16. The Perpetual Maintenance of a Child's Imagination
17. Good times.

Yum.

Appetizer: LifeStraw

Feast your eyes, blog-goers. Today's platter is a serving of utter genius.

The LifeStraw is honestly one of the best finds I've happened upon in a long time. According to a study the World Health Organization conducted in 2007, 1.1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. Save for food itself, water is the substance most necessary for human survival. This is appaling.

However, the folks at Vestergaard Frandsen have come up with a brilliant solution.
It's caled the LifeStraw, and it can provide a year's supply of relatively clean water for only $3.75.

Below is a Wiki page with more information on the LifeStraw:
http://lifestraw.wikispaces.com/

Essentially, the device functions like a normal straw would but contains several filters that rid the water of sediment, bacteria, and diseases such as diarrhea.

Note that none of this requires electricity. The LifeStraw is low-tech, simple, and therefore is both affordable and sustainable.

Unfortunately, the LifeStraw is not sold on a retail basis in North America; however, it is sold on wholesale basis. I would like to garner enough support to make a wholesale order. If you are intersted in contributing, email me at angelica.lasala@yahoo.com, or comment on here with your email address.

Appetizer: Lip Scrubs by Lush

Disclaimer: The below is not by any means astute. Long story short? I went with my mom to Macy's. This post is junk food for the erudite, but hey, summer break is upon us. There will be insightful jargon again soon, rest assured.

It's rare for me to splurge. Lush is the grand exception.
That said, today's joyous morsel is a little something called a "lip scrub" -
essentially, it's a sugar scrub that serves as lip balm.

http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/face/lip-balms-and-scrubs/sweet-lips

The above is a link to my personal favorite flavor. It tastes like vanilla and chocolate.
Kind of expensive at $8.50; but, your lips won't be chapped, and these do wonders at curing the sugar fix. Mmm. Bon Apetit.

Small Talk: Creative Writing Marathon 5/28/2010

We pulled a Thoreau and wrote amidst the greenery of our school grounds - the event was dubbed "The Writing Marathon." Creative writing class, I will miss you dearly. Below is the result.

I.
Pine cones make a Fibonacci sequence.
God would get along with Mr. Doll just fine.
1=1, 1+1=2, 2+1=3, 3+2=5, 5+3=8, 8+5=13...
Remember, however, that you only need one seed to yield a tree.

II.
The juxtaposition of grass and turf fields is funny,
and I wonder what team Mother Nature thinks we're on.
I'll argue that the turf boasts more blood and sweat
and is therefore more alive.

III.
There is a spot behind our school that says "Little House on The Prairie" louder than it says "Hinsdale."
Think plant stalks taller than you are. Think ground that isn't perfectly level.
Think, thank God for this oasis within a Starbucks wasteland.
Don't pick at the leaves,
and leave your gift card at home.

Small Talk: Long Walks, Commencement

Thursday, May 27, 2010.
Hinsdale Central High School's Seniors graduated today,
and therein lies a tale.

I. The Long Walk

My best friend and I decided to walk to another friend's house before graduation.
The trek was over two miles long.
The talk began as most pseudo-sister discourse goes
(think: colleges and men and all that is wonderful about both),
and then we decided to sit in the grass,
looking like perfect hitchhiker prostitutes
as I checked my aesthetic in the reflection of my DSLR's screen
(something I evidently overlooked when leaving the house)
on the side of the road.

I wonder whether or not anyone would stop for us
if we put our thumbs up.

II. Commencement

I enjoy spectating commencement ceremonies for two reasons.

The first is the hedonistic joy of learning friends' embarrassing middle names,
or which "Jacks" are really "Johns,"
and how many generations along.
The second is the congratulating part.
Plan of attack is as follows -

Flood the field. Walk around. Find someone you know. Give them your blessing. They will either hug you or give you a handshake. Hold on tightly to the ones that do the prior.

III. Epilogue

Congrats to all you 2010 Red Devils. Carry on, good folk, and always stay red.

Appetizer: Everland, Paris and Sala Silvergruva, Sweden

I took the day off from school today,
seeing as I wasn't feeling well.
I slept in until 1PM but don't remember
dreaming anything.

This is the part of the story
during which I allow StumbleUpon
to do the dreaming for me.

Search Inquiry: Hotels

Arguably my favorite topic on the site
(perhaps second to writing).

It led me here:
http://www.everland.ch/en/panos/

The Everland Hotel in Paris.
It's only one room,
and they've changed the location of it
a couple of times.
Take a look at the view.

and here:
http://mlmcored.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/a96696_a457_salasilver2.jpg

Sala Silvergruva, Sweden.
Also only one room.
It's literally situated in a silver mine.
Think Phantom of the Opera.
I've always wanted to live in a cave.

Viva la daydream.

Le Intro

Nice to meet you, internet spectator.
The name's Angelica,
the nickname's Gel,
and the pseudonym's Your Alter Ego.

I give a good handshake,
and I lament for both our sakes
that the World Wide Web
is not so multi-sensory.

I was inspired by a certain Mel to
create a blog.
And whaddya know.

So, here we are.
I'm new to this.
I'm awkward at this.
I like food.

Let's start there.
Yeah, that's a great place to start.

Which brings us to...
(drum roll please)
this blog's title -
Hors d'œuvres: Your Daily Appetizer

By definition,
Hors d'œuvres are
bite-sized morsels of flavor
that precede a dinner's main course
(and oftentimes taste even better).
They're served at cocktail parties, too.
Mmm.

Funny.
Life's kind of a party, too.
Let's call teenagedom
(la juventud, if you will)
cocktail hour.

Crowd-noise-and-lounge-music-social hour.
Sweaty-palms-and-Arnold-Palmer hour.
Your-eyeliner-looks-freshest-now hour.

Take a bite and take a picture.

This is the blog's goal.
To document the small talk
(how about them Hawks)
and bestow upon you tiny remnants of
awesome,
on wholesale toothpicks.

Consider the world a limitless platter;
I'll try to point out what's good.

Feel free to tip the waitress.