siren music fest

So this is Coney Island, huh? I've been here before, but long enough to not remember a thing. Honestly, amidst the trash (physical and metaphorical), this place has got its charm. Two hours by subway to subsequently spend five hours in the blistering sun isn't my idea of pleasant, but I had a wonderful time with my partners in crime, Dom and Brian. I decided to wear my new sunglasses ("John Lennon inspired") and I made some friends doing so. My boyfriend thinks the glasses are ridiculous, but just you wait, pretty soon everyone will be wearing them.

summer is already halfway over? wait.

In an ode to summer drifting away ever so swiftly, here are my current jams. Some old, some new, some remixed (these can be found on www.hypem.com or listen.grooveshark.com). So damn good.

In no particular order... I think I'll stop at 25.

1. I Can't Feel - Matthew Dear
2. Feeling Good (Troublemaker remix) - Nina Simone
3. Shempi - Ratatat
4. Guantanamera - The Fugees & Wyclef Jean (mmmm!)
5. Clap Your Hands - Sia
6. Little L - Jamiroquai (go ahead, shake it)
7. PBS - Tycho
8. Mr. Big Stuff - Aretha Franklin (all hail Aretha!)
9. The Ghost Who Walks- Karen Elson
10. Heavyweight - Infected Mushroom (woah!)
11. In The Summer - Crystal Fighters
12. You - Gold Panda
13. Like a Feather - Nikka Costa
14. Colleen - The Heavy
15. Tell Me Something Good - Rufus ft. Chaka Khan (this can never, ever, possibly get old)
16. Royal T - Crookers ft. Roisin Murphy
17. Watermelon Man - Herbie Hancock & The Head Hunters
18. Swoon - The Chemical Brothers
19. Moon River - Dr. John
20. Memories - Waldeck (that voice!)
21. Obsession - Marina and the Diamonds
22. My Friend - Groove Armada
23. Dance Floor - The Apples in Stereo (seriously, repeat)
24. 1976 - RJD2
25. Big Jet Plane - Angus and Julia Stone (Angus, come over and sing this to me)

happy july!

The first five of these are from the High Line Park in NYC's Meatpacking District. Absolutely incredible!

body of stress.

I had a bit of a nervous breakdown a few weeks ago and it had to do with the realization that I have one year of school left until I am let off into the real world like a baby bird strong enough to fly away from its nest. The difference is (and this is of course impacted by my analytical, critical, and easily stressed nature), that I don't know if I am strong enough to fly away from the nest.
Okay, this has nothing to with the fact that I cannot fathom leaving my parents' home or that I would not be able to survive on my own (after all, I am alive after 4.5 months in another continent!). I mean, no one truly knows what they "want to be when they grow up", right? I suppose I always thought that I would go to college having a straight forward vision of exactly what job I was going to have after graduation and la la la, life would be that simple. Not quite, dear. The panic swept through my body when I started thinking about the facts, namely: salary, living arrangements, entry level positions, competition, interests, etc...and the list goes on. What if I despise where I end up working? What if I would really rather be studying ______? What if my dream job is ______, but I know that I could never realistically become that in this universe? What if I don't even find a job!!??

I wish life wasn't a mystery and I were one of those lucky people who was born knowing that I wanted to be an accountant, that I was going to join the circus, or that I was going to take over a second cousin's taxidermist company.

Tears and anxiety really don't solve anything but I cannot help but second guess myself. It's human nature I suppose.

Oy vey! I'm going to go join the circus now.

summer '10

Apologies for the temporary laziness in my writing. I shouldn't make excuses, however, my spring semester was rather busy - a packed course load and an internship. I suppose I just lacked the motivation to note any of my thoughts like I did when I was in Milano. Even my photo additions were sparse.

Never fear, I am prepared to continue my cyber-mental journey with added discipline This year, summer is an entirely different tale in Kasia's life. Yes, third person..stay with me now..

I suppose you could call it lackluster and even cringe when I say I am spending the next couple months at a 9 to 5 (really 7:45 to 4:30), five day a week office job in New Jersey. In reality, a month has gone by in an instant, I live at home for free (!!), and I have a steady income (wonderful news for a starving college student). I am not denying that I had an equally demanding internship last summer, but let's be serious, spending it in the Bronx and spending it a white picket-fence suburban town is like Lady Gaga and the Queen of England. Not to say I am directly comparing LG and Q of E to either location but you get how ironic it is. In either case, I am still adjusting to a more "constricted" way of living and sometimes it's painfully frustrating.

Back to work and sneeking in some of the World Cup!
-k

ice cold coca cola.

I'm starting to get very interested in natural lighting effects. I'm also craving a bottle o' coke. The black and white pool photo isn't mine (credit Hanneli Mustaparta, see http://www.hanneli.com/), but it's absolutely divine. I've even set it as the background to my mac. The photos are mostly from this weekend in Seagirt, NJ. Splendid weekend indeed.

may: bronx

I took these on my friend Mike's rooftop. It made me so nostalgic for last summer. The last photo is a mobile upload, one of the many dj shows I frequent.

black and white