The Demons Are Closing In On Every Side

[Photo Credit -www.paulignatius.files.wordpress.com] 

Happy Halloween!! I can't believe October is almost over - I remember counting down the days until October. The days leading up to Halloween are always so much fun. The leaves turn different shades of orange, yellow, and red. Everyday I have to stop the person I'm walking with and make them look at the trees. You think I'd be over it by now, but the leaves won't be there for long, so I'm not taking them for granted. 

It's always so hard to figure out what I want to dress up as for Halloween. I usually don't think about it until the week before, or in this Halloween's case, the day of. 2 days before, I decided to be a teenage dream. Not Katy Perry, mind you. A teenage dream. That way I would be able to wear jeans, boots, leather, and a silver cuff. But then I realized I wanted to dress up more. Hours before going to the nearest mall to pick up last minute items, I had an ah-ha! moment - I would be Cleopatra! All I needed were gold jewels and a white dress and heavy eye makeup. Donning false eyelashes, silver metallic nail polish, a snake bracelet, a wreath crown, and more eyeliner than I would EVER normally wear, I have somewhat transformed into an Egyptian Queen...or at least an Egyptian Princess. Hah.

Once October is over, it will finally be the best month - November! Birthday fun and Thanksgiving yum! And the leaves will still be a rainbow of warm colors. I'm ready for you, November, bring on all the new adventures I know you have in store for me. 

Have a Happy Halloween and be safe trick-or-treating!

Currently listening to: Haunted by T. Swift

You Don't Know What You Don't Know

[I took this in the summer, it's my favorite time of day]

 In less than a week I will no longer be in my teens. Birthdays (and New Years) always gets me thinking about the past. What can I learn from the mistakes I've made? How can I take my past misadventures and turn them into future successes? A lot has happened in the past year, and I've turned to music more than ever before. The right songs have gotten me through hard months, have been the background music to celebrate good moments, and have helped pass the time on long train rides. Song lyrics are sometimes like horoscopes...eerily spot on. 

Songs that I'll officially dedicate as my Year Nineteen soundtrack: (there's so many more that should be on here, but...naturally, I'll have neglected to list them)

1. Teenage Dream - K. Perry

2. This Love - The Veronicas

3. Everything Tegan and Sara

4. Club Can't Handle Me - David Guetta

5. Party in the U.S.A. - Miley Cyrus...unabashedly

6. Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z and Alicia Keys

7. I Don't Know What to Do - Pete Yorn and Scarlett Jo

8. Meet Me Halfway - B.E.P.

9. David Gray 

10. Gavin Degraw

11. John Coltrane

12. Mean - T. Swift

13. Last Kiss - T. Swift

14. Glee Soundtrack...faithfully

15. Sweet Dreams - Beyonce

16. Johnny Cash

17. Telephone - Lady Gaga

18. Mandy Moore...Wild Hope album only

19. Tik Tok - Ke$ha [well, let's be honest, the entire Animal soundtrack]

These songs will come with me into the next phase of my life, but for now they've served their purpose and deserve to be duly noted. While I usually don't like getting older, I'm eagerly/anxiously/impatiently looking forward to leaving 19 in the past. Guess I'm looking forward to looking back on these days. :)

Currently listening to: Superman - Lazlo Bane

Shameless Promotion (Doing it for the Kittens!)

This summer I volunteered at a no-kill animal shelter called Animal Haven.

One of the most expensive items the shelter purchases is paper towels, which let me tell you, really gets used up fast! When you have to wipe puppy poop from off the floor (after they've slipped in it, spread it around, pawed at each others' faces, and jumped up onto your jeans...) a reusable towel doesn't work because it will contaminate the other towels and sheets and water in the washing machine. Paper towels are a must - in addition to the other important necessities the shelter provides for the animals, such as food, neutering, spaying, vet trips, and vaccinations.

Look how cute Moo is!:

[Photo credit - www.animalhavenshelter.org]

To help the shelter raise funds, I created a donation site from their own website. I dedicated the site to my childhood cats, Muffy and Troy. Anything you can give helps! And even if you don't, just spreading awareness is so helpful! My goal is $5,000 (ambitious, I know, but I really believe it can be achieved with the aid of good-hearted people such as yourself...). If you know anyone living in NYC or New Jersey (or anywhere else), let them know about Animal Haven. They have the cutest puppies and kittens coming into the shelter every week who want a warm and safe home.

I had to include a plug for the animal shelter that works hard every single day to ensure that animals are kept safe, fed, and loved. Thank you for your help/awareness/time!

Once again, the link. :)

What My Buddhism Midterm Really Taught Me

[Photo Credit - onebilliondolts.com]

 

Finally done with my Buddhism midterm...and actually learned a couple of things while studying for it. Amazing, right? The class itself has been interesting, given that the topic is unlike anything I've ever experienced. In the short months I've been going to class and in the days I've prepared for my test, here's what I've picked up on:

1. Nothing is permanent - This too shall pass. Sadness won't last forever. Happiness is also limited. This exam will eventually be done. It won't always be raining. Some things, however, I do believe can last forever.

2. Life = Suffering - Can anything truly make you happy? If it does, it only lasts a couple of minutes, hours, days. Then, you're suffering again because it's over. Kind of a grim outlook...but that's why it is important to attain Nirvana..

3. Let it be - You can't do anything about the traffic you're in - might as well dance along to the radio in the car. 

4. Do good - Not for the karma, but because you really feel like helping and making a difference.

5. Leaders and teachers are important - You think anyone else would've been able to reach Enlightenment if Buddha hadn't taken the time to teach them? Uh, no.

6. Religion is abstract - How can there really be a right or wrong way to practice?

7. What goes around comes around - Watch your back. Be good to others. Learn from your mistakes.

8. Be aware of your actions - They not only affect you but others around you. It's also just good to be mindful.

9. Do things with intent - If you're washing the dishes...just focus on washing the dishes. (Caution: Much harder than it sounds)

"Baby Steps, Bob"

[Photo Credit - motionworks.com.au]

"I've never heard silence quite this loud."

                                            - T. Swift
 

Not the worst way to end the day: New Taylor Swift album. Seahawks win against Arizona. Chinese take-home midterm done. New 90210 tomorrow. Room is clean and warm. 

Goodnight, Sunday.

1 Year Old

[Photo Credit - commons.wikimedia.org]

Partial To the Rain is 1 year-old, as of October 21! While I have been pretty bad about not updating, especially over the summer, it's time for a little bit of change. New year, new beginning!

Instead of Treated, We Get Tricked

[Photo Credit - marthastewart.com]

Halloween is just one of those times of the year where you really want to go all out. Maybe it's the weather, there's a very Halloween-y feel. I remember hanging spider lights around the door frame, helping my dad put the inflatable ghost up in the yard, draping cotton webs from the light fixtures (with the plastic spiders, of course), and the fruit punch with fog (dry ice) coming out of it.

While Halloween is so much fun to prepare for (thank you, Martha Stewart), figuring out a Halloween costume has always been so hard for me. I never know what to be, and there's only one night to dress up, so you want to get it right. A couple of costumes that really stood out was when I was Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Posh Spice. I stood on a table while my mom hemmed my puffy yellow princess dress. And of course for Posh Spice, I wore a sassy white jacket, which I would never wear out in public again, and Sketchers electric blue 3 inch platforms...which I wore to school every. single. day. I was also Josie from Josie and the Pussycats, fully equipped with a cardboard guitar spray painted black with glitter and a head microphone. I think I also attempted to be a witch one year, but green face paint is never a good idea, unless your Elphaba.

Being in school, I've kind of lacked the Halloween spirit...I guess it's just midterm time and creativity/energy/everything has been drained from every ounce of being in my body. This year, I want to go to a pumpkin patch, go apple picking, go trick-or-treating (because you're never too old), and think up a Halloween costume that tops a Disney Princess and Victoria Beckham. Are costume repeats acceptable?

Autumn weather also makes for perfect movie time. To add to my list: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble; Practical Magic; Hocus Pocus.

Sleepless Always

[Photo Credit - crazibeautifulevents.com]

[Photo Credit - premiere.com]

Craving Sleepless in Seattle, you may also know it as The Best Movie Ever Made. Such a classic. It just reminds me of fate and how people from all around the world can be drawn together. Love isn't about distance. Life is sometimes about the big gestures, making that bold move to get what you want. We only live once, after all. Plus, this movie has rain, Seattle, New York, Christmas, Tom Hanks, nonstop flights, people who don't sleep, home cooking, Nora Ephron's writing, jazz music, and love...what more can you really ask for? 

As Meg Ryan's character, Annie Reed, said:

“Now that was when people knew how to be in love. They knew it! Time, distance... nothing could separate them because they knew. It was right. It was real.”

 Must rent for Saturday night, and stock up on chocolate, sparkling apple cider, and a warm blanket. Also, a little bit of rain would really be the cherry on top.