Summer Eye Candy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! in honor of you and your day, I have attached a happy memory from our time together so you can imagine me doing a pole dance for you, right now. There are a couple more pics I found rather cute so enjoy! And we can't wait to have you back in our city soon!



hope your day is full of candy and roses and sunshine and Indian food!
xoxoxoBon

A Tour of Nice

A little pictorial on my fabulous weekend!


This is me and Kels by the waterfall that was about 2/3 of the way up the big hill we climbed right by the beach. It was nice to cool off in the mist!














Of course, the beaches here have no sand -- only rocks! I already told you that I picked up a bunch of beautiful glass, and somehow managed to throw it all away.















Apparently, in France, they eat Smurfs.












And beer-flavored ice cream! No lie.















We went to four museums in one day. The best was probably the Chagall museum.











This was our lunch for that day -- which we ate at 5:30 p.m.













I turned into a Roman wife for awhile.













Right before trespassing into one of the off-limits parts of the ruins.

















I saw this creepy Jesus in an old Franciscan church. There was also a mummy of Ste. Victoire, but I did not take a picture of that, because it would give me nightmares and probably the worst karma ever.








How beautiful is it? I will definitely be back sometime this year (springtime?), if only to get more glass. Wanna come with?















xxxAnnie

Staying Dry in Starbucks

yep, sorry Joe, Oleput, and all the other indie coffee houses I love, and love to support. It's pouring out, and I can pick up the free Union Square wifi in this here Starbucks. for the low low price of $7.61, I've sold out (and bought an overpriced, but still tasty, chicken curry salad).

however, I have a few interesting things to note:
1- on Tuesday I went for a run in Astoria Park (oh! how I love thee!) and witnessed a movie being filmed on the playground. according to Raymond, the park employee I made friends with, it involved Lisa Ling and a very tasty breakfast (that apparently, some other joggers who awoke earlier than I were fortunate enough to enjoy). Funnily, not more than a moment before coming upon the mass of film crew vehicles, I was in the process of looking for an inconspicuous bush to puke my brains out- I am way out of shape. Thank god I decided to hold it in.

2- yesterday nothing good happened until I went to Rodeo Bar w. Carrie, Keaton, and Carolina to see M Shanghai. Which was an awesome show, especially since they played my favorite song RIGHT WHEN I WANTED THEM TO. I knew it! I am getting uncannily good at predicting (or rather, "visualizing") songs and subway trains, and am hoping one day this talent for positive attraction will carry over to healing my shoulder injury (which is pissing me off more than ever right now) and reconnecting with the long lost love of my life.

3- while I was posting something on Etsy here in the Starbucks, two girls from New York Magazine approached me regarding a short article they are doing on people who write on their computers in Starbucks. They asked me to quote the first sentence of what I was writing, which luckily was "One of a kind, hand silk-screened long sleeve black t-shirt." Pretty good marketing for the old B.Sharpe Designs if it actually makes it into the mag, no? I will shit my pants if my quote gets quoted. Last time I gave quotes (for a piece on the iphone in the Wall Street journal), my interview didn't make it into the article :( But hey, I guess between the Poison music video and the Today show, I've had more than my 15 seconds of fame already.

that's about it for now, oh look this nice little man in a green apron is coming over to offer me a free sample of cake right now! I may have just changed my opinion on selling out.

xoxoxoxoBon

A Change of Station

I've been here almost six weeks now, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

It's hard for me to admit that I don't absolutely LOVE France, and I NEVER want to leave and it's the BEST PLACE EVER. I honestly thought it was going to be like that from day one. But all the stress of the last few weeks -- the money I've had to lay out, the inability to express myself or understand others, the most shitteous roommate ever -- has blighted what should be one of the most exciting times of my life.

It's made me think of home a lot more than I probably should. I really can't wait for Christmas. I am already feeling rueful that I'm missing the State Fair, my birthday (my 21st!), Halloween and Thanksgiving. These are the things I've used for the last 20 years to define my life, to work my schedule around and to get excited about. In fact, I'm hardly ever as excited about Christmas as I am about Halloween. But right now, Christmas is the brightest thing in my future.

This is not to say that I'm not having fun. Especially now that I have a place I can truly call home, I am relaxing and enjoying myself. Nice was amazing last weekend. This weekend I'll be cooking grits for French kids and watching the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup. In a few weeks, I'm off to London and then after that, the Beaujolais for the release of the new wines. In between there I might even fit in a trip somewhere else -- Belgium, Germany, Italy. Who knows?

This is a beautiful country, and when they're not making me want to tear my hair out in frustration, the French are wonderful people. But I miss NC weather, and biscuits and cheap laundry. I miss going out in my sweatpants without feeling everyone's eye on me. I miss the One Spot. I miss Chapel Hill, with the football games and late-night Cosmic and shitty frat parties, and a last semester of sneaking around to get alcohol. I miss home, with Mom and Dad and Peaches and my little sister who needs a best friend more than ever. I miss New York, and 29th Street and cheap bagels (and bagels at all!) and real subways.

In fact, being here has made me rethink my post-graduation plans. I'm not so sure I want to take two years off and join the Peace Corps now. I might enjoy it, but I don't know that I would really love it. And spending two years doing something I don't really love is just wasting two years. And I love New York. I really do. Living there this summer only reinforced the notion that I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to move there after I graduate. Besides Chapel Hill, it's the only place right now that I truly want to be.

So prepare for me! Because I think I'm a-comin. Don't know what I'll do. But at least I know where I'll be, and who I'll be with.

xxxAnnie

Wasting Time

I waste a lot of time. When I'm feeling responsible, it seems a little ridiculous, how busy I am and how much time I actually waste- and even how much time I am aware of the time I'm wasting. I feel guilty. But why should my life be only about work? Just because I have about three million different "jobs" at any given moment, why shouldn't I be able to waste time?

I don't know. We all waste time. In little ways, in big ways, everyone wastes time- whether they're aware of it or not, whether they consider it wasting time or not- it might not be a waste to the individual, but someone else would surely see it that way.

My point is this: no matter how much time I waste reading blogs, browsing facebook photo albums, looking at other people's wedding pictures, editing MySpace, whatever- there are certain wastes of my time that I could never give up, lest I forget who I am and start to hate my life again.

I have to sit here and listen to Death Cab for Cutie with the window open. I have to lay sideways on my bed and feel sad for a moment, then pick myself up like I always do and remember how grand it all really is. I have to re-read, and then write in, and then re-read again my journal and try to piece together how I got here. I have to re-read emails. I have to turn off the lights while the music plays, even though I will never be able to fall asleep with it on, just to hear the song by itself and not be distracted by anything but the darkness. I have to do these things, because if I don't, I will lose sight of what my life really means and things won't make sense anymore. So even though I operate my life billing my hours to a laundry list of clients, day in and day out, constantly organizing where I'm supposed to be and what I'm supposed to be doing at any given moment, I never quantify the time I waste staring out my window at the skyline, or listening to Red Right Ankle on repeat, or just trying to get back to feeling real the best way I know how.

I don't know why I had to write this out, why I had to reason my little personal habits- I guess I just wanted to tell someone. I guess I just wanted someone to know me a little better. To know the tiny, insignificant things I do when no one is looking. I guess I just want someone to really know who I am.

xoxoxoBon
ps- We finally got our wireless network up and running- and I aptly named it "cackle." Oh, how we cackled...
pps- I want to hear all about Nice!

Smartfood

is all over my bed. might be time to do some laundry. ah, just another day on 29th street....

so, please be around tomorrow am (my time)! cause I will get up around 9:30 or 10 I think, and make it a point to be around til at least 12. in the afternoon I have to go to Dr. T, whom I picture as being like Mr. T except he probes you. so, naturally, I'm slightly terrified. on Thurs my morning begins with a lovely bikini wax, followed by lunch with Kaveri at Bite (so excited! have been missing Bite, and Kaveri, terribly!), then on to yoga where I hope not to collapse into the side plank and injure my shoulder further as I did last week. so, tomorrow is our best bet for a good skackle. oh, how I do need it!

better hit the sheets now (sans popcorn)- I can feel the yearly fall cold coming on :(

xoxoxoBon