Posted by Luana | 3 Comments

A happier ending

I was a mere spring and half a summer away from
becoming flesh the day you laid out bread and milk
and sealed off your kitchen to inhale your final solution.

I didn’t even realize until my coffee chat with Bridget
the other day that you lived and died a full hundred
years later than I waywardly assumed you had.

Surely poets didn’t suicide themselves in 1963?

1863 – 1763 – I could see. But 1963?

Yet you did.

And I wonder was your life
like a grasshopper’s on a
windshield at sixty mph,

like an uprooted sapling’s who
can’t speak the foreign tongue
of discontinued seasons?

Hanging on for dear life
from the rafters of childhood,
from the meat hooks of love,
from the blackness of red tulips,
who knows what night you knew?

Ah, gone lady, had we been girls
of beach summers and winter woods
together, I would’ve shown you how to
laugh and wear your hat like starshine,
how to skip the flattest round stones
and joke about moons over tea,

every day a small miracle hanging
like children in park swings,
like bras in happy trees.

— Jannie Funster

Posted by Luana | 10 Comments

Lazy Sunday

The weather is getting slightly colder now, enough to make me want to stay inside and curl up with a book with the curtains open to let the white light pour into my room. A little rain would be nice too, I love the sound against my window. But let’s go back to books. Were it not for the immense amount of assignments I need to take care of, I would be devouring all kinds of books; writing down beautiful phrases and looking up big words to incorporate into my vocabulary. For those of you who with little time this weekend to dedicate to reading, here is some book eye candy to get a little bit of that warm ‘I-have-an-entire-afternoon-of-reading-to-myself’ feeling.

All images via WHI, check mine for exact source!

Have a lovely lazy Sunday, if you are of the lucky few that can enjoy one!

Posted by Luana | 4 Comments

Surviving LDR Part II – Get Creative!

So you’ve decided to go long distance; the bothers and pain of your s.o’s absence is worth it and trust rules above all in your relationship. (Not sure whether to take the leap? Consider these and think about it!) That is absolutely great, but it doesn’t mean it will be easy. In fact it won’t be and you will be miserable at times. Luckily, there are ways to endure this situation and actually sprinkle bits of amazing along the way. Here are some ideas to brave distance:

• Skype – No, I don’t mean just talking on it. I mean actually setting up a time and day for it; a Skype Date. Having your s.o on speaker is pretty much like having them there, minus the fact that they actually are just on your screen. But we will omit this tiny detail and proceed to plan out an amazing date where you two will enjoy wine – red or white, your choice, champagne if you’re feeling particularly festive – and maybe watch a movie or TV show online. After a few glasses you both will be slightly tipsy, which will be great for trying to beat each other at online games or just looking through funny Facebook pictures (which may or may not be your own.) Optional: you may take a screenshot to remember the night :)
• Little somethings in the mail – E-mailing is fast and we are so impatient that the Facebook inbox will probably soon take over it (if it hasn’t for you already), but mail can’t and never will lose its appeal. For a long distance relationship, I am not asking you to communicate solely through letters, though maybe sending each other a little week re-cap now and then would be nice. But for the full effect, send your s.o random gifts of goodness through the mail. Do not warn them about it, the surprise is half of it! It can be anything: leaves from your walk home accompanied by a short letter or poem, the last book you read, a photograph of yourself, a drawing, a riddle, chocolates/candy…
• Random calls/SMS – Just to let them know that you miss them, or to wish them a good day or good luck on that presentation. I love getting these in the middle of the day, it just makes you feel remembered and important (which you should be!)
• Scheduled calls – Pick a day of the week (or as many as you’d like) where you will have a catch-up session. You’ll most likely be using Skype for this (unless you are in the same country) as international calls are crazy expensive, but it still counts as a call.
• Visiting! – Frequency will obviously depend on how far away you guys are and your schedules, but it is incredibly worth it to plan some time to see each other. The importance of visits is not only getting to see your s.o, but the quality of that time spent together. It is perfect for planning outings, dinners, sightseeing, little romantic escapades around the park…because you have such little time together and because it probably won’t be an every-other-week thing (though lucky you if this is the case!), you are less likely to argue and just focus on having a good time. The hardest part about this will be saying goodbye, but it is in that moment that you will realize again just how important they are to you and why you need to keep going.

These little tips combined with patience and will should keep you two busy for a long while. Christmas is coming up, so is his birthday, and what about random presents? I’m cooking up a little list of creative gift ideas for LDR couples out there; should be fun so watch out for it, counts for overseas friends too!

Want to remember why you decided to go for long distance in the first place? Go back to Surviving LDR Part I!

Posted by Luana | 3 Comments

This Week

I learned that airplanes are not so scary ♦ I accompanied a friend and searched for a tattoo parlor for her 18th Birthday tattoo; which only got me thinking about my next tattoo! It will most likely be on my foot, so that you can’t see the Buddha I have on my back at the same time. But there are still many options so I will wait until next year ♦ I found out Inglorious Basterds is still playing, and since I’m probably the only person on Earth that hasn’t watched it yet I plan on doing so next week with a few friends!

Articles:

• Lookbook.nu vs. Flickr’s Wardrobe Remix – The battle of “what I wore today” sites was a fun read. I have to say I loved Lookbook.nu when it first started out, not such a fan now.
• 50 practical tips to save you half a lifetime by Matthew Perris (via Gala) is definitely worth reading! The comments also offer pearls of wisdom to keep in mind.

Photograph:

Video:

Beauty Is Not How Skinny You Can Be!

Outfit:
Keiko Lynn’s outfits are always way too cute. Wish I could pull off hot red like that!

Quote:

In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act — George Orwell

It’s finally Friday! That means a lot of sleeping and catching up with assignments for me, but I’m grateful nonetheless!

Posted by Luana | 2 Comments

To the Universe

I do not think of all the misery, but of the glory that remains. Go outside into the fields, nature and the sun, go out and seek happiness in yourself and in God. Think of the beauty that again and again discharges itself within and without you and be happy. — Anne Frank

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!