Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Liebster Award

Hi darlings,

Random post today. So normally I find chain letters quite creepy and I'm glad they've mostly died off (at least compared to the early days of the internet). They always sounded like weird gypsy curses threatening to kill all your loved ones or sentence you to a life of loneliness and despair if you didn't continue the chain. Of course, I'm someone who starts getting anxious if I spend more than half an hour on tvtropes at night so maybe I'm not the best judge of what's terrifying on the internet. I was all set to ignore this but I've exhausted all my polish reviews for the moment and I thought it was quite sweet of Hazelnut to nominate me, so I will sort of fulfill the terms of this bargain. I would be quite happy to nominate 11 other bloggers but everyone I follow has well over 200 followers.

Rules: 
Post 11 facts about yourself
Answer the 11 questions from the person who nominated you
Choose 11 to nominate (who have less than 200 followers)
Write 11 questions for your nominees.

Post 11 Facts About Yourself
1. One of my lifelong dreams is to be a Disney princess. No, I am not a crazy person and no, I don't mean that I want to audition to be a look alike at a Disney park. Obviously the only one I look anything like is Mulan and I look about as similar to her as any random Asian girl who walks down the street, meaning not at all. No, I'd like to voice a Disney princess. I've come to terms with the fact that my voice will never be as sweet as Jodi Benson's or Lea Salonga's which is why this is a dream and not a goal.
2. I have no idea what my favorite color is. I'm told my favorite color when I was very young used to be pink. I had a phase when I got older when my favorite color was black. If you ask me now, I'll say teal or blue but I will be lying.
3. The only song I know how to play on the piano is 'Happy Birthday.' I studied piano for years but I was a terrible student. I could probably learn to play something else but 'Happy Birthday' is the only song I have memorized.
4. I have no idea what my favorite book is. If you ask me, I will lie and say Jane Eyre, The House of Mirth, or Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. I'm just too analytical and critical. I feel like my favorite book should say something about me. It should be a book that I don't have any issues with. But no book is perfect and sometimes the books that are the most interesting to talk about are very problematic. Sometimes a book is generally well written or engaging but has a terribly boring section or an aggravating plot line.
5. I drink a lot of water. I'm not sure about eight glasses, but on average I probably drink about 5 bottles of water a day. And before you judge me, I'm refilling the same bottles.
6. As far as I know, I'm not allergic to anything. I do sometimes have allergic reactions to makeup products (especially lip products) and seasonal allergies but it's nothing specific and I don't have any food allergies or allergies to medication. So you can forget "accidentally" poisoning me.
7. I am a creature of habit. I like to patronize the same restaurants. I often reread the books that I own. I will listen to the same song many, many times on repeat before I finally get tired of it.
8. I don't have any major phobias but I refuse to watch horror movies. 
9. I took classes at the Arts Students League of New York for two nonconsecutive years.
10. I have never broken a bone.
11. I am a feminist.

Answer The 11 Questions From the Person Who Nominated You
1. Would you rather go to the future or to the past, and why?
While there are many things I admire about the past (fashion, culture, literature) and answers I would be able to solve by going back in time, if I had to live there, I would rather go to the future. As not fantastic as things can be right now, going back in time as a woman and/or a minority generally isn't the best idea. What would I do in Regency England? It's optimistic but I would hope that if the earth isn't destroyed or an apocalyptic wasteland in the future, that living conditions have improved and technology has continued to advance. Of course, realistically if I went into the past I'd probably get tuberculosis or some other disease and die without modern medicine and if I went into the future I'd probably die from air pollution or be overwhelmed by how far things had advanced.
2. Which would you choose: time travelling or teleportation?
Oh, absolutely teleportation. Even though as a New Yorker I can sometimes walk 20 blocks without realizing it, I can also be quite lazy and teleportation sounds fantastic. It would also help me get to sample sales in the middle of nowhere or to a Best Buy selling discounted Sephora by OPI polishes. And it would probably curb my habitual lateness.
3. How did you start blogging and what keeps you going?
I've been writing for years. I don't remember a time when I haven't been writing. But I started this blog on a whim. I was just starting to get into the makeup and beauty community through blogs and youtube and I just had some things I wanted to talk about. This blog would have probably stayed a lot more personal and I probably would have kept talking about writing and movies and my thoughts about the world but my nail polish reviews were popular and my nail polish and makeup buying habits were exacerbated by involvement in the beauty and makeup community so it was a natural progression to focusing this blog more on those topics. What keeps me going aside from the boxes and boxes of makeup and nail polish I have to review? I guess, it's just knowing that there are people out there reading. I do wish you'd comment more but even seeing all the pageviews makes me happy. I love telling you about products that I've enjoyed using and warning you about those that I've disliked. I like feeling like we're all part of this big community. It's why I lurk in certain places on the internet. That feeling of community is important to me.
4. What is a pet peeve of yours?
Lazy spelling and grammar mistakes. I'm not infallible. I don't know the definition of every word. My spelling isn't always perfect. I actually think that schools should focus more on spelling and vocabulary past elementary school. But I try my best and I look things up if I'm unsure of how to spell a word or if I'm using a word incorrectly. I think it's a part of common courtesy. Let's not contribute to lowering our collective intelligence level.
5. Do you prefer the mountains or the sea?
I'm not really an outdoorsy person but if you're making me choose, I'll say the sea. While the mountains in Germany are picturesque, the Mediterranean Sea is the most gorgeous shade of blue. Ocean life is fascinating. What lives in the mountains? Goats? The mythology and literature surrounding the sea is so much more interesting whether it's selkies or mermaids or sirens. Again, the only story I can think of off the top of my head that involves the mountains is Rip van Winkle.
6. What is your favorite type of makeup product?
Nail polish. The answer is obviously nail polish. But if that doesn't count as "makeup," I'll say lipstick.
7. What are you thankful for today?
My dog. He is the sweetest warm, cuddly bundle of unconditional love. Also, his presence makes me feel protected and less like a faceless demon is going to walk out of the shadows and murder me alone. I really need to stop reading tvtropes at night.
8. Would you rather learn all of the languages in the world or master all of the musical instruments in the world?
I would rather learn all of the languages in the world. I'd love to be able to communicate with people from different countries (in a language other than English), especially when I travel. I think it's more fun to listen to music than to play it, though if I could sing the way I'd like to be able to, that would be wonderful.
9. How would you spend a perfect day?
I think it's impossible to plan a perfect day. I've enjoyed imperfect days (like when I got caught in a torrential downpour in Paris) but perfect days just happen. You can't plan them. Your head doesn't roll off the pillow when you're sleeping so you wake up with neck pain. You have enough time to get ready and have breakfast without rushing around like a crazy person. It's sunny and the temperature is perfect and you go out and do something you thought you'd like to do but you enjoy it even more than you expected. And you're with the people you love and you just enjoy each other's company. No one argues and it's never awkward. Perfect days are rare and precious and can't be planned. It's much easier to just find something to enjoy during all the imperfect days.
10. If you could be anything in the world, what would you be and why?
For a very long time, I would have said 'a doctor.' Now, I'm not so sure. I think now I would say 'a novelist.' Writing is a form of communication. It's one of the things that I think I'm genuinely good at doing. I'd like to use my writing to become a part of the literary community and to also form a community of my own, a group of like-minded individuals who respond to something in my work.
11. What is your favorite snack and drink?
I drink a lot of water every day and I like to snack on things I don't have to feel guilty about like almonds or edamame. But my indulgences are dark chocolate and Diet Coke.

Write 11 Questions For Your Nominees
Now, I don't have any nominees as I mentioned above because I don't follow any bloggers who have less than 200 followers and I'm not about to force this chain award on unsuspecting bloggers whose blogs I don't even read. But if you'd like to participate and you like my questions, just pretend that I nominated you and answer these questions on your blog. Treat it like a tag. I tag everyone who wants to participate.

1. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be, and why?
2. If you could own any original work of art, which one would you choose?
3. If you were able to change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
4. If you could have something named after you what would it be?
5. What skill or talent do you wish that you had?
6. What cancelled television show do you wish was still on the air?
7. If you were able to talk openly to the person who you love or admire most in the world (dead or alive) what would you say?
8. What is one change or development you'd like to see in present-day fiction (movies, books, television)?
9. As a blogger, do you prefer getting more comments or more page views?
10. What is one thing you would love to do if fear and insecurity weren't holding you back?
11. What do you get out of blogging and where would you like to see your blog go in the future?

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