Yes, the "True Life: I'm a Staten Island Girl" Episode is Accurate

I finally watched "True Life - I'm a Staten Island Girl" two days ago with my sisters. I'm sad to say that the show accurately portrayed your typical Staten Island girl. Many of the girls here do have the accent, the burnt-straight, highlighted/dyed hair, the carefully done nails, pounds of make-up, tanning-salon-orange skin, and the mentality that all girls are competition for guys. Many of the guys here are of the type that Angela (character in the show) is attracted to. They have the same accent, spiky and overly gelled hair, the muscles (often on display through white, sleeveless wife-beater shirts), the golden chain, the tanning-salon-orange skin, and the huge ego. I grew up fully immersed in this Italian-American/Staten Island subculture. It's a wonder I turned out (relatively) normal and got off the Island.

Lawrence is Special

Lawrence is special in that he'll get completely obsessed with something and will just immerse himself in it nonstop until he gets sick of it, at which point he drops it like he never knew it existed. He does this a lot with food. When he was younger he loved wonton soup (it was apparently his favorite thing to eat) and had it every time his family ordered Chinese food from the time he can remember till he was about 10. He then got sick of it, and has refused to have it since. It's been 13 years since he last had wonton soup.

Lawrence's new obsession has been this video that he's been playing nonstop since the weekend. He can't get enough of it, and manages to laugh out loud every time he sees it. He can't stop talking about it either. He's been browsing through forums talking about this video, and is happy that they show that "J.T" has been earning "street cred" with this video. As I type this, Lawrence is reading a "Memphis Flyer" site that's saying something about "J.T." and the video.

The only saving grace right now is that he has that history of eventually getting sick of his obsession and just drops it. I hope that happens soon. Although I find the video hilarious, I don't know how many more times I can watch it. Please do watch it though yourself because (1) it actually is funny, but more importantly (2) so you can imagine what it's like to live with a very special Lawrence. :)

Note on picture: Handsome Lawrence is sad that a pigeon pooped on his pants while walking along 59th St at the southern end of Central Park. He thought he had sidestepped being pooped on since he noticed the poop as it was on its way down, but he wasn't fast enough in moving out of the way, as evidenced in the picture above. Lawrence is special. :)

Christmas?

Today is December 14, a mere 11 days before Christmas. I haven't even thought of Christmas shopping yet, and our apartment is nowhere near Christmas festive. Today's high is 57 degrees, so I get to run in my skimpy shorts. I'm nowhere near finals time, whereas at Penn the flurry of finals before the winter break was the last hurdle before going home for Christmas. (Stupid Harvard holds finals 2-3 weeks after New Year's). It doesn't feel like Christmas is coming at all.

The Grates!

After two tough midterms this week and before studying for my last big one on Monday, I attended an Oxford Collapse/The Grates/We Are Scientists concert with Lawrence at the Middle East in Central Square. It was awesome! Opening acts are usually a gamble, especially at small indie shows, but both Oxford Collapse and The Grates were amazing.

The Grates, in fact, are my new favorite band. They are an Australian band with such great energy and enthusiasm, and their music is upbeat, catchy and creative. The lead singer has an unfathomable amount of energy. She didn't stop jumping around the stage the entire set, almost exactly like the way she dances in the video for their song Science is Golden.

After the show Lawrence and I stuck around so I could buy a Grates t-shirt. We ended up talking to The Grates' lead singer and drummer, with both of whom I was able to take the picture I posted here. They were so friendly, and it was clear from our conversation that they really love what they do. Seeing their passion channeled into a creative, successful outlet just warmed my heart and won me over. :) Well, they also won me over because the lead singer thinks I have the shiniest hair in the world. I'm a sucker for compliments.