LOVE:

Henri Balzac quote:

“Anyone who does not frequently visit Paris will never be completely elegant.”

I try to visit Paris annually and because of this (and Martha Stewart’s constant inspiration) I feel that I truly am a rather elegant young man with refined taste and a passion for the good things in life. Why wear Hanes when you can wear Andrew Christian, why eat grocery store sandwich bread when you can eat artisanal ciabatta, why vacation in America when the world is open to you, why not wear dress shoes every day, why not be a little vain?

Espresso:

J’adore espresso! It is one of the many pleasures I enjoy partaking of. Until relatively recently, I was afraid of coffee. I thought it was gross. This was just a misunderstanding about what coffee really was. I thought its was a bland, vaguely vile watered down brown goo that dripped from something called a Mr. Coffee. I wasn’t aware that there was a wonderful world of rich, delicious, Italian coffee. The very first espresso I ever had was in a very chic Parisian restaurant in 2009. Auberge de something or other, across the river from Notre Dame. Had I the choice, I would have refused it, I still wasn’t very daring back then, but I tried it. It was strong. I filled it with sugar and found myself rather fond of the stuff. As time went on, my taste and passion for the stuff grew. I bought a Bialetti stovetop brewer, but have never been satisfied with this. I moved on to Nespresso, which is wonderful, but so very expensive. I love my Nespresso machine, but I’ve moved on to a manual espresso machine where I have to tamp the espresso myself. I’ve become a rather excellent barista. My drink of choice is Lavazza Oro with no sugar. So delightful. I’m not really bothered by caffeine, it doesn’t wake me up like other people, but it does put me in a wonderful mood, so I try to drink a few shots every day, I want one right now.

America’s Next Top Model Cycle 20:

You’ve surely read my blogs post on this topic, if you haven’t, shame on you and catch up. Male models are finally able to compete and I am working my ass off to be in good condition for the show and for my audition tape. I’ve started to love running and I’m thoroughly disgusted with myself. I’m so excited for this cycle that I can hardly contain my enthusiasm. Excuse me, I’ve got some poses to practice in front of the mirror!

Ellie Goulding:

For the most part, I am always a couple months ahead of music trends. The stuff I’m listening to now will be on the radio in December. If this continues to be true, we can look forward to more Ellie Goulding, Baptiste Giabiconi, and new Mika. I have been enjoying Ms. Goulding’s work for the longest time, way before it was popular here, back when it was just an indie favorite in London. I loved her album Lights, and had completely forgotten about it by the time American radios had started to play it. Her latest album, Halycon, is stunning and thoroughly recommended. Especially the tracks, “My Blood,” and “Atlantis.”

The Writings of Anne Rice:

Anne Rice is a genius. I burn with jealousy when I read her books. I want to write books of equal beauty and depth. For a popular fiction author, she has tremendous talent. I’ve loved every book of hers that I’ve picked up. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned was wonderful, Memnoch the Devil was a theological masterpiece, Interview with a Vampire is a landmark triumph, each and every book she writes is magnificent. I just finished Merrick and it was equally divine. I’ve heard speculations that she is writing a book about Atlantis and this boy couldn’t be any happier. I love Atlantis! I also love Anne’s cats. Have you seen Prince Oberon? Kittengasm. In all honestly, I don’t know why we aren’t best friends. Matter of time,

HATE:

Messed up to-go order:

One of my favorite fast food places is Noodles & Company. Their mushroom stroganoff is marvelous, a triumph of fast food cuisine. I could eat it for every meal, every day, all day long. I was delighted when my mother had an appointment in town so that. She could bring me back some delicious lunch. It’s quite convenient to work in the same place as her. Delirious with joy and starved, I lifted the lid to see…chunks of beef. GROSS! I am a vegetarian, I don’t do meat, I think it’s cruel and repulsive. Who would want to eat chopped up animals anyway? Carnivores don’t make sense to me. Don’t hate, I used to be one, but I’ve changed. Anyway, that was annoying.

Wide Rule Paper:

What is the purpose of this? Why do people use it? Do people really write that big? I’m a big fan of college ruled paper and elegant cursive. Why don’t people use cursive anymore? Penmanship is tragic these days. The handwriting I see at work is absolutely atrocious, the children can’t even read the things they’ve written themselves, it’s a travesty. I often see old letters and postcards from the 50s and earlier and I’m always struck at how beautiful the writing is. I always like seeing things my grandmother writes because she has a beautiful loopy style. But this is about paper line spacing. Wide ruled paper is just a waste of space, you can fit more on college ruled paper. When I’m elected President, one of my first acts in office will be mandatory dance parties, four day work weeks, and the banishment of wide ruled paper. Vote for me 2024!

Sore Muscles:

Since last Wednesday, I’ve become an amateur gym rat. I am determined to be muscular and fit for my time on America’s Next Top Model. I need biceps. I don’t have any, and that’s rather embarrassing. So, I’ve been lifting weights and I didn’t exactly know what I was doing and I think I may have hurt myself. It’s taken about five days for me to regain usage of my arms. I couldn’t lift them any higher than my naval. I couldn’t push nor could I pull. It was rather pathetic. But, if it gets me biceps, I’m cool, it’ll be quite fun to wear muscle shirts and sleeveless faux leather vests. Not often, mind you, I’m not an adult entertainer.

My Jaundiced Eyes:

I have beautiful blue eyes, I get comments on them regularly, but the whites of my eyes are also bizarrely yellow. I’ve never been able to figure it out. I don’t see many examples on the Internet. I’m going to have to ask my eye doctor the next time I go in, next week, I believe. My brother said it has something to do with red blood cells, but I’ve never heard that, perhaps it’s true? One day, one wonderful day, the whites of my eyes will be wonderfully white. I’ll go all Elijah Woods on you.

Miter Boxes:

I have a passionate love for DIY. I like remodeling. People hate it, but I love the transformation. I’ve become quite skilled at a number of tasks, but the miter box is something that fails me. I’m getting better, but it’s still not perfect. I want to get one of the electric ones that does all the work for me. I put up moulding in my beach cottage inspired kitchen and it turned out alright, really it was, but it was far from perfect and I’m a perfectionist, so it wasn’t acceptable. It took a lot of putty and caulk to fix it to my liking, and I did, and it’s gorgeous. But, I need to work on the miter box some more. I don’t want to practice, but I suppose that is the only way I’m going to become a master at it.