Lara declared:

Greetings from Mars

Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 at 5:26 pm

Well, with two-thirds of us here at workshop, not much blogging has been done. Whoops!

Anyways, it’s been running at 96 degrees Fahrenheit here for the last two days - and of course there’s no air-conditioning silly! This is Ukrainian dance workshop! (By the way - we’ll be performing for about 4-5,000 people at this weekend’s massive festival. Just think of Woodstock for Ukrainian-Americans.)

Anyways, we’re all having boat-loads of fun waking up at 9am for a three and a half hour ballet class (yes, the boys take ballet) and then dancing (in total) for about 10 hours a day. Yay!

To keep you up on the latest absurdities in the world, I’ll be posting some random amusing stories here. Read away:

Lara declared:

Back Attack

Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 at 1:46 am

So, as you can all see the Crunchy Mustard crew is back after a nice long weekend of graduation partying and general mayhem. Now it’s time to get back to work! (Or not.)

Here are a few dilemmas I’m currently facing. Perhaps you can help me with them.

  • Should I buy this leotard in “Sage” or “Blue Mist?”
  • Should I buy an iPhone, or should I decide to not be a tool?
  • And finally, is two week old bologna still OK to eat? (When I typed in “two week old bologna” into Google, this is what came up. A two week old baby made of bologna?!)
  • Should I buy a mini-fridge with a separate freezer or not? (Remember: college life begs for frozen food.)

My sincere thanks to all who help with these matters. Your generosity will be rewarded greatly. (I promise.)

Sincerely,
Lara

Lara declared:

Graduation

Saturday, June 23rd, 2007 at 10:33 am

Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.
- George Orwell

So today is the day (well actually it was Thursday) - the time at which I move on from my slight beginnings at high school to the grand life of college in Manhattan (actually, today is just the party.)

WOOOHOOO! PARTY!

Here’s to graduates, graduations, and their parties everywhere.

Lara declared:

A Rabbi has friended me

Thursday, May 31st, 2007 at 10:58 pm

facebookfriend.pngA Rabbi has friended me on Facebook.

After joining the Columbia network (Facebook lumped Barnard College into Columbia’s network…. those bastards, haha) I have received a slew of friend requested from my future classmates. After going through the lot, I came to a unique solicitation:

Rabbi Yonah added you as a friend on Facebook. We need you to confirm that you are, in fact, friends with Rabbi Yonah.

To confirm this friend request, follow the link below:
http://columbia.facebook.com/reqs.php

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

I am, in fact, not friends with Rabbi Yonah. I’m not even Jewish. Excusing the fact that I am a Ukrainian Christian… what is a Rabbi doing on Facebook? One look to his profile and you’ll see that he’s quite a young member of the Columbia staff and heads various Jewish groups on campus. Interesting bit of networking he’s doing here.

Can I friend the Pope?

Lara declared:

Suplena! Ole!

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007 at 4:47 pm

IMG_3296_1.jpgSo after a short ride home from school my sister headed to the mailbox while I grabbed my things from the back of the car. All of a sudden: enter a loud exclamation of confusion.

My sister picks up this small package from the mailbox addressed to her (but the last name is incorrect). The return address is for Ross Laboratories in Ohio. She opens the thing up and finds a freaking can of “Suplena.” It says: “Thereutic nutrition for people with reduced kidney function.”

JUST what my sister needs. I mean, she certainly falls into the demographic of 60-80 year olds with kidney failure.

Anyways, it’s some strange milk concoction-fake-drink-thing and we have NO idea how she got it. She also received an offer for membership at AARP a few weeks ago. Is some strange 75 year old stealing her identity? And signing her up for free kidney-drink supplements?

It all reminds me of that Southpark episode when AARP attacked the town… canes and all.

You can tell this was a cheap play on Splenda.

Yurij Dobriansky declared:

Jambalaya!

Monday, May 14th, 2007 at 1:08 am

Graduating from the Conservatoire, I decided to stay in Paris a little while longer. I thought I’d learn the music of the streets from the people who write music from the heart. Nearly broke and out of inspiration, I wandered the streets looking for some - inspiration.

I ran into one of the loveliest women in all of Europe. Literally. Knocking all of her belongings to the ground, I was never so embarrassed before. I helped her gather her things. When we stood up she yelled at me and I didn’t understand a word of what she was yelling. But I didn’t care, I was infatuated with her. She got into her cab and that was the last we saw of each other. Our brief but passionate romance had come to an end.

Later that evening, I found myself alone, again, on the balcony outside my apartment window. A gorgeous New Moon and the stars couldn’t have been brighter. With each puff of my cigarette, I created rings of smoke encompassing the moon and the stars. “If only life was like that…” I recall thinking to myself. But the fact of the matter is, life isn’t always that ring in the sky. Sometimes you just have to settle for Cracker Jacks.

After a month of judicial indiscretion, I’ve managed to compose most of my piece. However I was still lacking that climactic moment. Beginning, middle and end I had. Just that one moment I was lacking. I decided to return to the Conservatoire and visit the brilliant woman under whom i studied. I arrived there only to learn that she had passed away the previous night. Listening to her records, you’d never have guess she had a weak heart, but such is life, the French say.

After three more weeks in Paris, I decided it was time for me to leave. I’ve grown so accustomed to my lifestyle there, I hated myself for even considering leaving. Nonetheless, I was on the next ship to Berlin. It was in a small farm just outside Berlin that I found my inspiration and finished my piece. As I sat under a tree in the marley fields, music began to pour out me from every opening. I bled music. I got a job working in the marley fields to really get the feel of what it was like. I don’t know how those old ladies did it on a daily basis, but after a day’s work I was ready to die, skipping supper.

When my Visa expired, I knew I had better return home as soon as possible. My experience in europe had taught me so much and I do hope to return there someday. I’ve made a great a deal of friends and family there. It would be a shame not to.

Lara declared:

Foot Fury

Friday, May 11th, 2007 at 6:00 am

So I’m minding my own business - grabbing a midnight snack before bed when “Thwack!” … I’ve done it again.

Understand this: I am not your casual toe-stubber. I do not bang my foot just because that damned dresser moved itself there - my toe moves to the door that is swinging out before me on purpose!

I swear. My foot is out to get me. It wants to do me malice and harm. Funny you say? Not so funny when you feel those shooting needles up your ankle. It’s like nails on a chalk board, or that annoying sound a straw makes when you pull it in and out of the top… you know what I’m talking about.

Getting to the point: this is not a quarterly-year occurrence. It’s EVERY week. And every week my foot meets the fury that is my:

  • door frame
  • dresser
  • book case
  • desk base
  • bed post
  • kitchen cabinet

In fact, right at this very moment I am recoiling in my third episode this month. I am a professional toe-stubber.

For the love of God “toe-stub-God-master.” For the love of God…

Lara declared:

Yo, Yo: WordPress Updates

Friday, May 11th, 2007 at 1:00 am

You should all know that I am a WordPress junkie. I even have a t-shirt. But that’s besides the point. What I do love is manipulating this platform to do ANYTHING. And I sure mean anything. From an online, dynamic archive of scanned-to-text books to websites for an amazing writer of our time… I’d said I’ve got a few WordPress notches on my belt ;)

So, to fill my craving today (besides spending nearly four hours on a client’s project creating loan applications) I decided to install a few plugins I found on a few websites:

One you won’t notice (but may still affect you) is a special “do-follow” plugin. This means that instead of ignoring commenter’s links (in an attempt to prevent spam) this plugin will let web crawlers (like those for Google) follow to your website. Basically - it means you’ll push yourself up in the rankings if you add a comment! Woah! Check that one out here.

Another plugin I threw in for the commenters I am so-ever greatful for is the lovely “Top Commenters of the Month!” (aka the greatest commenters in the world, as you’ll see on the sidebar.) This one is especially fun as it resets every month to give everyone a chance. What’s the incentive? Perhaps I’ll throw in a cash prize or contest later on ;) Of course - no spam please!

So there you have it folks! Comment, and ye shall be rewarded.

Lara declared:

Resident Fishermen Here

Friday, April 27th, 2007 at 12:26 am

RYAN!In case you were unaware… Crunchy Mustard is home to a few fishermen. “Oh?” you say in disbelief? Say no more!

From the Star-Ledger:

TOP CATCHES
Capt. Art Hilliard ran his first trip of the season with the Eagle, and tried clamming down the beach on Saturday. The Moye Equipment Co. party had a good pick of stripers, including a couple of keepers plus a 16-inch flounder on a bass rig. When that slowed, Hilliard tried a few spots on Flynn’s Knoll, where more shorts and another keeper were hooked. Ryan Ciocca of Philadelphia took the pool with a 31-inch striper.

Just to clarify, I caught the flounder. THAT’S RIGHT! ON A BASS RIG! Holy smokes. Christian caught a keeper, while Ryan clearly won the prize. This is what he had to say:

Ryan (12:20:48 AM): I am the best fisherman in all of the world
Lara (12:21:31 AM): yup
Lara (12:22:08 AM): you caught the biggest one all day
Lara (12:22:17 AM): out of all the boats that reported
Ryan (12:23:35 AM): ergo, why i am the master fisherman
Lara (12:23:40 AM): right

Ahoy Matey!