My New Obsession

After countless hours of browsing the interweb, I came across a Spanish designer who caught my eye. Lázaro Rosa-Violán is an interior designer based out of Barcelona and designs commercial properties, mainly restaurants and hotels. His home and studio was featured in the Spanish Architectural Digest, and I envy every bit of it.

I admire the way he can incorporate antique pieces in a modern space, but still maintain a masculine feel. When people sprinkle antiques in a modern room, the masculinity of the contemporary space goes right out the window. His lived-in approach to design is great, because it makes the space livable, yet impressively chic. LázaroRosa-Violán.com

Quirky Quirks

Everyone's Gottem'

My coworker telling me that I need a shrink because of all my "rules" made me think. Yes, I may have some pre-determined rules, but can't I just call them quirks?

1. I don't like being outside. Heat is something that I really don't enjoy. Sweating is not something I enjoy. Plus, I'm happy pale.

2. I don't like people looking at me. It makes me self-conscious.

3. People looking at the music on my iPod makes me uncomfortable.

4. I'm addicted to pop. I've tried to stop, but it's not working.

5. When I say "I don't care." I really don't have an opinion. If I have a preference, I'll tell you.

6. I tend to be more open with strangers, as opposed to someone close to me.

7. I don't leave the house in sweatpants, or any variation of sweats.

8. I've been described as harsh, but I am only sarcastic to people I like.

9. I only like the city because I like being around people, but not necessarily having to converse with.

10. I'm comfortable with silence. Sitting with someone in complete silence does not bother me.

Longing for a Desk

I am a month into my summer vacation, living at home in the suburbs of Chicago and only missing one thing. During the school year I live in Chicago but when I think about the things I miss about school only one thing comes to mind, my desk. I miss a dingy desk in my dingy dorm room! My house doesn’t have a desk anywhere for me, needless to say that my room at home is packed with stuff. I remember growing up with a desk in my room; I have no idea what I filled it with being that I was no older than 13. Then after several moves, and several new pieces of furniture, I gave up a desk for a chair in my bedroom. I didn’t really know what I was missing before college, and then I moved into my dorm that already had a desk there and then I was in heaven.

I can’t exactly pinpoint my longing for a desk; it could be that I like a central place to keep all of my stuff, or I like to be able to sit in a chair, in front of a desk and use my computer. Using a computer, keeping papers, and storing simple office supplies are just simpler at a desk. Basically, instead of keeping my stationary and my remote controls in the same place is not really convenient, at least for me. By the end of school year, my desk was my command center. Everything I did in my room was done at my desk. I loved it.

What is it about desks that make people feel more productive? I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much about not having desk, being that I have one at my job. I’ve worked in the same office for about two years now, and this summer I was given my own desk. I don’t share this desk, and I do what I want with the desk. My first week was spent organizing the desk, moving the phone to the opposite side (which proved difficult with a short phone cord), cleaning drawers out, throwing out papers, and rounding up all the loose pens that somehow found a home in every drawer. However, I filled the desk in a matter of hours, because I tend to acquire a lot of papers for my job and need to keep them within reaching-distance. So I really can’t call the desk at the office “my desk” because it really doesn’t have anything to do with me, besides what I do at work, which isn’t really the best description of me.

Come August when school starts, I will be supplied with a desk again and everything will be right in the world.

Etos

Oscar de la Renta

Bungalow 5

Aero, NYC

A Little Bit About Me

I believe in astrology. I wouldn't say that I hold 100% confidence in what mine says everyday, but I do find it to be shockingly accurate from time to time. The passage below is from tarot.com, one of the many websites that one can find read their astrological signs.

The Virgin is highly discriminating, but not necessarily as prudish at some might believe. In ancient times, a Virgin was a woman who was not the property of man, and therefore had the legal right to just say "no." Now, in modern times, Virgos are known for their ability to be highly discriminating -- especially when it comes to matters of personal desire. When they are ready, however, to say yes, the laser-like focus of their passion is anything but prudish. Virgos have the uncanny sense to see what's wrong with a person, a situation or their environment. It's why they make such natural critics. Their practical analytical abilities are second to none. Their mental process may not be the most creative, but their razor-like thinking is highly effective. Like the maiden pictured in your glyph, they separate the useful wheat from the unneeded chafe, the good from the bad. They might be a "clean freak," but most Virgos have a messy closet somewhere or a disaster under their bed. Their motto could be "Perfect is almost good enough." On one hand, this trait makes them very employable, for they're not likely to do shabby work. On the other hand, they can be so finicky that they put limitations on their interactions and experiences before they happen. They'll be happier if they can learn to be selectively less critical, both of others and themselves.

The few items that struck me as interesting was the idea of me being very critical. I would definitely agree with that, however, I rarely share my opinion, or my critique. I find myself to bite my tongue many times, either for not wanting to hurt someones feelings, or because I don't want to be wrong. It seems to me that if someone thinks your opinion is wrong, it stings much more than your factual answer being called wrong. This idea is parallel in the realm of my analytical abilities. I do analyze quite a bit, but I never tend to share my findings, only because I'm self-conscious of my ideas. Maybe this blog will alter that?

I especially like to analyze people; I find myself sitting on the train, starring at the person across from me thinking about what they might be like. I take into account their appearance, the things they're carrying, or possibly even their phone conversation. I realize that, yes, that may be an invasion of privacy, but they are the ones talking in front of people. And it's not like I am going back to my apartment and telling all my friends about what I heard. Really, once I hear it and then maybe put some kind of assumption with it, I forget about it. What good is it for me? I've always accredited my vivid imagination as just that, a big imagination. But what if it's meant to be more? Can I use my quality of reading people for me? I do occasionally get the feeling that one of my friends is in a bad mood, and then I back away. Give them their space, and return when I sense a better mood. I hypothesize that it takes a certain mood to be around me, I definitely have a personality that doesn't suit everybody.

Anyways, what I take from tarrot.com's guess of what I am really like, based on my birthday, is that I am very critical of other people, but I use that power of critique as a virtue, regarding the fact that I am able to read people and sense what they are like. I take pride in my ability to read someone. I'm not saying that I am right all the time, or half the time for that sake, but I do definitely take into account someones mood and basic demeanor when I begin conversing with them.

Oh yeah, and the thing about the "neat freak," I totally am. But I do not have a messy closet.