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That Ginger, Anna

That Ginger, Anna

Tag Archives: twentysomething

OSCARS+Lent

04 Sunday Mar 2018

Posted by That Ginger, Anna in Media, Personal and Fun

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Tags

catholicism, lent, lenten fast, manhattan, New York City, NYC, off the grid, oscars, twentysomething

So, I gave up social media and texting (my phone in general except for emails, video+audio, finance stuff, and calls) for Lent.

So far I’ve messed up on the texting thing once when I had to respond to my brother about something, but except for that I have been good. Only about 27 days to go!

I’ve looked at WhatsApp and my texts to make sure anyone who didn’t know hadn’t messaged me…but alas, of course, they hadn’t, HAHA!

I was using my phone as a security blanket at times when I should have just been facing the uncomfortable situations around me and it got to be too much. I was checking my phone constantly and using it for everythinggg.

I chose to give this up a week or so before Lent but I went to my favorite bar on Mardi Gras and some grumpy, drunk old man was loudly making fun of me and this middle-aged lady sitting next to me about being on our phones…she told him off but I just sat there wondering why people have to be assholes–and bathing in the irony of the fact that I was set to give up my phone in a few hours and he had no idea. *I still think people are assholes…

IMG_8175.JPG

I’m legit dying tho. It’s super isolating and lonely not being able to reach out to people. I miss Instagram the most, by FAR! I find myself wanting to send people memes so bad 😛 I don’t miss Facebook at all, oddly, although I did realize all of my news was coming from there. Not like, I was reading news from people’s likes or my timeline, but I follow all of my favorite news outlets on there so without that platform I’m not reading any news. I have since fixed that by shifting completely to BBC and radio news shows/podcasts. Also, watching TV without Twitter/IMDb is certainly overrated, tbh…

That said, I have been sleeping better (it’s definitely affected my dreams!) and have been more productive at work. I have been better about getting exercise and grooming too. Not that I wasn’t doing that stuff before but I am more focused and have more energy to dedicate to those things now. I’ve also taught myself some new skills in my free time too: logo making on Adobe Illustrator as well as creating and enabling “canned messages” and filters in Gmail. Worked on more Adobe stuff too. I’ve been reading more as well. I definitely hope to keep my phone usage to a minimum after all this.

I keep forgetting and eating meat on Fridays so I guess it’s all kind of pointless anyway, haha >_<

I’m going to a concert on Friday and that’s probably going to be the most challenging. I will take some pictures to share on IG at Easter.

Capture

As is tradition, here are my picks (first and second) for all of the categories in tonights OSCARS! What are your picks?

BEST PICTURE

  • Call Me by Your Name
  • Darkest Hour
  • Dunkirk
  • Get Out
  • Lady Bird (1)
  • Phantom Thread
  • The Post
  • Shape of Water (2)
  • Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

  • Timothee Chalamet (2)
  • Daniel Day-Lewis (1)
  • Daniel Kaluuya
  • Gary Oldman
  • Denzel Washington

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

  • Sally Hawkins
  • Frances McDormand
  • Margot Robbie (1)
  • Saorise Ronan (2)
  • Meryl Streep

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

  • Willem Dafoe (1)
  • Woody Harrelson
  • Richard Jenkins
  • Christoper Plummer
  • Sam Rockwell (2)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

  • Mary J. Blige (1)
  • Allison Janney (2)
  • Lesley Manville
  • Laurie Metcalf
  • Octavia Spencer

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

  • The Boss Baby
  • The Breadwinner
  • Coco (1)
  • Ferdinand (2)
  • Loving Vincent

CINEMATOGRAPHY

  • Blade Runner 2049 (2)
  • Darkest Hour
  • Dunkirk
  • Mudbound
  • The Shape of Water (1)

COSTUME DESIGN

  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Darkest Hour
  • Phantom Thread (1)
  • The Shape of Water
  • Victoria & Abdul (2)

DIRECTING

  • Dunkirk
  • Get Out
  • Lady Bird (1)
  • Phantom Thread
  • The Shape of Water (2)

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)

  • Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
  • Faces Places (2)
  • Icarus (1)
  • Lost Men in Aleppo
  • Strong Island

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)

  • Edith+Eddie
  • Heaven Is a Traffic Jame on the 405
  • Heroin(e) (1)
  • Knife Skills
  • Traffic Stop (2)

FILM EDITING

  • Baby Driver (1)
  • Dunkirk
  • I, Tonya
  • The Shape of Water (2)
  • Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

  • A Fantastic Woman (1)
  • The Insult
  • Loveless
  • On Body and Soul (2)
  • The Square

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

  • Darkest Hour (2)
  • Victoria & Abdul (1)
  • Wonder

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

  • Dunkirk
  • Phantom Thread (2)
  • The Shape of Water (1)
  • Star Wars: The Last Jedi
  • Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

  • Mighty River
  • Mystery of Love
  • Remember Me (2)
  • Stand Up For Something
  • This is Me (1)

PRODUCTION DESIGN

  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Blade Runner 2049
  • Darkest Hour (2)
  • Dunkirk
  • The Shape of Water (1)

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

  • Dear Basketball
  • Garden Party (1)
  • Lou
  • Negative Space (2)
  • Revolting Rhymes

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

  • DeKalb Elementary (2)
  • The Eleven O’Clock
  • My Nephew Emmett (1)
  • The Silent Child
  • Watu Wote/All of Us

SOUND EDITING

  • Baby Driver (1)
  • Blade Runner 2049
  • Dunkirk (2)
  • The Shape of Water
  • Star Wars: The Last Jedi

SOUND MIXING

  • Baby Driver
  • Blade Runner 2049
  • Dunkirk (1)
  • The Shape of Water (2)
  • Star Wars: The Last Jedi

VISUAL EFFECTS

  • Blade Runner 2049 (2)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
  • Kong: Skull Island
  • Star Wars: The Last Jedi
  • War for the Planet of the Apes (1)

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

  • Call Me by Your Name (1)
  • The Disaster Artist
  • Logan
  • Molly’s Game
  • Mudbound (2)

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

  • The Big Sick
  • Get Out
  • Lady Bird (1)
  • The Shape of Water (2)
  • Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

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#40FOR40NYC Episode 2: Parades and Free Schtuff

14 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by That Ginger, Anna in Personal and Fun, Travel

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

art, arthur avenue, bars, boogie down bronx, bronx, brooklyn, budget friendly, budget travel, bx, cheap, cheap activities, culture, flowers, fun, graduate student, green-wood cemetery, history, little italy, new york, New York City, NYC, restaurants, single, things to do, tourism, tourist, Travel, twentysomething

Howdy everyone!

Time for another installment of #40FOR40NYC! I haven’t written recently because since my iPad was damaged and my laptop is a hunk o’ poo, I had no way to write except with my phone. Thankfully, I have a new iPad and I bought a keyboard on Amazon, so I can type! 

There is going to be a slight change to this series. I am working 6 days a week now, so I have had to restrict my exploring to Saturday afternoons and Sundays. On top of the 6 day work week, I am also taking a 6 week summer class which requires a copious amount of reading and writing in a very short time AND I have to take a Spanish fluency exam in a month. This means I do not know when I will be able to fit in any new activities. Since I picked up a Saturday and Monday shift, I won’t be going on any weekend trips either. After the class is over I can resume exploring on Sundays, but I obviously can’t fit in 25+ activities in 8 sundays. That being said, I don’t want to stop the series, but I am going to probably have to stretch it into the early Fall. 

Anyway. Since my last entry I have done several things!

I went to two parades: cost=$5.50 and $5.50

   
   
I went to the Puerto Rican parade and the NYC Pride parade. I had only ever been to one parade-a Veterans Day parade in Greenville, Texas. Parades are an amazing, free, fun way to meet people, listen to music, and people watch! You should definitely bring a chair (which I didn’t do) and maybe a mini-cooler with drinks and such, but I highly recommend going to parades if you are looking for something cheap to do in NYC. There are SO many to choose from. I am already excited for the Labor Day and St. Patrick’s Day parades! I’d always wanted to go to the Puerto Rican Parade and it was really neat. There were representatives there from different states, many unions, companies, small business owners, clubs, dance studios, and people representing cities from all over the island of Puerto Rico! My best friend and her family are from Ponce, so it was cool to spot all the people representing that area. I missed the beginning of the parade so I didn’t see any famous people, but it was still a lot of fun. Last weekend I went to the NYC Pride parade. I had never been to a pride parade and going right on the heels of the marriage equality ruling by the SCOTUS was really memorable. Everyone was SO happy and in such a good mood. There was so much fun music, everyone was dancing, and there were a lot of well known people. I read that Caitlyn Jenner and the cast of OITNB were there, but I only saw Senator Chuck Schumer, Mayor DeBlasio, and Sir Ian McKlellan! This parade was really convienient for me because the route runs right by my school (yay, access to bathrooms). 

   
   
I will know the best place to sit and time to get there next year! I was VERY weary to go to parades because big crowds aren’t really my scene, but at both parades I was able to find great places to stand that weren’t too packed so this will definitely be a regular activity for me. 

I tried two new restaurants: cost= $24 and $29 

Before the Puerto Rican parade I went to brunch with a friend from school. We tried this Italian place called UVA on the Upper East Side that was REALLY good. They serve Aperol Spritz, which is my favorite drink from Italy, and they have brunch specials. I got a drink, eggs, potatoes, and spinach for $24 including tip. 

  
After the NYC Pride parade I went to Galanga Thai restaurant. It was really good and the service was QUICK, but the portions are small and there was lipstick on my Thai iced tea glass ;/ I got cashew stir fry with white rice, a Thai iced tea, and a Sapporo for $24 including tip!

  
I went to a concert and a bar: cost=$30 and $30

If you need cheap entertainment, I HIGHLY recommend entering contests/raffles. In the past two weeks I’ve won two contests which meant I got entertainment for the cost of an Uber ride (I take the train downtown, but always Uber back if it’s after 9 since I would have to walk from the train station alone). Two weeks ago I won a contest at a bar called McFadden’s and got free alcohol for 3 hours and anyone that came with me got an open bar for $25 (at $10-$15 per drink in NYC, this is a great deal)! I entered their contest while eating dinner there a couple of weeks before (after trying to take pictures of Manhattanhenge). Anyone can enter and they select people for the free open bar the following week. 

  
I also entered a contest through Jukely for some concert tickets and I won. I went to see Junior Brown. Most of you probably don’t know who he is, but I’ve been listening to him since I was a kid, so it was pretty fun. He sings country music, so it was it was neat to see a country artist in NYC. The concert took place at City Winery NYC. I will definitely go back to check this place out when I have more time.

   

  

  

I visited Green-Wood Cemetary: cost=$5.50

I decided I wanted to checkout Brooklyn and I’ve heard a lot about Green-Wood Cemetary. It’s a Nationial Historic Site and tons of famous people are buried there too. I will be honest and tell you I didn’t do any research before going, so this will probably be a repeat activity, once I find some specific graves I want to visit. I took lots of pictures, but it was raining and I came from work so I wasn’t up for walking around the entire place. There are some AMAZING views, great history to learn about, and unique graves to see. They also offer evening tours a couple of times a month, which I’d really like to check out sometime-probably in the Fall! A friend told me they hire actors and actresses to portray the famous dead people at their graves (spookyyy)!

   

  

  

  

I went back to Little Italy (in the Bronx): cost=$18 ($5.50)

This could cost as little at $5.50, but there are no trains directly to Little Italy only buses, so I just Uber (I take the bus to work everyday and I honestly really don’t like getting on it when I don’t have to). I made a friend on the train a few weeks ago and he is a graffiti artists from Harlem. He does a lot of work in Little Italy, so we met up and he showed me around. I went back to Bronx Beer Hall, checked out a place called Tuff City Tattoos, and have been to several delicious restaurants too! It was raining so I didn’t get many pictures, but I plan to visit several times throughout the summer, so I am sure I will get some more! 

   
  
   

  
I went to the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Botanical Garden: cost=$0 ($20-25)

My boss is a member of the Botanical Garden so I didn’t have to pay to see this exhibit, but regular tickets are $20-25 (discounts for students, senior citizens, and kids). I was SO excited to see this exhibit. I have been fascinated by Mexican culture and art since I was in high school, so this was a major treat. The NYBG refashioned Frida Kahlo’s home in Mexico City and had several works on display. I can’t really put into words how great it was, so here are some pictures.

   
    
    
    
   
The exhibit will be there through the end of October, so if you are in NYC, I highly recommend checking it out!

Last, but not least, I went to Highbridge: cost=$15.50

I rode the bus over to the Manhattan side of Highbridge. This bridge was built in 1867 and later left to crumble, but it was recently renovated and reopened. The park is gorgeous and I bought a beer and some Takis at the bodega and sat and watched people for over an hour. It’s a nice walk, it’s peaceful, and definitely a great historic site for both the borough of Manhattan and the Bronx! 

   
    
   
Stay tuned for more stuff to do in NYC and sorry for the change of schedule! 🙂

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An Adventurer Adventuring for Adventure’s Sake

04 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by That Ginger, Anna in Personal and Fun, Uncategorized

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

adventure, adventurer, adventuring, army brat, blogging, bronx, curiosity, david rodigan, food, hawaii, italia, Italy, New York City, NYC, openmind, Reggae, shellys cabaret, the bronx, Travel, traveler, traveling, twentysomething, WODW, world religions, write or die wednesdays, writing

So, one great thing about being an Army brat is the opportunity to meet so many people that you otherwise wouln’t have the opportunity to get to know.

My dad was stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii from 1997 to 2003 and I made several friends during that time. One of the girls I got to know was from Texas and we hung out for a few years when we both lived there. We lost touch, but 5 years later when my dad was stationed at Ft. Hood, she happened to see him at the PX and we were able to reconnect. Several years later when I moved to Texas I was able to hang out with her again and I would go down to her house once every other month or so to catch up. During this time I got to know her older sister a little better and a few summers ago I was invited to her birthday party (you guys may remember that I stayed with her for a week in Aversa last summer, during my Italia in 40 adventure). We all went to a waterpark and I got to meet all of my friend’s older sister’s friends. Over the next several months I went down there several times for other parties and got to know a few new people each time. One of the people I met was a fellow Masters student and blogger, Shelly! 

It just so happens that Shelly aka Shelly’s Cabaret and one of her friends hosts a weekly writing prompt called “Write or Die Wednesdays.” It is open to all bloggers so feel free to link up and contribute! 



Adventure!

#writeordiewednesday



I’ve meant to contribute for months now, but I always worry that I won’t have anything interesting to contribute. 

Today is the day! 

“This week’s prompt is the word ADVENTURE. What has been your greatest adventure? What is the most adventurous thing you have ever done? Have you ever been on an emotional adventure? The writing possibilities are endless!”

While I would have to say that my greatest adventure has been my move to New York, I live for adventure. I’ve always loved hiking and traveling. By the grace of God, I got to take a 40-day backpacking trip to Italy last summer and loved every minute of it-despite traveling alone-and would do it again in a second.

My dream job would be documentary filmmaker or a photo journalist for a travel magazine. I love learning about people and having new experiences whenever I can.

This move to New York has definitely been my biggest adventure because everything in my life is completely different than it’s ever been. While I grew up in an apartment in a culturally diverse area in Hawaii, I was with my family and had a security blanket in my parents and pets. Here in New York I am completely alone, so everyday is an adventure. I never used public transportation (outside of traveling) in my life before moving here, so even going to work and having to map out my route and be able to adapt to route changes and delays is crazy for me. One of the big reasons I chose to live in the Bronx was because I knew it would be a big adventure. I encounter new cultures, languages, and religions everyday. 

Just today I was riding to work and saw a man on his balcony participating in a prayer ritual. He was rubbing his upper body with what looked like an ashen cloth and putting his hands up behind his head. He repeated this process several times before I drove off. I live a couple of blocks from several masjids and I see bearded men walking to prayers every Friday working through their Misbaha as they go along. There are african hairbraiding shops, bodegas, and various ethnic restaurants on every corner.

One of my favorite things about myself is my sense of advendture. A week or two ago, the Write or Die Wednesday prompt asked, “Who are you when you are in your element?” While I have many answers to this question, I would definitely say I am an adventurer at heart and my lifegoal is to go on as many adventures as I can.

I have to admit, when I was younger I was much more adventurous! I was a SUPER tomboy until about 10th grade and I was a daredevil in elementary school. I loved going fishing, skateboarding, building forts, swimming in the ocean, hiking with my dad, driving my four-wheeler…I don’t really know where that fearlessness went, but now I do worry about hurting myself and embarassing myself, which I never cared about in my younger days. I know high school stripped a lot of my self confidence away, so I really stopped trying to live outside the box. I had a crazy year in 2012 and had several of my security blankets ripped away at work and school, so I have slowly been getting back to being true to myself and going on new adventures.

I started Geocaching a few months ago and that has also inspired several recent adventures. It’s a global scavenger hunt of sorts and it is a great way to explore new areas!

Another adventure I’ve started since moving to New York is my job. I am a companion to an elderly woman with memory problems, so that is a challenging aspect of my life that requires adaptation on a daily basis. It’s such an interesting and rewarding job and I’ve been able to meet dozens of people that have really helped shape me as an individual these past few months.

I’m very adventurous in other ways too. I like learning new languages, watching foreign films, trying new foods, and listening to new types of music. I think trying new foods and branching out to different genres of music is one of the easiest ways to be adventurous in your daily life. 

I would highly suggest trying out Tunein and listeing to radio shows from around the world.

One of the best memories I have from a time when I decided to be adventurous was in 2009 on my way to Italy. I was flying from London to Milan and sat next to an older British guy, wearing a bright purple sweater over a red and white plaid button up. We struck up a conversation and he asked me to guess his profession. I guessed that he was a dentist or lawyer and it turns out he was a Reggae DJ. We talked the entire flight and I didn’t think much of it until I got home and Googled him. It turns out that it was none other than David “Ram Jam” Rodigan from BBC1! 3 years later I tuned into the BBC because I heard an advertisement for a Reggae program and he was the DJ! He’s worked with Bob Marley in the past and many other famous Reggae and Ska artists! 

I think a few of the keys to being adventurous are confidence, faith, and openmindedness. You have to be confident that trying new things will lead to fun memories and good experiences and you can’t close yourself off to things that are outside of your comfort zone. I think leaving my comfort zone is the the biggest difficulty for me. Once I make up my mind to leave the house and actually go out on an adventure, I’m never disappointed. Another big part of being adventurous is being able to find the fun in unexpected circumstances. This is a hard one for me too because I am not the most spontaneous person. I like spontaneity and I can roll with it if I am in that mindset, but I do get frustrated when things don’t go according to plan. 

Anyone can have adventures-big or small-with a little confidence!

What’s the best adventure you’ve ever been on?


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