I'm wrapping up a late-night private screening here in my boudoir of The September Issue, a documentary following the creation of Vogue's September Issue.

There were two things that really stunned me.

1) Anna Wintour is a very lovely woman. Not lovely in a sweet way, but lovely in a genuine ass-kicking way. In a way that makes me respect the hell out of her. She is a woman whose family finds humor in her "fashion world." Imagine not being the most classically successful child in a family when you're Anna Fucking Wintour. The way she spoke of her siblings and her father really blew my mind. I would have never believed there was such a side to this machine woman, this  force that runs the world of Fashion.

2) Those working in this film are so PASSIONATE about fashion, about art, about beauty and clothing and spreads and precision and details and articles and editing. I am currently living with the following goal Susie wrote so well, "Come up with a 5-year-plan at some point in the next year or so." I have many interests, and I have many talents, and have many experiences, but I have no deep passions. I haven't found the tune to my heart's song, the calling I'll have to follow over the years. Sure, I'm young, I don't need to know, but God dammit I just want to know what I want to be when I grow up. I wish I were obsessed with fashion, so that I could join Anna in creating a September Issue, with my own 13-page spread to celebrate my birthday (it's a dream...).

It's been a long time, hasn't it, my friends?

I've just finished running the biggest project of my young professional life (JCC Maccabi ArtsFest, if ya haven't heard, ya dig), and am currently enjoying a short vacation out in Honolulu to visit Natalie.

I'm sitting on the campus, on the second day of class, surrounded by the buzz of students eager to meet their next hook up, gripe about buying their textbooks, and reconnect with friends last seen in the spring. It's a scene I already feel so far away from - away from the tables in the Student Center, away from the notebooks and pens and folders and agendas, away from the 120 minute block of class.

How can I be just shy of 23 and feel so old?! I'm not wrinkling yet, am I? Jesus, I hope not. They're not crow feet - they're smile lines... right??

I MISS - really MISS being an undergraduate student. The quality of life when living within 12-18 hours of class a week is unlike anything else. Yet, I remember this distinctly, by the end of it I was eagerly looking forward to being a "real adult." I'm glad I had enough foresight to really try milking my senior year for every minute of irresponsible fun I could. I miss Faegan's Beer Tour. I miss Chuck's cheeseburgers. I miss sitting in the Schine with a Sbarro calzone. I miss Mariel's pesto sandwich in the Newhouse cafe.

I know I can get a big fat "Amen" from my co-conspirators in this treacherous adventure we now call real life. Hold fast, dear friends, hold fast. It's a tough new chapter, with financial hardship and career development, but I know we can do it. Just don't lose that undergrad magic along the way...

A few links to things that will brighten your day:

German Sparkle Party

Catroulette

Fake AP Stylebook

And for adults only...

I Did it for Science

Time always seems to go by too fast, until it freezes during the moment when one's life has come to an end.

This past Friday, my grandmother passed away, just one month shy of turning 90.

Apart from being a strikingly beautiful woman and an eternally generous soul, my grandmother, Celina Pagani, was never short of a kind word for anyone. When I was a child, I would spend my afternoons at her house being lavished with kindness, food, and stories. She was a selfless and loyal wife, mother, aunt, cousin, friend, and grandmother, and not a day shall go by that I will not miss her warm smile or loving eyes.

What the world has lost as a woman, heaven has gained as an angel.

Te quiero mucho, Yaya, para siempre.

So much for the holiday lessons... I seem to have a bit of a follow-through issue with the site at the moment...

Maybe because I've been traveling and indulging in life's delicious moments of vacation. Be jealous.

Happy new year. I'm blown away by how time is passing; exponentially going by faster and faster as I age.

I'm currently finishing up a phenomenal holiday in London with my darling Susie (Prague set for the weekend) and will be returning home next week in my new capacity as ArtsFest Manager for the OMJCC.

Off to sip a cuppa tea and eat biscuits.

xx