laurasjogren

[laurasjogren]

Discovered the meaning of life on this cryptic post-it I found: Unsure, but Beautiful. #corporateballet

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Charles Bukowski // “Nobody can save you but yourself. You will be put again and again into nearly impossible situations. They will attempt again and again…to make you submit, quit and/or die quietly inside…and it will be easy enough to fail…but don’t, don’t, don’t. Just watch them. Listen to them. Do you want to be like that? A faceless, mindless, heartless being? Do you want to experience death before death? Nobody can save you but yourself and you’re worth saving. It’s a war not easily won but if anything is worth winning then this is it. Think about it. Think about saving yourself.”

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My wonderful frog companion, Watson Johnny Cash Frog, died this week on December 3, 2014. He was no ordinary pet. I have had him for 6.5 years, since July 9, 2008, where he was discovered as a prize in Coney Island. The game was Milk Bottles and it looked hard. At $3 a throw with my athletic ability, there was no way I was wining that frog easy, so my sister just says to the always-ready-for-a-haggle Brooklynite, "How much for the frog?". He sold him to us for $5. Our beach day turned into a boozey night, Watson waiting patiently as we rested his plastic bag on the table of a 6th Street Indian restaurant, and a few bars. 

He kept me company through the years, softly croaking at night, which gave my urban apartment the soothing feel of sitting on a deck on vacation. When I left the house, I would always say "Bye, Watsy!", and blow him a kiss. I would joke with my boyfriend that he had two emotions: inside the castle and outside the castle. Technically it was a plastic bridge made in China, but isn't that just the case for all of us? The castle is our safe place, our home, our inner self, but we need to explore the world and interact with it to be more well-rounded. He was spending a lot more time in the castle over the last 6 months. He stopped eating. I'm not sure what sparked it, but I hope he's happy now, croaking away in frog heaven which I imagine is a huge pond with some females he can finally direct that croak at. Also, "Rainbow Connection", and other songs sung by frogs, play all day.

Here are a few of my favorite Watson moments:

-My brother once thoughtfully drew me a caricature of Watson wearing a pageboy cap and sunglasses, but forgot his name and wrote "Cool Winston". It was forever his nickname.

-One of Watson's thrills in life was when I would stun a fly and throw it in his tank. It would buzz around the surface until he ate it. Animal Cruelty + Animal Joy= No Harm Done

-I once thought he needed companionship so bought a teeny tiny frog from the pet store, which I named Christopher Robin. Watson immediately ate him, but after I feverishly tapped on the glass, he spit him out. They lived in peace until C.R. died, which goes to show Coney Island is a much better place to go pet shopping. 

Rest in Peace, sweet buddy. 

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Beautiful view from the toilet at @lmurrrrr's.

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Everything here means something to me: the plate from when my parents were in Oslo the year I was born, the sweet @toddoldham spoon rest plate, the beautiful blue mug I got in Montreal, the enamel cup that somehow matches the plate, the bread from Bakeri, and even that fork from Ikea is something I chose. If you're a maker, keep making. It means something.

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Loving this sexy cheese ad in Pizza Quarterly (a real thing)

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Great advice, too.

Probably my favourite record of this year so far.

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Shirt by Belgian artist, Elodie Antoine. 

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One of the truly beautiful things in life.

Aaron “Hot Dog” Burr dancing to Open Mike Eagle

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Patti Smith // “Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don’t make compromises, don’t worry about making a bunch of money or being successful. Be concerned about doing good work. Protect your work and if you build a good name, eventually that name will be its own currency.”

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Created a separate blog for my #corporateballet adventures. Follow me here!

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Hermine Van Dijck is a Belgian designer and weaver. I immensely enjoy her blog and following her work at: http://herminevandijck.wordpress.com

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Perfection

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Your basic year-round sunglasses.