Traveling, triggers for sudden homesickness, learning Dutch, reading, music, being in love, fashion, what makes a bargain a bargain?, cooking, overcoming doubt and fear, Spain, runs and long walks listening to NPR podcasts, singing songs from musicals loudly and with great enthusiasm, humor, moments of internal Russian winters, my fabulous friends and family, creativity out of chaos vs. creativity out of structure, what it means to be an ex-pat, riding my bike, toughening up and standing taller.
The Marble Faun.
Peter, Bjorn and John, Richard Swift, Guillemots, Mates of State, Amy Winehouse, Eels, Bob Mould, Radiohead, Grandaddy, Helen Stellar, John Doe, Doves, New Pornographers, Stone Roses, The Decemberists, Imperial Teen, Crowded House, The Beta Band, Bees, Rufus Wainwright, The Shins, Stereolab, Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, The Strokes, Le Tigre, Sufjan Stevens, Sugar, The Jam, Dionne Warwick, Elliot Smith, Dixie Chicks, Herb Alpert, Queen, Duke Ellington, Ben Lee, Henry Mancini, Neal Diamond, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Burt Bacharach, Chet Baker, Earth, Wind & Fire, Elefant, and more...
Raising Arizona, Better Off Dead, The Graduate, Cradle Will Rock, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Grey Gardens, The Kid Stays in the Picture, Auntie Mame, The Fisher King, Lost in Translation, Garden State, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Office Space, Waiting for Guffman, Hear My Song, Summer Holiday, and more...
The Aaron Spelling oeuvre, and more...
Kafka on the Shore, Jitterbug Perfume, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Ghostwritten, Little Big, Wild Swans, Shadow of the Wind, The Time Traveler's Wife, Middlesex: A Novel, Fortress of Solitude, and so many more...
Pioneer women and people who are brave enough to stick with it and wear their heart on their sleeve. And my mom, who is all of those things. And my sister who is an inspiration.