Updates on My Life & A Commitment to Better Blogging

I feel like it is necessary at this point to catch people up in the world of Erica Kriner. There have been a few major developments since I last posted and I think it’s time to dust off this old blog and continue on with my story on the sole narcissistic belief that someone out there actually cares. So let’s go through the basics:

•  My love life has changed a little bit since we last spoke. Previous Boyfriend who I wrote about and I broke up – it was a pretty uneventful thing. We’re still on good terms. Now, I’m with Current Love Interest who will probably be my boyfriend here soon, and who is wildly different from the former, but it’s really exciting and amazing and he makes me very happy.
• I am in Arkansas for the time being, and will not be back in Philly until spring semester. I’m a bit bored, but that has recently been made a little easier to bear with the aforementioned, as well as…
• My new writing endeavors! Not only did I start my own website where I do reviews and talk about social issues and politics (http://culturalettes.com), but I also was selected to become an actual contributor to an actual magazine! So if you ever want to read writing that I put a lot more time and effort into than my personal blog, check out one of my articles of The Odyssey Online, which I will begin posting here when they are published!

In other news, I turn 20 years old in a little over two days. This is a big deal for me, as I will officially be entering my third decade of life! So much happened in my second decade – I wonder if I can outdo myself this time around. I’ll need to write another novel – that’s for sure. I’ll need to accomplish some stuff on my bucket list. It’s so daunting! How different will my life be when I’m about to turn 30?

Tatiana seems to think turning 20 is a boring age, but to me, this is a huge development. I feel like 20 is the first year I will be taken seriously as an adult, which is super exciting. (I guess I should stop crying at Disney movies and maybe stop building pillow forts in my free time. Oops.)

Also, as one of my first Adult Goals on turning 20, I plan on being much more active in all my blogging spheres. That means more personal blogs, more writing on The Culturalettes, and of course – keeping up with The Odyssey.

Basically, my life is going pretty okay as of right now, and despite a lot of problems that I’ve faced this past year or so, a lot of good things have happened, too.  

Self-Portrait for Anthropology

Strictly for your enjoyment, dear reader. Everything you need to know is in the video description.

A Tale of Two Kitties (Plot Twist: One of Them is a Rabbit)

If I were to give a State of the Union address during my Fall Break on Haverford Campus, I probably would have included my frustrations with my living situation. Here’s the thing: I was being completely spoiled by m wonderful mentor. She was letting me stay in her house, use her kitchen and her laundry machine (that was NOT coin operated), and generally exist in her personal area as opposed to my very empty hall in Barclay. The only catch? I was responsible for her two pets: a cat named Pip and a rabbit named Hector.

20 Songs That Shaped Me

Some songs come and go; does anyone actually remember Fountains of Wayne? (Yes – THAT’S the band who gave us “Stacy’s Mom”.) But some songs stay with us for a lifetime and a half. Those are the songs I’m focusing on. So I give you 20 songs that not only dominated some portion of my life and was stuck on repeat for a month, but also helped me through something. Maybe I even go back to these songs when I really need them (or when I miss hearing them).

PS. These definitely aren’t in any kind of order.

Lessons in Love from the Resident Hopeless Romantic

Hello there, beautiful readers that I've been imagining this entire time. Today, I'm going to talk about love. And I definitely mean the knock-your-socks-off, I-Wanna-Hold-Your-Hand ballad-worthy kind of love that begins with fireworks and ends with the rest of the universe.

Why Doctor Who Should Be Your Favorite TV Show

Doctor Who is easily my favorite television show. So many times, people have asked what it is about. But the problem with that question is that there is no good way to answer it.

You see, essentially Doctor Who is a kid’s show. It’s about an alien who travels time and space, fighting monsters for the purpose of protecting Earth and saving lives. And let’s be honest – that’s a pretty basic concept. It’s not new. It wasn’t new 50 years ago when Doctor Who first began – there’s absolutely nothing extraordinary about it. But why, then, has Doctor Who survived so long?

Bad Breakups with Old Friends and The Bad-Boy Replacement (AKA Arctic Monkeys)

Your first real, serious relationship is generally an important one in your lifetime. I remember the first relationship I had that felt like a relationship was with a boy named James. He was a couple of years older than me, and I remember singing love songs as he played piano. I remember falling madly in love with his family - so much so that I continued to love and visit with them long after we broke up.

James was that first, beautiful relationship for me. And the relationship ended messily, terribly even. It's a wonder that we still occasionally talk. And when he comes to town and I happen to see him, it takes a great deal of self-control to not bring up that relationship - to not go back to it. Because it WAS my first real relationship and it was one filled with happiness...when it was happy.

So what does that have to do with Arctic Monkeys?