About Me Zine Updated

 Made a slightly updated digital zine since my last one expired due to maximum reach of views (thank you tho) and hopefully this won't get deleted this time! Weirdly enough the Youtube links worked while editing but not while shared here... and I have no clue how to fix that oh well.

Bookstore Ephemera

I currently work at a used bookstore, and this means we get handed all kinds of books from all over the place. My favorite thing so far is examining each and every one as I organize, hoping to catch a small gap between the pages from the top. That's usually how you know you struck gold. I get this weird rush when I pull apart the pages and see something new in there. This is about most of what I've retrieved so far that I find interesting. I have this weird protectiveness over these documents, like it's my sole duty to protect a stranger's memories before they get lost forever. 

I used a handheld portable scanner so the scans aren't exactly perfect but I tried my best!

i pray that this person got back into karate and jiu-jitsu....

postcard from italy. nothing written on the back :(

personal favorite. amc stub for the half-blood prince.

top find. romantic prose on a sticky note.

I'm in Austria right now Pt.3 + Update!

Finally able to enjoy a bit of respite from these hectic past couple of days. I got back from Austria on the 26th of September and it's been constant work, work, work since then. 

I sound like I'm complaining but I'm not! It's a bookstore that is opening in the mall in my area and I'm really excited about it. They don't just have books, they also focus on other physical media such as DVDs, CDs, and vinyl which is very much up my alley. We are in the process of setting up fixtures and putting away boxes and boxes of books. I was assigned in the Graphic Novel and Comic section of the store, and I don't mind at all. It gives me such creative inspiration as I'm exposed to covers of intricate and beautiful art. I've already set aside of couple of books to buy later.... 

It's physically grueling 10-hour work days, consisting of lifting heavy stacks of books and organizing them, and for someone so out-of-shape as I am I've been walking with a dull ache in my thighs from bending down over and over but my god am I loving it anyway. Stick me in a quiet corner with my headphones in while I alphabetize hundreds of DC and Marvel titles and I'd perfectly okay. I barely know anyone there but the people I've worked with have been very nice so far. The work environment is strangely so chill that's its almost unnerving, and in some weird way I'm almost apprehensive to how kind everyone is, like this is actually an elaborate ruse and I'm about to get the rug pulled out from under me at any second... my brain works in strange ways.  

For the last day in Austria we took a tour in a place called Zotter Schokolade, which is a chocolate factory / outdoor art exhibit / park / zoo? It's a crazy amalgamation of things residing besides a mountainous view of a castle and it was probably my favorite part of the trip. 

We started off by being huddled into this tiny theatre with stuffed heavy sacks for seats. They show us a documentary of the Zotter Family alongside their resident artist, Andreas H. Gratze as they go through the process of perfecting the most rich and scent-enhancing chocolate. After the film ends they hand us a plastic spoon and the chocolate tasting tour begins. 

I'm in Austria right now Pt. 2.

Yesterday morning we made our way to the Schlossberg tower with empty stomachs after reading that they had a cafe nestled at the top. We thought, "Wow, wouldn't that be so cute to have breakfast up there?" We were naive. There are many ways you could go. A lift that you have to pay extra for. The Schlossbergbahn, which is a cable car that takes you to the top and the bottom. Well, it's supposed to. We went at opening and guess what... it was closed. And we didn't want to pay the euro just to take an elevator. So we trekked numerous flights of stairs with not a single thing in our bodies to give us energy. There were groups of school kids in front of us, taking the journey up like no problem whilst the two of us huffed and puffed the whole way through. 

By the time we reached the top we were so, so over it and starving but you have to admit the view is gorgeous. Sea of red brick-piled rooftops and lush autumn greenery.  We had to move up more steep pavements in order to reach the cafe, which wasn't fun. Seeing that cafe entrance was like being witness to the birth of Christ, I swear. It was gratefully so worth it. We ordered an array of cheeses, breads, and salads. Not a preservative or artificial flavor in sight. It's the next day as I'm writing this and I'm still thinking about it. 

We sat outside and enjoyed the view. Forgot to mention but there's another way to reach the bottom if you don't feel obliged to walk or take the lift down. There's this crazy underground slide that you can also embark on, but after having eaten I did not want to be a participant. What's funny is that the area where you slide was right by our table, so along with us helping ourselves to soft-boiled eggs and greek yogurt with jam were the intermittent sounds of people's screams echoing from below, adding a delightful ambience to our meal. We took a long, winding road down to the bottom, having to stop every minute or so to rest. 

View from the stairs. 

What a cool sticker. 

The clocktower. 

The famous stairs. Looks cool but is so, so tiring.

 

What I notice in Austria is that they love to be closed at such odd hours. I'm used to America, where everything opens at around 9 and closes at 9, Monday-Sunday. Here it's whatever you desire it to be. Half the places I wanted to go to were closed but only on Monday, some places closed at 1pm and opened again at 2, others were only open between 1-5. Let's just say it's really hard to schedule an itinerary because a lot of places just soar off on vibes. I can't blame them, I would love to be able to go home before the sun went down. Maybe that's why there are so many bars here, because what else are you able to do after work?

 

Being here definitely does not help my anxiety. I stick out so much, a frumpy mess of short spiky black hair in a sea of tall, thin blondes. I get stared at so often as we weave through crowds, and I wish I knew that it wasn't for the reason I'm thinking. Maybe I'm just sooo cool that they can't help but look. Maybe my stupid haircut isn't actually that stupid. 

 

We ate a sushi place that night (it was actually really damn good) and there was a couple that were seated behind us, and both of them stared at me. Like, the guy was facing me and looking and the girl in front of him turned fully around just to look at me. And after that, they got up and seemingly left. I'm not quite sure how I'm supposed to take the situation. Sometimes I wonder if this is all in my head. Maybe they just had somewhere else to be. Maybe what people are saying when they are whispering to themselves as they pass by you is them reciting their grocery lists. Maybe they're not laughing at me.

 

After the Schlossberg we walked down this long street full of shops, very reminiscent of the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. A lot of them didn't really interest me, mostly luxury stores with boring clothes or gift shops with old people soaps. I was quite surprised. Where's all the cool shit? I had heard there was a Flying Tiger, a store I always wanted to go to. I bought a couple things, mostly gifts. Then Lush, where I was sold on many products because the saleslady was really, really nice and I really needed that after feeling like an alien (no pun intended) with everyone else. 

 

There was even a Dunkin', surprisingly, I think our new thing is to visit a Dunkin' every time we travel somewhere to compare. All I can say is, don't order Austrian Dunkin'. 

 

 

Lots of pens....

This Super Milk spray smelled so good. My boyfriend says I smell like cake.