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I think things are worth doing
because they are difficult.
We do things not to achieve
something on the outside but to develop
something on the inside. We must push our
boundaries of what we know
or don't know about the world
and ourselves. I may have not
achieved much at the time of
death, but I have at least lived
a life worth living.

-Marco Joshua Alfonso (1993-2014)

The Second Conference

How appropriate that directly following a post about friendship, I promote my lovely evening with a friend last night!
If you'll remember, earlier I mentioned an initial and second conference with Katherine of Reflections On The Window. This Second Conference was to involve blog conversation and Gluten-Free Eating-- and I am pleased to announce that it did!
It was an extraordinary day filled with laughter, baking, new British Television, and much more. Not to be redundant, but, this is yet another example of a fabulous friend-date!

You can read about this second conference on my personal blog, Everyday Ali.

xoxo, Ali

Regarding Relations

I would like to invite my darling audience of (now) 4 to follow my personal blog as well, at Everyday Ali.

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The past several years have been of lonely nature. In the year commonly referred to as "twenty-twelve," I moved from Florida to California, I started a new, and quite frankly, less attractive (in not only it's image, but also in that of the academic and administrative character) school, and I became a mild misanthrope. This was partly due to my own will, but largely due to my personality's vivid antithesis compared to  my surrounding community. As a result of this sudden sense of disapproval, and my own censure of my peers, I cut myself off from all relations. With the exception of previous friendships, obviously.

These friendships included 4, now 3 people. All of them across the country and only able to communicate by way of text message due to the unfortunate time difference that interfered with my social life completely. I had more friends than that, of course, but those few were (and are) the ones who I kept in touch with on a regular basis.

It was not until half-way through the year of two-thouand-thirteen that I opened myself up once again to the idea of friendship. Mostly by my mother's doing. I was perfectly happy wallowing in my pit of apathy and ambivalence. However, my mother thought it unhealthy. That heinous obedience took hold of my heart, and I made the brave and noble decision to go out.

It's amazing how quickly you can lose your social game once you sit out for a round. I was really quite awkward when trying to reach out. I guarantee that it was very uncomfortable for an onlooker, and I can only imagine the pain I have put certain acquaintances through in the past 7 months, 6 days, 3 hours, and approximately 18 minutes.

Oh, forgive me, my amateurish attempts at friendship began much earlier than that. 9 months, 1 day, 12 hours, and 20 minutes ago.

While this time in the desert was certainly an unpleasant period, it has come to pay off.

Although I do not believe that I have come to be anyone's favorite (which is quite understandable), I now have caring, interesting, and  musical friendships, established far outside of my school's walls. Yes, that does, indeed, imply that I am primarily a social outcast at my place of education. I have one friend, though. She's exceptionally lovely and engages in British Television, such as Sherlock, as do I.

Though, my previous actions would suggest I am of introverted nature, in actuality, I'm just the opposite. My personality begs for human interaction and thrives when it feeds on the love emitted by astonishingly alluring people. Friend-dates (to use Katherine's phrase) and gatherings are my heart's desire, and I cannot even begin to describe the immense amount of jubilance I feel when someone engages in conversation with me willingly.

To return to my overall objective, these fairly new relations have created a happier me. I have been removed from the sea of ignorance's dream, they have shattered self-dependance and shown me the truth of community:

It's quite magnificent.

We weren't created to live alone. Be a friend, show love, invite people out, do fun things, drink tea, watch Star Wars, and eat sushi. Truly, I tell you, if acquaintances can make an unmistakable change for the better in my life, they can be of monumental importance to all people-- including you.

Hebrews 10:24-25

xoxo, Ali

An Addendum

The following is an extension of An Explanation. In an effort to save you from moderate confusion, I suggest you read that article beforehand.

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As of late, I have been concerned with defining the purpose of The Parlor & Co. I am pleased to announce that with the assistance of some lovely, intelligent, and wise peers, I have come to a verdict as to what this blog's livelihood will come to be.

Providentially for you, my charming audience of 3, this post should not be but a few sentences; which, I'm assuming, will make this bit the most pleasant to read in comparison to the two short novels I have written for you previously.

While I'm indefinitely positive no person is interested in my everyday life, I should very much like to see an increase of visitors to my new and side blog, Everyday Ali. This blog is fundamentally an "elaborate and extended version of twitter... in a sense," spoken from the iPhone of the imaginative Monica. It is here that I will post on a more repetitive schedule about less ponderous things. If this interests you, I strongly suggest you follow!

If not, then I am hurt, but understand.

The Parlor & Co. will be reserved for monthly use with topics varying from newly acquired knowledge, lessons recently learned, matters of interest to me, and things of that sort. This also will be a place of discussion, so I would like to advocate the use of the comment abilities of blogger. Open discussions are welcome, however, the clause first stated in An Explanation will continue to stand firm. In summation, The Parlor & Co. will be a more formal and purposeful blog; I will attempt to maintain minimal comic relief throughout posts, nevertheless.

xoxo, Ali

An Explanation

Within 132 minutes of my blog taking flight, a friend of mine came upon The Parlor & Co. Seeing as I did not share my blog on any of my own social profiles, I was surprised to receive a text message which referred to my blog as "seductive." Flattered by this uncanny compliment, I answered-- naturally sparking a conversation.

Together, we agreed upon a time and place to meet for an initial conference. At this initial conference, we plan to discuss and settle on a second conference, where we will have time to connect and discuss our new online hobby.

Gluten-Free Eating may also be a topic of our discussion, seeing as both of us dabble in wheat-free-living. Cupcakes of gluten-free nature will be baked. As per my request.

Katherine of Reflections On the Window is this mysterious friend that I speak of. She is quite lovely, and I strongly suggest you read her words.

In view of the fact that I will need to have intricate knowledge of my personal reasoning behind The Parlor & Co. for this conference to succeed, I began thinking of possible inquiries she may have. I wrote a few in my temporary log (I, sadly, have yet to obtain a new, permanent journal) and pondered possible responses.

As stated in the introduction, my intent for this blog remains unestablished. This makes an explanation of intentions rather hard, but I thought it only fair to share the thoughts I have up to this point with both Katherine, and you.

Inquiry One: The Parlor & Co.?

Ah, yes; the impending question of my title.

A parlor is a room set aside for the entertainment of company through conversation, laughter, and human interplay. Fitting, I thought, for a blog. Especially since one of my dearest cares is community.

Ironically, however, I got the idea from Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. In the book, the parlor is a room used to reenact virtual interactions. It is a room with giant TV screen walls where a person may walk into a scripted conversation with simulated characters-- a sick representation of what a parlor's actual intent is. It's not real community, it's just what that society thinks is community.

I want to encourage actual human connection, and the more I think about it, the internet seems like an inappropriate place to do so. Unfortunately, I realized this unlucky paradox after creating my blog, and due to that nefarious apathy, I held two fingers up to it and carried on with my day.

Inquiry Two: What to Expect?

Considering the fact that writing has been, and always will be a chore for me, one goal for this blog is to lessen my distaste for the art.

I tend to ramble, and often spend too much time explaining elementary things (see Inquiry One). Therefore, my posts will be on the longer side, and generally they will meander through topics on an unfaithful, weekly schedule.

Inquiry Three: What Not to Expect?

While I am a very insightful person and often talk of ethics, philosophy, and cultural issues in person, do not expect this on my blog. I try to remain politically correct in front of public audiences, so as not to bruise feelings or insult.

However, should something of this sort gnaw at me for long enough (say, two days or so), I may merely mention, explain, argue, and expand on a 7-page-spread of this topic. Should this happen, opinions are welcome, as long as they are shared in polite manner. If you must be mean, I will require you to sing your slander in melodic fashion, so that your sweet harmonies may soften the blow of your harsh words.

xoxo, Ali

An Introduction

This blog has been on the internet for a grand total of 6 months, 17 days, 1 hour, and 37 minutes imprecisely, and ever since it's birth I have been contemplating how to begin. Sadly, a simple and, quite frankly, subpar introduction was all I could muster.

I'm Ali.(:
I currently live in Northern California, but am planning on moving to LA in the fall to study at Biola University.
The BBC plays a major role in my life (specifically Sherlock and Top Gear).
My favorite color is Purple.
I can quote Star Wars: Episode 6 in it's entirety.
To add to my dork-nature, I spent 3 days in middle school learning to write in 2 of Tolkien's languages featured in Lord of the Rings.
I'm a theatre kid.
I would also like to take this moment to emphasize the importance of tea in my life.

Blogging has always been interesting to me, despite my lack of social appeal and writing technique. I have a strong voice when it comes to research papers and essays, but when asked to write creatively or about myself, my work is unrewarding. Alas, here I stand (well, sit, actually), writing the first post on the blog that has a strong potential to become as fruitless as the deserted tree of Gondor.

Nevertheless, I begin this unexpected journey whole-heartedly and with high hopes for it's upkeep.

My intent for this blog has yet to be set in stone. I would like to believe this will be read by the masses, while, in actuality, I'll be lucky to get an audience of 3. Therefore, my overall impact is currently under restraints, and my purpose here will be fully established over time.

While I could linger and continue to ramble on about pointless topics in an effort to keep you around, I am aware that that course of action would only be a bother. Consequently, I will cease writing within the next few sentences, and let you continue on with your ordinary lives; free of The Parlor & Co.

I do hope you return to read the (hopefully) more riveting posts to come. If, for some inconceivable reason, you are just dying to get your hands on more information about me, I will provide you with alternative options, so as not to leave you thirsty. Though I do not have Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest buttons placed fashionably about (an awful and tragic result of the debilitating absence of technical blogger skills), I do, in fact, know how to link my profiles to this very page.

Instagram • Twitter • Pinterest

Another possibility, however, is that you don't care about me socially, and want only to know when I have updated my blog. Well, my good men and women, I have not forgotten you! There is a special feature just for you. Typing and submitting your email into the box entitled, "Follow by Email," or  merely using the "Join this Site" button will allow you to be notified every time I post anything new. No need to fuss and type out my url every time you want to read my gibberish-- you can have my gibberish sent directly to you, free of charge!

xoxo, Ali