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30.12.10

I HAVE MOVETH!

i'm back!
I've been MIA from life the past couple days because I've been packing, disassembling/reassembling furniture, hauling boxes and getting paint all over my hair. After 2 bruises and 3 days of major arm and leg workouts, I'm (almost) done moving!!

I love my room, I love my kitchen, I love my roommates. So happy. :) Now the only thing I have left to do is tell my mom that my roommates are actually guys.

---
p.s. Counted my bruises. 9 total. Geez.

26.12.10

Beautiful Holga



ready to fly - november 2010

Life through the lens of a Holga becomes a different type of beautiful. When you're shooting, you really don't know what you'll get until it's been developed. It's like Christmas morning when you finally get to see the results. It's also quite like a box of nuts & chews chocolates (my favorite kind).


24.12.10

A YFT Christmas

<3

things i'm thankful for:
breakfast/lunch/dinner with family
oversized fuzzy socks
hot tea of various kinds
good reads (current read: Me Talk Pretty One Day)
waking up to a friendly furry face
friendships that keep getting better and better
compassionate bosses
letters from overseas, over mountains, over valleys
the Lord's grace and mercy (keeping us safe during accidents and rainstorms; keeping us sane during the holiday rush hours)


before she fell asleep, foxy told me that she also wanted to wish you all a merry christmas. 

22.12.10

Reflect & Plan

I get high from planning. I'm feeling a little light headed even thinking about it right now, actually. For me, planning for the new year is a gift in itself. Merry Christmas to meeee.

Just below are two major suppliers for my planning addiction. This is for my fellow planners/goal-getters.

1) The Perpetual Planner by {paper & type}

my new toy!
I've come across many planners in my day as a planner addict. I could probably even claim that I'm a planner collector seeing that I have about 2 boxes worth in my small studio apartment. That's like 10% of my space.
This, right here, is my favorite of them all. The Goldilocks of planners. Not too big, not too small, just the right size to carry around everywhere. And I love the simplicity and functionality of the structure. I love it so much, I wish we lived in multiple parallel universes so I can have a planner for each universe.


2) Annual Review by Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Non-Conformity
he's living the dream
This guy reminds me of a more artsy version of Tim Ferris. I'm sure they're friends. They probably hang out together during their 4-hour workweeks somewhere in the mountains of Tibet, Chris sipping on yak's milk while he watches Tim practicing Tai Chi with a 102 year old nainai. Oh, how I wish to join them someday.
So Chris - he's adapted the well known business practice of the annual review to plan and set goals for his life every year. He uses his own examples and also has a template for folks to use.


Yay! Let's all get high together!

20.12.10

All I Need

all i need on a cold winter's night

Bright yellow sun dress - check
Soft white rug - check
Sound of raindrops - check
Gingerbread house - check
David Sedaris' short stories - check
Pitcher of sangria - check
Billie Holiday on the stereo - check

♥ Happy Holidays 


---
sidenote: I sent a friend request to my favorite chef, Ben Bailly, on Facebook today. I hope he accepts. Ee!

15.12.10

Post-Crash Update

While on lunch break yesterday, I told my awesome coworker, J, the nitty gritty details of my accident. Like where I was when it happened, what the girl who hit me looked like, et cetera et cetera. Later, J went to her boyfriend's dinner party and during dinner, this one girl mentioned that she scratched her car in an accident. And another girl immediately commented, "That's nothing, I ran into a girl's car yesterday, and I hit two of her
doors." And J yelled, "Did it happen on Melrose??" And the girl responded,"How'd you know?!!"
 
SMALL WORLD.

---

Sidenote: I am now the APEX Director of Community Service for 2011! Volunteers unite.

Knives

Quote of the day: "Parents always have the best knives."

Seriously, by the time you're a parent, you (hopefully) have enough experience to know that investing in a fantastic knife makes life a whole lot easier.

Please, people, get rid of your ikea knives.

14.12.10

Did that really just happen?

Despite popular belief, my life is not always filled with yft, dates with myself and eight-legged soulmates. I experienced my first car accident yesterday. It wasn't nearly as gut-wrenchingly scary as I had always imagined it to be. Perhaps it was because I was in shock. It felt surreal....like, "Did that girl really just hit me? No way. Is this real life? Am I hurt? Did I just get hit? Why am I hungry?" I was very surprised how level-headed and calm I was dealing with everything. Post-accident, I wrote down every possible detail including street names and store fronts and took photos of everyyyything.

I'm just so thankful of God's mercy. No one got hurt! So after all the calls to family and my insurance company (go Farmer's!), I celebrated by going to the APEX elections, ate some chocolate and Porto's and kicked butt (or at least I hope so) at my interview.

P.S. I adore my gbf. He commented, "Now your car has character." 

13.12.10

BACONIZE

I'm so lucky to have rockstar-status/super talented friends. My fellow catering partner aka food-partner-in-crime, Tsz, is not only a great cook but she is also a fantastic artist. Combine those two talents and you get BACON greeting cards.

The only way this could get any better is if it smelled like bacon.

Up close and personal.
I couldn't resist (um, it's bacon) so I purchased some at $1/card. Let me know if you'd like some! Or you can directly email her at gastrophoria@gmail.com.

12.12.10

Trash Becomes Treasure

What do you do when you have a ridiculous stack of food porn laying around in your apartment? Go nuts and ogle? Done. Ogle again? Done and done.
Then what? Trash them?

No, fool. You share the love. Like this:

Who wouldn't want a gift wrapped in succulent pork belly and dill??

Box stuffed with food porn. Oh yes. This one got shipped to the foodie world of Singapore. Wish I could've gone with the box.

P.S. I ate my first cricket this weekend. Chile-limon flavored, from Guelaguetza. Much chewier than I had imagined. 

10.12.10

Grace

I was refreshed tonight. The Lord provides. :)

My love for Anthony Bourdain

Reason No. 1 why I love Anthony Bourdain:

Necessity is the engine that has driven all great cuisine throughout history. 
While the dumbass aristrocracy was gorging themselves on filet minion and lobster, the masses had to learn how to cook. How to take a chunk of neck or shank and to turn it into something magical. 
And over pots of steaming economy cuts, they planned a revolution. - A.Bourdain

From one of the No Reservations episodes. I wrote this down in my notebook a couple months ago when I heard him say this. Just reread it and wanted to share with you all. Love. 


---
Currently listening:
My friend just sent me this acoustic version. Seriously. Yeah, seriously.


9.12.10

The Story Behind Mister Blue

with our powers combineeeed...

Frequently Asked Questions 

What's with the baguette?
If you had to ask this question, that means you really do not know the power of the baguette. 

How did you tame the spider?
Despite Mister Blue's scary stature and his mean reputation on the streetz, he was actually quite the timid one. I only had to feed him a few jellybellies for him to allow me access to his back. He seemed to really enjoy the popcorn flavored jellybellies. 

What are you wearing?
A blue astronaut jumpsuit. It was fate that brought me to Mister Blue on the day I decided to wear my blue astronaut jumpsuit. Cuz we all know, matchy matchy = fate!

What were you attacking?
We don't attack. We defend.

Where were you going?
Not very observant, are we? We were headed towards the ATM.

8.12.10

Who Cares if It's Winter

Sometimes Oftentimes, YFT includes two scoops of icecream.

my favorite part is the chocolate at the bottom of the cone

DUDE!

Three  interesting things I learned this morning:

1) Currently, women have more mentors but men get more promotions.

2) Men's mentors are in higher level positions than women's mentors.

3) Two thirds of America's families are partially or fully supported by working women.

Paraphrased from a presentation given by Ilene Lang, President & CEO of Catalyst.

---
I also won a $25 gift card to Trader Joe's. Muhaha. More burratta for my tummy.

7.12.10

Mm, So Toasty

My booty's been mighty toasty in mornings thanks to seat warmers. I'm grateful for my seat warmers.

6.12.10

The time I drove to Compton

You're now about to witness the strength of street knowledge.

I was looking for my boss. The founder/CEO of our agency.

My plan to quickly drop by his house for a work-related meeting turned into a nightmare-ish one hour long stressventure that made me reflect on my work ethic and fear for my life. In the end, it was quite simple - he had mistyped his address, and the address he initially gave me did not exist in real life but existed in two different places on stupid google maps. But you see, I was not aware of this until he called me on my way home. 

So in between me getting in the car to drive to his place and the call he FINALLY made back to me, I:

-drove around the same neighborhood 5 times, scaring one gardening grandma who walked inside her house on my third round, looking back at me twice to make sure I wasn't getting out of my car.

-drove to two different zip codes, one being in the heart of Compton

-called my boss 6 times and left 2 voicemails

-questioned if my boss really lived in Compton and convinced myself that if any boss lived in Compton, it would be my boss because he lived there to really be "one" with the community.

-went to a post office and creepily asked where my boss' house was

-wondered if I was really that blind/stupid to be unable to find a darn house

-wondered how long I should search for my boss' house before it was okay for me to give up

-wondered if giving up would reflect poorly on my work ethic

-wondered if i passed the test. If it was a test.

-almost pissed my pants when a homeless guy knocked on my window while I was looking down at my phone to call my boss

-saw a fight take place between neighbors/sisters/lovers? Hair was pulled.

-vowed never to park on a random street in Compton ever again

-wrote an email to my boss describing how I risked my life for him

-deleted the first email and wrote a serious email that I really did try looking for his house and that I was going home since it was getting quite dark

-stopped by Popeye's because I really really needed to pee, and left the place with a bucket of fried chicken and still needing to pee (the bathroom was unusable).


What I learned:
-my boss does NOT live in Compton no matter how empathetic he is
-Popeye's from Compton tastes better (maybe because I risked my life for it)
-I need a raise


P.S. For the abridged version of this story, go here.
P.P.S. There was a bullet proof glass between me and the cash register/food pick-up area at Popeye's.
Intense.
Intense like this picture...
Me, post-Compton.

1.12.10

confession #3

i am addicted to final fantasy. been playing it on the iphone for 3 days straight, underneath my blanket until the wee hours of the night.

confession #2

Another confession. I watched the same movie two nights in a row and lied about it.

I had been waiting to watch this particular movie for days that actually seemed like years, and through the magical wonders of gchat, I discovered my friend shared the same burning desire. So we set a date to go watch it. Now, a week later, friend number two asked if I wanted to watch the movie. I immediately replied "YES! A thousand times YES," (well, I just said Yes, though I was thinking the former). In my blinding excitment, I momentarily and selectively forgot that I had already set a date with friend number one.
So I went with my friend number two and a few other folks and I watched, I laughed, I cringed, I almost hurled, I laughed some more and loved it. Then the following day, friend number one, who I had initially planned to watch the movie with, texted me, "Ready for the movie tonight?" By then it was already too late to back out without looking like a horrible horrible person, so I went again, I watched again, I fake laughed, faked cringed and fake laughed some more...and you know what? Watching it the second time made me appreciate the movie even more.

There really is no moral of the story here. I just wasted 1-5 minutes of your time, depending on how fast you read.

confession

I have a confession. ALL of my edible plants died. Too much travel + temperamental Los Angeles weather = failure. It's better this way since I'm moving to a non-patio apartment very soon. So friggin' excited. Not about the dead plants. About the new apartment. Woot. 

obsession

i'm going through a strange/awesome cauliflower phase.strange because i have a serious case of food attention deficit disorder. awesome because roasted cauliflowers are so damn tasty. i've had it almost every single day for the past week.

my wild exploration into the world of roasted cauliflowers
tues: sea salt + cracked pepper + olive oil + lemon zest
wed: cracked pepper + freshly grated parmesan cheese
thurs: sea salt + cracked pepper + curry powder + butterrrrrrrr cuz it's thanksgiving
fri: cracked pepper + the extra smelly crumbly kraft parmesan cheese that comes in that green cylindrical tube cuz my parents house did not carry real parmesan
sat: plain cuz i just wanted to see if it was still tasty; ended up putting garlic salt on it
sun: sea salt + curry powder + olive oil
mon: sea salt + white truffle oil cuz i'm a high roller
tues: no cauliflower; almost though, almost

stranger danger or yummy in my tummy?

a stranger on yelp asked me out on a date to go eat blood sausages.

i almost said yes. i love blood sausages.

29.11.10

Eeeenteresting

It's interesting - at any age you can find people who think they know so much or that their way is right; and thus think they are better than others. Grow up.

15.11.10

Notes to Self - Bay Edition

I used to own these squares. Not so much at the dodgeball circle though.
(Stockard Coffee Elementary School)

I like to write notes to myself during different states of consciousness. While falling asleep, waking up, hungry, insanely full, high on music, calm, burdened, happy, contemplative, in love, out of love, in front of love...and so on. I find pieces of paper in between folders, crumpled up in the bottom of my purses, in my drawers, hidden amongst my dollar bills in my wallet. Every time I find a piece, I instantly feel like I found candy in my pocket. Or maybe a benjamin. It depends on how much I like what I wrote, I suppose. :)


These are just a few notes I took during my weekend trip to SF:

*Every ligament of my body is a string to an instrument. My entirety is a symphonic orchestra to the music.

*Cheese & crackers will always make me feel youthful and fanciful at the same time.

*I've decided. I need to live in Tulum (Mexico) during winter, Brooklyn in the spring, LA in the summer and SF during fall(1). Yes.

*...but this music, this music right here, paints a moving breathing scene where you are much a part of as any other image in the scene. It paints the story and leaves you just enough for you to make it your own.  (about Explosions in the Sky)

*Sunset; we synchronized our last breaths to each other as she said goodbye to me; her, ready to say hello to the other side of the world

*#1: peaches&nectarines
#2: tied between persimmons and watermelon
#3: cherries
Close runner-ups: seedless grapes, mangosteen (these would be in my top 3 if easily attainable!), mangoes

*Dreamlining(2) is fun.

*I'm thankful for ice cream(3). Especially the creamy ones that linger on your tongue. And the tangy fruity sorbets that make you feel like your mouth just went on vacation to the tropics.

*It proves that my thoughts about this place were not just dreams. They really happened. Dreams and reality happened here. (My visit back to my childhood(4)).

*I love the smell of Modesto.


---
(1) When I discovered that SF is perfect in late fall (no fog, mid-60 degree weather, colorful trees, warm sun), I felt as though I joined a secret club. Did everyone know this fact already?? Now I'm gonna plan all my SF trips around the fall season.
(2) Dreamlining = Making a timeline for your dreams
(3) If you find yourself in the Bay Area, enjoy yourself a scoop (or three!) of Ici! Their honey-sage walnut and their early grey ice cream are keepers
(4) Up until this weekend, I have not visited any of the places I've lived in in the past. I finally visited my childhood home of Modesto, California. I hadn't been back in 14 years. People think I joke around when I say this, but Modesto was and still is a magical place to me. It represents the child in me - the "always excited about life and thirsty for adventure" child in me. My visit was quite emotional to say the least. Emotional in the sense of me jumping up and down yelling, "OMG. THIS IS IT!!! IT'S REAL!!!!!!!" :) I've written about my memories of Modesto several times in the past. Think I'll repost some of them in the next few days along with some photos I took on my trip.

10.11.10

A poem for a retarded cousin

Distractions didn't work anymore.The events at pretty places with pretty people over pretty plates of food. The exciting, fast-paced glitzkrieg nights of the city. The serene paces through the calmed grass at her favorite park. It all stopped working. And she couldn't deny it any longer. She hurried her steps to the front gate of her house. She knew it was coming. She felt the dam that held her pretty self together started cracking as soon as she drove into the driveway, now hidden from the rest of the world. The pain pressurized exponentially with each step and her heartbeat synchronized with the spazzed out flickering of her patio light . She was going to make it.

Impatiently, she forcefully jammed her key into her front door and turned the knob. It wouldn't open. It was the wrong key. "Dammit" she mustered. Her eyes blurred as she tried to find the right key. Fumbling with her keychain, she paused to look up to the black sky, trying to get the sting out of her eyes. As the first tear hit her chin, the dam collapsed, flooding her face, releasing all the pain inside her, down to the concrete steps of her front porch. The pain that kept her back straight, the pain that kept her hair in place, it all broke loose, fleeing her organs, her veins, leaving her crumpled on the floor. 

9.11.10

Boring

Life is boring without challenges.

---
In other news: Wookies really do exist! :)

Chewbacca's lil baby

7.11.10

Much Enjoyed YFT

A peek into some weekend YFT...

{When Will I See You Again}
Enjoyed the beach for one last time before Los Angeles welcomes winter. It was like going to Disneyland when there are no lines. Had the beach allllll to ourselves. :)


{Date with Tim Ferris}
Spent a couple hours at the Korean spa. Got nicely scrubbed down by an ahjumah and and then relaxed in the common room with Tim Ferris, some hard boiled eggs and corn tea. 


{Hello, Again}
Saw the beach once more, from high above. Went hiking at Point Mugu in Ventura. Perhaps the last hike of 2010. 


{Persimmon}
Ate the colors of the fall.

6.11.10

High

I woke up at 7am this morning, singing and dancing this. I am so high on life right now. High like a G6. :D

I WON AT LIFE YESTERDAY. Made me realize that I can be pretty darn awesome. hehe

---
P.S. Today is my I-can-be-as-super-confident-as-I-want day. :)
PS2 Thank you to all those who emailed me, texted me, was there on the day to witness it -- your reassurances and encouragement helped so so much. Love you all.

4.11.10

Celebrate

I keep talking about this day, November 5th. It's a big day for me, folks, so bear with my redundancy and the lack of substantive posts.

This day, this November 5th, this day of final judgement (work-wise) has been on my mind 24-7 for the past several weeks. But you know what other thought has dogmatically stood alongside this November 5th date? The thoughts of celebrating this November 5th date!!!

As in, "What am I going to do to celebrate the finalization of November 5th?!! Oh, what am I going to dooooooo??"

So far I have had these in plan:
-hike with friends near the beach
-sleep forever
-spend a day at a Korean spa with Anthony Bourdain and Tim Ferris
-get dined by hot boys and girls
-roadtrip to San Francisco to escape this weird summerfall Los Angeles weather

And then!! While I was looking through my favorite blogs tonight (it's a fine destresser for me), I found this!!!


It's BACON cashew CARAMEL popcorn!!!

I'm going to make myself a huge truckload of this Saturday morning. Yesssssss. I love celebrations. Especially ones that involve bacon.

ADRENALINE

ON FULL BLAST!!!

3.11.10

Groovin' to the Shark

Grooveshark, guys, is my best friend at work. 

Totally nerding it out right now, Disney style...listen!

2.11.10

Past Life

I have dreams about living in this era. The music, the fashion, the voices, the swagger, the laughs, the charm.

a special night at The Edison 2008



my favorite song of all time

The Good Life

Work is tough but life is just too darn beautiful to be sitting around being stressed and dissatisfied. Will be quite busy until the end of this week so you'll be seeing more photos and less writing for the next couple of days.


the good life
halloween 2010



30.10.10

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

If the world produced colorful clones...

Triple the YFT!

---
too much candy. bye bye workouts, bye bye.

29.10.10

Embarrassed

I'm embarrassed that my most read post is something I typed while my brain was on vacation. She couldn't handle any more thinking after the looooong 7-day work week so she went on strike, bought a ticket to the Yucatean province and swam in a cenote with magical underwater breathing unicorns. She came home this morning all starry-eyed and hungry for more adventure. That silly silly brain of mine.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. I know my eyes will witness some crazy Los Angeles action. See you all later. Be safe.

<3Y

---
For a rad halloween tune, check it out.

28.10.10

Date is On! In real time

Ooooh yes, it is on. On a self date right now. And it's awesome. So awesome my date deserves a reward. It's like the feeling you get when you haven't eaten In N' Out for an entire year and you walk through those metal doors and the aroma of grilled onions and fresh beef patties warmly welcomes your animal style burger deprived tummy.

It feels good not to work. To not think about work. Okay, I just thought about work. For a brief second though. Agh, there goes another second. Oh nooooooooooooooooooooo.

Okay, I had to take a second to distract my mind again. So!!! Right now, I'm watching a BBC documentary called Yellowstone: Battle for Life; Episode 1: Winter.

It is bad ass. Like The Godfather soundtrack bad ass. Eagle versus eagle fighting over a blood carcass on a new sheet of pure white snow. Now eagle versus coyote!! Coyote's teeth won over the eagle's fangs. Pshh, if the eagle really tried, it would've so won. Geez. This is intense. Now all the little tiny black birds have a built an army to take on the loner coyote. Coyote still won. Darn, I was hoping the black birds would win. I like rooting for the underdogs.

Diamond dust!! Wowwwwwwwww. Big fat snow in slow motion. Frozen crystals.

Oh! Did you know? I met Lindsay Lohan's dad today? And I had no clue as to who he was so I asked him to repeat his name for me and I asked him what he does. Eh, he looked really normal. That is until I looked him up online and the first photo I found was of him in a MESH shirt. I saw his nipples. Gross.

Okay, I'm tired. Even though this documentary is mindblowing, the guy's voice on here is so soothing. Mmmm. Mister englishman, your voice is lovely. You wrap me in a warm fuzzy blanket with your voice. This is the best date evarrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

A bonjour and a hum

I used to sing this whenever I would get sad. 


I remember humming this on the bus ride home from school one day in Shanghai, and the French guy sitting next to me gave a weird look that slowly transformed into a smile. I wonder if he still remembers. I should message him. We still keep in touch via FB.

Bonjour, mon ami.  Do you read this? Can you sweep me away to Paris, Shanghai or wherever you may be?

27.10.10

Simply Beautiful

The air turned off in the building. That's when the quiet in the room reintroduces itself and reminds me that it's time to go home. I look at the clock and realize that I haven't seen sunlight all day except for the short hour during lunch.

That depresses me so. At least I have my desktop background to stare at once in a while. It's a photo of the sky. It's quite a sight to see and serves as undeniable proof that life is simply beautiful.

This, below, helps as well. Wrote it on my blackberry notepad while driving eastward bound on the 10 fwy to Arizona a couple weeks back. I'm sure I'll get to hang out with the sky again soon. 

---
Sky

I saw a miraculous thing as I was driving home to Arizona today. From my rearview mirror, I beheld the sun slowing settling into the earth. As the landscape soaked in the glowing orb, the sky released a splash of coral-pink hue, as though blushing at the sight of something magnificently naughty.
The sun and the earth made love for all the world to see, and the sky and I were the only ones who witnessed it.
Cue the love making music!

26.10.10

Sometimes

Sometimes, I like to listen to The Godfather soundtrack and feel really badass.

---
Listen here

Good thing

Good thing about being an optimist is that most everything is a win-win situation. :)

---
Currently craving:

Helados, por favor. Even though it's cold. 

Roadtrip. Soon enough, my friends.

25.10.10

Compassion, How I Love Thee

Today, I hit the "New Post" option on my blog thinking I'd just virtually cry on about my work woes and dramatically declare that I'm running away to Barcelona. But when the blank sheet of pixels opened up and when my fingers hit the keyboard, the first word I typed was compassion. That's what my brain automatically focused on in this time of suckerdom. Throughout this trying time of my life, I've been very fortunate to stand at the receiving end of beautiful compassion. My beautiful friends, acquaintences, coworkers have given me support in many ways that I never even asked for. And I'm so entirely grateful for that. If it wasn't for the selfless love I've experienced the past couple days, I'd probably be rolled up in a deformed ball under my desk, spitting some scary incoherent gibberish about how my computer is going to eat me alive. Thank you, friends. Thank you, Life!

---
On another note, but not entirely off topic...
When you hit an extreme, personal beliefs do really accentuate themselves. Like how a flower's scent becomes stronger when it experiences a storm. Have you ever noticed that? I recommend you try it. Walk by a bush of flowers during or right after a rain storm. I would suggest the latter.
---
Quote of the day: :Life is all about ass... you're either covering it, laughing it off, kicking it, kissing it, busting it, or trying to get a piece of it. - Peter Griffin
 
Thank you, MK, for sending me this! It made me laugh out loud this morning. Means a lot that you made the choice and time to send it. :)

22.10.10

Something About

The Holidays!

As much as I love spring and summer and how ridiculously amazing I feel during those months...something about the holiday season...how it tugs at my heartstrings so.

This morning was a cold Los Angeles day. Cold enough to turn on the heat in my car. My body slowly defrosting from shivering cold to a cozy warm felt absolutely lovely. It's the classic example of how the sweet aint as sweet without the sour.

---
Song of the day: White Christmas (Bing Crosby)

Too soon? Not for this kid. ;)

21.10.10

Break

Duuuude. For a good solid hour, I thought next week was the week of November 5th. And I was panicking like MAD - I started shaking, hyperventilating and convulsing all at the same time. I even drooled a little, too. It was as though my mind lost control of my body. Or perhaps the other way around. 

November 5th is my win or lose at life day. And for the past few weeks, my position in this horribly real game has been leaning more towards death. 

So how wonderful it was to realize that I had an additional week! Hallelujah! I have a feeling this didn't happen on accident. I can breathe a little better now.

Okay, that was a nice break. Back to work!

---
Currently Craving:

 Sandwiches

& Flying

20.10.10

Date Night Foiled!!

I ate two bars of almond studded chocolate today...
...and I darn well deserved every sinful bite of it.

Was planning on some YFT tonight; a date with myself, to be exact. I was going to take a jasmine-vanilla scented bath, order some yum woon sen, put on some Robin Thicke, turn off all the lights except for my reading light...and read. You don't understand. I've been wanting, needing, desiring reading time for quite a while now. Oh hey, wanting and desiring are the same thing yet I used them in one sentence! Mmhmm. Indeed I did. That's just how much I yearned for my reading time.

I've had Tim Ferris' 4-Hour Work Week for the longest time and have yet to read it. Tonight was going to be the night. Once again, 80 hour work week gets in the way.

---
Song of the day: Lost Without You (Robin Thicke)

Pavlov was right. This comes on and my body automatically starts groovin.

---
Oh! And here is a really shoddy picture of the event that I paneled. I should've asked someone to take a picture while I was up there. Darn. Next time. The guy in the photo is none other than Mr. Robert Townsend. Charismatic leader, this guy.

the young (foolish) life

Ah, the ludicrous mistakes of a young, foolish life.

I probably shouldn't have screamed at the top of my lungs for 2 hours straight at tonight's BSS concert, which by the way, was by far their best performance yet (especially of my favorite song, seriously, best yet). I also probably shouldn't have stood so close to the stage. And! I probably shouldn't have left my earplugs in my car. All considering that I will be sitting on a panel in about 7 hours.

I am now partially deaf in both years and my throat is super soar. Oh well. It's nothing 6 hours of sleep can't cure. I hope!

Wish me luck! Oh boy.

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Postscript (morning after): I can speak! I can hear! All goooood.

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Love:







19.10.10

CCs

Dear Community Creepers,

You! Yes you, the one sitting by the bar mentally marking the drunk single girl, waiting for her to have her final gulp. Yes, we talk about you. And heck yeah, we know who you are. We aren't oblivious and we aren't quiet about it either. Despite how cordial and professional we may be with you, we really are disgusted by you and share notes with all our girlfriends (and some guy friends) on why you epitomize the role of Creeper McCreeperson.

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There are 3 types of creepers out there in the community to watch out for. I've listed them in the level of intensity, starting from low ending at dangerously high.

First, there are the harmless creepers. Closet creepers. The nice ones who just really haven't gotten any in a long time and need to release their extra pent up energy by showing some type of (most of the time inappropriate) affection towards their gal pals. Whether it's a hand on the lower back or an awkward squeeze of the arm, it just doesn't sit right with us. You may be nice, but ew, you are still creepy.

Then, there are the more douchey creepers, who all seem to have a inexplicable bond to the word, "babe." Did you all learn that in Douchebaggery 101? We are not your babes. And one day, I hope you realize that verbally degrading us does not make us hot for you.

Then finally, the super, should-be-put-to-jail creepers. The city should really make a law requiring these type of guys to always wear a neon badge flashing the words, "Caution: Creep." As disturbing as it sounds, these are the guys I wouldn't be surprised to hear about in a serious conversation about rape or sexual harassment.
And on an even more disturbing note, I can name two guys in the community that match this profile.

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If you are girl reading this, I really encourage you to voice yourself. Name these fools (especially type 3) to your friends, warn your girlfriends, even confront the fools if you have it. Because really, it's better to be a bitch than be sorry.

<3Y

18.10.10

Bounce bounce bounce

I nearly bounced out of my seat when I saw this. As many of you already know, since I talk about it way too often with much annoying enthusiasm, I LOVED LOVED LOVED Coachella this year. A bit of a life-changing experience, really.

Thanks for sharing, Miss GLee!

Coachelletta from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.



My poems and writings on Coachella:

Arrival
Thousands upon thousands
of excited
red lights
like desert fireflies
all gather
thirsty
two-legged creatures
come together
at this one place
to be nourished
to be holied
by people
music
earth
and drugs
3:03 AM
We have arrived.
Grimly
Grimly
from Missouri
with his
thick burgundy
and gold speckled beard
that shared his face
with a jovial smile
sat on the trunk of his car
and yelled, “Hellooo!”
He was my first
Coachella Hello
So I let him hold my hand
while we sat and waited
to enter
the new world.
Morning
Bacon, eggs
cheese
mango salsa
and guacamole
freshly made
makes a good morning
even better
Good morning, Coachella
Morning pt. 2
I woke up to Bach’s harpsichord
that strangely
and perfectly transitioned to
soft acoustic tunes.
Good morning, Coachella.
Morning pt. 3
Warm desert breeze
the familiar breakfast aroma
quiet comraderie
shared laughter
whispered excitement
The calm before the storm…
We are ready.
Good morning, Coachella
Morning pt. 4
I’m thinking of you
in Indio.
Good morning.
Explosion
She was on a boat. A giant boat made of crisp white butcher paper in the shape of a crane. In the middle of the ocean. Not a particular ocean, not one with a name or one that belonged to a certain territory. It was the motherfucking ocean. The center of the universe, where all bodies of water collide and merge. Where there are no ends or beginnings or middles. No ups, downs, lefts or rights.
The breeze combed her hair and the sweat on her back and arms cooled as she reached out her arms to the sky and soaked in every stimulation that surrounded her being. In one standstill moment, she felt the soft living grass between her toes and the dew that nimbly blanketed her skin. She saw the growing lights in  front of her, behind her, all around her. And like a finely conducted dance, the lights, the wind and the grass began to stir in anticipation of something bigger than themselves. Then from the distance came the slight whisper of a sound, teasing her and everything that surrounded her. Anticipation grew stronger. The sound, like a gentle fog,  gradually creeped into the layers of her skin, into the strands of her hair, into the droplets of sweat, into her blood. Then born within the depths of her soul, the beat awoke at the call of the sound. The beat returned the call, growing stronger, getting louder.
Both escalating, the beat and sound finally collided and embraced each other within her just as any two long lost lovers would after a lifetime of searching and painfully hoping. As the two became one, her heart held its breath, and for centuries time stood still. The boat stopped rocking. The wind hushed. The grass lied down. Her heart swelled and swelled. And swelled.
When it was ready, when she was ready,
It lived.
Hard and fast. The music exploded. From within her. Surrounding her. In the wind, in the stars. Soundwaves were no longer lingering ghosts but bright explosions of life that she could grab with her hands and taste on her tongue. Chords, notes, beats, progressions – no longer entrapped in sound, but liberated and coalesced into colors, lights, air, soil, blood, breeze, touch. Music penetrated every molecule.
Music became all that existed.