that special week

in between christmas and new years is quite a conundrum.  still riding the wave of christmas meels, leftovers, and presents and anxiously awaiting ridiculously crazy new years eve plans, yet still having to go to work, they all compete with each other leaving you exhausted and all the while all your doing is watching the food network holiday reruns. 

for me, this week always leans on the side of awesome:  no traffic which means i sleep in a little bit more, work is slightly more casual and laid back, and it allows the xmas hangover to be drawn out for a smooth transition into the new year. 

i have three outfit options for new years eve dresses that include: a flea market find in november which is a tight short all black sequins tunic with a feathered neckline, a long h and m dress that my sister has and i found on sale (finally!) which bold graphic green/purple/black print, lace back, and wild elegance like i can't even describe, and finally a black simple long sleeve mini dress with lace neckline and lace scoop back. 

i might start with one of the short black numbers and change early in the morning of jan 1 to the long graphic printed coloful one.  starting jan 1 i will be doing daily outfit posts, so whatever i choose will definitly end up on here! 

in random news: i am the proud owner of a canon digital camera!  thanks babe! 

holidazed

with christmas approaching, the holiday season conjures up many different emotions: nostalgia, warmth, comfort, happiness, appreciation, contentment, excitement, and sometimes loneliness and isolation.

working at three malls has put a slight damper on my holiday mood, however my love for this time of year continues to pull at my heart strings and reminds me that - deep down - i am still a young girl who enjoys simple things.  freshly turned 26 year old and with many convesation about aging and the "good old days" of my early twenties, i would just like to say - on the record - that each year gets better than the last. 

this is especially true because i am dating a perfect gentleman who is also drop dead handsome.  i'm also thankful for my amazing family, great friends, good health, stable job, and the ability to smile and laugh at EVERYTHING.  i wanted to get this out before year end as a personal reminder that life is good.  nothing less, and everything more. 

prefixes: YO!

yoga
yogurt
yogi
yoke
your
yom kippur
yoplait

horrible!

it's been more than a week since i did a new post and i'm not happy about it.

the past week was filled with awesome rediculousness.  here is a brief rundown:

hello kitty galore
the standard downtown
downtown rooftop-ing
hungover-ness
more hello kitty
tea parties
a and c
the other guys
breakfast burritos
burgers
sushi
fur and feathers

that pretty much sums up the last week of my life.  i'm throwing a jewelry party on saturday and dont tell anyone, but i'm so nervous about it!

in other news, i'm going to start doing daily outfit posts starting 1/1/11 with my post new years eve outfit and how it will translate to new years day (not very gracefully, i'm assuming).  

also works been killer at the day job.... holiday season at three malls is no cake walk (what does that even mean?!)... but i'm still attempting to keep my holiday spirits afloat.  oi!

many years ago today

pearl harbor was attacked.  and several years later, i was born.

a couple birthdays that stand our are:

7th - turning 7 on the 7th was an early peak.  i was in 2nd grade and had an awesome outfit to wear to school.
13th - me and alley spent the whole day at the mall.  like totally.
17th - my curfew was extended to midnight.  spent at stunt road with many people who are still near and dear to my heart.  including my current boyfriend. 
19th - first bday in college.... spent partying ALL night only to not sleep at all, write a paper, and turn it in on a sunday morning.
21st - if i had memories of this, i know they would be awesome
24th - my kobe year

i am absolutely excited to see everything my 26th year will become... stay tuned! 

OMGZ

THE ETSY SITE IS UP!  visit here: Double Hearts Treasure Chest

i did the etsy banner using N's photo of some hair charms i made.  

and if you haven't noticed, i updated the Wild High Tea banner!  i'm totally on a run with all this new age tech 22nd century shizz.  the banner is a photo i took at Golden Gate park and a photo that D took at treasure island.  i'm trying to learn some elementary skills on photo shop so i plan on doing more frequent banner updates on here and etsy as i progress with my digitalizationalogoy skillz. 

Thanks for everyone's support! and special thanks to N for all her help and encouragement.  i love you!

a single metaphor

can give birth to love.

-m. kundera the unbearable lightness of being

i read this book when i was 18, at the time i hated it for i was very much into the sweet lightness of being.

read it again at 21 in a relationship full of shadows and hidden compartments and loved it for all the wrong reasons.

reading it again at (almost) 26 yrs old and about halfway done.  hesitant to make final judgements until i am fully through, but the poetic nature of the novel is akin to my heart and brain eating filet mignon cooked in truffle oil:  absolutely saturated with deliciousness and luxurious allegorical flavors.

tips for:

doing and keeping a good manicure

1) cut, file, buff nails.  do this fast like the asian ladies at the salon.  do not buff nails so insesently that they are stone smooth, you need a bit of texture. (N, i'm looking at you!)
2) base coat.  i like diamond strength sally hanson top coat that i double as base coat.
3) paint a thin layer of color.  go down the middle, then cover the ends. (my fave right now are the insta dry line from sally hanson... they dry quick and have the big flat brush that is AMAZING)
4) let dry for a couple of minutes
5) do a second coat of color
6) if necessary, do a third coat of color
7) let this dry for about 5 minutes... should be set enough so that when you do your top coat there's no color slip n slide going on
8) top coat and the most important coat: lay it on thick, but not too thick.  down the middle then the side... THEN (THIS IS VERY IMPORANT) do a swipe at the edge of your nail so that it seels in the color!  trust me on this, the best manicurist i ever had was named jennifer and she worked at the Santa cruz nail salon i would frequent often.  at the time i was doing lots of gardening, and yet couldn't give up manicures.  even with my elbows deep in dirt just hours after my manicure, my nails were perfect for two weeks.
9) when you'r nails grow out a bit, lets say 5-7 days after your manicure, file them down gently
10) do another top coat and repeat the importance of #8... swipe some clear polish over the edge of your nail. (especially important after you file them down again)

you're bf and boss will thank you for paying attention to the details.  maybe not your bf, but your boss definitly will.  ignore the red streaks of color that will brighten all your documents.  they add character. 

digitalizationalogy: the study of the nation of digits

Etsy shop set up tonight.

Etsy shop launch tonight.

this is my own personal welcome to the futuristic year of 2010: ipod, blog, etsy site... and next up is a digital camera!

Dictionary.com

Word of the day (11/12/10):

alchemical \al-KEM-ik-uhl\, adjective:
1. Pertaining to the transformation of something common, usually of little value, into a substance of great worth.
2. Relating to a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy practiced in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance concerned principally with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold.

Sums up my business. 

triple pearl and gold bracelet

double feathers, plastic gems, gold chain earrings

a stupid saying

life is short.

stupid saying, but still true.  now i must tell those i love how much i love them.  i hope you do too. 

i can gypsy at the drop of a hat

Really, I can

catching up

between jurty duty, corporate meetings, dinners with family and girlfriends, and trying to crank out as much jewelry as i can in my downtime, i haven't had a chance to update!!  ugh i was trying to do at least one post everyday between mondays and fridays and i totally dropped the ball this week. 

there's many projects in the works.  that can be summed up in three words: feathers, pearls, gold.

The feathers are divided into three categories: neutral, monochrome, and neon indian.

neon indian with heart gold charm

top row: neutrals, middle row: monochrom, bottom row: neon indian

neon indians with pearl and gold heart

primary monochrome

neon indian round one

purple tear drop pearls with gold wire

There are other projects coming a long, and iw ill be posting pictures as they progress. 

Im hoping for decent weather this morning so that my flea market plans do not get spoiled.  what's the opposite of a rain dance?!

Jury Duty day three

This system should take a cue from the split classes of kindergarten... Two groups which consist of the early birds and the later gators.

In kinder I was OBV part of the later gators, going in around noon. And in this jury system, I would also choose to come in after lunch, and AFTER all the early birds have been questioned and processed. We could be so much more efficient with our time.

Or is this jury selection just a special case where it will take almost a week to select a jury?

My outfits are getting less crazy too, since they didn't work the first two days. I'm losing my edge.

tips for

Surviving Jury Duty (honestly, you must have seen this one coming):

1) Put together an outfit that you might be judgmental about IRL. Wear hollywood Ho gear, sans makeup, and a purse too large for words. Don't iron. Don't even launder.
2) Skip coffee. Fall asleep in court.
3) Do yoga in the waiting area.
4) Tell them your mom is a defense attorney (not a lie) and let them know you are conditioned to be partial.
5) On lunch break, go to in n out. Make sure to do it animal style. (Oops, I mean GET)
6) Bring along Kurt Vonnegut, your trusty old friend.
7) Have a blackberry. Have a blog.
8) Mob upload silly semi-artisy pics in and around courthouse
9) Make eye contact with every other person sharing your misery. Then make a subtly weird face.
10) Wear fur.

fb status update

Having a blog has greatly improved my facebook status integrity. It allows a place for all my random thoughts without having near strangers (mostly peeps from high school that I was never friends with in the first place but bc of social guilt, I approve their friend requests) "liking" my thoughts/ideas without even knowing what I'm truly referring to.

Also it makes me appear less obnoxious, and ill take every bit of that which I can.

Furthermore, I'm still in the great running of jury duty, particularly in the considerable department of jury selection, so therefore I have many ideas and wierd thoughts that I must compile somewhere and fb is obv not the arena for my olimpic-like mind games.

birthdayz

There are lots of birthdays in september because it is 9 months from the holidays and people like to get cozy in cold weather.

There are lots of birthdays in november because people like to get cozy on valentines day.

Jury Duty

There is something legitimately wrong with this system.

Thank god for blackberries so I can mildly amuse myself by bbm-ing everyone on my list, updating fb (yes, its that lame), and posting on ze blog.

I may or may not have fell asleep in the courtroom... I hadn't had coffee yet, so don't get your panties in a twsist about it. We broke for lunch as soon as I awoke. Scarfed down a protein, animal style double double at the nearby in n out and had to settle for a double espresso on ice from starbucks. Gross, but still amazing when that first sip hits your lips. Coffee is for sure my fist and only serious addiction.

Now I'm waiting to go back in court. Will post a pic of my chosen outfit, its that good that I must share with all (2) of your who read this. Think a kindergarten-er on her first day of school who got dressed in the dark at the crack of dawn. Add some leopard print fur, and call it a day. This is all in effort to NOT get picked. Hopefully it discourages the judge and her entourage that I'm a logical reasonal adult who would serve great purpose on a jury.

Wish me luck.

Words/phrases/acronyms that i love

to follow up that post about words i detest, i decided i should post a more positive concentration of vocabulary of words/acronyms/phrases i thoroughly enjoy...

1) insatiable
2) obv
3) totally. totes. tow. t.
4) abso tow mando
5) OMFGSTFUWTFBBQ
6) sycophant
7) cacophony
8) quixotic
9) i could die.  i'm dying.  i die.  i'm dead.
10) page me

this, too, is an ongoing list. 

Nacreous

new ring design:

28 gauge 24K hard gold wire, mini fresh water pearls

This weekend was quite productive on the creative jewelry front.  Finally explored the jewelry district downtown and found my new home away from home at Bella Findings. 

My newest creations are super delicate gold and pearl rings.  I thought about doubling up on the gold wire, but decided against it.  The ultra fragility of these are what makes them stand out.  Be gentle!





Arts and Crafts

latest projects: works in progress

Ribbon and gem hair pieces.  waiting for felt and hair clip backing... will be ready for gyspy wear 11/14 at the Melrose Trading Post with many color and style options.

A project for my own enjoyment:

Chaplin poster 

step one: paste awesome Exit Through the Gift Shop promo poster to cardboard.  White out border and black out edges of poster.

Step two: draw border, buy gold paint and start filling in.  Black out remaining edges. 

Step three: wait.  still need to fill in shadow and detail of gold border, decide what i will paint inside the poster to fill in black space, and want to add a burst of color on the bottom left corner.  this inspiration cannot be rushed... and i will probably finish the poster completely in early 2011.  for now, it looks good atop my large ikea 4x4 expedit bookself.

i know i'm a grown up because...

of my lipstick stained coffee mug.

To me, this epitomizes being a woman.  As a kid I remember watching my mom and grandmother sipping and stamping thier ownership of the drinking vessel with beautiful bold colors.  I would think about how awful it must taste and how I could not wait to do the same. 

It is a sign, symbol, illustration of how hard you will work, how many things there are to get done, how you will be fueled for the day, and most importantly how good you will look while doing it.   

Tips for:

Surviving Los Angeles traffic

1) have ipod fully charged
2) play a good balance between classical (for relaxation) and super crazy hardcore (for venting), you will need both and everything inbetween
3) S a C
4) make some phone calls... it is the perfect time to KIT with friends and family.  you'r gramma will appreciate it.  trust me.
5) don't do this often, but sometimes it really helps.... YELL, SCREAM, GROWL at the top of your lungs.  then shake the steering wheel uncontrollably
6) breathe deep.  in and out.  slowly.  completely fill your lungs up, and completely empty them.
7) turn on KCRW.... it wouldn't hurt to get some culture in your life
8) look around at the other drivers.  this is both a good lesson that you are not alone in this battle and simply quite entertaining.
9) S another C
10) flex your abs, butt, thighs, arms.  un flex.  flex.  unflex.  flex. unflex.  it may be sublte and small, but you will most assuredly notice a difference.

Dictionary.com

Word of the day:

hyperbolic \hahy-per-BOL-ik\, adjective:
1. Using hyperbole; exaggerating.
2. Of or pertaining to a hyperbola.

An all-time favorite... sums up my daily communication style. 

Just one of the many things Shakespeare and I have in common, the least being amazing poets and writers. 

Words/Phrases/Acronyms to consider banning:

- Diva
- Trendy
- "More of the same"
- SMH
- Moxie
- Ghetto Fab
- Chagrin
- Bohemian Chic
- Shabby Chic

This will be an ongoing list... Consider this part one or many.

November 1, 2007

Three years ago today marks my first day at my current job. 

I could not have imagined how well i could adapt and thrive in a corporate environment; how many great friends i could make within the office atmosphere; how great a relationship with a boss could be.

Three years ago i was an awkward kid trying to pretend to be a grown up. 

I spent the first week at work shredding paper and wearing bad outfits. 

Tips for:

Hangover recovery*

1) before festivities get under way:  eat a good and healthy dinner.  also, get your favorite flavor Vitamin Water and preferred lemon-lime soda (i like sierra mist) and keep chilled in refrigerator.  
2) Pack a bag: uggs or flip flops, socks, comfy clothes, a big sweater/tshirt, sunglasses.  you may find yourselves in fishnets and high heel boots the morning after with nothing else to wear to breakfast.  this is acceptable, but not preferred.
3) make sure to clear your schedule for the following day... if you are going WILD, you will need a full day to get back to normal. 
4) drink as much water WHILE you are drinking alcohol.  melted ice in your watered down whiskey does not count
5) before you black out fall asleep, chug more water and eat a piece of bread/left over pizza/garlic naan/whatever carbs are laying around.  when you wake up in the middle of the night to stumble to the toilet in the dark with a dizzy head, reach for more water.  or the sierra mist. 
6) when you are ready to get up for the day, make breakfast plans as soon as possible.  go out, cook, or if you are really lucky, make a phone call to a friend and have them bring food to you.
7) eat.  a lot.  eat more than you think is necessary. 
8) have water, sierra mist, vitamin water, coffee, and tea with breakfast.  no, you cannot skimp on any of these.  yes you must drink everything.  and yes, they all work and serve difference purposes. 
9) make sure there is great TV on: Laker game (or other comparable sports gathering), Zoolander, Iron Chef marathon, or Planet Earth all top my list
10) have company to commiserate with.  Hot boyfriend preferred optional. 



*not a coincidence that this post is post-Halloween

holly weanie

October 2008 - presidential pumpkin

 

This year I will be dressed in all white as Alex from A Clockwork Orange.  Except in white booty shorts, black high-heeled boots, and perhaps a peak of cleavage and a black lace bra. 

Obviously can't be lame and buy one of those overpriced lycra princess stripper outfits from places called "costume palace" or "halloween warehouse for ho's" and so forth.  However, I also can't pull a Lindsey Lohan in Mean Girls and go as Bride of Frankenstien (who was hit by a bigrig and thrown in a river, apparently)... so I thought a sexified version of one of the BEST characters in all of literature and film would be a satisfactory medium. 

Should I carry a knife? bat? cane? billy club?  These are the hard decisions in a life full of the ol' ultra-violence....

 

tips for

putting together a great/functinal/good looking work outfit:

1) visualize, visualize, visualize, the night before
2) check the weather!  cannot stress the importance of this.  a coat, scarf, or gloves can take a good outfit to GREAT.
3) make sure you have a well lit closet.  sometimes navy looks like black looks like brown in poor lighting.
4) mix and match fabrics, pattern, color, texture, and print
5) if going all black (which happens often, especially when you'r running late) go for a bright, bold crazy accessory like shoes, scarf, necklace, earrings, or hair piece
6) it's all about the shoes... if you'r wearing hollywood stripper heels to work (which, sometimes i do), make sure you have demure tights on, a skirt that hits at the knee or lower, or your button up is actually buttoned up
7) pick one feature to go crazy with... wanna show work appropriate cleavage? wear lose slacks.  wanna show some leg?  wear a blazer that falls just a bit higher than that short skirt.  wanna wear tight pants?  wear a flowy top with conservative neck line.
8) wear earrings that are eazy on the ears.  especially if you are going to be on the phone a lot.  studs are not conducive.  dangly hook ones work better when you gotta tuck that phone between your ear and shoulder while you're typing a blog emails all day
9) speaking of typing, go easy on the bracelets.  your carpel tunnel will thank you later.  so will your near-by coworkers who dont want to hear your bangles banging against the desk, key board, and file cabinet all day.
and MOST IMPORTANTLY:
10) on a friday, wear something you can "file"....  as in file under: comfy enough to sleep in, formal enough to wear to work with heels and a cardigan, and hot enough to go out in on a friday night.  this means you're good to go for all day friday at work, friday when you go out, and saturday when you pass out in friday's clothes but are still comfortable to be functional

bug juice doesnt come in a jar

What happened to connor and stephanie dating?  do you think asa is still small and chubby, or was puberty kind to him?  what about malik (i think that's what his name was), is he still the coolest kid on the block?  and i'm sure andy has fully grown into his super tall bean pole posture.  can kisha swim now?  is caitlin still lame? 

please give me answers.  i don't want to have to start facebook stalking them. 

bug juice comes from who you are.

a tea party

after a day like today, the only thing i want to is a tea party and yoga. 

WHEW! being a grown up is one tough cookie.  good thing it's usually a tea time appropriate cookie.

in other news... the lakers take game one in a last minute rush hurried by dynamic duo shannon brown and steve blake.  i love LA.

GAME ONE

Today marks the start of what will surely be another amazing NBA season for the Lakers.  Beginning with the Ring Ceremony to celebrate June's Championship, game one comes with high anticipation to say the very least. 

6/17/10 Game 7 at LA LIVE

  with all my sisters, my BF, D's BF, and the biggest laker fan EVER: my pops

Yo Gaahhhhhh

why do i stay away so long?!  i never understand.  i go on big spurts of yoga overdosing, then i'll stop abruptly with no real reason at all.  (probably too much partying).  then i'll come back, unexpectedly, and after that first amazingly brutal class i will think, "how did i let it get to be so long?"

it's not fair to my body that my mind gets all the excersizing!

Gypsyz @ Melrose Trading Post

Yesterday I gypsy-ed (worked) at the Melrose Trading Post hustlin some Dub Hearts Jewelry.  Being there all day allows for great people watching, some awesome, some crazy, some offensive, but never boring. 

Here are a few highlights:

- two hot asian girls with half their heads shaved.  one holding a teeny tiny baby chihuahua
- british girl with awesome boots.  looked like the boot part was covered in 10 different studded belts.
- black guy vending next to me who was probably voted "most popular" at the Melrose Trading Post yearbook
-tiny blonde mexican mom vending on the other side of me... true hustler in her cute open toe sandal booties and very adorable very patient son
- blonde girl who tried on the red bell bottom jumpsuit with studded accents... but sadly did not buy it
- cute british student studying abroad here who bought a ton of jewelry from me and took a picture with me and my vintage Kobe cutout (baby fro and number 8 jersey)... the best tourists are the unashamed!
- young girl drawing pictures and selling for donations, gotta love a young entrepreneur
- two awesome black girls... one with a more lowkey bohemian style in long flowing skirt and coyboy boots and flowing curly hair and the other decked out in all black with super hot black highheeled boots, a great textured black blazer, black hat, and stick straight black hair, accented with gold accessories.  they were both vendors and in line with me at 7:30am

Here are some lowlights:

- girl with cut-out shirt and pink cut off showing waaaaaaaaaaay too much skin for a sunday in october
- two fake platnum blonde girls, one in a pink juicy track suit and one in a black juicy tracksuit and gold uggs.  puh-lease this is not the beverly center in 1999

TGIF

Besides my childhood nostalgia for the Friday night programming involving Family Matters, Step by Step, Teen Angel, and Boy Meets World (to name a few), TGIF had been a particular loathsome acronym. 

It is especially hateful when used by stiff working professionals as a greeting.  Akin to "Somebody's got a case of the Mondays" (obviously from Office Space, if you didn't know that, please jump in front of traffic), the term TGIF numbs my brain (and not in that good THC kind of way). 

However, now that I am a working professional (I use this term loosely, and never would I be stiff), this acronym has grown on me.  Sometimes I throw in an extra "F", so as to make it a little edgy: Thank God It's F@&*ing Friday.  Sometimes I throw in a "MF".  And sometimes I make up my own: IIFFY "is it f*&#ing Friday yet" (obviously applicable if you do, in fact, have a case of the Mondays). 

Now it's 5:30pm on a Friday, the office is quiet except for the echo of my keyboard, the lights are dim, and the coffee is cold and stale.  My big Friday plans involve a hot date with Michael's AND Trader Joe's (two worthy men who just happened to live next door to each other!)...  So is it a coincidence that you can't spell GIFT without TGIF?

I reaaallllyyyyyy don't think so.

Hearts

San Francisco, October 2010, Tree Heart outside of L's apartment.

Happy 20th Birthday my liffle gypsy muffin! 

Welcome to what will be an EPIC decade of your life.  Think you partied hard as a teenage?  Think again... !



Tips for:

Conference Calls.

1) Make sure your door is closed and locked.
2) Have coffee and water readily available from sitting position on desk (snacks optional).
3) Put feet up and chair on recline.
4) Utilize the mute button (this is the most important tip).
5) When introducing yourself, speak slow and purposeful.  It will make you seem more mature and knowledgeable than you really are.
6) Take mute off and ask questions at lease twice, so they know you are present
7) Stretch!  This is a great time to vinyasa, bend, and repeat.
8) Take notes.  Then when your boss unexpectedly knocks on your door, you have something to show for the last 2 hours of work.
9) Answer the rhetorical questions (remember, take mute off for this).
10) Leave blog open for updates.  Facebook optional.  Do NOT take mute off for this.

Dictionary.com

Word of the day:

coruscate \KOR-uh-skayt\, intransitive verb:
1. To give off or reflect bright beams or flashes of light; to sparkle.
2. To exhibit brilliant, sparkling technique or style. (*see bottom picture)

An appropriate introduction to this past weekend's pictures:

Electric flowers to start off the weekend.

Balloon skyline trails, a festival must.

Ferris Wheel... you will be mine, oh you will be mine.

And so much to see in the whipped cream clouds.

Ferris Wheel at night!

The precise moment of rain and genuine ecstaticity.

Mirrors, lights, eyes

Dead over these Deadmau5 heads.

 

Giant pink flamingo watching over the Island.

Exploring the bottom lit Palm canopy.

*



Hearts

Los Angeles, February 2010, a morning spent with N.

Dictionary.com

Word of the Day (for Saturday 10/16/10)

ineffable \in-EF-uh-buhl\, adjective:
1. Incapable of being expressed in words; unspeakable; unutterable; indescribable.
2. Not to be uttered; taboo.

Could not be more appropriate for Saturday's adventure. 

Summed up like this:

intergalactic outerspace journey to transcend human and alien mind and body through musical and magical waves and particles to DANCE YOURSELF CLEAN

then it rained like lazer light beams from the clouds falling directly to splash on my cheeks, every rain drop's face visible in the ferris wheel light's relflection, and i died and went to heaven

We can learn a lot of things from the flowers

One of the best parts of this long weekend vacation was wandering around Golden Gate park on a brisk grey Sunday.  We sold our Treasure Island day 2 tickets and opted for lazy walks through the park, down Haight street, eating It's-It ice cream sandwhichs (HIGHLY recommended), and laughing about the craziness that ensued the day before.

Stumbling upon the Conservatory of Flowers, I felt like Alice in Wonderland.  The actual building was closed, but the view from the outside was still majestic:

Here are a couple of pictures from one of the dreamy outdoor garden areas.... not sure what they are called.  Most were Mums and Dahlias (I think).  Each one was "my favorite" until I would lay eyes on the next one. 

Love the water dew drops resting in the conical petals.

The gradation of color seems like a surrealist painting.

The vibrancy of red is classic and unrivaled.

I'll stop at three pictures of flowers as not to bore you. 

In other news, I did learn, and it was confirmed, that bison can be seen at Golden Gate Park.  I have made it my personal mission to see them the next time I am in town.  If you don't beleive me, click here.

This further proves that San Francisco becomes cooler and cooler with every visit.  We can learn a lot of things from the bison.

Music Festivals

are the chicken soup for a mid-twenties corporate america employee but closeted hippie's soul.  Like a warm bath after running in the rain.  Like a breath of fresh air after sitting in a sauna.  Like the feeling of a first kiss with someone you realllyyyyyy want to kiss.  Like digging in your backyard in search of dinosaur bones when you are 5 years old and actually finding DINOSAUR BONES. 

A weekend to go wild, dance hard, dress crazy, and remember what it's like to be a kid. 

Upon my return, I will say hello from the other side of the doors of perception. 

Treausre Island Music Festival 2009.  photo by N.

Dictionary.com

Word of the day:

apocopate \uh-POK-uh-peyt\, verb:   To omit the final sound or sounds of (a word.)

This whole time, I thought I was abbreviating. 

It is only now that I find, I have been apoc. o. pate. ing.

Something inside me has just been filled to the brim.

Exit Through the Loo

Banksy has been a sort of mild obsession since my first trip to Europe in 2004.  Falling in love with graffiti and stencil art, all my research led me to Blek le Rat.  And he led me to Banksy.  And it wouldn't be years later that this would happen....

Inked: April 20, 2009, Staircase Tattoo, Santa Cruz, CA

Finding Banksy's pieces is like a treasure hunt:

Banksy on Melrose.  (this is featured in the film, however is no longer in existence)

Banksy in SF. (taken sloppily and drunk during Bay to Breakers!)

Despite getting a full tank of gas and getting suckered into buying a three pack and wash cloths of car detailer stuff at the gas station on the corner of Beverly and La Brea, I totally missed the Banksy piece on the east facing wall.  UGH, next time.

(Side note, I thought I was maybe getting suckered into some kind of identity theft scheme when the asian guy was selling me on this car stuff, but I told him I trust him because he's asain and he wouldn't rip off another asain.  The african american coworker chimes in that had she tried to sell me the stuff I wouldn't have given in because she's "black".  I said on the contrary, having just read a long article about Christopher Columbus ((it was CC day)) that I would in fact trust her, but NOT the ((blonde hair, blue eyed)) aryan dude standing next to them.  Laughing commences.)

I was very excited to finally see "Exit Through the Gift Shop," the Banksy/street art/pseudo documentary.  However, being of a weird breed of people who cannot watch shaky camera-home video action type movies, sitting through these is difficult to say the least.  Blair Witch Project - puke.  Paranormal Activity - puke.  In my excitement to see "Exit", it did not occur to me that this would be shot in the same style: puke.

I was able to enjoy most of it and laughed at all appropriate parts, but next time I am coming armed with Dremamine and Sprite. 

New Beverly Cinema, Beverly and La Brea, Los Angeles, CA

Greetings, Universe!

This is me yesterday on 10-10-10.  That's a Sex Pistols "Anarchy in the UK" tour t-shirt that was on sale at H & M for $5.  But don't worry, I truly did have the CD when I was 14!  Still searching for an original vinyl copy.

I know, I know.... I am light-years late to enter the blog world, but I am a technophobe.  Is that a word? 

Most pictures I take and post on here will either be taken on that handy dandy Blackberry seen above or on this...

My first camera: Lomography Hello Kitty Fish Eye.  LOVEZ!  I got no fancy equipment. 

I plan to use this theoretical space to share things I enjoy doings, seeing, tasting, smelling, loving, creating, and experiencing in general. 

Hope to see you around here again.