carebear strikes again.

mom’s original email:

Hi! Phil and Vivian,

How’s everything? We are doing fine. If you need to contact me, just send email to me. I can find Roxanne’s email address, say hello for us.

Mom

my response, part one:

things are good! really busy!
where are you guys now and what is the latest thing you’ve seen?

my response, part two:

you know what would be fun.
i think from now on our emails should all include 2 thing that have recently happened which have made you happy, and 1 thing you’re looking forward to!!! OKAY??!
[ [ [ [ [ PS - PHIL DID YOU EVER GIVE THEM MY PRESENT?????????????????????? ] ] ] ] ]

i’ll go first.

- COMING UP: i’m looking forward to seeing everyone at jeremy’s wedding this weekend! not looking forward to giving wedding $$$ ;p
- PASSED: my friend just gave me a bunch of images of his artwork. you can see it here… it’s the trees! he started with a single brush stroke (japanese sumi ink) and then added the trees after the basic shape was formed. they’re all differerent and all really incredible. see here.
- PASSED: we had an alice in wonderland-themed picnic in the park last sunday…!! i made a dress, kinda. here are some pictures:

heck yeah! i will make you bitches think positively!!!

>>>

in other news.
it’s funny to have recently met the swahili people because they are so much on the same page… i mean, they even say “so good,” which is pretty much just really super ridiculous. cosmic.

today i went to a lecture that troy (yeah, troy, but not the los angeles one) invited me to about science versus belief. it was interesting… interesting in that… i am also trying to bridge science with spirituality, but the route the dude (a chemist who basically reworked entire theoretical physics models to fit his worldview…) took was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo far removed from everything i’ve been thinking though the basic topics are still there. as is the basic notion of duality… so… i can say he’s astute, but i disagree completely with EVERYTHING he said, and it was maddening because there were people in the audience (“audience”) who were really quick to accept his theoretical model though his graphs and charts meant NOTHING at all and had NO value… and one guy behind me was saying, “you just have to realize that people are idiots and the majority of people don’t know what’s right!” and that was his argument against the current theoretical physics models. it was kind of sickening and really, really disturbing. anyway, the fact that he is a chemist — an extremely rigid form of science because as blake said, “it’s generally figured out and is a complete science,” only adds to the fact that i think what he’s saying is crap. furthermore, he would say stuff like, “that just doesn’t look right to me,” and that was essentially his justification for that stuff being ‘wrong’ and his model being ‘right’. man, i swear, you can manipulate data in any way to construct the reality you want…

anyway, i’m going to los angeles this weekend for jeremy’s wedding. i am going to call up troy. i rather doubt he will meet up with me… or even responsd to me… but i’ll try anyway. other than that… oh right, xinlei got engaged. aaaah! everyone!

and lastly, one more thing. after last friday’s chemical ingestion session with blake, the next day, I BECAME A PRO BIKER! seriously, though. i went to research club the following day and was biking circles in ladd’s addition with no hands. weirdest fucking shit. it just magically clicked and now i can bike huge huge huge huge huge huge huge huge huge stretches and blocks and blocks with no hands. and i don’t even have to think about it. it’s super easy. second nature. makes ZERO sense. i dunno what clicked or why, but something clicked. SO WEIRD.

blake also leaves in a couple weeks for montana and then the east coast, which is kind of a little strange. i don’t think i’ll realize just how strange til it happens, though…!

i also opened a new bank account with wells fargo because they don’t charge you the same amount in ridiculous fees that chase does. the banker who opened my account was really quite fun. he also told me a banking joke — of “which there are not many” — but i guess people at wells fargo say that “chase chases all their customers to [us]“. har har har.

anyway. exciting things coming up. i’m finally lighting a fire under my ass again, at least a little bit…

a year in facebook status updates – 2009.

January

does believe people should go to the new and improved http://www.redefinemag.com

done did got her laptop infected by a virus. ~__~ BSOD FTL.

February

got a web facelift: http://www.redefinemag.com — and a new arts blog: http://www.redefinemag.com/arts/

is going to be in Los Angeles tomorrow, until the 17th! Holla!

is wondering if anyone would like to go to Peru with her in late March / early April for a couple weeks?

March

is wondering if anyone knows anyone trustworthy who needs a room to stay in for SxSW?

is going to Peru, April 1st through April 23rd. Confirmed, son.

is wondering if anyone else noticed Facebook looks different! Rounded profile pictures, omg!! Bigger fonts!!!!

thinks the Indian holiday, Holi, is AWESOME. ^__^

is pretty sure SxSW is the best shit ever.

cannot WAITTTTT to get back to Seattle where allergies are more or less tolerable and not complete complete death action.

… did I say I couldn’t wait to get back to Seattle? Well, I don’t want to be in Austin, but I don’t want to be here, either. RESPONSIBILITIES. BLACHHH.

It’s funny when you have a sudden epitome on a way to fix something that is obviously wrong, with so obvious an answer it’s ridiculous. Naw mean?

Today I hung out with a 23 year old Australian dude I met at SxSW and an 18 year old super mature and smart (and classically very good looking) British lad. I rarely ever meet and get to know English-speaking foreigners while living in the States. It’s in…

Feeleth so dehydrated…

is headed to Seattle’s Green Festival… for anyone who wants to go tomorrow, if you go to PCC and buy some shit, you get a free ticket ($15 value).

Sometimes you just need a giant 16 ounce cup of cappuccino / hot cocoa mix from — no, not the coffee shop down the street — 7/11. Hail. Yeah. Son. Sure, you’ll regret it later as you are shaking with its sugary nastiness, but the first half hour or so o…

is headed to Mexico City / Peru in one day and seven hours. Here’s to not pulling a “Tony Cordova”. Not pulling a “Tony Cordova” can be defined as, but are not limited to: 1) not breaking arms while arm wrestling, 2) not getting rings stuck on fingers til…

April

was told that her brother’s house has Oreos for consumption, but the Oreos cannot be seen!!!!

is in the Lima airport, at a Starbucks. Ohhh nooeettthh! They’re seriously everywhere. X:

is in Lima, waiting to go to Trujillo, Peru. Lima is just a city, like every other city, but man, is Peruvian cuisine colorful and exciting. But people here drive like maniacs. It’s super fun to be in a taxi, wondering if you’ll get in a crash, but even i…

is going to Huacas Del Sol Y De La Luna today… and then off to the desert. – http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huacas_del_Sol_y_de_l a_Luna

is wondering about how strange it is that I’ve been here for like… three days… and it feels like an ETERNITY somehow. It’s fucking bizarre.

is thinking about how a girl on my flight from Seattle to SF five days ago finished off our 2 hour conversation with one another by telling me that I have “really nice hands” and that she has an “obsession with hands and necks.”

has photos online at http://picasaweb.google.com/veez0ri

helped another teacher teach some 2nd graders English today. We did one class in Spanish and one class in English, teaching kids things like, “What’s your name?” and “What’s her name?” and the class taught exclusively in English did MUCH better than the c…

$569 roundtrip to Iceland from Seattle this summer. Who wants to go

es muy confundido.

is PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY. K thx. Off to the mountains of Peru this evening for Semana Santa!!! Holy Week!

is just a girl.

has new photos from an awesome weekend in Cajamarca, Peru: http://picasaweb.google.com/veez0ri/042009Cajamarc aPeru#

has just been reminded that holy shit… art is better than pretty much everything. – http://www.redefinemag.com/arts/ – http://1988watcher.blogspot.com/

is wondering who wants to go to Burning Man this year… like, for real. This time.

& Mihae received many a love letter this evening from Peruvian men. Here is a note a hot 17 year old Peruvian waiter wrote us before we left: “Cuando vas muy lejos adonde yo no te puedo ver se que vata (?) o extranarte mucho Vivian te extrano mucho quisie…

is forever in love with “Gorecki” by Lamb. One of the most awesome songs ever.

feels like she just smoked at least five cigarettes due to the plethora of secondhand smoke this evening ~__~

doesn’t like secondhand smoke but residual smoke-in-hair is SO GOOD. So good.

is sad to be leaving Trujillo cause the kids are SO cute. ~__~ Want to come back for longer. How to do so logistically…

is Lima-bound tonight. Hello overnight bus.

says: If you’re riding a bus in Peru, reserve the freaking 1st row of seats on the 2nd floor of the bus. AMAZING view (And “Bruce Almighty” in Spanish is amazing, too.)

is in Cusco, and NOT altitude sick! Yay. Mihae is yet to be determined, however.

Cusco / Cuzco is uncharming, expensive, drab, unexciting, and completely un-Peru-like. Machu Picchu may be great, but this tourist trap mecca definitely is not. Just saying.

is tired after a day of hiking up a 3,500 meter (11,500 feet) above sea level mountain because two Peruvian waiters (we sure like making friends with waiters) told us to. Tiring and hard, with some parts of the “trail” actually being giant ladders we had…

is thinking, WTF, BBQ, LIFE, and using the internet while sitting on the floor of our hostel in Cuzco.

actually heard a stranger fart last night in an alleyway and then SMELLED it. That’s SO wrong.

got a tarot card reading today from a Peruvian jungle man nicknamed Captain Jack, while sitting on a giant rock and stuff.

is in the Lima airport… again. Living in Trujillo was SO cheap, but coming to Cusco and Lima is SO expensive!! BAHH! Sapping money like a motherfucker!!

is leaving Peru tomorrow. Already? Is it over already?! :[

is back in the States after a night of 0 sleep and techno music in Mexico City. Thanks, Franco.

is dying of stomach ache! WTF!

is feeling better. Yay for no Mexican flu

is wondering why people would install shit on my computer. Kinda annoying.

wants it all -- brand new socks and drawls -- and I'm ballin every time I stop and talk to y'all. I want it all, all, all, all.

lied a little. Stomach still hurts. :X And it is not reassuring that one of the people I was hanging out with in Mexico City also has had a stomach ache!!! (But I don't have any other flu symptoms, so I'm not going to die, right?!! RIGHT?!!)

can once again think of a zillion reasons to never live at home.

is wondering if anyone wants to pick her up from the airport at 11:00pm on Tuesday. No? OK.

is going to interview Crystal Antlers tonight at the Crepe Place in Santa Cruz. Bands? At a Crepe Place? We'll see how this goes.

is wondering WHYYYYYY WHYYYY STOMACHE WHYYYYY!

is pretty convinced what burned my stomach was drinking a glass of absinthe (when I never drink) on an empty stomach. Finally took medicine, and now it's all peachy.

is thinking four days or so is about the maximum amount of time to visit the parentals in California without going batshit crazy.

is wondering if anyone is going to Sasquatch, cause I'd actually maybe like to go for once, perhaps.

May

is thinking that looking at high school people's Facebook profiles is some Twilight Zone shit.

wants Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits. SRSLY.

is having her patience tested, z0mg.

reckons there's always a lesson to be learned in experiences that test you, but man, it's hard to glean something super positive from someone's annoying the shit out of you.

is gonna see some dags. Do you like dags?

revolutionized nail-cutting this afternoon. Cut your nails outside; never worry about mess again!!!!!!!!! ZOMG!!!!

gives in to Conor Oberst. I had always written off Bright Eyes as mediocre, but dammit, it's kind of good.

is wondering if anyone wants to go with her to either The Kills / The Horrors' show or The Curious Mystery / Ole Time Relijun's show. Both on Friday and free. Hollar.

is going country line dancing or something tonight. They call it 2-steppin? What? We'll see.

is HOLY FUCK, round-trip tickets from Seattle to NYC for $219 and from Los Angeles to Australia for $646. HOLY FUCK ASS!!!!!

just fell in the mud with my Nikon d40 D-SLR. But dude, smoothing concrete is fun (and the camera is okay).

is now officially only one degree of separation removed from Mike Patton (of Faith No More / Mr. Bungle fame). Wee!

is going to Hammingbell, aka Bellingham, for the day...!

recommends that you go watch The Kills and The Horrors, on tour now. They killed it this evening.

needs to need to not want to need.

loves the VH1 show "Daisy of Love." I'm just a lameass.

sometimes wishes she liked alcohol even a little bit. But alas, no.

is an idiot around boys I have even remote interest in, and I will run away prematurely. But hey, if I don't like you, I will talk to you for fucking hours.

... sometimes you think you know, but then find out what you know ain't shit. But it's nice when that can be said in a positive manner. SON!

spent the night at a bar with a fucking banana in my purse. SON!

eats a little too much hummuses!!!

necesita aprender mas espanol :0

was late for the bus but forgot bus money, had to run back home to grab the bus money, grabbed the bus money, kept it in her hands while running down the hill, lost a quarter of the fare in someone's unkempt lawn (where it was never to be seen again), and...

was called by her mother today, and her mother said to her in Chinese: "Your house is actually pretty clean now! But you live with boys, so make sure you wrap up your pads well when you throw them out while you're on your period." To which I replied (verb...

thinks the problem of being a sucker for pretty writing and pretty words is that, more often than not, that's all it is... pretty words... not pretty actions.

thinks may all die a nuclear death... in 2012.

just interviewed Mike Weiss of mewithoutYou. They have a new disc out: http://www.myspace.com/mewithoutyou

has been trying to install a Ruby on Rails environment on the computer all day. ALL DAY. Lord.

is being FUCKED OVER by Google. Motherfuckers. The Redefine website is inaccessible via Firefox without a warning of "vulnerability", and I fixed the errors, but they're still not removing this warning. PISSED!!

June

is up late, being emo. ~o~

: incentive for waking up earlier... $290 round-trip tickets from Seattle to Madrid, including taxes. *WTF*. Too bad I slept in and it got sold out. :L

is going camping in the Olympic Peninsula until Tuesday. Suckaz!!!

... just saw *the* most amazing dance-off ever at Trinity, by a pair of strangers, to dub-step. INSANE. They were *literally* climbing on the wall, crawling on the floor, and doing the fucking splits. In fact, the chick did the fucking splits on the wall,...

had an awesome weekend playing Rock Band, white trash golf? (testicle toss?), eating yummy catered food, and seeing ScM friends from looong ago. Congrats Pwny & Renae, and thanks! Even the sanest of girls is crazy.

is going to Ashland, Oregon for July 4th to watch Macbeth at the world's most awesomest Shakespeare Festival. Hail yessssss, dawwwwwgggg.

totally kind of believes in astrology crap. Do you?

July

was volunteering at Real Change today and Rosette made a joke about my going to bed at 4AM last night because I was watching Michael Jackson videos. That was untrue. Today, however, I am actually staying up til 4AM watching Michael Jackson videos. ~__~ Li...

thinks it's hilarious that *NOW* the FDA says Tylenol (and Percoset and Vicodin) is bad. - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/31671172#3 1671172

inhaled too much nail polish, omg... headache galore.

still can't get over the fact that my parents have Facebook. Can they read this?!!! I have no idea!!!

just had a car trunk closed on her head and it hurt like a motherb!tch. If a giant bruise emerges on my face, I'm going to have to pin domestic violence on some lucky person!!!!

battled four nosebleeds today and won. Then again, if they keep coming back, does that still count as victories? Are they all the same nosebleed coming back to life again or are they four separate nosebleeds?!! HMMM?!!!!!?!!!! And if they're separate nose...

+ sports bra = boy... pretty much.

wonders if you would ever read a magazine in downloadable PDF form???? Check yes or no.

is disturbed by how different raisins in the same pack taste from one another Some are so nasty and mushy I have to spit them out!!

hates going through all the CDs we get for Redefine and really realizing how many bands we simply don't have the resources to give the time of day to. :{

spent the last four hours sorting through CDs. Got a couple discs in the mail that seem fairly exciting for me personally: Volcano Choir (JagJaguwar), OKie Dokie (Aagoo), Forks And Knives (Self-Released) and INF (Beats Broke)... WOOHOO!!!!!

is putzing around Portland for the day... what to do, what to do, other than talking to random crazy awesome strangers...

pretty much loves Portland. Seattle's still more beautiful, though. But Portland's more fun.

told Kyle that my house is really super empty because Chris moved out all his furniture. Kyle told me to try doing cartwheels now that I have space. I've been trying to do them... and I'm not going to give up til I actually do a legit one... but what's pa...

It's a bitch convincing people to like you/ If I stop now call me a quitter/ If lies were cats you'd be a litter/ Pleasing everyone isn't like you/ Dancing jigs until I'm crippled/ Slug ten drinks I won't get pickled!.../ Oh I could throw you in the lake/

fucking loves cherries! WHY OH WHY MUST I BE ALLERGIC! WHY!!!

is going to sleep at 4:30am and waking up at 9:00am. WOOOOO!

thinks is unfair that Block Party is this weekend in Seattle (still haven't been!) for a zillion dollars and PDX Pop Now is a free event this weekend. Pish, posh, poosh.

thinks it's kinda sorta fun to live without: a microwave, a television, a bed frame... a clue. Just me, music, hardwood floors, dreams, and a zillion dust bunnies are ADEQUATE!

had a freaking amazing day doing the "Talk To Us" thing in downtown Seattle (imagine Christian women's conference meets Narcotics Anonymous crowd meets Torchlight Parade participants), choosing from 60 FREE CAKES in Seattle Center, high-fiving marathon ru...

... when all the furniture goes away, all the spiders come out to play :/ including the hobos the size of your palm. WOO! This is when sleeping on the floor not so good.

... [stolen from someone else cause social experiments rule.] This is a Facebook Experiment. If you are reading this, even if we don’t speak often, post a comment with a memory of you and I. When you’ve finished, post this paragraph into your own status u…

HOW IS IT 105 DEGREES IN SEATTLE? THIS IS NOT RIGHT.

… damn you, bleeding from the nether regions! I wanted to go swimming!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wonders if anyone knows of good electro/disco-type bands in the Portland and Seattle area??

August

had a memorable dream for the first time in a long time… kid ghosts, kid ghosts, kid ghosts… so plentiful in number they were flying and practically overlapping with each other in my vision. plus feelings of being insane.

enjoys the sleeping positions of the two cats I’m cat/house-sitting… teehehehe! Their names are George and Bert (because of resemblance to a Muppet)… but strangely, they’re both female. (Crazy cat lady in the making?!!…)

is going to hit up the $7-haircut-run-out-of-a-house place I’ve been wanting to try for almost a year now! Wish me lux.

“Your skin is something that I stir into my tea/ And I am watching you/ And you are starry, starry, starry…”

… me: going to tillamook today, never been / rachel: huh / me: what could possibly be confusing about that statement lol! / rachel: cheese / me: yes / rachel: holy shit, didnt know that was possible

is loving the new Portugal. The Man disc, The Satanic Satanist. More falsetto + blues/funk? Sweeeet. – Free MP3 here (not the best song on the disc, though, but whatever): http://freedownloads.last.fm/download/278763095/Pe ople%2BSay.mp3

… “Lovers loving love just like these lovers are loving in love.” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv3z8m1qbOQ

had a fantastical evening with Miss XL consisting of (but not limited to): getting lost in a maze of freeways, taking the LONGEST freeway detour EVER, being hit on by a guy using the classic, “Are you hot wearing that jacket? I mean, you’re HOT, but are you hot?” line, and laughing our asses off when a whole crowd of ridiculous clubbers got, “Low low low low,” in unison because “Apple Bottom Jeans” told them to.

is so very jaded by traditional Christian weddings… receptions rule, though. Fo’ realz.

is officially REALLY bad at frisbee golf. Really good at living off of snack foods, though.

… “A horse is a horse, of course, of course, and no one can talk to a horse, of course, that is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mister Ed.”

should give lessons on being a nomad. August / September / first half of October = PDX -> SEA -> PDX -> SEA -> LA -> NEVADA -> SO-CAL -> PDX -> SEA -> SF -> ????. All rent free. Jea.

… new nomad schedule for Aug-Oct 2009: Portland > Seattle > Los Angeles > Black Rock City, Nevada > Long Beach > Austin > Orlando > Seattle > Portland (MusicFestNW) > Chicago (La Dispute!!) > Detroit (:D) > Chicago > New Orleans (:D) > Pittsburgh > Seattle > San Francisco (Fever Ray/Castro St. Parade!) > New York > New Jersey > New York > Montreal > New York > Seattle…! (Settling down in Nov? Mayhaps. TIPS??)

… despite making films that would lead one to believe the contrary, David Lynch IS in fact Captain Obvious. Gems include, “And I thought to myself that in California, people wear sweaters! So it must sometimes be cool at night or something, because it was kind of a night-time thing, I imagined. And I thought, ‘What a great climate, that it’s warm in the day, and cool in the night — cool enough to wear a sweater!”

… 1) does anyone know if you need to take a GRE to get a Master’s in Social Work?… 2) does anyone know why I keep freaking getting Charlie Horses in my sleep? CHARLIE HORSES *SUCK*!!!

… emo emo emo mo mom oomaoo.

is gonna interview Theo Ellsworth in a hot sec. Awesome. – http://theoellsworth.blogspot.com

presents… a cross-section of Dutch words cuz Dutch is awesome/impossible … afschuwelijk = horrible, beschonken = drunk, droogtrommel = tumble drier, eigenaardig = peculiar, hulpvaardig = helpful, loopjongen = errand boy, natuurwetenschappelijk = natural phenomenon, ooghaar = eyelash, prijzenswaardig = commendable, raaskallen = talk nonsense, schurkenstreek = roguery, verachtelijk = despicable, zaniken = bother

… all of this past month’s Redefine updates in one handy ol’ August 2009 newsletter: http://www.redefinemag.com/newsletters/2009-08-new s.html (you can sign up for future similar updates in the right-hand column of http://www.redefinemag.com)!… … duude. Redefine life is doing good. It is, it is. A horse is a horse, of course, of course.

is pretty godamn satisfied. Bitches. And you need to listen to Leftover Cuties. – http://www.myspace.com/leftovercuties

… I know I just had a conversation recently about how band/musician names really shouldn’t play a role in determining how good he/she/they are, but man, Mac McAnally’s name is pretty funny.

is wondering if anyone in the Seattle / Portland / Los Angeles areas have crazy, super HOT desert weather clothes that they don’t need anymore that they want to give me to wear / demolish / never return (?)

wonders how many of the neighbors can hear me singing my ass off through the open windows. Hahahahahahahahaa.

wonders where I should go from Austin… Boston, Raleigh, Charlotte, Portland (Maine), Fort Lauderdale, Orlando…?? Decisions, decisions. VOTES?

is wondering if anyone in LA has a shitty bike he/she wants to sell/lend me? EH?????

has too much to do and therefore wants to do *nothing*…

… dude, coffee-drinking today has been CRAZY and has kind of sent me into this world where if I sit still for a hot sec I’m reeling into the unknown folds of the universe. Seriously.

is friggin pissed. Got a virus trying to download Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits. Virus rendered Internet unusable. Now, while trying to clear space on my hard drive to back up data, guess what I find? Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits. Godammit.

is watching a documentary on noise music called “People Who Make Noise”, and the cats are definitely freaking out in parts.

hates iTunes. I formatted my iPod Touch when my iTunes was set on shuffle and now my songs will only play on shuffle. Anyone know how to fix short of reformatting again?

September

is back in the real world (as real as Los Angeles is, anyway). Hello dry skin and straw hair.

is Austin and San Antonio-bound tomorrow, September 10th, through Monday, September 14th. Holla, Texans! And recommendations, por favor!!!!!

… funny press release of the day: “Name Your Tune is an exciting new children’s music compilation that is made-to-order and personalized for each child. Children will hear their name more than 80 times throughout 14 much-loved songs, such as If You’re Happy And You Know It (becomes If You’re Paul And You Know It) and Old MacDonald Had A Farm (becomes Little Ringo Had A Farm.)”

… guy’s name at the Long Beach Airport (the weirdest airport I’ve ever been to, BTW): Rohan McGee. AWESOME!!!

… one of my new favorite names for a city: Gay Hill, Texas!

equals not impressed by TexMex. TexMex is kinda sick. I’ll take Mex over TexMex every day of the week.

… dude, there’s a PLEASANTON in Texas!!!!!!!!!!!! 30 miles or so from San Antonio!!!!

passed a 5-mile stretch of highway in Houston today in which like, every American chain store had a branch. It was both amazing and disgusting! I’d begun to think that for sure every chain store had already shown up, but new ones kept popping up! Bed Bath And Beyond was like, “Don’t forget about me!”, Kohl’s was like, “I wanna play, too!”, and Panda Express was like, “Eat me!”

… three-hour-long+ adventure on Los Angeles Metro, here I come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

… actual synopsis for the film “Hood Of Horror”: “The Ghetto can be a scary place. And thanks to Snoop Dogg, it’s about to get even scarier. Snoop brings us three tales of terror from the hood featuring Billy Dee Williams, Method Man, and Jason Alexander. They’ll scare the shizzle out of you.”

loooooves eavesdropping on non-English-speaking humans (that I can understand, obviously)… cause sometimes you get real gems cause people think no one around can understand them!

… funny press release of the day: “Megan Fox is hot. She’s everywhere. And those short shorts and tank top and the black leather motorcycle costume she wore in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen are available for all to buy.”

… awesome press quote I just saw on some taxi in Chicago about some theatre show: “Like Cirque du Soleil, but with horses.” — WTF!

… two assholes, at two shows, two days in a row. One racist in Detroit who said the Asian Yale girl who got murdered and stuffed in the wall begged her murderer, “Please no keel me; I sucky sucky for free,” (seriously??) and another dumbass who told Micachu And The Shapes that their music wasn’t music and that he “didn’t pay to have my ears pissed in.” Why so angry, Chicagoans and Detroiters?!!

self-loathes with a vengeance this evening, and to top it off, my electronics keep committing suicide, too. UGH.

… yet another low: MySpace Music is now brought to you by McDonald’s. WTF?

was thinking it was too early to sleep because my computer clock says 11:45pm, Pacific Time. Realization: I’m on the east coast. Dammit.

… MOTHAFUCKIN THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES IN DC, BEEYOTCH!

is so frustrated with myself!!! The airport security workers were totally being a dick to this Spanish-speaking lady and I wanted to stand in and translate, but I kept asking the security worker what she needed to do and he kept ignoring me, so I just stood down. It was so sad! They just wheeled her off in her little wheelchair and she was like, “No comprendo!” and had no idea what was going on :{

October

… Sondre Lerche twittering about Redefine? Awesome!

thinks it’s funny when people (*ahem, Sherry*) get all worked up over sports on TV.

… TONIGHT: Fever Ray in SF!!!! YAYYYYYY!!!

… who wants to make me a cupcake costume for Halloweenie!?

… anyone have experience with podcasting and can chat with me about it?

… funny press release of the day: “Dell [has] partnered with Major League Baseball to offer fans across the nation opportunities to bring their team spirit to their PC. Dell Design Studio offers designs for all 30 MLB teams in three customized levels – Fan, Classic and Die-Hard.”

is gonna be in New York City until the 13th, Montreal until the 17th or 18th, New Jersey until the 24th. Let’s meet up!?

is pissed! Of all the freaking delicious places to eat in NY I somehow settled on a place with THE WORST godamn eggplant parmesan sandwiches ever!! How could an eggplant parmesan sandwich possibly be this disgusting? AND it’s expensive. I’m craving one from Romio’s now. Ugh.

wishes bugs didn’t like biting me so much!! AAHHHHHHH. Three bug bites on the face… mostly no big deal, except for the one around my eye that makes me look like I got punched in the face

wants to eat something warm and hot, but I don’t have any Canadian money left except for $1.11, and I’m leaving tomorrow! I can’t even buy something from McDonald’s here with that! Much less the poutine next door.

being in the Northeast during the fall might be one of the best things ever… so beautiful, aaaah.

… my 16-year-old cousin doesn’t have ANY idea what Schindler’s List is. That’s almost as scary as Lingo’s nephew {?} not knowing who Michael Jordan is. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Social networking does a REDEFINE body good.

… explaining non-meat-eating to 85-year-old Chinese grandpa = impossible. Meat sickness impending. Not to mention they were pork buns, which I hated even when I did eat meat regularly!! ~__x

… wowowow Spaceland venue in Los Angeles!!! Taking word-for-word my article on Nurses for use in their promotional mailer: “By blending everything together in a way that turns layers of instrumentation, samples, and loops into structured tracks, Nurses create underlying backgrounds which teem with life and create a visual musical experience.” FUCKFACES. Where’s the credit!?

is geeking out on music so hard. Amusing finds for the evening: Terrible Records – Ghosts (http://terriblerecordsus.com/blog/wp-content/uplo ads/2009/10/ghosts.mp3), Yura Yura Teikoku – Dekinai (http://girlieaction.com/yurayura/sounds/Dekinai.mp3), Pylon – Beep (http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=down load&ufid=C646D21D51E64387), and finally… this really rad Nesey Gallons album, Eyes & Eyes & Eyes Ago! Yay!

is thinking, in this day and age where music videos are better than ever, why don’t VH1/MTV actually show music videos???????? Certainly they would hold someone’s attention…

just turned in my absentee ballot today, and I actually looked up all the candidates, but I feel like they’re all just about the goshdarn same. They all care about the environment and safety… blahblahblah. So I just went with whatever person seemed like he/she liked public transportation and homeless people the most. Ha!

November

… The Norwegian word “Røyksopp” means puffball fungus (lit. “(a) smoke mushroom”)… now you know!!!!!!!

… ever get those moments where you’re so insanely idiotic that you can scarcely believe yourself? They’re kind of special.

… funny press release of the day: “The Beatles cover [of] “I’m Only Sleeping” was recorded the day “The Beatles: Rock Band” game was released in protest of the idea of great musicians wasting time playing games about making music instead of actually making music.” – AEONs

… “I did not stir, and presently I began to breathe with the dispassionate rhythm of sleep. He listened, that was certain. I listened to his listening. He listened to my listening to his listening. Something snapped. I noticed that I was not thinking at all of what I thought I was thinking; attempted to catch my consciousness tripping, but got mazed myself. ” – Vladimir Nabokov, Despair. <3 <3 <3

… s o m e t i m e s l i f e i s r e a l l y r e a l l y a w e s o m e a n d i t f e e l s a m a z i n g . i feel like i'm onto something.

… loudly listening to music on Mihae Jung's $700 speakers = kinda better than going outside.

… so glad I don't work for a corporation… some corporate politics are truly ridiculous.

… "And we were laughing at the stars while our feet clung tight to the ground. So pleased with ourselves for using so many verbs and nouns. But we were all still just dumb, dumb, dumber than the dirt, dirt, dirt on the ground."

… "My grandfather used to say: 'Life is astonishingly short. When I look back now it is all so condensed in my memory that I can hardly understand, for example, how a young man can decide to ride over to the next village, without his being afraid — quite apart from unfortunate accidents — that the whole span of a normal happy life is far from being adequate for such a ride.'" – Franz Kafka (The Next Village)

… three hours in Korea, and already I've been kidnapped and forced to drink beer and chat in broken Korean with two older Korean men (with the pimply-faced one stroking my back / laughing creepily and the other one — although hilarious and drunk as hell — calling me his wife and saying that Xinlei and I would be his friends forever); thank JEEBUS for being rescued by Xtra Large. <3 <3 <3

… mmmm, dreams about Joseph Gordon-Levitt…!!

… day two in Korea consistethed of going to seven different convenience stores to acquire seven types of banana milk and then taste-testing them one after the other. You'd be surprised at the array of flavors. The one with Bart Simpson sucking on a banana and having crazy eyes that looked like spirals was the winner.

… Portland's YACHT (http://www.myspace.com/yacht) and White Rainbow (http://www.myspace.com/whiterainbowwhiterainbow) are in Korea = free comped tickets for Friday night's show ($30 each!). Dunno if I actually like them, but it's not just a concert; it's a concert plus a DJ set by YACHT which goes until 5:00am. UMMMMMMMMMMM, AMAZING? 350 people confirmed on Facebook so far. S T O K E D!

… YACHT = awesome live show.

… I think I've done it. I think I've made myself sick of banana milk. THIS CAN'T BE!!!!!!???

… 2012 = worst movie ever……………… two hours of sheer and utter pain.

got rescued by the cops today. They pushed my car to the Honda dealership. Two of them plus one civilian. Hell yeah.

December

… cars are a pain in the snarse.

… breakfast! It’s what’s for dinner!

… the problem with always making faces or doing weird shit while taking photos is that when you actually need a professional-ish photo for business purposes, there are zero. Zilch. None. Nada. The closest to a passable photo might even be one you took with a Macaw bird on your shoulder. BLARGH!

= dry cereal addict. NOM NOM NOM. (so much better than wet cereal.)

… what’s an awesome name you think needs to be used more often? My vote: WYATT.

… Iceland/Europe in spring, anyone? Round-trip airfare from Seattle for $474…………. including taxes…….?

can’t sleep worth shiet.

is doing a post on Album Covers Of The Year!! Have any favorites from this year?? Anything blow you away?? Share

gets to eat lunch at Google today, heck yeah!!!!!!!! Free fooood come to meeeeeee!

… dude, remember Tomodachis?? And Furbys? Scary the random things you remember…….!

… REGIFTING RULE #1: Remove that sweetly-worded card that’s addressed to you. (Saving mother from embarrassment since 1983.)

… dude, did all of my tape singles get thrown out?!!!!! THERE WERE LIKE A HUNDRED OF THEM!!! Goodbye, childhood memories! You left without saying goodbye!

… 46 rad album covers from 2009! This is the most fun I’ve had writing an article in a while. Enjoy! (PS, Duran Duran is awesommmmmme.) – http://www.redefinemag.com/music/reviews_cover_2.php?artist=46-Fantastic-Album-Covers-From-2009,-Part-One&id=1379

recap central: chicago, illinois and detroit, michigan.

tuesday, september 22nd, 2009.
going offa old notes, here.

- brekky with michael: he cooked eggs and stuff – don’t remember what exactly haha! oops!
- fly in from long beach.
- meet with jericho: he picked me up from the subway station and we ate at stix — this kabob and wrap place which was pretty good!
- too late for la dispute show: it ridiculously began at 5:00pm wtf?? i called them and they were like, yeeeaaaaah a lotta our friends missed our set, too.
- go drinkin’: jericho’s neighborhood is kinda in a cool hip part of town. i forget the name of it but we went to a bar and the bartender chick made me a really yummy drink cuz the long island cost too much and i know nothing about alcohol and wasn’t sure what to order other than beers and shots and long islands, haha.
- overnight trip to detroit: not scary at all really and the people were all really normal and this is from quote unquote one of the shadiest cities in the states to an even shadier one (who am i quoting, you ask? no idea — i made up all of that completely!) but really, it feels like chicago has a mega bad reputation and i’m not sure why at all because even around the greyhound station it felt safe, and that’s practically the ultimate test, haha!

wednesday, september 23rd, 2009.
a day in detroit. i don’t have notes for detroit so i’m actually going to write it like normal-ish. got there really early and putzed around downtown. tried to find a hotel asap so i could get a map. went into mgm grand but it was fucking weird because it wasn’t really a hotel, but a conference center, so i just kinda hung out upstairs stealthily in the conference area playing around on the computer and most importantly, charging my phone!!! outside the mgm grand there were tons of “no standing” signs, which was my first time seeing them so i found them extremely funny (but since then i’ve seen them a whole bunch in other cities). eventually, as i was leaving mgm grand, i asked them for a map and got one and just walked around downtown a lot, really aimlessly, really. i think i got to detroit at like, 6:00am or something ridiculous like that, and i just walked straight down this main thoroughfare and past all these kind of ruined buildings and schools and stuff. got hit on… a lot. luckily, i could use the, “i don’t live here,” line, and i wasn’t lying. the first guy to hit on me i forgot the name of — i think it was randy. he was nice enough and i kept running into him and it was only the third time that he actually introduced himself. of course, i didn’t see him again after that. he told me to be careful down there. cute.

there were lots of really amazing victorian and otherwise-styled houses that were completely abandoned and overgrown. to be honest, i wanted to go to some more ghettoer parts of town but i didn’t feel entirely comfortable unfortunately.

there was a really old walgreen’s around, and this was their display window, full of cool medical relics and stuff. i reckon they got it from some houses around the area, but it was really fucking cool.

hung out in this starbucks for a while (blech) because it was the only coffee shop around, and it had the longest line EVER, i swear.

fox theatre.

found a falafel place and another coffee shop and kinda wanted to eat both, but i was looking for wireless and neither of them seemed to have it. eventually i was standing outside the coffee shop trying to steal their wireless when the guy in there motioned for me to come in, and i told him my plight, and even though they had wireless it wasn’t working on my ipod touch, so he lent me his laptop, which was really nice of him. he talked to me for a while and talked about this one book he was reading that said that asians had roots in africa and that’s why we tan and don’t burn and don’t need to wear sunscreen or something. he said from far away before i entered the store, he thought i was a black woman. interesting? i guess i am pretty dark right now?

random detroit tigers thing on an abandoned place next to the coffee shop.

giant general motors headquarters looms in the background.

came across the most amazing freaking store, man. it basically just stored stuff that would be put up for auction… such really, really amazing pieces in there. upholstered chairs, beautiful chandeliers, stained glass things… everything. amazing.

went towards the waterfront and there was this — the henry ford theatre, completely abandoned and falling apart in the heart of downtown. couldn’t go in, unfortunately.

waterfront. since i was in detroit for so long by myself, i sat in random places a lot. at this waterfront, i sat for a while, laughing at the guy next to me who was singing with headphones on… and singing really horribly. and rapping as well. and rapping horribly.

as i was about to leave that place, this one dude stopped me and asked me to take a pic, and i thought it meant me take a pic of him and his two friends. what he actually meant was his two friends take a pic of me. he was totally drunk even though it was the middle of the day. so i was like, whatever, and took a pic with him, and then he told me to go on a walk with him. i thought, why not, since it was the middle of downtown — what could he possibly do to me? so i went on a walk with him. he kept wanting to take photos and i kept saying no. we just walked along the waterfront a bit and then he brought me into the general motors building since i hadn’t been there yet. he asked me if i was hungry and i said not really. then he just goes to the cafe downstairs and grabs a salad and walks out. i’m thinking, wtf? but think he’s going to pay somewhere, and he doesn’t. we go upstairs and walk around and he keeps asking me what i wanna do, and i’m kinda incredulously saying that i have no idea. and then eventually we run out of stuff to do so we go upstairs to the starbucks area and he of course lets a businessman go in front of him so he can be the last one in line, then asks me if i like frappaccinos, then takes one and leaves. after this, i’m like, “i gotta go,” and he’s like, “why? do you want me to put that back?” and i’m like, “yeah,” and he’s like, “no!” and kinda grabs my hand and tries to leave. i keep insisting i have to go and am looking for an exit and we eventually exit. he’s this totally plump black dude with kind of a dirty shirt and reeking of alcohol — in comparison to these really nicely dressed businessmen and such. he’s fucking hilarious, though, on the way out he just stops by to talk to random strangers nonstop, including addressing one particular businessman as “donald trump”, which the guy found funny. amongst other similar funny things. anyway, i’m insisting that i have to go and meet up with la dispute (a lie, really, because i don’t have to meet up with them until much later) and he’s like, “well, before you leave, eat your salad,” and i grudgingly agree to do it… so we sit on a street corner and he basically watches me eat the salad. and i’m picking out the bacon and chicken, and he’s like, “why aren’t you eating that?” and i’m like, “i don’t eat meat,” and he’s basically like, “that’s why i picked this salad!” (which makes completely and utterly zero sense). after i finish eating it, i’m like, “okay, i gotta go,” and he’s like, “first drink your drink!” and i’m like, “i’ll drink some of it, but not all of it,” and i take a sip and then say i have to go. he asks me for my number and i give it to him, just for shits and giggles, really, cause even if he calls, that’s whatevers, go ahead and call. oh i should mention that throughout this time period he first starts off by calling me his girlfriend, then his wife, then his friend, then his sister. lol. hahahahahahahah. and that was his justification for being able to “borrow” food from the place — because his “sister” works there and he does that allllllllllllllllllll the time. anyway. he gives me a hug finally and says that if he calls i better pick up (he never does) and that i shouldn’t talk to ANYONE. which is hilarious.

abandoned.

hit up the la dispute show at nighttime, and it’s cool and stuffs. the show is good on their end but there’s an asshole next to me. such an asshole. first, his friend spits on the ground, and he’s like, “they’d cane you in cambodia,” and i’m like, thinking, dude, it’s not cambodia, it’s singapore, and then he says, “well maybe it’s indonesia, because they’re a muslim country, and muslim countries are backwards,” and he starts talking about muslims and basically how they all need to die because they’re soo backwards and in one muslim country a girl got raped and it was her who got punished not the rapist (truth, but that’s not ALL muslim countries, for starters). then he makes this joke about the dead asian girl who got killed at yale and then stuffed into a wall, and is like, “before she died she begged the killer, ‘don’t kill me, i sucky sucky for free,’” which is just in REALLY bad taste. and as la dispute are coming on stage, i pull out my dSLR, and his friend is like, “she has a dSLR,” and he’s like, “why am i not surprised?” and i was like, “you’re pretty much the biggest dumbass ever,” and he instantly fell silent. then i was just seething the whole godamn time because it’s fucking ridiculous! what’s worse — the dude isn’t even freaking godamn white. he’s like… a minority. i don’t know what minority, but what the FUCK.

anyway, la dispute’s show was fine, although their sound seemed a bit off and the main guitar wasn’t loud enough. might’ve been because i was on the left side of the stage, though. either way. after the show, i highly felt the need to tell the guy off. so i went up to him and said, “i’ve never done this before, but first off, it’s singapore, not indonesia you’re looking for,” and he kinda nodded and said okay and was really quiet and friend one kinda smirked and laughed, and then i was like, “second, not every muslim country is the same just like not every christian country is the same,” and friend two was like, “we don’t need a lecture.” lastly, i was like, “and the reason i have a camera is not because i’m asian, but because i run a music magazine,” and friend three was like, “you should put him in your magazine!” and i’m like, “what, douchebag’s corner?” and he’s like, “yeah!” and then i left. douchebags.

interviewed la dispute shortly thereafter, and it was a little teeny bit awkward because i don’t think they are the best people to interview and also, they’re young. but it was mostly fine (except i later accidentally deleted their interview in my phone in a fit of confusion and bitterness… completely unrelated, days later). but they were nice kids, for sure.

la dispute performing “sad prayers for guilty bodies.”

thursday performing “division st.”

caught part of thursday’s set and like the last some of the fall of troy’s set… then i leave before thursday finishes cause that shit is boring. CLICK HERE TO SEE REVIEW OF THURSDAY. i walk late night to the greyhound station in detroit, and it’s fine, cause really, how dangerous can it be? there’s like no one on the godamn streets.

thursday, september 24th, 2009.
- get in town at like 6:00am: take the overnight greyhound from detroit. sleep on couch pretty much right after jericho leaves his house to go to work.
- freak out jericho’s roommate’s bf: well, he woke up at 11:00am or something and was yapping on the phone and even walking back and forth from the dining room to the bathroom (and crossing where i was) and i finally stirred and he was like HOLY SHIT I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE THERE!! not the most observant feller, evidently.
- meant to wake up at 9am but phone was on silent so i woke up at noon: again, because of jericho’s roommate’s bf.

- planetarium at 3pm after bus confusion: i thought i’d miss the last showing and almost didn’t go because the place closed at 4pm, but there was actually a 3:30 showing.
- caught 3:30 showing.


- saw cool old-school diorama stuff, like a fake physics classroom from way back in the day. also, in the first pic above, a teeny tiny book galileo wrote on. it was actually legible :0 second pic above is an old school sundial.
- learned the north star isn’t the brightest; sirius is: but i actually almost fell asleep during some parts of the planetarium showcase. oops.

skyline near the planetarium.
- walked around downtown.


buckingham fountain (aka “married with children” fountain)… the first pic is supposed to be a seahorse that’s on it. hahahahhahhahah. sea horse, my ass.

cool ass art installation thing downtown.
- raining!

dinosaur!!

street puppet car or something, but i didn’t actually see the performances or anything.



- deep dish pizza!!!!! from gino’s east. SO GOOD.

jericho! yay! thanks!

- chairlift / micachu and the shapes: at schubas tavern. it was initially a close call between pizza and the show but the show ended up being later than it was originally supposed to be.
- angry heckling guy: really hated micachu and the shapes and went up to them asking them, “what is this??” and the keyboardist chick is like, “what is what?” and he’s like, “that… is that music? that’s not music.” he was really angry. i was like, “music means different things to different people,” and he said, “i’m asking HER.” ridiculous. he was such a douche. and such a douche in particular because for these situations, the band you came to see (chairlift) is the band that brought the band you hate (micachu and the shapes) so they obviously consider that band to be MUSIC. – READ MY REVIEW OF THIS SHOW HERE!

micachu and the shapes performing “curly teeth”.

chairlift performing “garbage”.
- crazy detroit sports fan: stopped us in the street after we were leaving the show and was babbling about how safe chicago was and how you couldn’t walk around at night in detroit or go jogging (a lie, really, because i definitely saw people jogging!)
- bed!!

los angeles, wtf, houston, wtf, austin, ok, san antonio, ok.

i’m listening to… tegan and sara’s “the con” album.

$15 cover? wtf. luckily i didn’t have to pay for it cause henry got it. but what the shit?!! i totally had left my wallet in the car initially, too, cause i figured! wtf! who pays cover on a tuesday night! but clearly i know nothing. not to mention the club was in the middle of nowhere (maybe?) in santa monica. took two shots of tequila and got kinda pretty drunk offa that, which is hilarity. friends, friends. henry also got grounded when he was 16 and his parents’ method of grounding was by putting “the club” onto his car. too funny. he also put an art installation / social experimentation project i guess on the campus of his college — and you put in a quarter, and the machine gave you back twenty-six cents. ummm, awesome? other than that, hung out with michael today and yesterday and watched movies and ate sushi, and went to the mall with jeanette and her friend jenn today! oh, and i saw jeanette get a manicure (and pedicure, but i wasn’t really watching that so much) which was weird, and scraping off cuticles kinda grosses me out, not gonna lie. now i’m at jeanette’s house, listening to music, at 2:21am, eating mixed nuts from costco. woo!

oh yeah, yesterday aaron texted me while i was still in austin and was like! there’s this weird shoperotic channel on tv that is marketing an extreme _______ (insert name of extreme dildo), and i was like, dude! i worked for them! funny.

austin was decent, stayed with one of my writers, matt, and did random shit……………. walked around a bunch, drew on the university of texas campus, ate yogurt, chatted with alex for hours from my itouch from a yogurt shop, etc. lot of public transportation and solo lameness. lots of frustration. saw a-ron and co. at the mohawk where they were performing. it was fun. the show had some techy probs and a-ron was losing his voice, but yeah. played the drawing game. got a bong drawn on my leg. it was all good. hung out with the brunettes for dinner which was interesting cause half of them were mega goofy and half were pretty serious. yeahhhhh. and stubb’s bbq doesn’t have vegetarian options really, as usual, but i had some wicked fried okra!! woo!!! from austin, i rented a car and drove to houston because some guy at the nurses show had told me that houston was better than san antonio. he was wrong and sucked.

houston was a fucking weird place which i hated kinda but it was interesting to go to because there was like jack shit there! really nice, new buildings on one street, really super ghetto boarded up buildings on the next street over. weirdness. also passed by one stretch of freeway where it was like every-chain-store-in-america-in-these-five-miles — i shit you not. i was beginning to think there were no more chains possible but new ones kept popping up. it truly blew my mind. i slept in my car in front of an apartment complex really close to the downtown stadiums. no problems with that really other than the fact that i really shoulda taken a shower, and what’s more — the pattern on the seat kinda left marks on skin!!!! also left the windows cracked a smidgen and it started pouring like a MOTHERFUCKER sometime in the night and started raining on my legs, woo! this is total rambling stream-of-consciousness bullshiz. there was this awesome outdoor car wash place in houston, though, called the “humble car wash”, and it was like pretty unfancy and the workers were all these black youths, like teenagers. so funny. i enjoyed it very much, and the sign was all rickity and funny and simple and there were like 15 teens hanging out there washing cars, only there were no freaking cars to wash!!!!!!!!!! took lotsa cool pics (well, some cool pics) and got lost a lot but it was pretty fun in that regard. there was a george washington monument which i tried to check out but parking downtown was absolutely fucking impossible, so i gave up and didn’t actually get to check out the downtown all that much. i also attempted to find a coffee shop to charge my electronics and i could NOT locate one even though i looked around and circled down every street ever. also attended church and found a church recommendation through couchsurfing — a catholic charismatic church — but unfortunately there was not any speaking in tongues. it was a little interesting because they adhered pretty strictly to catholic ideals and customs, but the father himself was so super lax and really kinda funny and kinda was dressed in green and purple, like a football player, kinda, as opposed to a father. interesting. but ultimately because of the lack of speaking in tongues, it pretty much did nothing for me. kinda interesting though cause the praise song they were playing when we got in was one i knew. i forget the name now. moo. oh yeah also ate dinner by myself — a highly-recommended texmex place according to chowhound — and it was kinda weird because it was a sorta party-like atmosphere (think chile’s) but i was alone. i got over that real quick, though, but texmex is not all that good. not particularly down with it, to be honest.

then it was onto san antonio, and i slept in the car again, but drove middle of the night to a rest stop and slept there. it was fine, but a little cold. kinda found san antonio a wee bit charming in a more interesting historical sense. the architecture was cool and the whole feel was less big city and hence more appealing. there was also a lot more mexican, including this outdoor mexican square thing with music and dancing and food, and was even a lot more mexican down to the… i got honked at… at one point, i got honked at by one car that slowed down and honked five times in a row! like hell yeah! i haven’t gotten honked at five times in a row even in mexico or peru! so you win! congrats!!!!! woooooo!!! oh yeah. the alamo fucking sucks. it’s no godamn lie. the shit is soooo pointless. why do people go to san antonio to see the alamo? i’ve no godamn clue!!!!

by the end of texas i was really fucking dirty and desperately needed a shower. luckily i got one really early on in los angeles. woo!

sleeping and brushing of teeth should happen.

or at least taking a nap on the couch before that happens. yeah. that sounds good. yeah.

burning man 2009, day one.

tuesday, september 1st.
- planed from seattle to los angeles.
- got to airport like an hour plus early because i felt (for once in my life) that i wanted to go early.
- lucked out because i just barely missed the cut off time for united check-in (45 minutes beforehand) and there was a HUGE line but they said people who were going to los angeles could cut.
- some old guy got jacked because his flight was 15 minutes before the los angeles flight and he had been waiting patiently in line and got into the expedited line ten minutes after the “cut off time” for check-in… so they told him basically he was fucked and were SUPER freaking rude to him about it! and he’s an old guy!
- got on plane.
- met jeanette at her work via a shitload of metro transfers and crap. kinda confusing but i figured it out because i’ve used los angeles public transport a whole bunch more than the fucks that live here.
- got to her work, sat around, did some work on my laptop, then we went to the supermarket and bought some last-minute phoods and stuff.
- went back to her work and got picked up by an rv by chauntelle, one of the craigslist people we were ridesharing with to get to burning man.
- went to chauntelle’s best friend (and ex-fiance)’s house and waited around for ages for other people to show up.
- mad packing and shit, and the other people who showed up were dani — this chick who really likes cooking and bought SO much food, andreas — this gay argentinian guy, and kelsey — this younger girl who just was talking about wanting to get fucked up! at burning man.
- we were trying to attach a trailer to the rv but the hitch didn’t quite fit and needed to be turned upside-down to work, so dani’s dad (who had gone with her two years in a row to previous burning mans) had to go to the hardware store to get equipment and get stuff fixed for us… quite nice of him!

- blahblah. long ride. mostly slept and i got one of the best spots in the hizouse, woOooOooO! slept like a baby.
- all the other girls smoked out but i refrained, but they all passed out anyways.
- the rv was kinda scary and i kept waking up because shit was bumping around and it seemed like the trailer was gonna fly off or something. not that it ever did… but we did hit a side rail or something, haha, and dented the outside of the vehicle, woo!!
- was mid-sleeping and mid-texting aaron when i saw andreas and chauntelle smoke some stuff which turned out to be speed! woo! felt a little strange shortly thereafter but not sure if it was all imagined in my head or if i did get kinda high because they were smoking it right inside and i was right next to them.
- lalala.

mock trials!!! and i have a job!!!

So, this is going to be a really quick post. Man, I really need to catch up on my Los Angeles’ trip’s journal entries, but I’m slow as crap and have been busy these days building my portfolio and crappola. What would I do with a journal if I didn’t type as atrociously fast as I do right now?!!!

Click here to view my portfolio!
(It’s still somewhat under construction.)

Anyway, this morning, I went to downtown Seattle to go to a mock trial. Sometimes law firms put together mock trials to judge how successful certain cases will be, and whether they should be in fact brought to trial. This particular one I went to, even though I can’t divulge specifics about it, was AWESOME. Man, I wish I could do more of those things. I got paid $75 for like 3 hours and then an additional $22 for parking (of which I only used $3.75, since I took the bus there! I don’t know who charges $22 for parking anyways?!).

But yeah, it was really fun. Finally, I get to participate in something similar to jury duty, which I never ever fooking get called for. Godamnit. Anyway, the whole process made me feel like a freaky genius because basically, they had us go around before they gave us all the facts and told us to decide which side we were on — the plaintiff’s or the defendant’s. I chose the plaintiff because of Reason A, and I was the only one, and it turned out that Reason A was like the freaking crux of the whole case and made alllll the difference. And there were a few other points I brought up that no one else brought up, and yeah, I felt like a freaky genius.

And then Americorps called me and told me I finally have a job, even though it entails receiving a weak amount of money per month: $949. But I’ll qualify for food stamps, so that’s nice. It’s ghetto, though, but whatever. It’s a way of getting into non-profit when I don’t have any experience, and I can earn a $4,700 education award at the end of it, that I can use towards well, a Masters of Social Work if I decide that’s what I want to do, or a teaching certificate, or design classes. So really, it’s all goot. Here’s my job descrip:

“The Community Coordinator (CC) will have an opportunity to serve the Renton community by helping at-risk youth in public schools while developing skills in program management, volunteer management, and community outreach. The CC will be able to help CISR support youth as they develop skills to succeed academically, joining a unique community-wide movement that supports school success to build a better future for public school students, their families, and the Renton community. This position reports to CISR’s Mentor Program Manager, who supervises daily performance and activities. CISR’s Executive Director will oversee VISTA position and overall experience with the program. Specific responsibilities include: recruitment, orientation, and training for all volunteer mentors; Mentor-Mentee matches; Monitor and provide on-going support to ensure program success; data collection/analysis processes; Assist with annual field trip event; Help grow Mentor Program volunteer base.”

necesito buscar tiempo.

AH! I need to find time to update my blog because there is soooo much to write about my trip to Los Angeles this past week. FINDING TIME FINDING TIME FINDING TIME FINDING TIME… hopefully finding time day is tomorrow, although the logical breakdown of my schedule for tomorrow leads me to deduce that tomorrow will not be finding time day. Tragic tragicness.

That being said, it’s 2:15am and I’ve just done a buncha new crap to the Redefine website, which is actually getting love these days. Also, I’ve been doing a fuckload of Rosetta Stone’s Spanish program. Thus far, I am on Level 1, Unit 3, Lesson 4, and have not really learned anything. There are three Levels. I don’t feel like I’ll be fluent by the end of the three levels. Rofls. (Granted I am skipping a lot because it’s going over a ton of shit I already know.) The mic is also very frustrating because it’s not so accurate.

Yesterday, I had an Americorps job interview, which I think I did good on, and may get, but I was late to the place an hour and a half! Haha! Finding it was fucking impossible. And it will require a commute to Renton. But shit, a commute to Renton is a fuckload better than a commute to Tacoma. I hope I get it. Then I can do stuff.

i hate you, united.

I take an average of at least 10 flights a year — the majority of which are on United. Out of these United flights I’ve taken, 60% have been problematic in the last year, but it’s been okay, because they have been somewhat tolerable… slight delays here and there, adverse weather conditions beyond the airline’s control, etc. I have been forgiving. I have continued to fly United.

This time you guys have really mad me angry, however.

I booked a ticket through your website months before my trip from Seattle to Los Angeles. As I was going to fly from Los Angeles back to Seattle on February 17th, 2009, I ran into TONS of problems. My flight was at 8:17am. I arrived at 7:00am, with plenty of time to spare.

7:00am
I wanted in the line for self-check-in, because ALL the sign said was, “Self-Check-In & eTickets”. The line was HUGE, but moved fast. After waiting for 10 minutes, however, a United worker finally announced that this particular line, despite the unclear sign, was only for people who wanted to self-check-in with eTickets AND had baggage.

7:15am
So I moved to the line that was just six United self-check-in kiosks, with NO workers present. That was the “Self-Check-In” line. I brought with me my credit card so I could check myself in, like I ALWAYS do. My credit card was not enough. It couldn’t find my itinerary.

7:25am
I obtained my Mileage Plus Number by calling a friend, thinking that would make the difference. It didn’t.

7:30am
I obtained my Confirmation Number by calling back that same friend, because those numbers usually make the difference. It didn’t, though. My Confirmation Number, coupled with my credit card, was STILL not enough for me to check-in. Take a note from Southwest or Alaska or ANYONE, United. Your machines are ALWAYS slow, faulty, and terrible.

7:35am
So, I sought help, and went to the line where there was a sign saying, “Special Services.” Five other people waited in line for me, when I finally realized that even though the “Special Services” sign was played in a certain line, that line was really the line for odd-sized baggage. This was after waiting 10 minutes in a non-moving line. I was not the only confused one. Everyone was confused. I got out of that line before other people did, and they had to be told by a United worker who came by that the line was not for “Special Services,” but for “Odd-Sized Baggage.”

7:45am
I went to the line next to that line, since I figured the “Special Services” was THIS line. It turned out that this line was NOT the line. THERE ARE NO SIGNS ANYWHERE, OR IF THERE ARE, THEY’RE COMPLETELY *WRONG*.

7:50am
I finally asked a worker which line I should go to. Of course, she pointed at yet another line with NO SIGN, because you folks at United are absolutely INCOMPETENT. There were 7 lines, and first off, they are not in NUMERICAL order, and go from 3 to 1 to 2 to 7 to 6 or whoever knows what else. How stupid is that??? Then, despite the fact they’re in the wrong order, they’re not even in the RIGHT place, with some lines having 2 signs or even 3 signs, and others, like this line I was supposedly to get help from, with NO SIGNS AT ALL.

7:55am
I finally talk to a lady at the counter; she asks me where I am going and I say Seattle, and that it’s late. She scoffs at me, saying that the reason I’m going to miss my flight is because I’m late. Which is extremely offensive, and I tell her so, because I’ve been at the airport for an hour already, trying to fuck around with your company’s incompetency, messed up lines, and defunct machines. She tells me she will reschedule me for another flight, which will route me through San Francisco to get to Seattle. I say okay. She puts me on a 10:50am flight to San Francisco with a connecting flight at 1:50 from San Francisco to Seattle. But then she gives me my original Seattle boarding pass, and tells me that if I hurry, I might still be able to make the flight.

8:00am
Get to security, and things go smoothly there, because they’re not as incompetent as the workers at your company.

8:10am
RUN to the gate, which is a good ways away from security.

8:15am
Get to the gate, and oh boy! I’m going to make the flight! It got delayed until 8:55am!!!!! I’m HAPPY!

8:20am
I realize that the boarding passes I have are only the boarding passes to San Francisco. I don’t actually have a boarding pass for the Seattle flight! Oh no! I go to the counter to obtain a boarding pass so I can actually board the flight to Seattle. The worker there tells me that THE FLIGHT TO SEATTLE IS FULL. So basically, the lady who checked me in: 1) Didn’t tell me the flight was delayed; 2) Took me off the flight I was originally scheduled for, scheduled me for another, and still told me to run to the gate to catch a flight I WAS NOT EVEN ON. WHAT THE HELL.

8:25am
The worker at the gate for the Seattle departure tells me that she doesn’t know why they scheduled me on a 10:50am flight to San Francisco, when it was only around 8:25am. She fuddles around for 20 minutes, trying to rebook me on a flight to San Francisco that leaves from Los Angeles at 9:15am. It’s really kind of ridiculous, because I’m going to have to wait no matter WHAT, but I let her do it anyway.

8:55am
Walk/run literally quite a ways so that I can get boarded on the flight because it’s going to board soon. Get to the gate just as they’re starting to board the plane. YAY!

9:00am
OH WAIT. THIS FLIGHT IS DELAYED, TOO! DELAYED UNTIL 11:00am. United, you are untrustworthy and my amount of misery is pretty much unbelievable.

los angeles, day five — valentine’s day with friends?!

The next day, I sat around home for a while while Jeanette took her car to the shop to get it fixed. She ended up having to change her tires! Aiee!

Meanwhile, Claire picked me up, and we walked around Melrose.

Neckface!

Einstein says, “Love is the answer!”

Barack, Hilary, and John!! Clown-like!

Mao’s Kitchen is more a cafe than a Chinese Restaurant, although they serve some pseudo-Chinese food.

Rhino shoes? Well, alriiiighty then.

That evening, Claire, Phil, Jeanette, and I went to eat at some Persian restaurant. I got a really tomato-y dish. It was goot. And there was some good conversation! I miss hanging out with Phil Wu. He makes me crack up. He was reading or reciting something, and I told him to do it with a British accent, and to my surprise, he actually did. It was like, hilarious. Dinner was a fun and random sampling of assorted foods. Woot! Jeanette’s chicken was sooooo delicious.

That evening, we went to an Anavan show at the Smell. We got there early, and Jeanette wasn’t aware that it was an all-ages venue with no alcohol, so we had to go get her alcohol. She wanted to take me next door to the Edison, but my tennis shoes would not suffice. Instead, we walked down a couple blocks to another bar…

As soon as we got there, and Jeanette was at the bar, she started talking to a gay couple, and soon they became our brand new buddies from Kansas City. They started off by saying that everyone in Los Angeles was really mean compared to how nice everyone was in Kansas City. Then they said that they had gotten beat up before by like 6 other dudes (3 of whom went to jail?) for being gay, and that everyone in their town knew everyone, but that didn’t make them want to leave. They were pretty funny. I liked the blonde guy. He reminds me of someone… somewhere… I don’t remember who… and I don’t remember where… they were also talking about how the black guy could adequately pretend that he wasn’t gay, but the other one, who was flaming, obviously couldn’t. Heh.

Afterwards, we went back to The Smell, which I had wanted to go to for a long time because I’d heard such good things about it, and lots of bands like HEALTH and No Age had gotten their start there. Anavan’s show was EGGCELLENT, but not as good as last year’s SxSW showcase was. I actually liked the last band, Extreme Animals, surprisingly, better than Anavan, though. Although their music was like happy hardcore crap I don’t usually like, it was a lot more layered and so technically proficient since they were making it live right there. The crowd was also full of youngsters, but it was cool, because they were all really energetic and dancing their asses off. Pictures didn’t come out so well. The venue also had like a zine rack and a book rack — both of which were really cool additions. The end. Valentine’s Day with friends. Wee!

los angeles, day four — hollywood, rain, and mexicans!

This day, I went with Jeanette to her office and then worked out of Coffee Bean coffee shop for a while…! Then I headed over to Hollywood to meet with Jeremy for lunch. Well, actually, I went to Hollywood then walked south a while to meet Jeremy at Mario’s Peruvian Restaurant. A strange name for a Peruvian restaurant, yes.

But before I got there… the Hollywood subway station is silly.

Along the way, I passed this silly ol’ car.

I got to the restaurant before Jeremy got there, and waited in the very long line. Finally, we got a table right when he got there. We had a very long meal and conversation and it wast goot. It’s been a long time but chatting is all pretty much the same. The food was also suppppppper good although really salty. But so good.

Afterwards, Jeremy dropped me off in Hollywood, where I was going to take the typical Hollywood walk around. It was a good thing he dropped me off, because it started POURING, and I started walking around Hollywood, but it was pouring too hard, so I got back on the subway. Since I’d gotten an all day subway pass, I decided to head over to Universal City, where Universal Studios was. I really wanted to go to Universal Studios, btw, but it was way too fucking expensive. And yeah, I got there, but there wasn’t much to look at, and what there was to look at Jeanette said I probably wouldn’t like.

READ TALE OF AN EXPERIENCE WITH A HOMELESS MAN HERE.

Another subway thing.

So since it had stopped pouring by the time I got to Universal City, I took the subway back to McArthur Park, because I lubs teh Mexicans districts. I decided to walk north a ways and then head over east. As I was doing so, some older Mexican dude, probably about 40s, stopped me, and I took off my headphones to listen to what he had to say:

Him: “ID?”
Me: “What?”
Him: “ID?”
Me: “What?”
Him: “ID?”
Me: “I’m twenty-five!”
Him: “Forty dollars!”
Me: “I’m twenty-five!”
Him: “Forty!”
Me: “No necesito!” (I don’t need it!)
Him: “Oh, no necesitas!” (Oh, you don’t need it!)
Me: “Porque tengo veinte y cinco anos!” (Because I’m 25 years old!)
Him: “Oh! Man!” *Slaps me on the back*

Hahahaha. Hilarioso.

Right after speaking with him, I passed the not so grande grande mall. Hahas.

One of the reasons I love all the Mexican Districts in Los Angeles (frankly, the best part about L.A. is the international areas) is because they have such colorful, beautiful storefronts for the simplest of things.

More things I’ve passed.

Lovely, holed-out Ambulance sign.

As I was walking back, I had to duck into a construction site to take on a phone interview with some Americorps dude. Luckily, that construction site’s fencing didn’t smell like piss.

Kept walking back la la la, taking pictures along the way.

Pretty dilapidation. Although… I wish the left side wasn’t as off-centered. :/

Neat-looking parking lot.

Passing over the freeway, on the way back to Jeanette’s office.

Nope, I didn’t put the leaves in it. But I like this!

Before stopping by Jeanette’s office, I happened upon this lovely, lovely bookstore that was so so so cuuuuuuuuute. I HAD to go in, and they specialized in old things. So, I ended up buying this set of pretty small, index-card sized books… there were 10 booklets, and each of them featured “Four Minute Essays” by this one dude, and they were essays about all sorts of things. I didn’t finish a complete one, but one of them was like, talking about how people in America didn’t like Socialism because it was European, when in fact, Democracy in its ideal form IS Socialism. Now, not all the essays are about politics, but yeah, that’s the only one I remember at the moment. But such cute cute books. Set of ten, for $50.00! Eeps! I don’t know why I did it, but I did haha.

Nice picture of Jeanette in her office building.

That night, Matt Buchholtz (Stretch) hooked Jeanette and I up for tickets at the Improv theatre, Groundlings. Groundlings is a famous improv theatre where people like, Will Farrell, for example, studied at and worked at. Pretty fucking hilarious. They did sketch comedies, not improv the night we were there. But… it was AWESOME. Really small crowd, but highly enjoyable. It also featured the girl from the Progressive Insurance commercials. Ha. One of them was about a couple that was super awkward on their first date, another was about a buncha Old Navy runway models who kept posing over and over again when they couldn’t get off stage because there was a door leading to backstage that kept getting stuck, and my absolute favorite was one where this couple went over to the girl’s gay uncles place, and every little thing they told the uncle made him freak the fuck out and move something from the table to the floor or from the counter to the table all while moaning and groaning. Hard to describe, but man was it funny. I was laughing so hard haha.

After that, Jeanette drove me through a bunch of Los Angeles to give me a “car tour.” Yay!

Oh snaps. This WOULD be here!

That’s about all we saw. Then sleep.