MIMOSAS FOR ONE

proudly presenting my newest find, a bosley b2 35mm camera circa 1945-1952: I love to go "junking" as my mom calls it. That is, i love thrift stores. Even as a child, a trip to the "junk shop" meant wonders beyond my wildest dreams were just a short car ride away. over the years, various books, records, sweaters, t-shirts, pieces of jewelry, mugs and drinking glasses, artwork, sunglasses, hats, purses, trinkets, and more recently, cameras have made their way into my possession. I haven't yet given up on finding a perfect pair of cowboy boots, and I will forever kick myself for not buying the vintage accordion i saw there last year, but other than that, most junk shops have been very good to me. My one I turn to most is Savers in Milpitas, Ca . Formerly Thrift Village , I can still recall the sign that hung above the store with it's large, dark blue scalloped letters that beckoned people to this village of thrift. In the 80s, i think it beckoned my mother be...

Cinequest Film Festival is taking over Downtown San Jose as we speak, and last night I went to the California Theatre to check out Tenacious DTour , a documentary that followed the D on their world tour in support of The Pick of Destiny . A funny thing happened when my friend and I went to pick out seats. We ended up sitting right next to Kyle Gass and his girlfriend. for those of you who aren't familiar with who he is, he's the other guy in the band who's not Jack Black. We had our momentary silent freak out when we realized it was him, at which point I quietly leaned over and told him he was awesome. He quietly thanked me, and normalcy was restored until a few kids came over asking for autographs. He obliged but soon realized the mini pencil he was given to sign with wasn't going to work. Thanks to my new Andy Warhol Happy Bug Day tote bag, complete with handy organizational top compartment, i had easy access to my pen. I handed it over with great joy, and he was abl...

i've never actually read that book, but i knew it has something to do with periods. i just read up on it thanks to wikipedia, and now i'm more intrigued than ever. for some reason, i want to get the 1st edition copy. i think i like the cover or something. i have been in a rut for the last couple of months, and things are starting to look up. the process is going slower than i would like however, so to cut the bordom, i do impulsive things, like cut my hair. normally, this sentence would be followed by the strategic placement of a photo of me and my new haircut. Alas, i still haven't purchased a new digital camera, so the world gets a break from the hundreds of self-portraits i usually take each month. Let's just say that i got my hair cut at a salon chain, but i decided i needed something more drastic, so last night at 11:30 PM, i got out the scissors and hacked my bangs into practical non-existence. looking for a new place to meet cute men? try a cigar tasting. i went...

i'm not as young as i used to be. this is a fact, that, for the most part, really hasn't hit me yet. next month marks the sixth anniversary of my 21st birthday. It doesn't feel like it, but that was a long time ago! Yesterday at work, i was chatting with my co-worker when we got to the age question. I knew she was young, but i thought she was about 20. However, she is 18 (soon to be 19). That isn't much different than 20, but for some reason, it was like she entered into a whole other generation. wait, isn't she? Am I immature, or are kids these days wiser than i was at their age? When I was 19, 26 was ancient. Am I ancient? I guess the reason for this crisis, is that at my now ripe old age of 26, many of my contemporaries have settled down with a 401k, a house, a boyfriend (or in some cases, a husband), and maybe a kid or two. Aside frome the 401k and the boyfriend (or at least a steady string of romantic distractions), I don't see these things for myself in t...

right now, flower shops all around are scrambling to finish the 500 or so deliveries they have make today, and men all around are srambling to find a flower shop that has any red roses left. i used to work in a flower shop. it's not impossible for a guy to find red roses on valentine's day, especially at 8am. Even at 6pm, they might still be able to scrounge up a dozen red roses in a vase. i have 3 problems with this scenario: 1. these will most likey be arranged with leatherfern and baby's breath, and put in a cheesy vase. 2. these red roses will be the most sad and pathetic looking flowers in the entire shop. 3. these red roses with their leather fern and baby's breath will cost sed men roughly $115.00 including tax, give or take a few bucks. last year, i was trying helping several men at 6pm on valentine's day. 7 out of 10 guys i helped wanted, you guessed it, red roses. As our suppilies began to dwindle, but the number of customers stayed constant, I attempted t...

okay, not really. If she had been, though, it wouldn't surprise me one bit. this woman is hell on wheels. My mom is 67 today, and i'm being totally honest when i say she does not look it. she says that my sisters and i, and their kids and husbands, keep her young, but i think she has just plain old- fashioned taken good care of herself. she eats well, excercises regularly, doesn't wear much makeup, and never goes outside without sunscreen covering every exposed inch of her skin. It has been a rough couple of years for her. her mom and my dad died within a year of each other, and you can tell she is more melancholy than she used to be. She has a strong faith in god, and a strength and courage about her that one can only stand back and envy. after enduring more than her share of stress, she is finally is going to take a break. thursday she is flying to seattle for two weeks to attend a women's retreat and spend some time with her newly retired sister. I have a feeling thi...

i've been neglecting this little blog as of late, but i'm feeling a sudden surge of motivation thanks to a literary kick in the arse from my good buddy kim, who incidently authors a great site entitled, crowcrastination . After being delighted by a slew of new posts from kim, i decided it was time to check out my neglected page. upon that inspection, i decided the name and theme change i had made a few months prior wasn't working for me. I also realized that i wanted to get back into telling stories from my life, not updating all the people who don't really care about what has, or in my case hasn't , been going on. Long story short, the beer snob is back (and fully prepared to make fun of the kind of beer you drink) ps. just a short list of what's rocking my world right now: playing scrabulous with all my facebook friends the cinematic orchestra being the fill in coordinator at kfjc the bacon cheeseburger harmless flirting the sunshine my newphews who will be my...

so emily and i attended the google christmas party. it had it all : people dressed in everything from jeans and t-shirts to tuxedos and evening gowns, 2 rooms, one with a dj, one with a live band, virtual reality games, video games, a variety of ethnic foods and desserts, all the beer and wine you could handle, and 2 photo stations. We debated when to hit the photo booth, and how to pose once there. We mingled between the two rooms for almost 3 hours when we headed back to the room with the live band. All at once i hear it, and my idea for our picture finally becomes clear: the band was playing "jump!" by van halen. emily and i ran over to the photo station. our first attempt at poetry in motion doesn't take, so the photographer asks us to take another one. i thought he wanted us to not be so goofy, but then he prompted us, "no, JUMP!" so we did, and another classic moment was born :) I get up, and nothing gets me down. You got it tough. I've seen the toughe...

so i'm sitting at work yesterday, and a co-worker who is very new and trying way to hard to "fit in" starts showing us these you tube clips from some comedy duo. most of it is very funny. then he pulls up one skit where jesus's older brother helps his two "bros" out at a keg party by running interference ( or being the wingman as he called it) with this fat chick who is "cockblocking" his two douchebag friends from talking to her friends. i immediately took offense to this, because i find too often that the fat chick gets labeled "the cockblocker" in a group of girls. i will admit i have tried to help friends on different occasions avoid the unwanted advances of some annoying guys out in a bar or at a house party, but only if the friend gave me the "help me!" signal....okay there was this one time in college, but i had good reasons....what i'm trying to say here, is i'm no cockblocker. if anything i'm a cockhelper, a...

autumn is my favorite of all the seasons, and this week, it felt closer than ever. almost nothing makes me happier than having to dig out my sweaters :)

because he was one of my mother's favorite voices, i have been exposed to my fair share of pavarotti over the years. none is better than the classic, "nessun dorma" which the guy must have performed about a million times in his life. i find it to be rediculously over- the- top romantic. Take the italian translation for what it is. it makes no sense when converted to english. ITALIAN; Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma! Tu pure, o, Principessa, nella tua fredda stanza, guardi le stelle che fremono d'amore e di speranza. Ma il mio mistero e chiuso in me, il nome mio nessun sapra! No, no, sulla tua bocca lo diro quando la luce splendera! Ed il mio bacio sciogliera il silenzio che ti fa mia! (Il nome suo nessun sapra!... e noi dovrem, ahime, morir!) Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle! Tramontate, stelle! All'alba vincero! vincero, vincero! ENGLISH None must sleep! None must sleep! And you, too, Princess, in your cold room, gaze at the stars which tremble with love and hope!...

me, age 16 i just finished freaks and geeks , and i am so sad :( talk about a great show that was cancelled waaaaay before it's time. my experiences in high school weren't as defined by my place in a social landscape as the characters on the show, but i know there is part of me that will always be a freak, and part that will always be a geek. do any of us really evolve past it? i guess in certain ways i'm not nearly as akward as i was at 16, but in others, i'm convinced that i'm worse. desert island all time top 5 things i need right now: 1) a better paying job 2) my own apartment 3) motivation 4) confidence 5) patience honorable mention: a big bear-have your arms swallow me-in the nook of your armpit-hold me for 5 minutes-kind of hug, followed by a big mimosa :) to the people who are feeling a severe lack in any of these from me right now, i'm well, you know....

when i was thinking of some clever title for this post, the deerhoof song, "the perfect me" came to mind. "meet me. meet me. meet the perfect me." The reason i'm writing this or thinking about that song is because i feel myself beginning to change. let me clarify. i have lost almost 35 pounds (i say almost as in i can almost taste it) since february. I lost very quickly at first, then i plateaued. emotionally and then physically because the emotional side had given up. I gained almost 5 pounds during one month of not trying at all to eat well or excerise regularly. I know this is probably going to be the hardest thing i've ever had to do, and i really want to challenge myself here. i'm willing to put in the effort. i refuse, however, to deprive myself of anything. I'm doing this through a balanced diet, eating the good (meaning bad for you) stuff in moderation, drinking lots of water, excercising regularly, and attending my WW meetings for tips and m...

d listed is one of my favorite go to sites for the most ridiculous and hilarious celebrity dish. one of michael k's daily features is "hot slut of the day" followed by "birthday sluts". he also does "hot slut of the month" and "hot slut of the year". This cracks me up, and now i find myself adopting the phrase "hot slut" to describe those pop cultural icons with a little something extra. For example, bea arthur...total hot slut. tom seleck circa 1982...total hot slut! well, today i was pleasantly surprised to find that today's main birthday slut on dlisted was none other than the hot slutacularness that is huey lewis! he turns 57 today, and i wish to also salute his place in total hot slut history: huey, in my book, you are hot slut of the day, week, month, year, decade, etc. because it's hip to be square ;)

i've shot myself in the foot big time. i take full responsiblity for being irresponsible and selfish, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to have a pity party. right now all i really feel like doing is lying in bed watching tv on dvd, eating taco bell, and drinking large quantities of beer. my ears are currently held captive thanks to you are there by mono and hopes and fears by keane perhaps a trip to 65 cent night at the santa cruz beach boadwalk will lift my spirits. *sigh*

and of those 4 useable shots, this one is my favorite: so my first experiment with the holga didn't go as planned. does anything? ever? in the whole entire universe? que sera! holga and me may have gotten off to a rough start, but i still like him. i think he deserves another shot, don't you? i spent a whirlwind 1 1/2 days in chico visiting my my siter and bro-in-law. we managed to squeeze in: 1- dinner and beer sampling at sierra nevada brewing company 2- pirates of the carribean 3: at world's end (johnny depp. yum!) 3- a few hours at the park that has a freshwater swimming pool in the middle of it 4- dinner at hula chinese bbq (a big bowl of wonderful is what that was. yum!) 5- a trip to the silver dollar fair (rides, games.... carnies) chico is bigger than i expected. and it's 75 degrees at 11:30 at night. pretty sweet ass. yummy bbq tomorrow compliments of my surrogate family, the tahamonts. yum! hope everyone has a fab holiday!

whew! i can't believe it's been almost a month since i last blogged. did you miss me? is there really anyone out there? anyhow, here's what i've been up to: 1. i got a new job! i'm now part of the box office staff at the san jose repretory theatre. i'm just thrilled to be back in theatre. once upon a time it was my great love. It has been awhile, but after taking in a performance of "Rabbit Hole" it's nice to see that some things never change. 2. i've been ebaying and amazoning up a storm. whenever i get stressed, i shop. i've picked up a sweet turquoise blue rotary phone, a fisher price portable record player, copies of "welcome to the dollhouse" , "pootietang" , and "nadia" , a bio pic about romanian gynmast nadia comaneci (she received the first ever perfect 10 in modern gymnastic olympic history at the 1976 summer olympics. she was 14 at the time) omg my sisters and i taped this off tv when i was, like 6, ...

this morning i asked my mom to cut my bangs, so we pulled out a pair of house scissors, and some scotch tape, and did the damn thing. being unapoligetically rash sometimes gets me into trouble, but i'm happy with this impulsive trip down memory lane. i have been enjoying an extended spring break thanks to my lack of job and motivation. As much as i have been enjoying having nothing to do, i realize this is not necessarily a good thing, so i've been searching and sending out resumes and cover letters. I applied to one job that i would absolutely love to have, so keep your fingers crossed. i have been keeping semi-busy with my tap class (another foray into childhood memories), graveyard shifts at the kfjc (i'm on #6, and i'm feeling more confident with each one), and enrolling in a toy camera seminar for which i will need to pick up 1 (or maybe 2!) new cameras. I'm thinking I'll go with the holga: and the lomo supersampler: and oh! i am sooooooooo excited because ...

grave one grave two so far it has been a learning process of what to play, and what not to play ( indie pop followed by international? maybe not so much) a test of endurance ( mid-evening naps are now a must). a lesson in organization (always have what you need at arms length) but i'm having a great time :) got any music suggestions? i'm open to anything. school is out for spring break. here's the short list of what i plan to do with my downtime: 1) jobhunt 2) househunt 3) get rid of crap 4) excercise more

top: 1981. L-R momo, grandma murtha, me, mom, mary bottom: 1985. me and momo i figure the one on the top is from momo's birthday in november of the year i was born. pinching my cheeks was one of my sister mary's favorite ways to torture me when i was younger. the one on the bottom was taken at my grandma's house. i'm pretty sure that was my birthday. we probably went there first before going to the old spaghetti factory , my family's go-to restaurant for all family occasions. i can't wait!!!!! unfortunately, momo and her husband ryan can't make it this time because it's during the week (they live closer than they used to, but it's still a couple of hours away), but they got me a great gift; a ticket to this year's boonville beer festival! not only will i not have to worry about getting one now, i won't have to worry about loosing it like last year :( i am 26 today. i am in my mid to late 20s. where did the time go? i swear last week i was 21,...