i am alive...i think

So, remember earlier this year, when I made an unofficial vow to make this the Best Little Blog Ever in my own way? I certainly cannot guarantee that if I don't write any posts. Hmph. If you've noticed my absence, I thank you. In the interim of the past month + days, I've been quite busy taking care of shit. AKA Bidniz. AKA Cleaning Up House, taking care of tedium so that someday down the line, I can say that my responsible decisions lined up all the little birdies and I'll have less on my plate. (I promise to explain someday. If I remember.)

One project that did come out of my blog hiatus was this very DIY-looking camera bag. I currently own a Canon Rebel EOS Xs (and I love it!) and a Panasonic Lumix LX-5. The Lumix was in a fierce horned battle with the Canon S95; I was so torn, and not loaded enough to get both that I made a pie chart - I kid you not - and in the end, it was the retro design and, more importantly, the wide angle lens that won me over. Very happy with my choice. I highly recommend this camera.

(You can click on the picture to enlarge it and see my amateurish seams, and where the needle broke when I tried to sew down my vinyl version of bias tape.)

Anywho, here's the rundown on much the whole project set me back:

8 yard roll of vinyl: $8 (I KNOW! WHAT A STEAL!)

spray adhesive: $6

new sewing machine needles: $4

foam boards: $0 (pilfered from the recycle bin at work)

heavy duty all-purpose thread: $1
Velcro: $8 (but I only used $2 worth of the roll)
D-rings: $2

Being able to say that I made that damn bag with my own two hands and made my own pattern: Priceless (!)

This was the first time I really hunkered down and measured each piece carefully. I measured a back piece, back pocket, interior lining, interior pockets, front piece, front pocket, front pocket flap...! You get the idea. I meticulously planned this out because I like dubbing my creations Best ___ Ever! As my fate always has it, things did not go according to plan. I did not account for the fact that my regular size 14 sewing needle would snap in half when I should have been using a size 16 needle. There were other setbacks, mostly my fault (i.e. my unsteady hands making my seams crooked, argh!)

Well, that's the finished product, so there! It's well padded, and I've sewn Velcro linings inside so I can customize the spacing of the fabric-covered foam blocks (not pictured) that separate the cameras and keep things from moving around and getting damaged.



I'm currently using it to house my cameras, and it's Tim Burton-esque oddness is growing on me. I even stitched my brand/trademark/handle/COPYRIGHT 'nunumu' on the front pocket! Quite happy with how that came out...



Anywho, next time, I will have learned from my mistakes to make a bag that looks less like a 5 year old did it. ^__^

too much water

One of the characters in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club was described as having "too much water." I'm not talking about feeling bloated and gassy, even thought that also describes me perfectly. I'm referring to "too much water, and you flowed in too many directions." There's so many things I want to do! Be the next Julia Childs! Be the next Stephen King/J.K. Rowling/John Grisham! After digging deep inside my spiritual innards for the meaning of life and churning and stomping on my mid-twenties career crisis, I have finally made a decision that I am okay with it. One where I don't feel like I'm settling. It is a Big Girl decision. We'll see how it goes. My fingers are crossed over my crossed toes. I hope for the best.

Today is the first day of Operation Dictator. I'm ready, bitches!

peanut butter pie

This morning, I was feeling hungry and it wasn't quite lunch time. I decided to peruse one of my favorite cyber haunts for food porn. This morning's postings have been all about "A Pie For Mikey." Upon clicking one of the links, I found out that a stalwart mainstay of the online food community had lost her husband to a sudden heart attack. I've never visited her food blog, never knew about her until today, but my heart goes goes out to her and her kids, and everyone who was deeply affected by his life and passing. She asked her readers to honor him by baking a peanut butter pie, which he loved, and was on her To-Do list, but never got around to.

These days I'm inundated with headlines in my news feed about starving children in Somalia, insipid Tea Party antics, bad politics, and scary stats about our current economy. You know what? Life sucks. It does. There are ways to sugar coat it with TV and music and food (my main choices of escape), but the fact of the matter is that we exist to go through all of these obstacles just because we can and we have to. Because that's life.

I know I sound morose, and I'm not making any sense, so I will just go back to this pie topic and being pedantically sagacious. I sometimes forget, in the selfish and self-pitying and self-absorbed way that humans do, that the people in your life are what really matter. This is gospel and truth.

Because of my experiences, I have become a jaded people hater, wary and mistrustful because more often than not, people are superficial. Maybe they're genuine and loving in their own circles, but they don't fit quite so well in mine. But today, I am looking at the people I am so grateful to have in my life. These people have no qualms whatsoever about telling me how important I am to them as well, and breaks my cynicism down every time I talk to them, laugh with them, etc. These people are few and far between, but they mean so much to me that I would be devastated if anything bad happened to them.

I am so thankful to have my family, whom I love dearly. And my "gang" of friends. And my non-gang friends. And to have my boyfriend. I appreciate the people who mutually give a shit. And I hope you do too. Do not take these REAL people for granted. Should anything happen to them, they are gone. This is it. You don't get them back. There is no phoenix/Lazarus phenomenon. No replacement.

That's my intense post for the day. Love. That's a verb.

love is a mixtape*

Every 6 months, I make Yobo a mixtape. I'm all about these babies, professing my love and affection through music, and trying not to be jealous that someone else's poetry makes more emotional sense than what I've scrawled in letters. Nowadays, it isn't really a tape. And in the 90's, it turned into mixed CDs. I wanted to stay old school, so I started out making him mixed CDs (who uses tapes anymore?). And now, folks, we have hit the Two Year Anniversary mark (!). I am happier than I sound. I'm happy. =)

Making a mixtape can sometimes be frustrating. You start by poring through your entire collection. Sometimes a song is perfect, but a line will say, "Then I looked at your grave and my life was over." Not exactly the right message. Then you turn on the radio and you feel ashamed that you're tempted to put on anything saccharine and old school from a station like The Wave or 103.5.

I didn't make a music post yesterday, so in the spirit of that and the fact that today is most auspicious in my little world indeed, I have decided to share with you the track listings of some of the mixtapes I have made. I dunno why I'm doing this; it's so personal BUT in my own search to convey the right songs and decide the track order, I came across people whom were more than willing to share their love of music and favorite love songs, be it indie or cross-genre. Music is love, folks. Y'all knows it! I hope this list helps anyone who actually comes across this entry and needs suggestions in the Mixtape for Someone Special department.

[Note: Yes, I have even made .mp3 album cover art for each mix. It's not meant to look professional, just nice to look at when you're looking at your iPod.]

Gavin DeGraw - Belief

Wilco - California Stars

Kate Nash - The Nicest Thing

Eels - That Fresh Feeling

Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins - Handle With Care

The Weakerthans - The Reasons

Oleta Adams - Get Here

The Black Keys - Your Touch

Feist - Mushaboom

The Damnwells - I've Got You

The Maccabees - Toothpaste Kisses

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes - Home

Noah and the Whale - 5 Years' Time

Ben Gibbard - Joga (Bjork cover)

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The Smiths - Ask Me

The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

Liz Phair - Supernova

Sufjan Stevens - To Be Alone With You

bright eyes - First Day of My Life

Lemonheads - Into Your Arms

Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

Pixies - La La Love You

Bob Dylan - Love Minus Zero/No Limit

Neutral Milk Hotel - I Love How You Love Me

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(I took two suggestions from this list.)

TV On The Radio - Will Do

Elliott Smith - Say Yes

Fiona Apple - The First Taste

Yo La Tengo - Sugarcube

Regina Spektor - Us

James Vincent McMorrow - This Old Dark Machine

Starfucker - Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second

Sharon Van Etten - For You

Smog - Dress Sexy At My Funeral

* Yeah, I read the book. And I even bought it. Now, I'm scarred for life living in fear of a pulmonary embolism.

musical hump day

I became a fan of the Black Keys when the super awesome School of Rock came out. I downloaded procured the soundtrack, and "Set You Free" was one of those songs that I looped constantly on Winamp (you're old if you used Winamp, like, a lot). I saw them in Long Beach a few years back for a blues event where the Black Crowes were headlining. Flash forward to today, and now it seems like everyone knows who they are (this is what I call the TOMS syndrome, which I promise to explain at length someday) because of a little known splenderiferous song called "Tighten Up." Hot damn.

I highly recommend all their albums, but by far, my favorite is Rubber Factory (2004). The album opens with "When the Lights Go Out" and it just makes one feel bad ass if one is plugged into earphones and strolling down the street. I just might do that today.


Yesterday on KCRW, a song came on that I was sure was the Black Keys, but I'd never heard before. I thought it was a track that I might've overlooked on Brothers. It appears that Dan Auerbach released a solo albumin 2009. How could I have missed this?! Oh well. I downloaded have that album now too, and it's great!


If you do decide to take my word for it, happy listening!

P.S. On a musically related note, I realized how much I love Stevie Nicks and her sense of style. That is all. Heroine!

LA treats: Pink's. crossing it off the list!

So, this past weekend, Chulachong (aka BFF Super Partner in Crime aka Sexy Accomplice) and I hit up one of those "you gotta try this when you visit LA" and/or "you live in LA, but you never had ___???!" joints. The carnies (carnivore, that is) in us were successfully silenced by SAUSAGE! Pink's has been open since 1939, and lots of stars have visited. They have dogs named after such luminaries, like Martha Stewart, Rosie O'Donnell and Emeril Lagasse.

Beheld!*

Sister and I had one of each of this meaty piece of work. Bacon?! Mushrooms?? Hells yeah! This sausage was loaded with bacon. It was sodium and deliciousness heaven. It's called the Planet Hollywood.

Chu also had the Lord of the Rings dog. I'm not a big fan of the BBQ sauce, but she loved it so much that she declared it a staple, which is A-ok in my book. (I must admit I swiped a small onion ring covered in sauce, and it was yummy!)

And this thing gave me diarrhea the next morning because it was so damn spicy. This makes me sad because I adore spicy food. The Polish sausage I had had seeds and red chili oil oozing out of it. I don't care about you, runny poo poo, because I would eat it again. It had guacamole, jalapeño, onions, and cheese. It was called the Ozzy Spicy dog.

My only gripe is that place is so hella hyped that the wait is excruciatingly long. You best be hungry and buy a shitload of of food that you will finish (unlike some anorexic hipsters who ordered a tray of food, took two bites, and threw their cholesterol away. Fucking dumbasses.) How long is this wait?

It's long.

But, veni, vidi, vici! Until our next food adventure, jealous haters...

Happy Monday!

*If you know my fam well, you'll know why this word is so funny.

getting figgy with it ❤

Yesterday, I was telling Yobo that I was craving ricotta cheese with figs and honey. You might be thinking, "Ohhhh, gourmet! You pishy poshy girl!" But I live in sunny SoCal, where fig trees are native (but unfortunately not as abundant these days), so I can justify it as more of a legit craving. There is a mission fig tree in the shared property behind his house. Can you just imagine it? A bursting sweet fig that's not runny-juicy, but full of freshness and bite? With honey?? Jesus H. Christ.

This morning, Yobo surprised me with Greek yogurt with figs and honey for breakfast. See? The "little things" make a big impact! I'm lucky to have a thoughtful boyfriend who is sweet and spontaneous more often than not about the little and big things.