Tales from a Cat Lady

Red onions have been rocking my world lately.

2010-01-26T22:39:00.000-08:00

Seriously though. These little vegetables are IN-tense! Eat them raw in your next salad or veggie sand-weech (that's my favorite way to pronounce sandwich. I also spelled it that way during a spelling bee in 1st grade. It's a tough word for a f'ing first grader!! I still remember)

One cool thing about being single is that I can eat all the raw red onions that I want! No one is kissing these lips other than the occasional puppy smooch from my bosses dog and even then I try to get him to kiss me on the cheek. But that's more because his breath is bad, not mine.

Speaking of being single, my roommate and I have decided to part ways once our lease is up in April. Not because we don't get along; actually we get along quite well. Mostly because, you know, normal life things. She is thinking about moving in with her brother. I am now working full time in LA. Our cats don't get along. Ya know, the normal things. Anyways, since our lease is up in April I have exactly two months of freaking out to do that will get me nowhere. I can't start looking for new places to live now because no one is renting for April yet. But I also can't get it off my mind. I am so stressed about it; it's literally looming over all my thoughts.

Some of those thoughts have been good/dreamy thoughts.

Like how cool it will be to decorate my own space again.
Or how I can use my blender at any time of the morning and not worry about waking anyone up.
I can also eat as many pieces of Mochi as I want without feeling self conscious that someone is watching me be a fatty (kelly is not a judger but you know what I mean).
Actually, it's probably better to have someone judge your fatty-ness. keeps you in check.

Anyways, if anyone knows of an inexpensive lovely cottage that allows large cats and small cat ladies please do advise.

AnnTiques

2010-01-24T20:07:00.000-08:00

My grandmothers name was Ann and she owned four antique stores. They should have all been called Anntiques just like the most amazing antique store I went to today. My family also has a slight hoarding problem. Apparently, this is a trait we share with the owner of this shop. My mom and I fit in nicely.

In all honesty this was not my first visit to Anntiques. I went out to Riverside a few weeks ago when my sister was still in town and my friend Joanne and I and sister went on a thrift store field trip. We went to Stepping Stones (i think that's the name. Shit, actually that's not the name at all. I can't remember what it was called) first. This one was probably filled with the most reasonably priced items with the best selection overall. They had a really great looking retro creamy yellow, almost a camel colored, leather/pleather chair that I want to go back for. Then we tinkered around in all the unavoidable 'chabby chic' type places. I hate that look. Finally, we found ourselves at that little strip mall where the dreaded Karen Allen salon used to be located, you know, back in the day when you could go to that salon and NOT have your blonde hair dyed orange by some amateur. Oh but there I go getting off track. Back to thrifting! We took a chance on this little shop and immediately knew we'd hit the jackpot as we were greeted by dismembered mannequins of all shapes and sizes. Including a baby mannequin missing an arm!! It didn't hurt that it was so perfectly placed so that you'd make eye contact with it as you entered. Genius.

Everything in this shop screams creepy. Just the way things were poorly organized and slightly strewn about. This whole time I had been casually looking for a small sofa for my apartment, Kelly and I literally have two chairs in our living room, or a nice vintage vanity for my room. I just love the way they look. I don't find them particularly practical but I WANT one. And as I am browsing I SEE one. I was so enveloped in scoping out this vanity that I didn't notice the taxidermy birds to my left. I actually almost put my face in an owl. I sort of freaked out but then at the same time I was oddly interested in them. I kind of think the owl was badass looking. It was a white owl for god sakes. How amazing would that look on my bookcase? Okay, so I don't actually have a bookcase but some day, when I've made it in this world, I will have a bookcase! and possibly a white owl will live on it. The best part? Well, the best part was when I looked up and saw the goose in flight above my head. This was a huge f'ing goose too! I mean like a goose with a 4 ft wing span. Stuffed to look like it's flying. Love.

As we proceeded to actually enter the shop (this whole time we were in some sort of garage area) we were welcomed by two elderly women who were too busy sitting on the couches that are for sale chatting about how expensive their medical bills are to actually greet us. Apparently, one of them had an "accident" back in november and now can't use one of her arms. And the vicodin she has been taking just doesn't work. I feel ya sister. Actually, no I don't. I once took vicodin and it made me sick to my stomach so I stay away from that shit.

Nothing in this place has a price tag. You just bargain with one-arm-crazypants. I don't know how they stay open. I can only assume that they pay no rent and no one cares. It seems like one of those places that just one day fell off the radar but the owner still comes to work because it's what you do. There are tons of old baby carriages and broken babydolls. Silver comb and brush sets that you never really know if they are meant for humans or dolls. And awkwardly dressed mannequins in old timey stage costumes.
Where does she get this shit? How ever did Anntiques come about? I love this store! I want to live in it or at least go back again next weekend.

P.S. When my mom and I went today we found an art deco vanity and wardrobe set. Thinking about getting it. It's pricey though, that crazypants-no-arm sure does drive a hard bargain.

Small Potatoes

2010-01-17T19:15:00.000-08:00

Hello deliciously sweet, sweet potatoes. I cooked you hash brown style for dinner and you were delicious.

The only thing that could ruin you is the sound of my really obnoxious neighbors having sex. And having no respect for the fact that we can ALL hear them. Seriously, it's great you guys are in love yadda yadda yadda and this is your expression of that love but really you actually have incredibly grotesque sounding sex. And you have it often. And you aren't even in my building and I can hear you. So please stop. For the love of god stop.

I mean this is a serious problem. I have had conversations with mulitple neighbors about how annoying it is. One weekend we heard them doing it over SIX times. That can't even be healthy. Someone in my building stood outside their window yelling at them to keep it down and they just yelled back and the problem just escalladed.

How does one go about dealing with this situation? Are we all supposed to just put up with it? Do I report a noise complaint? Do I write them a note and put it on their door? Because when they start going at it I literally want to take my kitchen knife and run and jump (while screaming like I imagine Native Americans did while fighting old school style) and gouge that knife into the screens on their window and then bust through the glass of their window and then politely tell them how embarrassed they should feel. Embarrassed because they have gross sounding sex. They make really really stupid noises that don't even sound genuine and they should be ashamed.

They should be ashamed.

Sweetness

2010-01-03T22:02:00.001-08:00

Tonight I went and saw a movie all by myself. This would be the first time in Katie history that an event like this has taken place.

I chose to view The Road.... the film I talked about in my last post :) I chose to see it alone because I only know of two other people who have read the book and neither of them were available to see it with me. The story is so harsh that I didn't want to take someone who wouldn't be prepared for it. I would have probably worried the whole time if they were enjoying themselves, which, in turn, would prevent me from enjoying myself. So I showered, dried my hair, put absolutely no makeup on, and left the house wearing my Ugg boots. If you know me at all, you would know that wearing my Ugg boots out in public is another first in Katie history. Don't get me wrong, I f*ing love my Uggs but really they aren't public appropriate. Get me home from work and you can bet i will sporting these suckers until I go to sleep but if errands need to be ran then you better believe I am putting on some sneakers.

So here I am about to go see a movie that performed terribly in screen tests, is bleak as all hell, and I am looking like a homeless woman who stole a twenty spot from a child to get into this film. my biggest fear at this point was that I was going to be the ONLY person seeing this movie as well as the ONLY person seeing a movie alone looking embarrassingly disheveled. But alas, the film was good. I wasn't the only one in the theatre. And even in Ugg boots and no makeup I am pretty sure I looked a little better than the balding overweight guy wearing a sports jersey.

Rocky Road is my favorite ice cream

2009-12-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

..it's true. bet you didn't know that.

A friend of mine, who is a filmmaker, and film critic just gave me a review of The Road. I read the book over the summer and had one sleepless night because of scary things in it but now it' a movie with Viggo Mortenson and I saw a preview and I thought it looked much different than what I was expecting...so I asked my movie critic friend and received the following:

"I read The Road last Christmas and loved it. One of my favorite books ever. I'm carrying the fire now. I saw the movie on Tuesday and it was really good, really true to the book, I think that's why they had so many problems with it, it's so bleak, it must have tested horribly. I highly suggest it though, one of my favorite movies I have seen in a long time. Again, see The Road but be ready to have a bum night because it's brutal. I cried in it a couple times. SSHHHHHHHHH."

I think I am in the perfect mood to watch it this weekend and plan on maybe viewing it friday night or sunday evening after a day of volunteering. Anyone interested?

Feelers

2009-12-10T10:49:00.000-08:00

I have been working in LA for close to year now and my little mind has been considering moving back to the area. Right now I wake up at least 3 hours before I need to be at work to make sure that my commute doesn't get the best of me.
Really, when I think about I spend about 3 or more hours in the car everyday. If I lived back in LA I would have much more "Katie time". My lease ends in April and there is a possibility that rent will increase because our building just got purchased from another rental company. I absolutely LOVE living with my current roommate but to be honest she really is the only person who I know and spend time with in Long Beach. I have many a more friends in LA. It all makes sense, right?
1. less driving
2. more friends
3. gas money saved
4. realistically I will probably be spending more money on rent in LA...but less driving means less gas money spent
5. more sleeping in :)

I have spent a lot of time rolling it all over in my head and it all comes down to one thing. A feeling. I have this crazy intense feeling that there is somehting for me in Long Beach. Something that I haven't found yet. Something that if I leave I will miss out on. Maybe intuition is a crock of shit but I am not ignoring this. and I am keeping my eyeballs open....

Apologies

2009-11-28T00:31:00.000-08:00

I have had major blog block lately. I do have a few posts saved as drafts right now that I have written but not posted yet. But I read them over and thought, how boring. No one wants to read this crap about your irrational panic attacks or visits from ghosts at work or the two trips I made to church this year (actually, I plan on posting that one but it's a real difficult one to write and I am still working on it). So don't think I am just a slacker. The truth is I just don't have much of anything interesting to say right now.

Go listen to Florence + The Machine in the mean time. and sing real real loud.

Waiting for this to go on sale....

2009-11-23T10:41:00.001-08:00

...

2009-11-19T10:33:00.000-08:00

Fortune Cookies are rather delicate treats that you must physically break in to to learn their secrets. And as with most things in this world, you can choose to enjoy them for exactly what they are, flaws and all, or you can simply leave them at your table after dinner.

Thing I want... but don't need

2009-10-09T14:39:00.000-07:00

Spruce Goose

Recent History

2009-08-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

Listening to this
Looking at that
Reading this
Guess which one of these I want

Currently waiting for....

2009-08-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

Below is the movie trailer for the upcoming film, Where the Wild Things Are. I can't even tell you how excited I am about this. For starters, I love films that explore curiosity, imagination, and child-like wonder, i.e. Amelie and Pan's Labyrinth, but then pile on Spike Jonz as the director and tease me with "Wake Up" by The Arcade Fire on the trailer and I am one hooked viewer. Not to mention that my 1st/2nd grade combo class put on a production of this story for our play that year. Naturally, I played a "Wild Thing" and obviously someone saw my incredible performance because I am pretty sure they based one of the characters off of me. Wouldn't you? I remember Nick Adcock played Max. showoff. But he paid for it the next year when he had to play the Christmas Tree in our 2nd grade play. He didn't have a single line. He was just forced to stand there in an X-mas tree costume. Really, we could have just used a fake tree but there weren't any other parts in the play to give him so he got stuck standing, playing the role of an inanimate object. sucker.

Here's the trailer. Watch it over and over and over again.

Cheers! to running into your brother on a hiking trail 5 years after you've attempted to disappear

2009-08-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

While I was re-visiting my favorite unemployment blog (linked in previous post) I stumbled across this incredible article about Matthew Alan Sheppard. If ever you fantasized about disappearing read this first because apparently the likelihood that you will do so successfully is very low. And when you do get caught your failed story will be told and I will innocently chuckle at how you didn't get away. Because in all honesty, I don't care if you run away and never come back. I mean, I'm sure it would suck for your loved ones but it's really none of my business. But reading these failed stories is kind of funny and some ways that people were caught were so random I can't help but think that everything happens for a reason.
So enjoy. Here is my present to you on this delightful Wednesday afternoon.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2009-08-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

With my birthday coming up within less than a month and, well, a lot of recent changes I felt prompted to reflect on the kind of year 25 has given me.

1. I learned first hand how our governmental unemployment system works. I spent a lot of fun time here.

2. I made a really substantial job change. I mean, I guess textile design is not too far a cry from the art world but until about November of last year I really had no idea what I wanted to do other than my childhood dreams of becoming a Lion Tamer :)

3. I put those dreams into action and actually found employment from an internship. Until this point I was pretty sure internships were never meant to go anywhere because I, myself, had worked about 4 unpaid, undirected internships.

4. I got out of my hermit-like living situations and moved in with a friend. Other than my unruly over-sized cats that sometimes attack my roommate and her tiny cat things are lovely in our humble little rental.

5. Remember back when I got that terrible sunburn, well, I went to the dermatologist and had a mole removed that turned out to be cancerous. So, all known skin-cancers were found and removed from my body. I have a pretty sweet scar on my back that somewhat simulates a wound from a knife fight. Major street cred.

6. I started taking pictures again. This is actually much more monumental than it sounds. I know many many artists who have a difficult time creating art post college. I was definitely one of them. I hadn't taken a film photograph since graduation so you can imagine this was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. Mike's curiosity offered me the opportunity to get myself back out there as a quasi instructor of sorts. Teaching him allowed me to reteach myself and find answers to some of my own photography questions. Some things I just accepted as photography "unknowns" because I was too lazy to put in the time to really get a grasp on everything. But Mike asked me and then when I didn't know he actually put the time in to figure things out. Then we both learned.

7. Just last week I was thrown for a little loop. You see, I work for two different companies right now and the one that I enjoy much more than the other is doing some restructuring. Basically, my supervisor is leaving. He had trained me to pretty much take over his position but last Thursday I was prepared by our boss to expect to not be given the position upon my supervisors departure. I was truly counting on this upgrade to take me out of my other part-time gig, to give me full-time + benefits and offer me the delight of working with them all day everyday. They did tell me that they will not be diminishing my position though so at least I am not being laid off....again.

8. Here's the good news in all this: My boss set up an appointment for me to meet with a textile designer in the biz tomorrow. This way I can pick her brain as to what steps I need to take to get to where she is now. Most likely, one of these steps will be going back to school and I'm okay with that. I just need to make myself one crafty little backpack :)

Happy Birthday to me.

Quiz: What kind of person are you?

2009-08-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

Q: If Katie were to buy one (or two) of these for her cats would you...
a) still be her friend?
b) de-friend her?
c) be MORE of her friend?!

You Decide

Goddamn it. I Love Cats.

2009-07-30T23:02:00.000-07:00

I mean, I was for whatever reason having a bit of a grouchy day and this video made me so very very happy. I realized that I really need to start video taping my cats and furthermore, get some baby (not to keep permanently) to interact with my cats because the clips of the cats and the babies by far received the loudest laughs from me.

Bigs

2009-06-17T21:32:00.001-07:00

This evening I got home from a jog just in time to watch a show on TLC called, "The Tallest Children in the World". I have got to hand it to TLC for continually making television that I want to watch over and over and over again. Remember when I Tivoed (back in the day when my old roommate had tivo) "The Smallest People on Earth" ? I watched that thing multiple times over the one year course of our living together. At the end of all this "studying" I decided that I, myself, would enjoy having a Primordial Dwarf for a child. They are the only little people that are completely proportionate for their size :)

Once again, after watching my tv special I have decided that I want to have tall children. I mean, there was this fascinating family of tall people that custom built their home to accommodate their tall natured children. The fact that they are British and have darling accents had no further persuasion of my adoration for them...... mm hm. They talked about growing out of their "trousers" quickly.
Tell me that didn't make you swoon a little!

Whilst trying to find a photo of my tall family I came across this.....
It's the WORLD'S TALLEST DOG!
Meet Gibson. A Harlequin Great Dane who stands 7 ft 1 inch when fully extended. He is also a whopping 180 lbs! He is definately not as pretty as the great dane I know and love, Patrick (pictured below). But Gibson could tramble me so I have to give my respect to that.

On another note, entirely unrelated, tomorrow is my appointment with my dermatologist for that horrendous sunburn I gave myself a few weeks back. Literally, the incident was about a month ago at this point and guess what just started happening today? ....The back of my legs started to peel. Really? I am still dealing with the aftermath of all this?
When my back peeled the skin beneath it was so delicate. It was all light pink and a little splotchy, like brand new baby skin except severely damaged brand new baby skin.

I don't know why I am so nervous to go to the dermatologist. Part of me is terrified that they will have to remove all sorts of things (like a mole or something) and leave me all scarred and gouged and stuff. Or what if she yells at me and shows me pictures of how wrinkly I am going to be when I'm 32. Either scenario sounds terrible and I really don't want to go to this appointment alone.

Self Indulgence

2009-06-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

If someone were to make a video montage of my impending summer events, travels, adventures I would like it to be edited to this song. Of course this is assuming that I have really awesome, fun-filled BBQs, water balloon fights, dance parties, RV adventures, and so on a so forth.
We'll see how my summer realistically transpires....

But in the meantime, download Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros from iTunes. They only have an EP out at this point but it has a recession-friendly price of a mere 2 dollars. How delightful. I also enjoy how their band is literally made up of at least 11 people. Talk about a good time.

Buy Local

2009-06-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

A while back I went to Unique Los Angeles, an independent design and gift show. It was super fun and Justin and Travis sold their goodies at an excellently placed booth (right next to the entrance from the elevator). Wolves and Willows is Justin's label and I purchased the sweet white leather with gold stud bracelet seen on my wrist to the left. 4th and French is Travis's line that features kick ass rings with impressive packaging.
I have a slightly weird obsession with facial hair that I can only blame on the fact that I cannot grow any. The mustache bandana I am wearin above was also purchased at Justin and Travis's booth but the design is by Travis's roommate whose name and label I do not know. I bought a sweet orange one for my sister.

The showroom was one of the most overwhelming places I have ever been. At one point I got so disoriented I was sure I had somehow ended up on a different floor, but that was not the case. My entire adventure was very inspiring and made me a little mad at myself for not crafting more. Everytime we passed a booth where I liked something Justin would say, "don't buy that, I can make you that" then I would respond with, "but they already made it for me, so why don't I buy theirs?" Obviously, Justin was trying to save me money, which he did for the most part, but sometimes I just want to be lazy and purchase things that are already constructed for me, is that so bad?
Here's the rest of my booty:

I bought this awesome crown necklace from Good Friday.

As it turns out, cats look excellent with mustaches.

Come Alive

2009-05-25T19:18:00.000-07:00

My twin-cousin's (my cousin and I are only about a month apart in age) band, Still Time, just released a new CD. They are from San Louis Obispo and are successful enough to pay their rent, utilities, and food with the earnings from their shows. I find that insanely impressive. The coolest part is that they are on a summer tour right now and in July they are going to Seattle for about 4 days. I have been itching to get back to Washington to explore now that I am not a 12 year old (I used to live there) so I asked if I could tag along for that portion of the trip and be their designated (free) band photographer. If it all works out I'm going to be tramping around the coast come the beginning of July. And I mean tramping in the vagabond kind of way not the easy-lady kind of way.

So I was trying to post a video of one of their songs but they don't have a video for the song I wanted to post. But while I was on their YouTube page I found my step-cousins YouTube page which is HYSTERICAL! This kid is so amazing. He just became a cousin of mine when my Dad got remarried about 3 years ago. You MUST watch his videos. I am a fan of Rubix Cube Man Gone Crazy and My Cool Cat Chloe.

Oh, I had a perfect moment today. I can't stop smiling.

Meet me at Jumbo's

2009-05-25T00:19:00.000-07:00

President Obama asked all of us to observe Memorial Day in a tangible manner. He suggested volunteering at health clinics or taking supplies to homeless shelter. Even a simple "thank you" to any person in uniform was encouraged. The tangible manner in which I observed Memorial Day came in the form of a 3rd degree sunburn and a bikini bar.

On Saturday morning, Kelly, her brother in-law, her brother, and I went on a 12 mile hike through the Trabuco Canyon on Saddleback Mtn. The trail we took is called Holy Jim and it is intense! I have three battle-blisters to prove it. This was also the beginning of my skin cancer. I applied my sunscreen myself and unfortunately missed a few areas on my back. I should have just asked Kelly for some help. I even reapplied, like a good little pale girl, half way through the trek. But, alas, I came home with a sweet racerback tan line that is real intense on my shoulders.

In an effort to even out the damage I had done I went to the beach today with, again, Kelly. I had admittedly wore no sunscreen other than what I put on my face. I must express how out of character it is of me to not put sunscreen on. But in my despair over my hideous tan lines I attempted to burn the living life out of all my skin so I would at least be monochromatic. I only half way succeeded. You see, most of my burn from yesterday was on my shoulders and back so I laid on my stomach almost the entire time we were at the beach; frying my backside. My front is still pretty pale. Awesome. This is what I deserve. I haven't had a burn like this is years, years, years, years. I've come to accept the fact that I am pale so I generally ALWAYS put on my protection. Stupid, stupid me. I literally have sun blisters on my back right now. I'm pretty sure some people go to the hospital for cases like this....

Now that I have explained the sunburn part of my weekend I am sure you are wondering how the bikini bar plays a role, because obviously I'm not showing any skin any time soon to anyone. It's humiliating to admit to someone that you've scorched your skin this way. And it's true, I was not wearing a bikini at a bar, but there were some pretty cute ladies who were. My friend Laura was in town from San Francisco this weekend so we met Jamie and Tim in LA for dinner and a night on the town. We ate at a delicioud Mexican restuarant in Silverlake and then Tim and Jamie took us to the fabulous Jumbo's Clown Room. Watch out, their website plays some really weird music. But the bar itself is like any other dive bar except there are burlesque/pin up/dancers that pick their own music from the juke box and then perform when their song comes on. The girls don't strip, they just dance and most of them are quite impressive. The club isn't filled with skeezy old men either, it's all hipsters and young normal looking people (not like hipsters look normal but you know what I mean). I actually ran into a friend of mine, Darcy, from my days of 'ol at the museum. She also lives in Long Beach so it was strange running into her. She also may be the sweetest, cutest, sometimes quietest person I know. I think we were both really shocked to have seen each other there.

The best part about it is that the dancers pick their own music so one girl danced to Kings of Leon, another Judas Priest, another chose Queen and The Beatles, a little jazz was thrown in the mix, we had some Jane's Addiction and the song Spitfire by Prodigy. If you would like to see into the depths of Timmy Q's soul watch the music video below. Timbo was the director.

Not a love that's perfect.

2009-05-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

Today I thought a lot about the word 'perfect', it's meaning, and the roll it plays in our society. Because, really, there isn't anything in this world that is perfect so why do we have a word for something that is unattainable or impossible?

per.fect : being entirely without fault or defect (thank you meriamwebster.com)

You could argue that perfection is subjective. You could put your faith or belief in the idea that something/one is perfect to you or in your opinion. Maybe that's all that perfection really is; being as good as you can at what you are and having someone recognize it as perfection. Because I might believe that the way Keira looked into my camera lens for 9 minutes for my junior art show project was perfect. Her image is haunting and it was the first picture that made me believe in my work. But someone else might find it blurry and distracting.

I know that people are definitely not perfect but I also know (or I guess a more appropriate term would be, i believe) that people are capable of experiencing little moments of perfection. It might be what keeps us going; wanting more.

When I was in first grade my Dad woke my sister and I up in the middle of the night and carried us out to the backyard to show us a completed spider's web that had been created that evening in between two of our palm trees. It glistened in the moonlight and everything in that moment was perfect.

Two Christmas Eve's ago, the dinner made together by my mom, sister and I was perfect. It was a time where we were all really considerate of one another. Like making an all vegetarian meal because my sister (and just recently, I) don't eat meat. Or getting the really obscure little bread biscuits that are so hard to find but my mom loves. And we listened to The Mammas and The Pappas while we cooked all day and my mom told us how their songs really revolutionized the 70s.

I was just a wee-baby 20 year old when I first loved someone. One day he turned and looked at me and called me by my, then, nickname he had given me (duck). It was oddly perfect. He actually never told me that he loved me, even though I had told him. That was really hard to get over but I know that that little perfect moment existed because for a second we trusted each other with our vulnerabilities.

It's very strange how certain moments really hold onto you. I guess I'm just looking for more of them.

Neko Case. In all her perfection.

...

2009-05-20T14:09:00.001-07:00

They are calling it a "Chee-sus". I might make that my new swear word of choice. I listened to the interview with the guy who discovered this little gem. He said he first thought to sell it on eBay but depending on what kind of offers he gets, he might just eat it.

A Monday Made for a King

2009-05-11T17:45:00.000-07:00

I had my first fabric order today!!!!

Alright, so it's not that exciting because it was one of my designers friends who ordered the fabric....so she already knew about our line.....and she had already placed one order before I started working there.... but still! Someone called me on the phone, placed an order, and I processed it. Booyah!

You should see my little fabric inventory excel file. Of all the 2,400 yards of fabric we have in stock on the 50 or so bolts I have one little line highlighted in sea green to indicate that 2.5 yards are on hold for a customer. It's exhilarating, really.

Life after Coma

2009-05-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my drab spirits that were reflected in my last post. It's very rare that I allow tough times get to me like that. At least it only lasted for 6 hours. I mean, I truly believe that God lets more bad things happen to me than other people because I laugh about all of it.

So lets go ahead and start laughing about it...... I drove to my mom's house in Riverside Friday afternoon and it took me well into the evening to get there. The mileage for my trip is somewhere around 75 which should take about an hour and a half to accomplish (considering this is southern California) but no, no, it took me 4 hours to get there..........4...........hours. I left work at 3 pm, literally, I was on the freeway at 3pm and I arrived at my destination at 7 that evening. Can you believe that?

Here's one thing I learned while driving in traffic:

1. This is the BEST time to talk illegally on your cell phone. I am driving 5 miles an hour and everyone around me is driving 5 miles an hour. No cop is going to sneak up on me. I will SEE that cop coming at me. And I know what you're thinking: "What about motorcycle cops?" They don't stand a chance! Because everyone is driving so slowly that the actual noise level of the freeway is practically nonexistent; making it ever so easy to hear those bikes coming at 'cha.

I decided to spend the night at my mom's house for this visit because a) there was no way in hell I was going to get behind the wheel for at least 24 hours and b) since I will be volunteering tomorrow at OCMA we celebrated Mother's Day a day early. Mother's Day involved spending $740 on a car wash.

If you'll remember (which you won't because this is my blog and really I think only Lamia reads it and I know I haven't talked to her about this issue), my car was making bad noises while driving on the freeway. So my mom and I started our morning by taking my car into the dealership.
Turns out my breaks were shot. I had pretty much worn them down to the metal, whoops. So that got repaired. Also, apparently, my two front tires needed to be replaced. On top of all this I was due for my 45,000 mile maintenance, which included an oil change, some filter replacings, brake check (little late now), etc, etc. So by the end of the day I got to spend $740 on my car. But they did throw in a car wash for free :)

Listen to this:

Beirut is my only savior for the embarassing 5 years I spent playing the trumpet. The horns in their music make me want to play in a lagoon wearing a long flow-y dress. And I find this music video to be insanely gorgeous.

A broken heart, a ripped $300 dress, and a pile of clothes my cat peed on.

2009-05-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

Actually, I think the title does my day justice all on its own.

I See

2009-05-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

Tut Tut

2009-05-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

About a year ago, I lived with a family in Hancock Park. They had a 7 year old who always wanted to play with me when I got home from work in the evenings. It was around 7:30 when I arrived home and she had to be in bed by 9, which coincidentally was about the same hour I like to go to bed. We would do all different things together. Sometimes she would help me cook my dinner, other times we took her dog for a walk, we also made up an 'exercise' game that involved a razor scooter, a flat basketball, and a jump rope, and then sometimes we would sit on the back porch and talk about 7-year old things.
Sometimes I felt a little cheated out of personal time and occasionally I would try to sneak in the house without her realizing it. Whenever I was ready to be alone I would tell her that it was "Katie Time", which I had explained to her was my time alone to myself that I needed after work and before bed.
Now I have a lot more "Katie Time" and sometimes I wish there was a little someone who looked forward to me getting home every evening.

His Courage was Roaring

2009-05-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have been letting the boys play outside more often. They are gigantic cats and I think they require a greater amount of exercise than our apartment can offer them. So yesterday I was outside transferring some slides to a borrowed digital SLR and decided this would be a lovely day for the boys to play.
Sebastian has fallen in love with this all white cat from the neighborhood. The other day I found him sitting on a balcony with her, meowing in her face. It was so romantic. Naturally, on this day, Sebastian went to find his love. Meanwhile, Wren and I were sitting in the grass warming ourselves by the sunny shine. All of a sudden Sebastian comes racing from around the corner getting punched in the face by his true love!! He was so frightened. I was about to go retrieve 'Bastian from his lovers quarrel but Wren was not about to let some whore beat his brother up (for the record, I don't even know if the white cat is a boy or a girl). Wren poofed all his fur up, growled, and ran that white cat back around the corner. I chased them both and witnessed one of the scariest cat fights I have ever seen.
I let out a few very authoritative "HEY HEY" s and the fight broke up. I told Wren to get in the house, which he did because, that's right, he's awesome and trained. And then from the comfort of my bedroom the boys and I watched that white cat from the window and thought to ourselves, "Whats up now whitey?!" and "Don't mess with this family!" and "My brother will totally kick your ass!".
Honestly, Sebastian might be slightly slow. Sometimes he just looks at walls and meows at them. So I imagine that Wren was defending his brothers honor.

Look at how adorable Sebastian is when he sleeps on my purse.Also, he looks fabulous when he sleeps like a gangster with his paw like that.

Here is my warrior kitty.

I have never been prouder.

Humbly Bumbling

2009-05-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Today was the fourth day at my new job with a new textile designer based in LA. I was kind of thrown into this position without anyone to reference what to do, what has been done, what needs to be done, what is pending to be done, so on and so forth. In my nascent stage here, my boss and her assistant (the only two other people I work with) have chosen to go out of town for the weekend. Leaving me in the office all alone.

Things I did today:

1. told a woman that I have no idea where her fabric is....but I promised to track it down by the end of the day!
2. Received an email from our shipping company that said that we have a new "air freight booking" ready from Switzerland. What does that even mean?
3. Called the shipping company and admitted I had no idea what their email meant and asked them to explain it to me.
4. Texted the design assistant to ask her how to log into our design program.....again.
5. Spoke with a delivery man who is supposed to be delivering 5 chairs somewhere......where to? Don't know.

On the brightside I successfully transferred a call to voicemail!!!! It was a good day.

And I listened to this:

This Material Girl

2009-04-07T17:58:00.000-07:00

I have to say, I love my new job/jobs (even though I haven't technically started one of them yet)!!!! Our office is so much fun! And since its interior design, it's like being at an all girls camp or something. I mean, EVERYONE is gay. But seriously, I have had my FILL of Madonna. And I mean for like the next decade. Really.

HDYGTFAJ?

2009-03-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Guess who is pseudo employed?!
That's right friends, I was hired part-time at my internship :) And seriously, things have been awesome. Last week was West Week in LA which is a 2-day design extravaganza held at the PDC (MOCA's Pacific Design Center). Keeping with the spirit of the event Almont Yard (the courtyard of design companies/showrooms where I work) hosted a lovely little cocktail party. Had I consumed more than just 4 appetizers as my dinner for that evening I would have been able to enjoy a 2nd delicious blueberry lemonade cocktail :) But alas, the appetizers never really made it farther than 5 feet from the kitchen before being devoured.

But with most good news comes bad and unfortunately one of my best friends was layed off from her job this past weekend. I feel like her job was somehow sacrificed for the development of mine....even though we live in entirely different states and are in completely different lines of work. But ya know, its like the idea that with every death there is a birth somewhere else. Passing of torches really.

So since I am now employed and it's Monday, I found myself, believe it or not, driving to work today! I know, I'm like a real adult with a real adult job. Only, mine is technically part-time and most likely temporary :) As I was driving I noticed a Yoshinoya joint to my left and I got to thinking..... In these tough times, with all the companies that are failing, how the hell is Yoshinoya Beef Bowl staying in business?! Seriously. This is one restaurant that I can honestly say I have never eaten at nor do I know anyone who has actually ever eaten there. Unless of course this is one of Jamie's guilty pleasures, which it easily could be. Because Jamie is "Clashy", which is a term Timmy Q made up for her that explains how someone can be Classy and still like Trashy things. And I imagine that there are tons of Trashy things that my Classy friend likes and is probably hiding from me.

But we can't blame her for it. I mean we all have secrets right? For instance, I have admittedly horrible taste in candy. I love Jujyfruits. Awful, I know. But back to my point, Yoshinoya.....

I mean really, who would eat the below picture? It looks awful. Maybe Yoshinoya Beef Bowls are one of those weird things that pregnant women really crave or something and at any given time there are tons of knocked up females chowing down in the dinning room (if you can call it that) at your local Yoshinoya.... either way. Let's just leave it at that.

Mothership

2009-03-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

Man, it's been a while since I've written anything.

Recently, my Aunt passed away so my mom and I spend an entire 8 glorious days together in Austin, Texas. I know, 8 days, right? It could have been awful. I think the only thing that really saved me from wanting to kill myself or Lucile was the fact that we stayed with her friends the Hardwicks and therefore spent all of our time being chauffeured around by the lovely Linda. This solved the major issue I have with traveling with Lucile:

1. driving

Because for some reason my mother can't seem to handle driving rental cars or driving in any other city than Riverside, Ca (her current residence).

I mean, I must give the woman props. This past year she has really proven herself to be quite the hip lady. For a conservative, Texas-born woman she drives a Prius, started a compost pile in her backyard and voted for Obama. Not to mention she voted NO on Prop 8.

But seriously, I almost lost it the first two days we were driving around alone in TX. She ran through stop signs and then stopped when there were no stop signs. She yielded at greens lights and ran over at least 12 curbs. In her defense we were driving around in this bad boy:

but really, it was like she had never driven on anything other than a dirt road before.

Thankfully, for the rest of the week Linda drove us to all the hotspots:

1.We ate at Amy's Ice Cream:

2. I tried out Bird's Barbershop where I got a semi decent hair cut. I'll admit it was risky getting my hair cut at a place I have never been to before, in a town where I don't live, etc etc. But sometimes I get really impatient with the state of my hair and I can't even imagine waiting for an appointment with my reasonably priced, amazingly talented hairstylist Nicole (really, she usually gets me in the same week I call her but like I said I was in Texas for 8 days and I get impatient). I really should have learned my lesson by now about getting my hair done anywhere else other than Nicole for the following reasons:

a. I dyed my hair orange once. Stupid box color should be illegal
b. bangs are never a good idea to cut yourself
c. currently, the back of my hair looks like a weedwacker had at it (alright, that might be slightly dramatic)

But Birds Barbershop wasn't all that bad. It was very similar to Rudy's Barbershop we have here in LA except almost double the price (haircuts at Rudy's= $24; haircuts at Bird's= $37) and Bird's has beer on tap. For the record, I was sober during my haircut. But I had a nice chat with Nick my hairstylist, an adorable gay guy from Oregon.

3. SoCo. That's South Congress for all you Cal-i-fornians. There was adorable thrift stores and tons of boot shops. If you avoided the overpriced boutiques there were some pretty good finds. You could lose yourself for hours in the shop, Uncommon Objects. Its an amazing little thrift store thats seemingly organized by color/style/theme/era. It was downright dreamy. Had I not been unemployed and broke I might have bought something.

4. If you have ever read Dwell or Domino you will know that the architecture in Austin is the coolest of the cool. Green, sustainable condos/duplexes are poppin' up all across town. Makes you want to find a couple friend to share a duplex with.

R.I.P Inspiration

2009-01-30T18:26:00.000-08:00

Dear God, my favorite home magazine recently passed away. You will be missed, Domino.

Here is their sad little goodbye letter.

It's so sad because they were really the only home decor magazine that I connected with. Plus, they loved the Interior Decorating/Showroom where I am interning in WeHo (that's west hollywood in LA terms). So I am really going to miss them. Yes, they showcased things that I couldn't afford but at least it gave me inspiration!

On a lighter note. The Obama's announced their new Interior Decorator, Michael Smith!

I'd say more about it but I signed a confidentiality clause and I really shouldn't be blogging about my knowledge unless, of course, I want to be fired. I don't work for Michael Smith, let's just get that out there but I do work with people who know him and that's where things get juicy!

Bullseye

2009-01-28T17:04:00.001-08:00

I just returned from Target. That's right, Best. Store. Ever.

How did they know that I was in the market for some inexpensive jewelry? Well, okay so I wasn't really but it was a nice addition to my basket :)

Also, I picked up a Pet Hair Lint Brush, which I am pretty sure is no different from a regular lint brush except for the fact that the handle is shaped like a CAT! My day is complete.

Why does this look so familiar? Ah yes, because this is what my apartment looked like before I de-cat haired it. Except my boys are black. I mean like their fur color. ya know.

Excuse Me

2009-01-28T14:54:00.000-08:00

It's Wednesday. Which for the past three weeks has been my "Katie" Day. Because it's the day in between Tuesday and Thursday (duh) which are my two days at my internship (duh). And since I always work my ass off during those two demanding work days (duh) I generally allow myself to not stress about anything on Wednesdays. I try not to think about the fact that I still don't have a job. That I haven't even gotten a call back from any position I have applied for thus far (is my gmail working or what?!). That I want to move out (again) and find a two bedroom place with my friend Kelly. Or that I still haven't completed all the requirements to apply for FIDM. Heh.....heh.....oh god I'm stressed.

On a lighter note I ate delicious Indian Cuisine at Natraj on 2nd street in the LBC this afternoon. mmmmm....naan bread....garlic naan bread for that matter! It was awesome :)

I also stoppped by Art Supply Warehouse in Westminster for "discounted" art supplies and managed to blow 65 big ones on some silly watercolor supplies. "65 bucks?!" you yell at me questionably. I know! I'm unemployed! If I could just stop eating and driving then I would have plenty of money to jerk around with at the art store. Maybe I could put my cats on a diet and save some money there. Hmmm....

But I actually NEEDED the art supplies. You see, I have to complete three projects for submission with my FIDM application. So it was necessary since I plan on creating my patterns with watercolors because I don't know how to screen print and I figure that watercolors are the next best alternative for layering colors.

So now I am back at my apartment with a full belly and art supplies a' plenty but I just can't motivate myself to start on these application projects.

Maybe I should just re-paint my nails.

Shaping Our Future

2009-01-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

I recently volunteered at OCMA's Free 2nd Sunday of the Month Family Arts Day!!!! Sponsored by Target (my most favorite place on this earth). Here is a picture of me in action :) Just making kids smile. I think we were constructing a yellow colored meatball. Pretty sweet.

Check out my rad posture. Lucile would not be happy.

We're in Love can't you tell?

2009-01-19T19:02:00.001-08:00

Home Sweet Home

2009-01-19T18:27:00.000-08:00

You could easily say that I have never had a good living experience upon graduation from college. I take that statement back, what I should have said is that I have NEVER had a good living experience. Let's recap:

1)Dormlife
a) there was that one time where some psycho got into the "secured" dorms and wandered around on the 3rd floor knocking on doors and harassing girls. I was lucky enough to be at 'dorm alone' and proceeded to open my door for said psycho. When he asked me to borrow a pencil I idiotically turned my back and he entered my room where he shut the door behind him and locked it. Lucky for me my room shared a bathroom with our neighbors so I ran through the bathroom door to escape out of my suitemates front door. My friend Mari also naively opened her door and when she realized he was a crazy she slammed the door on him and he left her 3 loogies (how exaclty do you spell that word?) on her door. How romantic!
2) House Life
a) I swear to god we had a ghost. I ain't crazy so you must believe me that this is true. end of story.
3) Post Graduation
a) How would you like a super hero for a neighbor? Trust me. You don't.

This was my neighbor, I kid you not.

b) There was also that really creepy murder in my neighborhood where a guy dismemebered his drug dealer and then ate him. Once again, not a joke. The police also found left over body parts in the surrounding neighborhoods dumpsters. Yay!!

c) Then I lived with that family for about 3 months where I witnessed parental drug use and an incident that could have qualified as child abuse. Good times.

d) Well I think that leaves me with my current residence in beautiful Long Beach. A city that I would love if it weren't for the drug dealers that were squatting in my apartment before I moved in (unbeknownst to me) and then continued to return and try to break in after I had moved in. Oh and don't forget about the incident that happened yesterday where my neighbor (whom I have never seen before) flagged me down while I was driving through the alley (midday mind you) and then proceeded to throw a pack of cigarettes in my face once I rolled my window down. Thank you, kind sir.

Now that I have compiled my depressing list of stellar living situations I am left to wonder, What (if anything) should I be learning from all this?

Is the lesson to be learned here that I should NOT be living on my own? Maybe I need to buck up and be more aggressive or maybe just not talk to anyone ever again. I should probably just move home. Oh wait, my mother won't has forbidden it because one of my cats peed on her chair ONCE! Only one time! I mean, come on! Really mom? How many free wizzes are you going to allow Riley (our families shepard mix who weekly urinates on furniture)?

I love being an adult.

I live (near) here

2009-01-14T22:09:00.000-08:00

I recently went to the beach in San Pedro with Mike and we had an entire "photo" day. He brought back his parents old Canon film camera that is really close to the model I learned to take pictures with. Naturally, I taught him my genius.
He hasn't gotten his film developed yet but here are a few winners that I captured. Pay special attention to the one where Mike looks like he is about to say the "f" word :)

Will Work for Free

2009-01-13T22:48:00.000-08:00

Today was internship day #2. If you didn't already know, I am unemployed. Since my lay-off back in November I have been spending my time procrastinating, contemplating, having panic attacks, and generally getting very little accomplished that I should be doing. I have very much enjoyed most of my time off but the reality that my unemployment checks leave me with less than 50 bucks a week after all bills are paid is setting in and it's not going to work. So I acquired an internship with a Textile design company. I actually work in our West Hollywood showroom where, so far, I have been doing general office assisting. I expected it though, I mean, most internships require a moderate amount of bitch work. I applied for this position because I am thinking about going back to school to study Textile Design. I already have my BFA in Studio Art so this would be more of a certificate program and would only require a year of study. Anyway, I found this internship online and was offered the opportunity to work for FREE! Every little girls dream.

All cynicism aside I actually really enjoy my job so far. Okay, so day 1 I had to cut sale tags off furniture items and separate the little red ribbons from the twine ribbons that held the tags to the items. It took over an hour and I stabbed my fingers with safety pins regularly during the process. But really I like it! Alright, so day 2 (today) it took me over 4 hours to measure and label about 150 varying sized fabric leftovers. I swear, it's tons of fun!!!

Honestly, both tasks pretty much sucked but I did get to work with Seth today who is adorable (and gay because you can't really be straight and work in interior design) and we joked and laughed and he actually paid me back for the lunch that we all purchased today that somehow ended up on my credit card. You can imagine that I fell in love when he put that 10 dollar bill in my hand. To top it off, Seth is taking me on a warehouse adventure on Thursday (that will be my 3rd day of work) that he is calling our "warehouse date". He said we are going to fill his cooler up with beers and drive his prius all the way to Chino!!!!! Isn't it dreamy?!
I am actually very excited to check out the warehouses where they make the fabrics. And I always enjoy taking driving trips for work, you know get out of the office but still be "productive".

Things that I have learned at my internship so far:
a) pack your lunch or bring cash
b) wear comfy shoes. rope for flooring may look cool but after 7+ hours of standing on it you will wish you had cotton balls for shoes
c) always move your car at least 15 minutes before your meter runs out or else you will forget and get a ticket (like I did today)
d) if you hear loud, crazy, scary dog fights coming from outside just ignore it as if it weren't happening at all. everyone else in the office does. (aparently there is a doggie daycare in the neighborhood)

Here are some things I learned about my cats today:
1) If you leave a bra on the floor Wren will eat it (that asshole)
2) Sebastian can open the closet door. no problem. (he is a beast)

Just Be Gentle With Me

2009-01-07T22:38:00.000-08:00

I have, what some may call, an irrational fear of toilets. To me, it makes complete sense to be afraid of them or at least I don't find it strange that I have this fear. I may not be able to explain where this fear came from, although Lucile (mother) tells me a story about how I locked myself in the bathroom at Preschool when a toilet overflowed as the explanation, but I can tell you the rules or specifics of my fear. Here we go:

Well, first I would like to ask, "Why are you not afraid of toilets?". It makes perfect sense! You do very private and personal things on the toilet and heaven forbid someone invades that privacy; intentionally or accidentally. Or what if by some crazy act of god the toilet overflows and you are left with the embarrassment of cleaning it up or, even worse, having to ask for help from someone else to clean it up!! Really, think about it.
But in the mean time I will shed further light on my fear:

1. I prefer public toilets to private toilets. For obvious reasons, there is more anonymity in the public sector. You always have that chance of getting out without anyone seeing you and none being the wiser.

2. As far as public toilets go I would much rather visit the bathrooms that have enough stalls for say a cattle drive as opposed to the dreaded "onesies". You know the bathroom where you open the door and you have to pray to your savior that the lock works or else someone will be walking in on you. They also position the toilet at the exact point in the bathroom so that if anyone were to open the door they would get a perfect view of you and, well, you know. stuff.

3. If I am at a private home having to use a private bathroom I really appreciate some sort of ventilation fan to make some noise for privacy reasons. Otherwise, you can bet I will turn the faucet water on.

Did you know that until I was about 10 years old I made my best friends and family members flush the toilet for me? Its true. What a bunch of enablers I was surrounded by! But really, I was terrified of having a toilet overflow on me. And to this day if I am at a house where I haven't used the toilet yet I will usually discreetly ask a nearby confidant if they "trust" the toilets in that joint. I can 'hold it' pretty well too. Ya know, in case of emergencies. Another fun fact from my childhood: When my family moved into our new house when I was 6 Lucile took me aside and calmly introduced me to the new household toilets. I had 3 to choose from and she said that she had picked those toilets because they were special toilets that didn't ever overflow. I looked at her and said, "I don't have to go". I think I eventually peed in the bathtub that evening. My sister was most likely in the tub with me at that age, sucka. But really, special toilets? Nice try Lucile. I saw right through you and your lies!

On a similar topic, sometimes my cat Sebastian pees in the turtles living space just to be an asshole.

People let me tell you 'bout my best friend!

2008-12-28T23:35:00.000-08:00

Today I went to Rudy's Barbershop in Silverlake for an affordable and adorable haircut. I know its called a barbershop but its for boys and girls and seeing that I am a girl and subsequently fall into one of the two categories required to get your hairs cut I went! I had my hairs cut by an amazing gigantic black man named Bruce! I am quite possibly the whitest individual that god (assuming he exists) has ever created and not the largest of peoples so I imagined that we were quite the site to be seen in the barbershop. We talked about my usual hairstylist Nicole (who is A-mazing and if you need a new stylist in LA please let me know so I can reccommend her) who is on vacation and could not cut my hairs this particular time. We also talked about hair styling for celebrities (an aspiration of his) and textile designing (quite possibly the next venture for myself) and astrology (my favorite subject of our chat).

Turns out Bruce-y is a Taurus, which is the most compatible sign for a Virgo (me). He told me all about how he dated a Virgo once and he should have never let her go. You see, Virgos are very calm people and easy to get along with. Taurus' (shit, how do I pluralize a Taurus? Tauri? Tauruses? Tauruss? Beats me) are very creative and high strung and Virgos really balance them out. I once dated a Taurus but I didnt think we were that compatible.

My Bruce-y said he really gets along well with Virgos and Pisces. I find that interesting since Pisces are supposed to be polar opposites to Virgos. I also find it interesting that as a Virgo I have lots of Pisces friends. I seem to be least compatible with Capricorns. I find them to stubborn and hot headed.
No. Thank. You.

Now that you have heard all about my wonderful experience at Rudy's you should go get a haircut or read your horoscope whichever you prefer.

Here's a video of my cats in their first (and only) commercial when they were just wee baby boys.

I'll Take Bliss

2008-12-20T12:30:00.000-08:00

I recently decided to become a vegetarian and by vegetarian I mean I still eat fish. I've heard some people call this type of diet Pescatarian (that spelling could be incorrect) but lets not get silly folks. I'm just a fish eatin' veggie, no title necessary. Most people ask me why I became a vegetarian and to be honest it was one chicken meal I ate at work that made the difference(work, ha. Haven't done that in a while so obviously this epiphany happened while I was still employed which was over 2 month ago). I was just innocently eating this kung pao chicken dish that the chef had made (I used to work in event planning and we had in-house chefs/catering so we got free lunch everyday) and it felt weird and wrong. I realized that I have no idea how they kill and prepare this chicken and if I did know I would probably be really grossed out. So I stopped eating it along with all other meats excluding fish. But becoming a vegetarian wasn't too far of a stretch for me because I had been trying to make an effort to not eat red meat since I was about a junior in high school (I took my first environmental science class then). Do you know how much water is wasted in slaughter houses and feeding pastures? Its absurd.

Anyway, I'm not particularly preachy about my being a vegetarian, I don't feel that it is my duty to convert others to become meat free, it's simply my own personal choice and I'm understanding of the fact that you are allowed to make your own choices because otherwise how would I have been able to make this choice myself? Alright I am losing sight of my reason for this particular post.

Recently I was criticised for my decision to be a vegetarian. After asking me why I stopped eating meat this person went on to complain about people who think they are changing the meat industry by not eating meat. Apparently this person feels that a single individual's decision to become a vegetarian doesnt make a difference and wont be able to take demand for meat away. I agree that one person alone cannot shut down the meat industry but how else does this person believe that change is made? It always starts on the individual level. I would hate to hear this persons opinions on recycling or voting I mean JE-SUS! I may be slightly naive, I'll admit that I can get wrapped up in romantic ideas of changing the world but I hardly think that I would make a huge difference solely on my own so if my own personal decisions to not eat meat are apart of a greater whole that does not eat meat then thats success enough for me and I can feel good about that. What I can't feel good about it believing that I don't make a difference on any level and therefore my efforts don't matter. So event if my own life choices are NOT impactful please don't tell me. In this case I'd rather be ignorant.

Here are some articles on the meat industry I found to be interesting, keep in mind there are some old ones in the mix:
Rethinking the Meat NY Times article
CattleFutures? NY Times article
PowerSteer Another NY Times article. this is a long one but totally worth it. The story follows the life of a steer to the slaughter.
ModernMeat who doesnt enjoy PBS?

Love One, Love All

2008-12-19T12:26:00.000-08:00

Recently, I have seen a multitude of elderly lesbian ladies which has made me very excited. I am not, myself, a lesbian but for some reason I cant help but smile when I see these 50+ same sex couples. Maybe its because I have respect for the OG's of lesbos (is that PC??? not sure, so know that it was meant as a term of endearment). sidenote: if you don't know what OG means you can ask my mother, Lucile, because she learned the meaning not too long ago from one of her students and then called me to tell me her newly discovered slang term. I truly hope my mother uses the term when she finds it appropriate. Back to old lesbians; Maybe my excitement for my sightings came from the 'Support Obama' stickers I noticed on their cars (each sighting was experienced while driving) and I just feel some sort of a connection to anyone who shares my love for our Prez Elect. Its also possible that my heart goes out to all gay couples now that we learned that there are more Californians ignorant enough to deny basic civil rights than there are not. But maybe its not the fact that they are gay that makes me happy, maybe its the fact that they are old and still in a relationship that brightens my day. Because seriously, tell me the last time you saw an old couple hold hands or kiss that didnt make you smile?? For some reason our society assumes that after a certain age you are asexual. I mean, come on, I tried real hard to convince myself that my parents were void of any sexuality and I am sure I am not alone here.

Anyway, hooray for love! Lets hear it for all types of love! Romantic love, friendship love, family love, stranger love (it happens, right?), and of course love for yo' animals! especially the kitties! Because this life would be no where were it not for my own little hairballs.