Up in the Stock-TOWN.

I am currently in my hometown. I am sitting in the coffee shop that I used to hang out at with my high school friends. I don't order white chocolate mochas anymore- instead I'm sipping on a soy latte. I don't sit around gossiping with the gals anymore- instead I'm sitting in a corner, updating my blog:
The old hangout.

The rest of the trip has been pretty good so far. Check it out:

On I-5 we passed a bus that was converted by a hippie. You could tell because the driver had long hair and was rebelling against the structured, and tragically flawed education system by christening his ride the "Fool Bus."

My cousin's new shirt is cool. He got it as a present. Guess who gave it to him?!

About half of the family went bowling. The scores ranged from 14-150. High score belongs to Roznee, second from the left. She kinda owned.

The family is captivated by High School Musical.
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A group of high school kids just walked into the cafe and ordered a round of white chocolate mochas. It feels very appropriate.

More to come.

Mike wearing a flower.

Mike G. sent this picture into Cute Overload a while back. It actually got posted too!

It then inspired this picture.

Rawr!

I like the mac/pc ads.

I like that they match Apple in how very crisp, clean and to the point they are with content and intent. That, and I like that the hip, young guy they hired to represent hip, young Mac is best known for a role in which he is a nerd. And second best known for a role in which he is a big nerd.

However, I realized that I don't use any of the iLife features that are touted so prominently in these ads. I was neglecting the very things that apparently make Macs so young and hip. But, hey! I'm young and hip! I should totally be using these applications!

So I am teaching myself to use iMovie and stuff. I'll post results here as I try to prove that I'm still "with it." And "down with the times." And, um, well, you know. All the other jargon we tragically cool use.

...I'm a bigger nerd than Justin Long.

I'll stitch you!

I've been in a making mood. I bought myself yarn so that I could learn how to crochet. I bought a canvas and am painting some portraits. There are adhesives to stick pretty plates to my walls and paper crane folding for ceiling decoration.

This domesticity is starting to get to me. So it is appropriate that I take some joy from Subversive Cross Stich. My personal favorite:



A close second, but only because of my occupation:



A perfect gift for the whiny and disenchanted in the your life!

Before and afters.

I'm having a lot of fun with my new camera. I especially like the paint fuction. Here are some creations from earlier this week:
From normal....

To evil! And pissed about something. I think Lydia's irritated with the devil. Which is me.

From commonly...
To kingly! I have painted bling!

From same ol' Rubios salsa cup....
To potted Christmas tree!

From humbug...
To Santa-stic!

Straight up!

I love acoustic music. I love Paula Abdul. Straight up, this may be the coolest Paula cover I have ever heard. Oh, oh oh.

Gifts from Japan.

Eric got me some really cool gifts from Japan. I asked for lots of different pocky, and he delivered.

Chocolate mousse pocky. This is my favorite pocky that I can get in the states.

Milk and honey pocky. It's delicious.

Grape pocky. I haven't tried it yet, but I feel like this may be a miss.

I'm REALLY looking forward to eating this chocolate centered/chocolate coated pocky. In fact....

This was unexpectedly wonderful. It was earthy and sesame-y. Apparently it's a mix of 5 "black" flavors: black sesame, black rice, black bean, black pine seed, and black Chinese quince. I like the word quince- it'd be the name of the kid who gets picked on all the time on the playground but will grow up to become world famous and hot (you know, like Lenny Kravitz).

I don't think I like the decore line of pocky too much-it tastes like trans fats and coats the roof of my mouth. But it did taste very appley.

I'm looking forward to this one as much as I'm looking forward to asparagus toothpaste. ewww.

Like the black pocky, this pocky is made of five fruits: Peach, Apricot, Jujube Date , Ume, Chestnut. I'm not quite sure what Ume or Jujube are, but they sound DELICIOUS.

I HATE green tea. I'm looking to give this to someone. Any takers?

This isn't a pocky. Eric got this because it kinda looks like Chess with no arms. I think it's a mole rat of some kind. Anyone out there know?

Thanks Eric!

New Stuff, Old Stuff.

I got a nifty new digital camera. It's kind of ironic that I got it the same day I accidentally erased all the pictures I had stored on my laptop's hard drive. I'll be starting fresh, capturing new memories, etc, etc, etc.

I tested it out this weekend at my parent's house:

They have these ugly bobble head dog dolls with really scary eyes. Why? I don't know. These are also the people who owned a Talking Billy Bass. You know, the wall mounted fish that sang whenever someone set off its motion sensor. Yeah, they loved that thing.

The camera also has a touch screen, and came equipped with a stylus type toy that lets me decorate the pictures a la Microsoft Paint:



You can also stamp the picture with a set of icons included on the camera. For some reason the anime-style throbbing headache sign was included:



I wish I had gotten the camera earlier. One of the worst parts of losing all my pictures was losing the photos I had of Chess over the three years she was my friend. Here's a repost of my favorite picture of her, stolen from Spiffy:

Good bye Chess. May your hamster wheel always be spinning in that big tub in the sky.

The best hamster ever.

My hamster Chess died over Thanksgiving weekend. She looked very peaceful, like she fell asleep and forgot to wake up.

I tried to think of ways to send her off. She was a calming presence, a constant in the hullabullooo of the past three years. I used to spend many evenings reading and listening to her run in her tub. I wanted to do right by her. I thought maybe I could bury her in a park. Or maybe I could put her in a little boat and set fire to it as it drifted off, ancient nordic Viking style. The more I thought about making these decisions, the sadder I got. I remembered I once drove Chess to Stockton to meet my baby cousins, but they were so scared of her. My mom played with her the most, and fed her bits of melon when she thought I wasn't looking. I realized I couldn't bury her in a park, because there are laws in place preventing that. I don't have my own little yard to bury her. There are no rivers in Los Angeles in which to set her adrift, and the Pacific Ocean's currents won't let her travel very far. The more I got tangled in these details, the more I cried. I just couldn't deal with all the logistics; all I could picture are little paws and fluffy fur. Whenever I laid my hand flat in her tub, she'd crawl right into my palm and sit there expectantly, waiting to be put in her ball for her excercise.

In the end, I put her in a little box, and put her in the trash. It involved the least amount of thought possible, and I really didn't want to think anymore.

I wanted to do right by her. In the end, I couldn't.

No one should have to be practical after losing someone they love.

In my inbox, with the title "This is what I do at work."

Care of the lovely Christy S:
If the princesses ever had to unite to fight off an ultimate evil, I'd hope the final battle would look something like this.
This was inspired by the midget stenographer on the Chapelle Show.
Enlightenment can be found here. Yes, here, right below the right nipple.

Thank you, Mike G.

As promised:
I am unto a god.

I am unto a quirky symbol of the australian outback.

Update:
I am unto Gollum's Worst Nightmare.

Alex Kona Ice 4:11

Some LCC guys got together and made a video in twenty four hours for the Insomnia Film Festival. They are required to incorporate the above elements for the video to be eligible. People can vote for it. If they win, they get stuff!

VOTE FOR THIS VIDEO!

Look at me!

Janet was kind enough to take headshots of the cast for the fall show. Here are some of the digital shots from my session:

Man... that burrito looks so good.... I could go for a burrito right now.

Oh man, is that a burrito? For me?!?

Shhhh! I am NINJA!

Then we got bored, and started taking group pictures for the website:
Janet is being shunned. For being Canadian.

Scott is being gross. I am being grossed out. Janet and Simon are Neanderthals, and Kelvin really wants world peace.

Tis the season.

My co-worker told me about World Vision Gifts earlier this week. It's a non-profit organization that offers assistance to people who really need help. You can buy gifts for people in need through the organization. Some of the things that you can purchase:

A Wheelchair for $14.

An Alpaca for $360.

A Mongolian Ger for $1862.

I usually try to stay away from religiously affiliated charity organizations (because I'm sure they have an agenda), but the Christian-based World Vision Gifts has really impressed me with how PRACTICAL their gifts are. I did some research, and it doesn't look like a scam either. So, come on guys, check out the catalogue. Think about buying a share of a deep well ($100, $18000 for the whole well). If you know of any cool charities like this, let me know.

Our Tenth Anniversary
Quotes from this weekend:
-Eric: "You know, now that I've met your high school friends, I kinda get why you are the way you are."

-Kimmie: "We can't say bad words at Disneyland. Maybe when we feel it coming we can say something else... like Harry S Truman." (note: Nearly 100 Trumans total by the end of the night)

-Princess Belle: "Do you want to stand for our picture?"
Liz: "Mmmff."
Princess Belle: "Do you want me to sit next to you?"
Liz:"Mmmmf!!"
Christy:"Oh..Yup, she's gone mute."

-Disney Cast member: "Happy Birthday!"
All four of us: "Thank you!"


More pictures and stories to come.
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There's an LCC Show this Friday and Saturday at 7:30 in Northwest Auditorium at UCLA. If you'd like to go, let me know and I'll put you on the guestlist. You can see the theatrical debut of my new bed. Yes, yes, my bed will be onstage for a scene. Sigh. The things I do for this group.

Looking up.

I HAVE A BED.
I spent four years on futons, sleeping pallets, pull out couches. Using my first UCLA employee paycheck to buy a bed was probably the smartest thing I ever did for myself.

MY GIRLS ARE IN TOWN.
Liz, Christy, Carol and I spent all last night reminiscing about old stuff and speculating about the new. We spent today making all sorts of new stuff to reminisce about later. For example, I will from now on out remember our time fondly anytime I hear a racial slur.

I WILL BE GOING TO DISNEYLAND WITH MY GIRLS.
The best part of this, besides having a chick lunch with the princesses is renewing my Annual Passport. Twelve more months of enjoying the happiest place on earth at my leisure.

...BEST NOVEMBER EVER.

Clap hands!

People have taken to calling me folksy. I dunno why, maybe it's the peasant skirts, or the banjo ringtone, or the butter churning I do on Saturdays. Anyways, this new Beck song appeals to me. It's got that folksy charm. And fork percussion! And puppets!

I want to ride the dinosaur.

I hope to all that's holy that is will be the way we all go:

Season's Eatings

This, my good friends, is a turducken. Even Dr. Frankenstein wouldn't dare to defy God by assembling this mutant abomination. Not even Swedish scientists cloning baby parts by the dozen using embryonic stem cells would flout Nature by creating such a cursed and miserable creature. Good thing we Americans have the Cajuns! And for that, I will be thankful.

Naturally.

Some people are naturally good friends. They give off a warm, "call-me-anytime, do-you-need-a-shoulder-to-cry-on, mi-casa-es-su-casa" vibe. These people smile and you just know in your gut that everything will turn out alright, no matter what happens. A hug from a naturally good friend will do more good than thousands of dollars in therapy fees. These people are sweeter than pure cane sugar.

I am not a good friend.

I will forget to call you back. I won't reply to your emails for weeks. If you IM me while I'm away, I will not reply "What's up?" three hours later. I will make plans with you and flake. I will say I'm busy when you ask me to lunch and will instead do nothing but lay in bed rereading old paperbacks. I'm naturally solitary.

I borrow your clothes without asking. I eat your food without replacing it. I bend the pages of your books to mark my place. I forget to pay you the ten bucks you're owed. I keep your DVD for months before returning it to you. I covet your possessions. I see no point in saying please and I will forget to say thank you. I'm naturally selfish.

I have people in my life who are naturally good friends. I learn from them. It's hard, but I am trying. I make mistakes and they forgive me and help me get better, as naturally good friends tend to do. One day, I may be the Splenda of friends. Not all natural, but derived from the best, the purest. A substitute for the real thing.

Splenda tries too hard. The texture is all wrong, and so is the color, so it's twice as sweet to make up the difference. Instead of being more like the real thing, these extra efforts do nothing but make the differences more apparent. Sometimes I think I do the same. But, as some are willing to accept Splenda, so I hope others will come to accept me.

Obvious saccharine sweetness and all.