For an explanation regarding my lack of posting click link below:

www.starvingthearts.wordpress.com

Header

So somewhere in my absence from blogger by header has decided to jack itself up. I will work on this. At some point...

Perhaps I just need to switch back to a custom theme and stop trying to be fancy.

Oh Amazon you know me so well

Amazon sends me emails where they suggest things I might be interested in. The email below speaks perfectly to where I am right now.

Good job Amazon.

I can see you are not impressed

I think I might be psychic, ok, maybe they are more like premonitions. I had been having a feeling for awhile that something was going to go wrong with my car this past week. Though I suppose you can't consider it supernatural when I've ignored 3 (maybe 4) issues that I knew needed attention for awhile, some might say it was just a matter of time and not due to any special skills I may possess, I'm still gonna tell people I'm a little bit psych though.

Anyway, so Thursday morning I make my way to my car, unbeknownst to me however my car had spent the night thinking of ways to sabotage me, and it came up with a perfect plan. I put the key in the ignition and turn - that's when I hear the telltale click-click-click, which is basically your car saying fuck you in rapid repetition. "Fine", I say to myself/car, "I'll get to work on my own", which I do (that part is not really entertaining so I'm gonna skip it). I spend most the of the day thinking about how I need to make arrangements with AAA and discussing the possible benefits of offering to get a little naked while the dude is fixing my car (just kidding! just kidding! I would never do that...).

Fast forward to 6:30pm - I am sitting on my steps awaiting my saviour/Armenian mechanic from AAA. He arrives and I lead him into my parking garage where my wayward car has been sitting in timeout all day. I fill out some paper work and pop the hood. He (I'm bad with names so let's just call him Armin, I remember it started with an 'a'), so Armin takes one look at my battery and says 'Jesus, well there is no doubt the battery is dead', it is totally corroded, which I have known about, me "yeah, I've known it needed to be replaced for awhile, oops", Armin just glares, he clearly does not take battery maintenance lightly. "How old is this battery?" he asks, "Well, I've had the car for 3 years, but before that I'm not sure", Armin responds with a disapproving "I see". He pulls the battery out, scrapes off some corrosion so he can check the date, "this battery is 7 years old", me "wow really!". Now I'm kinda impressed with my battery's ability to really stick it out, I feel I really got my monies worth. Armin, "You know batteries are only supposed to last 3-4 years", "yeah, I've heard that. I'm pretty impressed", Armin does not respond but gives me a look that lets me know he does not share my sentiment. Some people just don't appreciated things that are built to last.

I pay (let's not even go there), fill out more forms, get a number of additional disapproving looks from Armin and then he is off and my car is back to running again. I realize I am not a good car owner, though I do think I have a bit more knowledge then some about the workings of a car (thanks to a father who was always fixing the family cars), I just don't like cars (don't worry my car won't be reading this, he does not know how to use the internet). I hate pouring money into them, I hate that they break and leave me stranded, I hate that in LA I'm suppose to care that my car is dirty and over a decade old. I am not one who understands the joy of car ownership and for that reason I often, knowingly, neglect my car. Sure, if I had a lot of money I bet he would be in tip top shape but when I have to choose between car upkeep and, hell anything else, I'm probably not going to choose my car, that is until it won't start, then I'm all over it.

My morning in pictures

What do you do...

...when you have a blog you don't write in as often as you would like, a blog you often feel you neglect? Well you start another one...of course!

That's right loyal fans I have started a new blog (on wordpress, shh, don't let blogger know..)! You might be asking yourself, 'Two blogs, really? Is that necessary?' To which I would say, this new blog has a different focus, so yes, really two blogs are needed. Now no one worry, I will be keeping up with both blogs (well, as least as well as I keep up with this one as is) so there is no reason to fear.

Check it out!

Stepping into the modern age...

I have a fancy new phone. It goes on the internet. It's a touch screen. It has apps.

I've decided to view this purchase as a step towards further adulthood; though I'm not really sure how a phone that lets me pass away the hours by watching videos and playing games is going to make me more of an adult. Though so far it has made getting places easier. I've yet to judge it's lasting effects on my ability to get lost - I think that might be something that no piece of technology will ever overcome.

So far I think it's pretty cool.

And people say we don't need affirmative action anymore

While looking into schools (more on that later) I came across the following statistics regarding this particular schools student population:

Students of Color

Undergraduates

• African-American: 3%
• Asian-American: 15%
• Latino/a: 9%
• International: 4%

Graduate students

• African-American: 8%
• Asian-American: 9%
• Latino/a: 11%
• International: 16%

While I've always felt people who claimed that minorities were given too much 'special treatment' were delusional, I was still surprised at these stats. We have a lot further to go to bring up those numbers. While I have never been one to stop at just statistics, I think putting faces to numbers is more important, sometimes the cold hard percentages are necessary to show where we are, and remind us where we should be.

Reasons why I don't belong in corporate america...

+ I'm not rich (or on the path to becoming so).

+ I'm more concerned about the trees you are killing with all the (useless) reports you are printing than the money they could make you (this is probably the reason I am not on the path to becoming wealthy).

+ I think there are more important things in the world than getting you airline miles for the flight I booked you. And I refuse indulge your concern over them.

+ I am a hippie

+ Cliche business phrases (behind the 8-ball, the ball is in your court, we really need to buckle down, lets think big picture) make me laugh...out loud.

+ Pretending to be nice to important people leads me to drink.

+ Making significantly less than people who don't know how to use a copy machines leads me to drink more.

+ I don't own stock. And I don't have a problem with that.


I don't want to entirely give the impression that all things that are inherent in corporate america are bad. They are just not for me. While I strive to have enough money to pay all my bills and have some for fun, money will never be a number one priority for me, other elements of a successful life are more what I measure myself by. So to each his own I suppose - I just need to keep working on that life plan.

NASCAR's Secret

Scene: I am at the gas station, getting gas. My car is very dirty (this is often the case).

Random guy with Nascar shirt: Hello there, I'd like to share with you Nascar's secret for cleaning your car. Please, allow me to give you a free demo of this product.

Me: ::kinda nod ok::

Guy: ::Sprays window with magical cleaning product:: See how it quickly removes the dirt. Is that tree sap?

Me: yeah, I think so.

Guy: ::cleaning window:: So I'm assuming you park your car outside.

Me: ::impatiently waiting for gas to pump:: Yeah.

Guy: See look how clean that looks and it's smudge proof. ::runs fingers over window:: Now we can move onto the door. You just spray a little foam here and rub. ::rubbing at door - not much dirt is coming off:: Well when you car is extra dirty like this you need a little more. ::sprays more foam - keeps rubbing::

Me: ::really wondering what the hell is taking this gas so long to pump:: Yeah, sorry, it's been awhile since I had a car wash.

Guy: I can see that. It's really dirty.

Me: ::sweet jesus it's finished pumping:: Yeah.

Guy: It also takes out scratches ::starts to spray magic foam on a few little scratches:: You know if you leave all this dirt on here for long it will start to eat away at the clear coat and then the paint.

Me: :: moving closer to the drivers side door but the guy is blocking my way:: Yeah, I've heard that before.

Guy: ::getting the hint:: As I said this is a nascar secret and it normally goes for $25 a can but today we will throw in an additional can for...

Me: That's very interesting but it's not really something I'm interested in. ::moving closer to car door::

Guy: ::knowing this must have been inevitable:: Well, thanks for your time.

Me: Thank you ::get in car and shut door::

Frankly, I think his first mistake was approaching the girl with by far the dirtiest car in the place - maybe he was trying to prove a point. He wanted a challenge. But clearly if I don't pay $10 for someone else to wash my car I'm not gonna pay $25 for some foam that I have to use myself.

"Dear John, you have pushed me too far."

This weekend I realized I have to make a change. I have let myself get out of control and it's not ok. I need to stop watching TV. Now.

The event that brought this harsh reality to light was not technically speaking tv, as it was a movie but it fell into the same general category of most things I watch on tv - being that is was something I did not actually have any desire to see. I think it was the shear stupidity and shameful time wasting that really caused me to see what I had allowed to happen. It's easy to waste an hour here and 30 minutes there watching some stupid show because you are too lazy to get up and do anything productive but on Saturday night I sent two hours watching 'Dear John'. That shit is not acceptable. Not only was it a horrible movie (shocker), I knew it was going to be a horrible movie and I watched it anyway. I somehow convinced myself that that was an ok use of two hours of my life. This needs to stop.

So, I have decided that I need to set a limit on my weekly television time - I feel like I'm eight. But it needs to happen. I have mental list on top of mental list of things I should be doing with my time and somehow I end up just watching tv / equally bad movies. No More. Starting today, Monday, I am going to limit myself to 4 hours of frivolous tv watching a week. I don't include in this movies I actually want to watch that are on my netflix - though the time I spend a month actually watching these is usually minimal. This number is just a starting point and I may lower it after time if it seems like still too much.

Hopefully this will get me started on my mental to-do lists.

Update (and original story)

I realized I never posted this story from last month. It involves crazy neighbor featured in the iphone incident. Below is the letter I gave to our building manager. Enjoy!



May 12th, 2010


To the building manager of xxxx Woodman Ave:


I wanted to make you aware of an incident that occurred the morning of May 12th. At 1am my roommate, Sherri, woke me up to let me know that the woman who lives in unit xxx was out in the hallway screaming and crying for someone to help her. My roommate informed me that this had been going on for awhile and that she had earlier pounded on our door. At this point I went out into the hallway to see what the issue might be. I found the woman very intoxicated and incoherent. She was yelling that her boyfriend had stolen her jewelry and that we needed to call the police. At this point Sherri was placing a call to 911 as the woman was hysterical and showed no signs of calming down. While I was speaking with her she feel over and continued to scream. I informed her that my roommate had called the police and that they would be coming to talk to her, she continued to talk about how we had to do something to help her. She then got back up and went into her apartment. I continued to hear the sounds of her screaming along with banging and crashing noises.
About 15 minutes later the police arrived at the building – they walked up to her unit as she was yelling something to the affect of “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you, just tell me what you did”. At this point I was not aware if her boyfriend might have still been in the apartment and as I had heard some very heated arguments between them my fear was that the situation might get violent. We spoke briefly with the officers letting them know what we knew of the situation while they attempted to gain access to her apartment. At one point she opened the door but must have had a knife in her hands as the officers had their weapons out and were yelling at her to put down the knife. At this point Sherri and I returned to our apartment. Approximately 30 minutes later an office returned to let us know that while she was very drunk there was nothing they could do as she was inside her apartment, her boyfriend was not there and they did not think she was a threat to herself. She had informed them that her boyfriend has left her and that that was the cause of her emotional state. The officers told her numerous times that she needed to be quiet or that they might have to remove her from the building. She had not however quieted down and I continued to hear her loudly yelling. After about another 30 minutes, and the arrival of an EMT unit we could see that the officers did end up removing her from the building. I’m not sure the outcome after this point as the officers left the building.

I felt it was important, if you did not already know, that the management be informed of this situation.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need more information regarding the incident.


Jane & Sherri


Unit xxx



I never heard anything from management after this. I saw the neighbor on occasion, though I tried to avoid her as I was not looking forward to that awkward, hey I called the cops on you, elevator conversation. She seemed to have quieted down - for the time being - so I kinda forgot about her.

UPDATE

Crazy neighbor has moved out. I'm not sure if this was voluntary or if my management company took some action but when I got back from the long weekend (more on this later) yesterday her apartment had a for rent sign on it.

I wish you well crazy neighbor - from what I've seen of your life you are going to need it.

All in a days work

While doing some online research for a work project I stumbled upon this, which lead me to this full article. It has been a relatively slow day at work so I have spent the last 20 minutes trying to figure out if these are a joke. I'm pretty sure they are not. The first link was found on a Family Office site, considering all they do is manage rich peoples money, I'm guessing they are not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Also, I'm pretty sure the guy who wrote it is doing ok for himself. And based on the fact that the second article was on the Wall Street Journal I can just imagine a bunch of old, fat, white, rich guys having a good chuckle about the girlfriends bit.

Ugh, now I feel a little sick.

just pull over!

Last weekend I was driving down the 405 to visit a friend when I started to notice lots of leaves and small branches on the road. It was then that I noticed the SUV about 3 cars ahead of me in the right lane with a small tree stuck under it. Now you might think I am exaggerating, as this is sometimes something I am prone to do, but this time that is an accurate statement. I have actually seen trees small than what this car was now dragging all over the freeway. While it was thoroughly stuck underneath its shear size caused it to kinda stick out the sides. Now any logical person would realize that this was an issue that they would need to address right away (well actually any sane person would do something to avoid getting a tree stuck under their car in the first place) but the driver of this vehicle seemed entirely unaware of what was going on. I don't know if it's the fact that I drive a small car, a car that would easily have been taking out by the likes of that giant branch, or the fact that I can't stand the deafening sound of dragging something that large under my car but I started yelling 'pull over, pull over, just pull over!', to no one in particular, when I realized this car had no intentions of doing anything of the sort. On the contrary actually, the SUV began changing lanes, often. Now remember I said that the debris in the road is what made me notice this in the first place well that was nothing compared to what started shooting out from the car while they were busy merging. So now the freeway is being carped in leaves, small branches and some sort of red flower that was attached to the slowly shrinking tree. At this point the whole thing is getting absurd and I'm getting more annoyed (partly because the 'small' branches that are coming off are actually big enough to get trapped under my car, and I'm not having that), at this point I have resorted to vulgarity, 'pull the fuck over you fucking idiot' I am now yelling, again to no one, but now I have the feeling I'm not alone as there are probably a few of my fellow drivers yelling something similar. We pass exits and the car makes no moves to pull over, I contemplate pulling along side them and angrily motioning to the tree, I abandon this idea when I realize it would involve me going into the eye of the storm that is the flying debris. Finally, the car goes to exit (though I'm sure not because of the tree but simply because this was their intended exit all a long) as I drive by the car waiting to exit I see that the tree was actually larger than I had thought, it spans almost the whole length of the SUV. I think to myself 'I hope it fucked up something in your car', I know that might seem a little harsh but I'm pretty sure they deserved it.

New Plan

So, clearly I have been a blogging failure lately. As I mentioned awhile back my work situations has changed and I have limited free time to mess around on the internet these days. Whereas in my previous position I was able to spend hours on the internet, that is no longer the truth. So in light of this I have decided to amend my post every day resolution to a post once a week one. I think this will be more feasible.

Maybe...

hehe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVV6oCwf0-8&feature=channel

Hi Internet,

It's me, Jane. I miss you. I feel like I never get to see you anymore. I never thought I would feel this way. We used to be so close but now I feel like I have to sneak off and see you.

I hope sometime soon we can get back to normal.

Love,

Jane

Stoners are confusing

About 3 or so months ago a girl (probably in her late 20's) moved into a vacant apartment on my floor, also about 3 months ago my floor started reeking of weed. Being a fairly logical person, I put two and two together. Now I'm not bothered by the smell and it was not getting into my apartment so I'm indifferent for the most part, though I am boggled by her ability to make the entire floor smell like you are trapped in a small room with 20 Bob Marley fans but that's besides the point. The few interactions I have had with this woman have always been fine and she seemed like a generally normal person. However, as my roommate had witnessed a pretty intense fight between her and her boyfriend/drug dealer (perhaps both) I knew she has some shit going on. Also helpful in understanding the encounter I'm about to describe you should know that she is eastern European and has a somewhat heavy accent.



Friday night, at about 10pm I am home, as is my roommate; we are sitting watching tv. Someone rings the buzzer.


Sherri: Don't answer it.
Me: (after giving it a moment of thought) I should see who it is.

I open the door and pause. The girl is standing there, now when I say she looks a hot mess I am being kind. Her eyes are blood red, puffy and she smells like a joint (not like she has been smoking one, which she has, but literally like a joint). Though I'm sure with a lot of work and a lot of weed someone could get to that place aesthetically, it seemed to me that she had also been crying. In one hand she holds an iphone that has the USB adaptor cable plugged into it and in the other she holds the wall outlet plug.




Now for anyone not familiar with apple products, I will provide a brief tutorial. Most apple products come with a USB cable that is used to both, plug the devise into your computer and into the power adaptor that plugs into your wall. See photo below. When new, the USB end of this cable has a plastic protector over it, which needs to be removed before the cable can be plugged into your computer or the power adaptor.

Now that we are all up to speed, I will continue. So my high neighbor is standing there holding these pieces and looking very, very confused. Finally, she says in somewhat broken english that her phone is about to die, she is waiting for her boyfriend to call her and she can't figure this out. She kinda pushes the phone in my direction, which I interpret as high speak for, "help!". I take the wall power adaptor and the end of the USB cord, remove the plastic cover thing and plug it into the wall adaptor. While this is happening her bf calls, she answers the phone and is explaining the situation to him in hurried, frantic sentences. I hand the power adaptor back to her saying that it's all set, and make a gesturing motion to show that she now has to plug it into the wall (you would think that this part would be self explanatory but at this point I'm not taking any chances). She takes it from me, looks at it, and realizes with joy that the problem has been solved. She then grabs me and pulls me in for a big hug and kisses me on the cheek. Then she is off, back to her apartment while still talking to the boyfriend/drug dealer in a manor I would not consider normal. Right...

We all know that when people are high they can become paranoid (as well as idiots as we have seen) and while that could be all that is at play here I don't think it is normal, even for the phenomenally stoned, to be so upset that they might miss a phone call from their boyfriend as to cry and then proceed to a neighbor to ask them how to plug in their phone. I could be blowing all of this out of proportion but this relationship seems less than healthy. I will put up with the constant aroma of pot and even the crazy, stoned neighbor coming over to ask me to perform simple tasks for them but so help me if this shit turns into domestic violence I will be on the phone with the cops so fast.

Bottom line. Weed = I'm ok with it. Domestic violence = oh, fuck no.

ch-ch-ch-changes

Due to a change in my work situation (nothing bad) my online time at work has been drastically reduced. And as online, at work, is where I usually write these enchanting little snippets of my life, I would like to forewarn readers that my posting might become a little more sporadic for the time being. Until I work out a new schedule to get in my internet time that is.

the gym again...

The gym may be many things but it is not a sports bar. While I will judge you silently when you flex in front of the mirror, I will stare openly at you when you sit down on a bike in front of a tv showing a baseball game and yell loudly, curse and throw your hands in the air when your team does poorly. This is just not acceptable behavior - even for the gym. I am not generally bothered by rowdy responses to sporting events when I am at, say a bar. But when I'm trying to get into my workout and you are sitting 4 feet away from me yelling obscenities at the television like we are in your living room, I find this odd and inappropriate. So yes, I will keep casting judging looks in your direction until you shut the hell up.

Food, INC

Ok, so get ready to get depressed. I watched Food, INC tonight. Though it was basically what I was expecting and have heard a lot of the same points in the past it still managed to leave me very discouraged and angry. And because I am a caring person and only want to give, I thought I would share some of the points I found most disturbing so as people reading this can share in my feelings of fear and disgust.

• The average American eats 200lbs of meat per year.
• In 1970 the 4 largest meat companies purchased 25% of the beef, now they purchase 90%.
• In 1972 there were 50,000 food inspections conducted by the FDA. In 2006 there were just 9,164.
• 1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes.
  
• 1.5 million Mexican farmers were put out of business when America flooded the Mexican market with cheap American corn. These farmers were then bused into the US to work for very low wages in slaughter houses and as day laborers.
  
• Smithfields (the worlds largest slaughter house) allows 15 of the illegal immigrants it employees to be arrested each day so that the immigration and border control offices will allow them to continue to employee illegal Mexican immigrants. And since they employee so any people their business is unaffected by the loss of 15 employees.
• And lastly Kashi is now owned by Kellogg's and Tom's of Maine was purchased by Colgate...

If only people (including myself) could effectively channel that depression and anger into something productive we might actually be able to do something about those statistics.

math + me = :(

All I have done is briefly look at practice GRE tests online and I'm already having nightmares about the math. I literally had a bad dream about the math section of the GRE, after which I woke up very stressed and sure of all future failure. So, I have calmed down a little since then but I have not yet been able to bring myself to actually do the practice test that I printed out.

This is going to be intersting.

Alright LA fitness tonight you shall not win, tonight you shall not get the better of me. Though I suppose it's my laziness that gets the better of me since whenever I go to the gym it's not that bad.

My goal is to someday not need to spend the entire day talking myself into the gym. Perhaps that's asking too much though. Alright off to make this dream a reality.

{meow}

My roommates cats are plotting my death. When Sherri is out of town they spend their nights thinking of ways to off me. This is nothing new, every time she goes out of town I end up leaving my door open so they won't cry. At first I thought that this was because they wanted to be near me or were used to sleeping with someone around. I realize now it's so they can enact their various plans of attack. Last night was my first night alone with them in awhile and they attempted to kill me with sleep deprivation. They alternated walked over my legs all night, meowing randomly around my room (and trust me they are loud), jumping up on my window sill while knocking as much stuff over as possible, along with sleeping by my face in such a way that their tails flicked my face every few second.

Now we all know cats are prone to such behavior just to entertain themselves, I however know they are doing this in the pursuit of my death because every once and awhile I would look up and see one of them watching me. Just sitting there staring at me, perhaps watching to see if I was still breathing. This morning when they realized I had made it through the night I could see them hatching a new plan for tonight. I wonder what it will be, my bet is on suffocation.

hehe

From Jezebel: "Free People: For March, The Ugliest Shoes & Clothes to Match"

Wholefoods

People in Wholefoods are crazy. This is not necessarily a new discovery but it is affirmed anew almost every time I go. Despite the fact that I have told myself I should never go there (I always spend way to much money on some delicious looking item) I inevitably end up there a few times a month, usually picking up something small, as they are on my way home from work. On this evening in question I decided I wanted beer; I debated my options, convenience store near my house - fine, but I feel I might be reaching the limit that I can go there alone to just buy beer, liquor store across the street - I don't care what they think but the guy who runs it is super sketch, wholefoods - awesome, but I hesitated for above stated reasons. At the last minute I gave in to my lesser instincts and drove myself to wholefoods. I quickly rationalized this choice by saying that I would also buy avocados for my lunch tomorrow. So, in the store I realize I can't just buy beer and avocados without seeming insane, clearly I spend too much time thinking about what checkout people will think of my purchases, so I add rolls to the list.

With a somewhat respectable shopping list I start navigating the store. This is difficult for many reasons. One this store is small, but the main reason is that this particular store (perhaps most in LA are this way), is always filled with botoxed, xanax popping, los angeles housewives who wander the aisles arbitrarily pushing their carts into peoples way (and bodies) all while searching for some organic, low-fat, sugar free, gluten free frozen yogurt that is now a staple item in the new diet they are on this week. Add in the few hippies that are left in the valley and you have yourself a mess. Also, I can say with a good amount of certainty that I have heard more people talk to themselves here than anywhere else on earth. Example: while leaving I walked past a woman, she appeared very normal, pushing a shopping cart into the store, as I walked past her she said something to the effect of "oh yes, that's right" I looked for a bluetooth as that is often a reason that I prematurely cast people as crazy - nothing, I looked closer as these thing can be pretty tiny, nope - bitch was just crazy. This was confirmed as I heard her mumble off things while walking into the store.

Moral of this story is that Wholefoods seems to be the gathering place of highly functional crazy people, who most likely are reasonably well off (gluten free frozen yogurt does not come cheap my friends). Though writing this article has made me realize that I should not really be judging given the neurotic beginnings that brought me to Wholefoods tonight.

pics

I updated my flickr...check it.

wow...

On my way home from work I usually listen to Fresh Air, the NPR program hosted by Terry Gross, earlier this week I caught part of her interview with Karl Rove. I knew when I heard that Rove was going to be her guest that it was gonna get interesting, I did not anticipate me spending much of my commute yelling and gesturing angrily at my car radio (though to be honest I guess I should have). As my drive home is usually only about 20 minutes I did not get to listen to the end and as I am apparently a gluten for punishment (and high blood pressure) I went online and found a transcipt so I could see what I had missed. I have linked the transcipt and the recorded version for your reading/listening pleasure. I realize it's long and rage inducing but if you have any desire to listen to the voice of complete deception check it out!

For those not interested in reading the whole thing I have kindly supplied you with some of my favorite bits:

GROSS: Michael Isikoff, in April of 2001, described George W. Bush as the least experienced presidential nominee of modern times. He says it was Rove who shaped the agenda, message and strategy that got Bush, the least experienced presidential nominee of modern times, into the White House. Do you agree that he was the least experienced presidential nominee of modern times? And if you agree, was that a plus for you?

Mr. ROVE: I don't agree. Jimmy Carter had served one term as governor of Georgia. George W. Bush at least was in his second term when he ran. George W. Bush had run a baseball club. He'd been in the oil business. He put together big deals. He'd been part of his father's presidential campaign. He had knowledge of politics that was pretty good.
And look, he certainly had more political experience than a, you know, Democrat state senator from Illinois who was in the middle of his first term for the United States Senate. I mean, Bush had run a big state. He was the governor of the second most populous state in the union.

...

Mr. ROVE: Bush contrived the agenda. In fact, I talked about this in the book. This is what was so attractive of him as a candidate. He had a clear understanding of why he wanted to run. He wanted to reform education. He wanted to reform the juvenile justice system. He wanted to reform welfare. He had thought, over the years, about ways in which he could do it. The number issue for him was education, and how do you have an accountability system that sets goals and standards and holds schools to account for failure.

...

GROSS: Let me read something that Todd Purdum wrote in Vanity Fair in December of 2006. He described an approach of campaigning that always found villains -gays, unions, trial lawyers, liberals, elitists, terrorists - and that candidates could both use this to crack the electorate at a vulnerable spot and to define themselves in sharp relief.
Do you feel like that's what you did, that you found villains that you could use in campaigns: gays, unions, trial lawyers, liberals, elitists, terrorists?

Mr. ROVE: Yeah, he ends the article by saying splitter - Rove is the splitter, and splitters never win. Well, he may be right that splitters never win, but I won. So what does that say about Todd Purdum's underlying argument?

...

GROSS: One of your goals, I think - particularly in the 2004 election - was to mobilize the evangelical vote, to mobilize the Christian right. And one of their...

Mr. ROVE: I'd say evangelicals. I disagree with your idea that there is a Christian right. In fact, the point I make in the book - which, you know, I hope people will read in its entirety - is that the view of evangelicals as a highly political, highly motivated, philosophically conservative, you know, with a well-organized, coherent framework to approach politics is wrong.

...

Mr. ROVE: You know what? You got a good quote there from Cheney, but I could give you quotes from Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bob Graham, John Kerry, John Edwards, Jay Rockefeller, even Ted Kennedy, who opposed the use of war - the authorization of the use of force resolution, nonetheless went out a couple of days later and said Saddam has weapons of mass destruction.
You know, Barbara Boxer, who opposed it, said Saddam has WMD. This was a widespread consensus that was believed by a lot of people. In fact, of the 110 Democrats who vote for the war resolution, I think it is 60 or 76 of them - 67 of them stand up on the floor of the House or Senate and say, Saddam has WMD. So this is a widespread consensus by opponents of the war and by supporters.

GROSS: That consensus was based on information provided by the Bush administration about weapons of mass destruction.

Mr. ROVE: No, that's incorrect.


I could go on but I won't. The most striking thing to me is the ease in which Karl Rove lies. And though you could argue that George Bush was an idiot or somewhat delusional and actually believed what he was doing was right and in the best interest of the most people I don't for a minute feel that way about Rove. He is a very smart man and an astute politician, he knew exactly what he was doing. To go back to the quote "Rove is the splitter, and splitters never win. Well, he may be right that splitters never win, but I won. So what does that say about Todd Purdum's underlying argument?". I think the question is what does that say about America because we did let Rove win.

Irish Soda Bread: The quest continues

It would seem that for most of my life I took this food item for granted. Delicious Irish Soda bread was available in most any store around St. Patrick's day and served at all local St. Patty's day dinners. Though I'm sure the recipes varied slightly from one to the other, it followed a general set of rules; not to dense not too airy, a little sweet but just barely, raisins, baking soda, caraway seeds (this is optional), delicious (this is not). Ok, so I admit that I have never actually made Irish Soda bread (I did not need to seeing how available it was) but I do have a good sense of what it should taste like. LA, however, has no idea. This is the third St. Patrick's day in a row that I have attempted to find something comparable to what I have had on the east coast and this is the third year where I have failed.

The first yeah I ended up getting a loaf from Ralphs, a large chain grocery store. I knew it was not going to be right from appearance alone, not at all crusty enough and covered in granulated sugar (?!?!). When I got it home and tried it I knew I had made a mistake. This was almost nothing like what I know Irish Soda bread to be. It was very soft and airy, no raisins and very sweet. It was ok, if you removed any idea of Irish Soda bread from your mind while eating it, but it was far from good. Year two of the quest I took a step in the right direction, the loaf I found was close the correct texture, had raisins but it was still not right and still covered in sugar. This one was good but not the same nonetheless. This year, however, was a total bust. Refusing to go back to either of those places I went instead to Wholefoods, I had seen some there a week earlier and it looked right (no granulated sugar). Yesterday though when I was there it seemed they had all sold out - I will never know if this Wholefoods Irish Soda bread was the one I had been searching for this whole time; that's what I get for waiting until St. Patrick's day I suppose.

I have come to the conclusion though, that I just need to make my own; now off to look through recipes online and find one that seems to describe what I am searching for.

Earth. Quake.

I realize this is the second post where I am just linking an article / site and it might seem that I am being lazy. This article however, explains why I am mentally unable to formulate an adequate post at this time. As the little sleep I was going to get last night was disturbed by LA's favorite natural phenomenon.

The internet is just a treasure trove of goodness.

This one made me giggle aloud at work.

Weekend Itinerary

Rachel is coming to visit me this weekend. Our itinerary is below.


Friday Late Afternoon: Pick up Rachel from airport. Drive her through the ghetto on the way home.

Friday Night: Go to Old Town Pasadena for dinner, frozen yogurt, fun.

Saturday Morning: Sunrise yoga.

Saturday a little later Morning: Rachel will make me breakfast in bed. Than we will ready ourselves for bridesmaid madness.

Saturday late morning: Go to jcrew at The Grove and see if we can weasel our way into gettin' at some bridesmaid dresses. Also be on the lookout for MK&A.

Saturday Afternoon: Eat lunch at the Farmers Market. Head back to Pasadena for legit appointment at a bridal store.

Saturday Late Afternoon: Drive back home - look for celebs from car window.

Saturday Evening: Dinner. Jane goes to theatre. Rachel - tbd.

Saturday Later in the Evening: Get coffee for Rachel because she will be tired. PARTY! Possibility of late night taco truck.

Sunday Morning: Brunch. Walk to the mall to buy makeup from The Body Shop.

Sunday Afternoon: Go to the beach.

Sunday Later Afternoon/Early Evening: return from beach (return time is dependant on how cold it is at beach).

Sunday Evening: Dinner - Rachel's treat. After dinner stroll through the neighborhood. Go home go to sleep.

Monday Morning: Wake up and take Rachel the airport :(


* Schedule subject to change without notice.

This is why the Government is Lame

I'm usually not one to rag on the government about its financial mismanagement - at least not in the broad 'look where our tax dollars are going now' kinda way. Yesterday, however, I received a letter in the mail that made me change that policy a little.

The letter begins:

Dear Resident:

About one week from now, you will receive a 2010 Census form in the mail. When you receive your form, please fill it out and mail it in promptly.

It goes on to talk about why the census is important, yada yada. After reading the first sentence thought I was struck with just how dumb this all was. Ok US Government, you really thought it was a good use of money and resources to send a letter, letting people know they were about to get another letter? And these went out to every address in the country. Maybe they just wanted to do a dry run. Or maybe this was some sort of elaborate plan to stimulate the economy. Whatever the (illogical) reason, it's things like this that really build up the reputation of the federal government.

Bitter Post

For those of you who have never worked a menial job, one where you spend your days doing things below your intelligence level I will provide a few examples below of my particular recent experiences.

Note: For anyone not aware, I work in a fairly good sized corporate office in Los Angeles; I am an office assistant/receptionist.

Toner

We live in a modern world. It's hard to imagine that a working professional, with a degree, would need assistance with identifying, locating and installing toner for a basic desk printer. But as it would seem it is clearly a difficult task that involves my advanced knowledge. I have on numerous occasions had to assistant (read: do it for them) people in this basic office task. It usually goes something like this; I receive an email from someone saying their toner is out and that they can't fine more, I respond letting them know where they can locate said toner, they respond again saying they looked but it does not seem to be there, I walk into supply room, find toner right away and bring it to them. There is nothing like having to paint a detailed picture of what a box of toner looks like to make you lose faith in humanity.

Candy

Candy is fairly straight forward thing, it's generally unassuming and easy to handle. I don't think there are many issues in the history of the world that revolve around candy. Of the few that do however, it seems a great number of them take place in my office. We have at the reception desk a bowl of hard candy - just the general stuff, mints, jolly ranchers, caramels, etc. If I had to describe this bowl of candy in one word, given the circumstances, I would say: innocent. But this bowl of candy has been thrown into what I know will be a ridicules discussion that will go on far to long and likely end with little to no resolution, and oh yeah it will be about candy. One of the executives in my office has, for awhile, been suggesting that we get different candy. Apparently they have nothing else to do but think about how the candy selection in the office could be improved - I'm starting to think that I could run a real estate office. So I casually emailed my boss (the office manager) today, saying that this person had suggested that I order a different variety and I just wanted to let her know before I put in the order. This was done as more of a courtesy, as my boss needs to be 'in the loop'. She responds that I should hold off so that she can follow up with the executive to see what specifically she would like to see replaced and what we should order instead. That's right, we need to have a discussion, that will involve higher ups in the company, about which types of hard candy we will be ordering. Who would have thought that Werther's would be such a hot topic

Desk

Some of menial things I do to fill my day are self initiated. I don't have a lot to do, what can I say. Today I spent a part of my afternoon cleaning out the pencil cup on my desk. I discovered that a pen had exploded and now covered most of the pens in a red ink. You might think that the most logical step would be to throw away the pencil cup as they are generally quite cheap, I however chose to clean it. I removed all the pens, washed the cup in the sink and spent a good amount of time cleaning each pen and pencil before I returned it to the cup. Somewhere in this process I was overcome with a feeling of dread as I realized...this is my life. If I ever needed proof that my degree was going to waste, I got just it today.

I heart the Oscars

The day after the Oscars you could spend your time debating the merits of the great films that were nominated and which you believe should have won. Or you can go here and spend your time sending these all your friends.

My favorite:

When is reality inappropriate?

I recently read this article (warning: the images shown in the links in that article are very graphic and disturbing) on npr.com about violence in the World Press Photo Contest and how violent images, of war-torn villages, executions and civil unrest, are often the winners. And not without reason as these images are very powerful and were often taken at great risk to the photographer but as the article questions, when is it too much? When do these images cross the line from giving us a window into a world we don't normally see to showing us something that in many ways is just too horrific. There are lots of issues this debate brings up. Is it exploitative; what are the photographers true motivation in presenting this image? Is it just ignorance on the part of the societies that view these images to be labeling them too violent? Are we too sheltered? Or, is there a point where showing these images truly serves no beneficial purpose?

Since reading the article I have given this topic a lot of thought and for me have decided that there is a point where, yes, it is too much. We should all strive to as educated and informed as possible and I am in no way advocating sticking our heads in the sand when it comes to violence and the fact that many countries are much more violent than our own. But I honestly think the cons out weigh the pros of viewing the very gratuitous images that make up many of the submissions. These images are not something that can ever be viewed passively; they elicit strong emotions, as they should. But to me it seems the danger of seeing so many images like this, without any connection to the actual event works to desensitize and disconnect the viewer from the story, from the reality. It becomes about the extremes of the violence and not about the people experiencing it. I would venture to say that most people who witness extremes acts of violence wish they never had and while those of us who have not witnessed such things are in enviable positions I don't think we can make any of that right my looking at these images and pretending we can understand.

And I do think you have to address the issue of exploitation as well. Even if the photographer has the best of intentions in bringing this image to the world (which I don't always think is the case) I think it is always a fine line that is walked by anyone who would displays images from a culture in which they are only an onlooker. This issue was brought to light recently with the death of the Georgian Olympic Luger who's accident was caught on camera. This video was played online and on most major news broadcasts. I didn't watch it online, where I first saw it - as I usually, when given the choice, choose not to view things I feel are inappropriate and sensationalized - but out later that night I saw it playing on the screen in a bar. While this video is not particularly graphic, it is disturbing, to be watching a video that ends in a real living persons death; not a movie on tv. It this case I think the question of exploitation is obvious, news agencies knew people would watch, as it was tragic and shocking. There was little regard for anything other then sensationalism. Afterwards most people (news agencies included) agreed that it was in bad taste but at that point people had gotten what they wanted from the story anyway. I can't help but wonder though if that has been an American that died that day if maybe the broadcasters would have thought twice about plastering that video all over the airwaves.

These are my feelings on this topic, I can't go as far as to say that for no one is exposure to images of extreme violence beneficial. If you live in denial about what human beings are capable of then perhaps some of these images would educate you. But for most cases, I think it is ok to say that yes, sometimes seeing what it's really like can be too much. Because in the end most of us are just looking at pictures we can't truly understand and have little new to take away from them.

I think the quiet power and heartbreaking stillness of this years winning photo shows that turbulence can be portrayed without graphic violence and with a much more haunting and effectual message.

I'm working on a post I swear...I'm working out the kinks. Look for it tomorrow!

...

I totally had another blog planned for today but at the gym this evening a much better alternative presented itself. I know the gym is the topic of probably too many of my entries but what can I say, it's consistent gold.


While in the locker room collecting my belongings after my workout I over heard this conversation. To the best of my abilities I have recounted it below.


Girl 1: sitting on bench in a bikini, "Oh my god all the girls at Mario's work are in love with him."

Girl 2: standing, drying off, wearing a fancy red bathing suit, "Um, yeah but I'm sure you are prettier than them"

Girl 1: "Yeah, of course but still. I'm way prettier than them, obviously."

Girl 2: "Hehe, you're so pretty. We are both prettier than most people."

Girl 1: "I'm so pretty, not right now but you've seen me with makeup so you know how pretty I can be."

Girl 2: "We are obviously the best our boyfriends are ever gonna get so I would not worry"

Girl 1: "Of course"

Girl 2: "You're pretty even now. We are prettier at the gym than most people are made up."

Girl 1: "Haha, I'm prettier than Karisa (not sure if that was the actual name), even when I'm trying to lose weight. I'm prettier than her even when she looks her best."

Girl 2: "We are prettier than her in the dark" (I think she got confused here and wanted to clear up that she did not think she looked better in the dark, so she rebounds with this) "I mean she is even ugly in the dark"

Girl 1: "Do you think Karisa is uglier in the dark or in the light?"

At this point I had to leave as someone can only get their clothes out of their locker so slowly and not attract attention. Though, I wanted to stay and listen to their thoughtful debate of which lighting made this person less attractive when compared with them. Rest assured that this conversation probably went on awhile after I left, I would put money on the following exchange taking place, "Your the prettiest" "No, you are!".

I discovered this little time wasting gem while looking for bridesmaid dresses today (don't worry Rachel, I don't think you are going to pick out anything like these for us).

Open

This weekend I drove out to Arizona to visit family who were vacationing there. Driving through the southwest is an experience that I would recommend to everyone. I first experienced it this way when I drove across country through Utah, Nevada and parts of Arizona (I think, things got a little blurry at this point in the trip, if you have ever driven across country I think you will understand). Having grown up in the northeast this area of the country is the polar opposite to what I was use to, not only directionally but it terms of terrain. I find both these areas of the country equally beautiful but in very different ways. The beauty of a forest, lake or country side in new england is more subtle, the elements that make it breath taking are more in the details. Leaves, streams, trees all need to be explored, discovered to be truly enjoyed. These elements draw you in and make it possible for you to lose yourself in the serene. Walking through a forest I almost always end up sitting down, listening to the sounds, watching what can happen when you sit patiently. Maybe it's just that I grew up with the country but to me desert beauty is much more dramatic.



Driving up the 15 to interstate 40 you come around a bend where all of a sudden the hills on the side open up and you see, out before you, miles and miles of openness. Mountains in the distance with smaller rock formations a little when driving), even though I'm on a freeway with lots of other people all I can take in is the vastness and the feeling of being very small against all that space. As I drive on the scenery does not change too much, unlike new england, where even the country has signs of life in almost every corner, here you could literally imagine you are the only person (sometimes when there is no traffic you are). Though of course in reality it is dead silent, when I look out over the desert, the mountains, hills and rocks are loud. They emit deafening sound that grows louder the longer you focus on them and let yourself be made smaller and smaller by the empty space.



Where as this beauty can be over powering it is also refreshing to be in a space where your significance seems so small. To let yourself be surrounded by the drama of the terrain.

Things I found funny on the internet today

From Texts From Last Night:

(401): Renamed my iPod as 'the titantic' so when I plug it in it's says 'the titantic is syncing.'

(904): taking a shot every time they compare curling to a real sport

(801): I am in the checkout line at the dollar store and there is a guy in front of me holding a pregnancy test, a chocolate bar, and fake roses. Champion.

(908):Intervention is following me on twitter. (440):wow.

From LOL Cats:

From Failblog:








This post should also serve as notice that I will not be posting tomorrow. I'm going out of town people and will not be able to grace your day with my musings. Try not to be to upset.

Going Natural

Among my many new years resolutions this year was to try to switch over to natural cosmetic and beauty products - I can say 2 months in this is my most successful resolution by far (probably because it does not involve going to the gym, changing my diet or time management). At this point I have managed to switch over a good portion of the products I use to a natural alternative. I now use natural shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, face lotion, eye cream, foundation, mascara, toothpaste and deodorant (am I missing anything?), the remaining non-natural items in my bathroom are there just until I finish them up and can replace them with natural options.

Though I have not been doing this long enough to say that I see any difference in the way my skin, hair, etc feels from using these products, I do know that they are better, not only for my body but also for the environment as well. And while I have made a commitment to this and do not plan to give up there are many deterrents that I have discovered, some obvious some not so, that would likely turn away the casual shopper looking for natural alternatives. And this is where the problems lies. Though I don't think it's good to encourage the idea that people should not have to put some work into choosing the right products for themselves, I do however think that large brands (ones that are generally speaking not natural or environmentally conscious) have such a corner on the market consumers have to go to great lengths to find the alternatives they are looking for. For example, I decided the other day that I was going to purchase a natural foundation - my first choice was The Body Shop, the product I intended to buy was actually not available as the stock they had in store had recently expired (a sign that such products are under consumed) and had to be sent back. My next step was Sephora but I knew I needed to do research because, unlike The Body Shop, not everything at Sephora is natural. List in hand I headed into Sephora feeling knowledgeable and ready to make an informed choice. 20 minutes later I left feeling disappointed and not so confident. I did find a product that so far seems ok but half the things I found online where not actually in the store and those that were underwhelmed. This lack of selection and options has been something I have encountered before when looking for other products. An obvious solution is to buy things online but sometimes you just want to be able to shop for things in a store like a normal person.

Another issues is the price, ok I knew pure natural products would be more expensive and I was ready for that but it seems to be more then I expected. Maybe because I'm switching over a lot of products in a short time. But it just seems wrong to be paying more for products that contain ingredients that I can grow in my backyard (this is a lie since I live in an apartment but you get the point) than those that are created in labs with synthetic chemical.

In high school I became a vegetarian and have managed to continue not eating meat to this day (I do now eat seafood so am no longer technically a vegetarian) and while that was a much bigger lifestyle change to be sure I feel, even at that time, there were less external obstacles to overcome. Of course I had to cut steakhouses out of my diet but almost any restaurant carried vegetarian dishes and you could buy fake meat products in most any grocery store. Since that time it has become even easier, so I can only hope that will be the case with natural cosmetic products as well - that with time they will become more popular and hence more available, both in convenience and price.

oops...

Alright, ok, so this time I actually did just forget as I totally meant to post yesterday - I even had something to talk about, I'm just absent minded (it was a Monday, what you do expect people?).

Well, by talk about I mean I found this interesting article - it's kinda long but it's worth it.

Well to follow up on that last post it seems I am procrastinating about blogging, as I completely forgot to post yesterday (forget or procrastinated?...no one can be sure). I'm not sure if it's me that is boring lately or the world but I can't seem to come up with any good ideas to blog about. Ok, so it's probably me since the world always has things going on. Whatever strange mood I have been in lately has left me with a lack of desire to engage in the world (this is not to be read as a cry for help or anything, just me in a funk). It's a weird feeling of disconnection that is causing me to be not very fun (in my opinion anyway). This is what long periods of intense boredom can do to a person. It's not pretty kids...

Maybe I just need quiet time to chill and get back to normal. Or I need to do something fun, exciting and different to break the monotony. Considering the post before last about needing to save money, quiet chill time seems more feasible. At least for this weekend.

At least I know I'm not alone...

http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Procrastinating

http://www.getmoredone.com/tips2.html

http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2009/04/23/how-to-stop-procrastinating-7-timeless-tips/

http://www.ehow.com/how_2248_stop-procrastinating-habit.html

http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/its-never-too-late-to-stop-procrastinating (even one on web MD - does this mean I can call my procrastination a disease?)


I could go on but frankly, I think you get the point.

budget 2.0

I'm putting myself on a budget again. I don't feel like I spend that much but apparently my bank account sees things differently. And while I do not have a European vacation to save up for I do need to save. As my lack of savings has proven, I apparently need strict rules to make myself stick to a budget so hence I'm putting the allowance back into affect.

I will give myself $100 a week to spend on everything else that I do not classify as bills; so that's food, going out, coffee, shopping, etc. So this way if I have a bigger purchase coming up I need to save up the extra from weeks where I do not use the whole $100. I am also considering setting savings goals - like I need x number of dollars by such and such a date but I think I might hold off on that till I get the $100 a week thing up and going. In order to make keeping track of my spending easy I'm planning on withdrawing $100 in cash (maybe not all at once since carrying around cash makes me nervous) so once that is gone by spending is done.

Starting Monday I put my plan into action.

Shit, I think I'm getting old

Though I don't plan to throw in the towel at 25, I have been noticing however, that I am not as young as I used to be. I first started to notice this slow decent to the grave in terms of the affect alcohol has on me, more specifically my recovery time after consumption of said alcohol. I am not now nor have I ever been a raging alcoholic (by any stretch of the imagination) but in my youth (aka college) I would have to put back a good amount to be in pain the next day. Now, however, that is not the case. Even after a tame night of a few drinks it is not uncommon for me to have a headache and feel the effects, in a way I would consider not in proportion to the amount I drank. I now consider this the first sign of my demise.

This week, having been busier than what I consider normal for myself, has brought attention to what I shall call the second sign that I am becoming old. I am burnt out. Now when I say this week has been busy I mean that I have had stuff to do at night - I have not had my normal do nothing every night routine. When I was young (again college) I ran around like crazy all day and yes I did get brunt out then too, however it was after a lot more hectic of days than what I have had this week. Apparently, you turn 25 and you start needing lots of sleep and also much more downtime. In short you become lame. Maybe this should not be so upsetting to me but in my (probably hysterical) mind it is a signal of the beginning of the end.

Don't be surprised if the next time you see me I am knitting vests for elderly cats with arthritis.

Weird Day

Today has been strange. It started out strange and it just seems to be continuing in that direction. It began unusually in that I had to get a ride to work; I managed to get my car locked into my works parking garage (long story that ends with me hating the metro). So I arrived in the Hollywood area about an hour before I had to be in work, taking advantage of the situation I went to get some breakfast and coffee. While walking to work I had one of those weird moments that seem to only happen when something has broken your standard ritual and is causing you to see an area or situation in a slightly different way then you normally do. I was standing on the corner waiting to cross the usually busy street near my office, when all of a sudden I realized that it was quiet. Ok, for people who do not live in cities this might not seem odd but having spent a lot of time in this given area, I have never seen it quiet. There were no loud tourists, no cars racing by, no wind, nothing just silence. It seemed like a city at peace. But despite this comparative silence there were still people walking around, the area was not deserted and this made the scene (both in the visual and auditory sense) seem even more exceptional. I'm sure it only lasted a second or two but in that moment it was like the silence between inhaling and exhaling.

I don't know if it was the moment that was unusual or the fact that I noticed it but it left me with a feeling I could not really identify. Neither good nor bad. Just different for having experienced it. The rest of the day went by fairly normally except for the fact that I kept feeling like I could not settle into a normal routine. For the most part my day is spent doing the same activities while at work and I am only passively involved in most of them; basically it's the epitome of going through the motions. But today I was out of sync.

The final event of the day came when I heard that someone had fallen from the shopping complex across the street, from the 5th floor onto the sidewalk. Hearing about an incident where someone has passed away is always disturbing but when it is in a close proximity, the affect always seems magnified. Though I could not see anything other than police cars, ambulances and cordoned off sidewalks from my office building the incident was still very visible. The power of the internet being what it is, I got more info from that than from the fact it happened right across the street, in a building my company owns. Via twitter I saw that it was a suicide. One of the street performs that dress up as characters on Hollywood Blvd; this particular person was one of the 2 or 3 spidermen who are here on any given day. Obviously, I can't be sure, because whenever something of this nature happens there is always gossip, but I have a feeling I might know which person it was. I know it's completely selfish to turn someone else's death into something about yourself but in all honesty I think we all think about death (and most other things) that way. As humans the things that we experience and observe are from the standpoint of how does this affect me, even if we never consciously think of it in that way.

This was a person I most likely saw everyday and while I never talked to him, and probably more because of that fact, it's a strange feeling that comes over you when you realize they are gone. It has manged to truly wake me up from my routine, where I would observe but not really think about most of the things I saw on any given day.

Now I am off to watch Lucha VaVOOM. Did I mention it was a weird day.

I'm Watching You

That's right kids, I have put a tracker on my blog; I have gone high tech. I would like to say that this move was prompted by an imagined increase in people actually reading my blog but that is unlikely. Basically I just wanted to be fancy.

But who knows maybe I do have this unknown herd of followers...

I guess we will find out.

Gym Anthropologist

It is possible that I will never fully understand the gym (yes, this does mean that I have started going to the gym again). While I know the gym is a good thing, I can't help but be struck by how odd a concept it really is. Of all the institutions modern society has created the gym is one of the more puzzling to me. As I know I have said before in a previous post I should be spending more energy on my workout then analyzing the gym culture but clearly I find the latter to be more entertaining. I should note that I don't think the gym is bad (despite how difficult it was to get me to go back), clearly being physically active and getting exercise is very important and when I go I really do feel better. My issue is more with the extremes that occur.

Firstly, the fact that in this modern society we are so inactive that we had to create a building where we could go to run around and lift heavy things truly speaks volumes. We have made exercise into a culture not just an activity. In Los Angeles you are in the minority if you do not have a gym membership and working out is a very common topic of conversion. As anyone who has spent a decent amount of time in a gym has probably seen there is a wide spectrum of participation in the gym culture. I would venture to put myself in the less involved end of that spectrum. I go to the gym, I do my shit and I get out. I do not hate the experience but I do not love it either. It makes me feel good in the long run but I do not go into some type of shock if I am not able to workout 5 times a week (hell, I never work out that often). My goal in going to the gym is fairly modest. Which offends the trainers there I came to find out during an evaluation by a trainer; when asked if I wanted 6-pack abs I said no, I was just there for a little weight loss and general over all fitness - he just stared at me as if I had just personally insulted him and wrote down 6-pack abs as one of my goals anyway.

While I am perfectly willing to accept that others are more ambitious then me, I still find the outright displays of vanity a little disturbing. Great, you want to work on your arms, that's cool. But is it really necessary to do that one particular (and I might add very weird looking) move 50 times to isolate that one specific muscle? Or the one time I watched a guy walk right up to the mirrored wall and flex, repeatedly for a good 3 minutes just looking himself over and admiring. There are many other examples and all are done as if it were something normal. Which, if you were wondering, it is not.

Obviously working out is a lesser of many, many evils that people could use to fill their time but it is the extremes that gym culture has come to that always strikes me as odd every time I walk through the doors. I blame my easily distracted (and judgemental) nature from allowing me to just zone out during my workout. I can't be sure if it's my lower end of the spectrum position that keeps me from feeling a part of the gym culture or my natural aversion to gym culture that keeps be at the end of the spectrum; either way my position allows me to comfortably observe what goes on around me. And if you are worried that I am being too harsh on the muscle heads and workout freaks don't worry, I'm sure if they were not blinded by the testosterone/adrenaline that is pumping through their veins they would be judging me too.

My Newest Obsession

Los Angeles Police Department Crime Maps

It is exactly what it sounds like. You enter an address and it pulls up the crimes reported in that area within a given time frame. Ok, so you might be thinking that this does not sound like fun. And you my friend would be wrong.

This site combines all that I look for in a time wasting site. Interactive. Check. Informative. Check. Addictive. Check. Somewhat frightening. Check.

What could be better than spending a morning looking up all the robberies, violent crimes and grand theft autos in your neighborhood?

Oh hell no!

Back story: I moved into a new apartment last May and since it never rains in LA I did not discover until November that the large window in the living rooms leaks - a lot. Since discovering this it has been an ongoing issue to get it repaired. So far they (my management company) has 'fixed' the leak 4 times. Every time though, the next rain would bring more leaks and more phone calls to our management. The last time it leaked (late January) I had had enough and decided a strongly worded email was the way to go. Names and addresses have been removed for obvious reasons.


Hello,

My name is Jane Whitty and I live in unit xxx at xxxx xxxxxx Ave., [my roommate] reported a leak in our apartment on Monday. This is the third time we have contacted PAC regarding this issue and there has been absolutely no resolution. Twice (this will be the third time) maintenance crews have come to our apartment to work on this issue. Every time we report this issue it takes numerous phone conversations to actually get any information on what is going on. Last time I had to put up signs, after explaining many time over the phone, pointing to where the leak was coming from to actually get the correct area repaired. And each time we are told the issue has been resolved and each times it rains the same spot leaks as if nothing was ever done. This is unacceptable. Today you contacted Sherri to tell her that nothing can be done until it stops raining. While I understand there are limitations to when repairs of this nature can take place this is not an acceptable response as you have know about this issue for months. The leak is causing damage to the unit as well as requiring constant clean up from us on a daily basis. And as this week has provided high rainfall the maintenance on our part has been burdensome. I need to hear, either in response to this email or via phone, that the repairs have indeed been done and that you have tested the repair so that this issue will not come up again. If after this third repair the area still leaks, I feel, we will have to look into other ways to resolve this issue as a constant leak is not an option. In addition to this issue I would like to report that the heat in the main living area (living room and kitchen) is not working again. I believe Sherri contacted you at least once about this issue as well. The thermostat seems to be working, however, no matter how high we set it the heat does not turn on. Could you please send someone out to look into this issue. You have permission to enter the apartment at anytime if no one is available when the maintenance person arrives.

I can be contacted either by responding to this email or by cell, xxx.xxx.xxxx.

Thank you for your prompt attention to these matters.

Sent January 20th


Update: So after receiving this letter they did sent someone out who repaired a crack in the exterior and resealed the window. All seemed well, the repair survived one round of rain. So when I heard it was suppose to rain this weekend I was not concerned - I figured we were safe. Clearly, I spoke too soon because I just received a message from my roommate saying that, oh guess what? It's leaking again. So basically I'm furious. This is the 5th time! 5th time! we have had to contact them about this. Enter bitchy email number two.

This email is to inform you that our apartment is once again leaking and from the same spot that has been the issue all along. Though the last repair, which took place after my original email was sent, did hold for a few weeks it clearly did not fix the issue. As I stated in the email sent January 20th this issue is becoming increasingly burdensome and as repair after repair fails Sherri and I are becoming even more frustrated as it seems this issue is not something PAC is able to resolve. It is now Friday evening and as your offices are closed for the weekend (and it is expected to rain all weekend) we will have to provide continual clean up after the leak. Come Monday when your offices reopen Sherri or I need to hear an actual plan to fix this issue that goes beyond what has been done already. As you have known about, and been unable to repair, this issue since November I expect a concrete solution or as I said in my January email we may have to seek outside repairs. It is an undo burden to expect us to deal with a leaking window every time it rains while time and time again no repairs you have provided resolve the issue.

My contact number is xxx.xxx.xxxx

Sent February 5th


Notice complete lack of pleasantries here. So now I'm off to research LA renters laws to see if I can actually hire my own repair person like I threatened...

Updates to follow.

buzzed posting

Ok, ok I could not make the drunk posting happen last week and since it's a Thursday I don't think tonight would be the night to revive that dream, buzzed (or whatever you want to consider 2 glasses of wine) posting is as good as it's gonna get.

My fear, however is that I will just kinda space out while I'm suppose to be writing this....which might be happening right now, I can't be sure but judging from the fact that it has taken me like 20min to write this makes me think yes.

This I have googled tonight:


Fudge - most specifically if fudge does or does not need to contain fluff. Thoughts? I'm putting this out to the greater blogger community. My google research is leaning towards no but we all know sometimes google can't be trusted. No one tell google I said that though.


'can cats get lap bands'. www.lapbands4cats.com / 1800.fat.cats. Check it.


oh, oh project runway is on....got to go.

slacker

Yep, I'm a slacker. I totally forgot to post last night. I actually remembered as I was falling asleep last night but I had (have) no where near the dedication to do anything about it at that point. And to add to my slacking ways today's post is just gonna be a link (that's right people deal with it).

http://usforpalin.com/

I spent a good portion of my day being entertained by this little gem. Be sure to check out the tips on how to give yourself a Palin inspired beehive. And the dramatic recounting of the time one of Sarah's book signings was egged...I will give you a teaser.

"The impact of the egg striking the stack of books resounded like a gunshot in the nearly empty Borders..."


You're welcome!

Arts in LA

Arts in Los Angeles are facing a crisis right now (due to the budget issues LA has been dealing with) and though I know not everyone who reads this lives in LA, I wanted to put it out there anyway. I have taken the liberty of stealing snippets from an email I received, from a theatre I volunteer at, as it sums up the issue better than I could.

Dear Friends of Antaeus and the Arts in Los Angeles, I am writing you about a CRISIS facing artists and arts institutions in Los Angeles. No, not the Pasadena Playhouse closing, though that too is very sad. Some LA City Council members want to take the 1% of the Transient Occupancy Tax (hotel tax) that currently is allocated to the Department of Cultural Affairs and place it into the city's general fund. This would be a DISASTER for all of the Arts Organizations in LA. Jobs would be cut, programming scaled back and there would be related economic repercussions. We need all the of the artists and arts lovers in the community to pitch in and help stop this action.

Live performances enhance not only the individual but the community as well. According to a recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts, people who attend live performance events volunteer more, vote more, even participate in more physical exercise! Performance arts institutions within a community lower crime rates and raise property values. Most importantly, theater patrons bring added revenue to the local restaurants and stores, increase the tax base and even feed the parking meters.

Danielle Brazell at Arts for LA has said that "We have also received word that the CAO's office is recommending that all 09-10 unencumbered grants be revoked. There's a budget and finance committee meeting on Monday. Although two separate motions, if either goes through it could be catastrophic for grantees." For Antaeus alone that means a tremendous loss in grant monies expected for 2010. For the community as a whole, this would mean literally hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions of dollars in already approved grant monies being pulled from organizations across the city.

Below is the email I wrote to members of LA's City Council. If anyone is interested in contacting them as well let me now - I have their contact info. The city council is suppose to be voting on these motions on wednesday, in a special meeting.


Dear LA City Council Member,

I am writing to you regrading two motions coming up for debate by the city council that impact funding for the arts in LA county. The first being the motion to discontinue sending the 1% TOT tax to the Dept. of Cultural Affairs, the second to revoke all 09-10 unencumbered grants. While I would not pretend to downplay the budget issues facing LA, I feel it is important that the city council, and all people in Los Angeles, understand that the arts are not a luxury to be taken away when things get tough. Arts are vital to every city, town and state but I feel Los Angeles has a particular opportunity to show how essential and life changing the arts can be. Los Angeles is the west coast center for arts of all varieties and anyone living here knows how varied and exciting arts expression is in LA. Having grown up on the east coast, my view of Los Angeles is from that of an outsider. And while my thoughts on this city have changed over my time here, the thing that has not changed is my view of how important arts are in Los Angeles.

Also coming to LA from the east coast has allowed me to see Los Angeles in comparison to other cities. If this funding is taken away and arts institutes are left to feel the impact all on their own, this city will lose credibility as a place were true innovation can happen. Having worked in the arts in Los Angeles I know that this city has amazing things to offer its residents and visitors but our small, independent arts arenas cannot do this alone - they need the support of the city councils who see the positive impact these institutions can have on their districts. As I am sure, if you have taken the time to look, you have seen yourself.

We all know that these budget issues will take sacrifice to resolve but the arts are not an acceptable place to make such drastic and indiscriminate cuts. Arts and the institutions that foster them are the soul of this city and without them we will lose a large part of what makes our city so great. I urge you to really think about what these cuts will do and the extremely visible, true and lasting impact they will have.

Sincerely,

Jane Whitty


Sorry to dedicate such a long post to this but as I hope to work in the arts field in some capacity I have strong feels about this type of stuff. And the fact that they are having a sneaky, not at all talked about vote make me even more upset.