aaargh. happy nye

i'm back at the SAT airport. trying to get on this flight headed north.

i should be back in boston by 830p tonight. to meet up with my friendies and drink some champagne and celebrate the end of 2007.

ugh. lets hope all my flights leave on time and i make it.

f'ing traveling sucks.

the end.

looking back while headed north

resolutions from last january 1:
1. spend more time with family
2. get involved
3. volunteer
4. move to texas
5. get ready for grad school
6. shop less
7. stay in better contact w/ my friends
8. read more books, papers and magazines
9. see more films
10. waste less time on the internet

in the past year i have accomplished #1, 4, 7, and 8
i have made progress on #2 and 9
as for the rest (#3, 5, 6, and 10), i seem to have a bit hopeless this past year. definitely more progress this next year.

i'll make up a new list sometime in the next week. i think 'starting fresh' on jan1 is kind of a dumb idea, but it is a good milemarker just to check in and see how things are progressing along... so in that spirit, i'll make some 'progress goals' for 2008... sometime soonish.

for now, i'm back at my favorite place, the airport, waiting for my flight back up to the bean. another new years eve in boston with the friendies. :) party tomorrow. as long as i get there... stupid delayed flights.

remember the alamo

my favorite
Originally uploaded by florajasmine

i like wandering around my city in the dark of the early morning, shooting things. even if it is a little chilly. good times until i came home and crashed at 830am and did NOT want to get back out of bed to save my life.

p.s. speaking of 'remember the alamo!' the other day i saw a car with one of those magnetic ribbon things stuck on the trunk that was red, white and blue and said 'remember the alamo'. breast cancer, the troops and the alamo? all available in magnets for your car. wtf? seriously? ok.

i really hope that person meant it sarcastically, but somehow i doubt it.

festivities

hope everyone had a nice christmas with the family. and if not christian... well. hope you had a nice day off of work doing whatever...

mine was great. saw lots of fam.


played games. (they had fun even if it looks like they're doing homework)


went to bilingual mass with lots of incense. sin and fish sound very similar in spanish... i keep confusing pecado with pescado - it made me giggle a bit. whoops.


watched movies.



took a movie of a drunk/rabid possum...


spent a lot of time passed out on the couch. good times...

never knock the way another cat swings

some pre-xmas randomness:

• i freaking hate all stores and malls and commercial areas from dec1 through dec25. prob even through jan 2 or 3. they're packed. ppl are wasting money on things. kids are crying. america's debt is increasing. in a move to avoid all the junk that annoys me, i spent a chunk of my day outside in the sun finishing kite runner.
• i've put off reading this book for ages cos it was too popular and usually that means things are shite and overrated. but this book actually was a super read. i started reading it on my flight home on friday afternoon and finished it up today. charged through it. it kinda made me sick reading some parts on friday. that just meant it was well written. when a book makes me feel ill, or immensely sad, or even makes me cry - i love it. i love being moved by words. i finished this book today being happy that i finally read it. still not sure if i actually want to see the movie tho.
• that said... it's dec23 and i'm still not done with my xmas shopping. no surprise there. not too bad tho, b/c all that's left is to do the 'family' gift where we give the same thing to each chunk of the family.
• i took this picture yesterday morning that i'm really happy with so i'm going to print and frame it tomorrow x 10. hope everyone likes it...
• i saw 'across the universe' yesterday with my brother. (finally) i think i wanted to like it more than i actually did. it was a totally fun movie... just not all that i wanted it to be. i hate when that happens... cos i did like it, think i just wanted to LOVElove it...
• i remember not liking the beatles when i was younger... thinking - how is it that everyoneee can love them and i dont? now i get it. i dig them, just like 90% of the rest of the world. beatles made great pop music. and covers of it can be just as fun... turns out.
• today my favorite used bookstore in SA had all cd's for half off. so i bought crazysexycool for $2.49. as she was ringing up my purchase, the chick at the counter said, "oh, i remember when it used to be cool to listen to this cd." USED TO BE COOL? this cd has hip-hop classics. i only had the tape version back in the day. so this was a super find. um, it was awesome back when it first came out and when i pressed listened to diggin' on you again today - it is still awesome.
• i know. i'm cool. i need no confirmation.
  
• fam reunion tomorrow night - yay.

no white christmas for me

office view
Originally uploaded by florajasmine

funny that i left snow covered boston yesterday and flew south to arrive in san antonio where it was 60 degrees warm 1030 at night.

fantastic. my toes do need to defrost a bit.

a ton of family time over the next week- the main thing i'm here for. and some presents and christmas festivities and the stuffing of my belly.

yay. home is good. i like my december with a side of palm trees.

also... i hope my flights back up to boston next sunday go as smoothly as they were yesterday... pleaseeee. i hate flying now...

flashback to 1994

the fact that i find grown(ish) men wearing suede airwalks from the mid-90s to be endearing and even a little attractive probably signals that there's something wrong with me.

last night at a party ellen and i couldn't stop staring at this kid's shoes. they were like airwalks or vans or something. some kind of round suede skate shoe throwback. soooo not hip, more like straight out of 1994. as ellen and i have discussed on numerous drunken nights - middle school was a definitely awesome time in our lives. apparently for most of america that was a horrid and awkward part of their childhood.

eh, not so much for ellen and i. we had great times.

middle school meant increasing amounts of independence, the release of dookie and morning glory (which to this day are still favorites), celeb-crushes on mike from mxpx. slow dancing in the caf at school dances, hanging out behind the gym to gossip, meeting at someone's house after school to hang out and watch the band practice or to get skateboarding lessons from the boys. it was all good times with an allowance thrown in for bonus.

basically. i have a 1994 fetish. like how listening to basketcase will kinda make me melt.

7th grade and all things associated (the airwalks, the music, all the skateboarding boys) have a special place in my heart. even in the year 2007.

this kid's shoes gave us a total flashback. definitely not hip but still so cute. hahaha.

i miss middle school.

the good, the bad and the ugly

always a good idea to save the best for last.

ugly:

• wearing ballet slippers thru a slushy downtown boston
• driving through icy parking lots and feeling the tires spin
• surviving on 6 hrs or less sleep a night when i usually need like 8

bad:

• knowing that a wicked awesome street art collab in san antonio got killed w/in 12 hours- and i never had a chance to see it
• getting beeped at by a skeevy dude in a cadillac... for 3 blocks, and then getting hit on through his passenger side window

good:

• free drinks and a little catchup on the gossip while funk band plays winehouse covers and i sign along
  
• filling a shopping cart at the liquor store - and knowing i dont have to pay for it (shout out to tim who picked some wine for me)
• meeting new kids and making friends

also. i kinda want to buy this.

seriously? man.

every year around this time i question some of the decisions i've made. like why didn't i go work on wall street? i went to school for it. i interned there. and decided, eh, not for me.

but dude! i could have sacrificed a bit of my soul and a lot of my life for a couple years. to go make serious $$$ and then jump out of that nyc banking scene. and then settle into a nice, normal job but be set up oh-so nicely with a huge nest egg to get things started.

dang.

i'm not even doing some great, humanitarian work. i'm just an office kid with a lot of free time that i waste. shite. working for no serious ca$h and no greater good. i'm shot on both ends.

stupid goldman with their big checks. instead of following my dad's advice to find a boy at the gym i think i need to start following gawker's advice and searching for a g.$achs boy.

ha! if only i could be so shallow...

fb junkie

someone at the faa hates me

the travel gods truly like to screw around with me.

on thursday i managed to grab a seat a mid-day flight out of logan and after a layover in denver (?) i made it home to san antonio. it only took 12 hours but i never had to shovel any snow.

yesterday i visited three airports, sat on two planes, and only flew on one. apparently due to cancellations and skeevy plane maintenance, there were no airline seats out of san antonio until tuesday (dang international conferences. tourists taking up my space!) so the majority of my afternoon was spent driving eastward on 1-10 in the back of my uncle's volvo. to bush int'l. where i got on a plane, watched diggnation, listened to e.v.r., fell asleep to ratatouile, and woke up to sit on the tarmac at logan for 45 min before being allowed to de-plane.

i got into bed around 2am and woke up at 620 to my building's fire alarm blaring. no smoke so i went back to sleep for 45 minutes and then had to get up and come to work. greatttt weekend.

seriously? i spent 24 hours over the weekend TRAVELINGGGG. why do things like this happen to me? i have can't say i have the worst travel luck ever, cos i usually get where i'm going - eventually. it's just only after i've been messed around with for a bit. airports and airlines and fate all like to play little jokes with me. poopers.

----

also, my mum and bro were icky sick all weekend and now i think i'm coming down with something. i'm supposed to be invincible! think i'm going to vit-C overdose now. it's my cure-all. :) prob shouldn't wander around icy boston too much either... but i have stuff to doooooo! man. x-mas overdrive, commence.

sounds of the soul revival

daniel was telling me about sharon jones and the dap-kings this weekend, how i would be in to the sound. told me i had to give them a listen. so i did some listening yesterday and yeah, she's got 'it' and they're fun. i've been missing out.

also on monday one of my musicblogs had a post about 'em with video. which i watched.

then today i was listening a 3 wk old episode of mark ronson's radio show on the drive in to work and he was all about sharon jones and how everyone needs to listen to her and buy her record. the kid gets excited about all kinds of stuff; sometimes i agree and sometimes i don't.

today i was like, yeah... it is good stuff. i should listen to more... i'm digging this soul scene. i like some serious music and lyrics sung with feeling. yeah yeah.

i also like when my friends, a music blog, and a pop-dj* all offer up the same music recommendation and i actually agree.

* what is mark ronson? a club dj? pop-star? celebrity? entertainment personality? don't know. he's a music producer, a dj, a songwriter, label owner. a scenster and taste maker... dunno. pop-dj. popular (music) disc jockey. pop-dj. haha. yes. even with his increasing popularity in the mainstream and the constant plugging of his own stuff, i still like him.

good time in the city

old bc friendies came to visit me in boston this weekend. we did lots of awesome things and lots of classically "us" things. i wish anna, daniel and i could hang out more often. the whole living in LA and the UK thing kinda prevents that though...

-----
so for the weekend, we made the most of our time...

dinner and lounging on friday. a little drinking and dancing to close out the night with some work kiddies which ended pretty low key and allowed us to wake up at a decent time on saturday morning.

tim and anna (mostly tim) were in love with the fact that there was a starbucks in my building. finally we got our act together to grab some burritos all around and then we did an in-car lap around campus to show tim, anna's bf, where we all went to class and slept and did dumb stuff. post chestnut hill we dumped the car and hit the streets. it was a little sunny out and not too cold (40F?) so decent enough to wander around.

we walked from fenway down to newbury and then all the way through the commons. in the commons we spent some time sliding around on the frozen duck pond and then staring at a hawk in the middle of the park. i kept the crew moving towards faneuil and then to mike's in the north end for some cannolis which we scarfed down next to the statue of paul revere in front of the old north church.

basically, we did a big tourist walk showing tim (brit boy) all the stuff you see in postcards and history books and movies about boston. and also i pointed out some of the work of my favorite graffiti artists the whole way around town... and my nice friends feigned interest. haha. i know... its my thing. the walk made everyone pooped so we came back and i fell asleep while everyone else watched a top model marathon. it's ok though, i did wake up for a little adventure that turned into a late late night and early morning. i havent been awake that late/early in quite a while. cos i'm an old lady and all...

anyways, me passing out to the sound of reality tv. so 'us'. also every time we went somewhere in my car we listened to amy winehouse and daniel and i sang along. so fun. we LOVE her and are sad together about her current scene. daniel and i got to talk about our silly hollywood gossip and i got to scare anna with sci-fi tales of the future with storms like from day after tomorrow and cutting off people's fingers to steal their identity. i love these kiddies.

closed out the weekend by eating at super 88 and finally seeing american gangster. um. it was very long. mostly the beginning. the last 40 min was great. denzel is amazing. few little things bugged me, historically speaking- rza's wu-tang tattoo and the more recent styles (80s/90s) of graffiti that were on the walls of harlem. little things. still, good story telling. glad i saw it.

next i want to see i am legend and juno. and probably some other stuff... i may go more often now that i live so close to the theater. maybe...

-----

now anna, daniel and tim are gone. back to the usual boston. it's cold and grey, but i'm ok. i can start planning my trips to visit them now. i have a couch in LA calling my name... and by february - there'll be a couch or futon or scrap of floor in london too! yay. trips trips trips!

-----

pictures below. click to blow them up big and stuff.

the hawk


kids in (front of) the hall


my cheesy self and the boys standing on the frozen duck pond


and of course. some graffiti

freaky

http://gawker.com/news/the-future/schizophrenia-is-the-new-ad-gimmick-329133.php

seriously? eek.

poo poo on me

i hate when i find a new fun band (via recs, blogs, and myspace) and then google them only to find out they had a show in my city 2 days earlier.

the number of times this has happened MUST be higher than 10.

seriously! ugh. my musical luck is lame.

los campesinos remind me of a baby belle & sebastian kind of. also YLT and broken social scene, as pitchfork states the obvs. i like 'em. would have been fun live.

dang it!!!

maybe they'll have a show in austin or SAT when i'm down there... psh. yeah right.

my kiddies

happy
Originally uploaded by florajasmine

they're coming to visit on friday! yay!

def looking forward to this weekend.

p.s. i have an apt in boston again. so ppl can come over and visit and we can have fun.

must attend

don't care who hates him. i love it.

http://www.artcal.net/event/view/1/5990

gotta go to this show.... somehow. :p

so many reasons i love my little brother

AIM convo this morning... after he gave me a progress update on the status of the robot costume he is building for his art teacher's house party...

baby bro: how's work?
baby bro: 'work sucks'
baby bro: i know
me: yeah
baby bro: she left me roses by the stairs
me: hahaha
baby bro: surprises let me knoe she cares
baby bro: SAY IT AINT SO
baby bro: I WILL NOT GO
baby bro: KEEP YOUR HEAD STILL
baby bro: ILL BE YOUR THRILL
baby bro: THE NIGHT WILL GO ON
baby bro: my little windmill

sappy addiction

i heard this song while listening to a random podcast on my flight yesterday: http://hypem.com/search/spektor%20real%20love/1/

i don't even like her (regina spektor) that much. during her show at ACL this year i was laying in the sand on the sidelines while all the other kids were swaying and screaming for her. it was just ehh. yet, for some reason, i'm in love with her cover of real love. as soon as i heard it i was like, ahh! who sings this, i need to get it! i'm a nerd that way.

maybe cos it flows nicely with my kate nash's nicest thing obsession. i LOVE that song. i can literally listen to it over and over.

sappy love songs for fall 2007.

i go through phases where i listen to one artist over and over. i know it annoys people, and yet i just cant help myself.

spring was full of bluesy winehouse, summer was a return to lily and amy and lots of top40 hip hop. kate is definitely my fall favorite i keep on repeat. and with the cold creeping in - i'm really in love w/ alicia key's new album. its perfect winter music. there's also a lot of electronic-tinged indie that i'm loving right now- very good for winter months as well. kinda spiky.

----

i'm back in boston for a few weeks. it's supposed to snow this weekend. it'll be my first of the season. i'm ready for it.

still a san antonio girl

silent birdsong
Originally uploaded by florajasmine

visited this building on friday. and by visited, i mean i took pictures from outside the fence.

it's an abandoned peanut factory on the southwest side of san anto.

i'd love to jump the fence and wander around inside. i'm sure there's cool stuff in there. i also wish i had some dough laying around so that i could buy the place and turn it in to studios and a gallery. and keep (most of) the graffiti.

ahhh. that sums up my life. i want to go do something slightly illegal and right after i want to invest in my community and buy up property. mmm.

i need to take risks and somehow save up $$$.

my dad suggested i find out who the realtor is for this place and just ask for a tour. ahhh, the legit and feasible way to do things... boring. :P

---

thanksgiving break here at home has been nice. time with the fam. food beyond what i can handle. city wanderings... it's all good. i just wish it wasn't so cold! and not just for myself. san antonians with and without roofs over their heads really are not meant to have temperatures this cold. i worry.

back to the great white north on tuesday. it'll definitely be colder there. but i'll be seeing lots of old friends in the next few weeks so it'll be ok. :)

pink planet

space cadets are cool. who knew they made little grey astronaut ones just like the green soldiers?



nifty.

ridiculous

this morning it was grey and dark out. wet and a hint of a chill. i was happy to be able to turn on my computer and work from under the covers.

now in the late afternoon i'm sitting on my porch with my laptop open and the breeze blowing the leaves off the trees. it's 75 degrees out and there's pretty much a perfect blue sky with a few puffy clouds. i've been able to whip out powerpoint decks, tracking spreadsheets, and lots of emails with a "birds chirping and dogs barking" soundtrack.

if it wasn't for the ant bites i got 20 minutes ago while opening my car door, i'd say it was a great and productive afternoon.

definitely a great time for my company to send out a survey asking about my work life balance. definitely on a positive note right now.

----

and. cos it's happened to everyone: http://www.mitchclem.com/nothingnice/397/

baby animals

IMG_2418
Originally uploaded by florajasmine

these are the freaking cutest little boogers i've seen in a while.

all baby animals are cute. obvs.

finding these three little tiny, multicolored baby ducklings all huddled together and napping alongside the san antonio river was like striking the cute jackpot. i had to stop and gawk. take in the cuteness.

man. i love nature. cos it makes baby animals. like these.

----

my little walk yesterday (accompanied by ma and pa) in brackenridge park also turned up kids throwing pecans, attack geese, screeching monkeys, a vintage car show, a duck that looked like elvis, 4 bouncy castles, and zero armadillos.

----

they're native to texas and apparently live everywhere... but i swear i haven't seen one alive EVER. so. my search for a living armadillo continues...

i need to go into the desert at night i think. maybe.

i miss my girls

saw this shirt this weekend. i want it. only in black.

hope they still have one in my size when i go back... in a few weeks.

----

i had lots of good convos this weekend. and all sorts of random fun. with a ton of laziness and couch laying thrown in - of course.

based on some of my discussions, i realize i'm missing out on a lot of things i used to love. the boston i encountered in college is somewhat different from the boston i encounter today. i don't go to a lot of the places i used to love, don't do all the things that made me appreciate this city in spite of the frozen-ness. i still have fun and do things with people that make me happy, but i'm missing out on some of the things i used to do.

i used to make posters. hang out at the mfa for hours. go to rock concerts and hiphop clubs and no-name bars. watch movies in coolidge and browse in booksmith. lay on the grass in the commons and just people watch (ok. that one's definitely not happening any time soon. unless it snows. then i have to go watch the park explode in snowboots.)

i still shop in downtown crossing and nosh in chinatown... and i definitely take more picture walks now. but its not all the same.

i think a big reason i'm missing out on all this stuff is that all my partners in crime have moved away. nyc, dc, la. connecticut. anna took off to freaking scotland and diane is practicing her french in switzerland. girls! you were my bestest buddies and we had so much random boston fun! i miss yall. i miss our adventures. our inside jokes and our mod motto, "not everyone can be happy all the time."

i know its against our motto and how we roll, but i want to be happy! come play with me! lets do fun stuff again!!! i know everyone lives far away. i'm just going to have to make my boston friends do my nerdy activities. and make new san antonio friends to do projects with. and also. i need to visit everyone in your far off locales. i def need to start pulling a schedule together for the coming months. who i get to see, where, and when.

for now- i think i'm going to work on some of my solitary exploits. of course i always have my own sharpie and some paper laying around to make a rad poster. maybe a little thanksgiving decoration for the folks. cheer me up and get my hands dirty on some newsprint or phonebook pages. it'll be good.

----
f.y.i. nerd explosion below. but its classic and its me, so there.
----

re-reading this post, i kept thinking of my beloved blink182 lyrics:
But everybody's gone
And I've been here for too long
To face this on my own
Well I guess this is growing up

10 years on and i still sing this song in my head way too often. i'm old, and still sooo 14 years old sometimes. ugh. oh well.

mitch clem cracks me up

most recent: i love you, but i've chosen darkness














earlier in the week: wash me.

i'm a loser #43543

i burned my neck the other day with a flatiron. apparently i'm not coordinated enough to watch tv and straighten my hair at the same time. it hurt for a second and i got over it. forgot it happened mostly.

it's freezing cold in my office, so i've been wearing my scarf 24/7.

today i took it off, and while looking at my reflection while washing my hands i realized- that burn left a mark. a mildly scandalous looking mark. on my neck.

ugh.

so. my scarf is back on and my neck is adequately covered. hope it heals soon. it's embarrassing.

lots of words and not much sense.

beer. facebook. myspace. sillyyyy. too much time spent in hotels sucks.

plans. for the weekend. JW and scorpions. maybe some coffee.

looking for some aerobics. missing out.

early night today. tomorrow will be late. and adventurous. for sure. for boston, for boston.

-------------------------

please don't think i'm weird. even tho i am. oh well.

all right, all right.

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/monologues/18matthewmcconaughey.html

this is an oldish piece from mcsweeneys. which today, i dont know why, i just found SO funny.

it's kinda long and boring in parts. and really only funny if you read it in matthew mcC's voice. then. it's awesome. w/o the voice, it sucks.

so if u have a few minutes and think the matthewmcconaughey persona is silly-ridic, read it.

texas oh texas.

-----------------------

recent revelation about my current self. i think i'm bi-coastal right now, and i'm ok w/ it. eastcoast / thirdcoast. only not really local to anywhere. the part time san antonio, part time boston living thing is good. see the fam, see the friends, stay employed, hang out in lots of airports (blech!).

weekdays are spent in the burbs, going back and forth between work mainly- not much else. then each weekend i either travel to my house in san antonio or my friends' place in boston. both places are just temporary, intermittent places where i hang out for a bit and visit with people. i guess this is just kind of stressful because i never sleep in the same place for more than 4 nights in a row. that's a lot of moving around.

maybe if i get a permanent place to stay in boston, life will calm down some. then it will be like 10 days in one place, and 4 in another. some continuity. still have the majority of my life in boston, but that's ok for now. i can be bi-coastal.

just looking ahead, i know. it's going to be cold in boston. very soon. every year it happens and every year i'm not very happy about it. the first snow is fun, the fresh crisp air feels healthy. then there's a wicked nor'easter and i get scared of freezing to death in a snow bank off the mass pike.

at least i have all my south texas escapes to look forward to this year.

all right, all right.

inconvenient breakdowns

today is my travel day. time for me to fly back to the bean from sweet and sunny south texas.

most travel days are icky and rushed, despite whatever advanced planning i do. today was no exception. in between conference calls and messing around in excel, i ran around my house feeding the pets and throwing a few last things into my suitcase.

when feeding my dogs i noticed the bag was almost empty. i know it sucks for my mom to have to get a giant bag from the store, so i thought i'd be helpful by running out and getting a bag before i left today. the grocery store is 2 minutes away and i could be there and back in no time.

unfortch, once i loaded the bag into my car and tried to turn my car on - i hit a problem. my car would not start. it would not even fake start. nothing! all those weeks of letting it sit there doing nothing... yeah, not a good plan.

i called my mom and grandma. usually its daddy that attends to my car issues but he's not in town... so. my mom called my uncle and he came to the rescue with jumper cables and some quality time.

i never see my uncle, even now that i am in texas more often. so even though it was annoying circumstances, it was great to see him and hang out. got to chat about him and my cousins, traveling, and our jobs. i probably never would have made a lunch date with him on my own but because i needed help, he was there and we did get to have some fun over miso soup at a sushi bar. family. i love it. if this had happened in boston, i would have just called AAA, gotten a jump and been on my way. since it happened in san antonio i got some family time and sushi for lunch. having family around is really great.

also i highly doubt any shaws employee would ever help jump a customer's car while in san antonio i had h.e.b. guys helping me with no problem. so nice.

a new thing

so the other day (at work. i admit. my mind wanders.) i came up with this thing i'd like to work on. something i have no real direct experience with... but a lot of tangential experience and tons of interest. so i think it could work.

i ran the idea by my family. dad said "ehhh? how long do u think it will take to get started?" mom said "ehh? won't that cost a ton to start with?". and my brother- he was like "yeah! that'd be awesome! can i help?"

since the kid is really more my target audience as well as a key person in helping me get it off the ground, i think his reaction is good- what i was looking for. of course, parental concerns are valid. i do need to detail my plan out better and get the right people involved early on.

ok. so i have a ton of work to do. lots of thinking and writing and planning. i'll give all the news once i have a better plan in place and i'm sure that i'm actually going to go through with it. make sure this isn't a fleeting whim...

bad drivers

i'm a pretty angry driver. i yell at people a lot from my car. but there are just so many bad drivers out there, getting in my way all the time!

today though- i was the bad driver.

i had to drop something off at my mom's school. but i'm also working today and constantly checking my email. so i took my laptop with me in the car. (broadband is great that way). then while i was driving my brother IMed me. so while at a stoplight i answered back.

then my dad called. he needed some direction on how to use a digital camera that is similar to my own. i tried to walk him through the steps but i myself wasn't completely clear. luckily i had my camera with me. so i popped my camera open and walked through the steps with my dad over the phone. while still keeping one eye on traffic and half an eye on my laptop.

seriously. i'm an idiot. even if it was wicked slow moving construction traffic.

people should not do 5 things at once. especially not when one of those things is driving.

that was dumb. i really need to aim for no more dumb driving. seriously.

the wall in cambridge

time to start stealing
Originally uploaded by florajasmine

here's a shot from my visit to the wall in cambridge, right off of mass ave. over the past few weeks a ton of local and non-local artists have come by and put up their work courtesy of an art guy (www.not-rocket-science.com/) and a restaurant guy (www.enormous.tv). awesome move to take street art and make it accessible, legal, and collaborative.

i only found that this event was even occurring due to my random contacts on flickr. other street artist and street art fans all collecting and sharing their work over there. i saw a flyer for it listed on someone else's page. coincidence that i was even in boston this weekend. after a weekend of eagles, celtics and sox games, i finally got my butt in gear and made it over to the location. i could not convince any of my friends to go with me. so sad. why are none of my friends into graffiti? i need to find a few street art friendly friends.

so yeah. it was kinda chilly but the sun was shining brightly. i got to spend a while taking it all in, cos it was definitely overwhelming at first. the work of over 20 artists all piled on top of each other. the alley where the art was is under a canopy of colored plates which added a different layer onto the already brightly decorated wall.

while i was there some of the artists were hanging out, adding some finishing touches and pasting up a few more layers. of course, because i'm a loser, i didn't talk to anyone. i just walked around taking pictures and soaking it up. it was fun to have the work of all these guys and girls that i spot around boston all showing up in a single place. the city does really need to have more installations like this. san antonio too. i think san antonio does a big show every couple years whereas boston is definitely lacking, but this was a good step forward. if i ever get my act together i'd definitely love to help organize something like this. of course, then i'd really have a reason to talk to the artists and say something more intelligent than, 'awesome piece, dude!'

because the alley is a main walkway in central square, lots of people encountered the work on there way to somewhere else. retired couples, families, businessmen and street kids all walked through the alley while i was there. and at least half of them stopped to take a closer look or snap a picture with their cellphone. beyond satisfying street art junkies like me, this is why i love exhibitions- it helps other people encounter and appreciate street art that they might otherwise not stop to pay attention to. i saw a little boy staring with his mouth wide open and then tracing his finger along one stencil. an older woman walking with her husband stopped to rub her hand over a pasteup, getting a real 'feel' for the art as it was hung. it all made me happy.

many thanks to the organizers and artists who participated in this exhibition. it was totally awesome and definitely a highlight to my weekend. even though time wise, much of my weekend was spent hanging out with great friends watching sporting events, the 30 minutes or less i spent alone in an alley staring at paint dry - that was probably my favorite. i'm just weird that way.

UPDATE: ok. so the boston red sox winning the world series around midnight. also a favorite part of my weekend. for sure. yay sox!!! my fan-dom has definitely increased since the last one back in my college days. phenomenal.

how i roll

how i roll
Originally uploaded by florajasmine

a little pic from this past weekend. it's a self portrait, if you will. a little pic can tell you a lot. if u know how to read it...

chucks always. and i was trying a new thing with my already skinny jeans that day.

the fold over and roll technique. i definitely used to rock this in like 3rd grade. it's awesome. i'm going to working on bring it back.

who needs sexyback when you can have jeanrollback?

ok. that's not funny. i'll stop now...

how they do it down south

so. while i still spend my work days in boston, i am officially part of the austin office.

today was a training session for people from the dallas and austin offices of my company. it was my first time meeting any one from texas offices. i was nervous about the whole 'walk into a giant room where you know no one' thing. but i've done it before. and of course, all these people were texans, so it was easy to sit down and find people to talk to right off the bat. i know that i work for a huge, global company and everytime i meet people from different places i'm amazed at how similar our work experiences are. and the whole 'it's a small world' piece of it also. it's awesome when i meet someone who knows someone else i know.

so anyways. we went over a series of situations that can come up at work, on the client site, and how to approach them. the seminar's faculty gave advice on how to take ownership of our careers and make sure we continue to develop our skill sets. so you know... some good stuff. general people and client management stuff that can definitely yield results going forward.

but the one thing that stuck out to me the most today- which is not particularly career focused but is definitely related - was the percentage of married people in attendance. this company function was focused on people at my level, who for the most part are mid to late twenties. and i would say that at least 90% were wearing wedding rings.

obviously, i'm used to senior level people in my company being married. but seeing people my age - all married off, it's weird. things just aren't like that in boston. yes, there are definitely young people in boston that are married. i friends with a few. and a few engaged people here and there. but it's definitely not the majority.

i ate lunch with three women and a large part of our conversation involved, 'my husband this...' or 'my in-laws that...' then they turned to me, "flora- are you married?" um. no! boyfriend? still no... cue awkward silence.

it's weird feeling so out of place due to my marital status. my non-existent marital status.

yes, of course i would like to find a nice guy to date. that'd be awesome. i'm generally open to meeting new people and i'd love to find a boy.

but come on now. seriously? i could not possibly see marriage in my near future. at all. i'm such a kid. focused on me, myself and i. and sometimes the world as a whole. but mostly- me.

these texans. already all married off by the age of 25. i don't get it. i'm not fitting in. also every single person i met today besides the two foreigners (UK and France) went to college in texas and lived here for most of their adult lives. UT, TAMU, baylor, SMU, texas state, UNT. also, so not me. i was the only weirdo who'd wandered off for college, and then was crazy/smart/dumb enough to return to the homeland. at least people had heard of boston college. of course, i know our recent success in football is a factor in my school's brand recognition.

however. they did all say, y'all regularly. and there was almost an aggie/horn throwdown which was thouroughly entertaining. and they all know where grapevine mills is and the awesomeness of chick-fil-a and have visited san antonio beyond the rivewalk. texans. i love them. i am them. kind of.

novel distribution

i've downloaded the new radiohead album, in rainbows. i've only been able to listen to a bit of it so far on borrowed headphones because i left my own back at the hotel.

a dinner with the work crew tonight which means i wont get to listen to it then either...

so it seems that the big in rainbows listening experience will be postponed until tomorrow.

no big deal, i suppose. i'm not even the hugest of radiohead fans. really, the only reason i have these tracks on their release date is because i wanted to take part in the great economic experiment that is going on at inrainbows.com. pay what you want for the download. it's interesting. yes, there is the boxed set at a standard price which you can purchase which is very like the old system. and i see how some could say this 10.10 release is just an opportunity for the band to make a few bucks and a lot of marketing ground off an advance leak that silly patrons pay for instead of downloading.

but really- letting the market set their price- it's cool. it's new. it's different.

all the economist and marketers (and i'm betting record labels) are eager to get their arms around all sorts of data like how many people bought and how much did they actually pay when there was no bar and no supervision. 1 pence or 100 pounds, whatever you like, even nothing. people are paying at different rates based on their individual valuation of the goods. i'd love to see this data and analysis as well. i'm a nerd. i know. but it could be the start of a change in music distribution. i mean, I paid for it... where usually i'd just download it or copy from a friend. so they got my pound-forty-five, which is 100% more than i would have normally given to thom and crew...

now. if only i could listen to all that i paid for... though i can confess from the first few tracks- i'm digging it. and i've heard its a grower.

so... i'm still alive and other things

wow. i haven't written here in a bit, eh? considering i go some periods with 1 or more updates each day... having nothing to say to the internet for a whole 2 weeks. like, whoa dude. :p

probably havent posted lately due to the fact that most of my waking hours are spent: at the office, in a car, at the airport, eating unhealthy foods, outside with my family, inside with my friends, or laid out with eyes half open trying to watch the new season of some show on the tele...

yeah. living la vida loca, that's me.

um. no. not quite.

work is still ok-ish. might be getting better, hopefully wont take a turn for the worse. i'm actually interested in what i'm starting on now and i think this is definitely related to something i can work with long term. more than developer code and data tables. only, weird thing is... that stuff is still sometimes cool to me. i'm so strange.

traveling sucks. straight up. the back and forth is long and i get delays and missed flights and random nights spent not where i'd prefer... during the next month i'm cutting my flights down to every other week so it'll be alot better for my sanity and a little better for the earth. i really feel so bad about all the flights i'm taking and all the trees i'm killing. (yes. environmental guilt. i'm full of it.)

however. seeing the family every weekend has been fantastic. i love it. i love them all and this is why i asked for the transfer and why i am ok with the delays and long hours spent in airports. cos at the end of it i get to see the most important people a lot more often. so cutting back on the flights is going to kinda suck cos it means i'm cutting back on this texas family time i'm just sinking my teeth into... hmm. boo.

but. i am saving money. which now... two years into the working world i'm actually putting an effort towards. mostly cos i have a goal of buying a house asap. i feel like i need a big investment. and real estate property is it. living with my mommy lets me save money at a faster rate then when i flushed it down the toilet every month living in boston, aka paid rent.

living at home with the fam is good. i know a lot of kids my age say they couldn't handle being en casa with their parentals again after leaving the nest only a few years ago. maybe i'm different since i havent really lived home-home full time since i was 16. dunno. i like it. they're nice to me, they love me, they feed me, they let me take naps when i want- it's a good arrangement for now. we do have our squabbles where we yell or cry or i pinch them to show my displeasure. but then we get over it and make up. it's all very normal i think. only apparently this child/parent relationship i've got going on is abnormal compared to the scenes of my peers... hmm. don't get it.

so yeah.

i'm in boston or san antonio or somewhere in between 100% of my time. looks to be the ongoing plan for the next few months. i can handle it. i can make it fun. i can make it enjoyable. i can.

tomorrow night: san antonio heat and southtown's first friday with my bro. we have to do some surveying of the scene/ market research for my other big goal i'm working on/saving for... to be announced.

knows me to well

i have been carrying around a borders gift card for a while and i finally decided to use it to make a little musical purchase or two last night. i bought two new cds.

on the drive back to my hotel i called my brother. 'guess what new cd i'm listening to?' he guessed m.i.a - which was wrong. only cos that is the cd that was still unopened on my passenger seat. 'young love' was his second guess. totally right. took two guesses, but he guessed correctly and knew exactly what i'd bought. i'm so predictable and he knows me so well. and out of all the bands this weekend, i think those were the two favorites for which i did not already own the cds or mp3s for.

and now. purchased and on repeat in my car. excellent. this weekend the baby will have his own copy of each.

we came to rock

so, ACL was this past weekend. austin city limits festival 2007.

my brother and i went. he's turning 20 in a week... this is an early gift. and the weekend guaranteed i got to spend some q.t. with my baby during his last bit as a teenager.

3 days spent in the company of david as well as assorted UT kids, old tamster friends, a couple of cousins and 60k other people. and you know... some rock bands.

for posterity's sake and in case anyone cares, below is who i saw. i sat for sets ranging between 20 minutes from far away in a field for pete yorn on friday afternoon to the full MUSE show, packed tightly about a hundred feet from the stage near a mosh pit on saturday night. my favorites are star'd. overall, friday was my favorite day - possibly because it ended with blueberry pancakes... but muse was my favorite show. for sure.

friday:
pete yorn
peter bjorn and john*
joss stone**
m.i.a.**
spoon*
gotan project
kaiser chiefs
the killers
bjork

saturday:
kevin devine*
young love**
dax riggs
paolo nutini*
cold war kids*
stephen marley
artic monkeys*
muse***

sunday:
yo la tengo*
the national*
ben kweller
grace potter
common*
bloc party
rose hill drive
regina spektor
wilco*
ghostland observatory*
bob dylan


so my dad picked us up on barton springs, drove me home to san antonio by 12am and i got back in the car at 430am to drive to the airport. and now i'm in boston. clean of any lingering sweat or zilker park dirt, but still bearing my acl mark in the huge amount of sunburn across my back and down my arms.

ah. it was a very good weekend. and now i am pooped.

i heart interpol

went to interpol concert tonight. it was fantastic. (sidenote- agganis sells beer. bc's conte forum does not. this was so strange/great to me.)

anyways.

interpol. i love them. i LOVE daniel's dancing. i LOVE pauls voice. and carlos. kills me. KILLS me. i dont know why.

seeing them rock makes me happy and dance-y. i just bop around, smiling while they sing about stabbing necks and 200 couches and how the subway- she is a porno. I LOVE IT/THEM/TONIGHT. 'twas great. i called at least 4 ppl to let them listen in. if i could dial annatudor in scotland without spending a million dollars in phone bills- i would have called her too, to share in my poppy boppy rocky joy.

stella was the final song. nyc before that. perfect ending. really.

--

this is a great kickoff for my musical week. interpol was the one band that from the announcement of the initial ACL lineup that i was really sad about not being on the list. and now i got to see them anyways. a few extra bucks but a musical thirst has been quenched. i've gotten my interpol fix for now. now i can focus on the other bands.

which i am so excited about.

3 days of possibly rainy rocking out in zilker park. i have rainboots and a poncho. i can deal - for sure.

and now i may have tix to a few after-shows.

grizzly bear. YAY.

and some highschool reunions with old friends. and some quality brother time. and hopefully even a cousin sighting or two. (i have a lot of cousins).

it will be grand. good old austin city limits. here i come. posi thoughts from here on forward.

good times ahead.

interpol tonight at bu. i've seen interpol only in boston, mostly on landsdowne. it's been a few years, but the tradition continues.

i'm kinda sad that miss AT will not be here with me. i'm pretty sure i've only ever been to interpol shows with her. from bill's bar to avalon.

and now the nyc boys in agganis. cool too see how the size of venues has increased... in the past 6 years. i have a feeling i will not get to stand back to back with daniel kessler this time around. dangit.

--

then i fly down to SAT on thursday night. rest and then drive up to ATX on friday morning. a little picnic at UT and then ACLLLLLLLL time. finally. 3 or 4 months of buildup and now it's finally time. 3 days of music and the company of my baby brother and the texas sun.

unfortch, two of my fave acts will not be there due to basically nervous break downs and drug addictions. amy and meg. winehouse and whitestripes are off the lineup. sucks. a lot.

obvs i still have a lot to look forward to... muse, arcade fire, artic monkeys, spoon etc BJORK etc BOB DYLAN, etc etc... and all the other bands i've never heard of and soon might love. but still. i have weird addiction to music probs and amy winehouse has basically been on repeat for quite a while for me. then all the drama. but i was like, that's ok. it'll be the WHITE STRIPES. who are so rocking. raconteurs were one of my favs of last year and jack is back for more! this time w/ meg! only. eh. nope. i wish raconteurs would replace the white stripes place on the billing. then at least i could have jack and brendan. hmmph.

ACL!! in 2 days!!

really. i am excited. in case you couldn't tell.

PAUL BANKS! TONIGHT! PROBABLY IN A SUIT! yeah. i'm excited for interpol too. good times ahead indeed

09.11.01

6th anniversary of 9/11. america's greatest single tragedy of modern times. and an important piece in the way america stands today.

iraq. partisan divide. country divide.

just the way the day is named and referenced - "nine eleven" - is so intrinsically american. only we report the days that way. it is our 'event', something that crosses the divides and everyone can feel sadness for, its just that the sadness has been transformed into different things - which has in turn initiated and ignited subsequent problems in our country.

fear. desire for vengeance. surprise. remorse. regret. anger. disillusionment.

all kinds of things for all sorts of americans. but mostly, especially on the anniversary, it's the sadness that has stuck.

and back again

i was in san antonio for less than 12 hours. but i got to have some of my grandma's fresh tortillas and meet bunny, my family's newest pet. also got to hang with momma and gram.

great to see them, if only for a few hours.

the flight back sucked but eh, what can u do. i signed up for this.

sleeping in a hotel tonight. no roomates to chat with and make fun of dumb tv with and no yoshi to pet and chase around the house. boo. miss that roommate life already.

almost home

my dad and i have been on the road since early saturday morning. we're a little over 2/3 of the way home. crossing the texas border soon. yay!

my dad said he's not tired of riding in the car with me, but he is tired of riding in the car with my stuff.

i am too.

almost home!!

the road home

my week ahead is scaring me. again, a list:

my dad gets into boston tonight.

tomorrow my car gets fixed and it's my last day in the office as a 'local'.

thursday and friday will be spent packing and cleaning.

friday night or sat morning we'll take off, headed south to texas.

drive for 3 days and land at home by monday.

kiss my momma and grams and rest for 10 minutes.

tuesday morning i have to get up at 4am and head to the airport to fly back to boston.

ugh.

sweaty and salty

packing and moving is one of the most annoying things in life.

i know this is exactly what i asked for. what i've been working towards.

but ughhhh.

trying to organize a 2000 mile move plus keep things under control at work... it just is a lot going on.

plus it's toasty and humid here in boston. which i know is exactly what i'm moving back to in san antonio... but ughhh. i just dont want it now. i'm not in the mood...

oh man- big conflict

working out my acl schedule. and at first glance i have a big conflict. muse (who put on an awesome! live show) and artic monkeys (who i've never seen, but i like to jump around to) are playing at the same time on Saturday afternoon. yikes.

decision time.

i know my brother's vote w/o even asking him. (muse.) not sure of mine yet... eek.

‘Kid Nation’ - new show on cbs.

“Kid Nation,” a new reality show coming to CBS next month, is about a group of 40 children, ages 8 to 15, who built a sort of idealistic society in a New Mexico ghost town, free of adults. For 40 days the children cooked their own meals, cleaned their own outhouses, formed a government and ran their own businesses, all without adult intervention.

read more | digg story

excited

now that it has come to fruition, i am so excited to make the move down to texas.

yes, i'll still be in boston for ~60% of my time. but to know that 40% of my time every week can be spent at home in texas is huge.

i can eat regular dinners with my family. i can reconnect with friends i haven't seen regularly since 10th grade. i can watch my littlest cousins grow up. i can hike with my dad, shop with my mom and tell secrets with my brother with regular frequency. i don't have to plan out my trips home to the minute, squishing in as many people as possible into a short 3 or 4 day visit every 4 months. now i can hang with my gram or my grandpa without worrying that i'm neglecting the other by not seeing them on this visit down.

ah. i really hope this works out as well as i am planning on.

yeehaw.

got the final approval today.

i get to move to texas.

and by move i mean fly there on the weekends and then back to boston every monday morning... yeah.

more family time for sure. that's whats important.

yay!

moving on and on and on

moving out of my place in 12 days. i've been packing on and off for the past two weeks and it still looks as if i haven't even started.

this is not going to be fun.

i didn't even go out today except to go to mass and the grocery store. i actually did spend the day packing. and still... so much stuff all over the place.

i hate moving.

beyond the accumulation of 'stuff' on such a grand scale is the somewhat significant issue of figuring out where i will be 'living' per se come sept1. i can only last on the couch of ex-roomies for so long i think.

so stressful.

and i have amigos that are planning on visiting in the coming months. visiting 'me'. of course, when visiting me, it's important that they have an actual placeee to visit. a physical location where i live and they can stay for a night or two. i don't know where that is. eek. i need a place. soon.

this sucks.

----

went to a concert yesterday. the day was pretty beautiful out, feeling like fall in new england (though it's still bloody summer!), with sunny skies and nice breezes. only once the sun set it was freezing cold and my fingers began to turn blue.

musical highlights of the concert were band of horses, yeah yeah yeahs and modest mouse. my first time seeing each and they were fantastic. seeing karen o. in person in her total rockstar persona with crazy dancing and theatrical makeup and was so awesome.

seeing guster again was also great, only cos it took me back to bc days. i remember sitting on the windowsill of our mod on the last day of classes to watch them perform in the mod lot. ahh. bc memories. :p

----

my mom/bro are on the phone giving me update on people from my elementary school that she sees around town. two more girls are engaged/married. seriously. i cannot move to texas under these conditions. all other girls my age are married or engaged. all decent boys are already taken. there will be no girls for me to hang out with and no boys for me to date. fantastic.

not.

so depressing.

i'm so old school

while on vacation in miami last month i bought a nkotb shirt at urban outfitters. it was on clearance for 9.99 and was a black replica of a (white) shirt i had in elementary school.

i have loved nkotb for a long time. like since i was 5. i remember coming home from kindergarten (1989, what- what!) and going over to my cousin valerie's house to watch nkotb music videos. forreal. nkotb was my first cassette tape. (michael jackson and smurfs were on lp). such a baby of the 80s, i know.

today while thinking back i realized/recalled these fun facts. 19 years ago i loved 5 boys from boston. 19 years later i realized i've lived in their hometown for almost 6 years. freaky, huh? coincidence? tangential relation?

i'm a loser.

i did meet jordan knight once. in logan airport actually. on my very first visit to boston, my senior year at tams. aww. maybe that's what really sold me on this place. tricky tricky jordan knight. so cute. (i had the j. knight barbie when i was 5 or 6. picked it out myself. rat-tail and all. wow. ok. done for the night.)

good bye.

nyc graffiti and flickr and moving

i went to nyc this past weekend to hang with my girlies, maria and kel, and just wander around manhattan. and we went to the bronx and astoria. lots of traveling. walked a lot, did some minor shopping, and mostly just hung with the girls. we were all kind of tired and poopy but just laying around maria's place petting sphinx is fun. almost like the mod... only not.

anyways. during my wanderings i took some pictures of nice graf in soho. and now they're on flickr...


i've been digging graffiti for a quite a while and my interest has increased significantly in the past few years. i now constantly scope the streets for new pieces and point them out to my family and friends.

walking down a city street (and even driving down a country road) can always be interesting and art filled. for me graffiti is a great modern art form. i'm sure people have been tagging up walls for ages, scratching their names in trees and under desks. since the 1980s tagging and wall art has flourished across the US, both legally and illegally.

i appreciate it every day. each morning on my drive to work through allston, ma i'm able to graffiti-spot for a couple of blocks before i get on the highway. on trips away i spend time wandering around neighborhoods just looking for something different. graf is totally public art in its rawest form.

when i find these interesting pieces and i take pictures of them. i have gigs worth of pictures of street art. pasteups, tags and stencils. if i see it, i like it and my camera's handy i like to catch a pic before it gets painted over or washed away. another great thing about street art is it's limited lifespan. because these pieces are thrown up on walls allover the cities, they come and go at the will of the people. so communal. even if the community police try to wipe them out... all part of the circle. by taking a picture i have that piece captured on my hard drive even if someone else eventually/inevitably paints over it.

so anyways.

i take a lot of pictures and i like to show them to people. so i've turned to flickr as my website of choice for sharing my pictures with people i know and people i don't. opening up my graffiti archives for the world wide web to see.

flickr is a great place for tagging and searching pictures. through this foto-friendly community i've found pages of some of my favorite artists. the fact that i can take photos of these seemingly anonymous pieces, put them up on the site, and then have artists wander around and claim them as their own is fantastic. another benefit is that i'm able to wander around the collections of my fellow graf-lovers and see where they've been and what has caught their eyes.

it's like a team effort to photo and id all these artist around the world. a giant easter egg hunt, if you will, on the streets and on the sites. surprises around every corner, and yet sometimes, nothing interesting at all.

now i'm rambling.

whoops.

anyways. i love graffiti. flickr is a great site for fotos. and my new camera add-on's are in the mail. yay! new filters and a hood by the weekend - woohoo! i'll be back on the streets and snapping away asap.

right after i pack up my house. my tons and tons of crap.

our move date is 3 weeks away and my room/house is a dirty disaster. i need to get my booty in gear and packing. really. cos i'm moving. out of this house on aug 31. and to texas... sometime... semi-homeless for that middle part but no worries. no worries, no worries, it'll be ok.

---

i packed 3 boxes worth of books today. actually, rach packed one for me and cracked the whip to make me pack the other two. dang. 3 boxes of books packed up and still SO much stuff to go. this sucks.

mmm... tasty

i just got a couple slices of pizza from the caf at work. i never eat pizza here but today i wanted something different.

mushroom pizza. the mushrooms are most definitely from a can.

i like that.

the pizza tasted just like what i used to eat at pistol pete's when i was a kid. ahhh, pistol pete's. i think i had a birthday party there in 6th or 7th grade. obvs way too old for that kind of thing but i didn't care. greasy pizza andddd skeeball!

man. pistol pete's was awesome.

now its a bingo place. lame.

Someone’s Watching Your House - New York Times

haha, just what i was talking about last night... online house stalking... it's a national sickness.

read more | digg story

homesick

i'm looking at houses online. cos e-shopping for homes is great. between zillow, realtor and craigslist dot-coms there are a ton of places to just wander around the virtual realty market.

today while shopping i took a sattelite-swing over to check out my own house in dear san antonio. the satellite picture shows my dad's van in the driveway that is trimmed with rocks my mom and bro laid out. i see the shed in the back and our giant tree in the front yard.

seeing a place so familiar makes me so homesick. so.

i may not be in san antonio on september 1, but i'm working on getting there AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. forreal. i hate being so far away. especially when my family needs me.

have passport, will travel.

last night i finally found my passport after it's been MIA for about 1.5 months. pretty much since i got back from mexico at the end of may. i was getting kinda of nervous. i don't actually have any international flights planned right now, but i like to know that if someone offers up a spur of the moment trip to italy or australia or brazil- i'd be able to partake. so yeah. now i'm free to fly. or you know, drive across the border into canada-land if i so desire.

anyways. my passport had fallen behind my cable box. i'd put it on top of said cable box for "safe keeping". i'm such a mess. i've packed up the equivalent of 6 suitcases of clothes and bags and things, and my room is still overflowing with stuff.

oh dear. moving is going to be such a mess.

facebookin'

the news feed updates on facebook really crack me up. all kinds of random updates on people you may or may not be actual friends with. knowing the latest relationship status of someone i haven't talked to in 4 years, finding out a college roomate's new favorite movie... and today's best:

XXXXXX added "My Chemical Romance" to his favorite music.

HAHA. anyone over the age of 14 declaring for all to see that 'my chemical romance' is your favorite music is kinda random. the fact that the person who just made this update is a slightly nerdy kid from college makes this update even funnier. he is totally NOT being ironic with this pick.

truth be told, i make embarrassing and dorky updates to my facebook profile as well. but usually, i at least try to hide them - i always click the little 'x' to remove my actions from showing up in the news feed. no one really needs to know that i added girl talk to my favorite music or removed signs from my favorite movies. really. if they cared, they'll stalk my profile, right? haha.

oh web 2.0, how fun you are.

this whole post is dorky and exposes my ongoing love of facebook. apologies. instead of announcing my nerdy tendencies on facebook i like to expose them here. whatevs, right?

weekends

weekends around the house are great. just wandering around harvard, hanging out in the house, napping and reading.

its weird that we've lived here for almost a year now. and i'm moving out and south in a little over a month. i like this place when it's warm. it's just so far from home-home.

big changes, they are a'coming.

blogging on and on and on

today at lunch we were talking about this kid who is socially awkward. he sends mass emails and talks to strangers. and he has a website. which people at work have checked out. i feel like i saw it once but i don't remember what was on it. don't know if it was a blog... then someone mentioned another work-dude who had a blog and talked about work people using vaguely disguised nicknames. also strange/awkward. people at work reading a blog that talked about them...always turns into a weird joke.

so yeah. i have a blog. obviously. which could be found easily enough. it's cross listed with a ton of websites i frequent (cos i'm a dork that way). no big. pretty much everything i say on here i'd say to anyone i talk to in real life. i think my dad is my number one reader. and if you can say it in front of your parents and the rest of the internet, i really don't feel that worried about 'work people' reading what's here. i'm a dork, i have weird obsessions, and this is one of my hobbies. writing little diary entries and life observations on the internet for friends, family and myself. i talk and write a lot. i feel like most people know that about me anyways. i'm pretty open about stuff, so whatevs.

i know some people from work read this. most don't know it exists. not like i advertise. maybe as i progress in my career i'll talk less. i know how to censor myself. i don't really want to be a topic of lunch conversation. but i am a rockstar so maybe i am super interesting and worthy of lunchtime convos... heh. anyways. the blog will continue with my self-centeredness... read on friends...

there's always so much interestingness going on... :p

i stopped at newbury comics on the way home. went on a cd buying binge. that is why i work, right? to buy things i want. so i took that list i made last week and invested in a few pop artists. interpol, spoon, white stripes and girl talk to be exact. 4 new cds. so old fashioned, i know! but since i'm anti-itunes and sometimes have weird modern-luddite leanings, i still rock the plastic cases from time to time... anyways, i listened to interpol on the way home. fantastic. of course i have heard this album before online. but listening to a new cd for the first time while driving with the windows down is just extra special. tomorrow's drive to work will probably be some thump-y goodness cos i have to be awake so early. yay. new music is great.

also i bought a new phone today. shipped this afternoon and will probably get in on thursday. how exciting.

wow. reading the last two paragraphs reminds me that i am such an environment killing consumer. and it bothers me and i need to stop... working on it...

a calculator to estimate your personal happiness and that of the earth.

The questions on the following pages will ask you about where you live, your health, lifestyle, and how you feel about life. The answers you give are used to calculate your own personal score on the Happy Planet Index. How happy are you... and at what price to the environment?!

read more | digg story

sand and aliens

on saturday the roomies and i ventured out to revere beach to see the sandcastle competition. there were some crazy ones out there. the main event was a pirate ship inspired by pirates of the carribean including the octopus one and captain jack sparrow. we didn't get to see them blow up the losers at the end but it was still very cool.

after wandering around the sand exhibit we took in some sun on the beach. it wasn't as sketchy as everyone warned us it would be. just full of boston people. who are... boston-y. however, adjacent to us was also a group of what we determined to be brazillian. in this group were 4 boys wearing little tiny, very tight swim trunks. playing some kind of volleyball-soccer game. that was pretty much what entertained us girls for quite a while. eye candy for the girls. we're weirdos, oh well.

after a quick shower ellen and i ventured out to see transformers at fenway. ahem. yeah. the transformers were totally awesome. love them. shia, cute girl, hot soldier boy and the dialogue - yeah, not so impressive. sadly. the cartoon totally rocked my socks as a kid and now the robots still do but the movie was eh just due to all the human talking. tres annoying. oh well, still glad i saw it in the theater cos the autobots were REALLY cool.

---

and now its sunday night and as usual i am not in the mood to return to work in the morning. sometimes it feels like i'm in 7th grade again, dreading sitting in class after a free weekend. only i'm an adult now and its the cube life i'm not digging. oh well. so it goes...

maybe siren festival next weekend... we shall see...

the arts i want

when people tell me they don't have a favorite type of music or only
listen to top40 i judge them. harshly. i know, not all people care
about these things, but i do cos i'm a nerd. and tele- i love tele,
ask anyone i've ever lived with. good tv provides contemporary
commentaries on life in little 30 or 60 minute segments. lastly,
movies are great story tellers and tho i get to the theater so rarely,
catching a film with 200 other people really is a great experience.

below are things i'm liking right now. experienced or not. these are
picks i'm willing to pay to experience, cos i know i do or will like
them that much. usually i dont like paying for things. which is why
the internet is great. anyways...

cd's i want to buy and not download:
icky thump
our love to admire
ga ga ga ga ga

movies i want to see and not watch online:
spiderman3
transformers
paris, je t'aime

shows i'm loving right now:
online- skins, e4
on tv- flight of the conchords, hbo

i suggest you watch/listen to these sometime. they are good. forreal.

also there are a few art shows i really want to see this summer.
mostly in nyc. i think a roadtrip is in order... brookline to soho in
4 hours or less...

adios a miami

so, i'm back from the sunny side...

my week in miami was great. no computers and no work the whole time. just fun, sun and my travel buddy ellen. with a little family time thrown in to mix it up.

we got in on tuesday and wandered around til it started raining. then we had dinner at puerto sagua (which turned out to be the best restaurant on our trip) and passed out in the room. wednesday was spent sunning and sweating on the beach, a little shopping and then dinner and fireworks on the beach. closed out the night with some latin-tinged jam band jazz at jazid (which coincidentally is right next to miami ink, whose show i love).

thursday morning we rented a car and drove down to visit my family near key largo. two aunts, my gram, and some family friends were all at my aunt's house for the week. had my most delicious salad of the week there during a spanglish lunch and then ellen and i hung out in the pool and napping on the porch until dinner. gram and i had some quality time on the porch in the pitch black watching the lighting bugs flutter around. friday morning we had a caravan of cars drive up north to the largest flea market in america. i got a cool shell windchime and ellen got some jewelry. aunts and gram got purses. a successful trip for all. after filling up on gas we split up. ellen and i drove back down to miami and visited little havana. we took a look around a cigar factory and got some yum yums at a cuban bakery. the cuban coffee with lots of sugar was delicious.

back in miami we went to the beach, took a nap, had dinner at the cuban place again, and went to bed which is a bar/restaurant/lounge/club place with beds for seating. like the one in nyc. only this one was really small and empty. it was kind of like a frat party. weird. but fun cos they're open late. cos its not boston.

saturday morning we sunned ourselves on the beach again and then had lunch and slushies at wet willies. greasy burgers and deliciously crispy fries. after some showers and an a/c refresher we wandered down collins to lincoln ave and checked out all the cool shops and a whole artist studio complex which was one of my favorite places on the visit. it was SO hot the whole time but we did some quality shopping (real and window) and scored super end of season deals. after a detox-dinner of green green salads(we'd been eating fried and greasy food since tuesday) it started to rain. i had some tiramisu gelato while we skipped around back to the hotel- it was delish (the gelato, not the rain). after our long walk home both ellen and i passed out at like 10 and didn't wake up til 3am so there was no out on the streets that night.

sunday morning we woke up early only to find the skies cloudy and all the shops closed (duh- sunday). we wandered around, got rained on, napped, and then once it was sunny we did more shopping and beaching. took a shower, then we went out for a late dinner on ocean drive and people watched. ocean drive is awesome for people watching and car gawking. lots of fun cars around- lambos, ferraris and a lotus- oh my! closed out the night at mansion cos it's the thing to do in southbeach. weirdest part was the stripper pole. and the girls dancing on it. really. maybe i' just a prude, but better for it... anyways, best part of the night was seeing chris nunez from miami ink near the bar. i wish it was ami cos i love him (so does my aunt) but alas, just chris. still cool. i love that show. and i want a tattoo. badly. we stayed out so late and took advantage of the whole south beach thing. it's funny what can make ellen and i so proud. staying up late into the early morning. we're nerds.

sunday we got up late, had a last lunch at our cuban place and hit the road to the airport. the flight was delayed and my luggage was heavy. a guy on the train made fun of me. we made it home around midnight. a good, long trip. pictures on flickr/facebook/picasa if you're interested.

southbeach living is what i want. how could you not?

favorite observations:

• wearing bathing suits as streetwear is great. knowing that if you're hot you can just take off your shirt and walk around in a swimsuit is awesome. and so not kosher for boston.
• cuban black beans, rice and platanos all mixed together is a most delicious icky looking mixture. i could eat it every day.
• conversations that occur in spanish and english are more fun. and challenging to my little brain. in a good way.
  
• being able to take disco naps until 11 or 12 at night and knowing that restaurants and bar will still be open for hours and hours works really well with my love of nappy naps and being ready to go out after midnight.
• boys everywhere hit on you. which is sketchy yes, but also a great confidence booster. that's so anti-feminist but still so true.
  
• flip flops and shorts and tube tops. everyday. who needs pants? and real shoes? pshh. no.
• they have way better radio djs. they actually dj and dont just press play. how novel! and the mixed singles they have are cooler than what we've got in this pop-music backwater of boston.
  

now i'm back in boston. a little browner and a lot more relaxed. and wishing i could go back to the vacation life right now. forreal.

the latest

i always stay up wicked late before a long trip. between packing and nerves and my generally masterful skills of procrastination, i can spend well into 3am wandering around my room throwing things into my luggage.

and so it goes this time.

ellen and i are leaving for a little vacay in south beach. yes, it's summer everywhere and who spends july in south florida... whatever. it's a break from boston and work and general responsibilities. i'm looking forward to it. sitting on the beach reading or strolling through the streets shopping - i'm sure it will all be great.

my gram and aunt will be down in the area as well so it will be nice to squeeze in some family time. haven't seen either since april. ahhh. long distance families can come together sometime.

back to tonight. i've spent the majority of my afternoon and evening wasting time. i packed and unpacked my suitcase at least three times, consulting my roomates on what to take and what to leave, giving and watching mini fashion shows throughout. i watched an episode of skins, transferred my latest downloads to my mp3 player, showered, stared at the tele for a while, listened to some music while staring at the ceiling, and overall doing nothing productive.

i'm itching to watch the final episode of series one of skins because i've gotten this far and its gotten so weird... but i really should be sleeping instead. so i will. ep9 will just have to wait until next week... i'm such a loser.

but tomorrow- i'll be a loser on the beach!

a little older, not much wiser

i turned 24 today. that's pretty gross, eh?

worked up until 8p last night then went out for some drinks and yummies at sunset to ring in the passage of time with my brookline family. we had a good time laughing at poop and penis jokes cos we're all so mature. good to know i can be in my twenties and still laugh at 7th grade jokes with my friends. only now we can drink beer too. :)

after a late night marathon of chris rock standup, reading about amy winehouse and watching the boys play wii i passed out.

i woke up to calls from my family wishing and singing me happy birthday. i love my mommy, daddy and baby. sucks that i'm so far away all the time... but not for much longer!!!

this afternoon the girls and i went shopping for vacation clothes. picked up some yum yums at the asian bakery and came home to have fashion shows. finished up the day with mass at BC and now ellen and i are watching grease and planning for miami.

not the craziest birthday ever, but chill and fun doing some of my favorite things- eating, shopping, and singing along with grease!


miami in two days!! woohoo!!

these times, they are a changing

i'm moving back to texas. woohoo! 6 years later...

i've asked for an office transfer. to austin, texas. in september.

wow. should be fun.

really gotta make the most of my last few months up here. operation rock boston will start today!

im a loser. the end.

"ughh.... i wanna get marrieddddddd!"

my roomate and i in unison while watching the opening scene in "you, me and dupree". we are such losers. this might be related to the fact that we went to the draft at 530 to get a late lunch special of $3 burgers and $9 pitchers.

so sad.

but woohoo! its summer.

the end.

i said no, no, no.

a bar i was at last night played amy winehouse's entire "back to
black" from start to finish. we left the second time rehab started
playing. i love that song. i loved that bar not only for their
martinis, but for their music choice. very wise. great lounge music.
:p

so today i've spent a lot of time listening to amy again. ellen thinks
i'm crazy. i know. sometimes i get into things and listen to them far
more than any normal person could stand. good thing i have headphones.

posi thoughts for june

2 weeks ago i was feeling pretty poopy. here i am, just a few days
later and feeling much better. there are a lot of positives floating
around. here are some of my little highlights.

+ ACLfest schedule was announced. i now have 3 months to plan out my
show-hopping, hour by hour.
+ i bought cute shoes on super sale. not only do i like them, but
other people do too!
+ i've made a decision regarding my life come september. now i just
have to tell people.
+ someone put up cups in the fence along cambridge st to read 'you are
beautiful.' it totally made my morning yesterday.
+ going "out" in providence made me realize it maybe wasn't so lame a town.
+ it's really, officially summer. and it's actually pretty out in
boston (for now).
+ i managed to convince myself there is a silver lining to the fact
that i have to work on my birthday-eve, which is a saturday.
+ my mom and bro's visit was really great and helped cement decision
for september.
+ i'm getting over the angst of turning 24. very important since that
age is quickly approaching.

+ i'm trying to do a mini-earth-lent project for a week or two. kinda
like easter lent in that you give something up. but instead of for
your faith it's for the earth. i've given up disposable drinking
containers. obviously it's not a big sacrifice, but in one day i can
go through 3 or 4 paper cups between breakfast, lunch, and tea breaks.
and if i do buy a drink out that involves a plastic or glass or metal
bottle. so no more disposable containers for a while. not so bad at
lunchtime- i always have my water bottle with me, but i do really wish
i'd brought a cup for tea, the a/c is on full blast today and it'd
help to warm up...

focusing on the posi parts of life. it's sunny out and my ankle's not
broken, how can i not be happier?

i'm a baby and i like my mommy

i've been alone for the last two nights. my mommy and baby bro were up for about a week visiting me. it was a slumber party every night. then they left on monday.

when most people talk about their mothers coming to town it's usually accompanied by a grimace or a groan. not me. i love my mommy. she's great and fun and helpful, even her craziness is part of her charm. i was excited to have her visiting. and i enjoyed the time she was here.

same with my bro. he's pretty much one of my most favorite people on the planet and i don't even know why. i usually call him 'baby' instead of his name. this has to do with my attachment to the kid. he's like my baby that i always try to mold and direct. it's even better when he listens. having him hanging around, even if it's just to complain, is still great. baby.

we didn't do much activity-wise while they were here. went to some dinners, arts festival in coolidge corner, shopping on newbury. my favorite part of their visit was just the part where we hung out in my room watching tv and telling jokes.

i love my family.

which brings me to my next thought which is somewhat tangentially related.

today at work my boss brought up the fortune magazine article he read about generation y. he talked about how gen y-ers were needy and overly confident. we tried to prove that gen y was better than gen x. then, the convo ended with my boss telling me that when he read the article he said it described me to a T. needy and overconfident- was he insulting me? should i be offended? he said no...

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/05/28/100033934/

then i read the article. it says other things about gen y-ers besides being needy. the article mentioned the importance of parents in our lives- true. talked about the gen y's generally high expectations in the workplace- yep. "self-absorbed, gregarious, multitasking, loud, optimistic, pierced" i'm not all that, but yeah, some of it for sure.

i'm less offended now. i can accept that. i can agree that i do fit into this stereotype quite a bit. it's true. it's partly how i was raised- my parents, society and the environment. i think another part of the current stereotype is due to my age- i'll admit that i'm immature, ignorant and naive in some ways. it would be ridiculous to say i'm a true adult. i still depend on my parents for advice. and some times i'm probably overly naive in my optimistic view of mankind and various individuals. hopefully these things will pass with time and experience. i can't be a baby forever.

that's my brother's job.

p.s. the spurs won the championship in a 4 game sweep of the cavs. i'm so glad that my mom and disinterested brother were here to watch the game with me. having 2.5 spurs fans in boston was super exciting compared to previous games where it was me yelling at the tv and clapping alone in my bedroom. wooooo!! spurs '07. duncan dynasty fo sho.

the poop continues to flow

casey reyes-jimenez
(1996-2007)

one more time i've hated myself for being thousands of miles from home.

my dog was put to sleep today. my mom called me yesterday afternoon to say he was acting weird and sloppy yesterday and at the vet today they said it was cancer. it would have been lots of pain and lots of money to even try to help him through this. and it might not have even helped.

so today i told my mom to go ahead and let him go while standing on the street trying not to cry in the middle of coolidge corner. i was laying in my bed face down when she called crying to say she, daddy and baby had all said goodbye to my casey. i was on the steps of st.ignatius when i asked my mom to bury him in the backyard by my bedroom window.

i feel horrible. most of casey's life i was living in dallas or boston. when i was home in san antonio i never spent enough time with my ornery, fluffy, little puppy. last month while i was in town my mom mentioned he was acting weird but he had seemed fine when i played with him so i didn't take him to the vet. i don't know, but it might have helped.

i hate being so far away.