Disjointed General Update

This is me at a random high end clothing store on Melrose during Fashion week taking advantage of the free champagne and snacks.  Great event for people watching and an opportunity to walk into these stores to just look around and not feel too judged because you have no intention of purchasing anything.  Each item is priced higher than my monthly rent.

My mom warned me about the garbage that I was putting into my system and I'm paying for it now.  Heartburn, cramping, bloating... I didn't know my body was going to deteriorate so quickly.  And I'm starting to get a flat tire above my flat tire which makes it very uncomfortable to sit because of how overweight I've become.  It's making me very sad to feel the ripples in my body.

I can say that traffic is a blessing in disguise.  My new commute to my new job is 30 minutes in the morning and 1.5 hours in the evening.  What better way to wait out traffic at night than to take advantage of the office gym.  I've gone once and already feel much better.

Though what do I do in traffic beside wither away?  I fall asleep.  I zone out about nothing.  I call my mom to listen to her say she misses me. I delete songs from my iPod that no longer carry any meaning or entertainment. I day dream about building a 20 mile long tunnel from my house to my job. God, what a waste of time.

I'm trying to buy more grown up clothes and realized that if I pay a little more, I can find stuff that's actually flattering on my body.

With my pay raise I feel like I need to buy more things.  But what?  What a first world problem to have.  Christmas shopping! I should start uber early.

Maybe I should get an iPhone 5.  But what for?  A better camera?  That's the only reason.  Seriously.  The ONLY reason.

I've been MIA because I've been obsessed with my new job.  They treat me well, I can work at home on Fridays.  I can fly up to SF whenever I want (expensed).  Lunch is catered every Monday.  I can wear flip flops. OMG, I can wear FLIP FLOPS.  This is called, employee happiness.  When they treat you well, you work harder.  And I'm not going to lie. I'm a rockstar at my job.  I jumped from 5 accounts to 49.  No problem.  Give me more.

Here's a $3000 purse from Alexander McQueen.  Makes me vomit.

August Recap

I knew that 2012 would be a transitional year for me.  I finally left my agency after 3 years.  It was time to leave, but it was hard since at that point a lot of people looked up to me.  I was a leader and well respected.  There were only 3 other people on my account that stayed as long as me, but we all knew that one by one we would move on to something bigger.  

Agency life was such an opportunity to learn and grow and do cool things with cool people.  A month after being gone I'm jealous of the things I missed out on - meeting Walking Dead cast, Zip Lining on Catalina Island... etc., but I had 3 full years of these perks and I felt so stagnant that I had to move on for my sanity.

I was able to squeeze in a couple of interesting things.  Like watching a UFC fight live at the Staple center.  Something I would never pay for our of my own pocket.  Wow.. homoerotic.   I enjoyed watching a guy inadvertently jab his thumb into his opponent's eye causing him to blood tears and forfeit the match.  

This summer we didn't BBQ enough because my patio was under construction... correction, it was torn out because it didn't meat code.  Luckily Ern closed August with a very chill BBQ at his place.

September started right with a trip to Leimert Park which has always been on my to-do list as one of the most culturally rich neighborhoods in LA.  We enjoyed some amazing Jamaican food for lunch and absorb the sights and sounds of the African Art and Music festival.

Oh boy, we're not in hipsterville no mo'.

Hairchive Update

It's been a while, but my do as of late comes with a $10 cut from my local Mexican barber.  8 minutes of blow drying and expensive overpriced Japanese products known as Gatsby.

My Spanish speaking barber asked me what Asian country I was from and I said Vietnam.  To this he said, "oh!  FILIPINO!"  I didn't feel like there was any point in arguing.... so I just ran with it.

July Recap

We went wine tasting at Barnsdall Park.  Check out these cut complementary glasses.  I got a nice buzz and so did Rosario Dawson.  We waited around for a picture with her, but she aggressively declined because she was too drunk.  We politely let her be and walked away.  "The worst that could happen is they they no."  Well, it's a sad feeling when celebrities decline.

But here's a sneaky picture of her grooving to the afternoon.  What a star.

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Ern's birthday at Ernie's Tacos.  I take full credit for the bomb group photo.  No awkward shuffling here.  Every year, the group grows and Ern does a really nice appreciation speech.  Look at all this love in the room.

We discovered a cute gay dive bar in Pasadena called The Boulevard.  We had a boyfriend serenade-off and guess what's happening in the bottom picture.  You got it a rendition of Proud Mary.    ROLLING DOWN THE RIVER.

Had a tiny pool party and made use of the BBQ pit: bulgogi lettuce wraps!

I connected with Irene who I haven't seen in YEARS!  She looks the same!  She claims that I do too, but lol.

Went on a pirate themed cruise ship around Marina del Rey.  YEAH, I dressed up.  What about it?!?!?!  Yeah those hats were like $6 each... and I'll never wear it again... whatever!  I got a bomb ass photo out of it.

I'm falling in love with Silverlake Reservoir.  Fly my kite, have a picnic, devour these amazing chinese fried chicken wings.

We went to San Diego for Fourth of July where Charles took advantage of OTHER people's room service.

Having more fun on these new modern playground toys than the kids around.

That's all of July!  Dear heavens, I'm almost caught up!

Food Porn - July 2012

I'm becoming a bit vain with these pictures of myself.  Whatever.  I find it amusing.... look, it's me eating again... in space.  I declare the month of July as the month of 2MM Calories.  Damn, everything I consumed was so decadent.

 Hash House a Go Go in San Diego- Andy's Sage Fried Chicken Benedict w/ maple reduction, 2 eggs, bacon mashed potatoes and biscuit.  HUGE Dish

Guisado : Sample Platter.  All these meats were so intricately marinated!  Listed as one of the best taco places in LA.  The meats and tortilla make these little treats unique.

Delicious Food Corner:  Thick toast, condensed milk and butter!  So good.

FukuBuger: Jazz Fries.  Brown Gravy and Crack Sauce!

FukuBurger: Tamago Burger "Egg Burger." (fuku-patty topped with fried egg, furikake, crispy onions, teriyaki sauce, and wasabi mayo).  Much better than the Fuku burger itself.

Frida Mexican Cuisine: Queso Fundido.  I should have known about this.  This is literally melted cheese served with tortilla.  Wow.  Amazing.

Frida Mexican Cuisine: Tacos de Rib Eye - Handmade corn tortillas with Grilled marinated Rib Eye, diced and topped with onions and cilantro.  This was absolutely amazing.

Frida Mexican Cuisine: I actually don't know what this is, but it's intense.

Dog Haus:  Amazing complicated hot dogs.  Need to come back to try the other flavors!
Grand Slam smoked bacon, egg, tater tots
Sooo Cali mixed greens, diced tomato, tempura fried onions, spicy basil aioli, avocado

Dancing in June

I've been focusing on looking for a new job, getting a new job, training for the new job and doing the new job that I have put blogging on the back burner.  This is no good.

Though I'm not a good blogger, this is my detox.  My goal for the night is to close June even though September is in a couple of days.

In a way, being late forces me to look back on what I did months before selecting my favorite pictures to write about.

In June, I discovered that I was successful in doing a lot of random things, but most of them involved dancing in the street.

We participated in the free Dance Downtown by the Music Center in downtown LA.  We attended Bhangra lessons and twisted our elbows into the night sky following the energy of the instructor who was in the middle of the floor.  At one moment I was in the center imitating her fluid movements under the lanterns.  Love.  Need to continue to do these next year - 70's and 80's night!

Grand Performances was also hosting a Dirty Dancing Movie Screening Dance-a-long!  20 minutes before the screening they taught us some simple dance moves to perform along with the movie during the closing scene.  Also, during the movie, there were actual dancers imitating the dance that we showing on the screen.  This movie has become one of my favorites.   What a classic!

Dina had the urge to celebrate her birthday at Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney.  She asked us to dress up.  So I wore my giraffe print shirt and socks.  She had zebra stockings and Sarah wore a Cheetah print top.  Their friend was a cow.

Once again I was on the dance floor randomly on the streets following along to live music.  I should really take up partner dance lessons.  I really like it.

Wow.  Really drunk Karaoke, but that led to some intense dancing slash scream.

Above is a collection of unflattering karaoke faces.

"Hey Girl, whathcu gonna sing next?"

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I also did a lot of sitting at places that have been on my to-do list for such a long time!!!

Finally visited Ali Mama Cafe - a Turkish Hookah bar in Silverlake.  Had a good time trying to pass smoke from each other's mouths.  Looks like he's sucking his SOUL!

We hit up Heu one night for their awesome Pineapple Soju served in a Pineapple pitcher and apple cups.  The apple cups were delicious!!  Charles' cousin was there so we got some "service." because she was a hot korean girl.  Service, pronounced "ser VISS" is code for ON THE HOUSE things... 3 extra pitchers of soju!! Girls are useful!

We also sat down and got entertained by Steve and his collection of exotic musical instruments which he plays fluently... fluently?  fluently. The Ruan, Pipa and his newest - the Harp.

We walked around the Arts District downtown and found some interesting corners.

Random making for a hip hop music video.  It's all coming together now.

Found another JR piece!
June is now closed!  WEEE!