Freelance

Starting more freelance is nerve racking! I do some freelance right now, but when times are slow, its okay because I have a full time job! But my goal is to work part-time here at the Center and do more freelance... its a big step for me!




... UPDATE (November 2007!) ... I have a newer look and a lot more freelance jobs! I have currently been working on a recipe book, a poetry book, and a few other typesetting jobs. I really enjoy it and it's very exciting!

Bye-Bye LA Fair

So, the exhibit is over! It was neat to have my first photo displayed... it didn't sell, but thats okay.. I would have felt guilty anyway. I didn't frame it nicely, I was in a rush! For those asked, I didn't get a photo of me next to my photo... we forgot a camera! Oh well... so, well, it was fun.

Even Stevphens...

Humor to this debate...



more thoughts to come on this...

BEAR VEST & Hobos & Amazon woman

on Saturday night a group of us went to the Mt Baldy lodge to see Hobo Jazz... Up first, before Hobo Jazz was this band Sugar Mountain Mama Serenade... while they were setting up the place looked pretty chill.. just families, hang out... then, around 9pm it was as if a bus full of hippies showed up. There were skirts, hairy arm pits, and dreads everywhere.
They really got into the Sugar Mountain mammas... they were dancing like crazy.... but honestly, they weren't that great. We couldn't wait for them to finish.... but Charles kept yelling "KEEP IT COMING, PLAY ANOTHER ONE!"
In order to pass the time we amused ourselves by people watching, and there were plenty of specimens for that. Justin spotted one he called "Bear Vest"... he amused himself by shouting "BEAR VEST!" and he even touched the bear vest... to my disapproval.

Finally.... Hobo Jazz came on.... and they were really good. They had a lot of energy, they sounded great (especially after the mammas)... and they made the hippies dance too... We ended up leaving toward the end of their set... and as we were leaving we watched from outside, trying to get a better view of the band (and less dancing hippies).. and in our plain view comes this amazon woman who starts humping the window... it was enough to scare us away... so we left...

I love Mt Baldy


HOBO JAZZ: http://www.myspace.com/hobojazz

Watkins Family Hour at the Largo

Last night was the Watkins Family hour at the Largo... with Tom Brosseau.... It was AMAZING... so much talent and soul wrapped up in one show.

Tom Brosseau is quite the character... we couldn't put our finger on it, but there is something about him that we just love! He is funny, gentle, he has a amazingly unique voice... I just couldn't stop watching him. He is just one of those people you see, and you just want to be friends with...

And of course I just love Sara Watkins.. she is so cute, who wouldn't love her. And her voice, wow.

I wish I could have "tivo-ed" that performance in my head.


A good review of Tom Brosseau's music is on www.npr.org ... search Tom Brosseau, the review is called: "A Sweet Voice gets Louder" ... they describe him in all the words that I can't find.

Ice House Saddle

Hiking... I say I love it... and I do. But its one of those things that, while in the moment, I begin to wonder what made me love it in the first place.
Last Saturday Justin and I, with a couple of friends, hiked the Ice House Canyon Saddle in Mt. Baldy. - It was beautiful, the weather was perfect.... It was uphill, my legs were burning, my butt still hurts. But I love it. I love the creek, the water is so clear. I love the trees, I love being outside; we saw a couple of lamas, and a few deer.
We have made it a goal to keep on this hiking trend.
In May we hiked to the summit of Baldy, a couple of weeks ago we hiked the infamous Bridge to Nowhere... next, we are thinking The Devil's Punchbowl...
Why are so many hiking destinations and trails referred to as "Devil" by the way?


  

45 miles South of Monterey in the San Lucia Hills...

Michael, Justin and I headed up the PCH to BIG SUR this last weekend... The drive along the 1 is beautiful! (and long)

On the way we stopped off at Elephant Seal beach - The seals were just lying on the beach, they looked like washed up fish! They made this crazy deep barking sound that made us laugh... and the male seals would often fight... but of course Michael was more excited about the squirrels on the beach than the seals... so, he occupied his time by trying to catch them...

While driving up the 1 we blasted Mason Jennings (who has a cd with songs about the california coast on it)... we played the song Big Sur over and over and yelled the verse that says:

"45 miles south of Monterey and the San Lucia Hills the sunshine shone me to sleep and I dreamt I was alive... "


After a 7 hour drive we made it to Big Sur... I was blown away at how beautiful it was! I was also blown away that we got a campsite at Peifer State Park without reservations... we were very blessed, when we showed up there were only 5 campsites left, and we got one! The next day wasn't that easy though.. to get a campsite for the NEXT day we had wait around till 1pm.. which made us get a late start on our day..

Our camp had this amazing creek running through it... the water was so clear and crisp... at one part the water formed what looked like a little blue lagoon and it was deep enough to jump into a swim.. It was nice because it was so clean and clear and perfect looking...

We went to the most amazing beach in Big Sur - it was a little hidden. We had to take a 2 mile long, windy one way road through a canyon, and then we took a short walk between two mountains, and there it was!! It was so nice (besides the fact that the wind was sand blasting us) ... There were rocks in the water that formed little arches and holes that the waves would splash through, we saw an otter playing in the waves... the water was crystal blue.. there weren't that many people out, it was secluded, it was so nice!! We heard a rumor that this one of the top 100 beaches to visit..

We also went to Julia Peifer state beach to see a waterfall that was right on the sand.. The beach was unreachable, but it was still worth going to see.. it was a cool little lagoon with bright blue water and this little waterfall landing right on the sand...


Big Sur by Mason Jennings:

just let the disc play
this is a song to give you hope
i wouldn't have it any other way
this is a song to give you hope
when you say
honey i'm afraid to sleep at night, sleep at night
honey i'm afraid to sleep at night, sleep at night
well, i wish i had my arms around you
this is a song to give hope
just let this thing surround you
this is a song to give you hope
when you say
honey i'm afraid to sleep at night, sleep at night
honey i'm afraid to leave tonight, leave tonight
i said go, go on
go, go on
i said i, i love you truly
so go, go on
and get jump on the finer things
this is a song to give hope
you never know what the past will bring you
this is a song to give you hope
when you say
honey i'm afraid to sleep at night, sleep at night
honey i'm afraid to leave tonight, leave tonight
i said go, go on
go, go on
i said i, i love you truly
so go, go on
forty miles south of monterey and the san lucia hills
the sunshine shone me to sleep, and i dreamt i was alive
i sang myself a song, it went, know what you know,
stay when you stay, and go when you go
and i call it intuition, flowers bloom and hummingbirds fly
yes, i call it intuition, it gets me by
sailing on a silver ship out to the open
lonely and realizing that our friendship's been broken
and the funny thing to me is how quickly it slips away
and leaves you thinking of the things that were never spoken
and you know loving me is not enough
and i know future is as future does
sailing on a silver ship out to the open
lonely and realizing that our friendship's been broken
and the funny thing to me is how quickly it slips away
and leaves you longing for the things that were never spoken
and you know loving me is not enough
and i know future is as future does

Fun In L.A. (I love the office!)

On May 20th some friends (Jamie, Charles & Jordan) and I went to LA... to explore, get to know our city.... We drove around then went to the LA Farmers market, by the Grove... had good Indonesian food.. then went to Hollywood and Highland... walked around, looked at the stars on the ground... and tried to avoid the creepy dressed up characters in home made outfits. You need to avoid looking them in the eye, otherwise, they will come after you. As what happened to me and Freddy Kruger... unfortunately he caught my eye, I tried to escape him by walking faster, but he came after me with his plastic claws- he ran then across the back of my neck... that made me yelp and run faster straight in front of a group who was taking a picture with Jack Sparrow.. . A big "Awwwww!" of disappointment came from the crowd because I had ruined there photo, now they are going to have a picture of my scared profile running by. Jack Sparrow wasn't so happy with me, he put his sword to my throat and told me I was to WALK THE PLANK.
by this time, I was done with the touristy part of LA... I want to go home.

Later that night on news, it turns out Freddy Kruger stabbed someone with a pair of real metal claws! Supposedly a homeless guy kept teasing him, the guy took Freddy's mask, and Freddy went to grab it back and stabbed the guy in the gut.. hMmMM?

This last weekend Justin and I decided to roam LA, no real plans or course... we ended driving straight through downtown LA, through the fashion district, then the flower district, then we happened upon, what we think is, Skid Row.. there were people EVERYWHERE, in the streets, sleeping on the sidewalk, there were tents on the street..
Driving through this part of LA made us think that we were in another country, it smelled like home made Mexican food, there were more foreign languages then English... the buildings had flat fronts, most in bright colors, like orange, turquoise and red...

We ended up at the Farmers Market, where I was the weekend before, and we ate at the Banana Leaf, where I ate the weekend before. (The Banana Leaf at the Farmers Market in LA has GREAT FOOD, YUMMMM) While walking around the Farmers Market, Justin grabs my arm and says, "Do you know who that guys is?" .... I look at the guy, and yes! that is that guy from the Office, our favorite show!! I tell Justin and he HAS TO talk to him. So, Justin goes up to him, says, "Hey, you're in the office!! You are my favorite on the show, YOU ARE THE BEST, THE BEST, MAN... " The guy seemed be a little embarrassed.. and his friends were smiling in the background, probably thinking that is funny that their friend is being "recognized" ... Well, he introduces himself as "Paul" Justin takes a picture with him, and then we part... it was enough to make us both very gitty... that is our favorite show... Toby is a great character on the show.... what a treat.

We continue to walk around, and then lo and behold, I spot... ANGELA from the office, she is talking on her cell phone in front of the Banana Leaf... We did not approach her though... on the show, she is some what stuck up... we know its only TV, but it left us feeling scared to talk to her! So, we looked at her briefly and then passed right on by....
We wanted to look around for more people from the Office, could Dwight be there?? That would have been the topper... but we left and didn't see anyone else..

We then drove to Santa Monica... went to the beach, the pier... where they had a Memorial... There were thousand of white crosses on the beach, representing those who have died in Iraq... It was pretty powerful... we then walked up the Promenade... we watched a few street shows... then headed home.. it was a LONG day...

The NEXT day, some friends and I went to LACMA, for the Gustov Klimt exhibit .. I really like his stuff... then we walked to the tar pits... that smell gives me a headache... THEN we ate the best Indian food ever.. at the New Dehli Palace in Pasadena, my favorite restrurant.. its "Hauntingly good"... it is.