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Monday, July 31, 2006
what i like about you
I am trying hard to like Los Angeles, I really am. Here, look: I will start a list. We all know how much I love to make lists, so here is the list of things I like about LA:
International Flavor:
When I lived here before this was my favorite thing about Los Angeles and it still is. You never need to travel to foreign countries, since there are small enclaves of hundreds of different countries right here to visit. You can easily drive from Ethiopia to El Salvador without any lane changes. Think you’re in Armenia? Just drive a little farther and you will hit Argentina. I went to lunch today and had that feeling again, like I was immersed in a totally different country. I saw only a few Caucasians, saw minimal English words on signs and menus, and heard no English spoken other than monetary amounts and “ok” and “thank you”. The clothes were different, the attitudes were different, and the food was totally unrecognizable, colorful and delicious. The women sported parasols and the men had purses. It was just like being in a different country, and it is all only a short distance from my safe little office. Of course the American people from the 4th floor in my building are completely foreign to me too, all I understand of their speech is the occasional, “oh no you dihent!”
Design Community:
When you live someplace that values high design, it is reflected everywhere. The billboards are more artistic and interesting, the clothing is more expressive and unique, the street performers are top notch. Looking at ads is just a little more enjoyable, when the demographic you live in has a more sophisticated design sense, I suppose. It also makes for interesting trips to local coffee shops: there is a lot better art on the walls, and the jobless populating the tables during the day are all working on more interesting things than you might find in other places.
They Have Embraced Cars:
1) Parking: Out of all the major cities I’ve lived in, there is consistently better parking in LA. They have realized that everyone is going to bring their car everywhere, and acted accordingly. At our gigantic, three story house in Seattle, we have parking to accommodate only a single car. At our postage-stamp-sized 1BR apartment in LA, we have a luxurious double space with room for two SUVs. (We explained several times that we only have the one car, but they just winked at us and said they were sure we’d get a second one soon.)
2) Traffic: While bad here, the traffic in the Bay Area and Puget Sound is far worse. LA has taken the liberty of constructing major, four to six lane thoroughfares that cruise right through residential areas—none of these planters you have to dodge or speed bumps slowing you down—LA knows you like to speed and is willing to help.
3) Streets: They have conveniently located freeways everywhere possible, often elevating them above neighborhoods so you can soar through the sky to get where you are going. In Seattle, I always thought we were going the back way, as we wove through vintage housing tracts, but that, my friend, is the front way, nay, the only way, to get anywhere. They attach such little importance to freeways in Washington State, calling them simply “5” or “I 90”. In Los Angeles, we glorify freeways to the status they deserve, giving them names always preceded by the customary honorific “The”. Californians say, “The Harbor,” and “The 5,” and even attach monikers to smaller stretches of roadway: “The Four Level,” “The El Toro Y”. Entire songs are devoted to our seemingly never-ending surface streets, “Pico and Sepulveda” being my favorite. I also like the reference to moving “West down Ventura Boulevard” in Tom Petty’s anthem to The Valley, “Free Fallin’”. (There is that “The” again.)
.: posted by Zemlet 2:44 PM
Saturday, July 29, 2006
I was going to have tea out on the balcony this morning, because that is the sort of thing balconies are for, and it was all wet out there. I guess living by a large body of water, say, just as an example, the Pacific Ocean, you end up with some, oh… I don’t know… moisture. In the air. Apparently. But then I realized that certain songs sound better when it is overcast, so I headed inside to make the overcast morning playlist:
The Only Living Boy in New York (Simon and Garfunkel)
Theme from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Jon Brion)
Pretty Little Thing (Fink)
Svefn G Englar (Sigur Ros)
We’re Going to Be Friends (The White Stripes)
Wave (João Gilberto)
Only in the Past (Be Good Tanyas)
Salve Regina (Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos)
Field Below (Regina Spektor)
Lebanese Blonde (Thievery Corporation)
Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (the Smiths)
The third track is this week’s free iTunes download. I will often be leafing through my music library and wonder to myself, “what the hell is that?” and realize it was probably the free download. I wish I could file them separately somehow, because I really only bothered obtaining them because they were free. It is like seeing a bad movie on the airplane. You are excused from blame because it was free. But in a way, the free downloads are seasonal, they are a moment in time where someone decided that particular artist needed some hyping for whatever reason. Like the week the cherry blossoms are at their most breathtaking, or the week the copper river salmon arrive. It is a transitory moment that marks a certain piece of time that cannot be recaptured. (This was supposed to be poetic in order to be juxtaposed with just how terribly cheesy free music downloads are, but I am not sure that is coming across.)
I went out this week with a pal from Seattle in town on business and she is yet another GWCNSH and that just makes me so mad. Oh. GWCNSH = girl with cute new short haircut. They are everywhere! Why I can’t be them? At least she confirmed for me that there is something just decidedly not quite right about Los Angeles. Perhaps it is the fact that is puts small black spots on your lungs if you live here too long? And, according to her, so let’s just say she is an expert, since she agrees with me: Oakland is great in comparison! I am so jealous that people get to live in Oakland, I wish I could go to Piedmont Springs right now and rent a hot tub for an hour in my own private wooden enclosure that is open to the sky.
At least today is Saturday—the day I don’t have to look in the mirror.
.: posted by Zemlet 10:57 AM
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Avocado Soup Recipe
I have figured out what it is that kind of bothers me about the receptionist at the office. She is super nice and really helpful, and the headphones did cut down on being so easily enticed into the yummy distraction of chatting, but there was something that still just kind of bothered me and I just figured out what it is. She is nosy.
Now we are all nosy--I know I am--but most people have the good graces to hide it or curb the urge. I fight my own nosiness by making something up to explain whatever I am curious about. This works especially good on strangers: I see an odd situation, pretend I know the whole story behind what is going on with them, and then I can move on, without having to bother them or anyone else. I don’t spread these fancies as rumors or even really do anything other than think about it for the brief period of time I see them. For example, I see a woman at the coffee shop writing something in a small notebook while she shuffles a bunch of mail around and I pretend she is doing her bills and think about how quaint it is that she keeps all her budgets written in a cute little book. I notice a few seconds later, she has a bible on the table as well. Now, I think, that there are mysterious religious reasons dictating that she writes everything down into a book like the puritans would instead of using computers or anything the Devil could affect. No harm in thinking that to myself, and it makes for much more amusing coffee breaks. See a mysterious door? You don’t actually have to go open it, just make up what you think is behind it, which is probably more interesting that what is really there anyway, and gets you into much less trouble. I have exercised a lot of restraint by not sneaking onto the roof of the building I work at to see the helicopter pad that is there. It is probably a lot cooler in my imagination anyway.
So yeah, that is it. She is nosy. Now that I have come to this conclusion, every innocent question grates a little bit more. I walk in this morning with a plastic sack of food, which prompts her to ask, “Did you go to the store on your way to work?” I know she is just making conversation, but why does she need to know? Why can’t she just assume that is what I did, if it matters to her that much to come up with an explanation for why I am arriving at 8 minutes past 8? She could just decide in her head that is what I did and leave me alone. Because no, I didn’t go to the store, I laid in bed listening to NPR for 8 minutes too many. Almost every single time I visit the kitchen alcove, she has to ask what I got to drink. Again, I am sure she is just being nice, but for some reason it bothers me a teensy weensy bit more each time she does it.
A lot of people are overtly nosy, when they should just keep it to themselves. Last night at the store, (see, I went yesterday, not this morning, in case you are keeping score) the woman in line in front of me was buying an ept pregnancy test kit. Nothing else—just the kit. If it was me, I would have bought one other thing to make it funny, like Mentos or Draino, but she just had the one thing. Now you know the lady at the register is not immune to this fact. Most normal women would discretely look at the customer for any signs of what was going on to satisfy their own curiosity, perhaps surreptitiously look for a wedding ring, that kind of thing. But not this grocery checker, oh no! She ASKS the customer, “Sooo is this a happy thing or a scary thing?” in a mocking voice while she waves the product about. I didn’t even notice that was what the lady was buying because she didn’t put it on the conveyor, and I was too busy looking at this month’s Vanity Fair cover (I have seen some Demi Moore in my day, and you, Britney Spears, are no Demi Moore) and would never have seen if it hadn’t been loudly pointed out. The patron, like me, what flabbergasted at how rude the checker was, so the checker repeats the question louder, thinking she didn’t hear her or something. I think finally the woman just grabbed the thing, paid and left, perhaps sort of laughing or trying to mumble some comment back. I pointedly paid as little attention to the woman as possible, no ring check, no nothing, busying myself with my own items. I didn’t even make up some fake back story in my head, because I was just so appalled by the indiscretion of the checker and wanted to banish all of my own nosiness in the matter.
What is with people these days? Anyhow, my story ends on a happy note: a yummy lunch.
We have a monthly employee lunch where we all eat together and talk about work. Every month a different staff member “hosts” it, which means they don’t need to cook or pay or anything, they just have to be the one who organizes it and gets it to the conference room. They are quite festive affairs where we drink wine and everyone is happy and relaxed. Well last month, one of the gals who works in the office decides she will cook lunch herself, which was so awesome. She made this incredible vegetarian lasagna (she is veggie) that had all sorts of good stuff in it. And she wanted to top the dessert with freshly whipped cream. Only she doesn’t have a mixer or a food processor or anything. Ack! She desperately tries calling around to see if someone would bring one in. She only has a few home phone numbers, so her choices are limited. At one house, a young daughter answers and tells her Dad someone is on the phone for him from work, but gets the unusual name wrong, so the Dad says nobody at work is called that and the daughter hangs up on the poor gal. So it is the monthly lunch day and still no mixer. I say, “No problem, we can get one at the drug store down the street, which I need to go to anyway for mascara”. So I trot down to the store and what do I see there, but an “electric kitchen”. I guess you could call them “hand blenders” but when I was in college there was this really funny late-night infomercial that advertised “electric kitchens” and I wanted one really badly. So I bought this one. It was so cheap and after that lunch, which had delicious whipped cream, we kept it at the office. Ever since, I have wanted to use it for something and today that dream came true:
Avocado Soup
ingredients: herbs, garlic, ripe avocado, sour cream, potato-leek soup (vichyssoise)
one: pick a bunch of leaves of basil off the plant on your balcony (tarragon is also yummy in this dish) including a picturesque cluster to reserve for use as garnish
two: roughly chop leaves (I would say like a tablespoon or so of freshly chopped herbs) and put into a deep, sturdy container like the plastic tubs those cheapo Blister Peanuts come in from Trader Joes
three: finely mince half a clove of fresh garlic and also add to the bottom of the deep, sturdy container (I suppose this could also be jar-lic, which is what I call garlic in a jar, or powedered)
four: toss in one chopped/mashed avocado
five: add a few spoonfuls of sour cream, depending on how much you like the stuff; you could also use a little coffee creamer instead or skip this step
six: add a cup or two of potato leek soup or vichyssoise (just use store bought, my favorite is Imagine Organic Creamy Potato Leek Soup because it is yummy and super convenient to keep in the fridge with the easily resealed package that you can open anywhere and you can find it in most stores, especially if you look in the “healthy” section, because it is organic)
seven: might want to add a few shakes of salt and 3-5 twists of fresh group black pepper at this point, or wait until the end to season to taste
eight: add a spash of water, perhaps up to a quarter cup, depending on how thick your soup and avocado are, to make it easier for the blender to combine everything (I personally like it on the thick side and only add enough water to make the blender not totally choke on the mixture)
nine: use your hand blender (note, you could also be throwing all of this into a regular blender or food processor, but the hand blender is so much more fun) to blend all this together (again, you might continue to add splashes of water to thin the consistency if you are not getting the smooth, creamy texture you seek)
ten: once that is blended up, add another one or two cups more of the potato leek soup and blend again until everything is thoroughly mixed and you have a nice, smooth soup
eleven: garnish with fresh herbs (you might want another dollop of sour cream on top, but I think that is overkill) and enjoy with some rustic Italian bread or quesadillas
twelve: (OPTIONAL) be perpared to answer nosy questions from people involving what that is and how you made it and where you got the avocado and if you have been to a different market you have never heard of that has cheap produce and what vegetables leeks are related to and why did you not wear a watch today and is that iced tea and how did you make that iced tea and do you always drink iced tea that early in the morning
.: posted by Zemlet 2:03 PM
electric cars are better than flying cars because they actually already work NOW
Go see the movie “Who Killed the Electric Car”. The only way you can prove you care about things like this is to vote with your pocketbook. Spend money to see this movie and it will prove there are consumers who care about environmentally safe, advanced technologies. Which you do, right? You want to live in the promised tomorrowland where people get along with each other and all the birds and everyone gets cool gadgets and dresses like they are in The Matrix, right? And you don’t want it to get any hotter around here do you? And you want us to leave the Middle East alone for long enough that they can grow up and work out for themselves how they will survive without selling us oil all the time?
If you live in LA you have to see this film at Nuwilshire in Santa Monica this weekend. They want to stop showing it and show “Strangers with Candy” instead, so this is your last chance. Last night the folks from the film were actually there and brought a bunch of cool cars to check out.
This is a blog with links and updates on the subject. I am sure there are more blogs and good informational sites out there, but I need to get back to work right this minute.
.: posted by Zemlet 9:16 AM
Monday, July 24, 2006
I just finished this artist rendering of part of one of our new buildings--the library of a new elementary school. This is the signature architectural element and at night it lights up like a "torch of learning". The building borders a commerical district and historic overlay zone, so it had to bridge the styles of both, but still look like a cool school to go to.
My folks visited over the weekend. It was so hot we went swimming. Lois says it was so hot in Seattle, she went swimming to. Of course there it was 80... here it was 108. Oh, those poor people in Seattle. Bastards. Then we went to a Dodger game, which was really an insane thing to do in this kind of weather. I was so miserable, I couldn't even keep score. What were we thinking? It was really great to see everyone and fun to take in a game, just not the best idea I've had for summertime fun in extreme heat and humidity. Next year, we'll celebrate my Dad's birthday by going ice skating or something more practical.
My sister plans to stay with us for one of the weekends coming up so we can go back to the fancy-schmancy Geisha House in Hollywood and play video games all weekend. We'll have to get her hooked up with a guest WoW account. Perhaps there is room on Britta's bank account for another toon that will be used once so we can all three play at once. Or she and Jonathan can play and she can use my account. We set her up with a CoH character on my account when we used to play that. It was this giant blue cat with one mechanical arm... KittyCelt. His battle cry was "MEOW"! We forgot to teach her how to talk in the game (since she was on speakerphone with Jonathan in his office downstairs) but I showed her that F-10 does the battle cry. So when strangers would come up to talk to her, she'd just hit that and yell MEOW at them, since she didn't know what else to do. It was so hilarious. I told this story to Heidi and Eric (someone made them play CoH back in the day too) so when we can't think of something else to say, we'd just MEOW. There is an accompanying "forward ho" hand motion, so it makes perfect sense when you do it. MEOW.
.: posted by Zemlet 4:46 PM
Thursday, July 20, 2006
shout
My new job takes place in one of those “collaborative spaces” which means one big open office with a lot of large, flat spaces where anyone can plop down a set of plans and pour over them or get input from passing architects. All of our desks (insanely large tables in themselves, with room for D-size drawings) ring the outside of these larger, higher tables, with no dividers to disrupt the team work. It is great fun, which is the problem. I get distracted so easily by the interesting work discussions or social chit chat that constantly floats in the air. Plus, there is an especially chatty receptionist who doesn’t have that much to do I don’t think, so she is constantly bringing things up, both work (I found this file I think you should see) and personal (Where did you get that plate? A garage sale. Do you like bread? Of course I like bread! Who doesn’t like bread?)
So it is hard to concentrate, since I am used to being holed up in my own office where people didn’t talk to other people unless they had to, so nobody really visited. So I got myself a pair of headphones. A few others in the office seem to use them to be anti-social or actually get some damn work done, so there was a president. I got these really flash Logitech lime green ones that match all the bright green accents I’ve collected for my workspace. Just putting them on helps people understand that perhaps I don’t need to hear about what came in the mail or what was on sale at Assi Super. Perhaps I actually need a little peace to construct sentences or build web pages that link up properly.
But uh oh, I’ll need to play something through them in order to enhance the realism of not being able to hear people talking to me about their scone. (We get free scones by the way- nice perk!) Do I need to now tote in a bunch of different CDs to match the various moods I’ll need to satisfy during my work week? I might need: 80’s new wave to cheer me up if we lose a proposal, bass & drum trance electronica for when I need to zone out and proofread eight inches of specs (did that yesterday- whee!), word-free instrumentals for when I need to write project descriptions, upbeat culturally laced ditties to keep me awake after a night of partying, etc. Instead of packing in a large library of CDs, Jonathan suggested I listen to the news and podcasts at work, like he does, but I think that would put me right to sleep. But he was onto something with the word “podcast”. “Podcast” is some stupid Mac term for “audio on the internet that is usually free”. I don’t generally like to use Mac terms unless they are funny, and even then I can usually think up something more original. I prefer to think of free, streamed music as “shoutcasts” which is a bit more oldeskool, even if they were bought by aol. Besides Shoutcast is superior to iTunes because you can search by artist for what is playing. Take that, all you switchers. Have fun not playing as many games as I can with your one button and your orange monitor that is also your computer. Ok Mac ranting off.
So now I’ll talk about my fave streams. If you are into a variety of music and need a wide variety of sound that doesn’t include words, this might help you and your audio entertainment needs. (I personally cannot hear words when I am writing, I find myself typing in random words from the music mid-paragraph, or losing my train of thought too easily.)
OK #1 for me right now is Streaming Soundtracks, which plays tracks from movie, TV and game soundtracks by request. Not only can you see what is currently playing, you can see the upcoming queue, which gives you something to look forward to. Lots of variety and lots of instrumentals: today I heard the cranky yodeling from Raising Arizona, sweetly placid music from Firefly, instrumentals from Zelda: Ocarina of Time that were an instant flashback, recognizable snatches from the Wrath of Khan, Hans Zimmer passages that stretch the imagination, tribal chanting from The Constant Gardener, the Prince power ballad Purple Rain, and quiet interludes from Morrowind Elder Scrolls III. There is standard soundtrack fare like Out of Africa alongside foreign films I had never heard of, and then it will switch back to the familiar with the Walter/Wendy Carlos theme from Tron. John Williams and John Barry are mixed in with the nobodies who make the background music for video game character selection. Perhaps it is the mix that makes it so entertaining—they have a huge variety with no repeats of any track within a week. I keep the web site up so I can alt tab over to when I hear something familiar to confirm that it is. Obviously I could go on and on.
Other headphone buddies are the steams from SOMA FM broadcasted from Rusty’s basement in San Francisco. Of course, I also love me some Radio FG, French house music for getting an upbeat groove on. Be the first to hear the hip tunes that are tomorrow’s car ads. If you go to Paris, you can actually get this on the car radio, which is so cool.
And it is all free—what is better than that?
.: posted by Zemlet 11:18 AM
Monday, July 17, 2006
nice weekend
Welp, I dropped Heidi and Eric off at the airport this morning around 6am and made my way to work in an almost traffic free manner. My office hadn’t opened yet, so I killed time reading the paper in the coffee shop across the street. It is a Starbucks and the A/C is permanently set to “arctic” in there—good thing I had my pashmina. Apparently Starbucks likes to cool their cafes to actual Seattle temperatures for realism.
Today is going to be hot, with downtown temps getting to 90. Good thing I live near the ocean where there will be a fresh breeze in the evening. I added a tomato-red patio umbrella to the balcony and a fresh basil plant. It looks really cute out there in a designy way. We have the vintage white and yellow table my grandma used to have, paired with two white and red chairs and a white pillow with red, yellow and green stripes to tie it all together. Jonathan didn’t want me to buy a plant. “You will just kill it,” he pointed out, “they have feelings too, you know.” Well that made me feel a little bad because I really have killed a lot of plants in my day. “But this is basil,” I retorted, “if it dies, we’ll just eat it.” He looked at me. “Think of it as a very slow, totally organic drying process,” I suggested. He bent over to whisper to the plant how very sorry he was that I was going to kill it, and how he tried to talk me out of it. Anyway, the balcony is now very pleasant and I saw at least one of our weekend guests out there enjoying the night air and reading the latest Joe Haldeman novel.
We had a great weekend- so fun to have the von M’s stay with us. We did a lot of just hanging out and talking, some strolling—both planned and otherwise—and enjoyed some of the nightlife. They forgot to bring their blow-up bed, so we bought an inflatable, queen-sized camp bed, which they said was very waterbedesque. So now anyone who stays with us will have a bit more comfort than before.
On Saturday night, exceedingly late, we ventured out to Hollywood, where we trod on stars, then had dinner and sipped cocktails in celebrity-owned sushi lounge, the Geisha House. I’d really like to go there again, when I have more time. We followed it up with the late show at El Capitan, where people cheered during the light show and all the attendants were dressed as pirates. Even the organist was dressed up and they had draped the Wurlitzer in bones, nets, and piles of fake gold. They had costumes and sets from the movie on display, which was very cool.
Sunday we slept in until almost tea time, then drank mimosas while I made everyone waffles. I got to use my espresso machine a lot; it was great to be surrounded by other coffee drinkers. We tried to do high minded things like visit museums, but we always ended up doing South Park impressions, drinking beer and taking naps. Those are the best weekends anyway. Who needs culture?
We went shopping and I bought some new “Diablo Pants”. This is a term I have subjugated from Heidi’s term “Diablo Dress”. (It isn’t what you think). Diablo Dresses are ones you can wear an entire weekend without changing into anything else. You should be able to sleep in it, lounge in it, and yet it should be nice enough to also leave the house in. This is so you can play Diablo for the maximum amount of hours, without pausing to change if you need to go to the store or toss on some accessories and go to a late dinner. My Diablo Pants are black and really long and soft and flowy. They are seriously comfortable to wear at the desk, couch, or behind the wheel, and I easily transitioned from hanging out in them, to sleeping, to heading to the store for more champagne and milk.
While both our guests are big gamers, Eric has been slow to accept WoW as his sovereign. He is actually fundamentally opposed to MMPORPGs for a variety of reasons, but we got him to play WoW for the first time and then sat as still and quietly as possible in the hopes that he would get hooked. He has agreed to give it a try and we’re going to form an all-Tauren posse on one of the new servers. We already have a warrior and at least one healer, so I get to be whatever I want. Eric named his cow Harrisranch and Heidi’s is Maidmarinade. I am considering Sirloyne to go with that, but then I’d have to make a boy. Boring. The whole point of Taurahae is the electric slide dance, and one of the best /silly emotes ever, “I’m tired of the same old bull.” I told them I’d only be a Tauren if I could do annoying Indian whoops over Ventrillo.
Last night Heidi and I, the responsible ones, went to bed early, while the boys stayed up late and talked really intently about Spore. They got really philosophical about it and had an animated conversation that went on for hours. I only heard snippets through my sleep-laced haze, so I am guessing it was philosophical, since none of it made sense. I am also guessing it was “philosophical” since I found a whole handful of beer caps on the kitchen counter in the morning.
When I cleaned up before they got there, a lot of stuff was hastily stashed a variety of places, so I am not sure if I can find my camera. If I can, I’ll post images of the redecorated bathroom (that is a whole other story involving a LOT of spackle and too much interest in bright lime green) and the balcony.
.: posted by Zemlet 9:29 AM
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
And at work
OK, it finally happened. I got my first architectural joke in e-mail. Only took me a few weeks:
A Contractor goes to his supplier and tells him that he needs 200 2x4s.
The supplier replies “How long do you want them?”
Contractor answers “I’m going to need them a long time, I’m building a house!”
I took my shoes in today to get repaired at this shop run by a really nice old Romanian guy. He was such a crack up... kept telling me about how the Commies runied what once was a beautiful country. He admonished me for the way I treated my shoes (I took the two worst pairs) by saying, "you gotta take care of these--they are expensive!" He is telling me? They were both Salvatore Ferragamo, so I think I know just how expensive they were! One pair are my absolute faves, the loafers mentioned in this post here. The others are a pair of high-heeled pumps that have a wide, squared heel, making them really stable and comfy. The toe is black patent leather, so they always look sharp peeking out from under long trousers, surrounded by a contrasting black leather stripe with teensy Gancinis. Gancini is the name of the signature horseshoe thingie.
Uh oh... now that I have my job, I keep thinking about how to spend the extra money we make as a result. My wonderful husby is always reminding me that I should treat myself to things and spend as much as I want. (I think this makes him better able to do the same for himself, but it is still nice to hear about how I should go buy something.) I was going to spend some on patio furniture, but every place I went to was sold out. I went to the home improvement store to buy things for our apartment, but the place was crazy busy and totally unorganized, so I thought it was a bad idea. I bought a bunch of fabric the other day to make a new shower curtain and do some mini patchworks, but that only came to $100- not nearly enough of a spending spree! So perhaps I need something new from Ferragamo? I still totally love my orange purse, so I don't think I'll replace that just yet, and I am just getting my favorite shoes repaired, so I guess I don't need more shoes. So, I wonder what I will get? Everything I think of, I come up with a reason not to get it. New fancy phone? No: I really love my current one because it is so small and so red. New laptop? Naw: already have two laptops we never really take anywhere. Even more art supplies? Uh uh: perhpas I should use up some of what I have first.
Oh hey, speaking of which, I started a painting last night. I better stop off at home depot on my way home and pick up some silver spray paint! I rearranged the furniture, so now there is a table in the entry, which needs some artwork over it. And as for treating myself to something (so my husband can do the same for himself) I am thinking of some kind of spa extravagance or perhaps a really good dinner out when Eric & Heidi are in town this weekend.
.: posted by Zemlet 1:47 PM
On the Way to Work
Hmmm.. a lot of these posts are about what I am doing on my way to and from work. It is almot as if I spend a lot of time in my car every day. Hey, wait a minute...
OK so yesterday I was running late and hit some gnarly traffic, but what do I see? Is that a Staw Wars Rebel Alliance Art Car??? OMG I wish I had a camera phone--nobody will ever believe this! Well my best friend the internet not only believed me, it came up with several photos of the car. Apparently star wars art cars are a phenom- there is a whole squadron. Here is the one I saw:
http://www.shawnandcolleen.com/shawn/Pages/hwing/photos.html
http://www.roadsquadron.com/main.html
And luckily now I can understand the license plate- Obi Shawn! I get it. Who had time to look at the plate when I was trying to figure out why he had a glow in the dark Jesús on the dash? Turns out it is a glowy dead Jedi, which makes a LOT more sense. Phew! I am so happy these are on the internet, it took me like 20 minutes to tell Jonathan all about it and I didn't do it justice. It was just such a random, cool thing to see in the morning and made me glad we were in henious traffic, so I could really scope it out!
According to the wiki on art cars many are build on VWs. It seems like an older beetle would make a great rolling death star. "General Moff Tarkin is my Co-Pilot"
.: posted by Zemlet 12:43 PM
Friday, July 07, 2006
hair, again
I still hate it. I told my Dad the joke about how if I wanted to look like this I would have drank a bunch of tequila and done it myself. His advice is to continue with the tequila: "stay drunk till it grows out."
.: posted by Zemlet 9:28 AM
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Re: hi
Well I must be getting over the haircut, because I am starting to think up jokes about it, such as: If I wanted my bangs to be all uneven, I would have drank a bunch of tequila and cut them myself.
The fabric store was actually a corproate headquarters, not a retail outlet. There is such a mix of big business and teensy business around here that when you start wandering, you never know what you'll find, so it was worth a shot. I have a few fabric places I still want to look for that are near Giant Robot, so they might be good, as I think there is a healthy craft community in that area. I might also want to try my hand at screen printing my own fabric designs so I can be as cool as Deadly Squire.
The restaurant I tried was highly regarded on two internet review sites, and I can see why. Most of the menu was in Korean, so I pointed to the english word "vegetable" and waited patiently to see what surprise I would get. After I got my to-go package I would have to wait a bit longer, because everything was parcelled up and then put into tiny seperate bags, which where all tied in intricate knots. Once I got everything liberated, I was left with a couple large packages of identifiable food and three small ones that had what I would call "kimchi" if I had to ID it. I dutifully tasted the first two, tossed one away, (drank a big glass of water to eliminate the nasty taste,) and decided the smallest, strangest parcel wasn't worth the gamble and threw it away as well. Then I dumped the rest into a large bowl, which now included plain sticky rice, soup, some spicy marinated cabbage, and a really yummy mix of tofu and vegetables. Unlike most places, the veggies were still firm and flavorful--perhaps because they were kept seperate from the delicately flavored, yet complex broth. I grabbed a packet of soy sauce to add to the mix, but didn't need it at all. Really delightful--I can see why the internet loves it. Time to cut a chogi.
.: posted by Zemlet 1:27 PM
hi
I am wrong, the von M's are coming next weekend. The very fabulous couple is going to be very brave and sleep with us in our apartment. I now have another reason to get them thoroughly drunk, as it may help them sleep through the night. For those who don't know, we have the worst apartment ever. It is extremely noisy from a variety of sources, including ubiquitous coeds who frequent the pool. My mother has slept in our office, but she can actually sleep on my old leather couch, so she has proven to have amazing powers of drowsiness. Scott has likewise stayed with us, this time in the bedroom where I thought we would chat all night but actually slept instead, but that was after an exhausting WoW marathon, so I'm not sure if that is a testament to the quality of our accommodations, or just how desperate he was for some shut-eye.
So I'll have to cheer my damn self up in the meantime, instead of waiting for them to do it for me. So, I treated myself to a latté from across the street, but I took my regular coffee mug. I felt very cool crossing Wilshire Blvd with an elegant ceramic mug of coffee instead of some travel container that keeps your bev hot even at supersonic speeds. No, the open mug was a lot more thrilling when navigating the cobbled crosswalks in my Via Spiga boots. You know, like I spend my mornings on major streets sipping coffee all the time. This morning I drove with the top down and no hat or scarf to fluff out my wet hair... we'll see how it worked. The admin says it looks better today, but I'm afraid to look. The salon didn't acknowledge the e-mail I wrote them yesterday. J-dog thinks they are getting around to it, but I wonder if they get so many complaints, they are used to them/ignore them. Actually Jon has been super sweet during the whole thing, listening patiently and then stil insisting I am adorable with the new 'do. Perhaps I should have written a paper letter that would be harder for someone to hide at the salon. I don't really want to get the stylist in trouble, I just want some sort of recompense or explanation. OK. Enough about the hair, which will grow out for petessakes, and back to the cheering of the up.
I think this afternoon I'll go on an adventure. I usually walk West down the street, but today I think I'll head East for my lunch hour. (Zounds!) I read about a restaurant over that way and there might also be a fabric shop on the same block, so who knows what I'll find.
Today I am back to working on the web site, since the business development front seems to have cooled off a bit for the summer. The current site has a lot of white expanse of negative space, with delicate grey and pale lavender accents. It is cool in its own way, but I worry that the white looks a little too amateur. As part of a Look & Feel Study, I made boards showing the sites of other area architecture firms, and the team seemed drawn to the darker backgrounds. I am reading the notes from that meeting where I asked some stupid question like, "how should our site look?" Here are the answers:
Firm Principal: professional, cutting edge design, innovative
Project Manager: cooler
Senior Associate: warmer
ha.
So the new site is going to be very sleek, while I try to load it with a lot more information, yet maintain the elegant, minimalist feel of the current site. The new opening page will be pure black (or perhaps a black box within a field of 90% black--I am still playing with that) and six red rectangles fade into existence. No photos at this point, since there really isn't a signature image right now, just different shades of red from bright candy to magenta to deep violet, which is the logo color. Each color is a business sector and hovering over reveals an image and short description, and a click takes you to the project portfolio. But yeah... black... and red. A few white words, that is it. I am very excited, especially to add in the subtle animation of the colors fading in for the splash page.
Whelp I better hop to it--I need to get out of here on time to make a raid on WoW tonight. We have almost all of Blackwing Lair on farm status, but I don't want to get too cocky on Nefarian, yet. Although I pretty much got credit for the kill the first time we downed him, in the post from the guild master (I am called Faraly in the game.) He even named the thread the way I sometimes talk to the guild, "Dear the People Who Think it is OK to Stand by the Tunnel: it actually isn't. XOXO Far" "Dear Zzues, thanks for the heals and everything. Your pal, Far"
Dear the Readers of my Blog,
You guys are the greatest--keep on thinking I'm not crazy, just eccentric.
All the best, Zemlet
.: posted by Zemlet 11:08 AM
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
woe is woe
I’ve read articles in women’s magazines and on salon review web sites recounting horror stories about bad haircuts and how they ruined somebody’s life. I never thought I would be the woman who dreads to face a mirror because she’ll have to bite back tears when she sees her new haircut. But thanks to Habitude, an Aveda concept salon and spa in Seattle, now I am. I never thought it would happen to me--I always insist on senior stylists and only visit salons recommended by a friend. How a senior stylist could leave me looking like this is unbelievable, and I am here to warn all of my friends away from Habitude.
Perhaps there is an explanation? I heard rumors that the Ballard location was short handed the day I went. I overheard something about “losing a stylist,” so perhaps Christine, who worked on my hair, was incredibly rushed and unable to give me the attention that would have made the haircut work. I have to admit I have never before left a styling chair with my hair still wet. Did she simply not have time to finish blow drying, or did she realize the cut was a disaster and didn’t want me to find out, so she left it wet and didn’t bother to ask how I like it or show me the back. I would like to think she was just really rushed, since I was assured she was part of the senior staff. The first thing I said, when I sat in Christine’s chair, was that I had “just started a new job and needed to look professional, yet creative”. I cannot believe that could be interpreted as “give me mismatched, lifeless layers and completely uneven bangs”.
Whenever I had read those articles about “the haircut that ruined my life” I thought it was an exaggeration, but now that I am living it, I realize it really does affect your whole life. You figure, your hair is the only thing you wear every day, so if it looks bad, no matter what you wear or how svelte your body is, you will look bad. I will spend a lot in order to look good. I also feel like I am plunking down that money to buy time in the morning, but instead of the “wash and go” style I asked for, I have to fuss and worry as I get ready for work. There are barely enough hairpins in my drawer to keep all the crazy, short sections of hair from sticking out. I am using more styling products than ever before, as I pin back the sides, then spray and slick and arrange the obnoxious, crooked bangs into place.
My previous haircut at this salon, given by someone who has now left, was effortlessly soft and curvy. It accentuated by face, and worked well with the quirky texture of my hair. I was able to wake up, run my fingers through it, and go. My current haircut looks straggly and limp--the ends just hang there, they don’t curve or curl. The layers look so amateur, I feel like I have a cross between a 60’s-style shag cut and a mullet. I have written Habitude to see if I could find out where my old stylist went or get some sort of discount on a ‘fixit” haircut. (Although I am unsure how it could be fixed, unless I went super short.) I am interested to see what they say. I wonder if getting angry you-ruined-my-hair/life letters are a regular occurrence to them? Perhaps I just need to take extra vitamins to make the whole mess grow out faster and spend some money on cute barrettes or a hat of some sort.
Oh lordy this post is self centered. I tried to make it funny, but I guess it just isn’t funny to me yet. Mullets on photos of people in high school = funny. Not so much in your own mirror in 2006. And to think--I paid a hefty tip when the thing was still wet and I had no idea how bad it was. Next thing you know, I’ll be posting about the weeds that grew up around my place and the dead tree in the front yard. I guess things overall are just not ready to be made fun of yet. I should shut up about my stupid hair because other people have a lot larger troubles than me. I just back from Seattle where there is a lot going on with our best pals, including medical challenges and possible divorce. I know there isn’t anything I can do about either, but I feel a little guilty not being there to offer help.
One of my best friends has to adhere to a totally restrictive diet, and I feel so much empathy for her, I keep trying to figure out how I’ll get around not being able to eat chocolate or drink tea before I stop and remind myself that it is her, not me. It is like when one of my other best friends was dealing with fertility issues, I was so wrapped up in her struggle, I kept thinking it was also happening to me too, and I should get tested, and look into new techniques, etc. The funny part was, I was single at the time and had no reason to think about pregnancy at all. When people are dealing with relationship issues, I also start thinking it could be happening to me and start asking my SO all these totally random, dramatic questions.
So for those of you who are able to leave the house with your normal haircuts, please savor the sleepless nights dealing with a cranky baby, enjoy that cup of coffee, and embrace the silly habits of your honest husband, because somewhere out there is someone who wishes she could do the same.
Don’t worry, the von Markhams are visiting this weekend, so future posts should be lighter fare as a result.
.: posted by Zemlet 10:02 AM
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