just a pirate girl living in a lonely world...

the time has come california

2010-03-25T00:02:00.001-07:00

Calif. voters to decide whether to legalize pot
AP

In this photo taken May 13, 2009 a grower holds a marijuana plant being grown for medical purposes inside a greenhouse at a farm in Potter Valley, Ca AP – In this photo taken May 13, 2009 a grower holds a marijuana plant being grown for medical purposes inside …

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ, Associated Press Writer Cathy Bussewitz, Associated Press Writer – Wed Mar 24, 9:29 pm ET

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California voters will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults, after the secretary of state on Wednesday certified the initiative for the November ballot.

It would become the first state to legalize recreational marijuana use if the proposition is approved. Marijuana use is legal for medicinal purposes in California and 14 other states, but the drug is illegal under federal law.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified that the petitions seeking to place the question on the ballot had more than 433,971 valid voter signatures, the minimum number needed to qualify.

If approved, the initiative would allow those 21 years and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, enough to roll several marijuana cigarettes. Residents also could cultivate the plant in limited quantities.

The proposal would ban users from ingesting marijuana in public or smoking it while minors are present. It also would make it illegal to possess the drug on school grounds or drive while under its influence.

Local governments would decide whether to permit and tax marijuana sales.

"The tide has turned," said Dan Newman, a strategist with the campaign backing the measure. "The combination of the broken budget and dysfunctional cannabis laws have created the perfect storm for this initiative to pass in November."

Opponents refer to marijuana as a gateway drug, meaning its use is believed to lead young people to try other, harder drugs. They worry that legalization would persuade more people to try it, worsening the nation's drug culture.

"How can our kids say no when the adults around them are saying yes?" asked Aimee Hendle, a spokeswoman for Californians for Drug Free Youth.

Proponents of the measure say legalizing marijuana could save the state $200 million a year by reducing public safety costs and could generate tax revenue for local governments.

Stephen Gutwillig, California director for the Drug Policy Alliance, said certification of the ballot initiative marks a watershed moment in the decades-long struggle.

"Banning marijuana outright has been a profound disaster, fueling a massive, increasingly brutal underground economy, wasting billions in scarce law enforcement resources and making criminals of countless law-abiding citizens," he said.

The initiative is the second proposal to qualify for the November 2010 ballot. The other is a $11.1 billion water bond measure that was pushed by state lawmakers.

year of sick

2010-01-10T14:03:00.000-08:00

so it's day 10 of 2010 and I've been sick since about new years eve. i finally went to seek medical attention because i really just wanted cough syrup with codeine to make it go away because that cured me before when i had a similar sickness in college. $110 later + $15 for the syrup = monica on the path to good health. i'm sick of being sick in 2010 and i'm sick of not having health insurance. obama, you fail me daily.

where have the last ten years gone?

2009-12-30T01:04:00.000-08:00

Seriously, what did I just do in the last ten years? Lots of things really

graduated high school

went to college

graduated college

went back to school for no particular reason a few times

traveled to many countries

decided to vote for the first time and hated it

had too many different jobs

fell in and out of love too many times

lost weight, gained weight

got older

partied hard and harder...a lot of debaucherous behaviour of all sorts

but most importantly, i became more fabulous.

2010, bring it, bitch.

i always had a thing for mr. leto

2009-11-24T03:18:00.000-08:00

My roommate

2009-11-23T21:12:00.000-08:00

thinks i am the fountain of knowledge. he's the best

busy bee boring bee

2009-11-06T20:23:00.000-08:00

I don't even know where time has gone or is going. The summer flew by. I was pretty busy for the most part. Actually, probably the busiest most eventful summer I've ever had in hellacious LA. It was definitely nice to live near the beach because it wasn't so bloody hot.

I feel like I've literally been all over the place since August. I went to Vegas for a hot minute in August with Ed. I lost too much money. It was tragic. I hate Vegas.

In September I went to Memphis Tennessee to visit my friend Tori who was visiting from England. This was my first experience in a "southern" state and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Memphis is home of the blues and Beale street was fantastic. I could see myself living there. I was also there for her birthday which was even nicer. We went to Graceland on her birthday and the night before, we got shit faced on Beale street. It was nice to see Tori again and reunite after 2 years. It really didn't feel like it had been two years since we had seen each other; that's how awesome our friendship is.

Two weeks later I was in New York city. I fucking love NYC so it was great to go back. The last time I went was with Miriam in 2003, I think. NY was nice. I was pretty much trying to see if I would like to live there. Obviously I would because NY is awesome. I got to see some people that I hadn't seen in ages. Georgette and Joe were really generous and awesome and wonderful and they helped me out a lot. I owe them. I also got to see my old roommate and hot mess Bianca and her boyfriend Chris. Thanks again to Chris for hanging out with me when I was bored to tears. I had an awesome time hanging out with Bianca in the East Village and being ridic with a bunch of gays- our favorite. Bananas. I ventured out to Jersey to visit my bro and sister in law which was nice. Overall, I had a great time in NYC and can't wait to go back.

A couple of weeks ago I went to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Could I be all over the fucking map? I went for a family wedding which was pretty nice. I had never really spent much time in PA and I had never been to Pittsburgh. From what I saw, it was nice. I had never really seen the fall season in full effect until then. The changing of the leaves is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I felt like such a dork driving around and saying out loud how gorgeous it all was. I think I need to live some place that has all 4 seasons. The trip back was the most exhausting 3 flight way home that I'm taking a break from travel for a month or two. I'm also broke.

Work is sparse and I'm super broke. I'm trying to find a part time job to have some sort of income but nothing is coming up. Oh well. Jah will provide!

all is well in the universe once again

2009-08-06T14:41:00.001-07:00

There has been a serious food void in my life in the last 2 years. I have searched the USA far and wide in search of this delicious flavor of chips but all results have come up empty. You simply cannot find paprika flavored Pringles in the United States. My dad just returned from a 3 week trip to Italy so I've been patiently and excitedly waiting for him to arrive so that I could relive the taste sensation that are paprika flavored Pringles. Some might say they taste like BBQ but no, they are different and they are delicious and rather addictive. This shit throws me back to hot Roman summers, booze,and Italian men. Mmmm Italian men...With that said, I shall treasure these 7 canisters of paprika flavored Pringles and be the greediest bitch in the world. Yum yum yum...You may also think I'm nuts to be so obsessed with a flavor of Pringles so I decided to see if I was alone in my quest to find this deliciousness in the USA and Google proved me sane. I am not the only one looking for these in the US so that was very reassuring. With that said, I'm off to consume more of these chips and be merry.

summer

2009-07-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'd have to say that summer is in full swing. Although the weather where I'm at is far from sweltering hot, it's still summer nonetheless. June just kinda breezed by. The hostel opened on the 15th for travelers. It has not been a busy summer unfortunately. We're kinda hurting for more business. This past weekend was pretty grim. So if anyone knows of anyone coming to the LA area between now and September 13th, tell your friends about Hostelling International South Bay. My manager also made me the assistant manager so I'm trying to make this place work. We recently had an inspection by the HI people and we got 100%. Thank god for that. The job is good, despite the low numbers of guests. Opening up a hostel is on my to-do list in life so this is definitely a step in the right direction.

I'm thinking about the rest of July and August and realized I'll be all over the place and busy. I've never had such an eventful summer in the states.

I went camping this past weekend. I had only been camping once before when I was younger and have a vague recollection about it. I definitely remembered the toilets..can't forget those. It was fun though but I forgot to bring my camera of course. I hope to go again and again since I now have all the gear for camping and it's not too far of a drive to get to the sites. I would also like to go for more than one night haha.

Football:I have tickets to the AC Milan vs LA Galaxy match. I paid a ridiculous amount of money for the tickets. I still don't know who I am taking. Beckham is returning from his one year loan from AC Milan, back to the Galaxy but since the game is on the 19th and Beckham has a tendency to be a dickwad, I have a feeling he won't play. Whatever. On the 21st is more football fun. There's an international friendly with Chelsea vs Inter Milan which my brother got tickets for. I'm excited to see both Milan teams. Going to a Serie A match is also on my to do list in life but this is as close as I'm going to get seeing as how I can't make it to Europe any time soon.

Speaking of Europe, my dad is headed to Sicily soon which totally bums me out because this is the second year in a row I can't go. Last year I should have gone but I thought I'd find work which I never did. This year, I gotta work. Hopefully in the fall sometime I'll be able to go. I have to write my cousin a letter.

My friend Ed is coming the last 2 weeks of August so I have to start figuring out what to do. I like visitors and I'm excited to have Ed coming but I hope I can be fully entertaining so he doesn't get bored- hence why I should plan some things to do so I'm not stuck wondering. Perhaps looking an LA guide book will inspire me.

I'm going on a trip in September. Nothing huge, small really, and I'm 90% sure I'm gonna go. My dearest Brit friend Tori is headed to the states for some bluesy vacation so I think I'm meeting her in Memphis. I've never been to Memphis but she has so it should be fun. The home of the blues and graceland? I'm down. I can't wait plus I'll be going to a region of the United States I've never even been to. I have to buy my tickets ASAP.

Can anyone else believe we're already half-way through July? INSANITY!

California is an embarrassment to humanity

2009-05-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

California high court upholds gay marriage ban

By LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer Lisa Leff, Associated Press Writer – 10 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO – The California Supreme Court upheld a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage Tuesday, but it also decided that the estimated 18,000 gay couples who tied the knot before the law took effect will stay wed.

Demonstrators outside the court yelled "shame on you!"

The 6-1 decision written by Chief Justice Ron George rejected an argument by gay rights activists that the ban revised the California Constitution's equal protection clause to such a dramatic degree that it first needed the Legislature's approval.

The court said the Californians have a right, through the ballot box, to change their constitution.

"In a sense, petitioners' and the attorney general's complaint is that it is just too easy to amend the California Constitution through the initiative process. But it is not a proper function of this court to curtail that process; we are constitutionally bound to uphold it," the ruling said.

The justices said the 136-page majority ruling does not speak to whether they agree with Proposition 8 or "believe it should be a part of the California Constitution."

They said they were "limited to interpreting and applying the principles and rules embodied in the California Constitution, setting aside our own personal beliefs and values."

The announcement of the decision set off an outcry among a sea of demonstrators who had gathered in front of the San Francisco courthouse awaiting the ruling. Holding signs and many waving rainbow flags, they yelled "shame on you." Many people also held hands in a chain around an intersection in an act of protest.

Gay rights activists immediately promised to resume their fight, saying they would go back to voters as early as next year in a bid to repeal Proposition 8.

The split decision provided some relief for the 18,000 gay couples who married in the brief time same-sex marriage was legal last year but that wasn't enough to dull the anger over the ruling that banned gay marriage.

"It's not about whether we get to stay married. Our fight is far from over," said Jeannie Rizzo, 62, who was one of the lead plaintiffs along with her wife, Polly Cooper. "I have about 20 years left on this earth, and I'm going to continue to fight for equality every day."

Also in the crowd gathered at City Hall, near the courthouse, were Sharon Papo, 30, and Amber Weiss, 32, who were married on the first day gay marriage was legal last year, June 17.

"We're relieved our marriage was not invalidated, but this is a hollow victory because there are so many that are not allowed to marry those they love," Weiss said.

"I feel very uncomfortable being in a special class of citizens," Papo said.

The state Supreme Court had ruled last May that it was unconstitutional to deny gay couples the right to wed. Many same-sex couples had rushed to get married before the November vote on Proposition 8, fearing it could be passed. When it was, gay rights activists went back to the court arguing that the ban was improperly put to voters and amounted to a revision — which required legislative approval — not an amendment.

That was the issue justices decided Tuesday.

"After comparing this initiative measure to the many other constitutional changes that have been reviewed and evaluated in numerous prior decisions of this court, we conclude Proposition 8 constitutes a constitutional amendment rather than a constitutional revision," the ruling said.

Justice Carlos Moreno wrote the dissenting opinion disagreeing that the proposition did not change the constitution's equal protection clause. He said the law denying same-sex couples the right to wed "strikes at the core of the promise of equality that underlies our California Constitution." He said it represents a "drastic and far-reaching change."

"Promising equal treatment to some is fundamentally different from promising equal treatment for all," said Moreno, who had been mentioned as a possible contender for the U.S. Supreme Court. "Promising treatment that is almost equal is fundamentally different from ensuring truly equal treatment."

catholic school children know how to party hard

2009-05-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

I was a cradle catholic but now do not even associate myself with that religion other than being a fan of the gruesome religious art and architecture of churches. I went to catholic school my whole life. All of it. K-8, high school, and for some reason, chose a catholic university although there wasn't much that screamed "i'm still at a catholic school?!". There's definitely something about going to catholic school most of your life. You hear stories of crazy bible tales, nuns, rules and all sorts of crap. In catholic school, you're taught to be god fearing, and if you sin you must repent or your soul will burn in the pits of hell. I knew going through 9 years at Incarnation that we'd all be a little bit fucked in the head. I think we all knew that. We all formed a bond because it's better to pave your pathway to hell with friends than with stupid people.

I don't think I know many people that keep in touch with elementary school friends. For some reason, my friends and I from elementary school still see each other a few times during the year if not more. In a class of about 30 I think we'd be able to contact most if not all of our former classmates. Personally, I've seen about half of them in the last couple of years and regularly keep in contact with them. Even when we don't see each other that often, when we reconnect, everything falls back into place. I think it was being so close to each other during those formative years coupled with the evils of a catholic education that brought us together.

This weekend I hung out with a few people from my childhood. We graduated 8th grade 13 years ago. Most of them I met nearly 20 years ago so I think it's pretty good that we can keep in touch this long and party as hard as we always do despite failed marriages, kids, and overall insanity. People had little hope for the 8th grade class of 1996. Sure we can party all night with little to no sleep but we've been getting our shit done and for the most part, are doing well. Where am I going with this? Oh yeah, we're still a mess, we probably hate catholicism even more but in the end we've come out helping and understanding each other and have formed ever lasting (so far) bonds. We're like wounded veterans, the scars of battle will still be there but at least we have each other to count on and get through life.

melting....hot...hot...hot...

2009-04-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

One of the top reasons why I HATE living in Los Angeles:

the HEAT...ugh hell on earth 100 degrees or 38ish for you Celsius folks. It's April, it's still spring, not summer, not HELL. Well, it might be closer to hell than spring.

hostelling indefinitely and other stuff with lots of pics

2009-04-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

March felt like quite a busy month for me despite being unemployed for most of the month. I spent a lot of time not looking for a job and just relaxing, being social, ya know. Mojito organized a lovely pre-spring outing to Echo Park to do some paddle boating, eating, and stuffs. It was really nice and even though I've lived in LA my whole life I have never paddle boated on the lake so I was super jazzed to do it. Thankfully, the weather was perfect.

Our house, AgLago threw one of our infamous parties to welcome spring. It was a pretty good party complete with a discoball, 3 djs, homebrew beer, and live silk screening of an image of our late duck Gary. It was a great success and really fun.

I believe if you click the picture it will take you to the rest.

I finally decided to seriously look for a job since money was running low. Nothing looked promising but I found a posting for a temp position thru May working at a youth hostel. I jumped on that early in the week and by mid week I had interviewed and by the end of the week I was hired. So now I work for Hostelling International in San Pedro. San Pedro is located in the southbay part of Los Angeles. Completely different from areas closer to the city. I'm right by the ocean, different lifestyle, smaller town vibe and a bit San Francisco-ish. I live here on site and I'll probably be here through the summer while we're in full hostel operating mode. Right now it's the off season and we're only host educational programs and large groups. All that ends in May and then the second week of June the hostel opens up for all sorts of lovely travellers. Pay isn't that great but I don't have to pay rent and I have a nice view. It's good so far. I'm definitely less stressed and the only time I commute is to go back to the house on my off days. I gave up my room at Aglago since it seems ridiculous to pay for a spot that I'll only be at two or three times a week. I'll just bum it with Jimi in the tiny room again. Ahh like last year all over again hahaha.

See that row of little buildings behind the bell? Yeah that's the hostel.

My birthday was nothing super exciting. Plans to go to Disneyland sadly fell through. I had just started my job so I drove back the night before. I hung out with Junue, Lara, Liz and we had a sort of impromptu mini bday party. Junue's Ebt card + Pavillions + club card holders + a group of hot messes = fun. The evening was a bit hazy and so was my head so I ended up passing out earlier than I wanted to and woke up still "hazy" the next day. Note I said hazy, not hungover. Ha! The morning was full of more debacherous behavior until I stopped so I could be composed for the usual family b-day meal. We went to lunch since I was in the neighborhood. It was delicious. When I came home I went to happy hour with Clay and Lauren at El Conquistador for margaritas. It was pretty awesome and I'll have to go back there again. We returned home to a house meeting and cupcakes courtesy of Patsy. Overall I spent my bday with various friends which was super nice. My birthday gifts are appointments to the dentist and eye doctor. Sigh. 27 years old. Oye. I feel like it could be a good year. 7 is one of my lucky numbers and I'm getting a good vibe from 27 so far.

I'm excited for the coming months. I'm excited to explore San Pedro and learn more about this part of Los Angeles that I know nothing about- not to mention it's like a whole other world down here (separate entry will eventually come). I'm excited to learn how to fly a kite haha. Yay.

news of the week

2009-04-09T21:14:00.001-07:00

What a week so far for news...

First, this earthquake in Italy. What a fucking nightmare. I'm a seasoned vet when it comes to living through earthquakes but then again, I live in LA where retrofitting is standard and buildings up to code are all over the place. However, central Italy, or any part of Italy really for that matter, is not prepared for earthquakes or any other disasters. Trust me I saw "firemen" beating out a fire by hand the size of the Griffith Park fire. They lack resources to be safe from natural disasters and it's sad because there is so much history involved (let's not forget I was a history major).I cried when I saw pics of this church. A 14th century structure gone in minutes. It's just tragic to see a town destroyed like that because a lot of Italy is constructed the same way many of these structures in L'Aquila are made. This could happen all over. Plus I have family in Italy (Sicily) and it kinda puts me through it to think that this could happen there. Old buildings, not safe for earthquakes. Sigh. History, dead. Double sigh.

While I'm on the topic of tragic news, the story about Nick Adenhart, an up and coming pitcher for the Angel's baseball team was horrifically killed last night in a car crash in Fullerton. I'm not a baseball fan but the story just kills me because hours before he had played an amazing game and was starting to get attention and was well on his way to being a baseball great. 22 years old, dead from a drunk driver. NEVER DRIVE DRUNK. Not only is he dead, but two others are as well all because a 22 year old douche bag made a bad choice. Not just one bad choice, no, this was his second and obviously last DUI because his ass is going to jail for life at this point.

In lighter news Officials: Pirates, terrorists not linked directly! I love this headline. Now that the U.S. has been raped and pillaged by the pirates, it must have something to do with terrorism. Cuz before I never heard terrorism linked with pirates. The Somali pirates are at it again! I've been fascinated with these Somali pirates for months. Ruthless bastards! I never thought I'd hear about real piracy on the high seas in this day and age.

And lastly, in completely ridiculous news, here's a reason not to have kids in this technologically driven society. THIS BITCH a 13 yr old, racked up a phone bill to the price tag of $4,756.25 due to excessive texting with out a text messaging plan. Even if they did have a plan, that shit still would have been at least 2k. How do you manage to send out 300 texts a day? How stupid are you to not ask your parents if you have unlimited texting. I'd ground that bitch until she graduated high school and make her get a job the minute she turns 15 to pay me back, interest included. The best part is that her dad took a hammer to the phone. I can picture myself getting all cray at my kid and making a scene and dramatically smashing the phone to bits. Epic.

And that my friends is my commentary on news stories this week. Maybe soon I will have an update of my personal news aka my life. HA

farewell our fine feathered friend

2009-03-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

Our dearly beloved duck Gary was slaughtered sometime yesterday by some vicious blood thirsty raccoons. We know he fought the good fight to defend Goldie, the hen. He will always be remembered for his incessant quacking at inanimate objects, various attempts to hang out on the sidewalk, and his overall love for life at AgLago. We will seek revenge on your killers, homie. Rest in peace.

money hungry bastards

2009-03-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

you know what grinds my gears? the fact that LA is celebrating the return of Manny Ramirez for a hefty multimillion dollar deal. a deal that went back and forth, starting off with a ridiculous sum of money and finally settled at the mere price of 45million for a two year contract. how could that sum of money be so publicly discussed with out anyone feeling guilty about how ridiculous it is. roughly 12 million a year to play sports while everyone else in LA is suffering. Unemployment in LA is at an all time high, education has gone to shit and it going to face a budget cut unheard of and this dude is getting 12 mil? it just doesn't seem right. however, i did read that, supposedly, he is donating 1million (1, only 1 of 12 million?!) to the Dodger Dream Foundation. Great, more kids will have baseball fields to play in. I guess that's better than kids having nothing to do when the whole education system in LA collapses completely. how about you donate another million or two to LAUSD, Manny? Or maybe to homelessness? How about that? i'm not just trying to hate on Manny, who is loved by too many people; i'm hating on all these sports bastards that get paid too much and don't give back enough, especially during these "trying times".

no hope for LA

2009-03-05T00:08:00.001-08:00

For anyone living in LA that happens to be reading this, what the fuck? How did Villaraigosa get re-elected? I used to live in Glendale and felt there was no hope left for Glendale politics but LA got them beat. I feel like one of the few that voted and now I have the liberty to bitch and complain about LA politics! Wonderful!

This past Tuesday was an election, supposed to be a primary but at the numbers of the votes showed that Villaraigosa won by 55% of the vote. Re-elected. I think everyone was just exhausted and tired after the whole Presidential election. The Presidential election was all over the place and in your face everywhere you went. Everyone was distracted by that; too distracted to realize that elections for Mayor of LA were coming up. There were barely any fliers in the mail, no commercials, no real signs of an upcoming primary election. The only reason why I knew was because I got my sample ballot. There was just no real opposition to Villaraigosa. Sure there were plenty of candidates running against him but none of them campaigned enough or got their shit together on time. Even the news was saying how they didn't expect voter turn out to be high at all. I think they mentioned something around maybe 10% turn out. I believe they said the voter turn out for President was 82%. What the fuck Los Angeles?! It's great to be involved and jazzed about the President but let's be real here. Is Obama going to fix this clusterfuck of a city? LA is a hot mess and now it's going to get worse with Villaraigosa back in power. Self-interested, rich, corporate bastards that work to exploit education, the working class, and anyone else that isn't going to pay them to take their pictures. It's ridiculous. Like all the signs around the neighborhood read: Obama may be President but he's not going to fix LA. It's true, LA needs some fixing and now look what happened. An opportunity for change and we blew it. No one turned out to vote. It was a joke. The polling place was dead. In fact there were barely any signs other than printed out arrows and an American flag that indicated that I had arrived at my polling place. Not even a sign on the sidewalk just in cased you missed the little fence opening on the side of the building to get in. Disappointing. At least measure E seems to not have passed and I'm hoping measure B also retains the No vote. I just don't trust them. I just have a bad feeling about the way the city is being and will be run. I fear it will get even worse before it can get better. Kinda like our economy of the U.S., ha! On that note, I'm gonna put my unemployed ass to bed.

collective laziness

2009-02-17T14:21:00.000-08:00

I'm going crazy. I really need some motivation. Apparently my room situation, my collectively lazy faux-op, and over all MESS everywhere isn't enough?

I'm so done with everything and I just want to find a new job somewhere else. I'm dying to go back to the Bay Area but I can't bring myself to look for a job. I know I need to find solace and this isn't the place for it.

I feel like my job credentials and education aren't enough- too lackluster, worthless, spotty.

I'd really like my old self back that was motivated and active and did things and was generally happy? How did I end up this way and how am I to fix it?

Perhaps if I stop writing this nonsense I could get things done.

Other than having another "crisis" my life is pretty borrrring. I went to a rave on Saturday night which was fun and freezing. I got to see a few people I hadn't seen in ages. It was good times, definitely a little throw back to high school being at a rave and all. It was nice though because it was 21+. Lucent Dossier was definitely the best part of the night and I'd say their show is worth checking out.

there's paint all over my hands

2009-02-03T23:16:00.005-08:00

i feel an old chapter of my life ending and a new one starting...i'm not sure where this will take me or what i'll do but i'll damned well enjoy every waking minute of it. i'm open to change and excitement..new thrills and old fun...new people and some old friends too.

part of me is itching for the wind to blow me far away.

part of me is itching for the ground to keep me here.

however, if i find the way to making me happy involves moving, i'm going...going for it...not let anything or anyone hold me back...i'm taking back myself...reclaiming what i dropped ages ago...starting anew, yes.

february is going to be a good month...and will jumpstart my ass into loving life in 2009

i can never win

2009-01-22T22:52:00.001-08:00

I feel like a loser at life. i'm almost 27 and i have nothing to show for it. i feel like i keep getting screwed over all the time. i go to school, it gets me nowhere. i go again, same thing. my resume has gaps all over the place and no cohesiveness. i suck. i'll be unemployed in two weeks with no job prospects anywhere in the los angeles area. my relationship is done. i need a new place to live but can't afford to move so i'm thinking i'll be back at my parents' house by march. i really just want to kill people and break things. i'm extremely angry and think it's completely unfair that i'm in this situation while i see a lot of people my age excelling and being successful- in general, at life. where did i go wrong? what am i supposed to do? who will give me a chance? i'm so stressed that i woke up this morning feeling like my shoulders and neck were inflated like balloons. i also have had this middle back pain that is not helping the stress pain now engulfing my shoulders. i'm at the end of my rope. i don't know what to do anymore. i don't know where to go...what job to look for, nothing. i feel completely hopeless. i also feel like this has been the recurring theme the last few years. i just can't win.

i am so angry i can't even take it anymore

2009-01-06T18:24:00.000-08:00

The amount of anger I have toward my job is astronomical. I'm on the verge of quitting with out having a new job lined up...I don't even care if it takes me forever to find a new one. I can't stand the idea, the thought of going to work. They lie and cheat us out of our fair pay by having the most fucked up policies. How am I supposed to be penalized for the fact that no one is shopping? NO ONE. All day I've been stewing with anger. ANGRY that I have to find a new job because I know at the end of the month I'll be told that I'm sucking and that I won't be able to stay much longer. Definitely not after February. Why should I be scammed out of my wages because the economy is shit? How can they deny that the economy is crap? How can they get away with lying to us telling us that we get 6.75% commission rates on all clothing when in fact half the stuff we sell we're getting 5%. Oh OOPS, they must have overlooked that little detail! What really angers me is that they know they're screwing people over and they don't give A DAMN.

I'm scrambling to find a new job so I can put in my two weeks and say FUCK YOU BLOOMINGDALES!!!!!!!!! The only problem is, I can't find any jobs to apply for! I feel constantly dicked over by any job I've ever held and my qualifications go unseen by the jobs I really want to get. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I just want to SCREAM!!@!$@#!@#@$

I'm at the point where I want to start a new life. A huge part of me doesn't want to bother looking for work here in Los Angeles. This could be the time for me to relocate like I've been wanting to do for 4 years now. I know enough people in major cities that I can go there and apply to jobs and see what happens. This is something I've been seriously considering within the last few weeks. It's just a hard decision to make because it involves making a bunch of choices.

2009 wtf?

2009-01-01T23:26:00.000-08:00

Is it really New Year's Day? It doesn't feel like it (I had to work today, which sucked). Just like Christmas didn't feel like Christmas and I wasn't in the mood..same with Thanksgiving, Halloween and every other holiday this year. Everything seemed completely uninteresting and generic and un-holiday like. Days were and are just days. Nothing had significance to me anymore, at least in 2008. 2008 was not what I wanted it to be. I had expectations and ambitions and they all just went *poof*. I lost all motivation to do anything, spent the entire summer broke, bored, unemployed and bitter. I barely saw anyone this year and found myself alone for the most part. I quit one crappy job and ended up in yet another crappy job. The economy collapsed and I suffered and am still suffering barely living off the little bit of money I'm getting from a lotta work I'm doing. I moved twice and I think I'm on the verge of moving a third time. I started a relationship but now it feels like it could be ending all because I need to get my life together. Am I being selfish? I'm not sure. I'm trying to figure it out.

I plan to actually do things this year. I'm tired of everything and I want to change it all. At this point, everything is up in the air and on the rocks so I guess slowly but surely I'll get things rolling and get myself squared away.

2009 resolution: Get a new life and some ambition

soon aglago will run the white house

2008-12-18T21:40:00.000-08:00

The other day I saw a pic of one of Obama's speechwriters with a cut out of Hillary Clinton and it looks like he's grabbing at her cardboard boob. I thought that he looked pretty young to be the next President's fucking speechwriter. Anywho, today I see a link on yahoo to a story saying he's 27 and has this ridiculous job. Here is the article. I'm reading on la la la, has the most important job, is the youngest speechwriter ever, blah then I get to the best part and I'm just going to copy and paste it.
"Three months ago, Favreau lived in a group house with six friends in Chicago, where he rarely shaved, never cooked and sometimes stayed up to play video games until early morning. Now, he has transformed into what one friend called a "Washington political force" -- a minor celebrity with a down payment on a Dupont Circle condo, whose silly Facebook photos with a Hillary Rodham Clinton cutout created what passes for controversy in Obama's so far drama-free transition"

EXCUSE ME? This guy was a dirty co-op living hippie, what? Since when were they trolling "group homes" and co-ops for White House staff? If that's the case, shoot I live in a house with 11 people, 4 cats, a hen and a duck. Why hasn't Aglago gotten the memo? We've got all sorts of talent under this roof. Between all of us we can produce many fruitful things for the White House. Here is a list of all the services we could provide and be of value for the Obama Camp:

-Live music for personal pleasure or entertaining heads of state or parties
-Landscaping, gardening and composting
-Very experienced personal computer techs available on call
-Various cooking and baking styles and flavors
-Psychic intuition for those not so sure moments
-Self-portraits and personalized peices of art perfect for presents
-Seamstresses
I could go on...You get the picture. Where's my fancy White House job?!?! With Aglago in the White House, great things would happen. Unique art, social reforms, legalization of marijuana, more funding for public transit, urban farming etc, etc. Come on, America, YES WE CAN!! YES WE CAN! !

san franblogging

2008-12-16T23:25:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the City by the Bay, aka my favorite city in California, aka my former home at one time, aka SAN FRANCISCO. What better way to spend my two days off in a row, woo! Mental vacation yay! One of my biggest regrets, yes I have a few, is moving away from San Francisco after college. I guess things happen for a reason and boys come and go from my life, etc etc. I just love this city and I still want to move back. This time I think I'm going to set a time frame. I figure now while I have a shitty job is a good time to plan a move. We'll see.

I arrived last night. I have flown Virgin Atlantic and had claimed that it has the best coach seats out of all the airlines. Well, I flew Virgin America and it was equally awesome. Seats are not too tight and there is a ton of leg room. It's also visually awesome. There are purple and blue lights and white seat backs with tvs for everyone. It just has a fun fresh style, plus free games and movies/music for all. OH, and you can chat seat to seat..wtf? I almost wished I wasn't alone because it would have been fun to chat on the plane. You can totally chat with seat 10b from seat 20A...it's pretty sweet.

Today I went to the De Young museum to see the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit. Amazing pieces of clothing, I can't even describe them. Works of art really. I stopped at USF on the way back to get a drink and check out the campus. I went downtown afterwards to hang out before going to my brother's house for dinner. My niece is the awesomest. She's ridic. I hadn't seen her in two years. She's quite the character. She seems pretty smart and talks it up, in both English and Russian, no problem. It was a good visit.

Now I'm drinking a ridiculously over priced tall can and watching one of my netflix movies that I've had for a month now. Oye. My other one I've had for 3 months. I'm just gonna mail it back. Tomorrow night I leave =( So sad. I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow. I have to check out by noon and my flight isn't until 8something. I'll probably just hang out around here since it's supposed to be sunny tomorrow. There's a free museum downstairs I can go check out. Of course I won't want to leave. I never do. It sucks. I love my fog and cold weather, fresh sea air, foghorns, and everything else. Ugh, I need a longer vacation. Maybe soon, maybe east.

week of the weak

2008-11-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

So I had a few "celeb" sitings, as always, last week. First was Rachel Leigh Cook. She's totally cute and nice and I'm not sure what else she's been in that I've actually seen except that one teen movie she did with Freddie Prinze Jr. Yeah that's right, She's All That. You know you saw it too so SHUT UP.

Next. Kim Kardashian. Famous for absolutely nothing but having a rich deceased father and a mom that remarried rich. Smart women. To some she may be famous for her fat ass. Okay let me be the one to break it to you all, it's not that big. She's not that tall and probably a size 5 and all she probably does are a lot of assercizes to make her ass super toned. That is all. If I lost 20lbs and worked out I'd look just like her. Me and my fat assssssssssssssssssssss.

I actually had the weekend off, yay. Unfortunately I was deathly ill on Saturday due to what could be an array of things...too much alcohol, something I ate, or a dirty homogay trying to drug me. So, my friend Ben is back in town, yay, so that means going out to gay bars and such. I never really went out in WeHo so I was like awesome sure! We headed out and our first stop was Fiesta Cantina for a margarita. Yummy. Then after man watching we went to The Abbey which I have really wanted to go to considering the only Abbey I've ever been too was the one in San Francisco and it's pretty different considering it's an Irish pub- I'm talking F.O.B. Irish men. Anywho, we had a snack and another drink and hung out. Met a cool dude and decided after awhile to go back to Silverlake and go to Akbar instead. At this point I'm nicely buzzed and having an awesome time.

We get back home and I'm ready to go to Akbar so we walk down the street and this is where my night goes all WRONG. I was fine, absolutely fine until I started drinking there. I think I may have had one or 2 gin and tonics. I danced some, chatted with an old school friend some, danced some more and was having a great time. Then I vaguely remember leaving, don't remember coming home, or walking into my room, or changing into my pjs...the only thing I remember is waking up being like wtf at vomit on my pillow case and sheet. I then looked into the trashcan, which had found its way next to my bed, and realized that I had thrown up in it. Really? I DON'T REMEMBER THAT. Cut to the morning when I wake up DYING. Head swirling and my stomach in the worst condition ever. Now, I'm not going to lie, I've drank way more and never been sick. I have had more, on an empty stomach, gotten sick but not to the extent of this SICKNESS. I couldn't move all day. I was bed ridden for most of the day except for the times I went to the porcelain throne or when I stepped outside to get some air. I couldn't even hold down water. It was a mess. I can't drink for at least a week or forever depending on my liver. I'm just like what the hell happened? Here are a few ideas- my body decided to lower my tolerance for alcohol thus giving me minor alcohol poisioning, I ate something fishy, literally that didn't agree with everything else in my stomach + booze, a gay man spiked my drink with the intention of making me his fag hag by blacking me out so he could steal me away to his gay boy wonderland....WHO KNOWS. All I know is that it was terrible and my stomach still doesn't feel as strong yet. Oh well

I finally got a haircut yesterday. I found this spot up the street (shameless plug for Refuge) and got an awesome haircut for a pretty decent price considering the time spent cutting it and the outcome. I'm pleased.

Right now I'm just thinking of jobs to look for unless the one I'm in starts paying out. Commission? What commission? I'm not getting any and haven't been for a month which means I'm getting checks smaller than an In n' Out worker. Yeah, that's right. I'd like to give a big FUCK YOU to all the skanks that return clothing. You know who you are, I see you, we all know who you are and avoid you all like the plague. The Returners. Those cheap bastards that wear clothes and return them. We know you wear them, it's so obvious, how do you not feel embarassed or ashamed. Especially all of you that return clothing purchased well over 6 months ago. You tasteless bastards are ruining my life. If you can't afford the clothes, don't buy them and return them months later and repeat. I'm in debt to my job because of you shameless cunts. And if you do wear them, since you have the tags cut off already, just wash them. I'm sick of smelling your night clubs, moth balls, B.O. and other filth that permeates that clothing that you shove in our faces to get your money back. DIE ALL OF YOU.

Happy Monday, Bitches!

prop 8

2008-11-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

Proposition 8 is such horseshit. For anyone that happens to read this and is not from California, and/or has been living under a rock, Prop 8 pretty much bans gay marriage. Whether you love or hate the gays, everyone should be able to get married. Everyone is entitled to the same misery as all the other people married and bitter. Since Prop 8 passed, meaning the ban was reinstated, there have been protests galore up and down California and now it's spread nationwide. This Saturday there are supposed to be protests across the country about the marriage ban. There have been protests in Los Angeles almost everyday since the election. Last Saturday, one of the protests happened to be in front of my house, for reals. Being the fair person I am, I feel anyone should be able to marry so I checked it out. There were THOUSANDS of people and it was pretty organized and put together. It did not get out of hand at all and it was civil. Anywho, I hope this shit goes to the Supreme Court and everyone gets the right to marry and live miserably everafter yay!

celeb sitings

2008-11-13T00:12:00.000-08:00

I love seeing celebrities and such because they never look anything like they do in the pictures with all their make up and air-brushing. They're real, normal people...imagine that. Anywho, these two gems frequented my job with in the last week.
Yes, she's blonde again, and no she did not have her sunglasses on. In fact, I almost doubted myself, but I got confirmation from other co-workers that it was her. She just looked to tired and normal, kinda like me. HA! They're human after all!

John Rzeznik? Or is it Johnny? Because his shit says John. If your name is John why make it longer? I digress. At first I wasn't sure, but then I was like oh come on THIS FACE, of course it's him. I've never been a fan of the Goo Goo Dolls, but whatevs, a sale is a sale. Thanks dude!

Oh, and Phoebe Price comes in often enough for me not to blog about it each time. I LOVE her mom Flora. She's such a sweetie and chats it up all the time. In fact, it's about time they come in for a visit. I know they're back from Sweden!

reflection of the election

2008-11-12T23:27:00.000-08:00

I was never one to vote. In high school I cast empty ballots or just didn't do them. I could give two shits who the prom queen should be or the class president. whatever. I could have voted in the 2000 election and the 2004 election but refused to register. I have issues with our voting system and the "democracy" of it all. However, this year I was just nervous. Nervous that the same person would be re-elected in a different body. I didn't like either candidate really and quite honestly did not follow the election until around September. So to save myself the guilt of having another 4 years of Bush policies, and to be able to bitch and whine about politics, I registered to vote a few days before the deadline. Now that I've voted, I don't see myself really voting again, except maybe in local elections. I was extremely disappointed with the voting system and think it's even more flawed than before.

I arrived at my polling place with my letter saying I'm registered and my voter booklet to read up on the 101 propositions that CA/LA had. I go in only to find out that I'm not on the list. Therefore, I had to fill out a provisional ballot. What a buzz kill. My first voting experience and my vote gets counted next to last? LAME. On top of that, they don't check IDs?! WHAT THE FUCK? How is that possible? So they just go by signatures? Because that's legit. I could have sent anyone in there to vote for me and they could have done it. I didn't feel satisfied or proud, I felt gypped. By the time most of the results were in and/or projected, my lone vote was probably close to being counted. Probably counted well after the results were set in stone so it really didn't matter. Will I vote in the next election? Who knows, as of now I'm leaning towards no.

On that note, I hope this Presidency works out better than the last one. Obama has a lot of promises and people have high hopes so I hope he doesn't disappoint. I'm just glad to see some diversity in the Whitehouse. Oh, and did everyone forget that Obama is half white? That he was raised by his grandparents? That he lived in Hawaii and also Indonesia where he attended school? Yeah, I think people miss those points and focus on the black. He ain't black, he's a mutt. This whole race thing is very reminiscent of the Tiger Woods craze.

I was interesting to see my peers on the street corners on the night of the election cheering and showing pride in this country. Never have I heard anyone my age give or take 5 years, chanting USA! USA! It was bizarre. Craziness. However, if the results of this election make everyone more alert and interested in politics than good for them. We need more informed, and interested people. I just hope the same people showing super US pride don't fall off the bandwagon when the glitz of Obama's inauguration wears off and he starts to be the real President. Who knows what's to come. I just hope it's better.

I'll leave you all with a couple of images of the hood on election night.

boo!

2008-10-31T11:04:00.001-07:00

First, to clarify, the title does in fact say boo- but not boo like "boo" it's Halloween let me be silly..it's boo as in BOOO today sucks kinda boo! I always celebrate Halloween except for last year and well again this year. Last year I had to work at my stupid job but it was okay because we had a Halloween party prior to Halloween so it felt like it passed before it even came. This year our party is after Halloween and today being Halloween is yet another work day in the life of me. Not just any work day, no. I have to close alone and open alone tomorrow morning. How is that fair? I hope people eat tainted candies (not the good kind), see 20 other people wearing the same non creative costume, and get attacked by mean ghosts. I just hope I can leave work effortlessly with out having to battle the damn idiots that are going to Weho to celebrate-which might I add is up the street from my job..argh

Happy Halloween bitches

the newer twilight zone is a joke

2008-10-28T22:20:00.001-07:00

seriously, it sucks. it's all live looking and less old and creepy filmy..ugh...i'm wasting my buzz on this trash.

what i really want to be doing right now is having a seance to contact my friend nick who killed himself a year ago today. i'd just like to chat it up a bit. you know, shoot the shit. anyway, my medium powers aren't in full swing at the moment. ha!. i need to get some ice cream. steal a beer or something and get to business....and turn this really crappy twilight zone off before i feel sober again.

speaking of business, i've got mice traps to set and wood to glue and caulking to be done...call me miz fix-it, bitches

still sorta sick rants

2008-10-25T16:39:00.000-07:00

Following suit with my last rant...

and for fucks sake what is with these winds and crazy dry air...OH not to mention SMOGGY AS ALL BROWN HELL TODAY ugh. Not only was I battling my sickness being outside for my yard sale, I was also breathing in nice brown air...MMMMM..delicious....SICK! Maybe if douche bags like the caravan of "Yes on 8" supporters that honked their way down Sunset stopped driving their fancy vehicles I wouldn't have brown lung. How about that?

Speaking of the asshat caravan...DO NOT come into MY neighborhood EVER AGAIN, HONKING WILDLY in support of prop 8...JUST DON'T...because not only will you have to deal with me and my incessant BOOING, I will have prepared an army against prop 8 armed with whips and chains, footlong dildos, and lots of rage. I hope all that tape used to plaster your fancy vehicles with posters fucked up your paint job.

sick rants

2008-10-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm stuck in a glass box living in LA. I just can't stand it anymore. I don't know what to do. I can't afford to move or find a job again since I just got one. I'm just really frustrated, a bit unhappy, and I just want a change. I'm over the stagnancy and routine of every aspect of my life around me.

And for fucks sake can the heat just QUIT?!?! I'm so over these heat waves.

the fruits of my labor flaunted in public

2008-10-13T22:57:00.001-07:00

So as my previous posts allude to, I work in a place that is visited sometimes by celebs of all sorts. Anywho, as an avid dlisted reader I stumbled upon this lovely picture of Phoebe Price wearing the furry Free People vest I sold her just weeks before.
She was really stoked for the vest so I'm glad to see her wearing it because that means it won't get returned. Thanks Phoebe!

i fought the law and won,duh

2008-10-12T12:14:00.001-07:00

Dear Douche-bag Sheriff of North Northern California,

You suck, but we knew that already when you gave me that bogus speeding ticket just outside of Weed CA. I was not going to fall victim to your douchery, no, No! I planned to fight, and fight I did in the best way possible. My fighting paid off and I hope you look more like a douche-bag Sheriff than you already were. Hell, I hope worse things happened to you, asshat. Now I shall wait for my $150 to be sent back to me so I can go to the bank and flaunt my check written out to me from you sad sad excuses for law enforcement. Thanks for the hassle, it paid off. Ha!

Yours,
urban-pirate

sitings again

2008-10-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

I forgot to add Kristen Cavallari to the previous post. She actually was a nice person contrary to popular belief..oh reality television how i love thee. anywho a few days ago my sitings were on fire.

my day started off with a run to the cheese store for a sandwich to take from work..by the way the sandwich was way too goat cheesy for me but i still ate it since it cost me a dime to buy..anyway as i walked over there in my kitty cat pajama pants, with a house dress over it and a hoodie to cover it all (yeah i must have looked grrrrreat), i spot randy, earl's brother from the show My Name is Earl. I actually have to google to find out his real name..ahh Ethan Suplee...very well...i saw him and a lady friend outside of the cheese store...i had to bite my lip hard to stop the giggling..if you know me, i love the show..so all i could think of was the oafishness of randy shining through.

later on at work i was told that a famous MILF was in the house shopping, quite possibly for an outfit for her daughter's big 16th birthday bash. yes, you guessed it, Miley's mama...not just her mama but the rest of the cyrus brood. all i'm gonna say is, watch out for her little sister...she seems like a force
to be reckoned with...i'm just saying...

on my break i decided to give it to buying coffee..i have issues many times buying coffee for way more than it's really worth. my spot of choice is the bean over the bucks which is conveniently located outside of my job establishment. while i was standing waiting for my tasty treat i glance over and notice and older man slightly greying in the hair..wait, i know who that is! it's
JOHNNY KNOXVILLE..blending in completely until some girls spot him and ask to take a pic...and he agreed..what a nice fellow.

lastly, on Monday there was just one siting, but a good one at that..
yes..the little darling herself, nicole richie. she's tiny..like a pixie tiny..not anorexic or anything..she's one of the smallest humans my age..how did a baby come out of her? i don't know. she was with 2 friends...i was bummed that there was no harlow with her..they totally were checking out the perfume store..you know the ones i'm talking about..floor to ceiling of shit. anywho, they hit up the bean afterwards...i should just hang out at the bean and celeb hunt on my lunch break.

today starts yet another jewish high holiday which means my job will be filled with nothingness...woo!

sitings of dlisters and other people we know and love or forgot about

2008-10-03T22:46:00.000-07:00

i'm "blessed" if you will, to have a job in a locale that attracts people of some level of wealth. wealth usually brings assholes, nice people or celebrities of some sort. i do get all sorts of interesting customers but i'd like to keep track of the ones with any sort of claim to "fame"

sarah silverman showed up the night of the emmys, ten minutes before the store was going to close...well done sarah..she was a bit frantic looking for a simple black skirt. i told her where to look, she probably thought i was following her and yeah..nice girl..come back to shop sarah

anyone remember that episode of "true life: i'm a staten island" girl? i swear, swear that the one chick that was trying to get rid of her accent showed up to return something..convinced..she looked like a hollywood barbie sans blonde hair..a bit tragic but it had to be her..it just had to..i managed to contain my laughter at the situation

TOPANGA...don't deny that you used to watch boy meets world...this was more of a walk by siting later confirmed by a customer that was excitedly phoning home to a relative to say she saw a celebrity..ahem...poor girl...anywho i was on my way to other places when i spotted her in the watches area...i still don't know who thought it was cool to turn her character from the weird but cool and awkward girl to the uber girly girl crushing for cory..ugh

my fav and best encounter so far was none other than dlisted finest, phoebe price. i was super giddy to see her and had to contain my giggles as i attended to ms. price and her mama ms. denise p. yes, ms. d.p. was such a delight. too bad phoebe looked like a "sack" in the dress being returned otherwise it would have been a-ok. mama price, you rock..phoebe, you're alright despite the mad shit people talk...rock on

this is a work in progress ha!

september=busy

2008-09-26T17:06:00.000-07:00

I've been rather busy this month and it's all kinda nuts considering I did nothing from about June-August. Ugh. I won't go there. I started the month, literally on the 1st, training for my new retail job. Yay sucked in again. It's alright, same old shit but different setting. I'm getting by. The pay isn't nearly as good as my last job. Unfortunately my decent checks with commission won't start rolling in until next week which sucks because until then I have no money to spend or play with. Anyway the first two weeks of the month were spent doing nothing and training. Now I'm in full swing job mode and it sucks as always. It's pretty tiring. I never worked full time in retail sales before and yeah.

We had our houseparty on the 6th and it was insane. There were tons of people flowing in and out nightly. The music went on way too long and people would not leave until everyone was kicked out around 6am. Pics are on my flickr.

I just finished a 7 day work streak. Don't ask how it is possible but I did it and now I'm off for 3 days. I win, I think. Whatever, I'm going to go drink a beer. I just needed to get my blog on. It had been so long.

contact from the other side

2008-08-29T13:02:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I woke up remembering the craziest dream I had had. I dreamt of my friend Nick. Nick took his life last year in October and it was all just very confusing and we'll never know why. Anyway he was in my dream and we were hanging out but he seemed anxious, nervous, kinda scared and I remember him saying something along the lines of going somewhere. All I remember is being friendly to him, kind of consoling in nature. I hugged him and gave him kisses and just hung out. I remember his head was shaved but he had all these marks over his head kinda like scabs (killed himself, gun to the head). There wasn't much else about it other than that and I shortly woke up afterwards. I don't know much about spirits and the dead and such but this tripped me out. I know it's nothing bad and it's probably a good sign. It was just one of those things that makes the hair stand up on your arms and gives you goosebumps. If you think that is trippy it gets trippier. Later on in the day I realized that the date was the 28th. Nick died 10 months ago, in the morning, exactly yesterday. Now, if that is not some sort of sign from Nick or whatever than I don't know what it was. A strange coincidence? Perhaps. But, I think it was more than that.

Bow down to me

2008-08-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

I'm well versed with Italian culture just because I have some strong ties to the country. Italians tend to be a very religious bunch. Sure, there are many non-believers but they're still really big on religious holidays especially for patron saints and such. Anyway, most Italian people have names that are typically found in the Bible or variations of biblical names. Usually each saint has their own special day where you celebrate their life, go to church or whatever. In Italy, at least were my family is from, Sicily, when your saint day comes around you get well wishes and maybe you'll get your favorite food at dinner. Today happens to be my saint's day. Yes, St. Urban Pirate. It is also my grandma's birthday. In true Italian fashion, I unexpectedly was the recipient of a "gift" and fittingly enough I got it today. It pays to have my name, at least today, literally...on the real... fo shiz

In other news, I'll be starting work soon. Yay! I finished my online traffic school. I failed the final three times before I finally got an 80%. Stupid shit and a waste of my life. I'll also be moving on up to larger living quarters with in the house..yay! I'm excited to once again have a half bathroom. There's something great about having your own toilet, especially so close to you. This will only mean that I will take even longer to emerge from my room in the morning. It appears that things might be looking up again for 2008. The summer is/was a drag so hopefully this new job won't suck as much as the last one and hopefully my living situation will be more comfy for me.

Fingers crossed...

last week was hectic and shit for reals

2008-08-25T22:51:00.001-07:00

For reals! Last week I was on fire in terms of acquiring money. I managed to take on a research project with someone for money so that made me happy to know I'd have my next loan payment. Mid-week I found an ad on CraigsList asking for people to participate in a driving simulator research study. They said they would pay $100 cash for approximately 1.5hrs. Sounded like easy money, and easy it was. I got called and went in on Friday and was out $100 richer. I had an interview at Pinkberry of all god awful places. The interview was crap and I didn't want to work there anyway. Besides, I had an interview the next day at Bloomingdales and I had high hopes for getting a job there since I had history with Macys.

Long story short, I stay at Bloomingdales for 2hours and walk out with a new job. Yay! It's a step up from Macys and it's going to be something new and I'm excited to take it on. Bring it. Tomorrow I go in to fill out more paperwork of sorts.

Friday night, me and urban hippie went to see Donna Summer. She certainly dimmed all the lights and we all danced that last dance for love. It was great and we were clearly loving it because we were told we were being too loud. Woops.

Saturday we got up at 4:30am because I had to drive to San Luis Obispo to attend a mandatory first meeting for one of my library classes at Cuesta. It was about a 3 hour or so drive and it was nice since I hadn't driven up the 101 in a long time. It was also nice to have mizz P with me so I wouldn't fall asleep at the wheel (we both only slept 3 hrs). Extra credit points for you there Patty Cakes hahaha!

Upon our return the Sunset Junction Street Fair was in full force. I'll get around to writing another entry about Sunset Junction and my real feelings towards the street fair. The street fair was a good idea that has since been ruined by douche bag elitists. Anyway, I'll save that for later. The only good thing that came out of Sunset Junction were all the bottles and cans that I found in the trash cans. Right now, I gotta get to uploading some pics of the summer.

news of the weak...er week, so far

2008-08-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

here are some news stories worth looking at...just because I said so.

Forever 21 development on South Central Farm site is protested

Of course they protested. You bulldoze an urban farm that so many people used to cultivate and grow awesome things and you come along wanting to put a fucking FOREVER 21 development on the land? for reals? I'd be out there with molotov cocktails for that shit. Talk about adding insult to injury..fucking politics..everything's political. Fuck Villaraigosa, he's just like the rest of them. You
get all into them being elected into office and all they do is disappoint. Makes me sick.

L.A. could learn a thing or two from Portland

If you know me, I'm not a fan of Los Angeles. I can't explain why really, it's just one of those things. I love San Francisco and in the past few years I've developed this intense love for Portland. Prior to June I had never been but I finally made the trip and fell in love even more. I'm sure I'll get around to moving there next year or whenever. Anyway, they have many awesome things and one of them is their public transportation system. Their public transit system has wowed and amazed many and has served as a the basis for many other cities' public transportation planning. I'm not sure where I'm going with this other than to reiterate my decision to want to move and why I think Portland is cooler than LA.

No sandcastles please, you're in Italy

I had to throw this in because Italians are ridiculous. I love Italy but sometimes they just have crazy ideas and in this case, crazy by-laws. It's a short article and worth reading for the hilarity of it all. All I have to say is, thank god I never went to Eboli or I'd be in debt to the Euro at least 4 times over. teeeeeeeeee heee heee

like a fly caught in a web

2008-08-17T23:48:00.000-07:00

I feel stuck. I hate feeling stuck. I'm unemployed and in quite an interesting living situation. I wish I could just get some shit rolling so I can feel like I'm living life again instead of just being stuck. I shouldn't have spent this summer doing nothing. I had big plans and they didn't come to fruition and I'm like argh! I want to move. I want to move. I want to move. I want to move. I just feel like my time here is done. It's time to move elsewhere and do new things. Los Angeles just doesn't feel like the right fit. It never has! I just feel like I'm in some constant limbo living here. One day I'll finally do it. Just get up and go, move. New city, new job, new housing...new life. That sounds grand. I wish the moment would come sooner rather than later.

buon ferragosto! buon festeggiamento!

2008-08-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

It's days like today that make me wish I lived in Italy...why? because today almost everything would be closed and everyone would be on vacation. I swear Italians get more vacation days than anyone else. Not only do they get all the Italian national holidays off, but they usually get off most Catholic holidays. Damn. Anyway, today is Ferragosto. Historically pagans would celebrate harvest on this day. Religiously, Catholics celebrate the Assumption today. So, if you're super Catholic don't forget to go to church today or else you'll be struck down by the hand of god. It's one of those mandatory Catholic church going days...the kind you can go to hell for if you miss...yeah WHATEVS! Anywhoz, Ferragosto is the day that people use to start a vacation, go to the beach or just party. I bet the beaches today were packed. In any case everyone in Italy is partying and since it's on a Friday this year, doubly so I would imagine. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in Los Angeles. Los Angeles has no little Italy neighborhood or anything (wish i was in SF). Weird I know. I'm thinking there won't be much celebration. I can however create my own. I just wish I had money to buy booze. Damn. Maybe I can pull some strings somehow or use my credit card. Stupid unemployment. I don't have nearly enough recyclables to buy a cheap bottle of champagne yet. Darn. Yeah, recycling for money...and what? desperate times call for trashy measures...all I have to say is, watch out Grand Master or whoever you are *SNAP SNAP*

reflections of a travel whore

2008-08-03T13:09:00.000-07:00

I'm going to throw this out first- I'm a Europhile...I love Europe. I majored in European History in college. I love other places too but Europe has me sprung. If you know me, I usually go to Italy because I'm half Italian and all. I love that country way too much. The history, art, and over all beauty are great. Sure their politics are as shit as our's but once you've been wooed and seduced by an Italian boy you'll understand.

This time last year I was in Italy rounding off my grand European adventure. I've been going to Italy almost yearly now and was certain that I would return this year. However, due to unplanned financial circumstances and such I could not. It totally bummed me out. Anywho, I was thinking about the traveling I have been able to accomplish this year. While I didn't get to step foot on European ground this year, I still went to some cool places near and far.

Earlier this year the buzz was about Jamaica, Jamaica and more Jamaica. The trip finally happened in March and what a hot mess that was. It was fun. Extremely different from my Europhile existence that's for sure. I learned to appreciate the madness of the country even though it was stressful at times to deal with shit. I also want to travel as much as the world as possible so I'm now able to say I've been to the Caribbean.

Jamaica was my only international excursion this year. I was somewhat spoiled after having gone to about 9 different countries in total. My other ventures were more west coast based. I took two trips down to Palm Springs. It may be full of old retirees but it's pretty cheap to go for a couple of nights. I had never been there before so it was cool to check out the fancy desert and stuff-plus I got to go to Coachella, ha!

My last 'major' vacation was to Portland, Oregon. I had been wanting to go to Portland for years. I heard so many good things about the city that I wanted to find out for myself. I've also thought about moving there so I wanted to make sure I liked it just in case I do make it up there. Portland was awesome. I had never been to Oregon. California is the only west coast state I've seen. It was nice to see a new state. Portland is at the top of Oregon so I got to see the whole state. The drive sucked balls and I learned my lesson about road trips and such and such etc etc...It was great though

Being the brat and travel whore that I am, I actually rung in the new year on a mini trip. I was in Maryland visiting a friend. Where am I going with this entry? I'm not so sure myself though...but I was just stuck on not being able to travel a lot this year but in actuality, I've been to a lot of cool places and seen a lot of cool shit. Well done...and the year isn't even over yet.

rocking and rolling my way to creating the perfect escape bag

2008-07-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

I'm usually a dedicated blogger in that I never delete blogs and start again. However, times have changed and so have I. This is not my first blog, and it might not be my last blog, but it is my blog and I will write as I want to.

Moving right along

For those of you living in the Los Angeles area we recently had what I would like to call a mild to very moderate earthquake. If you're from California you're pretty well accustomed to the earth rocking and rolling. Personally I've lived through every major quake in the LA area since 1982. My last major earthquake was the Northridge quake of 1994. I was not quite 12 and I vividly remember it. I was asleep, everyone was, until the earth started shaking and shaking more. Things started falling on my head and all I could hear were things breaking, crashing, and rattling-not quite knowing what the breaking, rattling, and crashing were. I remember pulling my comforter over my head to protect myself. The thing about earthquakes is that you never know how long they will last. At first the ground will start shaking, maybe rattling and then it gets harder and shakier. It might die down a bit but still continue to lightly rattle into an even bigger shake. It's all unpredictable. Was this newest earthquake just a small quake or a foreshock to something bigger. I don't know! Know one does, not even those fancy seismology folks. It's a crazy concept. At any given moment there could be a massive earthquake and no one will know it's coming. Leave it to Los Angeles to be located near major fault lines. Los Angeles is a hot mess of a city. When it rains it's like some catastrophic event on the freeways. Los Angeles can't quite handle nature especially earthquakes. Since I have no faith in the city of LA to save me in the event of a natural disaster I decided that I need to take things into my own hands. I decided to create an earthquake kit/escape bag. As a child I always had some sort of bag or box under or around my bed that I had filled with various items like band aids, candy, tissues, you know whatever a child could throw together to make an earthquake kit-nothing that would really be a live saver if I needed one. I'm now older and wiser so I decided to research kits and then custom make my own. Feel free to steal my list or add to it according to your tastes and/or preferences

water
snacks- granola bars, nuts, canned foods, peanut butter, hard candies, non perishables etc.
a change of underwear and socks
flashlight with extra batteries
emergency contact info
blanket- you know those cool emergency ones that are in the foil shit
utensils, including a non electric hand can opener
a wide array of bandages, adhesive and non
antiseptic wipes and other ointments
aspirin and antacids
latex gloves and heavy duty plastic garbage bags
battery powered radio
duct tape
brass knuckles
hand sanitizer
tools- scissors, rope, pocket tool, whistle
mini alcohol bottles, choose accordingly
a good post apocalyptic read, deck of cards, and hot dice

suggested items:
cigarettes, a special toy, family photos, taser gun and/or other weaponry

test one two one two

2008-07-24T17:34:00.001-07:00

watch out!