That Coat, Those Tights

Goodbye April. But where were your showers to bring on May flowers?

It's safe to say that southern California is about done with it's cooler weather. Notice I said cooler and not cold. Attention world: California has lost its winter. Will someone please help us find it! This icky 90 degree weather in April makes me look foolish for safekeeping all of the borderline/crazy expensive coats I've accumulated over the recent "winters" - a term used lightly to describe the one week a year when it rains. Sigh. Farewell to the semi-season of cute tights and even cuter coats. Hello icky sweat and even ickier bugs.

Photo: Goodbye winter clothing.

Photo: Cute coat, cute hair, cute tights, cute purse.
Cute Cute Cute!

Photo: More cute coat/tights combos via Sartoria List.

Current R&B Digs

Just can't stop listening to these three songs. Very seldom do artists make good/fun R&B-meets-pop songs nowadays. (P.S. Isn't this vintage cassette player the best!?)

WK, Kobe, Lauren Hill

Ohhh snap! Why haven't I seen this before? Two of my great loves together: art & Kobe Bryant. Hate on haters, hate on.



http://www.wkinteract.com/

Sunday School

I wasn't in the best of spirits when I went to bed at 2:30am last night - so naturally, I wasn't in the best of spirits when I woke up 5 hours later to get ready for church. But something changed when the first graders started pouring into our Sunday school class.

Something in me always changes when I'm around those kids.

They're so innocent & candid... in every sense of the word. And every little goofy-thang they do manages to enlighten the very center of me. Most of the time they teach me more about God's love than I'm teaching them - if not by the way they hold my hand and embrace me, then by the way they carry around Bibles that are half their weight - with no reservation as to how someone else might judge them. So precious.

If life is a tunnel, then the lights that illuminate my way have been generous. The opportunity to be surrounded by these children, amongst other things, have been the yellows and reds that turn my shades of blues into vibrant greens and exotic violets.

For Money

Work has its highs. Its lows.

Toward the latter part of 2006, and after celebrating my one year anniversary with the company, I hit my first (and undoubtedly not the last) low. And by low... I mean a deep black-hole infested crater (catch my drift?). It was bad. After chatting with unreasonable clients and vendors for ten consecutive hours, I'd end each day in a huff. Sitting at my desk - face in hands - contemplating on whether or not I wanted to start crying. Not because the job was hard, but because I was exhausted - mentally, physically, and of people. And let's not even get into the time I got into a fight with the company Prius. Damn car, couldn't figure out how to work that gadgetry. I guess that's the price I had to pay for skipping past all of the entry level formalities and starting my career at the professional-technical level.

I guess the reason I'm telling you this is because... the storm has passed and the roaring tides have settled. Finally. It took two, almost three, months of extra-hard work (and a long talk with my boss - basically telling him I was at wits end) to actually like coming into work again. I have time to stretch in the morning, and actually care about what clothes I pick out to wear.

My job is by no means glamorous, but I've got the name of a huge corporation under my belt to give my resume some back-bone when I start looking for a new position in December. I've got amazing coworkers... and if it wasn't for them, I probably would've gone Britney and shaved all my hair off by now. My benefits and pay are amazing (though I'd love an increase in paid-vacation days), my management is responsive, and our operations center is centrally located in the mecca of the inland region: sandwiched between Victoria Gardens and Ontario Mills. My hours are flexible and I can run to Urban Outfitters on my lunch break to raid the sales rack. Oh, and there are 2 Targets, 4 Starbucks, 2 Best Buys, 1 Barnes and Noble, and 40-50 eateries within a 1 mile radius. Score!

But the best part? It's getting to see the way that people live. To see how grateful they are after I visit their home and issue them a $100K check to put their lives back together. It's pretty phenomenal. I only wish that there was only the good side. But I deal with Californians - a demanding demographic - so there will always be a bad. Nevertheless, when it comes to my job, I can't start or end each day without being reminded of how blessed I am...

Okay I lied, the best part about my job are the business trips. And per diem.

Thieves

Someone stole my Canon SD 450 at a party last night. After my friend Jennifer found that her Sidekick had been stolen, I ran into the master bedroom closet to find that my Dooney and Burke had been opened, my bright red wallet taken out, and my camera... gone. Lucky for me, that's the only thing was taken - I'm grateful that I never have any cash, and that the misc contents of my wallet were left in-tact. I'm a bit bummed out, especially since a $300.00 expense to buy a new camera is definitely not in my budget. Mostly because I just spent $180 on work clothes at NY&CO, $240 on work clothes at misc shoppes, and $33 on a new freaking camera case after leaving my old one at the Staples Center. I've been so content with that camera for the past year and a half.

I mean... whatever. It's a camera. I can get a better one now. It just bums me out that I've lost all of my recent pictures! Let's just hope the wankers who took it appreciate all the cute pictures of my friends and I. I forgive you, but you need Jesus.

Update: In less than 24 hours, a new (and better) camera was ordered! Yay! I went to Best Buy but hated all of the new Canons. Who the heck needs/wants a 7 mega pixel camera?! Not I. Waste of hard-drive space. Thank God for on-line shopping.

My Thoughts in Bullet Points

• My favorite Usher song is "Yeah". It is, by far, not the most lyrically moving song. But it is the song that I've danced my heart-out to on more than a dozen occasions. That alone makes it better than any painfully melodic love song.
  
  
• Apparently, Rachel Bilson and I have the same taste in men. She dated (my dream guy) Adam Brody for x-amount of years, and now she's with (my ex 'play' boyfriend) Hayden Christensen. What a lucky, skinny, little shiz.
  
  
• An open letter to Mike Bibby: Please shave your head. You do not look right with hair. Love, Rowena
  
  
• In preparation for the first post-season Laker game tomorrow, all of the sports networks have been airing replays of last year's Lakers vs Suns playoff series. Five words: Raja Bell is a dick.
  
  
• Daniel Craig is one hell of a sexy, rugged, James Bond. Yes, I just saw Casino Royale. Dope ass movie. I have to eat my words - especially since I was very anti getting rid of Pierce Brosnan. But Daniel stole every dang scene. He's by no means the best looking Bond, but his man's man persona makes the bloke muy caliente.
  
  
• Happy 23rd Birthday to my closest girl-friend, Ayana.

Seattle, WA

Every city I explore... I want to move to. I think I'm just growing a small distaste for California. Well, Californians. We can be mean at times. We fill the state with ego.


Photo: Needle!


Photo: Needle from the freeway.


Photo: Best clam chowder joint ever.


Photo: Yummers...


Photo: I look dumb & excited.


Photo: Cute.


Photo: On top of the needle.


Photo: I thought this pic was rad.


Photo: Lights!

Burlington, WA

For everyone who has been wondering where the heck I've been hiding... I've been working. A lot. I'm one of five "lucky" adjusters (from California) partaking in a company wide pilot... translation: new unit, more training, more work, less Ro. So my new unit and I met up with our Texas counterparts in Washington for one long week. Got all that?

The added training just stuffed my brain with all this amazing knowledge. Plus, it was good break from the daily grind, pant suits, and high heels.


Photo: Chuckanut Manor


Photo: See, told you it was called Chuckanut.


Photo: Lisa on the extracting machine.


Photo: Dry down races!


Photo: Me, sitting and doing nothing.


Photo: My buddy Steve! Or, as I call him, evetS!


Photo: My boss stole my camera out of my purse. That's why I have this.


Photo: Speaking of my boss...


Photo: Margaritas! Who'd of thought I'd be drinking with the boss.


Photo: My first geo cache!


Photo: Our team name was "Sham-Eaz" - we were dope.


Photo: Thom! Not Tom.


Photo: Puget Sound is emerald green.


Photo: Le gang at Deception Pass.


Photo: I was henceforth named the Flower Killer. I prefer Tulip Trimmer.


Photo: Can you find me?


Photo: Take my foot up the butt! Haha, so mature.


Photo: Management in the mock-house.


Photo: At one point, EVERYONE started dotting one another.


Photo: In a bed of my faaaavorite flowers!


Photo: Tulip Festival

More Vancouver Pics

Lisa and I took turns taking pics of one another with two different cameras - which is why I had zero pics of her in my last post. She handed me a disk of all her pics yesterday at work... so meet my good friend Lisa, America's next top model. As with all my other pics, click for a larger version.


Photo: I'm not really that short. She's just really tall and skinny.


Photo: We <3 big bear hugs.


Photos: Sips of coffee on Robson Street.


Photo: Expensive ass coat makes me look like a fatty.


Photo: I guess we could've stood a little bit closer. Haha.

Vancouver BC, Canada

Photo: Vancouver BC

Two weeks ago to-date, Lisa and I went on holiday to Vancouver British Columbia! After a nice short flight to Seattle, we jumped into our rented Corolla, and drove our way through the border. I've got to admit, driving on foreign soil made my palms sweat a bit - but after two days of maneuvering past blinking yellow lights, we knew that city like we'd been there for eons.

The trip started with the typical tourist attractions: the West End and the Capilano Suspension Bridge... but once we got all the nature-walking out of our system, we parked the auto and made our way to Robson Street... and what a feast we had! The highlights of our eatery-overload include CoCo Rico (panini platters!), Cin Cin (where we had a $106 schmancy dinner for deuce), and The Elbow Room (where they're known for their no-nonsense customer service). All exceptionally delish! And being that I'm very, very loyal to Starbucks, it was to no surprise that I found their espresso shoppe, Blendz, to be a bit below the bar.

Once the sun fell, it was hours of walking and observing Canadian night life. I would say that Vancouver is the perfect hybrid of all things European (Accessorize, Toni & Guy, Le Crep, etc) and all things American (they had a freakin' Red Robin for crying out loud).

I was quite impressed with the compact living arrangements and multitude of glass condos that encompassed the concrete jungle. It was very clean for such a large city. Overall, definitely a great first trip out of the country for 2007. I'll definitely be going back.