Photo: Feb 9, 2008 - The Shoe Show (Pomona Arts Colony)
Monday, February 18, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Boleyn Promos Begin!
Photo: Natty makes Scarlet look like a dog. No offense.
Photo: Why does Scarlet look so creepy?
Photo: My girl! So hot.
Photo: Not hot. But a great actress. No offense.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Staples Center Post Grammys
I walked over to the Staples Center on my lunch break to take a quick peak at the Grammys Aftermath... It was pretty cool seeing them take the Foo Fighters stage down, and even cooler seeing all the goodies they're building for L.A. Live. But then I saw something that really got my blood boiling. Some homeboy/cholo wearing a Celtics jersey. Heck no. You don't do that in L.A. Had it not been for the time my brother lectured me on "representing the Lakers with some class," I probably would've mumbled some bitter remark. But instead, we'll just bring it during playoffs.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Slow Me Down
Every morning I find myself wrapped up in the push-and-shove of the busy work day. I often find myself having to take a step back to let others pass, who might be in a bigger rush than myself. I sometimes want to give someone the finger, or tell them straight-up to "watch where the f* they're going." But instead I say a quick prayer for patience, and remind myself that we're all just trying to make a living.
He's someone's dad. She's someone's mom. We're all just trying to get to work to make it happen. And everyone just needs to chill out. Even me.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
A Very Late "Happy New Year"
2008 is in full swing, and I'm still coping with the shock that 2007 is long gone. The last year has been, without a doubt, the fastest year of my entire life! I suppose it's true what they say, the speed of time is directly proportional to your age - in that the older you become, the faster time seems to go by. Truth!
As I reflect on the last year, I can't help but be grateful for all of the blessings (both expected and unexpected) that came my way. It was a fast but fruitful year; filled with an abundance of spiritual growth and self improvement. I continued to develop my strong relationship with God; and continuing to put God first has given me the wisdom to learn and accept how other things in my life fall into place. It's changed my outlook, mentality, and coping mechanisms, ultimately allowing me to be both joyful with everything I have, and content with all that I lack. Coextensively, it's opened my eyes to the areas of my life that need improvement - all of which are a work in progress. Trust! 2007 was very eventful - in every sense of the word - and amongst the dozens of stories I've shared and haven't shared, my favorite events of the year include:
01. My trip to Canada and Seattle with Lisa.
02. Being maid of honor at my cousin Angel's wedding.
03. Skydiving with my friends.
04. Buying my dream car.
05. Getting the job I've been dreaming of all year.
06. Being a bridesmaid at my best friend's wedding.
07. Going to 2 different Laker games (1 & 2).
08. My 24th Birthdaypalooza.
09. Dressing up as Jelly Beans for Halloween.
While I accomplished a large portion of the goals I set for myself in 2007, there are some goals that are still in progress, and that I've carried over into the New Year. And the goals which were out of my own control were at least attempted, and are still things I wish to pursue. My goals for 2008 include:
Continue to grow really long and healthy hair.
Lower my cholesterol, and improve my overall health.
Master the processes of my new job.
I know I say this every year (and every year it's true), but 2008 is going to be a BIG year. I will hit the milestone of turning 25 - and for the first time in my entire life, I honestly feel matured. Some would say old, I say matured - and I welcome all that it entails. My hope for you is that you have an amazing 2008; filled with love, excitement, and new opportunities beyond your wildest dreams.
As I reflect on the last year, I can't help but be grateful for all of the blessings (both expected and unexpected) that came my way. It was a fast but fruitful year; filled with an abundance of spiritual growth and self improvement. I continued to develop my strong relationship with God; and continuing to put God first has given me the wisdom to learn and accept how other things in my life fall into place. It's changed my outlook, mentality, and coping mechanisms, ultimately allowing me to be both joyful with everything I have, and content with all that I lack. Coextensively, it's opened my eyes to the areas of my life that need improvement - all of which are a work in progress. Trust! 2007 was very eventful - in every sense of the word - and amongst the dozens of stories I've shared and haven't shared, my favorite events of the year include:
01. My trip to Canada and Seattle with Lisa.
02. Being maid of honor at my cousin Angel's wedding.
03. Skydiving with my friends.
04. Buying my dream car.
05. Getting the job I've been dreaming of all year.
06. Being a bridesmaid at my best friend's wedding.
07. Going to 2 different Laker games (1 & 2).
08. My 24th Birthdaypalooza.
09. Dressing up as Jelly Beans for Halloween.
While I accomplished a large portion of the goals I set for myself in 2007, there are some goals that are still in progress, and that I've carried over into the New Year. And the goals which were out of my own control were at least attempted, and are still things I wish to pursue. My goals for 2008 include:
Continue to grow really long and healthy hair.
Lower my cholesterol, and improve my overall health.
Master the processes of my new job.
I know I say this every year (and every year it's true), but 2008 is going to be a BIG year. I will hit the milestone of turning 25 - and for the first time in my entire life, I honestly feel matured. Some would say old, I say matured - and I welcome all that it entails. My hope for you is that you have an amazing 2008; filled with love, excitement, and new opportunities beyond your wildest dreams.
Angel and Oscar's Wedding
About one month ago, I had the privilege of being Maid of Honor at my cousin's 400+ person wedding. Two "already big" families fused into one monstrously huge village of people, making for the most beautiful, well organized, smooth, rowdy, loud, and hands-down most enjoyable wedding I've ever attended. Without a doubt, I have the most amazing family. Ever.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Highlights of The Past Month
The past month = 8 Christmas dinners and parties (not including Christmas Eve or Day), 1 huge wedding, 1 job promotion followed by 1 job resignation, nearly 1 month of train and subway rides to 1 new job on the 18th floor of 1 big tower. Deep breath...
Here are the highlights (though the wedding deserves its own big post, later)!
End of November - Some old coworkers/friends from UCR and I reunited over an overpriced Italian dinner. Gabi (center) came all the way from London to visit, and we re-hashed old memories and talked about our new lives. Gabi and her British boyfriend have promised to introduce me to all of their single British guy friends when I visit next year - by then I'm sure I'll be ready to let someone sweep me off my feet!
End of November - Over the past year, I've shared with you my joys and my trials when it came to my job. I shared with you my desires to move on, branch out into new forums, and possibly a new company. After a lot of interviews and prayer, I now share with you my deepest gratitude for State Farm, and all of the opportunities that the company has afforded me, as I close the year with a permanent goodbye. The photo above was 1 of 5 farewell lunches I had with my favorite coworkers. My emotions during the last week on the job were indescribable. Resigning from the company was one of the hardest and most thought-out decisions I've ever had to make; but also the smartest and best decision I could've made for my career (and my sanity). It felt as though I was breaking up with a long-time boyfriend: it felt awkward, I felt unsure, but the decision was right. I was sad to go, but so ready to move forward.
Early December - I started my new job just in time for all of their holiday festivities! Our company Christmas party was a black and white masquerade ball at The Biltmore Hotel. People were pickled by 5:30pm (drinks were free), the food was okay, old people were getting jiggy on the dance floor, and the guitarist in the band was smokin' hot! Yay, proof that I work with corporate big-wigs now!
Jackie (above) is one of the ladies in my department (and also the lady training me for my new gig). Unfortch, I wasn't able to take any pictures of our department Christmas lunch at The Crustacean, where they make killer 1.5 lb crab dishes! I had to sip my wine slowly, as every time it hit a certain point in my glass, the waiter would refill it as though it were water. Man, these people live to wine and dine! The entire first week on the job, it was one expensive restaurant after another - and I didn't have to pay once!
December - My good friend Lamar had a Christmas dinner at his home, where my team kicked his team's ass at Catch Phrase - 4 times! Just like how the Lakers kick Denver's ass every time they play too. Mwahaha!
Late December - This was my 2nd to last pre-Christmas dinner celebration. I (again) reunited with my good friends from State Farm... See Eva, I told you there would be no such thing as a goodbye between us.
So... that sort of lets me catch up on my story telling. I have so many blanks to fill in - with tales of crazy people on the subway, the ex-love of my middle-school life who rides the same train to work, and the bills I drop while shopping on my lunch break (Express and Macy's are downstairs, crap). Stay tuned!
Here are the highlights (though the wedding deserves its own big post, later)!
End of November - Some old coworkers/friends from UCR and I reunited over an overpriced Italian dinner. Gabi (center) came all the way from London to visit, and we re-hashed old memories and talked about our new lives. Gabi and her British boyfriend have promised to introduce me to all of their single British guy friends when I visit next year - by then I'm sure I'll be ready to let someone sweep me off my feet!
End of November - Over the past year, I've shared with you my joys and my trials when it came to my job. I shared with you my desires to move on, branch out into new forums, and possibly a new company. After a lot of interviews and prayer, I now share with you my deepest gratitude for State Farm, and all of the opportunities that the company has afforded me, as I close the year with a permanent goodbye. The photo above was 1 of 5 farewell lunches I had with my favorite coworkers. My emotions during the last week on the job were indescribable. Resigning from the company was one of the hardest and most thought-out decisions I've ever had to make; but also the smartest and best decision I could've made for my career (and my sanity). It felt as though I was breaking up with a long-time boyfriend: it felt awkward, I felt unsure, but the decision was right. I was sad to go, but so ready to move forward.
Early December - I started my new job just in time for all of their holiday festivities! Our company Christmas party was a black and white masquerade ball at The Biltmore Hotel. People were pickled by 5:30pm (drinks were free), the food was okay, old people were getting jiggy on the dance floor, and the guitarist in the band was smokin' hot! Yay, proof that I work with corporate big-wigs now!
Jackie (above) is one of the ladies in my department (and also the lady training me for my new gig). Unfortch, I wasn't able to take any pictures of our department Christmas lunch at The Crustacean, where they make killer 1.5 lb crab dishes! I had to sip my wine slowly, as every time it hit a certain point in my glass, the waiter would refill it as though it were water. Man, these people live to wine and dine! The entire first week on the job, it was one expensive restaurant after another - and I didn't have to pay once!
December - My good friend Lamar had a Christmas dinner at his home, where my team kicked his team's ass at Catch Phrase - 4 times! Just like how the Lakers kick Denver's ass every time they play too. Mwahaha!
Late December - This was my 2nd to last pre-Christmas dinner celebration. I (again) reunited with my good friends from State Farm... See Eva, I told you there would be no such thing as a goodbye between us.
So... that sort of lets me catch up on my story telling. I have so many blanks to fill in - with tales of crazy people on the subway, the ex-love of my middle-school life who rides the same train to work, and the bills I drop while shopping on my lunch break (Express and Macy's are downstairs, crap). Stay tuned!
In Style's Top 10 Best Dressed
01. Natalie Portman
02. Drew Barrymore
03. Cameron Diaz
04. Penelope Cruz
05. Jennifer Lopez
06. Anne Hathaway
07. Cate Blanchett
08. Sienna Miller
09. Dame Helen Mirren
10. Former Tommy Hilfiger model Joy Bryant
Watch Natty P. learn that dance that all the ghetto kids are doing these days.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan
Super old news, but still a bummer. I have no doubt that Hannigan is capable of success as a solo artist. Being that she's been associated with Rice all these years, Hannigan herself has obtained quite a following amongst folk enthusiasts. And while I strongly feel that her absence from Damien's future recordings will change the vibe of his songs, I welcome the spin on tone and emotion that comes of this change. He's a musical freakin' genius. He's been my favorite solo artist for 3 years and counting. No contest. The following excerpt is from Damien's official website.
Band update - 25 Mar 2007
After much thought and discussion Damien has decided that his professional relationship with Lisa Hannigan has run its creative course. As a result Lisa will not be appearing at any of the upcoming live shows. Lisa is embarking on her own artistic endeavours and there are no plans for them to work together in the foreseeable future. The current band on tour at the moment are - Damien Rice, Joel Shearer, Shane Fitzsimons, Tom Osander & Vyvienne Long.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Jordan Farmar = Yummy
Farmar's been on fire lately! But absent of the fact... I'd still love to do unladylike things to him. He's so delicious. I don't know what it is... but Jewish guys do it for me.
Always a Bridesmaid
My second wedding of the year is right around the corner; and as maid-of-honor, it was my duty to host an unbelievably crowded bridal shower. We kept it classy and traditional, and everyone ended up having a heaping of fun (especially the bride!). The game I find that most people enjoy is the toilet paper bridal gown - where you work in teams of 4-5 to make a dress of TP. And so comes in Sophia (above), who in my opinion should have won strictly out of cuteness, but instead came in as runner up. Don't you just want to hug/pinch her!?
The Past Month In Pictures
The past month has been crazy - with parties, work, and misc. social events. And although I'd love to share hundreds of photos and stories with you, a few favorite pictures will have to suffice.
October 20 - One of my best friends threw an obnoxiously early Halloween party. After convincing two of my closest guy friends to dress up (above), they decided to show up wearing very ambiguous costumes. To clarify: no, they are not gay; yes, Justin's prongs are clapping in this picture.
October 31 - Katie and I made a huge effort to rush from the wildfire evacuation center (where we had been stationed for a short time) to the office in time for the Halloween festivities. Work shut down at 3:30pm to welcome [what seemed like] hundreds of children to tick-or-treat through all of the cubicles. Katie and I were determined not to be the only costume-less employees! 1 trip to Target, $7 of craft supplies, and 30 minutes later, we turned ourselves into awesome bags of jelly beans. Sooo dope!
Late October - As mentioned, Katie and I took lead at one of the wildfire evacuation centers for a couple of weeks. We got to see a lot of the homes that burned down in the mountain areas, and got to meet a lot of our customers affected by the devastation. Above is a photo of my work BFF, Katie, giving one of our customers a "good neigh-bear".
Mid-November - We didn't place in the annual chili cook-off this year. But on the bright side, the corn bread I made from scratch (pictured on the right) was a big hit! Not bad for my first try at homemade corn bread.
October 20 - One of my best friends threw an obnoxiously early Halloween party. After convincing two of my closest guy friends to dress up (above), they decided to show up wearing very ambiguous costumes. To clarify: no, they are not gay; yes, Justin's prongs are clapping in this picture.
October 31 - Katie and I made a huge effort to rush from the wildfire evacuation center (where we had been stationed for a short time) to the office in time for the Halloween festivities. Work shut down at 3:30pm to welcome [what seemed like] hundreds of children to tick-or-treat through all of the cubicles. Katie and I were determined not to be the only costume-less employees! 1 trip to Target, $7 of craft supplies, and 30 minutes later, we turned ourselves into awesome bags of jelly beans. Sooo dope!
Late October - As mentioned, Katie and I took lead at one of the wildfire evacuation centers for a couple of weeks. We got to see a lot of the homes that burned down in the mountain areas, and got to meet a lot of our customers affected by the devastation. Above is a photo of my work BFF, Katie, giving one of our customers a "good neigh-bear".
Mid-November - We didn't place in the annual chili cook-off this year. But on the bright side, the corn bread I made from scratch (pictured on the right) was a big hit! Not bad for my first try at homemade corn bread.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Lakers v Suns
Are you serious? Did that just happen? Dominated. Owned. Bulldozed. Spanked. Pick a word baby, because the Lakers were nothing short of stunning. Respect. Big ups to the Laker bench (67 point contribution). Any indefinite bad blood was made legit and incontestable tonight. Not only did the Lakers steamroll over Phoenix, but they did so on their home court. The Suns, their fans, and Laker haters collectively, certainly weren't expecting such a huge massacre - and yet, there they were: the Phoenix Suns, smeared in purple and gold. If I heard correctly, this was the worst home opener for the Phoenix Suns in franchise history. I almost want to get up and do a little jig.
Final Score: 119 to 98, Los Angeles Lakers.
Final Score: 119 to 98, Los Angeles Lakers.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
California Firestorms
I'm in the midst of my second Catastrophe 'tour-of-duty' this year. Katie and I have been hard at work at the evacuation center nearest to our operations center. The two of us took lead last week, and have since been trying to hold down the fort. At times it can be a bit crazy - and coextensively tiresome. With a varying schedule of 10-14 hour work days, we've been worked - mind and body. Absent of the massive overtime we will continue to accrue, helping others during this time of need brings about a powerful and profound sense of community. A hodgepodge of government, religious, community service, and corporate entities have made a strong presence - and it's quite enriching to experience the coming together of different organizations to make this work.
I've never been more proud to work for my company - and for the first time in a very long while, I love my job again. We've truly proven to be good neighbors. Once I gather more free time to write, I'll be sure to share all of my amazing stories and photos. In the interim, please pray for all of those who have been affected by all of this madness.
I've never been more proud to work for my company - and for the first time in a very long while, I love my job again. We've truly proven to be good neighbors. Once I gather more free time to write, I'll be sure to share all of my amazing stories and photos. In the interim, please pray for all of those who have been affected by all of this madness.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
All Good
I'm okay. I'm okay.
Everything isn't quite back to normal, but I've been back to work almost a full three days and counting. The recovery has been nothing short of inconvenient/painful/gross, but at least I was able to enjoy my downtime by milking lots of tender love and care, catching up on The Office (I heart Michael), and starting all of the activities Eva [so kindly] prepared for me (new old movies to watch, new old books to reads). All in all, I won't make a habit of having surgery every five years.
Lots of changes coming. Not yet, but soon.
P.S. New Leona! Delicious.
Everything isn't quite back to normal, but I've been back to work almost a full three days and counting. The recovery has been nothing short of inconvenient/painful/gross, but at least I was able to enjoy my downtime by milking lots of tender love and care, catching up on The Office (I heart Michael), and starting all of the activities Eva [so kindly] prepared for me (new old movies to watch, new old books to reads). All in all, I won't make a habit of having surgery every five years.
Lots of changes coming. Not yet, but soon.
P.S. New Leona! Delicious.
Elton John - Daniel
Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
They say Spain is pretty though I've never been
Well Daniel says it's the best place that he's ever seen
Oh and he should know, he's been there enough
Lord I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much
Daniel my brother you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal
Your eyes have died but you see more than I
Daniel you're a star in the face of the sky
Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
Oh God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
They say Spain is pretty though I've never been
Well Daniel says it's the best place that he's ever seen
Oh and he should know, he's been there enough
Lord I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much
Daniel my brother you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal
Your eyes have died but you see more than I
Daniel you're a star in the face of the sky
Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
Oh God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
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