Sunday, May 31, 2009

Repo!

If you rent one movie this year, make it Repo! the Genetic Opera. Not only is it a visually stunning ROCK OPERA, the concept just about blew my mind. It's set in the not too distant future wherein mass organ failures have given way to the genetic corporation, GENECO. The company will give you organs on loan and put you on a payment plan, but if you miss a payment the Repo Man will come reposess them. And then, well, you die.

There's so much more to the movie (complicated inner turmoil, teen angst, betrayal, regret, addiction, secrecy, power struggle...) but I don't want to give it away.



Okay, I know what you're thinking: Paris Hilton is in this movie, it can't possibly be good. I would have thought the same thing, but it's not true! She's actually good at playing her (biotch of a) character. Plus, there are so many other people who shine in this film (like, uh, SARAH EFFING BRIGHTMAN, the first lady of amazing singing) that it's totally worth seeing.

Go! See it! And then let's talk about it!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Chico Highlights

Here are some snippets of what went on during my adventure in Chico:
  • I drove two and a half hours, arrived at Stella's house which was full of small children (and a lovely, responsible babysitter) asking if I was going to meet their mommies and go dancing. I told them I was and they helped me pick out my outfit. Gabriel gave me a big snuggle, which was very sweet.
  • I arrived at the club. Miss Grace had told me to call when I got there and they would get the bouncer to let me in. So I stood awkwardly by the front of the club as I waited for them to do so. I noticed a guy sizing me up. He stepped over and asked me how I was doing. "Fine," I said. "Just waiting for my friends... they are already inside." He reached his hand out to me and I shook it, giving him a patronizing smile. "No, uh, your ID?" he said. He was one of the bouncers. I had assumed he was some asshole hitting on me when he was actually just trying to be nice and let me into the club.
  • I met up with the ladies and observed some scandalous behavior, the majority of which was exhibited by the married member of our group.
  • I was called "uptight" because I didn't want to go smoke weed at a house with some random guys including one with a pick in his hair.
  • I was called "judgmental" because I tried to get the whitest douchebag ever to explain to me why he was trying so hard to speak gangsta.
  • We met possibly the nicest girl on the planet-- after shutting down the club, we arrived at her house and made ourselves comfortable, eating noodles, drinking beers, and then realized that we had gone to the wrong house and didn't actually know anyone there. We explained this and the girl said it was cool and, uh, apparently tried to get me to go upstairs with her: "I have a shot in my bedroom. You want it?" I asked her what it was. "I don't remember. But it's in my bedroom." I politely declined and she went upstairs, presented us with a bottle of Belvedere and said she needed to go to bed soon. We said we would get going. As we were gathering our bearings, her boyfriend went upstairs to bed, leaving her downstairs. And I was highly offended by this. Um, hello, guy? Maybe don't go to bed and leave your inebriated girlfriend downstairs in the middle of the night with four COMPLETE STRANGERS, no matter how nice they seem. I would call that a boyfriend fail.
  • I experienced the tear-your-hair-out frustration that is Jenny's ex boyfriend.
  • I learned that it's best to be quiet and let your cab driver explain how he's kind of a big deal and flirt with (again) the married member of your group, because then he won't charge you.
  • I verified that going out in Chico is REALLY fun, especially if you keep an open mind and go where the night takes you. Even if you end up in bed with Jenny-- who will spoon you weather you like it or not.
There are photos of this extravaganza here.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Girl Talk: Putting My Face On



I don't wear makeup on a regular basis. Here is my usual morning routine:
  • scrutinize skin
  • pick at any blemishes
  • wash face - I use this term loosely. I have, um, INSANELY sensitive skin. By that I mean that every type of soap/moisturizer/pretty much any other product I have tried to use on a regular basis makes my skin either break out or peel or turn red. So now I use.... nothing. I splash water on my face and call "washed." Really.
  • apply chapstick

On special occasions when I do put makeup on it either dark blue sparkly eyeliner that I apply thickly or a combo of black eyeliner/greenish eyeshadow at the outer corners of my eyes/bronzish eyeshadow all over the lid + mascara. A couple years ago I also fell in love with this Maybelline Wet Sine Diamonds lip gloss because it was so sparkly. I was worried that they would discontinue the color I liked (Mauvey rock) so I bought like 15 of them. All makeup was purchased from a drugstore or rummaged from my parents' house. Yes, I am 26.

When I do make myself up it apparently shocks the people who see me on a daily basis (i.e. my classmates). Tonight was a glaring example of this. Not only was I wearing makeup, but my hair was still all shiny and bouncy from my haircut yesterday. This prompted people to go "WOW. You look good tonight." As opposed to how I usually look: disheveled and/or exhausted.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Haircut

I got a haircut today. Finally.

Back in last November (that's 2007 for those of you playing along at home) I cut off all my hair and donated it to Locks of Love because my coworker had breast cancer and we were practicing solidarity. And that was the last time my hair was touched by a professional. I didn't want to get a haircut because I wanted to grow it out and I also didn't want to spend the money. So I just waited.

A couple months ago I started thinking that it was looking limp and dry, so I bought fancy shampoo and conditioner.

And then I realized that my highlights had reached a point beyond "passable" so I just started wearing my hair back so you couldn't see the roots.

And my classmates had been so damn nice about it. I would say something like "I think I need a haircut, my highlights have grown out so much..." and they'd say something like "Nah, they don't look so bad!" And either that was bullshit or two days ago my hair reached an critical point wherein I COULD NOT STAND IT ANY LONGER.

So I went today to get it cut and also to do something about the highlights because for the love of God the roots are four inches long.

The stylist was very nice and took me seriously when I said I'm terrible about maintenance and I wanted something that wasn't going to look like crap in 6 months. She dyed my highlighted bits back to my natural color and then gave me some violet "panels" (which I guess means "sections of hair") which is rather different and exciting.

And then we had the following conversation.

"This violet really looks nice on you because your natural color is cooler."

"Thanks... um, what does that mean?"

"You know, it's got a cooler tone, it doesn't have warm undertones."

"What?"

"It's mousy."

"Oh."


She also gave me bangs, which I'm not quite sure about yet.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Drilling Holes

Did you see the movie, Superbad? Remember that part where Evan is working in wood shop class and Seth asks him "What are you making?" And Evan goes "I'm just drilling holes. Last 2 weeks of school! Fuck it!" Or something to that effect?

That's exactly what I'm doing.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Exhausted from sleeping

I've been sleeping quite a bit these past couple of days. But instead of waking up all refreshed and energized to tackle the day, I feel groggy and irritable. This possibly has something to do with my dreams....

From last night:

I am in the ocean, swimming beside a large ship. I have to stay right next to it without being washed up on this platform that is on my other side. I can't touch the ship or the platform or the two beams that extend out from the ship above my head and below my feet. Essentially, I have to swim in a little box while keeping up with the ship, without touching any of the sides or getting sucked underwater and drowning.

I am in the desert. There are four pairs of railroad tracks that intersect each other in a square. I have to jump from track to track without getting hit by the trains. There is no pattern to which direction the trains are coming from, but the tracks will light up seconds before the train comes. At all times I must be touching two sets of railroad tracks and the train must pass by me or underneath my legs (apparently these are small, but still deadly trains?).

In my dreams I feel like every move I make must be careful and precise because even the slightest mistake could cost me. I feel like I am on the verge of failing but I don't know how to get myself out of this situation and achieve what I want. Every moment that passes is only a moment that prolongs the inevitable collision with a train or getting sucked into darkness.

And then I wake up and feel exactly the same way.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

With a little help from my friends

This has been a tough year. I moved. I started this crazy new school. I had drama of all sorts.

In November, probably not unrelated to all my stress and craze, I had a muscle spasm in my back. I was in excruciating pain and couldn't move very well so I went to the student health center. In my conversation with the doctor, he said that it might be a good idea to talk to a therapist since I appeared to be rather overwhelmed. I thought he was probably right.

I went to a therapist a couple times in LA and it was just the BEST experience ever. I could go in, unload all my tears and baggage and leave feeling like a brand new person, energized and ready to take on the world. So the doctor said he would put me on their list and someone would call me when one of the counselors was available to set up an appointment.

No one ever called. How's that for letting the mentally unstable patients fall through the cracks?

And so, I've been leaning rather heavily on a few people to help me through this year.

Thank you girlies for helping me through the tough times, listening to me, giving advice, and being steadfastly loyal. I appreciate it more than I know how to put into words.




p.s. I can't believe I had NOT A SINGLE recent picture of Kelly (wtf?), so I had to use this one from like five years ago. We were at the Getty Villa for family day. Michelle and Kelly made hair wreaths. I drew satyrs. And then we got to be muses in a play.

p.p.s. Kelly would like you all to know that she eats babies.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Girl Talk: Feminine Infatuations

Quick! Lets talk about something else before my head explodes!
Oh, I know:



When asked to talk about my girl crushes, only one came to mind. Her.


Obviously. Yowza. Especially in Tomb Raider. Or, really, any of the numerous movies in which she's similarly badass.


That was all I could come up with. But then I checked out what others had to say about this, and Kekibird and Mommymelee jogged my memory a bit.

Princess Leia, especially in Return of the Jedi. No, not just when she wore the gold bikini, her relationship with Han was yumz in my preteen mind.


Rachel Weisz, especially in The Mummy series. Oh hello gorgeous eyes and silky voice.


The mention of Marilyn Monroe reminded me of how much I enjoy Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The epitome of attitude and allure.


And! AND! Jennifer Connelly in the Labyrinth. Sigh.


Looking at these girl crushes, I note a particular theme-- gorgeous ladies with spunk and sass and a taste for adventure, who can take care of themselves but who also need just a bit of seduction and rescuing. Swoon.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Stolen Images

I had adventures this weekend with Miss Grace. First, we parked her car in a securish location and went to Seventh Son so Jen could talk to George about possibly inkin her up sometime in the near future. Then, we wandered about downtown. We tried to go shopping, but had frustrating experiences involving numerous unhelpful salespeople and crowded stores. We tried to take a break at a coffee shop, but all the tables were taken so we ended up perched with the sun in our eyes and the store's logo sign almost on my head. So we went home and took a nap. Then we went out on the town. And Jenny posted photos on her Flickr. And I have stolen them.

Here is Jenny attempting to use the hunk of useless plastic she refers to as a phone. At one point during the day she handed it to me and said, "I dare you to send a text message." And I tried. But the phone itself looks and feels like a toy and there are only a couple of buttons that actually do things and the options it kept giving me were "Select" or "Switch Off!" Hey Jen! I think maybe it's time you give in and sign that two year contract deal, okay?




And this one.... Hm. I'm not sure. But that's essentially a glass of rum I'm drinking.


And I don't even know how to explain the man who serenaded us during our walk home.

Also of note: Jenny is supposed to review a book of erotica stories and so she read me one of them. And it was the MOST DISTURBING thing I have EVER HEARD. Essentially, it was fan fiction... written about Peter Pan. Um. UM?? The only association I have (and, I assume, many people have) with Peter Pan is the Disney movie. The author added a couple years to the ages and changed the characters a bit but it was horrifying to hear about Peter Pan's rock hard, musty _____, and Tiger Lily's wet _____. And Wendy's rain-soaked nighty that reveals her taut skin and enormous, SAUCER-LIKE _______s. And Tiger Lily using her FIST to ____ Wendy. My mind has been violated.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Girl Talk: Sensual Underthings



My immediate thoughts about lingerie tend to be of the Halloween variety:


For bedtime, generally speaking, I tend more toward always wearing (what I think are) cute undies instead of occasionally breaking out something with a lot of bells and whistles. Sometimes I wear particularly cute undies for particularly special occasions. And sometimes fancy lingerie can certainly be a fun surprise and a nice way to spice things up.

But then sometimes it can be a letdown if you wear something sexy and the evening does not go as planned. Like, you might go into the bathroom and change into a cute, coordinated little getup and come out and realize the guy has already passed out with the remote in his hand.

Also, I think I categorize lingerie shopping the same way I do regular bra shopping-- it's only fun if you have a perfect body. You know how it feels kind of crappy when you're shopping and you see an article of clothing that you think is so cute and so awesome and would look so good on you and you try it on and... ugh? Now multiply that feeling by ahundredish if that article of clothing happened to be a super fantastic looking piece of lingerie but when you put it on the bottom part cut off circulation in your thighs and the top part looked like two deflated balloons. Just as a for instance.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Unexpected

Today I had my PPD test read to make sure I'm not spreading tuberculosis around the hospital and, YIKES, it was "equivocal" which means they can't tell if it's negative of positive. I guess I'm not too surprised because while my classmates all look like they have tiny pinpricks in their arms, mine looks like an angry red boil.

Anyhow, my skin reaction means I might mean I have a latent TB infection. Which would just be super awesome perfect timing. Not that having tuberculosis is ever convenient.... But anyhow, the nurse sent me off for a blood test that can't actually rule latent TB out completely but would definitely show if I were positive. So, now I get to wait a week to find out if I get to go on INH therapy for nine months. And as an unrelated p.s., if you're on INH, I happen to know, you can't drink alcohol. The nurse kept assuring me that I'm "low risk" for TB even though I kept telling her I've been working in hospitals and, oh yeah! at a tuberculosis clinic so I've still got my fingers crossed that the reaction is just a skin allergy.

So then later today, I stopped at Walgreens to buy a few items. I scavenged through the clearance section and found this 6 hour energy shot thing. And I decided to buy it, since it was on sale for about a dollar and who knows when I might need 6 extra hours of energy? I brought all my stuff up to the register and the casheir started ringing it up.

"Do you have ID?"

"Sure. Uh, why?" I said, digging out my license.

"For this." The cashier lady held up the energy drink. I thought to myself, does it contain alcohol or something?

"Okay, 1982... looks like you just made it!"

"Ha ha, no actually I'm 26." I say, still perplexed.

"You're 26?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, then, sorry! You can't buy this."

"What?"

"You have to be 27."

"What?"

"To buy this drink, you have to be 27."

"....?"

And she wouldn't sell it to me. Because I'm not 27. Because that's the age at which you can buy a 6 hour energy shot drink? I really didn't care one way or the other about buying the damn thing, I just wanted to know WHAT. The. Eff?

Monday, May 4, 2009

Fifty Actual Dollars, or, Keeping My Earth Day Resolutions

Instead of splurging on one or two unnecessary purchases, I decided to buy these:


New reusable shopping bags from Flip & Tumble! Aren't they, for lack of a more sophisticated descriptor, CUTE?

Now, I am not affiliated in any way with Flip & Tumble, but I spent a good deal of time procrastinating doing my homework by searching for the Right Bags online, so I'm feeling good about this purchase. I tend to be a rather indecisive and picky so I had a variety of criteria and these bags met them all. They:
  1. are big enough for groceries, but also versatile enough for other purchases.
  2. are, according to the web site, washable, strong, and durable (made of "ripstop nylon").
  3. have a long enough strap to be slung over my shoulder.
  4. are compact. I opened up the "aqua" one to show how big they become, and it smooshed very easily back into a wee ball-- perfect for stashing in my purse, my backpack, my car, etc.
  5. are affordable. If you buy 7 or more they are just $7 each (plus shipping).
  6. are cute! Aren't they cute!?
And, as a bonus, the web site was fun to use. Click! Little pink bag icon appears next to my shopping cart icon! Click! Little blue bag icon appears next to my shopping cart icon! You can see how I ended up with seven.

And then, just yesterday, I was at my favorite little Japanese Variety Store and I saw these:


And I had been thinking about buying little cloth or mesh produce bags for grocery shopping but I couldn't seem to pull the trigger on buying them online for the $3ish each plus shipping. But these were only $1.50 each and I think I will legitimately use them for produce or maybe even as lunch bags. And I am planning to use the smaller ones for my morning bagel instead of wrapping the bagel in a plastic bag and then throwing it away after I eat the bagel because it's all smeared with cream cheese and I don't want to deal with it. I mean, uh, I don't do that.