polaroid land 350

Scored this camera last weekend for a sweet, sweet deal and I'm excited to use it! It's in superb condition, I just need to get some new batteries for it and some pack film. As much as the instant gratification of digital cameras is something I can't live without, I can't resist good old 35mm film & the instant but 'crunchier' quality of Polaroids. Now I need an awesome scanner. It never ends...

1/50

1 shot out of 50 other potential Polaroids. Just a test to make sure the packs I got weren't duds. So far so good. I'd almost forgotten the thrill of watching the image develop right in front of your eyes, dramatic as I'm being! Patiently awaiting the re-release of the 600 film series...

Dan's taking me to LAX in about an hour! I managed to pack what I need for the weekend in one backpack and a purse, yess. Which means some clothes, toiletries & cameras. It's been exactly one year since I was last in San Francisco and I'm excited. My sister comes back from her trip on Saturday, but I think we might miss each other... that's okay I'll see her again soon enough. Have a great weekend everybody!

chomp

Woke up hungry and a little less cranky (I'm so NOT a wine person, at least not at the moment) so here now is a shot of lunch from The Counter (in Pasadena not Santa Monica). 1/3 lb. beef with the corn and black bean salsa, roasted red peppers, pepperoncinis, grilled onions and I thought the cheese was provolone but I think it was something else, on a honey wheat bun. I could've been more creative - should've added sprouts and/or avocado and something more...savory. It was still good.

splooge

Today equaled unproductivity at its best. I worked for two hours this morning, then drove out to Pasadena with my boss for lunch with another architect whose two interns are fellow classmates. I feel lucky because my boss is, in my humble opinion, a more interesting person (architect?) with less passive-aggressive tendencies, and to put an irrelevant spin on it, better-looking too. He doesn't have the amount of work this other dude does but I like his style more anyway. uh huh...

Then we come back to the office and the others have uncorked a few bottles of wine... my first time having a bit of 'Turley' which is smooth and wonderfully drinkable... at $50 a bottle it's probably one of the nicest wines I've ever had. The asian glow sets in and everyone laughs at me, and since I'm terrible at holding my alcohol I stop and drink water instead. Then I listen to these old dudes (not OLD, but relatively) talk about how the profession's going down the tubes, how the business model is so fucked up, how the US entry for the Shanghai Expo is utter shit (and not even designed by an American!) and then there's a pause and I just utter "Fuck." They laugh and one of them pats me on the back and I say Jeez I have a year and a half left and what the fuck I have to finish but this is what I'm getting into?

I talk to my boss about the fear that has set in, how I feel dumb and ignorant when listening to architects architecting. I get back to work, then talk a little more, say something like I wish we'd gotten high instead of tipsy and he laughs. I shake off the feeling, I pack up my things, I get ready to go. I leave, I walk to my car, I find my first parking ticket ever. Sixty bucks. Fuck it, I'm gonna pay it. It's like I paid the day for not getting any work done. Does that even make sense? No matter. I came home, had corned beef, cabbage and potatoes for dinner, I'm packing for SF, and getting out of here for a weekend. Take everything with a grain of salt, and appreciate what you've got.

erin go bragh

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here is a four leaf clover I found in my lawn for you. If all goes well, I'll be scarfing corned beef & cabbage & taters for supper today. Either with me mam or with one of my friends, if I don't work too late tonight. And if I were at home I'd be watching The Departed and the Boondock Saints while reading Finnegan's Wake on the side. Jealous of my sister being in Boston for St. Paddy's! Yeah I'm just being obnoxious now. I'm listening to Celtic punk a la The Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, & The Young Dubliners as well as some 'real' Irish tunes while doing my 9 to 5. Hurrah!

while you were out...

A few things I would have liked to spot with you next to me:

1. Armadillo leather purse. Mom kept going "Omg. is that real?" Me: "Yes it's a real armadillo. I've seen purses made from cane toads." "OMG, really??" hahahaha.
2. Black & White. Scottie + Westie statue! Not the greatest condition, but look at how cheerful it is!
3. Cairn Terrier! A vendor got up to take this poopie to potty and when she came back Ma asked if it was a Westie or a Cairn. Doesn't it look like a browner BB?!

round and round and round we go

My favorite member of the "pure" geometric solids/Palladian forms is the sphere.

1 & 2 - sweet little metal globes at the Rose Bowl.
3 - a glass jar I filled with my marble collection
4 - my giant bouncy ball!

at last I have found you.

With the unusually windy days L.A. had this past week (are they the Santa Anas? they seemed a little cold...), especially on Tuesday, I was so glad that I had this leather jacket to keep me protected and toasty! What a difference from faux leather - my sister did tell me she read somewhere that leather is the only material that is totally windproof, or something like that. So Dan and I were strolling around the stalls at PCC, and I saw this sweet little thing hanging up at the front of a vintage stall. I looked at the tag... $35. Not bad. The leather in good condition, no big rips, cracks or scuffs. I tried it on. Dan said it looked good! I liked the feel of it. And the best part is it has that belt around the waist...perfect! So in one fell swoop I'd spent all the money I had on me that day but I couldn't have been happier! And I have to say, the next morning when I put it on before I left the house I felt like a Ramones groupie from the 70's, and I hummed "Jackie is a Punk" to myself on my way out. Coveted fashion item #3, fulfilled.

The Departed (2006)

I regret being 3 years late on watching The Departed.

working...

Stuff I'm working on in the office. Rhino on Parallels, yesss. I was having fun splitting geometries and deleting and separating all the layers into different files. Renderings are looking good too. Sounds boring but it's a lot more fun when you're being paid, unfortunately. I've realized that my 3D modeling skills are sooo rudimentary, especially when I go on 3D animation forums for troubleshooting! It's a whole different world, and NOW I'm finally wanting to understand and figure out EVERYTHING about it. Go figure. At least I still have a year to not be a screwball architecture student. Here's to productivity! Now off I go...

waiting

Dear Sister,

BB perched herself onto the couch like this again after our walk this morning. It's as if she struck a pose and was merely waiting for the right person to behold her in all her glory. I bet she pretends she is a Greek god of some sort, draping herself over the edge and about to defy gravity. Anyway, Mom and I think she is too smart for her own good. Eerie and cool. That is all.

love,
H

fairy flowers

Flowers are nature's models. I pass by these pretty little things when I walk my poopies and I never have my camera on me to capture them. My sister even noticed these flowers over the weekend when she was walking them and picture-messaged them to me as I slept in. I went back to that house and even jumped up on their walled lawn (as an architecture major, I feel like I should know the proper name for this), creeper-style to sneak some snaps of the first flower shown. I like how in the freshly bloomed ones there's a purplish-blue streak along the center of the petal, and as it gets older it fades away. Flowers are so much like people in that sense! Crazy talk. In my family I'm a bit of the token "flower child" because, growing up I liked to learn all the names of flowers/plants and trees and I'd even get in trouble for picking something out of someone else's yard. My mom and sister like flowers, but when it comes to me I'm "obsessed" with them.

what did we find?

Dan and I weren't looking for anything in particular, really. Dan got a sweet haul of vintage pins for himself and friends and I just looked at cute things like the trio of brass quails, until I found the perfect warm, woolen mustard-colored scarf for $6 and the black leather motorcycle jacket of my dreams. After that wiped out my pockets, we followed our noses (actually just wandered around) to the tamales table and had a most delicious and rewarding snack. Going to the PCC Flea is the best way to start the month. I know I say things like that a lot, but I always mean it, especially in this case!

andrew's room

A quick glimpse of my friend Andrew's room. The item in the last photo isn't his, but rather something he handed off to his roommate at a time that he thought said roommate would need it. Helping indeed...

one hour to go

This was at 5:50 pm today. I can't wait til summertime (that is, if I am still working here - fingers crossed!) when it doesn't get dark til 9 pm or something like that, and it'll be daytime all day long. Work, work, work and THEN play.

WORK IS PLAY

SCREW YOU WALLPAPER MAG! if this were true for everybody, that'd be pretty cool. Actually, that would make the world a utopia, and you know how that turns out... I don't mean to give off pessimistic vibes. I just think the sentiment should be tweaked to something like "Work can BE like Play" haha oh god, my silly thoughts after a long day.

I'm worried about the future. Kids these days are horrible. They shoot their mouths off, are spoiled rotten, they're stupid, rude and ridiculous, but not in the cute endearing way. In a class of 12 kindergardeners only one charms me with his brightness, though he still irritates me at times. I know I shouldn't let little 5 year-olds get to me but it's the entire picture - the apathy or ineptitude of their parents to raise them right, will inevitably turn these horrible 5 year-olds into horrible selfish teenagers into horrible adults running the world. But I always forget that I live in a bubble full of spoiled rich people, and I always speak in generalizations - these kids will probably (hopefully) get better as they mature. So ignore, ignore, ignore me.

westie butts

About to go walk the monsters! Maxie pooped in the kitchen last night because he didn't want to go out in the (light) rain and out of shame he claimed a spot on my bed this morning. Then BB got possessive and jealous and began whining and barking next to my bed, wanting a spot up here too. They're lucky I love them so much, because I wasn't too happy about this morning's rude awakening...hmph!

$20 to-do's

This person is either an athlete or a dude-bro, or both. I liked it so much that I haven't spent it yet. Just kidding, I just didn't have the need to spent this sucker. I am in need of new socks though - I threw out 4 pairs in the last month that had gone threadbare at the heel :(. Note to self: get new socks this month.

I like colors

My favorite thing to do at Sephora is to paint every nail on my left hand with a different color as I wait for my sister to make her purchases. I realized I don't like painting my nails a uniform shade unless it is black. So now I have an excuse to get some new nail polish colors, since all I have at the moment is matte black and a pretty pale metallic gold shade. And I will wear them all on my fingers like a mismatched rainbow, because uniformly painted nails (on me!) bore me (unless in the black/grey family).

Today I was literally incapacitated by monthly female issues and had to leave work early. I was very embarrassed about this, but after talking to my sister about it she made me laugh by saying "At least they (my boss/co-workers) aren't women. Men literally are powerless when it comes to dealing with women problems :)." It was just embarrassing because it seemed like I had gotten my period for the first time, because today it was particularly bad. I am going to instill a regular exercise regimen into my schedule now, to prevent this from happening next time I get my monthly visitor. Sorry this is a little bit too much information. Being a girl really sucks sometimes.

happy march!

Even after my complaints on Avatar, I go to Blick with my mom today and am drawn to the colors that made up most of the color palette of the movie. It must have been the overwhelming effect of being immersed in 3D for 2.5 hours, yes. I won't lie though, if I had a chance to live in a forest like the one on Pandora, I'd go native without skipping a heartbeat. Bioluminescent flora and fauna, jellyfish-like "seeds" that land on you if you're lucky, GIANT land-based versions of Christmas tree worms that collapse when you touch them, and being connected to every living thing and trees of life! Either there, somewhere out in outer space or the deep sea for me.

I ought to be sleeping right now but I've gotten a surge of unnatural energy that's keeping me from catching some good Zzz's and rising fresh and early for work tomorrow. This is not going to be good, but Mondays are usually that way. Stumble off to a difficult start, regain footing towards the middle, and at the end of the week fall apart and start the cycle over.

pineapple fried rice

My stepdad told my mom this recipe, so this afternoon my mom, my sister and I all worked together to make it! I chopped ginger, garlic and green onions as my sister cut up pineapples and as my mom fried a few pieces of bacon. Fried the garlic and ginger in some of the bacon grease (this sounds gross I know, sorry), threw in the pineapples and rice, and topped it off with the green onions! I'm sure my mom seasoned it additionally but I can't recall...but it WAS delicious. And cooking with others is way more fun than cooking by yourself!