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Tuesday, August 26, 2014

on the last day of summertime


i was going to attempt to tailor a shirt to a smaller size, but instead i decided to get on the internet, as one does.  i've been meaning to do a mini recap of my birthday for over a week now, but sloths don't do punctual.

my birthday was equal parts ok, nice, and suck.  nothing special, but at least i got to spend it with my favorite person.  we got up kind of late and *someone (*not me) took forEVER to get out the damn house. then my tire light came on and we had to take care of that and get food for said someone and then i had to go back to the house for my gold shoes (which i didn't even get to wear anyway) and so i stopped for a biscuit because i was going to have something good, damn it.

it even looked like bday cake!
it took forever to drive to the pool.  but i did finally get a photo of one of the most exciting road signs ever...


...as well as the attraction it advertises!  whee!




we took the ferry back, intending to go to dinner in williamsburg, but my tire light came on again and long story short, i had a leak in my tire and had to fill it with goop and drive home. and spend $$ to get two new tires the next day (because i guess it's good to get them in pairs or whatever). 

i was hungry and cranky and fun was not had. i ended up like i always do, eating take out olive garden in front of the tv for my birthday dinner, which isn't so bad in the scheme of things, but i had been looking forward to the broadening of horizons.

so, birthday fest 2014 wasn't all that great.. i did enjoy the pool, for probably the last time this summer.  i guess i'm also kind of bummed that summer is ending.  i have done far more this summer than that the last several put together, and i'm proud and pleased looking back, but on the other hand i feel like i didn't get in as much as i wanted to.  i feel like i wasted some of it and now everyone is forward looking to fall and i'm over here in slo-mo going "noooooooo."  but i have to acknowledge that man, i did do a crap ton of fun things this summer compared with my normal self, so high-five to that and to the promise of another good one next year.

it's funny, i used to really dislike the summer as a kid.. it was usually really boring and just hot and smoggy.  we went to the beach year-round, so that wasn't anything special, and we didn't typically take a summer vacation or so all that much that we wouldn't have any other time of year.  mostly it was visiting my dad and then waiting for my birthday.  i used to long for fall to come put an end to the heat. (our lack of a.c. in the desert was probably a big factor.)  but i've really come to enjoy summer. everyone told me that the humidity would be terrible "back east" and it's not like i enjoy it or anything, but it's really not that bad.  and not once have i ever burned myself on my steering wheel getting into the car on a hot day, hashtag desert heat. i've come to really embrace my summer fire sign-ness and soak it all up and get all good and pruney in it.  so i guess this is pretty much my summer goodbye.  i'll feel it's technically over after labor day, so i have a little less than a week to get my last kicks in before i box it up and put it away until next year.  i'll try to welcome autumn with goodwill and open arms (which i used to love, and then i started to hate because i really started to hate winter, but i'm slowly coming back around), but it's not quite time yet, and people need to be patient and not rush the seasons onto everyone else because how can we enjoy what we have if we're always in a rush to get to what we don't..

but until then...

Last Day Of Summertime by Louis Eliot on Grooveshark



Thursday, August 21, 2014

Blog Lovin

i'm signing up for blog lovin, so you can follow me there.  it's telling me to tell you, so... whoomp, there it is.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

it's excitement 24/7 up in here!

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Birthday Fest 2014

happy birthday to me! almost. mark likes it when i give him easy access to my wishes via an amazon wish list, so i thought it would be fun to throw some of my requests on polyvore and pair them with fancy, high-priced versions.  the items i asked for are on the left, and the highfalutin versions are on the right.  (and will be in my possession should the money unicorn ever ring my doorbell.)

Birthday 2014
Click image for links (some of them are just photos of out of production items).

oh, i'm sorry, did you want actual details about my choosings instead of me just posting an image and going about my day?  you're in luck!


1. Tan Handbag with Lace Detail (Cato) vs. Tan Handbag with Lace Detail (Modcloth)
i went to cato for the first time on friday and saw this cute bag on clearance.. it's funny how i like purses, but i don't actually use most of mine. (or it's sad.  that works too.)

2. Turquoise Earrings (World Market) vs. Morganite Earrings (Ice.com)
world market has some pretty cute $5 earrings, and i haven't even taken advantage of that yet.. travesty!  the fancy one's are morganite, which i have a heart-on for. i've only ever seen it clear and sparkly, but these opaque versions are really pretty, and remind me of seashells and summer.

3. First Aid Kit Tote (thisisfirstaidkit.com) vs. Harajuku Lovers Mermaid Backpack (the internet, maybe)
i don't really need yet another tote, but i do like this one and i know i'd use it. (plus, picking stuff out for a wish list is hard, you guys!) the backpack is awesome and horrible all at once. (like me!) i'm in love with the G of the Sea design from a few years ago and i'm always keeping an eye out for pieces. (i have three so far, but i want it allll!)  this backpack is totally juvenile, but i'd wear the hell out of it on my forthcoming trip to disney world this fall.  fashionable and useful! (mark would be embarrassed to be seen with me though, so i guess it's a good thing this one is out of production.)

4. Little Northies - OPI Nordic Collection Mini Set (Ulta or Amazon) vs. Pacifica Nail Polishes (Pacifica)
again with the first aid kit.. so pretty much the only reason i want this is because it's nordic and i want to be a beautiful swedish girl folk singer sister.  (because buying this totally makes me one, right?)  i would also love to have every single nail polish from pacifica's newish collection.  i have three so far (totally coral, afterglow, and heart of gold), so that's already $27 off of the whole bill right there.

5. Harajuku Lovers Coin Purse (Ebay) vs. Fossil Key-per Weekender Bag (the internet, maybe)
this match-up doesn't makes as much sense as the others, but i really like both of them, and they are both things you can use when traveling. i'd put jewelry in the coin purse compartments, and the weekender bag could carry incidentals like books and i can't think of anything else to put in it for the life of me. ha. i'm sure i could fill it up with stuff though. unfortunately this one's not in production anymore either.

6. L'Aromarine Oceane Spray (Amazon?) vs. Pacifica Solid Perfume
i sampled the first perfume in an anthropologie and loved it, but didn't have funds for it at the time. i've been meaning to ask mark for it as a present at some point, but in looking for it to put on the list i found that apparently it's out of production or it's changed hands or something, i'm not exactly sure what that i found online is the same one, so don't take my word for it.  i have samplers of most of these solid pacifica perfumes, but the ones i really like smell so damn good i wouldn't kick having all of the big versions out of bed.

7. Bat Bangle Bracelet (Frosted Willow at Etsy) vs. Pearl and Morganite Bracelet (Gilt.com)
i saw and coveted this cute bracelet on Kelsi at Brighter Sides. i feel kind of single white female putting it on my list, but i guess that is the price you pay for posting your fabulously adorned wrist parts on your blog.  (anyway, we're on opposite ends of america, so i don't have to worry about awkwardly running into her at the fish market  - that's where everyone in seattle hangs out, right?) the fancy verison bracelet is again an opaque morganite, this time with some pearl, and by far the most expensive item on the list.  i could easily pair it with the earrings, and the pearl really brings out the summery shell feel.

so that's it!  i hope you enjoyed my game of reality vs. fantasy.. this makes me want to do a next time and go all fantasy, and put on stuff like $90,000 backyard teepees out of the neiman marcus christmas book.  (although i might get too disgusted at all the ridiculousness, which would defeat the fun of living in my rich imagination.)  

as for my birthday... (in Carl Kasell's voice) well, if any of these gifts happen, reader, i'll tell you about it next time on Oh, Dinosaur!

Thursday, August 7, 2014

concert magic

you know when you find yourself thinking about angry cat robots and suddenly you realize you're thinking about angry cat robots and you're like, "brain, how did we get here?" and then you backtrack your brain thought steps until you reach thought patient zero, which was like, that woodpecker that just landed on the branch outside, and you're like, "oh yeah, that's how that thought process went." (this happens to me often with my co-workers, but after i explain whatever the steps were they're like, "ok, that wasn't as weird as i thought you were being. carry on..")  well, this post is going to be that. (don't say i didn't warn you.)

in a happy turn of events my work just installed wifi and now i can treat my disease by listening to spotify whilst i work.  having the becks could have been really hard if i couldn't self-soothe during my peak listening hours.  (9/10ths of my workday has me listening on at least one earpod as i go about my daily duties. i gotta have my tunes!)  i've been discovering and exploring his discography, and surprising past christine (but not current christine, because i like things more when i'm already in like mode, if that makes sense) by enjoying more of his work than i expected.  and i'm not really sure why it was surprising, because i like/d most of the singles, but i guess i didn't really realize i did until they were all laid out before me straight for the picking.

i think between yesterday and today i becked myself out, so today i also tried out the indie "channel" (ew, for me) and the americana one (better), but quickly used up my 6 skips per hour in one go.  uh oh.  so i signed up for the free premium trial for a month (which is just about how long i expect them to keep from locking the wifi). and then i could listen to ALL THE SONGS!  including full albums, in their actual correct song order! 

sidebar:  i don't know about kids these days, but when i'm introducing myself to a new album by an artist i'm into, i like to take things slow and progress in the appropriate steps, i.e., listen to the whole damn thing at once.  none of this shuffle, or worse, shuffle the new stuff in with the rest of your library nonsense. i don't even download the free singles or previews they like to put on social media because i want to hear it first as its part in the whole.  maybe i'm taking it too old skool, but i grew up in the days of cassettes where you were forced to listen in the intended order, or just try fast fowarding or rewinding and see how far that got you.  i like that they put thought into song order and gave you an experience instead of pieces. and i actually like when the song ends and then you "hear" the next one start in your head before it actually starts because you've played the damn thing so many times.  and i like when you first got an album and played it constantly and then now when you hear a song off it it's imbued with the feelings and places of where you were at that time in your life.  (old 97s "fight songs"?  totally fall, sophomore year, rollin home from down the highway in my mom's beat up chevy truck, and cool dark nights.)  so yeah, whole albums, it's a good thing, and nowadays i still listen to a new one as a whole until it's stuck in my brain parts like that for good and solid, til death do us part. first comes marriage, then comes shuffle.

which, this got off track.  what was i saying?

i think the thing about having access to full albums is why i took a break from Beck for a little Jason Falkner. i don't usually have him on my iphone due to burnout prevention factors (i'm at the point where too much of a good thing is a bad thing with several artists), but sometimes my ears go all new and want to hear him again. so i played "Author Unknown" in it's entirety and had a grand old time and that made me nostalgic for the first time i saw JF play, nie on 15 years almost. and listening to the album again just further cemented (and at this point with JF the cement is like, 20 feet deep, so it's a case of more cement than you can imagine) how good of an artist he really is. it's not like i forget, but it's not at the forefront of my mind, so i guess it's kind of like how you know the electric stove coils are hot and you shouldn't touch them and then you graze one of them while trying to pick up a spoon or something and that contact brings the pain to the forefront as your brain goes MOTHERFKER THAT IS HOT AND NOT FLESH-FRIENDLY! so that's kind of a negative metaphor, but that's what popped into my head trying to explain that one doesn't forget JF is a musical genius, it's just not always burned into the brain unless you are listening, and if you don't listen that often then it's a tiny revelation every time you do.

so i had my tiny revelation this afternoon and it got me to thinking how i really want to see him play again.  and not just as Beck's guitarist. like with actual songs that he wrote that he is playing and singing. and that's when i felt stirrings of my concert magic.  and what is concert magic, you ask?  i will tell you. (that's what a blog is for, after all.)  concert magic is what i call my one and only super power that may or may not exist.  (i don't *think* i have any other semi-imaginary super powers.)  concert magic gives me universe gifts of concert shows that i really want to see, in a not untimely manner.  that sounds confusing i think, but simply put  it works thus: christine decides she wants to see a band, and then christine gets to see this band pretty soon after.

this happened so many times in l.a. that i actually noticed it was happening.  i'll admit, you expect to see bands in l.a., everyone goes there, so that's not too unusual.  but the timing was always right, too.  i'd discover or get into a band, and then within a month or two a show would pop up.  i mean some of the instances were straight forward, like if someone put an album out, then you'd expect they would tour it, so that's not too unusual (owsley).  but the magic also worked when it was a no-hoper.   for instance, the divine comedy, which mark had wanted to see live for many years, released an album ("regeneration") in march of 2001, but he didn't "introduce" me to the album/band until the fall of 2001, at which time i promptly fell in love and began jonesing for a show. at which time mark informed me that they were from england and had never been to the u.s. so i was jonesing for a lottery ticket dream. at which time los angeles show dates were announced.  dates, plural. to which we went, 3 shows. that was when i realized i had the power to make my show dreams come true.  and i'd only had to wait maybe, 2 or 3 months?  and poor mark had been waiting years. (ha ha.)

and maybe the universe also influenced my powers with the timing.. mark had put a divine comedy song on a mix tape for me two years earlier, and i liked it, but nothing came of it. maybe it was only when the universe was ready to deliver a live concert show that i became receptive to the band's works.  because i feel like i have to really want it for it to work.  i can't just half-ass it... the magic knows.  i guess it's like meditating and setting an intention; if you're heart and soul aren't in it, then it's not going to happen.

anyway, i've been true to my powers and they have rewarded me with some of my favorites, sometimes at really slim odds, and i've appreciated it.  like, who would have thought the zombies would have reunited after 30-something years?  i guess i just had to get way into them first?  but i kinda thought that train ride was over when i moved away from los angeles. there's like 40,000 venues for opportunity in southern california and like, 3 here?  so yeah, i didn't think the magic was strong enough to withstand the void, but i'd had little touches here and there of Old 97s coming to town unexpectedly, or Spacehog getting back together and getting to see a them when i thought i'd missed the boat for good.  (ok, the Spacehog one is really awesome, but they were broken up and i didn't really think any magic would work on them.. that one's more just good luck.)  but sometimes a girl's gotta spread her cape and really stir the cauldron, amirite?  the time came this spring when i was ready to push back my sleeves and throw out some of that old concert magic.  this time it was for the foo fighters. i've grown to really like them over the years and that little seed of want started to grow inside my gut.  i thought, it's about time they hit the road again, right?  ima make them come to me.  i heard that some people in my town were trying to get them to play here, and i thought that was impossible, but i could make them play close enough for me to attend, like virginia beach or d.c.  so one day at work i announced my intention:  the foo fighters would be playing a show nearby and i would attend.

and you guys, it worked!

the concert magic had a bit of a laugh at first.  literally three days after i announced my intention to my co-workers, i read that they'd had a secret show in d.c. very funny, magic, you got me. i told it that it knew very well what i had meant and if it wanted to consider the wish granted and the contract fulfilled, then it had to produce a show that i actually had knowledge of beforehand.

so it did.
 
Foo Fighters Agree to Play Unscheduled Crowdsourced Show

whaaat?  this is a real life thing that is happening.  after i announced my intention i thought, hell, i'm going to join this crowdfund thing and just believe it.  and i did, but i didn't.  when i signed up there were like, 2 days to go and it wasn't even half funded.  i honestly didn't think there was a chance it would succeed, but you know, i have to keep the faith with my magic and if it gives me opportunities i have to take them or else i'm not holding up my end of the bargain.  anyhow, they managed to extend the deadline and i kinda of started to believe.  and by some crazy power (concert magic), the campaign to bring the foo to richmond met it's goal. 

here's me after getting the notification e-mail:
why yes that is my cat's cradle stamp from the first aid kit show the night before.


that's what concert magic success looks like, people.  IT WAS ALL ME!  ok, not really, but i helped?  yeah?  this is when i knew the magic was still alive and maybe even stronger than ever. i mean, the foo fighters are coming to richmond?  that's like, not a thing that happens.  but i can't wait for it to happen all up in my face when i'm standing in front of dave grohl trying not to get smooshed to death by the crowd.  (real life: i'll probably be in the back.)

so.  ... the point of this novel i guess is that i'm feeling those stirrings again, for Jason Falkner.  (that sounded... erm.)  which i guess is kind of lame to write a thousand page essay all to simply say i haven't decided to invoke the power yet, but i'm kinda sort feeling it, so stay tuned?  most anti-climactic ending ever, womp womp.

but i can promise you that if i do aim my magic at him, i will blog about it (and probably nothing will come of it and you can laugh and point fingers and i will slink shamefully into the night).

and now it's seriously time for bed.








Wednesday, August 6, 2014

organize this: nail polish

i finally did the deed and transferred all of my nail polishes into a more helpful storage solution.  i had them in a rectangular wire basket in my linen closet - which it was helpful to corral them in one place, only took me 30 years - but it just wasn't working out anymore. any time i wanted to find a particular shade i'd have to take it out and set it on the floor because sucker was hea-vy.  and then i'd have to remove about half of the bottles just to get to the ones on the bottom and i knew there was a better way, i just had to woman up and do the damn thing already.

over the door shoe organizer!  duh.  i'm sure at this point even dogs know this tip. i've meant to do this thing for a long time. years, even. but i'm a lazy sloth, so... and i even had the thing, doing its actual job, in my bedroom closet.  i couldn't find a cheap plastic one in my recent shopping experiences, so i threw all my shoes out of the holder (and onto my bedroom floor, is where they belong, right?) and got to work.

i have so many more nail polishes than i realized!  took me about 20 minutes or so to decide what colors go best together and how to arrange them on the holder, but i'm so glad i finally did this thing.  some people - who have seen my bedroom - might be surprised to learn that i actually like being super organized, but my laziness and disdain for extraneous movement gets in the way.  my traits battle each other and the latters are all too strong.  (seriously, i can't count the number of times i've bruised an arm hitting myself on a wall corner whilst taking said corner a little too tight in an attempt to walk one less step. it's not a conscious thing, but at least i have identified the cause.)  the point is instead of cleaning up, i pile and shove. but, if i can get my hands on a cheap *and easy* storage option, i will use it. as long as it takes less than 3 seconds to put whatever it is back wherever it belongs.

and now... please to look at a digital recording of my new nail polish sanctuary.

this one's kind of a lie in that i had to move this to the back of the guest room door because
this door wouldn't accommodate the hangover part of the contraption.
it was super fun moving it all loaded up, i tell you.



yes, a crap ton of these do have discount stickers on them, say whaaaaat? *raise the roof*
i even had colors i had forgotten about. and duplicates!  and way more greens than i realized, and i honestly would have said i didn't have more than two yellows.  in case anyone is wondering, i went clear, gold metalic, silver metalic, blacks & whites, to creams and light pinks to peachy, yellows, oranges and hot pinks to purples, greens, and blues.  some of the colors didn't quite fit in their respective assigned slots, but i'm confident that they will all learn to live together in harmony as nature intended.

thesis statement on this one?  if you've thought about doing this, do it. do it now. this one's a no-brainer.. two thumbs up, i highly recommend it.

now i just have to find somewhere for those shoes i displaced...