The last of my 20's

Today I turned 29. One year until 30. Although I hear from Rob that 31 was tougher than 30. I'm happy with the way I'm aging. I still have that youthful glow. Misery and cynicism hasn't hit me yet. And hopefully they never will.



Here was me last year, if you're curious.

I have a bajillion photos from San Francisco and plenty of stories to tell. Those are to come.

P.S. Rob, achieved a birthday Epic Fail. No gift, no card, no cake, no nothing. He claims that our vacation inhibited his birthday-planning abilities. So I gave him a week long extension. I really don't care, though I admit, I miss the days of my childhood where I was so excited about my birthday that I'd count the days, and it was always filled with joy and surprise. Today was really just another day, but I guess that's how I know I'm an adult.

"The Plan Won't Accomplish Anything"

I hope these Built to Spill lyrics aren't true because I've been planning my butt off for my upcoming San Francisco trip. I want every little thing to be perfect, so I scour the internet for the perfect hotel, flight, restaurants, activities, etc. Yeah, that might seem to take the fun out of exploring, but really, planning is half the fun for me.

First I had to pick a place for our vacation. I looked at London, Seattle, and San Francisco the closest. SF happened to be the most affordable option, and it's been somewhere Rob and I have wanted to visit for years. Picking a hotel is always an issue since Rob is a germaphobe. Cleanliness is very important. So I went with Parc 55, a lovely 4 start hotel right next to Union Square.

Next came the fun part. Researching things to do. I didn't know much about San Francisco. I was visiting my parents when I booked the trip and my dad said, "What are you going to do there?" I had no idea. Rob's only stipulation was a San Francisco Giant's game, and then later he decided he also wanted to visit Alcatraz. Everything else was up to me.

I started putting together a document with my "must see" spots. Attractions, museums, restaurants, shops. All that good stuff. This is the first of ten pages.



Then I mapped out the hot spots, just so I could get an idea of where everything is in relation to each other.




And after that, I put together a rough itinerary, based on which days certain places are closed, etc. I'll run this by Rob, which I'm sure he'll breeze through and agree to.




We leave on Saturday morning! I can't wait!

My Dopplegängers

I look like a lot of people. I always get stopped by strangers who say I look just like their third cousin's best friend's sister or something. Last Friday I was told that I looked like some dude's friend's girlfriend, who happened to be a total bitch. I had to convince him that I was a nice girl.

But I think it's kind of neat. Okay, not when someone tells me I look like Velma from Scooby Doo, but when I see people that kind of look like me, I think it's hilarious, in a very creepy sort of way.

Like when my friend Devon sent me this picture that she found on Design*Sponge from artist Esther Kim.



Or this picture sent to me by Irit, my internet friend from Israel.



Those are both pretty much me. It's freaky. I look more like both of those images than Velma. Right??? (Please say yes, please say yes.)

Sunday Matinee

Rob and I went to the movies this Sunday afternoon and saw Adam. I really enjoyed this movie. It was a little bit girly, which was good for me, and also significantly depressing, which was good for Rob. I suppose it's a love story, but it's pretty darn sad. Empathy was on full blast.

Check out the trailer:



We can't see any movie without Rob feeling like he needs to learn more about something. So now he's on a mission to read about Asperger's syndrome. We always joked in the past the he has a mild case himself, and I chucked a few times when the character in the movie did things that are so Rob-esque.

Duckie Rocks My World

So sad about John Hughes. No one captured the 80's quite like he did. My absolute favorite character from any John Hughes movie I've seen has got to be Duckie from Pretty in Pink. Not my favorite movie of his, but Duckie owns my heart. Seriously, any guy that can do this (see visual aid below) is perfect in my eyes. Andie missed out.

Potato wave!

I got Rob Pearl Jam tickets for his birthday. Pearl Jam used to be his favorite band back in the day, and he's always wanted to see them live. I never really got into them, but we'll see how the new album sounds.

Anyway, when I think of Pearl Jam, two things come to mind. The first is Adam Sandler's Opera Man. I couldn't find the clip, but he does his opera-thing to Even Flow and it always cracked me up! The second is this video of misheard lyrics for Yellow Ledbetter. I will never be able to listen to this song and not hear "Potato wave."

Whatta guy!

My hubby, Rob, wins major, MAJOR points today. I've been struggling lately. I feel lost, like I don't know what I should be doing with my life. It's emotionally draining. And on top of that, I've been overwhelmed with tasks, for work and outside of work. I basically feel as if I'm drowning. To be honest, it's my own fault for taking on so much. I shouldn't, especially since I'm horrible at prioritizing.

Anyway, today proved to be another rough day. I was so frustrated midday that I called Rob blubbering about my unhappiness. He listened. He advised. He rationalized. And then I went back to work.

Two hours later, as I'm fighting with my printer, Office Space style, I see Rob out of the corner of my eye holding lunch, a card, and these:



Gestures like these from Rob the Robot are few and far between, but they always seem to come at the moment I need them most. I know that no matter what, Rob will always be there to support me, encourage me, and help me through rough patches. I'm a lucky gal!

Do I have bitch-face??

I'm a nice girl. I try to smile a lot and come across as friendly. But I'm starting to think I have a case of the bitch-face.

Two of our friends were over last weekend, and Rob made a comment about girls being scared of me, just kidding around. Our friends commented that I look tough with my angular hair and such. I couldn't tell if they were being sarcastic or if they really think that I look "tough." All 110 pounds of me. Since in reality I am the furthest thing from "tough," I assumed it was a joke.

Then on Wednesday at the Yeah Yeah Yeahs show, I'm standing in line before the doors open. Rob wandered off to find a bathroom, so I was by myself. This guy from a local radio station was hitting up people in line to sign up for something or other. He approached the people in front of me in line, skipped right over me, and began chatting with the people directly behind me. Huh?? Do I look like someone that would tell that dude to "back the eff up!" or something?

I honestly don't mind either way. But I thought it was pretty funny since I'm the poster girl for niceness. I'm about 90% ready to go get my wrists tattooed, so perhaps that will make me even more edgy and unapproachable.

Here's a video from the YYY show. The sound is pretty terrible, but I could stare at grainy video of the love of my life rockin' out on the guitar for hours upon hours. Plus the confetti explosion at 4:12 makes it worth it.

More shows, more shows!

I can't help it. I'm addicted. Tomorrow night we're seeing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I actually would have been okay passing this one up, but Rob really wanted to go, and it's not like I'll say no to seeing the beautiful, pale, scrawny, vampire-ish, guitar-playing love of my life on stage.

And speaking of scrawny, pale, vampires, I just got an email this morning about Monsters of Folk, which consists of one of my other indie-rock boyfriends, Conor Oberst. Along side him will be M Ward and Jim James (of My Morning Jacket). Tickets went on presale this morning, and I thought about it long and hard. Maybe for 8 minutes. But how could I pass up these seats?? I got row AA, seats 2 and 4. Come on, those are pretty kick ass.


I know I need to cut back. I also really want to see Ra Ra Riot this fall, and maybe even Phoenix, but I have to be selective. And I do love shows at the Academy of Music because I won't get trampled on by a bunch of 18 year olds. I'm too old for that.

I Heart NY

I haven't given this blog much love lately. I keep meaning to, but I've been super sick for the last week and a half. Ugh. This evil phlegmy cough will NOT go away. Finally I was able to sleep without any coughing fits last night, so I at least feel more human today. It came at a terrible time because last weekend was our getaway to NYC for Rob's birthday. I was a trooper. I sucked it up and dealt with the cough for the most part, but Saturday night in the hotel was a challenge. Rob wanted to smother me with a pillow because I could not stop coughing. So neither of us got much rest that night, which made Sunday kind of a wash. But it's all the more reason to go back soon.

We took the train into the city. For us, it's a 45 minute drive to the train station and then an 75 minute train ride. Not too bad. It's much better than driving.





When we arrived, we headed up to the Bryant Park Hotel. It was only 11:30 am, so I wasn't expecting being able to check in, but we figured we'd check our bags and head out. Lucky for us, they were able to give us a room. The hotel was really great. Perfect location. Very nice room. Clean. Modern. Friendly staff. A little pricey, but for me, it was worth it.





Then we hopped the subway to Williamsburg Brooklyn. I had picked out this great spot for lunch, the Dumont Restaurant. I read that they had a great outdoor garden eating area. It was awesome. The food was delicious. The atmosphere was perfect. Absolutely loved it!





After lunch we wandered around a little bit. We never explored this area before. I can't wait to go back. So many great shops and interesting buildings.

We even did a little rock climbing at a playground we passed by.

I had mapped out a bunch of shops to hit while we were there. While we were in Artists & Fleas, which is sort of like an indoor year round craft show with people selling their wares, I was asked to participate in a street wear fashion photography project. Sure! I could tell I would never make a good model. I was so stiff and the photographer had to get me to loosen up. But it was fun!



And if you want to see the finished photo, click here, click on Street Portraits, and scroll to the right a little. There I am!

We left Brooklyn and headed back to Manhattan to rest up before dinner. We had a little bit of time to kill, so we sat and relaxed in Bryant Park for a little while. I never spent much time in that park prior to this visit, but it was great!



I had made a reservation at Megu in Tribeca for Rob's birthday dinner. There's nothing he loves more than sushi! The restaurant was really fancy shmancy and our waiter was so sweet. While Rob was in the bathroom, he asked his name and whether or not he liked chocolate. Then after dinner, which Rob said was the best sushi he's ever had, the waiter brought out a little surprise!



Even though I was coughing too much to really enjoy the meal, it was a great time.

Like I mentioned, Sunday was a bit of a struggle because of our lack of sleep. We wandered aimlessly around SoHo and Greenwich Village, met up with some friends, did some shopping, and headed back home. I can't wait to get back up there. Hopefully when I'm at 100% again.

New Blog: 160 Pages

I decided to give my journaling its own blog. So you can find it here:

160 Pages: A Journey Through Journaling

07/06/09 - Day #8

Obviously I need a calendar because I wrote the wrong date at the top of my journal entry for today. WHOOPSIE!!!

To be honest, the burger wasn't that great today. I think the bread was stale.

07/05/09 - Day #7

Okay, not EVERY day can be exciting. Sometimes the best part of a day is watching your husband argue with an air pump.

07/04/09 - Day #6

I'm having so much fun with this project so far! I've never considered myself a very good "drawer." Mediocre at best. And those of you who have said otherwise in your comments are super sweet, but I have much to learn. I think as the months go by, the practice alone will really make a difference, so I'm looking forward to it.

07/03/09 - Day #5

I actually finished this one earlier yesterday, but I forgot to post it here. I knew that an iPhone drawing and a Starbucks drawing were inevitable. So I figured I'd knock 'em both out in one shot.

07/02/09 - Day #4

I was a little worried I wouldn't get to this one yesterday. I was going out to dinner and a movie with some girlfriends, and I REALLY wanted to nap beforehand. But like I said, I'm serious about this project, so I forced myself to walk right past the super-comfy futon and into my office to churn out a journal page. Sure, it's a bit redundant to my post yesterday. Hopefully you won't mind.

I think it's funny how we both look like we're about 14 years old. Obviously I have some work to do with proportions.

07/01/09 - Page #3

Three days in a row! Holla!

I wasn't sure if I'd get to this one because my robot husband and I went to see Up last night. Not only did he refrain from shedding a tear, he actually laughed at me for weeping. He claims he feels "no emotions toward cartoons." Technically, he feels no emotions toward anything. Did you know Rob is short for Robot? Me either, but I do now.

So anyway, I got home from the movie and really just wanted to sleep, but I couldn't skip my third day. That would start the downward spiral to failure. I knew I wanted to sketch my goofy costumed pose from Austin, so I gave it a shot. I admit, I actually had a blast doing this! Who knew drawing could be fun?

Two Days Down!

YESSSS!!! I made it two whole days so far!

Sketch Comedy

More like Sketch Tragedy. I came home from the HOW Design Conference feeling inspired, but I also felt like a slackass. I haven't kept a sketchbook since college. And even then, I didn't sketch regularly. So, like I always do, I went out last night and bought a sketchbook with all intentions of being really good this time!

I figure the easiest way to get into the habit is to do something that takes little time and makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something. So I'm going to try to do a little daily journal entry. A comment on the day. This will hopefully get me used to doodling again. Who knows.

I've been Slankified!

I came home yesterday to find a mysterious package on my doorstep. The return address? "The Slanket."

I yipped like lapdog and ran inside to tear that baby open. Most amazing gift ever, courtesy of The Slanket Fairies, Jeope and Devon.