hot accessory!

Guess what? I might have carpal tunnel. YAY.
So now I get to wear this sweet wrist brace when i work. I'm trying to think of it as a sexy work accessory. Kind of sexy in an empowered, "fight the power" way, right? No? No? Bueller?

Fine. So I'm a loser. So what?

money

I hate money. Or, rather, I hate not having money. Actually, the only time I hate not having money is not when I can't buy the newest apple toy, or the prettiest dress, or whatever ... it's when I can't go to friend's weddings, or I can't go home to see my parents because flights are impossibly expensive and my budget doesn't allow for a sudden $500 travel expenditure. Honestly, what's the point of living if you can't LIVE???

grrr.

p.s. be a pal

I would so appreciate it if you would

• subscribe to 
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my new gig, the God's Politics blog. 

Feedback (and submissions) always welcome.

what's up?

A lot of moving and shaking in my life these days. Of course, with Chris now in D.C., it's certainly been an adventure. We've been playing a lot of squash, eating home-cooked food (for once!), and talking more.

In other news, I have a new job with more responsibilities and am doing my best to adjust to the workload while maintaining proper boundaries. Being a web editor lends itself to obsessing over a site long after the work day is over. I talk about the website, think about the website, and I've even dreamt about the website (just once ... or twice). Anyway, this weekend I will purposefully vacate my brain and do only fun, relaxing, non web-related things.

A more pleasant repercussion of my new job has been an upgrade to my own office! Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure.

      .

(My new office flower. I love it! It's called "crown of thorns")

(Morgan Spurlock, always watching me)

About those last two photos ... let me explain. Sometime last year or so I got a chance to interview Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me fame. In the middle of the interview, one of the hot studio lights fell and hit my arm, giving me a tiny first-degree burn. It was a very surreal moment when Spurlock immediately reached over and examined my arm saying, "We need to put some ice on this." My life takes the oddest turns! 

Afterwards, my coworker, while editing the video, took this screen capture of Morgan Spurlock's face the moment the light fell and taped it to my wall. I now consider Morgan my patron saint of interviews since, what can be worse than getting a burn in the middle of a serious interview? Nothing. So he remains, frozen in shock, to remind me that, as deadly serious as my work can get, it's always important to embrace the humor of a potentially catastrophic situation.

Second photo: the last weekend in New York, I went in to a salon in Chinatown and came out with an '80s-rocker style mullet. 

Oh well. Rock on.

joshua tree

I develop odd and unhealthy obsessions with very random people, places, things. Currently: Joshua Tree National Park. I have been wanting to go to Joshua Tree for the past 4 years now. Almost made it last March with the family but then my parents went to Israel and we weren't able to make the trip.

The Big Bang studio blog lights my fire every time I visit. Will I ever get to Joshua tree? I yearn, I yearn.

(bigBANG)

I * NY

we are so sad to be gone.

yo quiero

Pantone. Yum.

the great cloud

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

- Hebrews 12:1-2

get yours, i got mine

I use my baggu duck bag all the time. It is the perfect tote for books, wallet, food, extra pair of shoes, etc. Highly recommend it! It's already a good price but it's 50% off today (making it just $10), via Lucky. (Also, San Diegans, baggu is based in Torrey Pines!)

being great

Our foreman at the time was a man named Luis, in his mid-twenties, who arguably had been among the biggest, savviest drug dealers our community had ever known. We knew each other for more than a decade, and any offer of a job was always, graciously, but surely, declined. Luis was as smart as they come and quick-witted.

He used to say, "When we were kids, we would play Kick the Can but so did the cops. You know, they'd play Kick the Mexi-Can or Kick the PuertoRi-Can."

He never got caught. Too smart. If the cops rolled by and he was standing with me, he'd mumble, "Beam me up, Scottie." But when his daughter, Tiffany, was born, things changed. He wanted to work at the bakery, and his natural leadership abilities soon moved him up to foreman. Not only did he work with former rivals, he also supervised them, which is a great deal more difficult.

One day we received an odd request for a tour from farmers from the central valley of California. They want to see the bakery. It's part of Luis's job description to greet the busloads and the film crews. He hates this part of his job, and his whining could make your teeth ache.

"Do I gotta?"

The day the farmers arrive, he and I are waiting for the bus to pull up, and I'm swinging at his whiny complaints like a bunch of pesky gnats.

Finally, the bus drives into the awkward bakery parking lot, and I wave and direct it to its reserved spot. It's one of those ultramodern buses, sleek and slick, equipped with a microphone at the front of the bus for the tour guide.

Luis pretends he's the tour guide. "Welcome to Homeboy Bakery," his voice nasally drones with tour-guide disinterest. "Observe gang members in their natural habitat."

He is holding his fist up to his mouth, for greater amplification. "Please keep your hands in the bus at all times. Do not attempt to feed the homies. They are not yet tame."

"Cállate, cabrón," I say through the part of my mouth not smiling, welcoming our visitors from the farmland as they get off the bus.

calling

God, give me work till my life shall end. And life till my work is done.

-Written on the grave of novelist Winifred Holtby in Rudstone, Yorkshire.

manhattanhenge

Another fun thing we did this past weekend was experience Manhattanhenge, during which "the setting sun aligns with the east–west streets of the main street grid" in the city. It really was a beautiful sight -- the approaching orange glow, the light and shadows, etc. But I found more delight in the spectacle of New Yorkers with cameras ready to capture a moment when their beloved island would be drenched sunlight. People say New Yorkers are the most jaded citizens of the world, but I beg to differ. (Photos by Chris)

food, glorious food

This past weekend, Chris and I engaged in some serious eating. This was our second to last weekend together in New York, since come June 13, Chris will be able to count himself a bona fide DCist. While D.C. has some decent food, we never eat as well as we do when we're in New York. Behold, I give you our amazing glut fest.











Roasted corn and tacos at the Redhook ball fields, grape and pear flavored gelato at L'Arte del Gelato, galbee and nangmyun at Wonjo, tonkatsu ramen and katsu curry at Menkui Tei (otherwise known as "our place"), and a simple brunch of a sausage, egg, & biscuit skillet and fresh tomatoes at The General Green. Yeah, I wasn't kidding when I said we ate a LOT this weekend. I felt pretty guilty about it so have been only eating raw vegetables all week -- sort of a food detox.

This last photo is of me and Chris in a subway station. I'm sporting some lip gloss that I tried on at Sephora. Chris wasn't too thrilled about it so I didn't get it, but maybe if enough of you out there approve, I'll veto Chris! What do you think?

radio silence

Apologies for the long radio silence. Work has been pretty intense this past month and I needed to focus last week. Today is my first day as the new Web Editor at Sojo and let me tell you, my job just got 100 times more difficult, but also much more exciting.

Regardless, that's no excuse for neglecting this blog since life has gone on. Oh, how it has gone on! Updates to come.