alternate careers 2

in honor of my sd card that split in half and spit out its write protection tab last night:
photographer

in honor of what i'm reading right now not for school:
food critic

in honor of my really next post:
lithographer/print maker

alternate careers

once upon a time, i said i couldn't imagine doing anything else. apparently, i've become more imaginative. or jaded. or a combination of the two.

so, some alternative careers, regardless of whether i have the ability (or any ability at all) or credentials needed for them:
librarian
book binder
graphic designer
sculptor
illustrator
writer
pianist
cartographer


a famed architectural critic recently told me my taste in art is rather archaic. it appears my taste in vocations is as well.

[a more interesting post to come on getting some of my work lithographed at an awesome little press smack in the middle of downtown.]

busy busy

lots to blog, no time to blog it.

i was gonna do a quickie "happy anniversary to the bear!" post, but i got home late that night, and the computer i was surfing on didn't have any pictures of us on it (or any personal pictures, for that matter). so happy belated anniversary, bear! i can't believe it's been three years! thanks for your love, patience, and hard work. i love you with all my heart.

work is keeping me pretty busy. winnie even made me a spreadsheet to help me keep track of my responsibilities. note that this only keeps track of currently active jobs. i do have a freelance job or two that is not listed because they're on hold for now.

[redaction brought to you by today's color: chartreuse!]

oh, and here's my current happy song.

so summery, so carefree, so chartreuse, so...happy. :)

ok, my new goal is one "real" blog post before school starts up again in less than a month (!).

trace

i love trace. AKA flimsy (in the midwest/south). AKA tracing paper in rolls. for most of my design work, i work out ideas on trace. my thoughts just come out more quickly and fluidly on trace. probably because the sheet is never ending, the medium is relatively cheap and un-precious, and because i was trained to sketch on it in college and during my former job.

i also appreciate nice wood. get your mind out of the gutter.

so i want this:


from here, which has lots of cute things. minus the freaky hand soaps.

[via notcot. image also from notcot.]

blah

so i just met a crazy deadline (that i set for myself, even the client didn't care if i kept it, really) for a freelance job. now that i am back to my lazy, pseudo-unemployed ways, here is a list of what's new.

1. i love having old, big, shady trees covering a lot of the house and our mini backyard. i do not, however, love the berries and leaves they shed all.the.time. the bear also recently spotted a rabid squirrel up there. no, it wasn't foaming at the mouth, but i'm pretty sure most squirrels have rabies. thus, our tree's squirrel has rabies. i'm sure there are many other unsavory critters up in thurr. it's a really really big tree. and there are TWO of them. like really really big the likes of which you never really see around socal because we're always ripping shit up for new stuff, the stuff we still do have around isn't that old, and/or because this is really a desert.
   
2. i'm thinking about making bread from scratch before school starts thanks to wan's bread-baking madness lately. i do have that lovely stainless steel worktop that would be lovely to knead on...
3. i started reading the time traveler's wife. i'm liking it so far. i don't like that the huge hardcover doesn't fit in my huge purse.
   
4. at my pseudo-, very part-time job we are doing inventory. counting BIG sheets of paper that i'm not supposed to bend or put fingerprints on after i've just counted super dusty items is not fun. at all. but it's still a pretty dang easy job. and it makes me money.
   
5. sorry to shock everyone with my fb status update yesterday. i am NOT pregnant. i have, however, gained 10 pounds in four months. never mind i lost almost 10 in four months last fall. i'm still fatter than i was then as i gained some weight moderately between the great loss and the great gain. and i don't know why i typed out "four" and wrote the numbers for "10." it's really bugging me now, but i'm too lazy to go back to change "10" to "ten." but not too lazy to ramble on about it, apparently. so anyway, i have a visible food baby. not a human baby.
   
6. after a few nights of sleeping less than eight hours, i am dying. i don't know how i'm going to deal when school starts again. i really don't. i'm getting old. i need my sleep.
7. i "bought" a book for the bear today at borders for $0. good thing, as i'm not sure it'll ever get read.
8. the bear has taken up surfing. this fatty potato has taken up watching more tv than she has watched in the past 10 years of her life in one summer.
   
9. i also bought in defense of food for myself for 40% off. my library doesn't have it. i know, i know. wth? anyway, i love the smell of new books.
   
10. i'm in trouble because once i start reading, i can't stop. and i was going to try to get back to my suzy homemaker ways now that my crazy deadline is over (i was cooking almost every weeknight, doing laundry once a week, changing out ALL linens AND washing them once a week, keeping the house relatively clean, and even baking on the side...who AM i?). plus i do have follow-up work and more work left to do on the freelance project, albeit at a slower pace.
11. this is the most boring list. ever. i just made myself super sleepy. i'm going to bed.

sorry for this post, all.

NERVOUSGRL

rocking out to the following tunes to try to calm the butterflies. i was feeling pretty confident and good until last night. i kept waking up once an hour, and i woke up with major butterflies. i have two pearls cupcakes asking to be eaten for breakfast, but my stomach is all weird. i guess i am and was more nervous than i care(d) to admit. i'm most nervous because i will most likely need to negotiate. meh. wish me luck!

anyway, for some tater flava in ya ear.
[ignore the horrible videos and just listen. boo to unembeddable official versions.]

not-so-SAHW

school's done, but i'm still busy. mostly from shuttling between the miscellaneous part-time jobs and sitting at my desk at home attempting to work on my portfolios (yes, plural--job and school, they must be approached differently and shouldn't be the same...meh). here's my first week "off."

monday
worked at the school job.
continued to clean out my studio space.
built the below for the bear in the woodshop.
napped.
did not cook, clean, or do anything else housewifely.

the bear "tagged" 'em.
don't ask about the pink shirt guy.

in action.

tuesday
picked up the snowboard waxing stand thingys from the woodshop, as i had to clamp them overnight.
did target, home depot, etc. errands + shopping.
finished cleaning out the studio.
piled studio stuff up in a corner of the potatobear lair.
glared at the pile of stuff cluttering up the lair. i hate clutter.
cooked an easy dinner. i can never have enough mapo tofu.
the bear made a thai dessert.
napped.
did some work for the old boss from home.

we like it extra spicy.

that's frozen roti. yum.

no worries. we did not thraw [sic] before cooking.

pale, uninteresting dough

to fluffy, golden, flakey goodness.




bear can flip stuff in a pan.
klutzy me cannot.

swirl o' condensed milk goodness.
(you can always put more on).

roll.

chomp.

so unflattering.
so delicious.

wednesday
ran errands or something.
sent out a couple resumes.
started thinking about the portfolio. meh.
grocery shopped. again. apparently, i've been deprived. for months.
did not nap.
cooked a DEElicious dinner. finally. because the bear's been having a busy, tough time at work this week.

the makings of chimichurri

roasted asparagus

oh, red meat!

oh, fond!

spaghetti tossed in chimichurri.
toopped with asparagus.
and tender, medium rare steak.

dessert.
trader joe's "super sweet strawberries"
that are quite fragrant and...sweet.
eee! mini colander!

thursday
baked.
worked at school job.
no time for nap.
did more work for old boss from empty, dark studio. yay for laptop.
steve buschemi (not really)'s birthday party at ziggy's house.

i made a chocolate croissant bread pudding for the birthday boy.
he already had two cakes, though.
one of which was sweet lady jane's amazing
triple berry shortcake.

SB(NR)'s fiancee is an artist/photographer.
her friend brought an old polaroid camera.
hammy antics enused.

random family portrait on the mantle
and too risque photo blurred.
my fave is the canadian-something's passport photos.

poor ziggy didn't know what to do with himself.
but was just as chill as ever.

friday
went to optometrist.
got my brows did. finally. buuuushy.
got car washed.
thought about portfolio a little bit more.
blogged.
thought about taking out trash.
trying (still) to wrap up work for old boss.

next week, i really need to stay at home and buckle down on the whole portfolio thing (we have to submit a portfolio in 3 weeks of all our work thus far in order to continue on in the program) and internship search thing. but for now, i think i'll take a nap. just a quick one. after all, those eyeball numbing drops they put in at the optometrist are making my eyelids so, so heavy.

mememememe

some of my studiomates have started calling me by my college studio nickname. it's in the vein of j.lo and involves my maiden name. and sounds dirty but isn't. *swoon*

some have also started calling me tater and other versions of potato. yay.

i wish i could be as uncompromising as this year's pritzker prize (the nobel prize equivalent in architecture) laureate peter zumthor. go phenomenologists! i've admired his work and philosophy for a long time now. similarly, i admire glenn murcutt, another pritzker prize winner. they both are very selective about which commissions they take on. mr. murcutt only takes on one at a time so he can devote himself fully to it. they are both uber sensitive to a project's specific context, program, and demands. both handle materials beautifully and in a masterly way. both create spaces that transport you.

i don't even want a pritzker prize. i know i don't have the natural talent required. nor the uncompromising commitment to a certain way and philosophy of practice. i'm just afraid i'm too much of a pragmatist, too much of a functionalist, too much of a rationalist, too much of an american, to ever practice at the honest level they do and like they do and produce spaces like theirs.

i need to draw for fun again this summer. and get back into sketching.

back to reading. see you all after the reading is done and the studio cleaned out.

so i had a bad day

and now that song is stuck in my head. bah.

well, i don't really care to say why, but i had to get it out somewhere. it involves something going on at work (yes, my old job...this damn project won't just wrap up), traffic, and me breaking the heater. potatobear lair is no longer quite as cozy. i had planned on being home at around 4 PM so i could work all evening and night, if necessary, to finish up this paper that is due on the first day of class. suffice it to say i have not yet gotten to the paper thanks to the infuriating work above. i knew the blissful, work- and school-free time would come to an end too soon.

i was going to blog about cee's and my first [three] attempts at baking macarons this past weekend, but it's not in me right now. plus i think we're going to try to attempt one more time tomorrow afternoon, so i should probably wait and blog it all at once. in the meantime, here's the teaser pic of the batch that was closest to right.

ok, stop! hammer paper time!

chillin'

lazy, lazy saturdays, how i love you and miss you so.

currently watching what appears to be a keira knightly (blergh) marathon on oxygen. pride and prejudice (finally saw it for the first time), now it's bend it like beckham (bracing myself for the horrid clubbing scene where she wears a backless top and shows her super bony back), and love actually tonight. whee!

some random, exciting photos i took at the school job yesterday.

such an optimistic monitor.

a wall.

our trash can.
for everything,
not just the recycling.

co-worker napping.
hey, it was slower than slow.

happy holidays
from the old bank district.

rogaine

lil wayne just needs to stop. now. especially his comparisons of himself to 2pac and biggie. really?!?

i want to see the movie notorious.

yesterday, i had ne-yo's rogaine song stuck in my head. all. day. long. you know, the one that goes "she's got a rogaine; that's why i love her..." the bear kept "correcting" me last night. whatever, i know the lyrics.

speaking of hair, i got my unruly hair finally cut. to the bear's delight, i am growing my hair out again. unfortunately for him, i had to chop a bit off to get a good shape for growing it out properly. by the way, a big thank you to cee. i love jessica at salon eleven now. she was very clear when explaining her suggestions. she also let me know what she was doing. best of all, she gave really explicit, easy instructions for styling my hair. there's nothing like a good blowout to make you feel hot for a day. or two. and yay for the salon being a little more convenient during my daily routine. my last place i loved, but it was a bit of a trek and only justifiable on days we were going out to see the in-laws. oh, and salon eleven is very nice, too. hip but not pretentious, warm, friendly. OH, and while i was there, they played the yeah yeah yeahs, outkast, AND old school swv. awesomeness. so much better than, say, lil wayne.

i only got an iphone photo while wearing a bulky hoodie before i washed my hair. never mind that i look about 12. oh, and the ends are cute. too bad mr. hood is in the way.
this is the best i could do to get the back of my head.
total fail.

i worked most of yesterday at the old job. it reminded me how awesome it is to not be working full time. then i worked today at my school job. so slow. easy peasy. i did nothing for 3 hours and made a tiny bit of pocket change.

random photos

from around campus.

robot?
creepy.

someone's trapped fortune.
guess where. winner gets...my love.

not a bad idea.
yay for neon cheese!

i like dots.

phallic phun.

i didn't just wander around school aimlessly all day, just most of the day. it turns out my thursday class has indeed been split into two sections, and i got screwed thanks to my newish last name (i like the name and all, just not its position in the alphabet). my section is meeting on friday and sundays instead. ugh. at least it's only for the first 2/3 of the semester.

i also got a campus job. see? i told you my wanderings weren't all aimless. i'm hoping i can get more hours thursday now that it's wide open.

pink on pink. i got it finally, but you'll have to wait to see.

lady of leisure...NOT

i took two weeks "off" before school starts. i'm working very part-time and mostly from home for my last job as i have a few projects that need wrapping up/me probably until the end of the year. i do have to go into the office tomorrow, see a client, and visit a vendor's workroom, but i could so get used to this. i'm still making money (albeit minimal) and still have time to do random stuff like cook dinner, grocery shop during the day when the store is emptier, go to happy hour at 4 PM, leisurely shop while waiting for happy hour at 4 PM, meet with my freelance client on a weekday afternoon, nap, drop off pants at the tailor and shoes at the cobbler, and pull all my data off of super old ZIP disks.

as you can see, i'm playing catchup and trying to get all my miscellaneous ducks in a row before the madness that is school starts. trust me when i say it's madness. let's just say my undergrad program was probably 1/2 as challenging as the one i'm about to start, and i was a sleep-deprived stressball even then. anyway, so i wanted to share the more fun things about my pseudo-time off as i'm sure you don't care to hear about my thrilling appointments with my tailor and shoe cobbler.

[monday]

• lunch at cafe contigo. their coffees--sooo sweet but so good. their cuban sandwiches are delish and only around $5 a pop. great lunch place if you happen to live or work in or near anacrime. very cute, clean, and neighborhood/community-oriented. rare for those parts of OC. oh, and i finally got my name changed on some stuff while at lunch. yay. no photos because that would have totally weirded out my college friend/retirement accounts dude.
• trying on a bridesmaid dress at david's bridal. i'm not even gonna link 'em because all their employees really are that bad.
  
• wine + cheese happy hour at old vine cafe with some anonymous heffas. blond, thin heffas. sigh. one of whom likes to pose strangely for the camera. cheese--good. company--hilarious. wine--excellent, even if i don't really remember what we had. let's just say going with someone who knows the chef can earn you extra wine, which can lead to all kinds of other fun stuff.
  

[tuesday]

• errand day! no fun for you to read.
• i bought random groceries on my way home while hungry, and had the most random dinner. i just had to open everything i bought and have a taste. damn you, trader joe/ming/giotto.
• raped my poor basil plant, which is still alive after a few weeks of being under my care, to make pesto from scratch. cleaning that food processor is a PITA.
  

[wednesday]

• worked a lot of the day. yawn.
• grazed on above groceries. all. day. long. this working from home thing is no good for my waistline.
  

i wanted to visit some local sites of interest to me while i have time, but it looks like i don't have time after all. boo. i may try to get an oil change, hit up a farmer's market on a weekday (eee!), eat some more yummy meals out, and nap some more in my remaining, precious days off.

seriously, part-time work from home is the life. thank you, bear.

last working thurs-yay!

thursday was my last full-time day at work. never mind that some work-related fires came up on friday that i had to help put out since i'm still part time. as of thursday night, i was feeling happy as a clam, thanks to clams. and other food. and lots of it.

the last day wasn't as stres-free as i'd hoped it'd be. i had done my best to wrap up loose ends in the days leading up to thursday, but of course despite it being so sloooooow the past few weeks, a couple of clients wanted things NOW. whatevs. i wrapped it up as best i could and handed off as much as i could to rezzie dezzie since she'll have to deal without me from now on. and if i didn't take of it as neatly as i thought, i'll have to deal with it only on a part-time basis from now on.

now onto the good part of last day of work--bosswoman took rezzie dezzie and me out for a farewell lunch. bosswoman gave a few suggestions, and i chose catch at casa del mar as i just love walking through the lobby of that hotel, love the atmosphere and decor of the restaurant, i hadn't been in awhile, and a view of the beach is usually a good thing. no photos, but here's a quickie recap of what we had:

• mini champagne toast--bosswoman and i split a glass. yay for drinks at lunch! even if it was only a few sips.
• appetizer of sushi/sashimi platter--fresh, good fish. light. perfect for boss and me to share. definitely not kosher for rezzie dezzie.
• entrees. food was good. not amazing for the prices.
  
• halibut special for boss with capers and i-forget-what-else on it. good.
• santa barbara striped bass for me. grilled. good but very basic.
• hand made ravioli for rezzie dezzie. the hit. thin skins, really good filling, kind of scary-looking orange, greasy sauce, but it tasted amazing!
• dessert. all of theses were so. amazingly. good.
• fried brioche--brioche formed into donut holes and deep fried. served with two different caramel dipping sauces and the best ever cinnamon ice cream.
  
• twice-baked chocolate souffle--the crushed espresso and chocolate meringue bits that accompanied the souffle were yummy. the souffle was chocolate, texture was good. what more can you ask for?
• warm raspberry custard tart--accompanied by a blueberry sorbet. yum and yum.

---

as if i hadn't feasted enough, boba and me planned a little belated birthday get-together for vase. i made reservations at bld, then we had plans to check out the giant macarons with ice cream at milk afterward. we never made it to milk as we were too stuffed to walk a few blocks to scarf yet more food, but obviously, bld was filling...and good!

the setting was hip, dark, romantic, on the loud side. shades of gray, white, and red. um. love. how did they know that's one of my fave combos? and they were playing meiko at some point in the night!

our waitress was attentive, energetic, and funny. she told us this is the first place she's worked where she's actually very excited about the food and loves the philosophy behind it. she recommended the "siiiiick trout...stoopid, that's s-t-o-o-p-i-d philly steak sandwich..." she sounded like my brother but came off hilarious. i was craving pasta, so i asked her for her favorite out of two i was considering. when she suggested the spicy shrimp linguine, i responded with "great! i love spicy." she promised to ask them to make it extra spicy and tasty, after telling me she liked me already.

they had sleek push-button salt and pepper shakers. too bad they looked a lot better than they functioned.

onto the food. we started with the thursday night flat bread (GIANT flatbread with figs, manchego cheese, sherry onions, serrano ham, wild arugula, fourme d'ambert, purple mustard vinaigrette) and crispy tater tots (with cured meat, raclette cheese, spicy remoulade).

horrible photo.
amazing flatbread.
toppings so yummy.
bites with one of each piece of each topping on it bomb, yo.

5 tater tots--perfect for our table of 5.
charcuterie scraps and raclette cheese tucked inside.
so savory and rich.

overall, everyone seemed to enjoy their entrees.

the birthday girl's grilled flatiron steak salad with mizuna, country croutons, potatoes confit, cherry tomatoes, smoked paprika vinaigrette.

huge salad.
hearty as salads go.
yummy vinaigrette.
bday girl finished everything but all the greens, though.

the lone boy, dru, had a whole trout wrapped in proscuitto then deep-fried. it was served atop mashed something and then topped with some greens.

my bite was good.
wrapping anything in pork product makes it better. duh.
he enjoyed taking the fish apart and eating it cleanly.

both boba and v got the "STOOPID" philly style shaved rib eye sandwich with peppers, onions, mushrooms, provolone cheese, crispy shallots, and french fries. the bread looked deep fried and was supposedly very crunchy crispy. the fries were very fried--like no mushy potato within, just crispy all the way through--just the way vase likes 'em.

see? bread looks like deep-fried chicken.
or something.

i had the spicy shrimp linguine with rapini, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese, crushed red chili, fresh basil.

LOTS of garlic. yum.
good heat from the red chile and mustardy rapini (broccoli rabe).
shrimp was plump and fresh.
everything was swimming in a nice,
slightly creamy white wine sauce.
it tasted even better the next day
when the noodles had soaked up all that garlicky goodness.

fun waitress not-so-discreetly asked us to pick a dessert on the house to surprise the bday girl with. we chose the nectarine blueberry crisp nut crumble with vanilla ice cream.

we sang. kind of.

a wish.
darkness.
then we dove in.
the fruit was good.
the crumble part ok.

happy birthday, vasey!
we love you!
(and no, we didn't coordinate the lowish-cut black tops).

like i said, we were stuffed, so no 2nd dessert at milk for us. :(. i must get out there soon.

i wanted to lose the extra 5 lbs. i'm carrying right now before school and bad eating habits start, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon as i'm apparently going to aspire to be a lady who lunches during my two weeks of sort of time off. yes, before school starts. more on that to come.