You appeared to me like a beacon in the night,
Seemingly out of nowhere there you were.
You mysterious stranger on the horizon.
I travel forward – drawn to you,
A lonely vessel powered by hopeless romance.
Forever I have sailed amongst rocky waters of solitude,
But there you are in the distance,
Beckoning me to anchor and rest from my weary search.
What would happen if this ship no longer sailed?
The unknown intrigues,
And fear cautions me to run ashore,
To surrender myself into your arms,
I am filled with hesitation…
The very idea ignites my heart –
It may very well burst into flame…
And sink this ship that sails,
Hopelessly through the night.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Young Designer's Home (On a budget!)
Okay, i started writing this blog about a week ago and then put off finishing it because I've been enjoying my time off from work and have been rather lazy, but here it is finally, as promised.
So I hear constantly from people who are young, just out of school, broke.... that they wish they could do something nice with their place, but money is always a constant problem. Well let me tell you! I definitely feel you on that. There's an easy solution though and it's called designing smart. Part of the issue I feel is that they feel they have to do everything at once, and that's not the case. You can gradually do your home over-time, as money flows in, as you take your time to find things, et cetera. Let's take a look at my own personal home as a reference of how to make your home cozy, cute and done for next to nothing!
When I first moved to California I had nothing but three suitcases of clothes and a laptop. Almost 5 years later and after several moves (each time into a bigger space) I now have a fully-furnished and decorated two bedroom apartment (minus one of the bedrooms, which isn't mine). When I got my first place (on my own) it was a tiny one-bedroom in Koreatown. I literally had nothing when I moved in. So I gave myself a couple hundred bucks and went to ikea. I'm not trying to promote Ikea, because generally, I think their products are crap. It's cheaply made and not meant to last, but if you're like me - young and on a tight budget - it is your best friend for you and your home. BUT don't limit yourself to Ikea. There are other resources for obtaining various odds and ends that will throw in a little eclectic spice into your home. Ikea is a good starting point.
Let's take a look at my living room since that's usually the main space of anyone's home. Heck, it's the first room you walk into in my apartment, so it had better look good!! Below are a couple shots of the living room. (Pardon the quality, it's difficult to get good shots it seems due to size and lighting.)
It looks like a lot if you think about all the "stuff" that occupies the bookshelves and what not, but forget about personal belongings and lets break it down into the basic elements that make this room and why it was cheap! We can start with a shopping list. Ill tell you the item, the cost and where I got it.
Couch: $120 - Bought this off the people I rent my apartment from. They had it in storage. This was a bit of a lucky find, but it is possible to find a nice couch like this as cheap as I did on places like Craigslist!
Lrg Book: $130 - Ikea
Sm Book: $70 - Ikea
Coffee Table: $170 - Ikea
Side Table: $90 - Ikea
Chairs: $100 - Ross - Ross actually seems to frequently carry nice furniture for very little. These two wicker chairs were 50 bucks each and add a unique look to the room. The thing is Ross is it's hit or miss and you should check there often until you find what you're looking for, and check multiple locations too! I think I went to two different stores before I found these chairs.
Rug: $70 - Some random store. I was driving down Pico with my mom and saw this rug in a window and just about crashed the car. I was like "Mom! There's the rug! It's perfect!" It was going for 85 + tax and I bargained with the guy and paid 70 flat. Im not much into negotiating prices.... but, when you're on a budget and buying something at a privately owned store it's a legit and honest thing to do. AND it pays off! (sometimes)
Lamps: $25 - Ikea & BB&B
Paint: $40 - Glidden from Home Depot. Glidden is at the lower end of quality when it comes to interior paints. However it's fine for an apartment. I'm not going to spend 40+ dollars on a gallon of paint for a place that I don't own. Homeowners - spend the extra money and get Behr or something, but renters, don't bother. You're just going to have to paint it back to white when you move out anyway. Two gallons at 20 bucks each allowed me to paint the living/dining and the one wall in the hall (and still have some leftover for future touch-ups!)
Accent Pillows: $20 - Target. Target is also a good place to get accessories and what not, though I find it a little pricey, but it's good stuff.
Art: FREE! I paint. So why pay for art when I can make my own and use my home as a personal gallery. Who know's who might come over and want to buy something, right? Every painting in my apartment I have done myself. If you aren't artistic and want some nice paintings.... be resourceful. This is LA. Surely you must know a starving artist who would paint you something for next to nothing. Heck, i'd paint something for a friend for free if they provided the canvas! And if you aren't in LA or another art meca, try ebay!
Now let's look at the dining room. I don't eat at home much and as it was initially just me, I decided to go with a bar table rather than a traditional table and chairs. And i'm glad I did. It's a clean and simple look and takes up little space. This was probably the cheapest room to do as there is really nothing to it other than the table/stools.
Table: $190 - Ikea Less space consuming than traditional table. Good for saving space, which since i have two rabbit cages in the same area, it works great!
Stools: $35 - Ikea. Not the most comfortable stools, but they work as a temporary solution. Well, could be temporary, they obviously aren't temporary for me as I've had them for years now lol.
Lastly let's check out my bedroom. This room for me is my hiding place from the world so I want it to be comfortable. The configuration you will see is not the first I tried with the space, but the second and now final. I used to have the bed against the wall where the futon is now, but while my ex and I were together I grew tired of climbing over him to get in and out of the bed, so I pushed it just off center of the room to allow access from both sides. I put the futon where the bed was which still allows viewing of the TV, or makes a good place to sit and read with the lamp next to it. Of course since i am in bed usually when watching a movie or playing on the playstation, the TV and Ikea coffee table turned TV stand are across from my bed at the foot. This allows me to comfortably lay in bed and watch whatever. The budget of this room, next to nothing. Here's the breakdown:
Bed: $200 - Craigslist. I love CL. You can find anything on that friggin' site! I just bought a nice Schwinn road bike for 160 bucks the other day. I found this mattress and boxspring, practically new, for 200? I might have even paid a little less than that. AND the guy delivered it and helped me get it upstairs into my apartment. You can find some great buys on CL if you check it regularly during your search.
Coffee Table: $40 - Ikea. This is their low-grade, basic coffee table. I think they will forever carry this item... Super cheap quality, but it works and its a simple look. Just don't expect it to last you for 10 years.
Night Stand: $0 - Obtained this from an old roomate who didn't want it anymore. It's a nice metal tube frame with glass top. Perfect size for me to put all my crap on.
Desk: $0 - Okay i will admit you probably wont get as luck as I got with this, though not many people would even want a drafting table as a desk... but it has a huge surface area. And as you can see in pictures i've posted that have my desk in them, I have a lot of art crap on my desk; paint, markers, printer, paper, files, etc. This was donated to me by a design firm in Orange County. They we're switching from manual drafting to CAD and gave it to me, I just had to show up, figure out how to take it apart, and take it away. I do have a good desk solution for those of you who need a cool desk. I'm not sure the price, I'd have to ask my friend, but essentially you take a white Ikea dining table with a frosted glass top, attach two fluorescent tube lights underneath with a switch, and shazam! You have a cool desk that glows. I think it would be less than 200 bucks to do. Maybe I'll do a blog post about it after I visit him next time.
CD Tower: $20 - Bed Bath and Beyond.
Futon: $100 - Ikea. I think the frame was 70 or so and then I had to buy the mattress separate (I think). This was actually my bed for a very long time. Now I use it as a place for guests to sleep, or somewhere to sit and read.
Lamp: $15 - Ikea
Mirror: $30? - Ikea I think it was around 30. May have been less. Nice look though. Slim frame and a good size.
Altogether I'd say I spent no more than $1200 to do the entire apartment; living, dining, kitchen (not shown because it's just a wall i painted), bedroom and bath (also did not show the bath because its just accessories in there. Nothing fancy.) It's totally doable to do your apartment for next to nothing. I am a guru at decorating on a budget, and I know ikea like the back of my hand. The friend I'm helping right now is on an ikea budget, and let me tell you, she's doing the high-end Ikea stuff. Her budget for the bedroom was 600, and I ended up only going over budget 100 bucks, and that 100 is for accessories. If you ever want suggestions, tips, or help with your place, you know how to reach me.
Hope you enjoyed the little tour of my place. It turned out perfect and I feel more than at home here. In fact... I refuse to move ever again! :P
So I hear constantly from people who are young, just out of school, broke.... that they wish they could do something nice with their place, but money is always a constant problem. Well let me tell you! I definitely feel you on that. There's an easy solution though and it's called designing smart. Part of the issue I feel is that they feel they have to do everything at once, and that's not the case. You can gradually do your home over-time, as money flows in, as you take your time to find things, et cetera. Let's take a look at my own personal home as a reference of how to make your home cozy, cute and done for next to nothing!
When I first moved to California I had nothing but three suitcases of clothes and a laptop. Almost 5 years later and after several moves (each time into a bigger space) I now have a fully-furnished and decorated two bedroom apartment (minus one of the bedrooms, which isn't mine). When I got my first place (on my own) it was a tiny one-bedroom in Koreatown. I literally had nothing when I moved in. So I gave myself a couple hundred bucks and went to ikea. I'm not trying to promote Ikea, because generally, I think their products are crap. It's cheaply made and not meant to last, but if you're like me - young and on a tight budget - it is your best friend for you and your home. BUT don't limit yourself to Ikea. There are other resources for obtaining various odds and ends that will throw in a little eclectic spice into your home. Ikea is a good starting point.
Let's take a look at my living room since that's usually the main space of anyone's home. Heck, it's the first room you walk into in my apartment, so it had better look good!! Below are a couple shots of the living room. (Pardon the quality, it's difficult to get good shots it seems due to size and lighting.)
It looks like a lot if you think about all the "stuff" that occupies the bookshelves and what not, but forget about personal belongings and lets break it down into the basic elements that make this room and why it was cheap! We can start with a shopping list. Ill tell you the item, the cost and where I got it.
Couch: $120 - Bought this off the people I rent my apartment from. They had it in storage. This was a bit of a lucky find, but it is possible to find a nice couch like this as cheap as I did on places like Craigslist!
Lrg Book: $130 - Ikea
Sm Book: $70 - Ikea
Coffee Table: $170 - Ikea
Side Table: $90 - Ikea
Chairs: $100 - Ross - Ross actually seems to frequently carry nice furniture for very little. These two wicker chairs were 50 bucks each and add a unique look to the room. The thing is Ross is it's hit or miss and you should check there often until you find what you're looking for, and check multiple locations too! I think I went to two different stores before I found these chairs.
Rug: $70 - Some random store. I was driving down Pico with my mom and saw this rug in a window and just about crashed the car. I was like "Mom! There's the rug! It's perfect!" It was going for 85 + tax and I bargained with the guy and paid 70 flat. Im not much into negotiating prices.... but, when you're on a budget and buying something at a privately owned store it's a legit and honest thing to do. AND it pays off! (sometimes)
Lamps: $25 - Ikea & BB&B
Paint: $40 - Glidden from Home Depot. Glidden is at the lower end of quality when it comes to interior paints. However it's fine for an apartment. I'm not going to spend 40+ dollars on a gallon of paint for a place that I don't own. Homeowners - spend the extra money and get Behr or something, but renters, don't bother. You're just going to have to paint it back to white when you move out anyway. Two gallons at 20 bucks each allowed me to paint the living/dining and the one wall in the hall (and still have some leftover for future touch-ups!)
Accent Pillows: $20 - Target. Target is also a good place to get accessories and what not, though I find it a little pricey, but it's good stuff.
Art: FREE! I paint. So why pay for art when I can make my own and use my home as a personal gallery. Who know's who might come over and want to buy something, right? Every painting in my apartment I have done myself. If you aren't artistic and want some nice paintings.... be resourceful. This is LA. Surely you must know a starving artist who would paint you something for next to nothing. Heck, i'd paint something for a friend for free if they provided the canvas! And if you aren't in LA or another art meca, try ebay!
Now let's look at the dining room. I don't eat at home much and as it was initially just me, I decided to go with a bar table rather than a traditional table and chairs. And i'm glad I did. It's a clean and simple look and takes up little space. This was probably the cheapest room to do as there is really nothing to it other than the table/stools.
Table: $190 - Ikea Less space consuming than traditional table. Good for saving space, which since i have two rabbit cages in the same area, it works great!
Stools: $35 - Ikea. Not the most comfortable stools, but they work as a temporary solution. Well, could be temporary, they obviously aren't temporary for me as I've had them for years now lol.
Lastly let's check out my bedroom. This room for me is my hiding place from the world so I want it to be comfortable. The configuration you will see is not the first I tried with the space, but the second and now final. I used to have the bed against the wall where the futon is now, but while my ex and I were together I grew tired of climbing over him to get in and out of the bed, so I pushed it just off center of the room to allow access from both sides. I put the futon where the bed was which still allows viewing of the TV, or makes a good place to sit and read with the lamp next to it. Of course since i am in bed usually when watching a movie or playing on the playstation, the TV and Ikea coffee table turned TV stand are across from my bed at the foot. This allows me to comfortably lay in bed and watch whatever. The budget of this room, next to nothing. Here's the breakdown:
Bed: $200 - Craigslist. I love CL. You can find anything on that friggin' site! I just bought a nice Schwinn road bike for 160 bucks the other day. I found this mattress and boxspring, practically new, for 200? I might have even paid a little less than that. AND the guy delivered it and helped me get it upstairs into my apartment. You can find some great buys on CL if you check it regularly during your search.
Coffee Table: $40 - Ikea. This is their low-grade, basic coffee table. I think they will forever carry this item... Super cheap quality, but it works and its a simple look. Just don't expect it to last you for 10 years.
Night Stand: $0 - Obtained this from an old roomate who didn't want it anymore. It's a nice metal tube frame with glass top. Perfect size for me to put all my crap on.
Desk: $0 - Okay i will admit you probably wont get as luck as I got with this, though not many people would even want a drafting table as a desk... but it has a huge surface area. And as you can see in pictures i've posted that have my desk in them, I have a lot of art crap on my desk; paint, markers, printer, paper, files, etc. This was donated to me by a design firm in Orange County. They we're switching from manual drafting to CAD and gave it to me, I just had to show up, figure out how to take it apart, and take it away. I do have a good desk solution for those of you who need a cool desk. I'm not sure the price, I'd have to ask my friend, but essentially you take a white Ikea dining table with a frosted glass top, attach two fluorescent tube lights underneath with a switch, and shazam! You have a cool desk that glows. I think it would be less than 200 bucks to do. Maybe I'll do a blog post about it after I visit him next time.
CD Tower: $20 - Bed Bath and Beyond.
Futon: $100 - Ikea. I think the frame was 70 or so and then I had to buy the mattress separate (I think). This was actually my bed for a very long time. Now I use it as a place for guests to sleep, or somewhere to sit and read.
Lamp: $15 - Ikea
Mirror: $30? - Ikea I think it was around 30. May have been less. Nice look though. Slim frame and a good size.
Altogether I'd say I spent no more than $1200 to do the entire apartment; living, dining, kitchen (not shown because it's just a wall i painted), bedroom and bath (also did not show the bath because its just accessories in there. Nothing fancy.) It's totally doable to do your apartment for next to nothing. I am a guru at decorating on a budget, and I know ikea like the back of my hand. The friend I'm helping right now is on an ikea budget, and let me tell you, she's doing the high-end Ikea stuff. Her budget for the bedroom was 600, and I ended up only going over budget 100 bucks, and that 100 is for accessories. If you ever want suggestions, tips, or help with your place, you know how to reach me.
Hope you enjoyed the little tour of my place. It turned out perfect and I feel more than at home here. In fact... I refuse to move ever again! :P
Monday, August 22, 2011
Funny Flower & Foliage
So today I went to visit a good friend of mine, the lovely Jennifer Sills who is also an artist. We did our typical thing and I was asking her where a good place to get canvas was because Blick is so expensive... and i'd like to get some and start painting again. Well she ended up kicking me a couple cute little canvas' so I came home after grabbing some sushi at Sushi Mac (which is closing forever tomorrow *sad face*) and began painting. I never know what is going to come out, i guess I just start painting and see what happens. Here's the progression, well, not really, but a few pictures of the process and of course the final product.
This first one is what I first started with, it drove me towards the final outcome. It laid out the color and composition in a basic form and then i painted over the entire thing and started to work on what popped into my head based off of that!
My thing is I can't paint on a white canvas. So i always start with some sort of colorful gradient which comes from layers and layers of paint and mixing. Then i start painting. Sometimes, depending on what i'm painting i have to let the paint dry before i continue, but with this painting it was all about mixing and using the wet paint on the canvas. I unfortunately got so into working on it I neglected taking more process photos so the next two are almost done and done. :) Hope you like!
And the final:
Overall time: About an hour. Not bad, eh?
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Summer Day At the Getty
Last week Marchette and I were trying to plan something fun, inexpensive, and mellow. Something other than a night out on the town doing or typical Saturday night thing. She suggested the Getty, and as it's been some time since I have been I thought it was the perfect idea! Yesterday was the day to go and it ended up being perfect. It was a beautiful day (not that we don't usually have them here in sunny so-cal) so I knew it would be great for shooting some nice pictures of the landscaping and architecture.
Something that I love about the Getty is it invokes a sense of simplicity while still paying attention every detail (this museum is detailed very well). Being there reminds me of being in a modern day palace! I love the light color palette, white and sand with metal and glass accents. The travertine square panel system that makes up most of the exterior surfaces total a whopping 1,200,00 sq. ft. Fun fact about the travertine squares: They all resonate sound different, so if you're standing in front of one of the walls you can thump your hand on different squares and they will make different sounds. It's fun :D
One cool piece when you first get off the tram is this sculpture made out of metal tubes. Very fun to photograph. When you stand under it or right next to it has some resemblance of a sail but if you saw it from a distance you may think moth or butterfly. There are some more cool shots of it in my picassa album, which goes for the entire blog entry. I only picked a few pictures to post out of about 150.
Something funny about the Getty is it seems as though a lot of people come just to sit in the gardens, listen to live music and even study! I saw a couple of guys on their MacBooks sitting in the dining terrace. I could see myself doing that. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and its a very relaxing place to be. I actually wish we had spent some more time in the gardens just laying in the grass. The view is also spectacular.
Oh, totally forgot to mention our friend Mica joined us! She got there a bit after us, and by the time she arrived we were both ready for a late lunch. Unfortunately due to our timing both the main cafeteria and the restaurant were closed to we ate at the Garden Terrace Cafe. I had a caesar salad, Marchette had a caprese sandwhich and Mica had some random salad with pistachios and goat cheese. I ended up helping both of them eat theirs after I finished mine. I guess it's justified when my friends call me a hoover vacuum or garbage disposal! LOL!
I think one of my favorite things about the landscaping are all of the water features. They are all differen't and architecturally interesting. Here are a few different water features around the grounds:
We managed to look at everything we wanted to, of course our last stop had to be the Impressionism hall where they have Van Gogh's Iris' and several pieces by Claude Monet. I believe i heard once that the Getty family paid somewhere near 88 million dollars for Iris' back in the 80s! That's crazy money!!! It is a beautiful painting though. The impressionism pieces at the Getty are probably my favorite, followed closely with the pieces (some of the details on the paintings are incredible, they look like photographs!) from the Renaissance era. Lastly the furniture hall with the French Rococo an Neoclassical pieces. Though I have no personal like for traditional furniture, I hold a great detail of respect for the craftsmen who designed them and of course the designers who used the pieces. Though I find traditional spaces generally too ornate, it is beautiful in its own rite.
Overall it was a good afternoon. I highly recommend people visiting Los Angeles to stop by the Getty, and plan on spending AT LEAST 4 hours there. We were there about that long and that was an expedited and speedy visit. It's a huge museum with a ton to see. All art lovers must visit the Getty once in their life! Architects, landscapists, and designers too, it is a must see.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Oh Well
I'm going to keep this post short and sweet.
I was let go from the office today. I am a bit disappointed in the situation and in myself for not being good enough to continue in the position as executive assistant. I tried my hardest given my circumstances of juggling two jobs and working as much as I was. I don't know, I feel like the things he mentioned being issues were things that I could improve upon in time, but apparently he didn't feel that I could. He did complement my organizational skills and said im probably the best librarian he's ever seen in action. He also complemented me as a designer based off what he saw in my portfolio. He wished me the best of luck, apologized for having to let me go, and said if I ever needed a reference he would be more than happy to do so.
Looks like taking the job at intelligentsia was a good move since it's full time. If I was staying at Peet's I would not be able to stay here in LA. I wouldn't make enough money. Things will be very tight even working full-time so I will be beginning my job hunt to find a second part-time gig.
Oh well. Things happen for a reason.
I was let go from the office today. I am a bit disappointed in the situation and in myself for not being good enough to continue in the position as executive assistant. I tried my hardest given my circumstances of juggling two jobs and working as much as I was. I don't know, I feel like the things he mentioned being issues were things that I could improve upon in time, but apparently he didn't feel that I could. He did complement my organizational skills and said im probably the best librarian he's ever seen in action. He also complemented me as a designer based off what he saw in my portfolio. He wished me the best of luck, apologized for having to let me go, and said if I ever needed a reference he would be more than happy to do so.
Looks like taking the job at intelligentsia was a good move since it's full time. If I was staying at Peet's I would not be able to stay here in LA. I wouldn't make enough money. Things will be very tight even working full-time so I will be beginning my job hunt to find a second part-time gig.
Oh well. Things happen for a reason.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
The good, the bad, and the incompetent
Today at the office was fairly mellow again, which is always nice. Nothing too crazy going on, but of course I kept busy. Today I had to run some errands and one of those errands was to go to B&B Hardware to pick up some graphite powder and have duplicate keys made for the toolkits in the back office. The graphite powder apparently works great on fixing locks that stick, and it seems several.... or rather, all, of the locks on site need some TLC. The keys need to be duplicated because, well, if we lose them then we have these giant toolkits full of equipment that we can't access. Seems like a simple enough thing right? Well of course B&B is completely out of graphite powder and they don't have anything comparable to it. Okay. So I can at least get the keys cut. Well, there were two guys cutting keys for people. I got the older gentleman, so I'm assuming he's knowledgeable and knows exactly what he's doing. He quickly whips out two sets (i asked for one set, but figured what they heck, an extra set wouldn't hurt). So I start walking towards the checkout and I'm examining the keys. They don't look like they match the originals. Two were somewhat close, so I thought, maybe they are the same. But the one key.... was SOO wrong. For some reason, I thought it would still work. So I left and went to the office, and sure enough, NONE of the keys worked. Ugh! I have to drive all the way back. Then the other guy ends up helping me, the younger one, who I would have figured would know less than the older guy. I was very wrong. The young guy examines the keys, yells at the older gentleman, then informs me that they can't duplicate the keys. >.< !!!! (#*$#! He says go to a locksmith. I guess tomorrow that's what I will be doing. The point of this little rant is that EVERY hardware store (Home Depot, Lowes, B&B...) I have been to in LA is full of people who do not know what they are doing, nor are they friendly. What is that!? You work in an industry where precision and knowledge is a MUST! Why is it so difficult to hire people who know about that stuff!!?? I don't understand.
The good part of my day started when I arrived at Peet's for my closing shift. One of my lovely customers came in and ordered her drink and asked me if I wanted something from Yogurtland. I told her I was broke and didn't have any cash, and she says "I'm buying!" I don't see her very often, and I don't know why she wanted to buy me frozen yogurt, but I gladly accepted and got a nice little bowl of Dragonfruit yogurt. YUM!!!! THEN it got even better when my co-worker informs me that Chipotle was having their soft-opening this evening and he had a card to get free food. What!? Free Chipotle?? Yes please! So I got a steak burrito with lots of yummyness inside.... FOR FREE! Actually once I finish this blog entry im going to finish eating it.
The bad is that I'm really over working there. I love my office job. It's great. We all know I don't get paid what I should, BUT it's a cool gig and it's related to what I want to eventually be doing, so it's totally worth it. The coffee shop has gone to heck though. I used to really enjoy being there.... but things have changed. Management, employee dedication and passion, etc. Now I'm miserable. I had an interview at Intelligentsia, and they called me today and said "We were really excited about the prospect of you working here, but unfortunately because of your primary job it will not work. We need you full time and you said that after training you would only be able to work several days a week." BOOOO!!!!! I had it! It was mine! 15 bucks an hour at a high-end COOL coffee shop where people actually WANT to be there and work hard! Le sigh. I feel stuck.
I suppose I just need to remain hopeful that I will land that design job sooner rather than later. I'm starting the social-media-networking stuff, working on my online portfolio, and always trying to put my feelers out there. I think I will start checking Craigslist every night when I get home and look for postings. At this point even finding a different job to replace Peet's would be fine until I find a full-time design job. I need to get out of there. I'm nearing wits end.
Anyways! I'm going to the Getty with a friend or two on Saturday and plan on taking lots of fabulous pictures and posting about the trip! So look for that this weekend!!!
The good part of my day started when I arrived at Peet's for my closing shift. One of my lovely customers came in and ordered her drink and asked me if I wanted something from Yogurtland. I told her I was broke and didn't have any cash, and she says "I'm buying!" I don't see her very often, and I don't know why she wanted to buy me frozen yogurt, but I gladly accepted and got a nice little bowl of Dragonfruit yogurt. YUM!!!! THEN it got even better when my co-worker informs me that Chipotle was having their soft-opening this evening and he had a card to get free food. What!? Free Chipotle?? Yes please! So I got a steak burrito with lots of yummyness inside.... FOR FREE! Actually once I finish this blog entry im going to finish eating it.
The bad is that I'm really over working there. I love my office job. It's great. We all know I don't get paid what I should, BUT it's a cool gig and it's related to what I want to eventually be doing, so it's totally worth it. The coffee shop has gone to heck though. I used to really enjoy being there.... but things have changed. Management, employee dedication and passion, etc. Now I'm miserable. I had an interview at Intelligentsia, and they called me today and said "We were really excited about the prospect of you working here, but unfortunately because of your primary job it will not work. We need you full time and you said that after training you would only be able to work several days a week." BOOOO!!!!! I had it! It was mine! 15 bucks an hour at a high-end COOL coffee shop where people actually WANT to be there and work hard! Le sigh. I feel stuck.
I suppose I just need to remain hopeful that I will land that design job sooner rather than later. I'm starting the social-media-networking stuff, working on my online portfolio, and always trying to put my feelers out there. I think I will start checking Craigslist every night when I get home and look for postings. At this point even finding a different job to replace Peet's would be fine until I find a full-time design job. I need to get out of there. I'm nearing wits end.
Anyways! I'm going to the Getty with a friend or two on Saturday and plan on taking lots of fabulous pictures and posting about the trip! So look for that this weekend!!!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Bedroom Things, Work and Fun!
I've decided I need to start using my camera more, and while I may not have the fanciest of cameras, it takes okay photographs. So here are a few pictures of miscellaneous things around my room. I decided to try using sepia. I usually always do full color, but thought this would be a nice change. I kind of like it! Anyway, here they are!
In other news I'm anxious for tomorrow. I'm meeting up with a friend to start her apartment makeover. We will be choosing paint colors, coming up with a rough space plan of the apartment, start doing some catalogue shopping, The first thing will be her bedroom, which she has pretty much given me the reins to do whatever I want. All she has is a bed. So, i'll look at the bed and go from there. It's an ikea budget project, which is fine. Simple and contemporary is ikea and is what I do and do well.
The living room and other common areas will be next, but since she has a room mate we have to all sit down together and go over things. I'm looking forward to seeing the space, apparently it's a good sized apartment. Hopefully we can bust this out in the next month or two. Definitely excited to have something real to put in my portfolio, mind you it's a decorating job. Who cares though! It shows that I have an eye for what looks good.
On a non-design related note, I hit up Six Flags Magic Mountain today. Will post the pics to Picasa so they should be available for viewing soon. Of course I will also upload them on Facebook. Unfortunately, typical me, I didn't charge the battery so I only have a few shots. I actually havent looked at them yet either. Hopefully they turned out alright! Anyways, Im going back next month for Out on the Mountain. I think I may get a season pass next year. I LOVE that place. It's the big kid in me.
That's all for now!
In other news I'm anxious for tomorrow. I'm meeting up with a friend to start her apartment makeover. We will be choosing paint colors, coming up with a rough space plan of the apartment, start doing some catalogue shopping, The first thing will be her bedroom, which she has pretty much given me the reins to do whatever I want. All she has is a bed. So, i'll look at the bed and go from there. It's an ikea budget project, which is fine. Simple and contemporary is ikea and is what I do and do well.
The living room and other common areas will be next, but since she has a room mate we have to all sit down together and go over things. I'm looking forward to seeing the space, apparently it's a good sized apartment. Hopefully we can bust this out in the next month or two. Definitely excited to have something real to put in my portfolio, mind you it's a decorating job. Who cares though! It shows that I have an eye for what looks good.
On a non-design related note, I hit up Six Flags Magic Mountain today. Will post the pics to Picasa so they should be available for viewing soon. Of course I will also upload them on Facebook. Unfortunately, typical me, I didn't charge the battery so I only have a few shots. I actually havent looked at them yet either. Hopefully they turned out alright! Anyways, Im going back next month for Out on the Mountain. I think I may get a season pass next year. I LOVE that place. It's the big kid in me.
That's all for now!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Mr. Assistant
Well, the office organization has ceased for the moment. All that's left is to go through the filing cabinets (a very daunting task), update the library, and a few miscellaneous loose ends. So, today the first thing I am told as Im walking in picking up the mail is that I will be spending the day working on the interior design specifications sheets for the project we're doing. Yay! Not new news, as it's something he asked me to take on awhile back, but as of late I haven't been doing it. I am pleased that he is trusting me with the task, since it's not an easy one and it requires extreme attention to detail. I mean, if I put 300 instead of 30 on gallons of paint.... well you do the math. That's an expensive mistake!
Specifying!! That's what I started to do. This involves calling our vendors to get pricing, calculating total costs based on sq. ft., et cetera. Then in the middle of it I was asked to pick several paint swatches from Dunn Edwards. Off-whites. He gave me a base color as a reference and let me choose from there. I know it's not much, but seeing as how I'm really an executive assistant, being able to dabble even a little in the design part of the office makes me a happy camper!
I think my job, though it's nothing near what I want to be doing, is very cool for what it is and I'm thankful to have it. (I just wished he paid me better) Hopefully something comes up soon. I think making an online version of my portfolio will be a viable tool in my job hunt, and i've re-joined twitter in hopes of professional networking!
Well. That's about it for the day. Peet's was.... Peet's. I have nothing too terrible to say about the closing shift, and nothing great to say either other than I worked with Jason, which is always a pleasure. I'm hoping Marcia Cross comes in again soon, I want to ask her if she knows any designers! I think i may invite her to the musical im in as well, though that's not until February, so maybe its premature to ask lol
Specifying!! That's what I started to do. This involves calling our vendors to get pricing, calculating total costs based on sq. ft., et cetera. Then in the middle of it I was asked to pick several paint swatches from Dunn Edwards. Off-whites. He gave me a base color as a reference and let me choose from there. I know it's not much, but seeing as how I'm really an executive assistant, being able to dabble even a little in the design part of the office makes me a happy camper!
I think my job, though it's nothing near what I want to be doing, is very cool for what it is and I'm thankful to have it. (I just wished he paid me better) Hopefully something comes up soon. I think making an online version of my portfolio will be a viable tool in my job hunt, and i've re-joined twitter in hopes of professional networking!
Well. That's about it for the day. Peet's was.... Peet's. I have nothing too terrible to say about the closing shift, and nothing great to say either other than I worked with Jason, which is always a pleasure. I'm hoping Marcia Cross comes in again soon, I want to ask her if she knows any designers! I think i may invite her to the musical im in as well, though that's not until February, so maybe its premature to ask lol
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
The Beginning
Well I have decided to start this lovely little blog to share events, photography, poetry and more from my life in good ol' Los Angeles. I figured it would be a nice way to keep my family and close friends in the loop, as we all know I'm terrible about calling and snail mail is right out. With that said here's a bit of news!!!
I auditioned for the musical Kiss of the Spiderwoman a couple weeks ago. My singing was spot on, my read totally sucked, so I left unsure of how well it did or did not go. Apparently it didn't go so bad, I had a callback the following week. The callback was strictly dancing... and lord let me tell you. I worked late that day, so by the time I got there everyone had already spent almost 30 minutes learning the dance, so I felt like I was being thrown into a whirlwind, and I know for certain that I looked like a cross between an epileptic kid and a chicken with it's head cut off. Thankfully dancing comes naturally and by the end of the night I knew it better than most of the other guys there. Well, the point of this lovely little story is I was cast officially two days ago. I didn't get the speaking roll I was considered for, which is just as well. The commitment of a major roll on top of my crazy 60+ hour work week would be too much I think. The other nice bit is we have almost six months to put the show together, so the rehearsal schedule shouldn't be too intense! Woot!
As for my employment situation out of school... still no job. I was being considered for a position at an architecture and interior design firm called Wolcott Architecture and Interiors (very good firm), but they offered it to someone else. I have not become completely discouraged, and I think I will give LA another year before I start looking elsewhere (I'm thinking San Francisco Portland, Seattle, Miami, Chicago, and New York). I really have made LA my home though and I'd be sad if I had to leave, but if I can get work somewhere else, I may have to. In the meantime I'm still at the coffee shop (Peet's) and working as the executive assistant at Delta H Design, Inc. which is a small architecture firm specializing in studio acoustics... blah blah blah. :) I have an interview at a new coffee shop though on Friday called Intelligentsia! They are a high-end coffee shop and very particular about their coffee. AND they do latte art, free pour only. That's right up my alley. So keep your fingers crossed. They would probably pay more and they offer benefits and full time which would be great in case I get laid of from Delta, again. Yes I was laid off after working here for two months and just recently started again.
One last little bit of what's going on in my life... I have said dating is for the birds and to hell with it. It's too much effort and time and energy that I just don't have right now. I'm so engulfed in work and soon to be musical that it's just not worth it. I think it's really great that so many of my friends and family are in relationships, have/having kids, etc.... but it's just not for me right now. It never really has been thinking about it... I think i'm happy as a free-spirited bachelor. That's the life I live and I'm rather content with it, for now.
Well that's about it. I will do my best to start posting some old poetry on here, some photography, maybe some art work or work I've done in school... OH. And i definitely am planning on starting to write more, and hopefully pick up the brush and start painting too. And sketching... yes. Lots of things to do, which brings me to ONE last though so I lied when I said that was it.
Recently at work I was asked to restructure and organize the office. This entitled going through things, throwing things out, labeling, sorting, filing, making maps, and so on. I spent about a week on it, and though im not done, the office is in way better shape than before. It inspired me to do the same thing on a much larger scale involving my personal life. I'm already very organized, tidy, etc. but I knew I could take it a step further. So I went through my apartment, well my bedroom, and purged. Two trash bags of old papers and crap I don't need and three bags of clothes to donate. I bought a label maker and have folders for all my various documents, labeled by what they are. Everything is clean and in it's place now. Then I did the same with my laptop. I've kept things fairly organized on my computer over the years, but I had some folders such as "File Me" on my dekstop. I cleaned up a lot of stuff. It felt good. I also decided to have this zen kick, so I have peaceful imagery that changes every minute as my background on my laptop AND my work computer. I even got my debit card custom made to have an image of a Japanese temple with a beautiful pond and landscaping. I'm trying to get back into the habit of putting EVERYTHING on my calendar and syncing my phone every other day or so. Let's hope that I can keep this up indefinitely, because it just feels good to be organized. There's more but I think I've ranted about enough by now, so I'll leave it at that.
Until next time... Ado.
I auditioned for the musical Kiss of the Spiderwoman a couple weeks ago. My singing was spot on, my read totally sucked, so I left unsure of how well it did or did not go. Apparently it didn't go so bad, I had a callback the following week. The callback was strictly dancing... and lord let me tell you. I worked late that day, so by the time I got there everyone had already spent almost 30 minutes learning the dance, so I felt like I was being thrown into a whirlwind, and I know for certain that I looked like a cross between an epileptic kid and a chicken with it's head cut off. Thankfully dancing comes naturally and by the end of the night I knew it better than most of the other guys there. Well, the point of this lovely little story is I was cast officially two days ago. I didn't get the speaking roll I was considered for, which is just as well. The commitment of a major roll on top of my crazy 60+ hour work week would be too much I think. The other nice bit is we have almost six months to put the show together, so the rehearsal schedule shouldn't be too intense! Woot!
As for my employment situation out of school... still no job. I was being considered for a position at an architecture and interior design firm called Wolcott Architecture and Interiors (very good firm), but they offered it to someone else. I have not become completely discouraged, and I think I will give LA another year before I start looking elsewhere (I'm thinking San Francisco Portland, Seattle, Miami, Chicago, and New York). I really have made LA my home though and I'd be sad if I had to leave, but if I can get work somewhere else, I may have to. In the meantime I'm still at the coffee shop (Peet's) and working as the executive assistant at Delta H Design, Inc. which is a small architecture firm specializing in studio acoustics... blah blah blah. :) I have an interview at a new coffee shop though on Friday called Intelligentsia! They are a high-end coffee shop and very particular about their coffee. AND they do latte art, free pour only. That's right up my alley. So keep your fingers crossed. They would probably pay more and they offer benefits and full time which would be great in case I get laid of from Delta, again. Yes I was laid off after working here for two months and just recently started again.
One last little bit of what's going on in my life... I have said dating is for the birds and to hell with it. It's too much effort and time and energy that I just don't have right now. I'm so engulfed in work and soon to be musical that it's just not worth it. I think it's really great that so many of my friends and family are in relationships, have/having kids, etc.... but it's just not for me right now. It never really has been thinking about it... I think i'm happy as a free-spirited bachelor. That's the life I live and I'm rather content with it, for now.
Well that's about it. I will do my best to start posting some old poetry on here, some photography, maybe some art work or work I've done in school... OH. And i definitely am planning on starting to write more, and hopefully pick up the brush and start painting too. And sketching... yes. Lots of things to do, which brings me to ONE last though so I lied when I said that was it.
Recently at work I was asked to restructure and organize the office. This entitled going through things, throwing things out, labeling, sorting, filing, making maps, and so on. I spent about a week on it, and though im not done, the office is in way better shape than before. It inspired me to do the same thing on a much larger scale involving my personal life. I'm already very organized, tidy, etc. but I knew I could take it a step further. So I went through my apartment, well my bedroom, and purged. Two trash bags of old papers and crap I don't need and three bags of clothes to donate. I bought a label maker and have folders for all my various documents, labeled by what they are. Everything is clean and in it's place now. Then I did the same with my laptop. I've kept things fairly organized on my computer over the years, but I had some folders such as "File Me" on my dekstop. I cleaned up a lot of stuff. It felt good. I also decided to have this zen kick, so I have peaceful imagery that changes every minute as my background on my laptop AND my work computer. I even got my debit card custom made to have an image of a Japanese temple with a beautiful pond and landscaping. I'm trying to get back into the habit of putting EVERYTHING on my calendar and syncing my phone every other day or so. Let's hope that I can keep this up indefinitely, because it just feels good to be organized. There's more but I think I've ranted about enough by now, so I'll leave it at that.
Until next time... Ado.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)