that rosebud girl

The 2010 to-do list update, May edition

Wow, it’s already May? Where does the time go?

If you noticed, I skipped the April edition of this update because, well, I was out of the country. Haven’t made too much progress because I apparently spent most of my April either out of the country or just out of town, period. I think I’ve also come to terms with the fact that some of these items definitely will get shoved into next year’s list.

Here we go:

• Learn how to sew.

Still unsuccessful. However, I have an open day coming up. Maybe I’ll finish that bag I started a year and a half ago…

• Run a 5K in under 30 minutes.

Uh, nope. I could have run a couple of 5Ks next month, too, but alas, I will be — you guessed it — out of town.

• Lose 30 pounds by August so that my knees don’t cry when I do ballet (or run, for that matter). Do you know how hard it is to lift all my current weight on five toes?!

Uh, not looking good here either. For both those things.

• Return to the dance studio in August (it’s been way too long).

Sadly, I may have to put this on the shelf. We’ll see.

• Learn how to silkscreen/screenprint.
• Take up painting.

Someday….

• Double the money I made in freelance.

The work keeps coming, and I can’t complain.

• Do Eppie’s Great Race as part of a relay team (I can kayak, anyone want to run and bike with me?).

Taking this off the list for this year. It’s definitely not going to happen.

• Redesign my design portfolio site.

OK, so now that the HOW Conference is around the corner, I just ordered new business cards AND my name is appearing in a sourcebook, I really have to do this. And in two weeks. Yipes.

• Redesign my personal website (it’s like, 10 years out of date).

Who knows, maybe doing my portfolio might jumpstart something…

• Have an actual, fancy, hard-bound design portfolio before the HOW Conference in June.

Probably won’t have this done, either.

• Dye my first batch of yarn.
• Make something with the weaving loom that’s been sitting in my closet for the last three years.
• Finally use the needlefelting kit I bought in 2005.

Crafting. I forgot what that is.

• Repeat this year’s success at craft shows and maybe even double that monetary output.

I’m plugging away at that. At least there’s Renegade Craft Fair this July…

• Keep my billion blogs up-to-date.
• Actually market and pay attention to my craft shops.

I need 40 hours in the day to do this…

• Actually market and get more freelance clients.

Well, I keep getting inquiries, so I must be doing something right.

• Kick ass in general.

Always am, no matter where I seem to wind up.

Coachella 2010 rocked out!

Another awesome year at Coachella with Ed and Edgar. We really lucked out with good weather this year … it wasn’t brutally hot. And we saw a ton if bands, even more than last year.

The complete list of whom we saw:

Friday:
* Calle 13
* Hockey (partial)
* She & Him
* The Specials (partial)
* Them Crooked Vultures
* the last three Echo and the Bunnymen songs (including Lips Like Sugar)
* Jay-Z

Saturday:
* Old Crow Medicine Show (partial)
* White Rabbits
* Tokyo Police Club
* Coheed and Cambria
* Faith No More
* Muse
* Devo

Sunday:
* De La Soul
* Sunny Day Real Estate
* Spoon
* Pavement
* Thom Yorke
* Gorillaz (most of it)

It was a pretty solid three days. Saturday might have been my favorite, what with the awesomeness that was Muse (I was going insane in the pit). But my favorite next to Muse might have been Faith No More.

We were at FNM mostly because we wanted a good spot for Muse. (well, we camped out four bands before to ensure good spots.) We didn’t know what to expect, since Faith No More hit its heyday when we were in middle and high school. But they rocked, got the pit warmed up, and really had fun. Great stage presence, great showmanship. They kicked things off by covering Peaches & Herb’s “Reunited,” which was a nice touch. But overall, they really were a lot of fun. Especially when the lead singer decided to crowd surf and wound up above me. And when they played “Epic” and the moshing was, well, epic.

Thom Yorke on Sunday was also another favorite of ours. He went from rave party to solo acoustic set back to rave party seamlessly. He did one song that he sampled right on stage, which was awesome. The two Radiohead songs he did solo and acoustic were solid choices: “Airbag” and “Everything in its Right Place.” Oh, and Flea was his bassist. Uh, yeah. That kicked ass.

Other highlights:

* Muse puts on a hell of a show. Whether you love or hate their latest album, if you like them at all, they are a must-see live, if only to marvel at the fact that they have just one traveling musician and can produce such a full sound with only four dudes. The crowd at Coachella was also pretty lively, which just added to the experience.

* We got really close for Them Crooked Vultures. Dave Grohl is crazy to watch in person, and Josh Homme is terrific, but the real treat was watching John Paul Jones play a million instruments. He was amazing. I want to be that talented. Maybe I’ll get there when I’m 80.

* I don’t go to a lot of hip hop shows usually. I end up seeing those kinds of acts at Coachella (like Lupe Fiasco last year). I am continually amazed by the backup bands that perform with the hip hop acts. Jay-Z’s band was terrific. Of course, he was pretty awesome too.

* On Friday, we went from Hockey (fun stuff) to She & Him, and Edgar commented to me, “We just went from the 1970s to 1950.” It was funny. Seriously, both acts were solid and I’ll be checking them out.

* In the quest to get as close to Muse as possible, we camped out at the main stage on Saturday. The first act we were treated to was White Rabbits, whom we knew nothing about. We were fans by the end. Lovely, textured sound, great percussion, and their lead singer plays a mean piano. As Ed put it, they might have been the best band we saw that we had never heard of before this weekend.

* I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to see Phoenix. I could hear their set in the distance in between Spoon and Pavement. It sounded pretty sweet.

* One of the coolest things we saw this weekend: During the Old Crow Medicine Show set – pretty cool bluegrass – one guy busted a string on his guitar, ran to the side, took it off, replaced it, tuned the guitar, and returned to singing and playing with the rest of the band in about 20 seconds. Now that’s a pro.

This is what makes Coachella the event I look forward to every year. Already waiting for next year.

And of course I’ll be buying a ton of music in the next day or two.

The journey across the Pacific

Sadly, my vacation was over a week ago, but a few random thoughts after 10 days across the other pond in Guam and Japan:

* Guam heat is nothing compared to Sacramento summer heat. It makes a 100-degree Sacramento summer day feel like a day at the North Pole. I don’t know how Mom and Dad function. I don’t know how I managed to function there for 17 years.

* I miss swimming in the ocean. Going to a Guam beach also reminds me why I am a beach snob. Sorry, Hawai’i. You have nothing on Matapang Beach in Guam. Or Ritidian.

* The more things change, the more they stay the same. Guam has a few new buildings and additions, but it really is more or less the same place. It was a fun trip back in time.

* There is something about sleeping in your childhood bed and walking around your childhood house after 12 years that is … weird. I really can’t describe it.

* The Japanese are unparalleled in their politeness and hospitality. You could walk into a convenience store here and buy a bag of chips and every single person on the staff will thank you and greet you at least twice. And everyone says “sumimasen” a lot (that means “excuse me”).

* Japanese baseball is a crazy and fun experience that all baseball fans should take in. They know how to do this baseball thing right: Every team has a pep band, they bang drums, fans chant and wave flags the entire time, there are cheerleaders, you can buy mini bottles of Suntory whiskey in the stands, and I managed to munch on edamame while watching the game. Awesome. Oh, and every team has a ridiculous mascot, which speaks to my love of ridiculous mascots and characters. (The Hiroshima Toyo Carp’s mascot looks like the Phillie Phanatic, so of course I had to buy one…)

* Japanese food is amazing and delicious, and I could live inside a Japanese bakery. And yet, I never saw a single fat Japanese person in five days here — except the sumo dudes on TV.

Man, I want to go back to Japan. Badly. Not that Guam was chopped liver or anything!

It was a refreshing break. But the photo editing has barely begun!

The 2010 to-do list update, March edition

One thing I have learned about myself: the potential for public shame just isn’t a big enough motivator sometimes. Or maybe it is. Whatever. All I know is that the to-do list is kicking my ass right now and I should probably get back on track. The score is probably something like To-Do List 15, Jenn 1. *sigh*

The list (which, I swear, I will conquer this year … or at least rack up a winning percentage):

• Learn how to sew.

No progress on that, but my crafting partner in crime is busy with other important life things.

• Run a 5K in under 30 minutes.

OK, so I ran a 5K on Super Bowl Sunday. It took me 41 minutes. I conked out at the 2 1/2 mile mark. And that’s pretty pathetic.

Admittedly, finding training time is downright impossible. But I do plan to run a race in April. We’ll see if my knees will survive.

• Lose 30 pounds by August so that my knees don’t cry when I do ballet (or run, for that matter). Do you know how hard it is to lift all my current weight on five toes?!

Uh, let’s just say I a) haven’t stepped on a scale in weeks and b) am pretty sure the needle is creeping in the wrong direction. Rain has prevented me from taking most of my daily walks. But I’ve rediscovered ice skating and have taken it up again … doesn’t that count as exercise?

• Return to the dance studio in August (it’s been way too long).

Again, this is sketchy. Maybe I’ll decide I want to do figure skating lessons instead. Or maybe I won’t have time in the fall. My crystal ball is murky.

• Learn how to silkscreen/screenprint.
• Take up painting.

Any art-related endeavors have sadly, hit the back burner. And they’ll likely stay there until the summer.

• Double the money I made in freelance.

Well, I’m on a good pace so far. But there were also some giant expenses (hello, subcontractor … and that thing called the HOW Design Conference).

• Do Eppie’s Great Race as part of a relay team (I can kayak, anyone want to run and bike with me?).

I would be kidding myself if I said I could do said race. I would laugh myself right into next year.

• Redesign my design portfolio site.

Uh, can there be 36 hours in a day? And 9 days a week? Please?

• Redesign my personal website (it’s like, 10 years out of date).

See above.

• Have an actual, fancy, hard-bound design portfolio before the HOW Conference in June.

Uh, try again. Consider this will take some planning and actual photographic set up, I might have to shelve this for a little while. Like until May. But at least by then I’ll have learned how to light all my portfolio material properly and take the pictures….

• Dye my first batch of yarn.
• Make something with the weaving loom that’s been sitting in my closet for the last three years.
• Finally use the needlefelting kit I bought in 2005.

Dang it, crafting … I miss you so.

• Repeat this year’s success at craft shows and maybe even double that monetary output.

Well, if I could just finish that custom order that’s been on my docket forever ….

Also, craft show season is starting up. I’m booked for most Second Saturdays. So, get ready for the advertising blitz! (And buy stuff, won’tcha?)

• Keep my billion blogs up-to-date.

OK, so maybe I need 40 hours in a day and 10 days in a week.

• Actually market and pay attention to my craft shops.

This might get easier once craft show season starts. Or not.

• Actually market and get more freelance clients.

Well, marketing is awfully hard without a portfolio site, smarty pants! *Kicks self* But my name has been making the rounds, and there are legit inquiries. Now imagine what would happen if I did marketing….

• Kick ass in general.

Always am. Been kicking the tar out of several project to-do lists too … just not these big to-dos!

The 2010 to-do list update, February edition

So, back in January, I wrote this post about my to-do list for 2010 and thought it might be nice to update my progress every month. For starters, it would make me feel more accountable for my lameness. Secondly, letting the whole world know what a total non-starter I am might shame me into getting off my butt to do stuff.

Not sure if either ploy really works, but hey, at least I got some stuff done.

Now, the update.

This is the list:

• Learn how to sew.

OK, I haven’t learned how to sew yet. This is mainly because the person who is going to teach me to sew (Lisa) is really busy with more important stuff right now. But we’ll get there, hopefully.

• Run a 5K in under 30 minutes.

Well … I am running a 5K on Super Bowl Sunday. Only because of peer pressure — Ed is running the race because his sister is flying up here to run the 10K version. I didn’t want to look like the lame de la Fuente. However, I might be lame after doing this race. Doubtful I’ll do this in 30 minutes. I have not run in a while (bad, bad, bad me for not training).

• Lose 30 pounds by August so that my knees don’t cry when I do ballet (or run, for that matter).

I was doing OK with this until the end of the month. I was walking 3-4 miles every morning until the middle of January, when someone decreed it should rain torrentially every day for two weeks. At one point, I had lost six pounds. But I stepped on the scale this morning and had only lost a measly 3.5 pounds from my Jan. 1 weigh-in. I blame a rash of late January parties (OK, I have no self-control).

• Return to the dance studio in August (it’s been way too long).

Sadly, this may depend more on money than fitness. But we’ll see.

• Learn how to silkscreen/screenprint.

No movement on that front yet.

• Take up painting.

See above.

• Double the money I made in freelance.

I had some big projects left over from the end of last year, so there has been cash. Unfortunately, there were a lot of expenses too (like paying for the HOW Conference and Creative Freelancer Conference) and various bills, so I still feel a little poor.

• Do Eppie’s Great Race as part of a relay team (I can kayak, anyone want to run and bike with me?).

Well, if I don’t get fit, this ain’t happening!

• Redesign my design portfolio site.

No progress here. But I have been busy with other stuff.

• Redesign my personal website (it’s like, 10 years out of date).

Zilch.

• Have an actual, fancy, hard-bound design portfolio before the HOW Conference in June.

Zilch here too.

• Dye my first batch of yarn.

Super duper zilch.

• Make something with the weaving loom that’s been sitting in my closet for the last three years.

Have I mentioned that I haven’t really done any crafting lately?

• Finally use the needlefelting kit I bought in 2005.

See above.

• Repeat this year’s success at craft shows and maybe even double that monetary output.

Well … I do have a show in March. Does that count?

• Keep my billion blogs up-to-date.

Dropped the ball on this one too. I cry for my indie*galore blog.

• Actually market and pay attention to my craft shops.

Again, the lack of crafting is a problem. Not to mention lack of time.

• Actually market and get more freelance clients.

I have been fielding inquiries and talking to people. But having a portfolio site would really help in this department …

• Take a photography class.

OMG! Something I can check off! I’m taking an intermediate photography class at Sac City this semester. I am ridiculously excited about it. I’m also having fun. I even invested in a new lens. Woot!

• Kick ass in general.

Well, I’m always trying, aren’t I?

Let the insanity begin!

Somehow, I thought taking three classes this semester at Sac City was going to be a good idea. Like I wasn’t doing anything else. Pshaw. But I’d taken a semester off and was feeling the itch to learn new things. And to think creatively in another way. Etc., etc., etc.

I’m really excited though about all my classes. I had to add everything at the last minute, so I’m glad I also got into those classes. (Well, knowing the teachers probably helped. Not to mention being able to tote around my own computer with all the software). I’m doing the student-run graphic design studio class (kickass projects), learning After Effects (yay to animation and motion graphicky stuff) and finally taking a photography class.

I don’t think I’ve taken this many units at City in a few years. The workload will be pretty insane. But I do like the idea of being able to do some new things. The studio class is working on a few high-profile projects and some multimedia stuff, plus I get to go back to my print roots and produce a nice piece for a show later in the year.

Photography has me especially excited since I own a dSLR now and I’ve been wanting to take a serious photography class for years. The assignments should be a lot of fun (and take a long time). Looking at previous students’ portfolios absolutely blew my mind! And I’ve got some fun travel plans, like going to Guam and Japan, and really hope to take some awesome photos there.

I might be regretting the time crunch come March, but well, insanity is the only way I know, right?

Aboard the fitness wagon

It’s the start of the year and of course, I had a few fitness and weight related goals for the year. I’ve gone up and down both the weight and fitness roller coasters more times than I can count, and I know how hard it can be to stick to something. You need changes you can live with.

As the old adage says, you have to walk before you run.

Inspired by that, and several friends who have written about their weightloss journeys and writing about their not-so-scary daily routines, I’ve decided I would do a daily walk. Varying distance, but at least a couple of miles.

Every day.

It’s quite a commitment but one I think I can live with. I like walking. I live in a neighborhood where it’s easy to walk and change the route regularly. I plan to walk when I wake up, no matter the time.

I see it as a Zen moment. It gives me time to think, time to solve problems in my head, time to think about the day’s tasks. I’m a brisk walker, so it’s not like I’m not getting some kind of benefit. But I tend to work better later in the day, so it’s not like I’m going to have a time crunch.

It’s a change I think I can live with.

Of course, I’ll throw in more exercise down the road. Like jumping back into Couch to 5K (I’ll probably start back at week 4 or something) and biking when it’s not as cold.

But I’m walking before I run.

The 2010 to-do list

Normally, I don’t really care about resolutions and crap like that. But I like lists. I really like to-do lists. They’ve really helped me keep my life straight (especially since I jumped ship and went freelance). So, here’s the list of stuff I’d like to accomplish in 2010. Some things may be near impossible, some much easier, but there’s something about seeing them on paper (yes, I have a paper version) that makes them seem more real.

Here it is (in no particular order, really):

• Learn how to sew.
• Run a 5K in under 30 minutes.
• Lose 30 pounds by August so that my knees don’t cry when I do ballet (or run, for that matter). Do you know how hard it is to lift all my current weight on five toes?!
• Return to the dance studio in August (it’s been way too long).
• Learn how to silkscreen/screenprint.
• Take up painting.
• Double the money I made in freelance.
• Do Eppie’s Great Race as part of a relay team (I can kayak, anyone want to run and bike with me?).
• Redesign my design portfolio site.
• Redesign my personal website (it’s like, 10 years out of date).
• Have an actual, fancy, hard-bound design portfolio before the HOW Conference in June.
• Dye my first batch of yarn.
• Make something with the weaving loom that’s been sitting in my closet for the last three years.
• Finally use the needlefelting kit I bought in 2005.
• Repeat this year’s success at craft shows and maybe even double that monetary output.
• Keep my billion blogs up-to-date.
• Actually market and pay attention to my craft shops.
• Actually market and get more freelance clients.
• Take a photography class.
• Kick ass in general.

Just for fun, I think I might blog about this list every month in 2010 and monitor my progress. Again, some of this stuff is harder than others. Some of it may not be accomplished, but I put it out there to push me and well, miracles might happen.

See ya, decade of Aughts!

It’s almost the end of 2009. Kind of mind-blowing, considering I thought I woke up the other day and it was February 2009 and I was at a Super Bowl party watching the Steelers win an exciting game. Where the hell did time go?

It was a good year. It was a bad year. Probably marginally better than 2008.

I changed careers. I got laid off from a job. It gave me the impetus to leave the working world for the freelance life and I’m proud to say that I will never enter the working world again. I traded in one set of problems for a different set of problems when I made the jump, but I can honestly say that it was worth it.

I reconnected with a lot of friends. I reconnected with the SoCal gal in me. I felt like a jet-setter, flitting off to wherever during the fall. For better or for worse, I was living the kind of unstructured, free-spirited life that fit my personality.

I kind of forgot that this was the end of a decade. 2000 was a hell of a long time ago. 2009 was a year of monumental changes, and in a way, that’s apropos considering these Aughts were a decade of change.

When 2000 started, I was in my last year of college and graduated at the end of the year. I was kicking ass, taking names, getting ready to get out of L.A. and embark on that sportswriting career I’d wanted since I was 13.

In the next nine years, I’d live in three states, work for four newspapers, cover exactly one NCAA women’s basketball tournament game, learn about 10 new hobbies (including ice skating!), hold countless side jobs (ballet teacher and tax preparer being among them), get married, buy two houses, acquire the third of three cats, add at least 15 states to the list of states I’d set foot in, start two businesses, change career arcs at least three times, change actual careers once, get laid off once, start a band side project and meet countless amazing people along the way.

When 2009 ends, I’ll be 10 years older, looking forward to growing as a designer, thinking of new things to conquer, kicking ass and taking names. I guess some things never change.

I think this decade has brought me some of the best friendships I’ve ever had in life and some of the most meaningful ones. You are all fricking awesome and you know who you are.

Cheers.

Fighting the good fight

Normally, the news that one of my nearest and dearest friends from college is getting engaged is wonderful news, but this piece of news was so poignant and bittersweet.

Mark is my best friend from college. He’s one of the kindest, gentlest souls I have ever known. He never spoke ill of peope, didn’t swear or drink, was deeply spiritual and God-fearing (pretty much all the things I wasn’t). He wasn’t in-your-face about anything and the perfect foil to my um, not so even-tempered demeanor.

Just before I left college, Mark told me he was gay. He struggled a bit with this, trying to reconcile that with his faith. But he eventually learned to deal with it on his own terms and embrace who he was.

And recently came the news he wanted to propose to his partner of two and a half years, knowing full well they wouldn’t be able to marry here in California. He wanted to do it anyway, to express the fact he wanted to spend he rest of his life with this man. Mark wrote this eloquent email to his friends telling us all this, and it was very moving to see him wanting to move forward in the face of what he knew to be the facts.

I commend Mark for his courage. And his unwavering optimism. Because that’s who he is. I don’t think he’s capable of cynicism. And the rebel in me has to smile because he’s sticking it to the man in his own way.

He’s fighting the good fight, and I will fight it along with him. And I’ll do it his way, without bombast and harsh words and actions. Because his gentle way, I think, speaks more volumes than shouting and placards do.

I wish him the best of luck.