aghhhh…..

I love learning lessons of life the hard way…

things i’ve been doing/ diggin

Banjo

I started plucking at the banjo in January because my roomate has one and can play a little bit. Joanne, my roomate started teaching me how to strum the banjo, then I started to get interested. Kat, another roomate- her father plays banjo and offered to give me free lessons, which I of course graciously took. There ya go, I’ve been learning the Earl Scruggs finger- picking style since January. It has been great, I have written two songs which are awesomely sappy yet folky (I like to think). I have also learned how to play Worried Man by Earl Scruggs.

Here is Worried Man:

That guy is also super cool by the way. I only wish I had hunted that many deer to mount on my wall.

Tap Dance

So I have all this free time since I’m not in school right now, and I also recently received my income tax returns- two awesome things. So I decided to treat myself and buy some tap shoes and learn how to tap dance. I’ve always wanted to learn. I’m thinking I am going to use most of my time off to learn a bunch of random skills- perhaps I’ll tack on ribbon dancing, steel drumming or juggling. Basically I want to become this amazing, multi- talented street performer so I can quit school. Anywho, I learned a few steps off of YouTube and then signed up for a beginners tap class on Saturdays in Greenlake. I went to my first class last week, and me oh my… it was so much fun! I love how tap dancing is so rhythmic and musical. Tap dancers are also considered rhythmic musicians by the way- Wikipedia says so. We also learned this cute little dance to a show tune, I was so happy.

How cool are the Nicholas Brothers.

Thrift Shopping/ Fashion

i love the lace top and Vancouver

like the denim jacket and converse

dark florals yes

boots, denim vest, dog and hula hoop

classic casual

love the sweater

comfy

These pictures are all from lookbook.nu. I hope I don’t get into any copyright mess for this. I guess I’ll find out. I love all those outfits and lookbook has become this awful new way for me to waste more time on the computer.

Mayer Hawthorne

Mayer Hawthorne is a singer, producer, and multi- instrumentalist part of the label Stones Throw. His music sounds like soul from the 1960’s and 1970’s, his influences are ” Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, and Barry White” and inspirations are “Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield, and the legendary songwriting and production trio of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Eddie Holland Jr.” (Ronnie Reese, Wax Poetics / Rollingstone.com)

I went and saw Mayer Hawthorne along with James Pants, Dam Funk and Peanut Butterwolf on their Stonesthrow Dj set tour at Chop Suey on April 25th. I have to say I was very pissed to have sat through James Pants for an hour to only hear three of Mayer Hawthorne songs. I was so bummed. I guess Mayer Hawthorne’s band wasn’t there? I don’t know what the deal was. I caught a bit of Dam Funk and he sounded pretty good, we danced to him for a while. Peanut Butterwolf was also awesome. I’m just not that into watching a guy look at his Mac, however intense he his nodding his head, or however cool the videos/ slides he is displaying. We ended up leaving early.

Here is a song from Mayer Hawthorne. He was absolutely adorable and charming onstage.

That’s about it for now. Goodnight.

time for an update

So I make these lists about things I want to do/ accomplish/ be. I’ve been making them since high school and I have several little notebooks full of all these lists (some about other things besides myself). I started looking through them the other day and found them to be pretty amusing and interesting because of how my interests have changed over time, or how much I had “checked off” on that list.

Here are some kinda random ones:

“Favorite Things to See/ Things that Make me Smile”

• People singing along to music in their cars
• People walking dogs
• Old people at cafes
• Kids and their parents at stores
• Awkward dates at restaurants
• Polite strangers
• Bus drivers waving at each other
• People who love their noble jobs
• Homeless people dancing
• Loud booming music from cars (only funny music)

“Things I Have Accomplished” Jan. 2009

• Met family in Guatemala
• Good vibes with family
• Well- known in children’s society (as in work)
• Healthy
• Cooking/ baking much more often
• Biking to commute
• Forgot person whaat? who?
• New friends
• Living frugally
• Visited derm.
• Watch movies via netflix (I am sooo proud of this one)
• Manage money
• Don’t use credit

“Things I have Accomplished” April 2009

• Started beginnings of a dance program at Seattle Gymnastics
• I got another raise yeaaah babay
• Learned to how to play the banjo
• Wrote a song on the banjo
• Kept in touch with old friends, made some new ones
• I can ride up 45th up to Laurelhurst on my bike without passing out (yay)
• Got my tetanus shot
• Met someone who is really neat

things i liked today

seeing an old woman pushing one of those walker- things smoking a cigarette at the same time. when i’m old i think i will take up smoking too. what have you got to lose at that point?

i bought some doc martens today at value village. i am officially grunge now, yeah!

sam left me some baileys and i poured it all into my coffee today and sat on our back porch and drank it. that was wonderful.

red, red, wiiiiiiine

Just a few things….

I think I’ve turned into a semi- alcoholic, no comment.

I am learning the banjo and have been for the past two months and it has been awesome.

I got a raise at work.

I started going to this Persian bakery in Lake City all the time, and I am excited to become a regular there. Today they gave me an extra cookie. Man, you can get two cookies AND coffee for THREE dollars! Dude, you can’t even get a latte for three dollars now-a-days.

Stonesthrow is coming to Chop Suey this April and I am sooo pumped for it.

I am paying back about three student loans right now and it sucks. I hate my life.

My “love life” is absolutely ridiculous. Not a good or bad thing.

Shit I need to return Kindergarten Cop to Scarecrow!

I love my jobs right now, I am so tempted not to go back to school.

I hate the U- District. Every time I go there I try to go in disguise.

Yup, yup. This is the life. I’m excited about it. Even though it’s been really, really fucking difficult lately.

being sick

Has been wonderful!!! I have never allowed myself to lock myself up inside for longer than a day but I did it this time because I was sick with an awful cold.

It all started Friday morning. I woke up, felt sniffly and tired but headed to work anyways. I guess I was so tired that I forgot to walk fast/ run to the bus stop like I normally do every morning so I missed by bus. I said “Fuck- shit!” then called my co-worker who I knew would pick me up. Last time I missed the bus she picked me up in less than ten minutes, so I asked her to just pick me up at the bus stop instead of my house- I ended up standing on that corner for forty minutes!!! It was awful, not only was it freezing cold, my sniffly-ness turned into a sneezy, eye- watering, sniffly chaos. And then we were almost late for our classes, and my Friday class has six kids, ughh. Anywho, I made it to work but had to work throughout the entire day being awfully sick/ a mess. By the time I got home I put on long-johns, sweats, a fleece and another hoodie on top of that, a hat and slippers and then made some delicious hot tomato soup. After that I couldn’t stop eating, and eventually I took a nap. Then I watched I Heart Huckabees on our projector (awwesome) with my blanket and teddy bear. Then Kat came home with deviliciously delicious brownies (ha…) that I am pretty sure I still haven’t stopped eating. The next morning I woke up around 11am, ate a huge breakfast, read a little and then took another nap. When I woke up, I met Joanne in the living room whom I guess was also taking a nap, haha. Then I took a shower and finally prepared myself for the outside world to meet up with some friends for thai food. I was really hoping that the spices in the thai food would clear up my airways, which it did but it was kinda painful.

It was so wonderful napping all the time. I am definitely not one of those people that looses weight when they get sick. I’m pretty sure I am the opposite, because I double up on food and sleep. But hey, I am feeling much better today! I even went for a run! Actually I don’t think the run was that great, it was soo cold.

I also made an amazing playlist- these things always get me excited. It’s so much easier to listen to music when it’s on a playlist.

Easy Listening #2

1) Nowhere Near- Yo La Tengo

2) Most of the Time- Bob Dylan

3) Poison Cup- M. Ward

4) Oh! Sweet Nuthin’- The Velvet Underground

5) Our Way to Fall- Yo La Tengo

6) Cold Blooded Old Times- Smog

7) I Have Often Wondered- Gene Pool

Walt Whitman’s Niece- Billy Bragg & Wilco

9) Shadows- Yo La Tengo

10) Post- War- M. Ward

11) One by One- Billy Bragg & Wilco

12) Through the Stars- Gene Pool

13) I Heard You Looking- Yo La Tengo

Yeah, I’m a sucker for sappy music. Also, Gene Pool is actually my pal, who is also my friend Joanne’s brother. He is really awesome, and his music is really great- check out his myspace

He played with the Moondoggies at Neumos last Friday Jan. 16th and also in Portland on the 17th. We have high hopes for him!

I think it’s really interesting how my interests in music change from time to time. I feel like all the music I have listened to holds a ton of memories of where I was at in my life at the time. I wonder if that’s a reason why I listen to certain music more often than others. On that note I’ve also recently deleted a lot of shitty music on my Itunes. I guess that was music that didn’t bring back good memories? Haha.

beautiful

Today I went to Pike Place Market and bought tulips and tea! It was wonderful.

the good and the bad, but mostly good

I like to write about things that make me happy and recent new- found things that make me happy.

Should I start with the good- happy things or the bad ones…

Bad ones…

1. God damnit, I have to start paying off my student loans!!! Gahhhh……!

2. I hate how girls can become so infatuated with boys. I know it happens to everyone ( it’s happened to me) at least some point in their life ( and vice- versa), but it really, really, irritates me.

3. I am tired of Seattle- coldness. In all honesty I don’t normally feel this way but today I noticed how almost no one makes eye- contact with each other in the streets- and the kicker was when this old woman (she wasn’t even old she was maybe 45ish) demanded that I hold the door for her. I had already walked out of the doorway and she was walking in the opposite way and basically snapped at me, and muttered to herself how no one “follows traditional polite customs” anymore. Maybe this lady was just crazy and has nothing to do with Seattle… I will say “bashfullness” rather than coldness. That sounds nicer. I guess it’s kinda cute that everyone in Seattle is so shy and independent?? Maybe so.

4. My favorite kid Sam was sick today (for gymnastics) so I wasn’t able to say goodbye to him. Or tell his mom that I would babysit for them whenever they wanted. Daarrrn it.

5. I was sitting across from a person on the Metro who was listening to his iPod and texting on his cell phone at the same time. I was so disgusted. I think technology can ruin people to a certain extent.

Good things!

1. My preschoolers and my co- workers at Seattle Gymnastics love the new mix cd I made them! It has made the last few days of work so much greater, even if they were 8 hour days with the same group of 3-4 year olds.

2. I had a really great Christmas with my family. I drank beer with my Dad for the first time, ha- while watching Rush Hour 2. I also got to see all of my cousins (I have a lot), whom I haven’t seen for a really long time. I am the oldest in the family, so it’s been crazy seeing them all grow so fast. Basically all of my cousins are taller than me now.

3. I am going to finally start teaching creative dance and ballet next week. My lesson plans are about finished, I just need to get some music (which should be fun). Two girls that are going to be in my dance classes came to gymnastics today, which I thought was funny. They are adorable.

4. Our freezer is full of Essential Bakery bread. Yesssssss.

5. I made the most awesome hip- hop playlist.

6. I’ve been listening to M. Ward for the past two weeks. Delicious.

7. My Netflix arrived.

8. I had tomato soup and rosemary bread with cheese on it for dinner today, and uh, yesterday too. Yuuhhh uhhmmm!!

9. To get back to more serious points… I feel like lately I have been realizing what my real, true values are. Things that are more important to me in life and what isn’t important to me anymore. These “things” I am talking about are the foundations all of my relationships are built on. I’ve realized that I have fantastically genuine, real, and helplessly honest friends. What a blessing they have been to me! Through this realization that yet I feel like I have always known, I only want more relationships in my life with people who I think are just as good- hearted. People who are happy and enjoy simple things, not because they are simple, but because they don’t need excitement and glamour to be happy. People who don’t put too much weight and effort in superficial things like stuff and clothing. People who willingly share. People who are open- minded not because they are not- opinionated or “free thinkers”, because they are honestly curious and believe another persons beliefs are just as worthy of hearing. People who don’t define themselves as a part of a sub-culture. People who appreciate the earth and natural beauty. People who can’t help but say what they really think. People who aren’t afraid to be themselves and be aimlessly happy.

10. I had a great New Years Eve. I baked a nutty- apple- crisp dessert sorta thing for a dinner party I went to. I am a lazy baker. I met a wonderful dog named Bella. It was a great night, especially compared to my last New Years Eve… I spent it with a few close friends and then a ton of people I didn’t know. I met three people named Will in one night. I didn’t get drunk, I should mention proudly (again, remembering New Years of 2008),  it was more of a steady buzzed-ness. The night ended with a great conversation with my housemates and a work free day in the morning.

11. Holy macarole it’s 2.0.0.9!!!

12. I am going to sleep now. It’s gonna be so great. Sweet dreams!

last week five weeks ago

FYI: This should have been posted Dec 5thish. I’ve been busy.

1. I bought a package of dance classes at Westlake that expire in a month and I kind of didn’t go for a while, so last week I had to take dance class almost every evening. One of them was hip hop and only three people showed up. It was so awkward. Westlake dance isn’t so great I’ve decided, I’m moving to Velocity Dance Center.

2. Last week was the last week of Fall Session at my gymnastics coaching job. I gave all my kids medals and said “Smell ya later!”

3. FIRST THURSDAY. Which is always fun. We went to the 619 Building where all the hip/ really cool people in Seattle go on first Thursday. But it was lots-o-fun and I drank some wine, met some people and got that excited/ anxious feeling I get when I’m around tons of people.

4. 2Pac: The Resurrection. I had nothing to do on Friday and it was my night off, so I watched my Netflix with Harry and a couple bottles of wine. After all that fun we went on an adventure through the U-District to pick up Paul and hang out with a few other peeps.

5. I forgot to mention that I discovered an awesome sweater at Goodwill within minutes of walking in, one that I have been searching for for many days! It is my official winter sweater, how exciting is that.

6. My favorite past time has become scouring Value Village, Goodwill and various vintage/ consignment shops for random things, clothing/ whatever makes me smile. The other would be listening to music all day. On that note….

7. I am so musically overwhelmed. I have downloaded and been given soo much music in the past few months that I don’t even know what to listen to anymore. My favorites new tunes have been: Coconot, The Ruby Suns, Blockhead, Ghostface Killah, The Dirty Projectors, Wilco, M. Ward, and Dj Nu Mark. I’ve been making playlists to lessen the blow.

8. I am making a Preschool “Robot Music” mixtape for my preschoolers! Here are some of the tracks:

1. The Crystal Cat- Dan Deacon

2. Kim& Jessie- M83

3. Call on Me- Eric Prydz

4. IMpossible- Figurine

5. Good Time- Crystal Castles

6. Jazzhole- Free the Robots

7. Antillas- El Guincho

8. Surfin on a Rocket- Air

9. One More Time- Daft Punk

10. Neon Beanbag- Stereolab

11. Ping Island- Mark Mothersbaugh

12. Air War- Crystal Castles

13. Cut and Run- Electrelane

14. And I was a Boy from School- Hot Chip

15. Palmitos Park- El Guincho

16. Technologic- Daft Punk

It’s going to be great! (fyi, they really like it)

P.S. This blog is lame, if you did not pick up on that. Also, I think I am turning into an old lady.

These last few pictures are some of my awesome-est finds at Value Village. I smile every time I see those golden palm trees on my desk

Pablo Diaz- reixa… El Guincho

Last Saturday on the 22nd of November my pal Cat and I made the trek up to Vancouver to see El Guincho. Cat could have stayed in Seattle and watched El Guincho at the Nectar Lounge because she is 21, but thank goodness she drove my poor little 20 year old self to Vancouver, BC to see the concert. We were exhausted that day because the night before we had a dance party at our house and most people didn’t leave until 3am or go to bed until 4 or 5am..

After touring around Granville Island, visiting the brewery and the market, we stood in line at the Red Room to see El Guincho and No Gold. After getting in, we actually met a group of kids from Seattle who were also under 21 who came to see El Guincho, it was awesome. No Gold played first and man they were really awesome. They are from Vancouver and are your usual indie- rock type band- except they had this tropical sound to them which made their music really unique and dance-y.

No Gold played a really short show, so soon El Guincho was setting up for his show. And then this guy (who was soo gorgeous) who was standing behind Cat and I during the entire No Gold show hopped up on stage to help El Guincho, who I then realized was playing with El Guincho, and then whom I later realized was also in this band called Albaialeix which I have listened to a bunch of times on myspace. I totally didn’t even recognize him!!! Bummmmmmer, I totally thought he was just another Vancouverian. After El Guincho finished setting up, he was kinda just walking around the Red Room ( I am not sure if anyone else really knew what he looked like) so I waved at him and he totally smiled and waved back at me! (Don’t call me star-struck.)

El Guincho’s show was amazing, his music made the crowd really uplifted and everyone was dancing crazily. El Guincho played a lot of songs from his other band too- Coconut, who I really, really enjoy as well. He also normally performs alone, but for this tour his friend Aleix (the guy who was standing behind us) helped him out with back up vocals and with percussion on the drum pad.  Aleix is also in a band called Extraperlo and Albayaliex which are also very cool. Pablo/ El Guincho would also talk a little about his songs before each one, and he had the most adorable Spanish accent! At the end of the show I was able to take a photo with Pablo and talk to him a bit- it was nothing to deep of course, I was too star- struck/ in love with him to allow anything somewhat interesting to come out of my mouth.

Overall the show was great and well worth the trip to Vancouver. It made me soo bummed that I could not see him again at the Nectar Lounge on Monday. He did have an in- studio show at KEXP, which was soo good, and which you should also listen to if you get the chance. “Buenos Matrimonios Ahi Fuera” was the best.

Beautiful Vancouver.

This place was very cute.

http://www.myspace.com/goldentombs

I love his sweater! Listen to El Guincho and Coconot

My camera doesn’t take photos in focus when I don’t use flash . Go to myspace.com/extraperlo and myspace.com/albaaleix to hear Aleix’s bands.

Mi amor!