OMFG!#!djkfdhjkjf

So...

I just got word that this is going down tomorrow night.

I haven't bought tickets for their upcoming tour yet, and now I know why. Fate had this little number planned. I'm so there. (Fuck yeah!) :D

this week thus far

Let us break it down, shall we?

Monday morning: I get in my car, close my door and hear something fall in the back. It was my rear vent window, awesome! I have no idea what went down while we were down in CA...potential theft? Kids with a baseball bat? Someone with a vendetta who is out to get me? Shrug, they're all possible, but at least nothing was stolen. Bastards.

Tuesday morning: Rick's car won't start and a kind stranger helped him push it to safety at the gas station. Blech. So far: cars: 2, Rick + Dawn: 0.

So for just two days, a lot of terrible happened. But, despite the godawful heat Mon./Tues., we did head to the Sixth Ave. farmers market that night, picked up some derishous raspberries, bluerberries, Rainer cherries, cucumber and zucchini and got the rest of our grocery shopping on. So all is not lost.

Yesterday was movie night, and though I never really aome up with a theme for it, I'm happy with the two movies I picked: A Very Long Engagement and Wendy and Lucy. The only lame generic thing that ties them together that I can think of: "00s dramas with female leads." Hey, I tried. I cried during AVLE and Wendy and Lucy probably will get 3 stars on Netflix, if it's up to me. Dinner was homemade pizza, and it was glory.

Our short trip to LA was thankfully a success. It included: Heather's wedding on Laguna Beach (gorgeous) and LMU reunions, first experience renting a car (I highly recommend Alamo), Silver Lake dining and flea market, lots of vegan brunches, first trip to Swingers ever with good friends, finally tackled the Santa Monica Pier with Rick (!), minimal visiting home time, lots of CJ and Walker time, Amoeba and Meltdown attacks (natch) and one semi-celebrity sighting, aka Scott Speedman perusing used rock CDs at Amoeba. All in all, it was grand times.

Here's photographic evidence:


View from wedding


Santa Monica Pier before sunset


Brunch at Millie's Cafe in the amazing Silver Lake 'hood


And this has nothing to do with our trip, but is too awesome to not post. Early bday present from Rick, courtesy of Toothpaste for Dinner. Yay. :D

post-age

Happy 4th! I'm one of the least patriotic people I know, but I dig any holiday that encourages people to barbecue food, light illegal fireworks and stay outside to watch them blow up in the night sky. Plus it's in July, my favorite month of the year. It has some shit going for it.

Because I have nothing else to report at the moment, I give you a questionnaire:


8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Fireworks!
2. Josh n' Jenny's Viva La Revolucion! fiesta this eve
3. Seeing Miss Aly Brown tomorrow morning!! (reunion tymez!)
4. Wearing some new goodies I bought myself
5. The possibility of river adventures with Rick tomorrow
6. Visiting CA for Heather's wedding in a few weeks/hanging with pals
7. My 25th birfday/party/Sonic Youth
8. Seeing Sordid Sentinels play the New Frontier


8 things I did yesterday:

1. Worked out
2. Went to work
3. Left work early (hooray for half-day holidays!)
4. Shopped for the first time in what seemed like a long time
5. Ate Thai food + popcorn
6. Got my hair did
7. Saw Whatever Works (thumbs up)
8. Walked through Wright Park for some Satellite coffees

8 things I wish I could do:

1. Have my book published, (I haven't written a book yet, but am working on it).
2. Have fully-stocked savings accounts
3. Go on a longer vacation (I'm talking months-long)
4. Be fluent in Frances et Aleman
5. Letterpress print
6. Play guitar better
7. Start a Roth IRA (Okay, some of these are nerdy in the personal finance persuasion, I know)
8. Kill all fruit flies (Kind of not vegan of me, but they really suck right now)

8 Shows I watch:

1. The Office
2. Project Runway
3. 24
4. Lost
5. House
6. SATC
7. 30 Rock
8. The Hills (I'm ashamed to admit it, but I have guilty pleasures like everyone else).

8 favorite fruits:

1. Strawberries
2. Watermelon
3. Cherries
4. Pineapple
5. Blueberries
6. Peaches
7. Mango
8. Kiwi

8 Places I'd Like to Travel

1. France
2. Montreal
3. Japan
4. New York City
5. Chicago
6. India
7. Spain
8. Iceland

8. Places I've Lived

1. Ontario, CA
2. Rialto, CA
3. Moreno Valley, CA
4. Marina Del Rey, CA
5. Inglewood, CA
6. Seattle, WA
7. Tacoma, WA
8. Oxford, England

*Plus many more smaller towns in CA that I thought could be left out.


8 People I've Tagged
All of y'alls!

And a visual for all you duders that actually read that whole thing:


The sweet new kicks I ordered yesterday that I cannot wait to wear. They've got tassels! Swoon.

Wonder drink or foe? You decide.

Has anyone tried Kombucha yet?



The first time I was introduced to Kombucha my friend Grin was drinking it at Bauhaus (why when there's such awesome coffee there, I have no idea) and hyping it up. She is generally crazy so I thought "this stuff must be terrible!" and stayed away from it for a while. But I've been reading tales of its triumphs all over the vegan blogs so I thought I might try it today. It's technical title is "probiotic health tea" and we ladies know how amazing probiotics are. It apparently helps with digestion, metabolism, immune system, appetite and weight control, liver function (what up alkies!), anti-aging, cell integrity (?), and healthy skin & hair.

Hmmm. That pretty much sounds like it takes care of everything, doesn't it?
I'm generally skeptical of most things, but this sounds like the wonder pill in a bottle, which makes me incredibly skeptical because there's no such thing!

Probably one of my favorite things about it is the fact that it's raw/organic, so there are little strands of "culture" sitting at the bottom. Mmm.

The label also has a special note on the side, informing those imbibing in the product that there may be a trace amount of alcohol in it due to fermentation. Healthy and alcoholic? These people clearly don't have the right marketers on their side.

Verdict? It tasted very much like red wine to me, which is a win because I love wine. The flavor I got was "passionberry bliss" and I don't know what passionberries taste like but this is pretty nom.

I'm trying to gauge its effects after only drinking it a half an hour ago. It's supposed to give sustained energy and can replace coffee or energy drinks. I just kinda feel like I'm in a daze...like I had a glass of wine. Shrug.

I'm intrigued enough to keep trying them, and see if there are any differences in how I feel/if they could actually replace a stimulant like coffee. I would never let it because I love coffee, but I'm curious nonetheless. If anyone else has tried it let me know what you think.

PS - I promise they didn't pay me to do this half-hearted review. I'm just genuinely curious about such seemingly wonderous things.

A hot minute

That's exactly how long it's been since I last blogged here. I suck at this, but it's probably because twittar has taken up where this left off in my world. But I will still half-assedly attempt entries every time the fancy strikes. So here's one of those now:

Life is generally grand, no doom and gloom here. We've been rearranging things in the apt., chucking furniture, adding more, installing shelves, organizing, etc. It's wild, and the space looks so much bigger. It's amazing what the discarding of things and the addition of the right-sized things can do. I love it. I hope it stays this awesome for long time.

Newest TV obsession (albeit not a new one for me) is Project Runway. We raced through seasons 1-3 and are now on 4. I forgot how much I loved this show, Heidi Klum, but especially Tim Gunn. I liked him before but watching it with Rick and seeing his appreciation for him makes me realize how much he adds to the show. He seriously seems like such a doll, and is always lookin' so sharp.



I was also thisclose to interviewing Neko Case for an article, but it ended up falling through. Apparently she "isn't doing interviews for this tour in Tacoma or Seattle." Ugh, I'm kinda disappointed Neko. Abandoning your roots. It's okay, we still kinda love you.

But I DID get to interview/photograph the Sordid Sentinels a week or so ago and that article will be in the paper this week! So look out for it, collect it, and frame it up nice. Because they're going to be famous one day, (and might have a different band name by then), I just know it.

The weather has finally been clearing up, and I am in heaven. I think I need the sun to fully be myself. That may sound new-agey, but it's true. I'm at one with the earth when basked in the sun. Read in Wright Park today, and it was glorious. Every second.

Been really behind on reading books because I read many articles during the week. It felt good to catch up on Simone de Beauvoir today, but I need to finish many, including Y: The Last Man. Too many delicious books.

I'm also not really quite sure why I'm still awake right now, but that might explain why this entry looks the way it does in the morning. Okay. Bye.

Wax and wane

Overall, I'd say that the past week and a half has been supremely shitty.
No need for details, but two main reasons are that Rick's grandfather passed away (R.I.P. Grandpa Bob), and I've been insanely stressed about my car and visiting home/family next week. I can't say that I won't be happy to see this week end.

On the other hand, lots of excellent things have been happening/are on the horizon that I will focus on now, such as:

- figuring out that I can and will buy a car next month (an oxymoronic new used one, natch, but still a car!)
- talking to my sister on the phone lately, and having conversations that are actually pleasant
- feeling very comfortable and happy at work, so much so that I nearly wanted to cry tears of sweet joy my first week there
- seeing the Plague Doctors/Sordid Sentinals play an epic set in front of a Seattle audience
- finishing Watchmen FINALLY, and laughing in the face of the terrible film
- making plans with Jewels, Eric, Serena and other California-dwelling friends for next weekend (Amoeba, Native Foods, and C+O's are all definitely in the cards)
- Rick's birthday planning...heh heh heh
- buying a curling iron for the first time since junior high
- Bonnie/Bridget are coming to the Plague Doctors/Sordid Sentinals show tomorrow eve, we hanging/feasting shall commence beforehand

So, I am now mentally dumping all of the negative crap that has been going on, and am proceeding to fill my head with butterflies, rainbows, owls and moonbeams. Here's to hoping next week is better.

Jumping on this Tuesday Thoughts train on Wednesday...

because I can.


1. I hate being sick. Not just because being sick is annoying and impedes upon life as normal, but really just because I rarely get sick. I'm sure it also makes me a delight to my co-workers sitting in close quarters, hearing me hack all day.

2. I've inadvertently turned against the title of this blog, and have rarely been drinking coffee lately. Blame the illness, but tea's all I want right now.

3. I really really need to finish reading Watchmen, and this is an example of my taking an embarrassingly long time to finish something. But I have to now, because Rick got tickets for the movie in IMAX!

4. Fleetwood Mac at the Tacoma Dome, you say? Hell yes!

5. I'm going to be a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding later this month. That is as weird as it sounds, and I have no idea what that really entails, but I get to wear a pretty green dress for it, and it's in San Diego. She's happy, so I'm happy.

6. As it turns out, I can write something out of nothing better than I thought.

7. Coraline was so awesome. I'm glad I didn't read anything about it beforehand. It made me smile and giggle a lot throughout.

8. I want to bake up some cupcakes with my brand spanking new, waited long enough for, but finally did get (thanks to Rick!) Vegan Cupcakes Will Take Over the World book, but usually just end up napping instead.

9. I'm convinced copious amounts of sleep will end this cold.

10. I'm on the fence about the new M. Ward album right now, but that's because I've only listened to it once through. And everyone who knows me well knows that I judge harshly by first impressions, (and quickly admit defeat when I realize someone/something is awesome). I hope it's better than I think it is.

Sleep-deprived, travel-thirsty

Work as of late has been unnecessarily stressful. I know that I have a tendency to worry constantly about things that will usually take care of themselves/wrap themselves up neatly in a bow, but I know I'm not the only one feeling it now.

It breaks down like this:
Economy + looming mysterious budget cuts (5%? 10%? 12%? Ohs noez!) + the fact that schools are largely state-funded = everyone somehow employed in community colleges losing their shit.

But when I really stop and think about it, I don't care all that much. I'm not attending school anymore, (thank God, because this would be a terrible time to do it) and I'm not a part-time instructor, so my job isn't immediately at risk. So why am I worrying/stressing then? Well, because part of my job is to prepare for these cuts in my division with a budget. I hate numbers already, and am taking on a system worked by the same woman for like 17 years, and I've never handled this much money for anyone/organization. It's just a ton of pressure, and we were only given a week and a half to work on it. How am I dealing with it? Putting it off til next week. I figure it's better to just put it off and not stress about it now, and then just focus all my effort on it next week when it matters. Usually I end up doing this after stressing, and everything works out, so I thought I'd avoid the temporary raise in blood pressure for a bit. I like not caring way better than caring.

Rick and I visited my friend Aly in Boston a couple of weeks ago, and that was rad. Very spontaneous, but something I was totally up for doing. We helped her move out of her old apartment/relationship and into a sweet house in the not-yet-completely-gentrified neighborhood of Jamaica Plain. It was lovely to see and hang with her, visit Boston again without being rushed around, experience efficient public transport, and of course, hit up as many vegan joints as humanly possible. I think my legs/nose froze during a day of exploration near BU, but other than that and Rick's sinus headache from hell, it was all around, East Coast good times.

Lastly, because my Obama fascination/love will not die, I leave you with these:

In celebration of the Inauguration, I give you...

filial piety:
An acrylic and oil painting of Barack Obama on his unicorn Penelope and posed in front of the post apocalyptic Capital dome of the Fallout 3 Vault video game.

Genius.

End Serenading

So it is now 2009, and I promise not to quote Death Cab for Cutie lyrics to you.

Generally, no matter what year it is, towards the end of it, people are always so eager for it to go away and for a new one to start. A desire for change combined with awful feelings towards crippling events and overall lackluster times would be a suitable equation for this. Some years I've agreed with this notion, but 2008 was pretty grand all over for me, so I wasn't in a particular hurry for it to move on. Nonetheless, I heart change and dynamism, and am stoked to see what 2009's got up its sleeves.

To revert slightly, here mostly for my own memory, is a sliver of 2008's awesomeness:
-Moved in w/Rick (Okay, technically end of '07, but I'll count it because it's now been a YEAR since I've lived in Tacoma)
-Worked in a bookstore (Not the best experience, but I'll count it because it was on my list of things to do in life)
-Visited Portland at least 3 times! Vegan/bibliophile heaven
-Visited CA w/Rick + introduced him to CA friends + crazy family
-Went to the original Largo site + met Jon Brion/Benmont Tench! (still get goosebumps)
-Loads of awesome art exhibits
-Got back on the reading train
-Balls Crazy was born
-Helped Rick make the illustrious Bestsellers by working the PA/boom-mic operator/extra positions - such an amazing reason to become unemployed
-Got a stable job with a boss and co-workers that I do not hate!
-Started freelancing at the Weekly (hoorah!)
-Cooked/baked for my first ever all-vegan Thanksgiving w/Rick's fam
-OBAMA!
-Paid off my credit card debt!!!
-Rick and I discovering the glory of homemade vegan nachos sans cheese
-Didn't die in the Snowpocalypse, and actually enjoyed it for a bit
-Figured out the subject of my book, and wrote 1/4 of the notes for it

So yes, even though a good amount of the world was undergoing a traumatic economic downturn, I somehow managed to come out on top financially and generally over the year, and will remember 2008 quite fondly.

And I expect even greater things in 2009, especially in light of the Obama administration.

And to continue the goodness, I leave with you images of a papercut/painting artist I'm currently fascinated with, who was on the cover of Giant Robot Issue 55:








Saelee Oh