the longest part three

hey kids -

time for part three. but first i must admit i've been doing a mad amount of shopping lately, and it's quickly approaching levels of "ridiculous." i'm realizing i have not bought a new item for myself in three years (THREE YEARS). everything has holes or is breaking. so i feel warranted, that i need to step it up a notch or whatever. but still.

recent purchases include:
jeans (2 pair)
dresses (2)
shoes (2)
shirts (5)
belt (1)
nice long jacket (1)
earrings (2)
bracelet (1)

these are my new shoes!! aren't they awwwesome. i know they're real hip right now but i dont care because they are super comfy and i can wear them in/out of work. mine have bits of red in them though, which make them super hot. i was going to toss the green pumas with holes the size of craters, but i cant bring myself to do it. they've helped me throught too many countries.

sorry to list recent purchases, but it's an attempt to cleanse myself of the sin of gluttony or too much buying power, or something.


PART THREE: HERE IS A NICE PLACE TO BE:


with nik and ty and homeless man in front of casanova. ty looooved the homeless man so we haaaaad to take a photo with him.


victorious.


why do i constantly make cheeseball face.


pre-out. in my living room. stacey and dave and eric are in this one and i love them. i've been hanging out with eric a ton lately, and am really really glad he is here.



* * *



my roof. we're hardcore.


duck. hunt. (stacey sucks at it).


* * *


at the bss/bloc party show at the greek theatre in berkeley. the greek theatre is awwwwwwesome. i can't believe those berkeley-jerk-faces have the greek theatre and we had shogun's or whatever that theatre-movie-house was called.


me.


rudy.


nathan my housemate to the left, and his boyfriend chris to the right. they're the cutest couple in all the land.


* * *


in santa cruz with tigi and gabe and stacey. tigi and gabe are freaking fun and sound engineers and way cool and i hvae no idea why they hang out with me.



at amnesia, where i see jazz on sunday and bluegrass on monday. geeeez. last night i saw ella fitzgerald. i swear. the woman was so incredible. diane, i think if you heard and knew what i got to see for free every last sunday of the month, you would disown me out of sheer jealousy. you would love her. (hence the stupid messages last night).



* * *



so that's that for now. i miss you kids a lot. and am glad i get to show you about my life here. i love you a lot. i miss you a lot. i wish you were here. can you be? i would love to hang out constnatly with you whenever i was able. i miss town hall and comraderie. and love you. the end.

oh sweet sweet friday afternoons

hello everyone -

thank you so much for the comments a couple of posts ago, by the way. seriously, they really meant a lot to me and needed to hear them, i think. which is ridiculous because they're bloody blog comments for pete's sake. but nonetheless. i really appreciated them. thank you.

* * *

everyone seems to be traveling right now. ty. china. heather. nevada. stacey. jersey. everyone's coming or going but definitely too tired to hang out. which is fine. i have rudy and eric and myself and this city and that's awwwwwl i need.

and here are some photos from moderately recent travels:

* * *

SECTION TWO: SO FAR AWAY:

*durham, north carolina*

this is laura, who i traveled with in mexico 5 years ago. i heart her. she just graduated from unc with her m.a. in some magical combination of public health and city planning. i really really heart her.


these are her dogs, and the "park" that's just steps from her front porch. really it's a magical forest (the kind with gnomes and fog). north carolina is such a beautiful place. i could live there in a heartbeat.


*san diego, california*


hi my name's kevin and i'm a beach bum. hi my name's will and i'm too cool for school. hi my name's leonard and i'm the cutest gay indie boy in all the land. - man, i'm glad leonard met will/kevin. the collision of two worlds, and a fantastic collision it was.


taking a photo next to will results in one looking incredibly average looking.


*austin, texas*


aaaaaaaaaaahaaha. i seriously think this may be one of my favorite photos of all time.


with asha and martha. le sigh.

* * *

ok thats as much photo posting i can take. more later yes?

i love you a lot

bubble baths belong in the bathroom

hello everyone,

i'm sooooo impressed with my super high level of intelligence. FOR PETE'S SAKE.

i just walked outta the shower, to see the dishwasher freaking pouring forth suds upon suds throughout a quarter of my kitchen. there are soapy bubbles EV-ER-Y-WHERE. apparently, one does NOT use hand-wash-dish-soap in the dishwasher. for the love of God. i mean, i KNEW it, but i guess i just didn't think about it. geez.

* * *

but second and foremost, good luck tomorrow to diane arnaout because i love her and to all we-wanna-be-a-doctor-when-we-grow-up-folks. you are all smart. i have no worries.

and diane, i love you again, and hope you are doing ok...

* * *

updates are few and far between because my life is increasingly "boring" which is "fine." it's amazing how many hours of the day are sucked away at an office job. i think a lot of it has to do with the "new and improved" neighborhood i'm working in. no more cafes with cool kids hanging out, travelers or vagabonds or homeless folks wandering the streets, or people speaking spanish or various asian languages. this new place i work is in "The Marina." *shudder* - within a block radius from my new job, there are FOUR GYMS, A STARBUCKS and the streets are full of BEAUTIFUL TINY HOT GIRLS WITH TINY DOGS IN THEIR EVEN TINIER PURSES. people actually do that crap here, and it's sick.

but there is also a sweet park and the bay super close by, so i shall be wandering around there a bit more in the near future.

in sum, my life of late has entailed the following:
1) feeling a renewed interest in going to sleep with the music on
2) cleaning up suds
3) learning architecture terminology at an exponential rate
4) watching/listening to bluegrass music like it's going outta style (though i think it's real hip right now)
5) teaching myself about marketing
6) dominating at rubber-band wars
7) hearting my housemates and co-workers
8) missing you

* * *

and now for photos. i just developed ridiculous numbers of photos, and shall break them up into sections.

PART ONE: FAMILY = I MISS AND LOVE THEM SO MUCH:
another addition to the Men Who Pass Out in Public photo collection. thanks to paul's good eye at Fiesta Texas.


this is where my brother gets stung by men and hit on by bees.


theme park pizza is not-so-delicious. even when you're starving, and especially when it's $8.75 a slice.


my cousins (lisa and sarah) as well as radiant (the loveliest sister of all time). i adore them. we like grew up together, and have experienced way too much - but with each other at each others' sides. im so lucky to have these girls in my life. lisa is getting married in october (!!!) which is a fantastic reason to be coming down to texas again. oh man i love these girls.


daddy wearing a grimace. i showed the kids at work these photos and they thought that dad and i look like each other, especially due to our respective disgruntled faces. :)

i love those two a lot. and can't wait until THEY VISIT ME IN SEPTEMBER?!?!?! yeeeees.

hope all is well.

diane, i love you.

"still rocking so hard"

http://www.guitarherobrokemyknee.com/

aaaaaaaahahahaahh

better posture is better for everyone

he-LO. i have been away and i apologize. BUT i just got a spanking new-for-jen-but-really-a-used computer, and i am typing away at it as i speak.

i am back at ritual cafe for the first time in a month on my super cute little computer and it's nice.

* * *

another reason for staying away has been that this week was a super hard one for me, and i was avoiding everyone except for my mom. i think i had a panic attack or something on monday, and quite frankly, it totally freaked me out.

this 9-5 thing is crazy. i've never had to deal with it. at the americorps job, i could peace out in the mornings and work at cafes or late until the evening. but now, i get up at 7 am everyday. every. day. and do the same ol' thing.

i really love my job, truly. and i also adore the kids i work with. and the location. it's seriously a dream job. i am really lucky, and i sound like a whiner... but this consistent, everyday-the-same-schedule-thing is kind of eating at me.

i miss the life challenges, the adrenaline rushes, that come from traveling and floating from job to job.

mom made a good point. "jen, you've been unstable and wandering around for three years. you don't know how to deal with stability." and i think she's right. the thought of doing this job for longer than a year is a little stifling, though i know it's important financially or whatever.

i think i may be "doomed" to a life of constant changes. working a steady job for a year or more, make enough money to travel, travel (oh traveling how lovely that sounds right now!!), float from odd job to odd job for a while, another steady job, and the cycle continues.

really, i am afraid of the future (as you do, amanda... and probably a few more of you out there).

I AM SO GLAD I FLOATED FOR SO LONG. those were amazing years, this one will be too, and there shall be more lovely floating years to follow.

* * *

see how ridiculous i am right now. it's why i haven't blogged. i'm just really insecure with security, and stability is a bit stifling. apparently i'm a gypsy woman.

i love you kids a lot. the computer is back, and so am i. slowly but surely.

le sigh

this weekend has thus far reaffirmed a realization made a few weeks ago, that this period of my life is a bit like the college i rarely/never had (due to boyfriends/ depresssion/ learning). it's half-way through and man, oh man.

* * *

BUT FIRST ALLOW ME TO THANK VIVACIOUS DIANE ARNOUT XXXIV FOR THE GREATEST LOOOOOOVE PACKAGE IN THE HISTORY OF LOOOOOOOOVE PACKING SENDING. there is little more that i can say, but she lent me some serious emotional, weather-related and musical support. all greatly needed. and i love you.

allow me to continue:

* * *

i feel like a freaking college student, given the amount of show-seeing, hanging out, park-sitting-at and communal feasts i've experienced the previous 7 days.

TODAY: hung out mostly solo throughout the day. a lot of grocery shopping and reading.

TONIGHT:
1) cut down and cleared out all 8-ft high weeds out of backyard with eric and upstairs-complex-mate, jara (from "USA ROCKS" photo).

2) feasted on bbq-ed meat in "brand new" backyard.

3) watched film that jara projected on the enormous wall in our backyard. freaking AWE-some. eric, nate and i sat on his fire escape ladder (when we werent watching it from the roof!!!), while 15 hipsters watched it from the ground. the city lights above us. the movie below. in our backyard. soooo awwwwwesome

* * *

if you read what came after "TODAY:" then you would see that i hung out solo again. a pity party to a point, but really i was seriously missing they city of austin. i called jorge (old housemate in "The House of Men: Austin") to tell him happybday, etc etc. sooo apparently all the boys live together again! (including Fielding Baxter the Third!!!). and jorge said they would totally let me live with them again, if i made it back there. le sigh.

so anyway, it made me miss my austin house a LOT, and kinda wish i was living with those guys again too (despite the sarongs and fieldings mild insanity). i miss the heat. i miss being so close to my family. i miss bike rides and walking to yoga and my pseudo paint studio and oil painting and my front porch. i miss being able to get into a car and drive to san antonio. i miss meeting up with mario and talking for 3 hours at a time. i miss walking along congress. i miss barton freaking springs. i miss a lot. it's becoming a problem

things are good here, like super good or whatever. and i also recognize that years from now i will really freaking miss my current situation (is pretty awesome alright) but i just miss you guys and that city and wish i could hang out with you more.

* * *

here are photos from my roof at nighttime:

pain in the arse means nothing to me

hello my hearts,

long week. very long week. i'm really tired of doctors, but even more tired of the pity party i threw for myself last weekend. it seems i shall never live a life without calling insurance policies, begging secretaries in doctors' offices for information and subsequent monetary issues - but i think that means i'm a grown-up. and aren't i lucky to have doctors in the first place?! yes, yes i am. so no more pity party for me. i'm fine, so that's that. now for the update:

* * *

1) diane: i stole your shirt and wear it constantly. and i don't even care. everyone else: you should totally send me super sweet, softy-soft shirts because i adore them and they are super hard to find out here. (cheap ones, anyway). please. i'm serious.

2) my job is going to be much more challenging than previously anticipated, but i can't wait for it. the people i work with are super cool, and i get to listen to kexp sometimes - which rocks. it's amazing that i work super long days, and still have energy at the end of them - as opposed to the previous job which completely knocked me out, and really put me in a terrible mood sometimes. man oh man. how did i get so super lucky?

and ive rambled about my co-workers and how hip they are.... but i also adore my two bosses. they're the ultimate odd couple. one more theoretical aspect of architecture, the other more into function. one into the business aspect, the other into design. but they both love open space and the outdoors and constructing things and the betterment of the community. and they've created a suuuper academic environment in the office and i looove it. i feel like i get to take design, architecture and business classes for free! (dork).

3) i really heart my housemates and rudy and i'm really glad they are here.

* * *

below are photos from a site visit during my first week at new, sweet job. they will illustrate a few of the reasons why i heart this new job so much:


don't mess with us. we're golfers.


this is lisa and she is golfing. she has helped me out tremendously with getting me up to speed with the projects, how the office functions, lending any and all insights she has. she's the marketing and strategic planning guru with an m.a. from some harvard business school that i don't remember the name of. she is also leaving in a few days for a solo trip through jordan - turkey - greece - italy - spain. man oh man i am jeeeeaaalous. but she will blog so i will read her stories. her departure also means that i accrue the majority of her responsibilities, which um, is awesome. especially since i do not have a degree from harvard or have any specific experience in marketing or strategic planning. but they trust me or something.


this is stacey and she is golfing. check out that STANCE!!! she would seriously hit the crap outta that thing like it was a freaking baseball or some mess. hi-larious.


i am standing in the corner and scared. why? well, that's because: a) i am afraid to wear a bathing suit in front of strangers and b) i am afraid to wear a bathing suit in front of new colleagues who i have known for 2 days.


feasting.


this is all of us and we're really pretty.


see?


love you guys a lot. will be blogging a bit more soon, me hopes... when my new computer gets here!! yeeees. it's no apple. it's a cheap ol' ibm and i couldn't be more excited about its arrival.

hope all is well, darlings. um, miss you a lot.

koozie (n) def:

oh this is long. OH. THIS WILL BE LONG. going to be boring boring. warning warning.

* * *

it seems very few people here know what a koozie is (though a few more have heard of a "cozy." way to mispronounce it, you stupid californians). the difference in the frequency of koozie use been my latest insight into the overly-generalized differences i have noted between tx and california. when in austin, i (with di at my side) purchased a koozie for two of my housemates, and received a free one for myself. i have busted mine out at every bar i have hit up during the previous 5 days. and it is a a crowd. please. eeeeeer. and daily i add to my list of reasons why koozies rock, which are not limited to the following:

1) keeps bar colder longer while...
2) keeping hands dry and warm (fantastic for sf-chilly weather)
3) one can always identify one's beer on tables crowded with beer bottles

these may seem obvious, but i have not noticed them until now. for we do not appreciate what we have until it's no longer around, and appreciate it more than is the norm when we find it again.

koozies = zen.

* * *

i started work yesterday. (thank you so much for calling/myspacing, daddy/beth). welcome to the World of Architecture, where one goes into work at 8:30am, thinks they will work until 5pm only to learn at 4:30 that they will get out no later than 8pm. i have worked two "long" days without anticipating it. i mean it's fine, but now i understand what architecture friends everywhere have warned me about. "Don't get sucked in," they say. "Put your foot down from the beginning. Say you will leave at 5 and DO IT." i have let it slide these first two days, but that's because I didn't work M/T so am happy with extra hours (especially that these are PAID as opposed to the americorps postypost).

* * *

mario left yesterday for peh-ddoooo. and i already miss his fairly regular blog entries and our bi-montly letters. and the security of "knowing" that he is in austin, and i can visit him anytime i am around that place. i'm kinda sad about it (which is silly being he's not in sf or anything) - but i heart him a lot and i can feel the increased # of kilometers btw us. but i am really, really proud of him. and excited for him too. good luck, darling. and thank you so much for talking with me/listening to me ramble before you left this country of magic.

* * *

i was sitting around at work yesterday, noting how ridiculous it is that i am so far behind on sleep, painting, show-seeing, yoga, reading, writing and arithmetic. so i promptly checked upcoming shows. and LO AND BEHOLD. bloc party and bss are playing tomorrow. i promptly called rudy. he promptly said "i am down, you son of a bitch." SO I GET TO SEE BLOC PARTY AND BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE TOMORROW. yeeeeeeees. i can finally afford shows, and by jove i'm GO-in.

* * *

and will: i didn't think it was possible, but you've earned my forgiveness. i didn't think it was possible, but you done good, kid. and THANK YOU. van halen??!!?! and have i chatted with you about my recent hitchcock craaaaze. spanks a lot. for realz.

* * *

i have started washing my hands with warm water instead of cold. (i have used cold since childhood due to a) habit and b) fear of scalding water on said hands). and man oh man am i glad i have gone this direction. so much more soooooothing. i feel like a new person.

* * *

i was sitting on my roof on monday afternoon, and a sole yellow butterfly fluttered slowly in front of me - it nearly landed on my nose. i thought of san antonio, and the floods of butterflies that graced that city's skies while i was there. and (silly-ily) took at as a sign of, well, something good. and i missed you. and you too.

(additionally, i had not yet seen a butterfly in this neck of the woods and i swear it was just like the ones i saw in san antone. how's that).

(and i still miss you).

* * *

i love you guys a lot. ugh.

u.k. versus u.s.

why is the article below only posted as a major headline throughout newspapers in the u.k., but not in the u.s.?

"9/11 tapes expose flaws in military chiefs' testimony," Thu 3 Aug 2006:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/september11/story/0,,1835906,00.html

for pete's sake already.