There's No Place Like Home

I am amazed that I have not yet written a blog with this title. I had to go back through my history to check because I was sure I had written something under this, but I had not.

Growing up The Wizard of Oz was in my top 5 most played movies of all time. My mom actually made me the glitter shoes... and I promptly wore them out.


I wanted a puppy to carry around in a basket, luckily Scoot (my cat) let me carry him around in random items... baskets, purses, boxes, my grandmother's ceramic bowl my dad got when she passed away. That's actually one of my favorite stories, my parents would feature that bowl at the center of our dining room table and Scoot assumed that they put it there for him to nap in. I would come home from school and look through the dining room window (which was next to the front door) and see Scoot sleeping in the bowl. I loved it. Then there was the one night when I got the bright idea to pick Scoot and the bowl up, balance it on my head and dance Chiquita banana style down the hallway. I'd like to pat myself on the back because I actually made it halfway down the hallway (I credit that to the odd amount of time I spent teaching myself to walk with a book on my head... that's what the princesses in the movies could do), but sadly as I took a step at the halfway point Scoot must have woken up and wondered where on earth his was and decided to jump out, which threw off my balancing act, and promptly catapulted the bowl against the wall at which point it chattered. Sorry Mom and Dad. I don't remember getting in trouble for that, but I assume I got at least one "You're in hot water Jack" from my dad.


So yes, Scoot was a fantastic cat, but back to The Wizard of Oz. I can't count the number of times during the Cowardly Lion's "If I were the King of the forest" that I threw on the afgan my other grandmother made us and acted it out. I always loved the end when Dorothy was back home, and not only back home but with all her new friends and family members that she met in the technicolor dreamland.

I was quite the homebody when I was little. I was the little girl that always called her parents during sleepovers to have them come pick her up. Unless my sister was there, there wasn't a chance I was making it through the night. When I was little I lived by Dorothy's words.

As I've gotten older I have obviously branched out, I have learned that I can make wherever I am a piece of my lifelong home. I like life this way, I have little "homes" and families everywhere. I only hope that as I continue life I can build new little homes in my heart all across the globe.

Currently I am working on creating my newest "home." I'll put pictures up once it's completed.

You can't judge a book by it's cover

It's been two years since my Aunt Laura passed away. Last year I commemorated her death by sharing with you some of the things I learned from my aunt. This year I have decided to show how I have put her lessons to use, mainly one lesson... you can't judge a book by it's cover.

Having a sister that is the lead singer of a punk band and on Joan Jett's label has afforded me multiple opportunities to meet many different types of punky/musical people. Some of these people go by expected names like Jason, Julia, Sean, Dave, etc. Others go by not so expected names, like Beef and Fuzzy. I think that some people, upon meeting a girl named Fuzzy who may have multi-colored hair (perhaps buzz cut, perhaps not), and wears combat boots would think twice about starting up a conversation. Shame on them. Fuzzy (who happens to be my sister's merch (merchandise - t-shirts, CD's etc) girl) is one of the nicest and most interesting people I have ever met. She loves M&M's, is passionate about bands and music and is actually a pretty quiet girl. She and I may not look alike, but how fun would the world be if we did?

Simmi from Suffrajett - the lead singer and one of the nicest girls ever.

People that come to/work/perform in the shows that my sister performs at may seem frightening at first. There are lots of tattoos, lots of mohawks, spikes, earrings, and black hoodies, and I obviously don't fit in appearance wise. One of my mother's favorite stories centers around one of the first times she dropped me off at Warped Tour to travel with my sister. There in the sea of black was me, two french braids in my hair, a black tank-top (my attempt at blending) and a green skirt with my suitcase and blue gingham pillow. As my sister (in appropriate black skinny jeans, converse, and a black t-shirt) walked up I could see her giggle a bit, I can only imagine how I looked... I stuck out like a sore thumb. However, not one person I encountered on that tour treated me with anything but the utmost kindness, and this is what I have found across the country.

It's not easy being green! :-)

Punk/alternative people have taught me, without fail, that you cannot judge a book by it's cover. I have encountered mohawked boys that weren't very talkative which lead me to misinterpret as them not liking me, only to find that they are shy at first, but the most kind person you would ever meet. I sincerely believe that punk people get the worst wrap by mainstream society, most of them would do anything to help, I have seen them open their mechanic shops at midnight to help us get the van fixed in order to not have to cancel the next nights show.

Two of the sweetest punk rock boys I know.

It is impossible to be at a punk show and not be able (as a girl) to find a nice big burly guy to stand in front of you and protect you from the moshing crowds. It's like there is this unspoken punk rule that you don't trample a girl that doesn't want to be trampled (and I thank them profusely for this unspoken rule).

I would also like to argue that punk/alternative people are the sweetest love song writers in the world. (I keep saying punk/alternative, because I honestly don't always know where the bands I like live on that spectrum.) One of my current favorite bands Ludo, has a song that I find to be the sweetest love song I have heard in a while. I strongly recommend you check out "Anything for you," the sweetest song ever.

So there it is, not incredibly eloquent, but my attempt to explain my love of the punk/alternative crowd. The sweetest, kindest, loveliest, most beautiful group of people I have met recently. Thank you Aunt Laura for always reminding me to look past the cover and see the story inside.

Windows or a glass house?

A house without books is like a room without windows. ~Heinrich Mann

If Heinrich Mann is correct, than my house is all windows. There is no room for floors, doors, or closets, every surface would have to be a window. Why you may ask? The answer is quite simple, I am addicted to books, yes... I am a bibliophile. Shocking, but true. I contemplated a 12 step program and then decided why? I don't really have a problem. Since when has reading been a problem? ;-)

To be honest I am well aware that I have a problem. You see, I don't just buy lots of books and read them... I buy lots of books. If I'm in a foul mood, what do I do? Go buy a couple of books. If I'm way too early for an interview and there is a bookstore nearby I will stop in and pick a few up for a quick pick me up. Where others have starbucks or recreational drugs, I have books. I believe that it may be possible that I actually cost Barnes and Noble money with their membership program, but I'm not going to worry about that.

So how bad is my addiction? I believe it is possible that I have enough books to start a small library. Granted a library focused on only the classics, art crime, girlie beach reads and a couple of other genres mixed in. I also have an extensive collection of museum catalogues, one for each museum visited (minus two in Rome, because I already knew my luggage would be over) and lots on art and art history.

I am very excited to be reunited with the bulk of my collection in the coming months. I have finally procured a full time job and plan to move into a new apartment in late October/early November. The most exciting part of this all? I get to start to realize one of my biggest life goals, to have a personal library. I've always wanted a library. It started with Beauty and the Beast (and me saying, "Mom, I want a library with a ladder") and only intensified when I saw my desired library portrayed in reality (not cartoon form) in Meet Joe Black.

As part of this library craze, I am also quite specific about what kinds of books I buy. I (with limited exception) will buy only hardcover books, because seriously, what kind of library is filled with paperback books? I have become very fortunate over time as many books that I have acquired for art crime research are now out of print.

So back to my library. The new apartment I am looking at has a den, and I intend to line those walls with bookshelves and have my first attempt at a library. Feel free to stop by and check it out once it's set up.

Eat, Stumble, Fall?

I just returned from a girls night at the movies to see the new Julia Roberts flick, Eat, Pray, Love. Simply put, I loved it. I read the book quite a while ago and I sincerely enjoyed that, so I figured I would love the movie as well. It helps that I am a big Julia fan too. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm insanely jealous and will sometimes make fun of her out of my own insecurities, but at the end of the day I know that I would happily curl up and watch most of her films and walk away feeling happy.

Back to the movie. For those of you that have not seen it (or read the book) it's a pretty simple concept. It's based on a true story where the woman had a big event that changed her life, went to live in Italy (Eat), India (Pray) and Bali (Love) for three months each and on her way "found herself." Good for her. No really, I'm very happy for her. However, it made me wonder if my life was a movie how would it play out? Who would play me? Who would play my friends? Which talented cat actress would play my sweet kitten Cleo?? All important things right? ;-)

Mainly I wondered, what about my life would people find entertaining. This is actually something friends and I have discussed quite often. It usually starts out some night when we are all sitting around, drinking some wine and someone tells a story where they did something silly, stupid, fell down, etc. and it becomes a "I can top that" competition... I have never lost any of these competitions. I always have the story that is the silliest, dumbest, stumbliest (that's not a word, I know, but you understand), etc.

A movie based on my life would not have some soul searching moment where everyone watching starts to think, hmmm... I really should stop and smell the roses. Nope... my movie would play out more like a Drew Barrymore film. There would be lots of goofiness and lots of entertainment and you would leave feeling much better about yourself, because let's face it, I'm not Julia. You wouldn't leave thinking, man, that girl has everything just right, her life has fallen into place. Nope you would leave thinking, thank goodness for a realistic character that is identifiable, laughable, but not so laughable that it's one big joke.

You know what though? I wouldn't have it any other way. Such is the ride that is life. I can't model my life after a movie and I would much prefer to break or create the mold than to simply bend myself to fit into a pre-made situation.

Quite often I contemplate writing a book about the silly things in my life. I think the world could use a book where the writer didn't take themselves so seriously. Like my movie (which of course would come after my book) it wouldn't be some huge thing that makes you think you are inadequate or that your life is missing something because you haven't spent time in an Ashram in India learning to meditate and pet elephants. On the contrary, it would make you think, yep, my life is my life. Plain and simple. With all the imperfections and all the bumps in the road. My book wouldn't be this ultimate find the meaning of life thing, and it wouldn't end with the heroine running away with her prince. Nope... that's not my life... at least not yet. I mean, I have to leave something for the sequel. ;-)

Questions

A little while ago I drove to Jacksonville with Danielle, one of my best friends, to visit our mutual best friend, Nellie, her family and her newest son Deacon. At some point while there and when Danielle was holding baby Deacon (or baby Bacon as his brothers affectionately call him), Nellie said, "You look so natural holding him." Which brought out my sarcastic nature and I joked, "As opposed to what? An Alien?." Which sparked a conversation that led to a list of questions or statements that Danielle and I get annoyed hearing as single ladies and that Nellie gets annoyed hearing as a mom. Nellie suggested I blog it, so here it is.

Of course I cannot state that I represent all single ladies, but for me and a good amount of my friends the following are true. If you have ever asked me any of these, you now know that I will give you a nice answer, while thinking in my head of my real answer.

1. While holding a baby or playing with a child, please don't tell us that we look "natural." It makes me want to stand on my head and talk in a made up language to show what "unnatural" would look like. Yes, I know I am a woman and of child rearing age, you don't need to point this out with the whole "natural" statement. And please please please don't ask a girl you KNOW is single when she thinks she will have one... I do not have a crystal ball, so you will have as much luck asking me who will win the Superbowl.

2. After asking if we are dating someone and hearing that we are not, do not follow up with, "Are you looking?" What kind of a question is that? Nope, not looking, I think that I can have a quite fulfilling life alone with my cat.

3. This one is quite unique to me, as I have been unemployed for a bit, and it leads to a similar answer as above, but here we go. The dialogue usually goes like this:
"Them:" "How's the job market?"
Me: Bad.
"Them:" Find anything?
Me: Nope.
"Them:" Still looking?
Me: Yep (while thinking... Nope, I stopped looking because I think life is fantastic as an unemployed person... OF COURSE I'M STILL LOOKING!)

4. This one is probably more for my mother than anyone else but, when you introduce us (single girls) to someone and ask us if we would be interested in them and we say no PLEASE do NOT give them our numbers!!! No means no!

5. Now this may seem to contradict my first statement, but when a group of parents are hanging out with some single people talking "shop" and they tell a story and then look at the single people and say "you just could never understand until your a parent"... just stop doing that. I understand I do not have a child, but I am a pretty intelligent adult and I do a pretty good job of understanding the emotions of other people. If you were talking about a serious event like a kidnapping or something, then yeah, you can say that. However, that has NEVER been the case. I can get the joke, understand the book or movie without having a child of my own. Did you not understand "The Little Mermaid" because you didn't actually live Under the Sea?

6. My favorite questions come around wedding times, when random strangers, or life long friends will ask some or all of the following:

• Do you plan on getting married? (Yeah... just as much as I plan on being the head of an arts organization and living in Italy... all things I would like to do, but again NO CRYSTAL BALL!)
• Where would you like to get married? My sarcastic answer... In this lifetime. (My thoughts though: Ok, as a girl I have been planning my wedding since I was 5, but no, we (single ladies) will never admit this in public and tell you a real answer, so stop asking.)
• This one is for anyone... when someone turns to you during a ceremony and says (referring to the bride) "Doesn't she look lovely?" Ummm... SHE'S the bride... of course she does... and if I didn't think so I would never tell you, so shush.
  

Ok... that's enough for now. Mind you if any of you have said these things, I really don't mind, but I do giggle while forming responses in my head.

Here's one for new mom's out there...
1. When you see a new mom in the store, don't ask "how is the baby sleeping?" HOW DO YOU THINK? HE/SHE is a newborn!

Which leads to my issue with the "slept like a baby" saying. Babies don't actually sleep that well... I'm going to start saying, "Slept like a teenage boy." I think that's much more accurate.

The Long Road Home

I write this from the hot and humid comfort of Tampa, Florida. While I sincerely enjoyed my time in LA, circumstances have brought me back home... for now. Here are a few of the adventures along the long road home. (How long you may wonder? 2, 592 miles to be exact)

I was fortunate enough to head to Venice Beach to watch the Fourth of July fireworks with a few friends. It was a pretty spectacular show.

The next few days I tried to get my fill of things I would be leaving behind, here is a panoramic view (thanks to a new app) from my favorite hike up to the Griffith Observatory. This isn't quite to the top, there is still one more pretty steep climb, but it's still a good shot.

A few days later I started packing and getting ready for the drive back home. Danielle was awesome enough to agree to fly out and accompany me on the road trip.

On my last day in LA before we headed back, we got to see The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. We weren't allowed to take any picture inside, but it was a pretty awesome show, Steve Carell, Jane Lynch and a younger comedian were the guests. It was a HILARIOUS show.

Our first potty stop on the way outside of California was close to the California Arizona border. (For those of you that don't do cross country trips often, it is imperative that you take advantages of restroom stops prior to Arizona because ALL of their rest stops are closed.) We left BEAUTIFUL 76 degree LA weather and when I stepped out of the car a measly 3 hours later to take this picture, it was 100 degrees and climbing. It's a beautiful view though.

About an hour later in the car we recorded this... yep... thank goodness for air conditioning.

We made a stop at the National Petrified Forest (also referred to as the painted desert). Thanks to my new panoramic app you guys also get to experience these beautiful views. I asked the guide how far in we had to drive to "see anything" she said that two miles in was an adobe house. Here is our first stop, about a quarter of a mile in. WOW!

Stop #2, I'm a giant. :-)

The house the girl mentioned. I would live here... if it had air conditioning. The views are beyond spectacular.

The next day we stopped at Cadillac Ranch. Here is the sign at the gate on your way in. This is an eccentric millionaire's public art project (my kind of guy), where they strongly encourage you to leave your own mark on the buried Cadillacs.

The cars and the other "graffiti artists."

I really like when I am allowed to do "something bad." I've never been in the situation to spray paint on someone else's property in my life (you know, without it being wrong), I had way too much fun!

That's the car I wanted to "tag," but the mud around it was insane and since we had literally just started driving I didn't want to be covered in mud for the rest of the day.

The bunny is my sister and the crown is me. :-)

Our car.

Our next stop was at the Oklahoma City Memorial. It was awe inspiring. So much thought and planning went into it and I believe it was executed perfectly. Below you see one of the black walls, and you see the backside of the other. One of these was marked with 9:01 and the other 9:03, because the explosion occurred at 9:02. In between the two walls are the chairs that represent the lives that were lost and the reflection pool.

We finally arrived at our stopping point, Memphis, TN.

I was SUPER excited to be in the land of Elvis. I'm a huge Elvis fan. My favorite song that my poor family had to listen to way too much (a la Michele Tanner on Full House with Baby Beluga) was "Return to Sender." I LOVED that song. When I was in middle school my dad brought me home one of the Elvis clocks where his hips sway with the seconds and when my sister was in high school she got me a velvet painting (that our parents have not been able to locate since our move about 15 years ago). My lovely sister used to let me commandeer the TV for two weeks every summer to watch the Elvis movie marathons on TBS, that's the level of addiction. :-)

Here I am at the gates to Graceland. We arrived too late to go on a tour, so that I get to save for later.

Here I am trying to get a stealthy picture of the Elvis impersonator at the gates.

Walking on Beale Street. I LOVED this building. They demolished the "guts" of the building, but created this support system to keep the facade. Inside there is a courtyard bar. I really enjoyed how Memphis preserves its past. In the lobby of our hotel there was a facade of a 3 story building, perhaps the best lobby adornment I have ever seen.

Ahh, Guinness, the drink of my people... you know, besides Whiskey.

The next day was the marathon 14 hour drive back home. We didn't really stop much so there isn't much to share.

All in all a good trip with fun adventures.

Sunshine and Breezes

The thing I notice most about Los Angeles (from here on out "LA") is their misconception of "hot" weather. Having left my fair homeland of Florida when it was a sweltering 94 degrees outside, you can forgive me if I think 78 is far from "hot." Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the weather here, but I find the weather person a bit too quick calling things hot. :-)

While Danielle was here we ran around town and did lots of the touristy things. Along the Hollywood Walk of Fame I snapped a photo of one of my favorite stars.

After the walk of fame we headed to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. We had a lot of fun posing with the "stars" in here. Below are a few of my favorites.

This one is for Mom, a lover of all things Jackie Chan. Pardon the workout clothes, we had just come from hiking runyon canyon... where I almost fell down a few times but made it out ok.

This is as close as you'll ever get my clumsy self to skateboarding. I find it funny that even on a board that is affixed to the ground I still look scared and like I am bracing for a fall. :-)

I couldn't resist.

Since I have yet to find a steady job, I have had some free time on my hands during the day. I have started to fill some of this time by hiking in Griffith Park. You may know the park as the place near the Hollywood sign and where the Griffith Observatory (from lots of movies, like the second Charlies Angels) or the Greek Theater are located. The park is huge and has lots of hiking trails. The problem I found pretty early on was that the trails are not marked, and I couldn't find a map.

So what did I do? I started following other people (particularly single girls, cause I figured if they felt safe enough to do a trail, it would be ok for me). Hiking for me is an extreme sport. I don't mind the climbing up part, but the coming down part is quite the experience. As mentioned above, I'm clumsy. The inclines tend to be pretty steep, but they also tend to be covered in gravel so it is VERY easy to slip and slide on the way down.

Everyday I hoped that I would find the trail to the Griffith Observatory, on the day depicted in the photos below I didn't make it to the Observatory. After hiking for quite some time and getting quite high, I decided to call my mother and ask for her recommendation. I could do one of two things:

1. I could keep going, across a tiny bridge I had just come to, up another very steep incline, and then it seemed like the trail would start going down... pretty quick.

or

2) I could turn around and head back.

I decided for option 2. I figured it would be best to learn where the trail went before I committed to navigating the trails back down.

One more shot.

One of the next days I was sitting on the couch and I smelled smoke coming from the kitchen. I panicked. I had not been cooking anything yet that day, but I figured that didn't mean that something wasn't on fire. As I headed to the kitchen I started to see a bit of smoke, but I couldn't see a source in the apartment. That's when I looked out the window and saw this.

The store down the road from the apartment had caught on fire and the wind was kind enough to blow the smoke into the window and the apartment. I was thankful the apartment wasn't on fire, but not happy that someone's business was.

After a few more attempts hiking to the observatory (I'll admit, it was somewhere around 6 or 7) I finally found a map that clearly marked the trails and made it all the way up there!!

Another thing that added in the success of this hike was that I had a new friend who joined me. We made a few wrong turns, but recovered pretty quickly to make it to this view.

Another weekend I got to explore downtown LA with two of my favorite Pasadena natives, Catherine and her son Evren (whom you may remember from my adventures in Italy last summer since Catherine was a classmate).

We started the day at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and then headed to Evren's favorite place, Little Tokyo. In Little Tokyo we got lunch at a noodle place that was highly rated on yelp.

Here's my meal... it was fantastic! Real ramen, not the stuff that comes in the plastic wrapper with the packet of "flavoring."


While exploring downtown we walked into the Bradbury building and found Mr. Charlie Chaplin having a seat.


You may recognize the Bradbury building from some movies. My favorite is from the last scene in 500 Days of Summer. The architecture is gorgeous!

I still have some catching up to do, but there is a tease of some of the fun things I've been doing in LA.