Wishful Thinking

Today I emailed a song request to the morning DJ at KEXP, for the first time. A few minutes later I was driving to an appointment and the DJ says, "Got a lot of good requests coming in. Here's 'Wishful Thinking' by Wilco..." and I got so excited. He didn't even say my name, but it reminds me of sitting Melissa's bedroom in Middle School, calling in requests and dedicating songs on Kiss 96.5. Like, all Friday night. You know, songs by En Vogue and Jamie Walters (ahem, How do you Talk to an Angel?...I'm looking at you Jay). Luckily (?) my tastes have changed. Man I love me some Wilco!

I got acupuncture today for some ailment that I've been coping with and I already feel better. It's gotten really bad but after my successful song request and some oriental healing needles, things are looking up. Here's a show poster for Wilco by Crosshair outta Chicago.

I ask Lorraine for the Lo Pro Fro

Despite some hair woes, I've been trying to grow my hair longer and saw a picture of Amy Sedaris in my favorite magazine ever, Bust! (That exclamation point is my addition). I looked her up on IMDB and thought, Yeah we kinda have the same hair. Let me bring some of these to my hair dresser, Lorraine. My sister introduced me to Amy via Strangers with Candy. I think I have a crush on her.

But I leave you with this.

changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes

This month has been a little nutso. The last two weekends have been devoted to moving and cleaning. I'm pretty psyched about my new pad, which is in a neighborhood that I used to live in and nearby lots of my friends. It's big, has a view of mountains and has a lot of windows. It needs furniture. I know-- a picture speaks a thousand words. I don't have any photos. My life is still laptop-less and therefore a digital camera is pretty useless. (Whoa that sounds pretty negative. Don't cry.)

On Thursday I read the list of things I needed to do to get my security deposit back at my old place. I'm including it in this post because its' pretty damn funny (note the manner in which things are emphasized such as red type, bold type, yellow highlighting, underlining, and any combination of the above). But the good news is, I completed each task! I painted the apartment top to bottom, back to its original color (I'd painted the walls glass, soft pumkin and linen white when I moved in). I cleaned the living daylights outta that place: polished the curtain rod, scrubbed under the fridge, vacuumed dust from the window tracks. I impressed myself.


Next week Ash and Jeff are flying to Portland and my b.friend and I are meeting them there. They've never met. I suspect we'll have an excellent time. If things go my way, I'll have a security deposit to party with.

p.s. Yep, the title is a Jimmy Buffet lyric.

Oh, hello Craigslist.

I'm back to my life in Seattle: my own bed, my routine, my gym, my trusty bus route, delicious Americanos!

Since I got burglarized I've been considering moving into a place that's not on the ground floor. To add insult to injury, my building manager told me that they're raising my rent about $100 (in one year, gimme a break). She was wearing a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt. I didn't know if I should take her seriously. I can't believe I'm already back on Craigslist. There's not much turnover this time of year, which is strange. Why do people leave Seattle in the summer, when the sun is shining like 14 hours a day? Irregardlessly, I'll keep my eye out for any reasonably-priced, charming studio that's on a bus route and near some urban life, i.e. parks, bars and stores. I'm painting a broad stroke, location-wise. Maybe I'll get bored with the hunt and will just stay at my own place.

Speaking of questionable sweaters, here's some pix from Kelly and Dan's ugly Christmas sweater party. We sure rocked the festive-wear. Ashley's involves an elf riding a polar bear, and when she ran out to the car she realized that the bear is wearing a bell because she jingled all the way.

Goals Meeting '08

I've been on the East Coast for 9 days and am ready to head back to Seattle. It's been a very fulfilling trip. I pretty much toured the Northeast- NY, CT, MA, and VT. Some highlights:

Making pigs in a blanket for Ashley and Jeff's cocktail party. I think pigs in a diaper is a better name. That's what it seems like wrapping all those weenies in little crescent rolls.

Watching Patriots Tom Brady and Laurence Maroney play against the NY Giants at a random NYC bar. They be lookin good.

A loud black dude was whistling at me and Ashley during our run, saying "What? You're prejudiced? Once you go black you can never go back". Ashley replied "I'll take a guy with a smaller dick and a bigger brain any day".

Winning a contest at my family's Christmas gathering. I was voted in as co-questioner; my cousin Ryan and I will carry the torch from my uncle Kevin. Kevin started the tradition 10 years ago of asking a thought-provoking question each Christmas day with the intention of getting to know each other a little better. We all take our turns answering and the person with the best answer wins a coffee table book. It's usually an emotional affair; someone's response brings the house down. There's about 25 people in my family so I feel pretty honored.

Skiing at Mt Snow with my parents and some family. The sun was shining, there were hardly any crowds and we got a bunch of runs in. My dad is a sick skier, so following him inspires me. We brought leftover food from Christmas and ate at a picnic table by the lodge. We covertly drank our beers out of mitten coozies.

Maximum QT with my mom. We ran together, drove to Plymouth to look at venues for my cousin's wedding, and navigated the ridiculousness that is driving into Times Square a few days before New Years. What were we thinking??

Being asked to be my best friend/cousin's maid of honor.

My sister and I are gonna go eat Australian food, whatever that is, in Williamsburg. Then we have a Goals Meeting '08. As the title would suggest, we're talking about some goals for the year. Here's a few of mine:

Redesign website.
Cook a good dinner at least 2 nights a week.
Travel abroad (to Europe and/or Japan).
Frame 8 silkscreen posters and organize a show.
Do not drink and email.
Bike instead of drive when the weather is nice.
Avoid taking money out of savings.

Goodbye '07, it's been real!

Burgled!

My apartment got burglarized last week. I came home from a long work day to find my front door unlocked, bootprints on my kitchen table, and my computer swiped (RIP G4, it's been real). You have to walk up a flight of stairs to get to my apartment, but Seattle is so hilly (San Fran's stepbrother), that my unit in the back is essentially on the ground floor. They came in through my kitchen window, which I'd left slightly ajar. I've lived there a year and felt comfortable enough to crack the window for circulation.

It sucks. Nothing was backed up. They also stole a blanket that my Grandma had given me, which had a lot of personal value. I have renter's insurance. Best case scenario is they reimburse me for some of the laptop's value. We'll see though.

In similar bad news, I got ready for my company's much-anticipated holiday party on Saturday night and picked up some friends when the gas light came on. I pulled into the Shell station and pumped the tank, not even to the brim. When I took the nozzle out, gas continued to pour with vigor, splashing onto the ground with such force that it ricocheted back onto me and my new party dress, etc. A man ran to my rescue and ripped the nozzle out of my hands. We both agreed we'd never seen anything like it. My friends and I pretty much got high of the fumes on the way back to my house.

But, all is well. In general I'm a very lucky person, and I think shit like this has to happen once in a while to even out the fortune. By the way, I really like my boyfriend. Here's a photo of us from the party.

Step into my office, baby.

I made my holiday cards today, finally. (Not shown here, so I can surprise my friends). I love when the studio is empty; I get this monstrous, industrial space to listen to the radio and act like a one-woman production line. You'd be lucky to find a space like this in NYC. When I was printing at School of Visual Arts, it was each man for himself in a constrained space. I had to practically sign up for every god-forsaken step of the printmaking process, edging out the Bklyn hipsters printing ironic tote-bags. I was at Pratt alone today and got stuff done.

When I went to the main building I ran into a dude that was in my class. He asked if I showed my work, and mentioned that we should do a joint show. I said, no, all my artwork is under my bed, but I would love to show. His stuff is pretty rad; I was flattered. Thanks Kaleb. The biggest hurdle is framing 8 or 10 pieces. Shit ain't cheap! But it is a personal and realistic goal. There are a million coffee shops here. Many are aching for some original Chez Moni artwork...