'to know what to say/mind is a razor blade'

Signage. A recent bad habit I've developed is compulsively snapping photos, with iphone/camera while I'm driving...

Sister's awesome hand-me-over jacket from a badass friend/mentor.

Valentine pop-tart that I talked about a while ago - chocolate with a blood orange marmalade filling...!

How amazing would it be to chew a hole in an orange, crawl into it, then several hours later crawl out and, while lazing about on the skin, proudly tell yourself yeah, I ate that entire thing.

I drew a happy roma tomato for one of the signs at the store.

Leaves un-meant yet wholly meant for each other; the crackle of a eucalyptus fire.

Coffee outings have tailed off since H has gone back to Melbourne. A latte from Paper or Plastik, a finished latte from Buster's, and a chai latte also from Buster's. Come to think of it, my intake of good coffee has greatly tailed off on its own because of work situations, and has reverted to small samplings of unsavory drip coffee in the wee hours of the morning.

march forth

1. California surfboard (!!!) Fuck L.A., love CA (???)
2. Whenever I see marbles, I think to myself: 'Lost, lost, lost...I've lost my marbles.' a la Toodles from Hook (1991), and how that scene was my first memory of and understanding of wordplay.
3. This is how I wish my closet could look. I have a steadily growing drawer of striped shirts, new and thrifted, but they really don't make clothing the way they used to.

I have trouble believing it is already March.

CDfC

I laughed so hard as I took pictures of myself in this beanie. My sister and I each got one, original plan was for one to get charcoal, the other black, and switch with each other at whim, but we both got black after a mishap with the stock of charcoal. Fascinating story, I know.

made with care

MAKR had a 20% off sale last week (thanks for the heads-up J!) so all I got was this key-shaped bottle opener, which I'd been wanting for a long time. It arrived very thoughtfully wrapped in a tiny envelope, stamped with 'Made in USA' along with the MAKR logo. Yesterday after running an errand for work I noticed I was by Paper or Plastik Cafe so I stopped in for a latte and took one of the cup sleeves upon noticing the stamp on it. I have always loved this look so it's kind of nice to see it everywhere... so long as it is done properly.

you're my happy thought

The rule of thirds here is so good that it hurts. UNNNF. Taking a break from doing real work to carry out administrative/organizational duties has its perks sometimes.

until we bleed

Echo Mountain Trail with Jessica. She relished the challenge of the way up while I agonized, but on the way down I enjoyed the ease while she balked at having to repeat the journey back down. Once we reached the top we bellowed into the Echo Phone, a steel-welded megaphone/cone mounted on a post and aimed at the hills. I yelled "WHOOAAAA!" and she yelled "HELLOO!" We made some pretty good echoes. Extremely cathartic, even more so than screaming underwater.

the museum of jurassic technology

I've been to the Museum of Jurassic Technology just once before, a couple of years ago. So going again today, this time with one other person as opposed to a bunch of classmates from school, as well as having a bit more perspective, made me appreciate and understand this collection of curios much more than I did while under the pressure of understanding the purpose of this in regards to experiential architecture.

asleep

Archiving images for boss and wanted to share these. Hope boss doesn't mind...

love note

This year my sister was my Valentine! We got dinner at Nickel Diner; I got the Cowboy-something which was a generous heap of brisket and beans and she got the Eat Your Veggies, and we shared that as well as a stuffed artichoke and for dessert she got a s'mores cake and I got a valentine-themed pop-tart. It was a lot of fun, and the whole time we were joking and giggling and not giving a damn. She envisioned and drew me this beautiful card, which made me wish I had followed through with my valentines project... so on the inside she wrote: "On our own, we're pretty good, but together we're even better!" I love you seester, thank you so much. Yesterday was wonderful :).

A foamy latte (the bubbles should be finer) and my password scrawled hastily by a coworker at the office, sum up Monday and Tuesday.

hike with hamish

Hiking again, this time with an Australian friend of a friend who's here on holiday before he starts his job in a big office full of suits. We exchanged theories on why there are so many gum trees (I only realized about a year ago that gum trees = eucalyptus) in California, how if we had the chance to redo college/uni how differently we'd have tackled our respective studies, and spoke of our close friends and growing up. It was funny to hang out with someone who has been incredibly close with one of my oldest friends, closer to her than I or anyone else has been in the last two years, to begin to understand their relationship and understanding of each other and their views on life, where these views intersect and when they tail off from each other. It was interesting also to be in the company of someone on the cusp of starting life in the real world, a point I'm vacillating on, still. He picked up on my desire to venture out of Los Angeles, and said I should visit Melbourne, where he lives, and where our mutual friend was living for the past couple years. I don't know where I want to go, but I'd want to be just as proud of the culture and lifestyle of where I live, to throb in its pulse effortlessly, to know the city inside out and want to share it with everyone who passes through.

sex wax

Simple, well-designed items with a good sense of humor and a memorable quality make me smile. I don't know how to surf (yet); my boss had a bunch of these in the office one day.

Today I really needed coffee.

your body demands it (rest)

The past 20 hours have been a blur, with a few slight moments of clarity in between. I'm almost done with this project at work... I took these photobooth shots while waiting for a few items to export and liked them enough to share. Strange things. Incoherence in communications with others but too focused on other affairs to really care. Clarity in more important matters, but a loss for words when surprised or shocked by newfound information. Time is fluid and continuous and can't be cut up and categorized until you've gained some perspective. I keep babbling. Here are three songs that sum up a mood: 

Jerome - Lykke Li

Breaking Ties - OceanLab

Baby, We'll Be Fine - The National

oliver

This is Oliver. One of my coworkers calls him "Kitler" because of the half-moustache. Oliver is a giant cat, I am pretty sure he is as big as my dogs... he has been very affectionate of late and visits the office, where friendly visitors are always appreciated. If Oliver could talk I would imagine he'd say his favorite color is red, he enjoys the taste of tap water and chickens and is an avid giver of love bites (which is in fact true). And I am sure he's very popular with the ladies, handsome devil he is.

quick & dirty

Work schedule since Friday: TJs>Office, Office>TJs, TJs>Office, OFFICE. February really sneaked up on me. I can't believe it's already the 5th. No, the 6th. There is so much to do.

lately, songs I can't stop listening to (this is a list, not a playlist):

1. Heartbeats - The Knife

2. God Has A Voice, She Speaks Through Me - CocoRosie

3. Bros - Panda Bear

4. Come Home - OceanLab

5. Miss You - Trentemøller
6. My Girls - Animal Collective
7. Tomboy - Panda Bear
8. Werewolf - CocoRosie
9. Animals - CocoRosie
10. Slow Show - The National

Actually it's more accurate to say I've been listening to most of/all these artists constantly. I'm always late to the music bus and there are about ten more songs I didn't list that are all from years ago that I've been playing for nostalgia's sake, but these songs in particular are ones I can listen to on repeat for hours at a time. Usually I can't ever do that. This past month was weird.

trabajo en mi casa

Happy February! I worked from home today. I drank tea from my current favorite vintage pyrex mug/glass (?), wound my perpetual calendar to February (nice clean start), and James brought me lunch when he heard I was nearby (I'm grateful to have awesome considerate friends). I stepped into the backyard and plucked a tangerine from our tree, then went back inside to work some more. Dinner with sister and a trip back to the office and doing a little more work before bed. This is how it should always be, maybe. It's gonna be a busy weekend/week next week, whew...