My body hates me

So I'm pretty sure I'm getting pneumonia. It's been hard to breathe for over a week and a half, I have severe chest pains, I'm afraid I'm coming down with a fever and I have a cold that won't go away. It sucks and I feel terrible. Going to the doctor's today. Will let you know how things go.

Who watches the watchmen?

I really hope Snoopy doesn't move ...

A message for all the locals

Are you a female living in Monterey, Salinas, San Jose, San Francisco or any city in between? If so, please consider volunteering for our upcoming 'avant-green' fashion/art show! Here's all the information about this exciting event:

'Avant-green' fashion/art show looking for models/volunteers

Are you interested in being a model for a day? We certainly hope so!

The Hospitality Group from Monterey Peninsula College is hosting a benefit event for the Women's Services Dept. on Tuesday, March 24, 6-9pm, at the Student Center at Monterey Peninsula College. The event is called 'Avant-Green,' a fashion/art show featuring live models posing as living mannequins, displaying the latest in sustainable and chic resale clothing. We are looking for female volunteers, ages 18-35, to be living mannequins for this chic fashion event. Here's what this event would involve:

1. Being able to stand/sit/lean as a living mannequin (limited movement, no conversation) for three 20 minute intervals. You will be given a 40 minute break between each 20 minute session to relax and change.
2. Willing to wear chic, fashionable clothing from local sustainable and resale boutiques, including Haute Dame Boutique and Dress For Change.
3. Willing to have your makeup and hair styled by local artists, in a chic runway style.
4. We would need you to meet us once at one of the boutiques for a fitting, approximately 1 1/2-2 weeks prior to the event.
5. You would need to arrive at the event by 3pm on Tuesday, March 24 for makeup and hair styling.
6. You would need to provide your own shoes (flats, boots or high-heels, please bring 2-3 pairs) and nylons/tights.

We're also looking for makeup and hair artists to assist and help create the looks for our models. If you are interested in being a behind-the-scenes player, please send a photograph of your work (makeup or hair).

If you are interested in participating in this once-in-a-lifetime event, please contact Beth at jainomo@gmail.com. Please send your measurements and a current photograph. The deadline for consideration is Monday, March 9th and space is limited. We hope to see you there!

Well I'll be ...

This was definitely not something I expected, but definitely something interesting! A supergroup with Taylor Hanson :). My sister Christine is going to be psyched.

Wine Blog

I started a wine blog to post my new wine findings, tastings, discoveries and other little things that wine lovers might appreciate. Here's the link if you would like to check it out:

Wino Rhino

Cheers!

"Serenity now"

I don't understand how some women can be so bitchy in what's supposed to be a relaxation class. I went to Pilates this morning, a few minutes before the class was supposed to start. There was hardly any room left, so I was left to set up my mat right next to the door. This women right next to me turns to me, almost immediately, and says "Do you think you could move your mat a bit? You're kind of close, and we do a lot of circles and rotations in this class."
(Let me take a moment to say that we had at least 2 feet between our mats)
Not wanting to make a scene, I simple said okay and proceeded to move my mat even closer to the door, making it virtually impossible for me to circle or rotate without hitting the cubbies filled with towels and shoes. But hey, at least she was no longer slightly inconvenienced.
If that wasn't enough, the woman continued to lecture me on what they do in the class, how they do it and how she needs a lot of space to do it ... as if I was some idiot first-timer who was only in the class to fulfill my New Year's resolution for a few weeks.
By the way, I've taken Pilates for months and certainly know the gist of it.
So I look her directly in the eyes and said, "Yeah, I know, I've been in this class before" before turning around and walking to the restroom. By the time I returned class had started, but the woman certainly made it clear that I was inconveniencing her workout by the way she was circling and rotating her legs ... despite the fact that I had given her more space than half the other people in the class had given each other. Because, you know, everybody else had manners.
I was in a sour mood the entire time, didn't concentrate very well and now I just feel annoyed. So much for inner peace. And common decency.

Hermit month

So Jules and I have decided to have another hermit month in March, where we avoid spending money on anything but the bare necessities. Basically all we do is cook at home, go to the beach and take advantage of our Netflix membership.
I really recommend this for anybody who's needing a bit of a financial breather. Not to mention how nice it is to get away from the whole consumer culture for a bit. I can't tell you how many times I end up feeling so wasteful just from all the shit I buy and keep around. I don't know how so many people can keep doing it all the time. Must be crippling.
April's going to be a little crazy, money-wise. We're moving into a more expensive house and purchasing a TV from Julien's parents. Not to mention the vacation we're taking to Gualala, which I'll be posting several pics and videos from. It's one of those places that you have to see to really appreciate. Anybody who's been there gets it. If you haven't, well, you just don't.
Anyway, I'm going to go work on my story a bit more and start reading the Declaration of Independence. It's for my literature class. I know, a bit of a bizarre choice, but not my call. Ask the teacher.

Gold and ambition

I made a decision yesterday that I swore to myself I would not make: I've decided to actually start a novel. For years I have convinced myself that writing novels wasn't something I really could, or even wanted to, do. But alas, I am going to step over that puddle and actually give it a try. I don't plan on using it to earn my first million, or even trying to get it published or recognized.
Honestly, I just want to prove to myself that writing a novel is something within my reach. I plan on using this current semester of Creative Writing II to achieve just that.
I'll keep you all posted with updates of how it's working out. I already have my first page but I'm not going to reveal it yet ... I'm showing it in class tonight and I want to see if anybody likes it before I submit it to the world beyond.

If you change your mind

I've recently started to come to the realization that, truly, everything is about perspective. Regardless of the situation around me, I can influence my every reaction to it simply based on my perspective. If I walk into something expecting to be upset, angry or remorseful, then that's exactly what's going to happen. Or rather, if I step into something expecting to be optimistic, peaceful or humorous, then that's (usually) how I feel.
I really need to start taking that into consideration more.

Wine Weekend

To both celebrate and (pretend to) ignore the sappy greeting card sentiments of Valentine's Day, Julien and I spent last weekend wine tasting. I know it sounds like the quintissenial Valentine's Day soiree for a young couple in love, but for us it was as much an educational excursion as it was a romantic one.
It was my first time really going tasting after being hired as the Wine Club Coordinator for Heller Estate. I've gone to a couple tasting events before, but that was partially for work so it wasn't quite the same. It certainly helps (both my wallet and my ego) when I can use my Heller business card to not only get free tastings anywhere I go, but also to get 20-30% off all wine purchases. It was splendid - like being part of an exclusive club.
We went to a few Carmel Valley tasting rooms on Saturday and to Soif Wine Bar and Restaurant in Santa Cruz on Monday. Sunday I was sick in bed so we didn't get to make it a three-day affair, unfortunately.
My favorite part about the experience were the great conversations Julien and I had about the wines we were trying. He and I have both greatly improved our palettes since first meeting each other, and we're both really noticing it, especially together. It was the most fun I'd had in awhile. It was also nice to be on a certain wavelength with the winemakers and TR hosts that we encountered. I felt respected in a really positive way. Here's a list of our favorites wines, the ones we took home with us:

1. 2005 Talbott Sleepy Hollow Chardonnay - Both Jules and I really enjoyed this wine because it had all the positive qualities of the 2006 Sleepy Hollow, slight tropical notes of pineapple and melon, a hint of lemon curd, slight oak and a warm buttery cream, but without the excess acidity that the 2006 seemed the have. The 2005 was more fluid and subtle, and the finish was clean without dropping out too quickly.




2. 2006 Parsonage Syrah - Parsonnage has two distinct wine categories in their collection. The first would be their everyday wines, with grapes that are taken from different vineyards and mixed together. The second is their private reserve, which only boasts two grapes that they grow themselves: syrah and cabernet. In all honesty, I did not like their cabernet at all. It had elements of vegetable and vinegar, without any distinct fruit sweetness or earth. On the other hand, their Syrah was deep and rich. It had excellent dark berries, coffee and a great amount of natural terroir (i.e. earth, sun and breeze) in its flavors.


3. 2002 Bernardus Marinus - Jules and I first tried the 2003 Marinus (a meritage-style blend), which is included in the general tasting. Afterwards, we saw that the 2002 was priced exactly the same. We asked if we could try it and the TR hosts opened a bottle for us. While the 2003 was great in all respects, the 2002 had something special to it. The one year made so much difference between the two vintages. It also helped that the 2002 had less emphasis on the cabernet grape, which allowed for more interaction between the different varietals. We immediately decided to take that one home with us. As we were leaving, Jules overheard the two TR hosts gossiping about us, about how we knew our stuff.


Anyway, those wines are now sitting in our small but quaint collection, just waiting to be drank. I look forward to trying them all again. As soon as I go out for another tasting or try a new bottle I will definitely keep you informed.

Never love something that doesn't love you back

I decided to take my blogging pursuits to Blogger because Wordpress is really, really, really, really annoying. It's more professional than Blogger but it's really hard to maintain and I can't really upload it anywhere. There's always been problems when I try to upload my Wordpress blog to Facebook or Digg.

Well, here's to new beginnings!

p.s. if you want to see something interesting, check out my original Jainomo Blogspot, written when I was still in high school.

Ill at ease

It's hard to work when you're sick.

My mind is going everywhere and nowhere at the same time. My brain is fuzzy and I can't concentrate. My fingers keep stumbling over the keys. If I posted this without fixing all the spelling and grammar errors I'm making, this would make for a very lousy and hard to read blog entry. It might be funny, though. Something to think about for next time.

My whole body feels weak and strained. It sucks.

Clogged Arteries

Nothing says love like basic human anatomy! Delicious anatomy, too! Chalky and sugar-coated.

I wonder if I'd look like a cannibal if I ate this.

Avant-green

So I have some pretty exciting news.

I'm currently taking a Special Events Management course at MPC, to help improve my skills set. I've always had a knack for planning fun, unique events - but the logistics always seem to fall through the cracks in one way or another.

Anyway, this specific semester is unique because, for the first time, the class is actually planning a real event. Apparently they usually divide everybody up in groups of 4 and have them plan fake events. Not this year. This year they've decided to do something real.

And guess whose event proposal they chose?

Well, if you couldn't guess by the over-the-top exhuberantly exhilerated tone (which I completely had, by the way), it was mine :). I proposed a fashion showing prioritizing sustainable resources, like organic, bio-sustainable and resale clothing. But it's not just any fashion show, with the runway and cheesy music. We're going to do a living mannequin display. We're getting a series of models to pose as living mannequins for the evening - we're dressing them in lavish clothing, fabulous makeup and crazy hair. We're also going to have green vendors, food and (hopefully) beer and wine. The event is called "Avant-green." I randomly came up with the name at the end of class last week and the teacher really loved it. She thought it was very unique and got the message across.

We're planning on making it a benefit for the Women's Services Department, which provides bus passes and donated work clothing for in-need working professionals.

Right now me and the other girls in charge of the Fashion Show part of the event are working to get donations from local organic and resale stores, as well as art and fashion students from local colleges. If anyone is interested in participating, please let me know. We're always looking for up-and-coming designers, and we're also on the lookout for models as well.

I'm so excited! I feel really positive right now, and excited at seeing this vision come into reality.

Just to let you know, the event is Tuesday, March 24 from 6-9pm. I really hope that all of you can make it, because I'd love to see you there.

Eternity exists as I inhale

I breathe in lives
from the atoms
to the atmosphere.

Millenniums, centuries, weeks, days
flowing on windswept currents.

The blush of hope.
The flush of desperation.
The first and last tear-stained smile.

Hands and fingers reaching
for the light of the sun.
Straining through clouds, rain and snow
for a hint of warmth,
a brush with completeness.

Their eternal hearts beat wildly,
circulating through creation.

As my own hands become dry and brittle,
fingers curling, unable to reach,
I realize
in a matter of years
someone will breathe in me.

has become less than

I baked you a pie
It's lodged in my stomach
Unable to come up
Unwilling to break down

I wash my sticky, slippery, shifting scales
In the sand
Turning pebbles into dust mites
And fortunes into crowns

My scales
They glow as rainbows glow
Shooting sunspots out of your eyes
Into the vacant spaces

Peace be with the monsters
Who ease my flickering spirit

I've only been late for everything
Before this

Damn this blood condition

So lately I've been obsessively listening to the Repo! the Genetic Opera soundtrack. Well, some of it. I must admit that some of the songs are pretty horrendous. What else can you expect from a modern-day rock opera where there's no spoken dialogue and everybody is basically talking about guts, genes and surgery? Not to mention the whole "Paris Hilton is in the movie" thing, which I still think was a bad choice. I mean, given all that, some of the tunes are gonna be duds.

However, the songs that are good are really good. My favorite is 'Legal Assassin,' sung by the father/repo man. The repo man is played by the guy who was Giles on Buffy (just in case you ever watched the show) and, man, does he have a set of pipes! He reminds me of my dad. A very strong, powerful yet surprisingly tender voice. Another couple of good songs are 'Infected' and 'Genetic Emancipation,' both sung by the girl who was (formerly) the young girl in the Spy Kids series. Man, what a couple years and some black bondage tape will do to you! A couple other good songs are 'Mark It Up,' for its sheer grossness factor and haunting circus-like accompaniment, and 'Zydrate Anatomy,' which is just a damn fun song to listen to.

I'm really dying (ha-ha) to see this movie, but I've been told that it's really, really over-the-top gross-out gory. And since I have a bit of a tendency to, well, pass out during violent movies, I'm not sure if watching this particular film is really worth it at this point. I mean, do I really want to spend two hours with my eyes closed trying to sneak peeks of the Armageddon-like landscape and gothic/industrial costumes in between the moments of dead human puppets, grotesque surgery and bodily impalements?! I'm not sure.

Maybe I should find someone to suffer through it for me before I check it out. Any volunteers?

Stupid Priceless Artifacts

One thing that sucked about the aforementioned trip to Circuit City was the lost ark of golden opportunity that's still haunting me this morning as I drink my hot chai latte and listen to the warm, steady glow of flourescent bulbs overhead.

Right as I was walking into the children's DVD section I heard this loud, overweight woman in a hideous cheetah shirt proclaim "Hey, here's Alvin and the Chipmunks, would the kids want that?" The other woman replied, "I don't know, maybe." I assumed that she was talking about the live action/computer animation disaster that was released last year. I turned around to look (hey, the woman was loud, she caught my attention) just in time to see it was actually the DVD copy of The Chipmunk Adventure! Right as I was hyperventilating and preparing to jump her for the copy, she casually tossed it into her shopping cart that was stuffed with a huge, bloated supply of stupid movies she'll probably never watch.

I looked for at least 10 minutes for another copy, to no avail.

I told Julien (mon petit ami, in case you were wondering) later and HE proceeded to look for a copy as well, and ended up getting verbally attacked by some tall, thin woman who thought he was crowding her style. In the end, I went home without a copy of that beloved, hard-to-find movie that Tine (ma soeur) DOES have on DVD, but without the cute box or bragging rights of finding such a priceless artifact!

The worst part is, that woman probably didn't even realize what genius glory she held in her shopping cart, which was most likely sandwiched between the Blueray of 'Meet the Spartans' and a DVD of 'Failure to Launch.'

Tragic.

Leave a Comment:
What's your priceless artifact???

Classroom Environment

In my opinion, a semester-long class at college always ends exactly as it begins. I'm not talking about what you learn, but about how you learn it. How the students interact with each other. How the teacher is going to observe, participate and grade. It's just like trying on a piece of clothing - it's either going to fit or it's not. No amount of finessing is going to change that initial fit.

The first day is always an indicator of how the entire semester's environment is going to go. For me, it happens one of two ways:

1) The students and teacher share a polite relationship. Everyone in class is polite. We ask generalized questions that make us seem as though we care about other people's lives, but we really don't. There's a subtle layer of competition underneath everything. People get close but never too close. There's always a wall in between.

2) The students click. The teacher is friendly and open. In a matter of minutes everybody's chatting like they're old friends - interrupting each other's sentences, welcoming new ideas, collaborating and debating in a full, healthy manner. Students exchange cell phone numbers and email address to keep in touch about upcoming projects.

I've had the pleasure (can I really call it that?) of experiencing both of these for this current semester. I'm looking forward to the classes that are option 2. And option 1? Well, let's just say that one gives me a little more anticipation for Spring Break.

Video Camera

I would say hooray for Circuit City, but it kind of feels wrong to since a bunch of people are losing their jobs. I am thinking it, but I will not say it.

Why am I wanting to celebrate? Because I scored an awesome new mini video camera for a really good price at Circuit City's liquidation sale! It's called the Flip Video Mino, a smaller, higher quality version of their original Flip Video. It's so cute and fits right into the palm of your hand. It takes really good video too - 30 frames per second with a constant frame rate and progressive scan. No, I don't quite know what that means, but it sounds good so I'll take it. Another bonus is you charge it just by plugging it into the computer. The original Flip uses batteries, which would probably be pretty annoying.

No, this isn't an advertisement for Flip that illegally snuck into my blog. I'm genuinely excited and felt like bragging a bit :).

This baby is normally almost $200 but I got it for $125 on sale. You may be asking, why did I spend $125 on a little video recorder? The main reason is because I really, really miss recording little events with my family and friends. We used to do it so often, and I still have so much fun looking at those videos. I figured at this important part of my life, all our lives, really, I really should be keeping track of it at least a little bit. Second is because the iPhone (which I plan on purchasing this summer) apparently has a terrible video recorder and I don't really plan on using it. And another reason is I felt like a little impulse buy, which I'm entitled to every once in awhile, right?

I plan on making videos and posting them on here. Should be fun - it isn't something I've ever really done before. I'm excited. Hope you are too! Well, at least until you get sick of all the Nutcracker puppet shows and shots of me driving around town.

Hallway Fashion

Starting a blog is a hard thing to do. When I was younger blogs were only found in the form of personal diaries you, for some reason, decided to post online for everybody and their neighbor to read. I was one of those people. I wrote a personal diary on a Web site called Teen.com. It was actually quite successful - I got fan mail and everything.

Well, nowadays everybody's got a blog - and it's not enough just to put your thoughts out there for the entire world to read. Now you have to have a niche. A hook. Something that drives people to read it regularly. So I was looking at different blogs online, to try and find out what makes a blog successful. Do I need to make a theme? Tie it down with specifics? Then I looked at a couple fashion blogs ...

Fashion blogs are the epitome of the narcissistic self-love that has come to embody so many blogs (and people) over the past few years. Take the latest issue of Nylon magazine, throw in a young adult eager to become the next Kate Moss or Kanye West and the occasional obscure quote from some movie star or singer, and you've got the components of a perfectly successful fashion blog.

They're short, quirky, filled with spouts about the latest Manhattan or L.A. party or the absolute perfection in finding a vintage designer gold belt for $50 after, oh, about 3 hours of shopping. Don't forget the pictures. For some reason every fashion blogger feels the need to take multiple photos of themselves in random funky outfits and post them every single day. They're always in a hallway, in front of a door or out in the backyard, partially out of focus, with either a lawn gnome or some 60's-era wood carving picture in the background.

The whole thing feels like there's a constant mirror being shown in front of our faces - we need to show the absolute best of ourselves in front of it, lest we look like we're imperfect. It's a reality I'm trying to avoid, but still it lingers, showing my ugly reflection back at me. Maybe I should crack a smile. Or at least take a flash-filled picture of myself in the bathroom.

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