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Wednesday, November 16th, 2005
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3:51 pm - fantastic fall
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This time of year is so great- so many holidays and birthdays. Everyone is so busy with school and work, but it feels good because we are refreshed from the summer. I have so many scorpios and saggs in my life. Last weekend, B***** had a wine and cheese party for her birthday. Then it was L***'s birthday. This past weekend, Z****** and S**** held a big house party for both of their birthdays. Next is my dad's, then mom's and both grandpa's (their birthdays are on the same day!), and finally my auntie's birthday! I love taking out a special day to celebrate someone- one thing our culture has gotten right! And all of the holidays... I'm feeling homesick these days. I'm thinking about buying a plane ticket, but I'm frightened about what I might see when I get home. This morning on NPR, they were interviewing EMS workers about the rise in suicide attempts in NO since the hurricane. It is so sad that even the workers are having mental health issues now. Their coping skills have run out and our crappy government is not making it any better.
current mood:  contemplative
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| Thursday, October 20th, 2005
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12:02 am - laughter
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I spent this evening attending Jamie's one-woman play and it was absolutely marvelous and hilarious. She is so real, engaging, intelligent, funny, and beautiful on top of it all. Check out her website jamiemfox.com if you live in LA and may be interested in attending the show- it goes through November 9th. S's boyfriend D is playing live music for it, which was amazing as well. It is so much fun to laugh with a big group of people- everyone sharing a common experience at that moment.
I'm an idealistic fool. A few people have pretty much told me that social work is stupid and I should just worry about myself (and making money). But I still don't buy that philosophy, even though I already know the field is a frustrating place to be. As cheesy and cliche as it sounds, I really do enjoy helping others in a meaningful way. Life is so much bigger than simply striving to make tons of money, for me at least. If that is what you choose to do, then go ahead, but don't degrade those who have chosen a different route to fulfillment. These comments are a reflection of a society that is structured on oppressing certain groups of people for the benefit of a few in dominant positions. If you can access the LA Times, please read Lopez's daily articles on downtown's Skid Row and ask yourself how this can go on in the wealthiest nation in the world.
Enough ranting... good night
current mood: warm fuzzy red wine buzz
current music: 92.3 why can't I stop listening to cheesy music?
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| Tuesday, October 18th, 2005
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10:16 pm - can't stop the rain
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Saturday night the rain coming down was such a blessing. One of the houses next door to my building was holding a rowdy outdoor party which included a really bad and loud dj- the walls of my apartment were literally vibrating. Around 11 p.m., it started to pour and cleared everyone (including the dj) out. It has been raining off and on ever since. It is a nice change and has made the air cooler and cleaner. Nothing compared to the deluges in NO, but still refreshing. When me and my carpool buddy drove to school today it was grey and coming home it was getting dark already. The occasional gloomy day is welcome in LA.
This weather makes me want to cook and eat warm things like soup and drink hot tea. At lunch, I finished the black eyed peas and cornbread I made Sunday night. Tonight for dinner I made vegetarian matzo ball soup. I learned to appreciate this dish because of my bf's mom. She used to cook lots of yummy dishes in college and she would modify the traditional Jewish dishes to make them vegetarian-friendly for us. I miss moms- they're so great.
current mood:  content
current music: rain drops
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| Monday, October 17th, 2005
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12:30 am - so long...
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I finally got a computer and the internet at home, so I can start updating this thing. I'm back on the eastside again. I just love this part of town for some indescribable reason. My first apartment in L.A. was here and I just want to stay in this little spot as long as I'm in this town. This weekend was so weird and unsatisfying that I'm actually looking forward to starting the work (internship and classes, for me) week. Nothing worked out as planned... I should be sleeping right now...
I called my parents today and they finally got electricity this week after Katrina screwed up everything (more on this later). My dad is the only one who is sleeping at the house- my mom and brothers are staying at a friend's house. They still don't have phone service- my dad said that could be several months. He changed their cell phone plans from Cingular to Verizon so they can get reception now and I don't have to call their voice mails or relative's/ friend's houses to get in touch with them. Things are coming back painfully slow they report, but there has been progress. I'm trying to decide if I should go home for Thanksgiving or wait until the winter break (UCLA gets 3 weeks off at the end of year). I'm kind of ambivalent about seeing the city now- I want to visit my family, but I'm scared to see my hometown tore up. I guess I could wait until spring break or even after graduation in June. I don't know...
My classes and internship are going well- I'm loving this year so far. I'm looking forward to finishing up grad school and being employed again!
current mood:  awake
current music: 92 jams and old school r & b
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| Tuesday, November 30th, 2004
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6:58 pm - movin' on up
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My move went fairly smoothly. D moved my bed and bookshelf with his jeep and L helped me move little stuff. My room and closet are bigger, so that is nice. School's almost over for the quarter, so it is kind of hectic. I'm looking forward to leaving town for a few weeks at the end of the year. Getting settled into a new apartment is nice. That's all...my life is boring.
current mood:  determined
current music: typing- i'm in the computer lab at school
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| Thursday, November 18th, 2004
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8:37 pm - red poppies
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Another week of school has flown by. I got home from my internship around 9 p.m. last night and started reading for today's classes. I fell asleep a few hours later, still wearing my work clothes. I feel really pathetic when I fall asleep and wakeup in the same clothes I wore all day. I still had my earrings and bracelet on when I miraculously woke up this morning at 6 a.m. At least I had managed to get my reading glasses off at some point without crushing them. That is the dorkiest, most pathetic thing a nerd like me could ever do. Anyway, I'm so glad I woke up without my alarm because I had my 8 a.m. class today. I had that 4 hour class, then I went to the health center to get yet another vaccination (ouch!!!), met with my project group, and then sat through another 4 hour lecture until 6 p.m. Some girls were going bowling after class, but I just wanted to go home. Negotiating a social life in this program is hard at times, but it is also a social thing in and of itself. There is only about 100 of us and almost everyone is really friendly and outgoing, so we're always chatting (sometimes too much)with one another.
I love being busy with school because I feel as though I am actually accomplishing something versus working hard at a dead-end job (as I was the past 2 years). I could still end up with a crappy job, but it will be less of a possibility than before. The people - the professors, fellow students- and the university environment make me happy. Every day of the week is scheduled for us with classes on Tuesday and Thursday, internship/field placement on Monday and Wednesday, and seminars on Fridays. The weekends are for doing readings, papers, and projects. When classes first started, all of the professors told us it was impossible to do all of the reading! How comforting is that? They all remarked, "Just do the best you can!" What the...? Tomorrow, we are going on a tour of Skid Row all day. The first half of the tour is being lead by a man who actually lives there, so it will definitely be interesting.
I'll be studying for a test on Tuesday this weekend. One of my classmates who also lives in Echo Park is having a dinner party on Saturday, so a group of us may go to that. We were supposed to go out for L.'s birthday last weekend, but she was deathly ill. She wanted to go out to a club on Friday, but who knows if we'll manage to coordinate that. Everyone is really busy with new jobs right now and getting ready for the holidays, so who knows what we'll pull off. We're getting too old to party, it seems- how sad!
current mood:  happy
current music: nina simone
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| Tuesday, November 9th, 2004
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8:16 pm - so long....
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Well, I haven't updated in a very long time. This is due to a variety of reasons, but mostly because I no longer have a (functioning)computer. I'm back in school which is really wonderful and frustrating. The summer was lovely and long. The group home I was working at for nearly 2 years is being closed down, so I'm very grateful to be busy working on a graduate degree. I'll be moving from my favorite house and roommates ever because it takes me about an hour and a half to get to school everyday. I'm really going to miss D, D, the dogs, and Echo Park, but not the commute.
Happy Birthday, Z.O.! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting your sister and hanging out with you. Please let me know when your next show is! I don't want to miss it!
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| Wednesday, January 14th, 2004
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2:25 am - my new orleans nickle ring
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My trip home to New Orleans was fab. I almost felt like staying...
Monday:
I got in around 11:30 p.m., so just my dad came to pick me up. He almost squeezed me to death and kept saying I had lost too much weight. When I got home, I went in Sean's room and stared at him while he was sleeping. He has gotten so big and handsome. I fell asleep for a few hours, but I woke myself up sneezing because I'm really allergic to cats. And they have a really evil one named Milo! I hate that bastard. Anyway, it worked out because Peter and my mom were up when I was having my asthma attack. Peter is so beautiful! He is 9 months old (his 1st birthday is April 11), has the most gorgeous liquid brown eyes, lots of brown hair, and pretty fair skin.
Tuesday:
My maternal grandparents came over...err..they were staying with us, sort of. They stayed out in the driveway in one of my dad's new toys, a motor home. It is bigger and nicer than most of the apartments I've lived in, but I still felt bad about it. I offered to give them my room, but my mom told me not to worry about it. My cousins hadn't arrived yet, so I decided it would be a good day to devote to Sean. That morning, I took him to one of his favorite places, the Children's Museum, for several hours. We ate lunch at the new Whole Foods on Magazine. I hadn't seen it yet and my senior year apartment was about 2 blocks from there, so I wanted to see how things had changed. It is pretty obnoxious, actually. It is too big and there is bad traffic congestion there. Ugh! Don't lose your character, NOLA! I then took him to Audubon park for about 4 hours. He is so amazing! He has such a great imagination and is so sweet and kind to other children. He found part of dog leash, picked it up, and pretended that he was leading around a doggy named Sukky. He petted nearly every real dog he spotted walking in the park. I taught him how to ask the owner for permission to pet the dog before approaching and he did it every time! He fed the ducks Cheerios he "borrowed" from a little girl and her grandpa. We took a walk across the bridge and through the golf course, sat in a gazebo, and played in the fountains. I just love observing him playing and learning. We were both exhausted when we got home. I took a shower and fell asleep before my cousins arrived.
Wednesday/New Year's Eve:
I woke up to gaggle of childrens' voices outside my room. My aunt, uncle, and SEVEN cousins had arrived! They were everywhere- my aunt and uncle stayed in Sean's room, the girls stayed in Peter's room, and the boys were scattered all over the upstairs den. Sleeping bags, clothes, and toys were already tossed all over. We just hung out all day and then I went over to J's to hang out. She had just gotten back that morning from visting a friend in Milwaukee. We were both too tired to do anything crazy, so we just stopped by her mom's friend's party and ate some food. J chatted with the adults who had known her forever, while I just stood there. It was a pretty party, though. When we got back to J's, her little brother was running out the house. We asked him where he was going and he said he was going to see fireworks. Several people down the street were setting off fireworks, so all three of us ran to watch the sky light up. There were lots of little parties everywhere. When we got back to J's house, we laid down and put in a movie. We fell asleep about 5 minutes later. I am such a dork.
Thursday:
J came over to my house to see my family. My grandpa had rented a jupiter jump for all the kids, so they were going crazy in that thing. He also made us take family pictures. A pretty normal request except for the fact that he made us wear these teeshirts with our names on the front. He had them made- they were white with red letters. I have two shirts like that now because he tried to do the same thing 2 years ago. My aunt was having problems with her pregnancy so they couldn't come down that year. My mom got really pissed when she realized that my name had an extra "t" on the end. I didn't care and just used a straight pen to hide the letter, but she kept saying stuff about it to my grandparents. My family is weird.
J and I went to Canal Place to see 21 grams- it is really bad, don't waste your time. We tried to go to Juan's for dinner, but it was closed because it was New Year's day. We ended up at Five Happiness along with everyone else in NO. Later, we met up with an old college friend who was visiting from Miami with her boyfriend. We just went to PJs and talked for awhile. They were going out, but J and I are old ladies so we turned down their invite. We ended up crashing a her house again. I am such a dork.
Friday:
I went home, but all the kids were gone. My grandpa, uncle, and dad had taken them out so the women could relax. My mom had seen one of my really old friends (we've known each other since we were 9) the week before and told her that I was going to be in town. She called me and I picked her and we went to CC's nd talked for a few hours and then ran some errands around town. It is nice to reconnect with old friends- we have both changed dramatically. That night, my mom wanted me to stay home and hang out with the family. I stayed home, but I didn't really hang out with them. All of the kids are way younger than me (ages 9 months to 13) and the adults are preoccupied with the kids.
Saturday:
J and I had lunch at Juan's and then walked down to the Rue. That area has so many new stores and businesses. We walked around and went in a few of the obnoxious magazine street stores. That afternoon, we went to my dad's parents house in Lakeview for a few hours. My grandma is 92 and is out of it. It is very sad for all of us to watch them mentally and physically disintegrating. I'm grateful though that my little brothers will at least get to know them a little bit. They ate all of the food before J and I got there, so my dad gave us some money to go out. We went to Rocky's and sat outside in the warm January! evening. We were being old ladies again, so we went back to J's and hung out for awhile. After I left her house, I stopped my PJs to get some good coffee to bring back to LA.
Sunday:
I went home and crashed for a few hours before taking off for Louis Armstrong at 6:15 am to catch my 8:00 flight. I arrived in LA around noon and then went to work at 2:30p.m., physically exhausted yet emotionally revamped. I love my family, my best friend, and that city so much.
current mood:  moody
current music: background tv noise
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| Thursday, December 25th, 2003
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3:52 am - i'll be home for new year's.....
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Today, I received my flight iternary for my trip home along with an adorable picture of my new baby brother, Peter. I arrive in New Orleans late on the 29th. I can't wait to see what's been done to the city- I haven't been home in over a year!!! I'm going to get to see all of my family- grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, and EIGHT little cousins. My family from Alexandria, D.C., and Cinncinati are all going to be around. And I get to hang out in uptown with my best friend from college, Jen. I haven't seen her since August, when we met up in San Francisco. This is a nice feeling... I haven't been excited about anything in so long.
current mood: awake
current music: fiona apple "when the pawn....."
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| Sunday, August 10th, 2003
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4:19 am - whitey's gonna pay
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WTF?!! Some jackass at the Griffith Park pool started yelling racial slurs at the girls, like, "Go back to the ghetto...this isn't South Central... where you came from... " What is going on in this world that someone can get away with saying shit like that? And I thought I would be rid of this mess when I left the South, but it is everywhere!!??
current mood: content
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| Tuesday, August 5th, 2003
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1:46 am - gossip gossip gossip
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Sunday, I went to Minerva's going away barbeque. She is moving to Utah?!!? for a year-long job training program. The work crew and a bunch of her friends showed up and we had such a good time. My coworkers are a bunch of hilarious and crazy characters. Beer makes them even funnier. I'm going to miss Minerva tremendously. There aren't too many people I could ever say that about. She is so fucking sweet, fun, and adorable. When the tofu hot dogs had settled in our tummies, we took the lady of honor to the Gossip show at the Echo. Cute girls and good music all in one place! After the show, Dayna picked up Xoei and me and we went to get food at Fred 62s. We picked up Xoei's boy, Derrick, and spent the rest of the evening/morning frolicking around downtown, taking photographs. I came home at 4 am, left my muddy shoes at the front door, showered all the dirt and dust off, and passed out in my cozy bed.
current mood: awake
current music: rebecca gates
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| Saturday, August 2nd, 2003
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12:40 am - shake that ass... show me what you're workin' with
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Last night, I dreamt my bf died.
WTF?!!? One of my female coworkers always says the weirdest things to me about my body. "I dream of waking up with a booty like yours"... "You're thick, I wish I looked like you"... "I want your ass"... "I've never seen a white girl with a figure like that" It was kind of funny at first, now it is just creepy.
current mood: awake
current music: random tv in the background
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| Wednesday, July 30th, 2003
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3:12 pm - how it should be
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I should be packing and putting my junk in storage today. However, apathy has overcome my entire existence, and even the essential things in life are being shoved aside.
It is so lovely to missed. Last night, my supervisor told me she missed her "sweet, sweet" staff, as I had been gone for four days. That comment may not be valid, but at least it began to erode the gloomy mood that followed me to work.
current mood:  complacent
current music: rainer maria
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3:06 pm - kristin says it best....
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you can come back when you want just know that i'll be here i haven't left this step and when the lights go out i pick the angel up i only have two hands... is she here? is she here right now? drive her off; don't bother to call i'm checking out today... me and my charms when i kiss the angel i have a taste of you when i take the angel i have a piece of you i have a piece... you can come back i haven't left you yet and when the lights go out i pick the angel up i only have two left feet all i have in my hands me and my charms when i kiss the angel i have a taste of me and my charms and my charms down on the ground you can't leave me now i haven't left you yet
current mood:  disappointed
current music: rainer maria
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| Sunday, July 20th, 2003
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3:11 am - these days
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This week:
+ san francisco plans with the bf
- fire at the home
+ acquired second job
- no place to live come august 1
+ circus with the girls
- my favorite co-worker was "let go"
+ sara is coming!!!
+ four hour conversations
+ bonding with a long lost friend
- buying clothes in the "business casual" section
+/- new crush
current mood: content
current music: snl
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| Thursday, July 3rd, 2003
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3:22 am - today
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A lovely day...
1. no work!
2. call from an agency & an interview tomorrow
3. a (new) vintage shirt
4. hanging out with Dayna
5. Charlie's Angels
6. finally seeing the inside of my future? apartment
7. fred 62s
current mood: awake
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| Thursday, June 26th, 2003
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2:17 am - kill me again
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It is so nice to be freaked out. Tonight, I looked at one of my scrapbooks to see what pages I still needed to label. This particular book contained photos from last summer - all full of people I never see or talk to anymore, places I forgot about, cities I will never see again... as if I was not already depressed. After I put the scrapbook back in its spot on the shelf, I noticed a tiny piece of paper had slipped out of the book. The paper had the date "June 26" written on it. That was the date of a New Orleans friend's going-away party. Everyone is greasy and wilted in the pictures and I can't remember most of their names. I don't know how one can lose so much in a year.
current mood:  sick
current music: jeff buckley
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| Thursday, June 19th, 2003
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3:59 am - suck my left one
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Okay, I can die now.
current mood:  dirty
current music: the need
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| Saturday, June 14th, 2003
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2:08 am - lalaland
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LA is so cheesy!!! We took the girls to Universal Citywalk tonight. I think everyone had a good time, but the place frightens me. Before Jazzland was erected, I remember being so proud of the fact that I was from a city that did not have any amusement parks. Why the hell would you have a "citywalk" when LA is one of the biggest fucking cities in the country?!! I'm so confused...
current mood: content
current music: the gossip
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| Wednesday, June 11th, 2003
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1:37 am - WTF!!!!
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Yesterday included the inspection of another potential place and its inhabitants. The whole scene was frightening. Some comment from the woman of the pair indicating that the two were "sex addicts... other couples come over sometimes... don't worry... we won't pressure you into anything..." I wanted to crawl up and over the walls before too much more was uttered.
Dear Dayna, you must save me by allowing me to live with you. Saturday was lovely. You are very sweet, yet hardcore as well; we should get along fabulously.
I so love my job. Where else would your supervisor say, "You need to dye your hair. I like it black, this brown thing ain't workin'"?
current mood: ovulating
current music: bmad
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