President Gas......Mood: Vigilant

It was an amazing forty-eight hours as the world awaited the naming of the next U.S. president. For someone politically jaded like myself, there was a stir of emotion equivalent to the discovery of a promising new technology; part fascination, part naiveté, and wholly imbued with an infectious joy towards an uncertain, and of course, a much anticipated, brighter future. Like the rest of the world, I am curious to see how the Obama/Biden/Clinton Administration will set out to improve the country’s failing economy, and reestablish effective government leadership.


Speaking of the former, the economy’s downturn also caught up with me in October as I was laid off from Time Inc. Publishing, advertising, marketing and all relevant industries have been hit hard, this article was recently published about layoffs at Time Inc. and Conde Nast. Getting laid off was a surprise, but ended up to be one that wasn’t so devastating. Hell, life takes its twists and turns, so naturally there will be more opportunities in the making. At least now I can have more time to write and plan out my next career move, hang out during the day with my freelancer friends, and run my errands during the week. It’s not so bad. The best part though, is I can stay up late without feeling like Tyler Durden the next day. Hallelujah.


October was also a hectic, but socially abundant month, half of which was spent coming down from the New York Fashion Week trip. Lindsey’s house warming party was a delight, and Anna’s ice skating birthday party was great fun, except this Michelle Kwan did not hit the ice, and instead hit the dancefloor at Bootybassment with Liz and Reina, and then hit up Jeremy’s 50% off sale with Liz and Pauline a few days later. The Ladies Lotto meeting at Ver Unica was fabulous, since the guest speakers were Liz and Gabriella, and the main topic of conversation was their foray into M.I.S.S., and most enjoyable was being able to spend time with some of the other M.I.S.S. ladies, since it’s such a rarity. Oh my god, and the preview of the YSL exhibition at the de Young was incredible. I was extremely excited to do the M.I.S.S. write up for it, since Yves Saint Laurent has always been my favorite designer, and I was able to see his partner, Pierre Berge (who was wearing an Obama pin) speak, which was superbly impressive as well.


November was interesting and quite social as well. Started with PST’s election celebration party at 330 Ritch with Reina, which was way totally off the hook. Saw the Official Tourist DJs at Pink with Liz, and was absolutely shocked but of course happy to run into Joe and Jason at the LW, since I hadn’t seen either of them for like two years. Hanging out with Theresa was also great fun, since her visits from Hawaii are so few and far between. Computer Rock at Laszlo’s to see Liz (who rocked the freestyle jams that night), Ryan, and Dylan DJ was a blast, especially since I got to see my homies, Errico and Pauline too. Hung out with Scott at Zeitgeist and then we saw Emo Philips at the Punchline. Sheng Wang opened for him, and it was a bit uncanny, since he totally reminds me of Errico, but in Asian form.



The Hamsters
Thanksgiving included the perfect spead of Thanksgiving-ish treats Kwan style (turkeys, sides, ham, prime rib, taro shrimp - we call them “Hamsters” cause that’s what they kinda look like, chili, lamb stew, lumpias, spaghettti/meatballs, tamales, fresh crab salad, coffee cruch cake, flan etc.) My contribution this year was a sweet potato pie – completely from scratch, and super loaded deviled eggs (topped with bacon, scallions, and dill).


I’ve also been able to catch up on my list of TO SEE movies, and have gotten some reading done as well (and no, I am not a part of the Twilight cult like some others I know). I haven’t felt this wonderfully relaxed in a very long time. It’s a pretty awesome karmic package that I am so thankful for, and I’m really looking forward to more holiday visitors, including: Kira, Christle, Christine and Sergio, and their newborn, Isabella, and to the rest of the holiday season. Cheers to good food, friends, and family. There ain’t nothing better than that…well, a little YSL Y-mail clutch under the tree would be nice too! ;)



On my mind this week:


1. I found my favorite hot sauce of all time, and let me tell you, it’s been like the quest for the mf-ing holy grail. It all started back in 2003 when I discovered it in the lunchroom fridge while I was working at Enterprise Corporate. Then a few weeks ago, I was in Smart and Final, and lo and behold, there it was, and only a dollar! Florescent green and hot as hell. It’s sooooo good. I’ve been putting it on everything!!


2. The Tuesday PST (Pacific Standard Time) party at 330 Ritch is so much fun! For anybody who loves to dance to good hip hop music spun by great longtime Bay Area DJs like Sake1, (not obnoxious DJs spinning bad medleys flocked by suburbanite chicks wearing barely any clothes and too much makeup), and sans the meat market and hipsters, this is the place.

3. So before I was told by the specialists that my right breast is filled with fibro-cystic tissue and not cancer, I’m lying down on the examination table in my hospital gown, when the doctor says, “nice boots”, while she is examining my boobs (these Kitson Ugg boots embroidered with “LA” really big on them and studded with Swarovski crystals - the ones Hyphy Wifey Liz hates). The Freudian slip happened only in my head thank god, causing my jaw to drop for just a millisecond.

4.

This was so rad. At the last Computer Rock at Laszlo’s, Dylan hooked up a Nintendo to the projector, so Super Mario Brothers 1 was like super ginormous Mario brothers. And oh my god, I can’t believe how great Liz’s memory is, can you say Warp Zone!!! Crazy…


5. I’m selling my organic cotton heated muscle packs/eye pillows and a small selection of vintage on Etsy. Here is the link to my Etsy Store, FLESHandBLOOD, if you want to check it out!!!


6. Aw ma gawd, the latest Mama collection, “Mi Vida Loca” is so fabulously badass. I’m hella esta loca loving it!
Check it out: http://www.missomnimedia.com/2008/12/mama-clothing-fw-08-la-vida-loca/

7.

So we find life imitating art…and to Skinny Puppy too, nonetheless. Ahhhh Metropolis.

8.

This Yelle video is sooooooooo cute, and too funny! ;)

9.

But this, THIS is the funniest shit I’ve seen in a long time…sigh, what the hell happened to teen movies?!!!

October 12, 2008 - Over the Rainbow…Mood: Focused

I thought life after thirty would change considerably, and boy was I right. However, it wasn’t quite like the way I had envisioned. I thought I would have all this time to clean, sort, and organize, maybe write a novel, grow vegetables, and at least get all my dry cleaning done. Instead, the opportunity to go to New York for Spring 09 Fashion Week presented itself, so of course I had to go. Although before I left, I did manage to organize my three closets, shifting shoes piled in the kitchen to photographed marked boxes, and to these great ones Ikea has right now for $10 for a pack of 4.



Also prior to leaving, I hung out with Jesse at the SOMA Magazine’s G Star Store party for the launch of Men’s Underwear line, where I had been expecting models to be modeling underwear, but only were presented with fully clothed ones…Cash Gift’s birthday bash was great fun too, and those El Presidentes…well that was quite a night…Lee, Dee, and I had a Zuni Café date, which was a very fine time of catching up over their delicious One Hour Chicken, and Sophie’s birthday dinner at The Front Porch was so much fun (after getting the plans confused, I showed up two weeks early), but when I made it on the right night, I discovered the place is crazy cozy, like if Beauty Bar was a restaurant/Cuban social club - and their Spicy Crab Grits and Fried Chicken are culinary feats of rustic perfection. We went to the Attic after, and their blonde DJ that night played such a good set of the saddest New Wave songs ever, that I was transported right back to my teens...Then I had gone to Vegas where I took bubble baths, drank poolside at the Wynn, went to bed early, watched cable TV, gambled a bit, and went snackless; eating 3 excessively large meals a day.

A week later, I was in New York for Fashion Week with Liz and Gabriella. Liz and I took the red eye out of Oakland to JFK, and once our feet hit the ground, the madness started, lasting 11 days.

It was an insanely busy trip, but also a fabulously fun trip, with a large portion of it documented on the misscrew blog, (see the the LINKS below).

Highlights of the trip included: The New York Fashion Week opening party at Saks, chronicled on misscrew.com, where 19 designers made 19 pairs of their interpretations of Dorothy’s ruby slippers using Swarovski crystals. I saw Betsey Johnson there, and leggy Lizzy was our paparazzi photographer, since Gabriella and I are such shortaaays. Gap/Colette pop up store opening was intense. Gabriella is so hardcore, 2 ½ hours she waited, I came around hour 2, and left with the most impressive Gap items I’ve ever purchased. We have her to thank too, as she scored Liz and I the coveted secret fashion week YSL totes.

The Oak Bond Age Party at the Eagle was a surprise, funny cause had I realized it really was a bondage party, my outfit might have been a little different.




The NYEuro techno rave at the WAD Magazine Party at Hiro was so much fun...and with Gabriella dancing in heels too! I can still hear Salt n’ Pepa…



Saw Uffie at the MISSHAPES/MISSBEHAVE Magazine party, where Radio Rose spun a pretty amazing set, and since Dov gave the Heartschallenger Truck a jump, we all got free candy! Checking out the MOMA’s Dali exhibit, the gothic exhibit at FIT, and Koons’ latest installation at the Met was totally amazing and inspiring, but eating hot dogs and shootin the shit in Central Park with my homegirl Kira, eating 2am tapas at Carrera and with Liz and Lex, eating street cart falafels at four in the morning with Gabriella and Dov, and eating a steak at the Algonquin after getting lost, these were the best!

Coming back to California was much anticipated, for as wonderful as New York is in terms of shopping and its social aspect, I'm not quite the type who does well living out of a suitcase, or with humidity. When East Bay life resumed, celebrated with a Juanita’s homie jam session with Liz, Danny, and Errico, which was just like old times, full of giggles, cackles, and cracks. Had sushi with Cash Gift and then went to Kitty’s for Dee’s b-day with Trang, Julia, and Edwin, which involved shots on a Monday night and some extra hyphyness...It’s so nice to be home, back to tepid Bay Area weather, real Mexican food, and my own bed, and of course, the Babette.



On my mind this week:

1) Did anyone else notice, New Yorkers have an extreme fondness for black cars, and it goes way beyond car, government, or secret service vehicles.

2) The tents at Bryant Park were crazy, now I understand why they have an open bar.


3) The line at the Whole Foods in NY’s Union Square is CRAZY!! A man walks around the store with a sign indicating where the end of the line is, wtf?!! And the lines are color coded corresponding to a monitor that hangs from the ceiling, which then indicates when it’s your turn, by a dropping dot. I felt like I was at a cattle ranch, and naturally I got confused. I mistakenly took someone else's turn, and screwed up the flow and timing of the lines, and at that point, how could I look back at a crowd of irritated New Yorkers?!! Can you believe all that just for 10 pieces of brown rice sushi! Oh hell no.




4) Being in New York on 9/11 was strange. It was a silent day, no one spoke about the Twin Towers, but spotlights beamed up to illuminate the New York sky with the phantom edifices. It was beautiful, alien, and all together chilling.



5)

Me, Dee, and Lee had a Bullets Over Broadway date at the Castro Theater the other night…so hilarious! Oh when Woody Allen still had it in him…Pause!!!
“I never play frumps or virgins!!” heheehehee...


6) Sonogram and mammogram say breast lumps are non-cancerous, but the needle biopsy, which I am scheduled for within the next couple weeks, will be a better confirmation.

7) Me, and my wifey Liz, went to hang out with Jessica at the Agent Provocateur store party the other night. Champagne, lingerie, and macaroons; so overstimulating and fantastically french, always want everything in the place, but really, I think I'm gonna die if I don't get these soon. Sigh, we're so lucky she takes such good care of her ladies. :)

8)

Kinda reminds me of our current ridiculous state of affairs...did I hear someone say "mavericky"?!!


8)

Too bad mine is on vacation....