Regardless of your feelings re: drugs, parenting, etc., there is absolutely no denying her talent. And if you try to deny her talent, I’ll cut you. RIP
Regardless of your feelings re: drugs, parenting, etc., there is absolutely no denying her talent. And if you try to deny her talent, I’ll cut you. RIP
things I love about the holiday season:
did I forget anything? OH! a special 2011 event (well, technically it will be 2012): adventures at the rose bowl with little sister.
Things that happened this weekend:
Yes, I have a brand new car. And yes, it gets fantastic gas mileage. But I’m still riding the MAX to work and this is why …
I stopped driving to work when I realized that the never-ending construction on MLK & Grand was sending me to an early grave. Not just because of the skyrocketing blood pressure from moving less than a mile in 20+ min. But, also because the likelihood of me ramming full speed into the next person who cut me off was almost guaranteed. Combine that with the rising gas prices, and, my friends, the MAX just seemed like a better option. Especially since my work pays for my monthly MAX ticket. So basically it’s $4 (maybe $5 soon) a gallon + impending car repair (from teaching someone a valuable lesson), or free. Hmmmm, tough choice.
So now I drive my new little Yaris a smooth and enjoyable two miles to the park-and-ride, before loading on like cattle with my fellow commuters for a 30 minute ride from the suburbs to the city. Most people do their best to keep their iPods at a reasonable level and avoid eye contact at all costs. I like this about my fellow commuters. Perhaps there will be some stories to come, so stay tuned.
Well here we are, in the middle of a typical Oregon Spring — aka another depresSPRING. While our Cali neighbors to the south are unpacking their flower dresses and espadrilles from storage, we still find ourselves sprinting from front door to car door with our jackets pulled up to protect our freshly straightened hair. Just me? Well, it is decidedly less glamourous. But rain or no rain, fashion marches on into summer collections.
And as much as I try to pretend I like shopping for “cute” rain boots (an oxymoron if you ask me), flipping through the magazines with all the bronze skin bathed in sunlight is almost too much too handle for this Oregonian. Le sigh.

…which makes it all the more difficult to keep my promise to lead a tanning bed-free life. Don’t get me wrong, I was never “Jersey Shore” tan(orange), but nonetheless, with all the studies showing the scary stats about tanning –> skin cancer, I have chosen to cut. it. out.
So here’s to self-control + a summer filled with sunshine, outdoor activities and sunscreen.
I’ve been rereading some of the classics lately and I’ve come to realize that they are much more enjoyable leisure reading as opposed to trying to cram ten chapters of reading into one night before a test. So I’m appreciating them now. Better late than never right?
It’s been described as “a bastard child of Skype and Stumble Upon.“ I’ll admit it. My curiosity got the best of me and I had to try Chatroulette. I mean, if John Stewart is doing it, that makes it ok. Right?
As funny as John Stewart’s “first-hand” account is, the best article I’ve seen on the subject is The Human Shuffle, by Sam Anderson.
“I entered the fray on a bright Wednesday afternoon, with an open mind and an eager soul, ready to sound my barbaric yawp through the webcams of the world. I left absolutely crushed. It turns out that ChatRoulette, in practice, is brutal. The first eighteen people who saw me disconnected immediately. They appeared, one by one, in a box at the top of my screen—a young Asian man, a high-school-age girl, a guy lying on his side in bed—and, every time, I’d feel a little flare of excitement. Every time, they’d leave without saying a word. Sometimes I could even watch them reach down, in horrifying real-time, and click “next.” It was devastating. My first even semi-successful interaction was with a guy with a blanket draped over his lap who asked if I wanted to “jack of” with him. I declined; he disconnected. Over the course of an hour, I was rejected by what felt like a cast of thousands: a teenage girl talking on her cell phone, a close-up of an eyeball. It started to feel like a social-anxiety nightmare. One guy just stared into the camera and flipped me off. Another stood in front of his computer making wave motions with his hands, refusing to respond to anything I typed. One person had the courtesy to give me, before disconnecting, a little advice: “too old.” (I’m 32.) A girl with heavy makeup looked terrified when my image popped up on her screen—I actually felt guilty, a few rounds later, when the engine of randomness threw us back together and she had to look at my face for another excruciating half-second. My longest exchange was with a guy who seemed to be wearing one of those protective cones you put on a dog after surgery. “LICK YOU ELBOW,” he typed. “Why?” I asked. He disconnected.” [read whole article here]
Probably due to the fact that I’m a girl, and the ratio of men to women on Chatroulette is overwhelming, my experience was a little different than Anderson’s. In fact, I was the one doing the nexting. I was connected to all guys who, thank god, were fully clothed. I didn’t end up talking to anyone for more than a few minutes since I was just trying to get the lay of the land and, honestly, was afraid the conversations might take a turn for the pervy.
Although everyone remanded clothed and things were PG, I still was uncomfortable. One of the first questions everyone asked me, “You got a boyfriend.” Umm, yes. But why does that matter? What did they think was going to happen? We’re going to fall in love over Chatroulette? We’re going to meet up for a casual encounter? No thank you. If I want an internet love connection I’ll go to eHarmony. At least those people always look happy in the commercials and aren’t visually assaulted by male genitalia =D
As it is, I don’t see the value in it. It’s definitely not how I would choose to spend my time. But what if Google got it’s hands on the site? Anderson proposes the idea of filters – picking the type of person you want to talk to based on demographics, geography, interests. I would even go as far as to dream of a day where you could pick to connect to people in your industry or extended Linkedin network. Helllloooo networking opportunity!
One of my bestest friends in the whole entire world (@amber_mckenna) has spent the last few years traveling the whole entire world (or so it feels). Her current location is Galway, Ireland, so for her birthday a couple of us got together and filmed a movie. I used the opportunity to get up close and intimate with iMovie, which was a lot easier than I thought it would be, and even upped the ante –> adventuring into the world of stop motion.
[NOTE: I'm only posting the stop motion part because the rest is for the birthday girl's eyes only]