a big day for things

the thanksgiving holiday weekend meant lots of time off for me. i got in some quality slacking, sewing, knitting, socializing and napping. as i went into the long weekend i had some loose plans for tackling chores/tasks that have been nagging me: dusty window sills, over crowded storage closet, stuff to go to out-of-the-closet. i got a nice little chunk of this stuff done, but knew that the larger projects that i hadn't done while i had time, might languish until spring.

this morning, just as i was gathering my backpack and coffee mug to head out for work, i got a wild hair to address a long bothersome thing: the hamper full of pillows and blankets.
this hamper had a home in my bedroom behind a door, but i've moved some furniture around leaving the basket without a home for the last two months. it's been in the middle of the living room, crowding the route to the big red chair (drag). on the long weekend, i cleaned the living room floor, and so moved the basket to my room.

now, without going into even more dull detail, let's just say that the basket was in the middle of the floor. next to ANOTHER homeless basket of stuff. and the ironing board. three days of this was enough to compel me to act.
i went to the linen closet, pulled out a foam egg-shell pad that was meant to me used with the now-defunt air mattress, ear marked it for either a homeless person in the neighborhood or the bin, and moved the pillows and blankets into the vacant spot on the top shelf of the closet.
HOO-RAY.
the basket is stamped with a recycling stamp, so i didn't have the satisfaction of putting it in the bin this morning. i'm gonna make some strategic cuts in it tonight to flatten it, then put it in the blue bin.
this accomplished, i went out to the storage space and pulled out a big bag of binders.
i'd been keeping them, but figured if i haven't used them in 4 years, i would take them to the office where i use 2/month. i emptied the contents of two of them into the recycling bin: all the paperwork from the pilot for "the unit." one page dated 3.19.05. good-bye paperwork! (office binders in current use in bg of inset. love that colored paper tape :D )

alongside the binders i put a box of rubber stamps to be mailed to a friend, and a huge piece of tie-dyed looking polar fleece to either give to someone at work, or give to o-o-t-c. (the fleece was one of three pieces left over from making some blankets for my nieces 4 years ago. the two other pieces went to petra on saturday!)
when i took the bag of binders out of that closet i saw a huge plastic container at the back full of...my student films! holy toledo. if anyone is interested in some super-8 found footage, drop me a line. ;)

in summation: the chipping away continues!

i left for work this morning with a short list in my pocket: three things i was going to accomplish today:
1. boxes to mail
2. sweatshirt
3. radio cord & battery

i've got three bundles of stuff i've been wanting to post, but didn't have boxes, so that was on the list. as for the sweatshirt, i've been trying for years to replace this plain, grey, zip up hooded sweatshirt. i've had it for many many years. the cuffs are barely attached to the sleeves.
i don't wear it to work b/c as casual as i get, it's not really office attire. (keep in mind i wear shorts and tennis shoes to work about 65% of the time).
each time i've tried to replace it, i've been faced with fleece lining, embroidered logos, or fashion tailoring. too much stuff and too much cost.
the radio cord/battery are needed to breathe life into the 6+ years old tivoli PAL radio that i have (and love in a way that some cultures would find beautiful).

when i got to work this morning i set to task. did some online research re: replacement bits for the radio, placed a phone call. *check*

then looked at least 8 different websites searching for the Grey Hooded Sweatshirt. after much consternation, i thought about a hoodie that gets a lot of wear: my kxlu sweatshirt. made by americal apparel. a quick visit to their website and a call to confirm my findings. made a plan to stop at the los feliz a.p. to try on some hoodies.

boxes. the boxes/am. app. combo had me set my sights on a lunch time errand run back to my neighborhood. stopped for some fish tacos, zipped over to box bros, popped into mustard seed for an iced latte, and then over to a.p. to shop.

i am all aglow at adding to my wardrobe today this light grey hooded sweatshirt!
pix to come...just remembered i wanted to make some calls before 6pm. TCB!

note:
oddest itunes song shuffle pairing while writing this entry: saul williams "telegram" into decemberists "red right ankle."
suprise song: sinead o'connor: "mandinka"

setting things to rights

today is a big day.

without going into too sordid detail: the banks that hold my credit cards have seen fit to raise the APRs on them with no cause other than they've "revised their business model." two cards were from the same bank. APR: 27.24%

fuckers.

so. today was the day i got to pay one off completely and take the other one down to a very small amount. when i signed my name to the checks i wanted to write something pithy like, "get bent!" in the memo line, but i resisted.

i didn't expect it, but i felt such a huge relief as i walked away from the post office. felt that i'd regained control of something that had been beyond my control for so long. (i'm not one of those people who is constantly shuffling money around or switching credit cards. i just stick with what i've got. i'm just lazy that way. or was. :) )

i've been committed to paying cash for everything. the only time i use a credit card is for travel: plane tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals. anywhoo. this felt great.

after i'd signed the checks and before the post office i walked down to peet's coffee for a cup o' the great stuff (decaf sumatra). as i walked in i saw it on the shelf: the Nissan Thermos thermal coffee mug. this is the Red Rider b.b. gun of coffee mugs. i have owned 3 in my coffee drinking career. the first for 6 years. my last was nicked from the dish drainer while i was working on "The Cleaner." (i think it was someone in the U.S. of Tara production office, but i can't prove it...) since last spring i have been using my second string travel mugs: the thermal french press (hard to drink from), the "excite" mug that was MacWorld swag in 1997 or something (coffee gets cold fast){see inset}, and the Rad Thermos (can't drink from it, just for transport).

i bought a new mug. tomorrow morning my coffee will stay hot. i will be able to sip from the cup as i drive to work.

today is a big day.

also: went to lunch with the full post-prod staff today, AND did some knitting at my desk.
AND sorted all my accumulated receipts for the year to date. trying to get a little head start on the taxes, don'tchewknow.

crafting ≠ lanyards and leaf plaques

despite my crazy period of work, this has been a pretty prolific craft period. (ok, that word "craft" connotes crocheted toilet paper roll covers, découpage plaques, bedazzled sweatshirts. i'm trying to get over this) over the years i've made several pairs of the above booties for friends with babies. they are a hit b/c kids can't pull them off. they are also good gifts b/c they are about the size of kids' feet when they are 5 mos. old. good for a gift procrastinator like me. :)

i knit the above pair for my friends marsha and charlie's daughter, nora. i used two different colors of koigu. koigu is handpainted marino wool. so beautiful. the yarn came out of my koigu stash. i started another pair last night in two more colors of koigu pulled from the closet.

while taking a class at sew l.a. i spotted some terrific fabrics that inspired me to make an apron for my friend, uyen, using sew liberated's "emmeline" pattern.
(the name of this pattern had me humming jonathan richman's "emmeline" for weeks. which is a-ok.) it's reversible. the two bigger pieces of fabric were each a "side" of the apron. the floral strips hanging there were the ties.

my pics are pretty lousy b/c i took them at night using the camera on my laptop (this is comedy all its own.) also, the apron is being modeled by my less-than-shapely ironing board.
i'm hoping the recipient can hook me up with a good pic that i can post later.























here, my pal, sea, graciously agreed to model the apron so i could photograph the ties in back. she did insist on props. that whisk and spatula are working kitchen utensils. no rental props here.

of note: much of this sewing was done while listening to the new yorker's fiction podcast and an assortment of comedy records.
**please pardon the layout of this post. i didn't take the time to figure out just how to balance the lay out.**

further signs o' the times

monday night as deadlines were approaching and fatigue was getting the best of me, one of our edit consoles started giving us pains. in a fit of avid crashing, rampant bin locks and frustration these are the names i assigned bins at midnight monday:

-new and different
-blow me
-you suck
-fuck you

sign o' the times

**the above pic (with me having all-time bad crazy cat lady hair) isn't from my current job. this is the post production staff from the defunct show "Life." one of the best jobs i've ever had. the man standing just to my left works with me on my current job, too. He is Rad.**

the job i'm working has resulted in some crazy work hours. today is day 11 in a row. not that impressive on it's own, but monday night i was at work until 1 am, tuesday until 3am. i've eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at my desk for a week. as is the norm with picture editing rooms, my office has no windows.
it's not my intention to set myself up as a martyr, just wanting to give context for what i did yesterday...

yesterday afternoon, as the hubub was dying down a little at work, i went on a coffee run to the starbucks across the street from the lot. it was 5pm. i grabbed my ID badge, some cash, and my sunglasses. i walked out the front door and into the dusk.

i just started laughing out loud.

between my work schedule and the time change last week, i'd completely missed out on the idea that the sun sets early now.

this weird little event just underscored how happy i am to be out from under the short short schedule of this last episode.

(also: i knew what the schedule was like before i took this job, so it's not as if i feel they're taking advantage of us. and we're union, so when we have work nutty hours, we are compensated, and well fed. :) )

postcards from kentucky

**halloween weekend i took a short trip to louisville kentucky for some music and socializing. and to get the hell out of my edit bay for a few hours. here are two cards that i wrote that weekend. things being what they are, both of them made the return trip to los angeles with me. the first card was sent to my pal, p. in ny. the second card sent to w. in fort wayne.**


10.31.09 Happy Halloween! This Saturday morning finds me in Louisville! flew here on a red-eye -- didn't get as much sleep as I'd hoped, but as soon as I pulled out of he car rental lot and onto the road I felt great! It rained last night. the sky is full of big dark clouds. I put the Oxford American cd that you gave me into the stereo and it was perfect. I'm in no shape for a bright, sunny morning. :)
I headed straight to a breakfast spot recommended to me. I've yet to try the food, but the coffee is good & strong! an indication that i'm in kentucky: i ordered bacon, and the people sitting on either side of me did as well. but! this place also has avocado on the menu! (review to follow!)
i heard from {X.} that change is afoot chez vous: {your roommate} moving, more school, no tv..remember, in a pinch you can watch dvds on your computer. means nothing for football, tho. :|
hope to see you soon!
ps. read Buck O'Neil's memoir. I recommend it!



(This card reminds me of your schooling your niece!)
sunday nov 1, 2009 -- concours B Midway Airport...
Further time-change comedy" got to Midway with a 40 min wait between planes went to the closest hairport food place, grabbed a (fair-but long refrigerated) turkey sandwich. Ate the sandwich quickly and sent a happy birthday text to my brother. After ahile I thought I'd been waiting a long time...maybe the flight was delayed...It is then that i realized that my watch (reading 6pm) is set to Louisville time. Here in Chicago, it is 5 pm. so my 40 min layover was an hour-forty. I used my extra 15 min to get a mocha and cookie. and now that flight is boarding. THANK YOU for a fantastic trip!!

amazing thing of the day: yo la tengo

am at work cutting sound effects for a scene involving a medical emergency. doing this kind of work is both creative and tedious. there is a certain amount of veracity required (less impressionistic say, than the "scary surfing" scene i put sfx on in the cleaner last season. (someday ask me about all the rad stuff that one can use to make the ocean sound scrary and hostile.)

anywhoo, am listening to yo la tengo's latest album "popular songs." (see inset) a minute ago the song playing caught my ear. it was "more stars than there are in heaven." it was in minute six. soooo beautiful.

sometime last month i went to see yo la tengo at the avalon. i was very close to having to miss the show b/c of nutty work happenings (visual effects, don'tchewknow), but through a group effort at the office, got there having only missed about 15 min.

wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. b/c i have to get back to the aforementioned medical emergency scene, i will cut this short.

yo la tengo are the masters of the slow build. they can play a song for 10 minutes at a steady, almost imperceptible build. man, i love it.

this song, "more stars than there are in heaven" is just lovely. makes me want to watch hal hartley movies. and walk around on a windy day. and visit arcata.

after this song comes the delicate, "fireside," then the 15 minute feedback-tacular "and the glitter is gone." that will get things cooking in here. ;)

overheard...

"...they have the world's largest collection of Bigfoot memorabilia."

overheard in wild eggs diner, louisville kentucky. wish i'd heard the follow up sentence.

at kaldi coffee in atwater village a couple weeks ago 3 guys sat down at a table near mine in mid-coversation about the films of Frank Stallone. among them, they could name two. two more than i could name. their conversation stemmed from one of them having seen a funny f. stallone cameo on a tv show.


what else: monday morning found the left front tire on my car was flat. my rad neighbor, eric, changed the flat for my spare (little donut tire)!
tuesday morning i came out to find the spare was flat. *blank stare*
i was headed to my mechanic to get new struts and tires. this derailed the plan a bit. ended up riding on the rim (sigh) to the service station on hyperion to fill the spare so i could just get to work.

at the end of today i will have new struts and new bitchin michelin tires on my old car. the last time i replaced the tires on my honda, i thought they'd be the last tires to be on that car. that car just keeps running, tho. I LOVE THAT CAR.

more to come on the weekend in louisville, the Tale of Amelita (this is good!), the recent craft wave items, and terrific books!

just for the record: i have been working a lot. one week my pay stub listed hours worked as 75. the following week: 70. oof.