August 30th

Today, I bought 2 scratcher lottery tickets. I have scratched away hundreds of those things in my life. We used to give them to my grandma as gifts and she would dole them out to everyone for expedited scratching. Of course she got the winnings.

Anyhow, this was the first time I had ever gone out and purchased my own scratchers save that "look what I can do" moment every newly 18-year old faces. I even won! -$2. That dash is not an accident. It is a negative sign. In other words I lost. All in the name of new experiences.

August 29th

Today, I watched a movie in a cemetery. My cousin and I went to see the cult classic Wild Style in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. We had never heard of the film before but it was definitely worth seeing as it showed the infant stage in the development of what eventually became hip hop culture. The acting was literally laughable at times, but the film wasn't about acting, it was about music, graffiti, and culture.

We were clearly the least prepared people there. Some groups brought chairs, beds, and entire picnic feasts with all the drugs and alcohol they could consume in an 80 minute time-span. We brought blankets... My cousin and I both agreed that it was definitely a scene. All the cool kids were there. At the end of the showing, the director and a couple of the stars came out for an interview which is always rad. We thought Grandmaster Flash might make an appearance, but alas, he did not.

(The picture on the left is from the Cinespia facebook page. It is of the crowd at one of their showings.  The picture on the right is a screenshot of the film and from my cell phone.)

Dear Blogitarians,

This is an informational post for my loyal reader(s?).
I have some information that does not further the agenda of this blog.


I went back to add some details to my August 3rd-18th entries. Those were my vacation days and they are written retrospectively. They lacked the character and pizzazz that the later posts seemed to attain. If you are interested, go back and read about the pizzazy things I did. It might be fun.

Please enjoy this random photo of one of the many, many totem poles that Canada has to offer. Random post gets a random picture. There were bees living in it and that is why no one is standing next to it. I understand that kids these days require a very specific word to picture ratio in order to read through a blog. Hope the totem pole helped!

August 27th and 28th

So, on August 27th, I didn't really do anything new or notable. I worked and came home to make vegan tacos and watched Cougar Town with my 4-year-old niece. Pretty run of the mill day. In order to make up for it though, I made the 28th of August extraordinary and accomplished TWO new things.



1. In the morning, I cleaned out this toy box that has been haunting me ever since I moved back home with my dad. The toy box clearly hadn't been opened in a decade. The contents were pretty chronological, like the sediments of my childhood. Most notably, I found my baby photo album. Suddenly I was faced with unrecognizable images of myself. I don't think I have seen this album since I was old enough to care. I am going to show my mom when I see her next. She is totally going to cry.
This picture is of a 1-year-old me enjoying some cake. I didn't want to scan it, so you all have to accept the cell-phone-photo-quality version.




2. In the evening, my good friend, Jacquie, and I went to see one of her favorite bands, Cap'n Jazz at the Echoplex in LA. They are on a reunion tour and it is their first show in LA ever. I feel like I am a part of history. The show was so awesome; I can safely say that Cap'n Jazz is now one of my favorite bands, too. The mosh pit was both surprising and awesome. No one was expecting it except for the drunk guys who started it. I escaped pretty quickly after I got a crowd-surfer's foot to the face and some guy's head to the nose. It was an awesome show though. Proof:

(My Picture, Not My Video)

August 26th

Today was almost a failure as far as new things go. I had made plans days ago to go to an open mic night at the local Borders UberMega Store. When I went though, only one band was playing and they were just bantering to themselves and the Borders staff and it wouldn't have been so bad if the band wasn't so terrible. Anyhow, it was such a train wreck that I decided to not count it.

Then, I went about Plan B, which involved me learning how to operate the sewing machine that I found in the hall closet one day. No one could tell me where it came from but I just claimed it as my own. The sewing machine was really just a pain in my ass though. After a trip to Michael's to buy some bobbins and about a dozen youtube tutorials, it is still a useless piece of 1980s plastic and metal. I did get close though, and when my sewing expert friend gets into town Saturday, I will help her solve the Rubik's cube that is my new old sewing machine. Here's to trying!

August 25th II

I was recently informed by a reader that most of my New Experiences involve food. I am going to attempt to remedy that, just know that on August 25th, I had a delicious burrito in Old Town Newhall from a place I had never been to and it cost a mere $3.50. So good.

(Not my picture)

August 25th

Today, I walked around Old Town Newhall. It is surprising and possibly sad that I have never done this before since I have lived in Newhall on and off for most of my life. The neighborhood used to be much scarier than it is now, probably because I used to be six and I used to live with my mother who has nothing but horror stories about every conceivable situation I could find myself in. Now though, it is in the middle of the kagillion dollar development project, that is to say gentrification. I am glad that I had the opportunity to walk through this neighborhood while its still the charming street I grew up passing in the backseat of the family Land Rover.

(Isn't gentrification pretty? I stole this picture from a website.

If you click the photo which takes you to newhall.com, you will notice the Awesometown ad campaign. Hope you are as disgusted/annoyed as I am.)

August 24th

Today, my father bestowed upon me the wedding album of his and my mother's marriage. The two of them are over a decade divorced and my step father is like a second dad, so my appreciation of this album isn't so much wishing my parents were back together, as it is just appreciating the past and finally knowing that my parents used to get along. Or at least appreciated each other enough to pose for photos. The rest of the album features photos exemplifying 80s fashion and hair and my then-tiny siblings in adorable mini-dresses and tuxes.



(I chose a picture that was a bit out of focus and featured as few people as possible in order to avoid embarrassment in case this blog is ever discovered by my kinfolk. Really though, weren't my parents hot?)

August 23rd

Today, I went to this place called The Veggie Grill in Hollywood and got the Chipotle BBQ Sandwich.
I love vegetarian/vegan food that is both unhealthy and delicious. The best part was that vegan sour cream stuff that veg restaurants love to put on food that is neither sour nor cream. Yum.

August 22nd

Today, I let my niece, Meagan, give me a make over. She is 5. She told me that while she didn't have any stuff for my eyes, she could put lipstick on my cheeks like blush. I declined, so she offered to put enough lip stuff on me to "make my lips dizzy." I didn't know what that meant until I had 3 layers of different flavored lip gloss on. Anyhow, mostly she just brushed my hair with various brushes and then put clips and what not in my hair. I then gave her a similar make over and insisted on the picture. The silly face was her idea.

Excuses

Now that I am back from my double header vacations, excuse me if my "new experiences" are less than riveting. I might need suggestions if my posts regress to "I cooked my eggs in the big pan instead of the little one," or something equally unimaginative. If I ever run out of ideas, I can only hope that my oh-so-loyal followers can offer counsel. Though, that would probably involve me formulating a list of guidelines. Ho-hum.

August 21st

Today, I visited the Newhall Public Library, where despite its proximity to my house, I had never been.

I had a card as a kid from different library in the county. I enjoyed when the librarian announced that she changed my account from "child" to "adult."

August 20th

Today, I got my ears pierced.
Since I work at a mall, I was able to do it while on the clock. Don't tell my boss.

(Notice that I got the cheapest earring that the "FREE EAR PIERCING" sign would allow)

August 19th

Today, I introduced my 4-year-old niece, Jenna, to riot grrrl and punk rock. Thankfully, despite her firm roots in hip hop and country, she loved it and even attempted to sing along. There is hope for her yet.

(This is her experiencing PhotoBooth for the first time weeks earlier.)

August 18th

Today, I flew on Virgin America Airlines. If you have been on one of these planes, you understand how unique the experience is. Everyone has their own little tv screen and remote. You get to watch live tv and play games for free. Movies cost extra. You can also order tapas through the screen. If all planes aren't like this in 5 years then we have truly failed future generations.

(This is not my image, but it is coach. Note the mood lighting and tv screens.)

August 17th

Today, I ate at Yaffa, which I learned is where the cool people eat, as illustrated by this mural. I had an omelette that, with the aid of pita bread, I promptly turned into a sandwich. The service is terrible, the food is good, and the atmosphere is great. Proof.

(Not my photo)

August 16th

Today, I saw my first Broadway production ON Broadway. THE Broadway.
As made apparent by the ironically uncreative title, the play was about race. It was pretty deep and intense and what not. The sad part was that the play had so many layers and was so complicated, much like race relations in this country. By the end of it, all I could think was, why can't we all just get along?

The cast that I saw included Eddie Izzard instead of Spader and Dennis Haysbert instead of David Alan Grier.

August 15th

Today, I visited MoMA, aka the Museum of Modern Art. We saw some Picasso, Matisse, Cezanne, and my favorite of the famous, dead, white guys, Man Ray. I was the only one in my group that had ever heard of Man Ray which made me feel smart then sad. Read a book.

(This is the "Purple Bathtub," as my aunt refers to it. She loved so much that she took a picture of it. It was actually a row boat, as made apparent by its oars. Small detail.)

August 14th

Today, I visited NYC. I stayed in the Park Royal, across from the Dakota. I got scammed immediately upon my arrival. Who knew of the existence of gypsy cabs? Not I and my Los Angeles will to drive. Anyhow, it was hot and muggy and great and I could talk about the food there all day, but I won't.

(This image is from the Park Royal website, hence the cute little epigraph about the greatness of the lobby.)

August 13th

Today, I reached the pinnacle of lady-hood when I bought a Victoria's Secret bra.

I figured a personal picture would be too personal, but just appreciate that I am officially a lady now. One of the masses who will pay $50 for a bra. Yay me.

August 12th

Today, I ate a muffin at a muffin cafe. I got something with 3 or so different types of berries. It tasted a lot like corn bread and I couldn't finish it, but it was great nonetheless. It seemed like a pretty hip hang out too. Those parents with thousand dollar strollers seemed to go there.

(Appreciate the shameless plug. And then go get some muffins)

August 11th

Today, I drank baby coconut milk. Cannot describe its magnificence. Just click the picture, which will tell you where I went, and go there. Immediately. You can stop on your way to Canada for All Dressed chips.

(Not my picture.)

August 10th

Today, I visited Seattle, WA. I was informed earlier by my Swiss hostel roommates, Seattle Grace Hospital is neither real nor in Seattle. We only stayed for a couple of hours. And thanks to the occasionally evil GPS device we were relying on, we parked in the sketchy broken-window-warehouse district and walked approximately 3435.93 miles to get Indian food.

 (Here is the Space Needle. Much like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, is visible from various vantage points throughout the city.)

August 9th

Today, I ate a gourmet cupcake at a gourmet cupcake place.

(Mine was the smaller one-strawberry cheesecake. It wasn't actually smaller, 

I just eat faster than my companion.)

August 8th

Today, I visited Vancouver, BC and stayed in a hostel. We had Swiss roommates who were super nice but about as shy as us. The hostel was a pretty hip place. Lots of books and newspapers being read within its walls.

(This was my room in the hostel. My bed was the nearer, bottomer bunk.)

August 7th

Today, I experienced the Canadian wonderment known as All Dressed potato chips. If you have never had these, leave your current life immediately, drive to Canada and get the biggest bag you can find. They are magnificent. They taste like BBQ chips + Salt and vinegar chips. In other words, just combine the two greatest chip flavors of all times, and you have all dressed chips.

August 6th

Today, I went to Canada (via ferry)! We got Mexican food which was weird. Burrito was green and in the shape of a hexagon. Those Canadians need to get out more.

(This is the bay/body of water that leads to Victoria, BC as well as a flightless plane.)

August 5th

Today, I slept outside, sans tent, with only a sleeping bag protecting me from the elements. Luckily, despite our proximity to the North Pole, it was a warm night. There was a waterfall near by to help lull me to sleep and a dozen or so RVs surrounding us to prevent the night-bears from attacking our car or our faces. We need see a baby bear in the morning. Adorable. Contemplated stealing it but it seemed like it would be a tough sell in customs.

(My campground, NOT my picture)

August 4th

Today, I visted Portland, Oregon. It was a pretty neat city. Much, much hotter than I expected. I went to Powell's Books and to Voodoo Doughnut where I consumed the most delicious doughnut of all time. It was called the Old Dirty Bastard. Doughnut+Chocolate Frosting+Crushed Up Oreos+Peanut Butter. It was so good, each word deserved to begin with a capital letter.

August 3rd

Today, I crossed the border into Oregon. My friend Jacquie and I began driving at 5 am. It was a road trip and the adventures were plentiful. Canada or bust!