Listening to Bob Dylan

Check out all the live performances and interviews available on YouTube... Its like hearing a whole new song.

(photo screenshots from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSGy5Fo049g)

Seen Around Portland

I took a trip to Portland, Oregon a couple months ago and went a little shutter-happy with all the design lining the streets. Here are just a few of my favorite ones.




This incomplete, somewhat random typography formed light-hearted and incomplete sentences around a building. Very charming.


Lobsters are... what?? The suspense is killing me!

Latest Doodling

Handicraft

While visiting my family in Virginia I got the opportunity to peek into my grandfather's expansive and eclectic book collection. Among the dusty volumes and yellowing pages, I came across this interesting little book from the '30s. Its a craft book, loaded with hand-drawn diagrams of the procedures it explains. Something about it is so charming and captivating to me. I thought I'd share a glimpse...

On Going Home

Sometimes its nice to go home and just be home for a bit. There's nothing quite like it.

My Latest

Working on a new series- this is the first.

To be Loved

Alphabetilately

If you are going to be in the Washington DC area, I highly recommend stopping by the Alphabetilately exhibit at the National Postal Museum. Who could resist?

This American Life Poster

Check out this poster, designed by Travis Bone for This American Life to promote their upcoming live show! I love the drama and color scheme.

Meter Fail!

On Cubicle Life

People were not meant to sit in cubes. It does weird things to creatures. Just look at indoor cats.

On Tolls

The toll booth person has no idea where you came from, nor do they care where you are headed. To the toll person you exist for a few fleeting seconds. The middle aged woman in the toll booth I came upon popped her gum as she scooped the change from my hand, looking only at the coins and counting in a low, rhythmic drone. She had no idea that a few short minutes prior, I had been on the side of a deserted road alongside what appeared to be a goat farm.

I didn't mean to end up at a goat farm. No one ever means to end up at a goat farm, unless they are a goat farmer I suppose, but sometimes life leads us in unexpected directions.

Public Radio

This American Life, Selected Shorts, Radio Lab, Driveway Moments, Fresh Air, Science Friday, The Moth....



Brilliant.

Everything is starting to come together...

finally.

Just when you think your life sucks...

You see a car upside down on the freeway next to a smashed guard rail and realize it could be a lot worse.

Good Freakin' Morning!

This morning was supposed to be the first of my "Start at 7:00, leave at 4:00" days. The prospect of getting out of work and hour early was just exhilarating enough for me to ignore the hour of lost sleep in the morning. I didn't even mind this morning as I hoisted my bag over my shoulder and trudged into the chilly morning air.

I drummed my fingers to the melodic drone of NPR morning radio as I pulled into a perfect parking spot right in front of my favorite Starbucks. The "You-godda-dolla" bum wasn't patrolling yet, so I walked easily in and out with my steaming cup of joe.

Ahhh. What a morning.

I reached the office at about 6:55 and promptly realized that I was the only one in the office who elected to work early mornings. The office was dark, empty, and locked. Well then.

Not wanting to have my early arrive count for nothing, I drove to the nearest wifi hot spot (read: Starbucks) and began my work for the day. Jittery and overly ethusiastic from my excessive caffiene intake, I returned to my car to find a dreadful clicking noise where there is supposed to be the rumble of a starting engine.

Of course, this was the one day that I forgot my cell phone at home. Along with my AAA card. There I was, 22 years old, a college graduate, with a job and an apartment and all the ameneties a "big girl" could want, calling mommy to save me.

About an hour later, I was siting on a curb, laptop balanced awkwardly on my knees, attempting to work as the mechanic tinkered under the hood. Thats when I learned that the problem was beyond a dead battery, but dead cell. Translation: You need a new battery, that will be $150 and another hour of your time.

Finally, at 9:00 I was ready to set off to my 7:00-start work day. All he had to do was connect the batter---

AAAHHH AAAAHHH AAAHHH AAAHHH

Ah, yes. The alarm I havent used in two years because the very sound of it beckons every dog within a 3 mile radius and renders passers by temporaily deaf. I had forgotten about that alarm- probably because I no longer carry around the fob that disarms the thing. Without it, I am left with the choice of a. a disconnected battery or b. a shrieking alarm.

Choices choices.

So, here I am, finally at work, my car stranded in the Starbucks lot. What my next move is, I haven't the slightest.

On Oatmeal

Let me just begin by admitting that I do, in fact, love oatmeal. My friends take great pleasure in recalling a (greatly exaggerated) tale of me running into a burning building to save my oatmeal. The building was not burning, its was more of a smolder, and I was mainly going for my lap top, the oatmeal was just a bonus. Also, it is worth noting that this was no ordinary oatmeal. This was the legendary San Jose State oatmeal. This was the reason I would sign up for early morning classes, why I always kept a few dollars in my pocket, and why my blood pressure is so well regulated.

Since graduation, I have not had the opportunity to enjoy this fluffy, delicious treat. I have tried to recreate it, always to my disappointment. So, you can imaging my delight when I noticed Starbucks Coffee advertising their new breakfast menu, featuring Perfect Oatmeal. If SJSU's oatmeal was great, then you can imagine my expectations of an oatmeal that was self-proclaimed as "perfect."

After trying their so-called Perfect Oatmeal, I must say that it does not quite live up to the high standard that Starbucks set for it. (There is always the possibility that they did not know about the SJSU oatmeal before they decided to call theirs perfect.) However, despite not being perfect, it is still a pretty good bowl of oatmeal and just like SJSU's it is impossible to recreate at home.

The secret, I believe, is in the oats themselves. Determined to discover the secret, I emailed Starbucks and asked where their oats came from.

Much to my disappointment, the response was a disheartening, "Unfortunately we are unable to provide information regarding our vendors and manufacturers due to contractual obligations ensuring confidentiality."

Now, what was once a fleeting curiosity, has become a genuine interest. Where do these oats come from? I intend to find out...