christmas eve

I actually celebrated Christmas Eve this year.  My Aunt decided to have a party since my cousin is back from the Philippines.  The above picture with the cousins is a rare moment.  I have not seen my cousin Jon for 3 years and it was refreshing to have him there since he always makes everyone laugh with his twisted sense of humor.  It was just nice to have all of us together again (eventhough I didn't talk to the 2 cousins in the far right).  After a night of good eating, we trekked to Midnight Mass and endured 1 hour and 30 minutes of mass.  I was annoyed that it was almost 2 hours long since I had work at 7 o'clock in the morning.  Lady of Lourdes have always been good in keeping it short since 2 years ago Christmas mass was ridiculously too long and resulted the following year of a low turnout in Midnight Mass.  I still had my Christmas mood with my lack of sleep.

Christmas Day...

Bonded with my nieces and nephews.  They are so adorable.  Especially the little one I am holding.  She loves to get everyone's attention.  Of course Nate Dogg was a terror, but he is the cutest out of all the little tykes.  It must be his hair.  So damn cute and curly.  Chatted up a bit with my cousins, lots of family bonding and gossiping.  I haven't opened any of my presents and I am not that anxious to know what I got.  Strange...this feeling never happens to me.  Since I had to work Christmas Eve and Christmas in the early hours of the morning, I have been sleepy in most of these family gatherings.  Naps are suppose to feel good when you wake up... Forget it! I have been having a mean headache everytime I wake up.  Overall, my Christmas has been wonderful and filled with good ol' family bonding.

san francisco weekend

Arrived in Frisco around 6'oclock in the evening.  Since me and Darah had to work Thanksgiving Day, we were not in a good mood to wake up early to trek out to Frisco.  We also made 3 rest stops en route to the bay, so that killed our time as well.  As we arrived at our hotel, we quickly freshened up and headed to SF Warfield to see Fiona Apple.  The Warfield was a walk away from our hotel, so it was fun to walk to the concert like city dwellers.  It was exciting at first until we  reached  to Market Street;  gosh, the street is scary.  It is filled with bums, drug dealers, addicts, a whole lot of dodgy people; I didn't have my bubble (car) to feel safe.  There were many concert goers as well, so we didn't feel so alone amongst the dodgy people.  I had a lot of fun at the concert.  Fiona sang very well and it was to be expected because her voice is amazing in her albums.  The only thing that sucked about the concert was the venue.  The Warfield is pretty rundown, yet they have gazillion ushers who were so strict about taking pictures.  I had my camera taken away by some rough woman who looked like she smelled.  Bitch took my camera, hence no concert pics.  The heifer's attitude didn't deter away the fun I was having at the concert, so there!

The next day was dedicated to shopping and more shopping.  H&M opened this month in San Fran, so we were both excited to see what they had.  So excited that we stayed in the store for 3 hours!  There was a line for everything.  A line to get inside the store, try on things, and buy.  It was madness in there!  I would have been pissed if I didn't walk out with at least one article of clothing.  No worries, I have a Christmas outfit and a New Year's blouse, and no plans for any of these holiday events (at least I am prepared).  Ended the long day with dinner at Cha Cha Cha's in Haight Street and a cafe con leche in Little Italy.  It was a nice weekend to get away from L.A.

the brewery

Another Arstyfartsy Sunday

I read an article in the Real Estate section of the L.A. Times last week about a community in downtown L.A. which consists of loft spaces in old industrial buildings. The place is called Brewery Art Colony. The majority of the tenants are artists and the rent is surprisingly low. The whole area caters to artists and encourages it's tenants to live a creative lifestyle. They had an art walk, which means they opened up their lofts for strangers to see their art and what they did with the space. I am always interested in things to do that does not require alot of money, hence, the art walk was free (even the parking).

The buildings were more exciting than the art. I just love the industrial look and the big windows that features in each loft space. The place has a bridge that takes you from one building to the next. It was so much fun to walk around and inside the buildings. At first, I was shy to go into a loft because I felt I was envading their privacy. They were all very nice and welcoming, but it still felt weird. As for the art, I only saw a couple of styles I liked. The sculpture of the lady is by Adam Kurtzman. I thought his stuff just stuck out the most. He really distorted the woman figure and resembled it into a gnome. I love this chair made out of bathroom pipes. Oooh.. how I love chairs. This brings me to an artist in the colony whose subject matter were chairs. It was irritating to see the same chair painted over and over again. I give her credit since I saw a painting of an Eames rocking chair. The chair is genius! I was also searching for graphic designers and illustrators living in the colony. Unfortunately, there were so many loft spaces, I didn't even see all of them. There were mostly fine artists and lots of abstract work. And yes, so many Art Fucks! "I am depressed... I want to kill myself".. blah blah blah. Take Prozac and get over it!

I also caught the sun setting in downtown L.A.

The Rules: List five songs that you are currently loving. It doesn't matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the artists, and the songs in your blog, then "tag" five other bloggers/friends to see what they're listening to.

fiona apple

I missed out in buying her show in L.A.  I scored decent seats in the S.F. show on 11/26/05. Hmm.. now I have to convince someone to go with me?

communism

I have been freelancing at BrandStorm Inc. for a month now. The job is not as demanding since I am only freelancing; but I am juggling 2 jobs and it can be draining at times (my only day off in the week is Sunday). Freelancing has spiced up my daily routine and I actually don't mind the drive time (1 hour commute on the hustle and bustle of the 405 south). The company is located in the border of Los Angeles and Century City. It was hard to adjust at first, but I am adding experience in my resume and portfolio, so I have the motivation to stick with it. The neighborhood is eclectic and filled with mom and pop restaurants that are great to lunch in on a sunny day in L.A. One place I have been going to is Cafe Brasil. The lunch special is decent in price and the food is delicious. I just love the vibe of the place. The environment is shabby chic/brazilian ( I would imagine...never been there). Walking around the hood', you can find the odd apartment buildings with strange paint selection. Repetition of puke torquoise can conjure up images of Communism, hence my title. Let me see If I can survive my new work schedule and I will update my website once I finish some designs that I have been working on.

about me

A drawing of my Aunt's condo at a tender age of 8 years.

Actual condo as of today.

My mom found this folder I had made when I was 8 years old. It was an About Me folder that you make in grade school. My mom has a Rodriguez trait that nothing is to be thrown away. I hate giving her bags of old clothes for the Salvation Army because she never seems to give it away. The stuff usually piles up of boxes in the garage. The trait isn't so bad when you find something from the past, such as my About Me folder. A simple assignment when I was 8 years old can bring so many memories of my innocent childhood. I also remember drawing this picture because the assigment was unique to me at the time. I was a latchkey kid and the idea of being outside when my parents weren't home was ludicrous. I took a chance and drew the condo to finish the assigment so I can do other things like watch t.v. According to my About Me folder, my favorite cartoons where the Smurfs and Thundercats... and yes countless of others such as the Hanah Barbara series of cartoons.

Here's me watching t.v, the smurf with a pink hat and the thundercat dagger thingy.

comedy

Comedy by Lynda Barry.  Isn't it the cutest thing!  Political activism as we know it.  If only I bake muffins or cookies.

aloha

I love seeing something again and it triggers a memory in my brain of my past travels. Hawaii has been such a place for me. Last week was my third trip to Oahu, Hawaii. The first trip to Hawaii was with The Cousins. Gosh, we did all the tourisy things you can imagine: the luah, dole plantation, waikiki beach, cliff jumping, etc. To top it all off, we had an extra week to trek out to Maui. It was all worth it to hike in a bamboo rainforest. My second trip was with Lindy and her gang. I almost felt forced to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center, which I will never go again. The highlight was the moped adventure of me circling around Waikiki Beach with Christi. My trip last week was a time for me to enjoy myself basking out in the sun and not be obliged to go to a luah, dole plantation, and experience polynesian culture. I had a blast just hanging out with my friend Wilson. I swam at Waikiki beach while the sun was setting. I ate alot of the spam washubi. My fascination of furniture lead me to this hotel who had oversized couches and twirl shaped ottomans. Drank some good Mai Thai's at a bar in our hotel. I wen't snorkeling at Hanuama Bay for the second time. Also jumped off the cliff at Waimea Beach. The feeling was different since I was more scared this time around than 5 years ago. For someone who has been living in Hawaii for 3 years, he couldn't direct us to a good sushi bar. Do not be misled by the rolling sushi bar, I have had better. Overall, Wilson was a good guide. A bit obnoxious at times, but spending 5 days together can get annoying to anybody. I have an ipod to tune him out when it needed be. Don't get me wrong, I can get annoying myself. My sunburn problems can tire anybody! Overall, It was so much fun to hang out with my Rhoda!

coldplay

Last night I went to see Coldplay with my sister.  It was an amazing show.  I never knew how big they became until last night.  The amphitheatre was packed all the way to the lawn area.  I saw them a couple of years back at the Hollywood Bowl and  it was more of a chill, "let's listen to good music type of vibe".  The atmoshpere last night displayed how much they have arrived in the music industry and what rockstars they are.  They are one of my favorite bands, and it was such a great concert.  The Verizon Amphitheatre is an alright venue.  The sound was great, but the parking sucked!  We were stuck in the parking lot for at least an hour.  We would have been stranded in a land of parked cars, but my sister took initiative and somehow found an exit through preffered parking.  No wonder the parking was free.

malibu

The last time I went to the beach to swim was ages ago; my sister and I decided to enjoy a picnic and boogie boarding in Malibu. Using the Topanga Ave. and maneuvering the zig zags, the beach is not far from the valley. There wasn't any traffic and we got to Malibu in 40 minutes. I never swam in Malibu; I usually hit Zuma or Newport. It was so much fun because the tides were low, and the water was refreshingly cool than the usual ice cold temperature. It was just nice to get away from the heat. I suck at boogie boarding because I can never catch a damn wave and when I do, I crash and land my feet on the rocks. One time I somehow got into a surfer's wave. At least he was cool about it and didn't say a thing. The surfers' in Malibu ride the waves like proffesionals. Hmm.. I should try surfing one of these days. Yes, I got sunburned! The sun hates me.

peacocks

I have been walking around my neighborhood to get some fresh air and a little bit of exercise. I have been talking about these peacocks roaming around Mc Vine St. Everytime I would walk, I would see these peacocks. Isn't strange? Is there an underground peacock farm in Sunland, or have the pets in America have gotten stranger? I don't know if the peacocks are allowed to be household pets, but all I know at least 3 households in that area have peacocks. One day I decided to take my digicam to catch these beautiful birds, and here are my pictures. I didn't know how to make the bird fan out it's tail. I was gonna throw a pebble to see what would happen, but my conscious told me NO because it seemed cruel (it was gonna be a small pebble). Anyways, I think they were scared of me, like "who is this crazy woman taking pictures of me!". One time a peacock was standing on a white picked fence with the sunset as a perfect backdrop and all I can think of is "Damn, wished I had my camera phone!".

basquiat

MOCA is free on Thursdays after 5pm. It was a great excuse to get away from the L.A. heat and see Basquiat's Exhibition. Honestly, I didn't know much about him. I read an article in the Calendar section and became interested in seeing his work.

On my way to MOCA, I noticed a tourist circling Hill and 2nd St. She asked me where the contemporary museum was located. I gladly accompanied her since I was going to the same place. We chatted up a bit, asked her where she was from. She said she is from Barcelona, Spain. I was so giddy to meet the Spainard. I told her how I love Spain and enjoyed experiencing her culture when I was abroad last year. A true Barcelonian (I know it's not a word), raved about how Barcelona has an ocean. They never like Madrid because it's surrounded by terrain. It was a short conversation, but very refreshing to meet a new person, especially a tourist from Spain. She is enjoying her holiday, and is loving California. She is excited about Big Sur this weekend. How lovely.

Isn't the Disney Hall beautiful? I just love this structure.building.sculpture.art. I had the pleasure of making a book in my 3d class when they were constructing this building. I have awesome pictures of the support systems (the skeleton) of Disney Hall. It's so refreshing to walk and just see the environment.

::The Basquiat Exhibition::

Here is a short bio of Jean-Michel Basquiat. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and displayed talent in drawing like every kid. He was not trained in art school, but quickly became prominent in the art scene in New York. He was famous for painting on walls of buildings because he was too poor to buy a canvas. The art fucks thought this media was so revolutionary. Come on, it's called graffiti! Nevertheless, the hipster mingled with various famous artists and even collaborated with Warhol. There was a piece shown at the exhibition of a silkscreened canvas with his paints mixing with Warhols logos of pop culture. Basquiat lived a short life because he died of a drug overdose when he was only 27 ( I know, such a cliche). He mananged to paint 70 paintings and 50 works on paper.

These 3 paintings happen to be my favorites from the show. It showed more of a progressive style and were more captivating than the rest. There was a thought process put in these images, such as references to African masks and the human body. Some of his works had no business to be on a gallery wall. They were obviously scribbles, which were nicely framed and matted (stupid art fucks!). Seeing those scribbles... I rolled my eyes to a seizure! There were plenty of interesting art though, such as the actual doors and windows he painted on were being showcased at the exhibition. I also love how his paintings and drawings were massive. Some paintings were 6 ft. tall canvases which commanded your attention. Overall, it was an artstyfarsty day.

puerto vallarta, mexico

A collage I made from my recent trip in Mexico, June 2005 (just any excuse to get creative). I haven't touched photoshop in months, so it was refreshing to do the collage. I have been drawing here and there, nothing major. My second attempt to draw Bob Marley was such a dissapointment on my part. I saw the first drawing of Bob when I went to Ken's house, and I was stunned how my first drawing came out so much better than my second one. So this means I need to start drawing again and start refreshing my skills. This collage is a start. That reminds me, I still need to finish my scrapbook.

lindy's wedding

Linday and her man. They look regal in this romantic dance.

Linday and me. I just noticed her dress is kinda mermaid like. It really fits the beach theme she was going for.

Friends and my two cousins (kinda off to the right for some weird reason). I luv the bridesmaid dresses. It can be recycled to another event.

It was my dearest friends Lindy and Che's wedding today. My cousins and I had to trek out to San Diego earlier this morning looking fabulous. It was a small intimate wedding with just family and close friends. The wedding and reception was at a ballroom in a naval base. The view was suprisingly beautiful. It is a military base, so the safety precautions were in standard order. When she told me that you needed your i.d. to get in, she meant it. We missed the ceremony, and I heard it was a dramatic one since the groom cried a tear or tears. Darn it! I enjoyed her wedding because I saw friends that I haven't seen in months at the wedding. They are xanga users, and you sometimes get a sense of their daily encounters in life, but it was nice to see them off the computer screen. The wedding was not so stiff and formal. It is always more fun to be the guest than be part of the bridal party.