hello!

i've moved!
you can find me here at Wordpress. Sorry blogger!

Update!

I should write in here more. I'm always nagging my friend Derek to update his blog everyday! He does a better job updating that I do!

Currently, I'm in Boston. I haven't been in Austin for long periods of time! I came back on Oct. 31st and stayed for almost a month- Nov. 22nd and then left for Thanksgiving break until Nov. 30th, then left for Nashville Dec. 2nd. Came back to Austin Dec. 10th, left for Boston December 15th.

The city is more tolerable, still haven't made any new friends. Still working on it. Luckily, work has consumed a lot of my time. In addition to working for Ben Kweller, I also work for an indie label based out of NYC/Philly called Viro Records. They have one artist who is based out of Austin, which is why I got hired! I'm the Operations Manager. Fun title.

More and more responsibilities are headed my way with Ben Kweller. It'll be a challenge to try to tackle all of these things and keep my sanity.

Back in ATX

So, after I left the flea situation got better and I ended up not having to move out..or being able to anyways.

This tour has been one of the best tours I've been on. Same people for the most part but different crew and almost no stress. It was nice. All tours should be like this one. I didn't really update this blog or the other one. Sorry for neglecting you blogs. I did manually write in my journal a lot though. It was really nice to be in some random place like Albuquerque, NM and be able to sit outside in the middle of the town, under a shady tree and just write and write.

Tour passed by really quick. Some highlights: Getting groped by the opener on the first night, by accident, while I was sleeping. The best meal of my lifeee in Albuquerque, NM. Lost my license and my credit card during a romp in Idaho. Photobooths in Orlando, FL. A visit to a strip club on a really REALLY drunk night in New Orleans (don't drink the hand grenades..they're lethal).

I go back out in the road mid-Feb. Hopefully, I get to stay out on the road and follow the guys to Australia, Europe and Japan. More adventures soon I hope.

wow

3 days before tour starts and i have a crapload to do on my to-do list.
INCLUDING MOVING.

step 1: get out of my lease
step 2: schedule movers
step 3: move

moving is hard on its own. put it in a day and i'm f'ed
i can't even move into the potential new place until sept. 25th! that's our first show so no way can i do that. i don't have a lot in my room...but the kitchen- there's a lot. my mom might come down to help me. but first, step 1.

i can't wait for my roommates anymore. if they don't get out of the lease soon, i'm moving my stuff into storage. it sucks because i don't know my touring schedule after this initial tour andddd i have two days to move in between coming back and our last show of this tour until i'm pretty much homeless.

blah... i can't explain the things swimming in my head right now. it is more complicated than me leaving or my roommates leaving or me moving.

I really want to make these

Ingredients

• 4 large portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
• 1 8-ounce package frozen spinach and artichoke dip, thawed
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ounces goat cheese, sliced
• 1/4 cup Italian blend shredded cheese
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, stems removed
• Salt and pepper to season

Preparation

• 1
  Preheat grill to medium high heat (about 400˚F)
  
• 2
  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook onion slices in one tablespoon oil on medium-high heat until well caramelized and very tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
  
• 3
  Brush mushroom caps with olive oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill stem-side down for about 5 minutes. Take off heat.
  
• 4
  Divide spinach artichoke dip equally among the four mushroom caps. Spread dip on grilled side of mushrooms. Top with caramelized onions, a couple slices of goat cheese, 2 tablespoons shredded cheese, and a sprinkle of thyme leaves.
  
• 5
  Put mushrooms back on grill and close lid so that the toppings heat and melt. Grill for about 10 minutes or until cheeses are melted and golden.

Recipe compliments of http://www.foodchannel.com/recipes/454-grilled-pizza-bella-

fleas part II

I can't say I've never felt this way before. As when I was subletting a super cheap LES apartment, my apartment was plagued with roaches! That was when I could not sleep without keeping one eye open. I was paranoid. I never cooked at home. I put towels under my door to keep any from coming in, and I made sure never to leave my room after 9PM. The person I subletted from never told me a thing! I visited during the day and there were no signs of this grossness.. and of course she spent her summer digging up bones and what not in Israel and was away from my anger! The only good thing that came out of it were my kick ass internships, being in NYC and the fact that it only took one extermination and the roaches were gone! Amazed! (and I didn't have to pay the bill)

My aunt was joking about how funny it was that I keep having bad luck with living situations..I couldn't really find the 'funny' part in the whole matter. Before we moved in our landlady did NOT mention anything about fleas! She didn't mention she exterminated the day before we moved in. we moved in on Saturday and didn't suspect a darn thing until Monday when I woke up with 4 bug bites on my legs! Everyday I had more and more and it wasn't until finally we figured out it was fleas! Already I was covered in flea bites all over my legs and it was then, that our landlady casually told us about the previous tenants who had brought in a stray dog..aldfjaljfa

That was 2 weeks ago. We're approaching week three..Let me tell you, it has been a hell hole! My friends Elizabeth and Eric offered from reprieve from the fleas and I was honestly glad they weren't too concerned about me tracking any to their brand new house. Fleas are a pain to get rid of! Here’s what we’ve done so far (at the landlord’s expense)

-Exterminated three time (although one of the ‘exterminations’ was really a flea bomb)
-Flea bombed twice! (three times if you count one of the ‘exterminations’)
-We had borax all over the floor in my entire house! It covered every square in. of my bedroom..we only lasted 3 days with it in our house.
-So then I vacuumed and mopped the entire house for our 2nd extermination/bomb.
-Now I use a hand spray with growth regulator, the landlady has hired someone to come and mop the floor and vacuum three times a week (I vacuum in between those days) and I’ve spread
-I’ve strategically placed diatomaceous earth in every corner/crack..quite hard considering our house was built in 1920 and we have ALL hardwood floors except for the bathroom.

Hopefully this will all be over in 2 weeks. I am leaving for tour for over a month! Quite scary. I never had to worry about someone breaking in and stealing my stuff, or my car..or FLEAS or having to move when I return if the fleas are still here. Now I do. Instead of school I'm tackling THREE BANDS on tour AT THE SAME TIME! It is crazy. I'll keep you posted on my tour blog.

And, I'm going to try to advertise this blog and my other one. They both get good hits considering I haven't put the link up anywhere.

In other news, I'm going to a meetup tomorrow for The Geek Girls of Austin..umm it is going to be great! We're going to prob talk about Macs and Sci-fi and video-gaming. I don't play video games but I studied it in school...haha close enough. Umm..you know..what geek girls talk about. It'll be great! I hope I find a friend who'll watch Sarah Connor Chronicles with me haha. On Monday after work, I'm going to try to go to a Filmmaker's meet up. I'm trying hard to be proactive with the whole friend making thing.

stuck in a rut

it has been harder than expected to find some inspiration in this city. i try to save money while exploring my new city, but it is hard. in college i would hop on a train, a plane or bus and just say 'see ya later' and be in chicago or new york or philadelphia, alone and without a plan. but happy.

i went to do my laundry 4 miles away from my house when there's a laundromat around the corner. i want to see all the things here and try to find the things i miss... here, but it has been hard. i've seen friends living in this city once since i moved here and it's now it's really starting to sink in how much my absence has affected friendships that were once strong. it's hard to make friends when there's nothing to propel me out of this stillness, this rut. i need to join a club or do something to get out of this antisocial rut. the people i thought would be supporting me in this city- aren't and i haven't had the push i need to be out there in the city.

a part of me feels really empowered to be in a city by myself, like i used to be. it's like starting over and i love starting over, but a part of me is as unhappy as ever. i haven't had the chance to settle into my new house due to the flea problem and i'm stuck in my room making lists of what i want to do and trying to check it off. for example. here is what i have planned on my day off:

wake up and make falafels
vaccuum the entire house
go to sno beach on 34th & guad because i have been craving sno cones since i left san antonio
go take a peak into Sugar Mama's Bakery (cuz i love bakeries..in NYC I had one maybe 6 blocks away that had the best pistachio cupcakes)
go grocery shopping in a grocery farther from my house so i have an excuse to look around

i've found little neighborhoods and areas that i like and i found my first shortcut ever! working drains me and i usually cop out at the end of work and come straight home and be a bum. i am nothing like the person my roommates interviewed. trying to work on that on my days off but i feel like this city is meant to be explored with friends. the reason why i love crammed cities like cambridge and nyc is because there are always so many people walking around and bumping into you, that you don't feel alone even if you are. here, being alone, sitting alone, eating alone becomes more apparent than ever.

this is the end of emo mai.