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.

september is a busy month

you can click on it haha
keeping track of three bands now..

bleck!

fleas are horrible! they make me feel sooo unsanitary! these past two weeks have been hell. i always think i made the wrong choice by moving here. a.) i could have lived further away from campus and b.) picked a roommate i would have hit it off with and would have had to do minimal amounts of work on. c.) my roommates and i are just not hitting it off. i tend to believe i hit it off with all kinds of people and this time, it is like pulling teeth..i should have known considering it felt like that when i went to look at the place. i was just swayed by the size of the house and the fact that these students didn't have any pets.

now i'm living amoungst hundreds and thousands of fleas. we found out, what our landlady calls "exterminator" is actually a set of flea bombs.. so far she has 'exterminated' twice and we flea bombed twice. not to mention we've covered every nook and cranny with borax and vaccummed everyday. the fact that we still have a pest problem is well...a problem!!!! it's only been two weeks but my whole body is covered with flea bites (54 in total). GROSS I KNOW. i am constantly itchy and scratching and paranoid. i can't even pee in peace.

the only thing my roommates and i talk about are fleas. we don't do anything together. we have no living room b/c we don't have furniture in there because we don't want fleas on our future furniture! so they're on one end of the house and i'm on the other. things work out great that way since they are friends w/ each other and what not but i thought that the living room would be the place that would connect us all. there is no connecting since we have no couch! we don't even have guests over b/c of this flea problem.

again..blech. ugghhhhhhh. i am hoping and praying this works. i don't want to start the house hunt over again and i think about the past a lot so i know i'll always be thinking about the 'what if' stuff. i do always think about the tiny apartment i could have share w/ an awesome roommate but it was her cat that got in the way :-( could i have made an exception? blah.. who knows now. too late. i am trying hard to make this place work but this isn't helping AT ALL.

wow!

it's been a while since i last wrote..quick update:

1.) i'm officially moved and in austin
2.) two days after I (we) moved, roommates and i discover there are a crapload of fleas biting the crap out of us and then find out our landlady KNEW about it! just a day before we moved in (20 days after we were ORIGINALLY supposed to), she tried to exterminate them and two days later they showed up again....sneaky.
3.) homesick
4.) temping at UT's bookstore. i kinda like it..oddly. it is 8:30-5:30 on most days but it's fun..reminds me of what i already do..but in a bookstore haha.
5.) seeing everybody buying books makes me want to buy textbooks toooooo...i wrote some of the ones i want to read already.. ;)

street team is underway.

i'm moving!!

see you in austin!!
gotta do my part to keep austin weird.

Food Stamp Diet

About a year ago, when I was living in NYC and literally eating ramen noodles for days and days at a time I came upon this great article via The Gothamist called The (Organic) Thrifty Food Plan Challenge. Basically, it was inspiration from the USDA's Thrifty Food Plan (I'll provide link later) about how to provide healthy meals (mostly for children) on three types of budgets: liberal, moderate, low-cost. The last being more along the lines of food stamp aided budgets.

Honestly, I was pretty intrigued and I tracked Rebecca's progress in her challenge to eat organically on a budget of 320.80/mo for TWO adults. Her budget and inspiration also came from a recent article of the time about a few Congressmen who tried to live on the budget laid out by the USDA found below. The twist is that their budget was $21, the avg. amount of money given out by foodstamps per person/week :

Click for larger size.

So anyways, everyone who tried to do this seemed to succeed, and while sometimes difficult it is very doable. I found three blogs who fully documented everything they did and I really want to try this for several different reasons. It's a peek into how the other half lives and everyday struggles to put food on the table for a family (this will be slightly easier because I am just one person). Secondly, it will help me budget AND find ways to eat healthier. Now that I'm on my own it will be easier for me to try this. It will enable me to learn how to make inexpensive staples into something tasty. I will be forced to plan ahead and at times improvise.

Money is tight everywhere. Me, especially, but also with my parents. My mom was forced into early retirement because the land her washateria is on was sold and her landlord is not building another washateria. I don't want to ask for her help financially anymore, especially when I'm 22 and totally capable of living on my own financially by just learning how to budget and live within my means.

This will be tough because out of everything, I'm pretty liberal with grocery expenses..gotta stop that.. Wish me luck!

I'm obsessed with the Olympics!

Who isn't?! I really am not a big fan of Michael Phelps but what I've watched over these few days have truly amazed me..so did the Jamaican guy who just ran 100m faster than it takes me to walk from my room to my mom's room!

I've never been as intrigued with the Olympics as I have been this year. It started with the Opening Ceremony and I watched so many exciting sports! I never watch sports!! I watched fencing, beach volleyball, waterpolo, ping-pong(!!!), swimming, track&field, rowing, diving, synchronized diving, basketball, and softball. There are a few others I'm sure I missed, but they were all exciting. It was really great to here the stories about some of the Olympians, and what they had to endure to get to where they were. So many touching stories and stories of showmanship. So many amazing stories, I love a good comeback and there were a lot of them in this year's Olympics.

Weee! I also liked how two Vietnamese ladies played some intense ping-pong for the US Team.

Donating a Kidney v. 2.0

Well, after much discussion among the family, my cousin and my aunt decided to turn down my kidney. I can't say I was completely shocked, but I was. My aunt and I have had a really turbulent relationship in recent years due to some conflicting social viewpoints. It was really stupid but we both hold long grudges. I got over it a long time ago, but she never has. A part of me would like to believe that the reason why she's not letting me donate is out of concern, but the other part of me believes it is her stubbornness that is not allowing her to accept anything from me- even at the risk of her own child's health.

*Sigh*

P.S. I'm still unemployed but here's my blog for when I'm not unemployed.

another reason to love Milo

Donating a Kidney

Today my mom was on the phone with my Aunt and she was telling my mom about one of my cousins who is about to have surgery for dialysis. He's been having kidney problems for awhile and the only other potential family donor ended up having diabetes and couldn't donate. I chimed in that I would donate if it would help me loose weight. It started out as a joke but then I totally believed it would be the right thing to do. I believe we share the same blood type, and my Aunt told me if I was serious that my other Aunt would legitimately fly me down to Belgium to have surgery. That made my heart skip a beat because I really am scared about surgeries, but it made me think more so I started researching online.

The last surgery I had was December 1999 I think. It was for my ankle surgery and it was the worst time of my life!! So much pain..it made me afraid of everything and here I am contemplating another major surgery. However, now the pain would be worth something- to save my cousin's life. I am not afraid of death because Kidney donation is really low risk but I'm afraid of the prodding and the pain and the long recovery time..I have to start working in October. I think I can do it if I take it easy since that is a VERY SELFISH reason to not save my cousin's life. I know my Aunt would pay my rent and she would even pay me for the time I'd have to miss work, if I had to miss work, but I surely don't want to. I think it'll be okay.. it is just MAJOR surgery and I'm afraid for selfish reasons you know.

Any tips advice? You know where to find me.

these are hard times...

looking for a job is rough.
i need a part-time job(s). living paycheck to paycheck has never been as stressful because now i actually have rent, utilities, groceries, gas to pay for. the list goes on and on.

here's the live blog of an unemployed 22 year-old.

Wed.
9:40AM: Wake Up
9:50AM: Turn on TV to Food Network
10AM: Find Little House on the Prairie on the Hallmark channel..watch it and reminisce about the good 'ol days
10:30AM: Cry about how good the episode is
10:45AM: Go on Myspace, facebook, read blogs and find recipes, check e-mail
12:10PM: Decide to be productive with my life and go swimming in the pool. Exercise
12:41PM: Looks like it is going to rain so I head inside to shower
1:12PM: IM Francesca about my job dilemma
1:30PM: Call Boys&Girl Club lady back
1:40PM: Freak out to Fran about 1 yr. committment
1:50PM: Blog about it.

Personal Enrichment

Mid-way through our walk yesterday my Aunt started to tell me a story about a study that Berkeley did with a group of students back in the 70s or 80s or something. It was about a job they had posted to a group of college students to dig a ditch. About a hundred or so students had showed up to dig this ditch for $7 an hour, a big sum of money back then. They spent all morning digging this ditch and after they came back from their lunch break, they were told they had to fill the ditch back up with soil. They asked “Why?!” and the Supervisor said, “ Don’t ask questions, just do it.” So they did. Before they left the Supervisor told them they’d be doing the exact same thing tomorrow, but they’d get a raise of $12 dollars. The next morning only 60% of the students came back and did the exact same thing. After lunch they were told to fill the ditch back up with dirt. They asked “Why?” and the Supervisor told them “Don’t ask questions, just do it.” So they did. Before they left the Supervisor told them they’d be doing the exact same thing tomorrow, but they’d get a raise of $16 dollars an hour. The next morning only 50% of the remaining students came back and did the exact same thing. After lunch they were told to fill the ditch back up with dirt. They asked “Why?” and the Supervisor told them “Don’t ask questions, just do it.” So they did. Before they left the Supervisor told them they’d be doing the exact same thing tomorrow, but they’d get a raise of $21 dollars an hour.

So..well you get the point, every day the sum of money got bigger but the number of students decreased. Basically, the moral of the story is that the students weren’t feeling fulfilled with this job, so even though they made a lot of money they felt as though what they were doing was meaningless and eventually quit. The story really resonated with me because that’s what this summer job is for me. I’ve only been here for 3 weeks and everyday I pretty much dread coming to work. I thought my Aunt didn’t understand what I was feeling but after this story I’m starting to feel like she might. She basically told a co-worker that I was lazy to get that co-worker to stop giving me tasks (I stayed at work ‘til 8:30PM once)..umm I guess her heart was in the right place, but I’m not lazy. When I’m working I try to put 110% of my energy to whatever I’m doing. I may not like it but I’m doing it. Yes, I am a different generation from my Aunt and co-workers. I don’t want to work this job, not because of the tasks I’m given, but because it doesn’t give me any personal enrichment. I work for free sometimes doing consulting work and running this street team and planning our marketing campaigns…even though it is free, I still do it because I want to. Because I like it. I don’t want an office job because I don’t belong at one. Not because I don’t have a work ethic. I may not like to wake up at 6:30AM but I wouldn’t mind doing it if it meant I was doing something I wanted to do. Why should I settle for a job just because it pays more than my current job? Like many of my other family members, my Aunt doesn’t think that my work with music is a real job or should be considered a real job just because they don’t know anyone else who does it. It would probably be easier for them if I was a musician and touring but I’m a girl, touring with musicians and selling shirts. They think that’s all I do, but it isn’t and it’s not what I’ll be doing for the rest of my life. I’ve found a team who I think values me. I hope they value me. And it is hard to find that.

Sometimes what my Aunt says contradicts how she treats my work..for example, during the same walk she was chastising a co-worker who just became a Managing Partner for talking down to some of the Legal Staff. She had said that they want to treat the Attorneys above all the other employers, but that’s not how things should be run. This true. She was saying how she used to make everyone, including the Mail girl feel really important because they are important to the overall team and the rest of her co-workers who were higher-up attorneys didn’t feel the same way. I wish she could apply that feeling to someone like a family member. I may be at the bottom of the ladder in a lot of people’s eyes but oh, well. I get to see the world and get paid to do it. I meet interesting people every day. I get to work for one of the most talented and knowledgeable musicians I know.

I’m happy and I’ve come to terms that I won’t make above $30,000 any time soon. Sad? Yes, but money is just something to buy material things with and I don’t need anything else but a roof over my head and friends.

iphone 3g

since i'm an adult and have responsibilities such as work, i'm reading about the iphone 3g and the madness that is today. Quite interesting. Read it here.

Anyways, things are working out slowly but surely.
I'm working an 8 to 5. Trust me, it sucks. 'Business casual,' I never knew what that meant until now and it sucks! Overall, things in Dallas are boring. Here's to finding another city I do not like.

Got to experience my first Warped Tour..umm never again! It was great to be able to see Kristy and Derek and Shelley again, as well as meet Artie. And I finally got to watch Relient K and see DK in action! w00t.

I really want the new iphone..but I need to SAVE for a.) ipod (mine fell out of my belt clip and into the ocean); b.) rent; and c.) emergencies.

the end.

...

no matter what, i know i'll be okay.