Funky Cold Medina

Last night was a pretty good party. There was a costume contest, free alcohol, and the special guests were old school rappers! Their big songs came out when I was like 5, but I still know them. It was pretty cool:



And these guys were terrible live, actually, but this is a fun song:



Hmm, they're 20 years older now. Let's not think about that...

Happy Halloween if I don't talk to you before then!

We're creepy and we're kooky

I'm glad I bowed out of tonight's last-minute taiko performance because it gave me time to finish my Morticia dress. It's pretty impressive that we could pull "Drive" together with such short notice, by the way, but we drilled and critiqued the hell out of that song back in February. I think it paid off!

Anyway, I'm rather proud of my dress. I mean, I altered the entire thing using scissors, duct tape, something called "Stitch Witchery" (thanks Melissa!), and one safety pin. I wish I would have taken a "before" picture because it started as a big, long rectangle dress with a rounded collar. I cut out an entire quarter of it (lengthwise), added it to the bottom and the sleeves, took it in on the sides, turned it into a v-neck and voila! Now it's form-fitting to the point that I have to take small steps when I walk. My thumb has been sort of numb for a day because the fabric was hard to cut, but I'm pretty pleased with the rest of the outcome. I can't help but laugh when I wear it with the wig because I look kind of goth. I can't wait to add the makeup (white base, smoky eyes, red lips)!

Joel is going to be Gomez, so he'll have a pinstripe suit, mustache, cigar, and black hair spray in his hair. To top it off, I will be carrying around a detached, animated hand for our pet Thing! :D We're going to what is supposed to be an epic Halloween party ("Freakfest") on Thursday, hosted by a local video production place in the Orpheum Theater. They have at least one party a year with their clients/coworkers, people in the ad business. Previous parties have included midget wrestling and a live monkey. No, really. This one will have "two Grammy-winning artists" (who knows if it's anyone I've heard of) and a 3D film of some sort.

Speaking of 3D, I just discovered that Tim Burton's next movie will be The Addams Family in 3D! Someone also came out with an Addams Family musical earlier this year. It sounds like they're making a comeback. How random.

Oh, something else that's random: I learned the Thriller dance at Six Flags on Saturday! I can't believe I just learned it. We were trying to beat a record (most people doing the Thriller dance at the same time) and we didn't beat it, but it was still awesome. I love Thriller (it's my ringtone!). And Halloween. And sleeping.

Trivial pursuits (uncensored)

I don't have time to put together a coherent and thought-provoking blog right now, so I'm just going to list various, mostly trivial things I've been thinking about. You've been warned...

• Yesss, my signature jeans are back in style! Not that they were ever out of style for me, anyway. I still can't believe I bought skinny jeans last year, but I needed them to show off my boots.

• "If you aren't selling, don't put out the display." I take it to mean don't dress provocatively if you don't want that kind of attention. Word. By the way, I was recently thinking that I never ask anyone if I look fat in anything because I honestly don't care to know. Who made them the judge, anyway? If I'm honest with myself and I think it's flattering, that's really all that should matter.
  

• People that act so important or much better than you (overly narcissistic) are usually trying to convince themselves that they truly are. Don't get me wrong--they don't lack self-confidence by any means, but they do lack self-esteem/self-respect (not to mention self-awareness). It drives their constant need for external validation and adoring fans and I think it's one of the lamest and most unattractive qualities a person can possess. So many people rely on personal validation outside of themselves, but that has to come from within (hmm, see above). It's possible to be confident, self-aware, and modest all at the same time, and it's so much better that way. You know how they say truly powerful people don't need to tell you that they're powerful? I think the same concept applies here. If you are concerned with making other people think you are superior or you rely on them to make you feel secure and worthy, you are surely lacking in those areas. (Not that, say, Mr. Stranger isn't a "worthy" human being, just that he shouldn't give other people the power to decide that for him.) Did I just get too "Dr. Phil" on everyone?
  

• Oh God, a Bee Gees movie?! If you didn't already know this, I can't stand the Bee Gees. No man should sing like that all the time, or basically ever. They say that CPR chest pumps should be timed to the beat of "Stayin' Alive." That must be the only thing that song is "good" for, then, if you can say it's good for that. I mean, imagine someone singing or playing that while they're trying to resuscitate you--that's either the last song you'll hear before you die or the first song you'll hear when you come back. It's a lose-lose situation. (Okay, there's technically more losing if you die.)
  

• I don't read Perez Hilton, by the way. I saw the post on facebook somewhere. I'm vaguely familiar with the idea that he's a whiny a**hole, though. I think I recently read a headline that said he's been talking badly about gay people. That confuses me because I could have sworn he was gay himself. I don't like to stereotype, but the guy is running a celebrity gossip site...
  

• Speaking of which, those recent suicides are terrible and this guy is awesome. Thank God we (most of us) grow out of middle school and high school drama. Everything was a big deal. What was all that fuss about, anyway? I have sort of this uneasy feeling just thinking about how peer pressure seemed to rule and how fake most of it was. Based on the tiny bits of info I just tried to gather on facebook, the coolest kids seem pretty boring now. Actually, I thought most of them were pretty boring then, too. We should compare notes. :)
  

• This is going to be another long week. I already had a tight deadline on a project, but now that project is twice as big as originally planned. Project management misunderstood exactly what we needed to produce and now, in addition to producing unexpected animation concepts, we have to allow "time" for two other companies to work on the files after I am finished. It's not my fault, but it's hitting me hard, anyway. It's frustrating because this manager never seems to know what's going on. I asked a ton of questions upfront (as usual, because she leaves so much out) and it didn't matter. I'm hoping this crazy schedule is not a trend now that the creative director is gone.

• Oh, this is my favorite song right now! No, really. Have you heard it? It's just so catchy and unexpected:
  

Cee Lo Green "Fuck You"
Uploaded by Push36. - Explore more music videos.

And on that note....Just kidding, I love you all! ;)

Cold, Hot and Cool

I was really planning on calling my friend tonight, but I got home late from work and then had to do grown-up stuff involving insurance. I probably shouldn't be doing too much talking now, anyway. I sound like I've been smoking for decades. This cold started Saturday and last night was miserable, but I'm feeling a little better now. I go on hyper defense as soon as I get sick and do whatever I can think of to get rid of it--juice, tea, cold-eez, soup, naps, etc. Maybe it's working. Joel's sick, too. He started it. At least the dreaded "man cold" doesn't usually hit him that hard. ;)

That pole dancing thing on Saturday was pretty cool. It's sort of like a sexy circus show. It reminded me that when I was a kid, I always climbed up the poles on the playground instead of sliding down them. Ha, maybe I'm a born pole dancer! Taking classes would be fun, actually, but I don't think I could ever perform it in front of a crowd. I'll probably take another hip hop class first, because I just remembered a class that I never got around to taking a year ago. It's on Mondays! The head of that dance company found me on linkedin a month ago somehow. I think it's a sign.

I found this article on yahoo today. Graphic designer is their #1 fun job that pays well! Pretty sweet. I mean, it's still work and sometimes it's stressful, but it's a hell of a lot more fun than other jobs that I could be doing.

Speaking of work, I suspect I have another busy day tomorrow, so it's time for bed. Good night!

Long time no write

So much to write, so little time. I spent most of the night baking. I started out with cupcakes (with Halloween sprinkles!) and figured I might as well make chocolate chip cookies while I was at it. By "it," I mean using the oven in any meaningful way. This might not happen again until Christmas! Sure, I'll heat things up or make pasta or whatever, but I'd rather be doing something else. I don't like to spend much time eating (as most people on the Japan trip can attest to), so I really don't want to spend much more time preparing it. I can read and follow directions with the best of them, though, if I have a recipe. (I thought anyone could cook if they had a recipe in front of them, but then someone proved me wrong.) I'm more familiar with baking, which makes sense, since I'm also more familiar with eating things that are baked. Most sweets are still better in batter/dough form. Why don't we just skip the oven entirely?! :)...Oh wait, my stomach is vaguely reminding me of why it's a good idea to let the batter solidify in the oven before I eat it. Still, I have no regrets.

I started all of this nonsense because of a going away pot luck tomorrow. The creative director-- the second in command/basically co-founder of the company/man that interviewed me--is leaving soon. He decided to move to a start-up company, but he's still leaving rather reluctantly. He has spent more time at 4orce than anywhere else, though. It's disappointing because he's a cool guy and I think I could have learned a lot more from him. Hopefully, his replacement will be just as good. The creatives are having a meeting with the CEO tomorrow to talk about next steps, but I have faith that it will turn out okay.

The weekend should be pretty awesome. Tomorrow I might swing by the Science Center for a monthly telescope viewing and then I'm going to a midnight showing of The Room, which has been called the "Citizen Kane of bad movies." I'm hoping it will be so bad that it's good, like Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship. I saw him for the first time last night and WOW. He wasn't dressed as a furry then, but it was still hard to look away. It was really terrible and ridiculous and fantastic all at once. Ha, check out the quotes on his facebook page.

I'm looking forward to some more avant-garde events at Atomic Cowboy in the next few days, too. The first is an "Acrobatic Pole Dancing Extravaganza" and the second is a "Bike-In Movie" showing Zombieland. The pole dancing show is actually my idea. I've never been to a strip club, but I've seen pole dancing at artsy events and I think it's pretty cool. There's usually some burlesque sprinkled in, too. Note that in burlesque, they leave something to the imagination and add some class and even talent to taking off most (but not all) of their clothes. I approve...not that anyone needed my approval. Plus, it's something different, which is usually part of my goal when I go out. The Bike-In Movie is exactly as it sounds.

I'm also going to continue to piece together my Halloween costume. I'm going as Morticia from the Addams Family and Joel will be Gomez! Oddly enough, my mom already had the perfect wig in our Halloween stash, so the hardest part will be altering a dress to fit properly. It would be a lot easier with a sewing machine...

I still have much more to say, but sleep will not allow it. I shouldn't wait this long to update my blog! I'm sure you've all been on the edge of your seats just waiting for a post. ;)

Does Everyone Really "Deserve" Love And Happiness?

I thought this was an interesting article (click the headline), and I totally agree. Simply being alive or pretty or born to a rich family or whatever else doesn't mean you deserve anything by default. I know that's a hard concept for America, in particular, though.

Let's just be honest with ourselves and each other: if you aren't such a great person, why would you automatically "deserve" someone great in return? Why should that person deserve you? We all seem to expect happiness and the best that life can offer, but we also practically expect those things to magically appear next to us on the couch (or in someone else's purse). There's a growing epidemic of entitlement that's only getting worse with the recession.

Does Everyone Really "Deserve" Love And Happiness? | The Frisky

Step away from the computer

I'm at work but I'm waiting on more projects, so here I am. I'm too fast for my own good sometimes. Um, so...what's up? I found out first thing this morning that I am off work on Friday, and that I have a long (3 1/2 hour) company "lunch" thing on Thursday! We're getting picked up by a limo bus, and I don't know what that is, but at least it sounds fancier than a regular bus. I think it's an annual meeting kind of deal and they're taking us to a secret location 8 miles away. Is that like CWE territory? Forest Park? Soulard? The east side? I don't know. I vote for Fairmount Park (horse races). I mean, they have a "playing hooky" special on weekdays and everything. Ooh, I wonder what Talayna's (the tacky karaoke/dance place on Hampton) is like in the daytime. We should try it.

Speaking of karaoke, I did that on Saturday in front of friends that have never seen me do it (which is almost everyone outside of taiko) and they were surprised. I'm not terrible--like, I could be a good backup singer--but for some reason, everyone expects me to be! Why is that? I'm musically inclined, so it seems reasonable that I could carry a tune or at least be given the benefit of the doubt. Maybe bad until proven good is just the default expectation of karaoke? I didn't claim to be either, so it was open to interpretation. Which reminds me of something I've been thinking of lately: Can tone deaf people even tell when someone else is on key? I ask because I did karaoke with someone and she thought I was off key (when I'm pretty sure I was on, at least), and then she sang and...gave new meaning to the term. It was entertaining and I'm not telling the story to put her down or anything, but it got me wondering. Maybe it's like American Idol Reject Syndrome.

Facebook has been prompting me to reconnect with the same friend for at least a week. It even "refreshes" to the same person. Is that normal? Listen Facebook, if I'm going to ignore a suggestion to reconnect with someone, I want to ignore multiple suggestions. Stop making me feel bad about this particular one. Sometimes you are totally evil and manipulative. I think Facebook is morphing into Big Brother, or maybe the anti-Christ. The computers are making us their slaves! Well, I'm breaking free! For the next few hours, at least...