I am very happy. I've been singing farewell songs to George Bush all week leading up to today. Good riddance to him. Let Texas have him. I never need to see or hear from him again. Done.
President Obama gave a perfectly competent speech. A hightlight for me was when he said something like..."Christians and Muslims, Jews and Mormons (OK, I know he did not say that), and NON-BELIEVERS...." Good for him. Everyone always talks god this and god that and I get so tired of it. I am all about church and state. Keep 'em separate. Don't swear on a bible or say "under god." The constitution doesn't make you and let's keep your lord out of it.
Then there was Minister Joseph Lowery. I heard his benediction on NPR on the way to work. Couldn't make out what he was saying at first but really got into his closing words: "Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right." Awesome! This rhyming was way more moving than what that poet lady said and got the point across.
We all need to settle down now. Bush is history and Obama needs to prove himself. He took a step in the right direction by suspending Guantanamo trials today. Nice move. Shut that place down! Let's reclaim the Geneva Conventions, please.
I come from a family of liberals and we were pleased today. I watched the swearing-in ceremony with my mom and she snuck a teeny American flag into my wallet before I left for work. She thanked me for sharing the Inauguration with her and it moved both of us. I'm glad we experienced it together. Later in the day, my dad left me a voice message proclaiming, "Hail to the chief! Hail to the chief!" Good people, my mom and dad. My lefty ways come from directly from them, thank goodness!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Urgent: Molotov
My most favorite, raging Mexican band Molotov is coming to town and I am torn. Should I pay an outrageous $45 for a ticket through Ticketmaster? Or should I take my chances on a $32 ticket at the door? What if they sell out??!!!
Another way in would be to write a concert review. I am contacting and/or pitching everyone I know, but the question is: should I wait and see if I can work the event, or should I buck up and pay for the peace of mind of knowing that my ticket is in hand? (I am pretty good at picking up last-minute tickets through Craigslist or at the venue the night of the show, so those are other options.)
I have seen no publicity for this tour except for an ad in the LA Weekly. I can't believe it! Followers of my previous blog will know that Molotov blew my mind when I saw them live in Guadalajara in May. I expect this show will sell out, as they don't come to L.A. very often. They're going a whole U.S. tour too! New York, Atlanta, D.C., New Orleans, Nashville -- all the big music towns.
I encourage everyone to see Molotov live! They rock the "f" out.
Another way in would be to write a concert review. I am contacting and/or pitching everyone I know, but the question is: should I wait and see if I can work the event, or should I buck up and pay for the peace of mind of knowing that my ticket is in hand? (I am pretty good at picking up last-minute tickets through Craigslist or at the venue the night of the show, so those are other options.)
I have seen no publicity for this tour except for an ad in the LA Weekly. I can't believe it! Followers of my previous blog will know that Molotov blew my mind when I saw them live in Guadalajara in May. I expect this show will sell out, as they don't come to L.A. very often. They're going a whole U.S. tour too! New York, Atlanta, D.C., New Orleans, Nashville -- all the big music towns.
I encourage everyone to see Molotov live! They rock the "f" out.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Yoga Works worked me
It's a new year and I need to get back on the yoga train. I exercise a couple of times a week but I mostly jog, leaving my poor little muscles tight and keeping me vulnerable to headaches. I used to go to yoga twice a week but now I'm lucky if I go once every three weeks. A lot of this has to do with location: there are very few Iyengar yoga classes in the South Bay. There are a few decent yoga classes but nothing rivaling Iyengar taught by Marla and Paul at Yoga Works. Yoga is also expensive. It is not a discipline for the unemployed.
Now that I'm earning a little bit of money, I thought it was time to throw down for a proper Iyengar class at Yoga Works. There's a studio not too far from my current office and a class at my level happens every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 6:15. I scouted out the location at lunch time today because I'd be rushing to make the class after work. I prepaid my 20 dollars to avoid having to wait when I got there.
I dashed out of work at 6 on the dot, fought more traffic than there was a lunch, and ended up parking at a public lot instead of street parking like I did earlier in the day.
I paid $3 for parking after my perfectly decent class. Then I realized I could have used my KCRW discount. Then I was mad. I had just paid $23 for 90 minutes of stretching. That is too much. Not just because I'm unemployed, that is too much in general. There were at least 10 people in my class, which means the studio cleared more than $200. The instructor can't earn more than $100 and we were just one of a couple of classes being conducted at that hour.
Yoga is supposed to be spiritual and beneficial but in L.A., it's for wealthy residents. For all of Yoga Works' preaching, they do not give anyone a break. I asked for the new student discount since I hadn't taken a class in a least a year and a half but they said "no." I could have bought a series of 10 classes for $150 but it's not like I have $150 at my disposal either.
A welcoming yoga studio in Long Beach called Free Spirit Yoga costs $15 a class and $11 if you buy a series of 10 classes. That is much more reasonable and in the end, I'd rather give my money to an independently-owned studio than the corporate machine known as Yoga Works. And since running is free, I'll probably continue to do more of that than anything else.
Now that I'm earning a little bit of money, I thought it was time to throw down for a proper Iyengar class at Yoga Works. There's a studio not too far from my current office and a class at my level happens every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 6:15. I scouted out the location at lunch time today because I'd be rushing to make the class after work. I prepaid my 20 dollars to avoid having to wait when I got there.
I dashed out of work at 6 on the dot, fought more traffic than there was a lunch, and ended up parking at a public lot instead of street parking like I did earlier in the day.
I paid $3 for parking after my perfectly decent class. Then I realized I could have used my KCRW discount. Then I was mad. I had just paid $23 for 90 minutes of stretching. That is too much. Not just because I'm unemployed, that is too much in general. There were at least 10 people in my class, which means the studio cleared more than $200. The instructor can't earn more than $100 and we were just one of a couple of classes being conducted at that hour.
Yoga is supposed to be spiritual and beneficial but in L.A., it's for wealthy residents. For all of Yoga Works' preaching, they do not give anyone a break. I asked for the new student discount since I hadn't taken a class in a least a year and a half but they said "no." I could have bought a series of 10 classes for $150 but it's not like I have $150 at my disposal either.
A welcoming yoga studio in Long Beach called Free Spirit Yoga costs $15 a class and $11 if you buy a series of 10 classes. That is much more reasonable and in the end, I'd rather give my money to an independently-owned studio than the corporate machine known as Yoga Works. And since running is free, I'll probably continue to do more of that than anything else.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Work And The New Year
Today was my first day at my new temp job at the Hollywood Reporter. I am a web editor, which means I copy-edit, post stories and pictures to the web, write headlines and pick up the slack where ever the staff needs it. Training went slowly today but I managed to post two music stories and crop a couple of photos. The office uses Macs so a simple thing like opening a new web browser on Firefox takes some thought on my PC-trained-brain. It's not so bad though: it's for 30 hours a week, Tuesday-Friday, and I get paid more for 30 hours there than I did for 40+ hours as a freelancer with my old company. I came back from my travels swearing I was through with entertainment but I couldn't turn down this opportunity. We'll see what happens with it -- at the very least, I am learning new web skills that will help me down the road.
The most noteworthy happening of the day occurred on my lunch break. There's a "park" behind my office building with tables and benches and greenery. There's an identical "park" behind the building next door and that's where I decided to sit because the sun was hitting its benches.
There were three strollers and three nannies already camped out at the bench area when I arrived. I nodded "hello" when I approached and sat myself at the one vacant bench left. These nannies all spoke Spanish and all had young Anglo charges. One lady excused herself soon after I arrived but the two others carried on with conversations about potty training, their bosses, and the English words for various berries. I minded my own business until one of the kids did the most precious thing. His caretaker was feeding him berries and one did not suit his fancy. He exclaimed, "No sirve!" cracking up the ladies and myself.
"No sirve" roughly translates to "it doesn't work" or "it's no good." That little kid is more bilingual than I am! I would never had thought to say that even though it was exactly the right thing to say. The nannies laughed and laughed and laughed at the boy's ability to express himself so succinctly. It was cute. That little boy understood everything his nanny was saying to him in Spanish and could answer back in Spanish too. If only my brain worked that way!
I did get to practice Spanish over the holidays with my relatives from Mexico City. I was not as good as I was this summer but it did come back to me a bit. After hearing me speak to my cousins, one relative noted that my Spanish had improved quite a bit since returning to L.A. That's all I can wish for.
Christmas and New Year's was all about the family. My dad was in town from Gig Harbor, Washington, the Mexican relatives were staying at the house, and my sister was in town from Atlanta. There were birthdays, get-togethers, Christmas Eve, shopping, field trips, and more gatherings all revolving around the family. I went up to LA only once in three weeks, the rest of the time was spent down here driving people around and hosting events. Busy but fun.
The last event we hosted was my mom's 70th birthday brunch on Sunday. There were at least 40 people here but things went smoothly with catered posole, rice, beans, and enchiladas. Lots of desserts and mimosas too! My mom is a lovely lady and friends and relatives came out to wish her the best. It was moving and worth it.
The most noteworthy happening of the day occurred on my lunch break. There's a "park" behind my office building with tables and benches and greenery. There's an identical "park" behind the building next door and that's where I decided to sit because the sun was hitting its benches.
There were three strollers and three nannies already camped out at the bench area when I arrived. I nodded "hello" when I approached and sat myself at the one vacant bench left. These nannies all spoke Spanish and all had young Anglo charges. One lady excused herself soon after I arrived but the two others carried on with conversations about potty training, their bosses, and the English words for various berries. I minded my own business until one of the kids did the most precious thing. His caretaker was feeding him berries and one did not suit his fancy. He exclaimed, "No sirve!" cracking up the ladies and myself.
"No sirve" roughly translates to "it doesn't work" or "it's no good." That little kid is more bilingual than I am! I would never had thought to say that even though it was exactly the right thing to say. The nannies laughed and laughed and laughed at the boy's ability to express himself so succinctly. It was cute. That little boy understood everything his nanny was saying to him in Spanish and could answer back in Spanish too. If only my brain worked that way!
I did get to practice Spanish over the holidays with my relatives from Mexico City. I was not as good as I was this summer but it did come back to me a bit. After hearing me speak to my cousins, one relative noted that my Spanish had improved quite a bit since returning to L.A. That's all I can wish for.
Christmas and New Year's was all about the family. My dad was in town from Gig Harbor, Washington, the Mexican relatives were staying at the house, and my sister was in town from Atlanta. There were birthdays, get-togethers, Christmas Eve, shopping, field trips, and more gatherings all revolving around the family. I went up to LA only once in three weeks, the rest of the time was spent down here driving people around and hosting events. Busy but fun.
The last event we hosted was my mom's 70th birthday brunch on Sunday. There were at least 40 people here but things went smoothly with catered posole, rice, beans, and enchiladas. Lots of desserts and mimosas too! My mom is a lovely lady and friends and relatives came out to wish her the best. It was moving and worth it.
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