Have you heard? I started a new business...

Oh, yeah? What kind?

I'm printing parking ticket forms.

Oh, dear. How's that going?

Fine.

(Ha! Get it?!)

Be Mine? Meh.

A couple in Nice, France.

Not a huge Valentine's fan, me. Timing's never even worked out for me to have a guy on the Day. 

In general though, I just don't really get it as a holiday. It seems a little like giving permission to your loved one to throw all their love into one day and the rest of the year is optional. Maybe I'd sing a different tune if I had a Valentine...but I somehow doubt it. Relationships are pressure enough without having to come up with something spectacularly gushy just because it's February 14th. Also, I'm still pooped from the marathon of holidays in October, November and December.

On that note, happy V-Day!

For V-Day Eve: Heart-Clogging Goodness

Quinton's does not do health.

There is no better place on the planet to shoot for a heart attack before 40 than the good old US of A. USA! USA!

I generally try to remember that I'm supposed to be eating better. Since moving to California and becoming a vegetarian (obligatory disclaimer I have to say whenever I tell people this: not one of those annoying preachy kinds! You can eat meat in front of me!). But holy moly do I struggle when I head back home to Kansas, ironically the Heartland of America. 

This particular little treat - cheesy baked potato soup in a homemade bread bowl with spicy chips, also made in house - can be found at Quinton's on Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, Kansas. I've watched many a KU game from this cramped gem of a bar. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Personally, this beats a box of chocolates any day.

The Almond in the iPod: A Test of Will Power

The almonded iPod.

Today I discovered a piece of almond stuck in the headphone jack of my iPod. Overlooking the sheer physics involved with this accomplishment and the completely obvious fact that my purses are due for a serious cleaning, my first thought was, "Perfect, I can get a new one!"

Only, I can't. I'm currently determined to not spend (except for eating out and hitting up the movies, I'm not becoming a nun or anything). It's simply that I am now 30 years old...yep, eye still twitches when I think about that...and it is time to stop spending like a big windfall is just around the corner.

It's a way of thinking I learned from my mother. In almost all ways, she's my favorite person on the planet. However, she also taught me the lesson that, for every crap day in life and major letdown there's something to buy. Not the most financially healthy way to go through
life.

It's gotten to the point that I buy stuff to replace any weakness, any disappointment, any moment of loneliness, and any fear about the future. But that also leads to buying for any whim and leaving the how-to-pay-the-bill quandry for a time that is later.

So, in an effort to tone down this ill-advised habit and possibly build healthier emotional outlets for my life, I'm on this little pay off debt/learn to live within my means kick. It's hard as hell and I don't like it much.

And now I have a damn almond jammed in my iPod.

Have you heard? I started a new business...

Oh, what kind?

It's a trampoline business in Prague!

Really? And how's business?

The Czech's keep bouncing.

(This is my new favorite game to play in my head. Figured here's a good a place to keep it alive!)

"Unfriend" and The BFF Break-up

When things go to crap. (Paris...otherwise, beautiful!)

Did you know "unfriend" was the Word of the Year in 2009? You know why that kind of sucked?

Have you ever broken up with a friend? If not, it's a doozy. Whoo-boy. A fun little journey I got to experience for myself in the rather unfortunate year that was 2009.

I truly believe I could get married and divorced without experiencing the level of pain breaking up with my best friend caused. Not to mention, discovering a whole new virtual way to get punched right in face: being "unfriended" on Facebook. I don't even like Facebook, and I hardly ever used it for communicating with the Ex. But getting friend-dumped by social media's darling was a definite low, more so because of the sheer unexpected force that punch packs.

Besides the emotional loss, some other unexpected bummers of being unfriended:

1. That moment when something great/horrific happens and you realize you don't know who to tell.
2. Realizing you are no longer capable of deciding if your butt looks big in those jeans.
3. Losing half your wardrobe due to a sudden loss of shared custody privileges.
4. Having someone to obsess over the stuff you're to embarrassed to tell anyone else you've even heard of.
5. Trying to hang pictures without that trusted person standing 10 feet back to tell you if it's crooked.

I'm sure naming "unfriend" Word of the Year seemed like a good way to get some PR buzz. I personally remember it as the reason I downed an entire pint of Chunky Monkey in one sitting. Still, for 2009, I guess I can agree, "unfriend" was a fairly important word.

Oh My, So That's What That Means!

Billboard on the road outside Dublin, Ireland.

So, I have a weird job sometimes. Do you know what a "vegetarian hot lunch" is? I didn't, and could have happily gone through life not knowing. However, thanks to a client and Urban Dictionary (not the link to the actual term. You really want to know, you'll have to work for it.), I will never be able to clean the term out of my brain.

Why was I roaming around the Urban Dictionary site looking up sex terms and opening some seriously risque photos at work? Because my creative team, which consists of two fairly devout Christians, two college-minded dirty birds, and me (somewhere in between), was charged with brainstorming tag lines for our client's rapid HIV testing outreach campaign to the youth of our community. Needless to say, there was lots of blushing, a few "what does that mean?" questions, and tons of inappropriate giggling.

While we came up with some ideas that would fit right into your average frat party, the winning line was, "Another good thing to put in your mouth." Now, I just need to finish my illustration of an open mouth and a long oval box containing in the line. But first, I think I need to delete my browser history.

When Kittens Walked the Earth

Burano, Italy. A Cat.

Oh, snap. Is there a better life than to be a cat wandering the canal splitting the rainbowed Burano? A view of Venice and a constant smorgasbord of goodies from the fingertips of plump tourists, which I can totally say, as I was one of them. But, oh, how the cooing must get old.

Taking the NYC by Skate

 

Rockefeller Plaza at Christmas.

This is an indulgent post enabling my New York addiction. Look! Skaters! At Rockefeller Plaza! Is there anything less original? Who freaking cares. It's New York! At Christmas. I'm ready to be there again...only, maybe not now since apparently it's being attacked by a crazy snow fairy who is angry and a little bit mean at heart.

Since I Am the Whom to Whom It May Concern

Venice and a waterbus.

I can be honest, I truly doubt anyone will actually read this blog. But I feel, even knowing I am essentially telling me, that I should set some context.

On a day to day basis, I am employed to be creative. Fantastic job. I have chosen a line of work that suits my belief that life should operate like a game of Trivial Pursuit with shots and also feeds my masochistic desire to feel like Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles (minus the happy ending)...apparently.

By that, I mean, I'm the least cool girl in the room at all times, surrounded by people who, if this were high school (and, in marketing, it always kind of is) would probably not speak to me. Because of this I've developed a general sense that I am 1) slightly socially inept, and 2) a total geek.

I'm okay with both, but feel an outlet to embrace and not shun the quirk that lurks is called for. And so, this blog.

Also, I have random photos.