May the 5th Things Tuesday

Hello world.

Long time, no see.

Yeah … I didn’t mean to be gone for so long. 

It’s just life, man. Life kind of swooped in like a storm and just did not quit for awhile.  

Sorry about it. But here’s five things going on with me:

1  A TECH REVOLTIt’s been quite a push and pull when it comes to me and my technology. I’ve had issues with my 2011 MacBook Pro. And it’s made it super hard to do anything creative biz related. For the most part, I could get away with just my iPhone or iPad for sales leads and whatnot … but the actual working on and editing photos, I NEED MY COMPUTER. 

And I still haven’t quite fully fixed that problem. But my dinosaur of a Macbook Pro (the old one - from 2008!) is still functional enough for me to do basic things like mail, interwebz, and Excel. So that’s cool. And well, my amazing roommate has graciously let me use her computer when I need to. So praise God. It’s been months in this makeshift computer sitch, but I’m rolling with it.

Not mentioned - the 50mm lens that I finally replaced, the camera battery that’s been shotty for awhile, and I’m still missing the top bar to my background stand. I’m a hot mess. Bah.

It’s been frustrating but manageable. And well, it’s like the #1 reason why I went on my blogging hiatus. If you were wondering why I went all MIA - that’s a big reason why.  

2  CIVIC DUTY FULFILLEDAnother reason I’ve been gone for awhile is because I served on jury duty FOR THREE WEEKS. It took over my life. Not only were those weeks super hectic, but it was bookended with projects galore.

Which is great, because I was busy, but it was horrible because I couldn’t really take on new work. So it just was bummer financially.  

Although, I did learn a lot about the law and have a newfound respect for the LAPD.  So I guess that’s a good thing.  

3  APRIL WAS FAMILY TIMEIf March was all about jury duty well April was all about family time. I’ve had back to back to back to back weekends with family visiting me in LA.

Which is awesome. Don’t get me wrong.

I just didn’t get a chance to rest in between their visits.

Multiple days at Disney. A funeral in Anaheim. A boho chic baby birthday party. A very trafficky weekend dinner on the Queen Mary. And lots and lots of touring LA.  

I love my family. And I’m so happy they came to visit. I’ve just been so exhausted. And I still haven’t had a chance to recover from it all.

But it’s OK! Look, it’s my gigantic baby broseph … he braved the roller coaster at California Adventure. I’m very proud of him. Next up - Six Flags!

4  TIME TO RECHARGESo usually I manage to get out of town every 6-8 weeks to let my brain breathe for a bit. But since life has been just plain nutso, I’ve actually gone four months without getting out of LA.

Until today.  

I’m officially out of town and back home in Seattle.  

I could’ve gone anywhere. Hawaii. Houston. Portland. Orlando.

(And soon OKC - starting in July).

Not this time. Home sounded great. I just want to do nothing. 

It’s time to rest and recharge. And I’ll get back to life next week.

5  A BACKLOG OF 5TT’S -  I’ve actually had an ongoing outline of drafted 5 Things Tuesdays going on in my head all this time. And I’ve been wanting to write about it all. 

There’s something cathartic when it comes to processing all my thoughts. And I found it to be really healthy to think through things and share them with others. And since I haven’t done that in such a long while, I feel so stagnant in life.  

So here you go. Here’s the backlog of things I would have shared these past few months:

  • how absolutely heartbroken it was when Diem Brown passed away
  • how excited I was about Pitch Perfect 2
  • the Gilmore Guys Podcast and how amazingly hilarious it is
  • how completely ROBBED we were in the Super Bowl
  • how I’ve been a book fiend - Yes Please, #Girl Boss, One More Thing and Other Short Stories just to name a few
  • that Dear John Hughes was BOMMMMMBBBBB
  • saw Pete Holmes at the new Sunset UCB Theater
  • incredibly sad about Harris Wittle’s passing
  • the absolutely CRAZINESS in the Walking Dead’s second half
  • and what a BADASS Morgan is
  • and how freakishly scary Carol is
  • the awesomeness in the SNL 40th Anniversary show
  • Back the the Future is coming to the Hollywood Bowl for the 30th anniversary. Huzzah!
  • Micah Tawlks is doing music again!  This time under the name of Myzika.
  • that Jesse Carey listened to the entire Nickelback discography for seven days straight and raised a TON of money for Charity: Water
  • that Parenthood finished up and it was beautiful
  • that Pretty Little Liars is renewed for two more seasons and we still don’t know wtf is going on
  • um … GREY’S ANATOMY?!  WHAT THE WHAT.
  • how I managed to pull together a pretty slick Bellatrix costume for a Harry Potter themed birthday party
  • how Easter service at Reality LA was amazing
  • how two of my friends got engaged and they let me photograph the wondrous moment
  • how two of my others friends had a beautiful baby girl and I just can’t even
  • how I finally finished training for my retouching gig in Pasadena and can now work from home (PRAISE GOD)

There’s probably more. But that’s all that I can think of right now.

:)


MONDAY MUSIC SHARE: MYZICA - Wait Just A Minute


You guys … after MONTHS of being in hibernation, THIS SONG inspired me to write again.

Hopefully, I’ll follow suit with tomorrow’s first 5TT post of the year.  

Thank you, Micah Tawlks, for pairing up this lovely lady to bring us some fun, emotive pop music.  And thank you, Nylon Magazine for bringing it to the forefront by calling it the “best thing to come out of Nashville in awhile.”

Make sure to check out their Soundcloud to hear their other single - “Ready or Not.”

That’s it for now.  Happy Monday, folks!

:)


MONDAY MUSIC SHARE: Of Monsters and Men - Crystals


Two weeks in a row!  

Here’s a brand new single from the upcoming Of Monsters and Men album, Beneath the Skin.  

I feel so on top of it, since it just released this morning.  

Sweet.

Ok, I have to get back to work. It’s been one of those kind of Mondays. Where I started late and am now working into the night.

Which is totally cool. Because that’s the kind of productivity that works best for me.

Later tater.


You guys - this is amazing. You have to watch it!


Courtesy of Kevin Porter (of Gilmore Guys fame, unofficial photographer for UCB LA, and former roommate of my good friends Danny & Rochelle).

One second a day, each day for 2014.

*  *  *

PS - Sorry I’ve been MIA lately.  Computer issues. 

And then I couldn’t remember my password for the life of me. 

But I cracked the code and I’m back.  And I’ll be updating you on life again!

Happy 2015.  Year of the sheep!

:)


5 Things Tuesday

Thursday is just as good as Tuesday, right?  I thought so.

1  PRINT COLOR CONUNDRUM - You guys, I’ve been part of the design world for like ever. I know a lot about creative just as much as sales/marketing but dude, I haven’t really gotten any formal training in this stuff. I was a finance major.  

So when I have to print a promo piece on a postcard and it doesn’t quite look the same as it does on my monitor … what the heck. Apparently there’s a difference in print and web? RGB and CMYK?!

Yeah. I know that. But apparently I don’t really know that.

So now. I have a bunch of promo postcards that to me, seem a little off color. They might be OK. But ugh, I guess this is why they send over proofs.

This is dumb.  Can we get a do-over?

2  THIS VID - Everytime I watch this, I die laughing. Not because the baby girl is super cute. #hihellocharlie. And not because she’s my cousin Eddie’s chubster baby girl. I die laughing because of what Jenn says at the end of the video. Hilarious!

Good enough for me!!! #hihellocharlie

A video posted by Eddie Garcia (@djeverede) on Nov 11, 2014 at 3:00pm PST

3  TRAILER CLUB IS BACK - It’s official, folks. Some of the best godly men that I know are back sharing their best advice on life, family, and manly stuff. 

It’s like legit.  What one man can do … another man can do.

I love Trailer Men. And Armor Men. 

Anyways, they launched the first podcast episode and I listened to DH speak and my mind was frickin blown. It’s about the Blood Covenant. So you can check it if you want. Just know it’s like straight up biblical teaching awesomeness. Can’t wait for part 2.

Look at these guys. They’re the best.

l-r: Randy Olsson, Dave Hasz, Heath Stoner … straight up legendaries

4   SO MY DAD IS ALL INTO DAVE RAMSEY NOW - and it’s awesome. After years of talking to him about finances and life and just the way he spends his money, my dad has seen the light!

So it’s kind of funny to be like - yeah. I know, dad. Envelopes. Eat at home. Gazelle intensity. 

But I love it. Now just gotta wait until my mom caves.

Although - I’m getting some traction which is good. Hard at times to say “no” to movies and outings and such. But it also makes the times that I do go out a treat. It’s a great lifestyle change.

I’m also glad that there’s Dave’s daughter, Rachel Cruze because she’s the BEST. She incorporates a more younger feel to her angle on money. Y’all should listen to her too. Not to mention she’s totally legit, funny, and incorporates things like style tips! She’s so cool.

OMG - this video is kind of an off shoot, but it’s still hilarious. It’s TRIPP VISITING DAVE.  It’s SO FUNNY!

5  MY LITTLE BRO TURNED 15 THIS WEEK - Can’t believe it. He’s already taller than me. Pretty soon he’ll be driving. Getting a job (and taking us out for dinner!).

I can’t wait for that day. 

Anyways, happy birthday, Nathan! Gimme some Korean Cake!

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