i clearly suck at this

if it isnt obvious by now, im not a very good blogger.
i cant handle being in front of a computer all the time.
like the world is missing out on me detailing my life online. yeah, not so much.

erg. hangovers hurt.
i love you!

see you in real life...

Road Trip: Day 4

Goodland, KS to Fayetteville, AR by way of OK

It was nice to be woken up by natural light in the morning. Not that I've been waking up to an alarm. We took our time in the morning before hitting the road until we remembered that we would soon be crossing into another timezone and would thus "lose" an hour. Bummer.
And we drove and we drove and we drove. And we drove. And some more. But not to Topeka. Though we are some real Topeka people.

We headed south and went through Oklahoma. What did we even do that day? Oh yeah. Pizza buffet. Our friend Spring compared buffet to a lost and found for food. Yummy. We got into Arkansas sometime after 8pm where we stayed with Spring Rose Wood. Yeah. Obviously we were meant to be friends. Spring Rose Wood and Hanako Kalimba Sarabanda Moondance. Yup yup yup. And we actually hit it off as friends. Not just cuz we have hippie names.
Delicious black bean burgers and sweet potato fries for dinner. Random chat and viral videos until everyone tired out. Except me. I decided 3am was a great time to post all the pictures I had been too busy and drunk to post.

Road Trip: Day 3

Lafayette, CO to Goodland, KS

Woke up to a beautiful Colorado sunrise. Then rolled over and slept more.

Dana and I took Mali for a walk in the morning close to the house, then came back for some morning yoga (she just completed a yoga teacher training in Santa Barbara). We then headed over to a local coffee shop for a bev and wifi (as usual- but mostly to plan our next moves route-wise). We met Ari for lunch at a pizzeria and discussed post grad impressions of our alma matter, Wesleyan University. I also learned that the cat's name was also Mali, but since that was the dog's name, they changed it to Malinche. I'm sticking with Lady Meows-a-lot.

Dana, me, and Ari

Outside of Ari and Ivonne's house

Inside

Then off to University of Colorado, Denver (or whatever its called- I'm just the permanent passenger guys). Dana had a meeting about potentially going there for grad school for physical therapy. I sat under a tree and drew.

Before heading out of Colorado we stopped at a Target. Not sure why, but I really like going to other chain stores in different places. Like they're gonna have different stuff (which is kind of true). I bought practical things- like slip-on heels, a sun dress, a cheap bathing suit top, and kung-fu panda folders.

The road to Kansas is endless. And flat.

Drove a couple of hours until we got to a boarder city in Kansas that had a Camp site area. We set up camp (literally!) and stayed up talking and drawing for a bit. Told Dana a bit of the story my dad used to tell me when I was little called The Golden Pears, (though I didn't get very far- that sleepy bean). I eventually dozed off.

Road Trip: Day 2

Salt Lake City, UT to Lafayette (Boulder County), CO by way of WY

Dana and I took it easy today since we didn’t have to go as far today as we did yesterday (7.5 hrs vs 9 hrs). We did a bit of a caravan (of fun!) to Brooke’s work, Brooke and Daniel in one car, me, Dana, and all of our stuff in the other. She showed us around her work and then over to a café with good juice, pastries, and wi-fi, where we said our goodbyes.

Dana, Brooke, and Daniel

Brooke also suggested that we check out the Salt Lake City Public library. I know I work at a library, so of course I'm excited about it but who couldn’t help to be flipped out about a place like this?!?!



One of the librarians gave me some info on the architect, Moshe Safdie.
www.msafdie.com

Go to Projects, then By Location, then haga clique (click on) the part of the US that is Salt Lake City, UT. The pictures on there are waaaaay cooler than the ones I took. But in general it's pretty awesome.

We started our drive out of Utah (woo-tah) stuck in Salt Lake City traffic. What a lovely parting gift. Though once we were out of the city it was actually a real treat- green, and hills, and beautiful sky. A much nicer drive. We got into Wyoming soon enough with plenty of that (thanks y'all).

Some random fast (actually) food stops along the way, which means looking for something more nutritious later. We did the drive-up thing at Sonic, which thinking back is kinda silly, cuz on a road trip where you are cramped in the car, why would you not want to get out of the car? Hrmmm.... But I did get a corn dog and a cherry limeade for $2.

We crossed into Colorado in the early evening just in time to catch a beautiful sunset. In about 30-40 different snapshots. You know, just in case.

We got to the house of Ari, my godbrother, and Ivonne, his wife sometime after 9, which worked out nicely since everyone had been busy all day and everyone was now thus tired. We got a wonderful welcome from them and their dog Mali and cat who's name I dont know, but for now I will call her Lady Meows-a-lot. Guess why.

Road Trip: Day 1

Mammoth, CA to Salt Lake City, UT by way of Nevada

Dana and I started out from Mammoth a little after 8 am with an iPod, Portuguese lessons on CD (I can say "I speak a little Portuguese" in Portuguese. Spell it, not so much), some (healthy) snacks, and a readiness for travel.
The first two hours were pretty nice in terms of scenery (green, trees, mountains, ect- pretty much what Dana lives in a lot of the time). Then- the desert.

What else is in Nevada besides Las Vegas? Well. Rocks. Um..... Oh yeah, a town called Ely (pronounced E-Lee) that had a gas station and a nice little park to sit in while we ate lunch.

Then- more desert. So much flat area that I am far from used to. But pretty, I guess in its own way. Some areas it just looked like the world ended beyond the vastness.

We arrived in Salt Lake City a little after 7pm where we met Brooke and Daniel, friends of Dana's and our hosts for the evening, for a bit of Thai food and good conversation. She works for the IRC (International Rescue Committee) where she helps refugees who have come to live in the Salt Lake area, and he is a Fireman. Yeah. They're awesome.
Then to sleepies, to sleepies, jiggity jig.

pre-mini road trip

This is the beginning of the beginning!
I just arrived in Mammoth, CA to meet up with my friend Dana (pronounced Dana) for a road trip to Memphis, TN (thats my stop point- she goes all the way to NC)
I got from Downtown LA to Mammoth on $43.75, and about 8 hrs of travel time (over the span of 11 hrs). Hey, at least its cheaper than gas.
Never having been to places like Lancaster, Mojave, and Ridgecrest, I have become more aware that I am in fact a city girl.
Oh. And its hot.

July Guerilla Drive-in

The Legend of Billie Jean/Ghostbusters double feature!
Who didn't have a good time?!?!?

But if you haven't seen The Legend of Billie Jean then do it. Then call me. Then lets flip out about how awesome it is. And lets be super friends. And wear one dangly earring. And say "Fair is fair" as we do fist pumps of righteousness.

And if you haven't checked out the drive-in in Downtown LA, then do it.
Every month.
2nd & Beaudry.
Madex's Guerilla Drive-in. My space that ish. And love it.
http://www.myspace.com/micheltorenamovienight

I fly over yall fools

I got to meet up with my friend Dana (sounds like "Donna") last night as she is back in LA for a spell after her travels abroad. For a more than special get together she asked if I was afraid of heights and small planes. Now I'm thinking sky diving. Now I'm thinking not so much. But she means flying with her brother and her friend Darrius in a small plane over Los Angeles in hopes of catching some fireworks. Now I'm thinking rad. (Look at those arteries of lights!)
Did I mention flying NEXT TO the HOLLYWOOD sign? Over the Downtown Standard and its roof pool? Along side Sunset? (Hello Silversun Liquor!) Past Dodgers Stadium? O yeah. Shit just got serious.

Dana and me: co-pilots of F.U.N. on the SkyHawk II

Meant to be: TheHawk and (Sky)Hawk II

Roger that: Yo- the control panels look like the Delorean. What happens when we hit 85MPH?

Old School Digital

I can't help but want this so badly. How radical. A mix tape case with a USB inside that fits 64MB of music- just about as much music as you would get on an actual mix tape. No flipping.
Check it out at A+R store here:
http://aplusrstore.com/product_detail.php?show=product&pid=264&cid=56

I'm gonna see if I can't make it myself. Take apart an old tape and place a USB stick inside. Hrmmmm.... I'll let you know how that one goes.

I'm a sleepy bear

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5c0X4MW_zE

No sleep for the sleepy

Friday- Bus to Los Feliz for a going away dinner at Polermo (miss you Adam! Have fun in New York!). Bike to North Hollywood for a birthday party (Happy actual Birthday Jennifer!) at Republic Bar and Lounge and dance around all night. Bike home to Santa Monica to change clothes to go swimming in a pool closer to the ocean. Go home. Sleep for two hours.
Saturday- Work at the library in the morning. Power nap during my 15. Book it home to change. Go see production of Kiss Me Kate at a church directed by my friend Trevor from elementary school. Meet up with two other elementary school friends, Marissiko and Amy, to see the play. Went out for an early dinner at Baja Fresh and recapped about being little kids. Went home and took a social nap with moms while she played solitaire. Got a ride to Sports Harbour in Venice (or is it Culver City? Not sure technically) to meet camp folks to hang out for our boy Brandon's birthday (yay! So glad you could make it out to Cali to chill). Play some of those screen touch games at the bar (no playboy spot-the-differences pictures tho. Bummer.) Go across the street to In & Out to see the BFF at work and grab a burger. Walk back to a friends house on Venice (on the way down Lincoln, someone major puked all over the front of the AT&T store. eck.) Play Raving Rabbits on Wii and eat delicious b-day carrot cake made by Kate (yummers). Go home to sleep.
Sunday- Wake up at 9:30 so I can head down to the Eastside for some Downtown partytime with my inland girls. Get to The Standard (I wish I knew how to insert that upsidedown. That would be rad and all blog professional) about 1:30 for some drinks and roof pool chillin'. (Vote yes on Peach Margarahrahs and Blueberry Mojotos) Splash in the pool too much and make poolside snootys all mad ("What is wrong with you?!?!" "Umm, i like fun") Meet new fun people (Hooray to Faith, the Cheshire, and Dora) and dance around to some sweet jams. Get a lift to the bus. Meet my college roomie who came down from a Yoga retreat in Santa Barbara by Century City. Go eat Pho at Pho 99 on Wilshire (o yeah. soooo good). Green Tea Mochi and Rice Dream "Ice Cream" sandwiches from Wholefoods. Aaaand Dana was rockin some awesome Obama bling. Finally sleep for the sleepy (early too. Like 11pm. schweeet)

And today- Disneyland with the BFF.

Dad says I should keep trach of all this running around I'm doing.
I'm all over it pops.

C.R.A.N.K. MOB spoke card

MINE! My double trouble star twins are rotating in bike wheels all over town...

too drunk to blog

I averaged about 3 hrs of sleep every night this past week. By choice.
I figure its more awesome and fun to actually hang out with people than to sit in front of a computer and write about how awesome it is/could be.
Action or thought.
Well here's what I think.

Not sleeping is interesting. A whole other mental space for sure. And you get a fair amount more done. Or maybe not. I had to focus somewhat extra on things that I'd rather not do anyway. Like work. No time to multi-task with things like invoicing and watching LOST, or mailing catalogs and Blogging.

Lil Wayne concert

say cheee-eeese

Went to go see Lil Wayne at the House of Blues on Sunset on Monday night.
I rode my bike from Santa Monica over there- pretty decent ride I must say. Took me about 45 minutes and its about an 8 or so mile trip.

There was a little too much waiting for me at the concert. I was fine with waiting in line to get in (had to cool off from the bike ride anyway). An hour to get in. An hour for the openers to start (TYGA and then some other dudes). Then just tooooo long for Wayne to get on stage.
You'd think if all those folks were there to see him that they'd get to it a lil bit faster.

The people in the crowds were characters though (Im sure myself included). The friend I was supposed to meet up with didn't feel well and decided to come through later. We couldn't meet up cuz I had no service in that place. So here I am, rolling through to the Lil Wayne concert, party of one. Good thing I don't feel too awkward about these things.
There was this one Sean Paul from the Youngbloodz looking motivator who seemed pretty blasted who was standing near me and- I don't know how he met up with this one shorty but they were grinding the beat of their own sex drives for sure. It was way too crowded in that piece. I'm all about getting your groove on, but it would have helped if they had some rhythm so I could at least avoid getting bumped into and having drink spilled on me periodically. Equally hillarious was the shorty he was dancing with who was all T&A who kept bending over to grind on him and had her face and self all up on people in front of her. Dude in front of her was getting kind of annoyed and was saying stuff like "I'm gonna fart on you". Ha.
There was some other chick who was flipping out when Lil Wayne came on. Like some old school rockers making chicks faint kind of mess. I think I went deaf in one ear from her screeching. She also kept yelling at him to take his clothes off. Which he did. Cuz it was just too hot in there.

Once Lil Wayne came, the whole crowd surged forward, me along with it. I was pinned for a good 20 minutes of the concert.
He was good though. I wished he had done more from the Carter III, cuz I'm loving it.
I kind of forgot about rap concerts- you know, how there are a million people on stage not doing anything, a few dudes just repeating what the headliner says, and the headliner.
Cameos by Chris Brown and Birdman.
Lil Mama chillin in the back.
And gallons of sweat as a recollection of the night.
A bike ride home was pretty welcome after that.

I made dis

more to come soon i hope.
inspired by Basquiat who was inspired by Gray's Anatomy (the book)

Why is Arizona so dang hot?

I'm not normally a fan of AC, but it got some reverence from me this weekend.

What a lovely thing to do- have a reunion of sorts with some camp heads at an almost resort sort of setting. I really did live in the pool the whole time. And you know that Water Babies sunblock where the little girl's bottoms are being nipped by the puppy and she's got that uber tushy tan happening? Yeah, I got that.

It was like: melt city evaporate make it rain through the pool waterfall freeze into ice cubes for the beverages and melt again.

Even the night time was not the right time to be anywhere other than a pool, or in a place with AC. 107 degrees at 8pm.

Say that again?!?!
No I'm too overheated to repeat myself.

But really- what sky.
Actual stars. We used all ours up in LA.

And a beautiful skyline as we drove into the sunset.

Can't knock the good company either.

The jokes come out at night.

It heats up in the day.

Pepsodent- toothpaste of ja people.

Who sat bitch?
Rousing games of The Vagina Monologues, rock band, and camp dice.

Sigh.

Gimmie back my Big Bear

I'm New

Why do i want to do this?

I guess to have a place to put all of these things that I do. Everything lives in interspace now anyway, so why not?

I plan to:
-write letters
-post pictures (currently into polaroids)
-hash out ideas
-talk about the wonderful, amazing, crazy, curious things that LA people do

You don't have to care.
But maybe, just maybe, I'll bring something to the webspace table that will court and spark you.
And that potential is what draws me in.

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