1 BANANA STAND FAIL - So if you haven’t heard yet, Arrested Development is coming back for a 4th season via Netflix. And the world rejoices!
The AD marketing team has been working overtime to get people pumped up. The Bluth Staircase Truck was spotted at the Santa Monica Pier and the Banana Stand has been touring around LA this week.
So I decided to go. I mean, why not? I’m in LA. I’m a huge fan of the show. But dude, the line for a frozen banana was super long. When I got there at 5:30 they already ran out of bananas.
Hmmm. I’ll have to try again tomorrow. Good thing this tour lasts a couple days.
2 THE OFFICE FINALE - Over the past couple weeks I’ve been flying through the last two seasons of The Office in order to make it to the series finale on May 16th. And boy, it did NOT disappoint.
I laughed a lot. I cried a lot. And it was all just so great.
Seriously - 9 years with these people, these story arcs. I’m just so happy with how the stories ended. As I was talking to my roommate about the finale, I literally started crying.
I’m telling you. They did it right.
BONUS: Buzzfeed is great for many reasons, but HERE is an article that points out how great John Krasinksi is.
4 A TIDAL WAVE ALMOST ATE ME ALIVE - Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph two awesome ladies at Abbot Kinney and Venice Beach. And at the very end of the shoot I decided to take one good photo from the ocean. Little did I know that a huge wave was coming my way - needless to say, I was soaked.
The best part was their reaction. And the fact that my equipment was fine. And this photo. Totally worth it.
5 OH OKLAHOMA - Out of all the places I’ve lived over the years, Oklahoma was one of my favorites. I lived there for 5 years, faced 2 major ice storms and other various weather disasters. But none of it was like what happened to Moore, OK this week.
Seriously. My heart goes out to them. I’m so thankful that my friends that live in Tulsa are fine.
The below 5TT post (Thursday counts!) was written by one of my awesome roommates here in LA. She volunteered to guest blog for me this week since I realized that by 11:35 PM Tuesday night that I had still not written a post. Not only did she take the time to contemplate 5 Things about Jo, but she also found matching photos or GIF’s.
1 JO DEEPLY APPRECIATES CHARACTER - and by that…. I mean characters that live in the fictional land of television. That she laughs with them, cries with them, talks to them and might actually have personal relationships with them. I’m not sure.
2 JO IS A FAIRLY DECENT BUILT-IN REALITY CHECK - Sometimes I talk and it’s important. Other times I talk and well…. it’s really not important at all. (It serves no purpose but to assure people that they are in fact not deaf.)
Before Jo was my roommate, I had to judge for myself BUT now she does it for me. I can accurately judge the importance of what I’m saying by just speaking to Jo … here are my rules:
If it cause her to strike a Peter Pan pose … then its important.
If she stares at you and waits … it’s important enough for her to let it pass through her realm of understanding. At this moment you need to work your angles to increase relevancy.
If she starts playing a game on her phone - just shut up then.
Its wonderful. I actually appreciate it dearly.
3 JO HAS A DEEP APPRECIATION FOR THINGS THAT ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM - One night I woke up to find Jo sitting on the couch by herself, laughing hysterically to this Buzzfeed article. In the dark. Uncontrollably laughing.
4 SPEAKING OF LAUGHING, JO HAS THE BEST LAUGH - She wheezes when its really funny.
5 JO IS DECORATING OUR APARTMENT -Or will. Someday. Maybe.
(yep those are White Rihanna/Lana Del Rey pants)
All this to say … I love jo! I’ve been very blessed to have her as a roommate. She’s awesome to have for the rough times and also for the good ones.
When you want to discuss biblical philosophy or when you want to dissect the trashiness of Lyla Garrity (FNL) …
When you want business advice or want to spray paint a door with chalkboard paint at midnight (and scare Andi with the fact that both roommates are missing and the apartment is open) …
We actually share quite a lot in common. Which if you knew me - is saying a lot.
Katie Onuma is a motion graphics artist from Illinois. You may have seen her prized work on the trailers of movies such as The Host, Safe Haven, and her absolute favorite The Hangover 3. The nickname Katie Avacado is two-fold, from first meeting her with a cast because she slit her finger open when cutting and avacado and from the fact she makes BOMB guacamole.
Well I’ve been up since 6:30 and it’s been quite a day so far. I have a ton more to do, but I feel pretty darn productive so far. Ima get this post done and then tackle that to-do list. Here’s hoping!
1 CIVIL WARS IS MAKING A COMEBACK - So have you heard? The Civil Wars are coming out of that early retirement to debut a sophomore album.
I’m kind of excited for the return of more acoustic, bare-bone harmonies. And for the chance of possibly seeing them live (which I hear is absolutely transcendent). I don’t know why they called a quits a while back, but here goes it. Take two.
(want more? click HERE for a free download // Live at Eddie’s Attic)
2 KRISTIN WIIG IS HOSTING SNL - Not only is Kristin Wiig listed as one of Time’s most influential people of 2013, but she’s also one a comedic legend in the eyes of many (it’s rumored that she is one of Lorne Michael’s favorites over the show’s 38 seasons).
And guess what? She’s hosting SNL this weekend, May 11th. Um, yes. Excited. Bring on the best of the best of Krisin Wiig!!
3 JUDD APATOW WEEKEND - For awhile now I’ve been on overkill with TV shows, so I decided this weekend I’d watch some movies. And I really was in the mood for some Judd Apatow classics.
And by classics I mean “Superbad” and “Pineapple Express” - it just seemed right. I laughed a LOT. But seriously, I think my all time favorite scenes from Superbad were the ones of Officer Slater and Officer Michaels (Seth Rogen and Bill Hader). They are SO FUNNY.
Especially this scene. Yes to dancing.
4 SCOTCH & SODA - OK SO BIG NEWS. One that I’m really excited about. Dude - Scotch & Soda opened up in LA!! On Abbot Kinney. Um, BEST.
It’s been one of my favorite brands for awhile now but I could never buy anything from there. 1) It was based in Amsterdam, and 2) it was super expensive. And so usually I’d just window shop online until one day I stumbled upon a small, small section in Nordstrom designated for Maison Scotch (the girls’ brand from Scotch & Soda).
But now it’s here. There is a storefront here and it’s beautiful. Think along the lines of Madewell and Anthropologie with a twinge of European flare. That’s what you got. Come visit me and we can go shopping!
**Plus - their fashion photography is the best. I want to do just that.**
5 NO ELECTRICITY TRAVESTY - So yesterday was interesting. Apparently a transformer blew sometime Sunday night which caused a section of West LA to lose power for most of yesterday.
Goodness. What to do when you don’t have power or internet. My roommate and I went out to a nearby diner for coffee (and a failed attempt for interwebz) and then out for a birthday lunch with a friend. And after an evening in Venice, we headed back home to our still without-power apartment.
All this to say, I had very minimal internet time (thanks iPhone) … just enough to get by. Andi and I went almost all day yesterday without any TV (quite a feat!). And I actually had time to read a book for a bit.
Wow. It’s the simple things that are sometimes awesome (but it’s nice to have electricity again).
Welp. I kind of missed my Tuesday deadline but technically I’m still awake from the lingering of yesterday … so yes. Here are 5 things going on with me:
1 MY FIRST DODGER GAME - I got to do something totally Californian this past weekend. I went to my first Dodger Game!
Granted, baseball is my least favorite sport to watch and I’m not a fan of any LA based teams but what the heck - as long as I’m in good company I’m down for a game.
It was classically filled with most general of baseball elements: people watching, the wave, frozen margaritas, stadium hot dogs, etc. Good times - but I do have to say, if it has to be any team M’S ALL THE WAY!
2 REWATCHING SCRUBS MAKES ME LOVE SCOTT FOLEY ALL OVER AGAIN - So I like to rewatch TV shows on Netflix while I work or go to sleep (it’s great background noise) and right now I’m flying through Scrubs. I’ve seen this show many times over and it’s one of my favorites, but I do have to admit that my heart goes a little pitter-patter whenever Scott Foley makes an appearance.
Seriously. Scott Foley. Sigh.
He’s one of my earliest heartthrobs - dating back to my Felicity watching days. Hmmmm. I might have to put that on the docket to watch again. It’s so good.
3 SHIFTING PHOTOGRAPHY GEARS - Here are I am, yet again shifting gears when it comes to photography. It’s been taking longer than anticipated to figure out this thing. Considering there’s so many avenues you can take this career and however much you want to pursue, that’s what you need to become great at. It’s the deciding that’s the hard part. And the pursuing the even more difficult.
I’ve decided to hang up weddings altogether after the ones I have this summer. And take only a limited amount of portraits. Those types of projects don’t really make me happy.
So I’m thinking about pursuing lifestyle and fashion photography. How to get there is still a puzzle in itself, but I’m trying. Building a strong book and finding an agent are the first steps.
So here’s hoping.
4 LOST MY RAYBANS - So I lost my Rayban sunglasses last week. And I’ve looked high and low for them. In the apartment, throughout my car. I’ve retraced my steps. Everything.
Ugh. I can’t find it and it super annoys me.
LA is so bright that having sunglasses is a necessity. Plus, they’re expensive and they were a birthday gift. And after 8 months of never losing them, I’ve somehow misplaced them.
I’m sad.
5 ON THE JOB HUNT - I think I’ve been living the self employed dream for too long that I’ve forgotten what it’s like to make a real buck. Or to pay real bills, ie. student loan bills. That are coming off deferment.
Whoops.
Yeah. Wake up call. It’s time to buckle down and either a) really hustle and get some photo shoots coming in or b) find that waiting job like yesterday.
I chose the latter. Seems a bit more immediate.
I hope I actually have a chance of getting hired. The overqualified crap is getting old. Yes, I did go to grad school but I still have to pay for it. Please hire me. Thanks.
Ugh, it’s been an annoying few years. But their not hiring me eventually led to freelance photography. So I guess it’s not completely a horrible thing. But for now, pray I’ll get a job soon. Thanks!
Happy Tuesday folks. Anything new exciting happen lately? Me neither … pretty ho hum here lately. Which I’m not complaining at all - I’m usually a fan of the low key.
Right now as I type up this post, my roommate and I are sitting around with our laptops watching “Alias.” What a life we lead.
Anyways. Here are 5 Things going on right now:
1 I RECENTLY PURCHASED A TATTLY - The other day I was browsing various Shopify templates (big announcement to come later) and found myself at the Tattly shop.
For those of you who don’t know what Tattly is, it’s designy temporary tattoos. Kind of like when you get the fake tattoos at the bottom of the Cracker Jacks box. I found myself impulse buying this particular tat. You get 2 for $5! I’m sending one to my sister. Our parents would totally flip out if we got tattoos. I’m excited about the possibilities here.
2 JON ACUFF’S NEW BOOK IS OUT - I only have a few favorite authors/speakers (Donald Miller is a top favorite) but a fairly new favorite is Jon Acuff. His first book, “Quitter” is GREAT. You should read it. And I’ve heard him speak a few times - quality content with the right amount of humor.
Well, he just released his newest book “START” - check it out HERE.
3 THE NEXT RIGHT STEPS - Right now I’m sort of at a crossroads. Between narrowing down the specific type of photography work that I want to do and my bills beckoning my name (student loans - bah!) I’m thinking about moonlighting as a waitress.
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to make ends meet. I waited tables all throughout college, so I guess this would be me waiting tables to help pay for college. At least for the time being. Every bit helps.
This will have to do for now until I [fingers crossed] get a photography agent. I feel like those are the next right steps. So yeah. Keep me in your prayers!
4 EVERY DAY IS A TINY BOBA DAY - You guys, I think I’ve reached a new level of Asian-ness. I’ve been drinking Boba y’all. BOBA. I remember my aunt introducing my sister and I to this about 10 years ago and we were like “um no thanks.”
And now, a decade later, I find myself going to Sawtelle all the time for Boba. That place is always popping. It’s kind of dangerous how close it is … that and Blockheads?! And the Kogi Food Truck every Thursday?!
