misocrazy

Singlehood: Not So Annoying

2010-04-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

Today I got a really sweet response on a dating service:

"Why is it that no one has scooped you up already?"

But my instinctual response was "Because most men are annoying." No, I didn't actually write that back. I just didn't write back.

I realize there are exceptions, and that's why I have male friends and female friends/relatives in perfectly lovely relationships. But browsing what's available on personal ads on dating services makes me want to kill myself. Well not really, but it certainly doesn't motivate me to date anybody.

Anyway, I am gonna go fix myself up my home version of an Egg veggie Sausage McMuffin sandwich and continue with my less annoying singlehood until someone not so annoying (but rather, hot, inspiring, bright, expressive, and supportive) comes along.

From Spouts to Spurts

2010-04-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

In this age of social media and spurts of information, my ADD has grown and, well, I rarely am in the mood to spout on for paragraphs about stuff anymore.

I suppose I am spending more time nowadays either exploring and absorbing information and inspiration and then making stuff, like this:

You know, less talk, more action!

So I started a tumblr blog that will hopefully be more regularly updated and less wordy. I'm debating whether this will have some redundant posts that I put on Facebook, but I suppose it will be nice for my non-friends who just like my posts. And maybe that will be easier for searching archived posts, because right now Facebook really sucks at that.

And in the rare times I feel like I have more to say, I will come back to this blog. Who knows? I started this blog years ago, just to understand why people blog and how it works. I guess I'm still figuring that out.

Man of the Hour

2010-02-18T22:05:00.001-08:00

Man Of The Hour - Norah Jones

I just heard this song by Norah Jones, and I really like it, particularly this part:

But I can’t choose
Between a vegan and a pot head
So I chose you, because you’re sweet and you give me lots of lovin’ and you eat meat
And that’s how you became
My only man of the hour

You never lie
And you don’t cheat
And you don’t have any baggage tied to your forefeet

But what does it mean if he's the Man of the Hour? Does she have a different one for each hour of the day? I can barely handle one.

Meh, I guess I'll go back to drawing those effing butterflies for work. I hate butterflies.

P.S. The tiger dress arrived and fits! Now I think maybe it's not as crazy to wear it out semi-casually as I thought. Unless I'm slowly turning into one of those older ladies that dresses a little kooky. Or did that already happen a long time ago!?

Happy Year of the Tiger!

2010-02-14T10:43:00.000-08:00

Xin Nian Kuai Le! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

(That's Mandarin and Cantonese for Happy New Year)

It's the year of the tiger, so I found it appropriate to indulge in this ridiculous dress I found on eBay. It hasn't arrived yet, so I hope it fits. And I hope to find an occasion to wear it... Traditionally I think people are supposed to wear new clothes for the occasion, but I don't have anything weather-appropriate that's new for now so instead I am wearing new nail polish.

Or I may head over to East Village and maybe find something else new to wear. And possibly check out firecrackers and food in Chinatown. Hope you all have a healthy and fortuitous new Lunar Year!

Inspiration of the Week

2010-02-06T08:57:00.001-08:00

I have to apologize for my Facebook friends for the redundancy of this post, but I've decided that while Facebook is great for sharing fun inspiration with friends, it's not great for archiving those links.

So here are a few things that I found to be really amazing creative work recently:

Luxirare

As I was chatting with someone recently, things that are hand-crafted seem especially precious in today's digital age of mass-production. It even seems a little rebellious, which is why I find this artist/designer/crafts-woman so amazing. I don't even know her real name; she's chosen to be anonymous but has branded her work as "Luxirare." She sometimes models her own fashion wares but keeps her face obscured. But what I really love about her site is that she carefully documents her process, which is always the part I wish were more revealed somewhere when I look at creative work that I like.

I first discovered her set of hand-crafted crayons, composed totally of food items. Do you draw with or eat them?? Also as someone who is generally a little sloppy and poor at physical cutting and pasting things together, I find it all a little insane and impressive.

Some of you may remember my foray into baking where I made cakeball pops? Well those seem terribly amateurish when you check out Luxirare's PIE lollipops. She even crafts some amazing and edgy fashion, such as her crazy-tall platform boots.

***

Mouk, by Marc Boutavant

I discovered this children's book at the MoMA gift shop. The pages are abundant with little animal characters, introducing you to little cultural tidbits of daily life in different countries. PLUS it includes a few pages of STICKERS!!!

I'll have to check out his other children's books as well; it's like a new European version of Richard Scarry (which I adored as a child). You could just stare at these pages over and over just to peruse the details, and I love his retro style. P.S. Drawn! is one of my favorite blogs.

It's artists like this that inspired me to recently buy a set of gouache paints to play with.

But I'm having difficulty focusing on a skill to master; aside from the gouache paints, I've got a Flash animation book on my desk, crochet patterns to invent, tap shoes waiting for their first lesson, and don't forget my DS Chinese lessons! Ohh and right now I need to work out and take a nap. And to draw more stickers that I owe my current freelance client. Damn my ADD.

Speaking of which, don't you miss Ace of Base? Don't judge me. This song got me over my first breakup.

Cousins!

2010-02-05T12:31:00.001-08:00

This goes out to all my awesome cousins!!

Also I just really love this band, how can you not? So adorable and fun. Also you can download their new album at Amazon for just 5 bucks! Amazing. They also just seem like guys you could hang out with. (I think I especially like the drummer but they've all got their own brand of preppy-cute.)

Gettin' my regular art fix

2010-02-05T07:48:00.000-08:00

It's happening! I am now seeing art on a regular basis! Last night I went to First Thursdays in DUMBO to check out a gang of open little galleries. It was a huge variety of things that ranged from abstract paintings to digital projections and tilt-shift photography.

There wasn't as much that I personally thought was great art, but it was just fun to explore, and I joined up with a new (and okay, cute) friend who was really great to converse with about making art and what we liked or didn't like about different types of art. Although, I realized toward the end that we probably missed out on some amazing people-watching, so I will try to take advantage of that next time I go.

We topped off the night with pizza at Grimaldi's (finally!) and a random goth-industrial-electronic music show, at which they played ridiculous 90s dance hits such as "Rhythm is a Dancer" in between bands. Surprisingly the crowd really loved the dance music and bopped around like crazy. I must admit that I got really excited when I recognized an Ace of Base song. Of course, later a girl was dancing and rammed her elbow into my beer bottle as I was drinking. I tried to check if my tooth was chipped by feeling around it but it was already chipped so I couldn't tell! (It was fine, thank goodness)

Someone handed my friend a huge flaming blunt? Or was it a cigar? (I don't know, I'm too straightedge for this) which I dubbed the Hipster Olympic torch. I'm talking awkward '80s frames, sawed-off haircuts and unflattering clothes all over the place. (Also looking around at this crowd made me think I was strangely fat but I didn't really want to be that skinny either.)

Anyway, in the last month I also checked out the Joshua Liner Gallery, the Jonathan Levine Gallery, and the Opera Gallery.

I was not as crazy about the neon surrealist art at Joshua Liner this time; I think it was generally all a bit too flat and the compositions were too scattered for my taste. But I loved the stuff at Jonathan Levine. The first time I went, it was Audrey Kawasaki, who had sold out of all her pieces. She does ethereal sort of erotic and very pretty female figures drawn on wood.

A week later, I returned to the same gallery with my roommate, when she wanted to see Saelee Oh's cut-paper and painted art. There was another painter called Doze Green who did large, colorful paintings that had a mix of various religious symbols and totem-inspired idol imagery. But I was most excited by Josh Keyes' work. Josh Keyes is this amazing surrealist painter who uses realist painting techniques and focuses on ecological themes.

I was admiring one of his immaculate paintings and said, "This guy must be really anal," but I didn't mean it in a bad way. Of course then I realized that he was standing behind me and then I felt like a complete jackass. But I have a feeling he wasn't too worried because I think he was getting lots of attention.

At the Opera Gallery in Soho, there was a theme of subversively cute portraits of cartoonishly giant baby-like heads. Maybe a bit Yoshitomo Nara-esque, but I love that stuff. Kathie Olivas did these rich oil paintings of children dressed in animal-suits, chewing on tentacles, with really lovely layers of highlights. Brandt Peters does these goth-looking vampy caricatures playing with skulls.

And there was an amusing pop artist called Mr. Brainwash who did some enormous Warhol-esque paint/printing over collage of famous faces and posterized images of celebrities formed from cutouts of vinyl records.

But the artist I found to be surprisingly impressive was an artist named John John Jesse. He paints these amazingly intricate and romantic portraits of gorgeous, half-nude punk rock, dangerous looking girls, surrounded by wonderful knickknacks, all rendered in brilliantly sharp focus. And I love how he sometimes used a sort of exaggerated perspective. Plus he uses a complex mix of spray paint, ink and oil on wood, all highlighted in gleaming sparkles. Very mesmerizing and beautifully framed.

The other side effect of all this art and a constantly growing collection of karaoke- enthusiastic friends is that my frequency of drinking has spiked this month. I have learned from my New Year's Eve debacle(s) and at least now I don't get too tipsy. But then again I'm not that young anymore, so I should probably take it easy and get back to some crocheting and learning Chinese on my Nintendo DS like a nice little old lady.

Dancin' with Myself

2010-01-27T12:06:00.000-08:00

I got out of work today, so I could get some errands done (like laundry) that I couldn't get done last weekend... because I spontaneously sprained my foot... while sleeping!? Yeah. Maybe it's because I fell behind on my One-a-Day vitamins? Or age? I may look young on the outside, but my insides are telling me otherwise.

Well the other reason I got out of work was so I could stay out late last night, to see one of my favorite artists, Jon Burgerman, who was performing a gig in his goofy little band, Anxieteam, before he flew off again to yet another foreign country (this time Norway).

Here's a portrait of me that he and his bandmate, Jim Avignon did of me on a Cintiq (computer tablet):

I probably live an enviable life, in NYC, making a living drawing stickers and toys. But he makes a living off of beautifully improvised and even witty pop-doodle art that is all accredited to himself. Well, he also does commissioned work for products (toys, sneakers, and the like), but usually he gets free creative reign, free of corporate branding constraints. And he gets to travel the world to show his work and meet other wonderfully creative and interesting people.

I never really envy others much, but I do envy and admire his career direction and ability to retain ownership of his work. –Especially on work days when I casually try to slip in a funny sticker design that says "Superstud" and then am told that Walmart moms are not going to buy that for their sons.

Hey I get it, boss-man, at least I filtered out "Bitchin'" and "WTF". So I continue designing what is good and safe (aka sometimes boring) for kids. (Unfortunately the whole mass-market toy industry is largely controlled by Walmart.)

So I'm testing the waters, splitting weekdays between working for a toy company and spending time on myself and developing my own thing. I suppose it's risky to not go for a stable weekday job, but I did that for 8 years. Usually great things require some level of risk. Now I feel lucky enough to afford that risk, and I feel I owe it to myself to at least try. (Managing my poor attention span and focusing my various creative interests is another thing.)

It's no secret now that I have a crush on Jon, aside from his whole talented artist thing. I tried to deny it at first, because he is so bug-eyed, vegetarian, and geographically inconvenient. But he happens to be a surprisingly humble, awkward, goofy, self-effacing, mumbly, kind, and very amusing Brit who openly sings off-key while playing the ukulele. With a head full of dark hair. Basically, ADORABLE.

While he's possibly the only bearded vegetarian I would ever want to date, he's not really datable. He lives for doing what he loves, which is to have free range to doodle and paint. But he's never in one place for very long. Well I'm just glad he'll be back in NY again someday and I can smother him with hugs again every time he leaves. I hope he remembers that we are supposed to karaoke and tap dance next time he's back.

But what does that mean for human companionship for a world-traveling artist? I suppose for the more brazen, charismatic types (a la Vicky Cristina Barcelona), they recklessly find romance... but maybe others fail trying, while others just don't bother?

Maybe for some, it's enough to do art and music freely and that becomes their love. I mean, if I had to choose between succeeding in art/music and succeeding at a sustaining relationship... I think that would be a toss-up. Maybe lately, more toward the art. Both ways you get what you truly love... but does anyone really get both? We can't all be John Lennon, and besides I want to live longer for whatever reason.

Which leads me to consider my own singlehood. Strangely, that urge to be a mom hasn't quite kicked in yet. I suppose if pregnancy miraculously happens within the next 5 or so years, then okay (I will probably panic) but if not, I think I'll be okay too. I have my worries about being a responsible mom anyway, and I am probably a little bit scarred from a dysfunctional childhood that I am afraid of repeating for another poor soul that would come out of my womb.

My solution to the worry of later regretting not having a child is either adopting a child, OR in a few years, offering an attractive, domestic gay couple to be their child's surrogate mother and then be the Godmother who is secretly the real biological mom. Attention gay friends, hit me up. :)

So I go on dates, but mostly when I go, I feel like I go on them just to have ridiculous stories to tell you, and to confirm that I am happier by myself (well, myself plus all of my inspiring friends who keep me company when our schedules allow for it. Or when Facebook tells me what's on your mind).

Like the time I went on a date with someone who was depressed after watching "Up in the Air". As I tried to comfort him with hot chocolate dessert, I noticed that my date was wearing a BANGLE. And some big-ass ring. –While I was dressed like Ellen DeGeneres without any jewelry on, making me feel entirely butch, which was really strange. I would have made fun of him but he was already so sad already, that I refrained from telling him and saved it for Facebook updates and blogging.

I did try to be open-minded recently and went on a date with someone seven years my junior. He was really amusing but red-headed (just not my thing) and a little too crazy and high-energy. I had a nice time but eventually had to explain why it was bad that I was too old for him. At one point, he said, "I get lonely too..." when he was trying to encourage me otherwise. My response was, "I don't really get lonely. I like being by myself." I didn't mean to offend him, it was the truth. He was obviously the sort that needed a lot of attention, and I am not. He succumbed and realized that I am not the desperate cougar that he hoped I was.

You know that line in the movie, "Up in the Air," about the favorite memories usually involving being with someone else? Clooney's character said this to talk someone into getting married. But he was just improvising to save his sister's wedding. That was not a persuasive scene to me, because I have had some great times all by myself. That sounds a bit narcissistic, but oh well.

Luckily in New York, being out by myself seems all the more acceptable. I went to a concert by myself for the first time last Saturday, and I loved it. I didn't have to worry if someone else I brought wasn't enjoying it. (Although I don't know why they wouldn't; it was freakin' Nouvelle Vague.)

So then I went to the Anxieteam show by myself, and that was nice because I felt more available to just experience it and maybe meet new people without worrying about someone else. And this way I would meet more people that like the same things I like.

I guess usually I'm a little standoffish and guarded with strangers because sometimes you meet someone you don't really care to hang out with. I suppose I'm still figuring how to politely get out of those situations. Is there really any good way out of it? Somebody please let me know.

I was eating a red velvet cupcake at the Anxieteam show, for example, and a fellow asked me if it was a bacon cupcake. I stopped mid-bite and looked up at him and said, "There are BACON CUPCAKES!??" and he was just kidding about it but I was serious and thus disappointed. He thought that was hilarious and then apologized.

Then we talked about how he used to be a vegan while I proceeded to stuff my face and he handed me napkins because I was making a disgusting mess with the delicious non-vegan cupcake.

But also it turned out that he runs a tiny art space out in some boony-town part of Greenpoint, Brooklyn and then I realized it was the SAME random place that my roommate dragged me out to two weekends ago for a never-ending comedy show! I was so weirded out by this, that I punched him in the arm (like Elaine from Seinfeld). And eventually he asked for my number. (Again, very nice to chat with but probably not boyfriend material, not with his 70s mustache. YES, I have my superficial moments.)

Last Sunday, when I spontaneously sprained my foot, I had to postpone a first date with someone new. So I took it as some cosmic sign telling me that the date wasn't a big deal. (Or maybe it was a higher being handicapping me from going back to Urban Outfitters to buy the 5 things I was eyeing the day before.)

The other thing is that there's a 50:50 likelihood that I might move to L.A. within a year or less. So is it even a good idea to fall in love with someone before I make that decision? But who knows really what will happen, and how can I plan ANY of this, really?

(Also I need to stop being attracted to people who live nowhere near NYC. That seems to happen to me on a regular basis.)

So my plan this year is to focus on my personal projects, be more open to meeting new people when I'm out exploring the city, get some exercise, take my vitamins, buy more organic, and go on some dates if anything just for the stories to tell. And to tap dance.

Oh, Belly Donut.

2010-01-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

My New Year's resolution is to have a belly-donut. Or was it not to have a belly-donut? Mmm, donuts. Especially French crullers or that one special limited-edition strawberry blossom one that Tim Hortons had 2 summers ago in Canada with the little candy strawberry crumbles on it like the kind that go on those ice cream pops from the ice cream trucks.

No, I don't do drugs. Never!!! Straightedge for life!

Wine, on the other hand...

Happy 2010!

2010-01-03T08:41:00.000-08:00

I'm starting the year out with a cold and bruises on my leg that I don't remember getting! How about you? I think next New Year's Eve, I'll skip the drinking... someone please remind me.

Well I haven't blogged in awhile because of the following:

My roommate and I have been fixing up our fab Greenwich Village apartment

I started freelancing in toy design, keeping me busy Mon-Friday 9-5pm

There's a regular influx of NY visitors, usually involving food and karaoke

Too many museums, DIY craft events, live shows, to attend

Holiday festivities, including DIY costumes and gifts and a trip to Chicago

I can't stop crocheting amigurumi gifts while catching up on my DVR

I'm making plans for cutting back on the work hours already, to maybe pursue my own art and design projects

Also I want to learn Mandarin, take dance lessons, and get more into photography, exercise, and cooking. Oh yeah, and maybe find some good dates. (I did go on a few in 2009 but there weren't any keepers. One of them wore a bangle! Aka a bracelet. Plus a ring.)

I'm hoping to cut work back to three to four days a week so I can make it happen. I suppose I'll have to eat more cheaply and not buy as many clothes. That may go well with the cooking goal and purging of excess stuff. And I'm hoping the exercise will help with getting more dates.

Sort of like how my Financial Advisor rebalances my portfolio, I need rebalance my life before I get back to a real full-time Monday-Friday job. Maybe in 2011. Or later. :)

***

Oh and here are a few movie reviews:

"Food, Inc."(rental)

This documentary is a bit sad, but you should all see it, to understand how the food industry's manipulative efforts toward efficiency and mass production has made your food so gross. It's like today's version of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle." And then go buy organic everything so you don't contribute to this mess.

"Fantastic Mr. Fox"

A delightful cast of charming characters and a beautifully detailed and refreshing take on stop-motion animation by Wes Anderson. I loved it but I'm curious as to whether it appeals to children. There are family dynamics going on that kids would maybe not get into as much but maybe it's still visually fun and amusing enough for them.

"It's Complicated"

Very funny, with a great cast, even though the trailer does show a little too much of what happens. I love every guy in this movie (Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, John Krasinski, Hunter Parrish), though Steve Martin plays a surprisingly subdued character. I don't know if guys would enjoy this as much (it is a Nora Ephron production) but I think I heard laughter from both genders in the theater.

"Up in the Air"

I thought this was just okay. I don't really get why it's getting such rave reviews. Maybe it lucked out that the story is so relevant to the economic crisis. Also, it's surprisingly depressing, especially now that I found out that the characters who react to being fired were played by real people who got fired, re-enacting their real reactions! Just go rent or buy Pixar's "Up" or "Groundhog Day" afterward if you get really bummed.

I guess I should finally go see "Avatar" at some point, even though it looks really unappealing.

Oh. Hello, there.

2009-09-25T18:58:00.001-07:00

I'm back! Mostly because I'm avoiding the tedious task of packing for my move.

Oh yes, so much has happened, and it's been far too long since my past post, probably exacerbated by my posting updates on Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter. (I mean how many ways do I need to publicize what I'm up to, anyway?)

Annie Liebowitz went broke, major celebrities died. In Italy and Spain, I had a wonderfully relaxing trip lounging (and getting sunburnt) on Mediterranean beaches among half-naked locals (and wondered why my cousin and I were the only Asians for miles, until I realized that most Asian tourists don't like tans). I hiked until I nearly passed out at Lake Como. In Italy, I browsed endless images of the Virgin Mary and roamed among ancient ruins in the hot sun. In Chicago, I visited my toddler nephew who now improvises songs on his new guitar that is too big for him. In San Francisco, I frantically filmed my friends getting married and visited my friend who is bravely fighting breast cancer and taking care of her new stepfamily. I returned to NYC and saw some art and fashion and Mexican wrestling shows. I landed another job interview, and scored my first freelance project to kick off my new career. I baked burger cupcakes, I knitted toddler pants, I babysat my little cousin. I watched some free indie rock with Beyonce & Jay-Z (well, they stood about ten feet in front of us, surrounded by bodyguards) in Brooklyn. I shopped with Jason Bateman (well, we were at the same counter) at the Adidas Soho store. I listened to honkytonk music. I sang and danced. I ate and drank. And New York eventually convinced me to stay, at least a little while longer.

So here I am, surrounded in a fort of half-filled cardboard boxes. I'm moving to a slightly cheaper place, but still with surprisingly good space, by New York standards. I suppose I'm saving by not paying for a doorman (since I am fully capable of picking up my own packages and opening my own door). We took advantage of the recession and bargained the price down for a place I didn't even think was worth considering. Of course, sometimes I kick myself when I think of paying twice what I'd have to pay in sunny So-Cal for the same amount of space.

BUT I get to live with my wonderful roommate for one more year, and then we both get to say we lived in Tribeca AND Greenwich Village. And this only gives my Californian friends a reason to visit NY and a place to stay!

So I suspect I won't regret this (well until winter arrives; it's predicted to be the worst in several years). I wasn't getting any toy design job offers or seeing openings in L.A. or S.F. by the time I was back from my fabulous European Vacation (the same one where everyone probably assumed my cousin was my boyfriend or husband, but at least it kept any sleazy schmos away). But I did find a freelance gig out here (well in New Jersey), which is letting me primarily work from home anyway.

I confess, I ate a lot this summer. I mean, I have to eat well when I'm in Italy and Spain. They are known for their gusto for food. I walked a lot, but apparently not enough. Those jeans I used to wear are a bit snug. But with the freelance mode, I figure I'll be able to manage time better for workouts! I mean I have to, or I have to make it cool to have a baby bump without the baby. Or maybe have a baby to explain the bump. I guess either way works. I'm flexible that way.

I have also begun to appreciate babies a bit more because of things like this:

But I suppose I could just babysit my cousins' kids if I feel the need for this kind of amusement.

BTW does anyone want to learn the "Single Ladies" dance with my roommate and me? We're thinking about getting it ready for Halloween, since it is basically the new Thriller dance, but much cuter for the ladies.

I'm also hoping to finally get more into the dating game, although I have gotten very skeptical of men in general, based on my last few –who am I kidding, based on ALL my previous experiences with men. Catching up with "Mad Men" has not helped in this area.

But (perhaps foolishly) I remain hopeful and excited for the coming year. Mercury in retrograde, Recession, low men-to-women NY ratio: you all can SUCK IT! School is over for good, I've got work to do, and I'm taking my life back! Yee haw!

Funemployed: Lookin' for fun & employment

2009-06-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

Aaahhh too much to blog! Here's a quick update:

I graduated with a B.F.A. in Toy Design, magna cum laude!

I joined Twitter. Gasp!

Famed photographer, Annie Liebowitz spoke at graduation. ( I was probably one of maybe two people in my class who knew what she was talking about when she talked about photographing Carl Lewis and tagging along with Hunter S. Thompson on Rolling Stone assignments.)

I endured the worst hangover of my life. Will never drink like that again!

I finished my print portfolio, still working on the online one

I flew to Vegas to crash my friend's elopement and stepped in as bouquet arranger, wedding photographer & witness.

I treated myself to a Bellagio pedicure, art museum, gelato, and the Beatles' show, Love, then enjoyed the next day lounging at the amazing Monte Carlo pool (where they bizarrely played a part of R. Kelly's "In the Closet" and some sad woman accused me of stealing her innertube)

I flew to L.A. (during which a fratboy vomited at the end of my row) for a job interview that went well. Not sure they can wait for me to move there in the Fall, though.

I ate really well in L.A., like Korean Kogi tacos, sushi, ramen, cake, and buffet-style Fro-yo. (I need to take it easy with the eating going forward, but that may be really hard with all my travel plans.)

I returned to NYC (on the same flight as Minnie Driver and a child who threw up next to me) to greet my new roommate, who is set on enjoying NYC this summer with me.

I've been juggling future travel plans, job prep, NY social plans, possible moving plans, and shopping, and will continue to do so the rest of this summer

I'll be visiting Europe (Italy, Switzerland, then Spain), Chicago, and San Francisco later this summer.

It's all a bit overwhelming, in mostly a really good way. So the blogging may get real spotty. And yes, I am immensely happy that the school thing is over and that I'm back to living my life! Woo!

BTW if you know someone who wants to sublet my apartment in NY from June 22-July 12, let me know! Also if you know someone who wants to buy art supplies, Ikea furniture, toys, and clothes, I got a lot to sell.

I got ya Frutas en la Cabeza

2009-05-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

Recently I broke a record on number of comments on my Facebook status. Well, mostly thanks to my classmate, Lilo. Reading it is a bit like how we brainstorm names when we're sitting around at school: Pretty ridiculous. Here is how it went:

Misocrazy is watching old Carmen Miranda videos on youtube to figure out what to name her game for homework. May 4 at 9:33pm
Rosie likes this.

Lilo at 9:52pm May 4
fruitbaskethead

Lilo at 10:03pm May 4
tuttifruithead

Lilo at 10:06pm May 4
baskethead fruit toss

Lilo at 10:06pm May 4
little miss fruitface

Lilo at 10:07pm May 4
your face is fruit salad.

Lilo at 10:07pm May 4
jamba head

Lilo at 10:08pm May 4
chacha fruit head.

Misocrazy at 10:26pm May 4
Wow, thanks. You should see the list that Jan & I made. Some highlights:
Catcha Frutta in da Hatta
Shut up and Toss Fruit
I'm your Fruity Dancer
Why Yo Head so Fruity?
Dance your Fruit Off
Fruity Dancin' Fool
Boom Chika Fruit Chick

Lilo at 10:30pm May 4
hahahaha i'm your fruity dancer. dancer for fruity, fruit what you want me to fruit.

Lilo at 10:31pm May 4
OR hold me close now fruity dancerrrrr. count the bananas in my hattttt.

Lilo at 10:32pm May 4
FRUITEMON gotta catch em all (in your hat)

Lilo at 10:34pm May 4
the cranberries!!! in your headddd in your headdddd jambi jambi jambehh ehh ehh ehh.

Lilo at 10:36pm May 4
so you think you can fruittoss

Lilo at 10:37pm May 4
americas next best fruitcatcher crew

Lilo at 10:38pm May 4
if you caught it in a basket on your butt instead i would call it FRUITY PATOOTY

Lilo at 10:38pm May 4
or fruity booty

Lilo at 10:39pm May 4
las frutas de la cabeza

Lilo at 10:40pm May 4
noggin fruits
fruit noggin
domefruits

Lilo at 10:42pm May 4
lemme throw this fruit at your face.

Lilo at 10:49pm May 4
HOLD STILL im trying get this fruit in that hat.

Lilo at 10:50pm May 4
why that hat gotta be so small?

Lilo at 10:51pm May 4
fruitsketball.

Jan at 10:56pm May 4
hahahaha socksketball!

Misocrazy at 11:01pm May 4
NOW you're judging names?

Jan at 11:01pm May 4
throw your fruit, but dont bust your ass!

Misocrazy at 11:02pm May 4
I hope Rosie is enjoying all these updates. Hi Rosie!

Lilo at 11:05pm May 4
FRUIT SALHEAD

Kawabunga at 11:15pm May 4
I do like "Las Frutas de la Cabeza".

How about "Despeinada":
1) "Despeinada" means "messy hair".
2) "Despeñada" refers to hurling oneself at something. ... Read More
3) It sounds like "This piñata".
4) There's a wacky 1950s rock song dedicated to (1). Search on YouTube.

Or.... "Frútaloca"? "Uh-Ocho"? "Piña Calamity"?

Lilo at 11:15pm May 4
i had to delete it, it was gross.

Lilo at 11:17pm May 4
whoa. kawabunga just blew my mind.

Lilo at 11:17pm May 4
fruity fiesta

Misocrazy at 11:22pm May 4
Shake your Fruit Thang

Misocrazy at 11:24pm May 4
Get your Fruit On, getcha fruit on, getcha getcha getcha fruit on

Misocrazy at 10:30am May 5
Are we Fruity? Or are we Dancer?

Misocrazy at 10:55am May 5
All the Fruity Ladies, all the Fruity Ladies, if you liked it then you shoulda put a fruit in it.

We like the crazy music, can you tell? Also can you guess what the game is now? Guess you'll have to hire me if you want to see it!

I'm a Survivor... and a Shopper

2009-05-09T06:46:00.000-07:00

As a graduation gift to myself, do you think I should splurge on one of these dresses? Possibly to wear to the ceremony? What's your vote?

I also could use this as a reward for surviving this week. My classmates and I are all so sick of school that we just want to throw ourselves out the window. We are still rendering new designs! It's still nonstop morning until evening, and at this point, it's pretty unbearable. We're even getting on each other's nerves.

Also, this week I actually contemplated freezing my eggs for single parenthood. Then my tv and internet went down for a whole day at home, probably due to the daily dose of RAIN. Finally I had a couple drinks on Thursday (to celebrate the opening of our senior show!), but then the next morning I woke up at 5am to the violent screams of a woman outside my apartment (I buzzed the security guard but he said it was just a tenant fighting with her boyfriend). So I didn't sleep well and got to law class late, at which our teacher was fuming about all the late arrivals even though it was the LAST CLASS.

Oh by the way, our Senior Show looks great! I have two plush toys, two concept boards, and my book on display. If you have time between now and May 19, stop by the FIT museum to check it out! I have to go back for a second look, because I missed checking out the books, so let me know if you stop by!

Now I must return to my penultimate weekend of insane homework drudgery, in preparation for finals week, aka, last week of hell (Making it impossible for me to go get SNL tix this morning to see JT and Ciara! Wah Waaah).

Foolish Optimist or Jaded Cynic Today?

2009-05-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

I go through cycles of optimism and cynicism. I'd say I spend more time on the optimistic side, but when I become cynical, I wonder how I maintain the optimism.

Recently, my roommate had a "Lost"-watching party. I had to bow out because I never got into that show. One of her friends said, "I know, 'Lost' is one of those things where I get sucked in for awhile, and then I get to a point where I need to get away from it."

To which I responded, "Hmm, that sounds like how I am about internet dating."

I have to go through phases with internet dating. When I am newly free, I go into it, with the hopes that maybe this time, I could find someone better than the ones I've dated in the past. After all, I have at least three relatives who found me their spouses through online social / dating sites.

Maybe this time, in the "big city," I could find someone with that magical balance of maturity, modest confidence, humor, and quiet ambition. Someone who could share or tolerate my love of ridiculous pop culture, toys, karaoke, food, dancing, and DIY. Also, do I even need to say it? Someone cute? I think I'm allowed to request that. (The idea is that I will want to kiss this person, right? It's no good if I want to keep him at arm's length.)

If I'm really, really lucky, maybe I could find someone who could inspire me and love me as much as I love and inspire him.

And then I browse the ads. I am amazed (baffled) at what men think is acceptable to post as their main photo. And then I am reminded of people's inability to describe themselves online. And then I am reminded how most of the guys who are about my age look about 15 years older than me. And then I am disturbed when the twenty-something ones look cute to me.

Then the replies come in. And then maybe I go on a few first dates. Maybe some are okay. And maybe there's potential for a second date, but when I am too busy with school for that second date, my disappointment quickly turns into relief or indifference.

Then checking the replies begins to feel like a management project that just piles on to my other work. And you can count on the replies from 45+ year-old men and people in Ohio or OTHER COUNTRIES or open marriages (which I ignore). And then I have to filter through all the local douchebags (who claim to be single), whose profiles make me worry for humanity. (I am thankful that there's a "block" option on these sites.)

That leaves me with maybe 10% of the people left on these sites, which I have to whittle down to the vaguely cute ones that are even compatible with me on tastes, lifestyle, and political/philosophical views. Which probably leaves me with the last 1% of the site.

And as I grow more and more disgusted with the options available, I remember why I was happier person after all my breakups. And I start to think more seriously about planning to be a single parent someday.

So... like a bad season of "Lost," I may have to abandon the internet dating again soon, before I lose all hope for humanity. Or maybe I just need to tune into to a new show... like getting back to finishing my last 18 days of schoolwork & enjoying more of sleep, New York, and my friends and cousins. They're good at helping me regain my optimism and hope for humanity.

In the meantime, I'll make use of the atrocity that is my Personals inbox, to prove to you how retarded some of these men are, and hopefully to provide you with some entertainment:

Reply #1:

geek

This was my most recent message. Look, I am not a stickler for capital letters or punctuation in emails or online messaging, but maybe a phrase or some context would be nice. You know, especially for the very first message from a total stranger.

Also, I don't know if he's calling me a geek, or saying that he's a geek? Or did he just accidentally hit "send" before he was ready? But there was no secondary correction message. Or maybe it's an e.e. cummings thing? I already knew that men are often lazy about dating, but this is ridiculous.
===

Reply #2:

I was browsing profiles randomly and i have to say you're a cutie. Too bad you're not in Paris.

Okay, I don't mind the flattery; I'll admit, it cheers me up for two seconds. But what is the point!? Where are the nice locals who want me??? Maybe this means I need to move to a new country.
===

Reply #3:

Would you consider a sweet with a savory strangely compelling tinge of dark couple?

Provocative ping emitted, apologies if not your cup of tea and compliment regardless!

Best,

[name removed for privacy]

Eyes? Hers warm and dark and coruscating; his green, amber flecked and a world you can take a deep dive into..

This is one of the couples that have written to me. I'm politically liberal, but personally... not like that. I'm not looking to be used by some couple for their pleasure. Try... a different kind of service, maybe. Thanks? But no thanks. I ignored this message, but they asked me again, later, twice!
===

Reply #4:

Preface: His reference to Nutella is his guess at what my screen-name is about, but he was wrong. But I will cut him some slack on that one, since he is Swiss. But you'll see that he wrote a freaking essay, with cited sources! Tip to strangers: never do that on a first message! Christ.

[Misocrazy,] It took me some years of my early life to find out, that Nutella was in fact not German but Italian. I even was not aware it was available in the US. Now research on the omniscient garbage dump revealed that the US version is even produced with a modified recipe (more sweet, less nuts). Are you? I mean aware of that? Did you know that they sell small school snack sized boxes in italy that contain 3 compartments, one with lemon tea, one with nutella and one with a couple of grissini? I mean this thing here http://www.ferrero.it/main.php?w=6BEUP3MJM41EH2OMMKRC I am fascinated by product design rather than by sweet breadspread, so i actually buy these kinds of cultural artifacts when in italy (around the corner) but i don't ever eat them.

I am obviously not here in order to fix your love life. You might have figure this much yourself already. That would be terribly inefficient with us living on different sides of the planet, but the you you presented through your profile still is someone i like very much and would love to get to know a little better and maybe closer. I myself had a fling with Interactiondesign in my life and it looks, as if you were into something similar with your studies right now. In fact i graduated with a masters in this subject, but i also fled from something crazy when i landed there, which was theoretical physics and math. Now i am somewhat back on the old trajectory as an IT consultant, but one who knows about communication and who silently suffers from the overwhelming amount of badly designed powerpoint slide decks that get thrown at him on an average day. So what do you do in your studies exactly and what was that crazy job you escaped from? I'm honestly curious.

I happened to fall in love with NY a couple of years back, when i went there for a very extended weekend, which was surprising, because having visited the west coast a lot more often and for longer than the east coast, I always though that the US was not a place for me to live. NY might just be the exception that happens to be on US soil and technically probably even constitutes an own planet. So it's probably not incompatible with the previous assessment. And while thinking of it, the only other city on the planet that has ever had this kind of attraction to me was Paris, and after living there and leaving again, this has somewhat gone (for Paris) and it became Berlin, which in strange ways i was reminded of when visiting NY the last time. Like my profile says somewhere, i am going to visit NYC in hothot august this year, and i am of course open to quality advise regarding cool, curious and exceptional things to do there. As you are the traveling kind of person, i can offer some samesame but different for this side of the pond, if you want. Switzerland is not on your destination list, i saw, but that might a) change, b) advise wise be just a technicality and c) this country is so small anyway that you cannot drive for 3 hours straight in any direction without falling off the chart. So naturally, if southern france or surrounding areas are on your travel target list, i certainly can offer some sparring for your trip planning. In fact, i will go to the cote d'azur near st. tropez in june for a week with a bunch of friends from all over europe where we have rented a nice stone house for a week just to watch the sea for endless hours from the terrace, cook incredibly delicious food, drink good wine and enjoy ourselves to the extend permitted by local law.

So, whatever you are up to today: go for it! You have my support. In any case enjoy a hopefully sunny springday in la grande pomme.

Cheers, [name removed for privacy]

PS: As non-native speaker i checked with something google threw up what the term douchebag actually extends to, and i was surprised to find that it also refers to "a device used to introduce a stream of water into the body for medical or hygienic reasons". I don't think we even have a term for this in german. But i hope you are not expecting to find your man hidden between vaginal hygiene devices.
PPS: Same googling turned up interesting results for double dutch. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dutch_(writing_style) . I assume you intended to refer to schoolyard rope jumping, though. For a taste of John O'Mill writing i found this. Funky!

A terrible infant, called Peter
sprinkled his bed with a gheter
His father got woost,
took holf of a cnoost,
and gave him a pack on his mieter

Enough, man! Go write a freaking book already if you have time for this nonsense. Or maybe spend some quality time with your son.

I would list more, but I made the mistake of deleting the ones that really offended me. I will save them for you next time, if you like. Also, if this entry depressed you, apologies. Browse my new favorite blog: texts from last night – it will surely cheer you up.

Senioritis sets in

2009-04-28T07:27:00.000-07:00

We finished the storybook project!! That means our books are cut, glued, bound, and ready for the senior show! It's unbelievable! I almost cried when I saw Lilo's book finally get bound. It was beautiful.

To celebrate, my class went for sake & sushi together on Sunday. Our teacher said that we are probably the closest, most caring (of each other) class they've had in a long time, maybe ever. I can believe that, and I'm sure we will feel a big void when school is over, even though we will be so happy to be done.

If you want to see the amazing plush toys, plastic models, storybooks, designs, and sketches we've worked so hard on for the last two years, I finally have dates for the show:

May 7 - May 19 at the FIT Museum.

It's a short run so don't miss it!

I graduate May 19, and I think my class will probably celebrate later that night with some booze & drinking. I cannot wait!

But I do have 21 more days of school to go... which appears to be a losing battle with Senioritis. I still have an art history quiz, 2 art history final exams, an art history paper, a new toy design, a print ad, a game design, a law final, and the rest of my portfolio to assemble. And then I will be set FREE!

Ouch.

2009-04-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

I had to pull yet another all-nighter. I was working on a packaging design assignment, and I barely finished another game design this afternoon, right at the end of class.

I would like to catch up on sleep now, but alas, I still have to illustrate the final touches on my storybook tonight, as tomorrow is the last day I can print and cut up the pages before our whole class goes to school this weekend to bind the books.

I could be out dancing tonight with my out-of-town friends at my favorite 80s night in NYC, at Sway. But instead I will be home, eating takeout and sweeping my little wacom pen around. This is my life for another month! ARgh. So close, yet so far away!!

And lately, I have to admit: I especially tired of being at school. My classmates still ask me if I am staying to work after class. But don't they know by now that I don't like to do that unless I really have to?

Perhaps it's a little bit of "senioritis." But also, frankly, after spending 7 days a week with the same extended-adolescent people morning 'til night, I need a break from them. It's like they've become my new family, but sometimes you need to get away from your own family, you know?

I really REALLY miss my alone time, AND I miss my other (grown-up) friends and relatives who I never get to see, so if I have free time, I'm probably going to give that time to those other friends/relatives or to myself. Classmates, I'm sure I'll miss you later when we finally get jobs and stuff, but I do need my space. Please understand. xoxo.

Not-so-bad weekend

2009-04-19T21:38:00.000-07:00

The weekend work schedule was not as horrific as I thought it would be, and in fact we did not use exacto knives that much. We had a set of very easy-to-use mat-cutters. And my classmates were mostly even hospitable and helping each other out. Remarkable!

And on Saturday, we ended our book production earlier than I thought (!!!), so I was able to go outside and enjoy some warm sunshine. I enjoyed a lovely Banh Mi (aka Vietnamese Hoagie) in my neighborhood, and then walked up to Soho to join a couple classmates on their first trip to the new Topshop. We used our 10% student discounts, and I bought an adorable silk dress in a rainbow heart print (where to wear this???) that wasn't available in my size the last time I was there, and Lilo bought a rainbow leopard print top, a neon pink beanie, and purple shoes.

Then I stopped for a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar at the Mr. Softee truck on the way home. When I got home, I had never seen our apartment look so clean! My roommate had prepped for a lovely Supper Club party. This time, I was finally available to join her at one of her soirees, and prove to her friends that she did have a roommate, and is not just oddly psycho about having far too many toys for a 30-something adult.

Of course, by Sunday, the the temps returned to the 50s. Sniff. And now I am back to another week of crazy work. I'm still finishing up my storybook, among all the work I have to do for all my other classes and the Senior Show. But first, I will get some more sleep. Yay.

(Fifi Lapin image wearing the dress I bought, from Topshop)

Hello and Goodbye 70s.

2009-04-17T22:20:00.001-07:00

Yay, Saturday is supposed to hit 70-degree weather in NYC!

Too bad I'll be at school all day, fighting for printer time, gluing, and hand-binding books with classmates who are about to kill each other. This could be dangerous, considering we'll be going through a high volume of exacto knife blades. Oh yes, we're doing this on Sunday too.

Just one more month of this ridiculous program. I hope I don't lose it. I already sense some of my classmates losing it now.

Un-springy break.

2009-04-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

Monday:
I stayed in my room all day, working on my storybook project, except to escape for my lunch break, upon which I found another Vietnamese sandwich shop super close to me! They also sell lotto tickets, cigarettes, and Vietnamese dvds and karaoke cds.

Tuesday:
I went to school, to submit some of my storybook art for the senior show. They'll be blown up, extra large for display.

I worked some more on the book for the rest of the day, and emailed "Mr. Fantastic" some of my toy designs, since he had asked about them.

Wednesday:
I worked at home in the morning, when my roommate pointed out that it had snowed outside. SNOW! In April. Really, New York?

Headed back to school in the afternoon to work some more, until after 9pm. When I left school, almost my whole class was still there, working! During spring break! Appalling, no? Meanwhile, my friends with and without jobs are all traveling to places like Columbia, Tokyo, Paris, New Zealand, and Switzerland. What is WRONG with this picture!?

So if you're thinking about going to Toy Design school here, consider whether you want to say goodbye to your vacations. Bad idea jeans!

Then I got an email response from Mr. Fantastic, who liked my toy designs. He asked if I was free Friday. But then I replied to him that another night would be better because my friend's birthday is that night.

Betsey Johnson shoes arrived in the mail from Zappos, and they fit! A bit tall, but super cute. This is what I do to compensate for having my spring vacation time stolen from me.

Thursday:
New York is bipolar. It was almost 70 degrees? The day after it snowed!

Went to school to work some more and printed out a rough draft of my book. My teachers helped me re-arrange the type to complement the artwork better. Again, I left school after 9pm when half my class was still toiling away.

Back at home, new clothes & new jewelry rack (to assist my exploding collection of earrings) arrived in the mail. They all fit too! Yay.

I took a break to watch the newest America's Next Top Model episode on youtube, to find that Natalie, the one from my hometown, P.V., is an enormous snob. Big surprise.

No word from Mr. Fantastic! Was it because I poked him in the nose by accident during the date? That was insanely awkward, but I thought we laughed that off! And he was the one who asked for a kiss at the end! Sheesh.

Friday:
YAY Good Friday! I don't have to go to school today. Sheesh.
Still no word from Mr. Fantastic! More like Mr. Poop, now! (...well, unless he had a bad accident from his recent circus act and is at a hospital. That would be awful. But more likely he is just checkin' out the other ladies, maybe ones who aren't talking about moving to California.)

New York men are so fickle! Well anyway, a Bruin from East Village just messaged me, who sounds like he has more similar interests. Not that I even really have time for any of this, because I still have at least three other homework projects to work on this weekend, and taxes to file! Eek.

GAWD, make it stop!!

Woo, Spring non-Break is here!

2009-04-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

As it turns out, the Chair of the Toy Design department doesn't understand why I'd want to be jobless for a few months, even though I explained that I could afford it. So she's gonna call some people to get me at least some contract work after graduation!

She's funny. And I think she needs a vacation.

Anyway, after another exhausting week of school, I decided to enjoy a bit of free time before my spring non-break. (My class is expected to finish our storybooks and check in at school on our progress during break, instead of having any vacation time.)

Friday night, I went on a first date! It was nice to be treated generously for once (since usually I am the one treating my little adopted toy design siblings).

I think he maybe lied about his height, but that sort of thing doesn't faze me. I only noticed that while I was wearing boots (which are only a little bit tall), he seemed like he was very close to my height.

Otherwise he seems a nice balance of intelligence, sociability, maturity, openness, physical fitness, and fun, so I think there will be a second date. Despite his circus act (literally!), he seems oddly grown-up, but maybe that's a good thing. And really, how can I deny someone who actually goes by "Mr. Fantastic?" Ha!

And today I woke up surprisingly early, so I thought it'd be worth a try to check the line outside the brand new Top Shop; it wasn't too long! So I bought 3 dresses, earrings, and a cute mini-umbrella. And that was after I restrained myself!

Then I celebrated with a Vietnamese sandwich and Lychee green tea in Chinatown.

Well I guess I should get back to that pile of laundry, tax papers, and homework, oh my!

I'm a Toys 'R' Us Kid

2009-03-09T19:24:00.000-07:00

For homework this week, (on top of midterms and drawing full-color toys and designing a toy commercial storyboard), I have to research what 7-to-8 year old kids like. I'm supposed to also list the things I liked when I was that age.

That was a long time ago for me! But I did my best to remember and came up with the following list, which undoubtedly dates myself, and also reveals that I really haven't changed that much.

What would you list? And if you know 7-8-year old kids now, tell me what they like too!

The Muppets, Sanrio, E.T.

Superfriends, Wonder Twins, Wonder Woman

A-Team, MacGyver

Strawberry Shortcake

My Little Pony, Care Bears

Monchichis, Smurfs

Fashion Plates, Oregon Trail

Pretty & Pink Barbie

Koko the Gorilla

That’s Incredible

Ripley’s Believe it or Not

Pac Man, Snake, Asteroids

Treehouses, monkeybars

gymnastics, hip hop dance, breakin’

Sea-wees (mermaids)

puppies & kittens

hula hoop, jump rope

Sit ‘n’ Spin, Hippity Hop

origami, making cards

my world map puzzle that reversed to a 50 states puzzle

Scented stickers, pencils

Diving rings, Twister, The Game of Life

Carnival games, Disneyland

Facts of Life, Family Ties, Diff'rent Strokes, Mork n' Mindy, Happy Days

singing to myself

tea parties with stuffed animals

Gambling dimes with Chinese 4-color cards against grandma

baking cookies and selling them to family

Dresses with flouncy skirts, knee-high socks, high ponytails, braids

See Wees photo from 8 Skeins of Danger

Romance is for the Birds

2009-02-28T19:07:00.000-08:00

Okay, so my art history class is not so bad. Our professor brings in these really entertaining examples from outside of our class material to discuss, like this amazing Richard Attenborough video clip about the Australian Bowerbird. You have to watch it.

How charming is this bird!?

Attenborough starts out saying the bird we're watching is physically the plainest of its family, basically implying that as long as he makes an impressive enough display in its decorating job of his nest, he'll have a good shot at seducing a female bird.

But I like how he emphasizes later that this bird has an edge on birds who rely on their genetic appearances to seduce other birds. The Bowerbird can make decisions with his own creation, to build a better way of seduction.

I think what this bird is telling us, is that a little style can go a long way. It's like how the members of OK Go are so adorable in their little festive suits, peppy songs, and cute dances. You know they would not get the ladies in a boring t-shirt and jeans.

I'm also amused at how Attenborough says at the end, "It's the tastes and fancies of the females, single mothers who have no need of the help of male in bringing up their families, that has led to these extravagant exhibitions."

My class is discussing whether the bird is creating art. Well DUH.

The real question is, is the bird is really being romantic, or is he just pimpin'out his bachelor pad? Sometimes animals and people are really just the same.

The Trainer Girlfriend goes Shopping

2009-02-28T16:49:00.001-08:00

It has recently come to my attention, that every single one of my ex-boyfriends already has or is expecting to have a baby. And it seems that each one of them, has chosen to do this with the woman they decided to date (and consequently marry) right after me. It has become such a joke that I even predicted it with the last two ex-boyfriends.

Thankfully, I am not a miserable mess of tears like Sally was in "When Harry Met Sally." In fact, I feel more like I dodged some bullets, rather than wondering why any of those exes didn't marry me. I mean, I am relieved that those boys have found some very patient–ahem, nice ladies that can truly appreciate them. And I wish them a lot of luck with the whole parenthood thing.

I still coo over puppies far more than I ever do over babies, so it's all worked out for the best. (I'm hoping that will change if and when I fall in love someday.) But I would like to avoid becoming anyone's Trainer Girlfriend again. I'm not sure how to avoid that, other than avoiding dates completely.

Again, school has made that easy for me as well.

Meanwhile, I could not motivate myself to continue my schoolwork this morning, without giving myself some good leisure time, so I went out today and went on a bit of a shopping spree. This included some lacy bras and undies, which may seem kind of pointless since I am not really available for dating for the next few months.

But sometimes women like to enjoy wearing pretty things on the inside that nobody else gets to see. Kind of like a great coat with a fanciful lining that rarely gets seen. It's like I have a little delightful secret under my clothes that passersby don't know about (unless you read my blog). It's like the grown-up version of Underoos; they make you feel like a superhero inside your everyday clothes.

I used to lament when I saw pretty underwear, that I didn't have anyone to wear it for. But just because nobody's seeing your privates, doesn't mean they don't deserve to enjoy some special packaging! (Another benefit of being single is that I don't have to care what anyone thinks about the kind of bizarre vanity this implies.)

Also when I got home, I found out that the bras I bought on sale can also convert into strapless ones! Now I just need summer to hurry along and return to New York. I love my boots in winter, but I miss wearing cute spring/summer dresses. And the luxury of wearing them in the EVENINGS!

Okay, now I will finally get started on that online class with the god-awful user interface. Groan.

Double-neato!

2009-02-24T08:50:00.001-08:00

Who sent this!?
Originally uploaded by misocrazy

I forgot to mention the other delightful thing on Valentine's Day; I got a package sent to me from a name I didn't recognize, so I assume it was sent from an eBay seller. But there was no receipt or note. So I don't know who sent it to me!

It would have to be someone who at least knows my love of monkeys and food. Well, that makes it hard to narrow down. But that someone would be savvy enough to find Tokidoki on eBay makes me think it's one of my other Tokidoki-obsessed girlfriends who got it for me.

But nobody's fessed up to getting this for me yet! Mysterious!

Ironically, I did already buy this shirt as a present for someone else, but I haven't gotten around to shipping it!

Also, not really related, but last week, in our graphic design & packaging class, our professor brought in an old hand-lettered book about calligraphy from 1700. It's older than this country.

Unbelievably, he let us touch this book and peruse the pages. We were amazed and afraid to touch it, because it seemed like something that should be in a museum.

We asked him where he got it. He said he found it in a New York bookshop, many years ago, and paid five dollars for it. He said there used to be more bookshops in New York. I told him he needed to go on "Antiques Roadshow" with it, and he said he'd never sell it. I probably wouldn't either, but I'd just want to know how much it was worth!

Hmm, I think I need to go shop for books!

Happy Valentine's to Me

2009-02-21T15:13:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's to Me
Originally uploaded by misocrazy

This may have been the best Valentine's Day I've ever had.

I didn't even intend to celebrate the holiday, but by the end of the day, it felt like I did.

I planned to leave the house early, but then my roommate woke up, announcing that I had to stay for waffles she was going to make, because her sister and sister's boyfriend were visiting.

I couldn't say no to that, so while I waited for brunch, I found some crochet supplies to bring with me on the subway. We enjoyed some delicious waffles with fresh berries and syrup on top. In exchange, I offered them my Netflix of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist to watch as they digested their yummy brunch.

Finally I got out of the house. While I attempted to crochet on the subway, two very fluffy-haired, young men in skinny jeans and scarves hopped on the N and were continuing a very enthusiastic conversation over whether something was Apollonian vs. Dionysian. One of them spoke in a British accent, but I thought the other dark-haired fellow was cuter. But I also suspected he wasn't straight, possibly too hipstery, and either not interested in a girl who had no idea what they were talking about, or too caught up in his own brilliant studies to know what to do with a girl, so I continued crocheting my little pink heart. Also I didn't want to interrupt their fascinating conversation.

Finally found the New York Public Library, which is as beautiful and majestic as my art history teacher described. There are old sculptures and frescoes all over the building, so I had to stop and take photos like a tourist, even though I live in Manhattan.

I got an access card and started to research games from India (for my art history class and games class). Of course, the friendly old librarian chatted with me about types of games I could look at, maybe a little too long, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

But time was running out for me to make it to the Whitney Museum. I got there just in time, about an hour before it closed. It was Alexander Calder's early works, in Paris, which involved a lot of mechanical wire sculpture. There were even scraps of art from when Calder was a child and created Valentines and wrote the sweetest letters to his mother.

A big portion of the exhibit included his mechanized wire and fabric circus, which he performed like a puppet show. It was all very charming and related so well to toy design. Some of the wire sculptures were really funny and referenced other art. He even made wire facial portraits of people. And I learned that he started as a newspaper illustrator, which I once did myself. It was so inspiring! I loved it and was so happy to see it before it closed.

Then I tried to rush over to FAO Schwartz before it closed, to get a thank-you token gift to a friend. But on the way there, I ran into Dylan's Candy Bar, a fancy candy shop I had never been to. So I stopped in to look, partly because I had to design a candy-based toy anyway. And I decided I would just get candy instead as the thank-you gift, since it was much easier to share. Plus I could get candy for myself and my friends.

I left with almost $60 in candy, chocolate, fudge, Jelly Bellies, and a pair of gummy-bear-shaped earrings.

On the way home, I passed a McDonald's, where I picked up 3 Happy Meal Sanrio watches! Woo!

Exhausted from the fun, I enjoyed some delicious local Chinese takeout, from "Excellent Dumpling House" at home. Then my roommate came home with some friends who just saw a horrible play about love stories, so I shared some candy with them.

Also, in that same weekend, I bought a pink Domokun plush, pretty underwear, and Hello Kitty MAC makeup for myself.

So I feel like I had a very romantic "quirkyalone"-style date with New York City, with all the traditional gifts that come with Valentine's Day (except for boring roses). Surely it was better than all the Valentine's Days I've ever spent with a boy! Boys were always disappointing on Valentine's Day. ...And I suppose in general. I keep hoping one will surprise me, but I guess I'll be doing okay if it never happens!

Hmm. This is going to make it harder for me to want to date again.

To live the dream

2009-02-16T13:55:00.000-08:00

This morning, a professor called me to ask if I'd consider a job with a nifty puzzle/game company... in D.C. (Cue sad trombone.)

I did notice this company at the New York Toy Fair. I've even enjoyed one of their popular puzzle games.

Anyway, I was going to tell my professor that if there is no job in NYC or California, I'd rather be unemployed. But I thought she might accuse me of being nutso, stupid, or a spoiled brat. Well, I think I just have my priorities.

So I just told her I'd prefer to work in NY or Cali. Or maybe Australia. (She laughed about that one.) She told me that I should keep an open mind about locations, and she still wants me to meet the company on Wednesday... but not really for an interview... just to meet them! I suppose that's harmless...

To be honest, I'd be happy if I couldn't find a job for now. I really could use a good 6 month break to enjoy New York and travel. But I guess if the right job in the right place opens up, I won't say no.

I've also realized that I'm very adaptable to new situations, and that going with the flow while gravitating toward opportunities that interest me most has worked out so far in my life. I may not be the most amazing designer, but I realize that I am valued because I can solve problems, listen to others, have a strong awareness of youth culture and media, and have strong aesthetic skills. So I think I can afford to not compromise as much anymore about what I want in my future career.

Maybe if I were in my twenties, I'd be more open-minded about the job location. But I don't want to move two more times before I get settled. I'm getting weary of always feeling like I'm in a transitional living situation. I'd like to finally be in a place I can call my own. And someday I may want kids. So if I'm going to move, I want it to be some place I'd want to stay, (ideally, some place that is mostly warm) so I can get the rest of that moving along.

I gave up a very good job in web design, to find a job that really challenges and better utilizes my specific strengths and interests, and if I can't find that, I would rather just start my own business or live the artist life and work on my other skills like animation & photography. If I'm only focused on job stability and benefits, I would have just kept my old job. Luckily, almost eight years of a stable corporate life luckily has afforded me a chance to take a career risk, at least for a little while.

Both of my parents died young. And one of my brothers survived a fatal plane crash. These are some of the worst ways to realize how short life is. On the upside, it's made me often take the time to reflect on my life and think about how I want to make a fulfilling and balanced life for myself. (For you atheist and non-religious types, take a cue from churches and reflect on your life on those Sundays.)

My parents sacrificed and delayed much of their happiness for the welfare of their kids. My mother wanted to travel the world, but only made it to a few parts of Asia and died in her 50s. My dad, who grew up in rural Taiwan, made plans to retire in rural Indiana and talked about roaming the country in a trailer. It sounded both adventurous and relaxing, but he didn't live to experience that. If they were ever in love, it was a part of their life that I never witnessed.

(If you don't want to die young like they did, don't wait to seek mental help when you need it, quit smoking as soon as possible, and don't start the habit.)

So you can imagine, that in 20 or 30 years, I don't want to learn that I'm dying and think that I didn't enjoy my life or do anything personally worthwhile. And someday if I have kids, I want to show them that it's possible for them to live a fulfilling, happy life too. There are people who are hindered by economic barriers, health problems, or familial obligations. For now, I am not one of those people, so I may as well make the most of what I am lucky enough to have.

Also, I liked working for Spin Master, so I'm hoping a position will open up in their L.A. office...

5 Bits of Dating Wisdom

2009-02-09T12:38:00.000-08:00

If you are happily in a relationship, congratulations to you and your Honeybunches of Oats. Have a lovely Valentine's Day weekend. You can skip this entry.

While I have been trapped in a social cave called Toy Design school, I think I've had enough time to distance myself from my dating history to reflect with more clarity on what's happened in my life and among my friends' dating stories. So I offer you some thoughts on dating and relationships, that may or may not be helpful.

I think these principles really do apply across the board, (even if they are mostly supported by pop culture references, where I gain most of my wisdom). But if you already know all this or just don't find that it's useful, well here's a cute music video for ya that sums up my last tip:

***

Apparently Steve Harvey, the comedian, has a book about relationships that is #1 on the NY Times bestseller list.

I'm not that familiar with this Harvey, but based on this short interview, I'd say he's rather astute. I very much have come to the same conclusions as he has stated, primarily that:

1. Women have bizarrely lowered their standards with mens' behavior, allowing men to act like jackasses. (Just look at the popularity of "He's Just Not That Into You" and the growing genre of appalling dating reality shows.)

2. Men need to get their lives together and be mostly self-actualized (have a positive career path, satisfying social life, etc. contributing to generally comfortable self-image) before they are fully prepared to contribute to a real relationship. (This may be true for women as well, but for some reason this is more commonly an issue for men, maybe because women are better multi-taskers and place a higher priority on relationships in general.) As I told an ex, after our breakup, "You must love yourself before you can love others." He is now married, so I guess that worked out!

Ladies! STOP lowering your standards. If a guy doesn't have it together, he is not serious dating material. Maybe you can give him some time to work on it, but if it's not improving after a specific amount of time, you really need to move on. Do not make excuses for him, especially if you are living with him or if you have been dating him for a long time. What may be difficult in the short run (like moving out on your own instead of staying in a relationship that goes nowhere) may be much better for you in the big picture.

Men! Get it together. If you don't have it together, you are not ready to date a woman seriously. And if you are lucky enough to have a nice woman be really into you when you are not ready for it, be honest and have the decency to let her know so we don't have to make these painful movies like "He's Just Not That Into You." I know, communication is hard, especially when you make a pretty girl sad or mad. Wah, wah. Get over it.

But if you are a guy who doesn't have it together, you need to start somewhere. Make some male friends (who have gone on dates and can support you a la the movie "Swingers" or "40-Year old Virgin," not guys who are equally troubled or worse than you are in the dating department) and female friends (who can offer their own dating perspectives so you can learn from them) and talk to them. You can also start to date casually, while you work on those other aspects of your life. If it's still too difficult, get a life coach. Or a therapist! It's a positive thing to get help! You have to start somewhere!

Another tidbit of dating/relationship wisdom that I heard recently from a dying professor's last lecture (not as somber as it sounds), which I also think is true:

3. Do not listen to anything a guy says. Look at what he actually does.

A guy (aka "asshole") may have selfish, shitty intentions, and fool you with his sweet-talk when he's there with you and then forget about you the next day, maybe even next hour.

A guy (aka "nice guy") may have good intentions but not follow through with what he says, for whatever reason (he is confused, doesn't have his priorities straight, or is stupid).

So, whatever his intentions or words are, the only thing to consider is what he really does.

I appreciate that two men were willing to be frank about these bits of wisdom. Maybe this is why I foolishly manage to be optimistic that there are some good men left out there to meet, even though the men I seem to run into tend to prove me otherwise. Which brings us to meeting the right person:

4. You are not going to meet that person if all you do is sit around at home, dreaming of "the one." It also is not going to happen if all you do is hang out with the same people all the time. You need to make time to get out and see your friends' friends that may interest you. Or pursue interests and activities that allow you to make new friends! Or use a dating service: online dating, speed-dating, whatever. Don't think it's beneath you to try something like that.

My brother, the physician (who ballroom dances and cooks and lectures about ecology-while-scuba-diving-at-the-Shedd-aquarium), who was super social, well-traveled, and met all kinds of creative, interesting people at jazz clubs and rockabilly dance venues, had to go full-force into using at least three different dating services after his divorce. He finally found his lovely wife through Match.com. So if he had to put that kind of effort into it, so do you!

(Take it from someone who has lost the option to make that time to go out, for the next three months. But when graduation comes, believe me, I will be making time to go out! Call me after May, okay?)

And finally, since "4" is an unlucky number, here's a tip from that "Lollipop" song by Mika:

5. "Live your life until love is found / 'Cause love's gonna get you down"

Love involves a lot of risk and therefore a lot of disappointment (Oh yes, I know), so it's going to get you down. But you can't let that hinder you. You have to realize that you can be happy on your own as well. Whether or not this dating thing pans out, you have this one life to live, so you better make it good. And if it isn't good, you better do something about it.

If you are complaining about your life, quit it, because you are probably annoying the crap out of your friends. Do something about it. If you don't know how to do that, get a therapist or a life coach, or talk to a buddy. Get a role model. After all, you are NOT A CHILD. (Unless, of course, you are a child.)

Have a Happy Valentine's Day, everyone, single or not!

Just a fool to believe

2009-01-28T20:47:00.000-08:00

...that I would really have luxurious 4-day weekends. I just had two days of class and I am already behind on work. In total, I have 8 classes. Two are Art History (one online), five are studio classes, and one is a law class (about copyrights and such). And the online class does not seem to be easy so far. In fact, I was warned that this particular teacher for the online course is a hard-ass.

I already miss my crochet projects, friends, and sleep!

Well, at least I still enjoy the subject matter, even in the art history classes. I just wish it weren't so much work in such short time!!! Just fourrrr more months, and it will be OVER!!!

One of my art history classes focuses on India, which is great, because I've never had any Asian history, at my meager education at UCLA and the supposedly prestigious Palos Verdes Unified School district. The professor is even going to get into Southeast Asia due to its influences on India's borders. Also, she is going to take us on a field trip one day to the Chelsea art galleries. AND,we are going to do two research papers (How do I do footnotes!? I haven't done those in ages!), which means I will finally have to get a library card.

Actually, that sounds pretty neat, because I have heard lovely things about the New York Public library, and I hear that a lot of these libraries are really modernized.

Ugh. I need a drink. But first, I need to catch up on some sleep. ALREADY! My god.

Also, did I mention that the weather BLOWS??? I miss California. Sniff.

Pandora's box of DIY

2009-01-16T16:49:00.001-08:00

Pouch o' Amigurumi
Originally uploaded by misocrazy

I recently learned how to crochet these adorable Amigurumi animals, and now all I can think about is how I can make more of them and who I can make them for. (Thx to the hungry monster who learned with me from the knit1 magazine pattern.)

I just dug up my stash of yarn, and I found all kinds of other near-finished projects, like a quilting project, and a tube dress. I am so excited to make all kinds of things!

Plus I finally tried out Pandora (the free customized internet radio service) myself, and I cannot get enough of that either!

Luckily it's so freaking cold outside that I don't really want to be outside doing other stuff.

Oh wait, wasn't there some homework I had to do? Uh oh...

OMG it's almost 2009!!

2008-12-30T09:01:00.000-08:00

2009 is going to be so awesome, I cannot wait! Obama will be President, the economy will have to pick up, and best of all, I will have my FINAL semester of school, which somehow has allotted me FOUR DAY WEEKENDS. Wowee!

Plus I will GRADUATE, and return to being a free woman! Or a woman of leisure, at least for a little while.

What will I do with all this magical time???

Finally install those curtains that have been sitting on the floor for six months.

Finally be able to sleep in... after the curtains finally block out all that amazing sunlight in my bedroom.

Visit my brand new baby second cousin, in the Upper West side.

Visit my midtown cousins and indulge my little girl cousin in girlish ways.

Wear the other 70% of my wardrobe that I was protecting from the toxic hazards of the toy workshop last semester.

Mend all those buttons that fell off my clothes for the last five years.

Dust off the cookbook shelf and make something at home other than instant ramen or egg breakfasts.

Visit all those fantastic New York museums!!

Get back into some knitting, crocheting and sewing.

Shop at actual New York stores, instead of shopping online for clothes.

Check out Century 21 for once and shop at TOPSHOP when it finally opens.

See movies in the actual theater.

Eat out with people outside of my class (as much as I lurrve my classmates), maybe actually get to know restaurants in my own neighborhood.

Hang out with my roommate, maybe even co-host a White Elephant party with her.

Karaoke with my PS3/PS2, or in K-town, or Union Square, or Chinatown. Or L.A. or San Francisco. Or Europe or Asia. Or South America or Australia. OMG Karaoke AROUND THE WORLD! That should be a tv show! Or at least on Youtube.

Take tap dance lessons (with a couple of my classmates).

Join a gym! Or dance weekly at 80s night at Sway. Or both!

Take Mandarin Chinese lessons???

Humor my panicky relatives and go on a date or two with New York men that may have to consider following me to California or convince me to stay in New York.

(More likely, that consideration will not be worth their effort, and I will be annoyed and move away anyway, and a year later they regret that they didn't try, and by then I'll realize I'm happier without them, and then they get their shit together and marry the next girl they meet.

–As roughly that scenario has been the case with almost every guy I've dated –and really liked– in my life. One of these days, I figure the love of my life will turn up and stop this cycle.

Or maybe I should just stop moving from town to town.)

Do afternoon tea at Bergdorf's, overlooking Central Park.

Study the squirrels in Central Park.

Possibly travel to Costa Rica and/or San Francisco to see some friends gettin' married!

Finally learn to surf or snowboard!

Become an Improv Everywhere agent.

Finish an actual book or two! Or five!

Listen to This American Life, regularly.

Witness some form of Fashion Week, in person?

Indulge in the occasional mani-pedi.

Get back to grooming my eyebrows and getting my hair cut by someone other than myself.

Watch 30 Rock when it's actually on instead of online.

Get my broken tooth fixed.

Design a poster of the family tree?

Get out of Manhattan, like to Brooklyn, Coney Island, or the Bronx Zoo to see those adorable baby orange monkeys!! Or find some rich friends to join me on a weekend trip to Cali or Europe.

Design and make something lasercut with Ponoko.

Design and get a tattoo??

Get a job in Toy Design or start my own gig.

Purge about 50% of my belongings, get my car back and take another roadtrip, probably back to Cali!

Ironically, I do not have plans for New Year's Eve. Not that I really care to, because even when I do make plans, it's at the very least disappointing, or something shitty happens like my boyfriend pours champagne on my head or a guy who tries to flirt with me ends up breaking my tooth with a karaoke mic.

ENOUGH already with the NYE abuse! I'm getting some rest so we can just get the year started!

Anyway, have a Happy New Year everyone! It's going to be great. I can feel it.

Revelations: 12/08

2008-12-23T21:01:00.001-08:00

I caught up with various relatives over X'mas break in Chicago, during which I came to some revelations:

Really? I still have to educate non-relatives to avoid phishing scams?

If I nudge my Uniqlo down coat when the lights are out, I can see actual sparks!

When my 2nd older brother went to Chinese School (a Saturday school for learning Chinese) in Junior high, he got less than an "A" for a report about the lack of free press in Taiwan, because the teacher didn't agree with his opinion. So he quit Chinese school on political principle. I quit Chinese school because I was an Americanized, little brat who didn't want to learn Chinese. Well I guess in the end, we agreed it was a waste of time.

Now that I'm grown up, I would like some Chinese lessons. And tap dance lessons.

Someone forgot to mention that my Texan uncle got remarried last June.

My brothers still think it's wrong that my dad got me a dog when I was eleven, even though they had owned seven different puppies at different times, before I was even born. They were never able to keep a puppy for more than a year or two (due to sickness, theft, or mysterious disappearance*).

My dog lived for 16 years.

It's amazing that I came out okay, growing up with Aspergian relatives. Also this explains why I love David Sedaris, Augusten Burroughs, and This American Life.

Despite my experience as a dog owner and now becoming an auntie, my maternal instincts have not really kicked in so much. I'm hoping that changes if I ever fall in love and have kids. In the meantime, I'm getting a lot of practice drawing awkward-looking bulldozers for my nephew!

While going to the American Girl store for afternoon tea with my little second-cousins, I realized that had I gotten knocked up in my early-to-mid 20s, I could have had a daughter old enough to be indulging in one of these $100+ dolls. Whoa.

Something about this capitalist mecca of American Girl Place freaks me out. But you know, those new Bitty Baby Twins are actually kind of cute.

My nephew loves watching Ni Hao Kai Lan, and I approve.

I could not bring myself to buy any of the girly fashion magazines at the airport! Instead, I bought issues of Fast Company, Inc., and Nylon to read instead. Do I actually miss the business innovation & indie rock babble of San Francisco? Hmm, I think it's more about giving up on dating and figuring out how to make my millions so I can live like a rock star.

* My brothers debated whether one of the puppies they once owned lasted two days or two weeks, before it got euthanized in our garage by a restaurant owner. The last puppy they owned was a Boston Terrier that just disappeared. Our dad was mad about that one, because he spent a pretty penny on it. It was named "Lucky," and my brothers joked that he was probably lucky for getting away from a bad situation.

Why?

2008-12-21T22:32:00.001-08:00

Why did my relatives choose to live in one of the coldest big cities of America? Of course I arrived just in time for the coldest day of the year! It is minus four degrees.

I suppose I should be thankful that my flight was relatively uneventful and only had a slight delay.

On the upside, I am rather proud that on the morning of my flight, I was able to make time to grab a Vietnamese sandwich, shop at the Opening Ceremony sample sale, and stop by the Muji store to pick up last-minute gifts.

Also, for the first time in my life, I changed tops in public at a sample sale. I saw both men and women changing in public! I remember being a little mortified seeing women change in public at a Barney's sample sale last year, but somehow it didn't look as psycho to me this time.

Maybe this sale was a lot calmer than the other one, so it didn't feel as desperate of a situation. Maybe seeing both genders exposing themselves this way, with such shopping determination, made it seem like less of a free show. Maybe I didn't see any saggy old butts at this one, so it was less scary.

So I just faced a corner and changed tops. It wasn't so bad. But I couldn't get myself to change back out of it, (especially because a hetero couple was chatting and discussing what to buy behind me and wouldn't go away). Luckily I did want to buy the top, so I just left it on.

A girl in the checkout line ahead of me said, "That's a really nice top, I didn't see that one!" so that made it all the worthwhile. (This happens a lot when I shop – female strangers telling me something looks great on me. It's to the point that I almost wonder if they're planted by Marketing people, to convince me of buying things.)

I have yet to change bottoms in public, but I have considered it in crowded stores. I saw a woman at this particular sale wore a long sweater, specifically so she could try on jeans, which was rather smart for cold-weather-sample-sale-shopping.

But I think the best wardrobe strategy for attending sample sales is wearing leggings with a tank top or tube top and skirt. And maybe even swimwear, or at least very flattering underwear with good coverage. I'll have to remember that in the future.

Is public clothes-changing one of the rites of passage toward New-Yorker-hood? Or is that just a statement about not caring as much what people think now that I'm older? Or is it a statement about having nicer underclothes? Meh, I'm just glad I have a cute new top... that I can't wear until the weather gets warm again, in at least 3 months.

Anyhoo, my nephew in Chicago is still redonkulously cute, even if he does prefer playing with boys over playing with girls and asks me to draw the one type of toy I'm not good at drawing (construction vehicles). I'm sure that will change eventually.

For now, I will enjoy his toddler antics, such as screaming at the top of his lungs arbitrarily to see how we'll react, obsessing about "bee-doo"s (his word for bulldozer), taking my hand to show me things, not being able to pronounce "s" sounds, and smiling adorably at everyone with a twinkle of mischief in his eye when he wakes up, like it's always time for fun.

Bad shopping karma

2008-12-19T19:04:00.001-08:00

On the one day I have time to finally shop for holiday gifts (since Thanksgiving weekend, now that school has ended), of course a snow blizzard hits NYC. Still, I trudged out in rainboots, down full-length coat, jumbo hello kitty umbrella and made it to insane Times Square to the Sanrio Luxe store and flagship Toys R Us store to make sure I got some gifts for my cousins' kids.

I didn't fit in time to really shop for grownups. By the time I get to Chicago, it's going to be like 8 degrees, so I won't be stepping outside of the house. They'll have to get mixed cds or something... probably post-X'mas.

After dealing with all of the Times Square madness in freezing rain/snow, two of my classmates and I headed down to the subway in a crowded line of dripping people, balancing on slippery steps. As we approached the turnstile, I had trouble finding my monthly MTA pass among all my pockets. Then one of my friends saw that the MTA exit door was open, so she just yelled at me to just run through the exit. So I did.

As soon as I ran through, I found my monthly pass in a side pocket of my purse and laughed about it. Then we started walking toward the trains... when a cop flashed his badge at me and asked me why I used the exit gate to get in.

I told him that I had my monthly pass but couldn't find it, and I didn't want to stall the line, so I just went through the exit gate that was already open. One of my friends said, "Noooo! I made her do it!" but the officer just ignored her. He was being totally unreasonable, so I was more annoyed at him than with my friend. I told him that I had my monthly pass, but just couldn't find it, and I told him I was willing to go back behind the gate to use it and show him I did have a monthly pass that still worked.

He just kept yammering on his walkie talkie and handed me the ticket like a brainless robot. He told me I could call the number on the back of the ticket to argue my story, so they might waive or reduce the fine. Wow, thanks, man.

I don't see why it's okay to punish someone who actually always pay for MTA instead of people who are really trying to take advantage of the system.

I think he just felt okay fining me because I had shopping bags, meaning I had money to spend. But I'm now a NY resident who pays taxes, that already contribute to his wages!

I appreciate a city that enforces the law so well that I feel safe getting home late at night by myself, but this is bullshit. Anyway, I'm not going to let it ruin my mood during my holiday break. I will call the authorities Monday and let them know how ridiculous this all is, especially during the holiday season!

Hello Daniel

2008-12-18T19:42:00.000-08:00

Today my classmates and I got all excited about the new X-Men Origins: Wolverine trailer. A bunch of them were all excited about Gambit. I asked who that was, and they explained that he's the "coolest" and his X-Men power is throwing cards. Hrmm.

I say, forget Gambit, who is the mixed-Asian guy with the pretty hair they threw in there!?

Apparently it's American ex-patriate actor, Daniel Henney:

According to Wikipedia, he's half British and Korean and has done some Korean tv, film, and commercials. And according to the human eye, he is beautiful.

Dear Santa,

Scratch the personal assistant. I've been extra good this year and would like one Daniel Henney please.

Love,
Misocrazy

Oh no, it's finals week!

2008-12-13T23:46:00.000-08:00

Oh yes, our final projects are due for a presentation this Wednesday. This means we'll be presenting our carefully labored, constructed hard toys and storybook progress, all recorded on video.

This means our class is cracking a bit under pressure.

The day started out alright, with people sanding plastic toy parts, testing paints and advising each other on paint methods and color choices. But a lot of us have way too much to finish before Wednesday, so panic was slowly setting in.

So a few classmates started trying to sweet-talk our workshop lab teacher to let us come in on SUNDAY, which is normally our only day off from the school week.

As if it weren't bad enough that we have to spend every full Saturday at school, toiling away on workshop toys like Santa's worker elves, we actually were pleading to have another workshop day on Sunday!

Then the Chair of the Toy Design department stopped by in the afternoon, with surprise cookie treats. She asked how we were doing and whether we'd be in tomorrow too. But we pitifully mentioned that we didn't have additional workshop hours tomorrow.

She gave us a look of shock and then had a quick talk with the lab teacher. Then she told us that we would be able to have lab class on Sunday after all.

To this, we responded with yelps of joy!

Later, I grabbed a quick dinner at McDonald's, where I realized that My Little Ponies were available with Happy Meals. So I brought My beautiful rainbow-haired, baby-blue Little Pony back, which of course was met with envy by Jan. She called another classmate, Carlito, who was still at Mickey D's to tell him to buy her a My Little Pony too, but without the Happy Meal.

Carlito came back, to tell us that the lady at McDonald's wouldn't let him buy a pony without buying a Happy Meal.

...to which, Jan responded, "What!? I'm gonna kick her in the face!"

I was equally dismayed by this news. And as we started bitching about how effed up it was that McD's wouldn't let her buy a pony, Carlito tossed the pouch of beautiful rainbow-haired party-themed pony at Jan, at which she cooed with glee. Oh that crazy Carlito.

Half the class stayed after lab hours, (as usual during finals) until 2am, when security guards kick us out. We generally manage to get along and laugh and listen to music while we work, but today it got to the point where someone left the room to cry, and later, another classmate sliced his finger with an exacto knife at his desk, dripping blood, causing him to nearly faint. Another student had to help him take a cab to the emergency room for stitches.

So tonight, I'm going to get a good night's rest, so I'm alert enough to not injure myself while working. And maybe I'll pick up some extra Vietnamese sandwiches to keep everyone's blood sugar up. And somehow I will finish this plastic baby "Girlilla," and it will be beautiful!

Another Day in the Life

2008-12-11T23:01:00.000-08:00

Haven't done one of these in awhile.

This is for all my ol' colleagues who once worked at Yahoo! Sorry I couldn't be there for the UED reunion. Hope you kids are doing great! If you're wondering what I'm up to, this is a sample day of my school-centered life that keeps me from seeing anyone outside of class until I graduate in May:

9:45am Wake up late, with stiff finger muscles from sanding plastic toy parts for several hours over the last few days for model-making class.

10:30 Sick of the dreary winter weather, I book a flight to L.A. for January.

11:30 Take the 1 subway uptown to class, for which I am about an hour late.

noon Glance over my 106% grade on test (yay for open book & extra credit on math tests at a trade-focused school!) and then listen to the bucktoothed but almost-cute teacher review how to calculate the distance of a star based on its parallax & how to calculate sizes of spirals as they grow. Pleased to hear him say he'll be bringing chocolate Dunkin' Donuts to our final exam.

1pm Go out to get lunch, pass by outdoor vendors with cute accessories on the way. FIT somehow arranges this on most Wednesdays during the school year. Fashion schools in NYC are neat!

1:30 Pick up painting supplies, like spraycan gloss coating, tiny paintbrushes, tape, and face mask at the art supply store.

2:00 Browse 20 different feathered headbands at the weekly vendors near school and finally pick a pretty brown one to buy.

2:30 Return to classroom, open up laptop, and revise color studies of my baby gorilla hard toy.

3:30 Pull hard toy project & supplies out of my locker and spread out them out all over desk. Play iPod on my new lego-speaker so my classmates have some holiday tunes to work to.

3:45 Sketch concepts for candy toy assignment.

4:00 Research online for candy-based toys. Sketch a few more concepts.

5:00 While my classmates are sanding and refining their hard toys, (toys that we should have started painting by now but haven't,) I talk to the hard toy teacher about colors. We agree on purple fur, beige skin pink hair, pink dress, orange flower, and brown eyes.

5:30 Refine Illustrator file of final color choice, help Lilo brainstorm how to execute a Sushi-chef cat who prepares sushi candy into a toy concept.

6:30 After all the sushi talk, we get hungry and order Japanese takeout with classmates for dinner. Agree to split some sushi and a Katsu-don with Lilo, was we are in the mood for the same kind of food 90% of the time.

7:00 Start trimming off rough edges of my baby Girlilla's plastic body with an exacto knife and sandpaper.

7:30 Eat takeout food in the hall, with classmates. Lilo and I agree that the Katsu-don is disappointingly dry.

8pm Review candy toy concepts with teacher. We agree on a train that mines gem-shaped candies from a candy mountain.

8:30 Load up "Pushing Daisies" to watch on my laptop, as I continue sanding and filling gaps with superglue and some toxic spackle-like material on the baby Girlilla.

9:30 Cut holes in the top the Girlilla's plastic head to insert hot pink hair and a resin-cast hibiscus flower, as Jee, the girl next to me, slowly fades into zombie mode from sleep deprivation.

10:30 Berate Jee to stop sanding unimportant details that nobody will look at. I finally steal a part of her toy and tell her to go home and sleep.

11pm Align and cut holes out of my Girlilla's remote control to make room for buttons.

11:30 Photograph progress of hard toy, clear off desk, and put hard toy & supplies back in lockers.

midnight Take subway 1 downtown and walk home in pouring rain.

12:30 midnight snack, shower, late night tv, email, and review my schedule of tasks to complete final projects for the next week.

Tomorrow, I hope I start painting that Girlilla! If not, I will have all of Saturday to do it too. If I'm lucky, I'll have time to solder a circuit board, not that I really know how to do that yet.

Sunday's my only day off from class time, but that just means a whole day of work this time, since it's the finals crunch week. Wish me luck!

Shit now hitting the fan

2008-12-02T22:04:00.000-08:00

I have toy shop class all Sunday, instead of the usual Saturday. This is the one week during all of this semester that our class got moved to Sunday. I also realized too late that this happens to be the same day as my cousin's baby shower AND my roommate's housewarming party, which I will have to miss.

I haven't had time to ask a doctor about whether I should be alarmed that my forearms are all red and irritated. I'm hoping it will all pass. It could be all that solvent, Bondo, sawdust, and styrene I breathe at school. Also my left index finger feels like it's been sprained.

My cable tv stopped working.

The cable man supposedly stopped by our lobby but disappeared after he had the doorperson ring our room. He very suspiciously noted us in the system as "not at home" and "called twice," even though I have no missed calls on my phone.

My hard toy project needs to be in hot pink or magenta, but Tamiya (the really good brand of model paint) does not make that color. –Naturally, as these paints are most often used on hobby models of war vehicles, trains, aircraft, robots, and horror movie monsters.

I keep getting messages from VW that my car warranty may have run out and there may still be time to renew!! Should I renew? Is my car even still okay in Texas?

My MacBook Pro has reached its capacity for saving new files. Oh wait, maybe that's because I have over 100gb of music files.

My bank's website won't load when I try to log in. Helloooo, I have bills to pay!

I still haven't gotten around to closing my Canadian bank account, because they accidentally sent me a check made out to someone with the last name "Smith." "Smith" is not my last name. F you, RBC bank.

Dear Santa,

I've been very good this year and would like a personal assistant. Or intern. Or servant. Or all of the above. Oh, just lend me one of your worker elves early this year and I won't ask for anything for ages!!

xoxo
misocrazy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T09:58:00.000-08:00

I have a lot to be thankful for this year.

I am generally thankful for being healthy, happy, and living comfortably, in an exciting city, while doing creative work with interesting people. And I am thankful for my diverse friends and family who inspire and encourage me.

I am also happy to be at a point in life where I am comfortable with my independence, but I am also at ease with social events (the very few that I get to nowadays). I am happy my for many of my close friends who have finally found the loves of their lives, many of whom are getting engaged/married.

And I am thankful that this time-sucking school life is temporary! :P

I am also thankful for customizable technology, (even though I know it's hard for you all to understand that I still do not want an iPhone nor a Wii). Today I was tinkering with Google Maps and so I created a map of supply shops for my toy-making classmates (zoom out to get a better overview):

View Larger Map

I am thankful that I can be kind of a nerd, and I have (some) friends who even encourage it instead of mock it. And I am thankful that I can indulge in toys and girly things and justify it as career research.

Now I need to get back to my homework (which I am not so thankful for) so I can go shop up a storm tomorrow (which I am thankful for) with my visiting girlfriend (the awesome one who just finished her Obama campaign gig as a Field Organizer).

And I'm thankful to live in a country that voted for Obama! Woo!

I just wanna DANCE!!!

2008-11-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

I have a ridiculous deadline to meet by Thursday afternoon, to draw and present a LINE of eco-themed toys and my class is freaking out.

In the meantime, we've de-stressed ourselves by having spontaneous dance-fests in our tiny computer room, all junior-high school wannabe style.

...Meaning, we pull up an awesome dance video on the computer and try to copy all the moves... very poorly.

So far we've tried "A Million Ways" and "Here It Goes Again" (sans treadmills) by Ok Go, as well as "Miss you Much" by Janet Jackson. So far the gay guys are doing the best at it.

But right now our favorite is Beyoncé's new single, "Single Ladies." Yes, this is the one that was hilariously (and disturbingly) spoofed last weekend by JT & Paul Rudd on SNL.

But you should know that the original dance routine is truly fantastic. It is like that crazy Ann Margaret from Elvis's Viva Las Vegas meets Tina Turner's legendary dance crew:

We cannot get enough of it! And I love how the video is shot simply in black & white and basic leotards. Beyoncé's like, "Gurrrrl, I don't need no scenery. Just gimme some music and I will blow your mind."

Basically the gay guys, Lilo, and I try to do the dances, (while avoiding colliding into desk chairs and hapless passerby toy design students) and the straight guys are just amused as they look up from their sketching. The junior class and probably a few silent seniors are probably completely annoyed with us. But that's what headphones are for!! (The juniors will understand when they start breathing all that Bondo and get Professor Lo's assignment.)

ANYway, Beyoncé is my hero. (Except for that bizarro hand armor. I mean, I like robots, but that is just ridiculosity.)

So we will all be practicing that dance routine over winter break... to lose some weight and also so we can perform it for graduation. Or next Halloween, with everyone in leotards and shaved legs. Lilo and I will battle each other for the role of Beyoncé in an ultimate dance-off.

Who cares about designing toys anyway?

Washing Lady Parts

2008-11-15T22:19:00.000-08:00

A couple months ago, I had another English 101 session with Jee:

Jee: What is "douchebag?"

Lilo: Hahaha. Yeah [Misocrazy], what is a "douchebag?"

Me: Jee, what have you been watching on tv? Or was it a movie?

Jee: I don't know, I heard it somewhere...

Me: Hmm. Well, "douche" is actually a French word, I think meaning to wash, like for a bath. But in English it's specifically something you use to wash your... "lady parts."

Jee: So why is it a bag? You use a bag to clean?

Me: I guess it's like a bag of douche? Huh. I don't even know how douches work!

Lilo: Yeah I don't know either. Do people even use those anymore?

Me: I don't know... they're not even supposed to be good for you. But anyway, "douchebag" is like another way to describe a jerk.

Lilo: yeah, a "douchebag" is like another way to say "asshole." But it's more funny than mean. Douchebags are funny.

Me: Yeah but it could still be used in a mean way. I guess the idea is that a "douchebag" is really disgusting. So if you call a guy a "douchebag," the connotation is more like you're saying the guy is disgusting? I don't know, how do you even describe a typical "douchebag"?

Lilo: Like, he's a retarded jerk. Or like he wears crocs.

Me: Hahaha. There is a certain type of guy you think of when people say "douchebag." Like he's tacky? I can't think of a specific "douchebag" example to give you right now, but when I do, I'll let you know.

--

And whaddaya know! This week I became a Douchebag Magnet!

At the Toy Design classroom, I was busily working on my hard-toy model shop class, running back and forth between the model shop and my worktable when this happened:

Member of the Junior class: Hey [Misocrazy], come over here.

Me: Why?

Junior: Can you draw something for me?

Me: (Looking at him like he's crazy) I don't have time for this! What's this for?

Junior: Hands me a sheet of paper, strewn with various cartoonish drawings of penises.

Me: Is this referring to "Superbad," the movie?

Junior: No... all the girls in class have drawn on it.

Me: (returning the sheet back to him) I have no interest in this.

--

Then, while taking the subway train home with my iPod earbuds in, after 11pm on a Saturday:

Subway dude: (Saying something to me, trying to get my attention)

Me: (taking iPod earbuds out) What?

Dude: Are you from China!?

Me: I'm American. (attempting to put earbuds back in)

Dude: (unintelligible, as we are in a moving SUBWAY TRAIN, and he is talking to me from like 6 feet away)

Me: What?

Dude: (unintelligible)

Me: What?

Dude:(unintelligible)

Me: What?

Dude: Are you married!?

Me: (Pause.) No.

Dude: Do you have a man?

Me: (Pause.) No. (attempting to put earbuds back in)

Dude: (gets up to sit next to me) You're not married?

Me: No. (putting earbuds back in)

Dude: (gestures phone number with his hand) Can I get your number?

Me: (begrudgingly taking earbuds out) I don't really have time for dating.

Dude: Why not?

Me: I'm too busy for that right now.
(And you are a douchebag.)

Dude: You can make time. You should make time for these things.

Me: Um, well I'm not making time for that right now. (attempting to put earbuds back in)

Dude: Why? You don't like me?

Me: I guess not. (putting earbuds back in.)

Enough with the Stupidity

2008-11-13T22:54:00.001-08:00

I just got a message on MySpace, from a 19-year old, asking if I would take his virginity away. Ahh, deluded (deranged) youth!

Not even I, who cannot find the time to meet anyone new, am desperate enough for that!

I was hoping that as men got older, they would be less stupid. But I think they just find other ways to be stupid. Take this recent response I got from a 30-year-old on an online personals service:

"I have some misgivings about your name (I mean because like what is it a reference to--peanut butter cups? Regular ones?) and I can't really teach you any kind of interesting athletic stuff (the best I can do is try to teach you to ice skate or convert you to into a Steelers fan) but we are both, unquestionably, year-oriented, and there aren't too many of us floating around."

So... what he's trying to tell me is that he thinks my screen-name is lame, and he can't teach me anything fun to do, but he's reaching out to me because we're both over the hill?

Bear in mind, this guy had listed himself as a writer. I think he's actually trying to sound charming. Hrm.

I'd like to note that I've always dated nice guys. But "nice guy" is not enough anymore. When we were young, I figured the nice guys I dated had time to evolve and mature into a nice guy who was also the kind of man I'd want to be with for life. ...Meaning they'd keep me inspired and be the kind of person I could count on. (And I'd do my best to offer the same for them.) But... that didn't happen.

Also, how hard is it to be a nice guy anyway?

(This does not mean I will start dating "bad boys." I am not that stupid. I still require thoughtfulness in a future partner.)

At this point in life, (over 30s), if a guy is immature, unreliable, or uninspiring, I don't expect them to figure that out anytime soon. It maybe too late for them, without some professional help (like seeking therapy). To me, it also shows a lack of priorities in their lives. Or simply stupidity. Unless they have Asperger's Syndrome (That would still require some therapy training.).

But this is all moot, because I don't have time for meeting new people, much less date!

So bye-bye online personals! I've taken my last ad down... and now I should get back to work. I've got some monster-drawing and gorilla-building to do.

Look at the KITTY!

2008-11-12T03:59:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday, my laptop refused to start up. So now it is in the shop for TWO WEEKS. OMG, right?

As soon as they took my baby away to get mailed to the service center, I switched to mobile phone mode, texting my friends and using it to check email and Facebook. And then I thought, "Well, maybe it will be good for me to not have a computer for awhile. Maybe I will get more sleep this way. Or actually take time to see friends and family outside of school."

Well, I won't know how that is, because the Toy Design chair (who apologized about stressing us out on Election Day) very generously got our IT guy to lend me a MacBook!!! Phew.

She just doesn't want me to fall behind on our design work. No excuses for me!! I kinda like how small this MacBook is so I don't have to carry extra weight to school...

In other news, I had to get up before 6am this morning to register for classes. OMG again. And I will be taking an online class for the first time next semester. It's a whole new frontier.

But I think it was worth it, because I will likely have FOUR DAY WEEKENDS next semester. Holy mother of GOD I cannot wait!! (Except for the part where I still have to take Liberal Arts classes in U.S. History and Indian Art History. And I will surely have so much homework that it will take at least half my weekends away.)

BTW I did dress up as Kenley from Project Runway for Halloween. Not many people really got it, but they did like my makeshift feather barrette. I liked it so much that I think I'll go buy some real feather headpieces.

Also, just as I finally started to get comfortable with my blunt bangs, Xtina and Madonna got them too. But I think they look a little weird on Madonna. I think I'll keep mine for a little while, as they transition from Bettie Page to Francoise Hardy length.

Not related... but I have to share this video, because even thought I'm not a cat person, this cat (aka "Maru) is pretty darn awesome:

Thanks to boingboing for bringing that into my life. Also thanks to BK for informing me that Barack Obama is a Scrabble fan (of course!) and once owned a pet ape.

Ok, taking a nap now. Got a math test tomorrow. OMG!!!

Yes we can! Yes we did!

2008-11-04T20:07:00.000-08:00

For once in a long time, I was excited to vote today. And for once I was optimistic, and I felt happy to be an American.

I voted for the first time as a New York resident, and even though the volunteer at the voting station was a bit rude, distracted, and could barely figure out the alphabet to look up addresses properly, I was happy to get in that voting booth.

As an extra treat, they had this crazy contraption with switches and a giant red lever, unlike the quiet little computerized voting booth I used back in Palo Alto.

Sadly, after voting, I was cooped up at school all day until after 9pm. And sadly, our storybook teacher got upset with us. She even spoke to our computer rendering teacher about it, and he said he had never seen our storybook teacher so upset before. It appears she is suddenly upset that we are behind on our big storybook project.

We are confused by it, because we all work hard all day on schoolwork until late at night, every day, (except for maybe Sundays when we finally get to clean our clothes, homes, and ourselves. Even on Sundays, half my class still goes to school). Maybe we worked too much on our other toy design projects, but really, we have too much to do, in a realistic sense.

It feels wrong that she would be so upset at us over this. So, sadly, I couldn't go out to the election parties or bars to share the joy of this historic day with the rest of New York. I couldn't even join my cousins uptown to just watch it on tv. Instead, I went home to catch up on schoolwork. With the tv on, of course!

But this is such a historic day. This is bigger than a cranky teacher or my grades in a storybook class. I can't let that ruin this happy, historic moment. We are part of a country that can not only accept, but even choose, with enthusiasm, an interracial president! We will have a president that we can be proud of. Even in a sinking economy, have hope and enthusiasm! Obama has a big job ahead of him, but for once we have someone we believe in.

And an extra shout-out to Jennifer Lau, who isn't even an American citizen yet, who left all her loving friends in San Francisco to work on the Obama/Biden campaign as a field organizer in battleground states. Yay! Thanks to everyone who voted! You are the best!

Party over, oops, outta time!

2008-10-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

Rock Band 2 was a hit with my classmates, especially with the addition of rockstar-attire, a star-shaped-purple tambourine, a feather boa, a tiara, taro-flavored birthday cake, chips, candy-corn, pumpkin-flavored beer, blueberry-flavored beer, Canadian Molson, cider, vodka, and red wine.

It may have also helped that we just survived another draining all-nighter for a doll-design assignment, so we needed to celebrate and let loose.

However, it did take a bit too long to download new songs, so we had to switch to Singstar & Karaoke Revolution to finish the night with more song variety.

We finally did get one noise complaint from downstairs, just asking us to not jump so much. We mostly obliged, but kept the singing going. (It was Friday night in NYC and not even 1am!! Jigga please.)

In other unimportant news, I have since discovered that you can shake branches on the game, Locoroco Cocoreccho, which makes the game so much more manageable!! My god. So I take it back; maybe now I do enjoy that game.

Also I'm really ambivalent about Halloween this year. Last year was a pretty lackluster experience. I might just reprise last year's costume, if I even decide to go anywhere for the occasion. Or I might be more subtle and dress as a certain Project Runway villain. Hmm.

This week, we start a new assignment about green-friendly toys. Finally, an eco-conscious toy project! I'm so relieved. Except the syllabus already looks intense, because we have to research and design a whole line of toys with different price points, with class reviews, critiques, and presentations, in about 3 short weeks. Ruh Roh.

Cute = good: not always true.

2008-10-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

Last night I was reminded why I should really just stick to karaoke or rhythm-based games.

I downloaded this game called "Buu Buu Cocoreccho," which as you can see below, is exploding with cuteness:

It's a sequel to "Locoroco", which was made for the handheld PSP. But I hear that the PSP game is much easier than this PS3 game. After giving Cocoreccho a chance for two hours, I finally came to realize that I really just suck at it.

So after killing my thumb and cramping my hand for two hours that I wish I could take back, I'll be leaving that one alone for awhile.

In the meantime, I consoled myself today, by scarfing down a footlong Vietnamese sandwich in Chinatown and finding the last pair of really cute boots in my size in Soho.

Let's hope the arrival of my pre-ordered Rock Band 2 in the mail proves to be far more satisfying than this "Cocoreccho" nonsense.

A first

2008-10-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

In my building elevator today...

Super: Well, what a nice treat to see you!
Me: ...
Super: I just saw your roommate and I was just telling her what a treat it is to see you two. You two always have a smile on, and man, there are a lot of grumpy people in this building...
Me: Ah, hahaha...
Super: Even my daughter, after she saw you, she said, "Hey dad, she's cute, you should date her!"
Me: Oh no! Ah, haha... ha. Haha.

Well that was my cue to exit the elevator. I mean, the super is a nice guy, and his daughter is really beautiful, but Holy Awkwardness! I am not living some kind of Ryan Reynolds/J-Lo romantic comedy, okay?

Also, I'm trying not to think too hard about how I am now old enough to have guys with pre-teen daughters flirt with me. Wow.

Can I just karaoke, shop, eat, sleep, dance, dominate word games, and design my toys in peace? Thanks guys.

Really?

2008-10-16T07:04:00.000-07:00

Huh. Some people don't know when to shut up.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by the Project Runway finale. (Don't worry, I won't give away the winner here.) I think they did all do a nice job, but personality flaws aside, I really loved the collections by Leanne & Korto. And what an amusing treat to see the surprise guest judge!

I think my favorite was actually Korto's collection, which I didn't expect after seeing her messy wedding designs last week. I loved the colors and variety of dress styles in her final collection, and I even loved the hairstyle and music she paired with it. I do have a personal bias toward colorful summer dresses and tropical themes. In fact, it would go along really well with my toy designs from this semester: tropical themes, colors, and summery fans included!

BTW did you catch the cameos by two reality show models in the beginning of the episode? But it didn't look like any of the designers picked those models? Or maybe I was looking too much at the dresses.

Is that a Full Moon Out?

2008-10-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

Cuz all kinds of craziness is happening!

1. I impulsively ran out to buy a Playstation 3 last Saturday for some emergency karaoke. Yes, in my world, there is such a thing as emergency karaoke. At least this time I didn't break my tooth doing it. Phew!

Like I told Lilo, you laugh at me now, but you will thank me later.

2. Not only does Dubbledubs know all the lyrics to Corrine Bailey Rae's "Put your Records On," but he sings it like a champ.

Like a real pre-teen girl scout champ.

3. My friends and I consumed 80 pounds of amazingly delicious food at Fatty Crab, and we were still hungry for dessert (at Chickalicious –so much more satisfying than Magnolia Cupcakes).

4. The Emotion Eric and my other friend Kawabunga came over and helped to get the Internet working on my new PS3. (It only took two days for them to figure it out, even though they supposedly work in "tech-no-logy.")

And WELL WORTH it, as I was then able to download Singstar karaoke videos of Spandau Ballet's magic hit wonders, "True" and "Gold," as well as "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips for our eternal singing pleasure.

Jealous, no?

5. A sleazy weirdo from my long-ago past commented on my recent entry about sleazy men! Funny, disturbing, or ironic? Maybe all of the above. (Sorry Nick, just bein' honest there. You're not gonna change my mind on that one.)

6. My 2 classmates, Jee & Lilo cannot get that stupid "Beep-Beep" song by PCD out of our heads. Thanks, KP. Bum-bum, BUM-BUM, bum-bum-BUM!

(BTW, karaoke-ing to this is so much better if you replace the beeps with "crotch," "boobs," "butt," and the like, as demonstrated by Lilo.)

7. I passed on drinking cider and playing speed-Scrabble at home with my roommate and out-of-town friends just so I could study 3 problems for an open-book math test. WTF is wrong with me.

8. I took that math test, in which I calculated the number of Parsecs away an object is in outer space from earth, based on its positioned angle between the earth and the sun, also known as a stellar parallax. Oh yes, say it with me: SOH CAH TOA!

9. Two couples I know got engaged. I think Princess Tater & Prince Dodger started a trend! Congrats to Amy & Mark and Kevin & Coley!

10. Oh, one more thing: dogs can walk like people.

Big Trouble in Little Chi-beca

2008-10-10T14:26:00.000-07:00

I had a bit too much last night. A bit too much, being glasses of Prosecco, Malbec, chocolate beer, a Tom Collins, and a Bud. My mistake was that when I started on the beer with new Tribecans (mostly folks also imported from San Francisco), I forgot that I had wine earlier with some ladyfriends. I also forgot that the chocolate beer came in a large bottle (as the bartender had warned me).

Anyway, I noticed that the room was spinning after I got home, so I knew I was in for a rough morning. The other ridiculous thing was that I had just finished my laundry before going out, but I hadn't made my bed. So I had to make my bed in a drunken stupor.

So today, after trying to sleep the day away to cure my hangover, I walked to Chinatown for some sustenance. On the way there, I saw policemen escorting a woman in cuffs to a car. Then I saw a Rastafarian in sunglasses, passed out, half-in-the-gutter, with an open-&-scattered dufflebag, alongside a parked car. All the Chinatown New Yorkers walked by like this was nothing new. Should I feel bad that I found this amusing?

Finally, I got to "Tea-riffic" and had a hearty pork & rice dish and a mango smoothie. As I finished up, a Taiwanese parade started outside, complete with dragon dancers, marching bands and such. I was happy to see all the Taiwanese flags but I didn't know what it was about. Is there some kind of Taiwanese holiday?

I was still worn out from the hangover, and I still had to tidy up for my Californian guests, so I just went home. But I appreciate that New York can still entertain me when I've mostly tried to hole myself up at home and head out for a quick bite of food. I think I quite like this neighborhood on the edge of Chinatown & Tribeca, or as my new roommate has called it, "Chi-beca."

The Mad Men of 2008

2008-10-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

Today I got an email from a personals service, with the subject, "5 Ways to Wow a Guy."

Excuse me? Are you saying that I don't have enough to wow a guy? Okay, so I like to sleep in, and maybe I have a belly, and I've got a messy room and I haven't cooked in ages, but I am not about to fall for that demeaning marketing email shit for a second.

I don't think you understand the problem here. You need to start finding some guys who can wow me.

The last two responses I received for my online ad were from a married couple who wanted to propose a threesome ("Not your cup of tea? Well hopefully you will take it as flattery" is how they put it), and an actor/bartender (albeit a hunky & cute one) in an open relationship.

Well at least I am getting some colorful responses, instead of the usual guy who doesn't know what they want (other than someone cute and local), or is just kind of not attractive or boring.

And just to add to my growing cynicism about men, I found out through the gossip grapevine (see tip #6 in the last blog entry), about how one of my teachers ruined his marriage (shortly after having their baby) in a profoundly sleazy and retarded manner, involving making a wildly inappropriate move on his friend's girlfriend (who was left shocked, traumatized and crying).

This also surprised some of my classmates, because they assumed he was gay anyway. (This does not mean he is cute. At ALL. And if you are a Toy Design student, dying to know who I'm talking about, feel free to ask me in person, but I won't reveal it here.)

And recently another friend revealed her own damaging affair, with a manipulative man who continues to take advantage of women by professing his love to them, especially whilst cheating on another woman. And he's not even CUTE. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN??? I'm not going into the sordid details, but I'm just relieved to hear that my friend came out of it alive.

Ladies, listen up. Sleazy, deceptive, selfish, irresponsible dickheads come in all kinds: cute, sweet, handsome, ugly, hunky, lanky, meek, cocky, rich, and poor.

If a man is ballsy enough to profess his love for you, you could be that lucky special one, orrrr... he could be full of shit! Just make sure you know the difference.

Wait, I don't think I've known anyone who dated a mean guy. Maybe I should. Maybe they're at least honest.

Oh, right. I don't like mean people. Guess that won't work.

Well, at least I feel like I'm not missing out anymore while I'm busy with school!

So my cute little nephew's prospects of getting any cousins is growing dim. I'll just have to spoil him with toys to make up for it.

Welcome, Class of 2010!

2008-10-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hello Juniors! It's come to my attention recently that at least one of "the new class" has been reading my blog. I haven't met you all, but so far you seem like nice enough folks. And it's apparent your drawing skills are ridiculously good. Your drawing teacher basically flaunted your summer work at us like we were inferior morons. (We don't take it personally. Well, I don't at least.)

If you've read my entries from the last year, I guess you've gotten a nice preview of your life ahead. I hope it hasn't worried you too much. I'm still in the program, and despite my blogging about all the work, lost social life, lack of sleep, toxic chemicals, ridiculous schedules, physical injuries, emotional breakdowns, crazy demands of teachers, rants about quitting school... wait, where was I going with this?

Oh yes, it's still a lot of fun and you are learning some really great skills.

As you have found out by now, first semester (plus Winterim) of the Toy Design program can be, how can I say it? Grueling? Crazy? Yes. It is a test of your patience, persistence, listening ability, resourcefulness, creativity, and willingness to learn. But just think! If you can just get past those few months, school will get just a little bit more manageable. And you will sleep regularly again in 2009. I promise!

That said, I will offer some general advice; sorry if it came too late:

1. Do what you can.
Improve as much as you can, and do as much work as you can, but don't stress that much about the grades. (–Especially don't worry about getting A's in drafting class. It's best to just be happy with a passing grade there.) Yes, you can lose some sleep, but we all hit a wall at some point. Just brush yourself off (when you wake up) and keep going!

2. Ask Questions
Sometimes the faculty likes to mix it up and try something new. This can lead to confusing assignments and guidance. If you are confused, just ask! That's what they're there for. Some teachers, are a bit reserved and will require you to be a bit more pro-active.

Or if you have a classmate that seems to be good at something, ask them how they did it or what tool they used.

Also, we "Seniors" are generally nice folk and would be happy to answer questions about what to expect. We definitely have some goofy weirdos, as I'm sure you do too. But don't be afraid. We will try to be honest and helpful, as much as we can.

And of course, you can always ask the Internet for answers.

3. It's about the TOYS!
Some of you know this already, but do not take criticism personally! Your concept teacher is wise and is just telling you what the real world will tell you about your work, but he says it in a much nicer way.

He is not talking about you, he is talking about your design and whether it'll sell on a toy store shelf. Listen and learn. Focus on what you can do to make your toy more appealing, easy-to-use, unique, accessible, and fun!

If you need to vent, just perform the necessary impersonation of whichever teacher amuses you the most, all Project-Runway-Santino style (not in front of the faculty, of course). I always thought of our concept teacher as our own Michael Kors. Have a laugh and move on.

4. Watch your health!
Okay, you're going to lose sleep, but it doesn't mean you can dismiss the rest of your body's needs. Drink lots of fluids, take vitamins, and remember to eat your meals! Don't touch the subway with your hands. Wash hands, carry sanitizer, and don't share cups and food. You do NOT want to get sick. Falling behind is a bitch.

5. Nobody likes a sycophant or a smart-ass.
Being a smart-ass is not cute to the faculty, and being a kiss-ass will irk both the teachers and your classmates.

6. Try not to annoy each other.
Be considerate of other classmates, apologize when you've offended them, and let bygones be bygones. Don't copy other peoples' ideas! The class itself is a small group, in a small space, and you are spending most of your waking hours with these same people for at least TWO YEARS.

Even after you graduate, you will enter a small industry, and stories of your being an ass will come back to haunt you! Especially now with the INTERNETS! So be respectful to each other!

Better yet: watch out for each other. If someone's missing from class, check on them, see if they need a missed assignment. Someday when they are VP of Hasbro, they'll remember what a nice person you were.

7. Give your brain an occasional reboot.
If you are freaking out, or you're really stuck on a design, you probably just need a short break. During my all-nighters, I would turn on my dance playlist and jump around for 5 minutes and then maybe grab a snack. Or a blueberry beer. Or a short nap (but make sure someone's around to wake you up).

We each have our own methods of coping. Don't do the booze if it you are a lightweight, because it will put you to sleep. Some of my classmates sing. If you're at home, have a short IM chat with a classmate to vent, then let them get back to work, because you should finish that rendering too.

8. Get your head out of your butt.
The rare moments that you get away from class to see friends, relatives, meet new strangers, or just see the city are also valuable for inspiration.

Watch kids play, look at what's going on in museums, window-shop, ask what people like, how things work. Play with gadgets, take a video game break, browse the Fashion Week coverage. Surf your favorite blogs. Look at cute animals. This all works for inspiration for toys. It comes in handy when you do actual research for your portfolio (during Winterim and Senior year) and future work.

9. Que sera, sera, whatever will be will be.
You may not want to hear this part.

I hope this doesn't happen, but the reality is that there may be a few of you that will not make it through the semester. It may be too much. Even with all your hard work, they may tell you that you aren't improving enough. Maybe you just don't have the discipline for it now. Maybe you've got too much else going on in your life to focus like this.

As the oldest person in my class, who has had a previous career and has witnessed many friends switch careers and endure quarter-life crises: your life is not over.

For one thing, you don't need a Toy Design degree to work in toys. Secondly, there are lots of other ways to apply your love for creativity and design. Whether or not you decide to stick with the toys may require some soul-searching. Listen to your gut.

If for whatever reason you don't stick with the program, you are not a failure. It's just a bump in the road, and you will find another success. If it's meant to be, you will come back to the world of toys. Just keep exploring what you can and like to do and something great will work out!

10. Have fun.
Who knew Toy Design school would be so hard!? But just remember: YOU GET TO DESIGN TOYS. Your friends outside of school are jealous, right?

This sounds cheesy, but when I ride the subway to and from school, even when I'm tired, breaking out, dateless, getting fat, cramped up, covered in clay and sawdust, and have too much to do:

I think about how I am one of the luckiest people on earth, to have this opportunity to live in New York City, to hang out with other creative, smart, and funny people, to draw, to make things with my hands, and to learn how to design toys!

Sometimes I even smile about it, like a secret joke, and people on the subway probably think I'm crazy or in love.

Best of luck! Now get back to work!

Welcome back to New York!

2008-10-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Princess Tatertot and Prince Big Bird!

They threw one of the most fun and touching weddings I've ever been to, and I'm not just saying that because I was a bridesmaid. Also kudos to the Maid of Honor who designed the beautiful invitations, programs, etc. And kudos to the Best Man who did a nice job in his first time as a wedding officiant.

Aside from the hairdresser burning my head, I had a fantastic weekend in surprisingly warm and sunny San Francisco, playing tourist with my L.A. friends.

Then I took a red-eye flight back to NYC (complete with a free Great Lash mascara sample from Jet Blue!?), only to be welcomed back with a day of fiascoes:

1. The building super informed me that he had to tear HOLES in the walls of my apartment to fix a plumbing leak. Later this was determined to be the result of our faulty laundry machine which I told my landlord to replace ages ago.

2. My cable bill which should have been transferred to my name was still emailed to my old roommate, but with my name spelled as a completely crazy and unfathomable name.

3. My Canadian bank account (from my summer job) sent me a money order to close my account, but they printed my last name as "Smith." FYI, that's not my last name. It's not even CHINESE.

4. Due to the economic crisis, one of my accounts was frozen without warning, right when my advisor placed some investment purchases, resulting in a crazy-negative balance on my bank account!!

5. I still have a pile of homework to catch up on, plus unpacking to do. And I didn't really sleep well on my red-eye flight, even with the nice sleeping mask and earbuds that Jetblue gave us.

So I started to take care of some of this, but by the afternoon, I started to fade. My landlord came over to supervise the Super, because she doesn't trust him. So I just went to sleep and figured maybe when I wake up, things will be much better.

After I woke up:

1. The holes in the wall were filled, and the leak was fixed. (but they still have to paint and clean it up.) But hey, this means the landlord will finally get us that new dishwasher she promised us! (Or we will be living w/ a big gaping hole in our kitchen)

2. Ehhh I'll deal w/ the cable retards later. It's just tv. Oh, and internet. Hmm.

3. I sent the money order back to the Canucks, who promise me they'll get it right this time. (I also picked up a delicious Mocha at the Le Colombe on the way to the post office. And I discovered that I live across from an awesome photography supply shop called K&M Tribeca. And the new shoe store beneath my apartment is nearly ready to be open.)

4. My financial guy had me fill out some forms and said it'll get resolved very soon... I trust him! It'll all be good!

5. I checked the mail and got a brand new digital camera in a pretty brown color, from my brother!

And today, I got an adorable pink camera case to go with it.

Then I got my credit card bill, which was surprisingly tiny. I checked the details and realized that a chunk of my tuition got refunded! That means my application for New York residency went THROUGH!

Yep, it's true. I have a New York driver's license, I'm registered to vote here, and now I'm a true New York resident. YAY!

Oh, about that homework... Um, after some compulsive Facebooking with all the adorable wedding photo updates, I need some more sleep now. I'll deal with school in the morning. I needed my recovery time after my flight anyway. It all works out somehow.

Totally RHOMBUS!

2008-09-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

Okay. I'm not totally over that other thing, but some other things are putting me in a better mood...

1. Two of my FIT friends stopped by last night for a spontaneous night of Karaoke Revolution, Singstar, and cheap wine, which deteriorated into singing with bizarro foreign accents. Try to imagine DJ Jazzy Jeff's "Summertime," sung (rapped?) by Monty Python actors and Mrs. Doubtfire. Kind of amazing. I forget which song Lilo used the Indian accent on, but that was pretty great too...

PLUS, we discovered the PLAYBACK feature on Singstar. Not only can you play back your ridiculous performances, but you can add crazy effects to them, like morphing them into robotic voices and switching them to baby-voice pitches! AND you can SAVE THE AUDIO to play it again LATER. I am not sure when I would do such a thing, but somehow I like the option.

2. Three of my SF homeys are coming to visit in October.

3. My fab new roommate is moving in this week.

4. I fly to S.F. next weekend for Tatertot & Dodger's wedding (my first time as a bridesmaid for a non-relative, woo!), after which I will embark an a tour of Oakland w/ my L.A. friends who I missed very much this summer.

5. My brother offered to buy me a new camera as a late b-day gift.

6. Adventure Time is getting picked up on CARTOON NETWORK!!!!!

For those of you who missed this when it first got on the Internets, here is the funniest, goofiest, most quotable animated short EVER, which always manages to put me in a good mood:

–Although, I was saddened to learn that I missed out on limited-edition Adventure Time shirts that were sold out earlier this year. Then again, I'm trying to limit my screen-print tee portion of my wardrobe, so maybe that was okay.

7. I got a couple tees in the mail today, as a belated b-day gift, including a Katamari Damacy tee! Totally wearing that one to school, fo sho!

8. My financial guy assures me that despite the current economic mess, it would be totally feasible for me to go ahead and take 6 months or even a whole year off after graduation in May if I wanted to.

And WHY wouldn't I want to!? So if you want to meet me in Europe, Australia, Costa Rica, or Thailand (I'm open to other suggestions) after May, we need to talk.

Love Bites.

2008-09-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

I hate that I miss him. I feel like a retard. Somebody make it stop.

But I'm in line.

2008-08-30T07:57:00.001-07:00

"Next on line?"
"No, you don't have to wait on line for that."

I have heard this for like, the 100th-plus time, when I'm waiting in line for a counter. I don't get it. My initial reaction is, "Um are you talking about the 'Internets?' Because no, I'm not online, on the Internets; I'm actually here, in person, in a physical line."

I don't even own an iPhone or a Blackberry, so I'm not even online there... I'm not ON a line, unless maybe you drew one on the floor? But I don't see a line drawn on the floor. I'm in the line. Am I crazy? Who uses "on line" in this context?

Apparently all of New York.

These are New Yorkers working at the DMV, at boutiques, delis, hot dog joints, at the airport, or getting interviewed for New York Magazine...

Is it a New York thing? Or a generational thing where people are misconstruing their prepositions due to all the confusing web jargon? Is it a language fad, where mixing prepositions is cool? Are there New Yorkers who don't even know that "online" is in reference to internet status? Am I just being a total web Nerd? Am I just officially old and not understanding what the kids are saying? Did some celebrity use it this way in a popular movie that I haven't seen, like "High School Musical 2"? I am so confused.

Back to the Nuthouse

2008-08-28T21:33:00.001-07:00

School started this week, and already I am feeling the abuse. My ass is feeling sore from sitting on that hard, wooden chair ALL DAY LONG. The a/c is always too low or too high. Teachers are warning us of the impending workload and to stay on top of things. Carrying my laptop and supplies to school is already straining my shoulders.

On the first day, the chair of the department talked to us with an ever-present, encouraging smile, but she let it slip that several of the models made by our class last semester ended up looking like "shit" and that we weren't going to let that happen this year. We were also given the grand opportunity to tackle an extra assignment this year for the Toy Industry Association, an assignment that was already failed by a world-famous graphic designer. Just like last semester, we have classes for most of the day, from Monday through Saturday, and 4 out of those 6 days, we don't finish classes until after 8 or 9pm.

This year, our major project is to write, design, illustrate, and create childrens' books, based on our storybook plush character that we designed last semester. And then we design licensed toy products based on the books we create.

So on Wednesday, we each took turns presenting our outlines and rough plots for our story characters. Very quickly, it became apparent that everyone's invented storybook character was a mirror of themselves. It got to the point that my BFF and I had to refrain ourselves from cracking up, because as soon as each person started to talk about their characters, it sounded like them talking about their autobiography. And most of them didn't even seem to realize it!

After each character was presented, the class would ask questions, give feedback, and brainstorm to help them develop their stories, in case it didn't feel complete or needed more direction. In the end, it seemed that this process helped everyone quite a bit.

But there were a few storylines that sounded a bit flawed and unbalanced, which felt very awkward and uncomfortable, because it seemed to reveal unresolved issues about that person! And so toward the second half of the day, it began to feel more like a group therapy session that would never end. Or a painful Alcoholics Anonymous session that needed to be picked up another day.

For example, one story involved two main characters, who were part-human, part-animal (drawn much cuter than it sounds). Basically the story starts with them being ostracized by people in the city, so the main characters escape to the forest to find each other as best friends, who bond through their different but complementary personality traits. But they never reconcile with the people they escaped from!

So basically the story makes it sound like people will forever be evil. Or that you should just run away from your problems. Another student asked for clarification on what the message of the story was about. The answer was, "Well I see it as a story about acceptance, like people should accept other differences." Really? Huh. Because it sounded like the message was that different people should be segregated. Luckily after some brainstorming, we helped her balance the story out and she agreed to leave out the "evil people." Phew!

When I shared my character's story with my class, K-boy asked me if there was a romantic interest in the story. I said, "No. Princess Mooki is too young. She probably thinks she's too good for boys at this point. Maybe that'll be for Volume 5." I didn't even realize until later, that I had basically outlined an unusually feminist princess story, where she wasn't going to be saved by a boy; boys didn't even enter into the plot, and it was all about her learning to be the ruler she was destined to be.

It was a little exhausting to go through a whole day of this. But at the same time, I think it will be exciting to see everyone's finished work at the end of the year. After that class ended, already my classmates were acting loopy, goofing around and making strange voices like they were drunk or high. Except nobody had ingested any alcohol or illegal substances. And this was just the FIRST WEEK!

You see why I am a little concerned.

And THEN, today it verged into physical abuse when the chair of the department actually smacked me on the arm! This was over a totally normal question I asked about what was due the next day. I think she must have misinterpreted the question, (to mean that I expected another student to do more work than she had to?). I believe she smacked me jokingly, but it was kind of hard! Half of the classmates that witnessed it gasped, and then laughed nervously, because they all already kind of fear her.

I don't fear her (because I'm old and I know I can already get a job, which gives me the opportunity to not really give a shit about what people think, and I already have a degree so I don't really care about getting a 2nd BA). But I was weirded out all the same, and so my reaction was, "Uh, WOW." It was totally uncalled for, and not really that funny.

But I have learned from a very early age, that there will always be crazy people around me, and I am not fazed by them. They are temporary distractions, and I don't let them get the best of my good energy. Nonetheless, wish me luck this year!

Oh, in other news, the girls in my class have decided that our MIT-alum, Ph.D-earning math teacher is this semester's eye candy. Well, except maybe for his buck teeth. We like his brains, humor, hair, clothes, and that he noticeably works out. But he ruined it for me today though, when he revealed that he was born in 1980. Holy crap I am old.

Anyway, I've decided to be a Golden Girl. I recently came to the revelation that dating and relationships don't do it for me, even if I did have the time for it. I'm a really contented person on my own, as long as I have my friends and my creativity. (Either way I figure it's inevitable that I will become a crazy old lady, probably not much different from the chair of my department!)

So, thank you for being a friend. Your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidante...

What explosion?

2008-08-10T10:54:00.001-07:00

Whoa. Apparently there were huge propane explosions and evacuations this morning in northwest Toronto. Luckily it's not in my neighborhood and I slept through it this morning. Sounds about time to return to the States!

(Photo from ctv)

Brush ya shoulder off

2008-08-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

I recently confirmed that both the office cutie and the SF guy I was in the process of forgetting about... do have girlfriends. Not surprising. Cuties do generally attract girlfriends.

Well, thank goodness I didn't send that note to the office cutie. That could have been embarrassing. I was sad about the other guy for a little bit, but at least he apologized for his general jackassery.

It wasn't anything that a few Bloody Caesars, Canadian beers, and girly shopping couldn't remedy. (Have you tried a Bloody Caesar? Apparently it's the official Canadian cocktail, which is basically a Bloody Mary but with clamato instead of tomato juice. It is fantastic, and you should really have one sometime.)

I take it as a good sign that instead of wanting to mope and wallow in sad or angry lonely-girl songs, I kept skipping to my peppier tunes on my iPod. I also enjoyed my last two evenings with Annabelle, who was ending her internship earlier than me and had to return to So-Cal this morning.

Friday was her last night here, so a coworker gave us each a free Pixos Super Studio toy, which we proceeded to lug with us around to the local bars. To celebrate her last night, we had double-scoop ice cream waffle cones, martinis, mozzarella sticks, and Canadian beers for dinner. It sounded like a recipe for a fantastic stomachache, but we didn't care.

Of course, I tried to make up for the reckless eating/drinking with one of my last few trips to the gym today. Sadly, I doubt I'll be able to keep up an exercise regimen while I'm back in school. I think the closest I can hope for is the very occasional escape to a dance club. Or bopping to my own dance music at home by myself when I'm taking a homework break. So I'm just going to return to appreciating my rotund belly after I leave this gym-friendly home.

Unfortunately, it's raining on my very last weekend in Toronto, which means I won't be able to enjoy the beach before I leave. But maybe that just means I'll have to come back for another visit in the future.

I also took it as an opportunity for uncrowded shopping. I bought five pairs of earrings, a nifty Canadian-designed handbag that converts into a backpack, and a saucy 30s-styled dress. (And a felting needle for work.) Hmm, maybe I'll wear the dress for my birthday!

While I truly enjoyed my stay in lovely Toronto and will savor my last week here, I will be so happy to see all my U.S. friends again in New York and San Francisco very soon. And what better way to finish my summer break than with a Goh Nakamura show and a bachelorette party in San Francisco!? Join me at Goh's show at Cafe du Nord on the 20th if you can!

I'll be a happy old lady goddammit.

2008-07-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

A recent study shows that statistically, men get happier as they get older, whereas women get sadder... generally due to the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of goals relating to family and finances.

This doesn't surprise me, but it doesn't help to hear this spelled out in a "scientific" study.

So... basically I will be spending the rest of my life fighting these odds... just as I suspected since childhood.

F you effers and your Y-chromosomes. Time to go look at that fortune of mine...

P.S. I am an old lady

2008-07-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

Three somewhat unremarkable things to note:

I am over the office cutie.

It was weird. I had a one-on-one meeting with him, and I was strangely unattracted. Maybe he needed more personality. Maybe hearing his voice from afar made him more alluring. Maybe it was that ring on his pinky finger. I don't like a guy who wears more jewelry than I do on a regular basis. Whatever it was, I just somehow wasn't lost in his eyes.

It's just as well, as he is likely far too young and I live in that other distant country normally. But Toronto is running out of time (three weeks!) to seduce me back into its clutches after I graduate! Guess I'll have to find someone in NY or Cali after all...

My B-boying career will have to wait.

I had my second appointment with a trainer at the gym. As she was stretching one of my legs, I felt a shooting pain. I told her that I thought it was from the breakdancing class. So she said that maybe I should hold off on continuing that class until I build up my strength/flexibility more. Plus she said I should take a bath in some Epsom salt to ease my muscles. Probably wise advice.

But I am sad and old.

I don't care what you say, I love those dance competition shows!

I can't believe Will was voted off So You Think You Can Dance. He's probably the best dancer on the show. And I already miss Gev. But I do like all of the remaining dancers on show, so the rest of this season is just going to be really upsetting every time they kick someone off.

As for the judges, I love Nigel's classy British critiques, and Toni Basil is pretty rad too. But sometimes I want to strangle Mary and her spastic screams. And I love Cat Deeley's dresses and accessories. And I commend her on keeping her distinctively crooked nose.

Also, America's Best Dance Crew is even making me sad as they kick off whole teams of sobbing b-boys and b-girls. Why can't they ALL WIN??? Waaah.

Summer dresses are magic

2008-07-27T20:14:00.001-07:00

lobster claw
Originally uploaded by Simon Goldenberg

Last night, Annabelle (the other toy design intern) and stopped at an outdoor patio bar for a drink. We got seated next to a table of musicians, who were taking a break from their performance. Then I saw the waiter carry an enormous platter of seafood to their table.

I wasn't even hungry. But that platter looked awesome!

So we kept chatting, sipping on our alcoholic beverages, when all of a sudden, the guitarist at the next table piped up and said, "Are you hungry? You should have some! It's good!"

How did he read my MIND!? I don't usually take food from strangers, but I saw this platter come from the kitchen, and I am not one to refuse free SEAFOOD. Also, when do students ever refuse free food?

Before we could answer, he handed Annabelle a LOBSTER claw and me a lobster leg. They even handed us the little lobster-crushing device. Annabelle said, "How do you do this?" She never had eaten lobster from the shell! I said, "Wow! Well you are in for a treat!" And I assisted her with the cracking, as we made a big mess all over the table. That felt very big-sister-y, which was fun.

The musicians kept trying to hand us food, like shrimp! But I stopped at the broccoli.

Later when they started performing again, they drunkenly sang a little Bee Gees ("How Deep is Your Love"). It made me miss my ol' karaoke-ing days in the U.S. Annabelle didn't recognize the song, because she was born in the '80s. I foolishly started informing her about John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever" and disco. And then I told her she should check out The Bird and the Bee's gorgeous cover of that song.

One of the bandmates at the table (who looked something like Will.i.am of BEP) was drumming on the napkin holder, subsequently sending a glass of beer smashing to the floor. He gave a brief look of "Oops!" and moved the rest of the beers away from the edge of the table as they continued playing.

Eventually the guitarist sang "Lady in Red" to embarrass me. (–Even though, as Annabelle noticed, my dress was actually orange.)

He made me promise to come back again the next night. We tried to tell him that we had JOBS to worry about, so we couldn't be out late on a Sunday. This didn't register, because the guitarist asked us if we smoked weed. He probably found the only two women in Toronto over 20 years old who had never smoked pot and weren't planning to smoke it anytime in the future.

As amusing as the band was, I probably won't make it back there again during my short stay here. As I told Annabelle, something about the whole evening reminded me of Paris, except it was the CN tower in the distance instead of the Eiffel Tower. It made me want to visit Paris again.

So if you're ever in Toronto, check out the Portuguese restaurant on Augusta St. in Kensington Market on a weekend night, and tell the old guitarist from Trinidad in the band that the lady in red says hello.

B-boying with Canucks

2008-07-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, I walked up the street from work and walked into a little dance studio, to take a beginner breakdancing class. I got there early, so I sat down and killed some time by crocheting, in my glasses and jeans.

People showed up in more elastic or loose clothes. Some of the others started stretching. Clearly, I wasn't prepared for this "beginner" class, with my big nerd glasses and jeans. To my relief, the class was very evenly split by gender. I love Toronto's diversity.

The instructor, who called himself "Dizzee," was exuding energy, because he just won a competition last weekend with one of the best Korean b-boy teams. Dizzee explained that real breakdancers call it "b-boying," not "breakdancing." He said he had been b-boying for about 14 years.

Dizzee was great, because he cared enough to talk a little bit about the history of breakdancing before we started learning any moves. He even explained how the different styles evolved from different regions. Brooklyn style has more poses, Queens demonstrates more poses, and the Latin influences added more fluidity to it. Today, he would teach us the Brooklyn style.

How great is it that I had to move from New York to Canada, to learn about a New York-based dance?

He started out pretty easy, with a basic side-to-side hop-step. He was pleased to see that the whole class was pretty good with rhythm. Then he had us throw in a drop to our knees on the last beat.

Then he actually taught us specific poses, explaining that b-boying was a lot about exuding confrontational confidence and stealing it from your b-boying opponent.

Pose #1: Picture the standard rapper pose, with the arms crossed, tilted head, and a laid-back furrowed brow or squinty eyes.

Pose #2: Stand with a wide stance and arms outstretched with the palms open. This is the more confrontational pose, as if to say, "So whatcha want!?" or "Bring it!"

Pose #3: Kneeling on one knee, with an arm loosely rested on the upper knee. It's propped up on one foot, not the ass, slightly upright but still relaxed. Like you just finished something and you're sayin. "That's right. I did that. And it was easy."

He said we should end every performance with one of these poses to make it look that much more powerful.

I am not the most competitive person, nor am I very confrontational. So maybe this was a good mental exercise for me. But mostly I was highly amused with the whole situation.

Then he basically taught us a basic shuffle, which is a lot like that Russian kick dance. Uh oh. I just saw an episode of "So You Think You Can Dance," in which Nigel (a judge) commented on how impressed he was when the dancers pulled off those difficult Russian dance kicks. But... these were very physically fit, trained dancers. So.... how am I supposed to pull off these shuffle-kick moves?

We did a few of these, propped up on our hands. Then we tried it with just one hand. Then we alternated hands. Never have I sweat so badly... in my life!

Then he taught us how to turn this shuffle, by shifting to face the floor, like a push-up, while crossing your legs to the beat. First to the left, then to the right.

The a/c wasn't very good, so by the second break, I was about to pass out. I foolishly had no water with me, but I did take a swig of root beer that I had with me. I realized that my whole shirt was soaked in sweat! You have to realize, that I don't sweat much. I probably break a sweat mayyyybe 10 days out of the year. So the soaked shirt was a little shocking. And the sweat was fogging up my glasses, like the nerd that I am.

Toward the end, he had us try freezes. Basically you position your elbows toward your stomach and balance your whole body off the ground, held up on just your hands... and maybe your forehead. This is tricky for us ladies, because the boobs get in the way, even if they aren't even that big!

Then he taught us to do freezes on our sides. I started to get the hang of this, but my wrists felt like they were going to break off, and I didn't feel like smashing my face into my glasses, so I stopped. Aaaand I am old and feeble. Dizzee was very encouraging, saying we all seemed to be getting it. He said he was impressed, because it took him forever to accomplish his first freeze.

And then to be nice, he taught us the easiest freeze, in which you roll backward and prop your back up with your arms in a semi-headstand. Phew, I could handle that!

Finally, he had us use everything we learned, by practicing it all from beginning to end, like a BATTLE. He split us up on two sides of the room. One side went through all the moves first, and then we took our turn. I was thankful, because that meant I had a few minutes to regain some semblance of strength.

I tried to ignore my fatigue and fumbled through all the moves, with my jeans falling off and probably exposing my underpants (like a real b-boy, right!?!?). But I did do it to the beat and ended with the "bring it" pose. We high-fived our opponents and ended class. I ran out to catch the streetcar home, where I promptly returned to crocheting, quietly beatboxing under my breath, as the b-boy beat remained in my head.

I was relieved and amazed that I made it to the end of class! And it was painful, but it was also a lot of fun! Of course, I felt like a cripple the next day and it hurt to take any stairs for the next three days. We'll see if my muscles recover in time for next Monday's class. If I go again, I'll drop the glasses. But I will still be the nerdiest b-girl ever.

Ducky image by cool_colonia4711
Kitty image from The Fuzzy Squid.
Rapper kid image by monitorpop
So You Think You Can Dance from Fox.com
Freeze image by Peter Tsai Photography

Finally!

2008-07-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

It only took me about oh, twenty years to finally do it.

After getting a haircut this morning, I took a streetcar to run an errand. On the way over, I spotted the boutique. I took it as a sign, and stopped in to asked the salesclerk about the procedure and cost. She explained the process and the upkeep. I said I'd think about it. I left the shop, and it started to rain heavily. I came back to Claire's a minute later and said, "Okay, I'll do it."

I signed a surprisingly elaborate form, indicating my name, address, birthdate, and that I understood the procedure and risk of infection. The salesclerk took me to the special station to have a seat.

She showed me gold, white gold, cubic zirconia and a selection of birthstone studs. I chose my birthstone, which was a pretty light green. I pushed aside the Claire's-branded teddy bear in the chair and sat down. The salesclerk asked if I had ever fainted before, and I said "No. I've given blood before, so I think I'll be fine."

The salesclerk didn't even make fun of me for being old. She said she pierced a lot of adult ears who wanted additional holes. And one time, she even pretended to be Hannah Montana's cousin, at the request of a girl's mom, because that was the only way the girl would let someone pierce her (the girl's) ears! Now why would a mom want her daughter's ears to be pierced so badly –and even make someone lie to make it happen? That's some kind of crazy opposite-land I don't understand!

The salesclerk put the gloves on, marked my ears, and I approved the placement in the mirror. She got the gun out. I winced as she counted "1... 2... 3!" but it hardly hurt at all! Easy peasy. I was relieved... that I was happy to finally see leetle gems on my ears, which meant I didn't regret it. And soon I will be able to wear hoops and dangly earrings like I always wanted!

But the trouble has already started. I already ordered hoop earrings (shown above) from the fabulous Fred Flare, which I can't even wear for at least another six weeks! Really, they were the impetus for me to finally get my ears pierced... and later I'll finally be able to wear earrings made by my very talented friends at Joy O & Square Six!

Oh, btw this morning I got big, thick bangs cut, so I basically look like my olllllld-school self, circa 1986. (Cuz you know, I need more ways to look ridiculously young for my age.) Also, it just so happens that my supervisor is out of town for another week (working in China). So he's going to return and find a whole new-looking intern!

So, what next? Maybe I'll finally get that tattoo? Except I think that'll be slightly more painful.

I'll ponder that tomorrow as I crochet among a rainy field of Canadian hipsters at the Rogers' Picnic. There are a lot of tattoo parlors in that 'hood, I think. But I probably wouldn't do it until some crazy night of drinking, which really doesn't happen as much anymore for me. Well, there is that bachelorette party coming up in August...

Not-so-deep thoughts

2008-07-14T17:57:00.001-07:00

I just went to my first trainer session at the gym. Luckily she went pretty easy on me, given my history of disregard for the gym. She showed me some nifty ab crunch exercises that I like much better than sit-ups. But they still hurt.

Now I am contemplating an ice cream sandwich.

Other things I have been contemplating:

I'd rather buy new dresses and toys than buy an iPhone (which is precisely what I did last weekend). Oh yes, envy my new, awesomely cuddly Sasquatch, designed by the always amazing (and Canadian) Meomi:

Fine artists who make no effort to master their medium are rather irksome. (as witnessed at a recent art reception where someone made art out of her crap-tastic cellphone video. She admitted she didn't know how to use actual video equipment.)

The selection of men on Match.com makes me think I'd be much happier dying single.

The selection of men-in-my-building-elevator who-are-mostly-headed-to-the-gym makes me think maybe I don't want to die single... until I realize that most of them are gay.

Don't the folks at beautifulpeople.net (–a Canadian dating/social site for "beautiful people only," which I heard about from Canada's MTV) know how easy it is to fake their online beauty? Oh, maybe that's because these retards built the site to work on IE only, for punk-ass PC users. What is this, 1999?

Thank goodness Drew Barrymore realized she could do better than Justin Long, but I can totally understand her temporary lack of judgement. I'm sure she'll find her way back into love. (God I love that cheesy-ass song and movie!)

I watched this funny video blog (vlog?? blehgh), called Pot Psychology for the first time. It's an advice column that used to be in text. One of the questions they answered was "How much coke is too much?" One pothead answered, "There is never enough coke. That's why you don't start."

This is the same reasoning for my ears not being pierced. There are never enough cute earrings.

But my god, this pothead chick is the most stylish girl I have seen. I want all her clothes and accessories. This does not mean I will start smoking pot, but it may mean I will pierce my ears to rock big, gorgeous hoops like she does. And I really do need big bangs again.

Some may find this hard to believe, but I have never tried pot (unless you count the the second-hand pot smoke at various concerts). I never was inclined to, because I giggle way too much as it is, nothing really stresses me that badly (anymore), and I already have a tendency to laze about at home all day long. So the last thing I need is something that exacerbates this. I might die giggling.

So basically, I am already a pothead, without the pot. If I needed to be on a drug, it would be speed. But coffee will have to do for now.

Why is the best women's magazine in Australia and only available to U.S. subscribers for over $100? I guess I'll have to subscribe to MissBehave for ten bucks instead.

I am having a pho lunch tomorrow with the office cutie... and about ten other coworkers. He joked about stinking up the office with Durian shakes.

Later, I sent him and my supervisor this link to an awesome Transformers birthday cake. He replied (to all) that he would want a Transformers wedding cake someday. Holy crap, is he talking weddings already!? Whoa, there mister.

This could be love.

Unless he already has a fiancée. Which really just means I'll have to take her down with my newly gym-trained MUSCLES!

Pixar created yet another touching, adorable, and funny film with Wall-e. Don't get distracted by the fact that he looks like the "Short Circuit" robot or that Eva looks like a baby storm trooper. It is a really sweet love story... that also makes me feel guilty for making toys that will likely fill the landfills of the world. Sniff.

Photo of durian-avocado shake by foodie.jenius.

B-Boys, Pink Yarn, and Cute Engineers

2008-07-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I've been busy shopping, enjoying Canada Day weekend, free concerts (Ladytron at the Harbourfront Centre), free breakdance battle shows, knitting a cat-eared hat (for a second cousin), working on girly toys, visiting the gym, getting addicted to Scramble (Facebook's version of Boggle), buying scented dolls, and avoiding homework.

Also there's a ridiculously cute engineer at work. I have no idea how old he is, because he's Chinese, and you know how hard it is to tell with us Asians. I probably don't even register as a blip on his radar, because I am a lowly intern from New York.

I learned today, that he is a fan of Transformers. I was thinking I could leave a trail of Transformers to my desk. Except that would probably attract just about any male in the building. Basically, I am resorting to the tactics of a 9-year old, trying to lure an alien.

How about this plan? I was going to find some cute stationery and write the following:

Hey, I think you're cute.

Please check one of the following and return this note to me:

[] Are you high? I will burn this and pretend this never happened.
[] Aww, that's cute, but I'm gay. You can be my faghag though.
[] Let's not and say we did.
[] I don't think my girlfriend would like that. Please don't look at me anymore.
[] Well, that's cool, but I'm waiting to see if five other hot chicks are into me.
[] Aren't you an intern and moving to NY in about a month? Hmm, let's just be friends.
[] Aren't you an intern moving to NY in about a month? Sweet! Let's go dancin!
[] Hmm, aren't you old? Sorry, but you ain't no Demi Moore.
[] Well... let's just be friends until you graduate and I transfer to the L.A. office, and you get a job there to support me with your absurd double-Bachelor's degrees, while I rise to fame as the new hot Asian-Canadian actor, and then we can marry and have adorable little Chinese kids that the other celebs will want to adopt.
[] Uhh, I don't know if I like you yet. Wear a really hot dress and we can try dinner.
[] I am sports-obsessed and won't touch a karaoke room with a 10-foot pole, so really, it's not meant to be.
[] You're cute too! Let's go see Wall-e or something.
[] Who are you?

xoxo, the intern

Actually, I nearly did something like this with Keroppi paper, when I was ohhh, 20 years old. Except that one just said "I think you are cute." I ended up ditching that tactic and ended up calling the guy at the office to invite him to a movie. It turned out he liked me all along. A lot. I showed the note to him later, which he put in his pocket as he left our first date. We ended up dating for... 3 years!

Shop, eat, shop, eat, shop, gym? ...shop?

2008-06-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

I've realized that I enjoy getting groceries. I think it's because I missed having access to big groceries in New York. I like exploring and browsing products in the aisles and trying new food products.

Like they have this peach-mango tofu dessert at the ValuMart that I really like! And Oreo CAKESTERS are AMAZING. You must have one if you haven't yet. And I found that I love those pre-packaged Thai sauces, so I just add chopped veggies and meats, then I can make easy and delicious noodle and rice dishes!

(See full-size image here)

Also, while shopping in Kensington Market (which is a neighborhood known for bohemian, vintage, and produce shopping), I found the most adorable aprons! So I had to buy one for myself, so I can cook in style... even if I do live by myself, hah.

I do enjoy wearing fun clothes, for myself. I think some people misunderstand this. What I prefer to wear, tends to be over dressed for the usual everyday situation. If I had my way, I'd just wear flirty party dresses everyday, everywhere. And maybe pearls and a tiara. And I'd alternate boots with heels. (Okay, I still actually do that last part regularly.)

But in reality, I end up wearing jeans, tees, and sneakers most weekdays, because I usually don't like the extra attention that people give me when I dress up at work/school. Like I have to explain myself for looking nice! And it's annoying, even if they supposedly mean well. It's like this bizarro contradiction of my own vanity and modesty. Yes, I have some neuroses.

Also, people think that for some reason, wearing a dress is not as comfortable as wearing jeans and a shirt. Or that wearing a dress is more complicated! Unless you plan to be performing some athletic feat requiring you to flip around and flash your panties, this doesn't make any sense.

For one thing, a dress is in ONE piece. So I don't have to think about which top goes with which bottom. I just throw it on and voila! I look all tidy and nice. AND, dresses don't restrict your legs. This is a bigger issue for women, who vary so much in the waist/hip area. This is why trying on jeans is a pain in the ass –literally, whereas trying on dresses is more fun.

So anyway, now that I live solo in a new city, and it's summer (the BEST season for cute dresses), I feel inclined to play dress up even more than usual. Basically I am still playing dress-up and hair stuff, into my 30s and beyond. And now I can think of it as research for relating to girls' play in toys.

(photo by Mostlymaple)

Of course, with the allure of Oreo Cakesters and Torontonian foods, I haven't been getting any exercise to balance that out. And I feel that pudge getting in the way when I try on new pants. So today on the way home from boutique shopping... I joined the gym!!

Hath Hell frozen over??? Well, it's only for 6 weeks, because then I move back to that other city with the crazy school where I have absolutely no time for the gym or the people outside of school who I miss. Sniff. I just hope I make good use of the gym; it's actually in the building where I live, so I figure I have no excuse to avoid it. Except I have no gym shoes. Ooh! More excuses to go shopping!

Hmm. Maybe I should quit working for the corporate office types (even the casual ones) and become some kind of toy artist / illustrator. Then I really could wear party dresses and tiaras on a daily basis, and people wouldn't think I was crazy. Or they'd just accept I was crazy, because artists are allowed to be that way. Plus I'd have art openings where I'd have a reason to dress up! And I wouldn't have to deal with the demands of WalMart (which influences a lot of the mass-market toys) or working with the Commies in China, tainting our paints and plastics!

Then again, the life of an artist does not work well with the desires of a shop-a-holic. Doh!

Blargh

2008-06-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

I accidentally ordered way too much food in Toronto's Chinatown for dinner and felt like I was going to regret it from the moment it arrived at the table. I wasn't even that hungry to begin with! I just wanted to try this noodle place that my cousin had recommended! It was so bad, I started to feel like I was in a food-eating contest. I stopped before downing the last two lychees in my drink.

I've generally overdosed on food over the last couple of days. My friend Amy stopped by for a wedding last weekend, so I joined her for a splurgy Omakase dinner last Thursday at Kaiseke Sakura (tragically, we both forgot our cameras). It was really wonderful, authentic Japanese food.

Then the other intern and I accidentally ordered way too much food at a Vietnamese food on Saturday. Plus we had the jumbo hot dogs at the street vendors for dinner. (Quite a bargain for Toronto food, and tasty too!) And last night, I met my friend Holly, who was visiting her brother who also lives in downtown Toronto.

After Holly introduced me to the delicious sushi from Sushi Marché, we went to get "Timbits" at Tim Horton's, which is apparently some kind of Canadian staple. Timbits are basically donut holes, so as you might guess, Tim Horton's is basically the Dunkin' Donuts of Canada.

I especially enjoyed the cruller Timbits, but ALSO I indulged in a special new strawberry blossom donut they had, that's shaped like a cute little pink flower, with red jelly in the middle and delightful strawberry candy sprinkles on icing. It is a sugary explosion of joy. It reminded me of the strawberry shortcake ice cream bar that you can get at New York ice cream trucks, which I also highly recommend!

I feel very lucky to know so many friends and family (who especially enjoy food), that even when I move to a new city (and country), I know I won't be go for too long without seeing someone I know. I think part of it is also getting older (having met so many people throughout the years), as well as having worked at such a huge company that employed such friendly people (Yahoo!).

I still miss my Karaoke-in' friends, but alas all my fun has to go on hold again, because I'm totally behind on my HOMEWORK! Isn't it enough that we have full-time jobs to deal with? As well as adjusting to new living environments!? I am reconsidering taking that year off from school or... perhaps dropping out. This is redonkulous. I have a degree already after all!

BTW, the judges on "Canadian Idol" are way too nice. Where is Canadian Simon??

(Donut image from Flickr user, Kodamakitty)

Hello Summer!

2008-06-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

I am so happy summer is here. It's my favorite season. Today I joined the other Toy Design intern to check out the local street festival, and thanks to my first paycheck, I got myself a shirt, purse, and some books. Guess I'll be shipping stuff back to New York later!

I'll say more about Toronto later, but for now I will say it's been treating me quite nicely, and it's a lovely place to live –in the summer, that is. The temps range between upper 60s and low 80s, which is just about perfect for me. The only thing is that I can't read the freaking weather reports on tv because they're all in CELSIUS! Thank goodness for the internets.

On a downer note, I am already behind on my goddamned summer homework. Can't a girl get a break!?

Also: that guy I liked so much... apparently now has a girlfriend!? Goddamn!

Okay, I admit, I am not entirely surprised. And I don't even want to know when this happened. But doesn't he know that I am the one???

Well, if he's anything like my exes, he'll snap out of this cloud of stupidity in a year and ask to be with me again. Except, from past experience, I'll have to make it clear that I'm over it by then, and then he'll marry the next person he dates. Apparently that is my lot in life. In the meantime, I am doing my best to forget about him. –Like, pretending that he's dead, so I can still look back at the memories with some remnant of fondness.

ANYhow, Spin Master is a great place to work so far. Oddly, it shares some striking similarities with my old days at Yahoo (as opposed to its more somber days now), which is a good thing:

The company was started by a few young guys, now in their mid thirties

People work in open cubicles, mostly decorated with piles of toys

Everyone who works there is super friendly and likable, and people are free to wear jeans or summer dresses to work

When you start your job, they give you your name printed on a purple star (Yahoo! prints it on a gold star)

Free bagels and various shmears/spreads on most mornings

Employees are super nice to the interns, giving them real work, inviting them to big meetings and throwing them fancy dinners

Marketing folks do their best to make designers antsy at their jobs

Designers struggle to balance meetings with time to actually design

Engineers like to tell Designers what can't be done

They manage to recover from PR disasters (like selling date rape drugs by accident, or pushing porn online)

I end up having to decline contract work, because I have enough work to deal with as it is, and I like to keep my free time free

I often get away with free lunches (for things like open brainstorms and presentations)

They offer volunteer opportunities to employees, to give back to the community

It's part of my job to play with things

We produce things that bring general goodness into the world (At least, I like to think so)

It's fun to answer strangers who ask what you do

I found myself watching the other designers try on wigs and afros (Some of you might remember that an afro played a key role in an early Yahoo! commercial)

There is an upcoming tropical-themed office party, luring us with a limbo stick and karaoke video games

Things at Spin Master that are not like my old job:

No free espresso bar (but of course, we get free drip coffee)

Lots of women work here

No free gym, no free commuter bus (but free rent and utilities for interns!)

Facebook is blocked (which is wise on their part, especially if they knew my habits)

The other designers like to drink

The things I work on... probably end up contributing to landfills more than I'd like them to

Nobody IMs at work... and I don't mind it

I use colored pencils just as much as I use my mouse, and sometimes more than the mouse

People don't really care about having the latest gadgets (my supervisor doesn't even own a cell phone!)

The office generally empties out by 6:30pm

My vast knowledge of cuteness, fashion, pop culture, and toys comes in super-handy

People don't presume that this industry is all anyone ever thinks and talks about

The office is walking distance to the local funky fashion district and all kinds of awesome shopping

No stock options, no six-figure salary. –Doh! (It's not about the money, right? RIGHT?)

If they get me a Brobee doll, I'm pretty close to being sold on working for them post-graduation. Also they have an L.A. office!

Also, that thing about how the sun doesn't go down here until like 9pm? It completely messes with my head, because then I feel like I should stay up later than I should, and then I don't get enough sleep and I get groggy all week at work. Which leads me to getting to bed now.

(BTW, I am very much digging the album "Shine," by Estelle. You may have heard her single, "American Boy" featuring Kanye West. It's the perfect album for summer listening.)

Hope you're all enjoying your summers too!

It's hot here, eh?

2008-06-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

After staying up all of my last night in New York – to pack and clean up my apartment for my summer subletter, I finally made my way to Toronto! Tomorrow I start my internship!

Here are some highlights so far...

While waiting for my flight, I noticed that Jill Hennessey, star of Crossing Jordan, was on the same flight! Not sure how I recognized her, because I don't think I've ever watched a full episode of her show.

This was also the tiniest international flight I've been on. There were probably at most, 50 seats on the plane? I think I've been on buses bigger than this plane. Well, it was less than a two-hour flight, so I guess it was like jetting from SFO to LAX.

The nice Canadians kept offering to help me to carry my enormous suitcases.

The cable guy who came in to fix my Internets, asked me if I was over 18 years old. I said "yes," and laughed. He said, "Are you sure?" (He was Asian, too.)

The temps are in the 80s with a lovely breeze, and the sun doesn't go down until like 9pm!

My condo rental (expensed by my summer employer) is clean and hotel-like, with in-unit washer-dryer, a bay window in the bedroom and weekly housekeeping!?

I like how everything is presented in English and French here. Maybe I'll brush up on my Francais.

There's a grocery store with nice produce, right next to my place, and a drugstore on the other side. I went grocery shopping and amused myself by buying things like "Kraft Dinner" instead of "Mac 'n' Cheese."

With my open new kitchen, I actually cooked myself a meal (vegetarian Pad Thai), which I hadn't done in ages! And it was actually tasty.

Toronto is very, very clean. I don't think I've seen any graffiti anywhere. Even the hot dog stands seem significantly tidier than in New York.

There are a lot of athletic people around here. Like 90 percent of the people I see passing through the doors are wearing athletic gear or coming back from a bike ride. But that may be because there's a gym below my condo. This makes me feel a little like a lazy slob. So I'm actually pondering joining the gym.

But I suspect that thought will pass after this week is over.

Okay, I should probably start my homework that was due last Thursday. Hopefully by next week, I'll have more to report on Toronto!

Dirty Designers

2008-05-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I hear things in class, that might sound really bad out of context, such as these lines I've heard from our soft toy (plush sewing) class:

Sewing Assistant: Gimme your body.
Fred: What?

Jee: I really like Miso's tail! It's so fat.
Me: Yeah, I like a toy with a big booty.

K-boy: Do you like my body?

Of course, all of this is really quite innocent. The sewing assistant is always saying things that sound strange like that, because she is constantly helping us create and revise the sewing patterns for the body parts of our plush toys. And the students like to comment on each others' work.

This also came up when we were learning how to create light and shadow as we drew fashion dolls for our Computer Rendering class:

Will: Oooh. Miso, your boobs are really nice!!

And then there are other times, when we really aren't discussing toys at all:

K-boy: Your boobs grew.
Me: What?
K:boy: Your boobs grew.
Me: Uhm. No...
K-boy: (looks around the room) Jan isn't here today, so you win for biggest boobs.

I told Jan about this later, and she said, "I didn't know there was a contest." I said, "I didn't either."

Not surprisingly, this kind of inappropriate banter is usually started by a guy. I don't mind it when the gay guys do it, because it's just silly and often funny. But when the straight ones joke about boobs or whatever, it's not so funny. That just comes off as more awkward and sad. Luckily that doesn't happen much, and it's never really directed at any of the ladies in class. Cuz that would just be sexual harassment.

But don't ask me why one of the gay guys was checking out my boobs. (I think I had a more fitted sweater that day.) He is also the same one who suggested we get married, but he just wants me for the U.S. citizenship.

Learnin' American with Miso & Lilo

2008-05-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

We have a few international students in our Toy Design class, all from Korea. One of them, Jee, sits next to me. So every once in awhile, she will ask Lilo (who is American-raised, from a Taiwanese-American family like I am) or me to explain something she doesn't understand.

One day, during our Soft Toy (sewing) class, Lilo was studying out loud for our History of Industrial Design quiz, partly to help us study too:

Lilo: How do I remember that William Morris did the Pimpernel wallpaper? Oh. I know. William Morris was a pimp! Pimpernel Wallpaper!
Me: Hah! That's good. He was a pimp!
Jee: What is "pimp?"
Me: Umm.... it's a hooker's boss.
Jee: A hooker's boss?
Me: Prostitute? A prostitute's boss. But people use "pimp" as slang, like "Dude, you're a pimp!"
Lilo: Yeah, "You're a pimp" is like "You're awesome!"
Jee: So "pimp" is "awesome"?
Me: Yeah, in slang. But in real life, pimps are bad people.
Jee: They're bad? But why?
Lilo: Yeah, he like, owns the hookers, and the hookers do all the work.
Me: And usually they're abusive. Not like I really know about these things, haha.
Lilo: Yeah, like they take all the money from the hookers and then slap them around, hahaha.
Me: But they make lots of money and they flaunt it. Like, show it off? So that's why it's used in slang like that. Like, if you have a cool place, someone would say, "Dude. Your place is pimpin'."
Lilo: Yeah.
Me: But some people think it's politically incorrect. Like, it's really a rude thing to say.
Lilo: No, it IS politically incorrect. But we just say it to be funny.
Me: Yeah, it's more like "gangsta" slang? Like mostly rappers will say it normally? But we wouldn't really say that, unless we're just being ridiculous.
Lilo: Yeah, it's like how we call each other "bitch."
Jee: Ah. Okay.

Other times, Jee will ask us to help her correct her pronunciation. She works very hard at it, because she knows presentation skills are important job skills. Also she doesn't want to sound like she's cussing when she doesn't mean to.

Jee: Miso.
Me: Yes?
Jee: "Sheeyt."
Me: Hmm. close. "Sheet."
Jee: Shit.
Me: Nooo. Sheeeet. Wider in the mouth. Sheeet.
Jee: Sheeeit.
Me: Better. It's "eeeee", versus "ih."
Jee: I can't tell the difference! Do it again.
Me: "eee," "ih". Sheet, shit.
Jee: Hmm. Do you like to eeat a peach on bitch with a sheeteh?
Soo: "Peach" sounded good...
Me: Yeah, just say it like you did with "peach."
Jee: Eit a peach on bitch on a shit.
Me: Hmm. "Eeeee!"
Jee: "Eeeeeeee!"
Lilo: Sheeet. sheet.
Jee: Shieet.
Me: Closer?
Lilo: (shakes head)
Jee: Eat a peach, on beach, on a sheeiet.
Jee: Sheiieet.
Lilo: Now not as slow.
Jee: Shiet.
Me: Hmm.
Jee: Shit.
Me: No.
Lilo: You know, I don't really use "sheet" that often.
Me: And I think people can figure out what you mean in context anyway.
Jee: I know, but I don't want to say the wrong word in a presentation!! Sheeit. Sheeit. Shit.
Me: You could say, "Eat shit on a beach, bitch!" to someone you don't like. Or "Eat a peach on a beach, bitch!"
Jee: No!
Me: Okay, say "Eat a peach at a beach on a sheet."
Jee: Peach. Pitch. Bitch. Bitch. Sheeit. Sheeit. "Eeeat a peach on a beitch on a sheiit."
Me: Hmm. Just keep practicing!
Jee: Sigh.

Later, toward the end of the day, we were in our Computer Rendering class, learning how to color and shade plastic-looking dolls:

Jee: Your doll is peem peem!
Lilo: What?
Jee: Peem... peem?
Lilo: Oh. PIMP-in'. Is that what you're sayin'?
Jee: Peempeen?
Lilo: Pimpin.
Jee: Peempeen? Peempin?
Lilo: Pimpin.
Jee: Yours is peempin.

Aww. I will miss my classmates this summer.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2008-05-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

The Good:

I survived that crazy second semester, with pretty good grades, to boot!

I finally feel rested up. It only took about a week after school ended.

I joined my roommate for pedicures, got a little Memorial Day Soho shopping in, and enjoyed Vietnamese sandwiches with Grace.

I ran into the inspiration for the Shumbee, in Central Park, with Dubbledubs, which was like a mini-Yahoo!-Messenger reunion.

It's sunny and warm in New York! –Even in the evenings, and sunlight lasts way past 7pm!

Warm weather means ice cream trucks all over New York!

My internship is setting me up in a sweet pad in downtown Toronto, where summer will be less humid, and the daylight lasts even longer.

I know a guy who is insanely cute, kissable, smart, fun, creative, talented, successful, social, affectionate, and can name about all the characters in my toy collection. And he mentioned possibly visiting me in Toronto.

As of yesterday, all of my classmates are finally legal to drink. Our Baby's all grows up.

I discovered that Dubbledubs, who mostly doesn't cook, can make delightful deviled eggs.

I finally have some time to go check out New York!

The Bad:

I have homework assignments, with due dates spread throughout this summer. So maybe my summer weekends won't be as free as I thought.

That guy I mentioned earlier, lives about 3,000 miles away. And I'm sure the ladies in his town aren't blind to his charms.

I need to clean out my room for my summer subletter.

I am generally not very dateable, because I keep moving from city to city.

New York is getting smellier.

The Ugly:

I'm missing a somewhat important key.

I can't find my applecare stuff, and I have a tendency to abuse my gadgets.

I got some snailmail, informing me that I have even MORE homework to do throughout the summer, requiring me to pack more art supplies for Toronto.

That guy insists on wearing crocs and is really lame about responding to my emails. (And it turns out that he can't touch-type, even though he's a coder!) So I don't think he'll really visit me in Toronto.

I can find two expired passports, but not my current one! I hope they'll give me a replacement one, based on my old ones...

Ransacking my room, for my passport, etc. has made me tired again. I need a coffee. And a beer.

Time for another bag indulgence?

2008-05-24T04:19:00.000-07:00

Generally I find Coach bags to be boring, but they do have great stitching quality and use the best materials. And every once in a long while, they come out with a design that I really like:

This one is a really good size and seems suitable for everyday use (as opposed to the other two, very season-specific Coach bags I own). I like how it's a fairly understated bag, but has just enough cute elements (patent leather, jumbo clasp, and pleats) to keep it interesting. It might suit my age better (than my other bags, which probably would more likely be shown in Teen Vogue than regular Vogue).

But the price tag! Argh. Come on Yahoo! stock, go up just a little so I can sell my last shares.

Or maybe I should just walk up the block to finally respond to those knockoff sellers on Canal Street that I ignore everyday.

One more year. ONE MORE.

2008-05-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

Here it is, the hard toy project that nearly killed us:

I didn't design this. We built this project, based on an existing design. We were just learning about construction methods for this assignment. Thankfully, mine looks pretty decent, but it's not properly constructed. We were supposed to screw most of it together, but we ended up super-gluing most of it, due to lack of time. And who knows if this floats like it's supposed to. We gave up on making any of the parts squirt. My doors open, and the flag can turn, so that's a lot more than I expected to get done.

Here are some of the other Marina sets built by my classmates:

That front one, by Soo, is nearly perfect. She is one of the very few that actually completed every part. But even she didn't attach the rooftop to the house. I chose to leave my rooftop detached as well, and I gave up on making the nozzles for the firehose and gas pump, myself. You might notice that some of them gave up on finishing a lot of the parts. And I don't blame them. In the same week, we had papers due, plush toys to finish sewing, oral presentations, and exams to study for! I could only finish what I did by pulling a couple of all-nighters. It was painful.

So, even though finals were done Monday night, I am still recovering from the exhaustion. Well, I was almost recovered yesterday, but then I went out for a late night of dancing with the new Senior class (my class) and the newly graduated class of Toy Designers from FIT.

So now I'm recovering from:

manual labor of building hard toys (during which I breathed toxic fumes, callused my fingers, and coated my fingertips in crusty superglue and paints)

frantically sewing plush toys (which caused me to have my first sore back in years and left most of my clothes and bedroom in a layer of aqua-fur lint)

lack of sleep from writing papers and sewing all night

drinking plentifully at Elmo's Lounge in Chelsea

dancing a few too many hours in gold heels at Sway in West Village

I know of three different students who started crying in despair during finals week. Note: they were not all female, and I was not one of these students. Honestly, it was too much to work to expect from us. We had to make compromises toward the end on the quality of what we were going to finish. It's difficult to make those decisions, because flaws are so obvious on a visual end-product.

I'd say I was probably the best in my class at staying calm about the whole process. (It might be all those years of working with unrealistic deadlines.) Luckily we mostly retained a sense of humor together toward the end, which kept us sane. A few got caught up in ridiculous drama over who got more assistance time with the sewing teacher and whatnot. I wasn't too concerned with any of that, because I was pretty independent about my sewing work. And fortunately most students were pretty generous about helping each other out, as we were all struggling to finish.

During finals week, I started to mutter a lot to myself. Most often, I would say, "Ohhh, you little SHIT!" when something wasn't working like I wanted, and someone would say, "What?" And I'd say, "Oh nothing. Talking to myself again."

Sunday night, at around 1am, I got agitated while painting one of my hard toy pieces in white, because I kept seeing tiny splotches of red show up randomly on it. I said, "Tschh. Where is this red paint coming from? Aggh. How annoying." Then I kept trying to wipe it and reapply the white paint, until I said, "Oh. Is this red paint? Wait. This is blood, isn't it? Oh yes, I see the cut now." I had cut my finger slightly on an exacto knife earlier but didn't notice.

Also, I wounded my knuckle on the sander machine, while working in the Toy Shop (–not a store, but the wood shop, with vacuum-molding machines and a paint room). I didn't even really feel it too much, but I saw it, and thought, "Crap. That doesn't look good. At least it didn't really hurt... maybe it's not that bad... it's not bleeding... yet? Ohhh is it going to bleed now? Dammit, it is. Now I have to interrupt my workflow to clean this thing and bandage it? Sheesh."

So I calmly dug up the one crappy Hello Kitty band-aid in my computer bag. (We ran out of bandages in the classroom's first-aid kit, and nobody had refilled it.) However, it may come to you as a surprise, that Hello Kitty bandages don't stick that well. I tried to ignore the flimsy bandage flying around as I cut more wood and molded more plastic, but the bleedy wound peeking out was a little distracting. And I probably didn't want sawdust getting in there. So finally, grabbed some blue artists' tape to stick the bandage better to my hand, which looked utterly ridiculous, but I didn't have time to be concerned with appearances at that point.

So anyway, I'm relieved it's over, and I'm really happy about my two-week break before my internship starts. –Except, I will have lots of homework to do over the summer on top of the internship, and frankly, we are afraid of senior year. It doesn't sound like it will be that much easier at all.

Not to mention, that working this hard does not bode well for a social/dating life, which is a travesty for someone living in a nice apartment in New York City. Will calls me the "femme fatale" of the class, and K-boy has asked to marry me, which is sweet, but sadly, I think I will only ever get this kind of flattery from gay men. Straight men seem to be incapable of expressing actual feelings with me until it's too late. Also, I'm super picky, so I may end up being single for life. And I think I could be okay with that.

On the other hand, maybe I'm not missing that much, because I've had a string of disappointing relationships, with guys who have mostly asked to get back together with me a year later. Also, they've all gone on to marry the next girl they dated.

I never had that weepy "When Harry Met Sally" reaction; in fact, I've predicted it half the time, and I'm relieved they found someone else good for them. I certainly couldn't deal with them anymore. I'm just a little tired of being the trainer girlfriend. Can't I get some kind of referral bonus or something for the time spent on these guys?

Plus, the recent guy I dated has demonstrated some real jackassery. I knew the crocs were a bad sign! The pretty eyes, Scrabble skills, and karaoke talent must have distracted me, but I know better now. It's ALL IN THE SHOES.

STOP IT ALREADY

2008-05-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

See that last blog post?

Yeah, well add another day of (much needed) hard toy hours on Sunday.
Plus we found out today, about an important meeting Friday, before Marketing class, to talk about our summer internships. You know, because we have ALL THIS FREE TIME.

So... I don't know when I'll get to study for Art History or write that paper. It will be a miracle if I finish building that Marina bath toy set for hard toy class.

Also, I stayed up all of last night, sewing. I nearly sliced my hand at while cutting fabric hapazardly at 5am. Luckily I had band aids.

Sewing class was supposed to end at noon, but it was clear that the whole class still needed at least another 2 hours to finish their work. So everyone was frantically sewing, ironing, mending, cutting, past the end of class, and I know at least two people started CRYING in the process. At 2pm, the next class arrived to use our classroom, to find it filled with piles of sewing supplies.

The next teacher to use the classroom was not very sympathetic (aka a jerk). We packed up and cleared out into the hallway, as I finished sewing up my last seam. I felt victorious, as I did manage to add sew detail on my monster's crown and scales on its pocket, which I didn't expect to have time to do. I even added a little hangtag to it; the teacher had one of those retail plastic things to attach the hangtag to the toy.

Some students were helping others who were struggling to finish their toys, as they were about to have a nervous breakdown. Some of us who did finish happily admired each other's work and quickly took photos of our creations as they were soon to be rudely taken away from us, like babies going to the adoption agency. Despite the madness, our teacher thanked us for the hard work and even said, "When you start running toy companies, remember me! I have four kids to feed and will need the contract work!"

After sewing class, half the class still had oral presentations to do (I did mine last week, knowing that I didn't want to add that to this week's hell), and nobody had eaten food since last night's dinner. I was just telling someone last week, that I never feel like needing a massage, but I really needed one.

Luckily our History of Industrial Design teacher was kind enough to bake us gingerbread for our last day! And despite our weariness, a lot of the presentations were really interesting (about Barbie, Waldorf dolls, Ningyo dolls, Super Mario Brothers, "Spectacles," and the Hummer).

Finally when class ended, we went outside to find a warm and sunny day. I treated myself to a medium Parksberry with mango and strawberries (which were slightly frozen --not as good as Pinksberry, but acceptable). There were even vendors selling clothes and jewelry, and I bought a cute little green top.

Then I went home and slept for seven hours. Now I need to get up (after midnight!) and start a seven-page marketing paper... and probably that Art History paper too, while I'm at it. Classmates are already texting me and calling me with questions about Marketing class notes! I don't even really know how to write this thing. Blargh.

OMG TOO MUCH WORK

2008-05-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

Seriously, WTF, FIT Toy Design!?

Monday 10am - 9pm
Hard Toy lab hours (woodshop)
Hard Toy lab & class
Ancient Art History class (oral presentation)

Tuesday 9am - 9pm
Soft Toy class (finalizing storybook plush)
Hard Toy lab hours (woodshop)
Computer Drafting class (3-D rendering & orthographic views of car due, plus presentation)

Wednesday 1pm - 9pm
Motor Learning class (Childhood Toy analysis paper due)
Computer Graphics class (Storybook logo/hangtag vector art due)

Thursday 9am - 5pm
Soft Toy class (final Storybook plush due)
History of Industrial Design class

Friday 1pm - 4:30pm
Marketing class (8-15 pg marketing plan due, plus final exam)

Saturday 10am - 6pm
Hard Toy lab hours

Sunday
Frantically cram for Art History Final
Write my Art History Paper
Glue or Paint anything I can for Hard Toy
Freak out and then pass out

Monday 10am - 9pm
Hard Toy Lab
Hard Toy Class (Final Marina Bath Toy set due)
Art History (Final Exam and paper due)

Tuesday
hibernate

Wednesday
Intern for my last day at Head Start with the pre-schoolers
Start clearing out my room for my summer subletter
Find that passport so I can go to that internship in Canada

Now I must go sew like a madwoman.

Another Day in the Life

2008-04-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

9am: arrive at my Soft Toy class - lay out my Princess Monster color drawings, sketches, early prototypes of my monster, and sewing supplies.

9:30: transfer pattern shapes of my princess monster to muslin fabric

10am: Start cutting out patterns. Begin to ask classmates where we should eat for lunch, as we have a larger break today before the next class, and the weather is beautiful. They all mumble something indecisive, (as usual)

10:30: Act jovial, as visitors from the Toy Industry Association bring their kids to see our class for "Bring Your Kids to Work Day"

10:40: One boy looks at my princess monster drawing. I say, "Do you have any questions?" And he asks, "Why is one tooth is larger than the other?" I say, "Well, she's imperfect. Like people are imperfect. And I thought it would be funny." Later, he says, "Good luck!" He seems nice, but I can't tell if he's being sincere or facetious.

11:00: Help my classmate figure out how to adjust her plush monster shape, so that it has more of a old-man beer belly

11:15: Start sewing my third prototype for my princess monster. Hear my Plush Toy teacher announce that she's five months pregnant with her fourth child!

noon: Start to freak out as hunger rage sets in

12:20: Frantically find cookies in my emergency snack box to eat, knowing that my classmates take forever to pack up and agree on lunch

12:30: pack up and head out the door to lunch, hoping the rest will hurry up

12:45: Run across the street to get "Parksberry" (a Pinkberry knockoff), only to find that their yogurt machine is broken!

1pm: Get exasperated waiting for the last student to join us for lunch, promptly grabbing two of my classmates to finally go find a new place for lunch

1:15: subway uptown to 42nd Street, then delight in the beautiful, sunny weather while wandering around Times Square

1:30: Finally decide to eat at Junior's, which I had never been to. They bring out free pickles and beets!! I have a chocolate egg cream drink, egg salad, and a delicious matzo ball soup. I decide that I love this place, for its retro decor & music and yummy homestyle food.

2:30: walk briskly to the MoMA, where we are meeting our History of Industrial Design teacher for a tour. We check out the 3rd floor exhibit of Industrial Design, and then the Elastic Mind exhibit, where I spot one of my ex-coworkers' new media art (and also co-alumni of UCLA). Especially amused by the interactive shadow monster art, the Jonathan Harris piece on internet dating, and the products for a "lonely man." Decide that I'll have to go back later, since it's crowded and I'm too tired to look at everything.

4:45: Check out the bookstore, since our teacher offered his staff discount to us. Note a couple book titles to mark on my wishlist.

5:15: Join two classmates to hunt for doll accessories for our plush toys. They need shoes and I need a tiara. We walk over to American Girl, which I've never been to. It's a madhouse of girls and doting parents, and I am unimpressed by the aesthetics of these dolls. They have maybe 30 variations of the doll faces to choose from. But I am surprised to see that the one doll option with the Asian face appears to be the cutest! (Seriously! Go see for yourself!)

5:30: walk over toward Build-a-Bear, where we also find "Friends 2B Made," (–which is like Build-a-Bear, but with plush girls and boys instead of plush bears and animals.) My classmates find a couple shoe possibilities, so they buy them as backup. I buy a princess outfit at Build-a-Bear that has a decent tiara, as a backup for my princess monster.

6pm: head toward the subway, then spot a 99-cent store. I stop in to see if they have tiaras. They have some, that aren't so pretty, but I buy one just in case (only 99 cents!). I also spot red, star-shaped child sunglasses that are party favors. I buy them for my classmate who has designed his plush monkey with star-shaped glasses.

6:20: subway downtown to Canal Street. I peek in a couple cheap Chinatown junky jewelry/accessories stores to browse rhinestone supplies. Nothing looks good.

6:40 stop in a fabric shop, where I find gold lamé fabric, thread, and pink rhinestones, with which I hope to create the perfect tiara.

7pm: get home, exhausted, have a snack, check my email, IM with a friend, and blog.

Now I'm going to watch 30 Rock with some leftover cheesecake from my roommate who spoils me, then hit the hay.

(Tomorrow I go intern with those cute little 4 and 5-year old kids again. And for Marketing class, we're meeting at the Times Square Toys R Us for another tour! I'll have to remember to go pick up an 80s Edition of Singstar and Karaoke Revolution's American Idol Encore while I'm there.)

Kid Genius and Psychic Asians

2008-04-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Today, one of the little kids in the Head Start program told my classmate that she wants to someday be a kung fu mermaid.

I don't even know how that works, but I think that is the coolest ambition I have ever heard.

Also, last Sunday, I had a rare opportunity for brunch with friends, who suggested I design something... that I was already in the midst of designing:

Friend 1: You should make an Asian doll!
Me: Funny you mention that... cuz, I am designing an Asian doll! For homework, we had to draw whatever kind of doll we wanted, so I drew an Asian one.
Roommate: Yeah, and don't put her in a Chinese dress. I hate that. So typical.
Me: Yeah, it's kind of stereotypical.
Roommate: Boring!
Friend 1: I know! Asian girls are stylish! You should make one in an A-line Chanel dress.
Me: Actually... the one I drew is in an A-line dress! And it does look kind of Chanel. That's so weird.
Friend 1: And give her wavy hair! Cuz they need to show that Asians come in all types.
Me: Well. I did draw her with wavy hair! You're like, reading my mind!
Friend 1: Yeah, and you can put her in all kinds of fashions... and not just that stupid "Haradookoo" stuff.
Me: Harajuku?
Friend 1: Yeah, see you know my language.
Me: Yeah, maybe I can put one in streetwear, and another in more high-fashion...
Roommate: And give her boobs!
Friend 1: And a booty! Cuz there are Asians with booty! Like me!
Me: Okay! I'll work on that.

I guess I am just on the pulse of what people want!
Or at least what independent Asian-American thirtysomething women in New York want.

Preschoolers in da Hizzouse!

2008-04-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

Should I be bothered that I was stoked to dance to Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music" and that "Apple Bottom Jeans" song with 4 and 5-year-old kids?

Last Friday, at the classroom where I intern, one of the little girls had brought in what she claimed to be a Hannah Montana cd. So the teacher played it for their usual afternoon dance break. Well, apparently it wasn't Hannah Montana. (Thank God!) But the teacher and I were diggin' it anyway. She even slapped her own ass! And the kids were dancin' up a storm.

It was kind of awesome. Don't you wish you were in this class when you were five? Or really, at any age? It reminds me of my girlfriends singing "Like a Virgin" when we were in grade school, not really understanding what it meant. We just thought it was a fun song.

Obviously there is a demand for catchy dance music for kids, otherwise things like Yo Gabba Gabba and Baby Loves Hip Hop wouldn't exist. You know I'll hit that scene if/when I have kids someday.

Meet the Cast

2008-04-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

Here are bios of my classmates, to help you keep track of who I'm talking about in future stories about Toy Design school (names have been changed to protect the innocent and guilty):

Will:
Ex-Textiles major, next oldest in class after me, pescaterian, lactose-intolerant, and loves Bravo tv. Works part-time as a licensed masseur. Used to make plush toys with elaborate diorama sets as art projects. Used to live in Rhode Island and once lived in S.F. (and doesn't care to move back to S.F.). Once had ambitions to be a back-up dancer and loves Janet Jackson.

Nicknamed the "Wizard" or "Papa Smurf" due to his maturity, wisdom, and generally kind and calm demeanor. Is probably the most domesticated in the class, as he lives with his partner and a dog. Initially a quiet guy, but has surprised us with his dry sense of humor. Tends to get ambitious with impressive detail in his work. Design influences: H & R Puf 'n' Stuff, Raggedy Ann, Weeble-Wobbles. Interning this summer at Fisher Price in New York.

K-boy:
International student from Korea, previously the star of the Textiles major, highly fashionable. Long ago, served as a veejay for MTV Korea (!?) and also served in the Korean military (thus knows how to break apples and human necks with his bare hands). Also spent time in Rhode Island, studying hotel management.

In his late 20s, loves Mariah Carey and Disney songs. Wished he had the Barbie dreamhouse as a kid. Somehow gets away with inappropriate jokes and pinching everyone's ass in class. Manages to have dates ready any moment he gets free. Sits to my left and likes to show me cute boys on Facebook. Being a perfectionist, he sometimes obliviously insults classmates' work and regrets it later. Interns this summer at Mattel Barbie/Polly Pocket, in Los Angeles.

Jee:
International student from Korea, with a degree in graphic design. Loves video games, manga, Tim Burton, baby seals, Ewan MacGregor, and dark indie movies. Has the sickest marker-rendering skillz. Works way too hard sometimes, and doesn't eat or sleep enough. Hands are perpetually cold.

In her mid-late 20s and sits to my right, so we lament about our inability to meet appropriately-aged men while we are trapped in school. Says her icy cold heart doesn't let her cry, but is actually very compassionate and considerate. Still struggles with her accent and often asks Lilo and me for clarity on English words and American pop culture. Has a knack for getting hit on by guys who make food. Interns this summer at Hasbro, in Rhode Island.

Soo:
International student from Korea, with a degree in sculpture. Has a boyfriend in Korea (who might move to NYC for school too). Speaks with a slight British-Korean accent. Sometimes brings us Korean snacks or her own Korean cooking to nibble on. I once witnessed her nibble a carrot into the shape of a highly realistic finger. Used to skateboard and perhaps used to be a tomboy but is fairly girly now. Masterful sculpting skills makes her fearless with woodshop tools. Interns this summer at Manhattan Toys in Minneapolis.

Megan:
Quiet punk-rock-styled girl, third oldest in class. Used to make DIY crocheted/knitted toys and sell them. Frequently changes hair color and collects really unique, vintage-illustration-based tattoos. Smokes cigarettes. Raised without television and attended one of those unconventional-method-based schools like Montessori but not Montessori?

Loves Morrissey, Rockabilly, and Hall & Oates. Does not have a Facebook account. Favors designing plush toys and fairies. Loves french fries, recently broke from vegetarianism, and went back to having meat. Interns this summer at Alex Toys.

Lilo:
The other slacker Asian-American girl in class, has a Biology degree from Cornell. Used to be in an a capella singing group, sings while she works. Loves candy, Jamba Juice, and gemstones. Met her current boyfriend in high school. Became my class BFF when we discussed her strawberry-flavored Yan-Yan cookies on the first day of class.

Still a tween at heart; loves Hannah Montana and High School Musical. Really wants a furry kitten. Dresses 80s and listens to Blondie and Cyndi Lauper. Excels at unabashedly girly toy design with sparkles and hearts. Hates blue and loves pink and purple. Has tattoos of a panda and a unicorn and loves Tokidoki. Sits across the table from me, loves to talk and sass back at our classmates. Easily fears teachers and stresses out, even though they like her. Interns this summer at Fisher Price with Papa Smurf.

Carlito:
Ex-Fashion Illustration major and ex-Computer graphics major. Columbian roots, lives with family in Queens. Is Facebook friends with Marc Jacobs and always has cute sneakers on. Owns Tokidoki earrings. Always ready with a fierce pose for photos. One of three smokers in class. Doesn't eat pork, favors his Parksberry/Pinkberry with strawberries and mango. Frequents the gay dance clubs, sometimes with K-boy. Interns this summer at Madame Alexander.

Jan:
Ex-Interior Design major, Portuguese roots, lives with family in New Jersey. Early 20s, still calls her fiancé her "boyfriend" (and is forced to postpone her wedding until after graduation because school is so crazy). Takes smoking breaks with Carlito and Megan. Loves to watch South Park and collect vinyl toys with her fiancé. Has several pets at home and really wants to give away one of her rabbits. Interns this summer at Madame Alexander with Carlito.

Yajing:
The third Taiwanese-American girl in class, would be the Asian Ally Sheedy from the Breakfast Club. Has an Environmental Studies degree, is glued to her laptop more than I am. Friendly when spoken to, likes to comment on Facebook Walls, but is oblivious to anything outside of her little online bubble during class.

Always has her webcam on with her long-distance boyfriend. Proud of her PC, plays video games during boring lectures. Is secretly genius, as shown by an IQ test taken in Psychology and her love of drafting class. Loves eating takoyaki and breakdancing. Enjoys rendering plush. Interns this summer at Toys R Us.

Baby:
Ex-Illustration major, youngest in class, laments about not being 21 yet, gullible, super-conscientious about school. Generally wants to be everyone's friend. At FIT on a scholarship; takes pride in having never missed a day of class. From Staten Island and claims to be half-Italian-Asian because he's half Syrian.

Excels at pre-school toys and generally likes to put the same big cartoon eyes on all his toys. Owns VHS tapes with Star Wars and old cartoons on them. Enjoys "Golden Girls" and pick-up lines with ridiculous puns. Interns this summer at Hasbro with Jee.

Scott:
Ex-Illustration major, middle child of 7 kids. Designs absurdly funny toys. Extremely tall. Only 21 years old but loves Eddie Money. Loves ice hockey, but isn't from Canada (actually from Buffalo, I think). Builds things quickly in our hard toy class. I believe he interns this summer at Mega Brands.

Fred
Ex-Illustration major, 21 years old. Escaped political unrest (of Haiti?) as a child. Very muscly guy; one teacher asked if he was on steroids (jokingly?). Excels at vehicle rendering. Likes to say, "That's sexy," when giving compliments, which sometimes rubs others the wrong way (as we are discussing toys for children). Loves to quote Dane Cook and Dave Chapelle. Interns this summer at Toys R Us with Yajing.

Dan
Ex-Illustration major, ex-graveyard digger. Fast, compulsive sketcher. Loves Cyndi Lauper and Godzilla's enemies. Socially very shy but open to attending all kind of events. Loves to watch Gilmore Girls and bake cookies. Has longest hair in class and always wears black. Designs surreal and psychedelic characters. Has karaoke'd to Blue Oyster Cult. Interns this summer at a company (whose name I can't remember at the moment) in NYC that makes costumes and toys.

Miso:
(Me) Ex-web designer from California, with a degree in Graphic Design from UCLA. Oldest one in the class, youngest in my family generation. Fan of karaoke, Halloween costumes, dancing, knitting, rhythm-based video games, mid-century design, Japanese pop culture, and general cuteness. Addicted to shoes, Japanese stationery, internet and coffee, always needs naps.

Disappears impulsively in search of food or coffee. Sounds like a squirrel, snacks on Pocky, Hi-Chew, and clementines. Attracted to nerds and has a knack for meeting cute guys who live in the wrong city. Indulges in fruity cocktails and Vidal Sassoon haircuts. Would rather have a pot belly than go to the gym. Uses too much chartreuse, light blue, and orange. Interning this summer at Spin Master in Toronto!

***

Okay, enough procrastinating today. I must return to sewing up my princess monster, drafting vehicles, rendering dolls, and comparing Ancient art.

Conversations in Toy Design

2008-03-09T05:41:00.000-07:00

I am often reminded that I am back in undergrad, when conversations like this happen:

Youngest classmate: Man, we just saw the grossest thing.
Me: What happened?
3rd youngest classmate: We saw this old couple, making out in public. ALL over each other.
Cute Gay Korean Dude: Ohh, what if they're in love!?
Fellow 30-something: Where did you see this? On the street?
3rd: McDonalds.
Me: McDonalds!? (laughter)
Youngest: Yeah, they were sitting at McDonald's, just going at it, all out in the open!
CGKD: Hahaha. Was it really that bad?
3rd: Yeah, it was gross! There was tongue and stuff!
Youngest: I don't know. But they were too old to be making out.
Me: How old are we talking?
3rd: I don't know, but they should not have been making out.
Youngest: I don't know, but people over 30 should not be making out.
Fellow: Over 30!? (rolls eyes)
Me: Wow. That's old. Um, don't even talk to me anymore.
3rd: It was bad! They were like: (suddenly starts to mime-re-enact the couple, with flailing tongue)
Everyone: AUGgggh-EEWWW!!!!

During a class break for History of Industrial Design, I showed my BFF the new super-cute Vancouver 2010 Olympic mascots, designed by Meomi:

BFF: Why are the Olympics in Canada again? Wasn't it just there?
Me: I don't know... They have a lot of snowy land?
BFF: Like, why isn't it in some place new, like Greenland or Iceland?
Me: I don't know. I don't really follow the Olympics much anymore. I feel like it's not quite as exciting as it used to be.
BFF: I think it's still exciting. Where else has the Olympics been? Has it ever been in L.A.?
Me: Yeah! The '84 Olympics!
Fellow 30-something: '84 Olympics? Were you there?
Me: Yeah, my brothers were big into Track & Field, so we got tickets to see that.

Later, it dawned on me, that about half my class weren't even alive in 1984. And I was old enough to remember going to the Olympics. I remember that, and seeing that really awesome Orwellian Apple commercial.

In Marketing class, we did an exercise where we made up toy concepts and quickly brainstormed marketing plans around them. One of the classmates brought up the idea of advertising one of the toys on shows like "Yo Gabba Gabba".

Teacher: Have you all seen "Yo Gabba Gabba"?
Class: Yeah!
Teacher: What do you guys think of it?
Me: I LOVE IT. It's crazy!
Teacher: Yeah, that show seems to appeal to twenty-something or thirty-something parents, who grew up with rap music and that sort of thing. But Fisher Price actually passed on that license...
Me: Whaaa!?!?
Teacher: I know, right? But SpinMaster got that license, so it'll be interesting to see how well that performs.
Me: Yeahhh!

Go SpinMaster! That's where I'll be interning this summer. I will be on cloud nine if I get a Dancing Brobee doll out of it!

I've found that the sweatshop–er, sewing lab hours are conducive to conversation, as we're basically doing light manual labor, pushing fabric across the machines and yanking thread all day.

Cute Gay Korean Dude: I saw the movie, Jumper.
Me: Was it any good?
CGKD: Yeah, I liked the movie. It was fun. But I don't really like those actors, Hayden Christensen and the girl.
Me: Wait, the brown-haired girl?? The girl from The O.C. –you don't think she's cute?
CGKD: No. Uh-uh.
Me: What!? I think she's sooo cute.
CGKD: No. You are so much cuter than she is.
Me: ...

I would guess the straight boys in class might disagree with that. But I'm not complaining...

As my class was busily sewing up cute stuffed animals designed for infants, we discussed our Chinese Astrological signs. My BFF was sewing a little fuzzy hippo, the quirky Korean girl designed a patched bunny, and I was working on a chubby squirrel.

Quirky Korean Girl: Do your friends sometimes think you are like a kind of an animal?
BFF: Hmm, yeah, I get koala, panda, sometimes otter...
Me: So all the cute animals, basically.
QKG: (looking at me.) What about you?
Me: Well. I used to be a little obsessed with monkeys. So if you asked my Californian friends what animal they'd associate with me, they'd say monkey. I had an email list that had monkey in its name, and some of them call me the Monkey Queen.
BFF: Monkey? No, I don't think you're like a monkey.
Me: No?
QKG: No. I think... more like... squirrel.
Me: Squirrel!?
BFF: Yeah. I can see squirrel. Like, "Chee-chee-chee-chee-chee!"
Me: Huh. I like squirrels... But I'm clumsy.
QKG: You're a squirrel!
Me: Squirrels aren't clumsy. They jump from branch to branch and climb walls! They're like Spiderman!
BFF: So squirrels are aspirational?
Me: Yes. Squirrels are aspirational. That's what I'd put as a strength for my infant toy if I made a marketing report for it. "Squirrels are aspirational."

The madness continues.

2008-03-08T17:55:00.001-08:00

I wanted to blog about my first day I had at the local Head Start classroom, but I'm about to start an insane week of school:

Sunday 11am - 6pm
Sewing lab hours (for Soft Toy class)

Monday 10am - 9pm
Hard Toy lab hours (woodshop)
Hard Toy class
Ancient Art History class (midterm exam)

Tuesday 9am - 9pm
Soft Toy class (finalizing infant toy, sketch storybook characters)
Hard Toy lab hours (woodshop)
Computer Drafting class (Diego Boat drafting project due)

Wednesday 1pm - 9pm
Motor Learning class (Infant Toy analysis paper due)
Computer Graphics class (spaceship & alien rendering due)

Thursday: 9am - 5pm
Soft Toy class (final Infant plush due)
History of Industrial Design class

Friday: 9am - 4:30pm
Intern at a Head Start class of 4-to-5-year-olds
Marketing class (possible midterm exam, tbd)

I'm not even quite sure how completing this week is even possible. The Saturday after, I take off for a much needed Spring Break, in Sunny California, thank GOD.

Wish me luck!

Happy TV Break Time

2008-03-05T20:03:00.000-08:00

I don't want to spoil it for those who have Project Runway Tivo'd or whatever, but I really enjoyed the finale episode. All the clothes were so wonderful, and I wasn't sure who I'd pick to win. I ended up rooting for one collection that wasn't even very cohesive; I thought it was the most fun and the one I'd want to wear the most. That one didn't win, but I was still really happy for the one who did win in the end. Plus, there were a lot of Asian models, AND, how great was it to see Posh Spice as a guest judge!? Fieerrrrce.

I also loved seeing Tim Gunn visit Christian's tiny NY apartment. As if the little 21-year old wasn't already impressive, it was great to see that he could make such amazing clothes in such a tiny space. It's so New York: a young aspiring talent, struggling with the urban life, working like mad, but not really minding it because he loves what he's there for!

I even enjoyed the ads. In particular:

I now really really want to try an Oreo Cakester (yes, advertising works)
Seeing a commercial for Aquadoodle, made by SpinMaster, who I'll intern with this summer
Seeing an ad for yet another new dance show, hosted by Elizabeth Berkley (of Showgirls fame!)

I must admit, I do sometimes enjoy this cheesy fad of dance shows. I love America's Best Dance Crew on MTV and I used to get into that celebrity ballroom show. But do you remember the original awesome dance contest show from the 80s? Let me refresh your memory:

Oh yes, Dance Fever, complete with celebrity judges. You know you loved it. I think they need to bring it back, you know, for the kids in my class who weren't even born yet when this was on.

Saturday Happy Fun Times

2008-03-05T08:35:00.000-08:00

I didn't get to meet the animator last Saturday, but I think it was for the best.

He emailed me recently to say hello. His email address looked related to a website, and being the resourceful ex-tech-professional nerd that I am, I had to check it out. It turned out to be a web page that pointed to some of his animated shorts...

Aaand, unfortunately, I didn't like them. They were not aesthetically pleasing, not very clever, and not very funny.

That's the tricky thing about being a creative professional, when you date other creative professionals. You have to respect the quality of their work. And if it's no good, then it's especially awkward.

Oh well. ANYhoo, I did end up having a lot of fun Saturday with my class BFF. We started with the Michel Gondry "Be Kind Rewind" exhibit, which was small, but still amusing. We wished we had seen the movie first. Maybe we'll go back after seeing the movie.

Then we filled the rest of the day with more fun, including:

wine-tasting at Vintage, a Soho shop that sells local NY wines. The BFF found a strawberry wine that featured a unicorn on its label. She was pretty ecstatic about that.

browsing the madhouse of Kid Robot's apparel sale (didn't buy anything)

delicious chocolate espressos at Aroma Espresso Bar

browsing the madness of the Marc Jacobs sale (didn't buy anything there either, but we did get a free photo w/ a giant skunk)

red velvet cupcakes and banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery

book-shopping across the street from Magnolia (to do some research for our storybook project)

Well that was all the fun I'll have for a little while, because next weekend we have class all day, both Saturday and Sunday. And I have a midterm and a paper due next week, along with a crapload of design projects that need to be completed before spring break. Ack! Good thing it's still fun (except for maybe drafting in Cobalt)!

Speaking of which, I have to run to my Motor-Learning class now!

Yay for Snow Days!

2008-02-29T06:52:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I had my first snow day! –meaning, school gets cancelled because it's too snowy and cold outside! That was a novel thing for a Californian like me. I got to stay in my PJs all day and watch the pretty snow fall outside. And I even enjoyed the snow on my windowsill, even if it only really lasted for a few hours.

Of course I also had to take advantage of the snow days for some much-needed rest and play time. Friday night, I went to dinner and an avant garde John Zorn concert with my cousins. The show started with a quartet, including a harpist, vibraphone player, electric guitar, and double bass. It was a little reminiscent of Combustible Edison's lounge music, or a sort of retro tropicalia sound with a touch of surf rock, which I quite liked. The vibraphone player was very animated and had hair like The Muppets' Beaker, which made him especially entertaining.

The second part involved Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson (credited in the show as "The Lovers," which apparently they are in real life) reciting romantic Jewish poetry with a chorus of four women as accompanied music. That was really unusual and interesting, but for some reason, I hate to admit: I got super sleepy. Maybe it was the low, soothing quality of their voices. At the end of the show, I saw Lou Reed standing about three feet away from me as we left the theater lobby! Afterwards, we went to Good World, (a Swedish bar/restaurant) where I enjoyed an Elderberry cocktail and way too much dessert.

When I thought the night was over, I went home, only to find that my roommate was hanging out with three of our friends, watching cable tv. (BTW, I told them I saw Lou Reed, and one of them said that he didn't know who that was. Sigh.)

So of course with my arrival, that turned into an impromptu Karaoke Revolution & red-wine party, even though my throat was still healing from a cold. That probably wasn't wise, but it was definitely fun! (BTW, my roommate and I highly recommend the Merlot by "Independent Producers".)

Saturday night, I found it very peculiar to be wearing a mini-dress and boots, under a big puffy coat, walking around snow! I joined some classmates and friends for drinks, dancing and late-night diner food. One of my classmates met up with a cute boy, who kindly paid for all of our diner food, supposedly because we were all students. I think it was more to impress my super-cute classmate, and I think it kind of worked. (Except, that super-cute classmate is spending spring break in Paris with another boy.)

I wasn't thrilled with the house music at Cielo, so I almost pushed to go dance some more at Sway, where they have poppier tunes. But my younger classmates wussed out! But then I also realized it just got way too cold when we left the diner, so I went home around 3am.

Sunday night, I attended a tiny Oscar-watching dinner party. It dawned on me that I had never been to an Oscars party, which is strange, given that I'm from L.A. –Even more ironic: this may well be the year I was least aware of the movies (having been trapped at school for the last six months). I hadn't even heard of any of the foreign film nominees! The only Oscar nominees I had seen were "Juno" and "Persepolis." But now I can say I have friends who worked on an Oscar-winning film!

Kudos to Grace, Geenie, and Erich, who prepared the most delightful dinner, involving: blood orange martinis, blood orange sangria, some-kind-of-artichoke soup, blood orange salad, polenta, pork w/ caramelized onions, and ice cream with home-made chocolate truffles (made from Green & Black's organic dark chocolate)! Amazing.

Also at this dinner party, I met a guy who sometimes DJs at Cielo. I also met an Interactive Designer who briefly worked for the same manager I once worked for at Yahoo! Plus, she graduated from and taught at NYU's ITP program, where some of my other tech friends went. (She said they were instructors when she was in the program.) Also one of the party hosts works for IDEO, and of course he knows the few people I know from their Palo Alto office. Small world.

***

This weekend, we won't get a snow day, but my usual Saturday class got bumped to Sunday. So... I might actually work in time for a date with an animator, who seems to have a lot in common with me. That might be great and all, but I am concerned about developing a habit of meeting great guys three months before I move to another city. (—And in this case, another country.)

But my voice is still hoarse (from a cold that started over 2 weeks ago!), so I don't know if I should go on a date in this condition. Actually, I sound a lot like my roommate's normal voice now, which is kind of sexier, so I guess it's kind of fun. Except if I go on a first date like this, will he be disappointed later when my voice returns to its normal, squirrely, 7-year-old, self?

(Side note: my roommate and I are slowly turning into each other. I got her sucked into tv shows, like "Weeds" and "Make me a Supermodel", and I am growing out my hair to her length and now my voice sounds like hers.)

Either way, I'm making a point of going to see Michel Gondry's "Be Kind, Rewind" art exhibit tomorrow. Now I'm just debating between seeing DJ Jazzy Jeff perform tonight at the Museum of Natural History, or catching up on homework. Hmm.

I told my classmates about the DJ Jazzy Jeff night, and one of them responded with, "Isn't that guy old? He looked old when he was on 'Fresh Prince.' Like thirty-five or something."

Somebody, please shoot this kid.

A Day in the Life

2008-02-21T15:11:00.001-08:00

Thought some of you'd like to hear how a typical day of a Toy Design student is, so here is a detailed account of how today went for me:

8:30 bundle up in puffy jacket, leather gloves, pom-pom hat, and furry boots for 11-degree weather

8:40 run out the door to catch the uptown R train

8:45 get on train, start reading The History of Industrial Design for a quiz, struggle to turn pages with gloves on

9:05 look up to discover I just missed my street stop and am already late for class

9:10 get back on the downtown W train

9:15 run into class late, apologetically

9:20 set up my sewing machine and open up my MacBook Pro to show my teacher color studies of my plush squirrel

9:30 watch the teacher demonstrate how to revise a plush toy body to fit the desired shape, as my hunger grows and boredom increases, as I think she's going over what I already know how to do

9:45 sneak out of the class to feed my hunger rage; run to McDonald's to grab a sausage burrito meal deal, plus their tasty premium Hazelnut iced coffee

10am donate extra burrito to starving classmates (as I only ever really need one burrito and maybe one hash brown), start to sew a revised squirrel body in muslin (fabric), as I explain to my class BFF that I only eat breakfast, fish filets, and minty milkshakes at McDonald's

10:15 stop sewing, to show my teacher my color studies and decide on plush fabric colors and textures; we agree on blue-green-yellow striped accent patches, possibly a cuddly soft turquoise furry fabric, and a chartreuse fleece fabric

10:30 alternate bites of food and sips of orange juice and coffee with sewing, while asking classmates questions about the significance of the Singer sewing machine in 1876

11am grab stuffing to fill the new squirrel body, while listening in on classmates quiz each other on the significance of Wedgwood Queen's Ware pottery in 1790, the .36 Colt revolver in 1851, Thonet's bentwood chairs in 1836, Pugin's armoire in 1851, and James Whistler's Peacock room in 1876

11:30 Laugh at my classmates, as they start getting goofier and punchier by the minute, while studying for the quiz and deciding on lunch options

11:45 Adjust version 2 of my plush squirrel body with pins; cut up new sewing pattern shapes while laughing at the absurdity and gall of my sewing teacher as she shares some ridiculously judgemental anecdote about "Mexicans on the train"

noon Pack up sewing machines and supplies, choose the Szechuan bean curd over rice from a Chinese takeout menu

12:10 check email while listening to classmates quiz each other, gameshow style

12:30 write email replies, then notice when one of the dorm guys bizarrely brings up a pornographic term ("Babuke?"), to which we all respond with a resounding "EEWWWWWWW!"

12:32 get even more disturbed, when this same guy explains that "the girl usually throws up afterward," at which I say, "Usually??? What do you mean by usually? How do you even KNOW? Wait. I don't want to hear about it anymore, we're about to eat LUNCH."

1pm start to eat lunch, then realize it's not that tasty, and that I'm not very hungry

1:15 Get all excited telling my classmates how my internship interview went

1:30 Check email again, watch an awesome clip of Improv Everywhere, performed at Grand Central Station then post it to Facebook

1:45 Look over class notes to review last details for quiz

2pm Take History of Industrial Design quiz, delighted to find that it's about Wedgwood Pottery, which I remember the most about

2:15 Type notes on my MacBook Pro while enjoying a colorful and funny lecture, in which the teacher explains how two 19th century designers enjoyed the menage-a-trois, even in the staid context of Victorian England

3:45 class break, in which I check my Flickr and find updated photos from my favorite designers at Meomi, realizing that they were just in NYC

3:50 Suddenly remember that Vicki Wong of Meomi is Canadian and designed the 2010 Vancouver Olympic mascots; then realize I could probably stock up on mascot toys when I go to Toronto this summer, then show how insanely adorable they are to my classmates who all start to coo at them (–even the guy who knows too much about pornographic terms)

4:00 Agree with my class BFF that Christopher Dresser looks kind of like Edward Norton and was a way hotter 19th-century designer than William Morris; marvel at how Japanese influences were as big back then as they are now in product design, but for different reasons

5:00 hop on the 1 train downtown and delight in the combination of wierdos and fancy business folk I pass on the way home

5:20 check email, Facebook, Scrabulous, start blogging

5:45 catch up with my roommate who gets home from work, finish blog entry

7pm ponder whether I should nap or have a quick dinner and go to bed.

Buzz Buzz!

2008-02-20T21:41:00.000-08:00

I need to cram tonight for a quiz, so of course I now have to procrastinate with a blog entry. Last week sucked with my hideous cold that made me lose my voice and want to slam my head into the wall, but things are better this week:

I spent Valentine's Day at home recovering from a crappy cold, but I did snail-mail a Valentine to someone I hadn't quite been in touch with in awhile. And he wrote back that I was "the bee's knees!" I never expected such an adorably old-fashioned reply (and I'm not quite sure I fully understand that expression, but I understand enough that it generally means being a very good thing).

Last Friday, I made it to see a 3-hour tour of the Mattel showroom (just before I fully recovered from my cold), which was robot-tastic, including a look at the NEXT Elmo doll.

I booked my spring break for a trip to Cali, cuz I miss my friends, and I need to get me some long overdue sunshine! And I was reminded of how generous and kind my friends are, because I immediately got about six or seven offers for places to stay.

Sunday I saw my buddies Angie & Jo for brunch, who were visiting from L.A., just before I headed out to my first Toy Fair, where I saw way too many toys, both good and bad.

Tuesday, when I was finally well enough to go to class again, one of my teachers called in sick. So the Dean brought in a kids' movie to watch, which was really nice, up until the part where the character you love, a LITTLE GIRL, suddenly DIES. (BTW this is the 2nd movie we've watched in school, where a charming, loving, inspiring, adorable character suddenly DIES. Can I go see "Be Kind, Rewind" now?)

I had a great interview with SpinMaster for an internship this morning. And they seem like a very cool group of people to work with! So now I have to email my Canadian cousins to let them know I'll finally get to fully experience their fine city of Toronto this summer!

I wrote to someone at IDEO to let them know I couldn't apply to intern with them, but I'd love to keep in touch with them when I graduate. I also sent them a sneak peek at my portfolio. Then I got a reply that they were "impressed with the breadth" of my portfolio so far.

So I'm feeling pretty fantastic this week, except for the part where I'm quite a bit behind on schoolwork and I have a quiz to cram for. But I'm sure I will work it all out somehow.

Now I need to buzz back to my life as the busy bee.

Feels like wha?

2008-02-11T05:23:00.001-08:00

First, I must say that all this talk about Microsoft buying Yahoo! is totally depressing. I hope Yahoo! finds a good way out of it.

Also... check out this morning's weather:

AND: I am coming down with a cold... just in time for my interview. :|

Kill me now.

Missing out, yet again

2008-02-10T18:54:00.000-08:00

If I were doing anything but Toy Design school right now, I would just quit, because I keep missing out on things in New York that are kind of driving me mad:

• I live right on the edge of the biggest Chinatown in the country, and I did nothing to celebrate Chinese New Year, except maybe I picked up red velvet cupcakes for my roommate and me on the way home from school. Even the lobby of my building was decorated for Chinese New Year. Oh, also I had Chinese takeout for dinner. But that's the same as every other night of my week.

• Fashion Week? Was that last week? Wait, don't I go to a fashion school? My roommate went to a fashion show, but I spent my days and evenings either in class or recovering from lack of sleep.

• Oh what's this, one of my friends covered Fashion Week for New York Magazine? And she's releasing a book about celebrity fashion, but I probably won't make her book party, because I will be in CLASS that evening??

• Knitting? Crocheting? Oh was that a hobby of mine? Oh yes, I remember those days. Hey, whaddaya know! My apartment is surrounded by fabric stores, some filled with yarn, but I don't have time for such things. But I did go shopping today for fabrics today for my soft-toy class though, and they don't carry fuzzy fabrics, really, because apparently fabric stores in Manhattan focus on clothing fabrics, not "craft" fabrics.

• Going out Saturday night? Hey, my cousins are inviting me to dinner and a movie! And my roommate is inviting me to the clubs! Oh wait, I had class all-day SATURDAY, and now I'm too tired to get my ass out the door.

• Broken camera? Too bad, I have to put off buying a new one, because I have to buy a $300+ wacom tablet, sculpting/masonry tools, and hundred-dollar textbooks. Luckily I have a fairly decent camera on my cellphone to get me by for now.

• Cute, straight boys who love karaoke? Oh wait, I left those in California. And my roommate is meeting the New York ones for me while I'm out hanging out with gay boys and teenage girls at Spice Girls shows.

At least I have the internets, so I can read and see pictures about all the fun I'm missing. It's like I'm there! But really, I'm not. And I can live vicariously with my roommate, who is apparently now hanging out with our neighbors and spotting the cast of "Make Me a Supermodel" at the local Whole Foods.

BTW, after the Toy Fair ends, in addition to my EIGHT classes, we start volunteering at a headstart program every week.

Well. I can't bitch that much. I did have an amusing adventure last Wednesday, taking the train from Manhattan out to Long Island for the Spice Girls concert. I am rather unfamiliar with the local geography, but I was tickled to pass through Hollis, which reminded me of the Run DMC Christmas song ("Christmas in Hollis").

We got to Nassau Coliseum early, so we stopped a nearby Marriott lobby to grab dinner at a sports bar... where they were playing nothing but Spice Girl songs! And we also got drinks without being carded, while I saw businessmen looking very confused among tables of too-young girls wearing very revealing clothing.

Of course the audience was heavy on the estrogen, with several girls dressed as Posh or Baby Spice, but we did spot the occasional boy who went by themselves!! The show was filled with spectacular stage theatrics, super-girly-fun choreography and the gayest backup dancers ever (who could breakdance and flamenco). Several costume changes and props were involved (including feathers and boas, of course). Costumes were by Roberto Cavalli, and my class BFF and I favored Posh's outfits the most.

We opted out on on the overpriced concert shirts ($45!), but I did buy a tote bag and buttons. To get home (on a school night!) I shared a cab with 5 half-drunk strangers.

After Marketing class on Friday, I went to see Juno with the bff, the only other person I knew who hadn't seen it. After that, we went to the Times Square Sanrio store, Toys R Us, and Sephora–you know, for research!!

So basically, I spend my free time like a Tween.

Tomorrow I think I find out who I'm interviewing with for an internship. I hope it's something good! I better go pick out a nice interview outfit... and oh yeah, finish some drafting and marker homework.

(Spice Girls photo by thewindytree, from the San Jose show. My seats were not quite as awesome.)

Kudos to Junos, Sappy Sundays

2008-02-10T18:13:00.000-08:00

I finally saw Juno, which was very charming, and you should go see it if you haven't. Also, kudos to my friends at Shadowplay Studio, who did the wonderful opening title sequence.

Can someone tell me where this actress, Olivia Thirlby is from, other than her part in Juno? She looks and sounds so familiar to me, but nothing on her IMDB profile is anything I'm familiar with. Or is there another actress that she looks like? I can't place it at all.

Did you know that the Oscar-nominated film was directed by Jason Reitman, son of Ivan Reitman–known mostly for Ghostbusters!? I saw a little interview with the two of them on CBS Sunday Morning news, and I actually got teary-eyed, when I watched Ivan Reitman get all teary-eyed about his son's Oscar nomination.

Also on CBS Sunday morning, Ben Stein got all sentimental about how much he loved his crazy wife, despite the 16-odd stinky animals she keeps in the house, and how he couldn't imagine the day that one of them has to live without the other someday. And he talked about how broken his dad was when his mom left. He also reminded the public, that on Valentine's Day, we should call our loved ones who have lost their significant others. That got me teary-eyed too.

I was reminded that I become especially vulnerable to sappy tv on Sundays, when I'm not as distracted by the daily demands of school and social life. I am going to guess that is not just me. Those tv programmers sure know what they're doing.