Apr 21 2009

8 Things (Taken from Nikki)

Here are my answers to the 8 Things tag.

8 Things I’m Looking Forward To

1. Booking 35 weddings (photography) a year!
2. Getting engaged and married one day
3. Seeing my family and friends succeed in their careers
4. Getting to meet Elena Konicki this December!
5. Spending time in FL this coming December
6. Going to Sedona with John in October
7. Going to WPPI next year
8. Spending lots of time with my kitties and John every day

8 Things I did Yesterday

1. Went to a networking meeting for lunch at Coffee Bean in NoHo
2. Went to a speed networking meeting for dinner in Glendale
3. Uploaded Matt & Jessica’s proofs
4. Went to CIA in NoHo to see KC’s band
5. Read a few chapters of Fast Track Photographer
6. Got a massage from Zoya (thank god for pre-paid massages)
7. Found out my pocket wizards have arrived at Samy’s Camera
8. Pet the kitties

8 Things I Wish I Could Do

1. Take more photography workshops focusing on lighting and strobes
2. 2nd shoot with world-famous photographers at weddings
3. Book more clients for this summer’s wedding photography season
4. Learn Spanish
5. Keep my kitties, family and friends happy and healthy for their long lives
6. Buy a house with a washer / dryer and a self-cleaning litter box
7. Take 3 week vacations
8. See the world with my own two eyes

8 Shows I Watch

1. US of Tara
2. Campbell Brown’s No Bias No Bull
3. Anderson Cooper 360
4. The Daily Show
5. The Cobert Report
6. The Situation Room
7. Lou Dobbs Tonight
8. The Simpsons (sometimes)

Tag, you’re it. πŸ™‚

Apr 11 2009

I Was Born Under a Full Moon

http://www.paulsadowski.org/BirthData.asp

30 July 1977
Your date of conception was on or about 6 November 1976 which was a Saturday.

You were born on a Saturday
under the astrological sign Leo.
Your Life path number is 7.

Your fortune cookie reads:
Anger begins with folly, and ends with regret.

Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 4 & 22.
You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path number 9.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 3, 6, 8 & 11.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2443354.5.
The golden number for 1977 is 2.
The epact number for 1977 is 10.
The year 1977 was not a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/18/1977 and ending 2/6/1978.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Snake.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Salmon; your plant is Raspberry.

You were born in the Egyptian month of Paopy, the second month of the season of Poret (Emergence – Fertile soil).

Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 15 Av 5737.
Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 16 Av 5737.

The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.18.4.1.10 which is
12 baktun 18 katun 4 tun 1 uinal 10 kin

The Hijra (Islamic Calendar) date of your birth is Saturday, 13 Sha’ban 1397 (1397-8-13).

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 10 April 1977.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 10 April 1977.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 23 February 1977.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 29 May 1977.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 5 June 1977.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Tuesday, 13 September 1977.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Sunday, 3 April 1977.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 22 February 1977.

As of 4/11/2009 2:58:28 PM EDT
You are 31 years old.
You are 381 months old.
You are 1,654 weeks old.
You are 11,578 days old.
You are 277,886 hours old.
You are 16,673,218 minutes old.
You are 1,000,393,108 seconds old.

Celebrities who share your birthday:
Hilary Swank (1974) Brad Hargreaves (1972) Tom Green (1971)
Vivica A. Fox (1964) Lisa Kudrow (1963) Kate Bush (1958)
Delta Burke (1956) Jean Reno (1948) Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947)
Paul Anka (1941) Peter Bogdanovich (1939) Buddy Guy (1936)
Edd ‘Kookie’ Byrnes (1933) Thomas Sowell (1930) Casey Stengel (1891)
Henry Ford (1863) Emily Bronte (1818)

Top songs of 1977
You Light Up My Life by Debby Boone Best of My Love by Emotions
I Just Want to Be Your Everything by Andy Gibb How Deep Is Your Love by Bee Gees
Evergreen (from ‘A Star Is Born’) by Barbra Streisand Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder
Torn Between Two Lovers by Mary MacGregor Rich Girl by Daryl Hall & John Oates
Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band by Meco Got to Give It Up by Marvin Gaye

Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 4.53150684931507 years old. (You’re still chasing cats!)

Your lucky day is Sunday.
Your lucky number is 1 & 4.
Your ruling planet(s) is Sun.
Your lucky dates are 1st, 10th, 19th, 28th.
Your opposition sign is Aquarius.
Your opposition number(s) is 8.

Today is not one of your lucky days!

There are 110 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 32 candles.

Those 32 candles produce 32 BTUs,
or 8,064 calories of heat (that’s only 8.0640 food Calories!) .
You can boil 3.66 US ounces of water with that many candles.

In 1977 there were approximately 3.1 million births in the US.
In 1977 the US population was approximately 203,302,031 people, 57.4 persons per square mile.
In 1977 in the US there were approximately 2,152,662 marriages (10.1%) and 1,036,000 divorces (4.9%)
In 1977 in the US there were approximately 1,921,000 deaths (9.5 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.

In 1977 the population of Australia was approximately 14,281,533.
In 1977 there were approximately 226,291 births in Australia.
In 1977 in Australia there were approximately 104,918 marriages and 45,150 divorces.
In 1977 in Australia there were approximately 108,790 deaths.

Your birth flower is DELPHINIUM

Your birthstone is Ruby

The Mystical properties of Ruby

Ruby is said to open one’s heart to love.

Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)

Carnelian

Your birth tree is

Cypress, the Faithfulness

Strong, muscular, adaptable, takes what life has to give, happy,content,optimistic, needs enough money and acknowledgment, hates loneliness, passionate lover which cannot be satisfied, faithful, quick-tempered,unruly, pedantic and careless.

There are 258 days till Christmas 2009!
There are 271 days till Orthodox Christmas!

The moon’s phase on the day you were born was full.

Mar 29 2009

Rest in Peace, Dear Penny

I will miss you! I hope you find happiness on the other side. I know my mom will guide you through heaven and show you around. I am sorry your life was so rough. I wish you had made it through to tell your story of success; but, I guess not everyone makes it… I guess it was your time to go. I just never imagined you would leave us all so soon. I hope you find peace in the afterlife, and I hope I see you again one day… some day far far in the future. I will never forget you!



Wild is the wind…

Mar 23 2009

Is it the Weekend Yet?

No, it’s Monday!

I had a very busy and fun weekend, but now I could use some rest!

Saturday – headed out at 11:45am to go to Lomita for Emily’s 2nd birthday party! Then, headed up to NoHo to shoot engagement photos. After that, home to eat. At 11pm, met up with friends at Pickwick for Broomball. We played til 1am. I am bruised and sore, but it was so much fun!

Sunday – woke up early and went to the Pro Photo Expo in Pasadena. Met up with a new friend, Sayuri, and walked the Expo. I found some good album ideas, learned more about advanced lighting techniques, played with some lensbabies, and got a Wedding Lookbook. I really want a fisheye lens now too!

After the expo, I headed home to meet up with Corinne (a childhood friend who lives out here). She, Sayuri & I went to the Old LA Zoo Picnic area and met up with Danny to do some photography. I taught portraiture to Sayuri and Danny. Corinne modeled. She is so beautiful! I also had my headshot taken for my website. I’ll put it up as soon as Danny sends it to me!

Sunday night, Corinne and I went to dinner. We hung out for a bit, talked, and then she headed home to prepare for an interview. I spent the evening writing my business plan.

Great weekend!!! I am looking forward to more fun next weekend!

In other news, here’s an awesome article! I LOVE Jack Cafferty’s bold writing style!

Mar 20 2009

Friday – My Day

I had a nice day in the office: plenty busy, but also plenty relaxed! I am ready for the busy weekend! Tonight, Megan is coming over and we’re going to watch a movie and play video games.

Tomorrow, I have a birthday party to go to for little Emily, then a photo shoot in Hollywood, then Broomball at Pickwick!

On Sunday morning, I’m heading to a Photography Expo in Pasadena, then to Griffith Park to do another photo shoot, then out for dinner / drinks with my childhood friend, Corrine!

This is going to be a very busy and fun weekend!

Mar 15 2009

More Sleep Please!

I really would like more sleep than I have been getting. I used to sleep 8 hours a night (which is perfect for me); but, lately, I’ve been sleeping 5 to 6 hours a night. It’s not enough! I keep staying up late night after night, doing random things that probably aren’t all that important. I just want more hours in the day; and, I’ve been taking them (against my best judgment).

This weekend was very productive, and fun! On Saturday, I met with a Brand Consultant (Andrew Sokol) to work on my brand and strategy for my photography business. Together, we came up with something perfect: I will be a Wedding ONLY photographer. It helps specialize me, and it’s what I love the most when it comes to photography for hire. So, now, I need to start planning my marketing materials and expanding my wedding industry connections! Yay!

On Saturday night, I went with John to Corey & Sara’s for game night. We played Apples to Apples, Loaded Questions and Rock Band. Well, I watched Rock Band… was WAY too tired to play by that point (2am). We had a really fun night!

Sunday morning, I was woken up by Aurora to feed her and our other furbabies at 10am (after going to sleep at 3am). I worked on some paperwork, sorted some mail, made breakfast, blah blah blah. At 2pm, I went with Adrienne & her son, Jacob, to Venice Beach. We spent a few hours taking pictures, hanging out, enjoying the performers, walking around. It was fun! I’ll put pix up in a few days.

Once home, I was seriously exhausted; but, John & I still went to Von’s go to grocery shopping. They were having a huge grocery sale. I saved $26 and John saved about $40!

I’m heading to bed now. Good night!

Mar 13 2009

Testing Facebook Notes

If you see this show up on FB, please comment in FB to let me know πŸ™‚ It should import automatically πŸ™‚

Mar 12 2009

Potential Energy Build Up

I am severely anxious today! My foot is tapping like mad, and I am stuck stuck stuck!

As I sit here reading CNN, seeing stories like Madoff Pleads Guilty, GPS Sex Offender Kills Teen, Teen Kills Former Classmates in Germany, Democrats Impatient, Steele Angers Republicans for His Abortion Comments, Stupid Singers Back Together After Abuse… blah blah blah, I am feeling extremely uneasy about the world.

Today started off as a beautiful sunny day. I drove in to work without much of a care; but, when I got here, I felt trapped. I am fine with being here at a desk. This is where I’d be if I were home; but, I feel like there is so much going on outside of this “zone,” and that I have no way to affect any of it from here (or at all).

Here’s what’s frustrating me:
1. Bobby called… divorce denied due to address differences, name change, and more! Well, yeah… he has a new address and I changed my name. We submitted the new information with our paperwork. The court doesn’t care apparently. They offer no solution either. Do we have to start this process over? It’s been years now! I don’t know what to do. Bobby & I are going to go over the rejection later tonight. I want to go fix it right now; but, I can’t. I can’t hire a lawyer, nor can I leave the office. If I could, there’d be nowhere to go. The court won’t answer questions. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bobby’s angrier than I am.

2. I got a call to officiate a wedding in mid-October on a Friday. Well, I don’t know where I’ll be working or if I can take off of work. Do I take it and just tell whatever job I get that I’m taking off that day, and the week before for my Sedona (prepaid) trip, and for Christmas to New Years so I can visit my family in FL? I also have other Friday weddings that I have booked… this is the 3rd one! How many can I get away with? Should I just not take clients on Fridays? I hate to do that. πŸ™ I don’t know what to do. It’s not even like I can ask my boss, since I don’t have a perm position yet.

3. Transition – I feel like I’ve been in transition for years now! I haven’t found a career path to start climbing, I keep getting laid off, I keep having money issues and medical bills (cats), and I haven’t found a roommate yet. Everything is so up in the air that I feel like I have NO solid ground under my feet at all. I feel like the whole country is feeling this emotion; but, there’s very little we can do about it. For me, it started well before the economic meltdown. I can’t say I am more “used to the idea” though.

4. I’ve really thought about going back for my MBA, but every recruiter and HR manager I’ve spoken with has told me it’d be a waste of money and time if I don’t go to a credible school like UCLA, USC or at the lowest, CSU. Well, if I get / take this job, I won’t be able to go to any of those as they don’t have online degrees and classes start at 6pm in far away locations. I work til almost 7pm, and can’t leave early. So, my whole plan to take this job and get my MBA so that I can move up in the world is kinda falling apart. I can get an HR Certificate online, but it’s not as good as an MBA. πŸ™

5. Cell phone is dead. I should have charged it. I hate that it’s dead and my charger is at home.

6. Palm Pilot is dead. I should have charged that too! I can’t even check my personal calendar or make possible plans for anything.

7. What bothers me most of all is that I don’t know what I want to do with my life. I want a house, so that I can have space to do my artistic projects and display my memorabilia that is rotting in boxes out of view. I want a patio to do my silversmithing. I want silversmithing equipment. I want a darkroom again. I miss the smell of developer!

I want to travel more. I still haven’t been to Japan, Hawaii, or Seattle… places I’ve wanted to go for ages! I also want to get back to places I love, but who has the time for that!?!

I want more money to enjoy my life and youth more – go to the movies, try new restaurants, go to theme parks, buy new clothes (mine are so 90s), buy gifts for people’s birthdays, go to dinner with people on their birthdays, and start saving for retirement!!! I’m not sure of the best way to accomplish this. If it means I must sacrifice my career ambitions (whatever they are… I think they have to do with working in HR and / or photography), will I be happy? I don’t know.

I do know that, in this economy, there are fewer options for me than some of my fellow unemployed Americans: I do not have an MBA, I mostly have Exec Assist experience (since moving to LA), have lots of lay-offs and job changes on my resume, and am not willing to move out of LA (leaving John and my sister). What are my options? I would LOVE an answer to this question! All the research I do daily, nightly… I can’t find this answer. I keep finding “none” as the answer, which is really disconcerting.

Part of me wants to try to make it work as a photographer, but another part of me is scared to death that I will be miserable with the income: unable to function the way I would like to in my life. Another part of me wants to be a part time photographer, using a full time job to live on and my photography income to travel with and buy new equipment with.

I guess that’s most people’s problem: choosing between being in control of your time and being controlled by the schedule of full time employment. Both have benefits and consequences. In this economy, where our competition is soooooo high, how much are we willing to risk? I’m not a very risky person to begin with (not when it comes to money at least).

So, here I am… frustrated, in transition, locked-in to not knowing what I want or what I can have, and wondering when I’ll find out. I sometimes think I control my life. Other times, I feel like I’m at the whim of a very large and powerful force well beyond my understanding. Today, I feel more of the latter.

Mar 11 2009

How Its Made – My Future

I’m 31 and still don’t know what I want to do with my life. Mostly, I want to win the lottery and open an art center in Downtown Glendale. If I don’t win the lottery, I need a back-up plan. High end wedding photography (2 or 3 a month) would be ideal! Next to that, a career in Human Resources – hiring, developing, training and mentoring would be something I would really enjoy.

So, how I do I create this life? Well, I play the lottery once a week or so (if you don’t play, you can’t win). I also job hunt constantly. I need a reasonable salary to stay alive, and a more than that if I want to enjoy my life. That’s the hard part… there are few jobs that pay reasonable wages right now that I qualify for, especially with so many unemployed workers as my competition.

I’m really considering an MBA again. Here’s the deal.. if I end up getting the job at NBC, I’ll need to go to school online (as I work til almost 7pm). Know of any credible schools that offer online MBA’s at a low tuition rate? Hmmm.

If I don’t end up getting the job at NBC, I will be focusing on my photography again full time. I’m kinda letting fate take its course. I’m not worried… I am more curious to see where I’ll end up.

If I end up focusing on photography full time, I will really need to step up my marketing and advertising. I’m taking a marketing class for the next two Saturdays. This should really point me in the right direction (full or part time).

Looking down to my left at Dagan, sleeping next to me on the couch, I know I have to make a certain salary to take care of him and his health condition. I am confident that I will be able to care for him. It is scary though… not knowing where money will come from.

For now, I’m still in transition… I have been so for years it seems. I really hope that things are on the up and up. I am hopeful still. I am inspired.

Heading to bed after this episode of How It’s Made is over. I want to see them make tofu!

Happy Belated Birthday, mom!!!! I miss you!!!!!

Mar 07 2009

Brain Dead Weekend

Last night, I went dancing with Megg, Josef, & Ryan at Ruin in K-Town. Ryan & I had some great chats, and I got to talk to Noah a bit too. The music started off and ended with dance-tastic music, but the whole middle of the night was full of slow music that I didn’t feel like dancing to. We went to Denny’s afterward, and I got home just before 4am. It was a fun night!

Today, I slept in, fed the cats, got a shower, dropped off stuff at Goodwill, hung out at home with the kitties, redid my blog colors / header, and watched some TV. It’s been a lazy day; and, it’s been a really long time since I’ve had a lazy, nothing-to-do type of day. I have absolutely no ability to use my brain today. I even got mac & cheese in my hair! Bah!

John’s in San Diego right now, and I’m happy to be home with the cats. It’s cold outside. Now, it just so happens that Idiocracy is on TV… I feel this is very fitting for today.

Tomorrow should be a more productive day. I am meeting up with a fellow photog to shoot for a few hours. After, I’ll be hanging out with Nicole for a bit. πŸ™‚

Mar 07 2009

Gracie Made it to Cute!

Gracie Lou made it to CuteOverload.com today! I’m so excited! Everyone go check it out and comment! Tell them you want to see more Gracie Lou! πŸ™‚ Heehee

Yay!

Clicky: http://www.cuteoverload.com/2009/03/this-just-in-ca.html

Mar 06 2009

It’s Friday!!!

This was a great week! I saw the Watchmen with John on the WB lot on Tuesday night. It was excellent – fun, entertaining, well written, well acted… I really loved it! I never read the comics, but I was able to follow along without any problem.

On Thursday night, John & I watched Into the Wild Green Yonder – the final Futurama movie. It had a slow start, but picked up with some fun after a while. I still rate the 3rd movie the best: Bender’s Game!

Today, I worked a Natural Health tradeshow for dizzystop.com. It was really fun! I helped inform people about DizzyStop (helps protect against nausea, dizziness and motion sickness). I also got to try lots of random organic and healthy foods, drinks, and snacks! Almost everything was YUM! There were two things I’d avoid in the future, but I can’t remember what they are. I went to dozens of booths, trying tastes of everything I could!

Tonight, I’m going to Ruin (Goth club in K-Town) with Josef. Megg and Ryan are meeting us there later. John has gone to San Diego to hang out with some friends.

Tomorrow, I may go out to take some pix – not sure where yet. It should be a relaxing weekend! πŸ™‚

Mar 02 2009

Big Government?

Non-Democrats are trying to scare Americans (and our neighbors) into thinking Obama’s administration is going to make government bigger and take power away from the people; but, did they even take a look at the Bush administration’s policies and activities before making this statement?

For years, the Bush administration threw out constitutional rights and gave enormous amounts of power to ONE man! That is something to fear! That is truly BIG government – when one person controls the laws, the rules, and has the authority to break them.

In Obama’s administration, there are more tax dollars being spent, more programs being put into place, and more government employees (American workers) being hired for jobs to facilitate these programs; however, this doesn’t make government bigger. In a sense, it makes the American people more responsible for our growth and eventual climb out of this dark ditch we’ve been in!

I fear big government, but not in numbers… in power! Read this: scary article about the Bush admin.

Also, for those of you who have not yet seen Sicko, please watch it! You’ll see big government at work again, controlling us, demeaning us, demoralizing us, and tearing us down at an alarming rate. The policies put into place by the Bush administration are truly “big government” policies of control!

I can’t believe that man and his cabinet members are not in jail for their crimes against Americans through healthcare and privacy invasion! It’s just horrific! I’m so disgusted. If it weren’t for Obama team being in the white house, I think I’d actually consider moving to Europe! I hope he can begin to reverse the damage. I am truly truly hopeful… still, very sad.

http://noedb.org/library/features/10-facts-you-never-knew-from-sicko

Mar 02 2009

No Roomies Yet

So, this was a very productive weekend! On Friday night, I packed up and cleaned some more, prepping to show the apartment this weekend. Unfortunately, no potential roommates called. I talked to one who wanted his own bathroom, so he was a no-go. I talked to another (who seems really cool), but he’s not moving here til May; but, he is going to contact me tomorrow anyhow. His company is paying for his relocation, and he may be interested in coming out early – we’ll see!

Saturday was another busy day! I had two headshot clients, ran errands, went to dinner with John at a local Chinese restaurant (Fortune Inn – enough food for 3 days, $10), then wandered around Borders for a bit. When we got home, we watched United States of Tara, then took a walk down to Rosegreen and Barnes & Noble (John needed a notebook).

Once home, we watched Sicko… wow! I know that Michael Moore’s films are very “propaganda” styled, but this one had a lot of case studies and real people speaking about their lives. It was more story telling by the subjects than the narrator. I’m really scared now. I really wish we had Universal Healthcare! I have wanted it for a really long time, but I now want it more than ever! I am so sad for the state of healthcare in this country… it’s just devastating! I knew it was, but now I feel it so much stronger after watching this movie! πŸ™

Sunday – slept in, had left over pancakes, worked on some emails, then went out to meet a headshot client. Once home, I edited photos for a bit, watched Lord of the Rings on HD, then John & I went to Ralph’s and Target to get some food and stuff for the week.

Right now, I’m working on some site stuff and watching “Deep Impact.” I love this movie! I’ve seen it too many times actually. Aurora is resting beside me, so pretty, so adorable! I love her so much! I hope she eats tomorrow!!! Hugs to all.

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