Short Circuit.

So yeah, it's been about three weeks since my last login.

A lot's happened, amigos. School started, met someone, cleaned out my closet for monthly Salvation Army drop off... I might have lied to you before, but I'm ready to admit now that I'm not made of steel.

I need to move out of my condo too because my mortgage company has been hounding me to refinance. I did it about 4 years ago and have been skating by paying pennies since (got in before this horrible economic downtown) Anyway, my loan is due to reset next year so my mortgage will double unless I move out. I've been toying with moving in the last few months, but now I need to get the ball rolling.

I never thought this would come out of my mouth, but I think I'm scared of change. Or maybe more I don't want to make my life any more difficult, so I've been acceptant of the status quo. This is the year I finally do it. I've been talking so much bull about leaving here, but this is the year it'll actually happen. I can feel it. I need to remind myself not to be scared of change, but to embrace it. Easier said than done.

Uploaded some more videos from my Japan trip; still not done. This vid is from the top of the Floating Garden building in Osaka. I was there on my last day, just a few hours before heading to Kansai to come home.



I think I can find those chairs at Ikea. I hope so anyway.

Here's a shot of the outside of the building. Took a little over 10 minutes to get to the top.

Made some new Hello Kitty listings. I got this one at the site of the Great Buddha in Nara (see below). This one I think I'll keep. I'm not much of a Hello Kitty fan, but I couldn't think of a price point I'd be comfortable selling at... not to mention I find it ironic and mildly blasphemous :)

Gotta get back to school work. I have to go to a testing lab tomorrow because my Biology teacher is a Julian-calendar-using-I'll-give-you-3-days-to-do-a-16-page-lab-and-I-don't-care-if-you-work-10-hour-days-you-have-6-tests-a-week sadist.

M <3

Kenroku-En Garden, Takoyaki, Rainstorms

Uploaded some new vids today. These are from Kanazawa in Kenroku-En ("Six Attributes"), one of Japan's 3 great gardens. Click here if you want more info.

It was raining pretty badly out, but it was so humid! I had on 2 shirts and a jacket that day; I was sweating like a pig. The whole place was surreal. I felt more like I was in Middle Earth than a place that actually exists in this world.

There were a lot of tourists there despite the weather. I stayed in the background and listened to them speak to each other to find out if they were Chinese, Korean, Thai, etcetera. I breathed a little sigh of relief if I understood them. The little Japanese I do know helped me out quite a bit. 

Everyone I encountered was very nice; smiles are universal :)

I made something like 30 videos during my trip so you'll have to forgive me if they're out of order or vague. I'll try to describe as much as I can remember.

Before I go, I have to mention this little tidbit because it was one of my "geek out" moments. When we came to a truck stop somewhere on our way to Kyoto, I shrieked a little when I found a takoyaki stand. 

Tada! :))

I love octopus and wanted to try it... and I won't even lie. It was only because there was a whole Ranma 1/2 episode about it (I believe in season 4) and I have yet to find it back home :-P

It was pretty good. The sauce was like A-1 or some type of barbeque sauce. I ate it for dinner whenever I found a stand if only to feel closer...

It's a really funny show if you've never seen it.

You should check it out sometime. I'm sure you can rent it from a local library.

Anway, back to the grind. Made some new listings for you Hello Kitty fans out there :)

Late,

M.

In Kanazawa. Forgot What Day It Is.

This photo was taken in Shirakawa; high (like, WAY high) in the Japanese alps...

I've been in the Japanese alps for the past few days; this is the first time I've had internet access since we left Tokyo. Just uploaded a few more videos to my YouTube account. Check 'em out :)))











This is just a taste. See my YouTube account for more...

Later,

M :)))

Day 2 Tokyo: Meiji Shrine, Imperial Forest, Tea Ceremony, Asakusa Kannon Temple

Just another morning video :)



I'm doing this on borrowed time. I finally realized that I'm not a travel blogger so my videos will do most of the speaking. This video is upon entry to Meiji Shrine:





Calligraphy class (this is the instructor writing a haiku):



The city:



Tatsumiya Resutoran:




The staff here was very nice and the beer was very good. I ate solo because I wanted to see what the city had to offer besides KFC and Starbucks. The menu was entirely in Japanese (I brought a Kanji book with me to help with the unfamiliar symbols. I did fine) As I was paying, I said "Gochisosama Deshita" ("Thank you for the treat")  and for it I got a very polite bow and a compliment on my knowledge of the language. It's always nice to hear that from a native :)

Anyway, I'm about to head out to the streets of Tokyo and cause a ruckus :))))

Peace!

M.

Day 1: Tokyo (Arrival)

I'm so spoiled by free Wi-Fi. The hotel ran out of packages so I have to purchase time by the hour (and it's not cheap. Not at a 4 cum 5 star hotel) Hopefully I'll find a spot where I can access free Wi-Fi otherwise all entries will be in short spurts.

Anyway, here's a YouTube vid of my first day.

I made it :) YAY!!!

Love, M.



**Edit: 5:20 p.m. (Japan Time) - I think I found a loophole in the system.... hee hee :)))

Suite Madame Blue

That's it. I'm going to LA tomorrow. I'm sick of this shit.

.

A little bit o'beach and retail therapy always feels good.

I think I'm being sent a message. My work situation has become intolerable; staffing has been reduced to five. Got two that don't talk (onE of them is cool on the rare occasion she does though), one that talks too much (you know wHo you are) and one I had to file a harAssment claim against as of Wednesday.

Doesn't my week sound awesome?

At least I'm still fortunate enough to be weathering this horrible recession.

Thank God.

Normally I would never take a road trip a week before an 18-hour international flight (CABIN FEVER :((( !!!), but I need to blow this pop stand. Work aside, had something hit close to home that I won't share here.

Escapism is not the answer, but it feels damn good while you're gone.

I'll have to be sated with LA for this week, but next week it's Tokyo :)

やった!!

Got my camcorder and I plan to document the whole trip right here. Seriously contemplating taking up an offer to go to London later this year ... and possibly losing my return ticket.

Just because they want to be miserable heifers doesn't mean I have to be.

M.

Riots.

Greetings & salutations, all.

This has been a very tumultuous week. Finally all my business purchases arrived (Thank God), but I lost some co-workers to the recession and a friend was lost to jail.

I'm not familiar with the detention system, but only people on the visitors log can come, and only at certain times, depending on what cell block the inmate is in. Images of "OZ" flashed through my mind. I wondered if I was gonna get shanked in the hallways. I'm posting now so all is well.

Below is one of my screen print projects. I've had this blank canvas bag forever and finally decided on an image I want to tote around. It's reminiscent of early woodblock prints. At first I thought it was a female puppeteer, and I wanted to make the puppet a man. My freehand skills are lacking (and drawing in permanent marker doesn't leave much room for error) so I left it as is. Once the print is made I'll paint in the features.

I like my men on a string :)

I drew a quick sketch of this while watching "Alice in Acidland" Lately I've been obsessed with Something Weird videos. They make those 60s propaganda films and light snuff stuff. Click the link and watch the trailer. I was surprised that Bettie Page was on their roster. "The Wizard of Gore" scream at the 1:48 mark makes me laugh every time :)

I also watched the season 4 ender for Miami Vice. I didn't see that coming, but I'll know once season 5 comes in if they jumped the shark or not. Say it ain't so, Crockett!

Given that bail money had to be available no new projects were started in the last week, but I had the screen print stuff lying around so I went for it... I HATE being idle.

Finished a book, started another. Began a workout regimen I'll comment on later as it progresses. Learned a very important lesson....

"Love is the pursuit of shadows"

Is it a bad idea to pick someone up while on the clock? Who cares.. hopefully I don't go chickenshit...

Venus.

Promises, Promises.

I'm breaking one of my own rules: I decided to show you all my 1/2 finished works. Website preparation has been a bitch; sometimes I wish I wasn't so scatterbrained. I'm doing this in the hopes that I can choose ONE of these to focus on and finish. My goal is to have a completed work on my site before my trip to Japan, so when I hand out my business card there's something on my site other than a whole bunch of bullshit.

This is my little origami squad. I recently started making these to zone out, yet still keep my mind active. I was surprised at how peaceful the whole process is.

This is my first mask project in at least 4 years. I'm thinking a bit of a Carnivale vibe. Not quite sure where I want to go with it yet. Needs more paint and sealant before I start working on it again.

This is my "Miami Vice" Florida meets Grandma's-Worst-Nightmare tropical shirt. I have to drop by the suite to pick up the rest of the finishings. Not sure if I want to bring it with me and wear it on my trip, or save it for my site. These are the hard decisions I'm forced to make these days.

And last but not least is my wall art.

I did the background yesterday and added everything else today. Took a picture of it as the hot glue was still drying; it's fresh off the presses. I wanted to add a poem by José Martí because this poem really struck me and would've been perfect for the piece, but the notebook it's scrawled in is missing. Kinda bummed about that.

Anyway, just doing a quick check in so that you guys know that I'm still on my grind and I'm not full of shit ;)

M.

Happiness Trigger.

Goodbye, Christ

"Listen, Christ, you did alright in your day, I reckon ... But that day's gone now.

They ghosted you up a swell story, too, Called it Bible-- But it's dead now.

The popes and the preachers've made too much money from it.

They've sold you to too many.

Kings, generals, robbers, and killers -- Even to the Cossacks,

Even to Rockefeller's Church,

Even to THE SATURDAY EVENING POST.

You ain't no good no more.

They've pawned you till you've done wore out.

Goodbye, Christ Jesus Lord God Jehova,

Beat it on away from here now.

Make way for a new guy with no religion at all --

A real guy names Marx Communist Lenin Peasant Stalin Worker ME --

I said, ME!

Go ahead on now, you're getting in the way of things, Lord.

And please take Saint Ghandi with you when you go,

And Saint Pope Pius,

And Saint Aimee McPherson,

And big black Saint Becton Of the Consecrated Dime.

And step on the gas, Christ! Move!

Don't be so slow about movin'! The world is mine from now on--

And nobody's gonna sell ME to a king, or a general, or a millionaire."

Sing it, Langston. Expensive day today.

Went to Sak's 5th to look for a bag for my trip. My mom got a gift card there from an auction and gave it to me. I always feel weird at those über pretentious high-end stores.

I walked up and the door was opened by two guys in suits looking like off-duty CIA agents (sort of like multi-cultural James Bonds). I looked around and saw chicks toting Chanels & LVs, but thank God for consignment stores. I was in YSL; I wasn't about to be shown up.

"I know a good 60% of the people in here flaunting all that garbage are fronting for mass debt, but I won't call them on it if they leave me alone" I thought.

I ended up buying a bracelet I probably could've got on eBay for $25 and split. Everyone there was really nice, but I still felt like I was in a Venus Flytrap.

Went to the art store and got some screen-printing stencils and markers, working on a mask inspired by Björk. Still waiting for the studs for shirt completion.

Doing big things, chickadees.

Don't do tomorrow what you can do today.

Won't Take That Talk.

Hard partying will catch up to you... I'm sick as a dog.

Bowling, house parties (pretending to like your friend of a friend's shitty band), midnight trips to the gas station... I can't even talk. Throat feels like sandpaper, ears & nose clogged, and I'm hacking up green stuff like Linda Blair from The Exorcist.

The picture is apropos; it's exactly how I feel.

What I would give for nirvana... I have a feeling stress contributed to this. Not stress from my crafts & website, those things are joys to me. I'm talking about stress from my 9-5. I'm convinced that I work with a blood relative (pun?) of Nosferatu & someone with absolutely no brains. Favoritism occurs everywhere, but usually not so blatantly.

Still beading my top, have made a lot of progress since last week. Should be completed within 3 weeks. I'm not a fan of posting 1/2 finished works, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Been invited to a lot of ritzy zip codes lately... saw a HUGE Noh Mask in a bathroom and now I want one for myself.

I like creepy stuff :)

Inspirations this week: Breakin', Persepolis, Ikiru, & the color raspberry.

Hopefully I'll be better by next week's post.... Ciao.

Universal Traveler.

I'll be making a regular post soon, but I just purchased my domain name for my stand alone web site this morning :) Excited!

There's so much work that goes into site design, but it's one of those necessary evils... I can just think of my upcoming trip as a reward for my hard work :)

Need to get a new camera ASAP because my current one is shit..

About to leave in a moment to pick up some more supplies... still recovering from the Hard Rock last night.. How the hell do I do this?

Might be wearing the top you see above... The purse however is up for grabs.

Toodle-Loo Loves,

M.

Il Secundo Giorno (Instrumental)

Aside from my random arts & crafts, another one of my hobbies is collecting old cartoon memorabilia.

After a frightening mix-up in the mail (it took over a month to get to me), I finally got my Kewpie pens. The one pictured above is Magical Angel Creamy Mami. With the exception of one, all the pens I got were from series I'd never heard of before. Because I have a disturbing affinity for office supplies, each pen will probably get its own entry in due time...

Long story short, Mami is about a 10 year old girl that transforms into a 16 year old pop star with the help of a magic wand given to her by cat aliens... Um yeah. Here's some more info on the series if you're interested. It's kinda like Big meets Jem.

I just thought it was cool that my pen would have a magic wand on it. Almost every writing utensil I own has a character on top :)

I got up kind of early and decided to watch the first episode online. I was expecting it to be so saccharine I'd have to turn it off after a few minutes, but it was surprisingly interesting. It evoked a feeling of natsukashii* (see bottom) ... the good old days of watching Voltron, Urusei Yatsura, and Project A-Ko. It almost felt like I should be watching it in footie pajamas and holding a bowl of multi-colored milk with rapidly deteriorating Froot Loops inside.

It's not all for fun and games. Anime plays a huge part in helping me stay current in my Japanese (I was really proud of myself for being able to translate the original title, 魔法の天使クリィミーマミ, without help)

Three months and counting... I can't wait!

BONUS! - Here's a YouTube clip of the transformation sequence. (I still geek out over these after all these years...)

* nostalgia

Bite me.

"After a long sleep I arise again..."

I'm working on self improvement; I need to learn how to pick my battles. Not everything has to be fought tooth and nail... to the death... until nothing remains but a bad memory and dried tears.


A, you tire me.


I no longer want to scream and yell. I don't want to have another mediator at the workplace again. I don't want to carry this resentment, but talking to you is futile.


...And how exactly do I handle this?


Too much frustration to fight it out; too much pride to let it go... this is gonna be ugly, I just know it.


Just keeping my eyes on the light in my life.. going to Japan for a few weeks in the Spring. Looking forward to Hotel Chapel Christmas. Looking forward to good Udon noodles since finding them here is a crap shoot. Looking forward to seeing the torii and shrines and theatre.

All this just months away ... and I might just stay :)

Good luck finding me in Ginza..