3.26.2005
make way for cute hair!
then andria visited, and i found myself kind of jealous of her well done do. it dried all nice and curly. . . .
so, i thought i little more to myself. if i'm willing to spend the cash for the product i liked to dread it. . . . why not spend the cash on a last try hair cut? plus. . . . dreading takes a long time to do, and then even longer to take care of it. . . months of primping. . . . not exactly my cup of tea.
so, i took my mom's advice and found myself at the aveda salon in town. i do like their product, if i must use product. . . . at the very least i must TAME THE FRIZZ! so, miss charlotte at the salon suggested an 'a line bob'? if that's what i remember it being called. i figured the length would have to go, but i voiced concern of being able to pull it back, and wanting it to be easy to manage. . . all that good stuff.
she did fill it with more product then i care for, as most salons do. . . .but i've walked it around town, and relaxed a bit. . . brushed it out. . . . i only need to try it after a shower on my own. . .. but i think i really like it . . . hehe. . . .
side
side
Originally uploaded by ekissam.
i believe in the world of the well coiffed, this is called an A cut bob. . . or something like that. it's REALLY short in the back, and totally curly. i was a little worried at first, but i think i'm totally loving it now. . . which is what spawned this small fashion photo shoot. . . at my diningroom window, with the refrigerator in the back. . . .enjoy!
superiority
superiority
Originally uploaded by ekissam.
give me unflappable superiority. . . you don't care about the camera. . . . you don't care! right. . .. work it!
inquisitive
inquisitive
Originally uploaded by ekissam.
show me inquisitive! what's that over your shoulder? is that something crawling on the wall? what's going on over there? now. . . hold it . . .hold it. . . .
andria's visit
she was a little surprised by the amount of snow that we had. she had passed through only a week earlier, when it was all beautiful and spring-like. then we got walloped by a snow storm. . .and there was plenty left to slosh through, which we did as we walked through the sculpture garden at shidoni. we didn't get to see them actually pour bronze, but the garden and funky furniture display was still quite fun. and why go through tesuque without a stop at the market for some of the best desserts around. and this time they actually had the good desserts made .. . . unlike the disappointing visit with trevor. i got my flan!. . . .though with my stomach, it took me three days to slowly eat and digest it. mmmmmm. . . flan.. . . . . and she left with some green chile cheese bread to take back with her.
we also stayed a bit at the awakening museum, she accompanied me to my acupuncture appointment, and we even took in a show- sam shepard's fool for love. . . the whole day we chatted and caught up on what each of us knew about the goings on of our barter friends. we even tried to call miss rachel, but i think it was a little late back on east coast time.
i'll make a quick segue here to my next post. i was rather jealous of her well done do. . . and how wonderfully it dried, all curls and little frizz. . . . you'll have to check out the next post to see where that led. . . . hehe
anyway. . . it was a great time, and i hope we get the chance to make it happen a little more often. i'll have to try and share this all with the barter crew. . see, it's nice to stay in touch. check out the pics below. . . . .
andria1
andria1
Originally uploaded by ekissam.
in left over snow from earilier in the week we checked out Shidoni. . . the bronze foundry. just a week earlier she had stopped by on her way to utah, and the weather had been beautiful and spring-like. then we got blasted with snow. as we did again this weekend.
3.11.2005
a honking couple of days
first off, this past weekend was a blast. quite a schooling for myself, and i was totally whooped by the end. i already see that if i were to continue to do some of the hiring conferences, i need to either shorten my talk, or the interviewer's talk. . . each interview was supposed to last 20 minutes, but i tended to run over an average of 5 to 7 minutes. by the last 4 interviews, i was running a complete hour behind! but people still waited. . . .
i met a couple of really great kids, i'm totally psyched to work with them this summer, and well, there was a good share of complete duds. oh well.
there was a decent number of kent kids there that i was able to catch up with. pictures to come really soon.
well, coming back to santa fe, i was really tired, but i had a full week ahead of me. while my repetitive nose honking heralds in the start of allergy season, i've found myself couch ridden, drinking lots of hot tea, and this weird onion ginger honey concoction which is supposed to make me sweat. i was freezing earlier. not so much anymore.
i've been in constant contact with my bosses, working on which kids we want to hire, emailing, reference calling, a couple extra phone interviews. . . . all with a drippy nose and totally congested head . . . whoo hoo. . .
then there was wednesday and thursday, or was it tuesday and wednesday. . . i honestly don't remember for sure. . . the first night andria smith- (ahh barter days)- showed up later in the evening. she was on her way from dallas to utah for some production meetings. she makes the trek each summer but usually doesn't have time to stop by. this time though she crashed over for the night and we stayed up WAY past my bedtime talking and catching up. i was kind of sleepy the next morning, but it was totally worth it. she's planning on stopping by for a little longer on the way back to dallas. hmm. . . perhaps a touristy trek to come. . . .
so, the next morning, i was to head off to the airport to pick up a college friend who was coming to the opera for an interview. on my way to pick up amy mark, andria and i had a little breakfast. . .. what else? a breakfast burrito from santa fe baking company. i ended up being a little late to the airport, but amy seemed fine with it. we played, 'where's so and so and what are they up to' the entire day. .. or at least while she wasn't interviewing. she seems to be doing really well, and i hadn't realized how much i missed a bunch of these people. . . and hearing about how people were. a complete whirlwind for me, and people from two different eras of my life, not to mention the catch up played with the kent kids. . . . so THREE! three different times of my life. i was amazed at my ability to keep it all straight, and i was pulled names out of no where. . . . maybe this congestion thing is good for something, works as a sort of gelatinous goo that help move my synapses. . . . or not.
mmmm. . . NUMB3RS is on. . . . gotta go.
3.08.2005
gisbe arrival
gisbe arrival
Originally uploaded by ekissam.
i got my gisbe (great international secret blog exchange) package just monday. though i think it probably arrived while i was away at the SETC convention, it made for a wonderful welcome surprise for me!
thank you lise! a cutie kangaroo plushie, glow stars-excellent, fun and different tasty treats, and someone did their homework and got me an aquarius month to month book. i LOVE it. . . THANKYOU!
3.01.2005
a grin-ectomy may be necessary
i am less than 12 hours away from getting on a plane and flying to north carolina for the SETC conference. i'm totally psyched, so much so that i'm worried about it being a let down- must balance out a bit. besides, i've had all the anxiety nightmares i think i can take. but other than that, there have been some interesting bits that i've forgotten to mention. .
----i got an anniversary card back in january, marking my first complete year of being a full time employee here at the opera. you know, i am impressed by the details that i see here that i've never seen anywhere else. . .
----i got a birthday card from the opera, yes, kinda of generic, but again, a detail that i've not seen elsewhere.
----on a more inane note, i got a letter and a check from the bank that i mentioned a few entries back. the bank that i closed the account with. after i transferred most of the account, there was a 5 dollar balance left over that the bank was reluctant to give up, 'can i ask, ma'am? why would you want to close this account? is there any way i can persuade you to stay with us?' this is probably the 12th time i heard this bit, and the 20th time i explained the whole, 'how could you send my new debit card to the wrong address and make me wait a month and a half for one to come to the correct address, no, it is unacceptable' almost as if this old bank wanted to take one more chance to prove their irresponsibility, i get the envelope and turn it to open the flap to find that the flap hasn't been sealed. . .. at all. my five dollar check could have skipped town on that envelope, but someone, it made it to me. unbelievable. . .
----a day ago i was walking around and ran into another department head who had what looked like my mail in his hand. i was caught off guard, i thought it was an alumni magazine. there was a costume sketch from a show i worked on directly on the cover. he asked me, 'erika, isn't this you?' there, in print was my name. yes, but why did he have this magazine? why? because it's a trade journal linked to USITT.. . this 'brotherhood or club of technicians' to which i have never belonged. but one of my teachers wrote up a large article about a couple of shows of which i was the lighting designer, so there are a couple of pictures and my name, TWICE as the designer. (and of course there is part of me that is wondering how painful it was to HAVE to include my name hehe, 'damn, she did do all that work, guess we have to give her credit.' muhahahahahahahahaha)
(oh, and all morning, after the magazine circulated- though i still haven't read it- i was teasingly called, 'famous erika')
now, i still have some work to do, and some genius level tetris to perform in my suitcase. . . so, other than the fact that i get to go through all this with my period--- will i ever get to fly without it? arg! ---- i need to get going. later.
2.27.2005
trevor visiting
it's only when people come up for a visit that it becomes painfully clear to me just how little i get out. i know of many places to get a great meal in this town, but as for a little tourism type thing, i only have a few tricks in my bag. other than that, it's basic stuff that can be done in any town. . . .
on a side note -after this week, jared and i have decided that we need to do a breakfast burrito test try. this is THE town of the breakfast burrito, there are just so many choices and slight differentiations that can become significant to your morning meal.
anyway, we started off with breakfast at the Santa Fe Baking Co. it's a great standard. then off to the old city and a tour of the pretty churches downtown. the Loretto with the mystical staircase. . . (as seen below) and the St. Francis as well as a little stroll through the plaza.
a quick drive through old canyon road and the art galaries, then, on the way to the opera, a pit stop at Shidoni, the bronze foundry. we walked through the art garden and the artistic furniture boutique. we did a good tour through the opera then went for dessert at Tesuque Village Market - which i usually tout to be the most heavenly maker of desserts around. though sadly, there was no cheesecake or flan ARG! am i even in the right place? what has this world come to. . . . the strawberry shortcake was disappointing- very unusual for TVM. . . but the chocolate mousse cake made up for it, i hope.
made a small stop at a pet store to search out a proper scratch post for hedwig, who had taken a liking to scratching at the couch arm, also seen below. a viewing of constantine- which turned out to be much better than first anticipated, and a late dinner in the womb room of the Oasis. . .
not too bad. and trevor made it into his new apartment AOK the next day.
within the next two weeks there will be two more visits, so i'm hoping to find a few more ideas before then. . . . or perhaps not. . . busy week ahead :)
trevor at fridgehenge
trevor at fridgehenge
Originally uploaded by ekissam.
can you really pass up visiting this sort of thing?
comfy hedwig
comfy hedwig
Originally uploaded by ekissam.
and jared and i worried that our deflating couch pillows were becoming uncomfortable. HA!
2.21.2005
things i've done today
so i woke up around 9 this morning thinking, i'll start by finishing the lasagna i made the sauce and meatballs for last night, then i'll go out, get some more quarters for laundry, hit the gym, do some cleaning, shower up, watch a movie maybe, then settle in for the evening. but this is how it actually went.
got up around 9,
made the lasagna,
did some dishes,
realized that i actually had enough quarters to do my laundry already,
contemplated going out to see 'constantine'
contemplated going to the gym
watched 'return to oz' because i can't get that scissor sister song out of my head (and though i expected it to be really be lame and cheesy -since it is an 80's disney movie, it actually wasn't too bad, but it wasn't as good -ie, dark, twisted and creepy as the song is to me)
then i did two loads of laundry
ate some lasagna
another load of dishes
put away the laundry
(and yes, i'm now listing these in order to make it seem like i've accomplished many important things)
read some blogs,
checked email
wrote some blogs
oh, and somewhere in all that i had a large rum and coke. which may be factoring into my decision making process as well as my writing skills. . . isn't it amazing how once you factor in the non-necessity of laundry quarters, then the need for leaving the apartment decreases exponentially, let alone the need for showering-that's right. . . i'm all greasy haired today! now, i'm on the third load of dishes, and i'm sitting down to watch zatoichi. right, and a second rum and coke because i rarely drink, and i did buy a whole six pack of cokes on friday, and there was one left as of 5 minutes ago, and who really wants that lying around over the week, so. . . bottoms up!
whoo hoo for presidents day. . . .
i also think that the trailers for the fantastic movie, Hero, are terrible. there was one right before this movie started. it does nothing for the actual complexity of the story-line. what were they thinking? or were they being REALLY smart in attempting to hide the actual plot so as not to give the intricacies of it away?
anyway, gotta run, my rum and coke is flattening.
2.12.2005
reading. . .
on another blog that i read occasionally, a guy made a challenge to have people he knows read 50 books this year. i read quite a lot last year, but i doubt it was more than 25 books. . . so 50 sounds a little daunting. and i'm not doing well at the present rate this year. . . but here's where i stand.
over the holidays i finished off mirror, mirror by gregory maguire. he also wrote wicked, which was great, and i've read all of his others. i love that twist of the fairy tale. i think wicked rates at the top, with mirror mirror close behind. . . lost, which isn't a twisted fairy tale was also good, and the ugly stepsister book took a really long time to get into. . .. so, eh on that one.
now for books i'm currently reading. i don't normally read several at the same time, but i seem to be giving it a try. i'm wondering if it's working out well because a number of them consist of short stories. . .
get fuzzy (groovitude) by darby conley. . . sunday type comic make for real hard reading huh? actually i just finished it. . . . but it makes the list look a little longer. . . . -i never said anything about quality versus quantity did i?. . . so back off!
little birds by anais nin. . . . some clean erotica :)
in the devil's garden by stewart lee allen. . . . it contains short stories about forbidden foods throughout human history. . . i love NPR's recommendations. it also has some interesting recipes. . .
smoke and mirrors by neil gaiman. the wonderful writer of the sandman comics. it amazes me how he can take stories that i wouldn't ever be interested in, and the wonderful nature of his story telling makes me devour them. i only have one story left, but there are a few that i will need to revisit.
the gnostic gospels by elaine pagels. i had sort of hoped that they would actually be the gospels, but it's more of a study of them, rather dry. so, it's sitting around, don't know if i'll pick it up again, unless i get myself in some largely didactic mood.
cryptonomicon by neal stephenson. . . also on the back burner. i really liked snow crash, but this one, maybe it's too over my head, but i'm swimming between all the characters. perhaps i need a slightly easier stephenson to get me back in the right mind set or something.
america the book (a citizen's guide to democracy inaction) from the daily show with jon stewart. although it is incredibly funny, it still reads a little like a text book. . . so it's slow going for me.
art and physics (parallel visions in space, time and light) by leonard shlain. . . i only got about 17 pages in, and had to set it aside. i think it will take all of my brain power to digest this one, so i want to finish up a couple of these other ones first. i'm totally excited about the subject matter. . . . i think there are direct parallels between the scientific and artistic worlds. . . so i'm hoping this will have some really wonderful examples to help me flush out these ideas i have.
and then, for a little light bedtime reading, the complete fairy tales of the brothers grimm. . . why you may ask? i'm not entirely sure. i found the exact volume that i once had as a kid at the store (it has since been lost in a house fire) it was green leather bound with gilt edges. i didn't end up getting the exact one because there was a new version out with another 29 stories. i remember this one creepy tale about a maiden with no hands. i haven't gotten that far in the new book, but i'm looking forward to it. somewhere along the way i will have a huge deep subconscious psychological epiphany. . . . i'll keep you posted (don't hold your breath)
and since i want to make this list look longer still. . . . here are a few from last year, though i'm sure there are some i have forgotten. . . there was
death comes for the archibishop- willa cather
the story of b- daniel quinn
portrait of a killer (jack the ripper case closed)- patricia cornwell
asleep- banana yoshimoto
the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy- douglas adams
fast food nation- eric schlosser
hey nostradamus!- douglas coupland
the davinci code- dan brown
snow crash- neal stephenson
the sandman (endless nights)- neil gaiman
books of magic- neil gaiman
oh, and all the harry potter books so far published- jk rowling
so. . . what are YOU reading?