photography

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26
Dec 10

Ch-ch-ch-changes

You may have noticed that I changed my blog template. It’s been about a year so I decided it was time. Plus it’s just fun.

This particular template has been available to me for a while, but I didn’t realize I could change the header. I spent much of last night playing with different photos for the header and settled on the gorgeous one you seem above. My friend YP took it and sent it as one of his holiday cards. I know I should probably have a San Francisco photo since that’s where I live, but I’ll always be a New Yorker at heart.

I may do the same thing with my writing site (but with a different header), but I’m not sure yet.

Writing update, reflection on marriage

First off, here are my November publications in case you missed them:

Forget Sisters, It’s My Brother Who Keeps Me Sane

The Frisky

Luck of the Chinese

View From the Pier

I found these fish drawings on Post Street not far from my apartment. I thought they might be inspiration for the cover of my memoir.

See the whole set.

An interesting tidbit I just discovered is that black goldfish are not considered unlucky in terms of feng shui. A lone black goldfish is often included amid some goldfish in order to absorb negative energy and to act as a protector against bad luck.

So I started to think maybe it’s just Koreans who think that black fish and other animals are bad luck, and not that the internet is the end all, be all of all information, but I couldn’t find a thing. You’d think that if it were true, it’d at least be mentioned somewhere.

So did my ex-MIL make the whole thing up? Did she think, Well, a black cat is bad luck so a black fish must be too? Or was it just a lame excuse to blame all bad stuff on me?

As I rewrite/revise my memoir (yet again), I’ve realized that marriage with my ex was so hard because his expectations changed after we married. Before we got hitched, it was okay that I didn’t cook much, that I didn’t like to drive, that I was “only” a secretary who wanted to be a writer, that I might never make much money. We said “I do” and suddenly I was expected to change: to cook, to drive, to make more money, to give up my writing if need be.

The cooking was the most minor of points, but his attitude about it was annoying. As though I was somehow supposed to know, without him telling me, that this was what I should have been doing. It’s not like with MB, who just happens to like certain things I make, who will ask me nicely to make him a bowl of tricked out instant noodles or oatmeal. That makes me want to cook for him. And he doesn’t take my not cooking as some kind of secret insult.

I realize that too: my ex saw significance in everything, from superstitious bad/good luck symbols, to everything I said and did. He never took my words and actions at face value, but would think I had some ulterior motive against him.

photography / weekends / what i've been watching / writing — 1 Comment
01
Jun 09

Book Expo 2009

This weekend was Book Expo. Last time I went to the whole thing, even taking a day off from work. This year I thought one day would suffice.

I was a little late Saturday morning. The night before 1) YP and I had a our monthly photo expedition (the theme: NYC at Night), which involved sake at dinner, and 2) MB and I saw a midnight showing of Drag Me to Hell, which was good by the way! If you like those kinds of movies.

I was supposed to get to the Jacob Javits Center by 9 but didn’t make it till 10. I caught the last half of The Librarian as Digital Diva, which was pretty good. There was a guy from the Boston Public Library who talked about their work with the Internet Archive, digitally archiving their rare works, which are otherwise not easily accessible to the public (you have to go the library, make an appointment, etc.).

One librarian in the audience hadn’t heard of the Internet Archive, and kept asking, “What is it? The Internet – ” pen poised. I dunno, that kind of seems like basic knowledge for a modern-day librarian.

Next I went to Independent Editors’ Buzz, which meant free books! I was a little disappointed by the offerings – one was a fantasy novel, the other a thin mystery from a debut author – but beggars can’t be choosers I guess. Seems I missed the mainstream editors’ buzz panel, which was Thursday afternoon.

The Authors’ Luncheon made up for that though. The speakers were Ken Aueletta, Dan Pink, Lorrie Moore, and Mary Karr. Lorrie Moore (Birds of America) and Mary Karr (The Liars’ Club) are two of my favorites. It was the first time I had heard Lorrie Moore speak, and she was freaking hilarious! Her writing is very funny, and she’s the same way in person, very droll and sarcastic. Mary Karr is funny as well. Dan Pink has a book about motivation, which actually seems interesting, and Ken Aueletta has a new book called Googled: The End of the World as We Know It, and has also written one on Microsoft and Bill Gates.

The giveaways: Mary Karr’s Lit, Lorrie Moore’s new novel, A Gate at the Stairs, and Pat Conroy’s new book. He couldn’t be there for some reason.

In the afternoon I was going to go to a couple of sessions. I went to one, something about online publishing in China, but it was indredibly boring. Maybe it was because the speaker’s English wasn’t very good, but it was just painful to listen to. So I decided to look at the booths for a change, which I didn’t last time because there were so many people, it was overwhelming. This year there seemed to be fewer.

I kept seeing people standing in line for giveaways, and before I never bothered. But this time I decided to since I was skipping sessions. No luck. The giveaways were only for full-fledged librarians and booksellers. Boo!

I guess it makes a difference if you go to the whole thing. Last time I went to every single editors’ buzz panel and author breakfast/luncheon, and got lots of goodies. Going to just one day doesn’t seem to be enough.

On another note, Ronald Takaki died. He was a premiere Asian American studies scholar and historian. I remember reading several of his works in college, including Strangers from a Different Shore, which I still have. Apparently the cause of death was suicide. He had MS for many years, and according to his son, “He struggled, and then he gave up.” Sad.

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04
May 09

Overdue for a post

School school school! What else?

Last weekend I shot a bunch of video for one of my school projects, including footage of Coney Island. MB had a bunch of praciticing and work to do so he stayed behind, but YP was able to join me.

We headed out pretty early, around 10, luckily for us since it took a year to get out there, especially with the F running on some other line. It was hot in the city but chilly out by the water. The season has just started so a lot of booths and rides were still being set up, and there weren’t that many people out at that relatively early hour.

Except for all the freaks. It was very strange – everyone was either inbred-looking or obese, which in a way was good because it turned off my appetite for all the otherwise good-smelling fried food.

My fave pic from our expedition:

Aside from shooting video and taking pics, we actually rode the Wonder Wheel, which was surprisingly scary. I may put up some video footage. It’s not too exciting, but I’m so proud that I was able to figure out iMovie and crop clips, take out the audio, and add different audio. It was fun.

On Friday MB was supposed to fly out to Prague, but he missed his flight. The airline was screwed up, but he also left pretty late. He was able to get on another flight for Saturday and made his flight. Yay!

So we were able to see Wolverine Friday night. It wasn’t bad – some good action sequences, but the plot was pretty stupid. Could have been a lot better.

Saturday I saw a couple of friends from college whom I haven’t seen in ages. We had dim sum (which was NASTY by the way, won’t be going to that restaurant again) and walked around Chinatown. It’s funny how everyone seems the same though so much has changed. For instance, IS has THREE kids. I remember when we used to sit in the hallway of our dorm gabbing for hours. Now she’s a mom. But at the same time, she seems perfectly natural as a mother.

The rest of the weekend was all about schoolwork. Got a lot done, including my library profile and reading cards for Collection Develpment on Sunday; my library organization paper for today; the little film for Thursday’s class (must have redone the voiceover 5 billion times); and a draft of another informal paper for Thrusday. Need to edit that, then finish the write-up for the corp speak project, and throw together a presentation for the same. The bulk of my work is definitely for that Thursday class.

Next Sunday, Collection Development final, which shouldn’t be bad, and on Monday, Management presentation. Then I’m done till London! Can’t wait.

food / friends / photography / weekends — 2 Comments
13
Apr 09

One of those non-stop weekends

Fun but busy.

Friday was completely dead at work. Almost no one was around, including my boss. Still, I got a few things done in the morning before working out, then hopped the train to New Jersey, where I’d be hanging with ES, who was in town for the holiday, and AY.

We decided to go around New Brunswick, home of ES’s alma mater and slightly closer to New York. It was cold! We shivered as we walked around campus. ES wanted to visit these junk food trucks. She got this hot dog thing. I wasn’t going to eat any junk but it looked good and she was sharing! So bad for us.

Before dinner we had drinks at this Asian-style bar and restaurant. The restaurants there are huge! I’m so used to shoeboxes in Manhattan where you’re bumping elbows with your neighbor. We had one martini each. I had a “saketini,” sake mixed with Grey Goose vodka and pear puree. It was tasty but strong. That one drink totally knocked me on my ass, and I basically drunk for a couple of hours.

For dinner we had what could be called American style tapas. The dishes were tiny and included stuff like mini-burgers, seafood “fritters,” and tiny gourmet pizza slices. Most of the food was really good, but we all agreed our favorite were these cheese bread puff things – which were free! We had about eight dishes total, plus dessert, and ES and AY also had a bit of wine, and the whole bill was still only about $60.

We were out pretty late. I caught an 11:30 train back and got home by about 1.

The next day I met ES and SB at SB’s place. It’s been months since I’ve seen SB and her daughter Ellie, who grows by leaps and bounds every time I see her. Now she seems so much older. I said, “Do you remember me?” and she looked at me like, “Dehr.” The kid is 4.

The weather was horrible that day. Cold and rain rain rain. We managed to find a place to eat near my old apartment. ES and I both had a full Irish breakfast, which was excellent for my hangover (yes for me, one drink = hangover). But I was definitely on a downward spiral in terms of eating junk.

Afterwards since the weather was so terrible, we went to the Met. Man, was it crowded! SB knew about an entrance that was slightly less crowded so that was good, but when we made our way to the main entrance to go upstairs, Ellie started to get overwhelemed by the crowds. I don’t blame her. I was barely holding it together myself. So Ellie and SB headed home.

Once ES and I got inside the museum, it wasn’t as bad. I always surprise myself by knowing how to maneuver the museum. First stop was the caf where we got some much needed coffee. Again, so crowded! But we didn’t have to circle around too much before two seats opened up.

Then somehow I was able to get us to the Greek and Roman gallery, featuring Perseus and his marble ass, always the highlight of my visit to the Met. We also checked out the fairly new Galleries for Oceanic Art, which I’ve never seen before. The coolest was this ceiling decoration that was enormous! From there we made our way to the Walker Evans postcard exhibit.

When we left it had stopped raining, thank goodness, and although still chilly, the sun had come out. We walked a bit before catching our respective buses, mine downtown and ES’s to Penn Station.

Sunday YP and I had our photo outing. This month’s theme: optical illusions. In other words, use perspective to make it look like we’re holding the top of a building, or feeding a carrot to a giant statue of a horse (yes, we had props). I realized: I’m bad at perspective. I don’t know where the person should stand to make it look right. Or sometimes I do, but only by instinct. Anyway, it was pretty fun, but cold again! And very windy. Wtf.

For the rest of Sunday, MB and I just hung out. He had a lot of practicing to do, and of course I had schoolwork. I revised my paper, which didn’t take as long as I thought it would, and did some reading. We also watched a bunch of TV, and he made dinner, a tofu stir fry with veggies. Yum!

Next weekend is just me and MB. I feel like it’s been a few weeks since we’ve had a whole weekend to ourselves.

library / new york / photography / tcob / weekends — 1 Comment
30
Mar 09

A live-alone-and-like-it kind of weekend

At the last minute, MB decided to go to this conference in Chicago. He was hesitant at first because of finances, but then he got paid for this consulting gig, and I encouraged him to go. I knew I’d miss him like crazy, but he hasn’t been to a conference in so long. Plus it’s a good opportunity for networking.

I didn’t have a lot of plans, just a photography outing with YP on Saturday. The theme this month was “self-portraits,” one of my bright ideas, which was hard to do, especially for someone with short arms. Neither of us were too enthusiastic, and ended up taking just a few pictures. Last month’s theme of “food” was better.

Aside from that I ran a bunch of errands: Whole Foods, the drugstore, the Container Store, the Asian grocery store. Dropped off laundry, cleaned the fridge, cleaned the stove. Got rid of my old shredder finally. MB has a smaller one so we definitely don’t need two.

Did some reorganizing using my purchases, folding mesh cubes, from the Container Store. I love them because they’re flexible so you can squeeze lots of oddly shaped things in them (like shoes), and if you’re not using them, you can just fold them up and hide then away. But I always forget how to refold them. It’s like origami.

Worked on homework a bunch. For Collection Development we have this annoying subject analysis assignment. For the library of our choice, we have to map out all the subject headings, including Library of Congress of Dewey Decimal classification, and then rate then according to the ALA codes in terms of depth and intensity.

I’m just going to wing it in terms of the ratings – I mean, who’ll know if they’re correct or not? – but I’m being a stickler about the LC headings. Do I dare say that I’m kind of enjoying looking up all the headings and subheadings and assigning neat little numbers? I guess that’s why I signed up for this gig in the first place.

My Thursday class, People Centered Methods and Design, is cancelled this week since we had an extra class earlier in the semester. Last week’s class was good. At first I dreaded it because I thought we’d have to present our projects again, but the professor just gave us feedback on the reports we had handed in earlier in the week.

Early on I was really doubtful about my project. Everyone else’s was so artsy – a dream archive with dreams depicted in sketches, creating an interface for a repository of digital photos, some type of exhibit in which the person would be attached to various strings and people could pull on those strings, which I guess demonstrates phenomenology, which I’ve only recently begun to understand as having to do with not just thinking or existing in a vaccum (“I think therefore I am”) but existing in the context of a “universe,” reacting to and acting in that universe, and in relation to other people (I know: hunh?).

In comparison mine was so pragmatic: creating a resource, like a wikipedia, to help people to learn corp speak and corporate language, skills that one must have to succeed in the corporate world but which are never acknowledged (only “good communication skills” in a general way).

But I think the professor actually likes my project. He gets exicted when we talk about it while with the others he either sort of rolls his eyes, or presses people to be more specific and concrete. In the beginning he was like, “Go with it!” to the people with artsier projects, but I guess since they are still so abstract, he feels they haven’t progressed as much.

This weekend I also did some reading at the NYPL. It’s out of the way from my place, but I love the quiet of the reading rooms, unlike cafes where people are yakking and there’s coffee spillage and crumbs. Nearby is the International Center of Photography. One of the exhibits there now is Weird Beauty: Fashion Photography Now, which was, needless to say, very weird but also fascinating. It’s funny how you can see those photos in a magazine and think, Whatevs, but seeing them displayed together was really interesting.

MB is back tomorrow. Yay!

food / library / photography / weekends — 2 Comments
20
Jan 09

The weekend thing

Too short though it was a three-day.

Saturday YP and I had our photo outing. The theme: Fairy Tales. In other words, use the pictures we take to depict a fairy tale, whether already existing or made up. A fun idea but it was frigging COLD! We’d last about 15 or 20 minutes, then would have to duck into a store or cafe. We ended up spending a lot of time at Chelsea Market.

The rest of the day, MB and I just hung out, him practicing and me reading and being a bum. It’s so hard to get out and do stuff when it’s in the single digits. All we ended up doing was grabbing some dinner at our favorite Italian place.

The next day I had my first day of class for the semester, Collection Development. Since it’s on a Sunday, the class has a cozy, relaxed feel. Plus the teacher is 83 years old (the first thing he told us) and from Iran, I think, so he has this cute accent. He seems smart and his assistant has organized the class well. The assignments are quite flexible. We have a long reading list, and are supposed to read whatever interests us, but at least two articles a week.

Since it was positively balmy out (low 30s), I ran some errands after class. Got sneakers for possible weekend workouts, new headphones from Virgin, and some groceries from the Asian grocery store.

That night MB and I hit Whole Foods, and he made chilean sea bass for dinner. The dish called for fennel sauteed in anchovy paste. We didn’t see the paste and used real anchovies, mashed up, and it came out delicious! The sea bass was a pain to cook though. It was so thick, it took forever, and then was very filling. Plus expensive! Like $20+ a pound. Next time we’ll go with a lighter, less expensive fish.

We’ve started watching Damages on Hulu. We like it, though the evil people seem a little too all-powerful. Glenn Close is very scary. I would hate to have her as a boss.

I hope I get a chance to see the inauguration today. I believe it’s at 11:30. Gonna try to dash down to the gym at that time, and watch on one of the TVs there.

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22
Dec 08

And the weekends come and go

Some with lots and lots of snow.

MB and I hibernated practically all weekend. Friday and Saturday nights we thought about going to see a midnight showing of Gremlins at IFC, but the cold, yucky weather kept us in.

I did get out Saturday morning when YP and I had our monthly photo expedition. The theme was Photographing Each Other, to my consternation. I hate having my picture taken, especially when I’m makeup-less. My freckles tend to look out of control. But he just sent me some, and they’re very nice. I do still wish I had put on some cover up.

We decided to take the pictures in Harlem since we never seem to venture above 14th Street. The sidewalks were a mess and like an idiot, I wore sneakers. I have two pairs of winter boots, but for some reason they were at the office. Thinking I had another pair at the apartment, I neglected to bring any home. Wah! By the time we finished our shoot, my right pinky toe was completely numb. On my way home, I stopped at my office and got boots, yay! Makes such a difference.

That afternoon MB had a short gig tutoring a friend in programming so I chilled at home – or rather warmed up – till he got back. Never has a bowl of instant Korean noodles tasted so good.

That night we tried this new Latin place around the corner, A Casa Fox. The food was good but expensive! Not super hungry, I had a bowl of delicious tomato soup for $5, not bad. But the asparagus “salad” I got was just four pieces of asparagus with some cheese shavings. $8! Total rip off.

MB got this chicken rice bowl, which was tasty but way overpriced at $25. It should have been $12-$15. The selection of mini empanadas was more worth the $8, and were really good, and the empanadas themselves are $5 each. If we go again, we should probably just get a mess of those.

Sunday I was able to get a bunch of writing done. I’m almost done with this, hopefully last, round of revisions. I sent a query to my teacher’s agent a couple of months ago, and have heard nothing. Usually you get some sort of response in 6 to 8 weeks. I may check with my teacher if I should be sending to the guy’s personal email. She just sold her first novel – after a slew of nonfiction books – so I know they are both busy with that.

This winter break I also need to find more agents and send more queries, as well as find some contests for book-length memoirs. If none of that pans out, I think I will start posting sections of my book online. I do wish I could get it published, but I also want to be done with it. Putting a “final” version online will help me feel like the book is finished and then I can move on to the next thing.

On Sunday MB needed to work on this other consulting gig (ie, cleaning up some imbecile’s really bad code). Then he needed some stuff from the Apple store so we hoofed it over there. Luckily the weather was somewhat better. It was even a little sunny! that is till darkness descended at 5 o’clock. :( At least now the days will start to get longer again.

It was pretty icy out but not as crowded as I expected. Of course the Apple store was a madhouse. I swear people turn stupid when they get near the door – stopping completely, not looking where they’re walking, blocking the way.

Tonight we’re going to hear Les Paul play at the Iridium. It’s sort of expensive – $50 plus a $25 food/drink minimum – but the guy is like, what, 90? Better go hear him before he kicks it.

family / friends / holidays / photography / weekends — 5 Comments
01
Dec 08

The long-ass weekend

Busy but fun.

Thursday
MB and I managed to get out of the house by 12:30 (that boy sleeps late but gets ready fast). For some reason I thought traveling on Thanksgiving Day wouldn’t be as bad, but Penn Station was still a madhouse! I guess Wednesday was worse, but there was still a line waiting to buy tickets all the way across the station. Luckily it moved pretty quickly.

The ride overall was fine. We were able to find two seats together and both had iPods to tune out annoying conversation. The only thing was people kept standing in the aisle instead of moving up a few cars and sitting their asses down. Got to NJ around 3:30 and spent the rest of the day eating: a light, late lunch, then Mongolian hotpot for dinner, then the apple pie we brought for dessert.

MB also spent most of the time helping my parents download these Korean soap operas. For years they’ve had dial-up but just got cable expressly for this purpose. Downloading the videos wasn’t bad, but my mom prefers to watch them on TV, so that involves burning the videos to DVD, which took HOURS AND HOURS. They had to be converted to something, then something else, then the actual burning. MB and my dad explained the whole process to my mother again and again, but she just kept asking, “Is it burning? Is it burning?”

By the next day, they were finally able to get a couple of DVDs done, but because of some weird glitch, the files were humungous so only one episode was able to fit on a single disc. MB and my brother both recommend that my parents get a Mac Mini, which we will probably get them for Christmas.

I tried to keep that a surprise. My dad kept saying he wanted to get the Mac, and I kept saying, “We’ll take care of it,” and my mother kept saying: “But it’s $800! $800!! $800!!!” Finally I had to come out and say, “WE WILL BUY IT FOR YOU FOR CHRISTMAS!” Jeez.

MB also spent some time fixing up my dad’s computer, removing files and programs he doesn’t need so hopefully it will run faster now.

Friday
More eating, lounging around, and messing with the computer. During the day, if my parents don’t have mah-jongg or karaoke plans, they watch game shows. There are so many! I’ve never really watched Deal or No Deal before, and got totally sucked in. The whole time I kept saying, “This is so dumb!” and yet I couldn’t stop watching.

We ended up leaving after dinner since MB was so determined to help my parents with their videos. They were EXTREMELY appreciative, and happy that we had stayed another meal.

We took a 7:15 train back, and although there were quite a few people, it was pretty quiet. I think everyone was tired.

At home we just lazed around, watching TV shows on Hulu.com. I still managed to stay up till 2, and MB till 4, which he has been doing since school let out.

Saturday
I wanted to get a bunch of stuff done before ES came into town, but I didn’t get up till 11. Luckily she came in a little later than planned so I had time to do laundry and clean the bathroom, yay!

ES was staying YP’s. After she got in, we hung out for a bit before ES and I headed over to my neck of the woods. She saw our place, MB demonstrated some music stuff as he does for all our guests, and we grabbed something to eat at our favorite Italian place.

Afterwards ES, YP, and I went to the movies (MB begged off, wanting to practice). We had wanted to see Australia or Bolt, but they were sold out. So we ended up seeing Quantum of Solace. It was pretty good – non-stop action – and of course Daniel Craig was sexy. But I thought the Bond girl was dull and couldn’t stop wondering what the heck “quantum of solace” meant (they never explain it or even talk about it, I think).

After the movie, we went over to YP’s and had some wine. Later MB came over too, needing a break from practicing. We had fun, yakking and laughing.

Sunday
Saturday was another late night, but Sunday I was up by 9 for our photo expedition. Unfortunately the weather was awful – cold, rainy, and windy. I brought an umbrella but no gloves (duh) and my brand new boots, I soon found out, were not waterproof.

Still, after breakfast, we sludged through the day (the theme was “LES” or Lower East Side), taking pictures when we were able to pry our frozen hands out of our pockets. We lasted about an hour before needing to head back inside. We chose Teany, which I pass all the time and have never tried.

I had a chai latte, which was delicious and gave me a total boost. I thought I didn’t like chai, but this Indian restaurant MB and I sometimes goes to serves it at the end of the meal, and I decided I liked it. The first chai I ever tried was from Starbuck’s, probably not a good benchmark.

YP had had enough wet, cold, picture-taking by then so we walked back to his area, and caught the train near his place to the Canstruction exhibit at the World Financial Center. By then ES and I had had enough of the weather too, and so were content to hang out there for the rest of the afternoon. In addition to the exhibit, there were a few stores open, and we both did some shopping. ES got some stuff for her parents, and I got a few shirts for MB.

When we were almost done with the exhibit, we both realized we were starving and had some sushi in the food court. It looked better than it tasted, but it was good enough.

Finally it was time to head back to YP’s so ES could pick up her stuff before heading out to Penn Station. She took the train there, and I walked home through the terrible, terrible weather. It was so windy and raining so hard! I was completely soaked and freezing by the time I got home.

I did not want to go out again so MB was sweet enough to run to the grocery store to pick up stuff for dinner. We had what we had Wednesday night again: bbq chicken, stuffing, and string beans. Yum!

Today
It was really hard getting up this morning, and difficult to focus on any actual work. And of course the weather today is just gorgeous! Almost 50 degrees, sunny, and NOT raining. Oh well.

MUST go to the gym.

friends / photography / TV / weekends / work / writing — 3 Comments
10
Aug 08

The weekend, in media res

So I feel a little pretentious today.

It’s been a semi-productive weekend. I’m not getting done everything I want, but I’m accomplishing some stuff.

Friday I ended up working a full day. I’m on this project that was supposed to be done that day, but of course I got a zillion last minute changes, so it’s not going out till Monday. Still, I had to get a polished draft done for the other people on the project for a call early Monday morning.

I don’t mind actually. Staying till 5:15 on a Friday is better than working on a Sunday, though I’ll still have to get in super early tomorrow just in case there are additional changes (which I’m sure there are). Plus it’s work I like (writing and organizing information in a presentable way), and quite frankly work I’d have done as a coordinator, which is the highest level administrative assistant. But if they want to pay me manager salary for coordinator-level work, so be it! :)

That night I went to Home Depot to find a mosquito repeller. Online I had seen a small, non-flame lantern, but the Home Depot I went to unfortunately didn’t have it. Next was Bed, Bath, and Beyond for a rice cooker. I had one for many years, but got rid of it when I moved in with MB. There were a lot of choices at BB&B, including fancy ones that could steam veggies as well. But I just went for something basic for $19.99. That BB&B is on the same street as this little Korean place I like, so I got some bibimbap for takeout, then hopped a cab home.

MB basically texted me all night. He kept seeing T-shirts and signs he thought were funny (though truthfully I didn’t get a few of them). To my delight, I discovered that some full episodes of Ghosthunters are available online, and texted him that. His reaction? Oh god. Watching a couple of shows, I realized how much I miss TV. It’s good company sometimes. But I’m still glad we don’t have one. God knows I waste enough time just surfing the web.

Saturday morning I was wide awake at 7:30. What the – ? That’s my weekday wake up time, and I always have a very difficult time getting up. I spent the morning writing and looking my blogroll and Gawker and other news. Then I headed over to YP’s to help him with some pictures for flyers for his upcoming gigs.

He had a very involved plan, which included photoshopping a picture of himself walking in front of a poster of himself, which also involved balloons and a green screen. Yeah, don’t ask. Also for some reason he wanted to take some of these pictures on his building’s roof. How to get to the roof? you might ask. By climbing stairs like normal people? Oh no.

He’s on the top floor and right now there’s scaffolding in front of his building, so he wanted us to go out on his rusty, rickety-ass fire escape, step over the railing, grab onto the scaffolding, walk up this metal pole that was like a tightrope at an angle, grab hold of this ladder, and climb up onto the roof.

Dude, are you fucking crazy?

YP tried to convince me that it’d be okay. “See,” he said, “the fire escape is nice and sturdy.” He rattled the railing, which promptly gave way.

“I hope you have a plan B,” I said, climbing back inside.

Plan B involved setting up the green screen (borrowed from his workplace) on various parts of the street on a very windy day. The poles, which were eight feet tall, kept falling over. Finally he had the brainstorm to throw the green screen over this fence, which worked pretty well.

As usual, while most people just walked by, one weirdo stopped to talk. He had a mullet and wore a T-shirt with the sleeves cut off.

“Do you guys have a card?” he said.

A card for what? He thought we were professional photographers. YP, friendly bastard that he is, started chatting with him, and of course he was a complete freak. It turned out he was supposedly pursuing stand-up comedy himself, though he had never done anything as involved as we were doing, gesturing at the balloons.

“Well, they’re just $12,” YP said. “A dollar a pop.” So to speak, haha.

“If I had $12,” Mullet Freak said, “it’d go to weed!”

Good luck with your career.

After our photo shoot, we got some Thai dinner and then saw Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. I actually enjoyed it, though there were a couple of dumb plot points. I liked it better than the first one, which I could barely remember. I cried about every two seconds. And me with no tissues! By the end I was a complete mess.

I got home around 10:30, took a shower, and watched Ghosthunters, yay! I was tempted to watch a second one, but I was pretty tired by midnight and want to “save” a couple of episodes for tonight.

This morning I didn’t wake up till 10. I did, however, get in a good amount of writing, as well as catching up here, and now want to get out of the house and run a couple of errands. Luckily it’s so beautiful this weekend. I hate it when it’s sticky hot. Makes me want to stay inside all day.

Angela Tung Oversharing on the internet since 2005.