A year in the Life

How to...

2006-07-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

How to be productive on a Saturday

1. Take Shower
2. Put on bathingsuit and pair of jeans
3. Lock yourself in your room with window open and sun shinning
4. Do Work

I have no idea why this works, but it does.

THE PLAN

2006-05-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

I finally have it! I finally have answer to the what am I doing with my life question that every post undergraduate student asks after a year in the real world! I'm going to graduate school!!! I'm going to get my MFA ... does this surprise anyone? No. Did I have a unique epiphany? Not even close. But am I happy anyway? Definitely.
What finally helped me to make this decision, you ask? My boss at work. She told me that since I'm working at an art academy I can take free classes and have access to models and studios. Plus, my boss (the director of the fine arts department) agreed to be my mentor and help me create a portfolio worthy of graduate school and public gallery submission! Woohoo! I've kinda become a post baccalaureate.
My first class will be this summer. I'm taking online papermaking to help my printmaking skills. I'm also meeting with my boss every week to discuss my progress and to keep me motivated. I'm so excited.
This does mean that I'll be living at home for the next year however. I'll need to save up as much money as I can for graduate school. The goal is $20,000. I think I can do it.
I like having a purpose in life....and a lot of work to do.

New Year's Resolutions (Update)

2006-05-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

Going into month five of 2006, I thought it might be time to gauge how my new year's resolutions are working out:

1. CLEAN MYSELF UP: I've taken up yoga and been trying to go three to four time a week. I've gotten myself myself down to 160-165lbs (I was 165-170lbs in January). The ultimate goal is 150lbs. I tried going vegetarian for a few weeks in April, but ended up getting really sick. I'm an omnivore, plain and simple. As for the acne, i'm cleaning it up pretty well. I still have hormonal breakouts (it's part of being a girl), but otherwise my face is doing much better. I've also hired a fashion consultant to help me with my wardrobe (mainly for work), so i'm looking forward to be all over pretty!

2. GET A REAL JOB: Twelve hour days serving coffee and taking part in an internship are long gone. I've been working for a non-profit art gallery since January. It's nice working 9 to 5, but i'm not really happy with the job. I end up sitting around most days and i'm not making enough to move out yet. So I'm actively searching for something better. I have a few leads, but nothing has panned out yet. I'll keep everyone updated.

3. TRAVEL: I spent a week cruising around mexico. It was fun, but it was way too touristy for my tastes. I'm going to vegas next weekend to play poker and hopefully i'll be visiting the BMC in september. I don't know if i'll leave the country again this year, but i'm going to continue to try.

4. GOING SOLO: I've had a few lack-luster flings. I guess you would call them that. It was mainly flirting with boys who were either defective in some way or I got bored with or both. Mr. Right is nowhere in sight ... and strangley I haven't worried about it a lot.

5. ART ON A NEW LEVEL: My printing press and studio are now fully set up. I'm ready to make art. I'm hoping to get a nice portfolio together and start applying for art school in the fall. Wish me luck!

Yoga for Masochists

2006-05-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

I've once again I've taken up bikram yoga. For those not in the know, bikram is 90 minutes of streching hell in a one-hundred degree room. You sweat by the bucket full and when you're done you've soaked right through the clothes you're wearing. Why do I do it, you may ask? Mainly flexabiliy. I want to be able to put my legs behind my head again (I'm so dirty!). Partly because I enjoy rigurous exercise and getting sweaty.
Lets hope I can keep it up this time ... and attain fabulous abs in the process. Wish me luck.

Top 11 things I learned this weekend ...

2006-04-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

1. mentos + warm soda (2 liter bottle) = 10 foot explosion.
2. I am an alpha female who needs to stop dating beta males.
3. Clark = evil, but fun to kiss.
4. Playing sorry until 4am is great, but way too wholesome.
5. Bathingsuit shopping makes me cry.
6. Wearing 4 inch heels makes me happy ... and really really tall.
7. The canon rebel xt is the best camera ever.
8. www.youtube.com
9. Strawberries & Cream Tequila ... need i say more?
10. I'm still a bad driver.
11. When the wind blows just right the Milbrea train station smells like chocolate chip cookies!!!

St. Patrick's day pics

2006-03-30T21:40:00.000-08:00

Image 1: AWWW, Ash and I are so cute when we're drunk
Image 2: Everybody Chug!!!
Image 3: Mark is easily amused by hats

Everywhere as of Late

2006-02-26T18:48:00.000-08:00

I've reached the point (nearly one year after graduating from college) where I don't know what to do with my life. Some people are running off to graduate schools or even foreign countries. Others have found jobs that make them happy (or at least a lot of money).
Yet here I am, living at home, with a job that is really, REALLY boring (at least it's better than starbucks). I sit at a desk all day reading and checking student IDs, occasionally hosting receptions, talking to the odd tourist, and making tags for the artwork. On top of it all, I'm making no money ... Well, at least not enough to live on my own. However, I am making more than I did last year ( I just did my taxes and I can't believe how little I made).
So I've started experimenting with ideas and trying to come up with what I should do next. Here's what I have come up with:

1. Buddhism: This isn't so much of a goal or plan, as it is a philosophy that I trying to learn in order to make myself happier with my current situation. Since I've had a lot of time to read at work, I picked up a book on Buddhism at my local Borders on a whim. Curiously enough, the first chapter hit a little too close to home and explained why I'm unhappy. Pretty much I've been living in a fantasy world, when really I should be living in the real world. Apparently, if I can manage to do that then life won't be a constant series of disappointments (because nothing can live up to the fantasies I have). So I'm working on balancing my life and finding the middle way and enlightenment blah blah blah. You get the picture.
2. Culinary Academy: I've always liked to cook and I'm always cooking dinner for my family. Lately I've made some really good pasta sauces and tea cakes. Even if I didn't become a world renowned chef, I'd definitely be eating better. All my friends and family in SF think it's a great idea (they just want me to cook for them), but I'm not sure I want to spend $48,000 (that I don't have) yet. I visited the school in San Francisco and I'm giving myself a few months before I make any major decision.
3. Business School: "What?" you say. Isn't that the farthest thing from your BA in fine arts?!? Not really. I'd love to own my art gallery, but I don't know the first thing about running a business. I know a ton about art, but nothing about running a gallery. So I've ordered some gmat books and if I can manage to score 700+ then I'll go to graduate school by 2007. If not, then I'll come up with another plan. I'll probably take the gmat some time this summer and I'll keep you all updated ...

So these are my ideas so far. I'm not in a huge rush to make any change. I just don't want to be living at home and super depressed at age 30. If anyone else has any good ideas (key word: GOOD) about what I should do with my life let me know!!!

Catching up...

2006-02-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

Here are some random notes (that really have nothing to do with on each other) but are important none the less:

1. Superbowl Commercials: I was extremely disappointed this year with the level of humor and overall enjoyment that these commercials caused. Excluding the naked sheep and the diet Pepsi commercial, it was a total let down. If I'm going to have to watch two teams I don't really care about play football I at least need to be amused during the timeouts. If I was in charge I'd officially fire several advertising agencies.

2. Congrats to Uncle Jay!: He's finally getting married to Sarah ... Everyone likes Sarah. The wedding will take place next year and I'm already so excited. It's about time those two tied the knot. Geeze.

3. Policeman Story: I bumped a car and while I didn't see any scratches apparently there was a one inch scratch over the rear tire. The policeman called to get my insurance information. The story would have been much more interesting if I was being framed for murder, but alas my life new gets that exciting.

4.Biz: Biz is coming to visit in June! Woohoo! So if anyone else wants to visit me so that we can all go party in san Francisco bmc style (pasties and all) let me know. We'll have a big ol' reunion. (Annalisa and Deb are exempt from this invite because they're going to Italy =P)

5. Broomball: I'm thinking about starting a league. I've never laughed so hard playing a contact sport in my life. It'll be a late night league and everyone will have to meet up for drinks before hand ... It makes running around on the ice so much harder! Who's game?

6: Debate: A family trip is planned for April. Where should we go? Mexico or Hawaii?

Bad Days

2006-02-01T15:32:00.000-08:00

Some days I wake up and I know it's going to bad day. I try to think of excuses to get me out of work and keep me in bed all day ... to keep me hidden and safe from the badness. I don't know if it's a sixth sense or what, but i always know when something bad is going to happen.
Like today, not only did I wear a knee leng skirt and open toes shoes (not knowing it was going to rain), I had to trek 10 blocks through the rain to deliever some labels and answer the phone that would not stop and all the students who didn't know where their classes were. I also lost my cell phone and got yelled at my my father because of it! Of course, I then over compensated by eating three gaint chocolate chip cookies and now I feel fat. BUMMER.
Now truthfully, it could be a lot worse. I could have been hit by a truck or had my credit card eaten by a goat. So maybe I should be counting my blessings and looking on the positive side.
However, I still wish I had listened to my gut and stayed in bed...

My New Favorite Website

2006-01-26T09:20:00.000-08:00

For the love of all that is amusing and helps one procrastinate, check out this website:
www.newsoftheweird.com

Excerps:
"Some of the most heavily armed park rangers in the world (carrying AR-15 and Galil automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns and protected by body armor) patrol 124,000 acres west of Mexico City, to protect monarch butterflies. The rangers keep loggers out of the area because the monarch population (22 million, this season) represents an 80 percent drop from the year before." [San Diego Union Tribune-AP, 12-16-05]

"The family of a 55-year-old motorcyclist filed a lawsuit in December over the man's death, which allegedly occurred when he was hit on Highway 16 near Custer, S.D., by an airborne toilet. (The portable toilet had come off of a truck of Sander Sanitation Co.)"[Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 12-23-05]

"Fremont, Calif., police officer Paul Rush, who was escorting a teenager home from a traffic stop in January, reported to a hospital emergency room afterward because five chihuahuas had attacked him at the front door of the teen's home, biting his ankles." [San Jose Mercury News, 12-30-05]

"Gynecologists interviewed by The Wall Street Journal in December said business was booming for the $1,800 to $5,000 hymenoplasty (the re-creation of the hymen), for men who want to deflower their non-virgin women (surgery obviously good for one night only)." [Wall Street Journal, 12-15-05]

Art Update

2006-01-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

As of the 15th, I will no longer be working for starbucks. I had a good six month run there, but now I've decided to move on. I got the job with the academy of art. So now I get to run my own gallery during the day and take an art class in the evenings. It's a good deal. It does mean that my trip to Peru has been postponed indefinitely. On a positive note, I won't have to wake up at 3am anymore and I can go get manicures whenever I want.
I've also had to quit my gallery job in half moon bay, however, they have promised to show some of my work if I can get a small collection of about ten pieces together by the end of February. So for the next two months I'm definitely going to be hard at work trying to fit everything in. I'll keep everyone updated and let you know when my work is in the gallery ...

Christmas

2005-12-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

Powerbook G4 from "santa": $2500
Candy from parents: $20
Art supplies from Grandpa: $100
Deleting all the names and numbers of the ex-boyfriends and guys that i wasted my time on in 2005, so that I can start 2006 with a clean slate: Priceless
In life, there are some thing money just can't buy ...

An Interesting Week

2005-12-22T08:20:00.000-08:00

The week before chirstmas is SUPPOSED to be a time of preparation and relaxation. One spends their time working, wrapping and mailing gifts, talking to relatitives, etc. This in NOT how I have spent me last week ....
As of last friday my stomach started hurting. Not like some tummy ache you got when you were seven because you ate to much candy, more like the kind you wake up with after a night of heavy drinking with friends when all you can think about is that last shot of tequila you probably shouldn't have had. However, unlike hangover stomach aches this pain did not go away. It was constant and throbbing and made me hate being awake. Finally on tuesday I threw in the towel and went to the doctor only to discover i had acid reflux ... again. Lots of perscription drugs, over the counter antacids, and sleep and I was back to my normal self by wednesday.
Now if that was all that had happened to me this week I would have not bothered recording it in my blog. People get sick all the time. No big deal.
Well, as i was just recovering from the problem with my stomach a nice friendly policeman came to my door and left a note requesting i call him. Still haven't reached him, still have no idea what i did, still have a bad feeling i'm going to spend my first christmas in jail. So now I'm all paranoid and freaked out. Afraid I have some big fine or did something I didn't know was illegal. I'm just afraid to ruin my prisitine record or have my parents get pissed off at me. So much for all that relatation.
On top of everything, I still haven't heard for the job I applied to with the academy of art in san francisco. If I get the job I get to run my own gallery and on top of theat take a free art class every semester. Woohoo. So everyone, keep your fingers crossed. Lets hope this week ends on a good note for me!

New Year's Resolutions

2005-12-13T17:56:00.000-08:00

I know what you're thinking .... New Year's resolutions are dumb. No one sticks to them to after January. Well I make them every year and I've tended to keep most of them. So this year I'm making them public in hope that it will help me keep ALL of my resolutions. Plus, the way I figure it 2006 is going to be my year *knock on wood*.
So here we go ... LARA'S 2006 RESOLUTIONS:

1. CLEAN MYSELF UP: No I'm not talking about going into AA (that's for my friend Mark to do). I'm talking about making my body a temple again. I'm not playing volleyball anymore and a little bit of pudge is trying to anchor itself onto my beautiful body. So I need to find a reason to hit the gym again. Maybe I need to find a volleyball league to play in. Anything that keeps me from gaining 30 pound in 2006. As well as keeping the abs tight and the butt firm, I need to take better care of my skin. That means SPF and moisturizing, along with cleaning up my acne. I'm 22 and should not be having to worry about breakouts. I've already hit up clinic makeup and they helped me come up with a cleaning regiment that seems to be working thus far. So it looks like I'm already on my way on this one ....

2. GET A REAL JOB: Working part-time for a gallery and at an infamous coffee shop is getting me no where. I'm working 40 to 50 hours a week and not evening making enough to move out of my parents house. So in 2006 I'm going to a find a job that makes me happy and allows he to move into my own place.

3. TRAVEL: You better believe the international Cool Squad is going on another adventure this year. Peru is scheduled for April, but I'm also looking to go to Japan sometime in the fall. I could sure use some company when I go to Japan, so if you're interested let me know.

4: GOING SOLO: When it came to boys, 2005 was a learning experience. Dan taught me why you shouldn't be friends with your ex-boyfriends. 'Cause they're assholes! If they were great guys you'd still be dating them. Josh taught me that the phrase " I'm going to Europe to find myself" actually means "I'm going to Europe and when I come back I will want nothing to do with you." Eric taught me dating an older guy doesn't necessarily mean you're dating a more mature or intelligent guy. In 2006 I don't want to learn any new lessons. I just want to be left alone to do my thing. So unless you are my Mr. Perfect, don't waste my time.

5: ART ON A NEW LEVEL: My new computer and a printing press (that's on it's way) are helping me create a whole new batch of art. By the end of 2006 I want to be showing in at least one gallery and have a good solid portfolio ready for graduate school applications. Of course you're all going to have to come to Cali and see my first show to shower me with attention and praises. I would expect nothing less from all my friends.

6. BLOG MORE: Expect to hear more about me in 2006.