Compliments and Cochella

What an pleasantly odd day today was. I spent all day shopping for a client with one of my co-workers. It was so much fun! We went crazy and basically filled my co-worker's Jeep Cherokee to the top with pillows, vases, art and other nick-knacks for the installation tomorrow.

Something weird happened to me while I was at Home Goods though.
My co-worker was talking to our boss on the phone and I was left in charge of our cart. I was following her down an aisle when this employee walks up to me. He stood there looking at me and instead of asking me if I was finding everything ok (like I expected him to), he asks me if I'm Canadian. At first I didn't think I heard him right but he asked me again and I answered, "Nooo.... I'm American..." I must have looked like a total douche in my confusion, but he sweetly and nervously replied, "Well you look wonderful."
I felt so bad! I said thank you and awkwardly maneuvered the cart away.
I'm such a dummy sometimes. So if that kid is reading this, seriously, thank you for the compliment. You really did make my morning.

In other news, anyone going to Cochella? By some miracle, Alex scored us some tickets for week two and I cannot be more excited! Tegan and Sarah, Modest Mouse, Vampire Weekend, RHCP... Woo!
You going?

Five Senses: Sunday Night Edition

Seeing: Photos "uploading" on my flickr. My internet doesn't like uploading photos while Alex games and I try to watch Netflix.

Tasting: Popcorn. My favorite snack food.

Hearing: "Scream and Shout" by Will.i.am featuring Britney Spears. I absolutely hated it the first time I heard it on TV but it has evolved into my guilty pleasure. I can't get enough of British Britney!

Smelling: Apple Cinnamon Glade Candle. Makes my house feel cozy...

Touching: 24x36 Building plans. Getting ready for Monday at work!

12:30am Thoughts

I should have taken Woodshop instead of Home Ec in junior high. I'd be so much cooler now. :P

Solar Eclipse 2012

As you probably already know, there was a solar eclipse today! Thank God for Facebook or I would have missed it! The light outside was very unusual. It felt like being in an apocalyptic movie where the end of days was near.
You could not see the eclipse without some sort of filter (you do not want to damage your eyes!) so we made a pinhole projector.
We used a long cardboard tube, a piece of aluminum foil with a pinhole and something to project on (we used a takeout box, haha).


Here is my dad with our pinhole projector, trying to locate the projection on the takeout box.


There it is! A nice little crescent.


Here is the other end of our projector: the foil with a pinhole.


Another view of our projection.


We finally got our hands on a perfectly transparent piece of paper and used that instead of the little takeout box.

 
The crescent was getting thinner and thinner...


Weird crescent shaped shadows were being cast from the eclipse. Cool and unusual stuff going on, people!

Un-unemployed!

Meaning I got a job! After about a month or two of corresponding with a local architect, we finally found time to get together for an interview and then two weeks later I was hired! As of now I am a consultant for the company working project to project. I do a lot of work on SketchUp and have already learned so much in my two weeks of working there. 
It's pretty exciting!
 
The funny thing about my unemployment was that I had all the time in the world to blog and do projects but didn't. Now that I have a (part-time) job, I have the urge to blog again. Maybe because life is more interesting now - I don't know but I plan on blogging more in the future. Not for anyone's entertainment but to keep a record of things going on... to have something to look back on. 

Anyway, here's my new view. I work in an old building with exposed bricks, beams and giant windows. Not too shabby!

Lately...

Last weekend I had a Groupon for a new pair of eyeglasses from a little boutique in San Francisco. My parents are always up for a Saturday morning adventure so they accompanied me to Union Street where the store is located.
After about 45 minutes, I, along with the assistance of one of their fantastic employees, found the perfect pair of nerdy glasses for me. I'm so excited! They should arrive in about two weeks so prepare for a very vain post of me modeling them (Just kidding! Sort of...) because I'm sure I will never wear contacts again.
When we were done at the eyeglasses store, my parents and I wandered up and down Union Street which is always fun. So many cute little boutiques, cafes and restaurants.

There was an interesting house just off of Union Street that had a very clever way of adding a green element to their home which was located directly next too a beauty salon. Don't you just love this vertical garden filled with succulents??  My dad had me take photos of it because he is in the process of xeriscaping the yard and thought something like this would add a nice element to it.

A cute cat soaking up some February sun in the front window of this store.

So many outdoor cafes on Union Street...great place for people watching.

 This flower shop brought a nice bit of color to the city.

And finally, we can never call it a trip to the city complete without stopping at our favorite ice cream shop. Swensen's has the best Swiss Orange Chip and Green Tea ice cream!

Pink

Job searching really messes with your self-worth. I've been feeling unprepared, unworthy, and just down. What I've concluded is: you can't get a job without experience but you can't get experience without a job.
Luckily, I've been seeing a lot of motivational things on the web saying things along the lines of, "Nothing worthwhile comes easy" and "She said she could so she did."
I'm not giving up.
I've also been seeing a lot of pink. I don't know why but it just makes me happy.
So hey, if you're feeling down maybe this montage of pink will make you happy too. What's not to love about cake, ice cream, random pink walls and a pink Pepsi machine?
See, now your smiling too...

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Bits of My (Birthday!) Weekend

This past weekend my very best group of friends from college came to my house to celebrate my birthday weekend. We have known each other for at least 6-7 years and although we do not get to see each other as much as we use to, we manage to get together a couple of times a year to catch up and hang out. 

We spent the last three days partying, playing Quelf, having adventures on Pier 39, eating LOTS of good food (see the lobster bisque above), and watching the sun set on Baker Beach. Not a bad way to celebrate a birthday if you ask me...