Degrees of Internet Fame

Most blogs are better than mine but one in particular rules them all: Dooce. Her blog is so funny that internet people make up internet awards just to give to her. Swear. So really, I almost cried this morning when I realized that I sorta know someone who knows someone who knows her!! See, she knows Derek who is like, totally biffles with Kevin, who is like totally biffles with me. I can't believe I don't have a Wikipedia entry yet. Somebody better get on that.

[my fairy blogmother]

San Francisco Games

Being a single girl in San Francisco affords one the opportunity to play one of the most rewarding games ever in existence: Gay or Not Gay? I have grown up in the Bay Area and thus honed my skills (note to readers: we no longer call it "gaydar." that shit is played) but still get stumped everyone once in a while. Today was one of those times.

I was having lunch with a new friend that I met through a friend of a friend. I know, life's complicated. Anyway, he was darling: well dressed (but not too much), good hair (a little product but not exactly coiffed) and sparkly eyes. While I'm not really looking to date, I kept thinking to myself, which of my friends am I supposed to be thinking about hooking this dude up with? My #1 Gay who works at Marc Jacobs or one of my many hot nerd girl friends?


I tried to steer the convo in a direction that would explain things:

Me: I love getting coffee at Blue Bottle. Almost every guy that works there is super hot.

Him: I guess that's a good thing.

Whiff.


So, I still don't know what the deal is. Being in SF, I suppose I could have just straight up asked him but maybe a little mystery is good for us, no?

Um. I went to Fresno.

If you know me, you know I love museums. I have my master's in museum studies because I love them so much. I love them SO MUCH that I drove my ass all the way to Fresno to give a wee little talk at the California Association of Museums conference. It was basically just a re-do of my thesis presentation, which was about new media art in museums, and I think it went well. It was lovely to see some of my friends from school again and to stay at a decent hotel (hello sleep number bed!). It's a bit of a relief that it's over now because I was anxious about it for so long. Here's hoping the next conference is somewhere a little more exciting. Tahiti maybe?

How I Know My Brother is Awesome

Me: Remember how at Grampa's funeral he had an open casket?

Brother: Yeah, that was weird.

Mom: Well I think that's what he wanted.

Me: I don't want that. Give me a viking funeral.

Mom: No. We are not talking about this.

Brother: Is a viking funeral where they set you out on a boat and then someone shoots it with a flaming arrow?

Me: Yeah. I think that's what it's called anyway.

Mom: You're so dramatic. We're not doing that and we're not talking about this anymore.

Me: But it's what I want! Come on, Mom.

Brother: Don't worry, Jen. I'll totally light you on fire.

Me: Thanks, Bro. I knew I could count on you.

On Being Flaky

I've been trying to collect my thoughts over the past 24 hours and calm myself down, but I'm still upset. And here's why: People are flaky.

For over a month now, I've been planning a Weekend Art Brunch for friends and acquaintances. I found an artist willing to do a studio visit with us and assured him there would be a group of interested individuals showing up that day. I stayed in this past Saturday night to bake and assemble treat bags (which were insanely cute) for all twelve folks I was expecting. I woke up early to set up and clean my apartment so it would look nice for everyone.

Then the emails and text messages began to roll in. Canceling, canceling, canceling. Some people didn't even bother to send a message, they just didn't show up. I was crushed.

Three of my friends did show up for me. We had a nice brunch and a lovely talk with a really great artist. I had to explain to him that our group was so small because people are flaky. So embarrassing on numerous levels.

So am I writing this as a guilt trip? Yup. But also because I'm upset about the phenomenon. I've had this happen to other people as well and it's a horrible feeling. Maybe it will be different next time but next time, I won't be the host.

Grilled Salmon with a side of Microformats

Last night I had a very interesting dinner at my friend Tantek's house. The crowd had been gathered by Pownce invitation, and a good crowd it was. I was the only individual there who does not work in tech, though it plays a large role in my life. Over the course of the evening, our group drank quite a few bottles of wine, some beer and purchased at least 4 domains. Geeky? You betcha. The company was great, the conversation lively, and perhaps best of all, I picked up some killer swag:

Twitterpation

Wow, I still have not recovered from yesterday's keynote from Steve Jobs. Have you seen it? Have you seen the MacBook Air? It fits in a manila envelope, people! I can't help looking at my 2 year-old MacBook with disdain this morning. So huge, so clunky.




Side note: Did anyone else know about calibrating your Mac's battery? I just found this out by reading my user's guide last night. I guess I was supposed to be doing it every month or so. That's what I get for not reading.

First Hearts of '08!

Yes, I've been very slow with the updates lately. I give my sincere apologies to all four of you who read my blog.

I thought I'd start this year off by writing up a little list of some of the things I love on the Internet. So here goes:

1. Trulia. My newest obsession is real estate and I love this site that shows what's for sale in any neighborhood.

2. Find of the Day. Every morning I check out the update at Found Magazine. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always intriguing.

3. Janet Charlton's Blog. Man, do I love Hollywood gossip. But this isn't the stuff you'll find on all the other sites. It's better.

4. Design Sponge. Because someday I will have my own place. I will, dammit!

5. Dooce. Comedy gold, pure and simple. Heather is hilarious, she deserves to be a pro blogger.

This list could go on and on. So here's to a new, better year than ever and finding more small things that make us happy!

Super Mega Yummy Pie Recipe

In celebration of Turkey Day, I thought I'd do something different and post an awesome recipe. I made this pie last week and the roomies gave it a hearty thumbs up. I also suggest just buying pie crusts from Trader Joes instead of making them yourself (unless you're into that sort of thing). Here you are:

Caramel-Pecan Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

Pie Crust (seriously, just buy one)
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter, softened

1. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry. In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, pumpkin and milk. Stir in the sugar, flour, lemon peel, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Pour this mixture into the pastry-lined pie plate. Cover the edge with foil so the crust doesn't over-brown. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar, pecans and butter until combined. Remove foil from pie and sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top of the pie. Bake for 20 minutes more or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours. Enjoy!

CCA Holiday Fair

California College of the Arts is having their annual Holiday Fair on Saturday, December 1st. I've been before and let me tell you that is a wonderful opportunity to get some cool (not to mention cheap!) art while supporting local art students. There will be music and food as well so put it on your calendar.

CCA Holiday Fair
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, December 1, 2007
Oliver Art Center on CCA's Oakland campus
5212 Broadway (at College Avenue)

Inspired by Chanel

"A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous."
-- Coco Chanel

I'm keeping this quote in mind as I work through my Ladies Who Launch incubator process. It's been quite inspiring thus far. More updates soon...

Collect Yourself!

It's been a long time coming but the website for my new organizing and art advising business has finally launched! I'm so excited and can't wait to get to work. Please check it out and let me know what you think. I'd also like to personally thank SFMOMA for never giving me a job because if they had, I wouldn't have done this (not that I don't still kind of hate them! ha ha!). I'll have lots of updates soon on how it's going and the other amazing entrepreneurs I've been meeting lately.

Receiver Opening Reception

Strange Fruit - Bad Seeds opened at Receiver Gallery this weekend. The show is very impressive, I highly recommend you go and check it out. I am also now the proud owner of one of the Martha Sue Harris pieces featured in the exhibition. Hooray! Here are a few pics that I unabashedly stole from John Casey's blog because I was simply too enraptured to take my own:

Things I Did Today...

• Checked Email
• Wrote a proposal
• Went to Trader Joe's
  
• Put together an Emergency Bag (WHICH YOU SHOULD DO TOO, RIGHT NOW!)

Weekend Art Brunch Postcards

Check out the uber cute postcards I just picked up for Weekend Art Brunch. I had them printed at Rocket Postcards which is the best local deal I've found. I can't wait to pass them out to people!

Strange Fruit - Bad Seeds

I saw John Casey yesterday and we had a nice little chat about the goings on in our lives. I was reminded that he has a show that opens this Saturday at Receiver Gallery in the Mission. He's showing with Martha Sue Harris, whose amazing work I was able to see during open studios. The reception for the show is Saturday from 7 - 10pm and I'll be there so you should be too.

Code Switching

We had a really fun opening last night at Swarm for Code Switching. The show is based around a group of artists that are part of the collective Quorum. There's a little something for everyone in the show, from painting to sculpture to new media. I'm mad at myself for not taking pictures of the party but here's my favorite piece from the show:


Laurel Roth
Cheap Thrills
made from fake nails, hair clips, false eyelashes and other drugstore miscellanea

Better!

I'm definitely out of my funk and part of the reason why was a fun trip to some Open Studios on Saturday. We stopped by the Blue Studio at Mission and 17th, then headed to Workspace Limited and finally to 1890 Bryant Street. There was some interesting art and some actually, really great stuff too, particularly at our final stop. What I really couldn't help gawking at however, were the studio spaces themselves. These buildings were absolutely amazing with so much light streaming in! Anyway, I'm a little broke right now so I didn't get to purchase some things I would have wanted to but I did pick up this awesome owl by Kate Durkin.

Blech.

It seems like it's been a bad week for me and almost everyone I know. Sickness, bad dates, various sad things related to dogs (don't even get me started on the Ellen fiasco), and I don't know what else. My confidence has really been down lately as I am trying to start up my own business and having some setbacks. I've been feeling like people don't want me to succeed. I had some bumps this week including a depressing email exchange with someone I looked up to as a mentor.

I'm really hoping to just forget this week happened. I'm looking forward to getting up tomorrow, making brunch for some folks, having a mimosa and heading to open studios. Here's hoping next week brings better things for us all.