Andrew Holder

What is it with this guy? I swear, I hadn't heard of this local artist until about a month ago, and now I see him EVERYWHERE. I even saw his work on a local retailer American Express door sticker for stores in San Diego! Obviously his work is super hot right now, in San Diego and beyond. His simple use of shapes and more complex use of color palletes represent his ideas in unique, fun, fresh, and contemporary ways. These are all pretty generic terms, but his work is anything but. Today he's the featured artist on Tiny Showcase, and the charity he has selected is WiLDCOAST, which "works to protect and preserve coastal ecosystems and wildlife in the Californias and Latin America by building grassroots support, conducting media campaigns and establishing protected areas. $250 dollars from the sale of his artwork will be donated to the organization." (tinyshowcase.com) The print pictured above is available for $20, and is a series of 200.

His website is phenomenal, and I'm hoping that I'll have the opportunity to see more of his work for many years to come. Here's a few of my favorites below. Enjoy!

The illustration for American Express


Memories of the Desert, 12.5" x 6", mixed media on vintage paper


Jelly Fish, 11" x 30", 6 color screen print on hand painted paper artists edition of 10



Owls, An ongoing series of owls on vintage slides


Trophy Deer Heads, personal project

Oopsy Daisy/Studio Avo

The dawning of a new era! Today I had the privilege and pleasure of starting at No Boundaries, Inc., home of Oopsy Daisy and Studio Avo- wholesale website of fine art and miscellaneous items for children and adults! The day was filled with paperwork, tutorials, and introductions, and I think I'm going to be very happy to be a part of this dynamic, interesting, and creative environment!

The BEST part of my day was when the girl who sits next to me and I got to pick out our new wall art! New people means new views, and after flipping through the catalog we decided to go with two pieces by Andrea Cobb, a North Carolina based artist who had studied Illustration at Parsons School of Design in NYC:

Morning Pond

Evening Pond (images used from Studio Avo and are copyrighted Andrea Cobb).

I'm incredibly excited to be a part of this, and I'm looking forward to much more exposure to art and artists that I'm not familiar with. Check out both sites for extremely high quality, GREAT stuff for all ages.

Vinyl store in San Diego now!

The nearest Kidrobot store to me is in Los Angeles. Now, I'm sure LA is a great town. There's a ton of artsy stuff going on non-stop, it's a giant hub of the world, a really lovely place with lovely people... right. As much as I LOVE the 2 hour drive up there to buy overpriced (albeit cool) clothes and knick-knacks, I'd just as soon stay local and buy my vinyl wares in the neighborhood. Now, thanks to Gunnzo, I can do just that!

Gunnzo is located in Old Town San Diego at 2445 Juan Street. It doesn't look like much from the outside (the store is located in the left side of a house smack in the middle of an incredibly steep residental street), and the inside consists of a small front room which leads to a slightly larger and more angular back room. All of this is attached to a great back porch which opens into a small courtyard linking the other side of the house (I'm assuming). What it lacks in space it makes up for in cozy quality.

Chika Sasaki has opened the only designer toy store in San Diego as far as I'm aware, and I'm hoping it works out beautifully for her. I got to go to the "opening" party where every attendee got a free Mini Munny Mobile to decorate as they pleased! I got to talking with a guy there (Jesse? Maybe? Bad with names) and apparently this entire venture started from her own personal collection. From the sounds of things, it seems like she has more internet business than walk-ins, but I'm sure as the buzz continues she's going to find herself in a great spot to dominate the toy market in San Diego. Not only does she have a great collection of hard to find Dunnys, Gunnzo is the exclusive US retailer for MINDstyle Asia Exclusives.

The fact that this is a toy store by a toy collector means that some things are off-limits, but what is for sale isn't grossly inflated with outlandish retail upcharging. Yes, she's got to make a profit, and her collection is small but very thorough. Sasaki seems to have a good handle on what's available and what's coming, so I'm expecting great things from her.

sewing!

I've never sewed. I got shown how to use a sewing machine probably once when I was 8 years old. You might say mine was not a "crafty" family. Regardless, over the past few months I've taken an especial interest in all things craft, and have racked my brain for ways to infuse my ideas about 2D work into 3D. I feel like it's more immediately satisfying to finish a piece and have a tangible object instead of an object simply for art's sake. This is in no way a jab at painting or printmaking or any other flat work, but it's simply another path in the road of creativity, one that I have previously not explored. As of yesterday, this puppy is now mine:



A 1958 Singer sewing machine in perfect condition. The one pictured is a pretty exact replica of the one I got on Craigslist, except mine comes mounted on a table, which looks pretty classy. It's in great condition for being so old, and I got all the original manuals and equipment as well. I'm excited to start playing with it, and hopefully make an apron for our ever-exciting cooking adventures. Yay crafts!

SD Punks for Presents

Punks for Presents is a great Richmond based organization that is creepin' into San Diego via my very own cupcake Ashton! It's basically the newbie of the San Diego scene, and here's the site to check for updates. The Tower Bar in City Heights is the first participant, and mas events and flyers coming soon, so collect your pop tabs and stay tuned!

Holiday Hit List

Today was the 2nd annual Holiday Hit List in Point Loma by the North Park Craft Mafia.
To anyone unfamiliar with the Craft Mafia mentality, get with it. The North Park chapter seems to really have their stuff together. The first and only other Craft Mafia that I've been exposed to was the Seven Cities Craft Mafia in Hampton Roads, VA (which I now believe is simply 7 Cities Crafters). They seem to be really involved in the community as well, but it seems like every week I see some sort of event that's either hosted by or helped organize by the NPCM out here. Today was a HUGE event with over 65 vendors from all over, with TONS of REALLY well-priced handmade goods of all kind, plus raffles and demonstrations. If you were unlucky enough to miss it, check out their CafePress store here and the Myspace page as well. Some of the vendors that really caught my eye were Planet Tokki(I LOVED her poo ornaments and Mr. Tofu stuffed creatures!), Made with Luv (a founding member of NPCM), Little Grey Cat Designs (LOVED her choices of knitted scarves and fingerless gloves), Velvet Klaw (another founding NPCM member and another bunny enthusiast), and In-Vita (great paper goods, great holiday cards). There were plenty more that hooked me, but a few stood out for a mention. Keep up the great work Crafters! I hope to see you for many more Christmases to come.

Balboa Park Family Festival

A week or so ago, I volunteered at the Balboa Park Family Festival on behalf of the San Diego Museum of Art. Apparently they have a Family Festival every 4 months, and the theme corresponds with the current exhibition, which in this case happened to be the Kimono as Art: The Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota exhibition.

First of all, let me just say this exhibition was absolutely unbelievable. Beyond my already obsessive love for all things Japanese, and all things artsy, the sheer time that must have been spent by Itchiku Kubota to become a complete master of this trade is unfathomable. The Museum did a fantastic job of installing the kimono in an arc, which facilitated the viewer's eye around the collection from his 4 Seasons series. He actually died before he could complete his masterpiece, so now his sons have taken over the museum in his name and have vowed to complete it. The San Diego museum has on display the Autumn and Winter kimono, which numbers about 30 or so. I wish I had been able to take pictures of the collection, but if you haven't already clicked on the exhibition link, do so now. It's absolutely worth it.

My volunteering time was first assigned to the ink painting tent, where we passed out rice paper and demonstrated the Japanese style of ink painting and washing. Unfortunately, this totally cushy, easy, fun, sitting-down-in-the-shade job was replaced with helping James (last name ?) put together the giant paper kimono that was to be "unveiled" at the end of the festival. Basically people would paint their ink paintings at the tent, and then bring them over to us so we could attach them onto a giant paper kimono as an assemblage. It was hit or miss with the wind, but we actually had a great time despite major difficulties dealing with the paper tearing and a pretty hot sun beating down on us.

In the end, it looked something like this:


Okay, those are kind of terrible depictions of the final product. At the beginning, it really was a large paper kimono with sort of wing attachments flowing from the bottom. Since this made it pretty unstable and vulnerable to the wind, we had to add those at the very end. Regardless, we got so many ink paintings that it ended up being difficult to attach them all on the kimono, but we managed.

In the end, it was a pretty awesome day. There were Japanese drum dancers, kimono ceremony, origami folding, ink painting, and even a puppet show! Basically my ideal day. Plus I got to make a few friends and hang out with kids teaching them how to be crafty. Awesome stuff.

new job

I did it, I'm a slave to corporate America! It's day 3 of my new job, and so far my brain is expanding at a much faster pace then I could have ever dreamed possible. While this is a totally new experience for me, I'm hoping it will lead to bigger and better things that make this 8-5, commuting, professional job experience all worth it. They showed me how to file things today! Egad. What have I become???

Behold, the kingdom of Post-It notes.

ray at night

In San Diego, they don't have First Fridays. What they DO have is an entire plethora of arts organizations at different times during the week, so basically it's like having First Fridays in different communities every week. Many of these I have yet to discover or attend, but the local one here is Ray at Night, which I guess started a few years ago. While it occupies a small amount of actual space, it seems to have a lot to offer.

Last night was my first night attending the Second Saturday event, and I didn't really know what to expect. I'd been into the Milo Shoes and Gallery before, but wanted to see some local galleries dedicated to younger artists or the contemporary movement. To be honest, the only one I really spent time in was 4 Walls with the Adapta Project, which was the work of Jorge Tellaeche.

This guy is the painter I want to be. Nature, color, free forms, and exploring the idea of using non-archival materials to achieve a sense of the immediate without an emphasis on longevity are all things that I've toyed with, but never mastered as he so obviously has. He works on wood, canvas (primed and unprimed), fabric (linen?) and he even had a shirt/dress that he had painted and embroidered. Just the layering work on his paintings were so intricate but maintained such spontaneity that my mind was blown. Really, after that, there was nothing worth looking at. We had some wine and left.

A promising first time.

what do we want? equal rights! when do we want them? now!

California just passed Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage in the state, and seemed to shock people across the country with the idea that California is generally a front runner in terms of progressive legislation. Needless to say, Ashton and I live in what seems to be the Gay Capital of Southern California, so there was a huge backlash from the community today. Apparently in 2 days, 3 people came together and organized a march to repeal Prop 8. I had NO idea this was going on, so when we went out for our regular bike ride we came across a steady stream of people as far as the eye could see.





Well, being the curious citizens we are, we followed the rally down to a neighborhood park. It's interesting to see such a quickly organized gathering with such a stimulated response. I'm not going to totally get into what my personal beliefs are, but basically I think that if you believe in the Constitution- liberty, justice, and equality for all, then gay marriage is an absolute American right. BUT, if morality is your bigger concern, then that's an entirely different set of bananas. It's ignorant and discriminatory to stand against it without moral conviction backing your claim. I absolutely believe that gay marriage is the civil rights movement of our generation, and in 50 years we will look back and be shocked that this was ever even an issue. Thinking back, even Christian churches preached "separate but equal" and now would never even think that race should be in issue in any way. I'd be willing to bet that the rhetoric preached now will be swung further to the left preaching tolerance in the future. I guess it comes down to whether you think homosexuality is nature or nurture, but I guess it's something you can never be absolutely positive about. Time will tell!

brunch 11-2-08

This brunch proved to be an interesting one, having altered our course from traditional American cuisine to involve an ethnic flair. Ashton and I had tried to drum up interest in dining at Hash House a Go Go on 5th to no avail. We were also put off by the crowd of approximately one million people in front of it waiting for a table. While I feel this proves that their brunch probably is something, in fact, to write home about, patience is not a virtue of mine when it comes to brunch. We changed our destination to the India Princess, also on 5th, to sample the $11.95 brunch buffet with champagne included.

WOW. I haven't had Indian food in probably at least 3 years, and I've been skeptical to try it again; this is not due to an unpleasurable experience, rather the knowledge that there is only GREAT Indian food, and TERRIBLE Indian food. It's not a halfway thing. The only Indian restaurant in Richmond is a shabby looking place in Carytown that I've only heard unfortunate things about. I consider myself an adventurous eater, but not when the digestive stakes are so high.
I wouldn't consider myself a buffet enthusiast (contrary to the last two brunches) for several reason. First, I know the restaurant business, and I know that buffets are generally the last of the last, trying to get rid of everything possible to start the week fresh. Secondly, everything is just lying out, practically begging germs to just come and fester on them in the open air. Thirdly, everything remains in a constant state of slow decay, dying and dehydrating under heat lamps. Fourthly, in this case, the restaurant was almost totally empty, with only one other table of people in there.
Still, even with all the warning bells in my head, the smell and cost enticed me in, along with the promise of a cuisine I have been longing for for some time. Also, I had noticed a few nights previously that the dinner crowd was significantly fuller, which signified that good things were to come and leading me to the conclusion that while San Diegeans seem to love brunch, they might not be ready for such a bold detour as the Indian brunch.
I can't even begin to remember the treats that we encountered. Pretty much the usual spread of tandoori chicken, spinach saag, curry chicken, jasmine rice, and tofu chunks in a spicy red pepper sauce, etc. The waiter asked us if we wanted regular or garlic dipping bread, so of course we went garlic.
All in all, it was a pleasant and new brunch experience. I feel as though I've been proved wrong because this was not the most unbelievable experience ever, but it's absolutely worth a repeat trip for dinner, or some time when it's not a buffet spread. Would recommend enthusiastically.

MAS FOOOOOD

Tough ta-tas. I like food, and I like blogging about it.
We went to the Coronado Farmer's Market today, and while it was small, we found some great treasures. PS. If you haven't been to Coronado Island, GO. It is beautiful and has a spectacular view of downtown and the bay. It seems pretty "quaint" in a yuppie-ish way, but I'll take pretty scenery over ugly tenements any day. The farmer's market only had a few tents, but we picked up a pound of roma tomatoes and a basket of jalapenos for $3, and then caroused over to the organic cheese tent.
Clearly, Ashton and I have cheese issues, namely obsession. We seem to eat cheese in every meal and in between meals whenever possible. This was no ordinary cheese tent. I have never tried cheese curds before, but according to the dude there it is what is rendered early in the cheese making process and contains less fat but just as much flavor. It doesn't hold freshness as long, which isn't really a problem for us. We sampled a few kinds and went with Mike's Firehouse Cheddar, a garlic quark spread, and a block of goat cheese.
In our culinary enthusiasm following our purchases, we spontaneously decided to start growing basil in a window box at our apartment. Thus a spur of the moment trip resulted in a window box and small basil plant to start our little garden. It seems easy to grow and doesn't require much room, so perhaps we'll invest in some rosemary or thyme to expand our little venture. This being said, we got even more enthusiastic and created the following dish.


We sliced up two of the tomatoes and splashed some olive oil across the rows, then laying about one small or one half of a large basil leaf on each slice. Then Ashton diced a large jalapeno and put a piece in the center of each one, and I added a dab of the garlic quark and sprinkled black pepper on them all. Then we baked them for 15 minutes at 250 degrees, at which point they were bubbling and hot and looked a little something like this:


The basil had curled nicely, the cheese had melted superbly, and the jalapenos had released all their delicious juices onto the piping hot tomato slices. They were a little soggy, so we added some toast since we didn't have any crackers. The tomatoes were excellent, but they all had a bit of a bitter aftertaste, which I think had something to do with the cheese. Great for dipping, perhaps not for melting. Since you never can tell with jalapenos, I think this one was somewhat mild, but on the last few I sprinkled just a little garlic salt and crushed red pepper and it gave it just the spice it needed.


Basically Ashton and I are the shit, and everyone is jealous of our awesome gastrointestinal adventures. The end.

hippies

Ashton and I have come to the realization that in the month we have been in southern California, we have succumbed to the hippie lifestyle. Here is a a list of reasons why:

1) We vowed to buy the bulk of our produce at local farmer's markets.
2) We are building our own window box herb garden.
3) We voted with absentee ballots because California is pretty much strictly Democratic and voting in Virginia (a massive swing state) is more likely to make a difference. (Or at least as much of a difference as two votes make.)
4) We are pretty much only exploring local eateries and shops for all of our consumer needs.
5) Both of us are volunteering for some local things (me- San Diego Museum of Art, Ashton- a nonprofit/food bank)
6) On our refrigerator there's a list of all the free local outdoor things that we are scheduling our lives around.
7) Despite falling gas prices, we are still basically just riding our bikes or walking everywhere to be more environmentally conscious.
8) We are recycling everything we can and re-using as much as possible.

Not to mention once we get settled with jobs and can afford some furniture, we're setting up the "art room" a.k.a. my bedroom, sort of, to start making arts and crafts again. I love the hippie, tree-hugging lifestyle.

this week.

I have received a complaint that all of my latest entries have something to do with food. Well, with no job and limited friends, generally the highlights of the week are good meals! Okay, BESIDES food, we've gone to the beach several times (which is about 10 minutes away- HA!), explored the surrounding neighborhoods (they're cool- HA!), and explored Coronado, which seemed strikingly like New England, but with palm trees. Oh, and also I'm volunteering at the San Diego Museum of Art, so hopefully I'll meet some people and see some awesome things there as well.

Ok, back to the important stuff. BRUNCH OF THIS WEEK. Mel and Travis, accompanied with the darling Elliott, brought us to the end all be all glutton capital of all brunchdom- the $15 all you can eat El Torito brunch with unlimited mimosas, fresh waffles, a fully manned taco bar and omelette bar, along with all the regular Mexican treats. Let me just tell you, things got wild. Before we trekked over to brunch though, we checked out the Swap Meet outside the San Diego Sports Arena to work up our appetites looking at weird things and holding pygmy bunnies, which sent me into such a state of hysterics it was a little embarrassing. Still, I managed to hold myself together until the main event of brunch. Here's a small sample of my experience.


This plate lasted for about 30 seconds before total demolition was achieved. As you can see, I began strongly, focusing on mainly the Mexican portion offered, emphasizing rice, beans, a tamale, some mashed sweet corn, veggies, and a variety of marinated meats. MMMM.

Plate 2 is as follows:


I'd never actually tried a chille relleno before, and I was really pleasantly surprised. The outer coat of cornmeal was a little much, but it was just the right amount of spice and cheese. A definite exploration of taste. I got my first corn rolled carne asada taco from the taco mistress, coated with salsa picante and a tomatillo-avocado sauce. DELICIOUS. Carne asada is definitely meat to the Spanish gods. And the sausage! Holy cow! I skipped it the first go around because I wanted to focus on delights not readily available to me, but on the urging of our comrades I gave it a go and I WAS NOT SORRY. I don't know what it is about El Torito's sausage, but DAMN. IT WAS GOOD. Then the obligatory chicken enchilada, which wasn't the greatest, but certainly wasn't the worst.

At this point things were slowing down a bit, with champagne flowing like water and our bellies slowly expanding. I thought it best to choose wisely over what would be my last plate, and here's the story of Plate 3.


I'd forgone the waffles until now (as Travis had advised me to wait until they brought out the fresh hot ones), and with a variety of toppings available I chose simply, settling for a dash of honey butter with maple syrup. Great stuff. Melt in your mouth stuff. I'd replicated the carne asada taco from Plate 2, and was again not disappointed. The only qualm with it was that the girl seemed to rush cooking the corn tortillas, so they were a tad chewy, but certainly not indigestible. Just for kicks, I also revisited the sausage and veggies, the veggies being not a hot thus not as delicious. As seen by the second photo, I signaled my surrender fully and completely by this point. By then I was reaching my limits of obesity and waddled to the car to go home and die slowly.

In conclusion, the El Torito brunch experience was certainly an experience, with its ups and downs, but ultimately I don't know how often I could go to such a place, where mustachioed men waltz over with bottles of champagne, willing to bathe you in it as you lie in a gluttonous stupor with a trail of rice along your bulging belly. Maybe next week.

urban solace

Oh man. Reason #8493 to love San Diego. Everyone here seems to love brunch just as much as us! I'm glad we've come to a place that values the most majestic of all meals. Last week Ashton and I scouted the San Diego Sunday Brunchmaster site to find the perfect first brunch of our San Diego experience. Ultimately we decided that Urban Solace was going to be the benefactor of our business. Bluegrass Sunday brunch? Yes please. Within bike riding distance? Sure! Everything sounded good. And I assure you, everything TASTED good.



First off, Ashton had the portobello sandwich, complete with lemon chive aioli, crisp lettuce, tomato, and sweet potato fries. I'm not the biggest advocate of sweet potato fries (mixing the sweet and savory seems silly to me) but these were pretty good. Not the best (Ipanema anyone??) but pretty good. The actual mushroom itself was a giant steak of a shroom, juicy and dribbling with perfection. An excellent sandwich.
I, craving the lost tastes of the South, got the Cheddar n' Chive biscuits and gravy, which was definitely southern-inspired, but a more "Western" take on it. The biscuits themselves were heaven. Light, fluffy, delicious. The sausage was a tad sweet, but the gravy was a cheesy, gravy-licous experience. And while I find watermelon often bland and boring, THIS particular slice was cool, refreshing, and just the right amount of sweet. Perfect. I annihilated every last bite. Ashton fought bravely, but eventually had to call it quits on the mountain of sweet potato fries.


Don't let those last few morsels fool you. I had a clean plate by the end. Also, I might add, the mimosas were excellent, albeit a smidge expensive, and Ashton's bloody mary came with a lemon, lime, and huge stalk of celery. Nice touches, and it was an excellent shade of spicy. At $6 and $7 a pop, I didn't feel like we could indulge as we usually would, but the ones we had were lip smackin' good.
Ah, the bluegrass. What can I say? It seemed almost for a moment that we were in the Deep South. The cirleque iron railings, patio, and 3 man band complete with cowboy hats and a banjo, whilst enjoying biscuits n' gravy.... ahhh. It really was an absolutely stellar day.
In conclusion, Urban Solace was the perfect choice for our introduction to San Diego Sunday Brunch. The drinks were a tad pricey, but the food was excellent and the prices were reasonable. Service I'd give a B- to in terms of timeliness, but an A in terms of friendliness. Now I think this week it will be El Torito for us, with its $15 brunch and Mexican buffet with endless mimosas?!?!? YES!!!!!

farmie markie

Today was a good day. I thought it was going to suck, but became an A+ day instead of a C-.

Blah blah blah I was going to explain all the job hunting we did, and how it seemed like we had more prospects today, but who cares? We went to the beach! And watched doggies play! And then we went to the North Park Farmer's Market!



The Farmer's Market was awesome. I think we got there towards the end part of it, but there was still plenty to see (and eat). We got to sample a bunch of things, and ended up buying some pumpkin butter and some Kenyan vegan snacks, complete with Ginger Green Tea. It was totally the perfect end to the day. Well, the afternoon. Tonight 2 of our German/Long Island friends are coming and we are hitting the town with them.

Should be good.

rival schools cultivates friendships

It's becoming rarer for me to want to go to a show anymore. It used to be something that I did much more frequently, but jaded cynicism, age, and just a general lack of enthusiasm over the last few years has brought me to a point where it has to be A) a band I am a superfan of, B) a band I've never seen and always wanted to, or C) the biggest social event of the year where I know I will have fun, dammit, whether I like it or not!

Rival Schools fits solidly into choices A and B. I love love love this band, and since their ONE full length album came out when I was in high school, I've never been able to see them play. When Ashton told me that they were playing in San Diego down the street in 2 days... this cemented my love for both him (for seeing it the listing) and San Diego (for hosting this momentous event).

I also love Rival Schools for the part they had to play in the meeting of my female counterpart, the lady herself, the one and only Annie Duffy, whose fate and mine became intertwined one night in Newport News. It involved a dance, a water cooler, a hemp necklace, Kid Dynamite and Rival Schools. Nuff said.

The show was, in a word, indescribable. There couldn't have been more than 60 people in a total Nanci Raygun-esque venue, and the fact that California is completely non-smoking is another total plus. AND, to prove the stars were aligned in our favor, the drink special was PBR. Obviously the gods were smiling upon us this evening. Walter is someone who definitely holds a place on my list of "people that if I had a chance to meet and hang out with would definitely try to seduce". You know how sometimes you go to a show for a band you really like, and even if you've seen them before, you sit at a small table with friends in exciting anticipation, knocking back beers faster than you mean to because you are literally salivating with excitement, and then the lights suddenly dim, and everyone rushes forward and the first note of the first song rings out? That moment is always a resonating one, and this was no exception.

What made it even better was that both Ashton and I had been scoping the crowd, coming up with desperate ploys to engage people in conversation, hoping to result in new friends. As it turns out, we didn't even have to try, because as I was getting up to grab another beer, I felt a tap on my shoulder and lo and behold, a septum-pierced, tattooed, adorable cherub of a lady inquires about Ashton's Texas is the Reason hoodie. Needless to say, we bit hook line and sinker and didn't let this golden opportunity slip by. By the end of the night we had been invited to a secret show in LA and camping this coming weekend. STOKED. For as outgoing as Ashton and I are, we are clumsy weirdos when it comes to making new friends.

The point of this is that Rival Schools has once again played a part in what might prove to be the start of a great friendship. Walter... thanks.

Oh, and the show was life-changing. Their second encore was "World Invitational", which is my absolute favorite song on United by Fate. The set was mind-blowing in itself, but the addition of this was just the proverbial cherry on top. Definitely on the list of top 10 favorite show experiences of all time.

wow.

where do i start? we had a totally wild journey from richmond, va to san diego, ca. it took about 5 days of driving, 6 days of traveling in general, give or take a few hours. we saw the southwest, visited the childhood home of george w. bush, saw THE THING, and went through the wing energy capital of the world (somewhere, texas). ashton has the details logged but now it just seems like a long time ago.

we set up camp in oceanside for a week, and managed to find our own place in north park, san diego where we are currently residing! we've lived the good life for the last week, going to the beach, finding a perfectly fine boxspring in an alley, setting up shop in our really cute apartment, applying for jobs, going to balboa park, going to the beach, finding a farmer's market in little italy, downtown, and just exploring and having a great time. it really is the life out here. and the MUSIC! i swear, there's an awesome show every week, at least. we are going to see RIVAL SCHOOLS in 2 days! i am a huge rival schools fan, and this is a total dream come true.

california really is the place to be. i am completely content here. there is no reason for me to leave, ever. now we just need jobs so we can make friends. and i want nico too. soon!