Monday, January 30, 2006

Sand Buddah



We took a day trip to Santa Barbara and in the middle of all the glitterati were a few homeless folk trying to earn their keep. This guy crafted a Sand Buddah in exchange for tips. He said it was just started, that he would add more detail as he went along. Note the Buddah's prosperity cup. Seems to have worked for him--the creator had his own prosperity bucket filled with tips.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

La La Land

So here we are in L.A. loving the 70 degree and sunshine-y weather, a spectacular run up the canyon overlooking the hills and the ocean, coffee and sandwiches at an outdoor cafe, a trip to Melrose for a little vintage shopping and an Ethiopian dinner.

Ethiopian food is a cool experience. No forks, no knives, no plates...just a giant crepe with little piles of vegetarian and meat delicacies all eaten entirely by hand. The crepe-like bread is given to you as a side as well and used to scoop up the spicy foods. Tasty.

Last night we had a sushi happy hour [every dish was $2.95... we ordered boatloads] and then shot some pool and an indoor/outdoor bar across the street. Andrew and I ran to the ocean before dinner to see the sunset but missed the fire ball by about 30 seconds. We did get to see the orange-y glow over the water and it felt really good to stand barefoot on sand again.

Tonight, we go to a 'squirrel' party. from what I understand this is some tradition like ground hogs day or something. Not sure what it means or if Matias just made it up but I'm up for an adventure.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Being John Malkovich

We were on our way to the gym today and saw a sign for 'Open House' down the street from our Apt. so we decided to check it out.

The red house was facing the Post Road on the little street near the River that almost looks like a glorified trailer park. Many of the houses are Super small--the only big perk is that they are on the River. Glorified b/c the houses are selling for $750,000 and up for less than 700sq. feet.

This house had a bit of charm from the outside, 1450 sq. feet--and 2 fireplaces. The thing that was interesting about it was that it was built in 1761 [really!] and people back then were really small so the ceiling in the whole house stood at just about 6 feet. Being only 5'3", with clogs on, my head nearly brushed the top of the doorways. [no ceiling fans in this place].

Upstairs there was a bathroom on a pitched ceiling that I literally had to bend over to walk to it. The house felt like that wacky office in 'Being John Malkovich'. I could mostly walk around just fine [i'm short] but Andrew wouldn't be able to wear shoes in the house ever and for our friends over 6 feet--well--they would have to remain seated at all of our parties.

The whole house was slanted, had wood slats for walls [no sheetrock, no plaster] and the upstairs was sort of a converted attic. Those silly realtors called it '3 bedrooms' which was a crock--two of the rooms couldn't even hold a bed. One was a crawl space and the floor was subfloor only--no beams/no insulation and I'm pretty sure you could fall through it in certain parts.

The Realtor of course hyped up how perfect it would be for someone with an imagination--the potential for expansion [although it is a Historical Landmark which I belive restricts major modifications]--how it had 'CHARM' etc. etc.

The true Charm of it, really, is that it's still standing.

And the asking price?

[insert drumroll here]

$895,000.

Are you kidding me?!?

Friday, January 06, 2006

Ebay!

Yes, there will be more sketches but FIRST--I need to talk about how thrilled I am about selling my unwanted crap on eBay. To my great suprise, someone bought my first generation [i'm talking right off the boat] iPod for $86! Granted, that pales in comparison to the $399 or whatever it cost 4 years ago but it beats sitting in my closet or going to the Salvation army. I sold my kiteboard to some guy in Texas, my trainer kite, an older version of Quickbooks and still have the other 3 kites, 2 bikes, G4 Powerbook and Flatscreen to unload. I'm having my own little fire-sale in the comfiness of my little home.

Sooooooooo much better than your traditional yard-sale. I tried that a few years ago and it felt somewhat violating--these people rifling through your crap offering you insuling amounts for your once-prized possessions. It was interesting to see who bought what. My favorite was this big, burly biker guy who bought this delicate ceramic bluebird that my mother gave me to sell. Who would have thought.

I'm looking all over the house for things to sell. I wonder if anyone wants a copy of Photoshop 5.5? [alright, that might be a reach, but who knows]. A friend of mine said 'you could put a used coffee cup on ebay and it would sell'. I think he is right.

AND

I owe it all to my Feng Shui. I've done all sorts of work in my prosperity corner and it started working it's magic almost immediately.

Back to the 'bay. Maybe I should start selling my artwork online. Hmmm. Seriously?