Travellin’ Tales: Yeehaw, I’m in Arkansas

November 13, 2012August 14, 2013Leave a comment

Hello, hello – from Arkansas!

It’s been a busy past 24 hours, but so far it’s been such an amazing adventure and I’m loving everyone that I have the opportunity to work with out here. What am I doing in Arkansas? Well, I currently work for Walt Disney Studios Distribution as a Retail Space Planner. The short of that being I’m part of our Movie Supply Chain; the long of it being I’m in charge of maintaining our title assortment across a few accounts (if you ever wonder why ‘Bubble Boy’, ‘Deuce Bigalo’ or ‘Cool Runnings’ is in Sam’s Club, that was partially my fault… (#sorryimnotsorry)) and I’m the head librarian for all Walt Disney titles…I even have the sexy nerd glasses to prove it!

Several times a year, Wal Mart brings all the Movie Studios together at their Headquarters for something they like to call ‘Bring It Week’. We crowd around at vendor specific tables (Echo Bridge, Universal, Fox, etc) in a room of wires, modems and conference tables while we attempt to put the latest, greatest and best selling movies on individual fixtures. Over the last six years, no one from my department has been part of this process – and, because of this, no one legitimately understands the process. Well, that’s what I’m here for – for the rest of the week I’ll be helping the Disney team build and place fixtures for your consuming pleasure come March 2013.

I spent the majority of yesterday flying around the country: starting off at LAX, I flew into the ridiculously expansive Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. The only airport that I’ve been to that might be bigger is Denver International – DFW has trams to each of the terminals, which I might’ve had a little too much fun on; but I digress (per usual). I had my obligatory “I’m-in-Texas-and-eating-BBQ” meal from Cousins’ BBQ in the airport and then carried on my merry way to Northwest Arkansas Regional. I have to say, short rides in prop planes are the furthest thing from my preferred mode of travel; I don’t know about y’all but I enjoy being able to stand up straight so good thing it was uneventful and quick as a bunny.

I was put up at an Embassy Suites and um, it’s a little swanky! The room is big enough that I’m lonely, so thank goodness there’s a bar downstairs. Originally, I was hesitant about visiting Benton County because I heard some very true rumors about it being a dry (aka having no effing alcohol). Well thank goodness for two very different things (a) I’m staying in the town next to it called Rogers and (b) five days ago, voters approved a wet Benton County; beer bongs and shot pong, anyone?

The faux Wal Mart set-up you see to your left is my playground for the next few days – I’m tearing DVDs down and building them right back up again. It’s actually very cathartic to be so organized and I have (so far) no complaints. I’ve been mingling with the other studios, and made friends with the company that distributes South Park for syndication.

The great thing about Benton County is it was built around the culture of Wal Mart Headquarters. There are tons of Executives always coming into town to establish, or further, their businesses – so over time, it’s become a sort of “hot spot”, if you will. My coworkers told me about some stellar, and other not so stellar, restaurants I should get my grub on in and places I need to visit. I got maybe more exited than I should have that my hotel is across the freeway from a mall, but even better is the Walton and Wal Mart sponsored Crystal Bridges Museum that my co-workers and I are visiting tomorrow night. GE is co-sponsoring an exhibit called See the Light: The Luminist Tradition in American Art which is based around the evolution of light and fluorescence in American art – I can’t wait to report back on it!

[Roadtrippin’] It’s a California State of Mind

October 19, 2012January 13, 2014Leave a comment

For the past few weeks I’ve had little angel on my shoulder, coercing me to get the fuck out of my overheated Los Angeles bubble and venture up north for an extended weekend of good food, great meals and family time. But, whenever I was close to jumping in my car and cruising back home, the devil on the other side would start with the litany of excuses: I hate driving on the 5 – That’s too long to leave my cats alone for– gas prices are cray cray – etc, etc. The fact of the matter is those are all very valid reasons for not wanting to hit the road – but at the end of the

day, they all start to sound like the same excuse, ‘I don’t want to.‘ It’s been a long past few months and there was a lot of apprehension about being isolated, and in the middle of nowhere, for an extended amount of time – but I’ve also come to terms with the fact that I over-saturate my life with connections. My phone may as well be tethered to my side as a Siamese twin because I swear I’m always on it – Tweeting, texting, Instagram-ing and Facebooking; may as well just call me a walking, talking social media slut – I’ll take it.

I also, finally, took some my own advice: get out of my head and into my heart.

Being a creature of logic and reason is fine and dandy; but, emotions can’t be quantified, feelings can’t be measured and you can’t organize anxieties.

With this freshly pressed game plan in mind, I turned to packing up my troubles, both literally and physically. Piling clothes, jewelry, hair products and my work laptop in an over-sized duffel bag, I synced my iPod and kissed my cats goodbye. The drive can last anywhere from 6 and 9 hours, so I had a lot of music to load in to get me through it. For the first time, I wasn’t planning outfits or huge escapades – I was going to be comfortable and at home with the people I love. Yes, the 5 is awful and gas prices aren’t going down – but the idea that the people I love are only a tank of gas away is so comforting.

When I hit the road, I double checked my route and turned my phone off for a while; I was on auto-pilot, my car was on cruise control and it was just the two of us and the highway. I’ve had my new car since April and the furthest we’ve gone together is Ojai – this was our first big adventure and I had way too much fun. There’s a feeling that I get from being in the open road, windows down and music up; my mind opens up, my stream of consciousness is deep and introspective and I almost get this runners high. Maybe it’s a drivers high. Either way, that drive cleared out my mental cobwebs and reset my system. Around 10 pm I cruised into the city and it was bustling with lights and noise, roaring with personality as it always does.

San Francisco at Night

5 Roadtrip Essentials:

Map I know I’m captain obvious but you should probably know where you’re going – just in case your phone dies, your partner in crime slash navigator passes out or you’re just horrible with directions.
Music Make sure your playlist is twice as long as your total drive – if you’re like me, you probably have musical ADD and change a song halfway through…which means your playlist doesn’t last as long as you think it does. Plan ahead and your head will thank you later; besides, how many times can you really listen to Levels*?
Good Vibes If you’re no fun, your drive isn’t going to be fun! Besides, if you can’t have fun by yourself rocking out with an air guitar and singing lead vocals at the tippity top of your lungs – why would anyone else want to?
Comfort Grub There’s nothing worse than hitting the road, getting super hungry and not being able to find a damn thing you want to eat or drink – well, save yourself the problem and do a little store run before you head out or save some money and make sandwiches at home. Make sure you have something delish to wash it all down, and a few extra bottles of water – and you’ll have a happy heart, and stomach, the entire drive.
Car Charger Phone navigation applications, especially Verizon’s – and I speak from experience, do a pretty good job of draining your phones battery. Being lost in the middle of nowhere with no phone is kind of horrible, so do yourself a favor and make sure you have a working phone charger.

Doing it Right: Stay Classy, San Diego

October 1, 2012August 14, 20132 Comments

Once again, I’ve fallen head over heals for the city of San Diego. At this point, I don’t even know if I can help it – the air is fresh and breathable, the restaurants are equally affordable and delicious, and everyone is super friendly! For the past week and a half this little kitten has been going through some things and it getting out of town felt like one of the healthier options to remedy my emotional state. So, a few friends and I said sayonara to the city of angels and hellllllo weekend of sun, fun and relaxation!

Sunset in San Diego

I was excited about taking off a little early from work and beating the rush, but apparently I hadn’t thought this out very well because unfortunately for me, and everyone else trying to leave the city, Carmageddon pt 2 had begun. The combination of rush hour traffic coupled with the impending doom of closing the 405 Freeway between the 101 and the 10 was enough to dissuade the average bear from heading on the road, so it’s a splendid thing for me that I am anything but average! I rolled down my windows, plugged in my iPod shuffle, turned up the sound and drowned out the world. In a flash I was brought back to high school; my friends and I would pile into my GTI (RIP) with our electronic music blaring and call ourselves the the techno gnomes. The drive down was cathartic, but mostly because I had been having a one girl car rave. I didn’t make it to San Diego until after the sun had set, but I was greeted by a ridiculously scrumptious home cooked meal a la one of my best friends; whoever said you can get to someones heart through their stomach has an excellent point.

Saturday morning started off with just the right amount of laziness; we idled around the apartment all morning, preparing ourselves for an afternoon adventure at sea. Around 1, we trucked bags upon bags of beer, wine and snackables into our cars and headed off to Harbor Island and get our yacht on. Little ol’me was under the impression that there was a person cap on the ‘boat’ we were taking out. Uhm, no. Instead there were seven silly sailors and one very impressive aquadog, accompanied by an amazing captain that was immediately dubbed ‘Captain Ron‘. I have to throw in a disclaimer that I am so blessed with amazing opportunities through amazing people; what an experience!

We gallivanted around the water, taking our time to really breathe it all in; though we’re only ballers on a budget, I think when given the opportunity it’s only right to act like the real thing. So, first things first, and very naturally to us – we popped a bottle of bubbly as we got out into the deep blue water. We blasted 80’s music and sang along like it was our job, dancing between the rooms and floors – we all had this up-to-no-good, shit-eating-grin plastered to our face the entire time.

We had intentions of going out on the town and dancing the night away, but sunshine and day drinking are a ridiculously exhausting combination. It didn’t take much convincing to don some relaxing duds and stick it out in the apartment for the rest of the night.

In the morning we took to Yelp to see what sorts of foods we could get ourselves into – my friends who I was staying with recommended an adorable gastropub in Little Italy called Craft & Commerce. From the second we walked in, I fell in lust with the place – there are quotes everywhere: from the neon sign at the front, chalked up walls and engraved benches that say cute quotes and silly things like “PS I’m touching your ass.” Even the menu is worth a hoot or two, check out what they say about books. We somehow managed to go at that strange inbetween hour where it’s definitely not brunch or lunch anymore but it’s too early to be dinner; so we did the predictable thing and made our own happy hour. It was the perfect way to round out an already amazing weekend.

[Oh, Snap!] You Stay Classy, San Diego

September 3, 2012January 13, 2014Leave a comment

Ron Burgundy on the origin of ‘San Diego‘

Don’t let the non-blonde hair or fact I can’t surf fool you, I’m a California girl true and true. I was born and raised in the Silicon Valley of Northern California, found myself in Santa Barbara for college while I completed my Bachelors of Science and moved to Los Angeles shortly after I got my degree. When I was in middle school and high school I was on a club basketball team that traveled around California, and it granted me the opportunity to visit and explore many sides of the great, Golden State. And to boot, my family loves to travel. Combine those two facts, and that’s a lot of location scouting. Within California alone, I’ve been to: Napa, Sonoma, Walnut Creek, Petaluma, Vallejo, San Francisco, Monterey, Carmel, Los Angeles, San Diego…the list could go on and on; but that’s not the point. Each time I visited a new place, I would try and envision myself living there – and to this day, the more and more I consider San Diego, the more I’d like to give it a chance to woo me over.

The Gaslamp District at Night
Taken with my HTC Rezound; snazzed up in Instagram using the XPro 2 Filter.

The other weekend, one of my friends suggested a girls trip down to San Diego for a few days – and the offer couldn’t have come at a better time. Los Angeles, that magical city of sunshine and traffic, can grow tiresome if you don’t get the energy to leave every once in a while.

There’s a saying – ‘You never know what you‘ve got until it’s gone.’ – and in a way, that’s how I feel about my city of angels.

LA is wonderful for nightlife and experiencing different types of culture; from art walks to club experiences, and from warehouse parties to flea markets – LA is a mecca of different cultures that clash and meld all over the city. But San Diego is equally diverse and spread out over a larger area of land; the air is so breathable – and the views are so stunning.

The Glass Door, San Diego
Taken with my HTC Rezound; stitched together with Diptic.

To be honest – we had thought long and hard about what sorts of shenanigans we wanted to get into in San Diego. There were discussions of going to the San Diego Wildlife Park or the Zoo for their Nighttime Zoo: China Celebration, and potentially going out and dancing at Voyeur and Fluxx, two of San Diego’s best night clubs. But, instead – we had a nice girls weekend in the apartment; venturing out only for nourishment and exercise.

For brunch(/lunch) we consulted Yelp and Metrowize; there were so many great options that it was hard to narrow our sights on just one. What caught our attention – this article about the Booziest Brunches in San Diego. I’m a sucker for a kickass Bloody Mary, and let me tell you – this place does it right! They not only garnish the thing with bacon but they also use bacon infused vodka; genius!