Queenkv’s Brainpickings

Today’s the last day to get all my loans consolidated…before they jack up the interest rates…and it’s driving me insane…grrrr…

I updated a few blogs with more pix….

Boat tour pix on my Chicago photoblog…

Retreat pix on our wedding blog…

AND

I brought back my dj blog - ’cause I’m back on the air at KSPC - Claremont. You can catch my show on 88.7 FM or on line - tomorrow - from 2-4pm (PST).

Wish me luck!

Jen got me a brand spankin’ new iPod Shuffle as a b-day/graduation gift. I love my cousin!!!!! I took it out for a run on Monday morning. It sounded awesome and it only stopped playing once. With my old mini-disc recorder - it stopped all the time. I suppose the ole’ girl didn’t like the jostling of my morning jog.

The night before - I ran into a little problem with it being recognized on myiMac. It’s a G3, 600 MHZ and running OS 10.2.8. According to the specs on the packaging - I had everything necessary to rock’n'roll with this mp3 device. But my iMac refused to recognize the Shuffle when connected to any of the USB ports. Grrr. I saw in the instructions - which you get after buying the Shuffle and opening up the packaging - that to work with 10.2.8 - you need a HIGH-SPEED USB port. What the fuck! Talk about misleading. So, folks don’t realize you need a specific type of USB port until after they buy the Apple product and crack it out of the box. No, really, what the fuck! So, I managed to charge up the Shuffle on Mark’s PC laptop. That’s ironic. He kindly listened to me vent and rage against Apple.

Last Thursday - I skipped my morning Cardio Kickboxing class and went
to the Padres v. Dodgers game. Go LA!

We missed the first four innings. My dad found some meter parking. He wanted to try out his new camera at the Petco. He said the pix came out quite nice. The camera takes 7+ megapixel shots.

San Diego was on fire! The guys we sat next to snickered that LA fans
will leave by the seventh inning. They kept ribbing me about being
from LA. One dude played the “guess-where-are-you-really-from” game.
“Thailand? Japan? Vietnam?” I pointed out that I was born in Orange
County and he sputtered that his family’s from Aremnia. Then, for the
rest of our time there, the dude kept trying to engage me in Pinoy
subjects. “So, do you have a thousand shoes?” I gave him some short
responses and focused on the game.

There’s Kenneth - David’s godson. This was his first ball game. He’s from Oceanside - and so he cheered for the Padres. I tried to get him to make a friendly wager - but he refused…claiming it was wrong to do so.

I told the Padres fans that in the 8th inning - the Dodgers will make their comeback. They didn’t disappoint me. 3 runs and then a 10th inning - cinched the game for LA - 4 to 3. Wowa. We left by the ninth inning to avoid getting a ticket at the parking meter. We listened to the rest of the game on the 5 - in traffic.

« Hide it

Typicaly family pix in front of the Northwestern sign on Chicago Ave…across the street from Burger King. I posted more pix on my chicago photoblog.

Now my burgandy 2005 tassle is hanging next to my bllue and gold 2000 tassle from Berkeley - on my car’s rear view mirror.

Go Wild Cats!

Today - I’m jamming down to San Diego for the Dodgers vs. Padres ball game. It should be a good one. I’m wearing a navy blue Mary Timony shirt (from the concert) - ’cause it’s the only cool blue shirt I have. I need to show my LA pride….all true fans of the Dodgers and the Padres will be at this game….despite the fact it’s at Noon and in the middle of the work day….OK - I’ll re-phrase that. All true fans who don’t have to work (aka possibly un-employed, such as my sorry ass) - will be at this game.

Busy week….got back from Vegas - my cousin had to deal with some shady real estate agents….but we got that worked out. Had my first bobba drink in Vegas. I did not know they have a Chinatown…but they do. Bobba is yummy.

Let’s see…wedding details…thinking about seating arrangements, invites, e-vites, bridal shower, flowers, make-up, hair….stuff I didn’t think would be important to me and now they are. I told my mom the other day…it’s kinda sad that now my brain is wrapped up in these wedding details. To myself, I said it’s really sad how this is all I really have going on in my life right now.

Then there’s the station. Thank God for volunteer oppertunities in the college radio world. I worked on my show tape for the program director -yesterday. Basically, I pulled music and taped a fake show….I thought of it as a resume or demo tape for the powers that be. I hope they like it. I was still a bit rusty on the equipment - I suppose I’m not used to everything working…unlike my Berkeley station. It floored me that the auto-start for the turntables worked on the board. Well, I’ll cross my fingers and maybe I’ll get a regular show in a few weeks.

I also met-up with my skating buddy, Stacy. It’s always wild to talk to somebody who knew me since I was 5 or so. We did drinks at 330 in Brea. She’s coming to the wedding…YEAH!

LAS VEGAS — Back in Vegas…viva Las Vegas…just got back from ORD - Chicago O’Hare. As we drove around in the rental car….I shouted out “Whoever has a Master’s degree - raise their hand!” And I was the only one in the car who can do so, with a smile…no less….then again…if anybody in car yelled back at me: “Whoever has a regular salary and job, raise their hand!” Well…I couldn’t do so. Serves me right.

Chicago was beautiful. Evanston - it looks the same….Nine months ago - I took off from O’Hare to go to Europe. I didn’t think I’d fly in again since I planned on returning to LAX at the end of my London residency…this weekend - it was like coming full circle.

Deja vu - I remembered how I felt, nine months ago….full of hope and thrills. Heading to Europe, our global journalism seminar in Paris and then my London residency….Full of promise…so much to get worked up about. I tried to tap into those old feelings as we headed to the gate for our return flight to Vegas. Maybe…maybe I’ll get a call back from those stations…maybe somebody wants to hire me.

I’m currently sitting on the floor, waiting for our two black bags to get dropped out of the carousel. My dad was worried about Ate Gigi being fast asleep and unable to pick us up from the airport…it turns out she was driving around the airport…and her cell phone died.

So things are good - and will be better once we get our bags and head back to my cousin’s house.

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }
.flickr-yourcomment { }
.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }
.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

sleaterk, originally uploaded by queenkv.

Roughly speaking…we’re getting ready to go to Vegas. I havea quick stop at the radio station and then we’re on our way. My dad got plane tickets to Chicago - from LAS….for some reason, it’s about $100 cheaper to fly from Vegas. It’s only four hours away…might as well.

Last week, Mark scored some free tickets to the Sleater Kinney concert in Hollywood. Mary Timony opened for them. She created this awesome lush sound with only her guitar and drummer. Mark said it was like Sonic Youth. We picked up her CD and I liked the studio recording better than the concert. During the concert, most of her tunes kinda mushed into each other…difficult to discern….but some people get off on difficult music. So there you go.

The crowd gave Sleater Kinney a warm LA welcome. This all-grrrl band gave a shout-out to the front row folks who followed them on their West Coast tour. Sleater Kinney’s music blew me away - sharp, loud, catchy and sassy. They rocked. The guitar riffs lifted up the vocals and vice versa. The tunes left me giddy. My ears almost hurt…but in a good way. We also picked up one of their CD’s.

We totally got our money’s worth from this concert…and more.

Parking lots charged around $6.00. Not bad for LA - then again…it was only a week night. We found free street parking by Ms. Hepburn’s star. We had pre-concert drinks and munchies at Hollywood and Vine.

Before the concert - we did a yoga class at Insight Yoga in Pasadena. A little relaxation did us some good before the rockin’ venue. This is the view from the courtyard….where the studio is located. It’s soothing locale - with vines and roses climbing up the brick walls. I think the studio is in what used to be a church. It still has some stain glass pictures and high arched ceilings.

This is out side the radio station where I volunteer. It’s next to an art museum. You can’t hear the street traffic in this place. Even when it’s something like 80 degrees outside - this little garden is like a cool breeze. I haven’t seen any homeless people wandering the campus. It’s so different from Berkeley’s station…..and yet…the programming is similar - alternative…non-mainstream…college radio.

« Hide it

[from www.bbc.co.uk]

Just sat through the reading of the Micahel Jackson verdict. All the networks carried live footage. Soap Operas were interrupted. According to CNN - German, Japanese and Mexican stations had booths set-up with the rest of the media circus.

With the crowd and the extreme number of cops - I was a little worried about another Rodney-King-esq riot….I suppose authorities in Cali figure that’s always a possiblity when you have the verdict reading of a high-profile black man. Then again - OJ’s case went off without a gun bang…so there you go.

Mark and I wondered if any geeks were raring to take a hit at a Best Buy or an Apple Store if MJ riots broke out.

During the Rodney King days - my cousin’s neighborhood was on curfew. I remember classmates talking about hitching a ride downtown to snag a free pair of shoes.

Today - the judge allowed a live audio feed to broadcast the verdict reading. “Not Guilty” on all ten counts.