i made actual food

quite a little thing

“The three of us went down to the dining room, and while the men started chatting I fetched us each a cup of coffee and a slice of coffee cake. The coffee was not good at Zion Pointe, but I had quite a little thing for the coffee cake. It was crumbly and moist, sandy on top, and, as coffee cake ought to be, distinctly salty.”

— familiar pleasures from “Citizen Conn” by Michael Chabon

bow-tie inspiration

bow tie. courtesy of into the gloss.

bomb-ass day

NOT SURE WHY

BUT SHIZ IS HELLA AWESOME TODAY

gift this morning

a strange thing i just did

drawing by jen lane, courtesy of the new york times

last night i saw an ad in vanity fair for a promotion for american spirit cigarettes, 2 packs for $2, and as a surprise for R, who smokes, i called to sign up for the offer:

MAN: are you a user of tobacco products.
ME: mm-hmm.
MAN: what is your preferred brand of cigarettes.
ME: american spirit.
MAN: what are the last four digits of your social, address, phone number, email address.
ME: [redacted]
MAN: do you agree that we can send you offers and coupons and mailings from the santa fe tobacco company and that everything you have said is true.
ME: mm-hmm.

it will take 4-6 weeks to receive the coupons. “2 packs for $2?!” how can this be best girlfriend ever how did you do it etc. etc.

ANOTHER NON-NEWS ITEM
this morning spent two hours pre-work dedicated to louis ck, as i have lately become (begrudgingly) obsessed with louie, even though i don’t laugh that much and find it grim and off-putting but also strangely inspiring and touching.

ghost

yesterday we had a work retreat, i.e., all-day staff meeting at my boss’s house, which we were all dreading and felt mad about the use of the word “retreat,” but it turned out kind of awesome. to start off, we discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, and i got worked up and tight-voiced and started sweating and had to grip my amethyst rock (“amethysts are believed to heal people and keep them cool-headed”) but then i cooled off (AMETHYST MAGIC) and it just got better and better.

my boss has a ton of beautiful art and the painting on the left [not her home] was what i stared for eight hours (when i wasn’t staring at the retreat leader).

Christa Näher, Gespenst

new motto

BE A MACHINE.

WORST WORK WEEK EVER AS FAR AS JUJU GOES

HELLO EVERYONE

WORST TWO WEEKS EVER AT WORK

work is like a nightmare of bad events and friction. today i accidentally sent a complaining email to the person i was complaining about. yes seriously. it happened. then i got into a tight fight with my contracter friend rob. last friday my coworker cry-yelled at me.

my coworker says i need to not infer as much as i do. i always infer. also i’m a sponge for stuff. just absorb and absorb and absorb until my heart is made of coal.

my new motto is TOUGHEN UP. also “take a moment.”

HOW I’M GOING TO WIPE OUT MY BLACK JUJU

1. Take a hot bath.

2. Get a massage.

3. Write “take a moment” on one arm, and “toughen up” on the other.

sad fact: the first monkey astronaut was named albert. he flew in 1948. he died of suffocation during the flight. i like the phrase “first monkey astronaut” but not “died of suffocation.”

giraffes

WHAT THE HELL IS IT ALL ABOUT.

how come i’m so unfamiliar with normal day-in, day-out relationships. please no one have only children, because i’m like an orphan giraffe when it comes to humans. but a very sensitive sometimes angry giraffe who doesn’t know how to communicate or ask for things without getting intense about it on the inside. i printed out this thing about being too sensitive, and it’s very helpful, basically you just have to roll with stuff, but sometimes i start to feel…underappreciated and get tight.

basically i have no idea how to be a normal person with someone every day. PRETTY COOL

friday night, went to krista’s birthday party and liz lambert was there (my old boss at the san jose) and she was maybe a little drunk and she kept saying how i was “the best front desk clerk ever,” outside i was like, “oh no no no,” but inside all my feathers were puffing up.  NO NO NO PLEASE NEVER STOP