"We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."

itsamazing:

-Sam Keen, author of To Love and Be Loved.

100 things to do in l.a.

we’ll see.

missamylovesla:

1) Cocktail punch at the Radio Room in the Edison

2) Chili dog from Pink’s

3) Rattlesnake and rabbit with jalapeno at Wurstkuche

4) Korean short ribs taco from Kogi BBQ taco truck

5) Great Los Angeles Walk

6) Ajo Garlic Ramen at Ramenya

7) Sour Kraut Cocktail from Copa d’Oro

8) Red velvet cupcake from Sprinkles

9) Singing Elvis at Palms Thai

10) Churro from churro cart at Disneyland (x1,000!)

11) Junk food dessert platter at Simon LA

12) Dessert tasting menu at Providence

13) Classic martini at Musso & Frank Grill

14) Roasted bone marrow at Church & State

15) Pedal boat at Echo Park Lake

16) Bowling and $4 cocktails at Shatto 39 Lanes

17) Kobe-style beef at Park’s BBQ

18)Mulholland Drive from 405 to 101

19) Medicina Latina at Malo

20) Father’s Office burger

21) Maple bacon doughnut at Nickel Diner

22) Mashti Malone’s lavender ice cream

23) Red Line Metro barhop

24) Live music at Spaceland

25) Magic Mojito at Bar Centro at the Bazaar by Jose Andres

26) Wine tour through San Antonio Winery

27) Sample everything at Scoops ice cream

28) Bike from Santa Monica to Hermosa Beach and back

29) Mochi from Mikawaya Little Tokyo

30) Broiled San Francisco stuffed French toast at Starling Diner

31) Mojito sampler jelly shots at Bar Nineteen12

32) High Tea at Royal/T

33) Pimp your own burger at the Counter

34) Carne asada burrito from Tacos Tumbras A Tomas at Grand Central Market

35) Diddy Riese Chocolate Chip Cookies

36) Ride the mechanical bull at Saddle Ranch and have a premium SR AMF

37) Greyhound Proper at Hungry Cat

38) Blue cheese fries at Pete’s Cafe and Bar

39) L.A. Conservancy’s Historic Core walking tour

40) 21+ screenings at the ArcLight

41) Secret beef feast at Totoraku

42) Moonlight Rollerway

43) Bartender’s Choice at Comme Ca

44) Tomato, mozzarella, sausage, salami, bacon & guanciale pizza at Pizzeria Mozza

45) Ride the Pacific Ferris Wheel at Santa Monica Pier

46) Late-night Danger dogs

47) Bet on a horse at Santa Anita racetrack

48) Loco Moco (foie gras loco moco, quail egg, spam, hamburger) at Animal

49) Blood & Sand cocktail at Tiki Ti

50) Tea and a stroll through Huntington Gardens

51) Drive Sunset Boulevard from Echo Park to PCH in a convertible

52) Double chocolate croissant pudding with Jack Daniels sauce at Milk

53) Hike from Fern Dell Drive to Mt. Hollywood, stopping at Griffith Observatory

54) Meatball sandwich from Bay Cities Deli

55) Scorpion cocktail at Hop Louie

56) Magic Castle

57) Scoe’s No. 2 at Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles

58) L.A. Conservancy’s Last Remaining Seats

59) Philippe’s French Dip with hot mustard

60) Dim sum at Empress Pavilion in Chinatown

61) Remember the Maine at the Varnish

62) Omakase dinner at Urasawa

63) LA Phil concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall

64) Pool party at Standard Rooftop Bar

65) Quarter chicken with side of garlic sauce at Zankou Chicken

66) Goddess spa treatment at Olympic Spa

67) Vodbox at Nic’s Martini Lounge

68) Turkey dinner at Clifton’s Cafeteria, don’t forget the green jello

69) Los Angeles Marathon

70) Marty & Elayne at Dresden Room

71) Coleslaw and sourdough toast at Original Pantry

72) Real Black Dahlia Tour by Esotouric

73) Ninotchka at Bar Lubitsch

74) Stay in a bungalow at Chateau Marmont

75) Auntie Em’s Market dinner

76) Sunday wine tastings at Silverlake Wine

77) Grilled cheese night at Campanile

78) Power lunch at the Polo Lounge

79) Cadillac Margarita at El Cholo

80) Courtside at a Lakers game

81) Angel City Derby Girls Tournament

82) Box seats at Hollywood Bowl summer concert

83) Dodger Dog at Dodger Stadium

84) Ride the Good Year blimp

85) Sip mojitos poolside at the Hotel Roosevelt’s Tropicana Bar

86) Ringside at Lucha VaVoom

87) Summer movie at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery

88) History Walk from Mission San Gabriel to Olvera Street

89) Taro ice cream at Fosselman’s

90) Galco’s Soda Pop Shop

91) Apricot & Honey 75 at the Penthouse during sunset

92) Angel City Drive-In

93) Downtown Art Walk

94) Bonfire at Dockweiler Beach

95) Bingo at Hamburger Mary’s

96) Karaoke at Brass Monkey

97) Yee-Mee-Lu “blue drink” at Good Luck Bar

98) Sunset dinner and horseback riding with Sunset Ranch

99) American Food & Wine Festival

100) Hike to the top of Sandstone Peak and sign the register

"Different Names For The Same Thing"

Alone on a train aimless in wonder/
An outdated map crumbled in my pocket/
But I didn’t care where I was going/
‘Cause they’re all different names for the same place.

The coast disappeared when the sea drowned the sun/
And I knew no words to share with anyone/
The boundaries of language I quietly cursed/
And all the different names for the same thing.

There are different names for the same things
There are different names for the same things…

[For MP and his travels…]

Learning From a Crush

SONG: Brand New Colony
ALBUM: Give Up
BAND: Postal Service

LOCATION: everywhere , SF Bay Area
TAGS: cynicism, Postal Service, love, relationships
PUBLISHED: October 4, 2008


It’s difficult, if you’re of a certain age group, to not have memories associated with this album. The bf has memories of his Ex. I have memories of a Crush. JamsBio has had a few memories attached to this album as well. You can’t avoid it: this album was unabashedly emotional in a real way. This album was eveything I love: beautiful, sad and true.

I was in a horrible mood from Fall 2003 into 2004. I had just gotten out of a crappy relationship that really messed with my self-esteem and I had this cynicism that loomed over me, tainted everything I saw. I loved certain songs on “Give Up” for its romantic way of looking at things, but reveled in the darker themes of the album. These songs spoke to me more than anything.

Around this time I had decided that my favorite song on the album was “This Place Is a Prison.” Cheerful, right?

“this place is a prison, these people aren’t your friends /
inhaling thrills through $20 bills and the /
tumblers are drained and then flooded again and again…”

I had a discussion with an old crush of mine, one who I hadn’t spoken with in some time. We got to talking about this album and got into a discussion of our favorite songs. I mentioned this song as my favorite and he scrunched his face a little at my selection. I pointedly asked him what his favorite song was, to which he countered with: “Brand New Colony.”

I mentioned all sorts of aspects of the song to dissuade him (the Tetris-y sounds, the corny lyrics), but he was undeterred. He was determined to pull me onto his side of things, the light to my (then) dark. He told me of how it’s a romantic song, not corny, and how as a guy you want to be all of these things for a girl — waterwings, phonographs, platform shoes — to be there for someone and be your own little unit. A brand new colony, I suppose.

I dismissed him and his ideas, but inwardly I wished I could see things his way. Where had I gone wrong with my thinking that I scoffed at such romantic notions? I playfully called him names for choosing such a wimpy song, but I cringed at how I had taken my romantic life (thus far) so hard. I thought of the last relationship that left me pessimistic and how, even my (earlier) unrequited crush with this boy had adversely affected me.

And I found myself wondering: Why was he able to be optimistic and happy about love and I wasn’t?

After that discussion, I felt myself loosening up and really listening to “Brand New Colony.” I decided that I didn’t have to let myself feel so horribly about love and people. I didn’t have to let myself feel more hurt than necessary. I fell out of crush with this boy, but I learned a lot about optimism and happiness from him. Once I let myself fall in love, I finally understood. I found somone that I felt Brand New Colony-ish about, and learned that I (too) could be unabashedly, scarily, and wonderfully in love.

“I want to take you far from the cynics in this town /
and kiss you on the mouth. /
We’ll cut our bodies free from the tethers of /
this scene, start a brand new colony. /
Where everything will change, we’ll give /
ourselves new names. Identities erased. /
The sun will heat the grounds, under our bare /
feet in this brand new colony. /
This Brand new colony…”

Uncertainty Rears Her Ugly Head

SONG: In My Head
ALBUM: Rock Steady
BAND: No Doubt
LOCATION: east bay area | Los Angeles , CA
YEAR: 2002
TAGS: No Doubt, relationships
PUBLISHED: September 24, 2008


You know you have gold when you re-purchase an album. Or, at least, you have so many memories tied in with it, that your fingers can’t let go of the CD and you find yourself paying money to hear those memories in song form.

I hear this song now and I realize that I didn’t really appreciate this album for what it was when it was released. It was 80s music mixed with Reggae (which I wasn’t a big fan of) mixed with rock mixed with pop. And Gwen Stefani’s very confused girl-ish lyrics. I didn’t like anything about this album, really, except for the beats. The second time around, I find myself transported back to the times I was listening to it (college) and having Stefani’s lyrics haunt me. Instead of being a carefree college girl trying to hit the dating scene, I find myself in a situation similar to Stefani’s: being in a serious, long-distance relationship, wondering what your bf’s up to, trying to ignore all the topics that make you tingle with sensitivity.

“Long distance /
Don’t talk about / ex-girlfriends
Don’t talk about / you without me
Don’t talk about / your past

In my head
(It’s only in my head)
In my head
(It’s only in my head)…”

And this is an uncomfortable feeling and you cringe at Stefani’s ability to take those feelings and put them into a very listenable and catchy pop song. I find myself singing aloud to it as I drive through Los Angeles, thinking about Stefani et al. in Jamaica recording this album, far from Los Angeles (and Gavin Rossdale, presumably). If I allow myself to think about the words I’m singing along to, I cringe at the vulnerability a lot of the songs have in this album.

The softness of the words are hidden in a pop-ish, upbeat way and I often think that this is exactly how I am: I hide the vulnerability in a silly exterior. It’s safe and easy to digest. Most don’t often recognize it. The insecurities, the endless wondering about your future, of hiding from things you don’t want to think about.. it’s all in this album. I first thought about college when I started listening to this album again, but now I’m finding myself staring out while I listen.. and I’m hearing something entirely different.

Because there's nowhere else..

So, Jamsbio.com is being a bitch and taking all their user content down and focusing on being a “music magazine” (whatever that means) and they are telling all users to save their blogs about songs if they want to keep them.

What that means for you: emo bullshit on specific songs that I am re-posting on here because I can.

Why you care: you don’t. But I’m sharing anyway.

Sorry I keep trying to blog positively.

It’s all I can do to keep myself from giving everyone the finger.

Care Bear stare.

Love Life, Let It Love You Back.

instantvintage:

livesoundz:

Okay, with all bullshit aside, I know it’s safe to say that every person on this planet is somehow unsatisfied with some aspect of his or her life. We are not perfect people; we are always lacking that one piece of the puzzle (or many pieces) that we need to be able to complete the whole picture of ourselves. Even though we can get around with these “flawed” holes, it unfortunately drives us nuts. “Why can’t I do this? Why aren’t I more like that? Why am I like this?” Yeah, been there, done that.

Let me start:

• I suck at Circuits, and if my life depended on me figuring on the voltage coming out of an operational amplifier, or say, disarming a bomb (haha not really but hey), I would be completely fucked.
• I’m bad with money. Add that to a “go big or go home” mentality, and well, you probably understand.
• I don’t understand women.

For some people, life sucks when they can’t complete the picture. I admit that I even used to be like this when I was younger. I needed things to be perfect all the time; I always wanted everything in my life to run smoothly. If I didn’t do well on a test, if my dad got mad at me, if some girl that I was interested in LJBF’d me, or if someone didn’t get along with me, life sucked. The bad thing is that I used to be too over-analytical and over-sensitive, which probably only helped to magnify the level of lameness of the situation which I perceived.

You know what I realized when I came to college? Life ain’t pretty to begin with. You don’t get everything you want, you won’t understand all the things that you wish you did. And it’s not like there’s a magical solution for everyone’s troubles; we all have messed up situations, and they’re all unique for each and every individual.

There is one thing that helps though: realizing your self-worth. Realizing that there’s a huge piece of figurative pie waiting for you, whether or not you think you deserve it. Realizing that you are just as important as everyone else around you, regardless of wealth, race, gender, etc. Everyone’s in it to win it. What you need to see is that everyone can win, even with all the flaws or obstacles that may seem to plague your life.

Problems with grades and academics? Just do your best, and don’t give in to easier paths. You’ll figure out what works for you (sooner or later). Problem with relationships? You live and then you learn. Hopefully one day you’ll learn to love someone else with all your heart. Problems with distractions and other obstacles in life that keep you from becoming a better person? We all have our vices—just remember to keep them in check, and know when enough is enough.

And so, the moral of the story? Love life and don’t take it for granted. Sure, your puzzle is missing pieces, but it really doesn’t matter. Look at what you’ve got. For me, I have all the pieces I need: God, my family, my friends, my health. My puzzle definitely has holes in it; I hope to pick up more pieces as I move along in life. But the important thing is that I have learned to step back and see the whole picture. You can still see the big image with holes in it, and that’s all that really counts.

Love life, let it love you back. Love everything you have. Learn to appreciate beautiful things. Every day is a new day, so use every opportunity to better yourself. You will always continue to make mistakes; just make sure to learn from the fuck-ups of life.

you are my dude, JR, this just made my day *

I needed this. Thanks.