well, what else is there to do? on Flickr.

Back to work tomorrow. I always waste my days off but at least I found my apartment. I’ll pay my deposit and then I’ll be back to living on my own again.

If all else fails, sell all possessions (um, I have a old HP laptop and some thrift store clothes so I don’t know if that’ll net me much) and run away to Nola or the desert. I’ll change my name too and forget that I ever made really bad decisions.

Until then, g’nite.

Smoke rings. June ‘08.

Sometimes I have favorite pictures I took that I don’t even put on here. So there.

latimes:

Roald Dahl’s writing shed

I need a writing shed. Or a creating shed. But nothing has happened. The warehouse thing is taking it’s time. So is the apartment thing. So is the hitting-the-road thing. I’m that 23 year old who lives back with her parents. What’s up with that? How do people get things to start happening? My job isn’t even time-consuming. And I even get paid well where I’m at. I should be out doing lots of things!

This is the awesome warehouse space I may be substituting a real home for. The guy is willing to go down to $600 a month for me but I still may not be able to do it. I’m looking elsewhere for now until I cave. Also, my friend has invited me to do a photo show with a bunch of her friends for Día de los Muertos. That would be cool because I haven’t done a photo show in a long time & I’m trying to find more ways to stay creative. I’m trying to put projects in front of me, set a timeline, and have a final product. But why do I feel all over the place right now?

Maybe if I wrote it out it would make more sense. So here’s what going on in my head:

• I don’t want to rent another apartment, with or without a roommate. It pains me to think of signing a lease for a year when I want to go in and out of San Antonio. I don’t want to make a “home” for myself. My parents took me on a lot of road trips as a kid and travel has always been the most important thing. I miss the road. I don’t care for stuff except maybe art and books. Despite not wanting an apartment, I’ve always wanted a personal space. I’ve always wanted a sort of sanctuary. And I’ve always wanted to set up this mythical space so in the end I could share it with others. Kind of like how kids feel about treehouses and Little Rascal-like clubhouses. It’s not your home but it’s pretty darn close and I would love that more than an apartment.
• Travel. Going around the US & Mexico is enough for me. I don’t really care to go to Europe except maybe Germany & a millisecond in London. Brazil and Argentina are the only real far-away places I’ve always wanted to go. And I pray next year will be the time I do get to go. I haven’t decided what country of Africa I’d like to go to, but once I do more research, it’s on that list too of places I want to visit. Europe has never really been number 1. I did take French for five years. I think I’d rather use that on a Caribbean island. I guess I’m more interested in African, Indian, Indigenous, and Latin cultures so seeing old buildings in Europe has never appealed to me. Traveling has always been about culture and immersing myself in a community. Statues and monuments have had little impact on my travel life. The food I eat, the music I hear, and the people I meet though have been the best experiences for me. I’d like to have those experiences in Africa, India, and Latin America.
• I do like my job. I’m up to 6 days a week now unfortunately, but it’s definitely an in-and-out kind of place. I’m there and I’m gone. It’s not my life. I get along with my co-workers and I work hard but once I clock out, I can forget that place. It’s hard to remember that at times because you can get into this comfort zone. But I have to keep in mind that I am not what pays the bills. Plain & Simple.
• Education. Don’t want to go back to school full-time but I would like to take classes in things that interest me. I want to learn how to screen print & sew. I’d like to take a darkroom class. I would love to do a yoga class again. I want to keep learning and that’s why I keep reading. My method of getting an education needs to be different. But I need to make that effort to make that happen.
• I’m really bad at organizing things and having an overall plan for stuff. So I’m wondering if every final product will even get it’s debut. I may finish it but it also may stay up on the shelf. I have lots of good friends and I’m wondering when and how I will reach out. I feel that if I sign this lease, if I make another portfolio, if I do another zine, then what? I’m terribly jealous of all those people who know how to organize because I honestly don’t know where to go from here.

Overall, I wonder if I’m just scared. But I feel so excited about it that I don’t know why I would be scared. Asking for help is always my weakest trait I guess and a lot of things I want to do will take community. I can’t do it alone. So I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. If only I could retreat into a writing shed to really think it over.

(Source: Los Angeles Times)

UniteHere makin’ it happen. So brave! (Taken with instagram)

EDIT: Well, geez, iPhone won’t let me put up caption or tags. So here’s the story: 21 July, there was a Rally for Justice on behalf of Hyatt workers across America. I think several cities held their own rallies. Here in San Antonio we gathered at the Grand Hyatt on Market Street to protest the abuse and exploitation of our housekeepers. There was a great turnout and, huge surprise, they took it to the next level by blocking off traffic on Market Street (rush hour, mind you). They held hands and sat right in the street for a good 10 minutes before being arrested. Two of my buddies were sitting there and I couldn’t be more proud of the stand they took. Hopefully, this will bring awareness to the plight that many hotel workers, especially housekeepers, are in. Did I mention it was a good 100 degrees? That asphalt was hot!

Taken with instagram

EDIT: Well, geez, iPhone won’t let me put up caption or tags. So here’s the story: 21 July, there was a Rally for Justice on behalf of Hyatt workers across America. I think several cities held their own rallies. Here in San Antonio we gathered at the Grand Hyatt on Market Street to protest the abuse and exploitation of our housekeepers. There was a great turnout and, huge surprise, they took it to the next level by blocking off traffic on Market Street (rush hour, mind you). They held hands and sat right in the street for a good 10 minutes before being arrested. Two of my buddies were sitting there and I couldn’t be more proud of the stand they took. Hopefully, this will bring awareness to the plight that many hotel workers, especially housekeepers, are in. Did I mention it was a good 100 degrees? That asphalt was hot!

hipstaprints! on Flickr.

Going to some outdoor screenings the San Antonio Film Fest is putting out but before I go, I wanted to show off my gorgeous Hipstaprints. I’m pretty much addicted to iPhone’s Hipstamatic when I’m out riding my bike. So much lighter than either my Nikon D40 or my Mamiya. I think I’ve captured some pretty awesome things on my adventures so I’m happy to actually have prints of them.
I think this new year’s resolution of putting out more photobooks or making prints is going really well. I’m happy to truly own my photographs!

While on my East Side bike ride, I just had to stop and take a picture of these awesome doors of an old Methodist church. The whole neighborhood is just classic!

John S Lens, Blanko Film, No Flash, Taken with Hipstamatic

Another successful bike ride. Today East Side, Hays Street Bridge.

John S Lens, Blanko Film, No Flash, Taken with Hipstamatic

Another Successful Day

John S Lens, Blanko Film, No Flash, Taken with Hipstamatic

Food Accidents: BLT edition

It’s my day off. I want a BLT!

• So it’s no problem that I don’t have lettuce. I’ll use spinach.

• Aw man, no sliced tomatoes either. Stay cool, Miranda! Make a tasty concoction with your canned no salt tomato chunks. Add olive oil, sea salt, pepper, cayenne, oregano, chopped red onion and garlic, and about a teaspoon of honey mustard (b/c you like that on your BLTs anyway) and cook it for like 15 minutes on low to medium heat so it can cook down and be mad tasty on some crunchy toasted bread.

• Make bacon. EASY!

• Wait, no bread?! Like seriously kitchen, what do you have? Brown rice or pasta? Hmmm. Pasta it is. Chop that bacon up, shred some provolone and throw it in there!

So BLT, I mean, BST pasta salad. I think. Really I’m trying so hard not to go to the grocery store every five seconds; trying to use what I have. As upset as I am about not having a BLT, this was really good! I need more tasty kitchen accidents!

(best bet is to just throw your cooked pasta and tomatoes on fresh spinach so that it wilts slowly instead of being cooked, stringy spinach. But to each their own!)