putting the knit in shizknitz

What is painful?

Originally uploaded by Mashimia.

Too much to drink the night before and running first thing the next morning. I think I learned my lesson!

Net Impact Mixer

Originally uploaded by Mashimia.

Still going strong! Great drinks at Voda in Santa Monica. Can’t wait to get some food!

It’s been a little less than a week since receiving my BlackBerry Pearl. I LOVE IT. Do you hear me? I LOVE IT.

My long time friends remember me longing, wanting something more in my phones. My PDA’s. Remember the The Palm VII? Casio E320? The Palm that came with the wifi card? I’ve gotten my hopes up each time, that I stopped waiting for “it” to come out. But “it” has now arrived, and its all in my Pearl. First off, the PITA it was to order it.

My contract was up with T-mobile. This is the best deal you can get - go to the retention department as if you are cancelling your account, and they will work with you. I got a fan-tastic deal (altho Hiroko did even better! GO GIRL!) and they threw in 3 day shipping for free. Unfortunately, due to some serious mail delays I got it a whole week late (no worries, I had them throw in something else for free for the inconvenience).

The email setup was so easy, I don’t even know how it happened. I know this sounds hilarious, but I never had to re-enter my pop/smtp settings anywhere. I decided to use the device for email for casual use - so that I had it to respond if necessary, but otherwise to keep ontop of it while I was away from my computer. Being student body VP and what not, I get an average of 50 emails a day not incl personal emails through Gmail. Both setups were seamless.

I use my calendar, tasks, notes synchronized with my Outlook. Its beautiful. The tasks are synchronized into my calendar so the task reminder comes up in the BlackBerry like the calendar.

Gchat, SMS’s and emails all come into the main “Mail” section, so its easy to see your alerts.

Mp3 support, and I modified my own MP3’s to make ringtones, in fact I gave my friend Erik “Promiscuous Girl” by Nelly Furtado and JT. Photo quality is great. I’m sure you’ve been seeing my random photos I’ve been taking with my BB which get Emailed (not SMS which there is a charge) to a Flickr Email address which posts it on my Flickr page and on my blog at the same time.

That thing called Sure Type or whatever - is AWESOME. It’s that pseudo-qwerty thing going. It recognizes the word you are typing so you never have to double click for a letter. It remembers unique words, so you train it as you go. I found emails simple to respond to.

The unit is light, small, but two annoyances: “the creak test” - when typing, there seems to be some give in terms of the battery in the back. A more solid feel would be preferable. The ball sometimes moves when the phone rings, esp in your pocket. It turns OFF the ring but doesn’t answer the phone, even when the keypad is locked. WTF.

Even given those two issues, I have to say that I LOVE THIS UNIT.

Now I must go study. Or go to bed.

On break from class

Originally uploaded by Mashimia.

You just can’t compare this to the library! Paradise Cove in Malibu.

Bearded Papas

Originally uploaded by Mashimia.

Finally I’m getting some!

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Kinako Pocky

Originally uploaded by Mashimia.

First time trying this flavor. Its not too bad! Nice, light sweetness.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Here’s the lyrics to one of the songs Vienna sang last night from her new album, Dreaming Through the Noise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

it’s the quiet night that breaks me.
I cannot stand the sight of this familiar place.
it’s the quiet night that breaks me, like a dozen papercuts that only I can trace.
all my books are lying useless now.
all my maps will only show me how to lose my way.

oh call my name.
you know my name.
and in that sound, everything will change.
tell me it won’t always be this hard.
I am nothing without you, but I don’t know who you are.

it’s the crowded room that breaks me: everybody looks so luminous, and strangely young.
it’s the crowded room that’s never heard.
no one here can say a word of my native tongue.
I can’t be among them anymore.
I fold myself away before it burns me numb.

oh call my name.
you know my name.
and in your love, everything will change.
tell me it won’t always be this hard.
I am nothing without you, but I don’t know who you are.

Santa Monica Day 2

Originally uploaded by Mashimia.

Another afternoon by the beach, another drink I shouldn’t be having!

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

I’ve been a fan of Vienna’s since reading about her in Eric Cheng and Adam’s blog years ago. I was inspired by her love for music (leaving a good tech job to pursue this) and her talent to write some of the best lyrics. I looked her up last week to find out she was coming to LA.

There’s something so special about seeing a performance live. As a musician years ago, I remember the way music can move you during a performance. Even though I haven’t performed in years, there are rare moments that take me back to how I felt back then.

The Hotel Cafe is a cute, cozy place out in Hollywood, just north of Sunset. They have valet parking in a run down garage behind the bldg for $7. Our cover was $12 each (bring cash!). There was a bar, drinks affordable at $6 and appetizer plates about the same price. The tables were taken so we found a place along the wall. The previous person was still performing. As we neared 9 PM, the place filled up with a mostly asian crowd and I realized I was on the wrong side of the room so I couldn’t see vienna from where I stood (see vid). No matter, I could hear her voice. In addition to her piano, she had two very talented ladies on the violin/viola and cello.

She was smaller than I imagined her to be and her speaking voice is much deeper. It was a fantastic concert.

I have to mention the groupies I was standing next to - 3 older caucasian women who would rudely bump me at every opportunity even though they were already at an angle at which they could see her. They loudly talked about each song “that’s YOUR favorite”, no “that’s MY favorite”, “oh oh!! I can’t believe shes playing this!!!” and it was almost humorous, if they wouldn’t have been so rude.

Beautiful Santa Monica

Originally uploaded by Mashimia.

image/jpeg

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Last week I seemed to have some problems with hot wings and salsa, my body doesn’t seem to tolerate spicy foods like it used to. Now this time I think I got food poisoning, we were at Sushi late last night followed up with popcorn and soda at the movies (BTW, The Last Kiss is pretty good!)… This morning I was awakened by a pain that felt like needles poking the inside of my stomach, I started sweating and almost hurled. I was able to get back to bed, haunted by dreams of eating glass. But now its back, and its holding up progress (I have more work to do than imagineable)… Ugh!

I haven’t even had a chance yet to post about how AWESOME the Blackberry Pearl is… (and those that have known me for years know how I’ve bitched and moaned about the lacking features of my cel phones and PDA’s) I will soon. I promise.

My two favorite shows start tonight. The Office and Grey’s Anatomy. Guess where I’ll be tonight? In class, 6-10 PM.

Hiroko sent me the cutest forward yet…(click on the image to see the animation)

Friends..

Friends are like butt cheeks.
Crap might separate them,
But they always come back together.

Send this to all your butt cheeks

I was at titos this morning, around 9:50 AM after our Sunday hiking at Temescal. I saw a sign outside that said “Titos Express“. So what’s the deal?

Minimum order, $75, you can order online and you don’t have to wait in line.

Damn. Anyone else want Titos? We can order together.

I just received the fall 2006 Crate & Barrel ad. Its beautiful. Some people actually have homes that look like this. Yes, people MY age (thus I have no excuse, altho they have jobs).

I think I’ve come to terms that I don’t think my place will ever look like a C&B ad because I love my piles. I try my best to keep everything clean but give it a few days, and its back again. It’s like getting your eyebrows threaded, they look gorgeous for a week but soon you’ll see those pesky little hairs growing in.

I need to get some more sleep, I’m getting delerious!