peaces

Thanks to my friend twitter.com, I’m finding some useful information on the internet.  But that’s not what this post is about.  It’s about all the fun, not-so-useful links.

Like this one:  FAIL BLOG (thanks for that one Ryan!)

There are more but this one inspired a blog post.

Not sure if you’re keeping tabs on my YouTube channel, but in case you haven’t heard, this week our household turned into a huge vlog-o-rama!  There are three of us, each with our own channel.  Two are vlogging heavily - and they are really good at it.  One is trying to stay caught up - that’d be me.

In addition to vlogging, we’re writing some sketches and preparing to make collab videos starting this weekend — since I work all week now, weekends were made for video recording.

Told you we were in for a fun summer.  Here we go!

Where does the time go?  Well, I know where one hour went in the middle of the night — POOF! Gone!  Yay for Daylight Savings Time.

Let’s see…what did I do this weekend?

I took care of some household stuff on Friday and updated my website with a bunch of html mumbo-jumbo that I’m still confused about.  I changed the face of this journal and it’s still in need of tweaks.

I took a boatload of video footage.  Only a portion made it online.  I was so enthralled with skaters at the Culver City Skatepark that I was inspired to upload only that footage (and only a portion of it).  I swear, in another life I’d be a skateboard chick.  The skaters I saw yesterday make it look so easy.  I can skate…but not like…good or anything.

We took a walk in Playa del Rey, along the ocean, one of our favorite walking spots.  The day was gorgeous - and all it did was remind me of where I should be living (and where I WILL BE LIVING a year from now).

We say this to make it happen.

I started writing lyrics to a song about my neighborhood.  We’ll see where that goes…or doesn’t.

Watched a pretty good documentary called Girlhood.  It’s the three-year story of two young girls in lockup.  Pretty good.  Makes me want to work with those kids in some way.  You know, talk to them, get in their heads, understand, learn.  Seriously, fascinating.

Other than that, I applied for a bunch of jobs.  I was called for an interview to be the office manager at a doggie daycare facility (that’s Tuesday).  I sent a ton of resumes and filled out many applications.  I called temp agencies.  Tomorrow I hit the unemployment office.  (this sucks)

Now I’m about to watch another movie.

Dammit. Forgot to play the lottery.  Can’t win if you don’t play (I never play).

We made it home safe and sound. Arriving to the abundance of weeds in our yard was pretty overwhelming. Getting into our back gate was a little precarious. Got in at 8:30 PM (pacific time) Saturday night. We couldn’t let the kids (dogs and cat) out of the car to run in the yard, for fear there may be critters living in the wildness of overgrowth.

All the kids were amazing travelers. Hunny had a couple of rough (ruff?) moments. She was pretty dehydrated that first night. Whoops. Bad mama. We quickly remembered just how much water she needs to drink. She drank a gallon of water throughout the rest of the trip.

Today we were awake bright and early (no thanks to the time zone change) and I tried to get caught up on some email stuff. Then we unloaded the peacemobile and drove to the mother ship — with the windows open, in light shirts and jeans. God I love this place!

We spent the rest of the day chopping, cutting, raking, sweeping and mowing the entire yard (front and back). I was so upset about the overgrowth that I neglected to take before and after pictures. The task seemed too daunting.

PBX is a madwoman with the lawn mower we bought from craigslist last year. It can cut through ANYTHING when she’s at the helm. Me? It took me three days to clear just the backyard last July. One entire day was spent pulling weeds, cutting and trimming edges. What a dumbass.

With body aches, exhaustion and empty stomachs, we were determined to have a good meal. Our clothes are still in bags so I got out a pair of pants I hadn’t seen in months. I’d left them behind because, sadly, they were a bit snug. All this time in New Hampshire, I was sure I’d put on a few more pounds but, to my delight, I needed to find a belt! (suddenly oral surgery has a silver lining.)

We had dinner at Natalie Thai (one of our favorite restaurants). Seaweed salad, miso soup and Pad Thai (wrapped to go - big eyes, small stomach). I got loaded on a glass of pinot noir (doesn’t take much). We came home and CRASHED OUT.

I woke up sick to my stomach — the price I pay for being a fair weather drinker. No tolerance. ::sigh::

So here I am, home at last. I miss parts of my home-away-from-home in New Hampshire - family and friends. But I’m thrilled to be home in Los Angeles. It won’t be long before I’m aching to get out of the city again, complaining about traffic and crowds - I’m already griping about the loud music from our neighbors. But it’s home.

…how to better maintain my blog and website.

If I could spend some quality time learning, I might understand how my blog works fine one moment and suddenly drops off the face of the server the next.

So sorry.

…how to better manage pain after oral surgery.

Turns out, my mouth is healing beautifully. The agonizing pain I feel is a complication from the injections. My nerves and muscles in my jaw, neck, head and throat are spasming. I suppose it’s a small price to pay for novacaine — compared to the alternative.

…how I ever drove in blizzard-like conditions when I was younger.

It’s been a month of winter wonderland. The key to driving in a blizzard is to coast with ease, go with the flow and don’t turn the wheels against the snow. It may take two hours but you can drive 30 miles and stop for gas. It’s almost fun.

…how to copy music data onto a CD-R when burning CDs.

The new album is mastered. I’m making homemade copies (ever-so-slowly). No matter what I do, the track info doesn’t transfer. I’ve tried burning CDs using Windows Media Player, iTunes and MusicMatch Jukebox. When the burn is complete, my music suddenly becomes generic. My name, the album and song titles are listed as unknown artist, unknown album and track 01.

I’m stumped.
…how I plan to be ready to leave New Hampshire on Christmas Day.

I haven’t even begun to pack but we’ll be on the road in less than a week.

I get so bugged. I know I shouldn’t…

In this day of indie artists, we support each other by listening, commenting, reading, linking, promoting and playing shows together. I send a handful of friend requests on MySpace. Some are actual friends, some I met online through blog communities, some are fans and others are musicians, artists, filmmakers and writers I admire, respect and support.

So why then, would a fellow artist block friend requests from bands?

I know I’ve written about this before…but I lose respect for artists I’ve loved because of their closed doors. You can always ignore or deny the request. But why lock the door on potential?

My “hurt” isn’t so much about rejection, though I’m sure it suits the description. It’s very much more about the community. I believe there’s room for everyone.

It’s possible that artists like Kelly Clarkson and Alanis Morissette, who are on major labels, don’t even see their own “Official” MySpace page. The label mongers live in fear. They don’t want indie artists cluttering their pages or stealing their thunder - any more than we already have. They’re hanging onto threads of their lost monopoly.

Whatever.

But an indie artist like Krishna Das who chants about love, devotion and being one with all creatures, sends the exact opposite message when he denies my friend request. I loved his music. I believed in him and his cause.

That changed in a single click.

Similar to how I feel about Michael Jackson today. I once loved his music but now, if I hear him on the radio, no matter how much I might want to dance and sing along, I downright refuse and immediately change the station because I’ve lost all respect for him - because of him.

I’m selective with my friend requests. I only have so much time to devote to MySpace and other online social networks. So when I send a friend request it’s because I’m touched by something in that person, artist, film, song, purpose, message or whatever the label may be.

If you’re on MySpace and you get a friend request from this Band of One, know that it’s because you shine in my heart.

Also posted on my myspace blog here.

Mary wondered if we might be seeing some “office posts” now that I’m a working woman. I suppose it’s possible. But not tonight.

Dare I say it’s even worse? A sports post?!

Right now, I’m watching the Red Sox play the Giants (we’re currently giving Barry Bonds an intentional walk. cue the yawn).

So yeah, I’m a baseball fan. And more importantly, being back in my home-area of New England, I’m a reactivated Red Sox fan.

I’m in love with the rookie, Dustin Pedroia! And we have so much in common.

Let’s see.

He plays 2nd Base. I play 2nd Base (from Little League to co-ed softball).
He is 2nd in the batting order. I was 2nd in the batting order.
He has a 5 in his jersey. (He is #15.) I had a 5 in my jersey. (I was #5.)
He smiles with giddy pleasure when he bats well. I smile with giddy pleasure when I do anything well.
He played for Arizona State. I love Arizona, the state.
He plays for the Boston Red Sox. I love the Boston Red Sox.

What’s not to love?

Plus, he hit a 2-run homer in his first at-bat in tonight’s game! (right before Ortiz got tossed for tossing his bat and helmet to his feet. boooooo)

I’m hooked. I have a huge soft spot for 1st base powerhouse Kevin Youkilis. Gotta love that he’s blogging too.

Hey, where’s Dusty’s blog?

More about payperpost. This time, they didn’t ask me to write this review. I’ve been inspired by the free advertising I posted for SEVEN days before getting the “rejected” notice.

So here’s the thing. Payperpost lists “opportunities” for us to choose to write about. Right now there are 150 opportunities in the list. A variety. Nice selection. Some pay way more than others. Many don’t. Either way, I still believe in the business of “blogging about the things I love.”

However, the protocol seems a bit off to me. It is the blogger’s responsibility to post the review before accepting the opportunity. This is so we can send payperpost the exact link of the review so the advertiser can review our review. I understand this - to a point. Some advertisers review our posts within one or two days. To me, this seems like an acceptable time-frame. They give us a chance to make corrections (i.e. fix a broken link, expand to the required amount of words).

Today was a a different story. In this case, I made the mistake of misunderstanding the page ranking - and my blog didn’t qualify for the opportunity. Therefore it was outright rejected. They were nice about it - saying the content was great but the requirements weren’t met. However, I didn’t receive this information until SEVEN days after I posted the entry.

SEVEN days of free advertising that states “paid for by payperpost” seems way wrong to me.

I responded with my frustration.

There is another site I write for, ReviewMe. They require that we accept the offer within 48 hours. Then we have 48 hours to write the review. Then the advertiser has 48 hours to review our review. Now that seems good business practice.

I’m not willing to give up on payperpost yet. I will continue to address this issue with them until I get an understanding of their views on this matter. So in the meantime, all of my paid posts will disclose a “pending approval” or “potentially sponsored by” notice before I get the email stating, “your post has been approved for payment.”

Hey, the company launched last year. What do I expect? Just working out the kinks here. Still - it’s frustrating.

I lost a day somewhere.

It never fails - especially as I get older. I worked on the set of another grad student film. When the clock passes midnight, I tend to lose track of calendar days. This time it was only a 2-day shoot.

Every year Coke holds a contest for grad film students throughout the nation. Ten directors are chosen to make a 50-second spot. Out of the ten commercials submitted, only one will win the prize of being featured in movie theaters across the country for a year. I don’t know the exact details. This is how it was explained to me.

Either way, it’s good experience, looks great on a resume and has the potential to open doors to other opportunities. And the best part - it’s over. You know me, I’m a wimp when it comes to long hours on a film set.

It helped that the crew started at noon but because it was on Monday and Tuesday - and I had to work (dog walking). So I got to stroll in later. Still, I had to pick up dinner and coffee the first day. Thanks to traffic, it took me 1.5 hours to barely arrive on time for their 6pm dinner break with five minutes to spare. We wrapped at midnight that first night.

Not quite the same game on Tuesday. I arrived earlier (4:30pm) and wrapped later. Not sure of the exact time. All I know is my head hit the pillow somewhere around 3am.

Wednesday is a blur.

Thursday I played catch up. I’m hoping I’ll feel more like myself by the weekend. Gotta get ready for the holidays. Pics of the shoot to follow. Time to run out the door - again!

Real quick because I’m late for work –

I had a great time last night! I received 16 emails and 3 phone calls from folks who couldn’t make it to the show (sick, holidays, other gigs, out of town, pregnancy, family obligations, work, work, work). Totally understandable. I’m the same way. But I drew a lovely crowd of ten, plus some folks who showed up early for other performers. Perfect for a Tuesday night at a small venue.

It was video taped by Mistress Cinematographer. I felt kinda bad that she had to watch through the lens some of the time. But the tripod helped her enjoy her first Trish-gig.

Some reviews:

“you need a longer set. thirty minutes is way too short.”
“you make it look so easy.”
“you seemed anxious to get off the stage.”
“were there some new songs in there?”
“woohoo”
“just as good as anyone on the radio” (note: may be biased, but I’ll take it)

Some personal thoughts of my own:

I love the bright lights - I can’t see a soul in the crowd.
I am very aware that I keep my eyes closed most of the time.
Otherwise, I get distracted.
I love my new guitar.
My new favorite tequila is tres generaciones.
The Cat Club is a great place to play (Ian is adorable).
I still believe I’m holding people up and think they’d rather be elsewhere.
The true inner thought is “don’t worry, I’ll be done soon so you can go on with your lives.”
Turns out, that’s the furthest from the truth…or so they say.

No pictures from last night. Only video. Once we figure how to firewire it to my computer, we’ll see what we can do with it. I have no idea how it looks. We’ll just have to wing it. But I’ve never seen myself play a gig. It ought to be interesting.

Thanks for asking. More gigs to come.