Groove, Slam, Work it Back, Filter that, Baby Bump that Track

I love how I quote a Lady Gaga song when this post has nothing to do with her. But then again, who hasn't quoted Lady Gaga out of context? She's just that random and everywhere.

Anyway, so I went to a concert last Tuesday with a great group of people. We went to see the Empires, but there were three other bands playing as well: Tiger Riot, Harvard, and Lights Resolve.
I'm normally more of an indie rock/folksy pop person, whereas these bands were a bit harder, but I still enjoyed myself!

Tiger Riot was the opening band. From what I get, they're from Long Island. And apparently it was their second time playing a show (their first time being a sweet sixteen). Well, after hearing that, I really gotta hand it to them because they were really quite catchy. The members were also super sweet and seemed happy to be there. I enjoyed watching them.

Before I say anything more, some of y'all know I don't like using flash because I think it destroys the moment. Well, I gave up, and I started using it. Trust me, I will be doing it again, because pictures turn out way better (and less editing).

Anyway, the second band was Harvard. They were GREAT. Such energy and stage presence! And I mean, any band with a frontman that collects random masks is totally cool in my book.
I talked to them the most after the show. The singer, Jesse (the one who collects masks) is THE SWEETEST PERSON EVER. He was super easy to talk to. My group and I also got posters signed by the members later, and we all got personal messages from Tim (I believe?) Anyway, I can't wait to check 'em out the next time they're in the city!

Empires came out third! We were actually confused because we thought they were the main act, but ah well, that didn't matter too much once they started playing.
They also exuded a lot of energy! Around this time, everyone started getting really sweaty and sticky, but it just upped the greatness factor. I could tell we were surrounded by a lot of empires fans (my friend Lesley included), so it was a lot of fun when they came out and played!
After the show, we spoke with Sean and Ryan, both of whom were great conversationalists and quite easy on the eyes as well (I swear, it's like a sweaty rock thing).

We had some time before the last act came out so we took some pictures:

Woah, I am tan.

Obligatory shoe shot! Also, our shoes were super mondo different, hence why. We are artists after all!

Woo hoo, finger star!

The last band was Lights Resolve. I got the best pictures of them but sadly, they were a disappointment. Their music was kind of generic emo music (for lack of better terms and quoted from my friend Tony), and I kind of got this cocky vibe from the bassist. Sorry guys. But hey, other people seemed to like them. It's just me.

After the show, we headed to the restroom. I don't usually take public bathroom pictures, but this was awesome!

I think I need to make a dress or outfit based off of this bathroom. It's just so kitschy and LOVE.

Oh, and bonus pictures!

The group with Jesse from Harvard!

Then with Sean from Empires! Sorry, I hid me face again, but you can tell I'm making a goofy face still.

Thanks for the great memories guys (as in, the bands and the great people I went to the show with)! Lets do it again~

This Summer is the Summer it all changes . . .

Hello everybody! I just thought I'd make a quickie post today, and save my concert pictures for the next one, since writing up a thoughtful report will take longer than the time I have now.

So I decided this summer is going to be my summer for reform. Let me explain.


I really want to put my health first this summer and change a lot of things around so its better for me. I'm starting by trying to fix my insomnia. Now, I know I'm not a doctor so I can't diagnose myself, but judging from my symptoms and how long I've had them, I'd say this pretty much sums it. I wake up periodically, I can't fall asleep right away, I only sleep a few hours, and I feel groggy and terrible in the morning (also my back feels sore). I'm trying to fix all that I can on my own before talking to the doctor, so I'm doing a bed reform.

I've also purchased a month long rock climbing voucher off of Living Social! Yes for rock climbing and yoga! I convinced one of my friends to buy one too so I have a belay partner! I'm super excited!!


Now, on to random pictures of late:


My first pineapple Chobani. It's SO GOOD. I just ate it walking the streets. I love greek yogurt so of course, no surprise that I'd like this. I highly recommend it!


Vegan chocolate chip cookies my friend Lesley made! They were AMAZING. She baked them for the concert, so I should've saved this picture, but just look at it's delicious baked goodiness!


I got this tea when I was on my lunch break. I would've ordered food except I had some already, so I just got some jasmine tea. I forget how good jasmine tea is . . .


Sorry this picture doesn't look so appetizing since I bit into it, but a chicken pesto panini from a random deli on 23rd. I don't know if I've really had a panini before this one, but they're really filling.


I purchased this recently at the Anna Sui store! All the Look from London tights/socks in the back were half off, so I had to get these. I mean, yellow and polka dots? Très bon!


Finally, I went to the "Biggest Ever Sale" at Urban Outfitters yesterday. They actually do have a bunch of things on sale that were great. I mean, brand new ten-hole Dr. Marten boots for $40 is a pretty good deal. But I got myself a pair of pants since, well, I apparently have way too much funky clothing for work and I'm in need of pants. Cool wash, right? It was on sale for $10~


Now, I gotta get off if I want to go to school before work (ugh, paperwork). I'll see you all later!

I listen to bees and butterflies

Yesterday, I met up with my friend Ana for a photo shoot. The weather melted my face away, but everything else seemed to work quite nicely.







I contemplated showing the face one because it's not really part of the shoot, but thought you might want to see what the top part of me looked like.

Tomorrow I plan to go to a concert of this band called The Empires that my friend is really into. I mentioned them before on the bloggy, but now that I'm going to a live of theirs, I can experience them in the real and report back !

I also plan to go to two other shows later on in July. I swear, concerts will devour my money the way Giada is devouring beer nuts behind me on the Food Network (extra points if you know which show I'm talking about!)

Now for something random. My breakfast:

Kinda like a yogurt parfait with apples, strawberries, pb, and cinnamon toast crunch.

And for something new: I cut my hair.

No pictures yet since I pretty much hate the bangs. Really, they just kept cutting and cutting. R.I.P. poor hair. Anyway, I'll style it well and maybe then we'll see if it looks presentable enough.

For lack of better things to end this with, au revoir everyone! I will post again soon!

Days of My Life . . .

Hey guys!
I just wanted to start off the post with a quick thanks to you guys for the advice about the phone issue. I ended up calling them and it just turned out to be a weird mishap. I guess I shouldn't worry so much next time, eh?


So here's a quick recap of the past few days:

I started work officially. I don't want to say where I work for safety issues, however, if I know you directly, don't worry, I'll let ya know. If anything, it's a place some of my readers would and do go to.
I met some really snazz-tastic people so far. And everyone reminds me of someone I've met before. It's like a reunion of strangers (is it just me or would that make a great band name?)
Oh! And there's this guy that just . . . LOOKS like Uncle Jesse from Full House (John Stamos). How GNARLY IS THAT? And I also met a guy whose running his first 10k this year, and he turned me over to active.com. It's great, I'm actually looking at it now!
Anyway, everything else is just like me, making space in my brain for all this information they're giving us, so I'm just a little wiped out right now.


Yesterday, I had cake for my brother's birthday!

It's from Black Hound. I swear I've tried almost all of their cakes. I highly recommend though, they're so delicious!

Then for breakfast, I had some of this:

Yogurt and berries are a winning combo on hot days.


Okay, so I told you guys how I've been working lately. And on the first day, I was given this packet concerning dress codes. Now lets be honest here, I'm so used to dressing for art/fashion schools, it's been YEARS since I've dressed for anything else, and the first thing I thought was "How can I dress so I can be as fashionable and me as I possibly can without breaking codes?"

Well, I've been testing the waters so far, and this is what I wore today.

I actually went and bought some new long pants for the job! Since if you haven't realized, I'm a tights and shorts kinda gal . . .

Rundown:

-Liz Lisa Hair Tie
- White fake glasses
- H&M Polka Dot shirt
- My mom's belt
- Uniqlo pants (SUPER comfy)
- Boutique 9 Metallic Oxfords

I got the oxfords at Bloomingdales the day I bought the pants. THEY ARE PERFECT. All I need now are golden cowboy boots (heck no, I've not given up this search!)

Then for lunch, I had vegan mac and cheese at Loving Hut.

It was my first time with vegan mac and cheese. I gotta say, t'was delicious, but not quite the same as good ole real mac and cheese. What can I say, a girl's gotta have her cheese.

So I got home mighty early and after a few hours of the Food Network, I realized I was bored outta my mind. That's when I got out some makeup and just decided to go with it.

The first two with my short wig on, the last without it.
I would say I edited the lighting of the images because it came out kinda dark on the images. But the eye make-up is basically a nice turquoise, which I blended with a light gray towards the inner corners. The outer corners I actually used scotch tape so it wouldn't go past a certain point, then I blended it back into the skin. Then I used pencil liner and two types of mascara, making sure to lengthen the outer eyelashes more.

What do ya think?


Anyway, this post took more time than I thought it would. I'll get off and rest up. See you guys around~

Work Issues

Hey guys.

Isn't it terrible that once you THINK you have a job, you start thinking you don't? Well, that's not common, but let me tell you what's been going on over here.

I told you guys I had a job interview. It went well, and they called back. I accidentally missed the call (there's some phone issues with the house number), so I called back. They tell me that they would like to hire me. They also say they'll call me back. I ask them to call on my cell that very day, so the phone issue doesn't occur again.
Well, my cell is . . . not very good (this is being kind). And it got worse that very same day due to an accident I dare not mention. So now I have a glitchy cell phone. I also have T-Mobile which has terrible reception, so about 50% of the time, I don't have service.
I never got a call, so I called back on Monday (yesterday). They told me they intended to call all the workers later that day, so to wait. I waited all day yesterday, with no call. These are my thoughts/feelings as of now:

I'm freaking out because I don't know whether it's my phone, or they genuinely haven't called.
However, if they wanted me, you'd think they'd call home if cell wasn't working (no?) Or at least leave a message.
I'm also starting to think it was a mistake and maybe they didn't need me after all. Needless to say, I feel awful right now. I don't know if this is common, but God, this is causing me some stress.

It's becoming late for me to find a job because all these people are applying for the summer. So now I think this may be more of a curse than a blessing. What do you guys think?

I'm snacking my leg off . . .

Hey guys.
Lately I've been waking up really early for no reason. I don't understand it because I don't go to sleep early (actually, I'm in bed early, but I can't physically sleep for hours). It's pretty bad because I get more hungry as I'm awake, doing things. So of course, I've been snacking myself silly . . .


This is completely unrelated to my next topic. Lately there's been a focus on American Apparel's Hiring Policies in the news and I thought I would throw in my two cents.



First off, I've never been a fan of American Apparel. I don't own anything by them. This is not because of anything other than the fact that their fashion is not my style. That, and just by looking at heir mannequin displays, I can tell their targeted audience are skinny androgynous dancers. I think it's one thing when a high end label focuses on skinny girls because that's been going on for decades in the fashion world. But fast fashion labels like American Apparel, I feel, should aim for a broader audience because it's mass market, and more people can afford to buy from them.

So of course, I see this article on Gawker, and am not surprised.

Last July, a disgruntled AA store manager told us that AA CEO Dov Charney "made store managers across the country take group photos of their employees so that he could personally judge people based on looks. He is tightening the AA 'aesthetic,' and anyone that he deems not good-looking enough to work there, is encouraged to be fired." Charney later issued a conspicuously vague denial, saying only that AA hires employees who "have good fashion sense...But this does not necessarily mean they have to be physically attractive."

I don't think it wrong to necessarily have a certain look that you want your employees to represent. You have to be selective to a certain point. But I think it's wrong that a manager is using fashion as an excuse to reject people, because truthfully they find them too ugly.

Another article was posted on Gawker on Thursday, with some quotes from employees. This is one of them:

American Apparel is full of it when they tell you that staff photos or "class photos" as they call them, are infrequent. When I was managing we had to send photos into our store consultant (a high school dropout) weekly... Not only did they police our clothes but our eyebrows, makeup, nails and hair color. They also openly mocked employees by posting photos of them online. Our store consultant also on several occasions told girls to lose weight or told them they were "too top heavy for crop tops"...They routinely denied applications based on looks or shoes.

I know this is not just American Apparel. Many other industries do this. It's not really something that can be stopped. But AA is a big company. The fact that these articles are being published on the web, I think, will maybe swing some potential buyers into not going in the stores after all. Or maybe not. What do I know?

Actually, what I do know is, one commenter on the first Gawker article wrote:

If only the vapid and pretty can work for your company, that means the smart people are working for your competition.

Funny thing, ain't it?
Well, whatever happens or doesn't happen to American Apparel, those were my thoughts. Happy Saturday, everyone?

I have 8563 Unread Messages in my Inbox and I don't care.

My, what a day. Woke up early this morning (6:30??) instead of the recent 9:00 that I've been experiencing since summer vacation started. This is great because I need to do something about my bad sleeping habits anyway.

So today I have several things:

[1] Job Interview.
Hope it goes well, because this place that I'm applying for, I actually LOVE and visit frequently.

[1] Picture of Yesterday's Lunch.

I went to Guy and Gallard with a friend. It was a different one than the one near school, so I noticed they charged extra for some things. However, they were generous with other things, so I guess it all evens out.
Salad (Spinach + Egg, Chickpeas, Egg Noodles), bread, small steamed chai.

[1] Hair Modeling Experience

Okay, so on Tuesday, I met up with a friend's friend, who now I'm allowed to claim a friend of mine (wow, weird sentence huh?) at a salon in Soho called Projet.
I got asked maybe 2 weeks ago to go in as a hair model. At first, I thought Wait, my hair is equivalent to George of the Jungle. But I rolled with it, and after running around Manhattan, landed in this insanely clean and pretty establishment.
My hair was done by Leo, who's in training right now. After examining my hair, he shampooed, treated, and blow dried.

Results?

I personally love it. Its actually tame and feels good to the touch now. That, and he didn't disregard the fact that I sweep my hair to the side ! So no middle part. I can't vouch for anything when it comes to cutting since I just got it blown out, but still, quite snazzy, no?

I also thought it would be obnoxious to have a bunch of pictures of myself one after another. So I collaged them into a film strip instead. Haha, talk about NOT being obnoxious. Hush hush.

I tried to take it from different angles so you can see the hair better. Please excuse the "after-a-long-day" make-up on my eyes !

An extra pic, this is me make-up less and looking like a granny. "Get off my lawn, yer darn kids!" This is where if I did have a cane, I would shake it vigorously and angrily.

To commemorate such a good looking 'do, I dressed up the next morning (regardless of rain) and took pictures.

Wow, I look liked I robbed . . . a hipster.

- Fake glasses
- Gucci Necklace
- H&M Bolero
- Uniqlo Raglan Tee
- Blue Jean Shorts
- H&M Floral Tights
- Payless Booties
- Black Purse (technically it belongs to my mom)

I literally haven't worn heels since probably fashion week in February so I opted for my more comfortable chunky heeled ones. I should do it more often since it ups the trend factor.

Now I'm off to eat [1] lunch and mentally prep myself for the job interview I have. Toodles guys!

Japan Day and Applications Galore!

Hey everyone. How is your Wednesday? Mine is pretty relaxed. I'm meeting a friend later, but for now, I'm just kicking it back.

So lately I've been on a job hunting frenzy, trying to find jobs in every place I may want to work. I know it's such a spoiled thing to say to do what you love in this economy, but I strongly believe that at least finding a job that involves things you like (for me, it would be clothes/food) would really help secure a job. It would also make the road ahead a lot less bumpy. Besides, I think managers can tell when you're not telling the truth anyway.

So Japan Day was last Sunday, and I haven't posted pictures yet, so thought you may want to see!

My eye make-up and wig. Since it was Japan Day and all, I thought I would kinda amp up the pop culture-ness of my outfit. That, and the super Asian pose does half the work for me.

I got to Central Park around . . . 2? IT WAS PACKED. Look at all those people! And the lines for everything was insane. I couldn't even get tea. [tear tear]

A pic with my friend Melissa. Note: I am actually tanner than you may think I am.

I haven't looked so Japanese in a long time . . . Oh, and face censor because I had a strange expression (looked painful . . .)

Outfit Lowdown:
- Aristocats Marie Cap from Tokyo Disneyland (or Sea? I can't remember!)
- Long Wig
- Homemade Bow
- Polka-dot t-shirt/dress from H&M
- Belt from 6% Dokidoki
- Pink tutu from Japan
- Lace Tights from F21
- Boots from Double Decker (these officially broke but I still want to repair them again!)
- Tote from Muji (and I painted on it)

The Taiko drumming booth, and some of the performances I saw. I'm amazed zoom came out really well (oh camera, I love thee). But furthermore, I'm amazed at myself for realizing just now the guy in the last pic holding the curtains.

So after watching some of the performances and playing phone tag with my friend Jenna (and FINALLY FINDING HER THROUGH MEANS OF A POLICE VAN), Melissa, Jenna, her boyfriend, and I all headed to midtown for a little snackage.

Vanilla Bean Frappe with WHIPPED CREAM YAY (yes, I am a little kid) and Melissa's Coffee Frappe (?) with a Chicken Sandwich from Zaiya Cafe.

After snacking, Jenna and her boyfriend left, and I broke my boots. So I bought replacement shoes at H&M (you will see them soon). Then Melissa and I got hungry, so we decided on a little field trip to Serendipity!

Inside decor pics and a menu picture. Man, I missed this place!

We started with a mint frozen hot chocolate!

Looks killer, don't it?

Then we moved onto entrees. I got a Bleu Burger, and Melissa grabbed a BLT.

Sorry to the bunch of people who are vegan/vegetarian out there!


We basically then walked to the train to go home. T'was a fun fun day! I hope to do something like it soon.
Also, I'll be introducing something cool that happened to me yesterday in another post. So wait for it~
Tata!