30 days (weeks?) of writing.

photo by Carli Jean Miller

I figure it's about that time to start writing again. I used to be quite the avid journalist... for myself. When I was a kid, I used to write the craziest stories and comics, (One very popular comic within my family was the "Adventures of Salami Man" and the evil villain "The Rotten Egg", haha). Growing older, I kept journals and continued writing short stories; now, not to toot my own horn (well, maybe a little) three papers that I have written while in college, the professors have approached me with A+'s asking if they could keep my work to use as an example for their future classes. This happened recently in my humanities class, and it caused me to wonder if I should start writing again, for myself. I've tried here and there to write in journals, but I just haven't had the time to keep up with them, so it's been quite a few years since I've picked up a pen and paper with the intention or writing, jotting down a topic or writing about my opinions or something in my life. I realize that that was sort of my intention when I started this blog, so now I'm going to put myself up to the test! I've found a few '30 day' writing prompts on Pinterest, and I can't decide on just one, so I'll most likely be picking topics from all over the place.

The reason why the title of this post mentions 'weeks?', is because unfortunately I'm most likely not going to be able to write something every day. I have days like tomorrow where I work 9 to 3, and then again 4 to 9. So, it's just unrealistic to write daily, and if I did it would be pretty half-assed. I want to be able to sit down with a cup of tea and spend an hour or more on a topic that I find interesting.

Some prompts that I've come across are things like: Dream wedding, What's in your makeup bag? Five ways to win your heart, your fears, weird things that you like, what band or musician is most important to you? Your most vivid childhood memory, three things you want to say to different people, etc.

I'll probably make my first post sometime next week. What are some things you'd like to read on here?

Things I'm Lovin' This Month; June Edition

It's finally June! Well, almost July now, but I've been waiting for June-September all year. Being as it is my absolute favorite time of year. Yes, I like the summer, I like being hot; I'd rather be that than cold. It's a pretty unpopular opinion among my family and friends, but man, I can't get enough of that vitamin D! I made a promise to myself to make this summer memorable and rewarding, to not sit on my ass the majority of the time, and actually have a damn good time as much as possible. So far, I've been living up to that promise dutifully, and my summer has been a blast. Besides the fact that I have work and school -almost- every day, and only a two day break between my spring and summer quarter, I've been trying to live my summer days to the fullest!

1.) BFD 2014. I kick-started June by winning tickets on the radio to BFD 2014. The only downside was we thought (they had told us when we won!) that we won VIP tickets, but when we got there that day, the venue told us that the radio had only given them general admission tickets, sorry. My best friend and I were a bit bummed, but we didn't let it ruin our ~free~ concert day! I wasn't planning on going to BFD this year, because to be honest, the lineup wasn't all that great. Save Foster The People, Fitz & The Tantrums, and Walk The Moon (who I've already seen twice), I wasn't willing to spend $60+ on tickets. But, who wouldn't take advantage of free tickets!? Plus, concerts are much more fun once you're legal. I know that sounds really bad, sorry parents, but I speak the truth! We arrived at the venue earlier than expected, none of the bands we knew were going to start playing until about one, so we made our way to the bar and ordered our first drinks - vodka cran.

We hung out for awhile, and once we were finished with our drinks, the margarita bar opened, so of course we ordered a few of those. Outrageously, the blended margaritas ended up being $27 EACH. Ridiculous right!? I think the woman charged us completely wrong, because later on we found another place in the venue that was selling the same blended margaritas, in a cool ass guitar shaped cup, for $14! Yes, we got robbed, but at that point we had a pretty good buzz on, so we didn't have a care in the world.

The rest of the day consisted of us having a few more drinks, dancing and singing at the top of our lungs to some of our favorite songs, consuming a large amount of garlic fries, and relaxing on the grassy field listening to New Politics and Phantogram's set back to back. By then we were coming down off of our buzz and getting sleepy; we decided we didn't want to wait to see Foster The People (we still had yet to sit through Fitz and the Tantrums and MIA; about 2 1/2 more hours), and we headed home. 

All in all, I had a great day with my best friend; and it was an awesome kick-off to summer. Though we didn't end up seeing the two main bands that we came for, the entire rest of the day made up for it. I miss her so much sometimes, so I'm glad we got to spend the day together! <3

Click the photo to listen to 'Navy Blue' ^

2.) Navy Blue; by The Story So Far.  Just so you now know, The Story So Far is my favorite band. JUST giving a heads up. Besides Blink 182, I pretty much worship these guys. So yes, I will be talking about them a lot. They announced that they were to be releasing an ALL ACOUSTIC EP called 'Songs Of' on June 17th. Let's just say I cried a little. They released this song first, and my speakers oozed magnificence as I played it for the first time; and the 100+ times after that. It really is a beautiful and emotional song, especially since just about every single other song they have emits an aggressive amount of anger towards whoever the girl is that Parker Cannon is singing about. This is probably the first time I've heard a song from them where you can actually hear the sadness in his voice, it even cracks during certain parts. Oh, and his voice? That's one reason alone why you should listen to this song. It is the epitome of sadness and perfection all at the same time.

On June 10th the Kerrang website streamed the songs from this EP, so you can click the link below and listen to 'Songs Of ' in its entirety. I highly recommend doing this, at least listen to The Glass. It. Is. Amazing. And of course, it is after the 17th so the EP is available on Itunes as well, if you want to put that shit on your Ipod.

http://www.kerrang.com/18835/story-far-stream-songs-ep-kerrang/

3.) Beach trips, sunsets, and sand in my toes. Living in California is a blessing. At least for me, a beach trip is no more than 20-30 minutes away. I don't have the pleasure of living on the beach, but at least I can get to Santa Cruz 20 minutes one way, and San Francisco 40 minutes the other. It's definitely one of the perks to living here, being as the ocean is my favorite place to be anytime, anywhere. For one of my best friends birthdays, we drove out to San Francisco for a bonfire on the beach. My first time ever doing so, and I plan on doing it many more times. The weather was perfect and the sunset was absolutely magnificent. There's nothing like friends, beer, s'mores, and a warm sunset to end the day. And of course, I finally got to meet our friend's Pete & LA's new baby boy, Luke! He was quite possibly the sweetest and calmest baby I've ever had the pleasure of meeting <3

My second beach endeavor was last Friday when I, and two of my friends, drove out to Santa Cruz to see Smash Mouth play FOR FREE on the beach! The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk hosts a 'Bands on the Beach' event every Friday over the summer, where, as the title states, bands play on a large stage at the beach boardwalk for free. I was at work Friday afternoon when my manager told me about it, and you bet your ass I was calling my friends and in my car driving to the beach not an hour after I got off work. The show was a blast from the past, my friends and I got into the VIP section up front, and it was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity that I'm glad I made the decision to do!

Smash Mouth was absolutely ~fab~ by the way.

And then, my third beach trip, but not my last, was the day after when I accompanied my boyfriend to Moss Beach for a Geology field trip he had to attend too. His instructor mentioned that you could bring whoever you want, even your dog, so of course I hopped on that bandwagon.

We discovered upon arriving that we would make this our 'getaway' spot. It only took about 30-40 minutes to drive there, the little town of Half Moon Bay was peaceful and was lacking the tourist-y vibe, and the beach itself was clean, quaint, and for the most part; empty. It was a beautiful day; I spent the time learning about rocks and faults by listening to lecture, and wandering off to explore the beach. I found an awesome cave, that went really deep into the ground (I wanted to go as far back as it went, but it was really dark, the darkness even swallowed up the flashlight on my iphone, and I was way too scared!), I became trapped inside when the tide came in! But it only lasted a few minutes, then I waded myself out in shin-deep water. 

4.) The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick. I know I said I was reading The Things They Carried, and I still am! But for two days this month, I lost it, and I didn't have anything to read. So in the meantime, I picked up my nook where TSLP had already been downloaded, and started reading. I was hooked, and I finished it in less than 48 hours. I had watched the movie already, which I usually don't like doing unless I've read the book first, and the book is a bit different. Pretty much the whole ending with the dance competition... well, just the entire ending in general, was written differently than the movie. Although, I think I did enjoy the movie ending a bit better. The book ending was sort of abrupt. Which, I don't usually say that either. On an ending note, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence were perfect for the parts they played. I'd totally recommend reading this book, it's a short read, and obviously it caught my attention pretty quickly!

5.) Orange is the New Black. So, who ISN'T watching this show? Since I finished watching the second season in about three days, I figure'd I'd talk about it, since it is definitely one of my June favorites. For those of you who have never heard of OITNB, or just hasn't watched it yet (you better have a good reason for not doing so), the show is about a woman named Piper, who was recently engaged to a man named Larry, and is living a somewhat happy and peaceful life; is thrown in an all-woman's jail for assisting in a crime that happened 10+ years ago. Not only does this interrupt her perfect life and new engagement, but her ex girlfriend (played by Laura Prepon, an absolute BABE), who she was involved with during these crimes, is thrown in jail alongside her. The show is basically about the crazy events that happen while she is spending her time in jail, and it is actually based on a true story/book! The real-life 'Piper' is actually a director to the show. 

OITNB is a netflix original, so the entire season is usually released in one day. This causes me to put my life on hiatus for a few days while I watch all 14 episodes in a span of 48+ hours. Please, watch the show. You won't regret it. Everyone I know is talking about it, and, don't you want to get in on this gossip?

Okay, enough with my babbling. This is probably the longest 'Things I'm Lovin' post I'll ever write. So much has just been going on this month, I didn't even know where to start. So, I hope you enjoyed this months version of random-things-that-i-need-to-talk-about. I definitely enjoy writing, regardless if anyone is reading it or not. That being said, you'll probably hear from me again soon!

Thanks for reading!

Working with The Human Art Collective

Okay... prepare for a long post with some gushing, awing, and lots of photos; this last weekend was definitely a dream come true. Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th I had the AMAZING opportunity to work with a body painting group based in Northern California called The Human Art Collective. I was invited by some friends of a past employer, who are models and artists themselves, knowing that I was interested in that field of work. Each day consisted of 7+ hours of application and preparation, and following that was another 6+ hours of showcasing at SubZero Festival in Downtown San Jose! Unfortunately I wasn't able to be there the entire time; school and my job got in the way; I did get to be there for one of an application periods, and for one night at SubZero though! I'll start from the beginning:

I arrived around 1pm on Saturday, and I must say I was a bit nervous. I enjoy the art of body painting, and I think that it's absolutely beautiful and intriguing, but I had never been in an actual situation where I was able to watch professionals paint on semi-nude bodies. Yes, I was worried about the whole 'nude' part at first. I was legitimately like 'oh god, I'm about to go to this place with a bunch of naked people walking around!' and I was worried that I was going to act like a nervous, red-faced child while I was there, and make everything awkward; but it was quite the contrary actually. The women are wearing pasties and underwear, and the men are wearing briefs, so they're not as naked as I thought they would be. After being there and helping out, painting, and getting involved, the fact that they're naked is the least of your worries! You totally get over the fact that your 'canvas' is a male or female without their clothes on, it's not sexual or awkward at all, I was actually surprised at myself for getting over it so quickly. The atmosphere is totally easygoing, carefree, and fun. It was definitely an eye-opening experience, it literally showed me (even though I already knew subconsciously) that the naked human being is not just there for sexual or pleasurable reasons, but it is literally an art form that I fell in love with almost immediately.

Anyway; I was kindly introduced to all artists and models, and then I was assigned a project by the very talented airbrush artist Rich, and his model Audrey. I started by using a kabuki brush (which I have never used to paint before, and I now realize that I need to buy these in numbers, they're amazingly useful!) to paint a light blue base coat on Audreys legs. Audrey was there as a first time model, and she was very sweet! It was a cool experience being a first time painter, painting on a first time model. Rich was very helpful, and gave me some great tips and advice! Afterwards, I then made my way to the front yard where they were airbrushing some stenciled leaves on a model named Patrick. I have an airbrush machine myself, and I've only used it a few times, but I had never used it on someone else. Ciara, the woman/model who invited me to her home, and Chrysalis, the very talented SFX makeup artist who had created Patricks character, asked me to help airbrush the leaves. I got a couple of good stencils in there, but then I spilled some paint on him by accident and counted myself out, haha. It wasn't a huge deal, and it was easily fixed, but I was nervous about messing something else up! 

I observed everyone else for awhile, watching painting techniques, and tools used. I then returned to Audrey and Rich to paint some stars on her face, chest, back, and arms; and then I helped hold the stencil in place while Rich airbrushed a pattern onto her painted dress. So, I did little things here and there to help out, I was thrilled to be able to pick up a brush; even if it was just for little details. Everyone was so nice to me, they were really encouraging and were pleased to have me there! It was an awesome feeling being welcomed by a family of amazing and talented artists. Unfortunately, I was unable to go to the festival that night because I was scheduled to work, but here are some photos of Saturdays application period, and the finished looks of that day! As you can probably tell, the theme was 'Elements', Air, Water, Fire, Earth. (none of the photos are mine unless stated otherwise).

                                    Photo by me; Air                                Finished look; Fire Phoenix

                                                                      Finished looks; Earth

                                                    Finished looks; Air & Egyptian Goddess

                                                Finished looks; Fire Phoenix & Embers

My Photo

HAC in the Silicon Valley Business Journal! (I'm in the background!) :)

HAC in the Silicon Valley Business Journal! I helped paint her stars :)

                                                     Earth; Before and after application

My photo; mask application

My Photo; Air

The next day I was at work throughout the entire application period; but I was able to attend SubZero on Sunday night. I got there at 6:30, after spending thirty of those minutes just looking for parking (DT San Jose can be a nightmare!). The festival itself was absolutely magnificent. I don't know why I had never gone before! An entire street of booths were set up, from small businesses to solo artists. A stage was blaring music from a live band, food trucks were everywhere, and there was an entire section dedicated to chalk art. It was all so fascinating!

The HAC booth had a big x-shaped wooden panel that allowed four different backgrounds for the elements, an open tent where the crowd could watch live body painting, and another tent and table where they could sign up for more information and classes! I was immediately given a 'crew' badge and started to help out by asking the models if they wanted water or anything to drink. Like I said, I wasn't there for the application period, but the models/body paints looked AMAZING! The theme was still Elements, but different artists were assigned different elements this time, so they had completely different looks. I spent the rest of the night (until 11pm!) assisting artists, promoting the collective by handing out stickers and information, letting the crowd know that they can donate $1 to vote for their favorite element, etc. Little things, but I enjoyed being there in general. Just observing everything was an awesome opportunity for me, being as this was my first volunteer experience in the field! I had so much fun, and I didn't want to leave. Here are the finished looks from SubZero festival on Sunday (the last) night! (none of the photos are mine unless stated otherwise).

My photos: Selfies with the lovely Brea, and makeup application on Ciara

  Brea & Ciara finished! (water)

A-MAZ-ING 'earth' bodypaint!

 Fire and Water elements

More application (live!)

 More water! (Sharknado!!)

Water and Earth

Water and Fire

Absolutely breathtaking works of art if you ask me!

 I was more than thrilled to be apart of this event. As I've said many times before, it was an amazing experience and I am so grateful to have been apart of something so beautiful. I met so many great people, and I can only hope that I will be attending many HAC events in the future. I'd like to end this post by thanking everyone that welcomed me and got me involved this weekend. It truly was a blessing! <3

Check out their website: http://www.thehumanartcollective.com/

and like them on facebook!