so many dreams

i had so many dreams last night. i was working hard! but the most anxiety-inducing one was about my wedding—-billy and i had the ceremony, and then realized that our photographer hadn’t shown up. so we had to do the whole thing again. i had requested that some sweet song be played while he walked me down the aisle, and he said no. instead, as we processed, a troupe of brightly colored carnies, some on unicycles, some on stilts, chased us around and shot darts at us!

w.t.f.

balancing.

alright! i think i have all of the jobs i can handle. i’m having fun striving to achieve a routine and balance, but am so pleased at the different creative outlets i’m getting to channel my energy into! 

this week, i began writing for apartment therapy again! they’re planning a huge relaunch in september, which should be super exciting. the site will be restructured to be one main site that you can filter by city (austin is one of them!) instead of picking one of six city-regions! for now, my posts live under apartment therapy LA. wednesdays, thursdays, and fridays, come check out the interior design side of my four-pronged career!!!

aside from AT, i’m motoring along with christine at schatzelein, and we’re excited about watching the online store grow, the fail line taking off, and seeing how the summer goes! i’m working with hope farmers market to do marketing, help with cinema east during the summer, starting the east side flea market late summer/early fall, and launching new websites this summer! and lastly, billy and i are working to get our son of a sailor etsy shop and jewelry off of the ground. so far so good, but we’ve got some work still ahead of us! 

so, hopefully with all of these things in the mix i’l still be able to balance time with billy, time with my friends and maybe squeeze a little yoga in…hopefully.

men argue with me too much about photography.

is it because i am behind a desk, and am therefore clearly less intelligent? is it because i am a woman, and therefore can’t possibly know as much about photography (or anything)? is it because i look young(er than you), and am therefore unable to possess knowledge on the subject?

well, sirs—and it is only the men, typically, that constantly try to one-up me and correct me with often incorrect information—you are poorly mistaken. i do, in fact, know more about these edward weston images than you. i also know more about hiroshi sugimoto (that’s not a harry callahan on the wall, but a sugimoto) than you do. and just because you have a camera around your neck does not make you a good photographer, or a photographer in whose work i am interested in looking at.

i am good at what i do. i don’t know everything about photography, but you have begun to correct me before i have even begun to drop what is a fairly extensive knowledge bomb on you. go back to your camera club and leave me alone.

put this on the list of things that seem difficult to do

i had to fire a volunteer today. i’m going to put this on the list of things that seem difficult to do. getting fired as a volunteer, that is. not the actual firing part.

that is all.

i’m leaving

for real, this time. i’m headed back to austin on november 19. i’ll be hitching up that 4’x4’x8’ trailer to the back of my trusty civic and driving back with billy just in time for thanksgiving. it’s been a Great Adventure these last two years, but i’m being called home.

in traditional Tata style, we’ll celebrate the end of this era with a theme party. naturally.

so pick a color, any color, dress up in that color and come join the celebration before i mosey off back to texas. 

the censoring of a photographer

apparently, the Musée d’Art Moderne in France has banned minors from their current Larry Clark exhibit (many works that were, incidentally, just up at Pier 24) due to the “borderline-porn”ographic images. the daily what has published the cover of a left-leaning publication that is protesting the age limitation, deeming it censorship. 

not that larry clark is entirely safe for work, but still. it’s a shame to decide that kids should be prevented from seeing scenes of nudity and sexuality. the needles and “rapish” scenes, maybe. but it is real. kids were photographed doing it, but aren’t allowed to see it.

some favorite words that don’t mean what they think they mean

there have been a couple of interesting interpretations of common phrases that have made me smile (and cringe) lately.

“beckon call” a.k.a. beck and call

“party hearty” a.k.a. party hardy

and the best. well, the worst. found on a resume. submitted to me. for realz.

“references available a pone request” a.k.a. you gotta be kidding me.

open letter to SFPD

**disclaimer: there will decidedly be profanity in the following letter. proceed with caution.**

dear SFPD,

i have an idea. how about you back off my nuts for a while. seriously. back the fuck off. how about instead of trolling for some action and giving me a ticket for an expired registration, you drive 7 blocks south and actually bust some bad guys. honestly. right now, RIGHT NOW there is a gang of loitering tough guys on the corner. there’s probably someone taking a shit within 30 feet of my front door. there are literally 25 guys gambling and throwing dice right next to the soccer fields at the park. i’ve witnessed drug deals on the playground—if i can see them, you can, too. maybe take a stab at the douchebags drag racing in front of my house—you know, the ones who do donuts in the intersection EVERY FUCKING WEEKEND! and if you stick around, 9 times out of 10 there will be gunplay on Friday and Saturday nights. i know you know what i’m talking about. i have called you and told you about it. remember? you drove by the assholes sitting in their garage—-not their house, their rented fucking garage—that are constantly heckling passersby, playing stupid ass music so loud that my windows rattle, fighting in the street and on Chelsey’s car, and generally creating a shitty ass environment for everyone who actually lives here. how about you catch the assholes who keep smashing Chelsey’s car windows in. how about you even so much as politely request that my neighbor stop pissing on his own (and our) house! how about you prevent some of the 12 year olds from buying blunts and liquor at the corner store. 

if you have the fucking time to make sure i get a parking ticket for street cleaning if i’ve been in the spot for 5 minutes too long, and towing chelsey’s car for being an inch over someone’s driveway, and generally busting my chops, how about you go fucking do something worthwhile!

in short, SFPD, i would like to politely request that you kiss my ass.

yours truly,

jessica

we have a few lists for you.

a while ago, phoebe and i decided to generate a couple of lists. i have now decided to share these lists, and open them up to suggestions for additions. here they are, without much ado. (and in no particular order)

LIFE’S GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS

by jessica and phoebe

1. realizing that the meter you just parked at still has time remaining
2. finding money
3. knowing all of the words to a song **bonus points: the song is bohemian rhapsody
4. snow days
5. finding the perfect outfit **bonus points: you already own all of the clothes
6. the perfect mixed tape
7. compliments from strangers
8. good first kiss
9. good purchase of something awesome **bonus points: it’s on sale or a thrift find
10. all of your friends magically end up in the same place, unplanned
11. winning things
12. snail mail (not bills or junk) **bonus points: packages
13. road trips
14. friend-cations/reunions
15. great pictures of you and your friends. like, really great ones.

LIFE’S PRETTY COOL ACHIEVEMENTS

by jessica and phoebe

1. finishing your laundry
2. hitting all green lights
3. finishing a chapstick before you lose it
4. liking something before everyone else discovers it
5. free (good) food
6. tax returns
7. good parent dinner
8. having the bus/subway pull up right as you arrive
9. not missing your transfer on the bus/subway
10. free drink at the bar
11. finishing a project
12. instant connection with a person
13. bonfires
14. the anticipation stage just before a vacation

submit away!

$.69 worth of delight

i have a deep-seated love for the container store, and have a particularly fond memory of the tiny little plastic amac boxes that come in all different beautiful colors, and clear, of course. it’s been a while since $.69 made me quite so happy! alright, well, for all three, something like $2.50… 

dreams and the such

i get to watch as my best friend is on her path to accomplishing one of her big dreams, and it’s pretty amazing. christine, i’m not sure if you’re even aware of how inspiring it is to watch you do this, even as you have just been beginning. i can’t tell you how much hope and inspiration it gives me and other people around us to see you start your own business, literally from the ground up. but no one is surprised. we have all seen you build things. we have all witnessed the shear determination with which you do things—-even drive to the grocery store or pay the bill at a restaurant! 

so, go. go kick ass. go do it right. go create a beautiful business and sell beautiful things and make your space beautiful. 

and can i have a job?

i love you, girl bitch! 

goin’ to town with a bucket o’ paint

since i’ve been in san francisco, i’ve purchased a few things on craigslist, and they always seem to be in distressed green… well, i’ve had it with distressed green and i’ve gone and bought a bucket o’ paint and revamped my desk and dresser! a little bit of wood fill, a little bit of paint stripping, and voila. new, lovely pieces!