"(S)He look-a like-a MAN."

A post before I go and bake a fantastically goopy carrot cake for Christmas!

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Growing up as a little dudette in L.A., I was constantly referred to as "sir" or "son."

"Um, Sir? Can you move out of the way of the forklift? Thanks?" BTW, who calls a 13 yr. old "sir"?

"Umm, son? That's the women's restroom. Ohhh, okay nevermind."

Why? I had delusion from grades 3rd to 7th, and a little bit of 8th... and parts of junior year in highschool,... and maybe again in my early 20s,  that I looked great with boy short hair.

Again with this photo, circa 1995-96. I was letting my hair grow out, that is until 1997, when I cut it short(er) again.

My inspirations?

Chynna Phillips (of the Wilson Phillips).

And that dummy, Angelina Jolie, via Hackers (waaaatch it. watch it right now. it's a culturally irrelevant movie, but it's the 90s at its zenith).

If you know my hair texture (thick, wavy, and lots of it), then you know that THIS IS THE WORST POSSIBLE HAIRCUT EVER FOR THIS HAIR TYPE.  

But I didn't care. I loved getting haircuts, and if it meant that I was mistaken for a dude, then soooo be it.

(**Sidenote: what probably didn't help was my tomboy phase. Can you call it "tomboy" if it just straight up looked like/was guy clothes? I wore hiking boots (while NOT hiking) with gross jeans and polos (typing that combo of clothes just made my mind explode); striped shirts with long undershirts with ugly Adidas sneaks; and denim short-alls with thick white socks and green Airwalks. Yeesssh.)

The greatest part, though? I was NEVER made fun of, picked on, or harassed about what can only be described as "a man dressing as a lesbian who's actually a women" style. 

Wellll, I was made fun of once, by a classmated who called me "Mushroom head" (my head looked like a mushroom), but I kindly returned the favor and called him "Watermelon head" (his head shape reallly look watermelon-ish to me) until he cried and we both got detention. 

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Annnnyway, I've ditched the man-cuts (for now), but I am totally delving back into man-style.

Look at me doing manly things, like putting tranny fluid into my "trusty" Corolla, affectionately named "Cooper Nielson".

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If I don't get around to this later today or tomorrow, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

donglover (aka Childish Gambino) @ The El Rey.

The past couple of days have been just CRAP.

+My TV pooped out on me.

+My new laptop battery is a bit of a dud (it only holds a full charge for less than 4 hours!).

+My supervisor is a dick and a dumbfuck.

The first has been taken care of (yaaay, new TV); the second problem is slowly being resolved (vetting out my hard drive); and the last problem... well, the only solace I have is knowing he is and forever will be a douchebag.

Also, so I don't accidentally have a mindfuck of a conversation with my dickbag supervisor, I've been listening to Childish Gambino's Culdesac on repeat. For those not down with the "donglover," that's Donald Glover, or Troy of "Troy and Adeb in the MORNING/STOP MOTION!" (ohh, and please watch the clip- "I knew there was some reason I couldn't do this today!" FUNNIEST EVER.) CLICK CLICK CLICK on the album title for a free download of his album.

Jaya and I went to see him perform at the El Rey and  IT WAS THE BEST EVER. You know who opened for Donald Glover? DONALD GLOVER. He started his set with his standup comedy, which included topics on why 80s rap is horrible, Michael Cera as Shaft, why we live in the best times ("sorry your family got raped and murdered, but that's what you get for going out at NIGHT."), and how man-rape is about being sneaky.

We met up Sakari of The Female Trouble!

Outfit Post: There's a couple of new pieces mixed in with my well-worn threads: A pixelated flower shirt from UO and a black body con skirt (which I L-O-V-E) from F21+. Oh, AND THAT FACE? It literally smelled like shit and vomit in that stairwell.

If you need further proof of the "donglover"'s greatness:

Sweetest song in life:

Did he just rapped about a "thick Filipina chick/ homemade bracelet/ her booty make her a rapper, she don't have to say shit"?? Is he watching me?!? (The chick who took this video: your singing over the rap is TURRIBLE, if it wasn't soo funny. "Woooo! Oowww!").

All Good Things Must Come To An End: Part II.

Part Two: A "Happy Thanksgiving" all around, more b-days, and "OMG, it's grade school all over again".

This past weekend was RIDICULOUS on all counts.

I ate toooo much.

I bought toooo many things.

I did things that I though I would never ever have to do.

First things first:
A Belated Happy Thanksgiving to all my US comrades! Here's pictures of a couple of things we made:

The full spread:

Jaya's delicious cast iron cornbread (with even delicious-ier honey and agave butter, not pictured):

Jaya and I made a decent replication of the portobello mushroom fries that we had at Bottega Louie. Not pictured, however, is our tasty cilantro+garlic aioli dipping sauce (oh, and please note the crazy strawberry plate pattern on crazier cherry tablecloth pattern):

Second things second:

A belated Happy Birthday to my Dad!

Here's half an outfit post of my FAVORITE and MY FIRST EVER THRIFTED/FLEA MARKET-ED dress. I wore it over the weekend and I wish I had a better and fuller picture of it. 

I got this dress at the PCC Flea Market probably about 7-8 years ago and it fits me like a glove. I remember putting it on for the first time and realizing, "I never have to buy clothes from mall stores ever again."

Ohhhh, can you see something different about my face? IGOTMEASEPTUMPIERCING! I totally force myself to conquer my crippling hate of "people talking to strangers" and... of NEEDLES. I went to the nearest (and best) piercing place after work a few weeks ago and BLAM.

Third things third:

Jaya and I met up with some GRADE SCHOOL classmates, ohhh, and our 7th grade teacher!, for a small 13yr. (ugggh) reunion and it wasn't terrible. I can't believe that I'm saying that: "IT WASN'T TERRIBLE." What's even more unbelievable is that everyone still pretty much looks the same- well, except for Jaya.

Since you don't care or know anyone from my grade school, here is one of my moooost favorite pictures of me. This is me, circa 1995-96 (taken @ Mono Lake).

Shitty teenage scowl? Multi-colored stripe shirt? Stupidly oversized hoodie? It must BE THE NINETIES!!!! You can almost hear P.U.S.A and the Empire Records soundtrack playing in the background.

Fourth things fourth:

To end this "most excellent" month, one of my co-workers told me, "You're being confrontational, Kaya, but I don't mean that in a 'bad' way." YEEESSH, thanks for being a Debbie Downer, Luis- like I can take that any other way.

All Good Things Must Come To An End: Part I.

The month of November has treated me pretttty decently.

The first half of the November was pretty cool: I had a wonderful birthday, met some stylish ladies, eaten at new places, etc. etc.

This latter half ain't too shabby neither.

Part One: A quick trip down the 10, 62, and 11.
A couple of weekends ago, Jaya and I decided grant Jaya's birthday wish of "going thrifting," so we grabbed a cheap car rental and drove up to the High Desert (Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, Twentynine Palms) to check out the thrift store scene for the weekend.

Where we drove:

29 Palms Rd/The 62 Fwy:

Where we went and shopped (and little knick knacks we saw):

A place we ate:

My outfits:

First time showing off this Faith 21 jacket! A great find, especially for these seasonal rains.

+Faith 21 Faux Leather Jacket
+Beanie from Jennifer of Jasifer Lions Club
+Rose scarf from Mitsuwa Japanese Market
+Bag from an army surplus store
+ON black jeggings
+Comfy Puma sneaks

A Ron Weasly-inspired outfit: pattern (floral) on pattern (stripe) on pattern (floral).

+Lazy hair: ALL MINE
+Brocade-ish scarf from TJ Maxx
+Super old and very warm cardigan from Salvation Army
+New acquired oversized grey striped shirt from Joshua Tree Thrift Store
+Floral Doc Martens

And lastly:

DOOOOUUUUBLLE RAAAAAINBOWWWW! Saw this beauty of nature when we drove down the 10 to the 111 to get to Palm Springs. Jaya couldn't stop punching me and I could stop yelling, "That dude was right! 'Whaaat does it alll mean??'"

I be NERDY for Harry Potter.

Whenever I meet someone new, especially in a work situation, I inevitably bring up two (sometimes three, that is, if I can read the person right) topics.

001/ Harry Potter.
002/ Arrested Development.
003/ Metalocalypse (sometimes).

The other two things are fantastic but... Harry Potter unites nations. Harry Potter brings together people who might not have ever been friends. Harry Potter cures baby polio and feline leukemia.

In short, ILOVEHARRYPOTTER and so should you.

Jaya and I met up with our HP viewing buddy @ CityWalk in Universal Studios to watch the midnight showing of #7 IN IMMAAAAXXX.

Sadly, I didn't dress up in costume (boooo on me) but I reallly wanted to find a way to bust out my "Hedwig look-a-like perched on my shoulder" look.

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CityWalk at night.

Outfit Photos:

"Like, OMG, Harry Potter's gonna be AWESOME!"

What I wore:

+Beanie: from the cooolest, Jennifer of Jasifer Lions Club.

+Floral scarf: Mitsuwa (japanese supermarket).

+Army jacket: PCC Flea Market.

+Purse: Torrance Flea Market.

+Jeggings: ON.

+Chambray sneaks: Vans.

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On Jaya (who's looking a bit like Kaya, because she's, like, 85% of what she's wearing is my clothes):

+Houndstooth scarf (mine): ??

+Demin Jacket: Target.

+Patterned purse (mine): Torrance Flea Market.

+Green/black sweater (mine-ish): Salvation Army.

+Cords (mine): ON.

+Floral Doc Martens (from J to me! thanksss, sis): Doc Martens.

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Our friend and her BF having a quick makeout sesh with Ron and Hermione.

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This is the face... umm, maybe forearms, of TRUE DEVOTION. Next matching HP tattoo? They say the "Deathly Hallows" symbol, I say Dobby's sweet, sweet, adorable face.

 (Can you imagine this FOREVER on your arm? I can too.)

And oh yeah, and Twilight sucks major balls. SOORRRRY (that JK Rowling's is a better author).

It's like they're "real" people.

It turns out that "internet people" are, like, "real" people... in real life... and not two dimensional flat objects just floating around the interwebs.

That.
Is.
MINDBLOWING.
Information.

And I have proof.

That's Jaya of Heebie Jeebie Jaya! That's Sakari of The Female Trouble! And that's me (who desperately tried to do the "not-smile" look, but failed at the last minute)!

And that's Gabby of Corazones Rojos!

While we walked around Melrose and ate on Sunset, we talked and gabbed about L.A., the Minneapolis scene, how we found each others' blogs, etc. and whatevs. Woooow, my shorts look a littttle short there..., oh, and YES, Sakari and Gabby are toooo coool for skool.

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Ohhh, and to end the most perfect week, our aunt treated Jaya and I to a birthday brunch at Bottega Louie in Downtown L.A.! This is the first time I've realllly tried any of the fancy restaurants in downtown and it was SUPER DELISH. Jaya and I are gonna try and make it a point to eat more in the DTLA (if anything, just to see hipster white people, the ethnics, and the homeless co-mingling in the same space).

The fooood. I got the Smoked Salmon Benedict; Jaya, the Steak and Eggs (medium rare & sunnyside up); and our aunt, the Lemon Ricotta Pancakes; also a side of the mooost awesome Portbello Mushroom fries with a Cilantro Aioli sauce.

We also got some gooodies from the bakery. I don't know what they are or what they're called, but allll of it was great, if not interesting.

A Jaya-approved picture of herself and MEEEE! Thanks for capturing the good lighting, Jaya.

Many Happy Returns.

Happy Birthday to Me and Jaya! (and, incidentally, Tracy Morgan)

So I don't forget: my horoscope for the year from the L.A. Times:

Today's birthday (Nov. 10): You won't find your success the way you have in the past, nor will you find it the way others do. There's a fresh originality in your approach, and you'll be lucky while implementing progressive and unconventional ideas. Your love life blossoms this month. Capricorn and Leo people adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 30, 4, 11, 23 and 16.

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Here are a couple of photos of us together. This one was taken with a Lomo with quadraple-ly exposure, hence cool effcct.

This one's from a few b-days ago (I look like Pocahontas or something).

My aunt made this for us today, and we're maybe around 8 year old. Thanks Tita Nette! Annnd, I don't know which one is which, you'd have to ask Jaya.

OHHHH, and Happy 100th Post, blog! Sorry I missed your one year anniversary in July (ehhh- we'll celebrate next year).