I've Got My Finger On The Button

That's about where I am right now. Today is my last day of work for the week. I'm facing some dental work tomorrow, which will be painful, and then have LOTS & LOTS to do for Felt Club on Sunday. (Come by, say hi, buy stuff!)

I'm not looking for sympathy. I got myself into this mess, as usual. I procrastinated on both getting my tooth fixed and prep work for the craft show. I screwed up all on my own. No excuses. Full responsibility.

Just wanted to let you know what I'll be up to in case you don't hear from me for a few days. Maybe this time I'll learn.

Smile Big Smack Hamster

Oh how I'd love to actually see this! Look at the tiny arms!!!

A Few Years Ago, Not Very Far Away

The SnarkyDork blog is three years old today! In it's origins, it didn't really have a focus and it still doesn't. I often ask myself, as I think many bloggers do, why do I even do this? It's certainly not to become "an internet celebrity*." So, what do I get out of my online home here on the web?

• I sometimes share and get feedback on my photography.
  

• I've met a lot of cool people and made some real friends who I hang out with in the real world. The internet truly brings people with common interests together and I think that is an amazing thing.
  

• Since I've never been consistent at keeping a paper diary, the blog serves as a device to remember things like concerts and film festivals, etc. I obviously don't publish everything that goes on in my life, but a few long-distance family members have commented that they like to be able to read "what I'm up to."

• I do get to practice writing, which I enjoy. I'm not a great writer, but putting words out in public certainly makes me more conscientious about checking and editing. And reediting. And editing some more.
  

• While I don't do it as much as I'd like to, I have an opportunity to give some perspective on life in Los Angeles, my home for the past almost-fourteen years, the place I call home, the city I love.

Well, I'm going to be quiet again. I have A LOT of work to do to prepare for the upcoming Comic-Con. I'm sure I'll get some material out of that experience, which is always lots of fun. So, tell me, why do you blog?

*The latest issue of Wired magazine tells you how to do this, if interested.

How To Piss Off Your Hamster #37

Put him in an adorable Hamtaro bowl that you picked up in Little Tokyo and proceed to take about 20 photos of him. Even bribing him with various treats such as blueberry yogurt balls and banana chips did not seem to brighten his mood! But, how adorable is this? Pretty kawaii, eh?

One Of Those Days

Cramps.

Bad news.

Potential stomach bug going around at work.

It's days like these that I love clicking over to one of my favorite online comics, Patches, and finding something that makes me laugh out loud. "Mush! Hamsters! Mush!" You just might want to do the same.

Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone

Life is getting super hectic. I'm hoping to make it through July relatively sane. I haven't been posting with any sort of regular frequency lately and that may taper off even more for awhile. There may be more short blurbs from the dogs in the near future. They're whining lately about the vet.

In the meantime, check out my adorable garden gnome:

Hamsters Love Broccoli!

E and I stopped at the grocery store last night for bread, milk, and a few other necessities. We only needed a hand basket since we weren't buying much. While in the produce section, I noticed the loose broccoli and decided to get a small amount for Ami. I chose the five or so smallest florets in the bin and tossed it, in a produce bag, into the basket.

Fast forward to the check out line where E unloaded the breads, milk, peppers, and bananas. He went to put the basket on the floor. I grabbed the plastic bag from it and said, "Don't forget the broccoli!"

E: "Huh? Broccoli?"

J: "Yeah, in this bag."

E: "Oh, I just thought that was trash someone left in the basket."

J: "I just got a tiny amount. It's for Ami."

E: Rolls eyes.

J: "Well, it's only about 3 cents worth of broccoli so it's not big deal. I think the fresh veggies I give him are part of the secret to his living so long."
(He's at least 2.5 years old now).

E: I think there was another eye rolling moment here.

It was our turn and the cashier scanned our items. And what do you know, but that little bag of broccoli rang up at $.03!!! I thought it was hilarious and I think the checker thought I was nuts. Or at least a dork. Which I am.

24/7

Last night we checked out a new late-night/anytime dining option in Hollywood. Kitchen 24 is located on Cahuenga in the heart of the hipster club scene. I’ve been wanting to try it and thought a Monday night might be a less crowded than others. If you check out reviews on Yelp, etc. you will find them all over the map. E and I both really enjoyed it though.

The atmosphere is dinery with a brown, pink, and white color scheme. Our service was initially a little slow, but it picked up and our food came out really quickly. I had the macaroni and cheese dish and E had a tuna burger. The food was quite tasty. E topped off his meal with a chocolate-chocolate-chocolate cupcake, even though he’s “not that into cupcakes” and said it was delicious. I was just too full to even taste it.

Our food, sodas, and E’s dessert came out to less than $30. We’ll definitely be going back. It’s nice to add another 24-hour eatery to the list.

Nerd Alert!

I'm not feeling up to doing much of a post, but I wanted to let at least a couple of my nerdier readers (you know who you are!) about E's new blog, Retinal Rivalry. As the name suggests, it is 3D related. It does give me a little thrill to come home and have him ask me, "So did you see my new blog entry?" I've been bugging him to start one for awhile. This one will obviously have a niche audience, which is okay. There will be lots of content in the way of photos, video, and projects. So, if you are into that kind of thing, grab your red-cyan anaglyph glasses and head on over.

Duhn Duhn Duuuuuhhhhhnnn!

Tonight I got to pet* a very dramatic prairie dog. Photos will be posted to my flickr site someday. I will post a link.

*Yes, I washed my hands.

It's way too late and I'm way too tired to post anything, but I will hopefully say something about Comic-Con before the week is over besides: "It was good. Very good." I'll possibly even have some photos uploaded, but I'm not making any promises. I will say that my favorite thing I picked up this year is a little book called Todd and Penquin: embrace your inner dork.

P.S. Thanks again to the lovely Palmers for the cut!

10 Days In The Life...

In the past 10 days, I have attended:

21 and ½ short films

8 documentaries

7 narrative features

1 super kawaii Japanese animated feature

1 panel with effects guru Dennis Murin

and

1 robot laden Michael Bay explode-a-ganza.

3 of these films were followed by free parties.

In addition, I squeezed in:

2 live shows by The Police

2 shows at The Hollywood Bowl (one of which featured a movie!)

I also:

Took hundreds of photos, some of which I may upload someday.

Keep in mind that I was working full-time all along as well. I will start crying if I list all of the things I needed to get done, but either didn’t or have not even started. I'll think about that after The Hollywood Bowl tonight.

Hammy Time

I know, I know. I still have concerts to discuss, films to review...

Honestly, I'm still trying to wrap my head around seeing The Police live twice last week and will hopefully be able to put some coherent thoughts together about the experience soon. And I think I'll probably wait until the end of the film fest to give movie opinions and recommendations.

In the meantime, I want to give a shout-out to my little hamster, Ami, who finally made it onto Cute Overload! I guess between being so busy, I just haven't checked the site as often (daily) as I used to and had no idea someone had submitted his broccoli fest video.

Huh?

I intend to do a "wrap up" post of my recent experience at Maker Faire, which was excellent for those of you confused by my previous posts. I have not had the time to sit and do that quite yet. So instead, I give you:

Hamster Jetlag Cured By Viagra (!)

Where do people come up with these research studies? And, geez, I must be a bad hamster-mom, because my little Ami is lucky to travel from the bedroom to the living room, much less take a trip from New York to Paris!